[ is that all it is...ryuji watches him go for longer than he should, before he spins around, growling to himself. at least he doesn't have a tail that's out of control to make this mess even worse, a small saving grace. ]
Tch, whatever...!
[ he'll show yusuke! if he's banned from picking up glass, there's plenty of other things he can snatch up and haphazardly throw back where they belong, although most of them fall short of the mark.
it looks a lot less like helping and a little more like part two of his tantrum, but who can say, really. ]
[Whoops. Apparently the teasing was a little too effective, if that reaction is anything to go by. Yusuke stops cleaning and turns to look over at him with an expression of mild concern.]
[ he really isn't. he's flustered, mainly, but under the sanguis moon's influence, it comes out a lot more hostile than ryuji would ever intend. the least he can do is try to channel this into something semi-productive instead of threatening yusuke with violence again...or worse.
his appetites have only steered towards something more carnal once before, and it's as inappropriate now as it was then, if not more so. they can't blame this on mating season anymore, and the thought of it adds to ryuji's growing frustrations. damn it, he should have slept this off, stormed down to the lower levels of the city and worked it out that way and not turn it on to any of friends. it's not fair to them. ]
Hell no I'm not!
[ maybe a little, though it's directed at himself: for messing up his living space, for troubling yusuke, for kicking off his birthday in a rather unusual way. after a few more minutes, he'll probably resettle, and then they'll be free to do some more real cleaning, as opposed to...ryuji doing a whole lot of nothing, because this looks no better than it already did.
granted, that's how his normal brand of cleaning looks a lot of the time, anyway. as long as there's no garbage around, it's fine, right? ]
Well, I'm sorry for teasing you, all the same. But it really is one of the fastest ways to heal someone.
[Kissing, that is. He finishes sweeping up the worst of the glass, then crouches down to check he hasn't missed tiny any shards that might get stepped on later.
Maybe it's from this (relatively) sheltered position from anything potentially being thrown at him that he feels he has the courage to add:]
Has anyone ever told you it's rather endearing when you blush? [He's learning a lot more than he expected about Ryuji, lately.]
Eh? [ the factoid puts a pause on ryuji's rummaging. he blinks in confusion. ] It does?
[ weird. then again, anytime he's gotten bruised and banged up here, his first instinct hasn't been to run into the arms of anyone he knows. does that mean he should start, the next time he goes too far whenever he's itching for a fight?
that would've been useful in the past. maybe it's something he forgot; his old notes are still around here somewhere, crumpled up, probably at the bottom of a drawer.
there are other interesting tidbits yusuke's telling him, too: ]
N-not, uh, recently?
[ or ever? unless it's from his mother. if it's more blushing yusuke wants to see, well, mission accomplished. what's with him... ]
[Oh, he's not yelling or throwing anything. The coast is clear, so Yusuke gets back to his feet, peeking at Ryuji.]
Yes. I never imagined you'd be someone so easily flustered in that manner, but it's quite charming.
[He'll follow after Ryuji's trail of destruction and pick up some of the things haphazardly thrown across the floor, putting them on shelves, or at least on chairs or countertops so they can be organised properly later.]
[ no, yusuke is safe for the moment. a good amount of ryuji's temper, now that it's long boiled over, is fizzling out, replaced by simple self-consciousness, and maybe a dash of further confusion. he can't tell if this is just another one of yusuke's blunt observations, or if there's something more hidden in-between the lines of it all...is ryuji not the only one with a force of habit at hand here? ]
Get real, I ain't that charismatic of a guy...!
[ he's growling about it, a loud rumble in his throat, but yusuke should know better than most he's mainly all bark and no bite. his aggression peaks here and settles down once more, following suit in putting more items away and deliberately not looking over at yusuke. nope. no. that'll just color ryuji's cheeks more vividly. ]
Just 'cause it's my birthday doesn't mean you gotta act so nice...
Ah, but I wouldn't offer empty platitudes to someone merely for the occasion of their birthday. My opinion is an honest one.
