They’d started on the beach, sure, as they always do. It suits both of them--the sun, the sand, the sound of waves pounding on the rocks, the smell of salt and seaweed. The beach is a peaceful place for them.
But after the initial greetings are past, Kouta says, “Hey, can I show you a little of what Helheim looks like now? Like. I won’t take you there. I mean I can’t take you there, not physically. But I can show you? If that’s ok?”
Takatora feels bad for hesitating, but he can’t deny that he does for a moment before saying, “Sure, if you’d like to. I’d love to see what it looks like now.”
Kouta grins, and the dreamscape changes, and now they’re in a grotto covered in moss as thick and soft as a bed. Its entrance is shaded by trees blooming with flowers in the most extraordinary colors, and birds are singing in a place where birds never sang before. Helheim is no longer the eerie, empty place of Takatora’s nightmares. It’s alive.
Without hesitation this time, “It’s beautiful.”
“You really think so?”
“There weren’t birds here before.”
“You like them? We spent almost three weeks just doing bird stuff. I think they turned out really well.” Kouta turns towards him, and in this warm sunlight the red eye and the gold have become natural things, native to this place, not a marker of anything otherworldly and terrifying. “I’m glad. I worked on this spot thinking about you. I grew a lot of this rock formation myself.”
Which is, itself, an otherworldly and terrifying thing to say, and all Takatora can think of is how extraordinarily lucky he’s somehow become, that a god who molds worlds has shaped part of one solely for his benefit.
And then it hits him, and he lets out a stifled laugh. “This rock formation that looks suspiciously like the couch in my office?”
Kouta wiggles his eyebrows. “Trust me, it’s way comfier than the couch in your office.”
“Oh, it is, it is? Can you prove it?”
Even in dreams, Kouta’s kisses taste like juice. “Only if you want me to.”
Somehow, either because this is a dream or because of some incomprehensible exertion of divine power, the moss-covered rocks are much more comfortable than the couch in Takatora’s office. They’re also larger, wide enough that, some time later, Takatora is able to stretch out at Kouta’s side with his head on Kouta’s shoulder while they talk.
The conversation drifts to absent friends, and then into silence, until Kouta says, “What are you thinking about?”
The scenery has been stirring something. Takatora says, slowly, “Can you keep a secret?”
Kouta blinks. “Um. I’m not, like. Known for being especially good at it. But I also don’t have a lot of people I’d tell.”
“I don’t know if it’s how much time has passed, or something else, but sometimes I find myself missing Ryouma.”
“The professor?” An awkward pause, and then, “Right, you guys were...really close before. Stuff happened. Why, uh, why do you mention it?”
“Well, he was a great collector of art, and there was a painting he had a print of. The Grotto of Neptune in Tivoli. He was very fond of it. This, the, the space here made me think of it, suddenly.”
“Really? That guy was into collecting art?”
“He was an artist and a classicist himself, I know you know he designed most of the armors. That’s how he became so fixated on the idea of...fruit, as well. Studying world myth.” Takatora sighs. “He wasn’t a good man. But...”
Kouta nods slowly. “But sometimes you miss him anyway. I get that.”
“Oh, man, I was going to surprise you guys but it sounds like I interrupted something serious.”
Takatora freezes, looking up, and is briefly mesmerized by the grass stains on Mai’s feet where they dangle in the air before he manages to look up at the rest of her, perched on the lowest branch of one of the flowering trees. “Ah. Um. Good afternoon, um...Takatsukasa Mai.”
Mai, golden-haired and gowned in white, says, “Hi, Kureshima Takatora,” and waves. “I just wanted to figure out where Kouta had wandered off to, he kind of left his body behind on a branch of Kaito’s tree and Kaito was mad about it.”
Kouta groans. “He’s mad about everything. I’ll apologize to him when I wake up.”
“That’s not fair, he’s not mad about everything now, he’s just a grouch. You’d be grouchy too if you were dead. Kouta, why is your boyfriend staring at me like I’m going to eat him?”
“I don’t know.” Kouta looks down at the top of Takatora’s head. “Hey, babe, what’s wrong?”
Takatora feels his face go red and curses the unfairness of this over-realistic dream world for being one in which he can still blush. “I. Ah.” He gestures nervously at Mai. “She. Well.”
Mai peers at him from her seat on the tree branch. “Ohhh. Are you freaking out because I walked in on you being naked with Kouta? Or because of what you were talking about?”
After a moment, Takatora says, decisively, “Yes.”
Kouta’s forehead wrinkles in very charming confusion. “Which one?” Their clothes are also abruptly back on, which Takatora supposes is one of the advantages of a dream world. “Also, what, why?”
Takatora sits up and buries his face in his hands. “Please forgive me, Miss Takatsukasa.”
