gnasher | 1495 inbox ✘ hollyheights [ CLOSED ]

Well, yeah, if I got worked up every time I got lost I'd be exhausted.

[It's just not worth the energy, especially when he can just call Rin and hopefully get this all sorted out. He's a little confused about the 'stuck back here again' part since he's pretty sure he'd remember ending up in a Western looking neighborhood like this with distinctly American cars around, but maybe he's just really lost this time.

Sousuke looks down at the papers in his hand--they were in his pocket and he's just as confused about them, but he'll deal with that in a minute--then up at the house whose lawn he's just vacated.]

It says 1442 but I can't find any street signs at the cross streets. All the houses look the same, though.

[ah. well that brings him to a rather discomforting conclusion; that this is now round three of Sousuke not remembering his stay here. still, Rin can't find it in himself to be much annoyed at having to start over (with breaking down Sousuke's walls about -- everything, making him more receptive to the people and strange opportunities of Holly Heights), because it means he gets to spend time with his best friend again. there's nothing here to be upset about, not now]

That's why you're gonna stay put, alright! I'll be there in five minutes, time it if you want!

[don't be so competitive the second he's gotten off the boat Rin]

[(but he can't help it; he's so excited to see his friend again, the one who means the most to him in the whole world)]

[Sousuke's giving his phone a Look but only for a second; the rest of the time is spent looking around for literally a single familiar thing. The sky is blue. The grass is green. That's pretty much all he's got right now, except that Rin seems to know where he is.]

Where else am I going to go?

[He doesn't hang up, though, since who knows, Rin might stay on the phone. He does look down at his watch, then drops back into the chair he was sitting in when he woke up. Tick tock, Rin.]

[Rin's always one for beating records, and he makes it to Sousuke's side in less than five minutes -- it's easy to run to something, after all, and he's never wanted to see Sousuke more. it's not complete selfishness; although Rin wishes, more often than not, for the voice of Nagisa to suddenly come through his phone, he doesn't wish Nagisa back. Holly Heights is better for people who need room to grow, and Nagisa's already much too big for it; he doesn't need the break from reality, to patch himself up. Sousuke could use the time here, to figure out his steps from graduation on, to catch up on all the time he lost in Tokyo, pursuing a dream that has had to be set down. he needs time to find a new dream and new meaning for himself]

[it is selfish that Rin wants to be there for all that change, desperately, in a way he couldn't be if he was in Australia; Sousuke might be a bit puzzled then, by how enthusiastic a greeting Rin gives him, in the form of a headlong hug]

Sousuke!

[it's a rough hug, the kind that betrays tenderness rather than lacks it; slapping his best friend's back, he recedes only to make room between them for their familiar, stupid handshake. it's been too long since he's done it]

[Sousuke's only able to sit in the chair for a couple of minutes before getting restless again and standing back up. The keys in his pocket also have a car key on them... does he have a car? He's half tempted to investigate the garage at this house, but if this is all a huge misunderstanding (the paperwork says otherwise but) then he'll just end up causing a lot of loud, unnecessary trouble. Instead, it's back to standing awkwardly on the sidewalk.

The awkwardness is gone when he hears footsteps, though, approaching fast, and he only just has time to get his arms open before he's getting the fiercest hug he's gotten in a while. It's surprising but not unwelcome, especially from Rin. For Sousuke, it's been at the most a couple of days since he's seen Rin last and he imagined this kind of hug would only happen in airports in the future (with decreasing frequency as Rin soared higher and he stayed back on dry land, neither in the water or the sky with him). He grips his best friend tight but is also plenty willing to move back for another familiar routine.]

Good to see you too, Rin.

You idiot, I can't believe you landed yourself here again --

[and it just goes to show; Rin very rarely talks about previous iterations of people. Haru's been here several times, and Rin's never he's never come clean about it with Gou, either. but Sousuke's always been different, the one person Rin never hides anything from; when they were kids, Sousuke was his confidant in the ways that Iwatobi couldn't be, coming along to graveside visits and sitting up with his sister when he was sick. Sousuke is a walking relief from the things Rin can't or won't say, can't or won't be; sometimes it feels like he finds himself, when he finds Sousuke (as frustrating as that constant self-confrontation can be)]

[Rin doesn't really pull away, one hand remaining on Sousuke's broad shoulder (the good one, though not intentionally). red eyes gleam with excitement and recognition and relief, because after all those months of checking the stupid welcoming party, he's finally back]

[with straightahead efficiency (the cryptic comment of before forgotten or ignored, presumably)]

What's the last thing you remember?

[Again? Sousuke's not entirely sure what that's supposed to mean, but it's possible he's been to this neighborhood before and just forgotten it. It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened. Of course, him getting confused about which of Samezuka's courtyards he's in never garnered this kind of reaction from Rin, so it feels like something bigger's in play. He's content, for the moment, to let Rin give him bits and pieces as he sees fit. That's how it's always been, after all.

He frowns at the question about his memory, but it's not like it's hard to remember.]

Leaving school. You had plans so I went for a walk.

[The frown gets deeper, though, because he really doesn't remember when or how he got from the pier to anywhere that'd look like this...]

[ah. that's... well, that's how it is, isn't it? Rin's smile, blinding as it is, falters, becoming a flicker. nevertheless, like an old bandaid (he's never been all that good, at treating Sousuke's wounds gently);]

I've been here for more than two years.

[certainly not as exuberant as his greeting, and really nothing like how he usually informs people from home of this fact -- excepting, perhaps his sister. he always makes a kind of effort to hide things from his family, in a strange and backwards way -- perhaps to avoid them hurt most of all]

Those weren't the plans I had, I bet. -- This is America, the paper you got -- the lease? It's all, well, true. We're stuck here, we've got houses...

[he trails off; this stuff isn't important, not between him and Sousuke. what's actually important is]

I'm here, Gou's here. Nitori and Momo. Some other guys, from our hometown. [his face says: Iwatobi.] It sucks to be stuck here, but it's bearable with everybody together. Kinda selfish, I guess, but there it is.

[he hasn't let go of Sousuke's shoulders; this is serious]

[At first Sousuke draws up and away from Rin, just slightly. It's the impact of disbelief. Rin does a lot of things but he's not normally one for pranks, especially something as straightforward as that. But otherwise it doesn't make any sense. He hasn't been anywhere else for two years. He and Sousuke just parted company a few hours ago.]

No. The Iwatobi team were coming to use the pool...

[His voice is quiet and thoughtful. That's all it was. Some weird thing with paper bags and sakura petals. He nods along as Rin speaks. He read the lease, saw the keys, the car, the whole nine yards, but he'd figured it had to be some kind of misunderstanding or joke. If it were anybody else telling him no, this is where you are now, he'd blow them off. Rin's the only one who's ever been able to make him set aside reality for something else.]

Stuck here? Why not just go to the airport and go home?

[There's a weird cold feeling in his stomach that tells him the answer--no airport, no leaving--but he needs to hear it from someone else.]

1495 inbox ✘ hollyheights [ CLOSED ]

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brounion

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you use an iwatobi icon for that tag, the nerve

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