[He picks up a shirt he assumes (?) is Ryuji's and not the result of a raid on Yoshizawa's wardrobe, folding it neatly and leaving it on the arm of a chair.]
[ with as much skin as it shows? yeah, it's one-hundred percent ryuji's. he may pick up after her here and there, but yoshizawa's room is strictly off-limits when he's not invited inside, out of respect to her. he still can't believe a girl actually wanted to live with him in the first place; it feels so daring to do, all things considered.
but that doesn't matter right now. yusuke's being honest with him, and what's he supposed to do with that information, exactly? so someone thinks he's charming, not swayed by the moon or the urge to mate or anything of the sort, okay, cool, nice.
he's charming... ]
Eh? Nothin' else here but mine, man.
[ they share a perfectly normal-looking bathroom, and should yusuke glance down the hall into his roommate's area—so daring, so trusting of her to just leave the door wide open—it's about the same. there's only ryuji's room, and that's...well..
the biggest offender of all, which he's definitely not going to point out. nothing to see here, everything's fine! ]
[Perhaps under the circumstances and their very recent history he shouldn't just barge into Ryuji's room, but he's still determined to help him get things in order so Ryuji can enjoy the rest of his day.
So, after a brief glance down the hall at Yoshizawa's room, it's over to Ryuji's next, and as he pushes open the door and sees that it's even worse in there. His mouth a flat line, he steps back out into the hall and calls to Ryuji.]
...You're... not going to make a monthly habit of this, are you? [Even Yusuke's helpfulness has limits, its seems.]
[ it's funny, because due to their recent history ryuji's decided he's very okay with yusuke barging in; nearly everyone else he's ever met has, so where's the harm in adding one more to the list? ]
That's nothing! [ poof. he appears behind yusuke, nonchalant, although he was this close to firing back a sharp you're the one who insisted on cleaning up, jackass— ] You shoulda seen it last month, it was way worse than this.
[ instead, ryuji muscles on past him, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his sleep shorts. they may as well get a head start together, since he knows the drill by this point. ]
C'mon, let's do it together. It's the least I can do...
Next time, I suggest finding a better outlet for your impulses than mindlessly tearing through your surroundings.
[He knows how powerful the sway of the moons can be, but the solution to getting them under control is generally a simple one. That said, he follows in after him, and--
Not too gracefully trips over an upended wastebin, grabs the nearest thing to try to right himself (a shelf) which somehow tips the contents of the shelf onto him and all over the floor. While the metaphorical dust settles, Yusuke simply stares for a moment in shock.]
It's either this or findin' someone to hook up with. [ he waves his hand, a vague gesture towards the room-at-large. it looks like a lot like his old one in tokyo, minus the large window with its open blinds to let all the sunshine in. ] Obviously no one's lining up to do that...
[ it's the same story he's told a month ago, and the one he'll keep telling until he can sort out what little of a so-called love life he has. just bringing it up makes his head hurt and his heart somersault inside of his chest, and he's ready to drop the subject, let yusuke sit back so that he can do most of the work in here—
and then yusuke falls. ryuji watches it all happen in slow-motion, dumbfounded, and scratches the back of his head with a loud sigh. it doesn't really bother him that yusuke's made a bigger mess—he's more worried about the fall, bending over to help pick the guy back up, haul him to his feet. ]
Geez, and you say I'm the one who needs to look out...you alright?
[ he dusts him off, his touch lingering. yusuke doesn't look any worse for wear, but if he's bumped or bruised himself somewhere, it wouldn't surprise ryuji in the slightest. it's just life's way of leveling the playing field for them, apparently. ]
[He accepts the help back to his feet, his pride more injured at such a graceless fall than anything. If he gets any bruises from falling on his bony backside, undoubtedly those will come later.]
This room, however, is increasingly becoming a death trap... Perhaps we should finish tidying before we continue our discussion.
