Floor 1, Room 3

[jokey]

AKIRA

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Comments

[impacter]

Hahahah... I'm joking, Akira, I'm joking. Like whoever your heart follows. I'm just surprised, that's all.

[heeheehee]

Though, your bashfulness the other day was even more of a surprise. Maybe that's what made me think of it.

[Mammon is who he'd consider more of a genuine tsundere, but the blushing and stammering and rapid attempts at protection of the ego? That he could see.]

Should I give you a full point review on your enchantment progress? [But no, no, he waves that off. Please he is so tired don't make him be sensei right now.] It's very good. You know your way around the bitterness of it.

...I think your intentions were very clear from the first sip, too. It's... comforting.

[jokey]

Just surprised? I don't like that answer.

[Hmph!! If you see him puffing out his cheeks and pouting his lips, no you don't. This man is the very definition of hardmode.]

You can play teacher another time. Tonight, we're on an even playing field. We're nothing more than a couple of guys being dudes.

[Can Solomon handle being a normal man for a whole night? This remains to be seen, but Akira has full faith in him. While Solomon finishes his coffee, Akira slugs down the rest of his own in one long pull and scoots back into the kitchen to grab a couple bottles.]

If you can promise not to get all pouty and dramatic again, we'll have a couple drinks. Oh, but if you rat me out, I'll light all your underwear on fire in the courtyard.

[Don't get on his ass for underage drinking. He can and will lodge himself like a very unpleasant thorn in Solomon's ass and everyone will suffer for it.]

[impacter]

Ah ah ah, what did I say about making promises to me?

[It's just barely crossing the line into serious,
but he will tap at his lips with a finger and an impish little smile whenever Akira meets his eyes. If Akira won't tell, then Solomon won't tell.]

Perhaps I should leave the dramatics to you, then? The pout suits you well.

Or will you show a different side of you entirely?

[jokey]

[Akira snaps his fingers. Drat! Not even buzzed enough to make a little promise like that, eh?

But that gesture, impish and sly, conveys all it needs to. Akira's smirk pulls askew, bottles clinking in one hand as he extends the other to offer Solomon a hand up. Those old bones need proper support.]

Who knows? I've only shared drinks with close friends before, and they already know all my secrets.

[All but the few secrets he'd never tell a soul, but if Solomon thinks he's any different... well, they'll just have to see what the evening holds in store for them.]

Shall we?

[impacter]

[Nodding his resignation as he puts his cup aside, Solomon hums through a feigned moment of pause. Mmmmm. Hmm.

Anyway he'll easily take that outstretched hand to pull up to his feet.]

Are you trying to make me do the same? My, what a risky strategy.

[jokey]

[Akira snorts, shaking his head.]

This is the one time I'm not trying to wheedle secrets out of you and you accuse me of doing it anyway. I just want to enjoy my night with good company.

[And he means that too. With Solomon up and on his feet, Akira hands him one of the bottles.]

Is this strong enough for you? If I start heaving, you better hold my hair back.

[Pin his bangs back cutely... but Akira jokes. He doesn't plan on drinking to the point of blacking out. He does need to maintain the veneer of being a responsible young man, especially in front of Solomon. Now then, off they go!]

[impacter]

Can you blame me for that?

[Off they go, Solomon speaking as they stroll.]

Every other time we've spoken you've looked at me as though you wanted to rip something out of me. Tonight, you scold me and stop my drinking, then you drag me to the kitchen, scold me again, plant me down like a toddler, enchant my coffee, and now you're asking to drink again when you were so against it earlier?

[If he wants Solomon to be confused and distracted, then congratulations!]

Part of me has to wonder if you really know what you want here, Akira.

[jokey]

[Solomon, Solomon, Solomon... You're getting too hung up on the details. It's pretty straightforward, Akira thinks, unlocking his door to usher Solomon inside.]

But you're feeling better now, right? If you start getting all mopey again, I'll just take your alcohol away.

[But he takes mild offense to the notion that he doesn't know what he wants. As if to prove his intentions once and for all, Akira takes a knee and sweeps out his arms, pointing directly at Solomon.]

I want you, good sir, and I will not cease until I've swallowed you whole!

[Better watch your back before you get vored, Solomon.]

[impacter]

Mm. Define "better".

[He's distracted, sure, but...




Akira please. What will their parents say..............

He surprisingly looks embarrassed, just briefly, at the continued push of dramatics. But it's only a moment, only the alcohol, the older man waving it off with a crumpled attempt to regain his composure, letting a mocking look of flirtatious shock take its place.]

And what will you do when you've had your taste of me? What a scandal you intend to cause.

[jokey]

[Wh— hold on. He had Solomon going for a minute there, didn't he? Akira saw that. He totally saw that. Let him close his eyes for a moment and commit that look on Solomon's face to memory. He really is much cuter when he's being honest.

Outwardly, Akira won't make a big fuss over it, hopping back to his feet and setting the liquor down on his table. He pads over to kick the door closed and take Solomon by the hand, tugging him further into the recesses of his room and sitting him down on the couch. He's not done forcing Solomon to sit tonight, apparently.]

