doggone

[repeatedprayer]

[In the time following his departure from Tabito and Manabu's company, the alias "Grey" has wound up sticking.

Not that everyone calls him that, he's used a few other aliases since then, but it's what he's wound up thinking of himself as. If Grey had taken the time to think about it a bit more he might have picked something with a little less connection to Rezo's name, but it's still leagues better than thinking of himself as "Rez- wait, no, just a copy." And maybe that's why he's felt significantly calmer since he left Sairaag.

By his own standards, Grey has been laudably well-behaved; sure, he's been mostly doing under-the-table psychic work, often on behalf of criminals, but! He's been trying to keep a low profile so it's usually things like clairvoyant spying rather than anything violent, and he's been making a point of not doing anything that directly impacts the galaxy railways.

It would be extremely awkward if Manabu Yuuki had to try and arrest him, after all.

He's found himself frequently thinking about Manabu, much to his annoyance. He has no serious expectations of ever seeing Manabu again, so it's simply a waste of mental bandwidth to find himself wondering what Manabu is doing right now or where he is, or to reminisince over their incredibly brief acquaintanceship. Grey can only suppose that because Manabu was the first reasonably normal person he got to know after leaving Sairaag that Manabu is going to stick out in his mind for a while.

And it's probably because of the real estate that Manabu is hogging in Grey's mind that he's been very aware of every mention of the SDF that crosses his path. He hasn't exactly been tracking the SDF's activities deliberately, but he does pay attention to the news and the SDF frequently winds up in there, even if Manabu's name in particular isn't normally dropped.

Until the day it does.

SDF Officer Taken Hostage By Pirates]

* * *

[It's taken several weeks of investigating, but Grey has been able to track down The Huntress's client, a Dr. Parish and associates. It must be a small galaxy, because Dr. Parish is someone Grey knows. Sort of.

Rather, Dr. Parish was a colleague of Rezo's who collaborated with the man on chimera research (and other unsavory things) in the past. Not only that, the man was an ardent admirer of Rezo's superior psychic prowess, and desperate to improve his own meager abilities.

He'd had quite a shock when Grey approached him in town, but after the initial surprise it had been sickeningly easy to convince Dr. Parish that he was the real Rezo. Grey can only surmise that the man wants to believe too badly to let himself be properly suspicious. It had only taken a day for Grey to be invited to tour Parish's laboratory.

The lab's located on the grounds of a former Marquess's estate, a ways out of town and secluded by trees, a high wall, and a long drive. Grey's done a little recon before, but actually being here is different, especially since he has to navigate by cane at the moment. Grey is doing his best to politely nod and smile as Parish guides him from room to room, explaining their work and occasionally handing him things to examine himself.

But evidently Parish realizes that "Rezo" isn't entirely interested, because he stops partway through an explanation of some stem cell experiments he and a few others have been working on to say "Of course, the really interesting specimens are kept in the basement floor."

Grey already knows this. He hopes his expression seems the right sort of eager.]

Interesting?

["Something along the lines of what we did in the past. Would you like to see them?"]

Nothing would please me more.

[Grey can practically hear Parish's delighted grin. To soothe the surge of irritation, Grey reminds himself that he's going to kill this man before the end of the day and allows Parish to guide him out into the hall and to the basement entrance at the back of the building.]

Comments

[repeatedprayer]

Sensitive?

[Grey's brow furrows as he takes note of that quaver. Again, he has a pang of concern that he might have hurt Manabu somehow- but would he really be wagging his tail if he was in pain? But no, he wasn't even sure if it wasn't just random twitches...

Grey sighs, running a hand through his hair.]

Maybe it still needs time to integrate with the rest of your body. You'll probably get better control over it later.

[If he says it confidently enough, maybe Manabu will believe it?]

Did you want me to help you with the pants next or should we save that particular treat for the morning?

[Maybe in the future Grey will also be able to feel normal about touching Manabu.]

[siriusly]

Uh...uhhh...

[his tail twitches a couple times. why'd he say it like that?!

slowly, without making eye contact, Manabu sits down, stiffly bending to grab the pajama bottoms he'd dropped while working on the first layer. he blindly feels around for wherever the scissors went with the determination to not look over Grey's way because he can already feel himself getting worked up down there.

think of something else! literally anything else!]

