moms tend to have pretty good advice, especially if they've spent any time on the internet. that's a generalization, but, still relatively true. so is sexy book club tinder your first foray into the realm of the internet? if so i'm sincerely sorry and please be careful it can get kind of dangerous around here.
[Simon isn't quite sure what he was expecting. It would be nice to receive a compliment of any kind, but despite that ugly inkling of hope, it's not something he was anticipating.]
I used to play computer games when I was a kid, but it's been a long time since then.
[How are you supposed to form relationships with people through a screen, anyway? He's already so ill-equipped to do that in real life.]
hey, no, that sounded like a story. i'm all-in for samantha kittywhiskers' creator's tragic origin story here. and i mean call me nosy or meddling or whatever but people don't usually start statements like "my whole life, i've" without wanting to tell somebody the rest of the sentence.
[Oh, that's the biggest of red flags. He knows your type, Simon. He knows your type and now you are absolutely not getting rid of him.]
i never said you were weak, simon. and especially if your life hasn't been easy, sometimes it can do a person a lot of good to have somebody to talk to. it isn't weak to want companionship.
[He is reminded of why he never wants to leave the train in the first place. Sure, this person's words are kind, but they don't know what he's truly capable of. All the victories that were near misses, they are going unappreciated-]
[The only kindness Simon has ever received has been intertwined with petty horrors and codependence, although in her defense, she was a child all the same. Killing hadn't felt good at the start, oh no, not at all, but after almost a decade he is numb to the bone chilling consequences of his evil deeds.]
I don't do coffee.
[A control freak of the worst variety, Simon finds that caffeine only worsens his neuroses and jittery nature.]
pretty sure we have soda, too. or tea. just let me apologize properly for pissing you off so you don't take to your grave the hatred of that random asshole on tinder who made jokes about sexy book clubs and warned you about the internet being for porn, yeah?
[that was a joke butt um holding grudges is one of simon's #1 pasttimes]
How do I know you aren't tryin' to pull a fast one on me?
[He does love seeing people grovel. People, nulls. Anyone, really. Simon would be willing to take the risk, but he's not coming unprepared. He'll hide weapons on his person, as per usual.]
I don't plan on dying in a place as dumb as this one.
But, if you really do mean whatcha say-
[It's up for debate. Simon is beyond putting his trust in strangers.]
[He panics, a little. This guy reads so much like what amounts to "the one that got away", so many of his mannerisms are exactly like what Akechi did before he disappeared from his life all together. And it isn't fair to Simon, to immediately make that correlation, but Akira is sure of one thing above all else-- he doesn't want something like that to ever happen again. He's never even met Simon, and he knows he needs someone to talk to. Maybe he's in as dire of straits as Akechi had been. If he'd tried a little harder, maybe that all could have been avoided.]
[So he'll rise to that and try a little harder with Simon.]
okay, cool. do you wanna come here or should i bring something to you?
[He has needed love and support of the normal variety, and discipline, for many years. Neglect and self loathing have made his anxious mind a terrible place to inhabit, as in eight years time, he's done nothing to properly heal the damage that's already been done.]
[He knows his type all too well, and he isn't about to lose another person to the insidious neglect of adults who failed him. He hasn't stopped to consider the fact that this task shouldn't fall on his shoulders alone.]
cool, okay. uh, there's a cafe i know.
[Okay so maybe it's the cafe he lives above, making it not smart on a handful of counts, but-- he's still panicking a little.]
[Don't fuck this up, Akira. No pressure or anything. He indelicately explains the basics of what's going on to Sojiro, and claims a booth at the far end of the cafe, nearest to the door. It's secluded, somewhat. He has a cup of coffee for himself (one he probably made before sitting down, in all honesty) and there's a menu sitting across from him. There isn't a lot on the menu, mostly a wide variety of coffees, but there are a few soda options, and one tea.]
[He has to laugh at himself a little, in his head-- how did he always manage this? He was just being a dumbass teenager vaguely flirting with a guy who wrote a fantasy novel and used it as a way to talk to people on tinder, and now he was stressed the hell out about trying to inject himself into the life of someone who clearly needed support. Had he even written a book at all, or was that just a way to get someone to pay attention to him?]
[His coffee is getting cold, and he's plucking at his cuticles whenever Simon shows up and the bell above the door jingles loudly. He stands up without realizing that he never shared any details about what he looks like. So he just clears his throat and waves.] Uh-- Simon, yeah?
[Simon took note of Akira's features before blazing forward. Messy hair, eyeglasses. Kind of looks like the sort of idiot who'd be caught sleeping in a library. The type of person that Simon might have become, had his number gone down instead of up.
