"Hmmm... more like... ah! Yes, more like a bungee cable. Pulling you right back up after you take the fall for someone," Kuon offered, in counter, sounding very pleased with herself for what she felt was an apt metaphor.
"Think it'll take her mind off of your hurt? I don't know... you two have been bonding over what deeply empathetic people you are, she might not be that easy to shake," Kuon chuckled in turn, pausing to kiss his hair.
"Actually, what did you say when she suggested that you're self-destructive?"
Hamuko is so many things. Things he respects. Things he scoffs at. Things he wishes he could change. Things he wishes she stopped glamorising like her naive belief in humanity even when there's tol many cases of pain only propagating because of the human heart.
At her question, feeling the ghostly feeling of her lips against his forehead, his smile turned sad.
"She said far worse," he admitted. "Things that...she used to feel and think about. Things she thinks she sees in me."
He leans forward, swiftly moving his leg between them so he can shift position. Lying on top of her. Holding her close like this. His. For however long or short their time here with me.
"But I don't have to worry about those things right now," he says happily. "Since I have you. As long as you are here...with me, I don't have to think about what she said."
He looks down at her, straddling her carefully. "I don't have to think about how...easy it is to sometimes think that all I find myself end up doing is hurt people."
She embraced him, tightly and fondly, as he curled even more tightly into her. Her poor, hurting man...
"People are fragile, and it's so easy to do, even when you're trying to help," she agreed, combing her fingers through his hair. "But you heal, and create, all the same - look at your beautiful daughter. She will also always be the pure proof that you create such beautiful, wonderful things. She'll be by your side, too, and beyond - making people happy. Take comfort in that. Take pride in that."
Love... it's a far deeper well than anyone thinks.
His heart soared a little by her words. Words that he couldn't even imagine recieving from last year where he had to live with scorn and distrust. To have such a beautiful, sharp and caring woman by his side- there was really nothing more he could have asked and wished for her in his long trenching path to humanity's salvation.
Eve...
"Our beautiful daughter," he quietly added- looking at her with a quiet softness in his eyes as he lowered down to kiss under her chin. "Thank you...for giving me the chance to create alongside you."
"I am proud to have made it possible," Kuon lightly laughed at the kiss, hugging his shoulders fondly. It really is too bad that they'll inevitably part, when pulled away from here, but... "I will always be a phone call away. And... I'm sending Ancile with you, when you go back. She can be there to remind you of your potential... and to live with you in your godly immortality. A little part of me for you to keep with you in defiance of the boundaries of time and space."
Godly immortality, he chuckled lightly against her skin, giddy by the idea of it now that he was really here in her arms. "I will be honoured to have a piece of you with me," he claims while continuing to kiss along the slope of her neck. "Igor-san and his attendants for all their resistance couldn't have possibly fathomed what we came up with-! It almost made me think of my own ex-professor back home...hah. The look on their faces."
"Exactly! And she is an absolute sweetheart, wouldn't hurt a fly - take that, Mary Shelley!" Kuon laughed along with him, enjoying the idea that they really did buck the natural order and were right.
She loved the feel of his lips on her neck, the giddy little laughs, the distance from that suicidal sadness...
The world couldn't have comprehended it even if it tried to but that's the beauty of their relationship, isn't it? Not quite friendship...not quite romantic...
Planktonic. In its own unique way.
Still. He wasn't essentially in the mood to go fully further yet so he stopped close to pulling at the very collar where the turtleneck started. Staring at her quietly for a moment, his gaze shifted to the side. "I hope the Maruki in your world gives you good company too," he says. "If he hasn't conceded."
She figured he'd be too tired or low to really have the heart to get intimate - that didn't bother her. So long as he was smiling and finding something to enjoy, that was good enough.
"The Maruki in my world? Hmm... well, maybe he never got anywhere because he is still happily doting on his fiance," she shrugged in thought, "or perhaps he is as much of a failure as the one that twisted Morning. Maybe he simply never got blessed with Azathoth and so we'll never meet. Or maybe he's just like you. No matter what... you'll be my favorite one. So you don't have to get jealous."
He chuckles lightly at her hypothesis. A world where he got to live a happy-ever-after with Rumi...wouldn't that have been something? If he wasn't...blessed to play such an important hand for humanity, even if it meant his wounds had been slashed in deep.
"I have no reason to be jealous," He easily admitted while leaning forward to bump his nose against hers with a little giggle. "I just...I want my doll to be taken care of. If you are the bungee rope, I want to be your reassurance that you won't crack."
"This research...has to go through. And you make it possible through your words and actions. That Maruki would be lucky to have you."
"Oh, don't you think that would get you out of the obligation to call me once in a while. Godhood or not, I know you'll be able to operate your phone from here - if what the others say is true, we should stay connected."
All of that, so soon after talk of 'self destructive' behavior? Tsk, even SHE picked up on that, Takuto.
"I want updates! Pictures of you and Ancile out and about! Pictures of your paradise! And I'll send you what EMMA and I accomplish."
"Eh-?" He startled a bit, eyes narrowing with the same amusement as before. "Ah...haha."
