windfall | what i desire most, what i fear most

You've never even seen a real boob, you don't know what they look like.

[Power's breast pads don't count.]

Tonight I'll make you calculate the area of the travel crate, to start.

shuddup you dont KNOW that

[ He hasn't. But still. How much difference could there be from his imagination and the real thing… Anyway, Denji immediately outs himself by continuing on to say: ]

and youve never seen one either!!! youd tell me

man i bet youre just picking on me cuz of this morning

You'll be punished for that separately.

[Extremely stupid of him to bring that up when Aki is already mad.]

Whether or not I've seen them, I wouldn't tell you. I'm not a pervert like you who would tell everyone I know.

[He has never seen a boob.]

Also you still need to tell me how you're going to improve this without cheating. I don't want you to have to take summer school again I can't handle Power on my own in the summer.

cant ya say that youll miss seeing my face around as often like a normal person…

[ He really has no basis to be this cheeky when he's in so much trouble. Leave it to Denji not to read the room. ]

fine fine!! have it your way killjoy

ill just ask the teach if she can tutor me during lunch. shes pretty hot

[ n…Implying that's the only reason he doesn't mind have his free time infringed upon. ]

happy?

[Teacher... Oh, no, no, no. Aki knows exactly what teacher he's thinking of. He'll spend more time calculating the curvature of her ass than doing any of his homework.]

You shouldn't bother a teacher during her lunch period.

[He thinks he's being obvious about this, but maybe he needs to push harder...? Ahh, it's such a pain with this kid. He's so dense in some ways yet so intuitive in others.]

I'm older than you, you know. I already took that class.

[ Oh. Ohhh, okay. So he's offering. Aki's smart and usually pretty good at explaining conceptual stuff in a way he can understand. Also, he might make them snacks! ]

[ But. ]

youre busy tho

dont you have the public safety exam thing to study for?

I'll be ten times as busy if you fail out of high school.

[...He didn't really want to put it like that. He hurries to send another text.]

Not that I think youre going to fail out I just mean you cant take this stuff lightly

[Okay. That sounds better.]

Edited 2023-10-01 05:08 (UTC)

if i failed

would that mean you wouldnt be able to go to tokyo?

[ Just curious. This definitely isn't him taking his education lightly seconds after Aki told him not to, nor is it him being inconsiderate of the goals Aki's been steadily nurturing since their days picking fights with one another at the orphanage. Ha ha ha… ]

[...Damn it. He didn't want to put this kind of pressure on him.]

Schools in Tokyo are harder to get into. You have to study hard to keep up.

[That's not really true. The issue is that the school he's been working on getting Denji and Power ready for transfer into thanks to the proximity to Public Safety requires a certain kind of student. It's nothing that either of them can't achieve. But if Denji keeps fucking up like this... Then what does he do, send them all the way to another ward for classes? But even so, he still doesn't want to pressure him that badly. Especially since he never even went to school before Aki was able to get them out of the orphanage in the first place.]

If you had to commute all the way back here every day to keep going to this school because you need to take year one math again, I'd just make you live here by yourself.

[He wouldn't. He never would. But he hopes saying that will make Denji think about his plans a little better.]

[ He'd take Power and Meowy, and just… go? It's just a hypothetical, he's bluffing, someone should call him out on his bluff, he internally insists — to who, himself?

Briefly, he glances up in time to catch Power trying to haggle down some magical girl prop with the store clerk, wildly gesticulating to punctuate whatever nonsense it is she's spewing this time. She's always so feisty and loud, would Denji miss her? His buddy-in-crime, his ever unparalleled Powy? At the same time, he thinks about coming home to an empty apartment, without someone already having run the laundry before he arrived, no sticky notes on the fridge with instructions on how high to heat up dinner, no one to steal shirts to wear to bed from.

Denji's reply doesn't come immediately, since he has to step in to help talk Power down from leaping over the counter, but when it does, all it reads is: ]

fine. you win

i dont wanna be by myself

[He shouldn't feel guilty. Denji knows this is important to him, and he knows the sacrifices Aki has made to make sure this all happens exactly how he wants it to. Weekend jobs, posing as an adult to get more hours, maintaining a perfect track record so nothing will come up during his interviews with Public Safety... All while making sure Denji and Power have a full dinner every night and a roof over their heads. He shouldn't feel guilty about asking Denji to actually study and try hard to make sure it doesn't drag Aki backward. Their situation isn't unique, not in a world with people dying from devils every day. But...]

I'm just kidding about making you live out here alone

[...But if he had to delay everything for either of them, he would.]

Just ask me for help instead of making it harder on yourself. I know you don't want to sit around doing math problem sets all weekend.

