(you can pm me here or on plurk if you'd like to beforehand, but also if you'd just like to drop something at my doorstep with no preamble please do!!)
[ Maruki has never once gotten mad at him, doesn't plan to.
He gently plucks those little hands away from his eyes now so that he can see him semi-clearly. Wherever he put his glasses before that short, restless nap, he now has no memory. ]
[ Immediately, Maruki sits up with a start, Akechi gathered safely in his arms so as not to tumble over, right off the couch and onto the floor. ]
The door–!?
[ Sure enough! When he sits up on his knees, leans over the arm of the couch and cranes his neck to see into the entryway, the front door is wide open.
Their building is safe, but not that safe. Nowhere is. Maruki's heart rattles a horse race pace against his ribs. ]
Goro– hah, okay. Okay. [ Breathe. He's getting up off the couch, Akechi still held in two safe arms. ] Thank you for waking me up to tell me. We shouldn't leave the door open. Strangers could come in.
[ Or bugs– oh, god, there's another one. Rumi's going to hate this.
Maruki pauses as he's toeing on his sandals for their quick jaunt to find the goddamn keys and looks down at Akechi. ]
[Maybe nothing at all? A ghost? Anyway, there's a rock in the doorway keeping the door from shutting. He used it to, you know, keep the door from shutting while he was on his adventure, but now it's stuck. Incredible.
He points up to the sky dramatically - only an inky blackness visible from their high density apartment hallway.]
Woah, that's Featherman's Alpha Alien Smash Craft! Did you see it? Maybe we can ask them to find the keys. Do you think - they might if we're nice and you're very nice.
It's scary. You'll be scared if you try, so don't.
[And Akechi rubs at his father's neck, following an invisible ring.]
But if you do on accident - it's okay, I'll get you down. I can do it this time. Sometimes - maybe I can't reach the door, but if it's open, I can just come in. I know where the stepladder is and the chairs and the scissors.
[He can do it. ♥]
You don't need to scared, dad. I'll keep you safe - I'm almost a hero.
[ Akechi's hands are so small, so sure of themselves as they trace a perfect loop around his neck.
And in another life, another world, another time, those same hands are strong, capable, wrapped around his throat to squeeze tight in a monastic castle bedroom– in a clearing splattered with blood– in the darkened tunnel of a water ride– every time, they only let go when Maruki forces them to.
And in this life–
Maruki shuts his eyes as pain spikes sharp at his nape, radiates up through the base of his skull and around to his temples.
He hasn't had a headache like that in a long while.
When he opens them again, Akechi is still completely fixated on him, and not for the first time Maruki thinks of the woman he's only seen in one singular photograph. How many days she must have spent with him turned toward her like a flower follows the sun. How it wasn't enough.
He stoops down to pick up the keys, pockets them, then shifts Akechi in his arms to hold him against his other side, hold him closer than before. ]
Listen to me.
[ Any prior firmness to try to impart lessons on not letting things into the house and not sneaking out is gone. His voice is gentle, plaintive. ]
You're already a hero. You don't need to worry about doing anything to keep me safe. You already do, just by being you. Okay?
Mom lied to him too. He remembers. It's okay. It's okay.
Because he's not a hero. His mother's death proves it. One day, he can be. One day, he will be. One day, that photo of his mother will radiate forgiveness towards a son that could've done more.
Maruki doesn't need to be saved now, but he will one day. Akechi knows. It's okay to be saved. It's hard to ask. Akechi will be there and-
Rumi will never need to be saved because she's a hero to them both. He can be her sidekick. Can help and-
Akechi presses his cheek to Maruki's - lets both arms hang loose around his neck.]
I love you.
sickening i hate you this is a WRAP FROM ME. DON'T TOUCH IT!!!!! DO NOT!!!!!!!!
[ One small, soft cheek pressed to his own, rough with stubble even though he just shaved this morning. The hallway feels smaller, suddenly, everything tunneled down to the private little world of three that comprises a family.
Four.
They were already determined not to let his mother slip through the cracks of their own lives as she slipped through society's, but that conviction is redoubled now. Later, Maruki will relay this whole story to Rumi.
He turns, begins heading back toward that little square of light that is their open door. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Yes.
[He will continue to lie. ♥]
But I have to tell you something. Don't get mad. Do you promise?
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[ Maruki has never once gotten mad at him, doesn't plan to.
He gently plucks those little hands away from his eyes now so that he can see him semi-clearly. Wherever he put his glasses before that short, restless nap, he now has no memory. ]
What are you going to tell me?
1/????
I opened the front door.
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Akechi watches the weird fly settle on back of the couch. Nature is beautiful.]
END
Can you shut the door? And get the keys? I don't know - I'm too scared.
this is still art to me
The door–!?
[ Sure enough! When he sits up on his knees, leans over the arm of the couch and cranes his neck to see into the entryway, the front door is wide open.
Their building is safe, but not that safe. Nowhere is. Maruki's heart rattles a horse race pace against his ribs. ]
Goro– hah, okay. Okay. [ Breathe. He's getting up off the couch, Akechi still held in two safe arms. ] Thank you for waking me up to tell me. We shouldn't leave the door open. Strangers could come in.
