[Too long, and not long enough. He had broken down a few times before, in front of Kohaku, in front of Karou. Spilled his heart and his fears and all that he knew he had to deal with whenever he finally, finally made it back home.
But all of that was an outside situation and had nothing to do with what his very existence did to him.
"Idiots can only move forward" Shura had once said about him, and that was exactly what he did. He didn't have the capacity to deal with it all. All he could do was put one foot in front of the other and put other people's problems with him in his rear view.
But that wasn't exactly coping, was it?
Accepting his flames, calling them his own instead of Satan's had been actual progress, but trauma doesn't recover over night.]
Home.
[Another sniffle and he sends his address her way as they had yet to trade that information.]
[ At any other time, she might have paused to consider how strange it is to hear another Moonblessed use that word about any location in this foreign world, but she's nothing if not focused right now and the oddities of adaptation are not her at the forefront of her mind. As soon as that address hits her device, she's pushing herself up and moving with discipline to pluck Girimaru from his shrine, the barrierette from the table by the door.
There's the almost musical sound of fluttering wings going out ahead of her as she opens the door. She is quick and quiet, door locked and she's headed for the stairwell.
This is no time for the elevator. ]
Sit tight.
[ She say it calmly, not quite coolly, but reassuringly. Doesn't cut the feed, though, even when she drops in navigating the stairs to cut time down. If there was any question as to the nature of her heritage, it should be good and gone by the time she drops to the bottom most level and hurries through the door.
He'll have company, a firm knock at his door, very shortly. ]
[To Rin, this is the closest thing to "home" he's had in a while. He lives with his girlfriend, he has power and food, and nothing is falling apart by being looked at funny.
It's good enough.
His brows furrow at those two words, but he does as she asked and stays where he is. Not that he was intending on going anywhere else. Kohaku was gone for the time being and the apartment was just a little too quiet anyway.
He does get up from the couch long enough to turn some soft music on at least, watching her continued feed curiously but without any commentary until she knocks.
There's a look at the door, back at his phone, at the door again before he finally turns it off and goes to answer, eyes still a little red but otherwise calm.]
[ When the feed is disconnected, Setsura pockets her device. And when the door opens, she looks up him because -- of course -- he's taller than her.
But that's not important right now. What's important is the second in which deep violet eyes meet reddened blue. In that second, her mind is made up and she steps forward without a single word to wrap her arms around him in a hug that isn't for her.
It's no church hug either. No hesitation, no awkwardly light patpatpleasedon'tcryonme, none of that nonsense. It's big for all that she's small and solid and warm and real, the kind of hug that speaks its own language.
Yeah, that's her, "hey". It's as close as he's going to get right now from one heart to another. ]
[There's a faint grunt more out of surprise than being uncomfortable. She is... a lot smaller than he would have guessed, but that was the sort of presence she had, wasn't it?
It doesn't make the hug any less comforting, though. Being in the middle of the doorway is awkward, but who the fuck even cares anymore.
[ She knows. Doesn't rightly care who sees them because this hug isn't for anyone but Rin. She's not in any hurry to break it either. As long as he needs it, she's here and she says as much in that quiet language with a little squeeze, firm and reassuring. ]
[She might not mind, but Rin is a little more self conscious about these things. No one else was around but someone could easily come around the corner.
He quietly pulled away, rubbing at his face again.]
You wanna come in? Kohaku ain't gonna be back for a while...
[ He pulls away and she lets him, tucking her hands quietly into her pockets. There's four walls with a great deal of largely empty space between them to return to. Given that, his question, she's not exactly in a rush to head back.
No, this sounds better. ]
If I wouldn't be imposing.
[ A little humor in diffusion? She did just make a little trek and spring herself on him, after all. ]
[She did, and while he doesn't know entirely what "imposing" means he can guess from the context of their current interaction. He doesn't mind that she did that, though. He doesn't want to have to call Kohaku home every time he gets stupidly upset over things in his past. He knows she would drop everything for him but he doesn't see that as fair.
He doesn't much like having to rely on OTHER people, too, but Setsura sort of inserted herself in that position without asking him. Not something he can complain about without seeming like an utterly ungrateful twat.
He shakes his head and moves back in to the apartment.]
You uh... [he has to pause to clear his throat] you want anythin'?
[ She follows easy with every intention of tipping the door closed once inside if he doesn't beat her to it. Lock it, she thinks. Most people do and Kohaku should have a key, right? ]
How about a water?
[ It's really simple, but that's the first place her mind goes even as she turns her eyes up and around. This place... feels different from hers. ]
Edited (wow i wasn't DONE) Date: 2019-12-21 12:14 am (UTC)
[Rin saw the chance to make this place warm, livable, his the moment he and Kohaku moved in. The house with the "cafe" back in Chroma Village had been two steps from a disaster from day one and never got much better, though he did his best with what could be found. Everything had been mismatched, patched, old. Here was shiny, new. Stupid nicknacks and figures, lots of kitchen utilities, even a cute string of violet-blue lights that stretch over the comfy living room couch, giving off a soft glow.
