[Eventually the block stocks around when Akechi actually returns home after a day of whatever-the-hell he was off to do. No sights of Ren or Yusuke, so he can sneak into his room and stay there until morning.]
[ That would be because Yusuke is out in search of art supplies to replace those he already used on the canvases littering the common area. Ren sort of gave him free reign, being that there really isn't room for storage anywhere else in the apartment. And wherever Ren is, it's not in the common area, though Akechi could check through the ajar door to the dominant's room, but then he might see things that he can't unsee.
Either way the mystery will be solved once Akechi does sneak into the guest room because there Ren Amamiya will be, placidly sitting cross-legged on the made bed. ]
Hm?
[ Sensing movement, Ren glances up from the crossword book he'd been worrying over, the crease in his brow easing as relief lightens his countenance. Sighing softly, Ren straightens up and in the morning light the motion emphasizes the contrast of the dark blue dressing robe that he's wearing, stark on his pale skin. As are the small cluster of hickies lining his neck. ]
Looks like that plan is clearly out of the picture.]
Had you been expecting someone else? Don't worry, I won't be here for long.
[He pretends to look busy as he searches his drawers for proper clothing like it had been his intention from the beginning, eyes briefly crossing paths with Ren's...then down his neck. Time to think about finding a shady hotel somewhere in the down and staying there for a bit. At least until they can get this crass display of whatever out of their systems.]
[ It's flat, tone brooking no argument. Of course he's not waiting for anyone else, this is your room his expression says. Ren likes to push Akechi's buttons but he's always respected this room as his and never invited himself or anyone else into it.
Not that Akechi would give him an inch by acknowledging it, leaving it to lay there between them. Instead Ren follows where Akechi's eyeline leads and - ah. Well.
There's a subtle rolling of eyes while Ren hikes the robe's collar up and let's the crossword puzzle book drop to the bedspread. ]
What, you disappear for a few days and I'm supposed to clear your drawers out? C'mon, detective, ignorance doesn't become you.
[Of course he's got a barb retort just waiting for him to snap back. Ren's not the only one rolling his eyes. Not even acknowledging the first answer he continues to take out a few more clothes, not even sure he he'll fit everything before leaving. Is this a coward's way out? Honestly, he's never seen it this way. He's just minimizing the interactions and keeping things professional. "A bit" seems to be growing into "longer" in his mind the more he puts the folded laundry on top of each other.
If Ren won't clear them, then maybe he will. It's petty and he knows it. Yet he's played this entire song-and-dance before.]
I heard that the Pope was converting to Buddhism, too.
[ And for a while he lets the annoyance dig at him just as surely as Akechi is giving himself over to his petty fit. It's fine. This is a delayed but necessary conversation and it's happening, but at the same time...
The room is quiet for several long seconds while Ren thinks about Akechi's question, and after he speaks like he's sounding out the truth as he discovers it. ]
I expected to be able to talk to you. Or maybe wanted to expect it. I admit to being an optimist from time to time.
[The drawer is closed with a movement of finality in his own time. Maybe just a few seconds after Ren asked, but so Akechi could prove that he wasn't shackled by him, their contract withstanding. A gloved hand runs against the piece of furniture before he stands around.]
Alright.
[Good news, he's not trying to kill him, looking more defeated and empty than the usual brimstone fire of anger.]
[ And it sounds weak to his own ears, but when he's given no ground to make an argument on then Ren will have to painstakingly build it brick by brick.
Really what Ren thought he would get is an out and out fight - Akechi is the one that demands duels for the right or refusal to a contract. Akechi never leaves things to lie, never goes easy on either of them, never lets up on Ren on making him argue for what he wants.
The last thing that Ren thought he would get instead is the tired look in Akechi's face. The moment comes and Ren can't do enough to stifle his surprise completely, a telltale widening in his grey eyes. Maybe that's why Ren slopes down for familiarity instead, trying to explore this rare cessation of hostilities. ]
That's another big change. [ A tiny smile lives and dies within a breath's length. ] I just didn't want you to leave... -
[ The way "leave" plateaus is too high not to then expect a follow up, but as he speaks it Ren finds that he doesn't have more to add to the sentence. He looks rueful. It's never been about what Ren wants, has it. ]
Actually I should probably say I wasn't going to ask you to leave. This is your place too, and I don't really care whether a contract says so or not.
