Look, I know we met in kind of an old-fashioned way, but that doesn’t mean we should be taking pages out of an old-fashioned playbook here.
[ reigen has, for better or worse, never been an easily intimidated man. he eyes mob as he steps close, hands loose in his pockets, posture entirely and utterly relaxed. ]
You really wanna try and stop me from looking after you?
[ reigen watches him for a moment, then sighs and looks away too. ]
... well. I can’t say for sure whether you’ll have to do something you don’t want to, if things get hairy.
[ he steps in close and does his usual smoothing down of mob’s shirtfront, brushing off dust and pilling fabric that clearly only he can see. ]
But that’s not a responsibility I want you taking on by yourself, either. [ swat. ] We’re partners, you big handsome brute. Whatever burden you end up taking on, it’s mine too. Got it?
I'm still frightened... of what could happen to you, if I'm not there, or if someone overpowers me...
[He frets, looking down at Reigen's chest instead of meeting his eyes. His slightly ill-fit suit which had some salt stuck in its fibers here or there, his tie that had to be tucked to hide some of the fraying from a job that got a little rough.]
I'm not afraid of spirits, but people are very scary...
Maybe. But they’re just people, after all. Like you and me. Just dumber, apparently, if they got roped into some weirdo’s world domination scheme. Even saying it out loud feels ridiculous. With any luck they can be talked out of it. And if they can’t, well. The government’s stepping in.
[ hand fwip. ]
Still. [ con man charm. ] If you’re worried, no better reason not to let me out of your sight, right?
[...He tended to reserve initiating touch for someone like Ritsu. Someone close and already deeply, deeply important to him. But it no longer felt weird to do the same for Arataka.
[ reigen makes a small eep sound, cat rubbed funny again. it takes him a second, but he does relax into it incrementally with a shiver. eventually his arms come up too, around him. he buries his face in mob’s shirtfront, wondering if mob can feel the burning in his cheeks through the fabric.
world hard and cold. mob ... also hard but warm. fuck. is he in trouble? was he not in trouble yesterday, on the beach, holding his hand? was he in trouble a few months ago? he’d kissed him first. the plan, though. the plan ... ]
[Reigen could probably hear Shigeo's heart, that way. It thumped a bit quickly... not racing, but definitely heightened, stressed and worried and maybe some degree of some other feeling from holding the other man close.
But he'd noticed that squeak, and the tension. A bit sooner than he would have liked, Shigeo let go, making sure Reigen didn't feel trapped or obligated. They were arranged, after all... it was probably the case that Reigen felt obligated to go along with things.]
[ tomato-red, reigen makes the mistake of looking up at his face first. jeez, he really is handsome. the kind of handsome where even if he’s frugal when it comes to fashion, it hardly makes a difference; everything just treats him well, one graceful sloping line after another.
and reigen is ... what. he’s nobody. a salaryman cosplayer. he could certainly stand to be in better shape. never mind his moral fiber, which isn’t exactly up to snuff.
he swallows hard and draws back, smoothing mob’s shirt down again, rumpled now from where he’d been pressed against it. ]
[ reigen is beginning to have an increasing sense that he doesn’t know what business as usual ought to be.
he doesn’t want to leave it at that, though. he wants to--well, he doesn’t know what he wants. he lets his hand come up, though, unthinkingly; he just touches fingertips to mob’s jaw, then thinks better of it and cups his cheek instead, drawing a thumb over his cheekbone. ]
Business as usual. [ offering up a small half-smile, patient. see, whatever business as usual is, it’s good, actually. something they both can work with. ] Let’s get some tea ready.
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mediummmuhhh) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
millefolium2023-01-19 06:49 pm
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I forbid you from following if I do go and get involved. Your power is spiritualist, not psychic...
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Oh, you forbid me, huh.
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[Shigeo stands and steps closer, to make his point clear and heard.]
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[ reigen has, for better or worse, never been an easily intimidated man. he eyes mob as he steps close, hands loose in his pockets, posture entirely and utterly relaxed. ]
You really wanna try and stop me from looking after you?
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[We're different.
It wasn't something Shigeo was consciously aware he was saying, when it was so antithetical to his usual attitude, but it was there.]
I will protect you. And if things are getting violent, you need to stay where it's safer instead of following me.
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[ more casual hand gestures out ... ]
Is that what you wanna do?
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[Shigeo's gaze breaks first. He glances to the side.]
...No. I don't. But more than that... I don't want to see you get hurt. I don't want Ritsu to get hurt... or our parents... or anyone.
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... well. I can’t say for sure whether you’ll have to do something you don’t want to, if things get hairy.
[ he steps in close and does his usual smoothing down of mob’s shirtfront, brushing off dust and pilling fabric that clearly only he can see. ]
But that’s not a responsibility I want you taking on by yourself, either. [ swat. ] We’re partners, you big handsome brute. Whatever burden you end up taking on, it’s mine too. Got it?
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...Wait.]
Handsome?
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cue reigen snapping to attention and beginning his usual cycle of whip-sharp flailing gestures ]
Hah! Ha ha! What, you think my parents would set me up with someone who wasn’t, come on Mob anyone who knows me knows my tastes are highly refined--
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I think you're handsome, too.
[COUGH....]
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...Thank you for always being there for me. As my partner...
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he clears his throat and straightens out, color still high in his face ]
O-of course. Wouldn’t be much of a fiance if I wasn’t.
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[He frets, looking down at Reigen's chest instead of meeting his eyes. His slightly ill-fit suit which had some salt stuck in its fibers here or there, his tie that had to be tucked to hide some of the fraying from a job that got a little rough.]
I'm not afraid of spirits, but people are very scary...
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[ hand fwip. ]
Still. [ con man charm. ] If you’re worried, no better reason not to let me out of your sight, right?
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He pulled the man into a hug.]
I'll protect you. I'll always protect you.
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world hard and cold. mob ... also hard but warm. fuck. is he in trouble? was he not in trouble yesterday, on the beach, holding his hand? was he in trouble a few months ago? he’d kissed him first. the plan, though. the plan ... ]
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But he'd noticed that squeak, and the tension. A bit sooner than he would have liked, Shigeo let go, making sure Reigen didn't feel trapped or obligated. They were arranged, after all... it was probably the case that Reigen felt obligated to go along with things.]
Sorry.
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and reigen is ... what. he’s nobody. a salaryman cosplayer. he could certainly stand to be in better shape. never mind his moral fiber, which isn’t exactly up to snuff.
he swallows hard and draws back, smoothing mob’s shirt down again, rumpled now from where he’d been pressed against it. ]
I-it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.
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I guess we should get ready for our next appointment. Business as usual...?
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he doesn’t want to leave it at that, though. he wants to--well, he doesn’t know what he wants. he lets his hand come up, though, unthinkingly; he just touches fingertips to mob’s jaw, then thinks better of it and cups his cheek instead, drawing a thumb over his cheekbone. ]
Business as usual. [ offering up a small half-smile, patient. see, whatever business as usual is, it’s good, actually. something they both can work with. ] Let’s get some tea ready.
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Tea it is. I'm on it.