[ OPEN? CLOSED? ] as you die, you will understand.

[passio]

WHO: dextera + others! i’m open to anyone but please tell me by PM or at pavaal if they haven’t had at least like, one conversation.

WHAT: dextera forces himself to face all the people he bailed on after dying.

WHERE: the town!

WHEN: forward dated to late june, and probably the 1st and 2nd of july.

WARNINGS: death death death

[ for the first time, dextera wakes up from death to a sky that isn’t red. it’s all as grey as the world around him, and slowly, the memories return to him—the bogeyman, his brother, the feeling of his very soul being taken from his body. then, there’s a long expanse of nothing. now, his consciousness has returned.

he keeps out of the way at first in this sketchy body, staying private, staying safe with a friend he’s sure won’t tell—there are things he’s not ready to talk about, and faces he’s not ready to see. after a few days have passed, though, and his features reform, color returns, and his voice continues to stay just out of reach, he can finally be seen around town again.

he saw the post. he knows guren announced his death. he’s just hoping that no one will ask about it, if they see him. ]

...

[ as ever, he's silent. ]


( i'll be posting closed prompts in the comments for people who want them, otherwise... go HOG WILD. )

Comments

[apocalypticist]

I was flung through a glass window.

[ Which kind of sucked tbh, but at least Josuke took care of the worst of the cuts, and now his own healing factor has ensured that all that's left of his remaining injuries are thin lines that will disappear completely before the day is over. ]

The impact with the wall should have broken my neck. [ Or the glass shards should have severed an artery, made him bleed out. ] It didn't.

[passio]

[ hearing that gets the first open display of emotion on dextera’s face since he showed up here, but even that seems subdued. his eyes widen slightly, lips parting in surprise, but ryo is clearly fine now. whether that was the amulet or something else, dextera is glad that he handed it over.

ryo would have died without it, and that would be much worse than dextera meeting the same fate. ]

I’m relieved.

[apocalypticist]

[ Ryo is glad too, because dying does not sound like a good time, even if it isn't permanent. ]

I'm going to make breakfast. Do you drink coffee?

[passio]

[ the one-two punch of worrying about ryo and then having ryo offer him sustenance is almost too much. this, at least, is not something the archangel would ever do for him.

dextera would frankly drink poison if ryo gave it to him in a cup and told him to take it. ]

…I don’t know. [ a helpless little shake of his head, as he watches ryo, which is his way of saying that he doesn’t remember if he’s ever had coffee before. ]

[apocalypticist]

[ that moment when satan is nicer than the archangel... ]

I see. [ that usual disinterest of his is seeping into his voice and without saying else, he turns to leave the bedroom. he knows what dextera means; he was in that position when he was younger, when akira asked him if liked shaved ice and all he could do was shrug his shoulders.

he debates whether to give dextera some room temperature water instead of potentially wasting coffee beans on someone who won't appreciate it, but eventually settles on making coffee for the both of them while preparing breakfast.

a little later, he reappears in the doorway. ]

Breakfast's ready.

[passio]

[ luckily for dextera, kaoru has slipped away to spend time with shiho, and there’s no harm in him stepping out of ryo’s room to try to eat something, to drink the coffee that’s wafting through the open door.

he picks himself up off the ground, and follows ryo. ]

Thank you.

[apocalypticist]

Don't mention it.

[ he leads dextera into the kitchen where breakfast is waiting for them—it's nothing complicated and consists of fruit, red snapper, and coffee. the coffee has a pleasant floral aroma, but tastes a tad too bitter since he doesn't have a coffee machine here and jenny usually handles the coffee for him, so he hasn't nailed the art of brewing coffee correctly. there are sweet and fruity flavor notes amid that bitterness, though.

he takes a seat and starts by bringing his cup of coffee to his lips. ]

Finca El Injerto is one of the most expensive coffees in the world.

[passio]

[ dextera looks over the food, and really, if he eats anything it’s going to be the fruit. he’s not especially hungry this morning, though—death has taken a toll on his appetite, which is usually surprisingly vast for the type of person he seems to be. ]

…?

[ he mirrors ryo by lifting the coffee cup as well, but he sniffs it first—it smells delicious, and there’s just the slightest darkening of his body, most obvious in his hair. from the scent alone, some color has returned. it’s sweet, almost like caramel, and dextera would like to taste it… but he’s following ryo’s lead here. ]

[apocalypticist]

[ ryo blows on the liquid to cool it, watching the ripples chase across the surface before taking the first sip. ]

It's bitter. [ ...just letting dextera know so he's aware of this. ] I'm not very good at making coffee—I usually leave that to my secretary.

[passio]

[ bless him.

dextera takes a sip as well, and he tenses—even with ryo’s warning, he expected something sweet, but the aftertaste… is actually nice. he can tell what it’s supposed to taste like, or what it would taste like with a more skilled hand.

even so, this kind of thing humanizes ryo, and with dextera feeling the way he does, there’s a mostly polite underreaction to the less-than-perfect preparation. he shakes his head, setting the cup on the table. ]

My first time. [ so… ] It’s “normal.”

[ not knowing anything else, for him, this is what coffee tastes like—whether it’s well-done or not, he wouldn’t be able to tell if ryo hadn’t told him. ]

[apocalypticist]

Of course. You have no frame of reference for what it's supposed to taste.

[ another sip, this one longer than the previous one. the bitterness doesn't bother him when he's never cared much for the flavor, only the benefits of caffeine, but he prefers the way jenny makes coffee. her coffee is familiar, part of his daily routine. ]

If Jenny shows up, perhaps I'll have her make a cup for you.

[passio]

[ the archangel has a secretary, too. it’s a thought that occurs only in passing, especially when ryo seems fond of jenny for whatever “fond” looks like on him, but dextera notes it all the same. ]

”Perhaps.”

[ dextera should be flattered, and he is—but there’s something holding him back, too. it’s nothing ryo has done or said, and in fact has nothing to do with ryo at all, but it’s a notably underwhelmed reaction from dextera who so often hangs on ryo’s every word.

later, he’ll think about this conversation, and appreciate it more. ]

Thank you.