[suguru knows, of course, that he has no right to barge into shoko's life. their relationship was one of many he'd sacrificed the moment he'd committed to his path? a sacrifice that she, herself, made, by virtue of remaining committed to hers—and yet.
and yet.
it's late, but not, like, ungodly late; they both still have some amount of work ("work") ahead of them, but as suguru stands in this corner store, eyeing this, that, and the other:]
Have you eaten? I doubt it.
[he's texting her from some new, strange number, but he has no doubt that she knows it's him. who else reaches out to her like this? who else contacts her out of the blue, asking a seemingly inane question in lieu of his real one: will you be alone?]
[ shoko has been up much later. if things are really bad, then she works well into the morning and misses out on drinking herself to sleep. except she's not too torn up about it tonight, because she's going to make up for it later. well. she thinks, anyway.
her phone vibrates; it's from an unsaved number. she squints, leaves her phone unattended until it buzzes again to let her know she still hasn't read it yet.
a glove comes off, so she can text right next to the poor and very dead transfigured soul on her table. ]
If you know the answer, then why bother asking? I don't do impromptu dates, you know.
[far be it from shoko to make anything easy! not that it deters suguru in the slightest; the day she welcomes him with open arms is the day he knows she's setting him up, so. small blessings.]
I know. Which is why I'm giving you warning.
[all, like, three hours' worth. she's welcome? he's so nice, he knows.]
[ she has him on silent for different reasons though... obviously!!
but then she kind of just blinks at her phone, stares at the word home. she's more annoyed at herself for allowing him to come into her home — and her life — anyway. ]
By "at the door", you mean you're going to let me into my own apartment if I ring the buzzer, right? You owe me.
[no one can possibly blame anyone for ignoring satoru? he's, you know. he's A Lot. that said: no one could possibly blame shoko for muting suguru, if not outright ignoring him. there's something to be said for shoko's generosity...]
Am I that predictable?
[jkjk, don't answer that. neither of them need to think about how often this sort of thing happens, so:]
[ she doesn't tell him he's predictable, simply because she doesn't feel the need to. saves her pride from taking a hit by not doing so; if she admits to it, then that means she's being just as predictable by not kicking him to the curb.
so: out of sight, out of mind! ]
Depends what kind of dinner. Can you do me a favor and pick up alcohol on the way?
[look at them go! two healthy adults, handling things so, so well. case in point, as he considers what (sorcerer-run) establishments are nearby:]
I shouldn't encourage your bad habits. But I'll consider it.
[because discouraging her bad habits means shooting himself in the foot—and he's hungry? he's tired? he's lonely. he cares for his family; his family all but worships him, but that's just it: he's always above them, somehow. a lofty ideal as opposed to a person.
no such worries with shoko, however, which is why he does in fact head toward the coolers.]
[ honestly, shoko is all of those things and more; she'd say she's starving but her line of work keeps her from having an appetite for most part. she's definitely exhausted, but most of all— yeah, she's pretty lonely.
most nights, it's hard for her to go fall asleep, which is why she doesn't mind working so late. and while she doesn't like to entertain such thoughts; it is nice to come home to someone, even if they're gone before the sun comes up. ]
You shouldn't, but you probably have a light on you too, right?
[ she k n o w s you, suguru. ]
When you get in, could you also fold the clothes I left on my bed?
[there is indeed a lighter tucked into one of suguru's pockets—along with a (mostly) fresh carton of smokes. shoko's preferred brand, of course. she was the one to introduce them to him, all those years ago—and while he hasn't made a habit of them (not a regular one, anyway), there's something about the familiar weight of them? the knowledge that they're there, if he ever needs to reach for something as opposed to someone.
...but here they are again? or, more accurately: here he is. alas.]
Bringing you dinner isn't enough? And alcohol. Maybe.
[ no confirmation on her suspicion; that's fine— she expected that much. she'll just make good on it later.... :) somehow...
she reaches into the pocket of her lab coat; this pack has lasted her a week and she's already out. annoying, even though she knows she'll bum one off of suguru when she sees him. she just always gets the sudden urge to go out for a smoke when he texts her??? ]
Nope. You might as well make yourself useful while you're there.
[nostalgia is only, like, half the reason he keeps a lighter and some smokes on his person at most times? there's something to be said for the way the taste of a cigarette cuts through the taste of a curse—but details, details. they're both feeling the sudden urge to smoke; suguru, for his part, ignores it, focusing instead on what he's sure is a mountain of laundry awaiting him. he's just going to move it to the nearest chair, yes, and yet...]
I'd like to think I make useful in other ways. That don't include doing your laundry.
[yeah, shoko! doesn't he provide a very valuable service.............
[ LISTEN!!! the woman is swamped, okay? whether the corpses that have been popping up lately are his doing or not; she'd rather not dwell on it. sometimes ignorance is bliss.
like the pile of clean, yet wrinkled clothes that are sitting on her mattress. it'll be obvious to him that she's been sleeping on one side of the bed, because they take up the rest of it... don't look at her!!! she's exhausted once she gets home!! ]
Then you shouldn't have cleaned up after us when we were younger. At least that way I would've learned.
