His head may be a mess of memories from past and future realities, but one feeling has stuck cleanly and clearly to the forefront of his mind: How badly the Maruki who returned to Tokyo wished for more time with him. It's thrown into even sharper relief now that Eren has gone. He will always, always want more time. It will never be enough.
Things like this matter.
Maruki lays out a towel next to his, settles on it to crack open his own iced coffee. Leans back on one palm and stares out at the choppy water. ]
What else did you find? Not that this isn't worth the price of war admission alone.
[Towel out as far as it can go, rocks at the corners to keep it from moving anywhere. He's not getting sand on his body - not a single goddamn grain.
Maruki takes the hint in the interim - gets himself sorted and looks like a picture perfect image of comfort within minutes.
The waters are nothing like coastal Japan. This whole place is a shitty carbon copy of everyone's true reality in some way. In this moment, he doesn't mind its imperfections as he settles on the barrier between him and nature. Takes a sip of his favorite brand of coffee, knowing full well there's only a couple left.]
I won't say. One day I may want to get away from you and can't have you knowing all my secret spots. There are so few places to be alone in a shithole this small.
[ Maruki scoffs quietly around a sip of his coffee; it's as good as ever. The brand that went on sale on Akechi's birthday back in their reality. ]
Fair enough. I await the day that you want to get away from me that badly.
[ Hasn't happened yet, so...
Maruki tips his head back to look up at the sky. Cloud cover coming in; summer is on its way out. They still might be able to get in a swim on a particularly warm day, but once autumn hits it won't be pleasant. Still, it'll be a nice place to come relax, away from everyone. ]
What did you do during your summer breaks? Before you were a celebrity, I mean.
I have a difficult time remembering, if I'm honest. Though my true work didn't end simply because I was on break. I recall staying home to study for the most part and spending a great deal of time at the library. Some evenings, I indulged in a game of billiards or darts.
[But that's no different from his celebrity life - small indulgences where he can. The only difference is that his days are spent in front of a camera instead of in a classroom.
He digs out a jagarico box and peels the top halfway off.]
I've never gone to the beach during it, if that's what you're wondering. I recall once as a child-
[Stops, abruptly, because he's suddenly acutely aware that it wasn't his mom that took him swimming. Was the man two feet from him.]
Well, I suppose that doesn't matter. My memory's too foggy to confirm it. It may as well have been a dream.
[ Maruki nods along, none the wiser. It's about what he expected; he remembers all too well how little relaxation actually happened during his own breaks during high school. He may not have been a top of the nation student, but he was singularly focused on being accepted into a prestigious program at a top university. Summers looked exactly like the rest of the year: Cram school, independent study, volunteer work, part-time jobs. Anything and everything to get him in the door. ]
It was mostly the same for me at your age. Home, studying, library.
[ A pause. A sip. A hesitation. He wants to share. Doesn't expect Akechi to care at all, but the desire is still there, so– ]
Although once I was in undergrad, Rumi forced me to lighten up a bit and occasionally enjoy a few days off during break. We went to a lot of interesting places. And I got very good at traveling on a budget!
[ He would have been perfectly content to stay home, but she always was an adventurous, roaming spirit. In some ways, he does have a type.
And then, so Akechi doesn't have to acknowledge his own sentimentality, he easily moves on. ]
[Man truly never changes. Without Rumi around to guide him like a pathetic little lapdog, forcing him do something other than work, he won't. Even without Eyn Sof, he's cooking for a company all morning, like it was ever his responsibility to keep it afloat. It should crash and burn because Eren didn't plan for a life beyond him.
Akechi hopes it does.
Opts to say nothing instead. Listens and follows along with the next comment, as he munches on salty jagarico sticks.]
I suppose I'll cut you off from future inquiries, if this is your train of thought.
I've never gone to a true onsen. My life has been somewhat dull, in that I've never visited areas outside of school or housing, no matter where I lived.
[He wasn't exactly welcome most places. Wasn't a long enough addition anywhere to go on rare family vacations that never fully included him.
Another stick crunches in his mouth. ]
It's why I hoped to travel in the future - not only the world, but across Japan as well.
[Oh well. ❤️]
Though I think my experience in this reality has provided enough excitement to satisfy me.
[ A bold statement, and one he clarifies immediately, hand held up to pause Akechi's retort as he takes another sip. ]
What I mean is that based on both of our experiences last month... When we do eventually return to our true reality, you could have time for one trip. Just one.
[ Maruki sets the half-full coffee can down in the sand and flops down to stretch out fully on the blanket, face turned toward the afternoon sun. ]
Find half a day off somewhere in there, and I'll show you someplace neat. That's a promise.
Find half a day off somewhere isn't impossible. It's simple. Nothing needs to be cancelled, only moved. Shido won't care if he wanders off for a few hours - won't even notice when he's so busy collecting debts in secret meetings in dark, quiet buildings with no name.
