bondsofsuffering | IC Contact; Empatheias [CLOSED]

[There's a tiny, tiny smile at the amusing mental image that produces.]

'Like a knight in shining armor?'

[He might not be laughing, but it's only just, the affectionate amusement clear in his eyes.]

'I don't think you could get a helmet on over your hair.'

'Hey, you'd be surprised what you can fit into helmets! The guy who offered, look--'

[Ayumu will then receive two mental images. One of Bulat out of armor and one of him in.]

'And the other guy has a ponytail. You might remember him, from Oz's party. He's the other guy who was in charge of it all.'

[Hizumi's hair would be just fine.]

[Ayumu actually laughs at that, a small, short breath more than anything else that tapers off quickly due to the stab of pain it causes in his side, but a laugh nonetheless. A pompadour? Really? How did he even fit that in there?

He sends another image back, this time of Hizumi in a suit of armor..... the helmet askew with bits of green fluff sticking out every which way.]

'You're a bit too cute, for a knight.'

[He makes a slight indignant huff at that. So much for not breathing all over each other.]

'No way, I'd be cooler than that!'

[The mental image he sends in return has him in no armor at all, just the regular Empatheias-style outfit - albeit all in black, and with a cape to boot.

As an afterthought, it somehow turns into carrying Ayumu bridal style away from danger. There's a cartoonish quality to the image, almost as if it were right out of a comic book.]

[really Hizumi. Really? The image sent his way is now of comic book Hizumi tripping over his own cape, dropping Ayumu (who lands on his own feet) and falling on his face, in an equally cartoon-ish style.]

'The cape I can see, the carrying me around not so much.'

[He bumps his forehead against Hizumi's playfully, amusement coloring his mental tone. They were still about the same height, after all.]

'Bet you I could! ...Once I'm healed up, anyway.'

[And also probably not while running or anything, but hey, he's fit, he could totally do it!]

'I'll even bet you a whole plate of barbecue over it!'

[...What? Ulterior motives? Perish the thought.]

[Hmmmm.....

Fine by him. And if Hizumi won...... well, he probably owed it to Hizumi after all this, anyway.]

'You've got a bet then.'

[Score! Hizumi only curls closer to Ayumu, clearly pleased, if the emotions leaking through the amulets is anything to go by.]

'I'm holdin' you to that!'

[He'd probably just have gotten it himself once he was released from the hospital anyway. Since, well, hospital food didn't exactly have a reputation for being anything tasty.]

'...I'm serious about the sword thing, though. I don't know how much it'll come in handy, but I'm gonna give it a shot.'

[He'd felt so helpless, unable to protect Ayumu then. He'd rather not have a repeat of that situation, and if that means learning an alternate form of defense, he's all for it. That sentiment, too, leaks through.]

Edited 2015-10-03 08:48 (UTC)

[Ayumu smiles a little more when Hizumi's pleasure leaks through, though the smile fades a little as Hizumi's thoughts take a turn. He nudges Hizumi's forehead again, more firmly this time.]

'I'm going to see about getting a gun.' [There's the equivalent of a mental pause, before he continues, awkwardly, a little quietly even for telepathy.]

'....I want to protect you, too. I don't want to see you hurt again, because of me.'

[That gets a pause in turn from Hizumi. A pause, and also a slight flush, not that it's terribly visible with how dark it is.

The delicate mix of embarrassment and fondness, however, is much more easily felt.]

'It's not like I could just leave you there. I'd never be able to forgive myself.'

[He ducks his head down at the thought, narrowly missing Ayumu's nose in the process. He hates the thought of being separated from Ayumu like that, much less the thought of willingly doing so.

No. Ayumu made a promise to stay by Hizumi - it only made sense that Hizumi would do everything in his power to stay by Ayumu in turn.]

'...Gettin' a gun though, that's not too hard. But... are you sure you want to handle one?'

[Ayumu's the pacifist, between the both of them. Even if they were facing monsters, a gun is a heavy thing to own.]

'I'm sure.' [He didn't have to kill to protect. Disabling, slowing them down..... he could do that, had done that before once. He wasn't sure he could bring himself to even kill monsters, as pathetic as it was, but protecting he could do.

And he had someone very important to protect, here.]

'I don't ever want to see you hurt like that again, if I can help it. Especially not for my sake.'

[He tilts his head, snuggling just a little more firmly into the pillow as if to ward off the memory of waking to find Hizumi unconscious, covered in blood. It was an image he didn't think he'd ever forget, no matter how much he might want to, and it made his chest ache to remember.

Of course, thanks to their closeness, the motion isn't as isolated as he might have meant it to be, and his lips just barely brush against Hizumi's forehead.

