[ Maruki has spent half a year in Somnius. Before that, he spent half a year watching Kurusu Akira's every move. On paper, it's not a lot of time – but in practice, so much can happen in just six months.
He may not know this Akira, but he knows Akira. He knows the practiced, calm confidence that he exudes. The way he holds himself together, even while discussing difficult topics. The conviction that runs through him, keeps him upright against all the injustices thrown at him.
So the waver in his voice could be slight. It could be subtle. It could be next to nothing. Maruki would still hear it.
He gestures for Eren to come back around and sit next to him at the bar, chooses his words carefully, even as they come out casual as anything else. ]
Coffee would be great, thank you. And don't worry about making anything up to me. [ He waves a vague hand around as if to encompass the whole of the machiya as he speaks. ] I have more of what this place considers money and more space than I know what to do with... which, well– you can imagine how different that is from a counselor's life in Tokyo. Being able to freely share what I have is an opportunity I don't take lightly.
It's kind of you. [His voice is already evening out as he carefully checks the equipment. This is the same. Whenever he got stressed in Tokyo... When he had to go back home... Making coffee and Morgana's voice were always the things that soothed him, settling the disturbed waves underneath a frozen lake. Already his heart is a little less clouded. You must've had to go through a lot here for all of this.
[Stories that maybe he'll hear, and maybe that he won't. Akira wonders how many of them Akechi and Eren have been a part of.
The former isn't here right now, obviously. The latter is still making tea, so... His eyes dart between him and Maruki.]
What kind of work have you two been doing here? Would it be farming for Eren-san, and counseling for Maruki-san, or...?
[It seems like both of them are well-off in Akira's view, but he doesn't have anything else to truly compare it to. He hasn't seen the barn yet, but he'd imagine that takes a reasonable amount of money to maintain, too.]
[Maruki calls "heel," and Eren appears at his side, ever the loyal dog. His eyes haven't left Akira, although he "tries" not to stare. The tea can wait, apparently. He takes that gesture as a sign that Maruki needs him near.]
Not farming. [Not really. Other people grow things in the garden, and he helps out with the animals. That's about it.]
At one point, I ran a food business. [He's supposed to at least answer, right? He doesn't really feel like getting into the details; never a fan of small talk, Eren.]
[ Honestly, he just wants Eren to stop hovering in the kitchen and chill. When the kettle's done, he can pop in and grab the tea for him. ]
And now I cook for said food business... unofficially, and only sometimes. It's more of a useful pastime than a job.
[ He props his chin up on a palm, drums his fingers against his cheek as he watches Akira move about the kitchen. ]
But up until fairly recently, I was the counselor here, yes. Unfortunately, that's on indefinite pause. [ And why isn't important, because Eren doesn't need to get more pissed off than he probably is! ] Why, are you thinking of looking for a part-time job, Kurusu-kun?
[The question pulls him up short. Akira rolls the thought around in his head like a worrystone, lets it jog and soothe his brain in equal measure. Does he want a part-time job? Is that something he should tell them, even if he does?
There's an itch there, an urge to keep it quiet until he decides and inevitably chooses to seek something out. Private. But Maruki is the one Akira has chosen to share a roof with during his stay here, and he deserves to know that much. Even Sojiro was aware of his comings and goings, even if he didn't always know the "where".]
...I might be. I'm so used to working, it feels almost strange not to.
[He needs to keep his hands busy, needs to do something useful, but neither of those are things he can or should say.]
If either of you have recommendations, I'm happy to hear them.
[ The kettle clicks off, water percolating steadily inside. Maruki slides off the stool to come around to the other side of the bar, pours Eren's tea as he speaks. ]
You could certainly do deliveries for Thermo– or even help Jean and I with the cooking, honestly! There are other options, though, if you didn't want to work with me, hah...
[ Tea set in front of Eren, Maruki leans a hip against the counter and ticks the options off on his fingers. ]
A good friend of mine, Dolph Laserhawk, runs a club that can always use bartenders and servers. [ Crossroads. ] There aren't many restaurants here, not like what we're used to in Tokyo, but I bet you could get a job working at one that the native inhabitants run. [ Ore no Beko. ] Other people I know have their own shops too– Iris-san has something like a drugstore, and Basil-kun runs a flower shop... [ Triple Seven, Rafflesia.
