sugarcube | psl || since the beginning of everything

[ tsurumaru is surprised.

it's almost like seeing a ghost, and he once again wonders if this is some sort of hallucination. he can't really help but to step forward, like he's about to reach out... but he stops. ]

Did I forget to take my pills...?

[ he turns around to pad back into the room. where are his meds. something is wrong. ]

Ha ha ha. Did you? You look better without them if you did.

[MIKAZUKI DON'T JUST TELL AN OLD MAN NOT TO TAKE HIS PILLS JUST BECAUSE HE'S A BISHOUNEN NOW

but he will also pad in after quietly, closing the door quietly behind him. every step he takes is still measured and slow, even as he putters around the guest room, searching for a hand mirror that's probably in here somewhere. eventually he is able to locate one and then wherever tsurumaru is, he turns to him]

Ah. Dear Kuninaga-kun [he's teasing], turn this way for a surprise.

[because he probably still loves surprises?

but mikazuki will just

hold up the mirror to face tsurumaru then, so he can get a look at his own face, just in case he hadn't made it yet since he just woke up,,]

[ he turns and-- ah.

... ]

How sweet. You keep a picture of me with you.

[ no.

but tsurumaru will abandon his search for his pills, and will walk back to mikazuki. he reaches out to grab the hand mirror, his fingers gently brushing against the other's as he takes it to look into it properly. ]

Are we dreaming? It's a nice one, then.

Why would I keep such a handsome picture of you? Even if it was one from this age, I like your first senior portrait image the most, when you threw a rubber snake at the photographer. Ah, I believe that is still in an album somewhere in the study....

[why is mikazuki so fucking terrible, why does no one know he's terrible. it's 'oh honorable mikazuki' this or 'oh honored grandfather' that when he never stopped being chaotic the second that someone took their eyes off of him.

but he will easily relinquish the mirror to tsurumaru, instead just watching his expression for a moment - and... also simply watching him.]

... it does feel like a dream. Like someone has deigned to give us a bit more time, though I wonder what consequences may come with it...

Or perhaps we will simply wake up in a few moments time.

If we do, I hope you remember that I'm in the mood for some eggs for breakfast.

[ that's important

but okay, if this isn't a dream, then...

there are some things to consider here. he goes to set the mirror down, and then turns back to mikazuki. ]

If this isn't a dream... do you have any ideas of what's going on? [ ah ] Perhaps that Receptor application?

[ that's not what it's called ]

Bless you?

[he didn't sneeze

but mikazuki will then go to sit on the bed, still dressed in his pajamas, and hum thoughtfully....]

How would you like your eggs?

[please go back to the important part of the conversation]

Oh! Scrambled would be nice, but with cheese? It's really delicious.

[ eggs are important

but he will go to look through his phone, fumbling as he tries to remember which one is the app...? strange, though, his his memory is better than it usually is. that doesn't help with not knowing how to work this, but it's something to note. ]

... here it is.

[ it takes a few taps, but eventually he opens retrospec and he holds it out. ]

Do you have this on your phone? It's apparently been causing quite a commotion.

Has it? I don't hear anything.

[not literally, he's expecting the phone to be screeching at him. though as tsurumaru shows him that, mikazuki will move to stand - slowly still, but more out of habit than out of ache. he wanders his way over to the doorway and opens it, peering out as he beckons over one of the staff that is meandering the halls. they approach him with a diligent and polite greeting, to which mikazuki only smiles]

Might we receive breakfast shortly? A plate of scrambled eggs with cheese, and for myself toast and jam is fine.

[to which the attendant just nods, and stutters out a response before looking away with flushed cheeks, which is.... new. mikazuki can't particularly remember that type of reaction before. but then he'll head back inside, closing the door behind him]

It would appear as though we two are the only ones who are finding the shift odd. [which is apparently why he was so willing to take tsuru's order] The staff are still responding to me as they would.... largely.

[the blushing was weird]

Now you said something about a raptor?

[no]

About a month ago, this application appeared on my phone. I thought that I may have caught a cold, which was very exciting.

[ virus. and don't be excited about that. ]

But when I was taking a walk a week later, I overheard some teenagers speaking about receiving it as well. It was very odd, so I asked them about it, and they said it was something many people suddenly received and that odd things were occurring.

City life is so surprising, isn't it? I must have forgotten in my age.

[ NO THIS ISN'T REGULAR CITY LIFE ]

Ah? You ought to take better of your health, and your intelligent phone's health.[smart phone.] If you are in the city, perhaps you ought to see a doctor....

[it's not so much outward fretting as it is the general worry from someone elderly, because their immune systems are weaker? he listens to what tsurumaru says, about what the kids are saying, and he just hums thoughtfully...... he hadn't really hard that much, but he supposes there have been a few strange occurrences. sparks of flame that no one else finds odd, the way that fruit now dances, things that might have once appeared in fiction....]

It is true that the city has always been... bustling, to say the least. Though I wonder if this is related. For what reason would our physical appearances be so altered?

[mystery....]

Perhaps it requires more research still.

There is a way to speak to others with it, but... I am not entirely certain how it works...

[ tsuru has 100% made a retrospec post before but it was on accident and just a series of keysmashes. terrible. ]

Is it just an illusion? But... I have to say, my aches are gone. I'm not sure if an illusion would do that.