“For what?” A hand brushes feather-light over his hair. “Missing someone you loved? You’re allowed to miss people you loved, even if they also kind of sucked. You didn’t make him cut my heart out.” The ghostly hand tips his chin up so that he’s looking up again, at Mai on her tree branch, golden eyes glowing as she smiles. “And as for the other thing, do I look like Hera or something? I’m not gonna smite you or whatever. Kouta and I have forever together, I’m not gonna get jealous if you get him for a while.” Her nose wrinkles. “Anyway, you’d make a terrible Ganymede. Like, you’re cute, I guess, but you’re way too old and dignified. Also, Kouta would make a really bad Zeus, he’s not shitty enough.”
Takatora lets out a startled chuckle. “That’s what I said too.”
“I still haven’t looked up those references,” Kouta says irritably, “I have no idea what you guys are talking about.”
“I’ll explain later when you’re awake,” Mai says drily, and Takatora starts laughing for real. “Anyway, I’d wondered why you made this rock formation look like a couch, you didn’t tell me it was a sex couch.”
“It’s not a sex couch, it’s the couch in Takatora’s office.”
“Which you have sex on.”
“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t make it a sex couch.”
The dream world is starting to dissolve at the edges, and Mai says, “I think you need to let your boyfriend wake up now, Kouta,” and blows them a kiss before vanishing. Her voice leaves after she does, with a final, “Kaito’s gonna be really annoyed if you keep leaving your body in his tree.”
Kouta groans. “She’s right, Kaito’s going to yell at me.”
Takatora coughs. “Yes, ah, I thought he was. Dead.”
“Oh, he is, he’s super dead, he’s just also on Helheim, he’s doing dead-guy things, it’s complicated. Mai’s right, though, you should wake up.” Kouta kisses him. “I’ll see you soon, yeah? Love you.”
Takatora says, “I love you t--” and wakes up to a bedroom disappointingly free of moss.
oh hey i didnt notice the ask has this new look, all floaty and such.
and i can SPACE what the f
anyway
you are... definitely the chocolate box plus renaissance fan. prolific! to the major extent of the word. a delight always to see your posts even if i dont know who's playing around in your sandbox.
Oh, funky, I barely ever send asks but I’d noticed getting line breaks in mine now? It’s weird!
Thank you, my dear. <3 I accept this classification gladly!
16 is an Upside-Down Kiss, which is not only delightful but which plays directly into my mildly ridiculous love of those zip-lines the LupinRangers use.
Marvelous was in a simmering fury well before the Galleon got to Earth, and had remained in said simmering fury throughout most of the battle, but now that it’s over he finds that his anger is fading. It was a good fight. A fun one, at a few points.
Even more fun, though--there’s a new team to inspect. Their Red is grinning at him. “I like your coat.”
“Same to you, where the hell did you find a red brocade tuxedo?”
“No clue, it was given to me.” The new Red’s face is weirdly indistinct--he’s wearing a flashy domino mask, which doesn’t cover much, but even the uncovered parts somehow refuse to come into focus. Probably some kind of tech in the mask, although it could be the top hat. “Ask Noël, maybe, I figure if he didn’t make it himself then he knows who did.”
“Hm.” Marvelous peers at him for a moment, trying to get past the facial-blurring effect by brute force, and then realizes that there’s probably an easier way to do it and holds out his hand. “We weren’t introduced. Captain Marvelous. Gokai Red.”
That does it--the new Red pulls off his hat and mask and shakes hands, and his face comes into sudden, sharp focus. “Lupin Red. Kairi.”
“Pleasure. So you’re crooks.”
“Phantom thieves, when we’re in polite company.” Kairi looks him up and down and winks. “You kinda don’t look like you’re polite company, though, so sure, crooks. You guys are pirates, right? Haven’t seen any Lupin Collection pieces out there in space, have you?”
Marvelous raises an eyebrow. “Not that I know of. Are they valuable?”
“Yeah, definitely. Probably not to you, though, they don’t work for most people.”
“I’m not most people.”
“Guess you’re not, yeah. Still, even we can’t use most of them, we’re just getting them back to where they belong.”
Getting the mask off was worth it--Kairi’s nice to look at now that his face is actually visible. Pretty eyes, nice hair. A wide, full mouth that looks like it’s probably good at a lot of things, only half of which Marvelous could mention in public without getting a theatrical display of genteel shock from Ahim. And Marvelous has habits, he’s got things he likes, and he says, not really thinking about it, “You want to come up and see the Galleon before we head out?”
Kairi eyes him for a moment before replying. “You’re coming on to me, aren’t you.”
No sense in being cagey about it. “Yeah. You interested?”
“I’m flattered, but I’m in a relationship, and I think he’d be a little upset if I ran off with a hot pirate.”
Marvelous suppresses his sense of disappointment. “Ah. Your Blue?”
To his surprise, Kairi lets out a bark of laughter. “Tooma? The straightest man on Earth? Nah, he’s getting married in like two months.”
“So Lupin Silver, then.”
