[ the sulking makes it funnier in a way, but dick is not that big of an asshole that he'd say it out loud? he grabs at junpei's hand instead, lacing their fingers together with a shrug ]
Maybe. [ he can-- and has-- been jealous before, though he usually tries not to act on it. especially in a place like this? he teases one last time; ] I did already get the talk from your fox girlfriend, though, so maybe not.
[He deserves this because he'd 100% make fun of Dick if the situation was reversed so like. Fair. He lets the handholding happen even if his tail swishes in brief annoyance. It's because of the nature of this place that he knows better than to actually entertain the idea of being jealous, but...then Dick mentions Tamamo and he blinks in surprise.]
Dare I ask what she said...[God why is this place so stupid.]
Not your business. [ chirped. annoyingly. and then he sighs and squeezes his hand, rolling his eyes like it's an annoyance instead of. something sappy: ] Can't believe I have to say this, but-- JT, I like you. Without cookies.
[Okay but I, Ty, want to know. Junpei also looks a little peeved because people talking about him is still annoying, but Dick squeezes his hand and says that which means that Junpei's staring at him for a moment.]
...you didn't have to say it, but it's nice to hear. [There's a smirk but it's also true.] ...sort of a weird thing in a place like this, right?
She almost exclusively calls me Master so maybe I'm used to it. She's a heroic servant. Before we came here, she used to serve a different master for a Holy Grail War...but she was masterless right before she met me. [If Dick isn't letting him pet his hair he's going to keep holding his other hand then. Jerk.]
In at way, it's weirder to think of her as a girlfriend since it's not really that. But Tonbokiri thinks we're married.
[...he tightens his grip on Dick's hand a little.]
Yeah, she does that. It happens. [There's a shrug.] She told me really early on that foxes are jealous creatures, but we made an agreement when the rules changed. Just do me a favor and tell me it didn't involve death threats?
Yeah she actually hates most humans. [Sound less fond, Junpei.] And for a good reason, but we're working on that.
I'm still not sure how I got into this arrangement with her, but...I'm glad it happened. Even if she originally wanted to swap rooms so that I wouldn't be sleeping here.
She'd probably find a new reason to be mad. She got pretty annoyed when she realized I'm an esper. [That was his own fault. But...there's a light huff at that.]
It would've changed pretty much everything, but I told her no in the beginning. I wanted her to stay and keep an eye on Zero, but it's also weird to think of how things would've been without you and Escha.
[Dick sure would have fucking died but it's nice that he didn't and that they don't have to know that!!]
[He just. Pushes on Dick's face and makes a displeased groan.]
You can stop making fun of me any time now. [Jerk.] I already got that it's stupid to be jealous of anything, especially here. [...it's sort of funny, and yet.]
...it just means I like you a lot. But I figured you already knew that anyway.
[ he's cackling when he's being pushed away, though he uses his other hand to grab junpei's. now they are holding BOTH hands. they are TWICE as gay. he looks stupidly fond when he stops laughing ]
Yeah. [ he kisses junpei's cheek ] Still nice to hear.
[ he already said it himself he's not doing it again?? ]
[This is an overload of gay but like. It's fine? He's appeased which means Dick has both hands easily and he's turning his head enough to kiss his lips instead. Great. Let's just make this incredibly stupid.
But...there's a pause.]
...so then you'd also know that anything that was going on before this doesn't change that. [Right? God maybe he should just shut the fuck up, but also it's maybe better to do this himself before Tamamo says anything.] Or it doesn't change that for me, I mean. I already told you before that how I feel about you has kinda been a thing for a while.
[He's already called out and embarrassed, may as well go all out here.]
[ well. it's very nice to have a reminder that junpei's liked him for a while even if dick still refuses to ask how long is a while, but. he tilts his head a bit ]
What's this about?
[ if he sounds wary it's because junpei is making it sound like a pre-apology, and that's. worrying. ]
[He frowns a little because he can pick up on that tone well enough.]
Alternate timeline stuff. Does...I mean does it matter to you? Maybe I should ask that, first. I told you a while ago that we've been SHIFTing to different histories back home. [He's still holding both of Dick's hands and apparently has no intention of letting go.] It gets a little confusing, but I kind of feel like maybe you deserve to know a little more about why this took so long.
