[Why does he even bother, honestly. Is he really saving his pride like this?] He's a pain, a slob, and a troublemaker. It's only a matter of time before he causes problems for me, and this time he's in my room.
[ dextera’s face is probably not capable of grinning, but for some reason, hearing guren talk about yuu like that makes him want to. as it stands, it’s just that his smile widens a fraction, and he shifts so that he’s more fully facing guren—interested and attentive. ]
And, [ dextera adds, knowingly ] You’re happy about it.
[ dextera doesn’t know why he’s so happy about this when it’s guren’s friend who’s shown up. maybe because guren deserves something nice—someone to share his feelings with, even if that’s a task in and of itself. this town isn’t the best place to be, but it’s easier when people are together. ]
Please don’t.
[ he’s not looking at guren when he signs it, the little shit. ]
[Naturally, that means Guren is going to lower his pointing finger... But a few seconds pass, and just when it seems like he's given in to peace, he leans over to pinch and tickle at Dextera's side. Just a little.]
You're an enabler. He doesn't need any bad influences.
dextera gasps quietly and wriggles away from guren’s teasing, his hands immediately moving to shove at guren’s hands. for all this, though, he’s still in a good mood. he’s never smiled in his life as much as he’s smiled in this town.
with his hands occupied by pushing guren, he shakes his head in self-defense. he’s not a bad influence! mostly. ]
[Guren grins at that, eventually taking those shoving hands in his own to yank Dextera even closer. From there it's... a hug? Surprisingly soft, so of course he had to yank him into it.]
He needs the same drug as me, you know. [But, he does have to break the nice mood a little, by saying that quietly as he hugs him.] And more.
[ Guren pulls back to face him properly, sighing. ]
He’s got more than just a demon in him. That kid’s been experimented on his whole life. He’s what’s called a seraph. It’s an incredible power that I’ve been trying to get him to control— but he’s saying he’s from further in time than me, and he has more control.
[ dextera doubts it’s perfect either. that’s just the nature of these things—no power is ever completely controllable, is it?
not to mention, a seraph. there are big differences between guren’s world and dextera’s, but anything angelic must be powerful indeed. (it reminds him, too, that sandalphon is probably something they’ll have to address one day or another. dextera doesn’t really want to.) ]
I don’t know if I can help.
[ he offered his purification as a last resort for guren, but demons and seraphs are necessarily different, right? ]
You don't have to do anything like you promised for me.
[He can understand what Dextera must be thinking, and he shuts that down quickly enough.] I can handle him. [Uh, mostly.]
If you get to know him, though, that's the best way you can help him. He already considers you family since I told him you were important. [A pause at that gay comment, and he glances down to their bracelets.]
The biggest worry I have is the drug to help him from being possessed by his demon. Asuka is just about done with the copy of it, but...
[ the “but” is concerning, when it comes to ryo. though dextera is relieved that it’s not falling on his shoulders to take care of yuu in the less kind sense of the phrase, it doesn’t make him feel better to know that plans have to be made around them. ]
He won't give me the formula. He's holding it over my head, saying that he can use his knowledge as a bargaining chip.
[Honestly, it's kind of amazing how Guren isn't showing any anger at this at all. It's because he's used to it, and because he's already trying to plan around it.]
I did want to ask for your help on this one thing. But before I ask, I want you to say no if you'd rather not do something like this.
[ guren is giving him the option to back out, and it’s tempting. he doesn’t like the idea of going against whatever ryo has planned, even though it’s actively harmful for guren.
he knows his priorities are a mess, but—he can’t help it. almost more than anyone else here, ryo has sway over him. dextera can even say no to guren, but to ryo?
I want you to see if you can find where he might have it written down. He's not an idiot, so he'd probably expect that you'd look for me, and you shouldn't ask right out...
But if you get the chance to look around his house, I'd appreciate it.