It might not have been such a big deal if he didn't freeze, his trepidation sneaking through the link.]

[He'd been basking in those feelings right up until that moment, really. It's still strange, having someone around who's so close, who cares so much about his well being. He can't even be one hundred percent certain it's the right way to go about things, with his curse being what it is. But then Ayumu moves, and...

He feels it, of course. His eyes widen a fraction, and his heart makes a funny movement in his chest. But, well-- it was probably just an accident. Right? And that feeling through the link... He must have realized his mistake, too. It isn't like Ayumu of all people would seriously...]

Ayumu-?

[This time, he speaks the name, not trusting himself to rely on thought. He moves back a little, to the point where he can actually look Ayumu in the face - even if it's regrettably colder this way.]

[Ayumu doesn't speak, at first hoping Hizumi wouldn't notice the accidental brush of his lips, and then his voice is lost in the rush of nervousness, fear and embarrassment he feels when Hizumi does notice. Stupid-- if he'd just... why was he making things so....

So stupid.

His heart rate picks up, and he wishes desperately he could hide away somehow, his cheeks slowly turning red in spite of his desperate desire for otherwise. His silence isn't helping his case here, he knows, and he speaks up to try to cover his reactions.]

Sorry. Just....an accident. [Nevermind that the words are a little too tight for his normal tone-- he'd blame that on the tight bandages around his broken ribs.]

We should get to sleep, before the nurses check in on us....

[Hizumi watches him for a moment. It's hard to see with the lights out, but he can make out Ayumu's general expression hear the strain in his voice...

...]

Mm. Yeah, guess we should.

[--And leans close again, nudging his head against Ayumu's one last time.

It's okay. No need to panic. He's still right here. Granted, there's suddenly a lot of conflicting feelings, and it's an awfully good thing that the emotional effects are dulled at the moment, but...

He's here.]

[And Ayumu takes the offered out with something like a rush of relief.... and the tiniest, tiniest bit of expected disappointment. He meets that nudge for just a small moment before he buries his burning face into the pillow, trying to calm down his heartbeat.

It wasn't.... couldn't be like that. The friendship he had with Hizumi was too precious to him, he couldn't....

He couldn't wreck it by feeling like this. He didn't doubt Hizumi would stay by his side regardless, but that didn't mean he could just...

This was such a mess.] Goodnight.

[Hizumi doesn't move much from where he is, head still pressed lightly against Ayumu's.]

Night.

[...But his heart continues to thump away in his chest, uncomfortably so. He might have been able to convince himself it was a mistake at first, but the way Ayumu reacted... The way his own body is reacting, leaving him tenser than before--

It brings to mind some uncomfortable moments they'd shared in the past few months, moments that Hizumi had never quite been able to reconcile himself with. Moments that Hizumi had, quite frankly, never wanted to think about again. It's... weird, isn't it? Ayumu's his best and only friend. Of course he was happiest when he could be with the other. It was only natural to want to be close, physically and emotionally, after a painful experience like this.

...

No, that doesn't even sound convincing to himself. But at the same time, he can't bring himself to draw away. Being with Ayumu like this is... comfortable. Far more comfortable than it would be with anyone else, he's coming to realize. Although what that means overall for their relationship...

...

Well, he'll think about it some other time. He's weary enough, and his body needs the rest. Even now, he's beginning to relax and drift off.

He might not be able to put off those thoughts for much longer. But for now, at least, there is some reprieve.]

[Ayumu knew what he was feeling, no matter how much he wanted to deny it and buried it under excuses. He didn't have many people he could say he was truly close with.... Hadn't, for most of his life. That lack of experience has made it easy at first to tell himself it was simply an unexpected depth and aspect of their friendship, and he'd embraced that idea for a while, simply savoring the easy closeness and comfort he'd never felt with anyone else before.

But it was hard to keep fooling himself. He'd felt something like this before, though in a way this was far more fulfilling. Hizumi valued him purely for him, didn't see 'Kiyotaka's little brother' as even Madoka had, though her kindness had always been genuine.

So it was hard to lie to himself, when every time Hizumi smiled--those genuine, happy smiles, real smiles that had grown in number as they spent time together--it warmed him in a way nothing else could.

And it made it so much harder to not let anything slip, when he knew he was important to Hizumi, too.

He presses his face a little more firmly into the pillow, the nervousness fading to give way to renewed exhaustion. Stupid of him too, to get worked up like this when he was in this shape.

He'd take what he could get. He'd done that before, and saw no reason to change that now. What he had with Hizumi was already more than enough, more than he'd ever thought he'd have. He lets his eyes fall closed, letting sleep take him again for hopefully the final time tonight.]

IC Contact; Empatheias [CLOSED]

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