[open]

[suddenlybees]

Who: Kano & OTA
What: magic practice, pettiness, finals
Where: Lumière, greenhouse, library
When: mid-month, before finals
Warnings: self-harm for prompt i., none expected for the rest
Notes: details of Kano's new Fey Contract can be found on his app

i. Lumière dormitory rooftop
[ Fey magic is a really... terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea. But Kano is determined to make it work, this new Contract that he'd forged a couple of days ago, but it's just so different from his usual illusion magic that he'd worked ten whole years to get to the point where he is now, illusions seamless and effortless compared to him staring at his arm right now wondering what he's doing wrong?

Because his arm is bleeding, a bloody knife on his lap while he pokes at the wound with his other hand and it just comes back bloody, him wincing because it hurts and why isn't the magic working? There's nothing intuitive about this at all, and he has no idea how he's supposed to make it work, with the magic supposed to be healing and dulling pain but it's just doing the opposite for him, the pain making it hard to keep a smile on his face, and making him feel like crying a little.

With a sigh, he waves hand over the bleeding cut instead of touching it, and it disappears— simply masked underneath an illusion, but it's still there while he tries to figure out how to do this, preferably before he bleeds out.

It won't come to it, though. He has three years worth of band-aids stocked up, and he knew they would be useful someday. ]

ii. campus, on the way to the greenhouse or inside
[ But you know what always makes up for terrible days? Even more terrible ideas to get your mind off previous ones. This one isn't that bad, though, because it's something that'll have positive long-term consequences. Probably.

Anyways, it's Kano with long sleeves and pants and winter gloves and the hood of his jacket pulled over his head and eyes and also a bandanna over the rest of his face so he can have as little skin showing as possible. It isn't all because of botched healing practice, though, it's because he's lugging around a three gallon plastic jug in his arms— you know, one of those large plastic containers twice the size of your head that you can buy cheese balls in, but instead of cheese balls, it's bees.

It's a jar full of bees.

He had to ship them to a PO in town and then lug them all the way back to campus; this insect purchasing restriction is really an awful pain. ]

iii. library
[ But also, anyways, it's almost finals and while Kano did surprisingly okay on his midterms, he's got to do slightly more okay on his finals too, because exam scored are literally all that's carrying his grades without the homework to pad it.

So the library it is... Books, his arch nemesis... Him, sitting at one of the open study areas with a stack of brand new text books in front of him that barely look touched, a mug of something on the table that's a dark dark red to the point that it's almost black and also has four tea bags sitting inside it that's steeped so long the tea is no longer steaming, and also hands clamped over his ears like he's trying to block out ambient noise, or massage away a headache, or give himself a headache so he can go hang out in the infirmary for the next two weeks and not do finals.

Why does Daybreak have to be a school??? Schools suck. ]

Comments

[deuteranope]

One, how the fuck should I know? And two, not having your hands stuck in 'em all the time would probably help. Fucking ask him this shit, not me.

[suddenlybees]

Ugh, you're making so much work for me, Mav. So meddlesome~

[ Sitting on the desk, he slouches far enough forward so he can stick his hands into his pockets and not fall backwards. ]

I can't just ask him directly? Now I have to figure out a new way to scam him out of his money.

[deuteranope]

[He could be copying notes. Or even reading the notes. That's a possibility. But nope. He's slouching and scheming.]

You literally don't have to fucking scam him. He already agreed, right? Unless you said it was for something fucking other than the motorbike.

[suddenlybees]

[ This is more important than notes, somehow, something that factors into long term plans rather than immediate exams. ]

It's still hard to ask, you know? Going around saying "Hey! Remember when you promised to give me money to buy a motorbike? Pay up!" It's the principle of the thing...

[deuteranope]

I have a hard time believing you have a hard time saying anything.

[All that talking he does and that dumb confidence.]

For fuck's sake, just text him something like "hey, what's the ETA on my fat stacks of cash" or something. It's really not as big a fucking deal as you're turning it into, he wants to get rid of the money anyway.

[suddenlybees]

[ It's a big deal, somehow, but Maverick's right. Talking is a whole lot easier than texting, but right now, he has Maverick here to help him navigate the conversation and if things go south and Toki withdraws the deal, Kano can shift the blame.

Alright, hands out of his pockets so he can take both notebooks back and balance his phone on his knees so he can tap out the text to Toki. ]

And... sent!

[deuteranope]

[Oh, right now... Kid really wants that motorbike. Maverick sighs and settles back onto the bed, digging out his own phone to make sure he hasn't missed anything important in the time he was asleep.]

So what's the new fundraiser for? If it ain't the fucking bike.

[suddenlybees]

Secret.

[ The answer is immediate. ]

Let me secure this bike first, before making up another cover story, okay?

[ Like the motorbike was a cover for something else, now he's got to think of something more unreasonable to answer with every time people ask him what he needs so much money for. ]

[deuteranope]

[With a sigh that evolves into a groan, Mav sets his phone down and pushes his palms against his eyes to smother the incredulous headache starting to hatch behind them.]

