Hm? [He already has his mouth full, you see. At least he chews and swallows before speaking these days.]
It isn't a secret. Just Kanoa.
He acts exactly the same. He wasn't even angry at me. He wanted to know where I'd gotten longer legs...[There's no humor in his voice when he says that, but he recognizes that it's funny. More than anything, he's devastatingly fond. The mere mention of that little anecdote at all really does all the talking.]
[ Maruki takes the joke for what it is and laughs around his own mouthful of piping hot fried cabbagey goodness. ]
Ah, that sounds like Kanoa-kun. I tried to talk to him while you were gone, too, but he would only send me photos of frogs... I hope it helped in some way. They were certainly cute, either way.
[Eren may be a walking corpse of a person these days, but he can and does still very much blush. And his face finally goes hot at Maruki's teasing. He sneers and looks away, off into the other room so Maruki can snicker into his okonomiyaki.]
[Eren accepts that answer, nodding toward his okonomiyaki. He takes a bite. He ought to tell Maruki that it's good, but they're busy talking about Boys he has other things on his mind now.]
Hythlodaeus is...hard to wrap my head around. I couldn't say that it feels the same as it did before, like with you and Kanoa. It's just different.
[Thinking about Hythlodaeus does hurt his head. He distracts himself with a sip of tea too, ever mirroring. His fingers tap against the mug - ever moving his hands too.]
He's a baffling sort of person. Everything about him...[Eren's voice trails off, and he closes his mouth tightly, apparently frustrated. He shrugs his shoulders.] No. I really can't explain it at all.
Every time we talk, I feel like I'm dreaming...
[Flowers blooming out of thin air, music floating all around them; memories slowly bleeding, two realities caught in a dance...]
That's alright. I can only imagine, knowing both what I know about that other reality and how Ancients simply... are.
[ He met Venat in dreams, waking with the slow, heavy sensation that he'd met someone meant to be put in his path. Everything since has felt dreamlike in its own way, though surely different from whatever Eren is describing.
Half of his own okonomiyaki gone; he'll save the other half as leftovers for Akechi. Focuses on his tea, the sleepiness that settles into his bones with a good meal. ]
He cares about you a great deal. That's all I can say for certain. We had a good talk while you were gone.
[ Maruki has to consider how to answer that question. He looks to Eren, then out across the kitchen, eyes unfocused as he tries to sort through his thoughts. Both elbows up on the counter now, mug held in two hands and resting just below his chin.
Finally, it's only honesty that breaks through. Ever honesty for the person who deserves it most. ]
I don't really let others get the opportunity to take care of me. You know that.
[ It's up to those few who know how and when to force the issue. ]
However, that being said... I think I was able to talk to him more openly than I could anyone else who was hurting. I told him about our promise, and knowing one another in other realities. We spoke about the collective unconscious and the aetherial sea, which is always comforting to me. I asked him to describe your soul to me, and he did – that was a comfort, too.
[ He glances down into the mug, blows on it briefly before taking a sip. ]
So in a roundabout way, he did, though he probably doesn't realize it.
[Eren's quiet for a moment. He'll resent the time Maruki spent without him forever, he thinks, though he's beginning to realize that it was necessary. Idly, he wonders if he and Maruki's souls might look alike. Sometimes he really does feel like they're the same person. The thought leaves him quickly enough. Eren has already seen Maruki's soul. Azathoth is a familiar friend to him now.
[All that being said, when Eren considers it...]
I think he does realize.
When he cares about someone, he'll stay right beside them, even when things can't be helped. But it did help, didn't it? He probably intended for it to.
[ An astute observation about a relatively new friend; that doesn't escape Maruki's notice at all. Noted to bring up later...
He smiles at Eren, sets the tea down. ]
You're right. For a little while, I didn't feel quite so alone. It was a huge help, actually...
[ He slides off the chair then, moves to package up his own leftovers for Akechi.
He won't say that it was only a text conversation, that he was hardly going out and seeing anyone beyond whoever happened to be at the farm during his working hours. Maruki knows that isolating was a bad idea; he knew even as he was doing it. Did it anyway. ]
Speaking of not being alone, though. Are you going anywhere else tonight?
[Eren stands up too, taking his own plate to the sink. He simply begins washing it, as casual as anything. There's not a time in his life where he would have gotten away with anything else.]
Unless you want me to leave. I'd just find somewhere else to go tonight.
[Maruki has become Eren's landing point, really. It's just another consequence of being the only person that can understand him. Eren spends days and nights with all sorts of people - partners, friends, those that fit no category at all. He cherishes those moments. They're moments he shouldn't have for a thousand reasons, and he wants them.
[But being with his best friend makes him feel like he's taking his shoes off at the end of the day. It signals time to truly rest. He doesn't have to be adequately miserable or adequately functional or adequately cold or adquately warm.
[He only has to be.
[So, he stays here most nights. It's comfortable. He doesn't hesitate at the edge of the bed anymore. He has sleeping clothes and a toothbrush, just like Maruki has at the farm across that little swath of forest.
In the end, that's the common denominator between those in Somnius that Maruki is closest to and loves most – it's easy to be around them. He fakes it well in the general populace, but it's so rare that he finds it anything but difficult to relax and be himself. Not so with people like Venat, Akechi, Kurogiri, Maki, BB– and Eren. Of course Eren.
He sprawls out on the large bed next to his best friend, turns his head to look at him. ]
Ah, before I forget... Remember when you mentioned the photos up on your wall?
[Eren's hands are folded over his chest, thumbs pressed together. His eyes are already closed, but he isn't dozing, really. It's a comfortable bed. That's all.]
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It isn't a secret. Just Kanoa.
