windfall | what i desire most, what i fear most

[Well. Angel summarized it. Aki gathers the cards while looking the most disgusted out of both of them, Angel just kind of looking amused that Denji seems most concerned about being kicked out of a public building rather than pirating movies or trying to look at dirty images on the internet.]

You're a real piece of work, you know that? [He sets the cards down without shuffling, as if their game is over. No, he's not trying to get out of losing another game and having to tell a story, himself. Not at all. Angel is looking at him and can see right through him on that, though, but if he doesn't look at him back then he doesn't. Trees in woods or whatever.] Now I'm glad I never looked into getting a computer.

Edited 2023-11-06 07:34 (UTC)

[ Denji cocks his head to the side, perplexed by Angel's question. ]

Yeah? I mean, librarians are s'posed to know a bunch of things like that! [ Has Angel even been to a library before? He knows he's old-old, older than even the oldest looking man Denji can think of (Kishibe), but how considerable his latitude was, to explore and chart out the world, prior to Makima finding him is a big question mark. Hmm. ] Uh, the next time I break you out, I can take ya there, I guess —

Hey!!!

[ He saw that! His eyes narrowed, Denji drops his jelly cup and smacks a hand against the bed, and in a flash, that same hand whips out an accusatory finger pointed Aki's way. The deck of cards drips over onto its side. ]

What're you doing? The game's not over yet! We've still got two more rounds. Didja forget how to count or something?

[Denji yells at him and Aki all but groans. Angel's halo actually buzzes a little at the sudden loud sound but he looks unfazed. Two more... Ugh. He was the one who said five games, wasn't he? Trust Denji to only remember the stupid stuff. Aki picks up the cards and grumbles as he shuffles them again.]

I get it, I get it. Two more. Don't yell or I'll take you door by door in the morning to apologize again.

[They already got one smack on the wall tonight. If there's another, he's definitely going to make him do the rounds again. He starts dealing a new hand.]

And stop saying you'll break him out. You can't break him out, he's a devil. I'm already going to have to deal with this in the morning - if you do it again, I'll make you take the responsibility next time.

[Angel catches it - that Aki intends to take responsibility for Angel's "breaking out" - and wonders if he knows that Makima knows he's here, how he got here. It's a 99.999% chance she knows. How could she not? But he's never seen her mice, he thinks. Either way, he doesn't speak up in defense or offense, neutrally drinking his water.]

[ Inaudible grumblings emanate from Denji at the tongue-lashing he receives, the only decipherable things being terms like Dude! and Bully…

Unsurprisingly, this isn't the first time he's bothered their neighbors, the most recent incident being the, uh, air fryer event. One of the housewives in the building complained to their superintendent about them days after, claiming that the smoke and ash blasted all the way down through to her vents somehow, and that no matter how much she aired out her family's apartment unit, the scent continued to cling to their walls. Since then, she's given him the stink eye every time they cross paths. He'd really rather avoid her. ]

Fine, yeah, alright… I won't break him out.

[ Glumly, he glances at Angel, who is unbothered, moisturized, and extremely in his lane as he delicately sips his water. As if to mirror him, Denji brings his jello cup to his mouth, tipping it slightly… But when it fails to unstick from the sides of the cup, he just messily shoves his tongue inside and gulps it all down. While trying to make sure he gets all the leftover juices out, he continues: ] This guy's pretty ungrateful, isn't he? Making us actually have to file paperwork and crap the next time we wanna cheer him up.

I don't know why you bothered.

[He says it bluntly, easily within hearing range of Aki, who doesn't react to it, simply draws another card. So does Angel.]

You know he's emotionally constipated, hard on you, and a stickler for rules. You knew all the things you did tonight were going to end with you right in this situation.

[Not exactly this entire situation of them playing cards in his bedroom with Angel wearing Power's socks and eating a large amount of baked sweets, but still. Aki rolls his eyes at the descriptive words he's been given but doesn't fight them directly, just grunts something about it being Denji's turn. Angel raises his eyes to look at Denji directly, heedless of whether he draws or not.]

So why bother?

[As if he didn't follow him every step of the way, complaining or lagging but still walking forward.]

