[Ren making a make-shift tent out of her blanket earns a small laugh, but not one close to his usual laugh. He's just a little tired.
Everything will be okay. It's not something they can really make better. Seto has no illusions about finding survivors meaning the world will be fixed. It'll just make it a little more nicer.
And with Ren at his side...everything will be okay. Just for a little longer, it'll be okay.]
We can hide together.
[Always. Until the day he dies, just like he told someone else before.]
[Those words pierce her, with the knowledge that he's both very right and very wrong on that account. A piece of him is lost somewhere to the world-the part she can feel comfortable saying every single one of her worries and fears to, because she knows he's already able to understand that there's no hope for her beyond some consoling words and the offer of his hand.
As it stands now, she can't tell him anything-because they've been through this. Because he'll ignore her, he'll try to find hope somewhere, instead of sitting by the side of the nice elves she's come to really-
She doesn't know what it feels like to love someone, but this must be close.]
I know.
[Is all she can say, with a hint of a smile reappearing on her face.]
Do you want me to tuck you in? I can put you by Taako and Lup. You can sleep in that warm place. You'll feel happy there.
[Seto knows there's a level of futility when he hopes to live for a long time. Every time he's pictured himself older, it's always been an idle fantasy. One day they were going to run out of food and water. Something could happen, something bad, and that would be that.
He told Ichimatsu that: one day Seto was going to die. He'd accepted that.
But here, there was food and water because there were people who would help you find it, who would give it to you because there was enough for everyone and you didn't have to take it apart bit-by-bit to make it last. Snacks were something and you didn't have to worry about finding a place to stay because there were elves that let you stay for good.
Because Crow was here and alive again, as loud and bright as he was and could be. Because Ren could laugh and smile and was no longer afraid. Because the moments of silence weren't deafening anymore.
He doesn't know what it feels like to love someone, but this must be close.]
We can sleep together. I want to share that with you.
[Because to Seto, there's nothing better then sharing things with Ren. That's all he wants.]
[Most of her life has been spent waiting for moments to end. For experiments to stop running, for tests to be completed, for lonely nights to be over and for ghosts to finish whatever plans they had started. She would hide in her dreams, in areas full of cats, in buildings illuminated by the round, white moon and hold the few moments she felt were worth clinging to, in the hopes they might last.
This is one of them. The thought is brief, but she recognizes it as a second she wants to last forever, with the knowledge that it won't. For her, the warm camp will be a memory. The sleepy noises of the people around her will echo in her heart like they were a dream all along and Seto's warm hand-
It's going to end, but she knows how to hold on for as long as she can. To the sound of pets, of family, of a life she's lucky enough to experience, thanks to people kind enough to allow her a glimpse of a world she doesn't belong to.
She pulls the blanket tent off them, clutching the fabric with her hands, and sits up on her knees, prepared to tuck in the boy with it. Incredible. Get ready. ]
Okay, if you lay down here, I can wrap you up. That's all you have to do.
[Most of his life has been spent waiting for moments to begin. Meeting people and the inevitable partings. He met PF in a lonely, wet room and lost her at the exit and the cold earth. He met Crow in a place designed for fun and amazement and lost him in the place that had made his best friend. He met both Sai and Chiyo in a haunted hotel and watched them fade away when they reached their happiness.
And he met Ren at a pretty pond, the first human he met since his Grandpa passed away. They had yet to meet their end, but Seto knows one day it'll come. As sad as it is, it doesn't take much for a life to end.
One day this would end for him. But like Ren, Seto was going to hold onto this for as long as he can. Hold onto the idea of having food and water whenever you wanted it, the sounds of pets and family and knowing you're not alone anymore. That you could walk and find someone in mere minutes rather then never.
Falling asleep in the Water had been terrifying but falling asleep now doesn't hurt. Lup and Taako are here. Ren and Crow are here. He's not alone.
Not anymore. This was a glimpse of a world he would keep to his heart as long as it let him.]
Okay.
[He does lie down as instructed and waits for Ren to wrap him up. Then she'll join him, right?]
[The events of the last week had forced her to teeter on the edge of an eternal sleep and now that she's awake, the grogginess that had plagued her completely gone, she doesn't plan to do more than rest by his side.
Which is why 'tucking in' quickly turns from task to game. The boy needs to sleep, and she'll let him, by making sure he's as cozy as possible. And if that happens to include shoving her bag near his head for him to rest on and throwing the blanket over his entire body, then so be it. Because that's what happens.
She tucks the edge of the blanket under him and around his body, tight as she can, and swiftly transforms him from human boy to blanket cocoon. The quiet nighttime chaos even attracts the attention of her sleepy kitty, who's now eyeing this potential new bed-eyeing, pawing, and then leaping on the boy with all the grace an anime cat can muster. Enjoy the best sleep companion, Seto. Look, he's even purring? A happy cat is the ultimate comfort machine.]
Good boy. Make sure Seto stays tucked in. I'll give you a good treat tomorrow.
