puppycrush2 | week three

Entry tags:

week three | mingle

So, uh.

Welcome to Week Three! We’ve officially passed the halfway point, and after a super, duper successful Match Ceremony, I’m sure the teens are feeling all hyped up and raring to go.

Right?

Regardless, there are a few changes this Monday morning to greet the teens:

First off, there is a new bathroom! Oooh, aaaahhhh. Three whole bathrooms in the house for the teens now. Enjoy.
There is also a set of video games in the living room to connect to the TV. They are pretty much all multiplayer party games like M*rio C*rt. Don’t kill each other.
There are a few packs of dorayaki now scattered around the house.
There is also a piano now in the living room!
On the counter in the kitchen, there is also some paper and writing implements, like basic ballpoint pens. Wait, doesn’t that break the rules?

Tsukasa’s extremely loud and obnoxious voice is not here to greet you guys this morning, which means it seems there isn’t a Task for the week–

But something else seems to be going on.

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[ He is not paying attention, just lost in his own head, so her warning is appreciated.

As are his quick reflexes. Mark does indeed catch the apple, only to stare at it in his hand for a second before looking back up at Anna. ]

What's up?

[ His tone is neutral; he sounds not pleased to see her, but not not pleased. He just holds the apple though; he's not exactly feeling hungry. ]

Just wanted to swing over and check on you. I know Minami-kun can be a lot to handle, and he's alike in a single way to the other person we disagree on: both of 'em can be real annoying if you let them get their claws in.

[ she's got an apple herself, biting into it as she looks moodily at the sky. ]

So? You good?

[ He's just going to stare down at his apple now. Not bring it up to eat or anything, just... stare at it, like it can solve his problems or something. ]

No. I don't think I'm good right now.

[ are they using the same definition of "good," probably not ]

[ probably not. anna chews on her piece, then moves closer to bump her shoulder against his arm. ]

Wanna go for a swim? Floating in the water always helps me.

[ okay that gets him to look up at her. ]

I... don't exactly have anything to wear in the pool out here.

[ not a no? just deflecting to a logistics question. ]

Underwear's just a worse swimsuit.

[ she's starting off anyway. ]

We've already seen each other pretty much naked anyway, [ swimsuits are "pretty much", ] so it's not that different. Right?

[ she's being so for real too it's not like, a flirt or a ploy or anything she's honest to god being serious ]

[ just kinda staring for a second. ???

But her logic is sound (somehow), so that gets Mark to break. He doesn't exactly smile, but he does puff out a little laugh. ]

Okay, but you lead the way. Since it was your idea.

[ Not like they aren't going to get washed later anyway... But he'll be right behind her. ]

I won't complain if I catch a cold, and if you do... I'll make you soup until you feel better. Deal?

[ to the pool...! they seem to always have towels at the ready here. it's kind of nice. anna's sandals are coming off as they go, kicked to the side, and she's... very quickly working through that apple, goddamn, as she begins to shimmy off her skirt one-handed. ]

[ Okay, this one is more of a laugh. ]

I'm not going to get sick, but yeah. Deal.

[ why is he so confident about not getting sick. Anyway he's right behind her, though Mark waits until they're at the pool's edge to toe his shoes off. Then socks, then shirt, which he folds haphazardly and sets his untouched apple upon... maybe he'll have it later. Then pants, and... it feels weird going into the water in his actual underwear, but... well, he's committed now. ]

Ah...

[ It's not like the temperature is bad or anything? This just feels. So weird. ]

[ guess he's a Real Healthy Guy. crazy. lemon's like that too, she doesn't seem like she gets sick at all... except heatstroke, but it was pretty hot in the storage building.

anyway, anna's finishing hers off before she pulls off her shirt and shakes her hair out, throwing it where her skirt lays and testing the water with her foot -- oh, it's not bad -- before stepping down the stairs. ]

... Huh. This is weirder than I thought it'd feel.

[ and. because she is a fashionable gal. i do have to mention she's got a matching set for her undergarments, thought it's just solid blue. she'll flop onto her back, letting herself float on the water as she kicks off more to the center. ]

Not bad. Just weird. Kinda glad I didn't do it on the beach now, it's way easier to get some new digs here.

[ they can be blue buddies... him with navy boxers or something, it fits with his colour scheme,

He shoots her a look, still upright and not really floating like she is. ] The beach? That would... [ he pulls a face. ] That'd be way more weird. Yeah, I don't think I'd have agreed to this if the house wasn't right there.

[ the dawning realization that he isn't going to be putting his pants back on over soaking underwear... oh well. at least she's right; this is as convenient a location to do this as any, if they had to do this.

He's still also not broaching the actual matter at hand, just kind of adjusting to the feel of being in the pool like this and turning his attention to the silent sky above instead. ]

[ yessssss blue buddies!!!!!!!!

also glad he's realized that. anna's brain hasn't caught up to the fact that she'll just have her underwear on treading back through the house, toweled up or not. ]

It's pretty tempting though, I'll tell you that. Especially when you haven't seen it in a while.

[ being so used to a city on the sea as she is... anyway. ]

You gonna join me anytime soon? Don'tcha know the best way to acclimate is to toss yourself in?

[ usually reserved for like

the actual pool temp and not. underwear and floating. but. point. ]

[ maybe he'll lend her his shirt for their commute back in...

Looking back at her. ] That's a temptation you probably shouldn't give into.