[ Or bugs– oh, god, there's another one. Rumi's going to hate this.
Maruki pauses as he's toeing on his sandals for their quick jaunt to find the goddamn keys and looks down at Akechi. ]
Was it a snake or a cat that you saw?
im pinacasso
[Maybe nothing at all? A ghost? Anyway, there's a rock in the doorway keeping the door from shutting. He used it to, you know, keep the door from shutting while he was on his adventure, but now it's stuck. Incredible.
He points up to the sky dramatically - only an inky blackness visible from their high density apartment hallway.]
Woah, that's Featherman's Alpha Alien Smash Craft! Did you see it? Maybe we can ask them to find the keys. Do you think - they might if we're nice and you're very nice.
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Do you think any of the Featherman Rangers would leave their front door open? What if an enemy got inside?
[ It's phrased as a genuinely curious question so Akechi doesn't think he's frustrated, but by god, he hopes it'll be a teaching moment. ]
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[SO LOUD!!!!!! RIP Neighbors.]
And I can do that too.
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The Featherman Rangers wouldn't leave the front door open in the first place, that was my point...
[ Oh, but speaking of that snake/cat/hamster– key quest can wait for a moment. Maruki pauses at the neighbor's door. ]
What exactly did you leave here for Shiho-san?
[ He's looking... ]
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A snack.
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Okay.
Yeah.
You know what? Yeah. Okay.
Great. Good. The ghost that was a cat or a hamster is actually a snack. Sure! What the hell, why not.
Maruki continues on toward the elevator, phone flashlight shining to try to spot the glimmer of keys. ]
I think we need to make a new rule about the door. Only Rumi and I should be opening it. You're too little.
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[There's a frantic edge to his tone, a stand he isn't going to back down from, no matter how small he is.
He has to open doors, so he will.
And to his credit, Akechi does follow the light from his little prince perch and scan the floor for the keys he dropped.]
But I'm sorry - I'm really sorry. Next time I'll leave the keys, okay?
EVIL OF YOU
[ Maruki doesn't follow, and his eyes remain tracking over the floor as he sweeps his flashlight back and forth. ]
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[And Akechi paps at Maruki's neck
gently.
Oh, look!The keys!! Right there - he dramatically points down with a 'There!']
That's why - if the doors are open, that's better.
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He doesn't look anywhere but at the child in his arms.
It takes a long, long moment of being gently papped before he can speak, voice tight in his throat. ]
Goro. That's not going to happen to me. Do you worry that it will?
[ It makes perfect sense that he would, but Maruki wants to hear it in his own words. ]
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[And Akechi rubs at his father's neck, following an invisible ring.]
But if you do on accident - it's okay, I'll get you down. I can do it this time. Sometimes - maybe I can't reach the door, but if it's open, I can just come in. I know where the stepladder is and the chairs and the scissors.
[He can do it. ♥]
You don't need to scared, dad. I'll keep you safe - I'm almost a hero.
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And in another life, another world, another time, those same hands are strong, capable, wrapped around his throat to squeeze tight in a monastic castle bedroom– in a clearing splattered with blood– in the darkened tunnel of a water ride– every time, they only let go when Maruki forces them to.
And in this life–
Maruki shuts his eyes as pain spikes sharp at his nape, radiates up through the base of his skull and around to his temples.
He hasn't had a headache like that in a long while.
When he opens them again, Akechi is still completely fixated on him, and not for the first time Maruki thinks of the woman he's only seen in one singular photograph. How many days she must have spent with him turned toward her like a flower follows the sun. How it wasn't enough.
He stoops down to pick up the keys, pockets them, then shifts Akechi in his arms to hold him against his other side, hold him closer than before. ]
Listen to me.
[ Any prior firmness to try to impart lessons on not letting things into the house and not sneaking out is gone. His voice is gentle, plaintive. ]
You're already a hero. You don't need to worry about doing anything to keep me safe. You already do, just by being you. Okay?
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A smile appears on his face anyway.
Mom lied to him too. He remembers. It's okay. It's okay.
Because he's not a hero. His mother's death proves it. One day, he can be. One day, he will be. One day, that photo of his mother will radiate forgiveness towards a son that could've done more.
Maruki doesn't need to be saved now, but he will one day. Akechi knows. It's okay to be saved. It's hard to ask. Akechi will be there and-
Rumi will never need to be saved because she's a hero to them both. He can be her sidekick. Can help and-
Akechi presses his cheek to Maruki's - lets both arms hang loose around his neck.]
I love you.
sickening i hate you this is a WRAP FROM ME. DON'T TOUCH IT!!!!! DO NOT!!!!!!!!
Four.
They were already determined not to let his mother slip through the cracks of their own lives as she slipped through society's, but that conviction is redoubled now. Later, Maruki will relay this whole story to Rumi.
He turns, begins heading back toward that little square of light that is their open door. ]
I love you. I always will. Let's go home.