siriusly: (oh my God please don't hit me)
Manabu Yuuki ([personal profile] siriusly) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2022-04-08 12:04 pm

unauthorized cute happenings

Who: Ryuu and Manabu...manayruu..
What: book date
When: early April
Where: Crenshaw to the Archive

Content Warnings: It's a bunch of cute date shit, beware



So...

So it's for real and for certain...certainly a date. Confirmed. Manabu did not sleep well before this, that's for damn sure. Manabu couldn't help it! He's antsy by nature even without some big, unknown event looming ahead of him, and there's only so many times he can re-sort cutlery in the kitchen before the worry of error comes creeping up.

He can't help but wonder: Was asking the easy part...or the hard part?

He'd been too young when his father died for those kinds of talks. And by the time he was a teen, he was already so engrossed in trying to get enlisted in the SDF to even look at anyone as a romantic prospect! Here, though? After everything he's been through, seen...

Eugh. He really hopes he doesn't mess anything up. He knows nothing can be the same anymore after this: Pretending to just go back...how would that even be possible after this?

If Bruce were here, he'd surely be sick of the handwringing and just boot him out the door already, saying something like the longer you get into your own head, the less energy you have to do a good job. You're not a thinker, you're a doer. So go.

So when he gets that lunchtime text, he stops fussing with the cuffs of his jacket and goes.


I'm outside


Magnet sniffs around Manabu's boots while they wait under a lamppost in front of the apartment, taking all that nervous energy from his person as cause to be more curious and investigative. Said person finds himself fiddling with his slightly-too-long sleeves on the jacket Wu bought him a couple days ago, frowning down at it. It's nice enough, but he's not really a fancy kind of guy...is this saying too much? He isn't really fluent in fashion, but showing up so clean...says something, right? Hopefully nothing too strange...
convene: (31)

[personal profile] convene 2022-04-08 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
He's been pacing since he finished lunch and texted Manabu that he was ready. He's pretty sure that Kazuma was ready to throw him out of the apartment if he asked him one more time if he looked all right. He fusses with the sleeves of his dark blue peacoat, pacing around the living room before he finally gets the text message. Ryunosuke swears his heart skips a beat when he reads it, all the color flooding his cheeks before he nods to himself.

He grabs his bag, and tells Kazuma he's leaving, then he's out the door, Fish following behind him. (Apparently, he can't leave the house without his cat. Fish would be rather cross with him.)

It's not long until he's downstairs and greeting Manabu with a smile.

"Hey!" He waves a little, adjusting the bag over his shoulder, hoping the color has faded from his cheeks already. "So, are you ready?"

Was that a silly question? Were his nerves already starting to get to him, he thinks as he squeezes the strap of his bag slightly. Would he be this nervous if it was still just a friendly outing? Though, he supposes it still is a friendly outing, but now it's evolved into something more. A date seemed a lot more weighty.
convene: (16)

[personal profile] convene 2022-04-08 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you endless night for saving him from some embarrassment.

He can't help but smile as he bends down to pet Magnet, rubbing at his ears with a slightly huffed laugh. Magnet was always such a joy to see, even if he's just an extension of Manabu -- that's how it worked right? Fish sits himself down next to Ryunosuke's feet, tail flicking as he watches everything unfold.

"We can take the lamp." He says as he stands back up. "I mean with it connecting right to the Archive, it would make the trip quick and easy." Not that he wouldn't mind walking down to the Archive with Manabu, but the point was going to the library, wasn't it? Maybe they should walk together, but what would they talk about? Would it get boring? Would they fall into silence and would it be comfortable?

Hearing the waver in his breath was a bit of a relief. He was sort of glad that Manabu seemed to be just as nervous as he was. He takes this moment to reach out and place his hand on his shoulder.