He takes a sip of his drink to mull over a decision already made. It's not for just anyone he would. A lie would roll easy off his lips. The truth is a little more difficult.]
You'll have your work cut out for you. I'm a difficult person to impress.
[The waves are moving up - another couple hours and they'll be pushed out of this spot.]
And when it's almost winter, no less. I can't fathom what you'll come up with.
[Many weeks ago, Akechi sat up on a cliffside and lied, like always.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Funny.
So Akechi.
His head may be a mess of memories from past and future realities, but one feeling has stuck cleanly and clearly to the forefront of his mind: How badly the Maruki who returned to Tokyo wished for more time with him. It's thrown into even sharper relief now that Eren has gone. He will always, always want more time. It will never be enough.
Things like this matter.
Maruki lays out a towel next to his, settles on it to crack open his own iced coffee. Leans back on one palm and stares out at the choppy water. ]
What else did you find? Not that this isn't worth the price of war admission alone.
no subject
Maruki takes the hint in the interim - gets himself sorted and looks like a picture perfect image of comfort within minutes.
The waters are nothing like coastal Japan. This whole place is a shitty carbon copy of everyone's true reality in some way. In this moment, he doesn't mind its imperfections as he settles on the barrier between him and nature. Takes a sip of his favorite brand of coffee, knowing full well there's only a couple left.]
I won't say. One day I may want to get away from you and can't have you knowing all my secret spots. There are so few places to be alone in a shithole this small.
no subject
Fair enough. I await the day that you want to get away from me that badly.
[ Hasn't happened yet, so...
Maruki tips his head back to look up at the sky. Cloud cover coming in; summer is on its way out. They still might be able to get in a swim on a particularly warm day, but once autumn hits it won't be pleasant. Still, it'll be a nice place to come relax, away from everyone. ]
What did you do during your summer breaks? Before you were a celebrity, I mean.
no subject
[But that's no different from his celebrity life - small indulgences where he can. The only difference is that his days are spent in front of a camera instead of in a classroom.
He digs out a jagarico box and peels the top halfway off.]
I've never gone to the beach during it, if that's what you're wondering. I recall once as a child-
[Stops, abruptly, because he's suddenly acutely aware that it wasn't his mom that took him swimming. Was the man two feet from him.]
Well, I suppose that doesn't matter. My memory's too foggy to confirm it. It may as well have been a dream.
no subject
It was mostly the same for me at your age. Home, studying, library.
[ A pause. A sip. A hesitation. He wants to share. Doesn't expect Akechi to care at all, but the desire is still there, so– ]
Although once I was in undergrad, Rumi forced me to lighten up a bit and occasionally enjoy a few days off during break. We went to a lot of interesting places. And I got very good at traveling on a budget!
[ He would have been perfectly content to stay home, but she always was an adventurous, roaming spirit. In some ways, he does have a type.
And then, so Akechi doesn't have to acknowledge his own sentimentality, he easily moves on. ]
What about... Did you ever go to a proper onsen?
no subject
Akechi hopes it does.
Opts to say nothing instead. Listens and follows along with the next comment, as he munches on salty jagarico sticks.]
I suppose I'll cut you off from future inquiries, if this is your train of thought.
I've never gone to a true onsen. My life has been somewhat dull, in that I've never visited areas outside of school or housing, no matter where I lived.
[He wasn't exactly welcome most places. Wasn't a long enough addition anywhere to go on rare family vacations that never fully included him.
Another stick crunches in his mouth. ]
It's why I hoped to travel in the future - not only the world, but across Japan as well.
[Oh well. ❤️]
Though I think my experience in this reality has provided enough excitement to satisfy me.
no subject
[ A bold statement, and one he clarifies immediately, hand held up to pause Akechi's retort as he takes another sip. ]
What I mean is that based on both of our experiences last month... When we do eventually return to our true reality, you could have time for one trip. Just one.
[ Maruki sets the half-full coffee can down in the sand and flops down to stretch out fully on the blanket, face turned toward the afternoon sun. ]
Find half a day off somewhere in there, and I'll show you someplace neat. That's a promise.
no subject
Shuts it when a hand is raised.
Find half a day off somewhere isn't impossible. It's simple. Nothing needs to be cancelled, only moved. Shido won't care if he wanders off for a few hours - won't even notice when he's so busy collecting debts in secret meetings in dark, quiet buildings with no name.
He takes a sip of his drink to mull over a decision already made. It's not for just anyone he would. A lie would roll easy off his lips. The truth is a little more difficult.]
You'll have your work cut out for you. I'm a difficult person to impress.
[The waves are moving up - another couple hours and they'll be pushed out of this spot.]
And when it's almost winter, no less. I can't fathom what you'll come up with.
[Many weeks ago, Akechi sat up on a cliffside and lied, like always.
Thought -
It wouldn't matter.
It still doesn't. It never will.]I'll look forward to it in November.