[ he really does. it's ryuji's room, after all, and though he hasn't actually inhabited it for too long, there's enough of a resemblance to his old one for him to know its ins and outs like the back of his hand. the majority of the mess consists of clothing, anyway, a steadily-building collecting in an attempt to replace more of the things he's lost from living in tokyo. half of these he hasn't even worn yet. ]
Siddown, I doubt it's gonna take that long.
[ yusuke's done so much as it is; he deserves a time out while ryuji hangs everything back up, shoves items into drawers that probably should have been folded first, but at least it's the thought counts. it takes less effort than it looks to a clear path, and it's not long before the shelf gets righted too, old footballs and sports equipment alike shoved back to where they were so that they can continue to collect dust.
just like home, indeed. ]
Sorry you had to see all this...it's kinda why I keep to myself every moon. Figured that's better than embarrassin' myself or hurtin' somebody I actually like.
[ ryuji can punch a stranger, no problem. if he did that to a friend, however, or worse...he'd never forgive himself for it. sanguis is no excuse for that, not once, not ever. ]
[Yusuke perches gingerly on the edge of the bed, careful this time not to catch his too-long limbs on anything else. He watches him finish tidying, his hands folded in his lap.]
I understand, but we could hardly leave you alone to your plight, particularly on your birthday. So I'm afraid I must return the favour you once did for me, and impose myself upon you, whether you wish it or not.
[And if he did lash out-- well, he does have access to his powers here, just as though they were in the Metaverse. He's more than capable of keeping up with Ryuji's level of strength.]
[ okay. all this busy work, this shuffling around in his room's helped settle ryuji down to some extent. he thinks he can breathe easier now, so long as yusuke isn't downwind of him. in a smaller space it's easier to...smell him, and ryuji still doesn't know what to do about any of that.
at least the cordis moon isn't the one in full swing right now. small blessings. ]
...guess it's better than getting jumped for a party, anyways. [ ryuji turns, rubbing the back of his neck. ] Coulda sworn you guys were lining up to surprise me...
[ or is it still happening? ren hadn't revealed a thing other than egging him on, and yusuke's concerns feel genuine enough, so he probably isn't in cahoots with anyone or anything, either. aside from the environment they're in, from the fresh memories of a week ago, everything almost feels...normal, no different from home.
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[ is that all it is...ryuji watches him go for longer than he should, before he spins around, growling to himself. at least he doesn't have a tail that's out of control to make this mess even worse, a small saving grace. ]
Tch, whatever...!
[ he'll show yusuke! if he's banned from picking up glass, there's plenty of other things he can snatch up and haphazardly throw back where they belong, although most of them fall short of the mark.
it looks a lot less like helping and a little more like part two of his tantrum, but who can say, really. ]
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...Ryuji. Are you angry with me?
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[ he really isn't. he's flustered, mainly, but under the sanguis moon's influence, it comes out a lot more hostile than ryuji would ever intend. the least he can do is try to channel this into something semi-productive instead of threatening yusuke with violence again...or worse.
his appetites have only steered towards something more carnal once before, and it's as inappropriate now as it was then, if not more so. they can't blame this on mating season anymore, and the thought of it adds to ryuji's growing frustrations. damn it, he should have slept this off, stormed down to the lower levels of the city and worked it out that way and not turn it on to any of friends. it's not fair to them. ]
Hell no I'm not!
[ maybe a little, though it's directed at himself: for messing up his living space, for troubling yusuke, for kicking off his birthday in a rather unusual way. after a few more minutes, he'll probably resettle, and then they'll be free to do some more real cleaning, as opposed to...ryuji doing a whole lot of nothing, because this looks no better than it already did.
granted, that's how his normal brand of cleaning looks a lot of the time, anyway. as long as there's no garbage around, it's fine, right? ]
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[Kissing, that is. He finishes sweeping up the worst of the glass, then crouches down to check he hasn't missed tiny any shards that might get stepped on later.