[ But, alright. Mark takes a second and then just slips entirely underwater, getting the whole of him soaked. He shuts his eyes, feels his hair floating... and then he comes back up and moves so he's on his back, floating beside her, his head next to hers.

With a sidelong glance, ] That better?

[ a thumb up at his advice before goes down -- got it, captain -- and she laughs when he comes back up beside her, tilting her head just enough to match his glance. ]

Better. Now, close your eyes and let the water take you for a few minutes.

... Yeah, alright.

[ And he'll do just as she says. Closes his eyes, lips slightly parted as he floats there, just breathing.

And maybe Anna had a point — it is easier to shut his mind off in the water, just letting it take him, like she said. ]

[ it's one of the few things she learned living by the sea. letting the swell of the ocean lift you, lower you, nothing but the faint sound of people at the beach and the waves rolling against the shore...

... it's relaxing, with the sun above you keeping you warm and water cooling you just enough. anna's eyes slide shut and she exhales softly, the lap of water against the pool's edge good enough for now.

she will eventually speak, in a few minutes. ]

You know you shouldn't let him rile you up like that.

[ He opens his eyes at the sound of her voice, but doesn't turn to face her. Just stares up at the sky above. ]

I know. [ His voice is quiet. ] I just... he acts like people don't matter, and I just can't— [ anger takes over his voice. His fists clench. He's halfway to a snarl before he catches himself, lets out a breath, and defeat slides back into his voice instead. ]

I just can't be around someone like that. I want to— fuck, I don't know.

[ Because he is staunchly against killing, but he doesn't know what else there is. Jail? For a demon? How would that even work? ]

You know, that's why I get pissed at Akechi-kun too. Acting like he's above all this, saying he'll throw the game... Feels like he doesn't give a damn about anyone. Especially anyone who gets on his bad side even once.

[ nevermind anna who consistently rubs him wrong, because he rubs her wrong. ]

There's more bad blood between us than just what happened at the ceremony, for the record. You know we've always gotten on each other's nerves.

[ since week one. she'll stare up at the sky too. ]

Anyway, it's pretty impossible not to be around someone you hate in this house, unless you're lucky enough to get matched or they're match, especially during discussions... we're both bad at ignoring them though. Be real nice to push 'em into this pool, huh. Think we could get away with it too.

[ He listens, still staring upwards. And gives her a soft laugh at that final sentiment. ]

Maybe... them with wet clothes and everything, huh. [ Because he's not going to argue that Akechi doesn't deserve that sometimes. They managed to avoid it, but may others not be so lucky.

He stays floating beside her, lets out a sigh. ] I'd be okay with that. I think if that was the extent of things, that'd be fine. I just, I don't know, I'm afraid of taking things too far. Of the person I'd be if I did that.

[ Because he was starting to toe that line back in there, and he has nobody to blame but himself. ]

[ it'd be so funny, too. the two of them wet and miserable as cats. the thought makes her giggle, but she quiets as mark continues. ]

Are you scared that people might be scared of you? Or, like, that you wouldn't be able to be the person you were before?

... Both. More than that. I—

[ He stops himself on that thought, and then reaches for her hand. It's blindly — he's still looking upwards — but he's still going to try to find it, grasp it in his. ]

I'm scared of turning out like my dad.

[ The very same one he'd told her he'd lost, which. Not a lie; it's just that this admittance isn't couched in deceitful terms. ]

[ oh.

no, yeah, she sees from the corner of her eye that he reaches and she matches it, small hand sliding into his like it's natural. ]

The one you lost? [ ... ] Was... he a pretty violent guy then?

[ It's grounding. He's thankful to have this moment of connection, interlocking their fingers and just holding. ]

I didn't know he was. [ Still staring up at the sky. Staring up at nothing, now. ] I just want to go back to before. He was the best dad when I was growing up, and I don't know what happened, what changed, what signs I missed. I just think that... if I could go back, to before... maybe I could fix things. And he could still be the person I admired, and I could want to be like him again, instead of...

[ He trails off there, letting it end on nothing. Out of words, just — there it is, his entire reason for being here. ]

[ ...

this is a different kind of out of her tax bracket than the others she's heard. but only because anna knows she's lived a pretty lucky life, where her biggest worries were what others would call trivial and silly. false hardships and hands too soft to have ever even played sports. but that same hand squeezes mark's comfortingly, far firmer than it might appear.

when she speaks, it's with care. because she really doesn't know what this is like no more than she does will's troubles, or ritsuka's, or josuke's... sanji's or asa's, steve's... but her friends are important to her, and mark is one of them. ]

I don't think it's wrong for you to still admire the man you knew before all that, though? I mean, you loved him. Just because he changed doesn't mean those parts of your dad just-- disappeared. From your memory, I mean.

[ just... first off. then, secondly-- ]

And... if you're scared, then that just means you really won't ever be like him. You know? Even if you might slip sometimes, as long as you have someone you can trust to defuse or calm or whatever nearby... then it's okay. You'll be okay.

[ Mark had lived a lucky life, too. His biggest worries had been mostly trivial and silly, too. He'd played sports, was active, wasn't immune to cuts and bruises and scraped knees. It's really just within the past year that his hands are callused, that he's had to do so much more with them — things he was hoping to do; a whole lot more he was not.

He squeezes back. ]

That's what I keep telling myself. That the dad I loved wasn't a lie. I remember him, he was real. It's just so hard to reconcile now. And I don't know... was he ever scared? I want to— I want to be okay, I want to know that if I slip up it won't be that bad, I want to—

[ He stops himself. Pauses. ]

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