Why are you so worried about a scandal? I might not look it, but I'm a very private guy. I like to keep my secrets close to my chest.

[...No, he can't completely resist teasing Solomon while he has him right where he wants him. Akira boops the older man's lips with the tip of his finger.]

I'll keep yours, too.

[impacter]

[please stop manhandling grandpa he's fragile in his old age :(

Once again, he lets himself be led, letting his eyes travel the room briefly to get a good look. What sort of things do you keep, in this place of your own making, little thief?

His lips purse slightly under that fingertip, humming as a brow raises.]

Mmhmm, I'm sure that's not the first time you've said that.

[Don't mind him as he just occupies himself with making sure the bottles are actually open. Which one was his again? Eh.]

What sort of secrets do you think I'd have to keep?

[jokey]

[Akira is a keeper of trinkets and knickknacks, his room full of little articles he's picked up in town and found in the wild. A glowing flower here, a hand-sewn stuffed animal there... And across the room, his desk is full of various tools for woodworking and carving. Scattered throughout the space are books on a wide variety of subjects. This room carries traces of Akira in every inch, his hobbies and interests and personal style all but oozing from the wood-and-steel walls.

Flopping down beside him, Akira kicks his feet up and drapes his arms along the backrest. Sorry about your personal space, dude. The bottles are open and waiting to be consumed, but he'll let Solomon take a head start.]

A long life full of stories. Adventures full of drama and intrigue. Misguided ventures in the bedroom.

[Shall he go on?]

Everyone has secrets. They're a lot easier to bear when someone else is carrying their weight.

[impacter]

I wouldn't call much of that a secret. Well... most of it, maybe. But I don't think you care that much about the romantic life of a stranger.

[He tilts one of the bottles back against his lips. He's not a hard drinker, so he doesn't manage very much at all straight like this, wincing with a brisk exhale as it goes down.]

I do wonder, though, why it is you keep insisting my life is so long. What is a long life to you, anyway?

[jokey]

You just don't want me getting jealous.

[Akira can smell the alcohol on Solomon's tongue from here. Yeesh, he should've grabbed a chaser. Leaning forward, he grabs his own bottle and contemplates a sip.]

You tipped your hat in the bath. You're no ordinary human. If I had to guess... you're at least a thousand years old.

[ crusty ✨]

[impacter]

Hm. Trust me, you're not the one who I would be worried about for jealousy in this situation.

[He runs his thumb against his lips to chase some of the burn away, letting Akira's answer settle.]

Too low.

Why don't you take a drink and guess again?

[jokey]

You're turning this into a drinking game?

[You're on, old man. Akira takes a sip from his bottle and suppresses a wince. How do some people do this to themselves on a regular basis?]

Alright... Ten thousand.

[impacter]

Would you rather see me sit in my sorrows while talking about the weather?

[Come on, dude. Of course they need a game.]

Too high. Try again.

[jokey]

Of course not. That's not what we're here for.

[He's here to keep Solomon distracted, and if he can, to make him smile. Solomon deserves that much, doesn't he?

Another sip down the hatch. Akira doesn't make any effort to hide the way his face squinches up this time.]

Five thousand.

[impacter]

[He thinks about it for a moment, before shrugging.]

Closer. I'd rather not kill you narrowing it down any further, though.

[jokey]

[That's for the best, eh? Akira's a lightweight, stringbean-y as he is and unused to heavy liquor. A pleasant heat settles in his cheeks, tempting him to imbibe more, but he has an image to maintain of a responsible and mature young man here. He'll let the alcohol sit a minute before taking another slug, lest Solomon take the bottle from him.]

I'm surprised you've kept count. Everyone I've known in your age range has lost count.

[Erm. Should he have kept that to himself? No, no, it's fine. It's not like he's putting the Velvet Room residents in any harm by vaguely alluding to them. It's all good!]

[impacter]

[Hm. His demons, perhaps? Or maybe his world has had more unfortunate situations to drag life far too long.]

You're giving me too much credit.

I lost track after I turned 200. Celebrations of the millennia tend to stick a little better than a birthday, though.

[jokey]

That makes more sense.

[Another sippy, don't mind him. He's getting used to the burn, or maybe that's just the buzz settling in.]

Is that just how you've always been? Long-lived, I mean. Is your family the same way?

[impacter]

No.

[To which part? He doesn't specify.

His finger taps against the side of his own bottle.]

Is there something I should guess at in return for you, before you end up tipping over onto the floor?

[jokey]

What do you mean, tip over? I'm holding up.

[How rude! He'll have Solomon know he's perfectly fine, sitting up and... swaying a bit. It's fine, it's fine, don't you dare treat him like a kid—]

Sure. Since you're the wise and knowledgeable Solomon, I want you to guess how I know so much about the drugstore receipt full of demons on your skin.

[And in the meantime, he's going to wobble upright and light some incense.]

[impacter]

[you're holding up like a plastic bag in a hurricane, buddy, good luck]

You've already given me the answer for this one. They're your Shadows, correct?

Unless you've decided to tell this old man a very generous lie.