[ And as promised, shortly after receiving Oushi's end-of-shift text, Keita takes the elevator down to the floor nearest to Cloaca and Dagger's main entrance. The cafe he'd been thinking of is a short walk in the other direction—far enough from the club to maintain a bit of privacy, he thinks, but not so far that Oushi will be rushing across the resort to get to his next "volunteer" job.
He isn't... nervous, exactly. Or, well, he is nervous, the way it always makes him a bit nervous to discuss his abilities openly with another person, but—even greater than his nerves is Keita's desire to be honest with Oushi, as someone with whom he's close (:O!!) and someone who Keita cares for and trusts. He likes to think he knows Oushi well enough to have a sense of how he'll react, but even if he's wrong—Oushi still deserves to know.
Keita spots Oushi from a little distance away, but it's not until he's closer that he finds his brain tripping over what Oushi is wearing. Or—rather, what he's not wearing, as the case may be. Despite the sweatshirt he's pulling on, enough of his collarbones and lower stomach is visible that Keita has to work hard to fix his eyes on Oushi's face instead. ]
[ at first, there hadn't been a uniform for cloaca and dagger. he was just a volunteer, after all, and the position itself didn't really have anything he wanted that could benefit him in his daily life (though they would still occasionally offer him a voucher or two after a particularly long shift) so he had been very honest with the staff that he'd really just been looking for something with which to fill up his time.
but after a couple of shifts, it eventually occurred to the staff that oushi showing up in just his typical t-shirt-and-jeans combo was kind of "killing the vibe," as one long-time patron helpfully supplied, and thus a uniform became mandatory: the fitted black slacks is at least something oushi can feasibly see himself making use of outside of the job, even if it is a little fancier than he would ever choose on his own. the bowtie, too, could theoretically put to other uses, in the event the hotel ever wants him to really fancy it up sometime. he doesn't necessarily see himself making much use of the vest, though. the black silk is a little too much for him, first of all, and it is also so small and so tight that even if he managed to find a good button-up to wear beneath it, it would just look silly.
that's it, though, and thus why keita is currently plagued by the sight of oushi hastily tugging on a zip-up sweatshirt in a meager attempt to still look modest in front of the older man. and, by now, keita is certainly used to the appearance of those heart freckles. ]
Mori-san... I'm sorry, I should have asked if something was wrong.
[ he doesn't think that's the case, especially considering keita had insisted it wasn't anything urgent, but it feels like a slight on his part regardless.
speaking of — he holds out his hands now, only to notice they are empty, and it's with a start he realizes this is one of the only times he's ever purposefully met up with keita where he didn't have anything to offer. they weren't ever really gifts, per se; they'd always been minor things, usually something he'd get from one of his many jobs like a pastry or flower or neat-looking trinket he would hope keita would find interesting enough to add to his workshop. but while there isn't really anything he could have taken from cloaca and dagger that would have been appropriate as a friendly gift, he still feels a pang of disappointment being empty-handed anyway.
he winds up stuffing those hands into the pocket of his slacks (inadvertently drawing that sweatshirt of his a little more open) and hunches his shoulders a little like a boy who'd forgotten to bring an apple to his favorite teacher. ]
The way Oushi glances down at his empty hands is rather obvious and also rather charming. Keita can't help a smile, grateful for something to think about other than Oushi's bared skin, and when Oushi tucks his hands sullenly into the pockets of his slacks Keita takes the opportunity to loop an arm through the crook of his elbow, quite similar to the posture they'd adopted when walking through the fairy gardens on their last "date." ]
Nothing is wrong, [ he assures Oushi, with a very slight guiding tug to get them moving slowly down the hall in the direction of the cafe Keita knows will be there around the corner. He's never been to the cafe either, but his future-memories promise its existence. ] I would have told you if it were.
[ It had been somewhat surprising to Keita to find that to be true. That he wanted to be honest with Oushi, both about his clairvoyance and about his general mood—Keita can be quite private, but he cares for Oushi and values his friendship. His friendship, and... whatever else it is they're doing. Nothing that needs a label, as far as Keita is concerned. ]
Let me buy, [ Keita says. ] I'm the one who called you out with so little notice, after all. Are you a coffee drinker?