...or I can shut up and just. Not. [Ahhh intensifies.]
Dude. [ is it possible to be both fond and exasperated, because that's dick right now. ] Rambling. If it's important enough you wanted to tell me, then tell me. [ he's not like. trying to pull his hands away, either? ] Especially since if you don't now, I'd just spend the whole time we've got left trying to figure out what you're hiding.
...I spent the entire year between the Nonary Game and the Decision Game looking for Akane. That's how I got trapped in that second game. I found out she was going to be at Dcom and kind of forced my way into the list of candidates. In one timeline of the game, I proposed to her. [...] In that same timeline, she also chose to erase my memories because the plans she had for herself fell apart. We jumped to a few different timelines after that and the idea of being with her was kinda always in the back of my head.
[But.] But like I said, that doesn't change what happened here and that I'm gonna go back remembering all of this. There are a lot of versions of myself that I remember and I'm assuming I'm the true alpha version or whatever you want to call it. [A beat.] Tamamo knows about her, and obviously so does Carlos. It wouldn't be fair not to tell you even if maybe it doesn't matter so much when it comes to how I feel about you.
[This is why he doesn't. Fucking. Tell Dick things.] ...I've known for a while and I wasn't sure what to do about it, but eventually it didn't matter. All I figured out was that you matter to me way more than I thought and I don't regret that.
[ this is... a lot. and not, at the same time? because it's an alternate timeline and it's before this mess of a cruise and it's not like dick himself didn't have his ... thing with barbara. though proposing is-- a lot more than that. it's a lot more than that, but it's not like they're even... he lets go of one of junpei's hand to run a hand through his hair. he's at least not going straight for the wing preening. ]
We're not... [ he feels unbalanced, caught flat-footed, and yet it makes so much sense. a kind of duh moment in retrospect. of course the dude's in love with akane. dick's learned enough about his life to guess as much. still. proposing's... a big deal. and dick's-- ] This ... thing between us was always going to be temporary. We've kinda got a known deadline. It's-- I mean, I, I'm glad you told me [ even if part of dick kind of wishes he'd known earlier! ha ha. ] but it's. It's fine. [ he lets out a little laugh, awkward, looking down ] Kinda wish I could say it changes how I feel about you, actually.
[ it's said lightly, like it's a joke. because now he's the idiot who feels jealous in that kind of brittle way he does when he gets the impression he's being replaced, which he hasn't felt in years, and also-- it's stupid? dick's the temporary replacement here. and even that's an unfair thought, but it's there and dick hates that this is happening when his emotions are a fucking mess because part of him is kind of in love with higekiri right now and this is the Worst Timing junpei sucks ]
[He will snap Dick's hand if he starts preening. Dick lets go of one of his hands and Junpei promptly curls it into a loose fist to make sure his hand doesn't betray any of his feelings at the moment. As it is, he settles to listen to Dick try to figure out what to say, wholly aware he has awful timing and kind of feeling like a huge asshole but what else is new? It's still something Dick needed to know, he thinks, something better said now than at the end, and yet...]
...it's probably temporary for you, yeah. [And he accepted that a while ago, just by nature of who he is as a person.] There's no guarantee people will remember anything when we leave this place, but I went into this knowing I probably would just because of the Morphogenetic Field. And even if it was temporary for us, I've spent more time having...whatever this is between us reciprocated than I've had with her. It's like I told Carlos. One day I just realized that maybe the girl I thought I knew wasn't really real at all, and I didn't know anything. But I wanted to do everything I could to make sure she wasn't bearing the weight of the world on her own shoulders.
[...] Coming here, I didn't think I'd ever feel the same way about anybody, but it's like I told Beck. I've never...had anybody else. It just never happened for me, and there were nine years between the last time Akane and I saw each other and the Nonary Game where I saved her and she ditched us in Nevada.
I don't really know what to call this thing between us, but I'm not looking at the deadline on it. I don't mind if you are. [There's a half grin.] Kinda used to being the one to care way too much. [It's also said like a joke except for the part where he's actually genuinely wondering if this is going to regress and he should've kept his mouth shut. "Good job, Junpei. You ruined another relationship trying to understand your own intense emotions." But at least he knows better than to say it out loud, and instead he turns his head for press his lips to the side of Dick's face. "Let me fix this."]
