heavenlydecree | (no subject)

(no subject)

[If there was one thing Takatora was sure he should have learned by now, it would be how to keep his life in perfect running order. He had been the head of Yggdrasill's Research and Development branch from the moment he'd left high school and even before that, his father had kept him on a tight and strict schedule, never a second unaccounted for or left out of place. Unfortunately, with all of Takatora's scheduling and trying to squeeze an extra hour into every day, he still felt as though he never had time for anything, let alone everything. Even his weekends left little time for himself, though Takatora was also painfully aware of his obsession with triple-checking everything under his command and bringing such weight onto himself. He couldn't allow for errors.

His morning routine started a bit later on the weekends, if only because Takatora knew he had to catch up on sleep at some point to make up for running himself ragged. Getting sick was something he couldn't risk. The usual morning routine went by quickly: dragging himself out of bed (he'd never become a morning person, as much as he wanted to), showering, getting dressed, checking for any news or alerts while he had been sleeping. Thankfully, nothing important had happened during the night. Takatora always lived with the fear of something awful happening while he was asleep that he would be unprepared for, but every morning brought the same temporary relief. For now.

Takatora headed out of his room after an hour or so, still checking his phone as he made his way down the hall and towards the stairs. Ryouma already wanted to talk to him about something, which was mildly surprising as Ryouma rarely (never) got out of bed so early, which meant he'd been up all night again. Stepping past one of the maids, Takatora spoke a return greeting to her as he continued on, paying more attention to typing out messages than his surroundings.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[No, Ryouma, you are definitely not allowed to leave yet. There are times for playing, but this...]

Now isn't the time for teasing, Ryouma. Tell me.

[Excellent. He frowns a bit and shakes his head.]

He's gotten rather... intimate with Kazuraba Kouta in the past few days.

[He doesn't know all the details since he didn't have a visual feed but... well. He's somewhat all right with that. Just hearing them is enough for blackmail. Perhaps even better, since it sounds worse than it probably was.]

[Somehow, Takatora doesn't seem to react much at all, at least visibly. Fortunately for Ryouma, who knows him so well, the subtle signs are obvious: Takatora setting his jaw, the way his fingers clench and the too-straight posture he uses when he sits back up, along with the far too serious tone to his voice.]

... and you don't know all of the details yet?

... I have ideas, certainly, but I don't have a visual. The Drivers were in their bags.

[An oversight, maybe. But he doesn't really have any desire to watch teenagers - or close enough to them - having sloppy sex.]

I have other data related to the Drivers to process for the past few days. I have to focus on those who were in Helheim first.

[Which is good, because there are specific steps Takatora has taken to avoid having any unnecessary surveillance done on his brother. The idea of Ryouma (or anyone) doing that sort of thing... was unpleasant. The audio was bad enough.

Takatora shifts in his chair, turning his head away and tightly gripping the edge of his desk to try to ground himself.]

Don't adjust your priorities.

I wasn't planning on it.

[Hmm...]

I can bring up one of my laptops. The data should be on there by now, and I can work from here.

No. It's not important.

[He's squirming a bit more now, tapping his fingers on the desk.]

... drop it entirely. There's no need to do anything more with that information.

Done. But I do have other data I need to work on.

[So the offer still stands.]

[It takes him a moment to realize what Ryouma's hinting at.]

If you'd like...

[Unfortunately, it's a little too difficult for Takatora to speak right now, so his response is short.]

I'll be back in an hour.

[He stands and heads towards the door, just barely resisting the urge to twirl.]

[Takatora takes a deep breath, fighting the urge to just ask the other to stay.]

Don't keep me waiting very long.

I'll make it half an hour.

[As he expected. Oh well. Running down to the lab and grabbing a laptop won't take long. He can even tell one of his assistants to get it ready for him.]

[It's not long after Ryouma leaves that Takatora has folded his arms on the surface of the desk and has his head down, resting on them. It's absolute murder on his shoulder, but even the pain isn't enough to make him care.]

[When Ryouma comes back in, he nudges Takatora gently, enough to get him to sit up.]

You'll lose an arm that way.

[. . .

He sits up, reluctantly, rolling his shoulder a little to try and get the feeling back.]

The new model will have an improved shoulder piece, by the way.

[That's enough to cause Takatora to reach out carefully with his right hand, grasping at the sleeve of Ryouma's jacket to pull him closer.]

I find it hard to believe I deserve someone who treats me as well as you do.

[He sets the laptop case down carefully and leans in a bit.]

I've known you for a long time. I can't go losing you yet.

[As soon as Ryouma's close enough, Takatora lowers his hand back down to his lap, reaching up with his left instead to cup the side of Ryouma's face. Despite how much he's hurting, physically and emotionally, the expression on Takatora's face is affectionate.]

... sometimes it feels as though you're the only person I can trust.

[He leans into Takatora's hand and reaches up to brush the other's hair back.]

I've known you longer than most anyone else has.

[So if he can't trust him... well.]

Hm... look at you~. I wonder...

[He reaches up and trails his hand down the side of Takatora's neck to his collar, toying with a button.]

... hm?

[But oh, no. Ryouma's touch seems to be the catalyst for whatever Takatora is holding back. He gasps in a breath, and while he would normally be having a completely different reaction to the touch on his neck, this time he simply turns his head away and takes in a deep breath. His expression shifts from affection to pain, though Takatora fights hard to keep from breaking down any further.]

[He pulls his hand back quickly, and draws back a little bit.]

Perhaps not now.

[And yet he doesn't pull his head back from Takatora's touch. Not yet.]

[Takatora pulls himself together just enough to speak, moving his hand down to grasp the collar of Ryouma's jacket.]

... no. Keep going.

[Whether it's about the topic or Ryouma's touch, he's not specifying.]

[He reaches up again and cards his fingers gently through Takatora's hair.]

Mm. I was just considering how you want to be... distracted.

What were you thinking?

[He still sounds a bit distant, but the fingers in his hair receives a satisfied sigh.]