Maybe it's from this (relatively) sheltered position from anything potentially being thrown at him that he feels he has the courage to add:]
Has anyone ever told you it's rather endearing when you blush? [He's learning a lot more than he expected about Ryuji, lately.]
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Eh? [ the factoid puts a pause on ryuji's rummaging. he blinks in confusion. ] It does?
[ weird. then again, anytime he's gotten bruised and banged up here, his first instinct hasn't been to run into the arms of anyone he knows. does that mean he should start, the next time he goes too far whenever he's itching for a fight?
that would've been useful in the past. maybe it's something he forgot; his old notes are still around here somewhere, crumpled up, probably at the bottom of a drawer.
there are other interesting tidbits yusuke's telling him, too: ]
N-not, uh, recently?
[ or ever? unless it's from his mother. if it's more blushing yusuke wants to see, well, mission accomplished. what's with him... ]
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Yes. I never imagined you'd be someone so easily flustered in that manner, but it's quite charming.
[He'll follow after Ryuji's trail of destruction and pick up some of the things haphazardly thrown across the floor, putting them on shelves, or at least on chairs or countertops so they can be organised properly later.]
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[ no, yusuke is safe for the moment. a good amount of ryuji's temper, now that it's long boiled over, is fizzling out, replaced by simple self-consciousness, and maybe a dash of further confusion. he can't tell if this is just another one of yusuke's blunt observations, or if there's something more hidden in-between the lines of it all...is ryuji not the only one with a force of habit at hand here? ]
Get real, I ain't that charismatic of a guy...!
[ he's growling about it, a loud rumble in his throat, but yusuke should know better than most he's mainly all bark and no bite. his aggression peaks here and settles down once more, following suit in putting more items away and deliberately not looking over at yusuke. nope. no. that'll just color ryuji's cheeks more vividly. ]
Just 'cause it's my birthday doesn't mean you gotta act so nice...
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[He picks up a shirt he assumes (?) is Ryuji's and not the result of a raid on Yoshizawa's wardrobe, folding it neatly and leaving it on the arm of a chair.]
Are any of the other rooms in need of cleaning?
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[ with as much skin as it shows? yeah, it's one-hundred percent ryuji's. he may pick up after her here and there, but yoshizawa's room is strictly off-limits when he's not invited inside, out of respect to her. he still can't believe a girl actually wanted to live with him in the first place; it feels so daring to do, all things considered.
but that doesn't matter right now. yusuke's being honest with him, and what's he supposed to do with that information, exactly? so someone thinks he's charming, not swayed by the moon or the urge to mate or anything of the sort, okay, cool, nice.
he's charming... ]
Eh? Nothin' else here but mine, man.
[ they share a perfectly normal-looking bathroom, and should yusuke glance down the hall into his roommate's area—so daring, so trusting of her to just leave the door wide open—it's about the same. there's only ryuji's room, and that's...well..
the biggest offender of all, which he's definitely not going to point out. nothing to see here, everything's fine! ]
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[Perhaps under the circumstances and their very recent history he shouldn't just barge into Ryuji's room, but he's still determined to help him get things in order so Ryuji can enjoy the rest of his day.
So, after a brief glance down the hall at Yoshizawa's room, it's over to Ryuji's next, and as he pushes open the door and sees that it's even worse in there. His mouth a flat line, he steps back out into the hall and calls to Ryuji.]
...You're... not going to make a monthly habit of this, are you? [Even Yusuke's helpfulness has limits, its seems.]
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[ it's funny, because due to their recent history ryuji's decided he's very okay with yusuke barging in; nearly everyone else he's ever met has, so where's the harm in adding one more to the list? ]
That's nothing! [ poof. he appears behind yusuke, nonchalant, although he was this close to firing back a sharp you're the one who insisted on cleaning up, jackass— ] You shoulda seen it last month, it was way worse than this.
[ instead, ryuji muscles on past him, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his sleep shorts. they may as well get a head start together, since he knows the drill by this point. ]
C'mon, let's do it together. It's the least I can do...
