INBOX 🎤 prismatica

[grylls]

VIDEO ⬤ AUDIO ⬤ TEXT ⬤ DELIVERY

((ooc: nice coding tbd)

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[inthebuilding]

I can't let the others left behind think that he might not be okay.
If they know that I'm worried about him, then they'll worry too.
I've only heard anything from one other person post his disappearance, someone of which he'd had bad blood with due to their history.

I'm not interested in commiserating with Samatoki's foes.

[ A moment. ]

Sorry I let you down, Riou.

[grylls]

I was already worried.

[ That much he shares, but it takes him a while to decide what he wants to say to the rest. Jyuto is an intelligent man. He's police, a moon knight, a sergeant. He didn't get that by being stupid. Riou knew it was only a matter of time. If Jyuto is worried about him still, he may never contact him the next time something is wrong. ]

I wanted to surprise you the first time I used my call sign instead of my name.
The first time you opened up to me, you didn't feel comfortable telling me then. I couldn't tell you that you already had.
I want you to feel like you have someone you can talk to.
I don't like that you don't want it to be me.

[inthebuilding]

It isn't an excuse, I'm just not used to having anyone want to hear those kinds of things from me.
Until I met MTC, I didn't depend on anyone else.
I felt like I couldn't.
I liked being strong by myself.
If I'm honest, I still like being strong by myself when I can because it's what's comfortable for me.

[ The incident with Daniel Dickens. Jyuto had managed to lace himself back together fairly well enough without drawing attention to what had happened, but it's coming back to haunt him. Karma wants him to tell Riou. It's punishing him for being so solitary, so secretive. ]

This isn't a conversation for text message.
Where are you now? Are you free?

[grylls]

I'm home if you are. Should I come over?

[inthebuilding]

[ And if Jyuto isn't home, Riou isn't home? Is his home Riou's home? Jyuto finds the phrasing here that Riou's used as interesting, but assumes he's overthinking it. ]

Yes, I'm home.
Yes.
I'll unlock the door.

[grylls]

[ He sure af wouldn't be living in an apartment if MTC wasn't there. Jyuto's interpretation of his words isn't wrong, even if it wasn't a conscious word choice.

Riou doesn't text back and instead gets his gray fuzzy boot-slippers on to come across the hall to Jyuto's apartment. He doesn't bother knocking and lets himself in, looking for where in the apartment Jyuto head settled himself before coming to him. ]

[inthebuilding]

[ Jyuto is not too far in, sitting on the couch of his living room and lighting a cigarette. He knows Riou's in the room without having to look away from the tip he bathes in his lighter. ]

I had a feeling he might be you. I just didn't know you had that sort of skillset this whole time.

[grylls]

Hacking here is more challenging than back home.

[ A lot of places have magic-tech combinations... :( It's discriminatory against normies. But personal devices don't have that high base security. ]

[inthebuilding]

[ He looks at him, finally. ]

Sit down.

[grylls]

[ He comes closer to Jyuto, choosing to sit next to him. Close enough that his leg is bumping against Jyuto's, despite there being more room on the couch. He wants to be close to him. Sorry about always squishing you Jyuto. ]

I should've said something, too.

[ About Solon, about Samatoki.. ]

[inthebuilding]

Why didn't you? [ Jyuto shifts out of instinct to try and keep them both comfortable, sucked into the cushions of the couch but then realizing he's not going to get away. After a little scooch, though, he lets himself slink back down into Riou's leg and doesn't fight it anymore. Once they're side by side, he realizes that he'd moved for naught. Riou'd picked to sit here for a reason. ]

Did you think it might embarrass me? [ It seems like the most likely reason. ]
I understand why you kept to yourself in regards to what happened with Daniel.

[grylls]

[ It's a good question. For Riou's part, he processes things by finding his private space. He focused on building that space for the last month that Samatoki was gone, but he could've gone to Jyuto any time during that. Instead, he got sick from spending too long in the wilderness, slept with Sasara, and built a table.

Now that he thinks about it, he wonders if he was spiraling in his own way rather than it just being the reason he was upset when Jyuto contacted Solon instead of him directly. He's confused about why he didn't come and share with Jyuto himself, so he answers why he didn't confide in him about being Solon instead. ]

I thought if I revealed myself, you would stop coming to both me and Solon. I want to be there for you, even if I had to lie to that end.