[A compliment? An insult? Maybe it's both. Typical of Akechi. He looks at Ren oddly confused at his reaction. Even second-rate detective assassins gets tired sometimes. He crosses his arms before speaking, almost as if setting up a divide between them.]
If you were expecting brimstone and fire, then I'm about to disappoint you. I'm not going to fight for you.
[He's not sure how Ren even begins to see this; can he have the both of them, eat his cake and have another one too? Is he just that damn replaceable? Whatever. He doesn't know. All he knows that if one of his shitty friends shows up, the rest will probably begin to pour out of this world's ears, mouths, and nose, and he doesn't want to be around when the entire brigade shows up, ready to ride him.]
Contract withstanding, they wouldn't let me live here if I didn't have one. [...but at least they are talking, and he hasn't left yet. It's harder than he thought, when it's not just annoyance and anger controlling his emotions.] I'm trying to make things easier for you. Why don't you understand?! Now you won't have to worry about having to choose, or who might get the most of your attention. Stop being so pathetic about it.
[Like a bullet aimed at the ship's emergency device, he seems to have decided to stupidly set himself up to be a sacrifice. Or maybe that's his 'gift' to him in his twisted mind. Even if he finds himself hating it. ]
Ren doesn't want to have both of them or have Goro fight for him or whatever scenario he's built up in that dumb superbrain of his.
Idiot.
For the sake of keeping his cool Ren lets him talk without interruption. The temple at Kichijoji comes to mind while he does, Ren breathing deep, trying to find that central truth within him even though attempts at finding enlightenment or whatever have a less than zero chance at succeeding. He thinks he mostly wants to find that liminal space where he and Goro do agree, they do want to keep sharing a flat, but he's making it so difficult for no reason that Ren can see.
Is Yusuke really that much of an obstacle? No one stopped Akechi from coming and going as he pleased back home, or in Maruki's world. Where has that gone, or are things so different here? ]
And Dominants can have as many contracts as they want; why wouldn't I use that to help either of you?
[ Point one: using your privilege for doing good in this fucked up place. It's been Ren's intent from the start to leverage his status and work outside of their laws besides. Or did Akechi forget that he's a Phantom Thief and he doesn't give a damn about their rules? He'll get around them or work the system, one way or another.
As to point two...
Ren rolls a tuft of hair between his fingers, an unhappy tilt to his mouth. "Making it easier", huh? ]
I understand that you didn't ask me. You just decided that I'd be happier without you.
[ Is there such thing as calm anger? That seems to be what Ren's voice has taken on, a firmness that wholly rebuffs the insinuations being flung at him. His hand drops into his lap with muted frustration as Ren keeps his gaze level, fingers picking a the hem of the robe. ]
So if I don't get what I want by you leaving, and you don't get what you want by leaving, why leave?
[He leans against the drawers now, looking annoyed. Maybe half-hoping that Ren would kick him out, or whatever. He's not sure what he wants anymore.]
Now you're putting words in my mouth. I never said you'd be happier without me. [Although thank you for that tidbit.] I know you well enough...you're the type whose heart bleeds for everyone. The type of person that makes my blood boil. Everything, everyone comes naturally to you.
[Sounds like a broken record. Nothing really new to see here, just pure undiluted jealousy. He doesn't even bat down to Ren's calm anger.
But now he has no answer. So he becomes quite in his fuming trying to find something that sounds as hurtful as possible. Yet can't bring himself to say anything.]
If it will make you happier... [It will make Akechi happier.] ...I'll think about it. [He wants to come back, but the underlying reason comes forth;] Maybe by the time I do, the both of you will have it out of your system.
[ How does he explain that he can't turn it off? Should he remind him that Shido completely derailed his life too, or does that sound too much like comparing apples to apples? Ren's voice is soft, unsure of what he can say. ]
Nothing comes easy. I just choose to take it on. I don't know why you read it solely as charity when I'm being as selfish as you are sometimes.
[ Akechi is his. Yusuke is his. The rest is just window dressing, as far as Duplicity is concerned.
So Ren won't let his guard down yet just because Akechi gives an inch. A centimeter. He doesn't want conflict to define every aspect of his relationship with Akechi but the detective does make that difficult to accomplish.
He thanks Akechi and slides out of the bed to come around to the foot, standing opposite of Akechi. Merely watching, considering the venom that Akechi spit over his and Yusuke's... nighttime activities. ]
You've spent half a year unconcerned about who I was with because you knew I'd come back to you. What's different now?
