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[codeoracle]

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[codeoracle]

Did everyone get kissed at that party?

[She mutters, a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth again. To be fair the only person that had kissed her was Akira, but she's starting to think parties should be off the table.]

So why did this Mai person attack you? It kind of seems out of the blue...

[lempereur]

[ He hesitates, thinking. ]

I don't think Yuri did.

[ shh parties are fun. You won't regret your actions until...halfway through the night. ]

After everything with Adachi, I did not feel like doing any work for her, and she did not like my answer.

[codeoracle]

...Parties are weird.

[She regrets nothing from that party thank you. And that includes weird bonding time with Akechi.]

She attacked you because you wouldn't work for her. You need new patrons.

[Another pause.]

You don't think she'll try pulling that again, do you?

[lempereur]

She and I have finished collaborating, and I have told her as much. She can't make me draw for her, so there is no choice but to accept it.

[codeoracle]

Good...You're better off finding patrons that respect you and your work anyway.

[She can't quite grasp how Yusuke must feel to have lost all of that work--the time and the effort--but she knows it must suck.

She grows quiet for a moment then, checking the code as it seems to be winding down.]

I think this is about done. I've managed to net a few feeds so we have a good network to observe for right now...

[lempereur]

...I have the mural now. I just need to get out of bed and go to Nonah.

[codeoracle]

Are you...going to be okay to work on it?

[He obviously needed sleep, and all of this mess was probably not helping with the creative vibes. She wouldn't really know, but she assumed it wasn't helping matters.]

I mean I guess you have to have a deadline so...

[lempereur]

Of course I will.

[ Well, maybe not of course. Probably. He musters up a smile, not that Futaba will see it, unless she's going of her way to look at his face. ]

It might just take an unexpected direction. There isn't anything wrong with that.

[codeoracle]

I guess not. The unexpected can be kind of cool sometimes, right?

[She gives a slight shrug before moving to sit up more fully.]

I should probably let you get to work on that. Since you're being stubborn about sleep anyway.

[lempereur]

[ Futaba pls. That's the sort of thing he has to devote the day to! It's too late to worry about now. He'll be in Nonah tomorrow. ]

I am not being stubborn.

[codeoracle]

[You expect her to know how this art thing works? Ha.]

You are, too. Case in point: You're still awake.

[lempereur]

Barely.

[ Which is accurate! Having another person around helps. Maybe not with the nightmares, but with getting him to relax enough to try. ]

[codeoracle]

Uh huh. When I told you that you could have slept awhile ago.

[She's just giving you a hard time, Yusuke. Just please sleep. She worries about you.]

[lempereur]

I wasn't tired then.

[ okay fine he's totally being stubborn. Shh. ]

Hand me my pillow.

[codeoracle]

[She hands him the pillow without a question, happy that it meant he would likely be getting sleep soon.]

Do you want me to go or...I mean I don't mind staying...

[lempereur]

...you can stay. If you want.

[ Yusuke props the pillow against her leg and buries himself in it with a sigh, leaning on her a little more obviously now. He's not asking her to stay. Just...giving her the option. ]

[codeoracle]

[She takes a moment to think it over before shifting enough so she can lay back down without disturbing him too much.]

I'll stay. I'm comfortable. Just...get some sleep.

text;

[lempereur]

You know that I care about you and Akira more than anything, right? That I still need you?

Re: text;

[codeoracle]

Of course I know that. But...Did something happen?

text;

[lempereur]

Akira is angry with me.

Do you think that I am selfish and vapid? Do you feel replaced by Yuri and Otabek?

You can tell me, if you do. I would rather know now than have another shouting match.

text;

[codeoracle]

[Her next reply takes a moment as she actually takes time to consider her words.]

Did you two fight?

This might...be a better conversation in person, Yusuke. I...won't yell. I'm not angry with you.

[There's a pause between texts, but something secondary occurs to her after the first.]

Why would I feel replaced by Otabek?

[Notice how she doesn't ask about Yuri. Because in some ways she does feel replaced by him. And she at least knows of Yusuke's involvement with the younger ice skater.]

[lempereur]

So, yes?

I don't want to talk in person right now. I need to cool down.

[ Another pause, Yusuke's this time. This isn't a secret, but it's a bad time to talk about it. In the context of this conversation, in light of how their relationship had shifted after Futaba's confession, it's a bad time for a surprise.

But unlike some people, Yusuke does not hide things from his friends because they won't like them. ]

I am dating he and Yuri both. As of a few days ago.

1/2

[codeoracle]

Oh...you gave him a chance...

[It's the first thing she replies to, but she can't help it. She can't ignore how that message makes her heart twist and stomach drop. He was dating Otabek too. He was giving someone he barely knew the same chance she so desperately wanted but never asked for. It hurt.

She wanted to yell at him for it, to get angry. But she can't do it. The problem has always been that she's at least half as stubborn as he is at all times, and she doesn't want to just let him go. Not like this...So she doesn't say any more. Not yet. It'll likely come out in the next text anyway.]

I'd rather reassure you in person...but fine.


I do think you can be selfish about some things, but it's human. And I can't...get mad over you being selfish regarding how you feel about someone or something. I wish I had been brave enough to be that selfish sometimes. It doesn't make you vapid--that's something I definitely don't see you as.

I don't feel replaced. But I...I feel left out. Hurt. I can't keep hiding that from you. I shouldn't hide it in the first place but I do. Because I'd rather keep you as a friend than have nothing at all. I didn't ask for a chance but I wanted one...But I can't just lose someone like you because you don't love me the same way I--

[She's ranting now, but there it is, that hurt is coming out and it's not at all how she meant to say it. She doesn't mean to hit send either before she can go back and explain it better. She's almost thankful he didn't want to talk in person. At least this way he can't see the way hot tears are streaming down her cheeks and spilling all over her screen.]

[codeoracle]

[The next text comes later. He's likely already started on a response before it comes through.]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to send it like that. At least it's honest.

The point is...The point is, you're human Yusuke. You make mistakes, and some of those hurt people...even if you don't realize it. But I don't hate you for it. And I'm not mad. I...still need you, I still rely on you.

I hope...this doesn't keep you from relying on me.

[lempereur]

[ This isn't even what he meant. It was about the Constellation, how his own pathetic need for purpose (because torture and arms dealing were really carrying on the Phantom Thieves mission) and validation (because sticking to Adachi seemed so important back then - why?) had put them all at risk. But it's a lot easier to break something than it is to fix it, he can't just ask nicely to be let out and expect it to work, and he wouldn't, as much as Akira hates his infiltration plot as a means to get rid of them, he hasn't come up with anything better. It had been short-sighted, of course it had, but selfish? There is nothing selfish about wanting to keep the circle small. There is nothing selfish about not tripping over himself to forgive someone who has made no effort to prove he has changed, not that Yusuke is aware of.

But of course she isn't focused on that. How could she be? He is realizing quickly that he's had this conversation before, blown someone right over and not known until it was far too late to be fixed. Last time was so angry, on both sides, and Yusuke would rather be hit with a new round of venom than what he gets, which is just...hurt. Palpable, visible hurt, even through text, he can see her face twisted with pain in his head as if in a frame, and he has to put the phone down for a second.

Akira is right. Brendan was right. This is his fault, and he deserves this. ]

I still need you. I still need both of you, but I have done nothing but cause you trouble since you arrived. I don't deserve anything from you.

I'm sorry.

I know that isn't enough.

If you don't want to talk to me either, I understand.

I made my bed. I will lie in it.