Maruki pauses, then smiles brightly at Akira as he heads back to his seat. ]
Working during my first few months here helped me to settle in better. Like you said, it feels strange not to. I'll put in a good recommendation for you wherever you go.
[Just for a moment, Akira pauses; with his back turned to both of them, the scent of coffee blooming beneath his nose, he allows a furrow to spread between his brows.
Because isn't that just a little too familiar?
Don't those hit just a little too close to home? It's not like those aren't common jobs, but can there really be that many coincidences?
Akira lets it settle, sit, relax somewhere in his sternum. It could be a coincidence; Maruki could just be rattling off businesses he happened to pass on his commutes through Tokyo. Maybe, against all odds, Akira himself told Maruki about his part-time jobs. He can't see why he would continue being so vulnerable, but it seems there are many things he's told him that he never would to anyone else.
He gets out two mugs for coffee. His instincts prickle at the back of his neck, but he soothes them as best he can. Trust. He needs to have it, or at least take a step towards it.]
I appreciate it.
[He does. Even past his own strange feelings, he can still be grateful for it. That Maruki is working so hard to help him, even when Akira doesn't know him. That Eren would help him at all, when he has no reason to.]
These are the places I'll start, then. [His hands are steady as he pours. If there's something like a coffee shop, maybe even a teahouse- but on the other hand. It would be nice to keep that to Maruki's house for a little longer.] Even if they're not the same, they sound similar to a lot of the jobs I held back in Tokyo. And the things I don't know will be nice to learn.
[And it will. That, out of everything, will maybe be the most calming of all... To learn something new. To adapt.
The smell of coffee spreads to the rest of the room as Akira pours a cup for himself and Maruki, bringing it to the table.]
Akira wasn't there. Part of him still doesn't know why he went. A much worse part of him, buried deep in the distorted rot of his own heart, knows all too well. Past the end of summer, not quite yet the beginning of autumn. That no-man's land of time in September when the back of his teeth itched every day with the desire to see Akira again, to tell him about all the work he'd done on his paper over their break, all the work Maruki never would have been able to dream of doing without his influence. The warmth of Leblanc on a cool evening, the best coffee he'd ever tasted, the book he laid out on the counter as if a greater force was guiding his hand.
There is a memory–
Akira was there. The best coffee he'd ever tasted, handed to him right alongside the keys to the collective unconscious. That greater force right before him, bright and honest.
Maruki takes the cup. It isn't the same. Akira isn't the same. He isn't the same.
Maybe it's better that way.
He holds it in both hands, props his elbows up on the table to hold it just beneath his chin, steam curling up around his glasses as he smiles at this new Akira and tries his level best to mend his own heart. Beneath the table, he knocks his knee sideways against Eren's and rests it there. ]
You'll learn a lot here. We all have. I'm looking forward to it, Kurusu-kun.
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no subject
He may not know this Akira, but he knows Akira. He knows the practiced, calm confidence that he exudes. The way he holds himself together, even while discussing difficult topics. The conviction that runs through him, keeps him upright against all the injustices thrown at him.
So the waver in his voice could be slight. It could be subtle. It could be next to nothing. Maruki would still hear it.
He gestures for Eren to come back around and sit next to him at the bar, chooses his words carefully, even as they come out casual as anything else. ]
Coffee would be great, thank you. And don't worry about making anything up to me. [ He waves a vague hand around as if to encompass the whole of the machiya as he speaks. ] I have more of what this place considers money and more space than I know what to do with... which, well– you can imagine how different that is from a counselor's life in Tokyo. Being able to freely share what I have is an opportunity I don't take lightly.
no subject
[Stories that maybe he'll hear, and maybe that he won't. Akira wonders how many of them Akechi and Eren have been a part of.
The former isn't here right now, obviously. The latter is still making tea, so... His eyes dart between him and Maruki.]
What kind of work have you two been doing here? Would it be farming for Eren-san, and counseling for Maruki-san, or...?
[It seems like both of them are well-off in Akira's view, but he doesn't have anything else to truly compare it to. He hasn't seen the barn yet, but he'd imagine that takes a reasonable amount of money to maintain, too.]
no subject
Not farming. [Not really. Other people grow things in the garden, and he helps out with the animals. That's about it.]
At one point, I ran a food business. [He's supposed to at least answer, right? He doesn't really feel like getting into the details; never a fan of small talk, Eren.]