[ His tongue sticks out as he blows a raspberry and shakes a thumbs-down at him. ]

Wrong, bird for brains.

[ There's no inflection in his reply, flat and possibly not really getting what Angel means all the way — gut instinct tells him he's essentially getting called out on something, but on what, he has no clue. Denji collects his card and, out of habit, nearly pads up the next card into his by its corner so that he can steal a look at the value, but remembers just in time to avert his eyes. An irritated click of his tongue — shoot, that guy said no cheating, didn't he? ]

I dunno whatcha think of me, but I'm pretty sure your idea's screwed up. First of all, I never know a damn thing about anything!

[ …Well, he has a vague notion, usually. He understands the probability of Aki shooting down whichever of Denji's ideas he considers garbage are high, but then he thinks about how he'd asked him to play his nut-kick game against that katana dumbass, how he'd laughed and grinned with him the widest he'd ever seen. The odds are slim, but they're never zero — and underlying most of Denji's actions is a poor gamble.

Secondly… ] Why do you think people play cards or dice or pachinko?

[Angel doesn't react to his first point, but Aki huffs like he's trying to cover up a snort. Angel's eyes are drawn to that noise, staring across at him and his attempts to pull himself from this conversation happening over his head, leaning his head back to finish his beer. Something that Chainsaw said must have resonated, but he can't understand why or how.]

For the small chance that they might win.

[He answers deadpan to his question, still not looking directly at him. If that's all it is, does this even count as a win? He's just going to be depressed again on a different day. What does it matter, in the long run? He watches as Aki sets down his beer and picks up the cards. Still willing to continue this with them.]

[...Is he jealous of this display?]

[No, he decides. He'd rather no one try and cheer him up.]

Just seems like a waste of time.

Edited 2023-11-12 20:35 (UTC)

That so…

[ Denji pulls a face — an expression that could easily be attributed to the card that's just joined his hand, or the fact that he doesn't agree with Angel. Winning isn't the only fun part of stuff like this. For example, Power loses all the time against him in Mario Kart, but she keeps playing because it makes her crow with joy whenever she successfully aims a blue shell at him. ]

Feels weird hearing that come from you. Thought you'd be into wastin' time and not doing anything important.

[ Like, maybe playing a card game isn't fun for him, but it's not work. Or walking, for that matter. ]

So let's hear it, then. What would ya rather do instead?

[Maybe if this was on work hours, Angel thinks to say, but decides not to. Not the point, either way. And Aki is looking at him now, waiting for his reply. Like he wants to do anything but sleep until the last sleep.]

[He can't say that, though, or he'll really kill the mood. People don't ever really ask what he wants to do, anyway. They'll ask what he wants or what he needs but not what he wants to do. How does he even answer that? Angel sighs and picks at his cards.]

It doesn't matter.

[He sets them down - a 20. Aki sits back, visibly shocked. The dealer only has an 18, but he has 17. He thought he'd be fine with that. Nervously, his eyes trail to Denji. Maybe he went over...?]

[ Denji's somewhat put out by that response, confusion crumpling his expression like an ugly snack wrapper. His answer matters enough that he bothered asking, that Aki seemed keen on listening. Why doesn't he get that? ]

— cheater!!

[ Well, it's fine. Too busy crying over his hand to push back against Angel, he trashes his cards, throwing them face up into the center as if he can't bear to look at them any longer. 23. That's the second time in row that he's lost now… He hates this game! Who's bright idea was it to play?! ]

You, you, you cheated! Somehow — [ There's a harsh series of knocks against the wall again — thump, thump, thump. Someone using their slipper, if he had to guess. Since they've relocated to Aki's room, it has to be a different neighbor, too. Uh-oh. Denji flinches, darting a look Aki's way. ] …Sorry.

[ Then, louder, and obviously directed to the person living in the adjacent unit, he bellows: ] Sooorry!!

Shut up.

[Aki speaks sternly and sharply when Denji suddenly starts screaming his apology to their neighbor. Another victim that he'll have to apologize to tomorrow morning. Then he sighs, gathering the cards to shuffle.]