He stands in the doorway seeming particularly nonplussed, long blond hair tied into his signature teeny ponytail. The other boy will notice that Simon's pants are ripped only on one leg, and that as the Apex's second in command folds his hands over his chest, the sleeves of his hoodie cut off at his elbows. In fact, none of his clothes fit particularly well, and he has indeed grown out of them. The red sine wave that Simon would hardly be caught dead without is painted over his sharp nose without fail.
Simon simply grunts in response to that faint acknowledgement, nodding huffily.]
Akira.
[There are knives hidden in various places on his person, as that's what all the pockets on those hideous torn khakis are for, but that's neither here nor there.
He refuses to sit down.]
You first.
[he is eighteen going on nineteen, and mentally ill as hell 🎶🎧]
[Dude definitely looks like he needs a friend. And... maybe a good shopping trip. But Akira takes his time to look him over taking note of the pants that don't quite fit, the one leg cut off, the torn sleeves of his hoodie. The stubble on his face, the strange line drawn over the bridge of his nose.]
[The fact that his hair is definitely that color naturally, because someone with such an otherwise unkempt appearance wouldn't have keeping their hair bleached be the one thing they maintained. He purses his lips, nodding when addressed, and trying to figure out how, exactly, he keeps getting himself into these disastrous situations. He turns, making sure to turn his back toward Simon when he walks to the booth and sits back down. Someone as uptight as Simon would likely bark something like "don't turn back on someone you don't know is trustworthy", but he wanted to trust him.]
[Wanted Simon to trust him.]
[He slouches horribly when he sits, curling over the table and picking up his cup of coffee.] There's only one sort of tea, but there's a couple sodas. [Sojiro had started keeping soda fairly shortly after meeting a one Sakamoto Ryuji, who couldn't stand coffee. It was a bit of a blow to his ego, but he did a lot of things for the collection of wayward teenagers he'd taken in.]
[that's absolutely something he would bark, absolutely]
I don't need it.
[It's clear by Simon's curt reply that he isn't one to bother with subtle niceties. Akira is lucky that, while he delights in feeling victorious and vanquishing foes, Simon is not one to attack someone out of the blue. Not unless he's feeling particularly volatile. That's energy that should be saved for a real threat.]
[Akira could probably take him-- or at least take him enough to get him outside before he broke something in the cafe, at which point he could probably work out a means to get him to calm the fuck down. Luckily, that isn't the case and he doesn't have to figure it out.]
[There's a brief moment where he's startled by the way Simon just demands an apology. He had planned to apologize, but he hadn't exactly planned for Simon to demand it right off. He artfully dodges the first question, going instead for the second.]
...because I like reading, and you wanted somebody to read your book.
[At that, Simon just narrows his eyebrows in disbelief.]
Ch'yeah, right.
[Years of pitifully attempting to get his best friend to read his stupid book has left him jaded, with the belief that no one would really be interested. If the girl who had been by his side through thick and thin couldn't care less, why would a stranger?]
[The way he just spits I hate it, Akira almost flinches. He closes his eyes, taking a slow, careful breath before he opens them again and looks directly at Simon.]
I was bored, yeah, [He raises a hand before Simon can bite back a response.] but I do like reading, and I do wanna read your book. And I'm sorry, for letting the conversation get way out of hand and out of line. I'm honestly not great at socializing, I prefer to listen, so I got ahead of myself. Can I please buy you a soda or something?
[He sets his hand down, on the menu, and pushes it toward Simon.] Please.
[Simon stares blankly at the menu, blinking three or four times.
This whole place, this stupid human establishment, it leaves him with a bitter taste in his mouth. He is disoriented, trapped in a world he was taken from as a child that he vowed to never return to. His palm and arm no longer grow green, so in this realm, he has nothing to measure himself by. In all honesty, it's only made Simon's ever needling insecurities worse.]
Uh, I'll just take whatever soda.
[plz don't say mountain dew]
And a bottle of water, if you guys do that? To go.
[A short gust of air leaves Akira, and he realizes he was holding his breath. He smiles, faintly, and waves Sojiro over.] Coke and a water bottle? No cups.
[Continuing to play the part of not living above the cafe he's pulled Simon to, he pulls out his wallet and leaves some yen on the table as Sojiro grumbles something good-natured in Old Man, bringing the soda and water bottle over. He sets them on the table, and Akira shifts to stand up.]
If-- you're leaving, can I at least give you my number? That's only as hitting on you as you want it to be.
[simon.exe is processing... most likely probability??? is that someone would just try to hit him, especially... considering his behavior
Akira may notice the way his forehead creases beneath those unkempt bangs, not wrought with fright or disgust. Just confusion.]
Okay.
[Love, affection, desire... All these things are won. Much like battles and all the military campaigns he's gone on to idealize, for someone to pay attention to you, you must put in years of hard work, and in Simon's case, he's still waiting to cash in on that particular investment. Grace does not look upon him in the same way he does her, and for good reason- They have never been equals, not once, and their future shows that very clearly.]
