August Bonding

[sleight_of_hand]

WHO: Tohru Adachi (with some open prompts)
WHERE: Largely Heropa this month
WHEN: Through the month of August
WHAT: The last two months were hell on wheels for Adachi, and he's determined to focus on work getting his schedule back on track.
WARNINGS: None yet.

[ Early Morning | Heropa Streets | Viktor ]
[ Though he had promised he wouldn't be running away from Viktor that... didn't end up being the case. Once the rains had abated and allowed for him to go back home and recover from his cold, the horror of what he did finally set in. He had kissed a drunk man. If said drunk man hadn't been sober enough to push him away... well, he wouldn't have gone that far, but he certainly would have done a little more than just a kiss. How he felt about Viktor was getting way out of hand, and was definitely probably the reason for 90% of his problems. ]

[ Dammit, why did he have to be engaged? Or why did he have to be so free with his affections? This wouldn't be as much of a problem if either of those weren't a thing. Though as soon as such a though occurred to him, he had to smack himself. He wouldn't want to wish Yuuri into non-existence! Nor did he want Viktor to change the kind of person he was; that was part of what made him so damn likable! Why the hell was this so complicated?! ]

[ He knew he couldn't avoid Viktor forever, but he didn't want the chance of running into the others when he did either. So, Adachi opted for meeting him at the early morning workouts he had been missing out on for various reasons over the last couple months; seriously, if he managed to get through this month without any kind of serious injury, he'd be impressed. ]

[ Adachi stood there awkwardly once he approached, not sure what to even say after over a week of avoiding him. He rubbed at the back of his neck, before sheepishly raising his hand in greeting. ]

Y-yo!

[ Nailed it. ]

[ Night | Heropa Ice Rink | Open ]
Why are you still paying for this?

[ Adachi looked up from where he was writing out a check, raising an eyebrow at the ice rink owner. He was "awake" for once, staring up at him from around his "I rather be fishing" hat. ]

Your friends aren't coming around, you know.

[ A sour look came to Adachi's face at that, and he ripped out the check, slapping it down. ]

Just take my money, and let me get my skates.

[ He was out on the ice before long, blades cutting along the surface as he started on his circles, but he wasn't really focused on it. He really didn't need the reminder that the others weren't around that much, that him trying to learn this was probably going to be for nothing. But, dammit, he wanted to do this; there was so much he wanted to say and didn't have a lot of time to say it, or the words to say it. He had to do this now. ]

[ Adachi went drifting from circles to some attempt at a program, not that it was very much of anything. There was still a lot he didn't understand, especially how things were supposed flow together. Anyone that came in would be able to see he made an attempt at trying to understand, though. A small notebook was sticking out from his dufflebag where he dropped it, with the names of moves and positions along with scribbled stick figure drawings giving an idea of what they were supposed to look like. There were a lot of notes on the margins as well, mostly consisting of, "Hands go where!??!?!" ]

[ He's trying at it! A little harder than he tries at anything else at least. ]

[ Private Communication to Persona Users ]
So uh...

I know there's like.

A lot.

That we need to talk about with each other and all that? But uh... we've all got the same power, and we're all more or less on the same side. It's probably best if we at least prepare ourselves to fight like a team if we need to.

So uh

I'm totally up for training with any one of you guys. I need to find a new place to do it now that my old one's been compromised, but we should try to get to know each other's skills better.

[ He really hoped that sounded sincere, because he was definitely trying to be. ]

[ Wild Card ]
[ When Adachi isn't busy with others, he'll be all around the porter cities working various cases for his native clients. He's up for being stopped for just about anything. ]

Comments

[fourlevels]

It would be a problem for me!

[sleight_of_hand]

[ Adachi let out a faint noise, backing off a moment and looking a bit stricken. ]

Y-you're doing it again!

[fourlevels]

[ He blinks at that look. ]

Doing what again?

[sleight_of_hand]

That!

[ So helpful. ]

You can't say things like that! I'm trying to tell you that my feelings for you are out of control and instead of putting up boundaries, you drag me into it instead.

[fourlevels]

They're not out of control, they're just ...

[ A beat. Two more. ]

... Intense? Maybe?

[sleight_of_hand]

[ Adachi grit his teeth, stalking forward until he was standing in front of Viktor, forcing him to lean back to look up at him as he planted his knees against what Viktor was sitting on. He could still escape if he wanted to; it wasn't like Adachi was hard to push or otherwise get around. ]

Do you really think being that intense around me is a good idea?