It's different when you can't count cards, huh. [Calling Angel a cheater when the guy is barely even trying, when Denji was the one actually cheating...] You don't have to tell a story if you don't want to, I don't care. We'll do one more and be finished for the night. I'm tired of listening to you two complain.

[Angel gives Denji a look that either says You see? or Sheesh. It's not quite clear if he's blaming him for the soured mood or commiserating, given it's pretty much equally their fault.]

You're going to have to clean up in here, though, regardless.

What?!

[ Oh, that was still kinda loud — Denji flinches his head back, a conditioned response from all the times Aki's thwacked his head. Subsequently, in a more lowered volume, that's… honestly, not that much quieter: ] No! Obviously, I gotta tell a story — those are the rules! I'll just… I'll tell a shorter one.

[ But which shorter one? And is it even possible for Denji to condense himself while speaking? He isn't too sure himself, half a brow arches as he stares off to the side, humming for a long while. He scratches his neck. Twiddles with a loose thread budding from one of the seams of the sheets. After making them wait an annoying amount of time, he casually reveals his next story. ]

Well, one time, I imagined your buddy wearing, like, a bikini thing in a dream. That was embarrassing.

[ There, short and sweet. Omitting the fact that it was less of a dream and more of an outright fantasy.

…He's planning on leaving it at that, but a beat passes, and he realizes how incriminating that sounds. So hastily, he turns to Angel. ]

But it was just one time! And I wasn't sure whether you were a girl or a guy back then. Plus, there were lots of other people in the dream, too.

[Denji just keeps talking while Angel and Aki openly stare at him. Angel looks something like curious, as if Denji suddenly has his femur jutting out of his skin and he's observing his reaction, while Aki looks both disgusted with him and - not embarrassed. He's not embarrassed at all. A bikini? What the hell??? Denji's never even seen Angel naked, how could he imagine him in a bikini? Not that Aki is thinking about the times he's seen him naked, standing in the shower staring down at him while he sprays him with the showerhead to loosen the devil guts from his hair, red falling from red, his halo lit like a - ]

What the hell is wrong with you...?

[If he scolds Denji he won't have the mental capacity to imagine a bikini on anyone. Right. He's figured this out.]

What kind of messed up dreams do you have where you imagine other people in revealing clothing? Are you crazy?

[Before he can get much further from the image, however, Angel speaks up and asks, "What kind of bikini?" Aki jerks to look at him like he just took his top off to reveal he had one on the whole time or something (no, he's not imagining that!!). Why is he suddenly interested in this line of discussion?!]

W-What?! Piss off! Nothin's wrong with my dreams!

[ His face heats, the flight from indifference to enraged a short one as soon as Aki opens his mouth. He was playing by the rules. He did things the right way, and he's still getting told off for it…? Plus, what's with that weirdly keen look in his eyes, behind all that repulsion — Aki's refocuses his attention elsewhere, then, and another twinge of annoyance spikes up Denji's neck, his jaw grinding. This jerk…

He folds his legs up so that he can duck rest his chin between his knees. Sulking a little. It was just a dream. All people, not even just guys, can have those types. It's normal. …Right? Ah, maybe he should ask Makima —

Angel asks him a question and Denji's eyes lift, warily. ]

It was like, uh, the frilly kind… Pretty stuff only girls wear. And, I'unno… You had on these really long socks? Sockings? Stockings? Whatever, they were a part of this, like, full-body bra thing. I remember there were bows on 'em. And they were see-through.

[ What Denji's describing is less of a traditional bikini and more like a luxury basque set. Obviously, he doesn't know that, though. ]

[That doesn't sound like a bikini. Aren't bikinis for swimming? You wouldn't wear socks when you go swimming. Angel looks kind of interested in the image that Denji's supposed subconscious created while Aki looks even more mortified than before, his eyes wide as he stares at Denji in disbelief.]

You really dreamed of something like that?

[He's been mistaken for a woman enough times before but it never really bothered him, personally. Angel isn't the sort to care for how people perceive him. But Denji having such a vivid, sexual dream about him... That, he's never experienced, to his knowledge. Does he have those about other devils?]

