2023-01-24: Gaining Traction
- Log: 2023-01-24- Gaining Traction
- Cast: Akane Shinjo, Liam 7-020
- Where: GGG Orbit Base
- OOC - IC Date: 0097-01-24
- Summary: Liam comes to visit Akane Shinjo on Orbit Base, and they discuss what the last several months have meant for them.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane has, to her considerable credit, started exploring Orbit Base -- but it's a little overwhelming, at spots, to be in an unfamiliar location at a time like this. At the moment, she's back in her room in Medical again -- which is just as well, because it's time, apparently, for another blood draw. She's starting to get a little sulky about these, but she gets it.
One of the staff heads out of the room, leaving Akane to her own devices. She finally has her own phone (thanks Utsumi!) instead of a borrowed tablet, and has started messing around on it.
On the table next to her bed is a mostly-eaten bowl of beef udon, which -- despite having gone cold -- she takes a spoonful out of.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam has been through a lot since Tsutsujidai reemerged, and not all of it is positive. His girlfriend is officially an outlaw, the mystery around Yuliana and the draconic kaiju and associated violent actors has deepened, and the current state of the Earth Sphere is terrifying.
But as much as Liam has fretted over not being there for so many in this time of crisis, he can't escape one fact: he helped get through to Akane in one of her darkest moments, and in doing so, he helped stop Alexis Kerib. The least he can do is follow up on her.
There's a knock at the door, gentle but firm.
Liam stands on the other side, and he looks better than Akane's ever seen him. He's wearing the athletic hoodie Lucine got him, jeans, boots, and a black t-shirt; he holds a shopping bag with the logo of a Japanese department-store chain. It takes him a moment--a moment spent looking Akane over, breathing, reassuring himself that they're both safe--to smile down at her. "Akane," Liam says. "Are you accepting visitors?" He waits just outside the door, wondering if this is awkward for her. It's a little awkward for him. Just a little.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane looks up toward the door, a little startled by the knock even if it is gentle. She's not used to knocks, even still. "Uh -- come in," she calls, sliding up the bed a bit to get into a more entertaining-friendly position.
Akane sweeps her gaze up and down Liam for just a moment, then says, "Sssssure." It's clearly no less awkward for her; there's a vulnerability in her posture that she would've hated showing -- or at least hated showing more -- in Tsutsujidai, though.
"What's up?" she asks, willing to let Liam dictate the terms and direction of the conversation -- at least for now. She eats a little more soup -- maybe to give him space to fill in the conversation.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam steps into the room. The light of the medical bay shines on the skin of his scalp, highlighting the scar that crosses his brow. "I wanted to see how you were doing," he says. "I knew you were in 3G's care." Another step into the room. Tension starts to knot in Liam's shoulders at the sight of all the medical monitors, but he takes a deep breath and focuses. There's no sign of the polymer eyeshields Akane sometimes saw, when they got out of synch with Liam's eyelids.
"Have you and Rikka had time together?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"I'm doing okay. It's been kinda uneven," Akane admits, able to look at Liam but not quite meeting his eyes. "I'm starting to get used to it around here but that actually kinda bugs me. I dunno where I'm going to be going after this."
That she has time to think about that is good, but it's starting to gnaw at her. She takes her own deep breath, glancing at the monitors. (She's at least not IVed or anything. Small mercies.) Fortunately, she has the happiest topic in the world to think of, now!
"Hehe... yeah. We had a nice, long talk." Opening her mouth, she starts to say something -- stops -- starts again... stops again. Takes another breath. "... It wasn't just a talk, either," she finishes, a little purposefully ambiguous.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
"I felt like that after I escaped," Liam says. His gaze grows distant for a moment as he remembers what Kaworu asked him. Had he stayed out of gratitude, the need for protection, of the need to feel useful? There are only so many things a living weapon can do. "It took weeks for me to make even little choices without agonizing. I kept snapping back into the lab mindset whenever I felt tense."
