All that I am

[likethelight]

Who: Allen Walker and Shouto Todoroki with guest appearances by The Fourteenth...
What: September Paleblood effects, and getting trapped in a version of Allen's horrific world and life for a time courtesy of a cursed book/the Absolute Immersion prompt 🙂 Many CW for mentions and flashbacks of Allen's very abusive childhood. also red light districts. (to date: pet death/abuse, child abuse, suicidal impulses of a child)
When: Later September
Where: Their house, and then Victorian England sorta


[ When Shouto had become blind, it had been Allen who fret and fussed more than he needed to. Hovering by his side and always ready to take his arm and steer him gently this way or that, explaining whatever the goings-on were with an animated chatter born first from concern and then increasingly just out of enjoying conversing so later on. Describing the world and especially the people around them like someone reading a particularly good story aloud might and getting caught up in it with an actual delight.

It wasn't so bad for him after all, he'd say, since he lost first his sense of taste (that was insulting but something he dealt with just by pouting at dinnertime) and then touch. Annoyances more than anything, nothing that bad. Touch bothered him more than he thought it would, leaving him staring down at his hands with an unsettled expression from time to time when he thought no one was looking, but he tried to avoid letting that on.

When Allen lost his sense of sight, he became almost unsettlingly... quiet, actually. Not complaining even a little. But off, perpetually distracted and a little jumpy at the slightest noise or sense of movement. With it ironically around the same time Shouto finally regained his own vision. Something he expressed relief for -- it'd be rather silly and unfortunate for them to both lose their sense of sight at the same time, wouldn't it? -- but that was a little hollow too.

Whether Shouto thought to read to him or it happened by accident when Allen was half-dozing near him one day when he asked him out of bored senseless curiosity what he was reading, it was one of the few things that made him perk up. Even if he usually dozed off on him, it was comfortably and amicably so and eased a lot of his restlessness. Something he started to look forward to and ask him a little more eagerly each time what he was reading that day.

Today, he wrinkled his nose at the smell of this new book when he came back with it. Musty and old, and something that just... unsettled him on some very deep, instinctive level. Like if black magic had a smell. Easy enough to pass off at the explanation it was handed to him from someone in Gaze offering free books to passerby, everything there was a little weird and derelict, and the explanation it was a story (apparently) about an exorcist who saved souls was enough to both baffle and intrigue him. Weirdly... spot on, wasn't that? But curiosity alone was a good enough reason for him to shelve any misgivings and settle in, leaning his chin on his shoulder and peering over like he was actually trying to peek at the pages he couldn't see. Also, Shouto's monotone could put anyone at ease (and to sleep). Allen's disarmed and lulled off pretty quickly, relaxing as the tale begins and meanders vaguely around a nameless boy who loved too much. Who was thrown at odds against the home he had always known first for wanting to save those they wanted him to destroy, and then for finding out he was fated to become their enemy and the very thing that would destroy them and the world.

Allen stops dozing off and becomes very awake. Very quiet, and very still.

Shouto can get to the part where the boy says goodbye and leaves in order to keep his home safe, and that's when Allen will fumble for his hand. Grasping his wrist tightly with alarmed urgency. ]

Shouto. [ It's laced with a strange sort of fear, a rising panic. Stop reading.

It's also too late.

Reality... warps. Uncomfortably so, like vertigo but pulling your soul inside-out instead of your stomach. It feels like falling. Falling forward into freefall, which... is accurate. At first it feels like falling into a vacuum, and then the wind is quickly rushing past their ears. They burst through what feels like a thin glass pane of light that shatters harmlessly around them and melt away, geometric patterns in the sky, and the air is crisp and cold; the first kiss of winter, and for the first time smelling clean and entirely without the odor of blood, decay, and industry that clings to Trench. Into the middle of a city park, rows of brick Victorian buildings lining the sides of it with a clocktower and castle in the distance.

They're also about fifty feet up in the air, upside-down and in rapid freefall. ]

Comments

[swellter]

[ Oh, you think he doesn't mean to soak your boots too? ]

I'm next after you're done.

[ SPLASH! ]

Is there any soap?

[likethelight]

[ YOU DON'T SOAK LEATHER BOOTS! ]

It'd make more sense for us to both clean up before washing our clothes. [ Sourly. This isn't like your weird laundry-bath setup where they could both do that at the same time! Also you better believe he's taking those socks off and letting them drop outside the tub. Do you think he wants to be in here with them for even one second?! Not that his feet look or smell much better...

