windfall | 01 — i know that it's your soul, but could you bottle it up?

[once they're seated and have everything arranged between them, sunny doesn't waste time swooping in to steal a ball of takoyaki.]

Ahhhh, that hits the spot. I wish I knew how to make these myself. [much like before, she wedges another one between her chopsticks; instead of immediately consuming it though, she stretches her hand out in offering, making sure that the ball is level with akira's mouth] Here, try some before I lose all self-control and eat them all.

[akira takes a seat and watches sunny with some minor fascination, then blinks at the takoyaki ball suddenly being offered to him, gaze flitting between sunny and the takoyaki with some bafflement.]

...Thank you for the meal. [aaaand chomp. he takes the entire thing with his teeth and pulls back to chew thoughtfully, exhaling some steam at points because JEEZ THIS THING IS STILL HOT. to his credit, he doesn't start speaking again until he's finished swallowing.]

I've seen people make some using machines on Youtube... The ones with grids of circles and you're supposed to add batter in them and rotate them with toothpicks as they cook.

[akira seems to have perked up now, because now he's quickly pulling apart his own disposable chopsticks, brushing off some splinters. quick, sunny, eat more before akira sics himself on the remaining ones...!]

Actually, I think that I've seen one of those videos before! There was a really cute dog narrating one...

[gingerly dipping a dumpling into some soy sauce, she waves it a little, in hopes of cooling it down, and then blows on it for good measure] Yhoor ginda tiff — [stops herself from continuing to speak around the dumpling, taking some time to chew and swallow before repeating herself]

You're kinda different from how you are at work. Although, I'm sure that's how everyone is. [after sucking the tips of her chopsticks clean of any residual sauce, she begins gnawing lightly on them in contemplation] Is this your first job?

[letting out a small laugh at sunny's garbled words, akira masterfully plucks up another takoyaki from the container with his chopsticks before leaning back on the bench to chew thoughtfully.]

How so? [he's surveying the containers now, as if figuring out which food to eat next is a decision that requires Intense Meditation.] And yeah, it's probably the first one that decided to take me.

You're a little different at work, too. A lot more... [suddenly akira straightens up and flashes a cheerful look in an alarmingly natural 180, his voice gone warm and inviting without being overly saccharine.] Welcome! How are you? Our specials today are— [and then, just as quickly, he's suddenly looking more himself again, slouching a little.] Or something like that.

[CUE A REALLY AUDIBLE CHOKING NOISE. she'd been shoveling pad thai into her mouth, careful to keep any noodles from dropping, when she witnessed the horrible whiplash that was his impression of her. after swallowing the noodles with much difficulty, she tries to object, but...] I... well... that's...

...yeah, I know. [...she ultimately falls short, siiiiiighing in defeat] It's a force of habit. When I act that way, things just go more smoothly. But, you, you're not like that — I don't think, anyways. I don't know you very well, so...

[upon realizing that she isn't getting anywhere, she makes a mildly frustrated noise] I guess what I'm trying to say is... I didn't think you would be so — funny. Easy to talk to. You just seemed more like... an Edward Cullen than a Jacob Black.

[akira smiles just a little bit, but he seems far too pleased with himself right now...]

It's not a bad thing. If anything, it means you adapt well. No shame in that, right?

[and anyway, even with masks, how much is truly fake? if you can muster that kind of upbeat optimism, doesn't that mean some part of you could believe it? maybe it's deceptive, but people lie by nature, and having different personas in your day to day life is just another part of that, isn't it?]

[still, the comparison makes akira wrinkle his nose a bit.] Can I be someone cooler than a stalker vampire and a werewolf who imprints on someone's newborn? [never mind that this sentence is totally incriminating because it implies he's read the whole series. he's still smiling a little at sunny, rolling his shoulders in what could be a shrug.]

Do I come across as unsocial at work?

[sunny seems oddly focused on stirring her chopsticks in one of the dipping cups, but doesn't make any move to take another bite out of anything yet.]

N-No! I didn't mean to imply that... [she's silent for a moment, trying to think her next words out more carefully.] You just come across as someone who plays it close to his chest — at all times. You don't give away much, even when you're being friendly. So, it's... a little difficult to get to know you.

...but that was only really a first impression. Don't look too deep into it. [and it's not as if he owes anyone any information about himself. when you're a celebrity, it's different. people dig. they want to devour every secret, every detail, until there's nothing left for yourself.

to quell the growing sense of awkwardness swelling in the pit of her stomach, she takes a swig out of her drink, ahhhhhh. in her embarrassment, she'd tipped her bottle a little too much, her mouth overflowing and causing some of the beverage to dribble down her chin.]

