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[swordfucker]

Guren Ichinose | Red | #A5211F

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[passio]

[ dextera nods in agreement of his assessment—whatever he’s onto will still be there in the morning, and he might be able to improve it if he looks on it with fresh eyes.

he would be more worried, perhaps, if he knew what guren was working on... or perhaps not, considering his own history with labs and drugs and learning the history of the littles. he never did get to purify them.

it’s nice to feel guilty about it, though, in a strange way. he presses the heel of his palm against his chest, absent-mindedly, and follows guren’s gaze to his desk. he wants to know, but... it’s better not to stir the pot right now. instead of asking, he makes himself comfortable on the floor, leaning back up against guren’s shitty ””bed.”” ]

[swordfucker]

[ He still feels a little wrong to go to sleep now, but... he’ll have to start testing them soon, anyway, and that would be unpleasant normally, let alone while he’s sleep deprived. He’ll have to save it for later. He sighs when he sits back on his bed, pressing a palm against his face and scrubbing.

When he drops it away again, he looks over to Dextera and feels weird all over again for asking him to stay— but he’d seemed like his request was obvious, like he was going to anyway.

... ]

Do you want a blanket or something? [ At least that... ]

[passio]

[ dextera shakes his head, as if that too is obvious, and he plucks his coat to say that'll be enough. of course, guren's room is a little drafty thanks to the hole in the roof, but... dex will suffer for his hubris later, and he can figure it out. ]

...

[ well, he looks content to stay right here, with no blanket, maybe like he doesn't particularly plan to sleep either? that's because he doesn't, even if he's tired—the last thing he wants is to wake up and find that guren has returned to work. ]

[swordfucker]

[ After noticing that Dextera didn’t even really sleep in his own room, he had a feeling he wouldn’t sleep here. Still, Guren watches him quietly for a moment before he shifts from where he’s sitting, leaning over just enough to drop his hand on Dextera’s head. ]

At least have some breakfast in the morning, then. They won’t mind. [ He’s gonna eat Real Cooked Food, Guren will make sure of it!! And... he doesn’t know how else to express a second thank you. He doesn’t know how to express any of his feelings in general, but especially gratefulness like this.

His hand slips away, and he finally lies down on the bed, staring at the ceiling and the dumb hole to the side. He really needs to fix that. Even when he’s getting ready to rest, he’s thinking about work. ]

...good night.

[passio]

[ dextera believes guren when he says the others won't mind—and a part of him is looking forward to the idea of breakfast now that some color has returned to a few different foods. so when guren touches his head and makes him promise to eat, he nods, and follows guren's hand with his eyes until guren has settled on the bed. ]

Mmhm.

[ he can't say good night back! but he has sounds, even if he doesn't have words, and he wants guren to know that he'll be here for as long as he needs to be. the closest he gets to sleeping over the course of the night is resting his head on the edge of guren's mattress, but it mostly serves as a more comfortable angle for him to watch and make sure guren isn't having a troubled sleep.

he likes to watch! ]

[swordfucker]

[He can tell Dextera is watching him, and it would make it hard to sleep if he weren't so exhausted. As it is, he knows it's just Dextera, he knows that he means well, and he remembers that he's the one who asked him to stay over in the first place. He can deal with it. So, before long, he drifts into sleep, and for a while, it seems peaceful.

Whether it's nightmares or his demon, Guren ends up muttering in his sleep on occasion. The only thing that can be made out is Mahiru, and that gets a particularly frustrated furrowing of his eyebrows, but aside from that, he's sound asleep. There's no thrashing, no other facial expressions, just a quiet sigh or two in the middle of it all.

When he wakes up, his heart is racing— but he doesn't jolt upright. His eyes open at once, and he stares at the ceiling for a good minute or two, focusing on breathing. He's in his room. He'd been asleep. Dextera is next to the bed.

That's right... He turns to look at him, now, eyes still tired in their own way, but considerably less weary. Sleep helped a ton physically.]

You really didn't sleep at all, huh...

