Unlikely, to Say the Least

by softboy

His heart sank. He knew what this was. What it had to be. The existence of it sickened him; he wasn't that bad of a person, was he? (Of course he was.) Inside lurked a manifestation of his distorted desires; that was how the other one had been. And they would all get to see it. This...was his Palace. And they were going to destroy it. And he could do nothing but sit and watch.

1. Plans

-Note: i promise this has more characters but only allows 4 fhbghgb-

Bip bip!

Kennith was snapped out of his small trance. Who the hell was texting him at this hour? (Then again, why was he awake at this hour?)

He pushed away from his workbench and his work-in-progress, allowing his chair to slide to his bed, where his phone laid atop a pillow. He was fairly unfazed, until he saw the name. Akira's.

(It read "Akira Cute-rusu". They'd been dating long-distance for a while now, of course he gave him a dumb, cute nickname in his phone. Akira didn't know about the nickname, of course. He was only given the silly, on-the-spot ones.)

His heart picked up its pace as he snatched his phone, near giddy with excitement; Akira had been missing-in-action for a week or so now (maybe longer, he didn't have the best grasp on time), and he'd been absurdly worried. He'd taken on way more projects in that time to occupy himself, though the extra money it brought in wasn't unwelcome.

Akira Cute-rusu: Hey! Sorry for disappearing like I did. I know you're probably asleep, but just wanted to let you know I'm alright! I kind of got arrested and had this whole big spat with my parents, got expelled and sort of disowned...not fun.
Akira Cute-rusu: But, I'm back! I'll see you when you wake up. Sweet dreams.

It took a moment to compose himself; he was smiling ear-to-ear and mushing his face into his sheets, kicking his legs...thank god no one could see him. But, then, the shock registered. Arrested? Expelled? Disowned? He couldn't fake being asleep now.

Ken: holy SHIT
Ken: first of all, how did YOU get arrested? second, are you like, okay? and THIRD, i MISSED YOU im glad youre not dead
Ken: also dont worry about why im not asleep, i got absorbed in a project

That was a good excuse, right? Yeah.

It didn't take long for Akira to respond. (That made his heart flutter.)

Akira Cute-rusu: As always. But yeah, I'm alright! A family friend took me in. I use "friend" loosely, though. Someone asked him to, don't know if it was my parents, or what.
Akira Cute-rusu: His name is Sojiro! He runs a cafe here in Yongen-Jaya, Leblanc. He's not the nicest person in the world, but he isn't terrible, either.
Akira Cute-rusu: And as for your first question, I tried to help a woman who was being harassed. Unfortunately, the guy was so drunk he couldn't keep his balance. He toppled, got hurt, and called the cops to blame it on me.
Akira Cute-rusu: What's important is that I'm alright, though, yeah? You get some sleep, it's late. You can finish your work when you wake up, right?
Ken: yeeeah youre right, ill hit the hay
Ken: lmk if anythin goes on while im off in dreamland! ily !
Akira Cute-rusu: Love you too! Sleep well!

Yeah, no. He wasn't sleeping anytime soon; he just didn't want him worrying. He clicked to message Stephanie.

Ken: steph i found the perfect excuse for us to move to japan
Ken: so akira got arrested (hes okay dw), so we need to move there, because who else to keep him company in whatever new desolate drab place hes been shipped off to than his boyfriend and his boyfriends friend?
Ken: i know youre asleep but its PERFECT
Ken: i'll work on finding us a place and getting tickets

He didn't bother waiting for her to wake up before he got into his research. Yongen-Jaya, he said...hopefully there would be an apartment around there open for rent.

The longer his research went, the higher his doubts mounted. Would he be able to move at all? Sure, he was 18, but he was a high-school drop out without a real job. His only form of expertise lied in electronics. He couldn't guarantee he'd be able to pay for a home if Stephanie didn't want to come along. And that was if he could get out of his house in the first place. He couldn't be pursued, legally, but his mother was...persistent. He could formulate a plan, likely; but really, in the end, it was the money that was his biggest concern. He'd need to convert his current money to yen, too, and then actually find a place with enough space for both of them, and within their price range...such a hassle. He was definitely going to need Stephanie; he just had to hope she actually wanted to come with him.

Hoping was all he could seem to do, lately.