silicone | 🎧 homophonic | pcs

[ eiden watches him the whole time, his arms wrapped around himself with his hand holding his coffee. he holds his cup closer towards the end, a smile forming on his lips. it edges somewhat towards... sad? confused? content? ]

You care a lot about him, then. [ eiden smiles then, meaning it. ] He's really lucky to have you. I know I'd definitely feel so lucky, thinking differently or not.

[ it slips out, by accident. fukuzawa feels like a very safe place right now. ]

...I do, yes. And...

[He trails off, unable to finish his thought: that he is growing to care for people here too. Eiden being one of them.

So he'll reach over to pat Eiden on the head instead.]

[ oh he... looks at him and hesitantly leans into it because maybe he definitely wants those right now (he is 23) pats. ]

I wouldn't be me, at the end of the day if that were the case, though... [ he laughs a little. ]

...I've taken in a lot of strays since Ranpo. I'm sure you would fit right in.

I'm a little past the age of a young stray, don't you think?

While most of my strays have been children when I found them, a couple have been adults. Dazai wasn't much younger than you when he joined the Agency.

[ he tilts his head a bit. dazai is definitely an author he's heard of but i think icly he's not going to put it together... ]

Huh, you have a lot of strays it sounds like, Fukuzawa... maybe this is a hobby?

[ with a little fondness ] It's okay, I kind of have strays of my own back in Klein.

That's not the word I would use for it.

[But then Eiden mentions his own strays, which catches Fukuzawa's attention.]

Do you now?

You're a fascinating guy, Fukuzawa...

[ offering him a small smile. ]

And yeah. It's... complicated. But they're all great guys. Good hearts. [ he pauses, thoughtful. and then. ] For the most part?

There's always that one who is a bit persnickety, isn't there?

That's... such a nice way of putting it.

[ but he snorts a little. ]

Brevity is the soul of wit.

[Also it's important to be at least somewhat polite.]

Ultimately, it's all about learning where they're coming from.

Oh? Is that how you win them over?

That and proving that I want to be there for them. Making sure I'm there for them when they need me.

[ he glances down at his hands. ]

That sounds like a good way to win people over, yes.

[He follows Eiden's glance down to his hands.]

[ there's nothing there made you look—no jk, he's just rubbing at an old pencil-tablet pen-pencil callus, gazing downwards because he's uncertain. of everything. he feels weirdly vulnerable, but it's somehow okay here in fukuzawa's presence to be just that. ]

I'll never be the old Grand Sorcerer, but I'll always give them everything I have.

[ he shifts and moves to nudge fukuzawa in the direction of the museum steps, reaching and if allowed, taking his hand. ]

It's big, don't get lost on me, okay?

[Insecurities...he has difficulties talking about it, but he totally understands. He won't press Eiden about it, but he'll be there to offer support regardless.

An offered hand, though. That gets him to look at touch embarrassed as he takes it. he's not one for most physical contact outside of comforting someone when needed, so this is surprisingly new to him.

His hands are calloused, strong. He does a lot of work with his hands and it shows.]

Of course.

[Up the stairs and into the museum they go!]

[ oh... eiden definitely kind of shifts his hand a little to get comfortable and feels these calluses. his own hand is a little softer by contrast, calluses at his fingertips instead.

once he's settled, he begins to just start a nice circuit around the place. museums always lead to meandering. ]

This place isn't so bad. Kind of peaceful actually.

[ this first room is maybe some kind of collection of ceremonial japanese teaware. i rng'd a local museum for this bc i'm running out of ideas. ]

Museums aren't usually a popular destination, so there will be smaller crowds here.

[ooo look at all that ceremonial teaware. Unfortunately Fukuzawa knows how to do a tea ceremony.]

Have you ever done one of these before?

[ "unfortunately" i'm laughing ]

I've only ever read about them, never had the chance to do one before. It looks beautiful up close like this.

They're beautiful in person too. But there's a lot of formality involved, your movements have to be perfect during it.

Amazing, so you need a lot of coordination and a steady hand to really master it.

Are you trying to tell me that you're a pro at it, Fukuzawa...?

Not a pro, necessarily. But I do have experience. I was taught many traditional things as a child.

That's really impressive. Diligent even as a kid!

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