[ The fact that he has an existing connection to Yusuke? That Yusuke will live here too?
Is he afraid that Ren will love one more than the other, or is not putting Akechi first that much of a threat?
He gets the feeling that he'll be rejected, but Ren still takes half a step forward and reaches his hand out toward Akechi's crossed arms, seeking. ]
[He does have a tendency to make worst for everyone (what a quality). He almost snorts when Ren wants to come closer to him, rolling his eyes at his next words. Really? Does he not even see it?]
I can't believe you are that blind. You, who tried to make me jealous during one of our billiards game...[because don't think he ever forgot]...I'm not stupid. With Yusuke, well that's different isn't it?
[Got it in one shot Ren, even if Akechi does not realize it. His arms are still crossed, unwilling to give him an inch even if he is coming closer.]
[ The billiards game? What does that have to do with this? At this moment Ren is more owl than man, looking blankly as he casts his mind back. ]
That was...
[ For fun he wants to say. Months on and Ren recalls it in a blur of games and drinks and smiles and games, and never did he think that any of the darkness shown had real purchase inside Akechi. They were shallow wounds, kissed better by the mouth that bit him. Reassurances, because Ren never said as much and neither did Akechi but he lov- ]
I'm not trying to trick you.
[ His fingers flex, then curl against the other boy's skin, daring to take another half step forward. He does, Ren really does believe in what he's saying, and as his heart lays beside Yusuke it also beats close to Akechi's. ]
Okay, Yusuke's different. What's that change my feelings for you?
[ Has he been this forward with the truth before? Hm. If he did he doesn't think Goro believed him. Maybe it was a transient thing, a summer rain where he believed it in a moment and rejected when reality reasserted itself.
Ren could press it, he cups it to Goro's face and wills the truth into his brain so that it doesn't overwhelm his heart. All the change that a Phantom Thief could do in this place. ]
Do you really think someone as selfish as me would just let you go?
[Suddenly it all changes. Like a path he didn't realize was there all along, Akechi stays silent for a few seconds as his mind races to catch up with the information he is provided with. To everyone else - a truthful admittance of feelings. To him - an admittance of a weakness. He gets it now. This is why they say emotions can hold so much power. Maybe he likes it too, to be desired and coveted.
So he laughs, as he tends to do when he loses control of a situation. He unlocks his hands, but only so he can briefly run a gloved one under his rival's neck, savouring the moment.]
I can't believe you told me that. Sometimes I truly think you forget who you're dealing with here.
[There's a smile to his face, deranged and unhinged. Never forget that for all the pleasant boy there is to him, the heart of the ultimate trickster god still beats inside of his, and this is his mistletoe branch moment, aimed right at Ren's heart.]
Do you even realize how much power you're giving me?
surprise bitch, I'm trying to get back into the rp swing
[ There's a lot he could point out about that mentality that has long worn thin on Ren: feelings as a weakness, that truth can only hurt your interests - and for that matter, that seeing to your interests above all is inherently correct. Ren's admission hands Akechi power in theory, but from his point of view dragging the easy-to-abuse fact of his (ill-advised) affection for the boy that tried to kill him is defanging it's use against Ren. If it is openly known, the weapon loses its sharp edge.
The neglect Ren shows for his own safety should say enough besides, seemingly unbothered to have a murderer wrap a hand around his throat. Maybe he isn't as safe as he thinks he is. He probably isn't. But it's a gamble Ren is making, staring into the face of madness with the quiet certainty that Ren's instinct is right. ]
[It would be easy just to squeeze his neck, push him away and leave, now that he knew that Ren would possibly chase him to the ends of the earth. Stupid, dumb, Ren. Instead, he can't help himself to say;]
Ren Amamiya, the Sin of Greed weighs heavily on you. Unable to limit yourself to one person, you scour the earth and open your heart to whatever riffraff shows up at your doorstep, ravenousness in your hunger...
[He pauses for a slight dramatic effect.]
What was the rest again? Ahh yes, we will take your distorted desires without fail.
[ A fair conclusion to make. Akechi's tendency to run away from anything emotionally difficult is just as predictable as Ren's stubborn attachment, so he thanks Akechi for saving Ren the exercise at the moment.