[Akira watches him process, watches him disbelieve. At least he's pretty openly honest with emotion. That's new and refreshing. That's different.]
[He pulls his phone out of his back pocket.]
I messaged you on a dating app, Simon.
[He pulls up his contact and flicks his wrist, spinning his phone and turning it outward for Simon to see.] I'm definitely more the type to be friends before anything else, but, gotta start somewhere, yeah?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 12:26 am (UTC)that's a generalization, but, still relatively true.
so is sexy book club tinder your first foray into the realm of the internet?
if so i'm sincerely sorry and please be careful it can get kind of dangerous around here.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 12:38 am (UTC)[Simon isn't quite sure what he was expecting. It would be nice to receive a compliment of any kind, but despite that ugly inkling of hope, it's not something he was anticipating.]
I used to play computer games when I was a kid, but it's been a long time since then.
[How are you supposed to form relationships with people through a screen, anyway? He's already so ill-equipped to do that in real life.]
Pfft, danger? I can handle danger.
My whole life, I've
[Shoot.]
Nevermind.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 12:47 am (UTC)i'm all-in for samantha kittywhiskers' creator's tragic origin story here.
and i mean
call me nosy or meddling or whatever but
people don't usually start statements like "my whole life, i've" without wanting to tell somebody the rest of the sentence.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 12:51 am (UTC)[Oh no.]
Sure, my life hasn't been easy.
[understatement of the century]
But that also means that I'm not weak anymore.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 12:56 am (UTC)i never said you were weak, simon.
and especially if your life hasn't been easy, sometimes it can do a person a lot of good to have somebody to talk to.
it isn't weak to want companionship.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 01:06 am (UTC)I know that.
[He is reminded of why he never wants to leave the train in the first place. Sure, this person's words are kind, but they don't know what he's truly capable of. All the victories that were near misses, they are going unappreciated-]
Of course I know that!
I'm not stupid.
[yes he is butt anyway]
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 01:14 am (UTC)look, can i buy you a coffee or something?
i definitely overstepped somewhere, so let me make it up to you.
[Is he worried about a near-complete stranger? Yes, yes he is.]
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 01:21 am (UTC)I don't do coffee.
[A control freak of the worst variety, Simon finds that caffeine only worsens his neuroses and jittery nature.]
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 01:38 am (UTC)or tea.
just let me apologize properly for pissing you off so you don't take to your grave the hatred of that random asshole on tinder who made jokes about sexy book clubs and warned you about the internet being for porn, yeah?
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 01:46 am (UTC)How do I know you aren't tryin' to pull a fast one on me?
[He does love seeing people grovel. People, nulls. Anyone, really. Simon would be willing to take the risk, but he's not coming unprepared. He'll hide weapons on his person, as per usual.]
I don't plan on dying in a place as dumb as this one.
But, if you really do mean whatcha say-
[It's up for debate. Simon is beyond putting his trust in strangers.]
Then I accept.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 01:56 am (UTC)[So he'll rise to that and try a little harder with Simon.]
okay, cool.
do you wanna come here or should i bring something to you?
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 02:04 am (UTC)Simon's fate is similar, if not worse.]
Public place.
[He has needed love and support of the normal variety, and discipline, for many years. Neglect and self loathing have made his anxious mind a terrible place to inhabit, as in eight years time, he's done nothing to properly heal the damage that's already been done.]
Pick a public place and I'll meet you there.
[Simon is angry, and unnecessarily so, sure.
But he is lonely, too.]
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 02:08 am (UTC)cool, okay.
uh, there's a cafe i know.
[Okay so maybe it's the cafe he lives above, making it not smart on a handful of counts, but-- he's still panicking a little.]
i'll send you the address?
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 02:14 am (UTC)Fine.
[Not unless you count the Cat.
To have survived on the train for hundreds of years as she has-]
I'm on my way.
[You'd have to put yourself first above all else.
Even small, impressionable children.]
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 02:28 am (UTC)[He has to laugh at himself a little, in his head-- how did he always manage this? He was just being a dumbass teenager vaguely flirting with a guy who wrote a fantasy novel and used it as a way to talk to people on tinder, and now he was stressed the hell out about trying to inject himself into the life of someone who clearly needed support. Had he even written a book at all, or was that just a way to get someone to pay attention to him?]
[His coffee is getting cold, and he's plucking at his cuticles whenever Simon shows up and the bell above the door jingles loudly. He stands up without realizing that he never shared any details about what he looks like. So he just clears his throat and waves.] Uh-- Simon, yeah?
