In A Normal Way

In A Normal Way
Date of Scene:	25 October 2024
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy - Dorm
Synopsis:	Kazuo has a Talk with Tamaki, mostly because sometimes Tamaki needs to be crowbarred out of (a) his Issues and (b) his actual physical apartment.
Cast of Characters:	Kazuo Saitou, Jadeite

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Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo's dorm room is in theory sized for two students. Except for the part where the roof slants down over a large chunk of it, removing things like 'standing room.' Kazuo's reaction to this was to combine it with the over-furnished nature of the RHA dorms, by putting the couch on that side, and leaving the bed where he could actually stand up. The desk, of course, is in the little cut-out taller section by the window, so that anyone coming in that route has an easier time stepping down.

There is not a lot in the way of visible personalization. Most of the shelves hold textbooks, one anonymous cardboard box, and a single little framed colored-pencil cartoon. The bedding is bleached within an inch of its life. The only sign that the room's occupied by an actual human being is the kendo gear tucked into one precious stand-up-able corner, and one count it one shelf with Stuff - a mirror, a couple of dishes, a handful of brightly colored leaves, and a simple little frame holding an screencapped image from one of Usagi's streams.Tamaki SuikawaKazuo lets Tamaki in, then paces across to lean against the edge of the desk, leaving Tamaki his choice of not-necessarily-great seating. He doesn't start with something reasonable, like a hello, or a how are you. What he starts with is: "How much have you figured out about what's going on in Mamoru's head right now?"

Tamaki Suikawa has posed:
Tamaki has not been the best at getting out of the house, but in his defense: he has died twice, school is ramping back up, and he is clinging to what creative output he can manage to stay sane. He has gone on a handful of dates, but many of them have gotten interrupted by monsters. And he is by nature the kind of animal that hides in its den and licks its wounds when injured.

He takes his seat across from Kazuo, crossing his arms seriously on the desk.

"Honestly, not much. I've been unstable since Beryl's defeat and have been trying not to bleed over onto our prince so much that it affects him. We've gone out a few times together, but we haven't had much chance to talk deeply. I have been trying to respect his boundaries and not pry when we're both stressed. Should I be changing tactics?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Not necessarily. He is stressed at the moment, though. But in a different direction from usual. It should ease up in a couple of weeks." Kazuo glances sidelong at Tamaki, and rakes a hand back through his hair, shoving it out of his face and behind a shoulder. "Not stressed by any of us, either. It's the building he's buying, and the leftovers from the way he grew up, and the way his powers make him see the world, all colliding with each other and leaving him off-balance and short on the ability to think straight. So if his instability bleeds over onto you -- it's not your fault. That make sense?"

Tamaki Suikawa has posed:
Tamaki nods seriously, watching his comrade in arms. As Mamoru's guardians, their constant communication was necessary to keep him safe. Afterward - well. Things were not the same in Obsidian. Nor were they the same after his awkward revival and recuperation. But it is still their mutual duty to take care of Mamoru - and not just a duty but a pleasure, a calling. Their beloved, their king, their friend.

(...but like. In a normal way. Because he has parts of himself that are not completely subsumed in being a knight. its FINE.)

"Ah, that makes sense. He's stabilizing things with the building and that's bleeding over into everything else." He nods sagely.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Not the same at all. Not least because one of them wasn't there, in Obsidian. A presence late, flickering in and out of the edges of their awareness, looked away from to avoid having to know who he was ... but not part of Beryl's court. Not one of Hematite's other generals.

Kazuo never regrets that, but sometimes, when the deepened wounds the others have fester, he almost wishes he could.

"More or less. His powers mean that having somewhere he has more control over is important to him. But he's never had that, not in all his life he can remember. And the people who brought him up gave him a few conditioned reactions - foremost among them being that that kind of thing isn't for him. That he's not allowed to have that. So he's on the verge of getting something he needs fairly badly, and his gut keeps telling him that obviously it's not going to happen."