Oh, damn it, fuck, augh, can you hand me a napkin?

[akira's silence is a thoughtful one, and he's peering at sunny with an unreadable sort of expression, like some kind of watchful cat. if he had a tail, it'd be swirling in lazy circles. he says nothing as she spills her drink, but he reaches quickly for the requested napkin and passes it to sunny, briefly glancing away so that she can recollect herself without feeling like she's being completely scrutinized.

after a few moments, he looks at her again, his expression gentling.]

Would you say you know me better now?

[his tone is maybe just a liiiittle bit teasing.]

[mumbling a quick thanks, she begins dabbing at her collar. eyes dropping to make sure the spill hadn't gotten anywhere else, her hands only still when he empties his question into the dead air.

after a moment of musing:] Not at all. I can't imagine that you'd want me to.

[for a second, the most traitorous of thoughts penetrates through — but i'd like to — and sunny returns to her dabbing, with more force this time, as if to stamp it out. her collar looks a little worse for wear now, but she seems pleased all the same.]

[during the pause, akira busies himself with opening the styrofoam box for the okonomiyaki, and he splits the food neatly into two halves with a deft flick of his chopsticks. he moves one half to the other side of the box and quietly rips the styrofoam along the fold.]

Why not?

[it's been peaceful for a while, but akira hasn't forgotten about the near run-in with masato, or the fact that sunny hasn't tried at all so far to pry about it. he'd been mentally steeling himself to answer questions, but nothing. not even a "who was that?"]

Even though we were stuck at work longer today, it's been fun so far.

[he stops, looking pensive. there are a lot of things he could say, but none of them feel right.]

...I think it'd be nice hanging out like this again.

[not that the night is over yet, but... in any case, akira wordlessly places the other half of the okonomiyaki box closer to sunny.]

Oh.

[it comes out blandly, mostly from the shock that it'd never quite occurred to her that they could do that — share dinner like this again, under a half-lit lamp, talking the night away until the cold finally gets to them. no catches. no consequences.

she looks at the offered okonomiyaki, and then hesitantly, but deftly, begins to portion out her half into bite-sized pieces.]

Can we? [her voice is tiny and weak, but she doesn't repeat herself] Because I'd really like that.

I don't see why we can't.

[he'd been normal at some point, then on the cusp of becoming something. akira remembers the camaraderie he'd shared with masato and the others, before things changed. maybe it's the kind of thing you never really get over—having that company, then losing it, and trying to remember what it's like to continue day-by-day without it. up until you find other people to fill in the spaces left behind, in their own ways. sometimes better ones.]

Besides, it's nice seeing you outside of customer service mode. [he tilts his head a bit, offering sunny a small smile, before he goes for a fishball from the other container, placing it on top of his okonomiyaki so that some of the sauces bleed into it.]

We're not that different, are we. [it's not a question. sunny had said he played things close to his chest, giving away little. but sunny wasn't especially dissimilar from that notion, either.]

I guess not. [after, all she can do is surrender herself to the laughter bubbling in her chest, uncorked and spilling out with less restraint than she's used to. sunny can't tell if she's relieved or in disbelief — a friend! when was the last time she had one of those? — but her whole body feels warm, and maybe that's a sign that she shouldn't over think it. that she should enjoy it.]

You sure —

[" — know how to eat, ren." the name, the one she feels like she should recognize but doesn't, is caught between a growl and a harsh laugh. either way, it sounds ugly in the cold, open air and it doesn't come out of her mouth, so she looks up. it's not the same guy from earlier standing before them, it's someone arguably angrier.

"masato called, said he saw you, and — god. god, here you are. you, always with the surprises, huh."]

[sunny's laughter elicits a sincere smile from akira—less guarded than his usual. it's not that his typical smile is openly wary, but the contrast puts the two leagues apart. it softens the sharpness of his eyes and the curve of his cheekbones. it's the kind of expression he's worn before around some of the other members of BRAVE, back when they were still a unit. he's seen the announcements since then; they'd changed the original name. triple down, they called themselves. triple, for three.

well, once upon a time, they'd been four.

akira doesn't quite stiffen when he first hears the newcomer; he places the new voice immediately, but it's as though he doesn't quite react. still, the signs are there if anyone knows where to look: the way his mouth smooths from a smile to a neutral line, the way his shoulders tense minutely, the way his relaxed grip on his chopsticks goes tighter in the span of a split second.

it looks like the new year is determined to drag out the worst of his old history in front of the first person he's made meaningful interaction with in months.]

