Kaseki scratched at his leg again rather abruptly but quickly stopped, knowing that the scratching wasn't good for him at all. He bit his lower lip again and rocked himself back forth, trying to suppress any biting urges he was beginning to gain. He eventually just took off his jacket and stared at his wrist for a minute or two, contemplating whether or not he should do this in front of his new friend. He didn't wanna scare them off- but he didn't want to end up biting them either. He glanced up at the sky, trying not to think about what could go wrong if he does or doesn't hold back his urges, and his eyes began to swirl. "Nnn…" he let out a quiet groan, feeling his eyelids grow heavier. Soon enough, his eyes completely shut, but it was unclear if he fell asleep or full-on went unconscious. Either way, this would probably be a helpful thing, since he rarely sleeps, and if he does it's only for an hour or two. So, in a way, him shutting his eyes would be enough for him to start getting his energy back.
Theron glanced up in concern, having been pulled away from his thoughts. He scooted as close to Kaseki as he could, his worry for the other blocking out any thought of him possibly makin either of them uncomfortable. He thought Kaseki’s actions before pretty off, from staring at his wrist to suddenly blacking our. He was starting to think the Vampire nickname he had given the man held more truth than Theron ever thought possible. He found the jacket Kaseki had pulled off and balled it up into a pillow of sorts. He scooted around him and gently moved Kaseki into a more comfortable position in case he had in fact fallen blacked out. He moved the make shift pillow underneath his head. Theron wasn’t completely sure if he should have Called an ambulance or something, though by the look of things, he didn’t think that Kaseki would like that much. Instead he decided to stay bubbly the others side until he woke up. He found the book he hadn’t next to him and started flipping through the pages Kaseki had already read
Kaseki remained still, and soon enough, he began to quietly snore. He had just fallen asleep- It's better than the latter, at least. After about 2 hours, his eyes began to open and he sat up, stretching. "Hnnn… What… happened?" he slowly looked around, trying not to make any drastic movements since he was still pretty sleepy. He rubbed his head and began staring at his wrist again, then put his arm down and looked towards Theron. His eyes were only half-open, but the grayish-green hue could be seen pretty clearly. "Did I… pass out or something…?" he asked, his voice almost as quiet as a whisper. He wiped his eyes, letting them fully open so he could get a better view of what was around him. He seemed extremely confused and even briefly asked, "Where am I?"
Theron had moved to sit beside Kaseki and was now thoroughly enthralled with the book. He glanced over when Kaseki’s awoke and set the book down. “I assumed you had, though now it’s just seems that you fell asleep. Forgive me if I bored you with the conversation.” He teased with a bright little smile. “You’re at the park. Somewhere on the east side. Theron paused for a moment, concerned that Kaseki had forgotten the last few hours they had spent talking. “Uhm, I’m Theron, I don’t know ignorance your remember but we were talking for a bit before you fell asleep.” He said quickly, hoping not to scare the other into running off again
Kaseki seemed rather nervous but eventually calmed down when things started coming together. He smiled weakly. "Yeahhh… sorry about that. It usually happens when I spend too much time on a subject. Sometimes, it makes my brain go awry, and then it just shuts down, leading to me falling asleep or even just passing out. Lunari said that it's also probably because my brain is trying to push certain thoughts out of my head and replace them with new ones so my brain kinda restarts itself or something, but I dunno, " he said. "It could be caused by my constant forgetfulness as well but either way, I'm just gonna change the subject now because I don't want to fall too far down the rabbit hole of my condition." He let out another shaky laugh, scratching the back of his head. His eyes met with Theron's, and his smile became less weak and more joyful like it was before he fell asleep.
He nodded, catching the name once more. Lunari. He had assumed from their conversation that it wasn’t the name of the piece he had been playing. Theron didn’t really pay attention to the titles of the pieces he played, he mostly just identified them by the melody. But now that he had heard the name again in this context, he now assumed Lunari was another person, possibly a parental figure, doctor or even partner. He broke away from his thoughts and shook his head frantically, “no! Please, don’t apologies. You’ve done nothing wrong Kaseki. I didn’t mind the light reading.” He glanced up, a shy smile on his face. “Speaking of which, sorry about reading ahead in the book, I had never really read it the intention of reading it for the horror aspect.”
