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31_days2012-05-09 08:52 pm
highboys.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2012-05-09 08:52 pm
[May 9] [Sket Dance] and I would have met you
Title: and I would have met you (9/31)
Day/Theme: May 9 / all beyond saving by children
Series: Sket Dance
Character/Pairing: Ryosuke/Haru/Akane
Rating: PG-13
Sometimes when the three of them pass by pet stores, Akane stops and peers into the window, waving at kittens and making pawing motions at the puppies. Haru looks serene, as she usually does, but she keeps giving Ryosuke guilty looks before she gives in and joins Akane in cooing at the animals.
Akane doesn't know why Ryosuke looks a little distressed, every time, like some part of him closes up and can't bear looking at both of them for too long. A part of her reasons that he must not like animals much, but he rescues enough cats from trees to negate that thought. Perhaps he is jealous of all the attention they get from Haru? No, Haru plays with the neighborhood strays on a near daily basis; he isn't that kind of man. When she asks, Ryosuke just shuffles a little closer to the window and looks glum. "I'll never love another again," says Ryosuke, wistful even as he taps a finger against the glass, lining up perfectly with a pink paw dotted with black spots.
"Drama queen," says Akane, sniffing.
She wonders about this for at least a fortnight after she first notices, and it is only after they finish watching a little boy's dog die on TV that she gets an answer.
"Sheesh," says Akane, passing Ryosuke a wad of tissues. "What's wrong with you? This is, like, the hundredth time we watched Dog of Flanders."
Haru's fingers curl around Ryosuke's shoulder, consoling even as she sighs. "There, there."
"Nello," bawls Ryosuke, although the word comes out mangled as he sobs. "Patrasche!"
"Oh god," says Akane. "Turn that thing off!"
Haru does.
"Okay," says Akane, even as Ryosuke trudges off to the bathroom to wash his face. "What was that about?"
"It's a little complicated," says Haru.
Akane listens to the sounds of more wailing in the bathroom, a fresh round of nearly dried out tears. "Try me," says Akane.
It turns out that Ryosuke, as a kid, had picked up a stray dog and named it after Patrasche, only for the dog to die less than a year later. It's like he blames himself for the bad luck he's bestowed on the dog, what with its namesake's fate, and Akane can barely keep a straight face even if she does realize, on some base level, how acutely guilt can feel and how misplaced it can be when experienced at a young age.
"He's repressed," says Akane, flatly. "And masochistic. Have I mentioned that?"
"Only the last ten times," says Haru, lightly. "It's a sensitive subject." Her eyes mist, slightly, and Akane hesitates before she loops her arm around Haru's and smacks Ryosuke's back with her other hand.
"Don't worry about it," says Akane. "My cousin cried for days after his first turtle died, and let me tell you, that kid was a fruitcake." Then he discovered video games, and promptly forgot all about his worries, but Akane doesn't want to ruin the moment with that realization. "If he got over it, who's to say Ryosuke won't?"
They coax Ryosuke out of the bathroom with promises of food (Haru's) and burning tapes (Akane's), and as Akane rips the film out of the tape, Ryosuke takes both of their hands and swallows.
It could be a start.
Day/Theme: May 9 / all beyond saving by children
Series: Sket Dance
Character/Pairing: Ryosuke/Haru/Akane
Rating: PG-13
Sometimes when the three of them pass by pet stores, Akane stops and peers into the window, waving at kittens and making pawing motions at the puppies. Haru looks serene, as she usually does, but she keeps giving Ryosuke guilty looks before she gives in and joins Akane in cooing at the animals.
Akane doesn't know why Ryosuke looks a little distressed, every time, like some part of him closes up and can't bear looking at both of them for too long. A part of her reasons that he must not like animals much, but he rescues enough cats from trees to negate that thought. Perhaps he is jealous of all the attention they get from Haru? No, Haru plays with the neighborhood strays on a near daily basis; he isn't that kind of man. When she asks, Ryosuke just shuffles a little closer to the window and looks glum. "I'll never love another again," says Ryosuke, wistful even as he taps a finger against the glass, lining up perfectly with a pink paw dotted with black spots.
"Drama queen," says Akane, sniffing.
She wonders about this for at least a fortnight after she first notices, and it is only after they finish watching a little boy's dog die on TV that she gets an answer.
"Sheesh," says Akane, passing Ryosuke a wad of tissues. "What's wrong with you? This is, like, the hundredth time we watched Dog of Flanders."
Haru's fingers curl around Ryosuke's shoulder, consoling even as she sighs. "There, there."
"Nello," bawls Ryosuke, although the word comes out mangled as he sobs. "Patrasche!"
"Oh god," says Akane. "Turn that thing off!"
Haru does.
"Okay," says Akane, even as Ryosuke trudges off to the bathroom to wash his face. "What was that about?"
"It's a little complicated," says Haru.
Akane listens to the sounds of more wailing in the bathroom, a fresh round of nearly dried out tears. "Try me," says Akane.
It turns out that Ryosuke, as a kid, had picked up a stray dog and named it after Patrasche, only for the dog to die less than a year later. It's like he blames himself for the bad luck he's bestowed on the dog, what with its namesake's fate, and Akane can barely keep a straight face even if she does realize, on some base level, how acutely guilt can feel and how misplaced it can be when experienced at a young age.
"He's repressed," says Akane, flatly. "And masochistic. Have I mentioned that?"
"Only the last ten times," says Haru, lightly. "It's a sensitive subject." Her eyes mist, slightly, and Akane hesitates before she loops her arm around Haru's and smacks Ryosuke's back with her other hand.
"Don't worry about it," says Akane. "My cousin cried for days after his first turtle died, and let me tell you, that kid was a fruitcake." Then he discovered video games, and promptly forgot all about his worries, but Akane doesn't want to ruin the moment with that realization. "If he got over it, who's to say Ryosuke won't?"
They coax Ryosuke out of the bathroom with promises of food (Haru's) and burning tapes (Akane's), and as Akane rips the film out of the tape, Ryosuke takes both of their hands and swallows.
It could be a start.