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

[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?

[siriusly]

[the shifting of the mattress as Grey sits down makes Manabu's stomach clench, and the irrational unease persists like a lingering sweat all over.

books...

you're picking that to make me fall asleep, aren't you?]

...S-sure.

[repeatedprayer]

[Look. Grey is trying, alright. Bedtime stories are a time-honored tradition! He has memories of his progenitor using them to get his great-grandson to settle down for the night anyway... Not that it necessarily worked... And it feels kind of weird to reflect on...

But all that aside, books are one of the subjects that Grey feels like he can ramble on about at length that wouldn't be particularly distressing.]

Well. I've recently started rereading Northanger Abbey. Are you familiar with that one?

[He waits for Manabu's denial of familiarity which the mun is assuming will be the case because Manabu really does not seem like a Jane Austen kind of guy before continuing.]

It's set in the distant past, about a young woman named Catherine Morland. Catherine is the sheltered daughter of a clergyman, and one of ten children...

[Grey does his best to summarize the plot of the book in enough detail to sufficiently distract and/or bore Manabu, who has probably never thought much about the matters of late 18th century/early 19th century British high society life.

Look.

Grey is really, really trying his best here.]

...Their problems are resolved when Eleanor becomes engaged to a viscount. This is sufficient enough to pacify General Tilney and earn his blessing, particularly when he finds out that the Morland family's financial situation isn't as dire as John Thorpe had told him.

[siriusly]

[it's unfair to Grey to try so hard for something Manabu is barely focused on...but it can't really be helped: even on a good day, Manabu's focus often drifts to what he can do rather than a story he has to listen to.

but maybe it is fair, given his effort is to get Manabu's mind off of The Horrors and to try and rest...and in that sense, he does succeed for a time: Manabu does wind up slumping against him while he's nodding off.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey does his best not to startle when he feels Manabu's weight settle against him. He moves very little and very slowly, just adjusting the position of his arm so that Manabu is hopefully a little less likely to fall forward, and continues relaying the ups and downs of Catherine Morland's social life. He doesn't do the best job as things go on, since he's rather sleepy himself and he starts tripping over his own words.

Eventually, Grey checks in to see if Manabu's even still awake.]

Manabu?

[siriusly]

[aside from a gentle twitching of one of those droopy dog ears, there's no reaction; Manabu's out, and thank goodness for that...his poor brain can't keep up with all the things piled up on him right now.]

[repeatedprayer]

[No response, asides from Manabu breathing. It looks like Grey has successfully gotten the man to sleep.

Praying he isn't going to ruin that, Grey wraps an arm around Manabu's waist and slowly scoots the two of them backwards and shifts, then tilts Manabu and sets him down sideways so that his head is against the pillow.

Grey should. Probably go crawl into his sleeping bag now. Or get Manabu under the covers? He's going to be cold if Grey doesn't... Can he even do that without waking Manabu up? And the sleeping bag seems a little far... It seems to Grey, in the midst of that sleepy moment, that the most reasonable course of action is to just keep lying next to Manabu so that he can keep the man warm, and rest his eyes until he feels better.

Which is to say that in short order, Grey is also out.]

[siriusly]

[the consolation of a solid, secure shape behind him goes a long way to keeping Manabu asleep more soundly for far longer than if he'd been alone - more rest for everyone is a good thing! because it doesn't last.

eventually, that form feels more like the restraints or the orderlies grappling to pin him back down; Manabu's tail twitches and thumps at Grey before the rest of him starts to stir restlessly, easy sleep-breathing broken up by uneasy grunts or whimpers.]