Yet another way to put the past further behind him.
Maybe he'll be here a year, like the place before, or maybe he'll leave tomorrow, but while his name and Kohaku's are on the listing and his head is still hitting a comfortable pillow every night he is going to milk all he can out of having his own space like this.]
Alright.
[It's a quiet drawl, but calmer than he had been, moving easily in to the kitchen to get that for her.]
[ When he moves, she lingers. Lets herself really take it in, the difference. Catch the little details that'll likely return to her later, make her wonder. It says a lot in so many little ways that run into something bigger, something that sounds strange in her ears, but rings true. Rin's built a home in the time he's been here. She's kept to four walls and a roof, claimed trees and rooftops upon which to nap for the emptiness of that space, her inability to sleep without some kind of presence. She's not going to live like a peasant during her time here, but she is only passing through. The place she wants to return to, it's far from here. ]
So you're really into cooking, huh?
[ She steps after him with that, breaking that line of thinking soundly. He'd seemed enthusiastic about it. ]
[He's still somewhat in a daze and the question shakes him out of it, gaze turning towards the obvious utensils and trappings of a fairly seasoned chef in the kitchen. All things added after he came here, clearly, as the place he was before wouldn't have had anything nearly as nice.
He smiles a bit, nodding.]
Yeah. It's... pretty much the only thing I'm good at, but I'm really good at it.
You had lots of opportunity to practice growing up?
[ Cooking's a skill and skills require study, practice to grow them. Call her curious and you wouldn't be wrong. She takes to leaning against the door frame, turning her eyes around, wondering. ]
[ She accepts that glass with a slight inclination of her head only to pause. ]
When you were...?
[ Is that... normal? Not that she's fond of that word, but do civilian kids start teaching themselves to cook at that age regularly? She turns her head away for a moment, picking her brain in attempting to figure, recall. No, right? Kou-kun and Akemi-chan's kids hadn't, she's sure. Her own childhood -- that's not worth getting into with regards to any sort of comparison, it's too different. She learned that a long time ago.
Don't mind her. She's just gonna lift that glass to her lips now. She is pretty sure about one thing, though. ]
[A shrug as he leaned against the counter, crossing his arms as his tail hung lazily behind him.]
I was always gettin' into trouble, even when I didn't want to. Felt bad that Dad and the other priests were always havin' to deal with it so I wanted to try and make it up to 'em. First try was tamago but... heh, I didn't know you had to take eggs out of the shells, and it was way too salty. But havin' them complain about how bad it was made me wanna try even harder.
[He taps a finger at his temple.]
I'm not smart and I'm never gonna be smart, but I'm stubborn, and if I think I've got half a chance at doin' somethin' right I'm gonna keep tryin' no matter how fustratin' it is.
[ She thinks he's probably a good kid. He sounds it. Whatever that Fujimoto person's intentions were, she thinks Rin is probably that. She's quiet as she listens, taking another sip of water. Files that "other priests" bit away and holds her laughter over that tamago mishap. She snorts softly. ]
[ She thinks. She's pretty sure. It isn't just self-depreciation when he describes himself. It sounds more like he's got some degree of stock about himself mixed with it. She gestures idly with her free hand. ]
Uncomplicated, straightforward, stubborn, determined. You move without thinking things through a lot of the time, don't you?
Well, yeah. That's just how idiots do things, innit? I don't get complicated shit the way Yukio does.
[Yukio is a genius even when not compared to Rin's lack of schooling and skill, though. It's hardly a fair assessment of Rin's own abilities, but being self deprecating is something that comes with that territory.]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-16 08:37 am (UTC)But all of that was an outside situation and had nothing to do with what his very existence did to him.
"Idiots can only move forward" Shura had once said about him, and that was exactly what he did. He didn't have the capacity to deal with it all. All he could do was put one foot in front of the other and put other people's problems with him in his rear view.
But that wasn't exactly coping, was it?
Accepting his flames, calling them his own instead of Satan's had been actual progress, but trauma doesn't recover over night.]
Home.
[Another sniffle and he sends his address her way as they had yet to trade that information.]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-16 08:48 am (UTC)There's the almost musical sound of fluttering wings going out ahead of her as she opens the door. She is quick and quiet, door locked and she's headed for the stairwell.
This is no time for the elevator. ]
Sit tight.
[ She say it calmly, not quite coolly, but reassuringly. Doesn't cut the feed, though, even when she drops in navigating the stairs to cut time down. If there was any question as to the nature of her heritage, it should be good and gone by the time she drops to the bottom most level and hurries through the door.
He'll have company, a firm knock at his door, very shortly. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-16 09:07 am (UTC)It's good enough.
His brows furrow at those two words, but he does as she asked and stays where he is. Not that he was intending on going anywhere else. Kohaku was gone for the time being and the apartment was just a little too quiet anyway.
He does get up from the couch long enough to turn some soft music on at least, watching her continued feed curiously but without any commentary until she knocks.
There's a look at the door, back at his phone, at the door again before he finally turns it off and goes to answer, eyes still a little red but otherwise calm.]