"Relax." He says with a gentle smile, partly to himself, and partly for Manabu's sake. "We're going to have a great time." Said with more confidence. "So, why don't we take the lamp, and you can show me where you found Natsume-sans books." A beat. "I still can't believe you might have found them."
convene: (1)

[personal profile] convene 2022-04-09 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
"Still, if it's his work, I'm looking forward to reading it. I wonder what his writing is like?" He muses out loud as he falls in step with Manabu as they walk down the road together. "If it's as eccentric as he is, I'm sure it'll make for quite an interesting read."

He smiles when they near the lamp, and he swears his heart wants to leap out of his chest because this is the part where the date really begins, isn't it? He watches as Manabu grabs the post and he nods.

"Well, I've been to the Archive, yes, but I don't think I've used the lamp." He admits, rubbing the back of his head. He takes a step forward once again thankful for endless night, despite the lamp glow on his cheeks. "How do you want me to... hold on?"

Oh boy, he thinks as he moves closer to Manabu, this was going to go well.
convene: (16)

[personal profile] convene 2022-04-14 02:11 pm (UTC)(link)
He holds on, still not used to utilizing the lanterns but they had their uses. He glances up at the Archive, the moon glow giving it a particularly menacing look. Manabu wasn't wrong when he said that it looked spookier in the dark. Was it safe to go inside still? Of course he's certain that they'd have light once they're inside so there was nothing to really be afraid of.

"Yeah, not bad." He says, tearing his eyes away from the building, and slowly releasing Manabu's shoulder. "Well, shall we?"

Ryunosuke gestures toward the Archive, and moves to walk in that direction.

"I'm really looking forward to this." He says after a moment of silence. "I think I've said that before." He's nervous, toying with the frayed ends of his sleeves. "Books aren't really something you're interested in, are they?" A pause, before he adds on quickly. "You're really sweet, if that's the case."

First the flowers and the trinket, now taking him to a library to find a book when it's clearly not his interest? He's really flattered, but also flustered, trying to deal with the words that want to well up and escape. He doesn't want to talk poor Manabu's ear off, but he doesn't know how else to fill the silence, nerves getting to him because he's never been on a date before.

He just hopes he gets it right.
convene: (30)

[personal profile] convene 2022-04-14 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"Lucky me." He smiles softly, following Manabu inside the candlelit building. "I'll have to find something the two of us can do that you can enjoy as well." He says as he follows Manabu through the stacks of books. "I'm sure there's something we can do. Maybe dinner?"

Something the two of them could do together. It makes his heart leap in his chest like butterflies are trapped behind his ribcage threatening to escape. It's nothing he's ever felt before (or at least nothing he's ever recognized in himself before), and frankly? It excites him more than he anticipated. He lights up when he sees the titles along the spines, books that line the shelves looking worn and well-read -- he traces his fingers across the top row of books and nods.

"All right. Maybe we should split up and both look." He pulls a book off the shelf, inspecting the cover. It's not what he's looking for but it certainly looked interesting! "I'm not sure what the titles of his books would be, he hadn't written any by the time he left London, but I can't imagine it would be difficult to find Soseki Natsume as an author."
Edited 2022-04-15 00:07 (UTC)
convene: (31)

[personal profile] convene 2022-04-15 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
Ryunosuke likes the idea of doing something Manabu might enjoy! He'll clearly just needs to get to know Manabu better to pull something like that off.

Though, despite his relatively upbeat thoughts, he notices that the air between them has changed ever so slightly, just enough to cause him to worry as Manabu disappears onto the other side of the stack. He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? He worries at his lip as he turns his attention to looking over the spines with care. Most of the books he was finding were in English, which he expected from a majority English-speaking population, but there were a few in languages he didn't recognize. Collins, Doyle, Wilde... books he recognized from English shops when he stayed in London, but nothing from the Japanese author himself.

He was starting to lose some hope when he hears Manabu pipe up.

"Did you?!" He shoots up, moving around the shelving unit to meet Manabu on the other side, and takes the book from him.

I Am A Cat by Soeski Natsume. He grins, opening the book to see if there was any indication of the author being the same Natsume-san he knew.

