i'll steal it.

Akira doesn’t answer right away, and Ryuji sits up, making room for him to sit on the edge of the bed. He knows the question is coming before Akira can ask it, can read the look on his face surprisingly easily, no longer drawn up in that stoic expression of mild indifference, and it makes his heart sink. How ‘effin’ stupid was he? He shoulda just told ‘em that he’d been a dumbass. Sure they woulda worried but…not like this. He hangs his head a little, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. That soft, concerned touch against his knee has his stomach lurching. 

“I was a dumbass and strained my old injury,” he laughs weakly. 

He wants to be honest and tell Akira what happened. Why it happened. But he can’t. Not without saying more than he’s willing to admit. Not without ruining everything. So he says the next best thing. 

“I’ve been training more and I pushed it too hard…and I was kinda…well I didn’t want to tell ya’ll and get made fun of for bein’ weak…or somethin’“ 

It wasn’t a lie, at least not outright. He had been training, and he really didn’t want the rest of the group to think he was a wuss. Not that he thought they would…but that didn’t stop the fear that they’d leave him behind from echoing every time he had to stand up and limp around his small apartment, uselessly. 

“I-uh-well…I’m sorry I didn’t tell you…” 

He keeps his gaze down, staring at the splint wrapped around his knee and feeling like a god damn fool. 

–– You quietly listen to what he has to tell you, figuring that was the answer. But when he says he was training… did he mean running? Was he lifting weights? Or...

 You furrow your brow, tilting your head a tiny bit as you try to read him better. But the guilt on his face could mean anything, and yelling or asking bluntly could just make him want to retract more.

And yet, knowing it’s the wrong option, you pick authenticity anyway.

“You thought I'd make fun of you?” You look to him for a moment, meeting his eyes and holding the contact for a few seconds. You don't hide the hurt, or disbelief. You’re not sure what would be worse, if he’s lying to save face, or if that’s the honest truth. What did you do to make him feel like he couldn’t come to you – to feel like you weren’t a team? 

You think back to the night of the dance, how you rested your head on his shoulder on the bathroom floor. How he looked so in his own head back in the hallway. You replay the sleepover in your head, walking by his side with a bag of cheeseburgers. You thought things were okay. 

Maybe you don’t know anything. 

“I wouldn’t have,” you tell him, quietly. “I wanted to know why we weren’t talking.”

You fall quiet afterwards, the ticking of a clock from down the hall audible even from where you’re sitting. These walls are so thin. It’s not like Leblanc, where everything is thick and sturdy, covered in dust. But at least it smells like home, despite Ryuji feeling worlds away. 

Ryuji’s steps falter for a moment at the warm arm that wraps around his shoulders loosely. His heart thuds in his chest, but he keeps walking, face warm. It’s not like he can just shrug Akira’s arm off, and, if he’s being honest with himself, it’s nice. Not because it’s Akira and it’s warm and they’re so close, but because it keeps his tired steps steady. Yeah. That’s why it’s nice. Honest my ass. He ignores the gentle flush creeping up his neck, and the hammering of his heart. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he’s pulling back. So today he’s just gonna let it happen. 

“You’re on man!” He jumps in, perhaps too quickly, “You mean you’re gonna have to take me somewhere cool! Cause there’s no way in hell I’m losin’ dude!” 

This sounds like something he’s gonna regret agreeing to later, but right now he’s just sleepy and happy and Akira’s warmth radiates against him and he can’t help the quiet sense of ease that’s settled around him. It always feels like things are gonna be okay when Akira’s around.

– You notice the falter in his step, and just figure you must have surprised him a little bit. It’s true, you’re usually not the first one to start hanging on him, but then again he’s not usually sleep drunk and insisting on staying awake. You almost chuckle as he starts challenging you, but you manage to not laugh at him directly. 

“I’m in trouble then...”

You don’t know any cool places yet. Okay, you know one or two. Your wanderlusting ass can’t be tamed, even by a forty hour work week. But .... you’re not sure if Ryuji would call what you’ve found 'cool’. 

Ryuji leans back, folding his hands behind his head as he finds his breath again. His ribs hurt he’d laughed so hard. 

“Dude I ain’t gonna tell nobody, ‘sides I don’t think they’d believe me unless they saw it themselves…still I don’t think they’d question ya, have you seen Ann eat sweets? Girls a maniac. You’re our leader, insane burger eatin’ and all,” He grins, “But I got your back, It’ll be our secret.” 

It feels a bit incredible to be told that: I’m trusting you he lets it echo in his mind, holding on to the words. He shuts his eyes a moment. Strange how just a few words have him feeling so incredibly warm and wanted. He finds himself thinking again that he’s glad Akira is here. 

“Hey, say, Akria…” he trails off, stretching his arms before leaning over the table to slurp loudly from his soda, “Thanks…for invitin’ me to hang today.” 