Kaseki released another shaky laugh. "Oh, don't worry about that. I don't mind-" he began, but suddenly cut himself off and looked into the distance, then started waving at whatever it is he saw. He put his hand down, shooting another glance at Theron. "By the way, did I ever tell you I had a brother? If not, then…" Suddenly, someone who looked exactly like Kaseki, except for the outfit, sat down right next to Kaseki. They both smiled brightly, basically child-like smiles. His brother, who basically looked like a clone of Kaseki himself, was silent. "This is Kaneki. We're twins, in case you couldn't already tell," he said, still smiling childishly. Kaneki then whispered something in Kaseki's ear and he nodded, then Kaneki's face went blank. Kaseki chuckled sheepishly. "He's pretty anti-social, he doesn't do well with talking to others so he normally stays in our little shelter, but he comes out around now to find me here under this tree." Another laugh followed this, and Kaneki just kinda stared blankly at his brother.
“Oh uh no you didn’t!” He replied, a bit startled when Kaseki started waving then suddenly stopped. He glanced at the two, awestruck by the resemblance, though he guessed that was expected since both were brothers. “Yes, I can see that.” Theron said with a small laugh as he looked at the two brothers interact. “Don’t worry, I understand, i don’t really talk to many people either.” He watched the other brother as he didn’t smile or really react to any of his brother’s comments, kind of finding it unsettling but not wanting to offend him. “Ah so you do this often.” Theron noted, referring to when Kaseki had suddenly fallen asleep. “Well, I’m glad you have someone watching out for you. It’s nice to meet you Kaneki, I’m Theron.” He said with a sweet smile
Kaneki immediately looked at Theron and slowly waved back, then quickly lowered his hand and looked at Kaseki again. "Mhm!" Kaseki responded to the bit about how he had fallen asleep. He then placed a hand on Kaneki's head, and Kaneki smiled slightly. "My bro here takes a while to get used to others, but hopefully he'll warm up to you just like I did! But then again, I'm not as introverted as he is, so I guess it could take him longer. Either way, he seems pretty happy!" Kaneki had extended his hand out to Theron, presumably indirectly asking for a handshake. Kaneki looked at Kaseki, and Kaseki nodded, leading to Kaneki making eye contact with Theron again. Kaseki still had a cheeky smile spread across his face.
“It’s alright! Take all the time that you need. He gently took Kaneki’s hand and shook it, glad that at least he was trying to be more friendly. He glanced over at Kaseki and laughed softly, having never really met anyone like the two brothers in front of him. He liked it though, despite their appearance and slightly odd habits, they seemed like genuinely nice people to be around and he hoped he’d keep running into them, whether that literally meaning running or just accidentally finding them again.
Kaseki and Kaneki both smiled again. The child-like smiles seemed to fit perfectly on their faces since their complexions almost looked like those of children, soft and round; only slightly blemished. They seemed to do almost everything in sync at this point, even speaking at the exact same time on occasion. It was quite odd at first, but it made more sense once you got to know them both better. Eventually, Kaneki said he had to go and he stood up, walking off. Kaseki waved goodbye at Kaneki even after his brother had gone far into the distance. He soon stopped waving at Kaneki and looked back at Theron. He'll probably be back later- right about now he goes to our shelter. We've stashed a bunch of food there in case we forget where we are- we always remember our small home, even when our condition gets the best of us. But… I'm not gonna really explain that- I'll spare you the sad details- I don't really feel like monologuing about our condition, so…" Kaseki said, his weakened smile returning.
“Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to explain anything. It’s none of my business.” Theron said with a reassuring smile. He glanced over his shoulder to where Kaneki had walked off to. Theron had always though Kaseki and now his brother lived in a shelter, not made one themselves. He felt a bit guilty for not understanding before but didn’t want to make Kaseki uncomfortable. “You know if you or Kaneki need food or a warmer place to sleep or something my apartment is open for you to use. I used to have a roommate but they left so the bedroom is open. And there’s plenty of food.” He said softly, not wanting to seem a small if he were overly worried or anything but not being able to help himself. “That’s of course if you’d like.”
"I mean, that would be better than us living in a cardboard box all the time. I'll have to let Kaneki know when I see him again-" Kaseki responded, still keeping a cheeky grin on his face. "I, for the most part, would love to not be cold for once," he added jokingly, hoping to lighten the mood. "And I think Kaneki would, too. We always get cramped in the box since we only have one that's just barely big enough to fit both of us. Luckily, I'm pretty small, but he tends to curl up while I sprawl myself out so I end up hitting him in the face on accident most of the time." He seemed fine with the box, but he did know that it had its flaws, so he accepted the offer. "So yeah, I mean… if you're really willing to let us stay, then I guess we could. Kaneki might hide away at times depending on if there are any good hiding spots he can go to when he gets really nervous. It's just a thing he does." Kaseki then gave one of those eyes-shut smiles that you'd see in an anime or something.