He would try doing that to the best of his ability. He will do what he can to keep the Kuon Ichinose in his world happy too.
"Sure," he grinned in glee. Though he isn't so sure about simply getting rid of a person's heart either but that's... a heavy enough talk for another time. "You and Ancile need to be in contact too, even if we are universes apart."
"And thanks...for hearing me out," he adds. "I mean it."
"Always," Kuon affirmed, spoiling Takuto with another kiss on the forehead. "That's what friends do. Or at least, what my friendship means."
She's probably far more close with Takuto than anyone, even those who had tried to get a bit closer... Takuto seemed more like he could understand her than anyone else, really.
"Studies show that crying is good for catharsis, and I assume it's best done with someone there to comfort, isn't it? So you don't need to hold back. I won't judge, and I won't tell anyone."
"It's not a friendship I have ever experienced before," he admits with a hesitant smile. He's always learnt that some sort of romantic undertone beneath sex. It's why he usually enjoys it but...if he enjoyed it with Kuon did it mean he actually had feelings for her? Or was it still platonic?
Did it even matter? Especially when it comes to relationships. If its what makes her happy, isn't that what matters most?
"The social baseline theory," he says lightly while savouring the spoilings Kuon offered him. He really should spoil her some other time- though hopefully him snuggled in close atleast amounts to something. "Our nervous systems always works efficiently when we are with someone. Call it instinctual."
"But its...fine. The only time I have got that emotional was.. Haha well~"
"Or that time on the bench," Kuon added with a slightly amused laugh, assuming he'd just referenced when he'd lost Rumi the first time. That was probably one of his low moments, right?
"Why don't you cuddle up here tonight, then? With what's weighing on your mind, I doubt sleep is going to come easily. May as well relax somewhere like here."
That time at the bench when things felt so big yet percievable for once. Not when he was dragged into the smokes and mirrors as he's dragged in through conversations with Hamuko, but those who held and understood.
With her offer though, he smiled against her- lighting up like a puppy seeing a bone before slipping off to the side and wrapping his arms around her.
"Well, if you insist~ I guess I will indulge myself for the night. Do you need to get up for anything or-?"
"Let me brush my teeth and get into my pajamas. Aaaand I'm going to finish another melonpan first," she giggled, giving him a few kisses on his hair to tide him over for the few minutes it'd take for her to do all of that.
"Alright, but only for a few minutes, you scruffy siren. You won't trick me into falling asleep in my bra," she teased, though despite that, she snuggled against him and tightened her hug.
"Sweet thing. I'll protect you while you're regrowing your shell."
Scruffy siren...you like the scruff, Kuon! Takuto is easily proven right when she tightens her hug around him. Warmth... Such good warmth felt like it was taking him higher than he had ever anticipated before considering the events that took place today.
"And I'll continue to spoil you to the best of my ability," he remarks. "You deserve it."
The eye blooms behind his neck and he feels its presence swimming under his skin, his nerves sparked with activity as he closes his eyes and sinks into her embrace- the illusion of his calm swept away to reveal he was actually looking for a node in his mind.
A node tinged behind a heavy door which barred death. The one linked to Hamuko as he found himself wondering how exactly he could remove Hamuko's need to simply spend most of her time drifting off to sleep. Perhaps actualizing real life experiences or letting her mind bleed a little, giving away the fact that its still a dream or genuinely just manually shutting off the influence during day time. Perhaps that's for the better.
The last thing he needs is her getting alerted or worse...someone else figuring out something suspicious. After his mishaps here, even if Hamuko would prefer her dreams over spending time with him, he can just sacrifice their friendship if needed but he can't allow Kuon, Morning or Ancile be endangered by his issues.
He should still elevate security when needed.
And make sure things go exactly according to plan.
Otherwise...
His fingers sneaked past the hem of her turtleneck to feel the warmth of her spine on his bare skin.
No. He doesn't want to turn to violence unless strictly necessary. This safety of his lab...he can't forsake it.
2/2
"Point me at the ledge before I decide to take the fall, huh?"
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"But yeah I...I like that. I am glad I have you by my side."
For now.
For he knows she wouldn't just be happy by his side. For he knows there might be a time where she would want to be liberated from her pains too.
"And I think I know what to do next with Hamuko's dreams."
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"Actually, what did you say when she suggested that you're self-destructive?"
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Hamuko is so many things. Things he respects. Things he scoffs at. Things he wishes he could change. Things he wishes she stopped glamorising like her naive belief in humanity even when there's tol many cases of pain only propagating because of the human heart.
At her question, feeling the ghostly feeling of her lips against his forehead, his smile turned sad.
"She said far worse," he admitted. "Things that...she used to feel and think about. Things she thinks she sees in me."
He leans forward, swiftly moving his leg between them so he can shift position. Lying on top of her. Holding her close like this. His. For however long or short their time here with me.
"But I don't have to worry about those things right now," he says happily. "Since I have you. As long as you are here...with me, I don't have to think about what she said."
He looks down at her, straddling her carefully. "I don't have to think about how...easy it is to sometimes think that all I find myself end up doing is hurt people."