[He knows this is difficult to ask of anyone to do for someone they care about, but selfishly, he wants Dextera to try for him. If not, he'll have to get even craftier himself.]
he can’t imagine how ryo would react, which makes considering it all the more difficult. does ryo trust him? he must, if only a little, but getting caught sneaking around his home would surely break that faith completely.
or—would ryo find it amusing? petty? pathetic? he can still hear that cold regard in the back of his mind, and his stomach twists imagining ryo’s gaze on him if he got what dextera was up to.
for all this confusion, though, he loves guren more than he fears ryo. he can’t guarantee results, and that’s some relief in its own way. if he can’t do it, he’s safe. ]
[It's sincere, and even if he knows Dextera must be struggling with it, he sighs out like he's relieved. Maybe it's cruel to show that, too, but he can't even help it. He's tired.
He brings a hand up to rub at his face. He hasn't slept and this isn't going to help.]
I'll try to find it out myself, in the meantime, or at least work a way around it. If we could find a way to get another one of those wishing coins...
[ it’s abrupt, like he wasn’t really listening to what guren said. ]
If I understood this power…
[ maybe he could be precise enough to fight back guren’s demon for him, without killing him. even if death isn’t permanent here, the idea isn’t one he wants to rely on.
his purification should be perfect for this, but he’s afraid of it. the small things, he can control. he can bat away infections, he can clean things up, but guren’s demon might be too wound in him to purify without hurting guren himself.
Hey. [Guren reaches to take Dextera's chin, lifting it enough to look him in the eyes. He doesn't want him to be so sad. He can see it in his movements, in his expression, the way he signs or writes.]
Don't be sorry. It's my fault that anything is like this to begin with. I'm the one who gave Yuu his weapon, too, knowing exactly what he was.
[He's the one who couldn't stop Mahiru from trying to develop all of this. He couldn't save her, he couldn't stop her from spreading it to him, he couldn't stop himself from giving in to that power and going on a rampage— it goes on.]
[ they could play the blame game all day. if it’s guren’s fault things are like that in his world, for the people around him, then it’s still dextera’s fault that god’s purification is in a vessel that doesn’t know how to handle it.
he doesn’t deserve it, but he has it, and he can’t use it without hurting others. ]
…
[ he forces himself to nod, at least. there’s nothing that could come of arguing. ]
He's still going to make me our supply, so there's no rush, as of right now.
[He frowns a little.] But I know it's not something easy to ask you. But if he really does have a demon, or something else going on with him, then that's a dangerous thing for him to have in only his hands. I'm sorry... and thank you.
[ dextera understands. he doesn’t like it, but he understands—ryo is a threat to himself and others, if it’s a demon, and even if it isn’t. that megalomania wasn’t just some show. ]
[Guren takes one of Dextera's hands and lifts it to his own lips, kissing his fingers softly.]
I promise. I'm doing everything I can.
So let's not worry about those things right now. It's a good thing Yuu's here, too, and he might even be able to shake some sense into Crowley. He has a way with people. Let's just enjoy some time together. There's no one else from your home here, right?
[ dextera doesn’t know how anyone could get crowley to heel, but he’s also aware that he’s the least equipped to do that in any respect. at least yuu and guren have the benefit of knowing him. ]
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[Why does he even bother, honestly. Is he really saving his pride like this?] He's a pain, a slob, and a troublemaker. It's only a matter of time before he causes problems for me, and this time he's in my room.
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And, [ dextera adds, knowingly ] You’re happy about it.
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You want me to kick your ass, too?
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Please don’t.
[ he’s not looking at guren when he signs it, the little shit. ]
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You're an enabler. He doesn't need any bad influences.
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[ no!! guren, that’s so rude.
dextera gasps quietly and wriggles away from guren’s teasing, his hands immediately moving to shove at guren’s hands. for all this, though, he’s still in a good mood. he’s never smiled in his life as much as he’s smiled in this town.
with his hands occupied by pushing guren, he shakes his head in self-defense. he’s not a bad influence! mostly. ]
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He needs the same drug as me, you know. [But, he does have to break the nice mood a little, by saying that quietly as he hugs him.] And more.
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dextera understands why he’s receiving it when guren tells him that, and it is sobering. he wishes it weren’t. ]
More?
[ that’s the worrying part. guren can barely keep himself together as it is. ]
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He’s got more than just a demon in him. That kid’s been experimented on his whole life. He’s what’s called a seraph. It’s an incredible power that I’ve been trying to get him to control— but he’s saying he’s from further in time than me, and he has more control.
I doubt it’s perfect.
