you and all your vibrant youth

[lempereur]

WHO: Yusuke + various
WHERE: Around! Mostly Heropa probably
WHEN: July
WHAT: stuff and thangs
WARNINGS: Mild self-harm and death talk in the Yuri thread, general teen crimes?
NOTES: This is a catch all for promised starters but feel free to tag in with your own! Or hmu and I'll make you one too!

Comments

Yuri;

[lempereur]

[ Heropa 15, front yard. Yusuke is sitting on the grass, pale, thin limbs mostly bare, just shorts and a tank top in the muggy Florida heat. He's playing with a box of matches, lighting them and holding them in front of his face, staring at the flame until it crawls down the stick and burns his fingers. Still, he holds onto it, watching, breathing through his mouth, as the tiny flames take what they can of his fingertips. Which he needs, for his art, and therefore to live. Also eat.

But he does it again, and again, and again. Maybe there's a better way to go about this he hasn't thought of? ]

[beautiful_monster]

[ A shadow blocks out the sun, and there's Yuri leaning down to pinch out the latest flame before it reaches Yusuke's fingertips again. He lets out a low hiss and resists the urge to immediately stick his singed fingers in his mouth. ]

What the hell is this?

[lempereur]

[ Ah, yes. Sitting in the shade, how wonde--hey!!

Yusuke looks up at him, still seemingly lost in thought. To his credit(?), he at least suffers quietly. ]

Exposure therapy. I suppose.

[beautiful_monster]

[ Yuri frowns and sits down with a soft thud, chewing on his lower lip for a moment. ]

...I don't think you're supposed to hurt yourself if you want it to work.

[lempereur]

I'm not sure how it's supposed to work.

[ Which is obvious by the cup of matchsticks at his side, burnt down to the nubs. ]

I can control it, and the danger is negligible. Do you think I should try something bigger?

[beautiful_monster]

Not if you're going to try to touch it anymore. [ He sifts through the pile of used matches with an irritated huff. ] How long have you been at this?

Yusuke's house in Heropa

[andtherevolution]

[KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK guess who it is? It's Utena, with a tote bag full of... something. What could that something be??? You won't find out til you open up, buddy!]

[lempereur]

[ Yusuke isn't there right away, he has to peek through the upstairs window first, since he isn't expecting anyone, and people close enough to drop by unannounced would have just walked in. It only takes him a second, even among imPorts, there aren't very many people with long, beautiful, pink hair. ]

Utena?

[ He'll be right down! ]

What a lovely surprise. How can I help you?

[andtherevolution]

I've got a surprise! Here, take a look at this.

[She shoves her hand down into her tote bag, and pulls out a handful of coupons. Utena waves them around a bit, and the sound of paper shuffling around shows that there's more where this came from]

I got these from a lady I do yard work for - she wasn't using them, and I figured you could use some. Now you have no excuse not to get any groceries.

[HINT HINT, MISTER STARVING ARTIST]

[lempereur]

[ Yusuke stares at her, his face a blank slate, for several seconds too long. ]

You came to lift me out of poverty.

[andtherevolution]

Well...

[She deflates, and gives a sheepish little smile]

...to be honest, it's more like I'm lifting us out of poverty.

[The coupons were a pity gift and she knows it, but maybe if she spreads the pity around a little bit, her pride won't be so wounded]

[lempereur]

I am quite healthy, thank you.

[ Which doesn't mean he won't take them. Just that he doesn't need them. ]

Hajime;

[lempereur]

[ Hajime may or may not have noticed Yuri and his boyfriend making a bonfire in their backyard last night. Maybe he even hung out during, I don't know, timelines! Regardless, Yusuke's fingers are all burnt up, from his own doing. He's rubbed some ointment on them, but given that he needs to use his hands for things (oww. oww. oww.) they keep rubbing off. He tiptoes downstairs in the morning, looking for something to eat, and finds Hajime instead. ]

Good morning.