Satoru. [he says it politely, or as politely as it gets; there's little meaningful inflection to his voice. he makes a vague gesture at the food.] At least some things don't change, right?

[he meets satoru's gaze.] Didn't know Masato was supposed to be keeping tabs on me. Is it really a surprise I'm at the square for New Year's Eve?

[the dryness in akira's voice is tangible, and satoru knows it. akira sees the exact moment when satoru draws himself up to full height, which looks impressive enough when akira is seated, but if they were both standing, they'd be evenly matched. "you shouldn't even bother to be showing your face around aurozora anymore," satoru says. "you're done."]

[the night's been full of puzzle pieces sunny has been deliberately ignoring and, it's only now, that she reluctantly fits them all together into one big, unpleasant picture. she knows a mess when sees one; while no one's paid them any mind yet, it's only a matter of time before someone catches a glimpse of one of aurozora's hottest celebs and pulls out their phone.

it isn't her place to intervene, but... someone's got to do damage control. fidgeting with her chopsticks, sunny, in her meekest voice, tries for a diplomatic approach:] Um, maybe... this isn't the right time to have this conversation...

[without even shooting her a glance, satoru's voice cleanly cuts in, a dagger to the ribs.

"there's never a right time," he bites out, taking a single step forward. for a moment, she thinks satoru's going to throw a fist or, at least, pull akira up by his collar. rough him up a bit. instead, he raises his chin, looks down on akira with unbridled disdain, as if daring him to differ. "so, we're not going to have a conversation. i'm just going to speak and you're just going to listen."

her teeth peek out, scraping against her bottom lip. this is awkward. sunny's not sure if she should stay there or leave or try to futilely continue to smooth things over. she's about to shoot akira a helpless look, but her gaze falls on his knuckles.

suddenly, she stands, ignoring the look satoru sends her way.]

Akira, we can go. Tell me you want to leave and we'll leave.

Edited 2018-01-22 03:29 (UTC)

[meanwhile, akira has been silent for the past few moments, face blank, gut churning with the reminders of everything that's happened. if satoru's here, and masato is...somewhere, then it only goes to show that that last rising star of triple down is somewhere in the vicinity. akira doesn't want to deal with saito either. frankly, he can deal with satoru's venomous disdain, or masato's sharp condescension. saito's quiet disappointment, however, is closer to a knife to the ribs than either of the former.

his gaze flickers to sunny when she speaks, and he purses his lips a little, seemingly steeling himself. there's a sorry, sunny on the tip of his tongue but the words don't form yet, because at that moment, satoru interjects again, this time with a dark "leave? like you did last time? don't make me laugh."]

No, we're not going to have a conversation, because there never was one. That's what you've done all along. You always speak, and I'm always the one listening.

[he offers sunny a proper apologetic look, his voice low as he .] Sorry you got caught up in this. You should take the rest of the food home [he stands up as well, looking a little resigned, and steps in front of sunny as if shielding her. then he addresses satoru.] Look, let's hash this out where people won't listen, if you care at all about the others.

[there are words building up in the back her throat, words of support, of encouragement, and they all die on her tongue with one look from akira.]

...okay. [she makes quick work of stuffing lids back down on containers and gathering everything into their respective bags, hanging them from the crook of her arm. it... doesn't feel quite right to leave like this, so she fishes a pen out of her purse, and strides over to akira, carefully taking his hand and laying it palm-side open on her own. sunny scrawls her phone number.]

Call me if you need anything. [with a click of the back-end of her pen, its tip receding in, she turns on her heel.] Get home safe, alright?

[and then, as he'd suggested, she leaves, the sound of her footsteps consumed by the celebrations around them.]