[ you were just joking? you mean it? you realy really really mean it?? is what he types at first, needing reassurance, wanting to hear it straight from the source. But before he presses send, Denji pauses. Breathes in. Out. Then, furiously backspaces. Aki wouldn't lie to him; he's always made plans with Denji and Power in tow. The three of them have been a set unit for longer than he cares to remember, and he has faith that wherever Aki goes, however Aki changes and grows up out of Denji's sight, they'll be together. He does.

He taps call, anyway. ]

[If he knows Denji, he knows he's calling to ask him to repeat that out loud, to say what he wants to hear one more time so he knows he really means it. He's such a needy kid. Aki stares down at the call screen and sighs heavily before answering.]

Denji. [He sounds tired. Vaguely annoyed.] I'm not going to leave you to do math here for two more years while Power and I go to Tokyo.

[ Aki knows Denji very well. That's absolutely why he called. ]

I'm not calling 'cause of that! [ A bicycle bell trills, and Denji waves a hand at Power, motioning for her to move aside to let the cyclist wheel by without accident. ] I'm not dumb. [ He is, though, in various ways. This is one of them. ] Obviously, you were joking! Ha ha ha, funny! I just, I wanted to know —

[ A long whuff of air comes from his nose. ]

…Are you coming home late again?

[Aki frowns. He stares down at the student council documents in front of him. Mostly devil reports from near their school.]

I thought we talked about this. [Did he forget to mention it this morning...? Their mornings are such a blur lately, he doesn't know.] Not as late as last night. I'm helping out the student council again, but it shouldn't take as long. I already chopped everything up, you just have to melt the roux and cook it for a bit. [They've had curry a lot lately but it's just easy to prep for and have Denji make when he gets home.] You remember how much water to add this time, right?

[ It's hard to catch. Would probably be more noticeable if Aki could see the scrunch iron out from Denji's brow, expression easing into something more neutral, maybe even slightly disappointed judging by how his voice drops an octave lower. ]

Oh. Nope.

[ He could probably figure it out on his own, though. He'd added too much last time, making the mixture all watery and bland, so… ]

Less is more, right? Piece of cake.

[When Denji doesn't talk much, Aki can tell he's not in a good mood. He frowns down at the papers, tapping his fingers on the surface.]

Just do a cup. If you need to add more, you can - but start with a cup.

[Ugh, it's so annoying. Denji's supposed to be in trouble! He's not supposed to baby him. He should be telling him he doesn't get dinner or something. Aki taps a little faster, frowning.]

And I meant it, about Meowy's travel crate.

[ A cup, he files away. Simple enough. It's just water. Although there's a devilish bug in his ear asking him if it has to be water or if they can experiment with something that tastes better. Like soda or chocolate milk. He'll confer with Power later.

As for the threat Aki keeps hanging over his head. ]

Whatever! You can try all you want, s'not like I'll actually fit. I'm almost as tall as you now.

[ Denji swears all he needs is another year or so, then boom. ]

…But fine, I'll crack open my practice book, so… Uh… [ Can he ask him to come home sooner? No, right? The volunteer stuff he does for the student council sounds important, or at least he always makes it out to be. ] I'm hanging up now.

You are, are you.

[Aki sounds a little wryly amused at that. Denji's probably not going to reach him in height, which is fine by Aki. The day he actually has to look up at him is the day he cuts him at the ankles.]

Alright. And - You can leave the dishes in the sink and I'll clean them, but at least put soap on them when you have them soak. And don't let Power have the soda in the fridge, that's for the weekend. [He pauses, trying to think if there's anything else, then decides there isn't.] ...I'll see you tonight. Be safe getting home.

Okay. [ Pause. ] Okay. [ Pause. ] Yeah, okay. [ …is what Denji answers with at any interval he can between Aki's instructions. Having noticed his distraction, Power uses the shoulder nearest to where he's speaking into the receiver as a chinrest, her jaw rolling back and forth, kneading painfully into the tendon. "Oi, oi, Denji, share my greetings and farewells with the likes of that topknot human! The Miraculous Blood Lapis Power demands it!" ]

Owww! [ Denji presses his entire full-sized hand against her face, shoving back. ] Stop that, Powy — and shut up, I told you that name was dumb! Your taste in anime is lame as hell.

[ An aggravated sigh. Then, back to Aki: ] Power says hi. And bye. [ He sucks on his upper lip, gnawing a little, before he finishes off with a — ] You too. [ — be safe, before ending the call.

The two of them mosey back to their apartment, which is probably some form of subsidized housing granted to them through lottery or whatever hoops Aki had to jump through. They make dinner, one plate using a single cup of soda (just one cup, the rest of the can placed back into the fridge) and the other plate with a cup of water (as was the proper way). Through a game of jan-ken-pon, the two of them decide who gets which and, perhaps as expected, Denji loses. He plugs the drain to the sink, and in the dishes go. He squirts the dish soap in the drawing of a happy face that quickly dissolves underwater, but Aki might still see the outline of it when he gets home.