[ so are they... genuinely just younger now? it's difficult to understand how this could work. ]

[grandpas say the darndest things]

Oh? Good for you.

[he says this - but mikazuki actually raises a hand at that, reaching past tsurumaru's phone and instead just letting his palm fit against the curve of tsurumaru's jaw, thumb brushing against his cheek. he tilts his head as he examines...]

This face... It is the one that broke someone's heart with an excuse of your apartment complex bursting into flames, no? You even requested I mimic a siren over the phone... [so placing it around their late college years, basically.] And the skin is smooth to touch - so at the very least, it is real in that sense.

[ is tsuru having a heart attack. what is this.

... ah, no, his heart skipped a beat at the contact. he chooses to ignore that. ]

You sounded just like it. I was very impressed.

[ don't focus on that

he should probably move away though. he doesn't. mikazuki initiated the contact so he can end it. ]

I almost forgot how beautiful you were. No offense to your wrinkles.

My wrinkles may wish to have a word with you upon their return.

[ - because they will return, won't they? this sort of thing couldn't last forever....

could it?]

... but to hear those words from you remains an honor. If anything, I am glad to have at least this moment - for you are even more lovely than what my memories held. No wonder you were so dangerous in our youth.

[this is so straight.

anyway, mikazuki will reclaim his hand then, pulling away before he moves to stand, peering out the window curiously to see if anything else about the word has changed. there's no weird hue in the sky, no strange monster on the horizon... only chirping birds and the stretch of the manicured gardens of the estate.]

Shall we make the most of this while we have it then?

[ it's extremely straight. it's fine. ]

We should take a walk.

[ think of how much of the city they can explore, without need a cane. without getting tired and having to sit down constantly until their feet are able to carry them again. ]

Shall we get dressed, and then eat breakfast?

Ah, that is what brought me here.

[breakfast?]

Might you help me dress?

[they literally just had a conversation about how they're feeling better and younger and yet,]

Hm? Is your staff not up to the task?

[ he stretches-- ah, yeah. that felt nice and didn't ache. he is realizing he could get used to this, and objectively that is probably terrible for everyone who isn't him.

still, he'll walk over to his own closet and peer at the clothes. admittedly... they're probably no longer going to be a perfect fit, but he's not thinking about that possibility. ]

But I'll assist you, my dear Mikazuki.

Hmm.... Perhaps if I still possessed my wrinkles, then it would be acceptable - though I feel as though it may be complicated now.

[to be a bishounen...

he watches tsurumaru stretch, and his fingers twitch minutely as though he wishes to reach out and touch yet again - but he refrains. no need for that.]

You have my gratitude. Should you need any help, please let me know as well.

[admittedly until then, he's actually going to pick up tsurumaru's phone and start snooping through it quietly]

[ tsuru's phone is probably a mess because he probably downloaded a million apps on accident while attempting to learn how it works. it's a miracle it even runs.

but retrospec is there, at least.

tsuru, meanwhile, is picking out an outfit. ]

Unlike you, I know how to dress myself.

[ it's said with a laugh, although it's not entirely true. there are times where he needs an extra hand, but he doesn't care to admit to the frustrations of old age at the moment. ]

[jiji is so fucking lost in tsurumaru's phone. it distracts him entirely, but he still manages to be able to quip back:]

To know how and to do so well are two separate matters.

[he manages to get into the retrospec app somehow, but then he gets out of it and gets into tik tok. and then he gets out of tik tok and wanders into tsurumaru's photos app. how much of it is blurry. are there pictures of chickens in here.]

[ it is almost entirely chickens, and they are all blurry chickens.

there are a few non-blurry, nice shots, and those were very obviously taken by someone other than tsurumaru. things like the sunset, or fields, and even shots of tsuru quietly working on his farm. but it's mostly blurry chickens. ]

If you say things like that, I'll have no problem with letting you go out in your pajamas.

[ his grandpa fashion trend clothes have been chosen... he wanders from the closet ]

[

jiji knows nothing about these phones but he's pretty sure he can send images to people. this is how he first accidentally airdrops a shot of tsuru quietly work on his farm to a random staff member who has their airdrop one. but then the photo does properly get sent to jiji's phone through text yea. but now that photo of a farming grandpa is out there.]

Ha ha ha, has your grace truly become so limited?

[he continues to tease.....

what the fuck was he doing with this phone

oh right retrospec]

You receive what you earn, Mikazuki.

[ he doesn't actually believe that but he wants to make fun of him

... there's a pause, actually. tsurumaru peeks down the collar of his shirt, curious. ]

Wow... the power of youth...

[ shut up. but he'll get to changing, trying to be as casual as possible about doing so. ]

[when

tsurumaru peeks down the collar of his shirt, mikazuki looks up briefly. before just. laughing. he can't help it, he's definitely laughing to himself - bringing a hand up to his mouth, pressing the back of it against his lips to try to muffle the noise. otherwise, he's going back to the phone because he's arguably never had a horny teenager phase and he's not going to start today]

Are you impressed with yourself? Will you have to exercise more to maintain this? Perhaps we will have to do ah - what is it? Foot day?

[leg day]

It's rather nostalgic... I remember when I was this healthy.

[ you are currently this healthy.

but changing clothes is a lot faster than he remembered it to be, but then he has to... take a moment to really recognize just how much old age has deteriorated his body over the years. he had been aware of it, of course, but this is such whiplash it's almost amusing ]

I'm finished.

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