Murder would be too kind for such blasphemous statements as these, Akechi thinks. His smile remains paper-thin even as the next words rattle his limited patience.
“Smooth? You have a very active imagination. I don’t see where you’re getting that from, either. If I had to label myself, I wouldn’t. It may be a bit cliche to say, but labels are often overbroad.” Or, he doesn’t want Ren to know exactly how he fits into this typecast.
"Not active, just accurate. When you've worn that argyle sweater, I don't remember seeing any little tuffs of hair popping out of the collar. I mean, you could be hiding it well. Do you manscape?" He laughs lightly and leans back a little, putting just enough distance in between should he need to back off.
"What would you like to be described as then? Description is different than labeling."
He’s not answering that whatsoever; “manscaping”, honestly, Joker? What do you take him for? (He likes to be extremely hygienic and particular with his look, so the odds are favorable.)
“I’d like to be described as intellectual, quick-witted, athletic.” That’s not the point, Akechi.
He nods as he listens along, checking thing off a mental list. "So, I hear you, and I gotta say, those are all the things a twink would want to be described as. It's not a bad thing, you know. What would you say is your best physical feature--no! What would someone else say is your best physical feature?"
He has yet to hear anything that would help Akechi fit under some other label.
"Mm. It is a nice brown. In just the right light it reminds me of milk chocolate. Like a milk chocolate truffle color I'd say. Mmm, yum."
He reaches out, not trying to touch, just gesturing in the air. He'd like to touch. He wonders how healthy it is. Does he use a hair mask? Deep conditioning? Do the curtains match the drapes?
Ren may lose his tongue if he asks that last question, and not in any fun and adventurous way, either.
Akechi’s face continues to go through a litany of expressions. For the most part, he tries to maintain cool indifference, but it’s getting very difficult to.
“I would say it’s closer to caramel, but thank you. I wouldn’t recommend eating it.” Call him a twink one more time, Ren, he dares you.
“What would you label yourself, out of curiosity?” Let’s deflect.
"Oh, I'm 100% a twunk. There's no denying it," he laughs as he lifts his shirt up and gives his belly a pat.
"There might be a hint of a two pack there, but most of my muscles are in my arms. I accept that label because it's accurate, and when I use it to describe myself to the right people, they tell me I'm pretty." He lets his shirt fall back down so he can frame his own face and bat his eyelashes at Akechi.
This piece of attic trash… Akechi truly can’t believe the audacity of him, to say such things without a single hesitation or ounce of shame.
All right. He clearly can’t let Joker win this challenge - or whatever it is that’s transpiring right now.
“The right people.” He rolls the words around in his mouth, tastes them, then says with a slight curl of his lips, “you’re very pretty.” Clearly the idiot won’t be expecting that one.
It’s the internal ‘attic trash’ vs external ‘you’re very pretty’ whiplash for me
He freezes for a moment, truly taking in the words. Then the eyelashes come back, this time no playfulness behind them. Nothing behind them truly. Head empty, no thoughts. Once he comes back online he’ll be livid that Akechi won that round, but that’s not for another oh, probably a good solid 10 seconds. Yeah this is a hard shut down. The cooling fans did NOT work, they have FAILED.
“I’m…pretty…?”
It does make his heart sing, he wasn’t joking about that. It’s not often he gets complimented on his looks, so it is a weakness of his. As his heart races and the blush stays firmly on his face, his brain slowly comes back online. However…
“Goro, are you…?” he drops one wrist in a dainty, flowery motion, all because his self preservation hasn’t come back online yet.
but what if they happen at the same time externally 👀
A satisfied feeling settles deep into Akechi’s bone. The victorious sensation is a great one; finally getting one-up on Ren is fantastic, Akechi thinks almost scathingly. It’s better he teach him not to play with fire than someone more dangerous. (Hah.)
However, Ren’s next show of … whatever that is, has Akechi’s brows furrowing. Combined with the use of his given name, Akechi is downright baffled. Should be play into his hands more and ask for clarification? Or should he up the ante to double-down on a possible win? Ah, choices.