Aki might also see Denji snoring face-first into his practice book at the table. He tried, okay? ]

[Aki listens to the two of them bicker, muttering his own hello to Power (he never calls her by those names, it was hard enough getting places to even accept Power) before finally hanging up. He sets his phone down and stares at it for a second, thinking.]

[Then finally shakes his head and pushes it away, turning his attention back to the student council paperwork. They'll be fine. He'll make sure he can go home with them tomorrow.]

[When he finally turns in the documents, there's hardly anyone left in the school but a few teachers. Aki heads home, exhausted, letting his head tilt on the train without fully falling asleep, and when he comes into the apartment and it miraculosuly doesn't smell like something burned, he's relieved. Though... There is some weird smell. He's not sure what it is. Kind of a sweet smell...? Nothing is on fire and he actually put soap in the water this time so Aki doesn't question it, tugging off his uniform jacket and dropping it with his bookbag in the bedroom. Power is playing with Meowy on the floor, cooing something or other about world domination and tax hikes. Normal, thankfully.]

[He'll let Denji sleep for a bit. First, dinner, which he heats up on the stove while downing most of the rice. One of the teachers warned him he might not qualify for the weight class to get into Public Safety so he's been trying to eat more. Not easy when Denji eats twice as much as him and still manages to look thinner every day. He sits down with his plate at the table across from him and reaches across to hit him on the head with his spoon.]

Tell me what unit you're on.

Hrk…!

[ Flinching awake with a snort, his head jerks, pulling up one of the pages with him. It clings to his cheek by a wrinkly imprint of drool that'd gathered there as he slept. A moment later, he brushes the sheet off. Glances down at his fingers, no ink, that's good, less embarrassing that way, then pinches at both his inner corners to clear away the last crumbs of sleep from his eyes.

When did he…? Is it already that late? ]

Welcome home. [ He says first, rubbing the spot Aki bopped him, staring down vacantly at the set of assigned problems. He still doesn't look all there. ] Dick.

[ Better. Normal. ]

And, um… I'm stuck on the stuff that's like a graph and lines and I gotta find the points, or something.

[When the paper sticks to Denji's face, he can see the problems and make out what he's working on. He mixes his curry together while he resettles and nods at the explanation. He gets it.]

[He's pretty good at getting through to Denji. Explaining things at a level that he can understand. Power wanders out to join them at some point and laugh at Denji's misfortune but she's useful in that they play against one another well. Aki can quiz them both or bet them on who can figure out a solution the fastest. Power isn't a genius (not by any stretch) but she seems to pick up on things once Aki forces her to think instead of barking out the first thing that comes to mind. And while they scribble out solutions he can eat his dinner. It all works out.]

[He only forces it on them for an hour or so until he calls it for the night, sending them off to bathe while he cleans up. Does the dishes, wipes down the table, sticks Denji's books back in his bag... Removes all the trash from said bag and throws away. Spreads the beds out despite Meowy's attempts to lay on one the moment he rolls it out. This apartment is so small, he mentally complains for the thousandth time.]

[He waits for Denji to come out of the bathroom to call him over. Tells him to sit down while he sits across from him. Usually this is a set-up to scold him. But he has a different mission this time.]

I'm planning my trip again, up north. [He's taken them for the past few years. At first because he didn't trust them alone, now just for the company.] But you're old enough now. You should think about making your own trip. Back to your family's grave. We can save up for it - Yours is on the way, too.

[ Power swiftly occupies the bathroom with an impatient harumph as Denji rounds his way out, humming a jaunty tune and shaking the wet mop he calls hair like a dog tossing its fur; in other words, he splatters water all over the place. Which is good, because that signifies he's a little more invigorated after the bath, and after spending time doing his coursework with Aki and Power, too, that was fun, even if it was technically work — reminded him of how they'd gather around Aki at bedtime as he read them some silly picture book as kids. They haven't done that in a while. But the second Aki beckons him over, tells him about his upcoming plans, the song at his lips goes dead.

Suddenly, the compulsion to simply slip under the covers and go to sleep again is stronger than ever. In fact, he kind of does do that, Denji opening the flap to his bed to scoot inside and keep his legs warm. May as well get comfortable if he's gonna have a conversation he doesn't want to. ]

So that's your big plan?

[ For what it's worth, he's sitting upright at least through this. That should count as a win for Aki, in spite of the way he plainly appears disinterested in the topic, picking his pinky through his ear, digging out some earwax and flicking it somewhere. ]

Pass. We should save for something better — hey, here's an idea, whatta 'bout an all-day admission ticket to an amusement park? Something to liven us up after we finish eating at the cemetery? We always do the same ol' thing. Let's do fun stuff for once!

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