o how gentle the rain can arrive

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren follows Goro to the Dojima house, steps as sure and confident as he can make them with his heart pounding a bit louder than normal in his chest. Maybe he's nervous for this, so what? It's not every day you get to meet the alternate-reality-family your boyfriend found during his two-month timeskip that was only five hours or so to you. His head's still kind of reeling from the...everything, but he's rolling with the punches. Not like I expected things to be normal with us, he says to the part of himself that's maybe not-very-Joker-like and trying to shy away from everything.

Life comes at you fast, but Akechis come faster-- well. Hopefully not, and Ren's not thinking about that right now, nope throw curveballs at half the speed of light and expect you to catch 'em. And Ren isn't letting one slip by him yet! ...Even if this one might be aimed right between his eyes.

Ren squeezes his boyfriend's hand -- it's what boyfriends are there for, after all -- and readjusts his grip on the little...okay, large bag of gifts against his chest (hey, everything's free here, and he didn't wanna show up unprepared) as they come to a stop in front of the door.

He takes a moment, letting go of Goro's hand, for a once-over just to make sure he looks good, brushing invisible bits of dust from his jacket and readjusting his glasses. Then, with a nod to his boyfriend, Ren raises the hand carrying the pile of gifts to knock on the door.

It's showtime.

"Hey guys!" He calls out as his boyfriend opens the door, resisting the urge to run his fingers through his hair (for now). "We're here!"

> Say hello to Crow's boyfriend?

Comments

[unfoggedlotus]

He takes a moment to read the introduction. Aw... Well, he heard about the selective mutism from Goro, so it's not too surprising. Makes sense that he'd have something written out, though, just to make intros easier. He flashes a warm smile at the kiddo. "Nice to meet you, Aki-chan. You seem pretty... dino-mite."

Please pardon the bad dad joke. He has a plan with this! He will win the kids over with his charm and untapped parental energy that he is manifesting here and now.

Just give him a moment to dig out the first of the gifts. Check it out! It's another dinosaur notebook. "Goro told me you do a lot of writing to communicate. This'll help keep you going a little while longer." It's hard to say how many pages are left, but it's been two months. "And as for Mr. Card-san..."

Dun dun dun... and pause for effect. A little showmanship and sleight of hand to try and make the cards appear in a dramatic flourish. It might not be as effective. In fact, it probably isn't, but ta-dah! New cards. "I don't wanna tip my hand too much, but you could say I'm a real Joker."

The mischief comes with the territory, really. He's gotta live up to the name. Gotta embody his role as a Phantom Thief.

[thedevilinyourdetails]

Aki-chan giggles delightedly at the joke and takes the journal with two bows of thanks. Dino-mite...! Clever! He rearranges his things, using the top of Card-senpai's head as a makeshift table.

And the card flourish...simple, but the best tricks are. Akira grins and claps for the trick, Aki-chan quickly following his lead with another giggle (wow, he's so much more expressive, now...thou art...the power of...wings of re...a pang of emptiness inside his chest). "Good job," Akira compliments Ren, genuine, aloud. "Solid fundamentals. If you'd like some advice....keep your palms flatter next time. It'll help conceal the cards better."

Akira plucks the deck out of Ren's hand and opens the tuck case, breaking through the seal and fanning out the cards. "Hmm...there's one missing."

[unfoggedlotus]

Hey, that's a good sign! The kid's already coming outta his shell. Whew. After all of Goro's warnings, he wasn't sure how well he'd stick the landing. At the older Akira's advice, he does a silly little bow.

"Understood, Sensei." But, oh? A missing card? There's probably a trick to this. A pun in the making. He tries striking the Akechi Pose™, chin in hand, giving an exaggerated 'hmmmm.' "Is it the Joker?" Or maybe that's too obvious. "The Ace?" Because he's an ace with these tricks? Ace of Hearts would be on point for a Phantom Thief, too. So many options. So many potential punchlines... "Or maybe it's a calling card."

Maybe too on the nose, but it had to be said.

[thedevilinyourdetails]

"Sensei...a lot of people have been calling me that," Akira muses to himself, pointedly bouncing Aki-chan on his head, who giggles -- or more makes the motion of giggling, as no sound comes out. With a flick of his wrist, he collapses the cards and holds out three aces: spades, clubs, and diamonds like calling cards between his fingers on his left hand.

"You're right, it's an ace. But you would know..." he flits his right hand over to Ren's wrist and plucks out the ace of hearts from the hem of Ren's blazer, "...considering it was up your sleeve."

Akira flicks the ace of hearts from his right hand to his left, all four aces safely in his grasp. Aki-kun gives one small wiggle in excitement.