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[He knows how powerful the sway of the moons can be, but the solution to getting them under control is generally a simple one. That said, he follows in after him, and--
Not too gracefully trips over an upended wastebin, grabs the nearest thing to try to right himself (a shelf) which somehow tips the contents of the shelf onto him and all over the floor. While the metaphorical dust settles, Yusuke simply stares for a moment in shock.]
...It would seem... I have made matters worse.
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[ ryuji snorts, needlessly loud. ]
It's either this or findin' someone to hook up with. [ he waves his hand, a vague gesture towards the room-at-large. it looks like a lot like his old one in tokyo, minus the large window with its open blinds to let all the sunshine in. ] Obviously no one's lining up to do that...
[ it's the same story he's told a month ago, and the one he'll keep telling until he can sort out what little of a so-called love life he has. just bringing it up makes his head hurt and his heart somersault inside of his chest, and he's ready to drop the subject, let yusuke sit back so that he can do most of the work in here—
and then yusuke falls. ryuji watches it all happen in slow-motion, dumbfounded, and scratches the back of his head with a loud sigh. it doesn't really bother him that yusuke's made a bigger mess—he's more worried about the fall, bending over to help pick the guy back up, haul him to his feet. ]
Geez, and you say I'm the one who needs to look out...you alright?
[ he dusts him off, his touch lingering. yusuke doesn't look any worse for wear, but if he's bumped or bruised himself somewhere, it wouldn't surprise ryuji in the slightest. it's just life's way of leveling the playing field for them, apparently. ]
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[He accepts the help back to his feet, his pride more injured at such a graceless fall than anything. If he gets any bruises from falling on his bony backside, undoubtedly those will come later.]
This room, however, is increasingly becoming a death trap... Perhaps we should finish tidying before we continue our discussion.
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Tch, I totally got this...
[ he really does. it's ryuji's room, after all, and though he hasn't actually inhabited it for too long, there's enough of a resemblance to his old one for him to know its ins and outs like the back of his hand. the majority of the mess consists of clothing, anyway, a steadily-building collecting in an attempt to replace more of the things he's lost from living in tokyo. half of these he hasn't even worn yet. ]
Siddown, I doubt it's gonna take that long.
[ yusuke's done so much as it is; he deserves a time out while ryuji hangs everything back up, shoves items into drawers that probably should have been folded first, but at least it's the thought counts. it takes less effort than it looks to a clear path, and it's not long before the shelf gets righted too, old footballs and sports equipment alike shoved back to where they were so that they can continue to collect dust.
just like home, indeed. ]
Sorry you had to see all this...it's kinda why I keep to myself every moon. Figured that's better than embarrassin' myself or hurtin' somebody I actually like.
[ ryuji can punch a stranger, no problem. if he did that to a friend, however, or worse...he'd never forgive himself for it. sanguis is no excuse for that, not once, not ever. ]
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I understand, but we could hardly leave you alone to your plight, particularly on your birthday. So I'm afraid I must return the favour you once did for me, and impose myself upon you, whether you wish it or not.
[And if he did lash out-- well, he does have access to his powers here, just as though they were in the Metaverse. He's more than capable of keeping up with Ryuji's level of strength.]
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Tch, nothin' imposing about hanging out.
[ okay. all this busy work, this shuffling around in his room's helped settle ryuji down to some extent. he thinks he can breathe easier now, so long as yusuke isn't downwind of him. in a smaller space it's easier to...smell him, and ryuji still doesn't know what to do about any of that.
at least the cordis moon isn't the one in full swing right now. small blessings. ]
...guess it's better than getting jumped for a party, anyways. [ ryuji turns, rubbing the back of his neck. ] Coulda sworn you guys were lining up to surprise me...
[ or is it still happening? ren hadn't revealed a thing other than egging him on, and yusuke's concerns feel genuine enough, so he probably isn't in cahoots with anyone or anything, either. aside from the environment they're in, from the fresh memories of a week ago, everything almost feels...normal, no different from home.
huh. weird. ]