You don't even want a fucking motorbike... Unbelievable... This is why people don't fucking believe you -- you lie about dumb shit.

[suddenlybees]

Hey, this isn't dumb shit! It's... you know...

[ He'd somehow convinced Toki that he was owed 5k instead of 1k euros, but he can't even be excited by that, setting the phone down in his lap and peering over at Maverick. ]

Anyways, this sorta thing is important to me too, so it's alright if people don't believe me!

[deuteranope]

[Mm... He uses his palms to prop up his chin instead, staring right on back at Kano.]

...You can talk about the important stuff, you know. To me. You fucking talk to me all the time already anyway, so...

[suddenlybees]

Hm...

[ No he can't, he wants to say, as he pulls his knees up enough so that he can hide half his face behind them. The important things are personal things, and they're none of anybody's business- nothing they can help with directly, and if he does need help with something, he's always managed to rope people in here and there without telling them anything about the grand scheme of things. ]

The important things are my problem, in the end, and I'm dealing with them just fine, no need to talk about anything. I'd rather talk about more fun things, you know?

[deuteranope]

[His gaze remains level for a long moment, then flicks away.]

Yeah. [Who wouldn't rather talk about the fun things, after all? Isn't it better to go around pretending everything is fine? Fake it til you make it, right?] Slicing your arm the fuck open ain't really "dealing" with shit, though. Case you were wondering.

[suddenlybees]

Hm? That? It helped with some stuff, so it wasn't all a bust.

[ That's not part of the "fun things" he wants to talk about, though, so he twists around and slides off the desk, making a show of stretching his arms up above his head and arching his back. ]

I won't do it again, alright? Would that make you feel better?

[deuteranope]

[Ugh, that makes him mad. Even to a messed up little weirdo, there shouldn't be benefits to hurting yourself. Even if Maverick had given him medical supplies that also happen to be great for arson, it shouldn't be considered worth it.

He wants to push out of spite, but maybe taking the time to nap has drained him of energy.]

Willing to fucking pinkie promise?

[Does it even matter to Kano?]

[suddenlybees]

[ Maverick had given him arson supplies that also happen to be useful for first aid, but he should know which one of these is more likely. It's the fire. And like the fire— terrible bad ideas with some kernel of good intention somewhere- cutting is also something Kano had planned to do in secret and never bring up to anybody else because it doesn't involve them.

It's a white lie, he thinks to himself as he reaches out and hooks his pinky with Maverick's, it's Schrödinger's lie, a Schrödinger's existence where whatever he does and says is either a lie or it's not and nobody will ever find out.

But he thinks this one he might keep, only because a knife wound is so obvious, too hard to hide if he accidentally slips again. Gotta be more inconspicuous next time. ]

[deuteranope]

[He doesn't know if he believes Kano, but he knows he wants to believe him. He wants Kano to respect him enough to not lie to him, and respect himself enough to find some other way of dealing with those important things he kept to himself. So once their fingers are linked, he tugs Kano's hand over to him to make a crossing motion over his heart, this time.

He can't do anything to enforce this promise...but he hopes his existence and trust is enough to help anyway.]

...So? Mousie got your money?

[There's your fun things, little brat.]

[suddenlybees]

[ He feels a little sick to his stomach when Maverick crosses their hands over his heart, but it's a feeling he tries to shake off, taking his hand back after and returning them to his pockets where they can fiddle with the cloth inside.

Big smile, Shuuya. That's permission to go back to the fun things. ]

Yep~ I got five thousand euros, and an IOU!!

[ Maverick was right, all he had to do was ask and he got ten times as much out of the deal. ]

[deuteranope]

Shut the fuck up!

[oh oops that was louder than he intended, BUT WHAT!!!! He's definitely distracted from all that serious bullshit now.]

What the actual fuck! Do you got dirt on him, or something?

[suddenlybees]

[ No... Toki's just very easy to persuade. But- ]

Haha, of course I do~ I've got dirt on most everybody on campus, after all~

[deuteranope]

Tch. Oh yeah? What dirt you got on me?

[...he says with a smirk, like he's not terrified that Kano Knows Something.]

[suddenlybees]

[ He takes out his phone and taps around and flips it around to show Maverick this picture.

The snakebite piercings are incriminating, and Maverick provided it himself. ]

[deuteranope]

[oh for fuck's sake

He closes his eyes a second like that will shut down the outburst that so desperately wants to come out in response, then goes back to his grin and a shrug.]

Hey, free advertising.

[suddenlybees]

Alright, my next network post.

[ Don't make me make this my next network post........... ]

[deuteranope]

[He literally bites down the scream by chewing at the inside of his cheek because he knows this asshole will do it. Mav can stop himself from yelling, but he lunges on automatic to slap the phone out of Kano's hand.]