[ oushi is steered towards the cafe much in the same way the wind picks up fallen leaves off the side of the road — completely at the whims of even just the gentlest touch, if in large part due to that very gentleness that's offered.
his relief is visible when keita assures him there isn't anything to worry about. shoulders sagging, a soft sigh escaping. he even allows himself to lean into keita's shoulder a little — just in time to break off to take up a seat at one of the cafe's circular tables out front. ]
Coffee's good. Iced americano, if they have it.
[ briefly, he goes through what the rest of his day will entail: two more shifts at two separate jobs, each a handful of hours long. the coffee will be much appreciated (and needed), for sure. once they're both seated and their drinks ordered, he turns his full attention back on keita, head unconsciously tilting to one side. ]
[ Once the server takes their order away, Keita leans his elbows on the table across from Oushi, focusing his attention at his companion. He smiles, but it's a touch sheepish. ]
I don't know if it's good news, either, [ Keita admits. ] Just... something about me I wanted you to know, I suppose.
[ So as to avoid being interrupted, Keita doesn't actually begin to explain until their drinks have been delivered to the table. Once he's able to wrap his fingers around the warm cup in front of him, though, it seems to imbue him with the bravery it takes to actually admit to what it is he wants to admit.
One might think that having been in this position several times before would make this conversation easier, but it still fills Keita with some amount of nerves. He clears his throat, pauses, and then decides to just—go for it. ]
I was born clairvoyant, [ he says. ] I have the ability to... remember the outcomes of future decisions—that is to say, more or less to see the future. Back in Japan, everyone who learned this about me eventually came to fear or loathe me for it, and so I've been somewhat... I find it somewhat difficult to admit to even here, where so many have abilities even more powerful than mine.
[ He pauses and looks down at his teacup, rotating it between his palms. ]
I care for you very much, so it felt important that I be honest with you about this, and to let you choose whether you feel safe or comfortable to continue being around me. I apologize that it took me this long to tell you.
[ now, there are a great many things in this strange new world he's been thrust into that oushi has found difficult to grasp. oftentimes, he has found himself defaulting to a sort of passive resignation, knowing that some things were merely always going to be beyond his ability to conceptualize, and in many instances it has saved him a lot of headaches.
here, it would be so easy to merely accept keita's words for what they are, nod along, and let that be that. he wouldn't dismiss the other's words, but the knee-jerk reaction has always been to simply swallow it all down and accept it all as another facet of a life he can no longer fully grasp or control.
but just as keita insists he cares for oushi, oushi feels much the same way. and if keita is going to trust him with something that is very personal, and very precious, then oushi is determined to treat it with just as much care.
unfortunately, this means a long, long stretch of silence as oushi attempts to dissect what it is he is actually hearing. one can likely hear the loud, groaning creak of the rusty gears of his break attempting to turn. sure, he knows what clairvoyance is, to the extent any young man with any familiarity of pop culture can. which is to say, very, very broad strokes, and enough of an understanding that it's never an exact science, and each instance is trickier to hammer down than the last.
as always, his mouth is a lot faster than his brain is: ]
That's so cool...
[ silence stretches for a moment, and in that moment keita can see how the gears seem to finally start turning behind those wide, green eyes. rather suddenly, something seems to strike oushi, and he stifles a gasp, lifting a hand to point directly at himself. ]
[ The initial stretch of silence fills Keita with enough apprehension that he's almost afraid to look up from his tea. He's been intentional about not trying to look closely at the possible futures that arise from this encounter, not wanting to prejudice himself one way or another, but as he waits for Oushi to say something he can't help it—he casts his mind into his future-memories to take a glimpse at what Oushi might say, the ways in which he might respond.
They're—all right, for the most part. Most of them are positive enough that Keita is able to summon the will to look up at Oushi, just in time for him to comment on how cool it is, solidifying one of the possible futures into fact and letting the others melt away from Keita's awareness.
He smiles, still a little nervous but a bit more relaxed. ]
Until you decided what to say, I knew every one of your possible responses, [ he says with a slight nod. ] But once you said it, I forgot all the other outcomes. I can only remember the future for as long as it is the future—once it becomes the present I'm no different from anyone else.
[ Keita pauses, his fingers tapping lightly against his teacup, and then he asks, hesitant, ]
[ that small little question does well to stamp down the little bundle of excitement that had been bubbling up in oushi's gut — it's a good douse of the reality of the situation, pulling him from what might have otherwise been a rather boyish outlook on something far, far more serious.
he forces himself to step back a little, and look inward again. trying to give keita's question the care and consideration it deserves. ]
...It does. But probably not in the way you're thinking.
