psl || since the beginning of everything

[unsaid]

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[preowned]

[ he is used to helping a binch get dressed so it just makes sense to him

but he'll glance at the suit and nod his head before turning his attention to mikazuki. ]

Ah, my rent will go up...

[ his fake rent ]

[unsaid]

Ah, so it should. Perhaps then dinner each evening... and a walk.

[please want for a little more, you foolish old man

but regardless they'll be brought to the back of the store - they're probably at a bespoke tailor, so that means they're going to get some real detailed measurements taken.

the poor people working will have to deal with this flirting in front of their salads]

[preowned]

[ they'll also have to be largely confused about their outfits. it's fine. ]

You drive a hard bargain, but... that's probably within my budget.

[ his budget that he just made up ]

You don't want anything else?

[unsaid]

[isn't jiji's shirt still inside out because tsuru dressed him this morning

i hate it here

but also he smiles even as he steps forward to let himself get measured, his gaze remaining on tsurumaru]

Is there more you'd be willing to offer?

[preowned]

[ FUCK. IT IS. i also hate it here

but what would he offer?

it's all a joke, of course, but that really is quite a question. because it actually makes tsurumaru pause as he tries to come up with an answer that isn't simply 'anything'

he knows that there is a limit somewhere. he had hit it previously, years ago, when he had decided to keep quiet about his feelings when he realized he was not willing to offer his heart to be trampled on. because mikazuki would have never been allowed to accept him, regardless of whether or not the feelings were returned.

he's uncertain. they have no idea what is going on at the moment, and they could revert back to their old bodies at any time, as far as they know. but the reintroduction to youth has maybe made him bolder than he was yesterday, even if it may end poorly later. ]

I'm considering it.

[unsaid]

[ . . . hm.

it's perhaps more than mikazuki was expecting - and for that reason he smiles a bit mysteriously. for all that they joke, and for all that they play this game, he knows that he is the one who ultimately led to part of this wall being put between them. he was never in a position where he could stray from what his family wanted -

but that isn't quite the case now, is it? now it becomes not a matter of what his family seeks, only what he himself desires.

and what he wants is - ]

... I look forward to the conclusion you come to.

[but he'll have his measurements taken - and a suit will be tailored for him to be fitted into. then he steps aside so it's tsurumaru's turn.]

[preowned]

[ there's a smile back, and he'll step forward to proceed to be the worst type of customer for a tailor. sadly, tsurumaru is the type to move a lot when he speaks, so he's probably going to get stabbed by pins a few times here. ]

Mm. [ ... ] Where should we go next? We'll probably need more than a few suits.

[ they can't go horseback riding like this ]

[unsaid]

[mikazuki waits for this inevitable tiny stab moment that tsurumaru entirely deserves

but he looks thoughtful at that before glancing around.... and finding an attendant who looks their age, and he makes a beckoning gesture. he probably only gets away with it because he's so pretty]

Excuse me, but where do you shop for your clothes when you are not at work? I promise I will keep it a secret from your manager.

[BRAND LOYALTY CAN DISAPPEAR FOR A SECOND]

[preowned]

[ tsurumaru is a nosy bitch and is trying to eavesdrop, but he just gets stabbed instead for his efforts. ]

Ow!

[



i realize now this would make for a really funny mem regain skfjafjsf stabs ]

[unsaid]

[mikazuki gets interrupted from being directed toward billabong]

My dear?

[what happened, he looked away for two seconds]

[preowned]

Ahh... nothing...

[ he deserved it it's fine.

he will become less fidgety afterwards though, seemingly lost in thought. ]

[unsaid]

[well that's

certainly not nothing, then. mikazuki will cant his head to the side in curiosity but allow the moment to pass for now, instead going back to get fashion recs from this attendant. once he gets a few names of stores that dot along the street, he seems content and thanks the other for their time with a neat little pat on the head, like he's thanking someone many decades his junior.

technically, he is.

but leaving the bewildered attendant behind, he'll offer a smile up to tsuru as the person taking his measurements finishes up]

Just two garments that can be worn out of the store will do, thank you.