[repeatedprayer]

[The mood has gotten really weird in this apartment and Grey has absolutely no clue how to handle it. Funny, isn't it? He's got superhuman power at his fingertips, a wealth of inherited knowledge to draw upon, but when it comes to managing an awkward social situation he's helpless.

Grey watches Manabu sidelong as the other man sits down and grabs the pants. He notices that Manabu isn't actually looking at him around the point when Manabu starts feeling around for the scissors, and Manabu's fingers brush against Grey's leg.]

Gh-

[His legs are fortunately covered but in his current state it's still enough to give Grey a jolt.]

[siriusly]

Gyih--!! [they almost harmonize on that startle, and scissors go flying off Manabu's fingertips to skitter across the floor, leaving Manabu frozen in mid-flail recoil, an arm and a leg up, fur floofed.]

Uh! Ss, sorry! Did I hit you? Jeez-!

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey's reaction is at least a little more restrained than Manabu's, although he winces a little at the clatter of the scissors and Manabu's aborted flailing.]

You- It's fine.

[Scowling as he does, Grey slips off the bed and crouches, retrieving the fallen scissors for Manabu.]

Here.

[What is wrong with him? Grey isn't sure if the "him" in this case is Manabu or if it's Grey himself... Well, in Manabu's case, Grey can think of several reasons why he might be on edge.]

[siriusly]

[calm down, idiot!

sure, he can yell at himself to do that, but it's not like any bit of him is listening...he gulps, shakily lowering limbs, starting to sweat despite the goosebumps.]

Sorry. I'm just...out of it... [ignore the boner. give me the scissors.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey's expression is a little more rueful as he gets to his feet and holds the scissors out for Manabu. He is fortunately not looking at Manabu's crotch, so Manabu is spared the potential consequences of that.]

I know. It's been...

["Quite the day" is underselling it, huh.]

It's been a hell of a time, hasn't it?

[siriusly]

[Manabu breathes a shaky laugh, taking the scissors.]

The kind of thing people take up drinking over, right? Eheh... But we know better. [right?!

he gulps again, hastily pivoting focus to the clothes in his lap, making sure those clothes stay in his lap.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey blinks and then gets the joke. A feeling of sheer relief floods his body, and he even cracks a smile.]

Right. The last thing we need is to give ourselves more problems.

[And while Manabu's busy distracting himself with his amateur tailoring work, Grey's just going to find his own distraction...

He very quickly decides that the room could use some tidying, so he grabs a garbage bag from a box in the kitchenette and starts tossing their discarded, bloodstained clothes in it. He doesn't want to try salvaging his disguise, and he'd bet that Manabu isn't enthusiastic about the hospital gown either.]

[siriusly]

[the terrible thing here is that Manabu's attention is just shot; wanting to focus on cutting the bottoms and doing it are two very distant tasks, and movement draws his eye, so more and more he's just...watching Grey move about, reminded of that very first morning.

he laughs bitterly, head drooping. why's his body gotta act up while in a situation like this?!]

I, I didn't thank you properly for...giving yourself this many problems. I'm sorry. I owe you, big time.

[repeatedprayer]

...

[Grey sets the garbage bag aside. It's strange; he doesn't know how to hold Manabu's gratitude or Manabu's remorse. He can feel the weight of it in Manabu's words, but he can't quite get a grip on the shape of those feelings, nor can he understand the ones churning inside him. Perhaps that's why he can't bring himself to fully accept them.]

Not as much as you'd think. I didn't repay you for your hospitality on Tabito.

[Grey looks over, seeing that Manabu hasn't made much progress. Unsurprising if he's still overset. Grey decides not to comment on it for now, since it's hardly the most pressing issue they're dealing with.]

[siriusly]

M-most people wouldn't plan to sneak into a dangerous, illegal lab to pay a room tab, Grey...

[sneak in, fight, explode bodies...

he shudders.]

[repeatedprayer]

You would.

[Beat.]

If you knew that someone was in trouble in there. You're the sort of person who would try and do something about it.