He goes for the latter: “Oh? Getting shy, now? That’s a shame… You’re more delicate than I thought you were.”
Edited (phone html is hard ) 2022-10-08 21:57 (UTC)
That's not the answer he was looking for. That was the biggest sidestep if Ren has ever seen one. One by one, pathways are connecting and he's coming back. The blush is still there, but most of the red has gone.
"You're avoiding my question. Who tickles your fancy? What's your flavor? What tree are you barking up? What side are you playing for?"
He asks all these questions and gets closer, less than an arms length away. He has a theory, but he wants an answer. If Akechi is saying surprising things today, Ren is going to get his answers damn it. And maybe, just maybe....definitely maybe, he' wants to be called pretty again. He 100% wants to hear Goro call him pretty again.
Oh no, he’s getting annoyingly confident again. Haughty, more like Joker than this demure young man. Akechi wonders if there’s anything he can say to get him off his game once again.
“Are you asking me what my romantic preferences are?” Akechi feigns being unaffected by it, but it’s a worrisome topic. It isn’t that he’s overtly hiding any of it, but he also purposely hasn’t been “entangled” with anyone because of his princely image.
“If you must know,” a beat, “I have no interest in girls.” That’s all Ren is getting, he isn’t sorry.
One day he's going to reach down Akechi's throat and pull out that thesaurus that's been stuck in there for who knows how long. That poor thing probably hasn't seen the light of day in a decade. Of course that's what he's been asking! Focus Akechi! Get your head in the game!
Instead of venting his frustration, Ren just rolls his eyes a little but nods. That's right. Give us the juicy info. And oh, how juicy it is~ Rip peace, Akechi will never know you ever again.
"So," and of course he has to step closer, right inside Akechi's bubble, "you're not interested in girls, and you said I'm pretty. Am I your prettiest friend? What would you say is my best feature?" And if he lowers his voice and gives Akechi a little smirk, it's only because he knows it'll get under his skin. Certainly not because he genuinely wants to know.
Is this a fishing expedition? If he had known, he’d have brought his gear. All jokes aside — and he wish Joker would also move aside - Akechi’s expression grows flatter. Honestly, Ren? Honestly?
“Well,” he begins, tongue darting out to wet his lips, pretend to consider it some, “I suppose it’s your eyes. It’s a very unique color I haven’t seen it before.”
A boring and safe answer. Also, “Considering how close you are, I can see the different flecks of color in them.” So please step the fuck back, Joker.
"You didn't answer my first question, Goro. Am I your prettiest friend?"
He takes off his glasses and bats his lashes again. He most certainly does not step away, but in fact, he leans in closer. Leaning down so that he has to look up at Akechi. If this gives the appearance of 'blow job' eyes, that's not what he was going for, and he will die on that hill.
"I appreciate how honest, you're being with me lately. It feels like I'm finally getting to know your details. Crossing the T's and dotting the I's. Do you use product in your hair or do anything special to it? It looks very soft. May I touch it?"
Is it cheating if Ren is his only friend? He uses that term loosely, even so, and Ren is rapidly approaching a level of frustration he didn’t think possible.
Why are the glasses off? There’s a brief moment of panic, where every muscle in Akechi’s body tightens, taut, as if ready to lash out if Ren were to make any further advances.
The questions about his hair calm him. Those, he can easily list off answers from his interviews, a nice and easy canned response, but the request to touch it?
“I already know telling you no is futile,” he mutters, trying not to let the venom seep out. “You may touch the ends.” Just the ends, Ren. If you dare to pet him, he may strike. Or something. It doesn’t stop an irksome red from spreading over his face again.
"C'mon, you should know me better than that." He puts his glasses back on then reaches forward, each hand on either side. He takes the ends in between his fingers and just plays with them for a moment. It is soft; very nice. He can't help but wonder if it's soft all over, but he was told just the ends...so he'll stick with just the ends.
His fingers keep at the ends, but they make their way to the back of Akechi's head. He's slow enough to be stopped but also enough to show Akechi just what his plan is. "You haven't thought about cutting your hair? Or a perm? Never had the rebellious phase of wanting to cut or color?"