I'm not going to forget. That's not what I was saying.
[ it's snapped, a bit, because that's not what he meant. none of that is what he meant. he grabs at junpei's shirt to pull him in for a proper kiss after the cheek one, short and-- yeah, okay, angry. it's easier to go with indignant than anything else he might feel, and if there's one thing dick's tried to reign in this whole game, it's his temper, because he's not always fair with his anger. this, though? this feels justified. ]
You can't just-- tell me about the girl you proposed to back home-- in an alternate timeline, I know, I get it-- and how you've been thinking about it for weeks and then expect me not to-- what was I supposed to think, here? [ it's exasperated. ] How many times do you need me to say it, Junpei? I like you. You're... one of the main reasons I've even managed to keep sane in this place, even though the only useful things I've done are play doctor after people get themselves injured recklessly and kill someone. I didn't go along with whatever this is for fun, or because I knew it'd have to be temporary. I did because I have feelings for you despite the fact that we're on a sex demon cruise and I should really be putting the mission first.
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Maybe. [ he can-- and has-- been jealous before, though he usually tries not to act on it. especially in a place like this? he teases one last time; ] I did already get the talk from your fox girlfriend, though, so maybe not.
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Dare I ask what she said...[God why is this place so stupid.]
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...you didn't have to say it, but it's nice to hear. [There's a smirk but it's also true.] ...sort of a weird thing in a place like this, right?
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he shrugs, because he can't disagree and also because it's a wee bit embarrassing to have said out loud even though they're ???? ]
Maybe, but what isn't?
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Obviously the feeling's mutual, for whatever that's worth. [...he fluffs his hair again.] ...also Tamamo's not really a girlfriend.
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It's actually weirder if I call her your servant.
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In at way, it's weirder to think of her as a girlfriend since it's not really that. But Tonbokiri thinks we're married.
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and then: ]
Okay, I'm sorry. Your fox wife cornered me.
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Yeah, she does that. It happens. [There's a shrug.] She told me really early on that foxes are jealous creatures, but we made an agreement when the rules changed. Just do me a favor and tell me it didn't involve death threats?
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[ he looks. amused by that ]
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I'm still not sure how I got into this arrangement with her, but...I'm glad it happened. Even if she originally wanted to swap rooms so that I wouldn't be sleeping here.
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[ it's joking, though the rest of it is. hm. ]
... That... would've changed a lot, huh?
[ dick would've kept those stdemons and died NOT THAT HE KNOWS THAT ]
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It would've changed pretty much everything, but I told her no in the beginning. I wanted her to stay and keep an eye on Zero, but it's also weird to think of how things would've been without you and Escha.
[Dick sure would have fucking died but it's nice that he didn't and that they don't have to know that!!]
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I'd have wound up in someone else's bedroom tonight instead.
[ no he didn't forget junpei was jealous and yes it is, absolutely, still funny. ]
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You can stop making fun of me any time now. [Jerk.] I already got that it's stupid to be jealous of anything, especially here. [...it's sort of funny, and yet.]
...it just means I like you a lot. But I figured you already knew that anyway.
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Yeah. [ he kisses junpei's cheek ] Still nice to hear.
[ he already said it himself he's not doing it again?? ]
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But...there's a pause.]
...so then you'd also know that anything that was going on before this doesn't change that. [Right? God maybe he should just shut the fuck up, but also it's maybe better to do this himself before Tamamo says anything.] Or it doesn't change that for me, I mean. I already told you before that how I feel about you has kinda been a thing for a while.
[He's already called out and embarrassed, may as well go all out here.]
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What's this about?
[ if he sounds wary it's because junpei is making it sound like a pre-apology, and that's. worrying. ]
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Alternate timeline stuff. Does...I mean does it matter to you? Maybe I should ask that, first. I told you a while ago that we've been SHIFTing to different histories back home. [He's still holding both of Dick's hands and apparently has no intention of letting go.] It gets a little confusing, but I kind of feel like maybe you deserve to know a little more about why this took so long.
