Rabbit 16 [Video]

[fivemilesdeep]

[It's the afternoon after platform. Ryo doesn't look happy - how could he, after what happened at platform? - but he's holding himself together, and he can at least keep calm and manage something close to neutral in front of the ICP.]

I don't know how many of you knew her, but- Persephone left today. She's a goddess of spring, and she did a lot of upkeep in the greenhouse car. It's going to be a lot harder to keep everything growing well without her here, and I could use the help, if anyone wants to lend a hand. You don't have to have plant magic or be good at gardening - you just have to be willing to try.

Thank you.

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[flatteries]

[ Inigo shrugs, though it seems to be in a casually friendly sort of way rather than anything dismissive - especially with the way he still smiles at the other. ]

It's not a problem. I am here all the time already anyway. [ Or, well. Often enough. What's a little more work when Inigo is kind of a workaholic to begin with, especially when there's some pressing need? ] Besides, I think gardening is pretty fun. Don't you?

[ There's a slight pause, but then Inigo drops to let himself sit down, patting the space on the ground next to him. ]

Come on, come sit here with me.

[fivemilesdeep]

I hadn't ever thought about it being fun, but I do enjoy it.

[It's useful, and it's relaxing; more than anything else, at a time when he'd felt - and been - largely unwanted, it had been a relief and a reassurance to see something flourish under his ministrations.]

[There's a pause on his end as well, and then he comes and sits next to Inigo. He doesn't lean on him yet, but he's definitely close.]

[flatteries]

[ There's a moment where Inigo wonders if maybe Ryo doesn't want to lean.

But then he thinks back to them having sat together on a different occasion, a while ago.. and back then Ryo had started to lean against him, hadn't he? So naturally too, without saying anything, like the other guy had just been looking for the comfort. A comfort that Inigo never minds providing, considering how much he, in turn, loves physical touch as well.

So after sitting there for a moment, he moves an arm to wrap it around Ryo's shoulders, tugging a little on the other like he's trying to pull him closer from the side. As if prompting him to just lean on him.

Inigo doesn't mind. ]

Come on, what isn't fun about it? Seeing all those pretty colourful flowers coming up.. that's absolutely the best part! It's like they're all rising out of the ground just to greet you! [ Inigo smiles as he talks, a faint airiness in his words that perhaps doesn't entirely suit the mood of today, but he continues to talk like it all the same. ]

[fivemilesdeep]

[Ryo is, for the moment, content to stay where he is - until Inigo wraps an arm around his shoulder and tugs, just a bit. He recognizes this body language, knows what it means, and-]

[And he wants it too. He blinks as the realization hits, sudden and complete as flipping a switch, and finally leans into Inigo a bit, settling in and listening. He's not surprised that Inigo likes flowers - somehow, that just seems fitting for him.]

That's true - they do take a while to get there, though.

[Weeks for a sprout to fully bloom, though it's well worth it when it gets there. The only time he's seen flowers bloom quickly is in Persephone's hands-]

[His breath catches for a moment, and he turns and buries his face in Inigo's shoulder. This is what he'd been trying to avoid, and it's here anyway.]

[Good thing Inigo is too.]

[flatteries]

[ Even without looking to the side and seeing what Ryo is doing, Inigo can feel it. The way the other turns, burying his head against his shoulder like that. It makes Inigo's hand slowly move up - mostly because he's doing it blindly, and he doesn't want to awkwardly slide it the wrong way if he goes too fast - until it buries itself into Ryo's hair, gently threading through the locks there.

It's a bit of an intimate gesture, sure, but.. well, these always come natural to Inigo. Especially when it's to comfort someone else. He's not shy about it in those moments. ]

You know what the best thing about flowers is though?

[ There's a tiny pause, but he apparently doesn't expect Ryo to answer it, considering Inigo himself seems to continue after a moment. ]

That they always come back again.

[ He's not just talking about the flowers. ]

[fivemilesdeep]

[He'd broken down already today, and he doesn't want to do it again, but here they are - here he is, face buried in Inigo's shoulder and Persephone on his mind, trying to keep a hold on himself, trying to breathe without breaking, and-]

[He listens to the question, casts about for an answer, and-]

[Oh.]

[His breathing steadies, just for a moment, then catches again-]

[They don't come back, and if they come back they don't stay- nobody makes it home- they're all just lost, and there's no guarantee they'll ever see any of them again-]

[He can't keep himself steady. He can't do it.]

[A distraught whine escapes his throat, and he clings to Inigo, shaking despite his best efforts. He's not crying, but he's close.]

[flatteries]

[ Oh, sheesh. Inigo was aiming to help provide some hopeful perspective here, but it seems it had the opposite effect in Ryo. Not that it ought to be too surprising, since the other was already on the verge of being this upset in the first place.

.. maybe the other just has to let it all out first, Inigo thinks. Isn't that often how it works? When you just bury stuff inside the way he does, it usually prevents you from moving on, making you circle back over and over to everything you tried to bury.

So when he hears the other whine and shake like that.. well, he can't be sure if Ryo is crying, but Inigo starts to feel like it might be better if the other does. ]

It's fine. [ He says, zero judgement in his tone.

If anyone is not going to judge other people for crying, it's Inigo "crybaby" Fireemblem. ]

Just let it all out. It's fine.