“No,” Akechi says quickly, almost defensively. His hand reaches up, as if to swat away Ren, but he stops halfway through the action. “My mother’s hair was like this, maybe a bit longer. It’s one of the few things I remember about her.”
There he goes again, dropping needless information about himself that only furthers the hypothesis that there’s something about Ren that gets people to open up and trust him. Ugh, disgusting.
Akechi flinches just a bit and reaches up finally to gently move one of Ren’s to the side. “Have you? Or has that rebellious spirit of yours only been recent?”
two bros chilling in one personal bubble, centimeters a part cause they're not--
Oh, there's a chord. Understandable. Ren nods, what else can he do? He does like it when Akechi shares details about his mother. It almost feels like she's stopping by whenever he does it. He'd like to go visit her one day...
"It's very beautiful," if they were in the Metaverse, he'd bring up a strand to his lips and kiss it. Very debonair. But they're not in the Metaverse. They're not Crow and Joker right now. So he lets his hand be taken away.
"I've wanted to get my tongue pierced before. I thought about it. Started saving up for it, but then the law decided it hated me personally and now I'm here. What do you think? Should I get one?
throwing gloves at each other and dancing under a big heart, so straight
A tongue piercing? Now that’s something he hadn’t pegged Ren as wanting. Perhaps he’s misjudged his adherence to social norms and expectations. Foolish to think, given Ren’s own brand of rebellion, but… Interesting
“They’re difficult to hide. If you’d like to lean into the delinquency angle, by all means.” Just saying, society at large tends to judge on first impressions, as unfair as that may be. Akechi knows that intimately.
He refuses to mention any other aspect of the piercing. If Ren is fishing again for comments about the added benefits of a piercing, he won’t touch that with a ten-foot pole.
“No, you’re missing the question again. Do you think I would look good with a tongue piercing?” He leans back enough and sticks his tongue out. It’s far out enough to give a good view, but it rests on his lower lip so as avoid looking like complete punk. Yes, he’s trying to look a little hot, but with something like this it’s a toss up.
“I’d probably wait until my second year of university. Already a little bit more established and my sordid past,” yes he even makes air quotes, “is far enough behind me.”
Akechi exhales, a little frustrated, a little flustered, and awkwardly shifts his weight to one side.
“I think it would be fine.” A dismissive shrug; noncommittal as to whether he thinks it adds to the look or not. “As I said, it’s your decision in the end.” What a cop-out. “I don’t know why you’re so interested in my opinion on it.” Okay, one statement too far.
I like imagine Joker is a Hungry Hungry Hippo every time Akechi says something he can latch on to
“Of course I’m interested in your opinion. I’m interested in all the things you say. I’m interested in you.”
Oh, um. Maybe a little too vulnerable. Bring it back a bit. “You called me pretty after I told you like it when the right people call me it. You want to be my ‘right person’, don’t you?” He reaches out to Akechi’s hair and touches the end of a strand.
“I wanna know what else I could do to have you call me pretty again.” His tone is light and he’s only half joking. A very ‘only if you wanted to’ type of tone. He’s also trying to see if he can keep up that blush Akechi’s been wearing. It’s a good look. Ren likes it. A lot.
Akechi feels like Ren is slowly clawing his mask off and it’s so uncomfortably vulnerable. The conflict in his chest swirls, vision blurry and unfocused for a second. He isn’t good for Ren, he isn’t good for anyone. How did that saying go? You can’t love someone else until you love yourself first. How laughable.
His knee jerk reaction is to spin this back on Ren before he can say something damning. So, “You are one of the prettiest people I know. Far more real than most of the other celebrities I know.” There, that perhaps will work. Or blow back up in his face.
ty ♥️!
“Smooth? You have a very active imagination. I don’t see where you’re getting that from, either. If I had to label myself, I wouldn’t. It may be a bit cliche to say, but labels are often overbroad.” Or, he doesn’t want Ren to know exactly how he fits into this typecast.
no subject
"What would you like to be described as then? Description is different than labeling."