Thanks. You too, okay? [akira turns, watching sunny's retreating back with a small frown before he's interrupted by satoru grabbing a fistful of his collar with a soundless snarl again. a little more brusquely than he normally might handle someone, he pushes satoru's hand off and jerks his head in a nod toward a more secluded area and takes the lead, not checking to see if satoru follows.

he doesn't find it in him to protest against any of the accusations satoru levels at him in the argument that ensues. part of him is just—tired. worn out. he's heard the same things for a while, heard twenty different variations of "you're not going to get anywhere in life" for the past year. right when things seem like they're picking up, it all hits zero again, like a fresh slate without any actual new start. it's a familiar feeling now: internalizing that level of futility, the uselessness in correcting people's misconceptions when they don't care to listen.

it's a long night.

later, he gets home to an empty house and navigates like a silent wraith, mindful of all the different reasons he isn't supposed to be there. he crashes onto his bed—a temporary set-up in the attic—after a quick shower, as if a cold rinse will wash out everything he's heard in the past hour, and unlocks his phone. sunny's neat scrawl peeks out from the planes of his palm, half-hidden by the phone. after a pause, he navigates to add a new contact, titling it simply as "sunny".

another moment of hesitation, and he starts on a text.]

I'm sorry about earlier. That's one way to ruin someone's New Year's Eve, huh?

[he doesn't sign his name, but she'll probably get the point. it belatedly occurs to him it's late, and she should be sleeping, but hopefully she keeps her phone on silent at night... it's probably the last thing she needs to think about when she probably has work the next day. no rest, not even on new year's day, for people in the service industry. akira isn't on shift at the coffee shop on new year's, but he has some hours to cover at the flower shop, because even after new year's eve, it's still a busy time.]

[the walls are thin in sunny's apartment complex, so the sounds of someone's day starting — a shower head turning on in one room, someone microwaving breakfast in another — easily wakes her up. she tries laying completely flat on her stomach, her pillow wrapped tightly around her head, but noise continues to filter through and she has no choice but to open her eyes.

rubbing away the sand and the sleep, she reluctantly pushes herself half-upright. she sits there for a few minutes, the inside of her head still a fog, before the memories of last night — technically, this morning? — slam into her with the force of a freight train. closing up the shop. running into a celebrity. splitting food with akira.

so... that hadn't been some fever-induced dream, conjured up by her poor, lonely, companion-deprived mind?

something from her peripheral catches her attention, and sunny glances sideways at her nightstand. the led light on her phone blinks at her. it feels a little mocking, as if it's daring her to thumb the home screen button. sunny's never done well with pressure.]

...one way to ruin someone's New Year's Eve, huh?

[she echoes the message to herself, contemplatively pressing the top-edge of her phone against her chin. a moment passes, and she returns her sights to her phone screen, quickly adding the number to her list of contacts. remarkably, she keeps a straight face as she inputs akirarara!!x2 into the name line.

similarly, sunny doesn't bat an eyelash as she writes her reply.]

hey! don't worry about it! you were pretty much the best part of my night

[pauses... and then appends the following sticker:]

Edited (u saw nothing) 2018-01-29 21:22 (UTC)

[bzzzrt.

akira isn't exactly a heavy sleeper, but the sound of his phone vibrating from a notification almost escapes him entirely. at first, he nearly ignores it, his mind halfway between the notion that he's not expected at the flower shop until afternoon, and then the other half-formed worry that he's actually supposed to be on shift somewhere else for the day, in the morning, and maybe it's his manager calling to tell him he's going to get fired if he misses it. at the very least, it's not as bad as the time he dreamt he slept through one of his finals.

blinking blearily, hair mussed, akira rolls onto his side and unlocks his phone. he squints a bit at the notification.

sunny has sent an image

it goes without saying that he taps the notification and goes to look. then he blinks, properly registers the message that was sent, and rolls again onto his back so he can stare blankly at the ceiling.

it's too early to feel things.]

...guess she likes dogs.

[he could send one back, buuut...]

Same to you. Maybe another time it won't end as badly?

[...is that being too assertive? akira bites his lip, staring at the dim glow of his screen. "you don't want to ask about what happened?" is on the tips of his fingers, but he knows that asking that would really invite questions even if sunny's been considerate enough not to say anything.

instead of sending an actual message..............]

[time stretches by in painfully slow increments. waiting is a special torture but she throws herself in routine, makes sure that even when her eyes trail back to her phone, it isn't for more than a second.

hygiene? check.

uniform on? check.

breakfast made? er, check. technically. her toaster short-circuited last monday, so she's been using the microwave as a substitute for... warming her bread. day by day, sunny is realizing that the microwave is less of a close brother to the toaster and more of a deliberately distant cousin, twice removed. still, as with the growing mold in the corner of the bathroom, or the ominous creaking of the pipes every time she uses the sink, sunny endures.

ding!

her hand flashes out — and completely misses it mark, fingers clumsily hitting the phone's edge, sending it sliding off the kitchen counter and dropping to floor with a clack loud enough to be heard next door.

literally. she can hear the faint sound of someone asking what was that? goddamn it.

kneeling, sunny gingerly turns the phone over in her hands, inspecting it for damage. no cracks at least. a lot of lint clinging to the screen though. she holds the home button, watches her and akira's conversation open.]

