#laststops

        oh, this is unfair  –  byakuya clearly already knows the answer, probably already knows exactly how the rest of this trial is going to play out, and yet he insists on making makoto figure it out.     makoto hasn’t yet figured out the point in doing this  –  hadn’t he proven himself enough in the second trial ?     he turns to kyouko, who just nods for him to continue.    he suspects neither of them are going to concede unless they’re seconds away from death, and now he’s worried about looking like an idiot.     he closes his eyes and tilts his head back, feeling like everyone in the room is staring him down.     “    um  –  oh !     is it maybe something about  – the corpse’s eye color ?    ”     wait, that’s stupid, the corpse exploded.    “   uh …     ”  

      he blushes, half grinning  --  his first instinct is to lift his other hand to his mouth, nervous energy needing an outlet, but he resists the urge.     though that would probably just make hajime take his other hand  ...  nah, it’d just be obvious if he did it now.     “      hey, i’m used to the teeth, i’m not gonna hurt myself.      ”    stretching the truth, but they both know that, so it’s fine.     “     yeah, i’m glad, too.     don’t get all lame on me, okay ?     ” 

❛Hey. If you keep spendin’ time in the bar, your friendly older brother might get suspicious.❜

at least he’s with her and finally clean, right?

      “      and then it's down with the recipe and bake from the heart!     ”     he’s pulled rich into helping him prepare for a bake sale  --  key club is raising money for local charities, and mark loves baking, loves spending time with rich, loves helping people  --  he’s having a good day.    he even makes a show of sliding the recipe across the table  --  at some point, cookies are all the same.    “     my grandmother and i used to bake together.    i think half my mom’s recipes were actually hers at first.     ”

     ‘     it’s  quite  admirable  how  much  they’re  drawn  to  you     ,     ’     korekiyo  smiles  under  his  mask  at  the  small  creatures  that  gundham  holds  in  his  grasp    ,    almost  entranced  by  how  calm  they  are  with  the  other     .     ‘    did  you  know  that  it  is  believed  that  people  who  are  good  with  animals  have  strong  people  skills     &     it  is  nearly  perfectly  telling  of  how  you  are  in  the  bedroom     -     due  to  the  knowledge  of  how  another  wants  to  be  touched  without  verbal  communication     .     i  suppose  you  have  more  than  a  few  talents  up  your  sleeve  then     ,     yes     ?     ’

IT’S   LIKE   MUSIC   PLAYING            from   another   room:   she’s   a   thin - wall   ,   open - door   person .   less   of   the   welded   windows   ,   the   soundproof   rooms;   less   of   latching   the   lock   ,   and   pretending   no   one’s   home .   despite   the   ambient   murmurs   behind   the   curtain   ,   it’s   her   hand   that   feels   heavy   for   its   contents .   it’s   her   fingertips   that   warred   the   groove   against   the   trigger .   it’s   so   presently   ,   completely   fukawa   touko   who   sets   the   stun   gun   down   on   the   esteemed    desk   of   togami   byakuya .   “   thanks   for   all   your   help   ,   but   ———   i   don’t   need   this   anymore .   ”