[ Ah... Emerald's grip loosens a little at that. It's not rejection and she doesn't let go or anything. It's a little confusing to hear that, and a little confusing still that Akashi didn't tell her. But she also knows that she can be a little jealous, and that everything's been completely overwhelming since they got here. Akashi is terrified of losing her, too, so he probably, undoubtedly, just wanted to make sure that she knew that he was there and that he knew she was there.
It helps that she kind of.. already suspected. There was no way they would've been okay with sharing her if they didn't have some kind of bond far beyond what normal friends might. Even normal partners. Emerald has a relationship with Mercury that she flat-out wouldn't ditch him in a situation that could get her killed and he told her to leave him out of. And yet, she gets into petty fights that involve shoving her way between him and Cinder because she wants to be closest. Partners don't have to share everything, and it's not a natural feeling to want to do so. Their willingness to do it to begin with had at least given her the idea that they might be a little bit gay for each other-- one of the reasons she'd brought up the idea of doing things together rather than keeping them strictly separate.
There's still a feeling deep inside of her that isn't at all Mayuzumi's fault, or Akashi's. It's just an understanding of reality made painfully, obviously clear by the last few days. Without her, Akashi and Mayuzumi have each other. They will always have each other whether she's involved or not. She isn't necessary for them to be happy and it barely took any time at all for them to realize that with her seemingly out of the picture. If they don't find a way for her to make it to Japan and stay there, they'll still have each other. She is always going to be the one left behind when it comes down to it, even if they both love her. That's not their fault or hers, but it still hurts on some selfish level to know that they'll be okay without her. She immediately started getting back into bad behavior without them- it was just mischief, nothing illegal, but she knows that it was potentially destructive. She knows that if they hadn't shown up, she would've backslid one way or the other.
There's nothing that could make her push either of them away though, even knowing that. When she says she loves them, she means it. And somehow, that jealousy that she feels is more about being pushed out than it is them being together. Akashi spent all night with her, Mayuzumi is going to spend all night with her now. They still want her here. It's fine. It'll be fine. This is going to work one way or the other. She shifts slightly, only so she can turn her head sideways to rest against his shoulder, happy to just be against him rather than latch on now. ]
Obviously. I don't even like it when Mercury tries to stand between me and Cinder. Sharing a girlfriend is not a normal partner thing. Just don't.. don't leave me.
...Yeah, I can't say you weren't right about us all along, even if I'm still getting used to the idea.
[ It really is a major adjustment for Mayuzumi to think of the guy who'd been a massive pain in the ass in high school as someone he wants to keep by his side, but it was an adjustment to even admit Akashi was someone important to him as a friend, and another one after that to find out they both loved the same girl and really could handle seeing each other be close to her. He feels sometimes like he's stumbling around in the dark when it comes to navigating all shifts in how he and Akashi relate to one another; but just like with Emerald, Mayuzumi can't pretend his feelings aren't there anymore, even if being as straightforward about it with Akashi as he was with her just now is something that he isn't equipped to manage this soon.
What matters most to him right now is reassuring her, though, because he feels an ache inside when she says not to leave her. ]
Listen, I know whoever or whatever it was that had me end up on Empatheias and then here could send me anywhere whether I want to go or not, but I'll say this much.
[ He takes a deep, quiet breath. ]
If I ever have a choice about it...I won't go back without you, Em. Anywhere that I can't be with you is somewhere I don't want to be.
[ He realizes there's some pretty deep potential implications to what he's saying, but it's the truth. He loves her, so he'd rather be stuck here for the foreseeable future or even return to Empatheias together rather than go back to living in a world without her in it. ]
And I think that guy feels the same way. We were both torn up inside without you. We agreed to figure out a way to keep you with us no matter what.
[ That definitely makes her feel better. It isn't as if she felt low about this news, but somehow she does feel a little lighter knowing that even though they got together, it wasn't without forgetting her. It wasn't without the decision that it would be impossible to get her back, so they should just move on. They would keep trying even if they hadn't a leg to stand on.
It's heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. On the one hand, she would want them to be happy even if it couldn't be with her. The idea that they would figure it out no matter what, even if it was impossible, would be tragic. And yet at he same time, she would never want them to stop looking. She never wants either of them to stop loving her, to stop wanting her there.
Emerald holds onto him a little tighter again, though not as much as before, and tilts her head back so that sh can see his face. ]
In that case, I'm staying right here for the rest of the night so you can't possibly lose track of me.
