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"It's a fun thought, isn't it, not needing to do nearly so much work keeping a body going!" Kuon laughed a bit. Her fingers traced down Takuto's spine, feeling each vertebrae under the thin fabric of the pajama shirt. "I still think you'd wear the look spectacularly. You make everything else look good, after all."

Takuto pleasantly hummed under her touch- imagining her working through integrating the metal into his skin and vice versa. If only so that they didn't get held back by their human skin...

"Again, while I am very flattered- I think I will look more closely to an old man who's learning how to run again," he chuckles weakly. "If anything you...looking like a pure tech goddess. Creator of EMMA. Sharp, bright and beautiful. It would be delightful."

"Ohh... do you think I'd pull off the cyberpunk look? Limbs and organs replaced, plugged directly into my computers... heh heh. I'd make sure I had soft parts, though - it'd be no good if you couldn't enjoy cuddling against me, would it?"

Softly, she laughed a bit.

"Getting to integrate and explore in a system empowered by Azathoth... that would be pretty fun."

"Maybe it would be more like...hugging a sturdy plush. I don’t know," he continues with a little giggle of his own. "Still won't keep me away from the softness that resides here~"

He presses his cheek against her chest- close to her heart. "I really do your love your warmth."

Really, Takuto would never admit any of this out in public. Such talk is only reserved for Kuon to savour.

A heart that beats just a little faster with him snuggling like this. A heartbeat that is subtly muted over a low, soft chuckle from her as her fingers found their way back into his hair like they were drawn magnetically.

"I'm glad it serves you well. Finally it serves someone at all."

His brows furrow a little at her sentence, the ease in his gaze shifting to a swift melancholy that barely holds any place when they are in each other's company.

"You have served people before," he says. "Your programs. Your codes. Your work to improve people's lives...and they appreciate it. Don't sell yourself like that."

Edited 2025-09-23 18:13 (UTC)

"Yes, I suppose that's true enough," Kuon replied, though there was absolutely no indication that she actually conceded. Finding the fruits of her labor useful and helpful was nice, but she knew what a poison pill she was to so many - they all otherwise preferred taking her work without indulging in her presence. Not unless they wanted something, that is - her money or her body.

At least with Takuto, she didn't revolt him. It was much, much nicer giving him the fruits of her labor, compared to those that spoke so harshly when they thought she couldn't hear.

She didn't concede, huh?

Takuto raises his head and pulls her close- tucking her into his embrace this time. "The code's taking time to compile, hm?" He grins teasingly. "Don't worry. It's as you say- we will figure it out."

Mercifully, Takuto continues on after just a short pause, letting her know she didn't have to answer right away but- "What was your first project? Like...it could be college or when you were young...what was the first thing you coded for yourself?"

"Coding mods and hacks for some of my favorite video games," Kuon chuckled, happy to snuggle into him. Her cutie... he could keep her as his forever.

"Nerd," he teased back, grinning while allowing himself this very moment of quiet. "Tell me more. What did you mod?"

"All kinds, but especially Dokemon and other Nontendo games. Glitch fixes, glitch exploits, custom dokemon, romhacks... then I got older and started coding for websites for fun, before burying my head in programming textbooks and lessons online."

"You did all that without the lessons?!" His eyes widened, shocked at well- her list of experience. He, himself, was simply stuck in tutorial hell...and he liked to think of himself as proficient in studies.

He reaches out and cups her head. Like someone holding two pieces of bread to a sandwich. "My smart sandwich."

And then he giggled, brightening up like he didn't just do the most immature thing ever.

"Or planktonic smart sandwich? Either way, that's miles ahead of what I could have done. I was more into studying the usual curriculum of a school in a small town."

Kuon laughed, cheeks warming at the heaped praise and teasing combo. This man...

"Sure! I'm all yours, Takuto," she laughed, a little pleasantly bewildered, crossing her arms around the small of his back in a loose hug. "There was a trade-off... I was awful at my grammar and lit analysis papers. Those were probably easy for everyone except me."

She just never knew what answer the teachers were looking for...

"Lit analysis papers can have their twist and turns," he shrugged lightly. "Everyone has different interpretations of the same story after all."