No additional grievous injuries sustained, Tsurumaru?

[preowned]

He has a gift for that.

[ STABBING???

but he will return to mikazuki's side once his measurements are done, as if he can't stray too far without coming back. ]

But it was a job well done. Did you get recommendations?

[unsaid]

I did - there are a few stores down the way, and we can pick up some snacks along the way if the mood strikes.

[it will strike]

Once the suits are done being tailored, we can change and take our leave. The extras will be sent directly to our home.

[oh, how easy it is to say 'our' even though tsurumaru does not pay rent]

[preowned]

You are always so efficient.

[ he'll stop talking, looking curiously at his hands.

quietly.

weird. ]

[unsaid]

I heard once that efficiency is merely to be intelligently slothful.

[so yea, he'll happily be called efficient. though as the two of them are left in the room, the other attendants will take their leave to fulfill their order.

mikazuki will briefly say:]

Do close the door, won't you?

[which they will, just as mikazuki will move to take one of tsurumaru's hands in his own, pulling it closer to him so that he can examine it as well]

What is it that you see?

[preowned]

[ the workers must think they're so gay it's funny

but tsurumaru looks at his hand before turning his gaze to mikazuki. ]

I'm not entirely sure. Like... something I had once experienced, but I know it never happened.

[ a battle, the feeling of getting hit by an opponent with a weapon-- something that is so outside his usual life that it was a little absurd. ]

[unsaid]

[admittedly they are so gay they simply are the last to know. sort of. they probably know but they aren't doing anything about it yet.

anyway!]

Such as....? I imagine there is not much left in this world that you have not seen and felt for yourself.

[tsurumaru gets into so much trouble - what's left to catch him off guard?]

[preowned]

I have yet to hold a blade.

[ a pause

his gaze returns to his hand. specifically, the palm, like he's trying to imagine something in its grasp. ]

Probably.

[unsaid]

[a beat]

.... Probably.

[slow, thoughtful, even though it admittedly lets things click just a little bit more. if they were able to remember some things in an exhibit about swords, and if they're in these younger forms....

mikazuki lets his own fingers trace against the lines of tsurumaru's palm in thought.]

You remembered this just now?

[FROM GETTING PRICKED WITH A NEEDLE BECAUSE OF HIS OWN FIDGETING?]

[preowned]

[ yea it was a funny regain trigger

but he just nods. he has lived a very long life, and he had once thought that he was well past the point where he'd be this uncertain about his own life. ]

I did. How surprising!

[unsaid]

To say the least.

[that is such a funny regain trigger - and mikazuki smiles, but it's not without the slightest edge of worry at the corner of his eye. he thinks that there are more and more pieces coming together but... why? how?

and when it is over, what picture will it paint?

he nonetheless takes tsurumaru's hand in his own, bringing it up closer to him so that he can brush his lips against the other's knuckles in a gesture that is neatly affectionate and lingering]

... may these hands remain unburdened by that weight for a bit longer, perhaps.

[preowned]

[ ...

it's probably too affectionate, perhaps, and he wonders briefly if they maybe cross a line a few times. and yet, tsuru does absolutely nothing about it, and instead just leans in a little closer. ]

I can feel them become lighter already.

[ the workers wander back out from the back. ]

[unsaid]

[it's a funny thing - to be nearly crossing this line so many times today, and yet to not feel that it is something odd or incorrect. rather, when the workers come back, mikazuki doesn't jolt away like he was caught doing something wrong -

instead he just straightens, squeezes tsurumaru's hand once, and then lets go before he turns back]

Are the garments ready?

[we'll say that few adjustments needed to be made! but they'll hand mikazuki one garment bag and tsurumaru another]

Ha ha ha, thank you.

[time to change and leave behind gay tension]

[preowned]

[ off they go, like nothing ever happened. except a lot of things just happened in a very short amount of time, but sometimes you just breeze through life without outwardly seeming to worried about it.

tsurumaru takes a quick moment just to double check that the car is still parked where he left it after they leave the store. ]

Where to?

[ he is pretending nothing weird just happened in there in general. what's a regain. ]