[unfoggedlotus]

Well, damn. Ren whistles, giving a small applause. "You sure there isn't a fifth ace here?" Not bad. Not bad at all. He's definitely got a lot to learn. But this guy's older, so it stands to reason he'd be more experienced. As for little Aki-chan... "But, hey. Thanks for looking out for Goro for me." He pauses. "...I mean, Rock-Akechi-san."

Do the others ever go by Goro? Probably best to play it safe.

[thedevilinyourdetails]

"Not in this deck, no," Akira chuckles, flicking the cards from hand to hand elegantly. Before he can do anything else, though, Cauchemar-chan pokes the notebook in front of his face again.

"Rock-Akechi-san looks after me more. I'm still getting used to it. My parents liked me doing the looking-after myself."

[unfoggedlotus]

Aki-chan's message grabs his attention before long, and... Ah. He tries not to wince, but it's tough. The message is way to relatable.

"Yeah. My parents expected a lot from me, too." Until he wasn't good enough. Then they sent him away. He looks way for a moment, slightly tense. Then a smile works its way back into place. "Not that there's anything wrong with being independent. I think Goro just wants you to know he cares."

There's a certain fondness to his words, an awkward scratch of the cheek. The older Akira can probably read between the lines. In a way, Goro did the same for him.

[thedevilinyourdetails]

...Parents are an old, old wound for Akira, blistered over by nearly a decade of irrelevancy, and the scars he got from them have long since been covered up by newer, more interesting ones. The curse of the...Jokers? Akira-Rens? Amarusus?...them, it seems. Not like many of the Thieves have good parents, though.

"Parents can suck to deal with," Akira says in his infinite divine wisdom, after a moment. "But hey, you're both in good company here, on that front. Myself included." A crooked but sincere smile; he pats both Aki-chan's and Ren's shoulders. "Besides...what's that saying about smart people learning from their own mistakes, but wise people learning from the mistakes of others? I can already tell you and Large Chirpling make much better parents than Filou-chan's."

The present may suck, other-not-him, but there is a future. He's living proof of it.

[unfoggedlotus]

"Well, I've never been a parent before, but there's a first time for everything." He chuckles. The pun wasn't too hard to slip in. Maybe it's too subtle, though? "Not that I plan to push anything. We just met."

It's like he told Goro, the kids haven't known him long enough to embrace the familial bond that they've formed with his boyfriend. But one day! Maybe he'll even get to be the fun dad. The one who sneaks the kids extra treats from the cupboard when Goro isn't looking and tells them all kinds of silly stories about Goro's antics.

[thedevilinyourdetails]

Akira-kun scrunches his nose a bit. "Dad"...Amamiya-san and Crow-san are too young for "Dad". But then they're dating, so they can't be brothers...a tough problem for a five-year-old!

"I'm happy to have another Akira Ren around," he writes, nodding once to himself seriously. "The Akechis are so"

A long pause. The words...he has a feeling but it's not turning itself into words. Akira waits patiently, eyes covered by the notebook.

"Akechi"

The word is underlined once for emphasis.

"sometimes"

[unfoggedlotus]

...Pffft. Yeah, Ren can't help but laugh at that. "Don't I know it? Goro acts like he's gotta take on the world, but maybe with a little teamwork we can get him to chill out." There's a glint in his eye, an impish smile. Oh, Ren has plans.

Plans like making him sleep in for once in his life.

[thedevilinyourdetails]

Akira can't see it, considering the whole notebook-in-his-face thing, but he can hear trouble in his own voice from a mile away.

"I'm all for helping him take a break," Akira nods behind the makeshift blind. "I've tried to get him to give me the kids for a day, but he's allergic to it, apparently." A grin. "All Akechis are in some way or another, I think."

"It's not the working" Aki-chan writes down. "Okay maybe its the working. But its also...they're so Akechi." It almost has the same feeling as a little girl saying but they're all boys. "Akechi thoughts and Akechi speech and Akechi likes. Want more people like me around."

[unfoggedlotus]

"Wish I could say I was surprised." He blows a small sigh. "I think Goro's got some hangups due to his childhood." He'd mentioned it in passing before, being stuck with foster parents who'd lock him out of the house on occasion or retreat to hotels or fancy restaurants just to not have to deal with him. That's not exactly pleasant conversation material, though, especially around a little kid.

Luckily, Aki-chan's message brings a little smile back to his face. "And one Akechi's already a lot. Now that I'm here, we can have a little more fun..."

Not that Goro isn't fun, but he's a lot. And that's just one. Raven's already hit him with the super serious rambling about various odds and ends. He's even pricklier than Goro!