“Lupin X, actually.” Kairi glances nearby, where said sentai, Lupin X--a man in a silver tuxedo, where are they getting these clothes--is cheerfully flirting with Luka, Ahim, and Gai, all of whom are showing varying levels of interest. “Nah. I mean, I won’t say I haven’t thought about it, but not him. Did you get to meet the PatRangers?”
“I saw a couple of them across the field while we were fighting, although it didn’t look like the entire team. Their Gold is very impressive.”
“X again. PatRan X. Nah, you probably saw the whole team, there’s only the four of them.”
“Where was their Blue--” Marvelous blinks slowly as the realization dawns. “There are two sentai teams here. The only overlapping color is red?”
“You got it.”
“You mean to tell me this entire city is a enormous game of cops and robbers?”
“Yeah, it’s awesome. Anyway, PatRan Ichigou.”
“PatRan Ichigou what?”
“You wanted to know who I was dating.”
It takes a moment for Marvelous to process this. This city has two Reds. And they’re together.
It might be the sexiest thing he’s heard of in ages.
Then the other thing Kairi said gets through the abrupt haze of shock and delight, and Marvelous says, “You said there’s two Xs. Are they brothers or nemeses?”
Kairi grins again. “Closer than that.”
“So they’re also dating.”
“I mean, he is in love with his own reflection.”
“You know, I’ve met nearly every sentai there is, and this is still a lot to take in.”
“We’re pretty overwhelming.” Kairi glances over at the others--the flirting circle is still in full force, Joe and Lupin Blue are talking quietly about baking, and Doc and Lupin Yellow are apparently exchanging sewing tips, of all things. “Anyway, I appreciate the invitation, but I’m taken.” A beat, then another fleeting wink and unsubtle up-and-down look. “Although if you look up Kei-chan later we could maybe work something out.”
Marvelous’ eyebrow goes back up. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. Do that. Come on, I’ll introduce you to the others.”
The teams part ways after another hour or so, the LupinRangers whooshing away on zip-lines as Joe tucks a recipe for macarons into his jacket. Marvelous is reaching for his mobirate to call the Galleon when he feels a tap on his shoulder and whips around. “Who’s there?”
Kairi is behind him, hanging upside-down from a zip-line with his hair blowing softly in the breeze, a grin on his face that Marvelous simultaneously approves of and distrusts. “I forgot something.”
“Hmm?”
Kairi tosses him a card, and when Marvelous reaches to grab it he swings forward, grabs the front of Marvelous’ coat, and kisses him--briefly, but with feeling. Then he swings back, says, “Au revoir,” and zip-lines away into the night again.
The card in Marvelous’ hand says, in uneven cut-up letters, Advance warning: I’m going to steal something to remember you by.
The Galleon arrives to the sound of his howls of laughter.
submitted for your approval, 2 and 25 for noël/marvelous/gai with marvelous on the receiving end of that contagious 6th ranger energy
Friend, you have no idea how hype I’ve been to get to this one. So let’s see, we’ve got a cheek kiss and a get-a-room kiss and My Favorite Frenchman is going to get him some well-deserved pirate time. (Also this contains some mild spoilers.)
Gai is so excited that he’s nearly vibrating. “May I see it?”
“Yes, of course, I’m sure you’ll treat her kindly.”
The thrilled vibration increases as soon as he has the elaborate gun in his hands, turning it over and over to inspect every facet and fitting. “This is unprecedented, you know. Plenty of additional sentai have had unusual color schemes, of course, and some of them do have power-ups with other colors like my Gold Mode, but you’re the first to hold a position on two different sentai simultaneously! With a different name for each! I think the closest anyone’s gotten previously is Jyuoh TheWorld, he’s got three colors at once, that was a little confusing to classify, but you--you’re something completely new.”
Noël grins. “Monsieur, you flatter me.”
Marvelous leans against the wall nearby and watches them. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that he’s been working with Gai for almost ten years; the intensity of the man’s enthusiasm seems at odds with the idea that he’s approaching thirty. Then again, Marvelous isn’t as young as he used to be either.
“Now, I’ve been making a study recently of the transformation devices used by additional sentai, and what I’m noticing is, your changer is much larger than the ones your teammates use, and in fact significantly larger than most I’ve seen. Is that to accommodate the two different changes?”
“Yes, in part, although the trains themselves are also usable vehicles, I can only shrink them so much. I made it myself, you know.”
That stops Gai dead. “You made your changer? You’re the engineer?”
“I made all of them. Both teams. Or, well, the teams, they have modified pieces of the Lupin Collection, I had to construct mine from scratch using spare parts.” Noël runs a finger along the top of the silver train on the X Changer. “Honestly, I would have liked something a wee bit more...compact, but--”
“You ran out of the right parts? That’s also unusual, engineers have been sentai before, I’ll have to give you Yayoi Ulshade’s phone number, but they normally don’t take such an active team role. I’m sorry, I’m interrupting you.”
