Floor 1, Room 3

[jokey]

AKIRA

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[revengier]

[ Yes, it would. But Akira knows just how straightforward Kurapika is by now, doesn't he? ]

So you have them where you're from as well?

[ Interesting... ]

I'd never heard of them.

[ Which means he doesn't know how to use chopsticks either, so he takes out a fork instead. This is how you do this, surely. ]

[jokey]

Yup. You said Yamato taught you, yeah? We're both from Japan.

[No need to get into the particulars of their Japans technically being different Japans. Akira notes the fork and hrms.]

Most people carry bento for lunch to school or work. Usually, making someone else a bento like this is...

[uh]

...A nice thing to do. Very nice. Thanks.

[revengier]

[ Japan, huh? Their names are similar in the way the vowels and consonants shape the sounds of their names, so it makes some level of sense.

...

He looks up from his bento and fixes Akira with a stare. ]

Say what you mean.

[ Or at least, don't trip over your words so easily. If Akira wants to sneak past Kurapika, he'll need to learn how to not fumble so badly. ]

[jokey]

[Akira leaaaans in nice and slow, voice dropping low...]

You really want to know...?

[revengier]

[ He doesn't match Akira's energy, no, but he doesn't back away either. He stares right into Akira's eyes, Akira's own face reflecting in the fake glasses that Kurapika has pushed up to sit atop his own head. ]

I wouldn't ask if I didn't.

[jokey]

[Akira leans back and holds up three fingers.]

There are three people you make bento for: yourself, your child, or the boy you have a crush on.

[Did Yamato tell him that part?]

[revengier]

[ Hell no, because he didn't tell Yamato why he wanted two (presumably). Trying not to flush, he immediately bats at Akira's hand. ]

...

[ Ugh, ugh, he doesn't know what to say. Looking for something to take the heat off of himself, Kurapika spears one of the octodogs and shoves it into Akira's mouth. ]

[jokey]

It's a lot to take in, I know. Ours is a refined and complex cultu—

[Oh. His mouth has been weenie'd. Munch munch munch...]

Anyway, why are you using a fork? You're supposed to eat bento with chopsticks.

[revengier]

[ He frowns at how quickly Akira recovers from that. Ugh. He should've flailed around, not immediately gone back to talking.

With a sigh, he waves around his fork. ]

...I don't know how to use them.

[ Do you really think he's going to come out here and look like an idiot for Akira's entertainment? No. ]

[jokey]

[Why does Akira perk up after hearing that?]

I can teach you.

[revengier]

[ And that's the million dollar question, isn't it? Although, Kurapika has a feeling why Akira perks up, and he bites back a sigh. ]

...Alright. Go ahead.

[jokey]

[yessssSSSSSSSSSSSS,]

It takes some practice, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy.

[Akira picks up his chopsticks and shows his hand to Kurapika.]

You hold them like this. Give it a try.

[revengier]

[ He did bring an extra pair, so... Kurapika takes those out and tries to mimic Akira's hand positioning. He's got it mostly, but it's still a little bit off. ]

[jokey]

Almost. If you hold it like that, your hand'll cramp.

[Pardon the reach around, but it's necessary to correct Kurapika's chopstick posture. Akira unwinds his arms from around Kurapika immediately after. Don't get mad!]

[revengier]

[ Oh.

He isn't mad, not at all, but he does tense. It's a more visceral kind of tensing up than when Akira showed him how to cut carrots, and it takes him a second or two longer than he'd like to relax. ]

Thanks. That's much better.

[ Despite everything, his hand really does feel more comfortable in this position. ]

[jokey]

[...Still tensing up like that, huh? No, it's a bit different this time. Different in a way Akira can feel better than he can describe, feeling that tension cling to him and affect him just the same. Even 'uncomfortable' doesn't quite describe it.]

Sure. I noticed you had that habit. Tensing your hands, I mean.

[revengier]

[ For a long moment, Kurapika doesn't say anything. He stares at the chopsticks in his hands, pulling them apart and pressing them together with his fingers a few times. ]

And when would you have noticed that? Just now?

[ Or when he tried to chop carrots or peel potatoes. Or was it when they kissed? ]

[jokey]

You want my honest answer?

[He noticed it when they kissed. He noticed it on their mission. He noticed it in the way he hacked up those carrots.]

It's been obvious from the start.

[Somehow, he questions how much Kurapika will appreciate that answer. No one wants to think their bad habits, however minor, are immediately noticeable.]

[revengier]

[ ...He doesn't like being noticed like this. Since when did Akira get so perceptive? (The truth is, he always has been.)

Maybe it's those stupid fake glasses. ]

Explain.

[jokey]

Man, you're intense.

[Was Kurapika born with a stuck up his ass, or did he stumble somewhere along the way and get it lodged up there? Akira can't contain a smile, though he does manage to swallow back a laugh, scooping up a bit of rice to pop into Kurapika's mouth while he explains himself.]

You're a very honest person. That's all there is to it. You try to distance yourself from your true feelings, but you're not a natural-born liar. Sound about right?

[revengier]

[ He stumbled along the way... Akira better be sad when he finds this out.

Kurapika frowns around the rice in his mouth, leveling Akira with a half-hearted glare before he swallows it. ]

I don't like liars.

[jokey]

[He's allowed to be sad. He's also allowed to want better for someone like Kurapika.

Akira grabs a bit of rice for himself and brings his chopsticks to his mouth. A bit of Kurapika's warmth still lingers on the tips.]

Does anyone? I think you meant to say "liars piss me off and infuriate me. I want to whip them until they bleed with my badass bling."

[revengier]

[ He picks up one of the apples in his own bento and chews on it... maybe a little angrily, but let's not sweat the details here. ]

I don't like being physically violent, you know.

[jokey]

No one said anything about liking violence. Being hot-blooded lends itself to that sort of thing.

[Apple bunnies are so cute, aren't they? He's always favored the color red. Akira pops one into his mouth.]

You do things you don't like because you feel like you have to. Right?

[Kurapika's a stubborn guy, after all.]

[revengier]

[ That Akira goes for one of the apple slices with more red on it doesn't escape his notice, and he averts his gaze back to his own food. ]

We all do things we don't like because we have to, Akira. That's the nature of the world.