The cyborg rolls his shoulders, and looks down at Akane, in the bed. She's safe. This is a place of care, not torture. "I don't know how I would've managed without Lucine, though. She's so gentle." But then he falls silent, and lets Akane talk about her relationship. Liam's face flushes, a little, but he laughs anyway. "I'm glad," he says. "You... liked her all along, didn't you? It just took something like this to force you to make that last step. It was like that for me and Lucine, too. We didn't... want to admit we loved each other, until after CK-12."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"... Ahahaha, I was going to poke you about that, but I'm only leaving my room in 15 minute bursts. I did make myself hit the gym, at least... Uuuugh, it's going to be such a pain to have to deal with," a gesture to herself, "this again." It's at this point that she processes the time, and -- with a small frown on her face -- reaches over to a blister pack full of medication. She doesn't really want to deal with this right this instant, but she's already half an hour behind schedule...
Sighing, she takes a couple of pills, and... gives Liam a bit of an incredulous look. "I'm not gonna say you're wrong, but wow, I caught a completely different side of her. She can throw a punch for sure," she says, though she doesn't sound broken up about it.
As for Rikka, though... "... Yeah," she affirms. "I didn't think it was fair to ask her to be with someone like me." A pause, and then: "CK-12?" She does some quick math. "... Wait, really?"
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam looks down at Akane, who looks... like the same Akane he's known, with some minor changes in wardrobe and major changes in demeanor. "...Wait," he says, "I don't think I ever... you didn't need to care for your body?" In retrospect it sounds obvious--why would a god need to do that?--but he wasn't sure where the line lay. Liam glances down at the bag as Akane takes her medicine, mostly to give her a little privacy, but also to make sure his gift hasn't mysteriously vanished. Irrational worries are irrational.
"...What?" Liam says, as he catches that look. Was that a stupid question, or--
"She what," Liam says, shock and horror lighting up his eyes. "What happened?" He has a pretty good idea, but he'd rather hear it in Akane's words. "I didn't even think she could." A nervous little laugh, at Akane's '...Wait, really?'
"Yeah," Liam says. "She wanted to think I was safe with you, but... we missed each other so much."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Nope! Alexis told me that I could eat as much or as little as I wanted. Real humans didn't need to sleep." Before Liam can contradict her, she says, "I know that wasn't really why. I'm still kind of trying to figure out why, but... oogh, when I woke up the day after that, I was so hungry. And I guess some of my bloodwork was suggesting I needed to get back on meds, so..."
She lets out a sigh. "Anyway -- yeah, she was pretty upset at me stealing you away. I don't remember the details super great. It might come back if I thought about it harder, but..." Breathing in, then out, Akane admits, "I'm kinda still tired... I've been sleeping like half of every day. Kinda mad about it, honestly."
She still needs a little time to digest what Liam's saying, but she does speak up. "I'm happy for you guys. You deserve it." There's just a bit of odd emphasis in the sentence, but she might just be tired.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam's face pinches tight with anger as Akane tells him what Alexis told her. It fades to concern as she pivots to her own needs, and the mystery of her condition. "You're in the right place to get care," he says. "And you're caring for yourself, too. Right?" He looks at the bowl of soup. "When they let you out, I need to take you to Boss Ramen."
The concern in Liam's eyes deepens as Akane comes forth with more details. "It's frustrating when your body doesn't do what you want it to," he says, "but if it's telling you to rest, you rest." He reaches into the bag. "I got you something to help."
Liam pulls out something fluffy and tastefully-colored, and hands it to Akane. It's... a pack of warm, fuzzy socks, three pairs in all, with special traction texture for slick floors. "We thought... something comfortable. Everyone needs socks. You don't have to get me anything, I just... thought you might not have much, at the moment."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Yeah. I... still need to figure out where I'm even going when I get outta here," Akane says, and that's kind of heavy to think about, so she kicks it down the road. "I'll keep the invitation in mind," she says, though her body language closes off a bit --
And then Liam brings out the gift. "Ahaha, yeah, I really only had school clothes," she admits, "plus... the kind of embarrassing other outfit. I don't think I could pull that off now, ahaha..." She turns her attention to the thing she's being handed, tentatively accepting it -- and then figuring out what it is. "Oh, yeah. These are going to be great... thanks!" It does get her to perk up a little bit, at least.
