[He stays like that for a few moments, breath catching a tiny bit when his hand is gently closed. The gesture is so... kind and warm... Akechi wants to...
He just wants to stop being so afraid of companionship, for once. Wants to stop being afraid that people are going to hurt him, as soon as he lets down his walls... he's tired, and Kurama is offering support... Apparently, he knows so much about him, and yet... here he is. Helping him, comforting him, caring about him... if he truly knew so much... does that mean he accepts his darker side?
It's too soon, and too dangerous to say. But he does turn his head so he can read his message, and that... hurts too. Those kind words... the gentle look. He so badly wants to melt into it, though Kurama is just an effective stranger.
He's so weak to kindness...
I want to help, in whatever way you need from me.
He stares at those last words, conflict rife in his eyes. The pain of the aftermath of the dust echoes in his heart. Once again, he had no one he could depend on. Because he would not let himself.
Maybe things need to change.
... it's a risky move. He doesn't know Kurama well. But his heart aches, and the rose he was given sits in his room in a glass. But for once... he can take a chance. It... won't even matter that much if he ends up being wrong, right? He barely knows Kurama. . .
...
So he scoots closer, letting their shoulders brush together. The hand not being held raises up.]
Please stay.
[It doesn't have to mean anything. Akechi is just... he's just lonely and feeling weak and wants reassurance and Kurama is offering it to him, it doesn't mean he has to trust him or... or... this is too much, isn't it? Even though he knows an Akechi, he's still a veritable stranger. Haha, christ, look at him, falling apart over a single photo... His body tenses and he looks away, half-bracing to be aggressively rejected...]
[Kurama was half-braced to be brushed off and sent away. Akechi is in a vulnerable place and Kurama is essentially a stranger who knows too much.
So he is caught by surprise and yet dangerously relieved when Akechi's shoulder settles against his. When his phone translates the gestures into a request that he stay. He knows he shouldn't be getting close to Akechi, but he does not have it in him to turn away from the boy's pain.
He lets go of Akechi's hand, but only to slide his arm gently around Akechi's shoulders instead. It's not quite a hug, but it's not entirely not, either, and it's a clear, open gesture of support.]
[Ah, he's... accepted. Welcomed, even, and some part of him subconsciously just... relaxes. Maybe a lingering side-effect of the dust? Either way, he'll admit it's perhaps... a bit out of character for him, to trust a veritable stranger like this?
But he's tired. Tired of fighting all the time. Maybe this wasn't the time to give in, but something about Kurama... draws him in. Something in his gaze makes him want to melt into this support. Quick glimpses of a warm, deep affection.
... exactly... what was the other him to Kurama...? If he knows as much as he suggests... surely this must be a trap?
Those kinds of thoughts just have him instinctively curling in on himself more, like he wants to trust Kurama and yet some instinctive part of him still fears. He's so used to being surrounded by people who manipulated and lied on a daily basis. It's only after meeting the thieves, and subsequently coming here, that he's gotten to know people who didn't seem to have ulterior motives... Akira being the most significant influence.
And still his heart thrums with nervousness. He's so unused to being vulnerable like this, and he abruptly remembers why he would avoid it at all costs. It's... terrifying? But he refuses to move from this spot, almost as if he's trying to prove to himself that not everyone is out to get him. That he doesn't have to spend weeks upon weeks getting to know someone before he lets his walls down a little. That it's not going to utterly blow up in his face.
For once, he just honestly wants to believe in someone's good intentions without worrying about ulterior motives...]
[Kurama can feel the shifting levels of tension under his arm. And he can't help but wonder if Akechi is pushing himself too far. But he has to let that be Akechi's choice to make, because he can't imagine a version of him so different that he doesn't desperately need agency and some control over his own life.
He asked Kurama to stay, and Kurama won't dispute or second-guess his choice. He lets his hand run gently along Akechi's shoulder, a gesture meant to soothe. He doesn't quite dare pull him into a full hug, for fear he'll feel too confined.
It's morbidly funny, that he can't comfort Goro Akechi the same way he would comfort Goro Akechi.
He sets his device aside and curls the newly freed hand gently around Akechi's, just loose enough that he could pull it free if he wanted to.]
[Each gentle gesture is a warm balm of reassurance. Every moment he allows Akechi feels stolen, but so incredibly cathartic. It's... no wonder it felt so good when all his inhibitions were stripped away from him; he needed the physical contact and comfort from someone who meant him no harm.