He keeps his gaze outward, not looking at Akira because he knows he’ll make a stupid face or say something even cheesier and stupid if he does. 

– You let yourself relax again as Ryuji assures you that he won’t tell anyone, but he also points out that regardless of if he did, you’d be in good company. You wonder if that’s true. At least, the way things are now, you don’t think everyone would be accepting of your eccentricities. But Ann... you think she would laugh, but you don’t think she would look down on you for it. 

“You might be right,” you say, but. There’s something special about it just being between you and him. You don’t want that to change, just yet. 

Resting in the warm atmosphere, you glance over as he thanks you. It’s... a relief to hear he had fun, even if for a portion of the night you weren’t at your best. Maybe that’s okay. 

You nod. 

A day of bed rest had helped, if only a little, with the searing pain in his leg, and he’d begrudgingly dragged himself to the hospital. He’d aggravated the old injury pretty severely, and had been sent home in a splint and been told to keep off it and ice it. He’d also gotten a strict lecture about how he was lucky it hadn’t been worse, which did nothing to make him feel better about it. 

Once home he’d popped some pain pills and had gone back to bed, sleep keeping the restless feeling at bay. Waking up he’d called into work, and of course the Boss was super cool and kind about it and told him to rest up and get better and come back when he was 100%, which only made him feel shittier about the whole situation. He’d been so damn stupid. 

He doesn’t tell anyone what happened, just holes himself up in his small apartment, wallowing, keeping off his leg, subsisting off instant ramen and junk food. He really doesn’t want anyone to see him like this. Doesn’t want to have to answer any questions about what happened. The only good thing that’s come from this is that he’s had plenty of time to play his games and plenty of time to think everything over, stuck alone with nothing but his thoughts for company. 

Laying in bed, phone held over his face, he doesn’t notice Akira at first, not until he hears his name. The apartment is dark, which hides the fact that it’s a god damn mess, but it also means that the look of horror on his face is illuminated in the bright glow of his screen.

“Y-yo, Akira, sup?” He tries to sound casual but fails entirely. How stupid could he be to have forgotten that this nosy worrier lived down the hall.

“ . . . ” 

You stare for a moment, completely quiet as you notice the look on his face, as well as the splint his leg is in. It’s a shock, and a lot of thoughts happen at once. You should have found him like this sooner. You should have known that something was up, with how distant things were with him lately, with how sparse your hangouts had been. Somehow, you should have known to reach out to him. He lives so close, too. How easy would it have been to just knock?

You bring the bowl of ramen to his bedside, and set it down in its delivery bag with everything needed to eat it inside. You don’t answer him. You just sit down at the edge of the bed, and you don’t yell, even if you think you know what happened. Ryuji overexerted himself running, something you can see him doing trying to relieve stress. And if that is the case, it was stress he felt he couldn’t bring to you. Possibly to anyone. 

You have to wonder why, and, if it’s something you’ve done… if anything will be any different if you try now?

“What happened?”

You have to try. You speak gently, and gingerly rest your hand on his bad leg for a moment, so there’s no denying what you mean. There’s a good chance that he’ll play it off, but you want to give Ryuji the chance to explain. You want him to know he can tell you what’s bothering him.

Your eyebrows furrow. Why can’t you just say that?

You’ve been meaning to quit at least one of your jobs, and you’ve given your two weeks to one. But for now, your plan is to just wear a face mask and get through things. The days you take off need to be accounted for. You can’t afford to let something as little as a fever hold you back. 

That’s your thought process. But as you reach for a mitt next to the stove, you undershoot it, and stick your hand right onto the hot metal. You react by pulling back, but you move too fast. The kitchen spins around you, and you fall. You try to move, but you’re just... tired. 

You pass out.

Hours later, you wake up in a hospital bed, with no memory of the ride here.

There’s footage of you being taken into an ambulance on the hospital television. It’s... surreal to see. The news is spinning it like the owner of the restaurant potentially overworking their employees, but that’s not the case. You’re a part time employee there. 

Wait. 

You suck in a breath. You hope no one was watching the news. You reach for your cellphone, to text Haru to let Morgana know you’re okay, but it’s not in your pocket. You’re in a hospital gown. 

Your eyes widen at his honesty and once more an inhale gets caught in your throat. It causes you to pause, to skip a beat. After a moment, you pull away, quietly, your expression hard to read.

You take the candy from him and set it on the counter. Then you take the teddy bear from him and set it on the couch.

Finally, without so much as uttering a word, you close the distance between you, pushing yourself against him and bringing your hands to his head. You press your lips against his once more and, for a little while, give in to the fog that clouds your mind.

Eventually, you pull away to catch your breathe. It takes a moment before you’re able to smirk tauntingly.