He sulks, realizing the water is rising too much to reach anything else before it's soaked. His coat... it'll take forever to dry... oh well maybe her sons had better ones. ]

Probably. [ It's half-hearted, not even paying the request that much attention. And yes, he'll find a nearby bar of soap along with wash towels. ]

[swellter]

[ His clothes are spefically made for him. Every piece threaded from a high-end material developed in a lab specifically FOR him to withstand not only extreme heat but extreme cold. Even his father's clothes, meant to withstand the hottest temperatures, can't hold up to the extreme cold he produces regularly. Anything that can't withstand his quirk breaks off at low temperatures or is reduced to ash. He goes through clothes like Allen goes through food, unless he's extremely careful. With that in mind, he has absolutely no idea how to take care of regular clothes. This is why he pays someone to do his laundry. Before that, he did exactly what he's doing now. ]

It's better to clean the clothes first, then ourselves. We'll smell less.

[ Is he saying you smell? Of course, but he's not excluding himself in that statement either.

Question answered he searches for the soap while Allen goes through the first wash cycle. ]

[likethelight]

[ While Allen certainly destroyed and went through many uniforms while at the Order as that's just the nature of battle, he was also more careless with them because he didn't know how much the specialized materials cost. He'd have swooned and taken much better care of them if he did. But with his own clothing that he now has to take care of and pay for himself, you better believe he makes it last!!! Welcome to Victorian society where you might buy one new outfit a year and it's pretty damn expensive. And that's if you weren't poor. Better learn to make it last. ]

You do realize no one else does it like that? Most people don't want to stay in the bath with dirty things. It's unsanitary. [ sour sour sour sour...

He's tempted to just sit there and refuse to take his clothes off out of protest, but after a moment of realizing he wants to leave them on and sit in the stink even less he starts to pick at his gloves and tug them off. Scarf, coat... ugh sometimes you suck ]

[swellter]

[ He hears you. ]

Okay, stand up.

[ He walks back to the tub, raises his hands, sets them apart by an inch and out comes pouring water on top of Allen's head at a perfectly warm temperature.

He's made a shower for you. Be happy. ]

You can unplug the drain now.

[likethelight]

[ He blinks, staring. You--

He's not reaching for the drain. Or standing up. Instead he's just blinking owlishly as the water runs down his head and wets his hair, realizing he means to stand there and... yes... is making it like a shower for him. And apparently means to stand there doing that.

That. That is your solution to the problem of your own making. ]

... [ No. He will not reach for the drain. What he will do is reach up and, grabbing Shouto by the lapels of his jacket--

...yank him unceremoniously in with him. splash indeed ]

[swellter]

[ And down he goes, hits the water with his mouth wide open. The dirty water crashes against the edge of the tub and keeps going right over the lip straight onto the floor as Shouto rises from the dark waters. His right side sports grey hair instead of white, the grime setting in.

Why did you--

He stares at Allen, looking more confused than offended. Did you... ]

Did you want to take a bath together?

[likethelight]

[ The drain, the drain!! He's reaching to unplug it as soon as the water overflows, even if he might have to half climb over Shouto a bit to do so. Let's not have a repeat of that one time, especially in someone else's house... er, establishment.

He huffs lightly at the question, taking a sour kind of satisfaction in the tinting of his hair. Serves you right. ]

It's a little cramped for that.. [ Look he just wanted... actually, he doesn't know what he wanted, just that he feels better now. Like the world has just righted itself again a little. ]

[swellter]

Then, why did you--hmph

[ He gets a face full of Allen and gets pushed back into the grey water. This time the splash isn't nearly so high. When he gets up this time, he stares up at Allen with disbelief as he sits in the tub with his hands splayed on either side. ]

Are you... trying to drown me?

[ Did he... Did he get switched with someone else? No...he was with him the entire time. Then what? Possessed? Was there a ghost in this room?! ]

[likethelight]

[ --oh. Now he feels a little bad. He reaches over to sweep some of the drenched bangs from his face apologetically. ]

If I wanted to drown you I wouldn't have just unplugged the drain. [ omin...ous...? He says it more softly though, if like a faint sort of scold. Your earnest nature is very endearing but sometimes a little impossible, you know.