...or I can shut up and just. Not. [Ahhh intensifies.]
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...I spent the entire year between the Nonary Game and the Decision Game looking for Akane. That's how I got trapped in that second game. I found out she was going to be at Dcom and kind of forced my way into the list of candidates. In one timeline of the game, I proposed to her. [...] In that same timeline, she also chose to erase my memories because the plans she had for herself fell apart. We jumped to a few different timelines after that and the idea of being with her was kinda always in the back of my head.
[But.] But like I said, that doesn't change what happened here and that I'm gonna go back remembering all of this. There are a lot of versions of myself that I remember and I'm assuming I'm the true alpha version or whatever you want to call it. [A beat.] Tamamo knows about her, and obviously so does Carlos. It wouldn't be fair not to tell you even if maybe it doesn't matter so much when it comes to how I feel about you.
[This is why he doesn't. Fucking. Tell Dick things.] ...I've known for a while and I wasn't sure what to do about it, but eventually it didn't matter. All I figured out was that you matter to me way more than I thought and I don't regret that.
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We're not... [ he feels unbalanced, caught flat-footed, and yet it makes so much sense. a kind of duh moment in retrospect. of course the dude's in love with akane. dick's learned enough about his life to guess as much. still. proposing's... a big deal. and dick's-- ] This ... thing between us was always going to be temporary. We've kinda got a known deadline. It's-- I mean, I, I'm glad you told me [ even if part of dick kind of wishes he'd known earlier! ha ha. ] but it's. It's fine. [ he lets out a little laugh, awkward, looking down ] Kinda wish I could say it changes how I feel about you, actually.
[ it's said lightly, like it's a joke. because now he's the idiot who feels jealous in that kind of brittle way he does when he gets the impression he's being replaced, which he hasn't felt in years, and also-- it's stupid? dick's the temporary replacement here. and even that's an unfair thought, but it's there and dick hates that this is happening when his emotions are a fucking mess because part of him is kind of in love with higekiri right now and this is the Worst Timing junpei sucks ]
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...it's probably temporary for you, yeah. [And he accepted that a while ago, just by nature of who he is as a person.] There's no guarantee people will remember anything when we leave this place, but I went into this knowing I probably would just because of the Morphogenetic Field. And even if it was temporary for us, I've spent more time having...whatever this is between us reciprocated than I've had with her. It's like I told Carlos. One day I just realized that maybe the girl I thought I knew wasn't really real at all, and I didn't know anything. But I wanted to do everything I could to make sure she wasn't bearing the weight of the world on her own shoulders.
[...] Coming here, I didn't think I'd ever feel the same way about anybody, but it's like I told Beck. I've never...had anybody else. It just never happened for me, and there were nine years between the last time Akane and I saw each other and the Nonary Game where I saved her and she ditched us in Nevada.
I don't really know what to call this thing between us, but I'm not looking at the deadline on it. I don't mind if you are. [There's a half grin.] Kinda used to being the one to care way too much. [It's also said like a joke except for the part where he's actually genuinely wondering if this is going to regress and he should've kept his mouth shut. "Good job, Junpei. You ruined another relationship trying to understand your own intense emotions." But at least he knows better than to say it out loud, and instead he turns his head for press his lips to the side of Dick's face. "Let me fix this."]
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[ it's snapped, a bit, because that's not what he meant. none of that is what he meant. he grabs at junpei's shirt to pull him in for a proper kiss after the cheek one, short and-- yeah, okay, angry. it's easier to go with indignant than anything else he might feel, and if there's one thing dick's tried to reign in this whole game, it's his temper, because he's not always fair with his anger. this, though? this feels justified. ]
You can't just-- tell me about the girl you proposed to back home-- in an alternate timeline, I know, I get it-- and how you've been thinking about it for weeks and then expect me not to-- what was I supposed to think, here? [ it's exasperated. ] How many times do you need me to say it, Junpei? I like you. You're... one of the main reasons I've even managed to keep sane in this place, even though the only useful things I've done are play doctor after people get themselves injured recklessly and kill someone. I didn't go along with whatever this is for fun, or because I knew it'd have to be temporary. I did because I have feelings for you despite the fact that we're on a sex demon cruise and I should really be putting the mission first.
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