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For a moment, it looks like he might struggle. Then he lowers his own hand with a sigh. "Hiro," he says quietly—because he's so tired. "How about that tea you mentioned?"

See, he was listening.

"You're so thoughtful, Ren." Mwah. Have a little peck on the cheek from Boyfriend Number Two. "I believe we've all had a difficult day, and due to the lingering distress and frustrations, it simply caused unfortunate hardship and hurt."

He glances at Crow. "You acknowledged your missteps and have made it clear to Magpie that you value him for who he is and don't expect him to change." His attention shifts to Magpie. "And you communicated your frustrations. In the future, we can try to work on them and try to minimize future misunderstandings."

And now, since Magpie asked: "I'd be happy to make tea for all of us, so we can try to settle in. Just let me know what you'd like."

One more peck for Ren before Crow's Shadow rises to his feet.

Edited 2024-07-15 21:52 (UTC)

Just to spite him, Ren forces the kiss with Hiro to get pretty deep before he lets him part for air and tea.

He only has two hands...a miscalculation with three Akechis in the room.

With difficulty, Magpie refrains from commenting on the kiss, turning back to Crow to let them get on with it, giving his tea order instead. "Koucha's fine. Thank you."

He's not clinging to Crow like a burr. He's just sitting. Leaning and sitting.

"Koucha it is!" Crow's Shadow says in an almost singsong voice, and then he trots off to the kitchen to get to work.

As he does that, Crow gently lifts Ren's hand away from his mouth. "In all seriousness, let me know if there's anything else I can do to make up for earlier. Otherwise... I suppose we should just brace ourselves and hope for the best."

"And we sleep." Ren grumpily drops his hands and goes back to petting Magpie.

Magpie, for his part, has returned to staring past the TV, much as when they sat down. He's gone through outrage, to anger, to—what?—and now there's nothing left.

He doesn't stop Ren petting him.

The kettle's on, and Crow's Shadow has the teabags and teacups at the ready. He casts occasional glances back at the couch, but lets them have their space.

Crow, like Ren, continues (hopefully) soothing Magpie with little touches.

"And if there's anything else you need to get off your chest, that's fine too. I've, heh... been scolded quite a bit today as it is."

"No." What would be the point, after all? "I think we've said quite enough for one evening."

His hand creeps sideways, though, seeking Crow's.

"I agree." Ren closes his eyes and leans on Magpie.

Before too long, the kettle whistles, and Crow's Shadow returns with a tray of teacups. "Here we are!"

Crow, meanwhile, accepts Magpie's hand and gives it a supportive squeeze, A tad reluctantly, he accepts the tea with his other hand.

It's a fair bit later. Magpie has absented himself to his room, like he does. He's meant to be asleep, but actually he's lying in the dark, fully clothed on the bed staring into space, and everyone knows it. Well, fuck them. He's fine.

Crow's Shadow... tried to sleep, he really did. Perhaps by virtue of being a sponge for Crow's emotions, he's simply having a harder time.

But he suspects he's not the only one, and so he takes a chance and knocks lightly on Magpie's door. "Do you have a moment?"

Suppressing the urge to jump, like he does, he squints at the shadowed door. Crow, he thinks, first of all. But no; the voice is wrong. It's the other one. What does he want?

He clears his throat, but doesn't move to open the door. "What is it?"

"I just thought you might enjoy the company, if we're both struggling to sleep." He blows a little sigh. "But it's all right if you'd prefer your privacy. I don't want to impose."

Has an Akechi ever sounded so pitiful? Good question.

It is a good question. Crow's Shadow does alternate between annoyingly perky and irritatingly glum, but still. "No. You might as well come in."

He resettles crossly on the bed, folding his arm back beneath his head, in his shirtsleeves.

"Thank you." He very carefully opens the door, then slips in just as cautiously. He'll close it slowly, so as not to alert the others.

Worth noting is that he's dressed in a Featherman T-shirt and sweats rather than his more typical princely attire. If it weren't for his glowing eyes, it'd be easy to mistake him for Crow.

He'll just... lean against the wall for now, as a precaution.

"I'm sorry that things were so tense earlier. I know that Crow already apologized, but I also know that wounds take time to heal. Regardless of his intentions, you were still hurt."

The eyes are eerie, yes. They light up the whole room like a candle flame. Magpie wonders if those clothes are part of him or not; they look borrowed from Crow. "Are you here to apologise again for Crow? Really?"

Whether he was hurt or not, he leaves unaddressed.

"Well, Crow does genuinely feel terrible, but it's certainly not my intention to use that fact to guilt trip you or anything of the sort." Not that he assumes Magpie would see it in such a way, but clarity never hurt. "Rather... I suppose I was just worried. You lamented earlier how the others didn't want understanding. I believe they truly did, but for a time, you still felt understandably jaded. Perhaps you still do even now."

He looks up at the ceiling, blowing a small sigh.

"We aren't quite as close as you and Crow, even if I carry many of his feelings with me. So, if you needed a more distanced point of view, I'm happy to listen."

What. "But Crow knows everything you know. You're as bad as Raven, in that respect. Why would I tell you anything I haven't already shared with him?"

Wow, Magpie. Way to kick below the belt. But he squints in the shadows. "Do you need to talk about something?"

"Because Crow is sleeping, making this an opportune moment for it?" Well, trying to sleep, at any rate, but it's something. Still... Hm.

He looks away. "I wouldn't want to make this about me, anyway. That's not fair, when I came here on your behalf."

Hm. "You're a person, aren't you? In your own right. You have wants, needs, concerns, don't you?" He doesn't say fears.

"People keep insisting that I'm more than what I am, yes." But... but! No, he can't let Magpie off the hook. "My needs are less important, especially now. You clearly harbor... complex feelings regarding all of this, and the least I can do is provide you an outlet."

"Because Crow wants you to?" He doesn't take his eyes off the Shadow.

"Am I not allowed to care?" There's a slight edge to his words, but only slight.

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