[Room tab or no.]

[siriusly]

[fresh flush to the face. it's my job! it's not your job!]

Is, is that you saying you want to be more like me?

[repeatedprayer]

[And that gets Grey flustered in return.]

No, of course not! What I mean is-

[He waves a hand. What the hell does he mean?]

You- You're always rushing off to do acts of do-goodery, I'm sure you're entitled to be on the receiving end of one for once. There's no need for you to feel guilty about it.

[If anything, Grey thinks, he hasn't done the best job of it- if he hadn't wasted time investigating various dead ends and had come for Manabu earlier, the man could have wound up much better off.]

[siriusly]

I'm pretty sure it's a problem when a civilian has to get up to things like this... [because powers or not, he's still a civilian.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Evidently Grey disagrees, because:]

I'm hardly an ordinary civilian, am I?

[Hoping to leave the subject there, Grey goes to his suitcase on top of a cabinet at the back of the room, and takes out his own pair of pajama pants.]

We can just say that if I ever get held prisoner by a laboratory full of madmen, I can expect you to intervene on my behalf. Otherwise, you don't need to worry about it.

[They both have plenty to worry about as-is!]

[siriusly]

[Manabu looks over with a softer version of that pout he gets in an argument he wants to win but knows the deck is stacked.

ordinary or not, it doesn't matter to him! it matters more that he's someone he knows...

he gives up on the pajamas, just leaving them piled on his lap for security reasons while he rubs at his face. so many different feelings are fighting for prominence and making it hard to know where to focus. he's tired, cold, drained from the adrenaline and a bone-chilling flight...

it's so much.]

I think...you're probably smarter than me and would avoid it, so...

[repeatedprayer]

-So you don't need to worry about it.

[There. Neatly sorted and logicked away, Manabu's mental crisis must be entirely sorted right now.]

I'm getting ready for bed. Let me know if you need help with anything else.

[Grey heads for the washroom to change and to brush his teeth. A shower can wait until tomorrow morning. He's already scrubbed the blood off his face and hands.]

[siriusly]

[right. just stop worrying! easy! ha!

ha...

at least unease is kind of a buzzkill...

after the end of all his evening cleanup, Grey can find Manabu slouched forward, elbows on his knees and head in his hands; he's only just started to reconcile the tail, but having grazed his fingers across where his ears were supposed to be has kicked off a fresh wave of visceral, existential dread.

they really just...cut him up...moved things around...all while he was asleep...

how is he supposed to sleep ever again?!]

[repeatedprayer]

[Manabu looks slightly worse since Grey last saw him? That does not look like the pose of a man who has reached a state of contentment over his current affairs, anyway.

Grey lets Manabu be at first, long enough for Grey to roll out his sleeping bag on the floor at the foot of the bed, and then head for the light switch, where he pauses.

He considers asking Manabu if he'd rather Grey leave the light on, but is Manabu even going to lie down if he turns the light off?]

Are you going to just sit there all night?

[siriusly]

I don't know. [he doesn't lift his head.] I don't know...what...to do...or think...

[sliding into that near-catatonic state he gets into when emotionally overwhelmed is a familiar, though terrible, sensation.]

[repeatedprayer]

...

[It might be familiar to Manabu, but Grey has never seen Manabu like this before. It makes his skin prickle with unease.]

You could try getting some rest.

[It sure doesn't look like Manabu's gonna do that though.]

[siriusly]

[but if he lays down, closes his eyes...he could open them up and see that concrete room again.

that's a pathetic thing to confess, so he doesn't. he just utters a faint sound just to affirm he heard him...but doesn't move.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Damn it Manabu...

Grey scoffs in exasperation and switches the light off. The room goes dark, with only the thin stripes of pale light peeking through the blinds from the street lamps outside providing the room with any visible substance.

Once he's had that moment to adjust, Grey steps over and sits down on the bed next to Manabu. He's not sure if his presence is going to be of any comfort whatsoever but it's not like Manabu has better options right now.]

If you can't sleep, I suppose we'll have to pass the time by talking. [And judging by Manabu's current state, it'll be mostly Grey doing the talking.] Shall I tell you about the books I've been reading?