[thedevilinyourdetails]

"Some things might stay constant more often than we think," Akira hums from behind Filou-chan's notebook. "Y'know...the Akechis have set up their own Akechi Alliance. Maybe we could make our own? The Akira-Ren Association? An AkiRenVolution?"

[unfoggedlotus]

Ooh. An alliance, huh? Now that's interesting. And very Akechi. But why should they have all the fun? 'AkiRenVolution' gets a snicker out of him.

"My vote's on the pun." Because of course it is. It's amusing and iconic. "But I dunno... What do you think, Aki-chan?"

The kiddo's an important member! His vote counts.

[youngestdawn]

"Punpun," Aki-chan nods seriously. Then, something occurs to him, and he turns around, looking for Crow. "...Boyed-frien."

[unfoggedlotus]

...Boyed-frien. How is he so cute? This little guy is going to melt Ren's heart into a puddle at this rate.

"That's right. Crow's my boyfriend." But where is he? Ren turns around as well, right as Crow comes down the stairs. "And there he is! The man, the myth, the legend."

Crow chuckles, raising an eyebrow. "Have you been gossiping behind my back?" He sounds amused, at least. "You tricksters and your shenanigans."

[youngestdawn]

Card-sensei pats his leg when Crow comes over. Aki-chan takes a good, hard look at both of them.

"Kith," he demands.

Underneath him, Card-san winces.

Fiiine. "Ples."

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren can't help but chuckle at the request. It's so subtle and really blunt, but he remembers what Goro told him before. That he's asking for it is a huge step.

"Well, what do you think, Goro?"

Crow smiles wryly after a moment of quiet contemplation, and then he closes the distance between them, taking Ren's cheek in hand and planting a soft little kiss on his lips. It's not even the first time they've kissed, but every time, Ren's heart skips a beat.

But, right. He should... kiss back. So he's just gonna, y'know. Do that now. It's chaste, and they pull back after a few seconds, and Ren gives Crow the doofiest look. "You're a good kither."

...Crow can't help but laugh. Holy shit, his boyfriend's a dork. "Will that suffice, Akira-kun?"

[youngestdawn]

Riiiight before their lips connect, Aki-chan visibly, full-body flinches backwards, nearly yanking himself off Akira's shoulders, screwing up his eyes and slamming his hands over his ears as he ducks behind Card-san's fluffy hair. It takes Card-san's lightning-fast hands darting up and holding him still to stop him from falling over.

Aki-chan only emerges a few moments after they stop kissing, at Crow's voice.

"No yellin?" He asks, voice small, peeking out from behind his cover. Card-san pats him.

[unfoggedlotus]

"No yelling," Ren says, smiling back at him. He's even feeling bold enough to loop an arm around Goro.

Goro doesn't squirm or fight or make any protest. He's relaxed. Comfortable. "I know you have a lot of bad memories, Akira-kun, but I promise that our bond is built of a genuine care and appreciation for each other."

"Yeah. And no matter what, we wanna make sure you feel safe around us."

[youngestdawn]

Breath in, breath out. Breath in, breath out, just like Card-san taught him.

"What did you think of it, little Filou-chan?" Card-san asks him, patting his leg again.

He takes another good, hard look at Crow-san and Ren-san as he calms down, and thinks about the kiss for a good, long while.

Eventually, he comes to a conclusion. "Dun doit 'gain." His nose scrunches up. "Gwoes."

[unfoggedlotus]

...Pffft. Yeah, that sounds about right. He is a little kid, and all things considered, it could be a lot worse. "Got it. No kisses around Aki-chan." He sends Crow a look, which prompts a little titter.

"We may still hold hands or show affection in other ways, but if that's uncomfortable, we can save that for our own time. Your comfort matters, too."

[youngestdawn]

Akira-kun tilts his head. Holding hands is “affectionate”? He looks between the two older kids and gets a little shy suddenly. He puts his face into Card-sensei’s hair. “No fightin,” he says. [ It’s muffled by Akira’s hair, so it sounds a bit more like “nfghthn”. The intent is pretty clear, though. ]

[unfoggedlotus]

"We won't fight. Sometimes we tease each other, but it's never anything serious." He gives Crow a knowing look.

In turn, Crow nods. "Ren's a menace, but he's my menace. All his shenanigans help keep me on my toes."

Grinning, Ren leans in to whisper to Aki-chan. "We gotta make sure Crow gets to bed on time. Better make sure he eats, too. You think you can help me?" It'll be their super secret and totally not at all conspicuous plan.

Crow chuckles at their obvious conspiring, but doesn't raise any objections.