[ She knows she's being silly, but there's nothing else she can really say to that. There's nothing she can do if she loses either of them besides hope and cry. She's not smart, she's not independent as much as Akashi tries to push her to be even if she's made progress and feels like she can stand on her own more now than she once did, and her fate in her world is either as an international criminal on the run or dead because Salem's new world order seems pretty much like some kind of fresh hell if you ask her. If she gets separated from them, she doesn't think there's going to be anything she can do about it but hope they find her, as pathetic as that sounds. So it's best to just make the light-hearted comment, then after a few seconds she adds. ]
I promise not to leave your side as long as I have a say.
[ Mayuzumi feels a deep and satisfying warmth inside of him to hear a sentiment like that; it wasn't that long ago that he couldn't have imagined having not just one but two people become vital parts of his life. He appreciates it all the more now that he's experienced what it felt like to lose them, even if it turned out to be a temporary thing; he doesn't want to go back to being alone, and even more than that, he doesn't want Emerald to end up that way after the rough life she's led.
There's always the risk they'll lose each other again, whether it's due to being separated by cosmic forces they can't control or if Emerald's fears about her former allies and the worst case scenario happens. He hasn't lost sight of reality, even while he's chasing after a dream like finding a way to bring her back home with him that could well be impossible.
But he's been dealing with circumstances that he would've thought could only ever happen in fiction for the better part of a year now; maybe he really shouldn't rule anything out despite his usual negativity. If he and Emerald both can end up on entirely different worlds than the ones they came from, who says that someone from a different world like her can't end up traveling to his?
For now though, they're here in this place together until they find that path towards a happy end for their shared isekai adventure...and maybe that won't be so bad; in some ways Lunatia even feels closer to being back in Japan. As long as Emerald and Akashi are with him, Mayuzumi can deal with whatever strange magic or tough situations come his way.
And a cozy apartment where he can have the people he cares about cuddled up with him like this sure feels more like home than that empty little flat near his university in Tokyo...
What more profound reply can he make to her? He's already spoken deeply from the heart, and they've just exchanged a promise to never leave each other. They're in pretty heavy territory right now, just like when he'd promised Akashi he'd never leave him, so he's grateful she said something more light-hearted along with it that he can respond to instead to ease the mood back into something less intense.
He gives her forehead a soft kiss, and a similar kind of smile to go with it. ]
I really am gonna have to start charging you rent then, it sounds like.
...And a maybe finder's fee, too, even if I'm the one who needs you keeping track of me.
[ He knows exactly what he's promised, but like saying he loves her out loud, he isn't entirely ready to think about what all this means for them in the long-term and take proper responsibility for the future that's implied. He's the kind of independent person who naturally wants to do things at his own pace and focus on living in the present, day by day, and so being with and making the girl in his arms happy right now and knowing she'll still be here in the morning is enough to satisfy him. ]
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no subject
It helps that she kind of.. already suspected. There was no way they would've been okay with sharing her if they didn't have some kind of bond far beyond what normal friends might. Even normal partners. Emerald has a relationship with Mercury that she flat-out wouldn't ditch him in a situation that could get her killed and he told her to leave him out of. And yet, she gets into petty fights that involve shoving her way between him and Cinder because she wants to be closest. Partners don't have to share everything, and it's not a natural feeling to want to do so. Their willingness to do it to begin with had at least given her the idea that they might be a little bit gay for each other-- one of the reasons she'd brought up the idea of doing things together rather than keeping them strictly separate.
There's still a feeling deep inside of her that isn't at all Mayuzumi's fault, or Akashi's. It's just an understanding of reality made painfully, obviously clear by the last few days. Without her, Akashi and Mayuzumi have each other. They will always have each other whether she's involved or not. She isn't necessary for them to be happy and it barely took any time at all for them to realize that with her seemingly out of the picture. If they don't find a way for her to make it to Japan and stay there, they'll still have each other. She is always going to be the one left behind when it comes down to it, even if they both love her. That's not their fault or hers, but it still hurts on some selfish level to know that they'll be okay without her. She immediately started getting back into bad behavior without them- it was just mischief, nothing illegal, but she knows that it was potentially destructive. She knows that if they hadn't shown up, she would've backslid one way or the other.