Kazuo's expression goes wry for a moment. "Which means that he can lash out, or panic, at times we'd normally expect him to laugh something off and deal with it reasonably. We're probably through the worst of that. And once he actually moves in, I hope that part will fade fairly quickly." Two weeks! They have to get through two entire weeks. Surely they can manage that.

He pauses, turning his head to observe Tamaki in a little more detail for a moment. Slowly.

"It sounds like your troubles are lingering a little longer."

Tamaki Suikawa has posed:
"....I presume that those people have already been dealt with?"

Not that Tamaki would ever do something cruel or harmful! It's just that, well. Kazuo was very thorough in all things, and so if there was a task that just so happened to need an extra pair of hands, that Kazuo had not been able to attend to previously for some reason, it would behoove them to make sure that, what was the phrase? That all the loose ends were tied.

And he nods. "I understand. If lacking control in one aspect, one seeks it in others - sometimes purposefully and sometimes as a reaction. We just need to wait it out." That he can do. He is good at waiting.

Tamaki's lost a little weight and color, but he's not the stick-thin, hollow-eyed creature that Kazuo and Mamoru unearthed in a depression at the beginning of the year. "It is. I'm finding myself more easily exhausted, so I've been trying to take it slow, not burn myself out. I've had this happen even before I remembered everything, so it will pass."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Since 'those people' include most human beings Mamoru remembers dealing with with before Obsidian ... no. Society's improving in how it deals with these things, but it takes time to change general attitudes. And we're not, as a society, kind to orphans." There's a tightness in Kazuo's jaw, but the anger is both kept firmly subsurface and aimed off to the side of Tamaki. Never at him, not this one. "So we deal with it by supporting him. And," he exhales a little, and does glance to Tamaki now, with the hint of a lopsided smile, "proving them wrong. So."

'Easily exhausted' wins a flicker of gray eyes over Tamaki, noting the weight loss and its limits, noting how he stands, noting the fine detail of the muscles in his hands. If he's lost muscle as well as weight, that's one thing. If he's lost it in his hands that's another altogether. And he may well not have lost either. "Not burning yourself out is good. It's a fine balance, though, keeping to that while still giving yourself enough to recover with. Do we need to tempt you out with sunlight and autumn leaves while we still have them, or would that bore you silly?"

Tamaki Suikawa has posed:
"How unfortunate," Tamaki says without thinking. He would like to deal with them. He would like to take those who use society as a bludgeon to hurt his prince and deal with them. There was ice for that, and chill, and -

And Mamoru wanted him to do better. And Tamaki was doing better, mostly, his fangs kept firmly in check. He is trying to grow and change, to be the kind of friend that is supportive rather than one who carves himself in the shape that he thinks Mamoru wants to see. The kind of friend that Kazuo can trust to have all of their backs.

"...They can live in peace far away from here. We will all be happy here," Tamaki says. The weight loss hasn't gone to his hands, and has not yet cut into the muscles he's been redeveloping since this winter. He is treading water, keeping his strength consolidated as he minimizes his stressors - Kazuo will see nothing that is cause for alarm, bodyguard to bodyguard.

"Tempting with sunlight would be nice," he admits. "The leaves may bore me, but you and Mamoru and everyone else do not. I have licking my wounds, but it's likely good for me to escape for once."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Tamaki's comment without thought draws an outright grin from Kazuo - one flavored with the same sentiment, but a grin. Something he wouldn't have shown in the old days. They're all trying to grow and change.

"Now good?" he asks. "Or Sunday?" Two days away. More time to brace for it, if Jadeite needs it. But also more people, more crowds. At least his casual tone implies counterproposals are welcome.

Tamaki Suikawa has posed:
"Now. I can't guarantee I'll last all that long, but I'd rather do it when I'm already out of the house." Better to strike while the iron is hot, as it were. "You got anything in mind?"