[passio]

[ dextera, perhaps, does doze a little bit over the course of the night, but he's always semi-conscious—and after guren starts muttering, he's perfectly alert, watching again as closely as a nurse might monitor a patient. in some abstract way, that's what they are now, and he knows as soon as guren is awake because he's paying close attention. ]

...

[ he scoots closer, and at least (?) the chill of the room by this point has woken him up like a nice splash of cold water. he blinks, and then offers guren a hand gesture that suggests a little. he slept enough! for now. his body will crash later, which is the schedule he tends to follow.

before guren can question that, he's tilting his head, a silent inquiry on how guren slept. he certainly looks a lot better. ]

[swordfucker]

[A little is basically nothing, he thinks. He'll have to leave Dextera alone tonight so he can actually get some sleep. He can do that. He's relieved having him back to normal, so there's no need to fuss...

Ah, but he's been staring and Dextera's had his head tilted like he's waiting for a return answer. Guren sits up, rubbing at the back of his neck.]

I'm... [Fine, he almost says, but remembers how upset Dextera had gotten when that had clearly not been the case. He sighs.] Better.

[There, that's honest and still not worrying, he hopes. He is doing much better.] Thanks again.

[Dropping his hand away from his neck, he looks back down at Dextera by the side of the bed.] I appreciate it.

[passio]

[ better is good. it tells him more than fine does, when fine has no objective measure and could easily be a lie. better is exactly what it sounds like—maybe not perfect, maybe not even well, but he's better than he was before.

dextera gently shakes his head, his necessary denial that he's doing guren any great favor. he decided he would stay the instant that he walked in and saw how worn down guren looked, and it turned out to be the right decision. later, when this all feels like a bad dream, they can talk about what he's working on, what his dreams are like... but for now, this is enough.

he finally pulls himself onto the shitty old mattress, sitting on the edge and holding out his hand to receive guren's. ]

[swordfucker]

[His body had desperately needed that rest. His sleepiness now is normal grogginess, and he stretches while Dextera gets up to join him. Just one good amount of sleep, even if it was late and it's still early, is enough to help a ton. Everyone has recovered, he reminds himself as he glances over at his laptop.

It's brief, and when Dextera holds out his hand, Guren automatically offers his own, looking to him.

Silence, again, from himself... but it's comfortable, and he's just waking up, anyway. They probably don't have to rush to breakfast until they hear the other two moving around out there.]

[passio]

[ first things first, right?

G-O-O-D
M-O-R-N-I-N-G

a proper greeting, since he couldn’t really tell guren goodnight before. it may seem trivial, but telling people—having people to tell—these daily greetings is still a novelty for him, and he’s not close enough with his housemates to grab their hands and chat. ]

...

[ the next message is equally trivial, after a pause. they don’t have to rush to breakfast, and probably can’t, but the fact of the matter is...

H-U-N-G-R-Y

like a dog, or perhaps more like a cat, insisting to its owner to get fed exactly as promised. dextera might eat like a weirdo, but he does need to eat!! ]

[swordfucker]

Good morning.

[A simple reply, but when then next word is written out, Guren tries really hard to look exasperated, but he can't help but smile about it. Hungry... He promised him food, so he's already hungry? If he'd known that, he would have left him with something to snack on last night.

Gosh...]

You're too much. [He says it fondly, really, even if he wishes it sounded like it had a little more bite to it. This guy... Shifting off the bed, he moves his hand in Dextera's to grab it, instead, tugging him to follow.]

Yata will wake up soon and make you a real meal, but I can get you a snack. Come on. [He doesn't do the cooking... His hand slips away once Dextera is on his feet, and he'll guide him out of the bedroom and back down the stairs. Past all the hideous pink wallpaper and into the ugly green kitchen.

There's... a mysterious lack of chairs in this kitchen. Guren isn't even thinking about it, busy gathering the strawberries he'd managed to find and clean and set aside. There were a lot more berries before, but he handed so many out... These are probably more substantial, anyway.]

[passio]

[ yata... he hasn’t run into yata since they all first arrived in this town, especially since he rarely comes over to guren’s house in the first place. it sounds like he and guren get along though, if yata is willing to make breakfast. guren expects him to make breakfast, even! ]

...heh.