I don't do that anymore.
no subject
And now I cook for said food business... unofficially, and only sometimes. It's more of a useful pastime than a job.
[ He props his chin up on a palm, drums his fingers against his cheek as he watches Akira move about the kitchen. ]
But up until fairly recently, I was the counselor here, yes. Unfortunately, that's on indefinite pause. [ And why isn't important, because Eren doesn't need to get more pissed off than he probably is! ] Why, are you thinking of looking for a part-time job, Kurusu-kun?
no subject
There's an itch there, an urge to keep it quiet until he decides and inevitably chooses to seek something out. Private. But Maruki is the one Akira has chosen to share a roof with during his stay here, and he deserves to know that much. Even Sojiro was aware of his comings and goings, even if he didn't always know the "where".]
...I might be. I'm so used to working, it feels almost strange not to.
[He needs to keep his hands busy, needs to do something useful, but neither of those are things he can or should say.]
If either of you have recommendations, I'm happy to hear them.
no subject
You won't get bored here either way.
no subject
You could certainly do deliveries for Thermo– or even help Jean and I with the cooking, honestly! There are other options, though, if you didn't want to work with me, hah...
[ Tea set in front of Eren, Maruki leans a hip against the counter and ticks the options off on his fingers. ]
A good friend of mine, Dolph Laserhawk, runs a club that can always use bartenders and servers. [ Crossroads. ] There aren't many restaurants here, not like what we're used to in Tokyo, but I bet you could get a job working at one that the native inhabitants run. [ Ore no Beko. ] Other people I know have their own shops too– Iris-san has something like a drugstore, and Basil-kun runs a flower shop... [ Triple Seven, Rafflesia.
Maruki pauses, then smiles brightly at Akira as he heads back to his seat. ]
Working during my first few months here helped me to settle in better. Like you said, it feels strange not to. I'll put in a good recommendation for you wherever you go.
no subject
Because isn't that just a little too familiar?
Don't those hit just a little too close to home? It's not like those aren't common jobs, but can there really be that many coincidences?
Akira lets it settle, sit, relax somewhere in his sternum. It could be a coincidence; Maruki could just be rattling off businesses he happened to pass on his commutes through Tokyo. Maybe, against all odds, Akira himself told Maruki about his part-time jobs. He can't see why he would continue being so vulnerable, but it seems there are many things he's told him that he never would to anyone else.
He gets out two mugs for coffee. His instincts prickle at the back of his neck, but he soothes them as best he can. Trust. He needs to have it, or at least take a step towards it.]
I appreciate it.
[He does. Even past his own strange feelings, he can still be grateful for it. That Maruki is working so hard to help him, even when Akira doesn't know him. That Eren would help him at all, when he has no reason to.]
These are the places I'll start, then. [His hands are steady as he pours. If there's something like a coffee shop, maybe even a teahouse- but on the other hand. It would be nice to keep that to Maruki's house for a little longer.] Even if they're not the same, they sound similar to a lot of the jobs I held back in Tokyo. And the things I don't know will be nice to learn.
[And it will. That, out of everything, will maybe be the most calming of all... To learn something new. To adapt.
The smell of coffee spreads to the rest of the room as Akira pours a cup for himself and Maruki, bringing it to the table.]
no subject
Akira wasn't there. Part of him still doesn't know why he went. A much worse part of him, buried deep in the distorted rot of his own heart, knows all too well. Past the end of summer, not quite yet the beginning of autumn. That no-man's land of time in September when the back of his teeth itched every day with the desire to see Akira again, to tell him about all the work he'd done on his paper over their break, all the work Maruki never would have been able to dream of doing without his influence. The warmth of Leblanc on a cool evening, the best coffee he'd ever tasted, the book he laid out on the counter as if a greater force was guiding his hand.
There is a memory–
Akira was there. The best coffee he'd ever tasted, handed to him right alongside the keys to the collective unconscious. That greater force right before him, bright and honest.
Maruki takes the cup. It isn't the same. Akira isn't the same. He isn't the same.
Maybe it's better that way.
He holds it in both hands, props his elbows up on the table to hold it just beneath his chin, steam curling up around his glasses as he smiles at this new Akira and tries his level best to mend his own heart. Beneath the table, he knocks his knee sideways against Eren's and rests it there. ]
You'll learn a lot here. We all have. I'm looking forward to it, Kurusu-kun.