thenearshore | [closed] the best medicine

Entry tags:

[closed] the best medicine

Who: A: Shun, Ren and Yukine, B: Shun, Ren and Fubuki
When: A: June 27th, B: June 28th
Where: A: Cat Cafe Calico, B: Nekhbet's Temple
What: A long overdue plot tweest at the cat cafe (when you find out your friend is friends with That One Asshole), and sleepover 2: the sleepovening (a.k.a. Shun's over a week of sleep deprivation is starting to catch up with him, time to do some things that maybe don't involve running into burning buildings)
Warnings: None yet.

[A]

[Maybe there's other things happening in the city today, maybe it's just a nice enough day that most people don't want to spend it inside. Whatever the reason, Cat Cafe Calico is quiet this afternoon, with only a few small groups left on the lower floor after the busier lunch hours pass.

This is definitely not a concern for Shun, who has work to do and would much prefer the quiet to do it in. This isn't the first time he's had to help out with newcomers to the cafe, but when he's supposed to be "socialising" the kittens as well as taking care of them, cramming himself in the backroom to avoid customers isn't the most productive method of doing it.

With the quiet, though, he ends up in one of the corners of the lower floor, a few cushions strewn around nearby and a short, folding gate up so the kittens can't go having any unsupervised adventures around the cafe if his attention lapses. It's far enough from the current customers to be quiet, but close enough to the door for people to come by and get excited about the kittens if they notice them. At least, that's what Shun's under the impression is supposed to help socialise them.

As it is now, though, the half dozen or so kittens seem to be having a grand time socialising themselves all over him instead. One of them is asleep on his head, another hanging off his shoulder, and yet another one is making an admirable effort of trying to crawl up his shirt, even as Shun bumps it onto its side with one hand in hopes it might serve as a temporary distraction - which it kind of does, given two of the other kittens come tumbling by and catch the third one up in their play-fight as well. He himself is holding another of the kittens with a hand under its belly, doing an apparently routine check of its teeth and ears, and gently pushing out its claws one by one. His focus on the work is intense and unwavering - even more so than he gives it to most things, because as the dark shadows and lines under his eyes suggest, he hasn't really been getting any sleep recently, and it's starting to wear on his ability to multitask. The amount of smoke he went through last night definitely didn't help that either, let alone his hopes of actually being able to do anything strenuous today.

At the very least, the sound of the door opening still makes him glance upwards, if perhaps with an air that says it comes much more out of nowhere than it normally would for someone like him.]

--

[B]

[Training with Ren today was a bad idea, but when Shun was the one who insisted on it, he's definitely not admitting that.

It's about as much as Shun can manage afterwards to busy himself with sorting out water and jugs and cups, and hope to hell the continued movement can disguise the fact that his hands are shaking a little. It's been about nine days since he slept properly, about a week since he stopped trying at all, and while the reasonable part of him knows there's no way he's getting through tonight without either Ren or Fubuki noticing, if not both - though that would imply they hadn't already noticed and he just hadn't admitted defeat yet - the still-dominant unreasonable part is telling him to keep up the facade as long as he can.

So for now, he tries to keep himelf in motion. Moving cups, filling two jugs of water because hell knows how long one is going to last with his throat still itching from the fire, and leaving them on the coffee table in the loungeroom before sweeping up the hall to rap sharply on the wall at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the bedrooms.]

We're done. You can come down. [His voice is a little rough, like it has been for two days now, but he can still make it carry more than well enough up the stairs for his purposes.]

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[Shun had looked tired earlier that very day of the fire. Now Fubuki remembers.]

You should have told me. [He pulls out a pair of earplugs from a pocket—something he'd used when he'd been at Fortuna Temple. It may not have helped Shun—knowing him, he'd already thought about using earplugs, and for all Fubuki knows, he could have tried—but it wasn't something Fubuki thinks was worth hiding.]

[It has always been made clear that they have different priorities, though.]

It's not like I don't have an inkling why you were hiding it... [His reaction to Fubuki's suggesting he might collapse indicated why, pretty much.] ...But what was your solution?

[While Shun hadn't really expected to be able to move on from the subject immediately, he takes another sip of water and looks away a little obviously at the instant switch of focus to his current condition.]

I tried the first two nights, and couldn't. So I stopped trying at all after that, because it was a waste of time. [That bit is more in answer to Ren's question, though when Fubuki pulls those out of his pocket, Shun immediately shakes his head a little.]

Something like that wouldn't help. I'd be too focused on the fact that I couldn't hear anyone approaching. [If there was ever any doubt Shun was on the fringes of paranoid. But the fact remains that hearing nothing at all would be just as bad as hearing the explosions.

