rassera | IC Contact

you there?

[He hasn't looked at his comm all day. After Tetsuo's disappearance, nothing else really had mattered, and Kaneda had proceeded to keep himself in that room from the time he'd disappeared until now. Who knows what got him to look. Intuition, luck...both not exactly foreign to Kaneda Shotaro.

But whatever it was...it got him to pick up that comm, motions static and lifeless as he reads.

Until he reads.]

tetsuowhereareyouyourealiveyoure seafe where are you

[It's been a weird day. If you can even call it that. Fortunately, he's not asked to explain 'what happened'.]

heropa

[And like that, he's out the door. Hell, he was already on his way out by the time he texted.]

where im on my way

[Ping! Incoming snapchat request.

If he looks, there's a photo of some small little nothing cafe with a distinct-looking and sufficiently impossible to pronounce name, probably picked because it looks distinctly out of place on the rest of the street. A followup text listing what street corner it's close to. That should do it.

It's not like he's got money to get back to Nonah or much inclination to start walking. It's a nine hour drive; with the porters probably not working in his favor much, his options are either try to fly there or wait.]

[It's enough of a lead.

Kaneda has somewhat of a mental map of Heropa now, and while the cafe isn't somewhere he's been, he's seen it as he's driven past countless times. That being said, it's an easy hop on his bike and drive to the Porter, and from there, a few streets and intersections (that he didn't even bother stopping at) until he gets to that area of town.

What was Tetsuo doing in Heropa? He'd never left the HOUSE unless he had to...

so why...]

Tetsuo?

[He practically leaps off his bike, dark circles under eyes and sheer exhaustion written across his face. Looks like someone didn't really take care of themselves that whole day.]

[Tetsuo looks fairly uncomfortable, sitting hunched on a chair, shifting his furtive, suspicious glare between other cafe patrons until they're not wholly comfortable either. It's not by choice that he's out here.

At Kaneda's voice, he looks up, expression shifting into something more hopeful. How long has it been since Tetsuo's actually looked glad to see him? Relieved, even.]

Kaneda!

[Kaneda darts for him, hands thrown onto his shoulders and running up his neck to his face to make sure that--yes, that is Tetsuo. Worry turns to pure joy as a smile cracks across his lips, eyes furiously blinking away the start of tears, thumbs brushing against those cheeks.]

You didn't leave...

[It's like you told him Christmas came twice a year.]

Don't EVER do that again, asshole!

[Despite the harshness of the comment, there's no bite behind it. Just pure, honest relief.]

[Tetsuo barely has time to stand up before Kaneda's right there, hands gripping his shoulders and moving to his cheeks in a way that's way more affection than Kaneda usually gave out. Not where people could see it; he had an image to maintain.

Under Kaneda's hands, his face splits into a confused, worried, but genuine smile, hands moving to Kaneda's arms - yeah, he's still around, hair dyed white, jacket painfully missing...

That overjoyed relief and contact is too much for him to take; his mind flicks over to 'fuck it' and throws his arms around his- his brother. Looking over dates mean nothing to someone letting the days slide listlessly by; he has no idea whatever this was took longer than a few hours.

Those few hours were enough.]

[Who cares what these people think. Only one of them at this cafe really mattered, and it was the one person right in front of him.

It's like his thumbs spread Tetsuo's lips themselves, and he doesn't hesitate to take him up on that hug, enveloping him in his arms and holding him close, fingers running through white strands of hair.

Time stops for a moment as he sinks into the hug, realizing all too well that Tetsuo is hugging him back. Not out of fear...but genuine happiness to see him.

The feeling's mutual.]

C'mon, you ready to head back?

Edited 2016-02-02 06:44 (UTC)

[He nods before he has to pull back, giving another look around the cafe. Judging it for not being what he wants.]

Yeah. I don't want to stick around here longer than I have to.

[Of all the times Kaneda's brought him back there, how many were voluntary?]

Edited 2016-02-02 06:57 (UTC)

[The look is shared, giving the cafe a nice once over before turning back to Tetsuo for the verdict. And lucky for him, it was just the one he was looking for.

There's a snap of his fingers to summon the motorcycle.]

What are we waiting fo-

[He stops dead in his tracks, the soft vibration sound of his comm going off.]

[It's quick. Blink, and he'd miss it entirely. But there's a darker look at the motorcycle once it's out, interrupted immediately by a curious look when Kaneda cuts off.]

What?

[It's a good thing Kaneda blinked, otherwise he'd have noticed that one. But he's too busy pulling out his comm to really focus on it, keeping one hand still on Tetsuo's shoulder while he brings out his comm.

Flipping it open before both of them.

And there it is, a message from Sabriel.]

...

Shit. We've got to move out.

Hn?

[It's been a day enough that it takes him a bit to connect the dots, there. If he'd been more invested in current events, maybe he'd do so sooner, but no such luck.]

[He sees Tetsuo's confused look, and pulls him closer.]

The Russians, remember? They took all those imPorts.

Oh, yeah. That.

[Shit. He agreed to pretend to care.]

[Oh look, Tetsuo, it's that signature pout Kaneda's mastered.

You know it, you love it.]

Yeah, that.

C'mon, we've got to get ready...good thing you're back.

[Then it also hits him. While he's not invested in this, he came close to being left behind, didn't he? It was just for a few hours- right?

That relief in Kaneda's voice is hard to miss, and being held close again, so are those words. So much for feeling remotely rebellious, but a new urgency takes its place.]

I need to find a few things first...

[Because there's no good way to outright say 'I think I lost your jacket because the Porter was being weird'. That's all getting ready entails right now - relocating every thing he had on him before. He has nothing else and can afford nothing else to get ready with.]

C'mon, everything's back at the house.

[With one more little stroke of his thumb, he pulls away gently, heading for the bike. Tetsuo would find everything he needed back at Nonah 05, he was sure of it.]

I don't think what you're looking for is at the cafe.

No. It isn't.

[There's a moment of hesitation before Tetsuo follows him out. He'll be a bit hesitant to get on the bike after Kaneda, but that doesn't mean he won't end up riding passenger this time. He could fly, probably.. but for once he's just not in the mood.

It's weird, though. He hasn't had to ride with someone for a long time.

He can tell himself forever that he doesn't care about bikes anymore. He can pretend he's lost all interest after essentially losing two in a row. And that lie works, right until moments like now, when a pang of jealousy rises up all over again]

[Kaneda gets over to it, hitting the interface and opening up the nav computer as normal, the whole thing roaring to life as if his fingers had alone activated it. His soul in physical form, ready to do the one thing it was good at--

Bringing Tetsuo where he belonged. Home.

Whether that was a physical place or just to Kaneda himself, it fit.]

Tetsuo?

[The look Kaneda gives is innocent enough, as he notices that slight shift of his expression.]

[That bike. He's wanted it since the day he first saw it, Kaneda gleeful and proud of it all at once. He's spent days lying awake in bed wanting just one chance to have a go at that bike.

He got that chance, once- racing off on it with Kaori towards a poorly planned attempt at a better future somewhere. That was his one time to try, but he'd blown it and took too long to work out what he did wrong. By then, that last chance was gone forever. It was just Kaneda's now; hard to steal something that could just be disappeared at will.

But that, he reminds himself, would require giving a shit about bikes anymore. He's moved past that.

His hand lingers across the finish before he pushes Kaneda forward, sliding in behind him so Kaneda can't see his expression.

It's not fair.

Kaneda never has to go without a damn bike.]

Let's go, already.

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