...hah. So cute. [and yet sHE HAS NO IDEA HOW TO RESPOND??? if she should respond. a metaphorical fork in the road.

...

face disfigured in a grimace, she taps send.]

[her hands close over her face, as if to shield herself from her own embarrassment. a long, strangled groan escapes her throat and, through the insulation of her wall, someone says, dude, i think our room is haunted.]

[akira doesn't bother to haul himself out of bed; since it's new year's, the main residents of the house will still be out of town visiting other relatives overseas, so for now, it's his domain. it's a strange mixed feeling—on the one hand, he almost misses the sound of other people bustling around the house, making it feel more alive and lived-in, but the privacy and peace of having it to himself are just as tempting.

he has until the time he needs to start getting ready for work, so may as well just lay in bed and catch up on rest. satoru's harsh words are still echoing in his mind, and having to stand there and take it again was exhausting on a deeper emotional level. there's an exhaustion that's carried over from mind to body, and everything just feels heavy.

that's the thing about satoru: it used to be a little endearingly exasperating sometimes, that he'd love to talk on and on, weaving stories touched up with just enough exaggeration to make even mundane events hilarious. but he doesn't realize how much he drowns other people out in discussion, that dialogue can be two-way, that sometimes you don't need to cut someone off mid-sentence to stop them from speaking. akira used to navigate the whimsies of his personality easily, the waters crisp and clear, but since the fallout, satoru's exuberance has turned dark and volatile, and he bears his teeth more fiercely than masato might, and more openly than saito ever would.

his phone vibrates again. his only reaction is a surprised twitch of his fingers, but it's a welcome distraction.]

...octopuses too. Octopi?

[he scrolls determinedly through his stickers...and...]

Good luck at work today.

[sunny's sudden laughter garners a few glances from the other people waiting for the bus to arrive, and, on any other day, she'd quickly quiet, her silence an apology. this morning, however, her eyes are too fixated on her phone to notice. millenials, someone mutters.]

you try and have a good day, alright!!! don't forget to have breakfast and stay hydrated!

[she doesn't notice the shuttle bus parked in front of her until everyone else has boarded. jolting up from her seat, sunny frantically pockets her phone, forgetting to close out of the message window.]

;lkoop
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[[[po

[the driver watches sunny gather her belongings through the narrow entryway, bored. "time is money, hon."]

I know! Sorry! Thanks for waiting! [with that said, she clambers on, dropping into the first seat she sees, one next to a portly, middle-aged woman who presses herself closer to the window the moment sunny eases herself in beside her. smiling a bit awkwardly, sunny nods her head once, out of courtesy, and then retrieves her phone from her coat pocket, nearly dropping it as soon as her gaze falls on her past few accidental messages.]

ACCIDENT
that was an accident!!! sorry!!!

Edited 2018-03-05 04:19 (UTC)

[akira stares for a few moments at sunny's coffee cat, then the following text message. he's not really supposed to touch the contents of the fridge here unless he can replace the items he's taken. maybe if he can find something that looks like it's getting old in the fridge to finish off for breakfast...]

Not sure if there's any food, but I'll look.

[alternatively, he's not too hungry, so it's not reaaally a necessity...]

You stay hydrated too.

[hopefully it's not so busy that sunny would be forced to skip her breaks... that happens sometimes, and it honestly sucks. especially since they aren't paid for it.

he sets his phone aside during the ensuing quiet, drifting back to sleep in lieu of setting out to raid the fridge for old leftovers. akira awakens again intermittently as his phone buzzes insistently a few times and stares at the strings of characters in the notifications before snickering a little. maybe better to wait a bit to let her recover...?

it seems like a good move when the next three messages roll in.]

Beats accidentally butt-dialing someone at least? Don't worry. It happens to everyone.

[this is probably a sign he should get up for the day... okay, another sticker:]

01 — i know that it's your soul, but could you bottle it up?

SHE'S SO EMBARRASSING I'M SORRY

ITS OK I LOVE HER

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s h i b e

wao

gimme the catfe au lait

here is ur catfe au lait.... except it is cold and 2 weeks late

I'LL STILL DRINK IT. I WILL CONSUME THE ENTIRE CUP

this reply was an intense combo of me writing at work and rigging up the posting on phone huehue