bakerstreet | cuddle meme .

[ At least Mayuzumi can still be himself despite the cold, Akashi thinks. He finds it amusing that Mayuzumi can still have an attitude in this situation when they should probably be trying to get along because one wrong move and the other could possibly hog the blanket all to themselves.

Not that Akashi's that pessimistic. Even though Mayuzumi might not like Akashi (that much or at all, he doesn't know), the former's never exactly done anything bad towards him. ]

Yes. I'm sure something like that is bound to be put in effect eventually. [ He might be student council president, but the protocol for situations like this is something he's unaware of. ] Has something like this happened before?

[ Just talking like this is fine, though, as cold as it is. He leans forward and rests his chin on his knees as he hugs his legs. ]

No.

[One word can hold a heavy amount of sentiment, or ir could from anyone not prone to under-emoting. This hasn't happened before, not in his three years at Rakuzan, not in his almost 18 years of life. It's not that he believes Akashi willed a blizzard and set up the entire scenario, not seriously, but he does believe no true tragedy befalls Akashi that he doesn't take in as a novelty rather than one who suffers fate. Just as he suspects he chooses much of what happens in his life despite it seeming impossible, Mayuzumi makes the seemingly impossible conscious decision not to let anything like sympathy well up seeing the smaller boy hug onto his knees.

He reminds himself there isn't much he could do if he did. Civility in sharing the blanket is about the limit of his capabilities. Even offering it to him entirely wouldn't actually improve the situation: sharing serves a mutually selfish motive of huddling two heat sources together beneath it. Likewise, stewing in frustration at a situation he expects his underclassman to resolve whenever the novelty of a minor crisis wears off doesn't offer him any options. He can only think that if Akashi were testing him to see what creativity, drive, or ingenuity he had in such a situation, he would do well to be disappointed and give in soon. That's one way to dispel any sense of obligation. If anybody had expectations for him, that was their fault to begin with.

A more caustic part of himself muses that it's the same for the kid huddled next to him. He never considered himself as fully in this boy's thrawl as everyone else, even if he didn't fail to see why they were. It wasn't any more fair to expect him to solve this if he weren't going to offer the adulation most found his expected miraculous prowess to be due.

His brief brush with attempted comfort and any emotion that might have prompted it quite finished, Mayuzumi once again falls silent, failing to lead any conversation not all but forced on him.]

[ Mayuzumi's silence isn't at all comfortable, mostly since that's one of Mayuzumi's traits that Akashi's become aware of. He's not aware of his upperclassman's inner monologues though, and perhaps it may be better that remains oblivious to the fact.

If Mayuzumi doesn't want to strike a conversation, then Akashi will be the one to start... again. He would rather not sit next to someone in silence when during the cold. It's times like these that make people realise how alone they truly are. Akashi is no exception.

Besides, Mayuzumi will be graduating soon and after that, Akashi may not be able to see him again. ]

What do you want to talk about? [ It's not like they can talk about basketball. Mayuzumi didn't even show up for the graduating batch's send-off for the club. ]

[He holds in both the sigh that would come out as an overly visible cloud reminding them of the temperature and the one word response ("nothing") that would shut down even the most aggressive annoyances, if not immediately, than after a snippy returned comment or two that would serve as an equivalent of licking their wounds. If it sounds like there are certain figures imagined in such a scenario, that's not an accident; but unlike them, Akashi isn't stupid enough to think Mayuzumi wants to talk about anything. If nothing else he can take it as a request to talk in this instance, something for Akashi's sake more than his own. With no reason to oblige, grey eyes shift to him, unreadable because he's not entirely sure what he himself thinks of that.

If it's just a matter of filling the silence, he'll give Akashi the permission he normally wouldn't have needed by suggesting a nice, broad topic. Will he stop shivering when steeling himself with determination with talk of the future?]

Your plans for next year. I won't be around to watch, so I don't care about spoilers.