[ The two of them could be so over dramatic; there was an intense look in Adachi's eyes, almost like he was promising to dip down and kiss him again. ]

[fourlevels]

[ Viktor sits up a little straighter as Adachi approaches with that look on his face, his own eyes widening slightly at the sight. It's not often Adachi would approach him so closely like this (or Yuuri or his family for that matter, maybe it's a Japanese thing?) so it catches him just a little bit off-guard. Once he stops though, even with as close as he is with one leg each between the other's and Viktor having to be the one to look up this time, Viktor relaxes and tilts his head up. He even puts his hands behind him, leaning back on them to create a little more space between them. ]

It's not about being a good idea or not. I just trust you to not to do something to intentionally hurt me, or anyone else for that matter. I just wish that you wouldn't choose to hurt yourself either.

[sleight_of_hand]

[ Well, Viktor was right about one thing; he wouldn't intentionally hurt him. The problem was, Viktor let him get away with a lot of shit that bothered other people, which was why his relationship with Yuuri and Yuri was a problem. He was quiet a moment, before he reached out but immediately hesitated. He looked like he was going to cup his cheek, letting a thumb brush against his lips, but he ultimately decided against it. Instead he shifted his hand to run his fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his face. ]

If I didn't choose to hurt myself, I wouldn't be around you.

[fourlevels]

[ Viktor barely even blinks at the touch, the gesture just making his blue eyes more visible as they look up at Adachi. ]

... Is it really so painful to be around me?

[sleight_of_hand]

[ His eyes were just another part of Viktor that was agonizingly beautiful; the best part, in Adachi's opinion. He could literally lose himself in that gaze if given the time for it; even now he found his hand drifting toward his face even though he had been trying not to do that before, the back of his fingers trailing lightly along his cheek. His gaze darkened, the half lidded gaze he was giving Viktor filled with thing he wanted so much, but he knew he couldn't have and it wasn't fair; at least that's what he kept telling himself anyway. The fact that he knew Viktor was taken and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it was the only thing keeping him from shuffling closer, the leg that was between Viktor's pressing a little harder against what he was sitting on. ]

Pretty sure I've told you how hard it is often enough already.

[fourlevels]

[ Only then does Viktor pull away the slightest bit, pulling back just far enough so that Adachi's fingers aren't touching his cheek anymore. It's not an outright rejection though; just giving a little more space between them. ]

But there's a good side to it too, right? It's no just pain?

[sleight_of_hand]

[ Adachi's hand stayed where it was, his expression not changing. ]

...it's nice while I'm with you. You're like a warm presence that makes everything better. You're so soft to touch, and waking up knowing I was curled up next to you all night after... what happened, was the happiest I had been in awhile.

[ He finally let his hand drop then, and he backed away, the hurt coming back to his face. ]

...but then reality sets in.

[fourlevels]

[ His expression falls when Adachi's does. ]

Tohru ...

[sleight_of_hand]

[ Adachi let out a soft sigh, taking a step back. ]

...sorry. I shouldn't have dumped this on you; I should have just stayed away, but it didn't feel right to not apologize.

[fourlevels]

[ He sits back up straight once Adachi steps back. ]

You're not dumping on me. It's sharing, between friends.

[sleight_of_hand]

Fine then, I'm sharing something that's more than you need to deal with, especially now that it's August.

[ He paused at that, absently rubbing at the back of his neck. ]

Isn't the season starting soon?

[fourlevels]

What does the month have anything to do with—

[ He pauses. ]

... Oh, you mean the skating season?

[sleight_of_hand]

What else would I mean? You're still going to compete, aren't you?

[fourlevels]

If we can. We haven't exactly been training as we normally would for a season, not with everything that's happened here.

[sleight_of_hand]

[ ...right. A lot of which was his fault. Adachi shrank back at that, the guilt immediately crossing his face. ]

Y-you should get back at it! I-I mean... y-you guys don't need ice to practice, right?

[fourlevels]

[ What, why with the guilty look?? Viktor almost stands back up while Adachi moves. ]

Sure we need it. Just because we can use our powers to skate without ice doesn't mean it's the same kind of skating we do on the ice.

[sleight_of_hand]

[ Adachi took another step back, clearly ready to retreat. Because seriously, he was the one taking their time away. He was the one that had ended up in the hospital so many damn times. ]

W-well, get back there! I mean, I'm paying for those passes for a reason, you know; so you can use them!

[fourlevels]

[ He does stand now, that look getting more and more concerning as Adachi backs up. ]

You're using it too though, I thought?

[sleight_of_hand]

Well, yeah, but I'm not the one that does this for a living. What about all those sponsors? What would they think if you had all this time to get ready and backed out?

[ Dammit, he should have thought more about what he was doing and how it would affect Viktor. He never wanted to intentionally hurt him, but it seemed like that happened anyway... ]

[fourlevels]

Ah, since most of them were imPorts themselves, they'd probably understand.