Albeit he's somewhat stung by the implication that he can't have more than one person in his heart - bridling arrogance or softhearted foolishness, it hasn't been decided yet - Ren grins at the theatricality, tipping his head with a lazy cat's interest. His airways open up again and Ren breathes, he speaks softly as though to not trip the hair trigger before him. ]
Flattered, I'm sure. Greed? Not gluttony or lust instead?
[ He's just relieved that Akechi seems to have temporarily forgotten about packing up. Ren has a mind to press this advantage, chasing Akechi's retreating touch by pressing his own hand to Akechi's chest and taking a half-step closer. ]
You can't take a heart that's already yours, Goro.
That's what most people expect. I wouldn't qualify your needs as lust, and perhaps gluttony would fit as well, but you don't seem to grab just any old fool either. Therefore, greed seems to be the most fitting sin to pick.
[The distraction works, as he's too proud of himself for having come up with a fake phantom thief card on such a short amount of time. That and...the words are nice to hear, even if he doesn't say anything about that back.]
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Either way the mystery will be solved once Akechi does sneak into the guest room because there Ren Amamiya will be, placidly sitting cross-legged on the made bed. ]
Hm?
[ Sensing movement, Ren glances up from the crossword book he'd been worrying over, the crease in his brow easing as relief lightens his countenance. Sighing softly, Ren straightens up and in the morning light the motion emphasizes the contrast of the dark blue dressing robe that he's wearing, stark on his pale skin. As are the small cluster of hickies lining his neck. ]
There you are.
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Looks like that plan is clearly out of the picture.]
Had you been expecting someone else? Don't worry, I won't be here for long.
[He pretends to look busy as he searches his drawers for proper clothing like it had been his intention from the beginning, eyes briefly crossing paths with Ren's...then down his neck. Time to think about finding a shady hotel somewhere in the down and staying there for a bit. At least until they can get this crass display of whatever out of their systems.]
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[ It's flat, tone brooking no argument. Of course he's not waiting for anyone else, this is your room his expression says. Ren likes to push Akechi's buttons but he's always respected this room as his and never invited himself or anyone else into it.
Not that Akechi would give him an inch by acknowledging it, leaving it to lay there between them. Instead Ren follows where Akechi's eyeline leads and - ah. Well.
There's a subtle rolling of eyes while Ren hikes the robe's collar up and let's the crossword puzzle book drop to the bedspread. ]
What, you disappear for a few days and I'm supposed to clear your drawers out? C'mon, detective, ignorance doesn't become you.
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[Of course he's got a barb retort just waiting for him to snap back. Ren's not the only one rolling his eyes. Not even acknowledging the first answer he continues to take out a few more clothes, not even sure he he'll fit everything before leaving. Is this a coward's way out? Honestly, he's never seen it this way. He's just minimizing the interactions and keeping things professional. "A bit" seems to be growing into "longer" in his mind the more he puts the folded laundry on top of each other.
If Ren won't clear them, then maybe he will. It's petty and he knows it. Yet he's played this entire song-and-dance before.]
I don't know what you expected.
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[ And for a while he lets the annoyance dig at him just as surely as Akechi is giving himself over to his petty fit. It's fine. This is a delayed but necessary conversation and it's happening, but at the same time...
The room is quiet for several long seconds while Ren thinks about Akechi's question, and after he speaks like he's sounding out the truth as he discovers it. ]
I expected to be able to talk to you. Or maybe wanted to expect it. I admit to being an optimist from time to time.
[ ... ]
Can you please shut the drawer and talk to me.
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[The drawer is closed with a movement of finality in his own time. Maybe just a few seconds after Ren asked, but so Akechi could prove that he wasn't shackled by him, their contract withstanding. A gloved hand runs against the piece of furniture before he stands around.]
Alright.
[Good news, he's not trying to kill him, looking more defeated and empty than the usual brimstone fire of anger.]
But I'm afraid I don't have much to say to you.
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[ And it sounds weak to his own ears, but when he's given no ground to make an argument on then Ren will have to painstakingly build it brick by brick.
Really what Ren thought he would get is an out and out fight - Akechi is the one that demands duels for the right or refusal to a contract. Akechi never leaves things to lie, never goes easy on either of them, never lets up on Ren on making him argue for what he wants.