"If it helps, I wasn't that good either until Rumi helped me picked up my literature grades."

His expression sombers a little even as he mentions her, thinking of the days when she used to sit by his side.

"Hmm... been nostalgic about her, lately? Is that what's got your heart aching and mind racing, tonight?" she asked, not bothered by the idea of it. She kissed at his collarbone.

Saying that and then kissing on his collarbone...hm.
He doesn't let go, doesn't even flinch even as a sad smile graces his lips. Whatever mood Kuon is in, he would follow. Even if...

To simply forget it all.

"Hamuko caught me slipping up," he muttered. "Nothing about her dreams or their connection to me but..."

"Hmm? If not about her dreams, then what did she 'catch' you on?" Kuon asked, looking up at him somewhat curiously. Huh. So it wasn't just him missing his amnesia-ridden fiance?

He chuckled with no humor.

"Her sleeping reminded me of Rumi's comatose state," he admitted- looking up at Kuon. "I ended up...rambling."

"Then we started talking because apparently Satyr mentioned Rumi's name too and things just took a whole turn and I-" he ran his fingers through his hair, bangs pulled back. "It just...wasn't right."

In a rare expression, Kuon actually cringed. Ah... he'd confided that story to her privately, and he probably didn't want to tell it all over again.

Much less to a teenager.

"It reminded you of Rumi, huh... you could have told her you weren't going to talk about that, Takuto. You shouldn't let some teenager pressure you into opening up."

"She's a teenager forever, you know?" he replies back- eventhough he knows this whole situation was just. Bad. Awful. He shouldn't have opened up at all...much less.

"She caught me rambling to myself," he clarifies. "I didn’t...I didn't want to tell her everything but- she's lost loved ones too. Ones she wished for at the shrine with me."

"I thought...maybe it would make her feel less alone. She's been so honest with me so far."

Not to mention the fact that he was still keeping things for her. It felt so close to how things had happened with him and Akira-kun.

Too soft... poor thing. She knew that Takuto couldn't handle turning a blind eye to someone else, especially someone in such a dramatically sad state.

"I'm guessing it didn't resonate with her?" Kuon asked, gently cupping Takuto's cheek as he spoke, stroking it gently as she listened carefully.

The hand on his cheek shouldn't be unexpected but it makes his gaze flicker to a torn look, for the briefest moment. The dam was filling up slowly and the waterworks were threatening to overwhelm him.

"We couldn't have been any different," he rasped. "She's...so naive. She thinks I should be sad at the fact that Rumi has no idea how loved she was that's-!"

"I tried. I tried so many months as I brought up her family. Any type of connection to the past that would bring her relief but it just- doesn't work like that! Everyone here thinks they can battle their problems out. That's fictional! Needless! Rumi was saved...shouldn't that matter the most?"

As Takuto became emotional, Kuon put her full effort into listening, and thinking about his words.

"Sad that Rumi doesn't remember how loved she was... hmm."

She touched her chin in thought, but kept cradling Takuto's cheek with the other hand. Why would such a thing be so sad...? Being sad about being forgotten sounds normal, but being sad that someone had forgotten someone else...? Empathy seemed like such a curse.

"I see... maybe it has more to do with the fact that Hamuko-chan is dead," she speculated. Gently, she lowered her hand from her face and brushed back Takuto's hair softly. "She might be projecting - after all, to her, all she has left is that her loved ones might remember her, even though she's gone. They say your final death is the very last time anyone says your name, after all."

"...See, if she were asking if you were sad for longing for her, that would make more sense to me," Kuon said, adopting a soft tone. "Because of course you would be - that's the normal response."

~~That's why people found her so abnormal, when her parents...~~

"And clearly you can't change that feeling. But having that feeling doesn't mean you can't also be glad that Rumi isn't suffering - people hold contradictory feelings and thoughts all the time, don't they?"

"She was worried about that too," he adds even as he feels himself clinging to Kuon, desperately so even as he felt greatly spoiled by having her comfort him like this.

It was strange, living with the fact that someone stood by him regardless of the sacrifices he was and was willing to make.

He nods mutely.

"It contradicts...but my heart is still delighted that she can keep going on happily," he admitted freely.

"Wish that's how things had ended..."

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