[ he quiets again, watching the older man closely. can keita sense it now, the different ways in which he tries to formulate his explanation? does each possibility stretch out before the other man, as dizzying as they are to the very one trying to articulate them? ]
It probably wouldn't surprise you, but I live a pretty boring life back home. There's nothing extraordinary, or special, or supernatural about my world. [ about him. ] Every day I wake up, I go to school, I go to work, I go home and go to sleep.
[ now it's oushi's turn to look down at the glass in his hand. a slight shift, and the ice within moves and clinks, but the sound is soft, barely there, and there is hardly even a ripple as a result. ]
Before all of this, the most significant thing to ever happen to me was a broken heart.
[ he shrugs, words pushed out through a half, embittered smile. he has long since come to accept his utter nothingness, though it is still, in many ways, a rough pill to swallow. ]
I've just started to assume that everyone I meet here will always be so much more, and just out of my reach in that way.
[ it's helped, a little. ultimately he still feels that same sense of helplessness, but at least the blow isn't quite so harsh anymore. ]
So... I should be asking you that instead, shouldn't I? Does it bother you, Mori-san?
[ that his world has always been so small. that he might never fully understand the scope and depth and breadth of keita's life, and all its particulars. that he can never fully relate, despite how desperately he might want to. ]
[ Having once been the recipient of a broken heart himself, Keita can't help but feel as though that's quite a significant hurt indeed—but he understands, at least, what Oushi means. It must be just as difficult to be mundane in a sea of the extraordinary as it is to be supernatural in a world that has no context for it. In this resort, there are many who are astonishingly powerful, much more so than Keita—has Oushi spent this entire time worrying where his place might be among them?
Keita leans forward, his warm hands leaving his own cup so they can wrap around Oushi's instead, where he's holding onto his glass. It doesn't take even a second's thought for Keita to say, ] Not even a little.
[ After all, it hasn't been a secret to him that Oushi doesn't have any particular superpowers, at least not beyond what Keita considers a superpowered ability to make Keita blush across the network. Even so, he finds Oushi compelling, interesting, enjoyable to be around. Having powers doesn't do anything to fix fundamental flaws in one's personality, after all—ask Keita how he knows. ]
It's almost unbearably trite for me to say that even someone ordinary has the potential to change the world, [ Keita adds after a moment, with a wry smile, ] but at least in my case I'm in the unique position of knowing that it's true. But even if you don't change the world, I meant every word I said about—caring for you, and feeling at ease in your presence, and enjoying the time we spend together.
[ It isn't necessary for Oushi to intimately understand the intricacies of Keita's power and the responsibility he shoulders because of it. Indeed, he would rather Oushi not—it's been a heavy weight all Keita's life, and he wouldn't wish it upon anyone else. It's enough just to know that his powers don't frighten Oushi, and that he might want to continue being friends despite them. ]
I don't care in the slightest whether you've got supernatural abilities, [ Keita adds firmly, hoping to drive the point home. ] I find you wonderful regardless, Oushi-kun.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ And as promised, shortly after receiving Oushi's end-of-shift text, Keita takes the elevator down to the floor nearest to Cloaca and Dagger's main entrance. The cafe he'd been thinking of is a short walk in the other direction—far enough from the club to maintain a bit of privacy, he thinks, but not so far that Oushi will be rushing across the resort to get to his next "volunteer" job.
He isn't... nervous, exactly. Or, well, he is nervous, the way it always makes him a bit nervous to discuss his abilities openly with another person, but—even greater than his nerves is Keita's desire to be honest with Oushi, as someone with whom he's close (:O!!) and someone who Keita cares for and trusts. He likes to think he knows Oushi well enough to have a sense of how he'll react, but even if he's wrong—Oushi still deserves to know.
Keita spots Oushi from a little distance away, but it's not until he's closer that he finds his brain tripping over what Oushi is wearing. Or—rather, what he's not wearing, as the case may be. Despite the sweatshirt he's pulling on, enough of his collarbones and lower stomach is visible that Keita has to work hard to fix his eyes on Oushi's face instead. ]
Oushi-kun. Thank you for coming to meet me.