Did you do anything with the me in your dream? [And Aki finally intejects, "I don't want to know that! Don't ask him that!" Angel looks a little put out, staring across at him with a frown.] I'm curious. I never hear anything about anyone else's dreams.

[ Being faced in concert with the heat of Aki's disdain and the coolness of Angel's interest has Denji fenced in between two very, very hard places. He doesn't exactly want to peeve his housemate any further than he already has, especially when he seems set on punishing him tomorrow for his other transgressions. It'd be annoying if he heaped more crap on top of that. On the other hand, though, it's kind of a rare occasion for Angel to wanna know more about… anything. Let alone anything involving Denji.

In the end, Denji averts his gaze away from them both, scratching an itch behind his ear. ]

I just brushed your hair and helped you take off your socks. That's it. [ His eyes pointedly rush to look at Aki's, insistently, as his brows push together. Like a Shiba Inu when they're aware they've acted out. ] I didn't do anything bad!

[ He doesn't mention the way Angel led his hands to the garters of his stockings, staring expectantly at him to unclasp the hooks, the way his gaze shook when he rubbed the underside of his knee, then peeled the sheer garments down. Definitely doesn't mention that Aki was there, too, but that was a different part of the dream entirely. ]

[Brushed his hair and took his socks off... Angel's expression falls, now looking slightly annoyed as he sighs.]

Even in your dreams you're touching me without asking. Don't you know by now I don't want you to touch me?

[At this, Aki's eyes nearly bug out of his head as he looks at Denji, jaw agape. "What do you mean, touching him? Why are you trying to touch him?!" But Angel interrupts before he can continue his freak out.] I told him not to. I keep telling him not to, but he keeps bumping my shoulder and grabbing my arm and stuff. It's so annoying. [Aki stares at Denji in horror, like Angel just calmly explained how Denji has been playing Russian roulette every night with a loaded gun. To him, it's the same thing.]

I'on't get it.

[ He says, quietly. It's starting to get warm in here, so he begins to remove his arms from Power's sweater.

Gives him something to do as he ponders what the hell's with this reception. Russian roulette, blackjack, whatever — he doesn't want to play this game anymore. Not if they're both just gonna keep ganging up on him like this. Feeling the need to defend himself, though, and thus, keep giving them rope to wrap around his neck, Denji grumbles on. ]

None of that stuff means anything, right?! Ain't like I'm tryna flirt with you. [ And one more thing he can't forget: ] Anyway, I did stop! I haven't done any of that stuff you said I did in like…

[ Maybe an hour. ]

A long time!

[A long time...? It's been like an hour, how does he think that kind of lie would pass? Angel stares at him, considering saying something about how he was grabbing him in the kitchen, but before he can decide, Aki speaks up.]

Alright, enough, already. I don't want to hear anything else about your weird dreams. Just don't try and touch him from now on. Got it?

[Partially it's for Denji's safety. Aki has no desire to find out if Angel's touch works on him or not with his whole perpetual motion machine thing and certainly has no desire to find out tonight. But he also just doesn't really want to find out if he can touch him. If he's able to when no one else is. He pats the cards and pushes them toward Denji.]

There's one more round, right? Finish things off, I'll let you deal this last one. [Hopefully he'll stop pouting if he gives him that.]

…Yeah, well, don't mind if I do.

[ While he attempts to maintain indifference, he's just not as skilled at it as either of his fellow players — the pittance Aki gives him lightens his expression a level or two, immediately. His mouth even clamps tight and thin, like he's barely withholding the urge to do something goofy, like smile, for whatever inexplicable reason.

He slides the rest of the deck fully to his end, picking it up as he begins mixing the cards. This time around, Denji doesn't try to pull any fast ones on them. He doesn't count the cards, doesn't mark or fold any of the corners, and he doesn't try steal any glances. It's the last round. At this point, whoever wins, wins. Whoever loses, loses.

The cards get distributed.