[ Look, Mayuzumi. Even if you don't want to talk, you'll have to. Akashi would rather use up energy and talk rather than stay in silence in such a position while waiting for the Rakuzan staff to fix the heaters in campus or whatever else. He's far too tired of being lonely, and in a way, he wants to get more out of Mayuzumi before the two of them go their separate ways. ]

I intend to run for student council president again. [ That's at least a concrete plan that he's already made. Basketball? Well. He's not sure if the coach will let him be the captain again after what happened, but it's not something he's actively thinking about right now. ] And even if I'm not made captain, I still intend to stay on the basketball team.

[ And, well, those are really the only two things he has. The other things in life that he does are decided by his father. He supposes he could share some of them. ]

Since I'll be in my second year of high school, my father suggests that I begin studying for my university entrance exams, as well. It wouldn't be acceptable if I was found in the middle rankings.

[The phrasing "run for" allows for the possibility of losing and he even entertains the possibility of not being made captain. The expectations sound like they come more from his parents than himself now. Mayuzumi asked him once before when acting unrecognizable just who the hell the person inhabiting Akashi's body was but while it strikes him as different from the Akashi he has in his mind, it's not completely off the mark either. That image of exactly what Akashi is has been shifting. He could't say it was getting better or worse but it was a figure in motion. It's not something to draw an outright question but it's enough to keep his eyes on him rather than drifting his gaze away out of boredom with such topics, even if it's the topic he picked. It'd be a boring answer from anyone else. Even if his tone sounds bored, as if back channeling more than properly engaging, it isn't a boring one from Akashi.]

Unexpectedly normal. Though even if you never study another day in your life I don't think you'd end up in the middle rankings for any university.

[ Akashi doesn't like to lose, but after losing for the first time, it's humbled him. Of course, he'll put up the fight of his life to achieve what he wants (and what his father wants) and he won't give up until a victor's been placed. ]

Were you expecting something else of me, Mayuzumi-san?

[ He must think that Mayuzumi's rather vivid imagination must have brought about some ideas. ]

I don't think about you enough to have expectations.

[It's not a lie but it's a colder response than fully warranted. As he had considered before, he doesn't have expectations of him the way his entourage (which certainly consists of the rest of the team, if not the rest of the school) does; he expects Akashi will do well on tests the way he expects that it will be hot most days in August. It wouldn't strike him as a personal affront or leave him shaken in his concept of reality to need a jacket. What Akashi does is his own business. Nor would he take any particular joy in seeing him brought down to the mortal realm.]

But it's still unexpected.

[The irony and the difficulty of explaining it earns a single snort of a laugh.]

It's not like I expect you to take over the world, but if you said you'd planned for world conquest I wouldn't say that was unexpected. In a way it'd almost be a more boring answer from you. But I guess that's more of a five year plan than a one year plan.

[ That gets a chuckle out of Akashi which is visible as a puff of air. Does Mayuzumi think so highly of Akashi? No, that can't be it. He mustn't be serious... not unless this is what other people also think of him as? Various thoughts and ideas occur to Akashi and he isn't sure if any of these thoughts are valid. And for once, he becomes slightly conscious of his past actions and ways.

But these ideations and negativity are quick to be dismissed. ]

I can't say it doesn't hurt, because it does, but only slightly. [ But he accepts that Mayuzumi truly doesn't want Akashi to be a part of his life. He won't force himself in it even though he wants to. Mayuzumi is more than interesting--the fact that he caught Akashi's eye is telling of that. ] And as funny of a mental image that would be, I have no intentions of conquering the world.

[ He grows silent after that. Either they've been stuck this way for far too long or it's just become drastically colder. ]

I can't feel my hands, [ he says weakly, softly, almost inaudible. But god -- does he hope someone hears him because he values his hands more than any other possession he has. ]

[It hurts? That's a phrase unexpected enough to almost be offensive. That isn't the equivalent of 16 degree temperatures in August, that's so unexpected it's practically the present temperatures in August. It's enough that it stuns him into a few moments of silence. He's normally quiet, but this is a silence in which his thoughts scramble. Akashi isn't someone who needs the reverent worship of every man, woman and child, not even at his mightiest. He crushes defiance with a swift hand, but this is another matter entirely. What could possibly hurt about his relatively invisible upperclassman, one who didn't quite surpass the Model 1 Sixth Man despite his expectations, not thinking much about him? He has nothing to offer him.