“It’s quite all right. No, there were plenty of parts, but I modified theirs to work with human physiology, which means they no longer work for me.”
That gets Marvelous’ attention, and he steps away from the wall. “You’re not human? What planet are you from?”
“Ah...not a planet exactly. It’s a bit complicated.” Noël looks him up and down with an interest both like and unlike the similarly acquisitive interest that his criminal teammates seem to direct at everything that catches their eyes. His smile is certainly more inviting. "You're Captain Marvelous, yes? I don't believe we were properly introduced last time we saw each other. Takao Noël, humbly at your service."
"I'll believe there's anything humble about you when I see it." Marvelous holds out his hand.
Instead of shaking, Noël takes his hand and makes a courtly bow, lips brushing his knuckles. "Enchanté, Captain. But then again, we’ve really already met, introduction or no, so,” and when he straightens up from the bow he kisses Marvelous once on each cheek, “it is also good to see you again.”
Marvelous blinks. "You're...different."
"I'm French, I have an innate compulsion to be charming." Noël grins. His teeth practically glint. "Is it working?”
“It’s definitely working,” Gai says, not looking up from his continued inspection of the X Changer, “Marvelous loves it when people throw him off balance.”
“Gai.” Marvelous nearly chokes.
“What? It’s true.” Another brief, loving look at the switch mechanism, and then Gai hands the X Changer back to Noël. “Thank you for letting me look at it.”
Noël takes it back and holsters it. “You’re very welcome, I hope it was of interest?”
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a gun that impressive.” A thoughtful pause. “I’d love to see a more thorough demonstration of its functions, if you’ve got the time.”
Marvelous blinks again. Is Gai flirting? Theoretically he’s capable of it, of course, and Noël’s certainly been flirting with him, but seeing him respond in kind to that sort of thing instead of blushing and shuffling his feet seems vanishingly rare. Maybe it’s something to do with both of them being, as Gai describes it, additional sentai; all of those guys seem to run at a different frequency. Granted, anyone with eyes would probably flirt with this man, but it’s nonetheless startling to see Gai taking this kind of initiative.
“Oh la la, I am flattered to have the approval of the illustrious Gokai Silver,” Noël says, entirely without irony. “I’d be delighted to give you a private demonstration.”
“Maybe you’d like to come up to the Galleon? So we don’t get interrupted.”
“I would love to, I’ve never been on a pirate ship before.”
“You’re not worried we’ll try to keep you?”
“Why should I be? I’m already on two teams, I don’t see any reason I can’t be on more.” Noël’s got the sort of piratical glint in his eye that Marvelous generally approves of, in fact, and which Gai has also aimed back at him. “But there’s a question of etiquette we’re not considering, don’t I need the captain’s permission to come aboard?“
They both turn to look at Marvelous with the glint still very present, and he suddenly has the worrying feeling that not only has he lost control of this conversation, he never had it to begin with. He’s not sure that he minds, exactly, but it’s a jarring sensation. “Ah. Traditionally, yes.”
“And are you a traditional sort of man, Captain Merveilleux?”
Marvelous eyes them both for a moment before replying. “Not if I can help it.”
“Then please, allow me to request permission in a non-traditional manner.”
“Go for it.”
It’s a hell of a kiss. Marvelous is fairly sure his brain shuts off; otherwise he’d have something more articulate to say afterward than, “Damn, that was a hell of a kiss.”
“I should hope so.” Noël’s arm is still around his waist, which is also interesting; normally he’s the one doing that to other people. “I’m French, we invented it.”
“I...see. I. Well.” Marvelous shakes his head slightly, trying to clear out the fog. “Permission to come aboard granted.”
Gai’s got his Gokai Cellular out, calling the Galleon, but he looks up to say, “Ok, I’m a little jealous now.”
Noël beams at him. “Don’t be. I promised you a private demonstration, oui?”
“I suppose you did.” Gai tucks the Cellular back into his jacket and holds out his hand to Noël. “I’m sure the captain will find it very entertaining.”
“I sincerely hope so.”
No, Marvelous concludes as the Galleon approaches, he’s definitely not in control of the situation. But somehow he finds he doesn’t mind at all.
philip, in a gathering of riders (like, post-big fight or random get together, being possessive of shoutaro (consciously or not)
At some point I will need to tell you about the Unified Kamen Rider Cross-Time Discord, which is a running joke between me and my husband.
Anyway, this comes at the end of the fictitious crossover event that we saw the very beginning of in this previous prompt response. Don’t ask me where it fits in any timeline, I have no idea.
For the most part, Philip doesn’t struggle with issues of self-esteem. He’s perfectly confident in himself and his place in the world, in his relationships, as one half of W, one half of Fuuto’s number one detective agency, the voice of the Earth. He knows who and what he is. Shoutaro’s the one with insecurity issues, as if he could ever be anything less than the finest, kindest, bravest, most beautiful person in Fuuto and in fact the world.