“Well, at least you weren’t hit by a shopping cart this time.” you tease between inhales.

– You watch as he takes the candy from you, setting it off to the side. Your chest is tight, because as much as you believe he’s not really upset with you he also isn’t saying anything. Then, he takes the stuffed bear and does the same, only this time he’s moving further away. It’s enough to have you swallowing with nerves, to keep you on your toes. You’d expect a wisecrack from him, but the silence? That isn’t usual. 

Then he’s caging your head in his hands, and it’s everything you can do not to release the breath you were holding in all at once. You struggle to figure out where your hands should go, and eventually you give in and cling onto his sides. By the end you’re just hugging onto him. 

You blink your eyes open, slowly exhaling. He finally throws that barb in, and of course it’s a damn good one. Of course he’s smiling like that. You actually flush. What an asshole. 

“You don’t know that,” you say. 

“I’ve been through a lot in the last twenty minutes.”

– You haven’t seen Ryuji around the halls of your apartment building for a few days. At first you assumed he was working at the ramen shop, but when you stopped in he wasn’t at his usual shift. You checked the arcade too, and just about all of the usual places you’d stop by to check in on him. Just say hi, even if he was busy. He hasn’t asked to hang out in a little while, either, so part of you thinks something must be up. 

Maybe he’s sick? 

You decide to stop by at his work, and buy a ramen to go for him. You push the usual boundaries a little bit, and after you knock, you gently try to open the door. You just want to know that he’s okay, and something didn’t... happen. Little do you know, that is the case.

Ryuji’s eyes go wide as he realizes the catastrophe he nearly caused, and is glad that Akira manages to keep it together. 

“Yeah man, you got this! Don’t be bested by the monster burger!” He encourages, though he can’t stifle the laughs that break through. 

He falls silent, however, when Akira reveals his secret. For a moment he holds his breath, intently staring Akira down. A pause, suspense thick in the air. 

It’s all broken by the roar of laughter that echos from Ryuji’s lungs. 

“You…Really….do” He manages to breath the words somehow, “That ain’t a secret, dude” he’s half choking. 

He laughs so hard he starts coughing, “Seriously man, you can’t catch me off guard like that!” He slurps down the rest of his drink before taking a deep breath. 

“You’re such a doofus,” he says, finally having found his self control again. While the words aren’t the nicest, he’s wearing the biggest grin, teeth showing white, tears still gathering in the corners of his eyes. There are other words he could say but he swallows them.  

– You watch Ryuji fall apart at your joke, eyes a bit wide at how loud he does so for a moment, before allowing yourself to fall into a warm, easy smile. He’s just warm, and good, hanging on your every word like you were actually going to tell him the secret of eating a dumb amount of hamburger. 

He calls you a doofus, and it doesn’t feel like an insult. It feels the same as being told you’re something amazing, with how he says it. You rest your head on the back of the booth, even if you’d rather fall a few inches to the side and take the space on his shoulder. He’s actually red from laughing, and it’s hard to not think he’s cute. You don’t resist that thought. You’re allowed to admire him. You’re allowed that much.

“Guess you’ve figured me out,” you say, looking up to him for a few more seconds before closing your eyes for a few seconds. You’re so full. 

“Promise you won’t tell anyone? They might not trust my leading skills.” 

crowism‌:

axeandfloof‌:

“UM! I THINK USING AN OBJECT WOULD GET THE POINT ACROSS JUST AS WELL!” 

She gently tries to urge Valdimar’s arms down. She shoots a pleading look to Akechi to fix this. 

When Valdemar picks Akira up and Akira reacts like a cat who was just lifted by the scruff of his neck, you briefly consider just letting it happen. It would be quite hilarious, and you kind of want to “yeet” him yourself after his version of the definition.

Haru seems to not dig the idea, though.

“Haha, please don’t yeet the cat, Valdemar.”

– “Very well.” 

You ultimately compromise by dropping the little cretin instead of outright throwing him. He lands on his feet, and while he seems annoyed he is unharmed. If Goro wants you to set him down gently and give him a little pat on the head he’ll have to actually pay you. 

“I have been sufficiently informed, so I’m leaving.” 

– You squint at Akechi for calling you a cat. Excuse you? Also, he’s one to talk. Still, you do land on your feet one and manage to avoid BARRELING into Haru who went to rescue you right away. Akechi, however, took a moment. You see how it is.

trickcard‌:

crowism‌:

axeandfloof‌:

“I think it’s a meme? I don’t know the original context, however.”

“I believe it is related to a fast moving–or being thrown–motion. A use for it could be ‘I’m going to yeet that football’ or ‘I had to yeet to the store.’ Sometimes people seem to use it as an exclamation of excitement, too.”

“You know like, YEET.” – You make a fast, pushing gesture with your arms. 

