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[He bites his bottom lip. Something about the way he casually says he won't do it again without proper planning only bothers him more than comforts him. He drops to his knees and firmly grabs Asougi by the shoulder.]

If you plan to do more hunts, then I'm coming with you. Everytime. [He was absolute in his tone. He was not going to take any refusal from Asougi. It was a selfish demand he knows, he was inexperienced, but being forced to wait and hope his friend will return in one piece was just too painful for him to bear.]

[ That jars him out of his quiet, focused state more than anything else. Asougi looks over at him, frowning. He knows that look, he knows that tone — that's when Naruhodou digs in his heels and refuses to take no for an answer, not even from his best friend. But more than anything else, there's concern written all over Asougi's face. ]

. . . You hate that sort of thing.

Doesn't matter. [He's made his decision and resolve to stick to it. Maybe it'll get into his friend's head how stupid he's being.]

I see. [ There's a long pause, and then he nods. ] Fine.

[ If Naruhodou is going to insist, then— fine. He'll have to be more careful about what types of hunting missions he picks and plan them better, if his best friend is going to tag along. The last thing he'll do is put him in any danger if he can help it. Asougi pulls away, reaching over to scoop up his cloak and gloves. ]

[He's quick to grab his friend's arm, holding onto it, squeezing like his life depended on it.] . . .I just got you back. Please. [His hand was trembling. His friend has thoroughly scared him. Thanks.]

[ He stops and there's a chill in the air again, matching the pit in his stomach that forms at those words. Asougi keeps his gaze averted, on the bundle in his arms. ]

. . . I won't put you through that again.

[There's a rumbling of thunder as he wipes away the tears that had formed momentarily with his free arm. He takes a deep breath, and then makes the move to stand first, still keeping a grip on his friend's arm.]

. . .Have you eaten anything? [He's still upset, far from being okay, but he's trying to move this along.]

[ A bit of frost begins to form on the steps, something that doesn't go unnoticed by Asougi. He closes his eyes, shaking his head as he stands. ]

Thank you, but I'm not hungry. [ Right now, all he wants to do is get cleaned up and lay down forever. Or at least for a good couple of hours, he's not picky right now. ]

. . . All right.

[As he turns, he sees the mess that was meant to be Asougi's dinner, left where he had dropped his tray. Wagahai had been picking at some scraps before running off when she saw them about to head back in. He frowns, he has to clean this up, but that would mean letting go of Asougi. He gives his arm one more squeeze before reluctantly letting go, so he could do so.]

I'll go ahead and get cleaned up, then.

[ He'd heard it in Naruhodou's voice, seen it in the look on his face when he first came out. They weren't going to get much further right now, not while remnants of what had occurred earlier still linger. And while part of him is loathe to just leave him, the other part is practically racing to get away. He takes this opportunity to head on in ahead of him, brushing past Wagahai as he does so and reaching down to pet her head lightly with a free hand, much to her delight. ]

[Naruhodou gives no response, quietly nodding to Asougi's words as he continued inside. He mind felt numb. Did that whole exchange even happened? As he cleans, he stops at one point, looking to the hand that had held onto Asougi's arm. He's startled to see dried blood that had flaked off. It wasn't much, but it was enough to screw with his head. The smell, the image was in his mind, he had to stop and press his other hand over his mouth.

How bad could things have really gone tonight had Asougi been seriously injured, or worse not even return? The air around him thins, almost like the air was being sucked away. He shuts his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. Was it always going to be like this for him? Worrying constantly over Asougi? It's awful and he knows this isn't healthy either, obsessing over this. And somewhere deep down, he feels guilty, that he's practically been dictating what his friend can or can't do since he arrived, over his own selfish desire to keep his friend safe.

He lowers a shaking hand, letting out some air as he finishes cleaning, like that moment hadn't even occured. As he stands with the tray of mess, he shuts the front the door. He's got a lot on his plate, literally and figuratively. Wagahai follows Naruhodou into the kitchen, brushing up against his legs as he washed the dishes at the sink.]

[ In that period of time, Asougi has grabbed a change of clothes and gone to wash up thoroughly, scrubbing away the grime that had somehow missed his clothes. Tomorrow, he'd have an entirely different task ahead of him, where he'd have to clean everything thoroughly and get the stains out. Tonight . . . he didn't know what he was going to do tonight. He meant it when he said he wasn't hungry, his appetite gone after that entire affair. Really, what he wanted to do was to go into his room and write in his journal quietly. Hadn't he put Naruhodou through enough? At the same time, leaving things the way they had been outside left a bad taste in his mouth.

In the end, he settles on a compromise and after dumping his dirty clothes off in his room, he scoops up his journal and takes it downstairs, sitting down on the couch in the living room as he starts to write in silence. ]

[Naruhodou is making sure to thoroughly clean his hands before being considered finished. He's ready to just go into his room and lock himself there for the rest of the night, figure out what he would say to Asougi in the morning. He'll probably have that chance sooner, see as he finds Asougi downstairs in the living room. He frowns, seeing him write in his journal. How can he seriously not worry about him?