Hey...
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-16 09:20 am (UTC)But that's not important right now. What's important is the second in which deep violet eyes meet reddened blue. In that second, her mind is made up and she steps forward without a single word to wrap her arms around him in a hug that isn't for her.
It's no church hug either. No hesitation, no awkwardly light patpatpleasedon'tcryonme, none of that nonsense. It's big for all that she's small and solid and warm and real, the kind of hug that speaks its own language.
Yeah, that's her, "hey". It's as close as he's going to get right now from one heart to another. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-16 09:24 am (UTC)It doesn't make the hug any less comforting, though. Being in the middle of the doorway is awkward, but who the fuck even cares anymore.
He needed this.]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-16 09:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-18 02:55 am (UTC)He quietly pulled away, rubbing at his face again.]
You wanna come in? Kohaku ain't gonna be back for a while...
[And he could really use company after all that.]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-19 06:33 pm (UTC)No, this sounds better. ]
If I wouldn't be imposing.
[ A little humor in diffusion? She did just make a little trek and spring herself on him, after all. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-20 08:29 pm (UTC)He doesn't much like having to rely on OTHER people, too, but Setsura sort of inserted herself in that position without asking him. Not something he can complain about without seeming like an utterly ungrateful twat.
He shakes his head and moves back in to the apartment.]
You uh... [he has to pause to clear his throat] you want anythin'?
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-21 12:14 am (UTC)How about a water?
[ It's really simple, but that's the first place her mind goes even as she turns her eyes up and around. This place... feels different from hers. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-21 07:45 am (UTC)Yet another way to put the past further behind him.
Maybe he'll be here a year, like the place before, or maybe he'll leave tomorrow, but while his name and Kohaku's are on the listing and his head is still hitting a comfortable pillow every night he is going to milk all he can out of having his own space like this.]
Alright.
[It's a quiet drawl, but calmer than he had been, moving easily in to the kitchen to get that for her.]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-22 03:02 pm (UTC)So you're really into cooking, huh?
[ She steps after him with that, breaking that line of thinking soundly. He'd seemed enthusiastic about it. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-27 05:20 am (UTC)[He's still somewhat in a daze and the question shakes him out of it, gaze turning towards the obvious utensils and trappings of a fairly seasoned chef in the kitchen. All things added after he came here, clearly, as the place he was before wouldn't have had anything nearly as nice.
He smiles a bit, nodding.]
Yeah. It's... pretty much the only thing I'm good at, but I'm really good at it.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-27 06:32 am (UTC)[ Cooking's a skill and skills require study, practice to grow them. Call her curious and you wouldn't be wrong. She takes to leaning against the door frame, turning her eyes around, wondering. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-27 08:05 am (UTC)[He comes back with the glass of water promised, handing it to her.]
I started when I was seven.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-27 07:41 pm (UTC)When you were...?
[ Is that... normal? Not that she's fond of that word, but do civilian kids start teaching themselves to cook at that age regularly? She turns her head away for a moment, picking her brain in attempting to figure, recall. No, right? Kou-kun and Akemi-chan's kids hadn't, she's sure. Her own childhood -- that's not worth getting into with regards to any sort of comparison, it's too different. She learned that a long time ago.
Don't mind her. She's just gonna lift that glass to her lips now. She is pretty sure about one thing, though. ]
That's pretty young.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-28 01:17 am (UTC)I was always gettin' into trouble, even when I didn't want to. Felt bad that Dad and the other priests were always havin' to deal with it so I wanted to try and make it up to 'em. First try was tamago but... heh, I didn't know you had to take eggs out of the shells, and it was way too salty. But havin' them complain about how bad it was made me wanna try even harder.
[He taps a finger at his temple.]
I'm not smart and I'm never gonna be smart, but I'm stubborn, and if I think I've got half a chance at doin' somethin' right I'm gonna keep tryin' no matter how fustratin' it is.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-01-01 03:33 pm (UTC)That simple, hm?
(no subject)
Date: 2020-01-02 02:10 am (UTC)Dunno if I'd call that simple, but yeah. That's how it started for me.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-01-02 05:18 pm (UTC)[ She thinks. She's pretty sure. It isn't just self-depreciation when he describes himself. It sounds more like he's got some degree of stock about himself mixed with it. She gestures idly with her free hand. ]
Uncomplicated, straightforward, stubborn, determined. You move without thinking things through a lot of the time, don't you?
(no subject)
Date: 2020-01-03 09:57 pm (UTC)[Yukio is a genius even when not compared to Rin's lack of schooling and skill, though. It's hardly a fair assessment of Rin's own abilities, but being self deprecating is something that comes with that territory.]
(no subject)
Date: 2020-01-06 10:08 pm (UTC)[ She's going to finish off that glass of water with that. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2020-01-09 09:36 am (UTC)[Things she probably wouldn't agree with.]
(no subject)
Date: 2020-01-09 09:42 am (UTC)[ She's waiting. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2020-01-10 08:21 am (UTC)[Sets.
Sets.
You're asking an idiot to tell you why he's an idiot.]
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