While it seems like both of them aren't altogether surprised he was hiding it, Fubuki's question of a "solution" makes him shift a little uncomfortably...because really, he hadn't had one.]

I was going to wait it out. They couldn't keep doing it forever. [Then again, he'd assumed it would be over with the week, and that remains to be seen.] ...I didn't think it mattered that much when I could handle it myself.

[Except clearly that didn't go quite as planned, if both of them had noticed this easily.]

[Well, he can't really fault Fubuki for making the suggestion. He probably would have thought of suggesting that too, and he knows exactly why Shun would have so much difficulty getting to sleep that way too.

So he just goes on frowning at shun, especially when he says what his solution--or rather, complete lack of one--was. That was maybe an okay plan for the first couple days, but not for a whole week or more.]

Not forever, but long enough. [Ren sighs and places his free hand on his hips and silently marvels that he's the one scolding someone else for pushing themselves too hard.] You're not handling it. You're making mistakes and lashing out at people when you'd normally have better control. And you're shaking. If you'd said something, maybe we could have helped.

I also didn't expect the fireworks to let up that soon. [He squeezes his hands together. For some reason he wouldn't be able to explain, something's bothering him really badly about this. Trying to protect them by keeping them out of it and going off on his own... That's...]

[The fact that he's been sitting outside most nights until he nearly drifts off and hurries inside while Shun's been having issues within is just...icing on the cake.]

Ren's right. We could have helped.

[It's too late for that, though, and they're here now, so...] ... Do you think you can rest if I stood guard? I can call for either of you if something goes wrong.

[Shun's fingers clench again, in a way that makes it hard to tell if he's trying to hide the shaking even when it's pointless, or trying to resist the urge to lash out. But they're both right, and even with his self-control as fragmentary as it is right now, the grip loosens after a few moments as he moves a hand to instead twist into his fringe.

It's a few moments before he can admit the error he's overlooked here.]

I've had this conversation before. Months ago, because I drove Joker so far away with this kind of thing that he thought asking for help where he thought I wouldn't recognise it would be better than trying to talk to me. I don't want that to happen again. [He doesn't want it to be happening now, because he already promised Joker he'd try to do better. Even if he's gone, that's no excuse to have slipped like this.

Untangling his hand from his hair, he watches the shaking for a few moments before he curls his fingers, disguising it a little.] I'm not used to having those kinds of luxuries. Things like the chance to recover. To me, as long as I can still function, it's fine. So worrying about it looks like worrying about nothing, because it's not a problem to me as much as a minor hindrance.

[He seems like he's about to let his hand drop for a moment there, but seemingly changes his mind and chooses to hold them against his chest again. This time, though, it's more a natural expression of his reservation after having been that open, and he schools his expression back into something more impassive before he goes on.]

I'm used to sleeping while others keep watch, but that's only if you want to deprive yourself for a problem I created. [Or, at the very least, a problem he let escalate as far as to need measures like that. He doesn't want to outright say "I let it get this far, so it's my problem" after all this, but it's definitely what he feels like right now.]

[As soon as Shun starts talking and it's clear that he's not going to try to brush it off anymore or get angry with them, Ren lets out a long sigh of relief and finally heads over to sit next to him. Of course, he doesn't expect this will be the end of it since shun's spent so long living that way, but it's probably progress.]

For what it's worth, I'm sorry I didn't say anything about it earlier either. maybe we could have fixed this days ago.

[He pulls his legs up so he's sitting cross-legged and almost taking up too much space and smiles over at both of them.]

Hmm, I was thinking of just sitting on him until he fell asleep, but I guess I could help keep watch too. Or we could even stay somewhere in the Near Shore for the night.

["Asking for help isn't a weakness." He thinks about saying it, but he isn't sure he wants to press on that point. There are things that could be understood intellectually but still be things to be bothered by.]

It doesn't make a difference to me. [He suspects that he would lose whatever trust Shun has in him if he does end up dozing off, but he wouldn't be able to sleep outside, anyway. At Ren's suggestion, though—]

I'm a shinki, remember? [Small laugh.] I wouldn't be able to help you with that. [He has no idea if staying in vessel form for long amounts of time would actually be bad, but it's not something he wants to experiment with while Shun is in a bad mood, which he invariably would be if they did try to sit on him.]

[At Ren's attempt at an apology, Shun just shakes his head, before tilting it towards Fubuki to indicate who he's talking about.]