(Philip is very certain of this. He’s checked. There is, of course, always room for debate when it comes to subjective judgments, but he’s 99.9% sure that he’s right.)
Philip never concerns himself with his place in the world--unless, that is, there are other Riders present.
If only they weren’t all so...fit. If even one of them was on the small side and somewhat physically frail, he would perhaps feel a bit better about the fact that he regularly passes out in front of them. But no, they’re all taller than him and aggressively healthy, and furthermore they’re kind in a way that makes him irritated with himself for resenting them. In the heat of battle he can ignore it, but it’s terrible to manage when the moment’s crisis has ended and they’re trying to relax and socialize for a few minutes with other people who understand.
This most recent incident has occasioned a larger team-up than usual--there’s Eiji, of course, who’s actually always a pleasure to see, and Fourze at his most enthusiastic, and Wizard, looking even more dashing than usual. Decade also brought a couple of additional friends, apparently from other worlds entirely, and Kiva in particular is intimidatingly stylish. There’s even someone new, whose name Philip hasn’t managed to catch yet, a sort of citrus samurai whose entire transformation mechanism is extremely intriguing.
Everything is loud and messy and complicated, and Philip has a number of lookups to do before they even begin to fight, so of course everyone’s looking at him when he falls less gracefully than usual and gives himself a bloody nose.
“Should we maybe take care of that before we head out?” Shoutaro thinks at him, worried.
“I’ll be fine, I’ve survived worse. There are more pressing concerns.”
“If you say so, partner.”
They acquit themselves admirably in the fight, there’s some cleanup afterward, and then they de-transform and there’s that long moment where Philip isn’t quite W but not quite conscious in his own body again, and he opens his eyes to Kiva crouching next to him and holding out a hand. “You’ve got a bloody nose,” Kiva says, in his incongruously soft voice, “are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Philip says stiffly, but he does take the outstretched hand and let himself be helped up. “Thank you.”
He can see Shoutaro coming over to him, and that’s a relief, but then his partner’s approach is obscured by the new Rider, who de-transforms, puts away his little fruit device--a Lockseed, Philip will have to look them up later--and says, “Hey, I have tissues if you need them.”
Philip stares at him and feels blood rushing to his face, which of course does nothing to help with the now-sluggish nosebleed. “That would. Ah. That would be very helpful. Please.”
“I tripped during a performance once and took a header down the stage steps, and Mai kinda chewed us out when she found out that none of us had any kind of first aid stuff or even a handkerchief or anything, so I carry them all the time now.” The man smells like oranges. “I’m Kouta, by the way. Gaim. You’re Philip, right? You’re...also W somehow? I think I missed the introductions because I showed up in the middle of things.”
“That’s right, yes, I’m Philip.” Which is useless and repetitive, and Philip curses silently as he’s shaking Kouta’s large, warm, lightly calloused hand.
Thankfully, at that point Shoutaro gets to him. “Hey, partner, I’m sorry, Gentarou had something he wanted to ask me and you know how long that handshake of his takes.” He looks around, to Kouta and Kiva. “Uh, thank you for checking on him, normally it doesn’t go like that.”
Kouta smiles brightly. “It’s cool, I’ve had, like. A lot of bloody noses in my life.”
“Same here. We haven’t met, have we?” Shoutaro holds out his hand. “I’m Shoutaro, you met Philip, we’re W.”
“Kouta. Gaim. Um, do we do name names or Rider names, which is better? I haven’t been doing this for very long.”
Philip takes Shoutaro’s free arm, suddenly intensely disliking the idea of his partner’s hand in that warm, comfortable grip. Shoutaro shoots him an odd look before replying, “Regular names are fine, it gets exhausting calling everyone by a title like that. Where are you from?”
#
He survives another half an hour or so of socializing, distracted from his vague feelings of inadequacy by all of the interesting new things to learn. He doesn’t get a chance to look at Kouta’s transformation devices, because whenever Kouta gets within three feet of him his throat closes up, but he does get a chance to talk to Kiva, who never de-transforms and spends most of the time semi-hiding in a corner. It’s nice to know that someone else is at least somewhat shy, and Philip learns a number of compelling facts about the various non-human sapient species of his world. He keeps one eye on Shoutaro at all times, though, and Shoutaro keeps glancing over at him, feeling worried.
Finally, everyone is exhausted and it’s late and some of them have to teleport home or travel across dimensions, or in Fourze’s case an exam in the morning for which he should have been studying. All Shoutaro and Philip have to do is drive.
Once they’re back at the agency Shoutaro locks the door, turns around, and says, “Philip, are you mad at me for some reason? What’s up?”
Philip feels himself blushing again. Why is he blushing so much today? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re still wearing your driver, partner, I know you’re upset about something. So what don’t you like about that fruit kid? He seems nice, but you kept going tense whenever I started talking to him.”