[Ren's ideas are something Seto rolls with quite easily, anything so she's happy. And if that means turning him into a human burrito then so be it. The cat jumping on him produces a small, quiet noise of surprise, but that's fine. Cats are Ren's friends so any cat is a good cat.]
Good kitty. Thank you.
[Both of you. Seto isn't quite sleepy enough that he would 'fall asleep' the same way the Water made him but he isn't so awake that he couldn't, like the days spent after his Grandpa told him why there weren't any more people in the world.
But. He's not going to go to sleep until Ren is here. Go get a blanket for yourself buddy. Then it's bed time.]
[She's a hardcore apocalypse child that doesn't need any blankets to wrap herself in for a good night's rest and that's why instead of ambling off to find one, she lays by his side. She presses against his burrito body, as close and she can get, and raises a hand up to pet ESP's little head.]
[Seto shuffles as close as he can to Ren to try and share the warmth without knocking ESP Kitty over, because that's rude. He will also sneak a hand out so he can hold hers.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Everything will be okay. It's not something they can really make better. Seto has no illusions about finding survivors meaning the world will be fixed. It'll just make it a little more nicer.
And with Ren at his side...everything will be okay. Just for a little longer, it'll be okay.]
We can hide together.
[Always. Until the day he dies, just like he told someone else before.]
And you can tell me things if you need to.
no subject
As it stands now, she can't tell him anything-because they've been through this. Because he'll ignore her, he'll try to find hope somewhere, instead of sitting by the side of the nice elves she's come to really-
She doesn't know what it feels like to love someone, but this must be close.]
I know.
[Is all she can say, with a hint of a smile reappearing on her face.]
Do you want me to tuck you in? I can put you by Taako and Lup. You can sleep in that warm place. You'll feel happy there.
no subject
He told Ichimatsu that: one day Seto was going to die. He'd accepted that.
But here, there was food and water because there were people who would help you find it, who would give it to you because there was enough for everyone and you didn't have to take it apart bit-by-bit to make it last. Snacks were something and you didn't have to worry about finding a place to stay because there were elves that let you stay for good.
Because Crow was here and alive again, as loud and bright as he was and could be. Because Ren could laugh and smile and was no longer afraid. Because the moments of silence weren't deafening anymore.
He doesn't know what it feels like to love someone, but this must be close.]
We can sleep together. I want to share that with you.
[Because to Seto, there's nothing better then sharing things with Ren. That's all he wants.]
no subject
This is one of them. The thought is brief, but she recognizes it as a second she wants to last forever, with the knowledge that it won't. For her, the warm camp will be a memory. The sleepy noises of the people around her will echo in her heart like they were a dream all along and Seto's warm hand-
It's going to end, but she knows how to hold on for as long as she can. To the sound of pets, of family, of a life she's lucky enough to experience, thanks to people kind enough to allow her a glimpse of a world she doesn't belong to.
She pulls the blanket tent off them, clutching the fabric with her hands, and sits up on her knees, prepared to tuck in the boy with it. Incredible. Get ready. ]
Okay, if you lay down here, I can wrap you up. That's all you have to do.
no subject
And he met Ren at a pretty pond, the first human he met since his Grandpa passed away. They had yet to meet their end, but Seto knows one day it'll come. As sad as it is, it doesn't take much for a life to end.
One day this would end for him. But like Ren, Seto was going to hold onto this for as long as he can. Hold onto the idea of having food and water whenever you wanted it, the sounds of pets and family and knowing you're not alone anymore. That you could walk and find someone in mere minutes rather then never.
Falling asleep in the Water had been terrifying but falling asleep now doesn't hurt. Lup and Taako are here. Ren and Crow are here. He's not alone.
Not anymore. This was a glimpse of a world he would keep to his heart as long as it let him.]
Okay.
[He does lie down as instructed and waits for Ren to wrap him up. Then she'll join him, right?]
no subject
Which is why 'tucking in' quickly turns from task to game. The boy needs to sleep, and she'll let him, by making sure he's as cozy as possible. And if that happens to include shoving her bag near his head for him to rest on and throwing the blanket over his entire body, then so be it. Because that's what happens.
She tucks the edge of the blanket under him and around his body, tight as she can, and swiftly transforms him from human boy to blanket cocoon. The quiet nighttime chaos even attracts the attention of her sleepy kitty, who's now eyeing this potential new bed-eyeing, pawing, and then leaping on the boy with all the grace an anime cat can muster. Enjoy the best sleep companion, Seto. Look, he's even purring? A happy cat is the ultimate comfort machine.]
Good boy. Make sure Seto stays tucked in. I'll give you a good treat tomorrow.
no subject
Good kitty. Thank you.
[Both of you. Seto isn't quite sleepy enough that he would 'fall asleep' the same way the Water made him but he isn't so awake that he couldn't, like the days spent after his Grandpa told him why there weren't any more people in the world.
But. He's not going to go to sleep until Ren is here. Go get a blanket for yourself buddy. Then it's bed time.]
no subject
Good night, Seto.
no subject
Because he can.]
Good night, Ren.