Floor 2, Room 4

[mirristry]

Phillip Biqe Reston

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[shortleash]

( A few nights after the Akira incident... Closer to evening, there comes a firm yet calm knock on Phil's door, and the face of a familiar visitor waiting on the other side. )

[mirristry]

[Phil is, predictably, inside. He's a creature of habit; if there isn't anything that needs attending to elsewhere, then chances are he'll be either in the library or his room.

And so it is that he opens the door and blinks, tilting his head slightly.]

Hello, Mikaela.

[And then, thinking that he's connecting the dots:]

... did you need one of the books I took from the library? I suppose I really should take some of them back at this point...

[shortleash]

( ...

How should he approach this? He's not really good at beating around the bush, or socializing. Following Phil's question, he goes quiet for a few moments - perhaps a little awkwardly - contemplative.

Finally, he decides on this: )

... What's wrong with you?

( Nailed it. )

[mirristry]

Eh?

[He just looks even more confused now, because that particular sentence could apply to... so many things, really! It's certainly not the first time he's been asked that exact question...]

... I'm sorry, it's something of a bad habit of mine. I love reading, so I end up taking books with me and then forgetting to put them back... Marcus scolds me for it all the time, but I'm really not doing it on purpose. I just get so engrossed that I can't put them down.

Week 5, post-akiraing

[troublereduction]

[ A few hours after...everything that's happened that morning, when Day is feeling slightly more like a semi-reasonable individual, he goes over to knock on Phil's door on the other end of the hallway. Hi neighbour. ]

[mirristry]

[By now, Phil is awake and up and about, though the expression on his face and the haunted look in his eyes when he opens the door are clear signs that his mental state isn't doing quite as well as his physical one.

Still, he tries for a tired, apologetic smile, and to his credit, he almost manages that much.]

... oh... hello, Day. [There's a pause as he tries to figure out what to say next.] Were... were you the one who brought me to my room?

[Because while he can't remember anything after the tsunami of memories washed over him, he's quite certain that he passed out, and the fact that he awoke in his own bed instead of on the floor can only mean one thing.]

[troublereduction]

[ Day...doesn't exactly look well-rested himself, but he's also trying his best to be put together for this. ]

Yeah. Figured may as well since we're on the same floor. [ And pretty much everyone was tired after all that. ] How're you holdin' up?

[mirristry]

[Even though he'd suspected as much, the sigh he lets out is quite audible. He'd told Mika that he didn't want to be a burden to anyone here, and yet he had to be physically carried to bed and not due to his illness. He's truly off to a great start here.]

... I'm sorry. I didn't intend for that to happen. [...] Not that I even know exactly what "that" was...

[Well, that isn't quite true. He knows what it was - the memories have haunted him in his dreams for more than ten years - but he doesn't know what caused it, other than the possibility of it being some sort of side effect of the powers of whatever the creature that had been possessing Akira was.]

Post-East mission

[troublereduction]

[ The night? Day? After the Eastern wizards come back from their mission has turns into Phil watch hours. All things considered, Day's just glad it's not something worse.

He spends this time just going in and out of Phil's room, staying for a while to check on him and monitor his condition, then leaving for periods in between so that he doesn't go stir-crazy just waiting. While he's in there, he doesn't really snoop around so much as he occasionally picks up one of the books in the many book piles around Phil's room; pretty much every single time Day puts the book back down because he can't read anything.

By the time Phil's awake, Day's probably sitting in a chair writing something in an empty notebook. ]

[mirristry]

[The fact that the Easts all came back like sad, soggy cats definitely did nothing to help with Phil's condition. He's frail at the best of times, and the cold rain has left him with a chill that not even several layers of blankets seem able to chase away. However, that doesn't seem to be the cause of the cough that makes his entire body shake and leaves flecks of scarlet on his lips, breath coming ragged in the wake of each fit.

No, there's something far deeper going on there, as the way the chill at last gives way to a fever will signal. This is no simple cold, nor is it the result of overextending himself.

He's still bleary with fever when at last his eyes flutter open, lips parted as he lets out a sound halfway between a sigh and a groan.

Where is he...?]

[troublereduction]

[ Day's done his best to try and address the fever once it sets in, and honestly the whole time he's been anxious, because he doesn't know what's actually going on. He can only guess it's something worse than anything a person can get from being caught in the rain, and half wonders if maybe it has to do with the moon rock, the fragments of which are now in a bottle sitting in his room. But then again, if it did, one of the others would have said something about it.

(Probably. At least he trusts Yamato or Ginger would have said something about it if they knew. Otherwise, there was so much tension he could have waved a knife around and it'd have sliced through it.)

Once he hears Phil stir, Day looks up from his writing. ]

You're up. Uh, take it easy, though.

[mirristry]

[... oh. Oh no. Did Day have to carry him to his room again? How embarrassing...

Phil bites his lip hard enough that the copper taste in his mouth turns fresh rather than stale and tries to blink back the telltale prickle at the corners of his eyes.]

... I'm sorry. For making you have to do that yet again...

[There's certainly no surprise about the situation in Phil's voice this time, though... odd.]

sometime mid week 7

[1145pm]

[ Knock knock knock! Open up, floormate! Guess who! ]

[mirristry]

[Phil... well, to say that he looks like hell when he opens the door is putting it mildly. His hair is down, he's not wearing his monocle, and those are definitely pajamas... he blinks a few times as though trying to clear sleep from his eyes (which would certainly explain his overall state of mess), squinting to get a better look at who it is who has come calling.]

Ah... if you've been worried about me, I apologize. I'm feeling somewhat better now...

[Better than he was immediately after the mission, at least.]

[1145pm]

Are you sure?

[ Even if he looks better, he still looks like a mess.

