suddenlybees | || IC INBOX

[He sighs softly, but his tone, even as he continues, suggests he won't push it right now.]

You helped me with your magic, I could help you with mine. I'll see what I can get, though...

[He knows any bandaids he does manage to get from the attendants won't be used. Oh well.]

[ Here is Kano who never learned that Maverick has any other magic besides the fancy color changing one, staring at him in confusion because what use is that there? In Kano's hands, a power like that would be used for no good- for pranks and for summoning and for complicated rune magic like he's hoping Maverick will be able to orchestrate once he gains the confidence in his skills.

In a situation like this, though... ]

Mm... Oh, alright. If you can help, you don't ever have to ask, you know?

[This isn't...accurate at all, he feels, with how resistant Kano is to receiving any help that matters. But...well. He's got permission, now, and since they're already supposed to be some cutesy couple -- some twisted modern version of Beauty and the Beast that wouldn't have high sales at all -- he doesn't have to feel too awkward about taking the other's hands in his and lifting them to his lips. Just giving his girlfriend cute hand kisses before she has to go suffer next to some ignorant fuck for several hours.

When his lips brush against Kano's skin, he'll be able to feel all those little cuts closing up and losing that stubborn, nagging sting.]

You better lemme know if you need to switch again, okay?

[ It's what he remembers telling Maverick before, what he tries to uphold in his own life, barging in and "helping" whenever and wherever he can, whether the other person likes it or not, whether he's really helping or not. He won't accept help, hates asking for it and always has to make it into some sort of trade to avoid feeling like he's being pitied or in debt, but lord knows he needs help. With people like him- Toki, Maverick, lots of people he believes- it's best to just help, and not give them the choice.

Because he would never have thought Maverick could make any different to ask for help, in terms of making his hands whole again, skin smooth and unbroken save for the faint spots here and there marred by scars that are too long a part of him now to be healed.

Haha.

What is this?

What the fuck?

Why the hell did Kano put himself through another Contract when Maverick could do this all along. ]

...He~h... If you put it like that, Mav, I think I'd get lonely all by my lonesome back here~

Miss, [ Tsubomi turns to address the old lady, innocently batting her eyelashes ] I don't supposed you'd like to move to a seat up front? You'll be able to depart the plane that much sooner~ ...And I can give you some mints, if you want.

[She isn't super keen on letting the pair have their way, but she can feel the eyes on her, now -- and unlike these hooligans, she actually cares about her appearances. Her husband over here will be sawing logs the whole time, anyway...

With bitter reluctance, the hag agrees, though she snaps that she still doesn't trust those "mints" of theirs and pointedly refers to Tsubomi as "young man". She won't be fooled, you brats!!!!

What a bag. Maverick is pretty pleased, though, taking Kano's initiative as a good sign. He wants to spend time with him again...yay. Maybe this won't be a total waste of his money and good intentions, after all.]

[ Tsubomi sticks her tongue out at the woman's retreating back, motioning Maverick to take the center seat in case that other guy needs a shoulder to rest his head on and starts to drool or something. Aisles meet more feet space, too.

Sitting further back in the plane feels a bit safer too, droning snores as background noise to cut out the chatter all around, and the simple fact that he's in the back and allowed to watch everybody else in front of him instead of being up front with all those eyes at the back of his head... Mm. ]

Mav, hey. I need a favor.

[Ugh, okay, he'll go ahead and suffer the indignity of the middle seat... Old man better stay on his side. Maverick eyes him out of the corner of his eye until his attention is caught again by his prim and proper girlfriend. This is so weird. Even if it's Kano, it's weird.]

You mean another favor. What's up?

Mm, another favor, and maybe more than one!

[ And it's got to be that- a "favor." Not help, or a request, but a favor for a favor he'll figure out how to repay back later. These are big favors, though, so instead of answering right away, Tsubomi turns in her seat and rests her elbows on the shared armrest, leaning in and lowering her voice. ]

But first, first~ I need to know! How good are you at healing? That really took me by surprise! But I need to know- are you very good?

[He really hates that she's cute. And of course she's just as good, maybe better, at the sweet innocence act as Kano is.

Ahh. Healing. Um... His gaze flicks forward again and he reaches forward to grab something out of the net ahead of him so he can idly flip through it while avoiding looking at Kano...Tsubomi...whoever.]