The last thing that Ren thought he would get instead is the tired look in Akechi's face. The moment comes and Ren can't do enough to stifle his surprise completely, a telltale widening in his grey eyes. Maybe that's why Ren slopes down for familiarity instead, trying to explore this rare cessation of hostilities. ]
That's another big change. [ A tiny smile lives and dies within a breath's length. ] I just didn't want you to leave... -
[ The way "leave" plateaus is too high not to then expect a follow up, but as he speaks it Ren finds that he doesn't have more to add to the sentence. He looks rueful. It's never been about what Ren wants, has it. ]
Actually I should probably say I wasn't going to ask you to leave. This is your place too, and I don't really care whether a contract says so or not.
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[A compliment? An insult? Maybe it's both. Typical of Akechi. He looks at Ren oddly confused at his reaction. Even second-rate detective assassins gets tired sometimes. He crosses his arms before speaking, almost as if setting up a divide between them.]
If you were expecting brimstone and fire, then I'm about to disappoint you. I'm not going to fight for you.
[He's not sure how Ren even begins to see this; can he have the both of them, eat his cake and have another one too? Is he just that damn replaceable? Whatever. He doesn't know. All he knows that if one of his shitty friends shows up, the rest will probably begin to pour out of this world's ears, mouths, and nose, and he doesn't want to be around when the entire brigade shows up, ready to ride him.]
Contract withstanding, they wouldn't let me live here if I didn't have one. [...but at least they are talking, and he hasn't left yet. It's harder than he thought, when it's not just annoyance and anger controlling his emotions.] I'm trying to make things easier for you. Why don't you understand?! Now you won't have to worry about having to choose, or who might get the most of your attention. Stop being so pathetic about it.
[Like a bullet aimed at the ship's emergency device, he seems to have decided to stupidly set himself up to be a sacrifice. Or maybe that's his 'gift' to him in his twisted mind. Even if he finds himself hating it. ]
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[ Stubborn asshole.
Ren doesn't want to have both of them or have Goro fight for him or whatever scenario he's built up in that dumb superbrain of his.
Idiot.
For the sake of keeping his cool Ren lets him talk without interruption. The temple at Kichijoji comes to mind while he does, Ren breathing deep, trying to find that central truth within him even though attempts at finding enlightenment or whatever have a less than zero chance at succeeding. He thinks he mostly wants to find that liminal space where he and Goro do agree, they do want to keep sharing a flat, but he's making it so difficult for no reason that Ren can see.
Is Yusuke really that much of an obstacle? No one stopped Akechi from coming and going as he pleased back home, or in Maruki's world. Where has that gone, or are things so different here? ]
And Dominants can have as many contracts as they want; why wouldn't I use that to help either of you?
[ Point one: using your privilege for doing good in this fucked up place. It's been Ren's intent from the start to leverage his status and work outside of their laws besides. Or did Akechi forget that he's a Phantom Thief and he doesn't give a damn about their rules? He'll get around them or work the system, one way or another.
As to point two...
Ren rolls a tuft of hair between his fingers, an unhappy tilt to his mouth. "Making it easier", huh? ]
I understand that you didn't ask me. You just decided that I'd be happier without you.
[ Is there such thing as calm anger? That seems to be what Ren's voice has taken on, a firmness that wholly rebuffs the insinuations being flung at him. His hand drops into his lap with muted frustration as Ren keeps his gaze level, fingers picking a the hem of the robe. ]
So if I don't get what I want by you leaving, and you don't get what you want by leaving, why leave?
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[He leans against the drawers now, looking annoyed. Maybe half-hoping that Ren would kick him out, or whatever. He's not sure what he wants anymore.]
Now you're putting words in my mouth. I never said you'd be happier without me. [Although thank you for that tidbit.] I know you well enough...you're the type whose heart bleeds for everyone. The type of person that makes my blood boil. Everything, everyone comes naturally to you.
[Sounds like a broken record. Nothing really new to see here, just pure undiluted jealousy. He doesn't even bat down to Ren's calm anger.
But now he has no answer. So he becomes quite in his fuming trying to find something that sounds as hurtful as possible. Yet can't bring himself to say anything.]
If it will make you happier... [It will make Akechi happier.] ...I'll think about it. [He wants to come back, but the underlying reason comes forth;] Maybe by the time I do, the both of you will have it out of your system.
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[ How does he explain that he can't turn it off? Should he remind him that Shido completely derailed his life too, or does that sound too much like comparing apples to apples? Ren's voice is soft, unsure of what he can say. ]
Nothing comes easy. I just choose to take it on. I don't know why you read it solely as charity when I'm being as selfish as you are sometimes.