“There’s nothing wrong with him,” Philip mutters, “he’s extremely pleasant.”
“Then why did you—wait.” Shoutaro’s eyes go wide. “Wait. Are you jealous?”
A long pause before, “Of course I’m not jealous, don’t be ridiculous,” which is obviously a lie.
“Why? Was he hitting on me, did I not notice him hitting on me? You know I’m not great at that.”
“No, he wasn’t at any point flirting with you. He’s just…attractive.”
“I guess?”
The tension goes out of Philip’s body, which is a surprise to him, because he hadn’t realized that he was so tense. “You don’t think he’s attractive.”
“I mean, he’s not exactly my type. Like, he wasn’t really my type before I met you, but also you’ve kind of permanently warped my idea of what’s attractive, I measure everyone in degrees of Philip now and so far nobody’s managed a score as good as yours.”
Philip stares at him and then has to stifle a laugh. “Shoutaro, that’s the most absurd thing you’ve said to me in…” he counts on his fingers, “two weeks.”
“Sure, but it made you smile, that was the point.”
massive crossovers are way too fun so! kiriya, at the end of another big rider team up, arriving to give emu a ride home. literally. featuring other riders' peanut gallery commentary
Friend, I love you so much. (Also please excuse me if Drive is...off at all, I’ve literally only seen him in movies but he felt necessary for this.)
They regroup after the battle, and for a few minutes the only noise in the room is the highly varied sound of everyone’s drivers turning off and folding in on themselves. Then there are the pops and snaps and various pained noises as they try to work out knots and cramps, the quiet murmur of Hiiro realizing that his shoulder has in fact been dislocated and talking Takeru through the process of getting it back into place.
It is, finally, Shinnosuke who says, “Emu, did your--where’s your...uh...”
“Parad.”
“Your Parad. Is missing?”
“Calling him Emu’s Parad implies the existence of other Parads,” Haruto says thoughtfully, as he’s rethreading his rings onto their chain.
Hiiro shudders visibly. “One is enough.”
Emu looks distant for a moment and then frowns. “I’m...not sure. He’s being very close-mouthed about it. Apparently he feels like doing something...funny. Which is admittedly worrying, but I’m sure it’ll be fine”
For a few minutes it’s forgotten, but then as they’re heading to the street Tsukasa, who’s barely spoken this whole time, looks up and says, “I don’t recall Parad having a bike.”
Emu frowns. “He doesn’t have a...oh no.”
Parad pulls up to the curb, hops off the bike, and waves. “Emu, I thought I’d get us a ride home.”
Hiiro is pinching the bridge of his nose. Emu groans. Takeru frowns. “That’s an interesting design, what make is it?”
“Kamen Rider Lazer Turbo, thank you,” says the motorcycle.
Takeru jumps back.
Emu groans. “Guys, I think some of you have met Kujou Kiriya before, he’s the CR’s pathologist, he’s also my boyfriend, and he thinks he’s funny.”
“Actually, in this case it’s more that I think Parad is funny.”
“I’m extremely funny,” Parad says helpfully, beaming. “I have an excellent sense of humor.”
Haruto is covering his mouth with his hand, but the corners of his eyes are crinkling ferociously. “I hate to ask, but is that an uncomfortable shape to take on?”
“You know, it’s not bad. Not exactly my favorite but it’s amazing for my back. Babe, you coming or what?”
Emu sighs and climbs on. “Parad,” he says as he’s settling himself, “why?”
“You can’t just transport yourself home like I can,” Parad says innocently, and climbs up onto the handlebars in front of him.
Shinnosuke frowns. “That is...incredibly unsafe. I mean I’m sure all three of you know what you’re doing but I’m fairly sure there are regulations against it.”
Takeru says, faintly, “Doesn’t Accel turn into a bike sometimes?”
“Yes, but he doesn’t let people ride him.”
“I turned someone else into a motorcycle once,” Tsukasa says absently, peering at Kiriya, “but it didn’t last for very long.”
Emu’s head thumps into Parad’s back. “I hate both of you. Kiriya, can you steer, I’m exhausted.”
Tsukasa lifts a hand as if to gesture and then stops midway. “Do you need high-octane gas to sustain that for long periods?”
“Nah, you just have to buy me a drink and ask real nice. Anything with an umbrella in it works.”
Hiiro’s face is buried in his hands. Haruto is now trying desperately not to laugh, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. “This may be the most interesting form I’ve ever seen on another Rider.”
“Can we go home?” Emu says into the back of Parad’s coat. “It’s been a really long day.”
“Sure.” Parad waves cheerfully to the others, ignoring their various stares, and then slaps one of Kiriya’s handlebars. “Come on, Lazer, let’s get going.”
“Someday,” Kiriya says as he drives away, “I’m going to get you to call me by name, and the world is going to end.”