Theron smiled softly at first, thinking that Kaseki was joking around Whalen saying his living conditions was a box. When he finally realized that the other was in fact, not kidding, he felt a bit guilty for not realizing before. The fact that Kaseki seemed fine with living in a literal box only made Theron more concerned, though he knew he was in no place to judge how’ve others lived their lives.
“My apartments open to the both of you whenever you’d like.” He said with a small smile. “I’m sure Kaneki would be able to find plenty of places to hide, just as long as he’s willing to fight over them with my cat.” He relaxed slightly at Kaseki’s cute smile, knowing he didn’t have to worry about the two brothers. They were alright, despite living in a box, despite their oddities. Theron would be more than happy to have them in his life.
“As long as you two don’t take my cat or murder me while I’m sleeping, you can stay as long as you want.” He added on, picking up the book and writing down the address below the note in the book.
Kaseki nodded at the final comment. "We couldn't do anything bad like that even if we really wanted to," he began. "Kaneki and I wouldn't be good criminals at all, honestly. We feel guilty about making mistakes; even minor ones." That seemed right- They both looked like they couldn't harm a fly. "I think Kaneki would be willing to fight over hiding spots, he always finds a way to hide in places I'd personally never imagine. One time when we were younger, we were playing hide and seek, and Kaneki decided he was gonna hide in the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink. I couldn't find him until he came out from hiding," Kaseki said, chuckling quietly. "Thanks for giving us this chance.. It's not every day that someone offers to give us a place to stay. Most people think we're weird or creepy and whatnot… But you seem to be a special case, I suppose."
“Your welcome, but I’m sure others would have done the same, despite what you may look like.” He said with a soft smile. “My phone number’s in there too if you need it as well.” He added on, showing Kaseki. “I hope you two will be comfortable. I haven’t had roommates for or a while home so most of the apartment is full of books or nicknacks I’ve collected over the years.” He said Sheepishly, glancing away shyly. “If that becomes a problem for either of you, I can always move things around.” He said, now starting to talk quickly
"I guess so… and don't worry about the collection! We don't mind," Kaseki said, still smiling. "And I'm sure anything would be more comfortable than living in a box if you really think about it." To be fair, he had a point. Even if the home wasn't comfortable, he was sure it'd be better than his current living conditions… those being a cardboard box, of course. Kaseki noticed the other beginning to talk quickly and laughed nervously. "I'm sure we'll be fine, even if it isn't too comfy, it'll be much better than our box."
He took a deep breath and nodded, noticing his own nervousness and trying to calm himself “you do have a point.” He glanced away for a moment before focusing on Kaseki again. “I’m sorry, I’m not really used to talking with many people. If you ever get uncomfortable, please do tell me. The last think I want to do is make either of you feel uncomfortable.” He said softly, sincerely wanting a good relationship with the two, having not had many long lasting friendships or relationships with many people. “That’s not to say you’re obligated to stay. I understand if it becomes too much to handle.” He added on, hugging his knees to his chest resting his head on top.
“Is there anything I should know about? Allergies, food requirements?”
"It's fine, don't worry! As for allergies and food-related stuff… We haven't gotten an allergy test before so we're not sure if we have allergies or not, and the food part doesn't matter much, though Kaneki really likes sweets so he may ask for those quite often," Kaseki said, now having a more gentle smile on his face. "But I may sometimes forget where I am because of my constant forgetfulness, so I hope that that isn't too much to handle," he added. "Kaneki might also do the same, though it's not likely since he's less forgetful than me." This forgetfulness thing seemed to be common, especially for the brothers. "Anyway, I should go check on Kaneki. We'll probably drop by later into the night tonight, depending on if Kaneki agrees to come with." Kaseki grabbed the book he had been reading, got up, and stretched his arms. "See ya!" And just like that, Kaseki ran off in the direction Kaneki had gone earlier.
Theron smiled and nodded, making a mental note to himself to buy more pastries and chocolate, and to hide his own stash of dark chocolate in his room. He glanced up when Kaseki mentioned his forgetfulness “no! I’m sure it won’t be. Maybe a little getting used to but nothing that would be a problem.” He stood as Kaseki did And nodded “Yes of course, I’ll be home most likely if you do decide to come over.” He glanced around, seeing that it was starting to get late in the day. “I’ll see you then.” He said with a small wave, watching as Kaseki walked off in the same direction his brother had earlier
(Should we time skip till when they show up?
(Sure! Also sorry my reply took so long, I've been pretty inactive, so that might happen more often-)
(It’s alright! I don’t mind the wait! Would you like to start off or would you like me to?)