[ he laughs quietly at the hideous colors restored to guren’s home, features he hadn’t noticed the night before in his worry—his own house has been restored in pretty normal, complementary shades, and so it’s a little funny to him that guren’s house would be so thoroughly... ugly.

the aesthetic of it all aside, however, dextera hovers behind guren to watch him with the strawberries. they’re a pretty, appealing red color—almost like blood. ]

[swordfucker]

[Yes... almost like blood.

The laugh got a glance from Guren, but it's a good thing it's quiet and doesn't persist. Really, he's already forgotten about the hideousness of his own house. Right now, he's already focused on these strawberries. He could just pick one out and pass it over, but that's not what he's doing.

He has a small knife, and he slices the top bit off of the strawberry, then, cuts it into smaller slices from there. He doesn't want Dextera eating the leaves, even if he could, because that's not the part that tastes good, and he might as well make it a little nicer.

Setting the knife down for a moment, he passes a slice of the first strawberry over.]

See if you like it.

[passio]

[ it’s probably for the best, considering he was totally going to eat the leaves! there’s nothing he can’t get down, even if it tastes unpleasant—but guren takes such care with it that he assumes it would be bad for a normal person, and doesn’t protest. ]

...!

[ an awed reaction. he hasn’t eaten strawberries in his recent memory, and he’s also not entirely sure he’s ever had one before.

he licks the juice off his fingers like an animal, partially because he is hungry, but also because he likes it a lot. it’s sweet—but a little tart, as well? even if it’s the same red as fresh blood, it’s much more delicious. refreshing, on his tongue. ]

[swordfucker]

...

[This is a little like puppy therapy. He's a lot less worried about all the ways he's failed everyone when Dextera is here licking his fingers after a single strawberry slice.]

Here. [He hands him the rest of the sliced strawberry on a small plate, and then turns back to cut a few more like that. Leaves and the white top to the side, sliced up, added to the plate.]

This is a little too light to be a full meal, but Yata will come up with something. This is so you don't starve before then. [A reminder, there will be more real food!] You like them, right?

[passio]

[ it’s more than he’s gotten before when he was starving and scrounging for flesh or hearts, so the excitingly fresh taste of a strawberry compared to burnt or rotten meat is enough to satisfy him for now.

he’s been in this town for a while, but old habits die hard.

as guren cuts up the strawberry slices, he eats them, quietly grateful—and a little more graceful, too, now that he’s not being totally floored by the new flavor. he still licks his fingers, though, and looks up at guren like he’s just given him the greatest gift in the world. he nods.

he never expected food could be so important to him. ]

[swordfucker]

[He's going to keep a mental list of food that Dextera ends up liking to encourage this. Strawberries? Easy. Maybe he'll even bag up a few and send him home with them later.

For now, he gives him one last one that he thinks will be enough for a snack, and then wraps things up. Honestly, he ends up licking his own fingers after the knife is put away, too. It's good? He can't let any of it go to waste, or get his hand sticky.]

Haha. Good. [To that look, and Guren lets him keep working on those strawberries as he moves across the kitchen. There's a fireplace in here, and Guren crouches to get a fire started. It's not a bad thing to have at all, in a place like this, especially in these colder months. Whatever... month it is, in this grey town. It's definitely a "colder month."]

This can warm things up, too. [They, still have no chairs in here, but Guren decides to just sit right on the floor, sighing a little as he does. It's... nice. It's a nice warmth, and he never really sat in front of it before.]

[passio]

...!