"I can't believe it. This has to be it." He says as he flips through the pages. "This is brilliant! You're brilliant." He closes the book, looking at Manabu with a smile. "Thank you. Are there more or was this the only one?" A pause, just one as he sets the book on top of the shelf. He's rather excited by this prospect. "I wonder what else we can find here."

He's pretty certain he's going to end up with a stack of books to bring home at this rate.
convene: (37)

[personal profile] convene 2022-04-15 11:23 am (UTC)(link)
He follows Manabu's gesture, and nods, moving around him to crouch down to the area where he found the book. Ryunosuke starts to scan the shelf. There's a few more authors he recognizes here -- Ogai, Shinmei just to name a few-- but when his fingers touch the spine of another Soseki Natsume book, he grins. A book titled London To, he finds, and he removes it from the shelf with care. He flips through a few pages, excitedly scanning the words, briefly getting an idea of what the book was about before he glances up at Manabu.

"Not too many here, but I found another one." He waves the book before he's standing up again. "Looks like it's about his life in London, which I'm very curious about." Would he be mentioned at all? He reaches over and grabs the first book off the shelf, holding both of them with care. "This is an amazing find. I can't wait to read them."

He pauses, before he reaches out to take Manabu's hand. "How much exploring have you done in here? I've been mostly focused on reading books about Trench so I must have missed these." A pause, a light smile. "Show me what else you've found?"
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[personal profile] convene 2022-04-15 12:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"You think a lot of the information about stuff beyond Trench has been destroyed?"

That was an interesting fact considering they kept the Hunter journals on the shelves. He's been reading a few of those, but he hadn't noticed anything amiss. At least nothing that would seem strange and unusual at first glance because Trench in itself is strange and unusual. He shifts on his feet, his mind racing with the thought of why someone would go through the effort to destroy such information. What was beyond Trench, then, that needed to remain hidden?

"Hopefully it's just missing." He says, squeezing Manabu's hand. "I will need to keep a look out then, for maps and any information leading out of Trench." He'll make sure Kazuma does too since they both seem to be studying again. "If we can't find a map or information, we could just go exploring ourselves."

Which was a dangerous prospect, he figures, but it could be a good idea.
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[personal profile] convene 2022-04-15 01:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh?" Manabu was planning some sort of adventure? That could be interesting. "Good of you to be cautious about it though. I mean we really don't know what's out there but... if we can't find anything here we might have to take the risk."

We, he implies that he'd join him but he understands that he may be a liability. If he had his bow he might be of more use, but so far he's had no luck with obtaining one. Maybe he should look harder at getting his hands on one so he could actually be useful to the people of Trench.

"Oh." Different tone, different expression as his face falls. He remembers the tower and how people were brought there - the horrors inside of seeing Sleepers strung up by hooks and all the blood. So much blood. He squeezes Manabu's hand again at the mention of it, nodding mostly to himself before he speaks again. "Y-eah. Yeah I remember them. You think they are cognizant enough to potentially keep us trapped?"

Though it would make sense to keep them in a small location for easy pickings. Easy enough to kidnap and bring to their machines again, to fuel the blood pollution and the potential for losing ones self to a Beast. He doesn't like the implication, but it weighs on his mind.
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[personal profile] convene 2022-04-15 01:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"I see." He hugs the books to his chest, trying to shake off the sickening feeling that settles in his chest from thinking about the Tower.

Has anyone found their way back? Was it really just a one way ticket in? He never found an exit, being saved in all, but was there truly no way to escape? He takes a shuddering breath, before he finds himself smiling.

"Don't worry about it." He says softly. "It was the natural flow of the conversation. I just didn't think I've have such a reaction to remembering them is all." He glances down at the books, then to Manabu. "I'm still enjoying myself."
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[personal profile] convene 2022-04-15 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
He'll talk to him about the nightmares eventually. For now he will keep those hidden away in the journal he's been keeping about his time spent in Trench. He takes in another deep breath, before he offers Manabu a smile, the tug pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Are you sure you want to sit there while I read?" He asks as he's lead over to the long row of tables. "I mean, I'd like to know if he wrote about me...but it can wait."