“Ahhh, I see.”  You begin to lift the black haired one up, in order to properly demonstrate you know how to yeet. Also, you want to throw him at all given times so this seems like an opportunity. He isn’t very heavy at all.  “Must we also shout the phrase in exclamation?” 

axeandfloof‌:

twistingchains‌:

“I have a question.” 

“What is ‘yeet’?” – They have been trying to do social media. 

“I think it’s a meme? I don’t know the original context, however.”

“I believe it is related to a fast moving–or being thrown–motion. A use for it could be ‘I’m going to yeet that football’ or ‘I had to yeet to the store.’ Sometimes people seem to use it as an exclamation of excitement, too.”

“Hell yeah I am!” He blurts out without a second though. He keeps their arms linked, gesturing wildly with the other hand.

“What, you think you can beat me? I’m the king of the arcade!” Okay, that’s a sleep deprived over exaggeration, but he doesn’t play a LOT of games, and he’s gotten quite good at them.

“What do you wanna bet? Whatever it is, be careful, cause I ain’t gonna lose!” He’s fired up, which is an odd thing to be when he could also fall asleep at the drop of a hat. He actually feels kind of light headed, like his brain is full of cotton. Food needed to happen soon, food and caffeine, or he wasn’t gonna make it.

– You can’t help but smile a tiny bit, as stoking the flames of Ryuji’s competitive side not only works, but in spades. His walking is a little off though, which makes you think he might be a little more tired than he’s letting on. You hesitate, briefly, but decide to wrap your arm around his shoulders. It’s completely within the lines of a bromantic gesture, so it should be fine. 

“Loser pays for ramen... for a month,” you say, pausing not because you needed time to think about how long, but because you almost said ramen dates. Close call, but you nail it. 

“Also, you have to take me somewhere cool.”

Haru’s heart twists in on itself at Akira’s words. Though she highly doubts the situation will turn out as he predicts, she knows how deeply he and Morgana care for each other. They’ve supported each other in ways the rest of the group probably will never see. The prospect of breaking such mutual trust… It’s terrifying. 

She stands along with him, her hand reaching out without actively meaning to and gently grabs onto Akira’s arm. This… Might not be appropriate, but she at least wants to give him physical assurance that he isn’t alone, in case words aren’t enough. 

“That won’t happen.” She says firmly. “He might be angry with you, but… Ultimately, Mona-chan knows that you care for his well-being and want you to be happy. He’ll understand.” 

“And of course, he cares about you too, you know. He wants to stay by your side, Akira.”

– You jump a tiny bit at the initial contact, having not been expecting it. It’s just a tiny arch of your shoulders, but you doubt it went unnoticed by Haru. She’s the kind of person to pay attention to how someone feels, after all. You relax, giving Haru a tiny smile to tell her you’re alright, and that she didn’t do anything wrong. It meets your eyes, but despite your best efforts it’s still a little weak. You don’t believe that Morgana will understand, at least not immediately. But being told that he cares about you helps remind you that the friction won’t necessarily last forever. Even if it did, it would be preferable to how things are now. 

So you nod. 

“You’re probably right,” you say. It doesn’t go unnoticed that she’s never chided you for being uncertain about this, or for ultimately falling short at helping Morgana on your own. You look down, pause, and then speak again.

“Thank you, Haru.” 

You start to walk along, deciding that it’s now or never. You hold the door open for Haru as you both go, leading the way back to your apartment. Haru hasn’t seen the inside of it yet, and truthfully you don’t bring anyone there either. The atmosphere is oppressive, and the fact is, you’ve been keeping Morgana a secret in that tiny room with barred windows. 

That kind of makes you a warden, doesn’t it? 

– Your phone goes off as you’re sitting in a cafe, killing some time before your shift. You’d long since set an alarm for all of your friends birthdays on your phone, so the notification comes as a surprise. You blink. 

It’s his birthday today. You text him. 

“No promises man,” Ryuji smiles, “but I’ll try my best.” 

The next words send a soft flush across his face, but he doesn’t read into them. Afterall, that’s not his place, right? 

“Haha, you’ve got a good point there, no one can beat my gaming skills, everyone else would be a total downer to play with right?” He jokes, nudging Akira in the side. 

“Speakin’ of games, we still gotta go to the arcade!” he’s perking up now, “I gotta kick your ass at some of those fighters!” 

– Ryuji starts to smile, elbowing you in the side and getting worked up like he usually does despite being so tired. It’s nice, and it’s warm, and it’s just oh too familiar. You want to burrow into that feeling, and you do, but you don’t dive in all the way. You need to go at Ryuji’s pace, so you test letting your arms stay linked like this, gently nudging him back. You allow yourself smile as sincerely as you feel.

"Kick my ass, huh?” 

“Are you willing to bet on that?”