[Soubi had been ready to oh-so-casually exit the restroom at a normal speed, but alibi or no, there's only one exit, and he couldn't get out without facing the tearful runner. One miserable kitten, dark ears flattened against his head, eyes a red-rimmed mess.]
[It's all Soubi can do to keep from scooping Ritsuka up into his arms and wrecking his entire lie. He'd steeled himself to confront Ritsuka earlier. He wasn't prepared for him just now. A minute ago, Soubi would have loved a reason to prolong his talk with Ritsuka, to try to convince him-- no, that would be a lie; it was just because he couldn't bear to leave. But this time, his guard is down and he's flustered. He's desperately avoiding eye contact.]
Ritsuka. [It's devoid of meaning, as Soubi searches his mind frantically for what meaning he needs to put into it.]
[Distance, that's the thing. He needs to pretend he isn't upset. Right now, it's hard to remember what a normal person sounds like, a person who isn't being torn apart between two sacrifices, who isn't feeling crushed and doesn't have tension in the weak threads that won't snap cleanly away from his self. It's like remembering how to stand up and take a fighting stance while in crippling pain. But a fight can be surreally aggressive. This must be finely-tuned into a balanced realism.]
Excuse me, [he says, trying to sound as if everything were normal except for the fact that Ritsuka's blocking the only exit and shows no sign of moving away from it. It doesn't come out quite normal. It comes out uncannily flat.]
no subject
[It's all Soubi can do to keep from scooping Ritsuka up into his arms and wrecking his entire lie. He'd steeled himself to confront Ritsuka earlier. He wasn't prepared for him just now. A minute ago, Soubi would have loved a reason to prolong his talk with Ritsuka, to try to convince him-- no, that would be a lie; it was just because he couldn't bear to leave. But this time, his guard is down and he's flustered. He's desperately avoiding eye contact.]
Ritsuka. [It's devoid of meaning, as Soubi searches his mind frantically for what meaning he needs to put into it.]
[Distance, that's the thing. He needs to pretend he isn't upset. Right now, it's hard to remember what a normal person sounds like, a person who isn't being torn apart between two sacrifices, who isn't feeling crushed and doesn't have tension in the weak threads that won't snap cleanly away from his self. It's like remembering how to stand up and take a fighting stance while in crippling pain. But a fight can be surreally aggressive. This must be finely-tuned into a balanced realism.]
Excuse me, [he says, trying to sound as if everything were normal except for the fact that Ritsuka's blocking the only exit and shows no sign of moving away from it. It doesn't come out quite normal. It comes out uncannily flat.]