Denji takes one look at his hand and — ah. He flips them over to show off a lucky 21. Right off the bat, there's no beating that hand. ]

Edited 2023-11-21 04:08 (UTC)

[He's seriously so easy to win over. Aki tries his best not to roll his eyes as he takes his own cards, studying them as the game progresses. He can't tell if Angel is even trying to play, but when they're turning the cards over, he scoffs at his hand first - a 21, really? Then looks at Denji's and does a double take.]

How the hell did you two get the same hand?

[Literally the same, aside from the suits, of course. Aki stares at them in obvious confusion. Did Denji cheat? Did Angel? No, Angel definitely wouldn't put effort into that. What the hell? He sets his cards down with a light groan, rubbing his forehead. Regardless, he's lost, only getting a seventeen. Himeno always told him he plays too safe with these games. He rubs his head and sits back.]

...Seriously, I don't know. You've both seen me look like an idiot plenty of times, isn't that enough?

[As in, does he have to share some kind of embarrassing story? Angel's seen him fall flat on his face and Denji has left him rolled over in an alley after kicking him in the balls enough to affect his would-be heirs. Not that he plans on having any of those. But Angel shakes his head - "Even I thought of something embarrassing that neither of you knew about." Aki wants to argue that what he shared wasn't actually that embarrassing, more of a vague faux pas than anything, but...]

[Ugh. He hates when he stares at him like that. Like a spouse silently chastising another. Aki sets his jaw and thinks. Thinks of something far back enough that he can laugh about it now instead of getting red in the face.]

...Fine.

[He's not pouting or anything. It's just late, and he's tired. These two crashed his pity party, he's allowed to be a little put out.]

When I first enrolled in Public Safety... I stayed with Master Kishibe for a few weeks for basic training. And after he beat the shit out of me, he told me he'd give me the rest of the day off. So I went to take a shower, and he stole my clothes, then ambushed me when I came out looking for a towel and beat the shit out of me again. And told me, "devils don't give you days off."

[He still very vividly remembers rolled over nude in the training hall, laying in a puddle of water and blood. But Angel's expression says what he won't actually voice: That's not embarrassing, that's just stupid.]

Whiskers has been pullin' the same trick that long, huh… [ There's a joke in there about old dogs, new tricks, et cetera, but Denji's not gonna be the one to say it. ] Such an a-hole.

[ In contrast to Angel, the draw of Denji's brows has a more thoughtful cant. It's certainly interesting intel. He never knew those two went so far back, but it makes sense in a way — the knots of their ties always did look kinda similar to him. In the back of his mind, he makes a note to ask him what the inside of Kishibe's bachelor pad is like, whether he actually sleeps in a bed of empty scotch bottles like what he and Power have been suspecting for the longest time. ]

What, so that's embarrassing for you? [ Their game pretty much done with, he begins to slide off the bed, gathering the cards into one big pile to be formed back into a deck. When Kishibe brained him between the eyes with his knife that one time during training, that hadn't really been humiliating, so much as a pain to his back joints from waking up after spending a few hours dead on the walkway. ] C'mon, dude, you don't have anything juicier up your sleeve? Nobody ever pants'd you in front'a Miss Makima? 'cause I think someone should one of these days.

[ How ominous.

That aside, Denji's idea of juicy is rather juvenile! He'd take anything else, so long as it's a bit more scandalous… ]

[That's not embarrassing?? Getting jumped when you're nude by a guy twice your age isn't embarrassing?! It was worse than just getting beat up, he was naked!]

[...But slowly Aki's expression cools with recognition of who he's talking to: Angel has almost no body shame whatsoever and Denji has walked from his room to the bath completely nude when he forgot something on more than one occasion. Trailing water all over the floor, at that. Maybe he's misjudging what can count as an embarrassing story for these kinds of people. He sighs and shakes his head at the idea that he's ever had anything embarrassing happen in front of Makima. As if. Who cares - they all told shitty stories, so it's fine if -- ]

[-- And then Angel speaks up, his tone low and a little like he's on the edge of sleep.]

What about that time you got us kicked out of that pachinko parlor?

[Aki's head whips to look at him, his eyes wide and face immediately going bright red as he snaps, "We didn't get kicked out!" Angel shrugs. Forcibly escorted out is essentially being kicked out.]

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