He spent half of our time in Egypt trying to convince me to sit down. I doubt you would've gotten any better of a reaction from me.

[The ideas on how exactly they could get him to sleep are a little weird to him, though, and both Ren and Fubuki get rather dry glances in turn at their suggestions.]

I don't see how sitting on me would help anything. [That one's for Ren, before he turns his attention to Fubuki.] But if that's supposed to mean you think I'd turn you into your vessel for sitting on me, there wouldn't be much point when I could probably still throw you off even in this state.

[Ren is another issue entirely, but Fubuki is pretty much completely untrained, so Shun doesn't imagine he'd even need to resort to that kind of abuse of power. In any case...]

I suppose it's fine to try it here if you're both willing to keep an eye on things. [Ideally while not sitting on him.]

Oh. [Well, he may not have accomplished much, but Ren beams over at Fubuki anyway.] Good job, Fubuki-kun~!

[And then he turns back to Shun with a look that's trying hard not to be mischievous but failing at it.] The sitting is so you won't get up even if you get bored or start feeling like it's a waste of time.

[It would also be less "sitting" and more "lying on". But if he were really invested in that as a solution, he wouldn't have actually mentioned it, so he's not too surprised or unhappy about Shun shooting the idea down.]

I don't know how long I'd be able to stay awake, but I'd be happy to try.

I'm not that light... [He's not that heavy, either, but details.]

[Looks like it's mostly settled. All the fight goes out of him, and he slumps over.] Thank me when Shun's good and asleep.

[He has doubts that Shun would continue to let them know when things bother him, but Fubuki doesn't really expect that such deeply-held convictions could be dispelled overnight. Nothing for it but to ~~keep nagging him~~ continue as they were.]

Ren, you were in the fire, too. You rest with him. [He straightens back up.] I wouldn't be able to sleep outside. [Because the vultures might take him for a dead body when they wake up.]

I could still get up if I wanted to badly enough. [Or he could try very hard to, at least. In his current state, he's not sure it would be as much of an issue to Ren to keep him down. As for Fubuki's weight comment, he only has one thing to say.] I've thrown people at least twice your size before.

[So Fubuki's weight is highly unlikely to be an object, even right now.

When Fubuki tries to take the role on himself, Shun immediately looks mutinous and like he's about to tell him off for it, but...he does have a point. Shun's been concerned enough about Ren's state as is without keeping him up half the night.]

...As long as you sleep in the morning, then. [It's a concession, at least. Not that it's quite relevant yet, though, and Shun crosses his arms.] We'll worry about it when it's actually late enough to sleep, anyway. Or at least after we've eaten.

[As little as Shun might be used to in regards to supplies, he is at least doubtful of how much good resting is going to do them before they've done anything to restore their energy.]

[Ren does pout over at him a little, but Fubuki's not going to have to twist his arm much on that one. He'd definitely prefer to just sleep too than have to stay up half the night if he doesn't absolutely have to.

But his actual concession will have to come later, because as soon as Shun gets to the end of that, Ren jerks upright and claps his hand together.]

Oh, that's right! I still need to make us all dinner. Do you want to help, Fubuki-kun?

[He would ask Shun too, except he's not sure giving Shun a knife is a good idea right now...]

Edited 2017-04-02 06:06 (UTC)

[His response to the insinuation about his weight and the glare from Shun and the look from Ren is to cross his arms.] That's what I intended. [To be honest, he'd probably just crash, regardless of whether he planned to sleep in the morning or not.]

[He doesn't need to asked twice about the cooking, though, and he jumps up.] Yes I do! What are you making?

[Well, if Fubuki's at least thought this through, Shun can't really argue too hard. He doesn't like the idea of shifting responsibility, but Shun isn't really as capable of sleeping during the day since it puts him off his schedule, so he supposes it's fine as long as they're both getting what they need out of it.

Unfortunately, Ren not technically asking him for help doesn't mean Shun isn't going to make his own assumptions, and he moves to stand up as well.]

I can help too. [Surely it'll get things done a little quicker with all three of them.]

[A good answer! Ren beams over at him as he gets to his feet and starts heading toward the kitchen.]

Stir-fry! I wanted to do something easy that wouldn't be too overwhelming for Kurosaki.

[But speaking of Kurosaki...Ren is awfully tempted to give him another of those unimpressed looks, since even he should know that he shouldn't be helping with his hands shaking the way they are. At least, not with cutting stuff up, which is going to be most of it...]

You could make the rice again, Kurosak-ki.

Edited 2017-04-03 00:47 (UTC)

[Ah, this cozy atmosphere. How relaxing.]