She takes a second to compose herself, and then says, quite simply, "... I'm sorry. I'm happy things worked out between you and Lucine, though."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Akane's getting a little agitated. Liam doesn't follow up on that first thought--did he push too far?--and he lets the subject drop. There's a lot he wants to say here, but he pauses, and reflects on how he would've reacted if someone he hurt came up to him and started proposing plans like that. He folds the bag up and puts it into his hoodie pocket. "I'm glad," he says.
And then, an apology Liam was not expecting. He blinks, once, caught off-guard; he meets Akane's eyes, and presses a hand to his chest. "Thank you," he says. "I meant what I said, back when you were inside that thing. I don't know if someone like me can ever be good, but I'm trying. The same goes for you. And if you need any help, I want to be there, just like Renais and Alouette were there for me. But only if you want it. Okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Collecting herself a little more, Akane says, "I know you did! And, like... some days are better than others on the feeling worthy of it thing, ahahaha..." She takes a breath in, then lets it go. "I'm pretty sure you're already good. To tell you the truth it's kinda what made you so frustrating."
... that's a little too much, though, a little too candid. She pulls back, and says, "Okay. I dunno whether I'm ready to take every hand people are reaching out with... that's a lot of hands! I've only got two. But I'll try to keep it in mind." Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she starts... giggling, a little -- though there's some nerves in it. "Ahaha, I sound super dumb. I thought I was so cool, but I get overwhelmed pretty easily."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Some days are better than others. Liam gives Akane a knowing nod, though the sudden little pivot--frustrating?--gives him pause. He sees her withdrawal, though, and doesn't press. A lot of what happened between them still feels raw to him, and he can only imagine how it feels for her.
And that. How to approach that? "Yeah, I... don't want to add to that feeling if I can help it. But if you need me, I'll be there." Another pause. There's... one thing he can do, that's him, and Lucine. "What kinds of vegetables do you like?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane is very happy to let that one drop. It was easier with Alouette, who she knew was similar enough to her that she'd get it; with Liam, parsing it out in an order that makes sense is... a little bit of a mess.
Food is a much easier topic. "Really I like anything that's super salty. Tomato flavor's great? And the whole thing around tomatoes is neat too, how like..." Akane gestures with one hand. This topic is quite safe by comparison. "It's kind of its own weird category, right? It doesn't really work all the way if you think of it as just a fruit or just a vegetable. I think that's kinda neat."
... too weird and complicated! Akane moves a step back and says, "I also really like radish sprouts? The little hit of spice is kinda nice." Yeah.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Food preferences are something Liam can easily handle. Super salty is self-explanatory, and very easy, even if the thought of it makes him feel vaguely sick after eating that sort of thing for weeks on end. Tomatoes, though...
Liam's eyes light up. It was not so long ago that Alouette helped him treat one batch of tomatoes--engineered for swift growth, and high nutrient demand. It was not so long ago that Hebikura and Gai caught him monitoring the nutrient sensors while half-asleep. "We're growing tomatoes," Liam says. "And radishes. When the harvest comes in, I can save some for you. Would you like that?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
... Would she like that? It's a little bit of a thing to parse out, but -- if she stops herself from saying 'yes' here, she realizes, she's probably going to functionally stay in her bed on Orbit Base forever.
"Sure," she says, nodding. "I'd like that." It does obligate her to in relatively short order figure out something she'd want to make with tomatoes, unless she just eats them extremely raw like a weird animal. "Thanks." Looking down at the socks again, she says, "I appreciate you taking the time... when's the harvest?" Something impermanent that requires her to make a move... she wants to know ahead of time when that's going to be.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam smiles. He doesn't know when it started to feel more natural--maybe months back?--but it shows in his eyes. "It should be two weeks before the first tomatoes are ready. Radish sprouts take less than a week, so those are going to happen now that we have seeds again. The first batch is still becoming radishes, so maybe... next week, for the sprouts? I'd have to check, I'll let you know."
There was a point in time, not that long ago, where Liam could not have had this conversation. Where the thought of starting something like the garden was terrifying. Starting it was terrifying, and seeing it through was terrifying, and he spent so many sleepless nights clinging to it anyway. He's still not sure how to feel about it. Was that something only he could have done?
Whatever the case, he was the person who did, even if he didn't do it alone. He never could've done it alone. Maybe that's part of the point, too.