[ despite being tired himself, dextera is so overwhelmed by the novelty of strawberries and a fireplace that he seems excited, a little childlike, as he hurries over to investigate what guren is doing. they don’t have a fireplace in their house in bluo!

he recognizes it as such, but he’s pretty sure he’s never actually experienced one. it’s so... rustic!

dextera crouches by the fire, a little closer than is necessary. he knows better than to touch, since he’s gotten burned to death a few times in his stupid several lives, but seeing it contained like this makes it seem safe, and pleasant, and just so nice.

he draws his knees up to his chest. ]

[swordfucker]

[ Guren turns to watch Dextera as he rushes over in his excitement. Right, Bluo is all boat houses and places on the water— he doesn’t think he’s seen any of them have a fireplace. Flavo, either. It’s more of a Ruga thing, it seems. That makes sense, he supposes; the houses here seem the more likely types for a fireplace. ]

...It’s nice to just sit back and watch, sometimes. [ He likes looking at fire, or sitting here to stay warm. ] I was right about your place turning out real blue, but I guess there are a few things okay with this one, too.

[passio]

[ dextera thinks he should come visit more often. he's gotten used to bluo's little quirks, and he likes to watch the water even though it's still as the grave, but ruga has a feeling all its own that he's not at all used to. the red brick is welcoming, cozy, not like the oppressive sky blazing overhead in the outer world. so he nods. there are definitely a few things okay with this one.

he scoots back a little, closer to guren, once the fire gets too hot to sit so near to, but he still seems content to watch the movement. instead of asking for guren's hand, he taps the floor to get guren's attention, and writes his thoughts out there.

W-A-R-M

he's almost jealous of how pleasant this is. ]

[swordfucker]

[ He’s getting homesick all over again, doing all of this. Maybe it was his sleep, or all of the lack of sleep before that. He’s surrounded by people who care, and he’s grateful for it, but there are specific people he’s worried about, that he’s missing. His eyes move from the fire to that written word. ]

Yeah, it’s warm. Nice, right? [ He’s growing a little quiet again, now that the excitement about strawberries has died down and he can focus on the more relaxed mood trying to set it. A fireplace. He does feel lucky for that. ]

We can play chess in front of it some time.

[passio]

...hm.

[ it's such a small, idle comment to make—but it feels like proof, somehow, that they've come an incredibly long way in such a short time. dextera never once doubted that guren cared, but it's nice to have an affirmation of their friendship like this. they have memories together. things they like to do. it feels normal, and precious because of it.

he doesn't go as far as to lean on guren, but he leans closer, letting his weight rest on the hand between them. he doesn't say anything, not with his mouth or with his fingers, but the subtle way he shifts is answer enough. he wants to play chess here. he wants to be around guren, for as long as guren will let it happen.

he nods, looking at guren out of the corner of his eye before he returns his attention to the fire. ]

[swordfucker]

[ He’s not so blind that he can ignore the way Dextera moves closer like that. He gets it, right away, and it pulls him out of his slump again, even if just barely. That’s what friends are for, huh... Shinya had always said things like that. It’s not fair, and his eyes sting a little, but rubbing at them with his fingers helps immediately.

He stares at the fire so Dextera can’t get a direct look at his embarrassing smile that he can’t get off his face, right now, but he shifts so that his own hand rests somewhere to the side too, and he can lean a little closer. Just a little.

He hopes Dextera will stay out of that forest for a while. He really had been worried he wouldn’t be able to do anything to fix him, and that had come true, in a way. For now, they should just relax and enjoy simple things like this fireplace, and Guren can worry about working later today. ]

[passio]

[ dextera is definitely going to stay out of the forest for a while now. even going in groups didn't seem to help them—no one was isolated completely by themselves, but that doesn't mean pairs couldn't be split up, or people split in half by the creatures that lurk in the forest. he knows now, in retrospect, that they were quite lucky to only face those vicious harpies on the quest.

in the warm, comfortable silence, inevitably his eyes start to close—guren is lucky that dextera is too sleepy to look at him directly, or else he would have totally noticed that guren was near tears for a second there. his head droops, his strength faltering in his arm, but his stomach growls and reminds him that he's hungry before he totally crashes in front of guren's fireplace. ]

...

[ he rubs his eye and laughs quietly, adjusting his position before he falls over. he should have slept... but he's glad he stayed awake to keep watch over guren, and it feels nice to be just a regular sleepy instead of just collapsing from exhaustion.

he's falling apart!! but at least he's happy about it, a nice turnaround from the night before. ]