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not to mention, a seraph. there are big differences between guren’s world and dextera’s, but anything angelic must be powerful indeed. (it reminds him, too, that sandalphon is probably something they’ll have to address one day or another. dextera doesn’t really want to.) ]
I don’t know if I can help.
[ he offered his purification as a last resort for guren, but demons and seraphs are necessarily different, right? ]
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[He can understand what Dextera must be thinking, and he shuts that down quickly enough.] I can handle him. [Uh, mostly.]
If you get to know him, though, that's the best way you can help him. He already considers you family since I told him you were important. [A pause at that gay comment, and he glances down to their bracelets.]
The biggest worry I have is the drug to help him from being possessed by his demon. Asuka is just about done with the copy of it, but...
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What?
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[Honestly, it's kind of amazing how Guren isn't showing any anger at this at all. It's because he's used to it, and because he's already trying to plan around it.]
I did want to ask for your help on this one thing. But before I ask, I want you to say no if you'd rather not do something like this.
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[ guren is giving him the option to back out, and it’s tempting. he doesn’t like the idea of going against whatever ryo has planned, even though it’s actively harmful for guren.
he knows his priorities are a mess, but—he can’t help it. almost more than anyone else here, ryo has sway over him. dextera can even say no to guren, but to ryo?
he’s helpless. ]
What… do you want me to do?
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But if you get the chance to look around his house, I'd appreciate it.
[He knows this is difficult to ask of anyone to do for someone they care about, but selfishly, he wants Dextera to try for him. If not, he'll have to get even craftier himself.]
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he can’t imagine how ryo would react, which makes considering it all the more difficult. does ryo trust him? he must, if only a little, but getting caught sneaking around his home would surely break that faith completely.
or—would ryo find it amusing? petty? pathetic? he can still hear that cold regard in the back of his mind, and his stomach twists imagining ryo’s gaze on him if he got what dextera was up to.
for all this confusion, though, he loves guren more than he fears ryo. he can’t guarantee results, and that’s some relief in its own way. if he can’t do it, he’s safe. ]
…
[ it’s cruel of ryo to hold it back. ]
I can… try.
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[It's sincere, and even if he knows Dextera must be struggling with it, he sighs out like he's relieved. Maybe it's cruel to show that, too, but he can't even help it. He's tired.
He brings a hand up to rub at his face. He hasn't slept and this isn't going to help.]
I'll try to find it out myself, in the meantime, or at least work a way around it. If we could find a way to get another one of those wishing coins...
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[ it’s abrupt, like he wasn’t really listening to what guren said. ]
If I understood this power…
[ maybe he could be precise enough to fight back guren’s demon for him, without killing him. even if death isn’t permanent here, the idea isn’t one he wants to rely on.
his purification should be perfect for this, but he’s afraid of it. the small things, he can control. he can bat away infections, he can clean things up, but guren’s demon might be too wound in him to purify without hurting guren himself.
if only. ]
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Don't be sorry. It's my fault that anything is like this to begin with. I'm the one who gave Yuu his weapon, too, knowing exactly what he was.
[He's the one who couldn't stop Mahiru from trying to develop all of this. He couldn't save her, he couldn't stop her from spreading it to him, he couldn't stop himself from giving in to that power and going on a rampage— it goes on.]
I can fix it, too. I still have time.
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he doesn’t deserve it, but he has it, and he can’t use it without hurting others. ]
…
[ he forces himself to nod, at least. there’s nothing that could come of arguing. ]
I’ll try to get the notes. Please… be patient.
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[He frowns a little.] But I know it's not something easy to ask you. But if he really does have a demon, or something else going on with him, then that's a dangerous thing for him to have in only his hands. I'm sorry... and thank you.
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I want you… to be safe.
[ that’s all. ]
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[Guren takes one of Dextera's hands and lifts it to his own lips, kissing his fingers softly.]
I promise. I'm doing everything I can.
So let's not worry about those things right now. It's a good thing Yuu's here, too, and he might even be able to shake some sense into Crowley. He has a way with people. Let's just enjoy some time together. There's no one else from your home here, right?
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…
[ he shakes his head, at that question. ]
But… Sandalphon.
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[Of course he did, and of course he was wondering if Dextera had, too.]
What are your thoughts?
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