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]

[said cheek is puffed with indignation.]

Yeah, I guess... Cut me some slack, okay?! I'm no smooth-talker. [or smooth-thinker.]

[repeatedprayer]

[So cute. Grey wants to give that puffy cheek a little pinch, but he refrains. See, he does cut Manabu some slack!]

No, but I think I prefer that you aren't. I like seeing you stammer.

[...Not a lot of slack, but some!]

[siriusly]

[his ears flatten, head tilting down a bit.]

O-only because you can make that happen easy, huh?

[repeatedprayer]

[Not necessarily true, Grey enjoys a good challenge- as long as he wins.]

Because you're adorable when you're flustered.

[siriusly]

Gh-- [he can't get any redder! so all he can do is flinch a little.] That's...not...not my intention, you know... [he's a grown-ass man! a grown-ass...5'4"...dog-featured man...!!]

[repeatedprayer]

Oh, I know. I don't think you'd ever do something so disingenuous. [Manabu's adorableness is, tragically for Manabu, 100% natural.

Well, except for the dog features. But still.]

Your voice, your gestures, the expressions you make... You have no idea how captivating you are. It makes me want to kiss you senseless.

[siriusly]

[the remark makes him shiver a little and his throat go dry; he swallows.]

Well, I--I don't...mind that, turns out...

[repeatedprayer]

Oh good.

[Grey hums and leans in, taking Manabu's words as permission to resume kissing the poor lad. Their lips are going to be quite swollen whenever they finally leave the bed...]

[siriusly]

[poor is relative: if anything, he's saved from stammering and fumbling word spaghetti all over the place, and he does really like the attention...honestly, it doesn't take long to shut his worried brain off and just get lost in the overwhelm of Grey's appetite. turns out he's sated by how insatiable Grey is - being left off-balance gives a sense of adventurous progress as opposed to stagnant failure for him.

of course, none of this makes him forget how sore he is, and reminders of that are what prompt uncomfortable fidgeting and an inevitable relenting when he has to withdraw with a leg cramp.]

Ugh!! Man...! [this sucks!]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey is indeed, insatiable- the more he kisses Manabu, the further he wants to go. He's having hazy, pleasant thoughts about rolling Manabu over and pinning him against the mattress when Manabu withdraws, leaving Grey slightly dazed.]

What's wrong?

[Grey observes Manabu's movements for a moment and uses a bit of deductive reasoning.]

Your leg?

[siriusly]

Yeah-- [he sits up, stretching his calf with help from his hand.] Jeez! I'm so out of shape...! I need to start doing squats again...

[repeatedprayer]

You say that as if you haven't been doing squats from the first day you got out of the lab. [Grey watches Manabu stretch for a bit, concluding that Manabu probably has it well in hand.] Let's just do light stretches for now.

[While Manabu takes care of his calf, Grey slips out of bed to go pour a glass of water for Manabu.]

[siriusly]

I, I didn't, though! [he scoots himself to the edge of the bed and presses his feet flat on the floor for a slow stand to stretch.] I could barely stand, let alone that... [not for lack of trying.]

[repeatedprayer]

You probably would have tried if I had allowed it. [Grey waits until Manabu has gotten some stretching done before handing him the glass of water.] Your stubbornness is formidable.

[siriusly]

Eheh... [Manabu plops back on the bed's edge, taking the water and throwing it back in a few, generous gulps. his hair is tousled from sleep and all the petting, face still ruddy from the fluster of numerous kisses, posture relaxed at the shoulders in his slouch despite the aches he's fighting off. some of it feels normal, some if it new...but none of it bad; his tail wags idly.]

How are we doing on time?

[repeatedprayer]

[How dare Manabu be so cute. The bastard probably doesn't even realize he's doing it.

The question about time at least serves as a distraction. Grey goes to grab his phone and checks.]

Hm. It's eight o'clock.

[Earlier than yesterday, at least?]

What time did you normally get up for the SDF?

[siriusly]

[well, when breakfast call is at 6am...]

Uh...S-seven...ish... [eight.] Give or take.

[repeatedprayer]

Give or take how much? [Grey smirks.] Well, if you like I can set an alarm for seven so you can work on getting back to your old schedule. [A process that will no doubt involve a lot of sleepy groaning from Manabu. And maybe from Grey, but hey.]

[siriusly]

Right. [work schedule.] The day-night rotation here's a bit slower than Destiny, isn't it? Or was I just not paying attention...

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey thinks for a moment.] No, you have the right of it. A day on Ruvinagald is roughly twenty-five and a half hours.

[siriusly]

[which means more time to snoop out that campus!

...or more time to linger here.

hm.

he scratches at the back of his head, stuck on that, but the sound of his stomach growling cuts into that and brings fresh color to his face.]

R-right...I better make breakfast, huh? Eheh...

[repeatedprayer]

If you'd be so kind. [Certainly, they'd probably better take care of that before they do any real snooping or lingering!]

[siriusly]

[Manabu sees to it, cooking up the remaining eggs in the fridge with the last strips of meat - good timing, since they'd go bad soon. part of him resents the very thought of having to sit up in a chair to avoid wearing his legs out already, yet the thought lingers as he willfully defies it, tail up as much for that reason as for balance.

once some things are plated (er, bowled), he calls without looking over:] Come get what you want-! [because who knows if that guy's gone to go dress up for the day or was just lounging or checking out news...]

[repeatedprayer]

[Manabu's chivalry was unnecessary; Grey did indeed wind up idly browsing the news. He's gotten more used to Manabu cooking so he's less likely to hover over Manabu's shoulder in fascination every single time he cooks. Now, any hovering's more to do with concern about his Manabu collapsing like an underbaked cake.

Grey moves next to Manabu and grabs his bowl. Fried eggs with meat again, and he's pretty sure that's the last of both.]

Should I pick up more groceries today?

[First person pronoun because Grey doubts Manabu is up for being on his feet for ages, no matter what Manabu may claim.]

[siriusly]

I can help! [because obviously he walked a handful of blocks and can now do that and lug bags around.]