[ Akechi is his. Yusuke is his. The rest is just window dressing, as far as Duplicity is concerned.
So Ren won't let his guard down yet just because Akechi gives an inch. A centimeter. He doesn't want conflict to define every aspect of his relationship with Akechi but the detective does make that difficult to accomplish.
He thanks Akechi and slides out of the bed to come around to the foot, standing opposite of Akechi. Merely watching, considering the venom that Akechi spit over his and Yusuke's... nighttime activities. ]
You've spent half a year unconcerned about who I was with because you knew I'd come back to you. What's different now?
[ The fact that he has an existing connection to Yusuke? That Yusuke will live here too?
Is he afraid that Ren will love one more than the other, or is not putting Akechi first that much of a threat?
He gets the feeling that he'll be rejected, but Ren still takes half a step forward and reaches his hand out toward Akechi's crossed arms, seeking. ]
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I can't believe you are that blind. You, who tried to make me jealous during one of our billiards game...[because don't think he ever forgot]...I'm not stupid. With Yusuke, well that's different isn't it?
[Got it in one shot Ren, even if Akechi does not realize it. His arms are still crossed, unwilling to give him an inch even if he is coming closer.]
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That was...
[ For fun he wants to say. Months on and Ren recalls it in a blur of games and drinks and smiles and games, and never did he think that any of the darkness shown had real purchase inside Akechi. They were shallow wounds, kissed better by the mouth that bit him. Reassurances, because Ren never said as much and neither did Akechi but he lov- ]
I'm not trying to trick you.
[ His fingers flex, then curl against the other boy's skin, daring to take another half step forward. He does, Ren really does believe in what he's saying, and as his heart lays beside Yusuke it also beats close to Akechi's. ]
Okay, Yusuke's different. What's that change my feelings for you?
[ Has he been this forward with the truth before? Hm. If he did he doesn't think Goro believed him. Maybe it was a transient thing, a summer rain where he believed it in a moment and rejected when reality reasserted itself.
Ren could press it, he cups it to Goro's face and wills the truth into his brain so that it doesn't overwhelm his heart. All the change that a Phantom Thief could do in this place. ]
Do you really think someone as selfish as me would just let you go?
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So he laughs, as he tends to do when he loses control of a situation. He unlocks his hands, but only so he can briefly run a gloved one under his rival's neck, savouring the moment.]
I can't believe you told me that. Sometimes I truly think you forget who you're dealing with here.
[There's a smile to his face, deranged and unhinged. Never forget that for all the pleasant boy there is to him, the heart of the ultimate trickster god still beats inside of his, and this is his mistletoe branch moment, aimed right at Ren's heart.]
Do you even realize how much power you're giving me?
surprise bitch, I'm trying to get back into the rp swing
The neglect Ren shows for his own safety should say enough besides, seemingly unbothered to have a murderer wrap a hand around his throat. Maybe he isn't as safe as he thinks he is. He probably isn't. But it's a gamble Ren is making, staring into the face of madness with the quiet certainty that Ren's instinct is right. ]
No more power than you already had.
[ Going to do something with it, Goro? ]
(づ￣ 3￣)づ
Ren Amamiya, the Sin of Greed weighs heavily on you. Unable to limit yourself to one person, you scour the earth and open your heart to whatever riffraff shows up at your doorstep, ravenousness in your hunger...
[He pauses for a slight dramatic effect.]
What was the rest again? Ahh yes, we will take your distorted desires without fail.
[He laughs, releasing the grip.]
How did I do?
[It is like disarming a bomb at this point.]
(´ ε ` )♡
Albeit he's somewhat stung by the implication that he can't have more than one person in his heart - bridling arrogance or softhearted foolishness, it hasn't been decided yet - Ren grins at the theatricality, tipping his head with a lazy cat's interest. His airways open up again and Ren breathes, he speaks softly as though to not trip the hair trigger before him. ]
Flattered, I'm sure. Greed? Not gluttony or lust instead?
[ He's just relieved that Akechi seems to have temporarily forgotten about packing up. Ren has a mind to press this advantage, chasing Akechi's retreating touch by pressing his own hand to Akechi's chest and taking a half-step closer. ]
You can't take a heart that's already yours, Goro.
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[The distraction works, as he's too proud of himself for having come up with a fake phantom thief card on such a short amount of time. That and...the words are nice to hear, even if he doesn't say anything about that back.]