I guess. I fucking dunno, I haven't used it much.

Hm...

[ He doesn't often masquerade as Tsubomi, but the advantages are clear whenever he does, a soft voice and impish curl of the lips in contrast to a boisterous laugh and suspicious smirk he wears as his "Kano" persona. Sometimes, in certain situations, it's easier as a girl— or maybe it's just easier as not him- to be sweet and innocent and very easily forgiven, something to use to his advantage as much as he can. ]

I see, alright~ It's just that you were able to use it so well, with no hesitation at all! Then, if that's the case, I'll keep that in my pocket for now, and ask you again later~ Favor two-

[ She leans forward a little more, draped over the armrest so she can poke her elbows into his leg and try to catch his eye. ]

When you get back to school, I need you to cancel my PO box, and to set fire to my room.

[No hesitation...ha ha. Okay. Sure. Such a suspicious thing to say, too... He clenches his teeth as she digs her elbows in and is set on refusing to look. No, not gonna do it, you can't make him, he's -- what.

His head whips up, nearly clonking his head against Tsubomi's, which would cause a whole nother ruckus, so it's lucky he misses.]

Are you fucking insane? Hell no! And don't think you're not coming back with me, dumbass. You really think I'd let that happen?

[ Whoops, yeah, that would be a bother, so Tsubomi pulls her head back before Maverick's forced to kiss a nosebleed away. ]

Eeh~ You know how the dorms are built- the fire will be contained and will go out eventually! Nobody will be hurt!

[ Not saying anything about not coming back. Why does Maverick think Kano chose Canada of all places, after all? ]

[Be a good way to discover that he's wasting his magic all in one go, but alas, that will have to be for another time. Ignorance is bliss.]

I don't fucking care. [Well, okay. He cares a little. He cares a whole lot. Shut up.] I just got used to the idea of maybe not being on the same floor as you! What the fucking hell, man.

[Ugh, he's so fucking stupid, thinking Kano wanted to reconnect, or some shit... Damn it.]

[ There was always that half-built treehouse to connect in, there was Kano's room, there were his mountain hideouts, his safehouses all around the town and underneath the ground. He has no lack of safe places, places to be alone in, places with enough space to allow one more person into. Instead, he chose Canada, where Ellie is- where his only lasting family is- and here he is talking about never going back to school.

He thought it was obvious, that Maverick accepted it, and was helping him run away. ]

...I'd be kinda lonely, Mav. Were you thinking of moving back in with Ramona? Or are you and Akechi moving out together?

[He tries to look away again, but that means look at some wrinkled old snore, and that's no good, either. You said it'd be a day trip, the sensible, punchy part of him wants to object, but unfortunately that Mav has to take a backseat as he's forced to think about the proposed questions.

He doesn't have any fucking clue. He knows the assumption is that he'll go home -- he still thinks of it as home -- but...to what? Be that loser living with his parent twenty years after he should've moved out? Bouncing between part time jobs? Never being anyone worthwhile? And then there's Akechi...

Akechi talked a lot about hating where he came from, hating the person it made him and hating who it wanted him to pretend to be. Even before they'd been a couple, Mav had been urging him to look into different ways he could stay abroad, after their usefulness to the academy was up. He'd even offered him a spot in his home. They would be living together then, they're living together now... Why does the idea of moving out together with him feel so strange?

His stomach drops. He hasn't even gotten to talk about the start of all that with his friend, but here he is, contemplating the end goal, and the end of many other things. Even if he chooses to believe this is an invitation to stay with Kano, starting a new life in Canada...]

You wanna actually talk about real shit, for once?

[ At least Maverick has somebody to go back to. At least he has somebody to go with. After his mother had died, Kano had no other connection to the world, could so easily have been severed from it and absolutely nobody would miss him— his mother had made sure of that, not allowing him to talk to anybody, not allowing him to make friends or go to school, keeping him close and he- a fool- wanted so badly to be close to her. Without her, all he had, coming into this school, was Ellie. And he'd spent the last three years of his life setting things up and making preparations for her sake. From the hideouts, to the food, to the books, to the Contract, it was for her. And now he's giving up and running away because he- because he failed and he just. He can't. Doesn't want to talk or think about any of that, how much of himself he's poured into things and how much he's giving up and how much he's wasted and won't ever get back and how much he's ruined and made worse for his efforts.