There's nothing that could make her push either of them away though, even knowing that. When she says she loves them, she means it. And somehow, that jealousy that she feels is more about being pushed out than it is them being together. Akashi spent all night with her, Mayuzumi is going to spend all night with her now. They still want her here. It's fine. It'll be fine. This is going to work one way or the other. She shifts slightly, only so she can turn her head sideways to rest against his shoulder, happy to just be against him rather than latch on now. ]
Obviously. I don't even like it when Mercury tries to stand between me and Cinder. Sharing a girlfriend is not a normal partner thing. Just don't.. don't leave me.
no subject
[ It really is a major adjustment for Mayuzumi to think of the guy who'd been a massive pain in the ass in high school as someone he wants to keep by his side, but it was an adjustment to even admit Akashi was someone important to him as a friend, and another one after that to find out they both loved the same girl and really could handle seeing each other be close to her. He feels sometimes like he's stumbling around in the dark when it comes to navigating all shifts in how he and Akashi relate to one another; but just like with Emerald, Mayuzumi can't pretend his feelings aren't there anymore, even if being as straightforward about it with Akashi as he was with her just now is something that he isn't equipped to manage this soon.
What matters most to him right now is reassuring her, though, because he feels an ache inside when she says not to leave her. ]
Listen, I know whoever or whatever it was that had me end up on Empatheias and then here could send me anywhere whether I want to go or not, but I'll say this much.
[ He takes a deep, quiet breath. ]
If I ever have a choice about it...I won't go back without you, Em. Anywhere that I can't be with you is somewhere I don't want to be.
[ He realizes there's some pretty deep potential implications to what he's saying, but it's the truth. He loves her, so he'd rather be stuck here for the foreseeable future or even return to Empatheias together rather than go back to living in a world without her in it. ]
And I think that guy feels the same way. We were both torn up inside without you. We agreed to figure out a way to keep you with us no matter what.
no subject
It's heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. On the one hand, she would want them to be happy even if it couldn't be with her. The idea that they would figure it out no matter what, even if it was impossible, would be tragic. And yet at he same time, she would never want them to stop looking. She never wants either of them to stop loving her, to stop wanting her there.
Emerald holds onto him a little tighter again, though not as much as before, and tilts her head back so that sh can see his face. ]
In that case, I'm staying right here for the rest of the night so you can't possibly lose track of me.
[ She knows she's being silly, but there's nothing else she can really say to that. There's nothing she can do if she loses either of them besides hope and cry. She's not smart, she's not independent as much as Akashi tries to push her to be even if she's made progress and feels like she can stand on her own more now than she once did, and her fate in her world is either as an international criminal on the run or dead because Salem's new world order seems pretty much like some kind of fresh hell if you ask her. If she gets separated from them, she doesn't think there's going to be anything she can do about it but hope they find her, as pathetic as that sounds. So it's best to just make the light-hearted comment, then after a few seconds she adds. ]
I promise not to leave your side as long as I have a say.
no subject
There's always the risk they'll lose each other again, whether it's due to being separated by cosmic forces they can't control or if Emerald's fears about her former allies and the worst case scenario happens. He hasn't lost sight of reality, even while he's chasing after a dream like finding a way to bring her back home with him that could well be impossible.
But he's been dealing with circumstances that he would've thought could only ever happen in fiction for the better part of a year now; maybe he really shouldn't rule anything out despite his usual negativity. If he and Emerald both can end up on entirely different worlds than the ones they came from, who says that someone from a different world like her can't end up traveling to his?
For now though, they're here in this place together until they find that path towards a happy end for their shared isekai adventure...and maybe that won't be so bad; in some ways Lunatia even feels closer to being back in Japan. As long as Emerald and Akashi are with him, Mayuzumi can deal with whatever strange magic or tough situations come his way.
And a cozy apartment where he can have the people he cares about cuddled up with him like this sure feels more like home than that empty little flat near his university in Tokyo...
What more profound reply can he make to her? He's already spoken deeply from the heart, and they've just exchanged a promise to never leave each other. They're in pretty heavy territory right now, just like when he'd promised Akashi he'd never leave him, so he's grateful she said something more light-hearted along with it that he can respond to instead to ease the mood back into something less intense.
He gives her forehead a soft kiss, and a similar kind of smile to go with it. ]
I really am gonna have to start charging you rent then, it sounds like.
...And a maybe finder's fee, too, even if I'm the one who needs you keeping track of me.
[ He knows exactly what he's promised, but like saying he loves her out loud, he isn't entirely ready to think about what all this means for them in the long-term and take proper responsibility for the future that's implied. He's the kind of independent person who naturally wants to do things at his own pace and focus on living in the present, day by day, and so being with and making the girl in his arms happy right now and knowing she'll still be here in the morning is enough to satisfy him. ]