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“I’d like to be described as intellectual, quick-witted, athletic.” That’s not the point, Akechi.
no subject
Yes, he is having fun with this. Very much so.
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Sighing, Akechi drops his chin to his palm and gives him the most unimpressed look. “My hair.”
He got it from his mother, and it’s something so completely different from his Father.
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"Mm. It is a nice brown. In just the right light it reminds me of milk chocolate. Like a milk chocolate truffle color I'd say. Mmm, yum."
He reaches out, not trying to touch, just gesturing in the air. He'd like to touch. He wonders how healthy it is. Does he use a hair mask? Deep conditioning? Do the curtains match the drapes?
no subject
Akechi’s face continues to go through a litany of expressions. For the most part, he tries to maintain cool indifference, but it’s getting very difficult to.
“I would say it’s closer to caramel, but thank you. I wouldn’t recommend eating it.” Call him a twink one more time, Ren, he dares you.
“What would you label yourself, out of curiosity?” Let’s deflect.
triple dog dare akechi to tell him he's pretty
"There might be a hint of a two pack there, but most of my muscles are in my arms. I accept that label because it's accurate, and when I use it to describe myself to the right people, they tell me I'm pretty." He lets his shirt fall back down so he can frame his own face and bat his eyelashes at Akechi.
ok bet 👁️
All right. He clearly can’t let Joker win this challenge - or whatever it is that’s transpiring right now.
“The right people.” He rolls the words around in his mouth, tastes them, then says with a slight curl of his lips, “you’re very pretty.” Clearly the idiot won’t be expecting that one.
It’s the internal ‘attic trash’ vs external ‘you’re very pretty’ whiplash for me
He freezes for a moment, truly taking in the words. Then the eyelashes come back, this time no playfulness behind them. Nothing behind them truly. Head empty, no thoughts. Once he comes back online he’ll be livid that Akechi won that round, but that’s not for another oh, probably a good solid 10 seconds. Yeah this is a hard shut down. The cooling fans did NOT work, they have FAILED.
“I’m…pretty…?”
It does make his heart sing, he wasn’t joking about that. It’s not often he gets complimented on his looks, so it is a weakness of his. As his heart races and the blush stays firmly on his face, his brain slowly comes back online. However…
“Goro, are you…?” he drops one wrist in a dainty, flowery motion, all because his self preservation hasn’t come back online yet.
but what if they happen at the same time externally 👀
However, Ren’s next show of … whatever that is, has Akechi’s brows furrowing. Combined with the use of his given name, Akechi is downright baffled. Should be play into his hands more and ask for clarification? Or should he up the ante to double-down on a possible win? Ah, choices.
He goes for the latter: “Oh? Getting shy, now? That’s a shame… You’re more delicate than I thought you were.”
is bullying a love language questionmark? 🤔
"You're avoiding my question. Who tickles your fancy? What's your flavor? What tree are you barking up? What side are you playing for?"
He asks all these questions and gets closer, less than an arms length away. He has a theory, but he wants an answer. If Akechi is saying surprising things today, Ren is going to get his answers damn it. And maybe, just maybe....definitely maybe, he' wants to be called pretty again.
He 100% wants to hear Goro call him pretty again.it’s absolutely akechi’s !
“Are you asking me what my romantic preferences are?” Akechi feigns being unaffected by it, but it’s a worrisome topic. It isn’t that he’s overtly hiding any of it, but he also purposely hasn’t been “entangled” with anyone because of his princely image.
“If you must know,” a beat, “I have no interest in girls.” That’s all Ren is getting, he isn’t sorry.
Here lies Akechi's Peace of Mind. RIP.
Instead of venting his frustration, Ren just rolls his eyes a little but nods. That's right. Give us the juicy info. And oh, how juicy it is~ Rip peace, Akechi will never know you ever again.
"So," and of course he has to step closer, right inside Akechi's bubble, "you're not interested in girls, and you said I'm pretty. Am I your prettiest friend? What would you say is my best feature?" And if he lowers his voice and gives Akechi a little smirk, it's only because he knows it'll get under his skin. Certainly not because he genuinely wants to know.
ri so many pieces
“Well,” he begins, tongue darting out to wet his lips, pretend to consider it some, “I suppose it’s your eyes. It’s a very unique color I haven’t seen it before.”