The next words, more for their tone than their content, pull him from a spiral of thoughts not getting anywhere. He half-swears Akashi does this on purposes. Just as soon as he's comfortably numb to Akashi's existence, he goes and pulls this.

Mayuzumi's own hands rub together briefly before, looking away rather than where he's grabbing, he fishes between them to find one of Akashi's, gripping firmly and groping up towards the finger tips with pulsing, testing squeezes.]

Can you feel that?

[The discomfort is there in his voice. It's not clear enough to be panic, but there are a number of things sheering the threads of his usual calm; there's the matter of Akashi's incomprehensible thoughts and then there's the concern for just how cold it's getting, for his hands, for what it means for both of them.

Things are bad enough that Mayuzumi might have to actually do something. Blanket scenarios are the worst. God help them if he has to go out there in this and find out if it's campus wide, find out if there's a place they can get to with a space heater. He has no delusions about being a hero, but he's not about to let the other boy get frostbite.

The visible air betrays his slightly faster, frustrating breathing.]

[ Akashi closes his eyes at the contact. Warmth courses through him even if it's not much. Despite that, it helps him immensely. He decides to just concentrate on the heat that's being passed onto him and not on anything else. It's why he falls silent for a while.

Eventually he tries to move his fingers a little, tapping Mayuzumi's palm with the pads of his fingers. ]

I can feel it, yes. [ He's still shivering, though. That part won't go away so easily. ] Thank you, it helps some.

Are you alright?

It's cold.

[It's a stupid and obvious answer given just the same, even while knowing his complaint won't help. His unhelpful comment serves the purpose of building an argument he suspects they'll have shortly, if he decides to go out. The feeling of cold fingertips against his palm is numbed as he moves his fingers mostly to confirm that he still can. He can feel the warmth from Akashi's hand in his more than he can the feedback from attempting to move.

The hands, particularly the fingers, are a peripheral, they would be the first to close sensation, but that doesn't mean it should be taken lightly. His free hand shifts, testing his own neck as he consciously forces himself to repress any shivering and focus. He can repress the shivering by force for a few seconds, which is a good sign. But his hand isn't a thermometer, all he can get from the testing touch is that it's warm. He has no idea if his core temperature is dropping. It's not as if he'd be able to tell by testing on Akashi either.]

It might only be the gym that's out. Anyone in your phone live in the dorms to check?

[As one might conclude by the question Mayuzumi doesn't have any such people in his. Frankly he couldn't even answer with certainty if any of the other regulars stayed there.]

[ Without a word, perhaps due to obedience to an upperclassman he actually respects, Akashi fishes out his phone to check if anybody's sent him a text. Nobody has -- it's fine. He tries to send a text, seeing as there's reception (fortune seems to favour them so far), when Akashi's phone beeps and then switches off. It seems that it's run out of battery, and was neglected to be charged while Akashi was still at the dorms earlier.

He looks at Mayuzumi, brow slightly furrowed. This particular Seijuro Akashi, the original, already looks stressed out. This particular worry doesn't add to his facial expression, but he is concerned. Concerned not because they aren't able to receive an answer but because of whatever comment Mayuzumi might end up saying. Is he being too conscious and sensitive about this? Yes, he is. Maybe he cares too much about what Mayuzumi thinks.

That's a first. ]

Do you have Reo's number, by any chance? [ Please be his knight in shining armour right now, Mayuzumi. ]

[The expression of sheer shocked disbelief at their misfortune is a clear answer: Mayuzumi is more the black knight type. Those mostly self-jesting thoughts about this being some kind of setup finally come to a head as he snaps.]

You're messing with me right now, aren't you?!