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but after a couple of shifts, it eventually occurred to the staff that oushi showing up in just his typical t-shirt-and-jeans combo was kind of "killing the vibe," as one long-time patron helpfully supplied, and thus a uniform became mandatory: the fitted black slacks is at least something oushi can feasibly see himself making use of outside of the job, even if it is a little fancier than he would ever choose on his own. the bowtie, too, could theoretically put to other uses, in the event the hotel ever wants him to really fancy it up sometime. he doesn't necessarily see himself making much use of the vest, though. the black silk is a little too much for him, first of all, and it is also so small and so tight that even if he managed to find a good button-up to wear beneath it, it would just look silly.
that's it, though, and thus why keita is currently plagued by the sight of oushi hastily tugging on a zip-up sweatshirt in a meager attempt to still look modest in front of the older man. and, by now, keita is certainly used to the appearance of those heart freckles. ]
Mori-san... I'm sorry, I should have asked if something was wrong.
[ he doesn't think that's the case, especially considering keita had insisted it wasn't anything urgent, but it feels like a slight on his part regardless.
speaking of — he holds out his hands now, only to notice they are empty, and it's with a start he realizes this is one of the only times he's ever purposefully met up with keita where he didn't have anything to offer. they weren't ever really gifts, per se; they'd always been minor things, usually something he'd get from one of his many jobs like a pastry or flower or neat-looking trinket he would hope keita would find interesting enough to add to his workshop. but while there isn't really anything he could have taken from cloaca and dagger that would have been appropriate as a friendly gift, he still feels a pang of disappointment being empty-handed anyway.
he winds up stuffing those hands into the pocket of his slacks (inadvertently drawing that sweatshirt of his a little more open) and hunches his shoulders a little like a boy who'd forgotten to bring an apple to his favorite teacher. ]
D'you want something to drink?
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The way Oushi glances down at his empty hands is rather obvious and also rather charming. Keita can't help a smile, grateful for something to think about other than Oushi's bared skin, and when Oushi tucks his hands sullenly into the pockets of his slacks Keita takes the opportunity to loop an arm through the crook of his elbow, quite similar to the posture they'd adopted when walking through the fairy gardens on their last "date." ]
Nothing is wrong, [ he assures Oushi, with a very slight guiding tug to get them moving slowly down the hall in the direction of the cafe Keita knows will be there around the corner. He's never been to the cafe either, but his future-memories promise its existence. ] I would have told you if it were.
[ It had been somewhat surprising to Keita to find that to be true. That he wanted to be honest with Oushi, both about his clairvoyance and about his general mood—Keita can be quite private, but he cares for Oushi and values his friendship. His friendship, and... whatever else it is they're doing. Nothing that needs a label, as far as Keita is concerned. ]
Let me buy, [ Keita says. ] I'm the one who called you out with so little notice, after all. Are you a coffee drinker?
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his relief is visible when keita assures him there isn't anything to worry about. shoulders sagging, a soft sigh escaping. he even allows himself to lean into keita's shoulder a little — just in time to break off to take up a seat at one of the cafe's circular tables out front. ]
Coffee's good. Iced americano, if they have it.
[ briefly, he goes through what the rest of his day will entail: two more shifts at two separate jobs, each a handful of hours long. the coffee will be much appreciated (and needed), for sure. once they're both seated and their drinks ordered, he turns his full attention back on keita, head unconsciously tilting to one side. ]
Is it good news, then?
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I don't know if it's good news, either, [ Keita admits. ] Just... something about me I wanted you to know, I suppose.
[ So as to avoid being interrupted, Keita doesn't actually begin to explain until their drinks have been delivered to the table. Once he's able to wrap his fingers around the warm cup in front of him, though, it seems to imbue him with the bravery it takes to actually admit to what it is he wants to admit.
One might think that having been in this position several times before would make this conversation easier, but it still fills Keita with some amount of nerves. He clears his throat, pauses, and then decides to just—go for it. ]
I was born clairvoyant, [ he says. ] I have the ability to... remember the outcomes of future decisions—that is to say, more or less to see the future. Back in Japan, everyone who learned this about me eventually came to fear or loathe me for it, and so I've been somewhat... I find it somewhat difficult to admit to even here, where so many have abilities even more powerful than mine.
[ He pauses and looks down at his teacup, rotating it between his palms. ]
I care for you very much, so it felt important that I be honest with you about this, and to let you choose whether you feel safe or comfortable to continue being around me. I apologize that it took me this long to tell you.