He join him in the living room, inviting himself unannounced as he quietly seats himself on the couch across from him, a coffee table keeping them separate.]

. . .Just do what you want. [He clenches his fists, pressing on his lap.]

[ He glances up from his journal and over at Naruhodou, eyebrow raising just a bit. He'd planned on doing what felt right, regardless of what anyone else said — that was how he'd always been. But it's always something else with Naruhodou. Maybe it's because he's one of the few people Asougi holds in high regard or perhaps it's because he knows he's already hurt him quite a bit in recent times, mostly as collateral damage. Or maybe it's because of some deeper feeling, he's not entirely sure. Naruhodou will always make him pause — at least, when he's not wound up and already diving headfirst into something.

Asougi looks at him for a long moment before he speaks, his voice firm. ]

That's not what you wanted to say, is it.

[He lets out a bit of strained laughter] What else can I say? [He keeps his gaze down at his hands as he shrugs.]

It's not like you'll stay dead here. So what am I even worrying about? [It's fine. It's whatever. No big deal. It's fine...eventhough his body was trembling.]

Naruhodou . . .

[ Asougi sets his journal down, closing it, and stands. He moves closer before he stops right in front of Naruhodou and kneels down. This wasn't what he'd intended, not ever, and the strained laugh makes his heart ache. Some best friend he is. ]

. . . I didn't— [ He stops, partially to consider his words and partially because it's hard for him. Knowing his weaknesses is one thing; admitting to them out loud is another thing entirely. ] That wasn't my intention.

[He shakes his head.] I know it's not! [He leans back when Asougi comes over, eyes averted.]

. . . The point is, you shouldn't have to live your life around me.

[ Asougi pauses for a long moment, taking those words into consideration. He'd always lived his own way, but he'd slowly been learning moderation from Naruhodou over these past few years. Was he really . . . ? No, this had to be about something else, potentially.

He reaches up and over to try and rest a hand gently on Naruhodou's cheek. Maybe it's too close, maybe it's brushing up against the thing between the two of them that they've never talked about or acknowledged, the thing that he's only recently started to come around to in his own, silent way. But it doesn't matter, not when his best friend — and arguably one of the few living people that he cares about most — is in pain like this. ]

Hey.

[ It's too close, he's too close, he can feel it getting warmer around him and he knows it's his doing, but he can't help it beyond trying to shove those feelings back down, boxing them up for later — whenever later was. ] . . . I know that.

[A hand suddenly being pressed against his cheek gives him a start. It snaps his attention onto Asougi. The lights in the room flicker as he felt something in his heart. It was warm, calming, welcoming, like whatever they had been working yourselves up over was just a distant memory now. That familiar feeling of safety and assurance from his friend he's come to expect, and yet...

His hand reaches up to rest over his friend's as he leans into the touch, closing his eyes. There's another feeling there now, sitting somewhere deep in his heart. He pulls his friend's hand away as he leans forward, extending his arms out to pull Asougi into a hug.]

[ Asougi leans in to that, closing his eyes as he rests against his friend. Slowly, he draws his hands up to wrap his arms around him in turn. This was why he needed to pause, needed to think before things like that task in the future. Maybe he could plan better. Maybe having Naruhodou insist on coming along wasn't so bad; he could reconsider what was reasonable with those tasks and go from there. Not that he was entirely satisfied with today's results in general.

What he isn't thinking about is the warm feeling growing in his chest, and how the room gets just a bit brighter at that. ]

[He squeezes him gently, pressing his head against friend's. If they stayed like this all night, Naruhodou wouldn't complain. There's nothing really going through his mind other than feeling content, to keep his friend in his arms.

And yet...he could have more.

He shakes his head.] Hey...do you want to go back upstairs? [Now that things have calmed down for the most part, tiredness was catching up with him.]

We should. [ It's a murmured response, his forehead resting against Naruhodou still. And yet, despite his words, he isn't making a move to get up just yet. Another moment of this warmth, and he'd be satisfied. Probably. ]

[Naruhodou wasn't making much of an attempt either. Just another moment before he manages to slide a hand down to grab a hold of Asougi's arm.]

Before Holmes shows up and gets the wrong idea, again. [There isn't as much bite to his word, as if he was questioning it. Was it completely as off as he had originally thought...?]

[ The "wrong idea" . . . part of him wants to say to hell with Holmes, but he can't quite bring himself to do that. He can't bring himself to pull away either though, so Asougi sits there for perhaps a moment too long. He can feel his face flushing a bit, the air around him getting hotter, heavier.

And then he crams those feelings back down into a box, sliding it back with all the other things he's boxed up over the years. Asougi pulls back, turning his head towards the stairs quickly. ]

. . . Right.

[Naruhodou felt himself lean forward slightly when Asougi backs off. He manages to stop himself, considering his friend for a moment. Maybe he was seeing things, but he seem flustered for a moment. It was...actually kind of cute. The side of his face was right there, exposed to him. His hand was raised, hovering in the air for a moment until he goes right for it, gently sliding his hand up and against Asougi's cheek.

They'll go upstairs sooner or later.]

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