[Sadly, the odds of Akashi going "Yes, in fact." and rising up to inform him that Nebuya's right outside the gym door hooked up to a sled waiting to pull them to safety are about the same as the odds of Mayuzumi having one of the other threes' numbers in his phone.]

No, and I've never had the intention of doing so.

[ Even the lightheartedness in Akashi's usual tone is gone. The Akashi that Mayuzumi's more familiar with seems to be speaking to him right now, but that isn't the case at all. Akashi's just a bit insulted that Mayuzumi would think that he's "messing with him".

First of all, Akashi doesn't even have a sense of humour. Second of all, even if he did, he wouldn't pull such an awful prank and sacrifice his fingers in the process. Thirdly, he wouldn't even have a reason to mess with Mayuzumi. It's not like he's done anything bad to Akashi that it has to be returned to him. If anything, Akashi wants the other boy's approval and friendship and maybe even more.. ]

[Now he gets intense and serious?! Is he going to take that from someone whose phone just went out at a vital time, an absolutely preventable, painfully ordinary occurrence?! The answer to that question is yes. With a sigh that again comes out in the frigid air in a fashion he can't help but think makes it so clear it's practically animated, the disbelief fades from his face as he pulls away from the blanket, tossing his portion over Akashi as he stands, then holds out a hand expectantly.]

You've got the key to the faculty room, don't you, Mr. Student Council President? From there, I should be able to get the key to the tea ceremony club room. At this school, they should have a traditional fire-based hearth instead of an electric one.

[ Akashi almost gets hit in the face with the blanket, but he manages to evade it quickly enough. At first, he isn't even sure what Mayuzumi is trying to do, but it makes sense to him eventually and he takes the other's hand and pushes himself up, blanket with him. ]

Alright.

[ He puts his phone back in his pocket again and shakes it to make the keys in it sound. Okay -- he's definitely got more than just his dorm room key in there. He doesn't bring it out in the case that for some ungodly reason, the faculty room key isn't with him. It has to be. ]

Let's not waste any more time.

[Confusion is back on his face in full as Akashi takes his hand. That hand was for the key. What is he--]

"Let's"? You're staying here.

[ Now he's confused too. What's happening. ]

Did you intend on going there by yourself? It would be better for someone from the student council to go with you.

[ It helps that Mayuzumi won't get caught by someone thinking he's trespassing. It's a just-in-case.

... he also doesn't want to get left behind, thanks. ]

What if for some reason I can't get in or there's nothing to start the fire with? There's no point in both of us getting wet.

[He'd be surprised if anyone noticed him to accuse him of trespassing. If they're going to have to get snow covered, it's worth knowing they have a place warm enough to justify the heat loss to wet clothing for a time. The gym while clothed and dry is better than a better insulated but unheated dorm while wet and stripped, but a room with a heat source, wet and stripped, ultimately wins out over both.]

I'll come back for you once I've secured a warmer place. Or did you think I planned to ditch you?

[He's not the friendliest. He has to admit it's a fair concern. Even if he knows himself well enough to know he wouldn't, he can't expect someone else to know that of him. Even with someone more annoying, he'd at least use his own phone to call and send someone else to tend to them. That's an option with Akashi too. Enough people care enough about him that even without having any of his known friends' numbers on hand it wouldn't take long to get somebody on the task of helping him; but Mayuzumi is confident in his own methods. If he truly thought somebody could tend to Akashi more quickly and sufficiently, he'd stay and wait to reap the benefits himself.]

Edited (try = dry) 2018-06-17 22:51 (UTC)

[ Hm, it's true, perhaps nobody would notice Mayuzumi to accuse him of trespassing. Akashi and the three Uncrowned Kings of Rakuzan only notice him, anyway, and the latter three only really do so when Akashi tells them to.

It's a relief to hear Mayuzumi say that he intends to come back for Akashi, but the younger between the two of them doesn't want Mayuzumi to get sick or anything due to the cold from outside. Akashi will have to make it up to Mayuzimi one way or another after all this.