He is genuinely curious to what Natsume-san wrote about his time in London. Ryunosuke knew that it wasn't a very good time, but there must have been something worth while for him to write a book about it, right? Nevertheless wouldn't it be rude to just sit there and ready while Manabu is with him? He doesn't want to feel like he's ignoring him, after all.
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[personal profile] convene 2022-04-16 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
"I did." He shakes his head with a laugh, smiling all the same as he walks over and stands next to the chair that Manabu has pulled out for him. "But are you sure?"

He takes a seat, setting the books down on the table before he reaches over to move the chair next to him. He pats the seat next to him with a smile, then moves to lean on his elbow as he looks over at Manabu. He's grateful for the shift in energy from their talk of the Tower back to the books they came for.

"Come sit with me then." Ryunosuke moves to scoot the chair closer to the one he shifted earlier.
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[personal profile] convene 2022-04-16 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
Thankfully, Fish has decided to perch himself on the table, so he doesn't mind that Ryunosuke's lap is soon to be taken over by dog.

"See, that's what I've been worried about." He points out before he sits back in the chair. "What will you do while I read? I mean it must be awfully boring just waiting for me to read something."

And really, it could wait! He didn't mind waiting to read more about Natsume-san when he was home so he could spend his time with Manabu. That was the point of the date, right? To spend time with each other?

"I really don't want you to get bored..." He admits, reaching over to pet Fish as he loafs on the table. "Or feel like I'm ignoring you. We're supposed to be spending time together, right?"
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[personal profile] convene 2022-04-22 12:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"I mean, I could do that." He smiles softly. "If you'd like to listen."

There's a pause as he stares at Fish, rubbing his ears carefully before his gaze returns to Manabu. He brought him here because he's interested in books, which is terribly sweet of him. He put a lot of thought into the date than he is giving himself credit for. He reaches out and gently places an hand on Manabu's shoulder, leaning toward him.

"I don't mind reading out loud," He says quietly. "I won't read too much though. I'd like to spend some time with you and not just the books. Maybe once I read though some of it we could consider something to eat?"

He can spend time with the books any day of the week when he's not supposed to be on a date with someone.
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[personal profile] convene 2022-04-25 07:02 pm (UTC)(link)
"Great! I can't wait." Ryunosuke smiles at him, bright as ever as he sits back in his chair.

So now how to include Manabu in his reading? He takes a deep breath and decides to start with just opening the book and reading the first few lines, finding that Natsume-san's writing was a bit refreshing. Something as eccentric as his personality in true written form as he talks about his arrival in London. About time spent admiring London upon arrival - because how could they not when they first arrived either? - and the newness that awaited him. This particular part was about how he managed to get around and his subsequent visit to the Tower of London.

Ryunosuke finds himself laughing at a passage, pointing at it and reading it out loud, careful not to stumble over each sentence. Something about how he refused to take carriages mostly because he couldn't afford them, but also because he clearly didn't want to become disoriented.

"He certainly has a way with words." He admits, before he shyly glances over to Manabu. He has the book propped open with one hand, whose to say he couldn't just--- Surely he wouldn't mind? He nervously reaches over and takes Manabu's hand.

That's what couples do, right?
convene: (31)

[personal profile] convene 2022-04-26 11:43 am (UTC)(link)
There's something exhilarating about holding Manabu's hand, an emotion he can't quite explain. Despite the thoughts running through his head (was he squeezing too tight? Was this okay?) he relaxes when Manabu returns the gesture and settles back into reading his book. He casually rubs his thumb across the side of his hand every now and again, just a soft gesture to show that he knows that Manabu is still there. Still sitting at his side waiting for him to read, which is nicer than he expected it to be. There's just something so relaxing about being able to share a space with someone and do separate things.

