✧ — four seasons green tea.

[boba]

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[selfconcept]

"I won't stop you from doing that."

[ Elysium is free to do whatever he wants, but there are always consequences for each action. This is something Hien keeps in mind all the time, but he just facetanks consequences on a regular basis, so does it matter at some point? ]

"But no, I'm not tired."

[ Hien, unfortunately, thinks the same about everyone worrying about him being the most tiring part. He's good to go, right as rain... apart from the river having taken away his sense of taste and memories of his own one-sided toxic yaoi. He should be mentally exhausted by nearly losing his sense of self and then crashing the fuck out, along with having his Mode Change on overdrive (the sound of gears jamming instead of turning normally), but no. Hien is who he is, and it isn't the first time that he nearly lost his identity. He dies on a regular basis. This is normal for Hien's standards.

It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt every time it happens, but that's not what this is about. ]

"... Maybe it's karma for having killed a few people there with the faces of the ones from here."

[ your negative modifiers............. ]

[transmit]

[ ely's nat20… ]

If it makes you feel better, it's probably equalised by how you died in ours and came back possessed…

[ that is probably not how it works but okay

his fingers quietly curl around hien's. the levity helps. ]

[selfconcept]

[ ely's nat20... ruined by the fact that Hien stabbed elysium in the face in his cyoa. Probably. ]

"Is it really better..."

[ He gives Elysium's hands a brief squeeze and huffs. ]

[transmit]

We all died, killed, and were influenced to do all sorts of terrible things, so yeah!

[ …

he finally lets his hand slip from hien's, fingers finding their way into his hair to give it a playful muss. ]

I don't know why you chose the library when you don't seem all that fond of doing anything in it. Was part of it wanting to get into mischief…?

[selfconcept]

[ MISCHIEF!! At The Library

Hien doesn't fix his hair, leaving it like it is. ]

"I was already here when I messaged you... and you pretended I wasn't there despite sitting next to me. The nerve of you."

[ He already misses holding his hand. It feels strange empty without it. ]

"So maybe you're right to ask me why I chose it. I was reading books to get my mind off things, but I stopped when I felt your presence because you deserved my full attention."

[transmit]

It's a library……

[ again. the wryness his voice is unmistakable.

and yet, his hand stills, fingers sliding along hien's cheek to catch his chin, his thumb tracing the lower line of his lip with absent familiarity. there is something wrong about the gesture, especially in light of the past few days, but if he just pushes his thoughts aside, reduce everything else to white noise—it becomes easier to let his body be the guide. ]

Reading aloud's already pretty deviant. [ that same thumb hooks between hien's lips. ] If that's what you wanted over quiet companionship, you could've made that clearer.

[ … he supposes that is more characteristic of their relationship than anything else, at this point. ]

Full attention for full attention. [ he tilts his head. ] What now?

[selfconcept]

[ The way Elysium keeps doing things that has Hien double-take even while so absently makes Hien reel internally for a bit. ]

"I'm more curious on what you're thinking... or not thinking, with how your thumb is almost in my mouth."

[ Does he want to be comforted?

Would that make him happier? ]

"I like hearing you... I like listening to your voice."

[transmit]

The part where you're forced to be quiet is the appeal for a lot of people, I think.

[ frames it as an objective third party… ]

But if it wasn't a request, forget it.

[ he takes back his hand and gets ready to stand. ]

[selfconcept]

[ Okay, Elysium! Whatever you say! Hien thinks back on his wording, wondering if it really sounded like that, because he sure didn't mean it that way. It wasn't a request, but... ]

"Do you have to be somewhere tonight?"

[ He blurts that out and pauses. This sure sounds like an invitation, but that's not what he means. ]

"Let me help you rest... or just... I want to help you relax. Maybe get a good night's sleep. Or... something."

[ He's still concerned about Elysium's well-being—not just physically but mentally too. ]

[transmit]

Yeah. I have to be back early to wake up for my office job.