[Before he heads to the kitchen, he takes out his phone and does exciting cellphone wizardry to make sure he can call either Nekhbet or Inanna easily. He wouldn't think he'd forget to do this step later, but this way he can be extra-sure.]

How hot do you normally make it? [Is he joking? ...Maaaybe.]

[Ren gets a bit of an unimpressed look of his own at that, since Shun figures he's trying to keep him away from the other parts of the cooking with the direction...but he is probably right that preparing the rice alongside everything else is going to make things go quicker, and it is something Shun definitely knows he can do, whereas the reason Ren's making dinner at all is because of Shun's professed inability to mix flavours.

So in the end, he just sighs quietly and starts heading towards the kitchen.] Fine then.

[He might as well get a headstart on it, since it'd be more annoying for the rest of the dish to be finished first than it would the rice.]

[Well, Shun agreed to do the boring job more easily than he'd hoped. Maybe there is hope for him yet.

So with that taken care of, he's more than happy to stop being so serious and help lighten the mood with Fubuki. Which for him means blinking over at Fubuki and looking innocently bewildered by his question.]

Hot enough to cook everything? Do you think we should leave some things raw?

Hmm... [He crosses his arms in serious consideration.] That would be hot pot, wouldn't it?

[... Does it feel like he overlooked something?]

Er—Shun, how badly are your fingers shaking, exactly? [A second late, he realizes that might be interpreted wrong, so—] Ah, not to push you, but if you're having other issues, now might be the time to say them...

[Shun just kind of shakes his head at that little exchange between Ren and Fubuki, because trust them to take that sort of thing completely seriously. Or pretend to, as he suspects in Ren's case.

Fubuki's further remark gets a much more annoyed look from Shun, though, that rather sharp glance coming as he pulls a bag of rice out of one of the cupboards.]

Not enough that I can't cook something as basic as rice. I'm tired, not completely incapable. [There is a slight cough from the lingering smoke effects as he says that, but it doesn't seem to overly bother Shun.] If you're trying to say you think I have other issues, then just say it instead of dancing around the subject.

Oh, we should do hot pot next time!

[It's almost July...this is definitely not the weather for hot pot...

Ren heads straight to the refrigerator and hides his smile frown behind the door as he opens it up. Ideally, he'd also rather Shun just went and took a shower or a nap, but Shun will be much happier if he can help a little and not feel completely useless. But it might be better for their partnership to let them sort it out...]

Kurosa-kki, did you get everything on the list~--oh, here's some of it...

[brb, he's collecting veggies.]

Sounds like a plan. [He looks over Ren's shoulder at the kind of stuff he's pulling out; due to the combination of being a shinki and being aware that there are all sorts of people here, he really wasn't sure if they had the same idea of fried rice, even if it was mostly a joke.]

It's nothing like that, Shun. I'm just checking. [He straightens. Looks like he mistimed that; he definitely should have asked it earlier.] Sometimes things aren't obvious, you know?

I wouldn't have asked you to write the list if I wasn't going to use it. [So that's several more words than were really necessary to just say "yes", but tiredness isn't doing much for Shun staying as succinct as he usually prefers.

As Ren gathers vegetables, Shun instead starts setting up a pot on the stove. There's a repetitiveness to the motions that says he's done this quite a few times before, though when he's this tired, that's probably more a benefit than anything.]

If it's not obvious, then I'm not having a problem with it. [Given only the most overwhelming things are what Shun generally allows himself to show.]

[That's true, but it's also been a busy few days since he sent the list, and it wouldn't have surprised him if shun hadn't been able to find the time.

...Then again, it's Shun. Of course he found the time.

After a bit of collecting, it's pretty clear that this is going to be more than he wants to carry at once, and Fubuki is standing right there...so he holds up a head of broccoli and some carrots for Fubuki to take.]

Can you start cutting these up, Fubuki-kun?

Yessir. [He's taking the vegetables as he says it, so even he's not sure who he's saying it to. Both. Definitely both.]

[He wants to say something more to the effect that there are certain things that aren't obvious, but he also doesn't want to give the impression that he's saying he's unobservant. Even as he gets the feeling that he's missed some vital things before.]

[... Knife in his hand notwithstanding. For a second, he wonders why he remembers this but not anything else, but he's so used to it happening that the thought just skates the surface as he gets to work. "Work" in this case meaning spending an inordinate amount of time cutting as many pieces as he can into heart shapes. He's surprisingly deft at it.]

Say...what are we doing later? [It's not a sleepover without Fun Activities, after all.]

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