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"People are fragile, and it's so easy to do, even when you're trying to help," she agreed, combing her fingers through his hair. "But you heal, and create, all the same - look at your beautiful daughter. She will also always be the pure proof that you create such beautiful, wonderful things. She'll be by your side, too, and beyond - making people happy. Take comfort in that. Take pride in that."
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His heart soared a little by her words. Words that he couldn't even imagine recieving from last year where he had to live with scorn and distrust. To have such a beautiful, sharp and caring woman by his side- there was really nothing more he could have asked and wished for her in his long trenching path to humanity's salvation.
"Our beautiful daughter," he quietly added- looking at her with a quiet softness in his eyes as he lowered down to kiss under her chin. "Thank you...for giving me the chance to create alongside you."
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"A little rebellion of our own, correct?"
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She loved the feel of his lips on her neck, the giddy little laughs, the distance from that suicidal sadness...
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Planktonic. In its own unique way.
Still. He wasn't essentially in the mood to go fully further yet so he stopped close to pulling at the very collar where the turtleneck started. Staring at her quietly for a moment, his gaze shifted to the side. "I hope the Maruki in your world gives you good company too," he says. "If he hasn't conceded."
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"The Maruki in my world? Hmm... well, maybe he never got anywhere because he is still happily doting on his fiance," she shrugged in thought, "or perhaps he is as much of a failure as the one that twisted Morning. Maybe he simply never got blessed with Azathoth and so we'll never meet. Or maybe he's just like you. No matter what... you'll be my favorite one. So you don't have to get jealous."
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"I have no reason to be jealous," He easily admitted while leaning forward to bump his nose against hers with a little giggle. "I just...I want my doll to be taken care of. If you are the bungee rope, I want to be your reassurance that you won't crack."
"This research...has to go through. And you make it possible through your words and actions. That Maruki would be lucky to have you."
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All of that, so soon after talk of 'self destructive' behavior? Tsk, even SHE picked up on that, Takuto.
"I want updates! Pictures of you and Ancile out and about! Pictures of your paradise! And I'll send you what EMMA and I accomplish."
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He would try doing that to the best of his ability. He will do what he can to keep the Kuon Ichinose in his world happy too.
"Sure," he grinned in glee. Though he isn't so sure about simply getting rid of a person's heart either but that's... a heavy enough talk for another time. "You and Ancile need to be in contact too, even if we are universes apart."
"And thanks...for hearing me out," he adds. "I mean it."
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She's probably far more close with Takuto than anyone, even those who had tried to get a bit closer... Takuto seemed more like he could understand her than anyone else, really.
"Studies show that crying is good for catharsis, and I assume it's best done with someone there to comfort, isn't it? So you don't need to hold back. I won't judge, and I won't tell anyone."
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Did it even matter? Especially when it comes to relationships. If its what makes her happy, isn't that what matters most?
"The social baseline theory," he says lightly while savouring the spoilings Kuon offered him. He really should spoil her some other time- though hopefully him snuggled in close atleast amounts to something. "Our nervous systems always works efficiently when we are with someone. Call it instinctual."
"But its...fine. The only time I have got that emotional was.. Haha well~"
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"Why don't you cuddle up here tonight, then? With what's weighing on your mind, I doubt sleep is going to come easily. May as well relax somewhere like here."
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That time at the bench when things felt so big yet percievable for once. Not when he was dragged into the smokes and mirrors as he's dragged in through conversations with Hamuko, but those who held and understood.
With her offer though, he smiled against her- lighting up like a puppy seeing a bone before slipping off to the side and wrapping his arms around her.
"Well, if you insist~ I guess I will indulge myself for the night. Do you need to get up for anything or-?"
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"Okay just...two minutes," he protests as he kisses her cheek. "To be fair I should probably brush my teeth too."
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He looks for a little longer, eyes playfully shifting gold like enticing her with his "godliness."
God, this is ridiculous but...its nice. To lay light. And her giggles are adorable. Its a win-win situation for the most part.
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"Sweet thing. I'll protect you while you're regrowing your shell."
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"And I'll continue to spoil you to the best of my ability," he remarks. "You deserve it."
The eye blooms behind his neck and he feels its presence swimming under his skin, his nerves sparked with activity as he closes his eyes and sinks into her embrace- the illusion of his calm swept away to reveal he was actually looking for a node in his mind.
A node tinged behind a heavy door which barred death. The one linked to Hamuko as he found himself wondering how exactly he could remove Hamuko's need to simply spend most of her time drifting off to sleep. Perhaps actualizing real life experiences or letting her mind bleed a little, giving away the fact that its still a dream or genuinely just manually shutting off the influence during day time. Perhaps that's for the better.
The last thing he needs is her getting alerted or worse...someone else figuring out something suspicious. After his mishaps here, even if Hamuko would prefer her dreams over spending time with him, he can just sacrifice their friendship if needed but he can't allow Kuon, Morning or Ancile be endangered by his issues.
He should still elevate security when needed.
And make sure things go exactly according to plan.
Otherwise...
His fingers sneaked past the hem of her turtleneck to feel the warmth of her spine on his bare skin.
No. He doesn't want to turn to violence unless strictly necessary. This safety of his lab...he can't forsake it.