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 02:40 am (UTC)He stands in the doorway seeming particularly nonplussed, long blond hair tied into his signature teeny ponytail. The other boy will notice that Simon's pants are ripped only on one leg, and that as the Apex's second in command folds his hands over his chest, the sleeves of his hoodie cut off at his elbows. In fact, none of his clothes fit particularly well, and he has indeed grown out of them. The red sine wave that Simon would hardly be caught dead without is painted over his sharp nose without fail.
Simon simply grunts in response to that faint acknowledgement, nodding huffily.]
Akira.
[There are knives hidden in various places on his person, as that's what all the pockets on those hideous torn khakis are for, but that's neither here nor there.
He refuses to sit down.]
You first.
[he is eighteen going on nineteen, and mentally ill as hell 🎶🎧]
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 02:56 am (UTC)[The fact that his hair is definitely that color naturally, because someone with such an otherwise unkempt appearance wouldn't have keeping their hair bleached be the one thing they maintained. He purses his lips, nodding when addressed, and trying to figure out how, exactly, he keeps getting himself into these disastrous situations. He turns, making sure to turn his back toward Simon when he walks to the booth and sits back down. Someone as uptight as Simon would likely bark something like "don't turn back on someone you don't know is trustworthy", but he wanted to trust him.]
[Wanted Simon to trust him.]
[He slouches horribly when he sits, curling over the table and picking up his cup of coffee.] There's only one sort of tea, but there's a couple sodas. [Sojiro had started keeping soda fairly shortly after meeting a one Sakamoto Ryuji, who couldn't stand coffee. It was a bit of a blow to his ego, but he did a lot of things for the collection of wayward teenagers he'd taken in.]
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 03:06 am (UTC)I don't need it.
[It's clear by Simon's curt reply that he isn't one to bother with subtle niceties. Akira is lucky that, while he delights in feeling victorious and vanquishing foes, Simon is not one to attack someone out of the blue. Not unless he's feeling particularly volatile. That's energy that should be saved for a real threat.]
Aren't you gonna apologize?
[It's really all he wants to hear.
Even Simon isn't sure for what. He's curious.]
Why did you message me, anyway?
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 03:17 am (UTC)[There's a brief moment where he's startled by the way Simon just demands an apology. He had planned to apologize, but he hadn't exactly planned for Simon to demand it right off. He artfully dodges the first question, going instead for the second.]
...because I like reading, and you wanted somebody to read your book.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 03:26 am (UTC)Ch'yeah, right.
[Years of pitifully attempting to get his best friend to read his stupid book has left him jaded, with the belief that no one would really be interested. If the girl who had been by his side through thick and thin couldn't care less, why would a stranger?]
Just say you were bored and be done with it.
Don't lie to me.
[With an added ounce of hostility-]
I hate it.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 03:35 am (UTC)I was bored, yeah, [He raises a hand before Simon can bite back a response.] but I do like reading, and I do wanna read your book. And I'm sorry, for letting the conversation get way out of hand and out of line. I'm honestly not great at socializing, I prefer to listen, so I got ahead of myself. Can I please buy you a soda or something?
[He sets his hand down, on the menu, and pushes it toward Simon.] Please.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 03:43 am (UTC)This whole place, this stupid human establishment, it leaves him with a bitter taste in his mouth. He is disoriented, trapped in a world he was taken from as a child that he vowed to never return to. His palm and arm no longer grow green, so in this realm, he has nothing to measure himself by. In all honesty, it's only made Simon's ever needling insecurities worse.]
Uh, I'll just take whatever soda.
[plz don't say mountain dew]
And a bottle of water, if you guys do that? To go.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 03:50 am (UTC)[Continuing to play the part of not living above the cafe he's pulled Simon to, he pulls out his wallet and leaves some yen on the table as Sojiro grumbles something good-natured in Old Man, bringing the soda and water bottle over. He sets them on the table, and Akira shifts to stand up.]
If-- you're leaving, can I at least give you my number? That's only as hitting on you as you want it to be.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 03:58 am (UTC)You're hitting on me?
[simon.exe is processing... most likely probability??? is that someone would just try to hit him, especially... considering his behavior
Akira may notice the way his forehead creases beneath those unkempt bangs, not wrought with fright or disgust. Just confusion.]
Okay.
[Love, affection, desire... All these things are won. Much like battles and all the military campaigns he's gone on to idealize, for someone to pay attention to you, you must put in years of hard work, and in Simon's case, he's still waiting to cash in on that particular investment. Grace does not look upon him in the same way he does her, and for good reason- They have never been equals, not once, and their future shows that very clearly.]
no subject
Date: 2021-06-14 04:03 am (UTC)[He pulls his phone out of his back pocket.]
I messaged you on a dating app, Simon.
[He pulls up his contact and flicks his wrist, spinning his phone and turning it outward for Simon to see.] I'm definitely more the type to be friends before anything else, but, gotta start somewhere, yeah?
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