He sits back, rubbing at the back of his head lightly. His hair is quite flattened, if still tied back. ]

Sorry, I didn't want the water to overflow. [ again ]

[swellter]

[ The ghost must have stopped possessing him. Even so, Shouto looks to the side to look past him in hopes of spotting... something. What did ghosts look like? Was it okay to sleep in here with it?

He drags his eyes back to him when he moves his hair out of the way, and stares. ]

Were you possessed?

[ He would know, wouldn't he? ]

[likethelight]

[ First Lenalee believes in vampires and now you believe in ghosts... Shouto...

Actually wait, both of those are very much real in Trench. Maybe that's not so ridiculous. ]

What? [ Blinking. Was he serious? ]

...no?

[swellter]

[ A likely story, but for all he knows, the ghost was still in control of him. He could be lying. If it managed to take him down, what would it do to Allen? Just in case, he should be more cautious.

He pulls back, away from that hand. ]

... You didn't seem yourself.

[likethelight]

[ are. are you shunning him??

--also wait. you were serious about the possession thing??? ]

How was I not being myself! It was an accident! [ He huffs and sits back sulkily. Picks at the edge of his sodden sleeve. ]

Well, the second time.

[swellter]

[ He's being cautious... that hand tried to drown him once already.

Shouto scoots away from him to the other side of the tub to let the water drain faster... yes that's right. ]

What about the first?

[likethelight]

[ He did not try to drown him!! And he regards how he's edging away suspiciously... ]

Turnabout is fair play.

[ Not even batting an eyelash. ]

1/2

[swellter]

[ Fairplay?! So, he did mean to drown him! ]

2/2

[swellter]

[ His expression grows hard.

Instead of questioning that answer, he stands up and gets out of the tub. One foot, then the other, leaving a wet trail behind as he heads for the door to talk to the owner about this ghost room she gave them.

No wonder it didn't have a number. It's haunted. ]

[likethelight]

[ How did you manage to still arrive at that conclusion. Better not hear or have heard some of the sounds coming from the other rooms, or he'll think it the moans of ghosts....

Allen startles slightly when he just gets up without saying a word, thinking he went too far. His stomach sinks. ]

Shouto? [ Nervous, he watches his back for a moment. Then, when his hand is on the door and he realizes his intent to just go out like that, outside the bathroom while still dripping everywhere, he scrambles into action. Bare feet hit the floor and he swears lightly under his breath and falters for a moment, pain, but pushes through it to reach out and snag his wrist. ]

Ah, wait!! You'll damage the floors!! [ And he'll have to pay for it! ]

[swellter]

I'm talking to the owner. She gave us a haunted room.

[ He keeps on walking, dragging Allen along if he doesn't let go. ]

You're possessed.

[likethelight]

[ oh my GOD

He's digging his heels in and pulling back to try and keep him from doing that, which I hope you know really hurts. Also slippery... damn wet floor... ]

I'm not possessed! I don't even think I could be!!

[ .... .... everything with the 14th was... ... different ]

[swellter]

[ He stops.

Pauses.

Then, turns his head to look at him, suspicion clear in his eyes. He regards him with a look not unfamiliar to what his opponents are pinned with. Like with them, he's willing to listen.

To a point. ]

Why not?

[likethelight]

[ How are you this serious in thinking he's possessed by a ghost when he was horsing around like so many guys do and even he does sometimes after you pushed him to it. ]

I'm an Exorcist. If what's in my body is able to purge the possessions from people... then... it doesn't really seem like I can be possessed, does it?

[ yeah we're. going to keep on pretending everything with the 14th just. isn't there. ]

[swellter]

[ If. Seem.

That's not convincing at all. ]

You don't know, do you? If you can be possessed.

[ Not for certain. ]

For now, I'm willing to accept that it's you. Until you prove otherwise.

[ He turns then, heading back inside leaving a trail of water behind him. ]

[likethelight]

[ How is this real...

Forlorn, Allen looks down at the wet footprints they've left. At least he stopped him before he reached the hall or they'd have a lot of explaining to do... As it is he'll have to scrub later to make sure there isn't a stain.

Speaking of, there might be some blood in that water. He cut his feet after al from when they bolted and ran twice, once again after Shouto forcibly inspected him the first time, and the bath just made them reopen. It's why he follows him back to the bathroom rather gingerly, balancing more on the sides of his feet, and sighs lightly as he reaches to pull his sweater off. Fine, he's taking the damn bath... ]

And how will I "prove otherwise"? [ muffled. it got stuck when trying to pull it over his head, taking off wet clothes is annoying... ]