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]

[he tilts his head slightly away to shoot a sidelong smirk.]

Arrest him with what badge and cuffs? I'm not an officer right now, remember.

[but the officer might have to come back some day.]

[repeatedprayer]

Hmph. I wouldn't put it past you to try anyway.

[But despite saying such, Grey does relax and smirk a little himself.

For the next while Grey browses the research Manabu's done alongside him, adding several more tabs for good measure, until they've managed to curate a list of locations and organizations that seem worth checking out.

Grey stares down at the list, drumming idle fingers against his knee.]

...I've got quite a few clairvoyant forays ahead of me, don't I.

[siriusly]

Sorry...for all the extra work. [Manabu does look genuinely troubled to be putting so much of a burden on him, powers or no power.

he looks down at his own hands on his knee.] I promise I'll work doubly hard, once I can.

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey looks over at Manabu and, seeing how the other man is looking down, reaches over and taps the underside of Manabu's chin to make him look up.]

You can start by working doubly hard on your physical therapy. You still have two more of those sessions to go today.

[Of course, as he says this, Grey feels his stomach give a little twist and grumble. Psychic work drains calories pretty quickly!]

...Once we've both had something to eat, of course.

[siriusly]

[Manabu recoils from the gesture a beat too late to be meaningful, surprised by it.

he gulps, blushing, and clears his throat.]

R-right! I'm hungry, too. [not hungry for cereal, but again: he won't complain.]

[repeatedprayer]

[If it's any consolation to Manabu, there isn't solely cereal available. There's also more instant noodle cups. And some granola bars. There is also instant coffee, if Manabu doesn't feel like just having water.

Aaaand that is entirely the extent of what's available. Grey realizes he really needs to go goddamn grocery shopping. Or order food, if he weren't trying to keep their location/Manabu as secret as possible.

Out of all the options, Grey opts to make noodles for him and Manabu and put the box of granola bars within Manabu's reach.]

So. [Grey stirs his cup of noodles.] When I buy more food, is there anything in particular I should look for?

[siriusly]

[Manabu makes a noise through his nose, mid-slurp. give him a moment.

what in particular?

man, he misses toriniku...

he gulps that mouthful down.]

I'm not picky. Is there any stuff in this place we can use to cook with? That'll open up options.

[repeatedprayer]

Just the hot plate. And the fridge seems to work.

[Somewhere on another planet, Kana Yuuki is cringing.

After a mouthful of his own noodles, Grey gives Manabu an interested look.]

Do you know how to cook?

[siriusly]

A bit, yeah, of course! [he looks a little offended that that was even a question, but he huffs it off, a single tail swish thumping behind him.] If you get a pan to cook with, we can have something with meat. Protein is important.

[repeatedprayer]

As you wish.

[Pan. Meat. He should probably get a knife and vegetables while he's at it... What a strangely domestic thing to be pondering in the midst of everything they're dealing with.

Grey glances down at his cup.]

I think there's supposed to be meat in this, actually.

[His tone is doubtful. There's lil' bits of dehydrated something in there but whatever process was used to preserve it probably sucked a lot of the protein in it.]

[siriusly]

Heheh, yeah right... [he scrapes at the edges of his cup to gnab at the mushy carrots and peas with his chopsticks.] Just a bit of the flavoring. Powder and stuff.

[can't beat the real thing.]

[repeatedprayer]

[It certainly can't. Grey might not be able to provide Manabu with the means to make a proper ramen or udon meal, but he does resolve that tomorrow he'll provide something that's a little less depressing.]

I look forward to trying your cooking.

[...Less depressing to work with, anyway?]

[siriusly]

[Manabu looks forward to it, too: he looks forward to being able to do something more than read a screen and think about taking actions he can't right then and there. he still needs to be able to move on his own without all the dizziness, he still needs better clothes, still needs to figure out what to do with that tail...

such are the thoughts swirling around in his head as he's set back to work doing those head-turning exercises - moving a bit too fast and nearly throwing up as a consequence. so much for barreling on through, lesson learned.

as time comes to wind down for sleep, Manabu's taken by an anxiousness that leaves him sitting up rather than settling in. it's not the prospect of Grey bunking there, but rather the act of sleep at all. he doesn't want to keep waking up screaming.]

...Hey. [hasn't he asked enough of Grey? such a burden.] Talk about...those books you were reading again? If you want, I mean.

[repeatedprayer]

[Helping Manabu through the exercises isn't actually that conducive to horny thoughts, not when it makes Manabu nearly puke, but it still leaves him with unsettling feelings. There's intimacy in it that he's entirely unused to, even when he winds up scolding Manabu for rushing himself.

It's when they're getting ready for bed that desire, or rather, the dread thereof, returns to properly plague him. He's going about the matter as properly as possible- he's wearing a t-shirt along with pyjama pants, he's not holding onto Manabu, and he's being very quiet- but the fact remains that he is lying in bed with Manabu and it's dark and he cannot stop thinking.

