03 [action/written] backdated to MONDAY 1/27

[wipesfaith]

[When Jean wakes up on Monday, it is with the heavy sense that something is missing. (Isn't it strange, how lacking can weigh more than having?) The skipped days - going to bed on Friday night and waking up to Monday morning - aren't what hits him first; these, he won't notice until he open his journal to send a message that won't be read by its intended recipient for a while.

The bed on the other side of the room is empty.

He's the only one in their apartment. This doesn't fall too far outside the normal rhythm of the day, but it drags him back to a few months ago when things were knocked off balance and disappearing was Marco's favorite hobby. So he sends that message, raises an eyebrow at the date, and gets ready for the day while he waits for a response.

It doesn't come.]

[Action]

[In the morning, he scours the village, walking the length of every road and checking inside every public building. He tries not to think about the last time he'd walked through still streets unable to remember with any certainty when he'd last seen his friend.]

Marco? [Cupping a hand around his mouth.] Marco!

[At some point, he dimly realizes that school started a while ago, but that doesn't mean shit to him right now. Two options have long since sunk into his brain: Marco has either been kidnapped for experimentation, or he has gone home to hit a dead end. Still, through wanting to prolong the inevitable, through wanting to feel effective in some way, he doesn't drop his search. He takes it out of the village, winding through the woods on horseback.

When he finally returns, with nothing to show for his efforts but exhaustion, a tightened knot of anxiety in his stomach, and questions, evening has settled in. He opens his journal - still no response - and starts asking.]

[Written]

Does anybody know of any missing persons cases that happened over the weekend?

Is there anyone who can remember anything that happened between Friday night and this morning?

[Then, because he doesn't know how to lock messages to specific individuals, he adds:]

Commander Smith, Captain Levi. I need to speak with you. If you're in your quarters, I can come up shortly.

Comments

[aqueousliving]

[Yes.]

What do you feed Benoit?

[Listen to Haruka mangling the pronunciation. And, well, he's only asking because Jean kind of sucks at taking care of himself, so--]

[wipesfaith]

[Wow, he can so take care of himself.]

Oats, usually. Bran, barley, depending on what shows up.

...What's with you initiating conversation all of a sudden?

[aqueousliving]

[Wow rude. Haruka's expression flattens, and maybe he just used a little more force than absolutely necessary when he cuts an onion in half.

Whatever. He'd mostly been curious but in one question, Jean's annoyed him again and the desire to pursue his questioning about Jean's horse evaporated.]

Forget it.

[Which doesn't even answer Jean's question. If he hadn't been preparing ingredients, he would have abruptly looked away, annoyed.]

[wipesfaith]

Jeez, sorry I asked. [Except not really, if his tone is anything to go by.]

Just surprised me, is all.

[aqueousliving]

[Yeah, yeah, sure.

Unless Jean feels like interrupting, Haruka's just going to continue preparing the food in silence, slicing the onion quickly and efficiently without any tear inducing troubles. He soon moves on to actually cooking the meal of ginger pork, which shouldn't take long to complete.]

[wipesfaith]

[He watches out of a lack of anything else to do, silent for a long stretch because he doesn't have much to say for once. But silences with this guy tend to hang awkwardly, so eventually he'll fish for conversation.]

...Did you swim today?

[aqueousliving]

[By this time, Haruka's got the meat in the pan, the aroma of frying pork only beginning to waft from the pan.]

Yeah.

[When doesn't he? But it seems weird for Jean to actually be asking him questions about himself.]

...Do you know how to?

[wipesfaith]

[Smells good; his stomach grumbles as the scent fills his nostrils.]

Of course I know how. [The basics, anyway.]

[aqueousliving]

[Suffer the delicious smell, Jean; you've got at least another 7 minutes of it.]

Can you prove it?

[Because it's not like Haruka has a low opinion of Jean's ability in anything other than riding horses.]

[wipesfaith]

[...Huh.]

The hell do you want me to do, start pretending to swim right here?