[ well. it has become painfully obvious now that hien hadn't meant anything about meeting a library at all. okay. he snorts out a laugh, fingers combing through his bangs in idle disbelief. airheads… ]

Imagine if that's what I left you with. But no, I was going to stick around for however long it seemed you needed company for. It would've been an asshole move to bail while you were pouring your heart out, wouldn't it?

[ stop making it about him… the more he makes it about him, the more elysium's just going to dig in his heels. ]

[selfconcept]

[ But was he pouring his heart out? Hien didn't think so, but he's pretty open about things even on a bad day. ]

"Then let me sleep with you—in a literal sense. I want your company."

[ Hien gets up and leans in to try and scoop Elysium bridal style. ]

[transmit]

[ he could've been pouring his heart out silently… okay… never mind that their dynamic has never been like that.

and if hien thinks elysium will let himself get scooped up so easily, he absolutely won't, instead reaching for his hand and tugging him back up. it might've worked the first time when he'd been distracted and caught off-guard, but he's far too self-sufficient to accept it on a recurrent basis. ]

… It's not like you haven't had it. —Let's walk.

[ while holding hands… ]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien huffs, but he can accept the compromise of holding hands while they walk. Physical affection!! Even with things as small as this, he likes it a lot.

But right. No teleporting. Just walking to Purrfect Penance. It doesn't take much to make Hien happy, which is what people seem to be concerned about... the little things make him happier than the grand. Like this handholding. ]

"You don't like being carried, huh..."

[transmit]

[ no… ]

Do you want to be carried?

[selfconcept]

"Depends."

[ He swings their hands a little, though his mind drifts a bit. Since it's still thoughtshare, Elysium will hear the following in a muted but very familiar voice,

"In another life, what you asked for probably could've been yours." ]

[transmit]

[ normally.

normally, elysium has his policy of respecting people's thoughts. but this is where he gives in, hand tightening around hien's. ]

… Don't take the things I said to try and snap you out of it too seriously.

[selfconcept]

"It's a nice sentiment, but this is the only life I have that I'll ever live."

[ laughs in dwrp exceptions ]

"What do you think I would have asked for?"

[transmit]

No idea. I told you I say things just to say them.

[ this is such bullshit!!!!!!!!! ]

If you had one wish, what would it be?

[selfconcept]

"I do too."

[ But at least he's open about being genuine, even if it's. Weird. Or strange. They're really just two kinds of people of "just saying things". ]

"For you to be happy."

[transmit]

… I'm responsible for my own happiness. How about you wish for your own?

[selfconcept]

"It's not that hard for me to be happy."

[ He'll admit that, so. ]

"I keep saying it... seeing others happy makes me happy too. I have a feeling that people keep brushing it off as some cheesy thing that most don't mean, but it means too much for me."

[transmit]

It's not that hard for me to be happy, either. It's enough for the people around me to be and to be able to greet the day every morning.

[ He can admit to this much, too. Although— ]

I think saying it so often is what makes it come across as disingenuous. Rather than just telling people you want them to be happy, the gestures and actions would probably carry you further. Not that I think you're lying about it.

[selfconcept]

"That depends if they want me to be the one who makes them happy."

[ He shoots a pointed look at Elysium while still swinging their hands. ]

"I do it a lot, I think... mostly by cooking them food, or making them presents... giving them a hug, be a listening ear..."

[ ... ]

"Do you want me to distract the cats for you?"

[transmit]

[ hien asking this of someone who ran away from home and has lived independently for more than half his life is, honestly, kind of funny. elysium doesn't look particularly uncomfortable, but his gaze does drift off to the side. what, does this mean he's the only one hien says this to? ]

… Huh? [ that snaps his attention over to him. ] You don't need to go that far.

[ it's different, so different, when you're forcing someone's hand jokingly over having it offered freely. ]

Rather… you already sound like you have your plate full doing things for other people. Be a little more selfish with your time, or something.

[selfconcept]

[ Look... he can't forget the time when the cats messed with Elysium when he himself was tiny, even if he missed out on seeing most of it. ]

"... Elysium, it's just distracting cats."

[ ??????? ]