[ He greets the younger boy with a tired smile, reaching to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He knows Viktor keeps buying the cereal he likes, he wonders if there's any left... ]

[looseleaves]

[ Hajime hadn't been able to share in their bonfire, having been exhausted. Now that school was officially out, his voice acting and music career had picked up much more speed. He rarely got home before it was late. But he at least was able to say hi before he slept.

Yawning to himself, Hajime cooks on his own this morning, fashioning a more traditional breakfast for himself. He's long since given in to the American palette on busier mornings, but today is the first day of his break, so a taste of home is nice. ]

Morning~ did you sleep well?

[lempereur]

[ yusuke is blessed to live with Shinji, who brings the smells and tastes of home to his Florida kitchen on the regular. Still, the smell of grilled fish makes him perk up. ]

No, I did not.

[ He rejects scripted small talk, apparently. The artist raises his hands where Hajime can see them. ]

I burned myself. Burnt fingernails smell worse than burnt hair.

1/2

[looseleaves]

Ah~ that's too bad... it was--

2/2

[looseleaves]

Eh?!

[ Wait, did he just say burned? He drops his hand from where he'd been rubbing at his eyes and stares at Yusuke's hand, pushing his pan off of the heat and reaching to take his hand. ]

Did you burn yourself making that fire...?! How long has it been like this?

[lempereur]

[ Yusuke sighs, defeated, knowing by now that telling Hajime not to fuss is a waste of time. Still, it's not like it's bad. Compared to what he's been through before, anyway. It just looks gross? ]

No, this was before the fire, mostly. Just yesterday afternoon.

[looseleaves]

'Mostly'...

[ He lets out a soft, displeased noise--clearly not liking this information, but... he also examines the injury carefully. He grips Yusuke's hand a little tighter as he takes a deep breath and sings quietly. ]

♪ Aim for the best, to go on a never-ending journey... it's surely proof that we're living... ♫

[ His powers go to work. Ah... he's really been out of practice since they stopped and he got busy, isn't he? The dim blue glow that usually would surround him won't show up... should he be worried about that?

He really doesn't know enough about powers to wonder if he should be or not. Instead he lets out another breath and drops his hands from Yusuke's when it's healed, though he looks skeptical, as if it might still hurt. ]

Viktor;

[lempereur]

Viktor! Perfect, I'm glad I've found you.

[ Yusuke, you're in Viktor's living room, it's not unexpected. Still, he's making a big entrance, long strides towards him until he's close enough to snatch the remote and turn the television off. He's going to need the man's full attention. He has a smudge of paint on his cheek. French Ultramarine. Don't mind it. ]

How long have you and Katsuki-san been together, uninterrupted?

[fourlevels]

Ah, you came through the front door this time ... ?

[ Not that he expects a reply to his off-handed question, taking in his sudden appearance pretty much in stride and easily giving up the remote. It just looked like some sports channel—was that the World Cup? Anyway. ]

How long? You mean here, since his last arrival?

[lempereur]

[ He knows how to use doors, okay? The window is just more romantic. Or something. Yuri thinks he looks cool, and that's what matters. What matters right now, however, is that Yuri isn't home. ]

Either here, or back in your world, before you came here. Whichever is longer.

[fourlevels]

[ Viktor looks up towards the ceiling, rubbing the back of his head while he thinks. ]

Maybe ... a year? Or are you asking about being officially together so the months where we were getting closer as coach and student don't count? Maybe it's actually been longer here than it's been at home??

[ He makes a face, looking back down at Yusuke with the beginnings of a panicked-sort of surprise as he comes to the realization. ]

I don't actually know! We don't really have an anniversary either. [ He gives a small dramatic gasp. ] Isn't that a bad thing?!

[lempereur]

Romantically, I mean.

[ Viktor, no! Yusuke shares the same dramatic gasp, and moves to sit beside him, his hand raised next to his mouth. ]

You have to have an anniversary! Even if this place ruins the timeline, you still have to have one!

oops, this was lost in my inbox sry

[fourlevels]

[ He turns towards Yusuke as he sits next to him, fully sharing in the drama as it evolves. ]

Even "romantically" is hard to define! Maybe when we first kissed in China? Does that count?