He wants to be with Ellie. Maverick asked Kano to need him. It feels too selfish to ask, or to want.

He doesn't want to talk about real shit at all, he never does. ]

Alright.

[ But he's stuck here for seven more hours, isn't he? And Mav... he can't make cry again. ]

What do you want to talk about?

[He doesn't, suddenly. He'd rather let them lull into a quiet, even if he'd felt like he was pulling teeth to get Kano to even acknowledge him before. Maverick tucks the magazine away again, then sinks low in his seat so he can watch the plane's ceiling. As if he can see all the different clouds they're passing by that way.]

...You should text whoever it was we were supposed to meet. It's shitty to make them sit around without a clue. It sucks, right?

[Here they were, sitting around without a clue. It certainly sucks from where he's sitting.]

[ It's a request that takes him by surprise, Tsubomi sitting up straighter as Maverick slouches in his seat. The person they were supposed to meet... ]

I kinda wanted to surprise her, though? I think she'd be really happy to see you again too!

[ They were going to Canada to surprise Ellie at school, or something, that was Kano's unvoiced plan. ]

[His brows furrow, but then he sees where the logic train went.]

No. I mean the bike guy. You didn't do it yet, did you? Yeah fucking right, though, you're hilarious.

Ahh, bike guy! What time- ...what day is it...?

[ What time is... time. It's been a blur, ever since Maverick called him out, and there must have been a good chunk of time where it felt like his brain was submerged in ice cold water because he was in the forest one moment and the next he's sitting in an airplane counting the number of times the kid in the seat behind him keeps kicking the back.

Did he have anything else planned for the day after? Were there any more promises he was breaking? Should he even care when he meant to run away and ditch everything all along? Ahh, he blew off Yuya too. Yikes, the guilt's settling in now, despite himself. ]

Mm, favor number three!! Can you text Kanata and tell him you're kidnapping me and I can't make it? It'll sound more valid coming from you! Say I'm really really sorry!!!

[siiiigh. So now that he was Tsubomi...]

I don't know if I feel better or worse when you're pretending to give a shit.

[But yeah, he'll dig his phone back out... This favor, he can do.]

Hehe, you're the best, Mav!

[ Tsubomi sits back and slouches in the same way Mav was before, staring up at the ceiling of the cabin. The light glares down into her eyes, seatbelt sign off, no smoking sign on.

And then, the ceiling disappears from sight, open sky all around them as if the entire airplane were made of glass. Nobody else around them reacts at all; this illusion is just for the two of them. ]

Would you rather I pretend to give a shit, or pretend not to?

[Yep... He definitely is the best, taking Kano to Canada and giving him ample opportunity to run away from his problems, instead of making him feel safe and steady enough to actually deal with things. Because he's a stupid idiot fool that put more weight in "best" than he should, he supposes. He's the best. He's his best friend. What he is is the best place for a handout.

The ceiling vanishing makes his breath catch for a moment, but the panic settles down into unease and interest. It was pretty as much as it was unnatural.]

I think... [Hm.] I think I don't want you to pretend. How does anything I fucking do help if I can't even know you? I'm fucking trying...

[ "I don't want you to pretend," he says, sitting next to a Kano who is more comfortable being a whole other person than himself, because "Tsubomi" is always all smiles, bubbly and practical and an all-around better person than "Kano" is, why wouldn't he want to play pretend? Anything is better than... nothing. ]

Hehe... Everything you do, you try your best, and that's enough! I know that and I appreciate it. But you really shouldn't waste your efforts any more than that, 'cause there's nothing to know. There's nothing there, Mav. Can't I just be what people want me to be?

[If it's easier to talk while wearing a mask, it's not like Maverick is going to judge that. He's loud, and brash, and does things to stand out, but his actual desires in life are simple. He puts on a front of being the kind of guy you want to give space and not mess with, but he's happiest with people who are close enough to play with him, whether through teasing or childish wrestling. Wearing a mask isn't necessarily the same as pretending, in Mav's mind.]

...Nah. If all you wanted to be was what other people wanted, you wouldn't be so shit at making me believe it, because what I want is you. Means there's more fucking to it than that.

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