He acts exactly the same. He wasn't even angry at me. He wanted to know where I'd gotten longer legs...[There's no humor in his voice when he says that, but he recognizes that it's funny. More than anything, he's devastatingly fond. The mere mention of that little anecdote at all really does all the talking.]
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Ah, that sounds like Kanoa-kun. I tried to talk to him while you were gone, too, but he would only send me photos of frogs... I hope it helped in some way. They were certainly cute, either way.
CERTIFIED EREN DAD TAG
He was probably upset, then.
I'm not surprised. He did tell me that too.
With Kanoa...[Eren pauses for a thoughtful bite.] He seems like a little kid, but he has a lot going on. When his mother left this place...
[Ah. Eren sets his fork down.]
It was terrible. Him sending you those pictures...that was probably a good thing for him.
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You really do know him well... I'm so glad he has you back. Especially in lieu of his mother.
[ And then, tone noticeably lighter, eyes wandering toward the ceiling as he munches on his okonomiyaki: ]
I just thought you might bring up another name, that's all...
[ Is there a slight teasing lilt?
There certainly is. ]
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Which is that?
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[ Get. Teased. IDIOT. ]
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What are you talking about?
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[ Shrug! ]
And I'm particularly knowledgeable about what it's like when a tall, otherworldly beautiful Ancient is fond of you. That's all!
[ Okonomiyaki time!!! YUM. ]
literally this icon
That's not how it is...
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[ And just so Eren knows it truly is light, good-hearted teasing, Maruki reaches over to jostle his shoulder fondly. Dork. ]
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Has he said something to you?
DELIBERATELY VAGUE DUE TO PENDING THREAD
Not in so many words. I'm just good at reading a room. It comes with the territory.
hehe
they're busy talking about Boyshe has other things on his mind now.]Hythlodaeus is...hard to wrap my head around. I couldn't say that it feels the same as it did before, like with you and Kanoa. It's just different.
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[ The teasing has entirely dropped away now. Maruki leans an elbow on the counter, sips his tea thoughtfully. ]
Do you think you can try to describe how it's different? It's okay if you can't. [ Don't hurt your head... ]
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He's a baffling sort of person. Everything about him...[Eren's voice trails off, and he closes his mouth tightly, apparently frustrated. He shrugs his shoulders.] No. I really can't explain it at all.
Every time we talk, I feel like I'm dreaming...
[Flowers blooming out of thin air, music floating all around them; memories slowly bleeding, two realities caught in a dance...]
It's confusing...
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[ He met Venat in dreams, waking with the slow, heavy sensation that he'd met someone meant to be put in his path. Everything since has felt dreamlike in its own way, though surely different from whatever Eren is describing.
Half of his own okonomiyaki gone; he'll save the other half as leftovers for Akechi. Focuses on his tea, the sleepiness that settles into his bones with a good meal. ]
He cares about you a great deal. That's all I can say for certain. We had a good talk while you were gone.
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Did he take care of you?
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Finally, it's only honesty that breaks through. Ever honesty for the person who deserves it most. ]
I don't really let others get the opportunity to take care of me. You know that.
[ It's up to those few who know how and when to force the issue. ]
However, that being said... I think I was able to talk to him more openly than I could anyone else who was hurting. I told him about our promise, and knowing one another in other realities. We spoke about the collective unconscious and the aetherial sea, which is always comforting to me. I asked him to describe your soul to me, and he did – that was a comfort, too.
[ He glances down into the mug, blows on it briefly before taking a sip. ]
So in a roundabout way, he did, though he probably doesn't realize it.
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[All that being said, when Eren considers it...]
I think he does realize.
When he cares about someone, he'll stay right beside them, even when things can't be helped. But it did help, didn't it? He probably intended for it to.
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He smiles at Eren, sets the tea down. ]
You're right. For a little while, I didn't feel quite so alone. It was a huge help, actually...
[ He slides off the chair then, moves to package up his own leftovers for Akechi.
He won't say that it was only a text conversation, that he was hardly going out and seeing anyone beyond whoever happened to be at the farm during his working hours. Maruki knows that isolating was a bad idea; he knew even as he was doing it. Did it anyway. ]
Speaking of not being alone, though. Are you going anywhere else tonight?
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[Eren stands up too, taking his own plate to the sink. He simply begins washing it, as casual as anything. There's not a time in his life where he would have gotten away with anything else.]
Unless you want me to leave. I'd just find somewhere else to go tonight.
hehe feel free to skip ahead if you want :3c
[ It's a gift, really, that Eren wants to spend as much time with him as he does. ]
Let's just hang out 'til you want to call it a night.
oh I want
[But being with his best friend makes him feel like he's taking his shoes off at the end of the day. It signals time to truly rest. He doesn't have to be adequately miserable or adequately functional or adequately cold or adquately warm.
[He only has to be.
[So, he stays here most nights. It's comfortable. He doesn't hesitate at the edge of the bed anymore. He has sleeping clothes and a toothbrush, just like Maruki has at the farm across that little swath of forest.
[It's safe. It's nice.]
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In the end, that's the common denominator between those in Somnius that Maruki is closest to and loves most – it's easy to be around them. He fakes it well in the general populace, but it's so rare that he finds it anything but difficult to relax and be himself. Not so with people like Venat, Akechi, Kurogiri, Maki, BB– and Eren. Of course Eren.
He sprawls out on the large bed next to his best friend, turns his head to look at him. ]
Ah, before I forget... Remember when you mentioned the photos up on your wall?
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That's right. They're still there too.
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god. muki de pochi.
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WE CAN SNACK WRAP UNLESS U HAVE MORE