[inthebuilding]

It wouldn't have turned out that way. [ But there's good reason for Riou to think it may have. Most of their bonding hadn't been accomplished in their home world, but here in Lunatia. Jyuto wouldn't be surprised if Riou had some type of abandonment issues of his own, as he'd found him camping away and segregated from the rest of society in the first place. There has to be some reason for that, whether it's subconsciously motivated or not. ]

I think I would have just been embarrassed.
I chose not to tell any of MTC because I didn't want either of you getting involved or making it into a larger mess, and it didn't feel right to only tell one of you but not the other.
I thought I had the situation under control, after I came back.

[ A moment... ]

You shot him? That was some kind of hint.

[grylls]

I'm sure you did.

[ That's not why he shot Danny, though. ]

He's lucky I only shot him in the arm. I didn't kill him because I know you wanted to use him.

[ One arm moves around Jyuto's shoulder and Riou lowers his voice. ]

You have nothing to feel embarrassed about with me.

[inthebuilding]

[ He would've killed him, otherwise? Jyuto considers the weight of that, exhaling a cloud of smoke and tipping the ashes of his cigarette into a nearby tray. His body curls, tucking into the arm that reels him closer. When he closes his eyes, he thinks that he'd probably do something similar, but probably more drawn out and mentally excruciating. ]

It'd only be embarrassing because I felt sneaky. [ He snorts, and then takes another drag. Riou's never complained about the smell before, but after his next exhale, Jyuto feels like he should put the cigarette out despite only having lit it a while ago. Grinding it out follows. ]

But I'm grateful you had some self-restraint. [ Jyuto looks up at him, pressing a light, smoky kiss against the side of his face briefly. ]

It was the main reason I didn't want to tell Samatoki. Not because I'm not flattered that the two of you are willing to protect me, but because his lack of self-control would've likely soiled the potential of me using Daniel to work as my new grunt.

Even your gunshot made him threaten to turn his allies on me, and I thought I might have to extinguish it all. It reminded me of a yakuza turf war or something when he brought it up.

[grylls]

[ Jyuto says he was worried about Samatoki's reaction but truth be told, Riou was the one who has almost cost him his plan. Riou quietly holds Jyuto for a moment before soaking again. ]

I'm sorry for causing you trouble.

[ He really had just wanted to make sure Daniel knew that Jyuto was not standing alone. There would be consequences if he tried anything again. ]

[inthebuilding]

I'm not upset. It felt nice to have somebody else angry.

[ Fucked up? Maybe a little. ]

It was harder than I thought it'd be, to go through it by myself. I thought it through as rationally as I could when I came to, but I was horrified when he killed me.

I thought it was really over. I have too much shit to do, still.

[grylls]

It's always going to make me angry if someone hurts you.

[ He doesn't want Jyuto to be hurt, even if he understands that some level of risk is necessary for his job. He just hopes that anyone who crosses Jyuto knows that they are going to receive zero mercy from Riou. Riou's arm pulls Jyuto a little closer for a moment, a squeeze of a hug more than an attempt to maneuver. ]

You should get a button that alerts me if you need assistance. I'll make certain you make it to everything you need to do.

[ He'll come kill anyone who tries to kill Jyuto. Life Alert summon your sniper. ]

[inthebuilding]

It isn't a bad idea. [ Thoughtfully. There's a warm sense of comfort, knowing that Riou wants him safe and sound, and is willing to protect him. ]

I'd suggest that you have one too, but I feel that you'd be fine even without me swooping in to rescue you.

[grylls]

I would be lucky to have you in my corner.

[ He's very supportive of Jyuto taking care of him. If anyone has his back, he knows it's him. There's a reason that even elite military squads are still squads and not just lone operatives, and that's because they can't do it alone. ]

[inthebuilding]

Oh definitely. Anyone would be. [ Jyuto peacocking, as is his nature to do so... ]

But even if you don't need it, it's the thought that counts. Do you think we could have something like that arranged? Could you make a device like that?

[grylls]

I'll look into it.

[ Even if he doesn't (he's sure he can figure it out-- the programming part should be easy, but he's less familiar with this world's technology, so that may take a minute) he's sure he can find the appropriate means to result in the same effect. ]

[inthebuilding]

If you'd have told me sooner, I'd have never had to hire Rammler at all.

[ Idle complaining, as he thinks about his other hacker. SOLON had been Riou the whole time... ]</small

[grylls]

Rammler?

[ He really only hacked as far as to help protect Jyuto's identity to keep him safe. He respects his privacy unless he's looking for something in particular. ]

[inthebuilding]

We use aliases with each other, so I'm unsure of his real name. He's blond and has a lot of piercings.