Still, he smiles, and holds up a tote bag he has in one hand. ]

You mind if I come in? I brought snacks.

[mirristry]

[Honestly, he's quite glad that Tatara asks the second question, as it allows him to plausibly ignore the first. There's really no way to answer that one without lying at least somewhat, and he'd prefer to try to stay as far away from that particular subject as possible.]

Please, feel free--

[And then he glances back inside at the piles of books on just about every available flat surface.]

... oh, um, one moment...

[It's fine if he just sort of shifts some of the books off his desk onto the floor for now, right? Right.

The physical exertion triggers a slight cough, but he's quick to try to swallow it down before it's too noticeable.]

before the northie mission

[leewards]

[For once, Ithaqua has knocked on a door... but disappears immediately, leaving behind a hint of his magical signature and a small paper bag with half a dozen buns of freshly baked sourdough, each one slightly smaller than a fist, perfectly bite-sized. There's also fruit jam inside, nice and sweet, and with not a lot of that overly processed sugar Ithaqua dislikes either. How did he get it in there? Magic, of course. What flavors are there? Strawberry, blueberry, peach, lemon marmalade, and orange marmalade.

Enjoy! Don't burn the manor down while the Northies are gone.]

[mirristry]

[Ah... given how little Phil has been eating lately, this is actually very much appreciated! These are easy to snack on when he doesn't feel like going downstairs to hunt for food.

He'll be sure to thank Ithaqua once he returns (assuming it's in one piece, good luck not enabling PVP Northies).]

???

[promittere]

[ Phil will wake up on Monday to a very peculiar scene. They will see who they saw when they stepped into the mysterious circle a week ago...but the visage of who it was before scatters to the wind, and reforms as someone new. The thread of fate severs, and who you were one fated to be with matters no longer, as a new person takes their place with pink petals.

Who Phil sees is likely familiar to him. The petals make a figure that continues to shift back and forth between different forms, and it's hard to make out what sort of manner or dress this figure is supposed to have because of how often it keeps shifting. Curiously, it's only one figure he sees, this time, and not two.

The vision fades as fast as it came, however, and before they know it, Phil is grounded back in reality once more. ]

Post-drinking party

[troublereduction]

[ After that...mess of a drinking party, Day went to Phil's room, because they need to talk.

...Or rather he tried to but knocking on the door got him nothing. He wouldn't be surprised if Phil's crying, and maybe he needs to give Phil some space, but it bothers him when it's his fault for accidentally putting that kettle of fish out where everyone could see it.

So instead of giving up for the night, Day has opted to do the thing he's been internally complaining about when it comes to living in a manor shared with several Creatures™ and various assorted miscreants who don't know how to use a damn door. He's riding his broom and knocking on Phil's window.

He's also still pretty tipsy, so if he falls off now then he knows he deserves it. ]

[mirristry]

[Day knows Phil quite well by now-- he has indeed been crying, sitting on the floor and leaning back against the door simply because he didn't get any further than shutting the door behind him before all the emotions he'd been trying to hold back in front of everyone else came flooding out. It's probably at least a little bit due to the fact that he's considerably less than sober and that the party had been an emotional rollercoaster in multiple ways to begin with, but he also hadn't been expecting to have the one thing he'd been trying so desperately to keep a secret from the others revealed so casually by none other than himself, albeit under the influence of the truth charm.

He's mortified and hurt and flustered all at once; when he hears those knocks on the door he knows exactly who it is and why they're here to see him, and that's why he doesn't answer. Maybe if he just pretends he's fallen back asleep, Day will leave.

And, in fact, he is half-dozing with his head pillowed on his knees when the knock on his window jolts him back to full alertness and sends him stumbling to his feet, concerned. Day doesn't ever use the window. Has something happened...?

That's the only reason why he makes his way over to unlatch it.]

[troublereduction]

Hey, Phil.

[ He's relieved that Phil has opened a window. Day squints a little at his own feet, the alcohol making it a smidge harder for him to judge his footing before he hops off the broom to climb through the window.

...The first thing he does is lean over to wipe at Phil's face with his hands, almost out of reflex. ]

Post-meteor shower

[troublereduction]

[ After the meteor shower viewing at the beach, Day and Phil make their way back to Phil's room at the castle, hand-in-hand and full of anticipation. Day probably sneaked in a quick kiss along the way, too.

Once they reach the room and the door closes behind them, Day pauses to trace a symbol on the door, while muttering his spell. This time, their neighbours will know peace (and Day wants to jealously guard the sounds Phil makes, just a little). ]

[mirristry]

[The pounding of Phil's heart isn't unwelcome in the slightest as it drums with excitement in his chest, drowning out any nervousness that threatens to surface from beneath the rising waves of anticipation.

He knows Day wants this. He knows he wants this so much his entire body already aches for it, Day's earlier words about wanting to fuck Phil's brains out until he can't move without spilling playing on repeat in his mind. Where in the moment the crudeness of the phrasing had left him bright red, it now feels more like a promise than anything else-- one that Phil wants him to keep tonight, and so no sooner does the soft click of the door's lock signal that they've achieved privacy than Phil is trying to tug Day away from that door and into a hungry, desperate kiss.

Tonight? Tonight he's free to be every bit as greedy as his heart desires.]

[troublereduction]

[ They're both lucky Day just barely finished casting the spell before he finds himself being pulled into a kiss. He's caught off-guard by how hungry it is, an image he isn't used to associating with Phil just yet, but at the same time his heart could sing at the knowledge that Phil wanted him so much that he grew impatient.

He presses into that kiss and slips his hands around Phil's waist, trying to wrap around him so he can lift Phil up in his arms. Partially so it's easier for Phil to kiss him, but mostly so Day can carry Phil to the bed like a bride. ]