“I feel wrong just watching that,” Shinnosuke says to no one. “I can’t imagine the phone calls I’ll have to make if they get pulled over.”
for the, cluedo prompt! (σ≧▽≦)σ haruto souma (and nitoh kousuke) in the nitoh family home with the intent of letting grandma know they're dating
I saw this and immediately knew what I was doing with it and that’s just a lovely feeling.
Haruto has never seen Kousuke this nervous.
He’s chewing on a hangnail, that’s how bad it’s gotten. The loudest, cheeriest, most obnoxiously confident man Haruto’s ever met, and he’s sitting on his grandmother’s sofa and chewing on the side of his thumb so much that it might start bleeding. “She’s going to disown me,” he mutters against his thumbnail.
Carefully, Haruto reaches out and grabs his hand, pulling it away from his mouth and holding it tightly. “Don’t chew on yourself. It’s going to be fine.”
“You say that now. I’ll be lucky if all she does is disown me.”
“Kousuke, she tried to let herself fall into despair so that you’d have something to eat. She’s not going to disown you.” He pauses, peering closely at Kousuke’s tight-lipped expression. “But if it’s too much, if we can’t do this now--”
Kousuke’s head comes up. “Say no more! It’s totally all right if you’re too nervous, we can leave--” He starts to stand up.
“Oh no,” says Haruto, tightening his grip and refusing to budge, “you’re not pulling that this time. We can leave, if you need to. But you’re not putting this on me.”
Kousuke glares at him for a moment and then sighs and sits back down. “You’re right. I should get this over with.”
Haruto squeezes his hand. “It’s all right. You can do this. I’ll be right next to you the whole time.” He pauses. “And she’s not going to, but if for some reason she does get very upset...you’ve still got hope. You’ve got me.”
Kousuke slumps, pressing the back of Haruto’s hand to his forehead. “Can you stop being a superhero for five minutes, please, I am having a crisis here.”
“I mean, I’d be a pretty terrible superhero if I stopped being one when there’s a crisis.”
“And stop smiling like that, you are so goddamn cute.”
Footsteps. Kousuke sits up straight, going tense again, and his grandmother comes back into the room with tea and sits down across from them. “It’s good to see you boys. Grandson, I hope you’re eating enough?”
He smiles weakly at her, bowing his head as she passes him a cup of tea. “Yes, Grandma, I’m getting plenty to eat.”
“And that lion of yours too?”
“Khimaira’s not exactly a--yes, we figured something out that suits both of us.”
“I’m glad to hear it. And you, Haruto? How have you been?” She peers at him closely. “You’re looking a bit tanned.”
“Ah...very well, thank you, Mrs. Nitoh. I was traveling, I just recently returned.”
“Hmm. I hope your travels went well.” She takes a sip of tea, looks back and forth between Kousuke and Haruto, and then says, “So. Kousuke. You said you had something you wanted to speak with me about.”
Kousuke’s eyes go wide. “That’s getting to the point quickly, isn’t it?”
“You know I don’t like to beat around the bush. Out with it. Have you dropped out of school again, is that it?”
“Have I--no, I haven’t dropped out of, why would you think I’d dropped out of school?”
“I was bracing myself for the worst. So what is it?”
“I. Ah.”
Haruto shifts over slightly, sliding a hand along the back of the sofa to rest on the small of Kousuke’s back where his grandmother can’t see it.
Kousuke swallows hard and says, “Grandma, I’m gay.”
All she says is, “Ah.” There’s a long, tense silence as she sips her tea, and then she sets down her cup with a soft tap. “I was wondering when you were going to tell me.”
“Grandma, I--wait, what? You--” Kousuke stammers incoherently for a moment, sloshing tea out of his cup until Haruto takes it away from him. “You knew--how long have you known?”
“Since that noisy Masataka boy in high school, the one you were always sneaking off with.” She takes another sip of tea. “I knew you would tell me when you were ready. I’ve always tried to make it clear that I support you as long as you’re not getting yourself hurt.”
Kousuke’s shoulders sag. He buries his face in his hands. “I thought you’d be mad at me.”
“Why would I be mad at you? You’re not still dating Masataka, are you? If you were dating him I’d be mad, he hasn’t got a bone of sense in his body. This one,” and she gestures at Haruto, who chokes on his tea, “he’s exactly the sort of boy I always hoped you’d bring home, he’s got his head on straight.”
Haruto coughs, putting his teacup down so that he doesn’t spill it. “Well, ah, in that case you’re in luck.”
“So you are dating him. Good. Thank you for putting up with my grandson, young man, he’s exhausting but he’s got a good heart.” A pause, and then she smiles, very slightly. “And good taste, if you don’t mind an old woman saying so.”
Haruto feels himself blush and wishes dearly that he could stop. “Um. Thank you?”
Kousuke’s now staring at his grandmother, wide-eyed. “None of this conversation is going how I expected it to.”