[aqueousliving]

[...Sometimes he can't believe how dumb some of the things Jean says is. There's a slight hint of irritation in his voice as he speaks while he adds the sliced onions to the pan.]

There's a pool simulation in the Battle Dome.

[There's also real pools -- he's seen them!! -- and rivers but it's still too cold to swim in them...]

[wipesfaith]

[That was supposed to be sarcasm, asshole.]

Oh, is that where you swim all the time? [We wasn't sure if this guy was still trying to freeze his balls off in the river.]

[aqueousliving]

[To be fair, Haruka nearly has decided to throw caution to the wind and jump in the river anyway. But river water is too rough and choppy for his liking; he prefers the still waters of the simulation, even if they aren't real.]

Yeah.

[It's not the same. Mmm sizzling onion and pork. Delicious smell, isn't it?]

You won't drown in it.

[Probably.]

[wipesfaith]

[It smells so fucking good and he's so damn hungry and sdfgusyd-- That was his belly growling again.]

I wasn't planning on it.

[aqueousliving]

[He glances over in Jean's direction at that stomach growl.]

It's going to take more than five minutes. You can come back when it's done.

[In other words, go away Jean--]

[wipesfaith]

[Wow, okay.

What is he supposed to do with only five or so minutes, take a dump?

Fine, you know what, he's gonna do that, and he's gonna come back and give him the goddamn play-by-play.

Okay, not really.

He's probably just gonna hop in the shower real quick. So he won't smell like horse ass anymore.]

Fine, I'll be back in a few, then.

[And he ducks out of the kitchen. ]

[aqueousliving]

[Haruka wouldn't even care as long as Jean doesn't shit in the pool--

Once Jean's gone, Haruka turns his attention back to his cooking, adding onion and sauteing it together with the pork. After adding spices to the mix, he places sliced cabbage on the plate before placing the cooked pork onto the plate, the delicious smell filling the entire kitchen.]

[wipesfaith]

[He returns just as Haruka is plating the pork. His hair is damp and the uniform replaced with casual wear, which for him typically involves some kind of button-down shirt.]

Is it done?

[aqueousliving]

[Haruka glances over in Jean's direction before stepping back from the plate.]

Yeah.

[His gaze flickers back over to the dish.]

I haven't made this before. Tell me what you think.

[wipesfaith]

[A vague nod.]

Let's eat. [Your place or mine to chow down?]

[aqueousliving]

[A brief moment of hesitation, before Haruka heads towards his place, holding the door open for Jean, making it clear he's inviting Jean in.

Haruka's apartment is pretty damn neat and tidy, with only the occasional jacket lying over a table's edge. But he takes his shoes off by the entrance -- carefully balancing his plate -- before stepping further inside.]

[wipesfaith]

[Jean follows wordlessly. It's probably a good thing that he didn't bother to put on any shoes after his shower, because he wouldn't have taken them off at the entrance, and Haruka would have to suffer through dirty shoes in his clean kitchen. He considers a seat at the table, but...]

Where do you keep the plates again? [While they do dine more often in his and Marco's apartment, this isn't the first time he's been in Haruka's - but he's just checking.]

[aqueousliving]

[GOOD because Haruka would bitch Jean out if he brought in dirty shoes, regardless of Jean's worry over Marco's disappearance!! And given previous dinings in Haruka's apartment, a bunny called Mackerel energetically around the apartment with a, "whee," shouldn't be a surprise.

Don't trip over him.

Haruka points.]

Top right.

[Cupboard. And for good measure--]

Cutlery's in the top drawer.

[wipesfaith]

[He sidesteps the bunny as it skitters through the kitchen, opening the cupboard Haruka indicates to pull out two plates, which he sets on the table. For glasses, he guesses the next cupboard over. He'll fill his own with water at the sink, but he'll let Haruka figure out what he wants to drink himself. His eyes scan the contents of the cutlery drawer, finding a fork for himself and chopsticks for Haruka, plus knives for both of them.

With the table set, he'll settle into one of the chairs pulled up to the table.]