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here, it would be so easy to merely accept keita's words for what they are, nod along, and let that be that. he wouldn't dismiss the other's words, but the knee-jerk reaction has always been to simply swallow it all down and accept it all as another facet of a life he can no longer fully grasp or control.
but just as keita insists he cares for oushi, oushi feels much the same way. and if keita is going to trust him with something that is very personal, and very precious, then oushi is determined to treat it with just as much care.
unfortunately, this means a long, long stretch of silence as oushi attempts to dissect what it is he is actually hearing. one can likely hear the loud, groaning creak of the rusty gears of his break attempting to turn. sure, he knows what clairvoyance is, to the extent any young man with any familiarity of pop culture can. which is to say, very, very broad strokes, and enough of an understanding that it's never an exact science, and each instance is trickier to hammer down than the last.
as always, his mouth is a lot faster than his brain is: ]
That's so cool...
[ silence stretches for a moment, and in that moment keita can see how the gears seem to finally start turning behind those wide, green eyes. rather suddenly, something seems to strike oushi, and he stifles a gasp, lifting a hand to point directly at himself. ]
Did you know I was gonna say that?!
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They're—all right, for the most part. Most of them are positive enough that Keita is able to summon the will to look up at Oushi, just in time for him to comment on how cool it is, solidifying one of the possible futures into fact and letting the others melt away from Keita's awareness.
He smiles, still a little nervous but a bit more relaxed. ]
Until you decided what to say, I knew every one of your possible responses, [ he says with a slight nod. ] But once you said it, I forgot all the other outcomes. I can only remember the future for as long as it is the future—once it becomes the present I'm no different from anyone else.
[ Keita pauses, his fingers tapping lightly against his teacup, and then he asks, hesitant, ]
...It doesn't bother you?
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he forces himself to step back a little, and look inward again. trying to give keita's question the care and consideration it deserves. ]
...It does. But probably not in the way you're thinking.
[ he quiets again, watching the older man closely. can keita sense it now, the different ways in which he tries to formulate his explanation? does each possibility stretch out before the other man, as dizzying as they are to the very one trying to articulate them? ]
It probably wouldn't surprise you, but I live a pretty boring life back home. There's nothing extraordinary, or special, or supernatural about my world. [ about him. ] Every day I wake up, I go to school, I go to work, I go home and go to sleep.
[ now it's oushi's turn to look down at the glass in his hand. a slight shift, and the ice within moves and clinks, but the sound is soft, barely there, and there is hardly even a ripple as a result. ]
Before all of this, the most significant thing to ever happen to me was a broken heart.
[ he shrugs, words pushed out through a half, embittered smile. he has long since come to accept his utter nothingness, though it is still, in many ways, a rough pill to swallow. ]
I've just started to assume that everyone I meet here will always be so much more, and just out of my reach in that way.
[ it's helped, a little. ultimately he still feels that same sense of helplessness, but at least the blow isn't quite so harsh anymore. ]
So... I should be asking you that instead, shouldn't I? Does it bother you, Mori-san?
[ that his world has always been so small. that he might never fully understand the scope and depth and breadth of keita's life, and all its particulars. that he can never fully relate, despite how desperately he might want to. ]
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Keita leans forward, his warm hands leaving his own cup so they can wrap around Oushi's instead, where he's holding onto his glass. It doesn't take even a second's thought for Keita to say, ] Not even a little.
[ After all, it hasn't been a secret to him that Oushi doesn't have any particular superpowers, at least not beyond what Keita considers a superpowered ability to make Keita blush across the network. Even so, he finds Oushi compelling, interesting, enjoyable to be around. Having powers doesn't do anything to fix fundamental flaws in one's personality, after all—ask Keita how he knows. ]
It's almost unbearably trite for me to say that even someone ordinary has the potential to change the world, [ Keita adds after a moment, with a wry smile, ] but at least in my case I'm in the unique position of knowing that it's true. But even if you don't change the world, I meant every word I said about—caring for you, and feeling at ease in your presence, and enjoying the time we spend together.
[ It isn't necessary for Oushi to intimately understand the intricacies of Keita's power and the responsibility he shoulders because of it. Indeed, he would rather Oushi not—it's been a heavy weight all Keita's life, and he wouldn't wish it upon anyone else. It's enough just to know that his powers don't frighten Oushi, and that he might want to continue being friends despite them. ]
I don't care in the slightest whether you've got supernatural abilities, [ Keita adds firmly, hoping to drive the point home. ] I find you wonderful regardless, Oushi-kun.