What if he latches onto Manabu in his sleep? What if he starts having immodest dreams and Manabu notices? What if Manabu starts clinging to him and he gets aroused by it-

Manabu's request slices into his tension, jarring Grey momentarily out of his woes.]

...You really want me to talk to you about books more?

[Grey's mouth twitches, as he has to throttle the impulse to tease Manabu for asking for a bedtime story.]

Shall I tell you about Pride and Prejudice? It's Jane Austen's most popular novel. It's about a young woman named Elizabeth Bennet. She is one of five daughters and her father, Mr. Bennet, owns an estate called Longbourn. However, the estate is entailed and can only be passed onto a male heir...

[Talking about books is a useful distraction for Grey too, as it turns out. His nerves settle, and he almost forgets about how close Manabu is.]

[siriusly]

Another one about girls getting married. [his mouth twitches.] How come you read stuff like that?

[it seems strange to him. on the surface level, he can't really say he can relate beyond getting ribbed by old people to get a wife, right? and even then he can ignore it and just...get back to work.

look. the boy is not very well-read; his empathy comes out on the job, not in study.]

[repeatedprayer]

[As haughtily as he can manage (which is very haughtily indeed):]

Oh? You object to my taste in books? [After the initial tease though, Grey hums, actually considering the question.]

It's of historical interest, I suppose... Jane Austen was a very popular author in her time and still is, and I think her writing merits it. As for the subject matter, I like that it has absolutely no relevance to my own life.

[It's nice to read a book and think about some 19th century girl's marriage woes instead of about his own problems. It's one of the few things that sometimes works to make Grey not brood on things.

And another matter... It's really from Rezo's memories, but...]

I've also been told before that boys, or men, shouldn't read romances. And I cannot abide being told what I can or cannot do.

[siriusly]

Eheheh... [balking against a "you should not"...that's familiar.] Well? Is it good?

[repeatedprayer]

[It's probably not visible in the dark, but Grey smiles.]

Pride and Prejudice? Yes, it's good. Though there certainly are a lot of terrible romance books out there. But the same can be said of any genre. Why, were you thinking of trying it for yourself?

[Manabu, you would fall asleep within five pages.]

[siriusly]

Probably not. [definitely not.] But I figure if you're going to spend time with it, it may as well be good, right? There's already a lot to do that isn't fun.

[repeatedprayer]

There's also a certain kind of entertainment to be had in a bad novel.

[That aside, Grey actually hasn't been doing much casual reading for the past little while- Northanger Abbey he'd been rereading in snatches during times when he had to wait for something, and since retrieving Manabu his focus has mainly been on, well, Manabu.

Which isn't always fun but he wouldn't say it's boring either.]

Have you been bored, cooped up in here? [Should he have bought toys before bringing Manabu back?]

[siriusly]

Yeah. [an easy admission with a sheepish laugh.] I'm not good with sitting still for too long. I like to...go places, do things. Help people. [tactile results.]

I know I have to sit still, but...it doesn't make it easier. [because the window is nice, but it's still part of a box he's in.] I'm not...doing anyone any good like this. You know?

[especially not Grey, who must be sick to death of having to baby him! the man can't even sleep, since Manabu is either wracked with nightmares or...doing this to avoid sleeping.]

[repeatedprayer]

I know. You're a chronic meddler. Once you're back on your feet, I predict you're going to be a menace.

[Grey also wishes he could do more. That he could give Manabu something better than a studio apartment with sparse furniture.

Might as well ask, then. Grey rolls onto his side, leaning against his elbow. Even if it's dark, he might as well be facing Manabu.]

While I'm out tomorrow, should I look for something you can do while you're here? Other than research on the tablet?

[Grey's not sure what, exactly, he could find. A chess set maybe? Or a deck of cards??? Probably none of those would be as adequate as Manabu being able to walk around outside and speak to people...]

[siriusly]

[there's a little sound indicative of him puffing up his cheeks in a pout. he's not a menace!!!

he turns his head away at t he sound of the shifting, knees still drawn up to himself where he sits.]

Something else? What else do we need to do in advance? That I can do here, I mean. [because of course Manabu's not thinking of diversions - he's thinking of the goal!]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey huffs a laugh. Of course. He honestly half-expected this from Manabu.]

I meant something that would be entertaining. A diversion of some sort, for you. Like cards, or knitting, or...

[He trails off, unsure of what else to suggest.] You know. However you normally pass the time when you're too sick to go out.

[siriusly]

Eh? [Manabu? knit??? c'mon, man.

how to pass time...when he was sick.]

Er... [hmm. good question. without someone to pass time with, it's rather maddening - but he can't ask Grey to just sit around when there's stuff to do!

he thinks about it for an embarrassing amount of time before relenting, defeated:] ...Cards...I guess. [it feels so...lame, though! like he's some kid!]