He's starting to get caught up in the book, each page giving him more insight to Natsume-sans life in London, an experience he could relate to in some ways. It wasn't easy living in London as a foreign national. The people could be polite, but that did not make them kind. He turns the page, telling himself that this will be the last page he reads but he's gripped by the words. Ryunosuke finds himself lost in the pages, wondering what kind of life that Soseki Natsume lead before he arrived in London.

"He was rather eccentric." He says offhandedly as he turns a page, reading a particular statement he made out loud.

But, he reminded himself as he finds himself falling into silence once more, that this was a date. That he should really be including Manabu more, but he didn't want to bore him with details about Natsume-san's life. Maybe starting I Am A Cat might have been better for this as it appears to be a work of fiction compared to an auto-biographical novel. Maybe it was more interesting than daily life in London.

He squeezes Manabu's hand lightly, finding a scrap of paper to use to mark his place and close the book.

"Hey," He says quietly, leaning forward toward him. "You... all right?"
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[personal profile] convene 2022-04-27 11:48 am (UTC)(link)
There's something oddly adorable about the fact that Manabu managed to fall asleep as he did. On one hand, it's concerning that he must be getting about as much sleep as Ryunosuke was (see: not a lot), but on the other hand it was... cute. Oddly adorable and he wishes he could just let him sleep.

But what if it was boredom? What is this was going terribly? What if Manabu didn't want to go on a second date after this? He shakes his head, taking in a deep breath as he tries to clear those thoughts from his head. If Manabu was bored he probably would have said something.

He releases Manabu's hand, finding he's reluctant to do so, and moves to rest it on his shoulder, giving him a slight nudge.

"Manabu," He says again, a little louder. "You awake?"
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[personal profile] convene 2022-04-28 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's all right!" He smiles softly. "I mean, you probably needed some."

Logical. At least that's what Ryunosuke is thinking at that moment. He doesn't think Manabu meant to fall asleep, that much he could tell by how startled he was. There were still some fading thoughts, some what ifs about Manabu being bored of him but he waves them off. No, logically, Manabu was just tired, and he should have seen that before. He pushes back from the table and moves to stand, stretching his arms above his head with a groan. Fish watches, waits, and then decides to stand up himself and stretch out as cats are wont to do.

"I didn't want to keep you waiting, but I uh... guess I got caught up reading." He says before he moves to set a hand on Manabu's shoulder before he gets up. "Did you still want to get something to eat? You might actually need the sleep..."

And as much as he wants to spend time with Manabu, he doesn't want him to sacrifice sleep to do it.
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[personal profile] convene 2022-05-10 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
He laughs lightly, taking a moment to just look over Manabu. The steam rising from his skin was a clear sign that he was feeling a certain way, and as much as he thinks it's endearing, he probably shouldn't point it out.

The topic of food comes back up and he nods.

"I'm really up for anything, to be honest. I mostly cook at home so I don't really know the local food."

The last time he really went out was ...well after the Tower, when Manabu took him somewhere to ease his nerves.

"What do you say? We could grab lunch. ...dinner? And see where it takes us?" He has no idea what time it is with the way the endless night is going, but either way food sounded good.
convene: (31)

[personal profile] convene 2022-05-10 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
"Manabu..." He reaches out to take his hand, smiling gently. "Relax. We can go anywhere and I'm sure that we'll have a good time. So why don't we head to Cellar Door and see if we can't find someplace to eat."

The Roost, the tea shop - it didn't matter as long as they were together, right?

"I'm still having a good time, you know." He's trying to be reassuring.
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[personal profile] convene 2022-05-10 11:35 am (UTC)(link)
"I don't hold it against you." He chuckles, shaking his head. "You must have needed the sleep. It's been difficult with the whole "eternal night" thing." He waves his free hand to gesture to the sky. "So don't worry about it."

He reaches over and shoves the books into his bag, figuring that they won't be missed if he borrowed them for a short while. He'll return them when he's done reading them - whenever that is. Ryunosuke smiles as he looks back over to Manabu.

"Let's go! I'm sure we'll find something."