Her tiny smile widens slightly. “Of course it isn’t, you always start thinking I’m some kind of ogress when you’ve got something to tell me that you’re worried about, you’ve been like that since you were a little boy. But you’ll always be my grandson, no matter what else you are, and I love you.” She takes another sip of tea. “Now that that’s out in the open, though, there is something I need to know.”
Haruto braces himself, and feels Kousuke doing the same next to him. Mrs. Nitoh isn’t ever rude, but she is very blunt, and there are all sorts of questions that an otherwise reasonable person might decide are acceptable.
She levels an accusing finger at Kousuke. “So when are you going to start dressing better?”
Kousuke gapes. “What?”
“All these young gay men on television look so snappy, and I know I didn’t raise you to go around in public looking like a vagabond in three vests and jeans so old that I remember buying them for you in high school.”
“I--the vests--Grandma, dig sites get cold!”
“And is this a dig site? No. This is Fukui. And when you leave here you won’t be going to a dig site, you’ll be going to Tokyo. Why don’t you let your stylish boyfriend take you shopping, I’m sure he’s got some opinions about what would look good on you and maybe you’d come out of it looking like an adult instead of a wastrel.”
Kousuke has gone back to stammering and gesturing. Haruto is definitely blushing again, and this time is much worse, because now he’s thinking about what Kousuke might look good in, and they’re thoughts he’d rather not be having in front of Kousuke’s grandmother. “Ah. Well.”
7 is one of those romantic kisses, and I love that for them.
We’ll pretend that there was time for this scene in the show, ok?
“You don’t have to do this alone, you know.”
In a city so abandoned, it’s easy to find privacy, but paradoxically, most people don’t want it. They huddle together, for warmth, for safety, for companionship. The loneliness of the empty streets is lessened by company.
But even in such an isolating time, everyone needs moments to themselves, to cry or panic or simply clench their jaw around the desire to scream. So Takatora is sitting at the corner table at Drupers, the one where the whole mess seems to have started ever so long ago, and no one is bothering him. He looks haggard and haunted, staring into the middle distance, elbows on his knees; everything about him says, “Leave me alone.”
He is left alone.
Except for Kouta, who sits down next to him. “Like, I know that you feel like you do. But you don’t have to do it alone, if you have to do it at all.”
Takatora’s mouth twitches. It’s not really a smile. “Unfortunately I do. And it should be alone. I don’t want to involve you.”
“Why not? He’s my friend. I’m offering.”
“I’ve made too many poor decisions already, I have no business making you culpable in one more.” Another mouth twitch, the non-smile there and gone. “I thought I was so brave.”
“You did what you thought you had to do. It was wrong, sure, but you know. You got mislead too. Just like all of us.”
“I have responsibilities, Kouta. Those with power should use it to protect those without. And I misused them, because I didn’t understand what I was doing. I thought I was making the hard decisions.” Takatora sits back, although he doesn’t look at Kouta yet. “The decisions a powerful man must make. If the cuckoo won’t sing, kill it.”
Kouta frowns. “Well, that’s just stupid.”
Takatora blinks. “Pardon?”
“What you just said.”
“It’s a quotation.”
“Yeah, I know, I kinda remember it from school.” Kouta wrinkles his nose. “I remember there being more parts to it. Hell if I know what they were. But anyway, if a bird won’t sing it’s worth figuring out why instead of just killing it, yeah? Maybe it’s hungry. Maybe it’s tired.” A sidelong look. “Maybe it’s lonely and needs a mate. If it won’t sing, give it a reason to sing.”
Takatora actually turns to stare at him in disbelief and then laughs. “The great unifiers crumble before your logic, Kazuraba Kouta.”
Kouta shrugs. “I just think it’s always worth giving things a second chance.”
“And when there aren’t any more second chances to offer?”
“There’s always something.”
The stare has less disbelief in it now, and more wonder. “You’re a rare bird yourself, Kouta.”
Another shrug and a bright, vivid grin. “I wouldn’t say that, but it’s nice that you think so.”
“But regardless...this is still something I have to do alone.”
“And I’m still gonna disagree with you, but we can argue about it later, I guess.” Kouta shifts closer to him on the little couch, their legs just brushing. “I worried about you the entire time you were gone, is all. I’d rather not have to do it more. I have enough people to worry about already.”
Takatora finds himself lost for a reply, but still he leans towards Kouta like a flower reaching for the sun. And Kouta leans towards him, and their lips meet in the middle.
It’s sweet. Not in the sense of “a sweet thing to do,” but the actual sweetness of milk and honey and fresh juice, of a piece of brown sugar melting on the tongue. No human mouth should taste like that.
Takatora stares, astonished, as Kouta says, “Look, just. I need to go talk to Mai, but. Let me know when you’re going?”
Takatora nods. He couldn’t speak if he wanted to.
If the cuckoo won’t sing, he thinks as he watches Kouta leave, as he raises a hand to his mouth and thinks of that unbelievable sweetness, give it a reason to sing.