A boring and safe answer. Also, “Considering how close you are, I can see the different flecks of color in them.” So please step the fuck back, Joker.
no subject
He takes off his glasses and bats his lashes again. He most certainly does not step away, but in fact, he leans in closer. Leaning down so that he has to look up at Akechi.
If this gives the appearance of 'blow job' eyes, that's not what he was going for, and he will die on that hill."I appreciate how honest, you're being with me lately. It feels like I'm finally getting to know your details. Crossing the T's and dotting the I's. Do you use product in your hair or do anything special to it? It looks very soft. May I touch it?"
no subject
Why are the glasses off? There’s a brief moment of panic, where every muscle in Akechi’s body tightens, taut, as if ready to lash out if Ren were to make any further advances.
The questions about his hair calm him. Those, he can easily list off answers from his interviews, a nice and easy canned response, but the request to touch it?
“I already know telling you no is futile,” he mutters, trying not to let the venom seep out. “You may touch the ends.” Just the ends, Ren. If you dare to pet him, he may strike. Or something. It doesn’t stop an irksome red from spreading over his face again.
:3c
His fingers keep at the ends, but they make their way to the back of Akechi's head. He's slow enough to be stopped but also enough to show Akechi just what his plan is. "You haven't thought about cutting your hair? Or a perm? Never had the rebellious phase of wanting to cut or color?"
ren you’re very heterosexual
There he goes again, dropping needless information about himself that only furthers the hypothesis that there’s something about Ren that gets people to open up and trust him. Ugh, disgusting.
Akechi flinches just a bit and reaches up finally to gently move one of Ren’s to the side. “Have you? Or has that rebellious spirit of yours only been recent?”
two bros chilling in one personal bubble, centimeters a part cause they're not--
"It's very beautiful," if they were in the Metaverse, he'd bring up a strand to his lips and kiss it. Very debonair. But they're not in the Metaverse. They're not Crow and Joker right now. So he lets his hand be taken away.
"I've wanted to get my tongue pierced before. I thought about it. Started saving up for it, but then the law decided it hated me personally and now I'm here. What do you think? Should I get one?
throwing gloves at each other and dancing under a big heart, so straight
“They’re difficult to hide. If you’d like to lean into the delinquency angle, by all means.” Just saying, society at large tends to judge on first impressions, as unfair as that may be. Akechi knows that intimately.
He refuses to mention any other aspect of the piercing. If Ren is fishing again for comments about the added benefits of a piercing, he won’t touch that with a ten-foot pole.
no subject
Yes, he’s trying to look a little hot, but with something like this it’s a toss up.“I’d probably wait until my second year of university. Already a little bit more established and my sordid past,” yes he even makes air quotes, “is far enough behind me.”
no subject
Akechi exhales, a little frustrated, a little flustered, and awkwardly shifts his weight to one side.
“I think it would be fine.” A dismissive shrug; noncommittal as to whether he thinks it adds to the look or not. “As I said, it’s your decision in the end.” What a cop-out. “I don’t know why you’re so interested in my opinion on it.” Okay, one statement too far.
I like imagine Joker is a Hungry Hungry Hippo every time Akechi says something he can latch on to
Oh, um. Maybe a little too vulnerable. Bring it back a bit. “You called me pretty after I told you like it when the right people call me it. You want to be my ‘right person’, don’t you?” He reaches out to Akechi’s hair and touches the end of a strand.
“I wanna know what else I could do to have you call me pretty again.” His tone is light and he’s only half joking. A very ‘only if you wanted to’ type of tone. He’s also trying to see if he can keep up that blush Akechi’s been wearing. It’s a good look. Ren likes it. A lot.
HAHAH that visual is killing me
His knee jerk reaction is to spin this back on Ren before he can say something damning. So, “You are one of the prettiest people I know. Far more real than most of the other celebrities I know.” There, that perhaps will work. Or blow back up in his face.
:3c