[did he trick her, or am i just a foole... let's not even worry about it? let's assume he's going to master chef this shit. next ep: suguru and shoko make a gourmet meal out of instant ramen packets she's kept in her cabinet for three years...]
Do I? Then maybe you should help me cook tonight. It's time for you to learn.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
and yet.
it's late, but not, like, ungodly late; they both still have some amount of work ("work") ahead of them, but as suguru stands in this corner store, eyeing this, that, and the other:]
Have you eaten?
I doubt it.
[he's texting her from some new, strange number, but he has no doubt that she knows it's him. who else reaches out to her like this? who else contacts her out of the blue, asking a seemingly inane question in lieu of his real one: will you be alone?]
no subject
her phone vibrates; it's from an unsaved number. she squints, leaves her phone unattended until it buzzes again to let her know she still hasn't read it yet.
a glove comes off, so she can text right next to the poor and very dead transfigured soul on her table. ]
If you know the answer, then why bother asking?
I don't do impromptu dates, you know.
no subject
I know.
Which is why I'm giving you warning.
[all, like, three hours' worth. she's welcome? he's so nice, he knows.]
Busy night?
[he hasn't contributed to it, at least.]
no subject
How gracious of you.
Are you going to be picking up from work, too, like a gentleman?
[ she knows the small talk is just him trying to segue the conversation into something else entirely, but it's fine!! she'll play along. ]
A little. If I'd known you were going to contact me, I would've turned off my phone.
no subject
I'm flattered! I thought you'd save such effort for someone else we know.
[someone more, say... annoying on main... anyway:]
I won't embarrass you by picking you up, but I will meet you at the door when you come home. A fair compromise, wouldn't you say?
[aka i'm letting myself into your apartment! again. xoxo]
no subject
[ she has him on silent for different reasons though... obviously!!
but then she kind of just blinks at her phone, stares at the word home. she's more annoyed at herself for allowing him to come into her home — and her life — anyway. ]
By "at the door", you mean you're going to let me into my own apartment if I ring the buzzer, right?
You owe me.
no subject
Am I that predictable?
[jkjk, don't answer that. neither of them need to think about how often this sort of thing happens, so:]
What if bring you dinner? Will that make us even?
[for now.]
no subject
so: out of sight, out of mind! ]
Depends what kind of dinner.
Can you do me a favor and pick up alcohol on the way?
no subject
I shouldn't encourage your bad habits.
But I'll consider it.
[because discouraging her bad habits means shooting himself in the foot—and he's hungry? he's tired? he's lonely. he cares for his family; his family all but worships him, but that's just it: he's always above them, somehow. a lofty ideal as opposed to a person.
no such worries with shoko, however, which is why he does in fact head toward the coolers.]
no subject
most nights, it's hard for her to go fall asleep, which is why she doesn't mind working so late. and while she doesn't like to entertain such thoughts; it is nice to come home to someone, even if they're gone before the sun comes up. ]
You shouldn't, but you probably have a light on you too, right?
[ she k n o w s you, suguru. ]
When you get in, could you also fold the clothes I left on my bed?
[ lmao ]
no subject
...but here they are again? or, more accurately: here he is. alas.]
Bringing you dinner isn't enough?
And alcohol. Maybe.
[not that he's going to fold them, but you know.]
no subject
she reaches into the pocket of her lab coat; this pack has lasted her a week and she's already out. annoying, even though she knows she'll bum one off of suguru when she sees him. she just always gets the sudden urge to go out for a smoke when he texts her??? ]
Nope.
You might as well make yourself useful while you're there.
no subject
I'd like to think I make useful in other ways.
That don't include doing your laundry.
[yeah, shoko! doesn't he provide a very valuable service.............
........as a simp.]
no subject
like the pile of clean, yet wrinkled clothes that are sitting on her mattress. it'll be obvious to him that she's been sleeping on one side of the bed, because they take up the rest of it... don't look at her!!! she's exhausted once she gets home!! ]
Then you shouldn't have cleaned up after us when we were younger. At least that way I would've learned.
[ no she wouldn't have ]
Oh? What kind of other ways?
no subject
Cooking you dinner.
Obviously.
[didn't he already say this?? catch up, shoko. that said: he's still prepared to cook her Something—and he won't even pretend otherwise, so.]
Maybe I was hoping you two would learn by example.
[don't make him say satoru's name...]
no subject
I didn't realize you were bringing the ingredients and making me dinner.
[ omg he TRICKED HER!!! ]
Neither of us were very good students.
Ah, well. Too late for that now. You only have yourself to blame for this bad habit.
[ it's okay, she won't make him say gojo's name. ]
no subject
Do I?
Then maybe you should help me cook tonight. It's time for you to learn.
[xoxo he says this because he cares]
no subject
Anyone ever tell you you're a funny guy?
[ but, ugh. fine. whatever!! she'll humour him. 🙄 ]
What are we making, chef?
no subject
Sometimes. It's usually you.
[and he loves that about her, but:]
What do you want?
[he's feeling generous! also: his wallet is full of monkey money (tm)]
no subject
Usually me? You mustn't be this funny to others then.
[ 🤡 ]
Katsukare.
But ramen or just a salad are fine options too, so don't hurt yourself.