He already owes the guy a lot after what his other self did. This only adds to the pile of things Akashi wants to do for him. ]

It seems you've made up your mind, so I won't stop you. [ He hands over his set of keys. It has a small keychain of shogi piece. Akashi points to the faculty room key. ]

It's this one.

[His stare lingers at the keys for several seconds. Shogi. It's a surprise but not unexpected; Mayuzumi can only think it suits him before tucking it away in his own pocket and looking Akashi over again, reminding himself why he's doing this. The cold's going to set in on a smaller body faster and Akashi's already lost feeling in his hands once.]

Keep your hands under your arms or between your legs. I shouldn't be gone more than fifteen minutes.

[When the gym door opens the blizzard is roaringly loud, like sudden TV static screeching through what had previously been muted background noise. It's enough to drown out whatever mumbling or strained grunt comes out under Mayuzumi's breath as he pulls it closed behind him. It's not open long but it's enough for a wave of colder air to shoot through the gymnasium for Akashi to contend with now without distraction. Despite his estimate, fifteen minutes pass without his return.

It's five minutes beyond that when the door opens again, this time with Mayuzumi's breathing coming hard enough to be as audible as it is visible. With a stiffened blazer over his head, his normally blasé expression is one more befitting the red hue he's taken on, looking on the verge of releasing some murderous urge. The fact that his clothing is stiff in some places not immediately connected to his body relays one important fact to the observant: the snow must have gotten warm enough somewhere to become water to refreeze. He also doesn't bother closing the door behind him, meaning there must be something better to head towards, someplace that's better than trying to step inside for even a moment's rest out of the wind and snow. Those cues are all Akashi has to go on immediately, as it's going to take Mayuzumi a minute to find his voice to say anything without stuttering.]

[ The murderous look doesn't suit Mayuzumi, Akashi finds. And he knows the older boy can pack a glare if he wanted to (mostly aimed at him and the Uncrowned Kings), but this is at a different level and it fills Akashi with concern. Not fear, when he has no reason to fear him now; not after he's been reassured that Mayuzumi will (and has) come back.

He gets up, pushing himself up slowly. His knees wobble slightly but only for a few seconds before he takes small steps towards the door. It's a lot more chilly, he finds, and he pulls the blanket even more to cover himself because of it.

Once at the door, he gives Mayuzumi a nod of approval. A small thank you, in a way. He wants to say something else -- an "are you alright" but he knows he's going to get a snappy response. Instead he offers a: ]

How can I help you?

[ Because really, he'd offer the blanket as well but right now it's cold as hell and Mayuzumi might say something about Akashi's would-be sacrifice. ]

You can hurry!

[Akashi is granted a snappy response for his trouble in trying to find a way to avoid one. He's also granted a less than reassuring arm grab as he's pulled in closer until that arm is gripping around him in a manner as selfish as it is protective. For whatever body heat Mayuzumi provides now it also comes with a frigid, snowy and ice-caked exterior.

The only way to keep his teeth from chattering to the point of incoherence is to grit them which only adds to the natural pleasantry Mayuzumi always exudes.]

The hearth's lit. I-It'll be warmer th-there.

[Enough so it would have been tempting to stay there. He took longer than fifteen minutes both for how much harder running in snow is and for taking the time to arrange the room, to take the thick insulation blanket off of the club's kotatsu (sadly electric) to put near the hearth to warm up for when they get there to use it.

It had crossed his mind that it would still be a blanket scenario with only that. Of course it would.]

Edited 2018-06-18 06:21 (UTC)

[ Akashi really would have hurried if the bones in his legs didn't feel like they were frozen too, but here he his, finally, at least.

Mayuzumi grabbing him by the arm is startling, though, and even as they move towards the school building and towards the tea ceremony club room, he can't help but think about it. Was he really that slow that Mayuzumi was pissed off? It couldn't have been that, right? Given the situation and how intense his expression was (or is), it's probably just due to the cold.

... Probably. Hopefully. As he walks, though, he can't even open his mouth. He would much rather talk again once they're in the proximity of a fire. ]

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