He doesn't know how long he's allowed, but at least for the moment? He's... actually starting to genuinely relax. And so he'll allow himself awhile of just... resting here, against Kurama. Against someone he still knows so little about, but somehow gives off an aura of trustworthiness, of sincere intentions...
It must be that look he was given... no one would give a look like that to someone they would hurt, right? He... supposes it's possible, technically, but for the moment? He's chancing disregarding that possibility. He's uncurled from his defensive position, and actually. . . calm.
Eventually, when he does pull away, he seems... to be much more at ease. He even offers a small smile, slightly shy, as he signs to Kurama:]
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He just wants to stop being so afraid of companionship, for once. Wants to stop being afraid that people are going to hurt him, as soon as he lets down his walls... he's tired, and Kurama is offering support... Apparently, he knows so much about him, and yet... here he is. Helping him, comforting him, caring about him... if he truly knew so much... does that mean he accepts his darker side?
It's too soon, and too dangerous to say. But he does turn his head so he can read his message, and that... hurts too. Those kind words... the gentle look. He so badly wants to melt into it, though Kurama is just an effective stranger.
He's so weak to kindness...
I want to help, in whatever way you need from me.
He stares at those last words, conflict rife in his eyes. The pain of the aftermath of the dust echoes in his heart. Once again, he had no one he could depend on. Because he would not let himself.
Maybe things need to change.
... it's a risky move. He doesn't know Kurama well. But his heart aches, and the rose he was given sits in his room in a glass. But for once... he can take a chance. It... won't even matter that much if he ends up being wrong, right? He barely knows Kurama. . .
...
So he scoots closer, letting their shoulders brush together. The hand not being held raises up.]
Please stay.
[It doesn't have to mean anything. Akechi is just... he's just lonely and feeling weak and wants reassurance and Kurama is offering it to him, it doesn't mean he has to trust him or... or... this is too much, isn't it? Even though he knows an Akechi, he's still a veritable stranger. Haha, christ, look at him, falling apart over a single photo... His body tenses and he looks away, half-bracing to be aggressively rejected...]
no subject
So he is caught by surprise and yet dangerously relieved when Akechi's shoulder settles against his. When his phone translates the gestures into a request that he stay. He knows he shouldn't be getting close to Akechi, but he does not have it in him to turn away from the boy's pain.
He lets go of Akechi's hand, but only to slide his arm gently around Akechi's shoulders instead. It's not quite a hug, but it's not entirely not, either, and it's a clear, open gesture of support.]
no subject
But he's tired. Tired of fighting all the time. Maybe this wasn't the time to give in, but something about Kurama... draws him in. Something in his gaze makes him want to melt into this support. Quick glimpses of a warm, deep affection.
... exactly... what was the other him to Kurama...? If he knows as much as he suggests... surely this must be a trap?
Those kinds of thoughts just have him instinctively curling in on himself more, like he wants to trust Kurama and yet some instinctive part of him still fears. He's so used to being surrounded by people who manipulated and lied on a daily basis. It's only after meeting the thieves, and subsequently coming here, that he's gotten to know people who didn't seem to have ulterior motives... Akira being the most significant influence.
And still his heart thrums with nervousness. He's so unused to being vulnerable like this, and he abruptly remembers why he would avoid it at all costs. It's... terrifying? But he refuses to move from this spot, almost as if he's trying to prove to himself that not everyone is out to get him. That he doesn't have to spend weeks upon weeks getting to know someone before he lets his walls down a little. That it's not going to utterly blow up in his face.
For once, he just honestly wants to believe in someone's good intentions without worrying about ulterior motives...]
no subject
He asked Kurama to stay, and Kurama won't dispute or second-guess his choice. He lets his hand run gently along Akechi's shoulder, a gesture meant to soothe. He doesn't quite dare pull him into a full hug, for fear he'll feel too confined.
It's morbidly funny, that he can't comfort Goro Akechi the same way he would comfort Goro Akechi.
He sets his device aside and curls the newly freed hand gently around Akechi's, just loose enough that he could pull it free if he wanted to.]
no subject
He doesn't know how long he's allowed, but at least for the moment? He's... actually starting to genuinely relax. And so he'll allow himself awhile of just... resting here, against Kurama. Against someone he still knows so little about, but somehow gives off an aura of trustworthiness, of sincere intentions...
It must be that look he was given... no one would give a look like that to someone they would hurt, right? He... supposes it's possible, technically, but for the moment? He's chancing disregarding that possibility. He's uncurled from his defensive position, and actually. . . calm.
Eventually, when he does pull away, he seems... to be much more at ease. He even offers a small smile, slightly shy, as he signs to Kurama:]
Thank you.