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[glorifies]

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[unhappy]

I trust you.

[ Those are perhaps three words she never says to anyone. She stays quiet for a few more moments, then steps a little closer. She's never had anyone say that they would stay just for her. Even Cinder it was always a contingency. She had to work to be kept, not just.. promise to stay. Emerald doesn't know how she feels about Akashi at all; it's confusing and new and terrifying because while she believes him, trusting the world itself is harder. The world always screws her over, one way or the other. ]

I want milk.

[ It's almost like a weird concession that she'll let him take care of her, rather than anything to actually do with the literal milk that will undoubtedly be involved. ]

[glorifies]

[ Asking if she wanted milk was just his way of asking if she wanted him to take care of her for now. He's not sure if he can let Emerald sleep in his room the same way she did when Miu disappeared though. He's sure to get an earful from Midorima... Mayuzumi and Kuroko. . . He's not sure what they would say. He'll figure out what Emerald wants later on. ]

Come on, then. I'll put some vanilla extract in it.

[unhappy]

[ She probably won't stay the night. She has her own place, and she's not even sure what she would say to Mercury. Emerald's explanation of him has already gotten Mercury to use the phrase "boy toy" and she doesn't want Akashi to have to deal with any of that. ]

Are you going to ride me back on your horse?

[ That is so weird to her. ]

[glorifies]

[ ... Don't let Akashi deal with that, Em. ]

Yes. Don't worry, I won't let you fall.

[unhappy]

[ It's one of many reasons she has no intention of staying at his place tonight, even if she's comfortable with him staying at hers. ]

I know you won't, I'm riding behind you.

[ She probably won't argue much if he says otherwise since she knows nothing about riding a horse, but she's already held him before on the wyvern! It's normal. Akashi is the little spoon. ]

[glorifies]

[ Once they're close enough, he jumps onto Yukimaru. ]

His name is Yukimaru. He's as old as I am.

[ Akashi's first friend! ]

[unhappy]

Hi Yukimaru, I'm Emerald.

[ She's just going to stare at this horse for a second before moving over to follow Akashi. That better be enough of a greeting, she knows jack shit about horses. ]

[glorifies]

[ He extends a hand so he can pull Emerald up. Yukimaru doesn't really do anything, but he snorts after Emerald says hi. ]

Do you also want something to eat?

[unhappy]

[ Emerald wraps her arms around Akashi once she's up, sticking close though keeping her arms down at his waist since she isn't having to support him this time. ]

I'm not really hungry, but I should eat.

[ It's her appetite and Emerald knows the importance of making sure you eat regularly, even if she doesn't feel like it. ]

[glorifies]

[ He looks down at his waist, and before commanding Yukimaru to move, he places a hand over Emerald's for a split second just to see if she's really holding onto him. He needs to make sure. ]

We have bread.

[ Sadly, that's all he can offer unless she wants to eat his cooking. ]

You don't have to eat an entire piece. Even just a few bites will do you good.

[unhappy]

[ She is secured in place. His cooking isn't bad in her experience, but she isn't in the mood to really enjoy food anyway. ]

Bread's fine.

[glorifies]

[ This was good, Akashi thinks. He feels lighter now that Emerald's contacted him. It's eased some of his worries and it's distracted him from being sad that Miu's gone. It's. . . nice. He hasn't felt like himself these past few days, and being able to go out and take care of somebody has helped him.

These are thoughts he doesn't vocalise, though. In fact, with his back facing Emerald as they head to where Akashi lives, it's a bit difficult to tell what he's feeling and what he's thinking. He stays quiet in case Emerald doesn't really want to talk. He's not sure what there is to talk about right now, either. They're both sad. ]

[unhappy]

[ Emerald doesn't necessarily not want to talk, but her mind isn't on anything that Akashi wants to hear about. She doesn't know what to say, but he came and got her even when she just wanted to let him know she was okay. He's here for her, and that's important. That's a lot.

He'll probably feel one of her arms moving off of his stomach though. She's never been on a horse properly, she's gonna reach back and try to pet him. She's strong enough that she can hold onto Akashi with one arm if something happens, at least long enough to get her other one back around him. She'd rather do something than sit here and go deeper into her thoughts though, even if she doesn't know what to say. ]

[glorifies]

I met Mercury, you know.

[ But then, it didn't occur to him that he was the Mercury Emerald had mentioned before. ]

He's quite a personality.

[unhappy]

He's an asshole.

[ But she lets out a little laugh at that. It's not exactly mirthful, but it's there. ]

He said that you weren't the worst and he wouldn't do anything to you since I like you. Chihiro and Tetsuya, too. I think it freaked him out that I liked anyone so he didn't know what to do.

[ Even if she sounds down, if he's the one who gave her this news, she doesn't sound upset that he's here.

..He also definitely implied if Akashi hurt her he'd hurt Akashi but you know, she'll leave that bit out. ]

[glorifies]

[ He glances back at her momentarily. ]

You didn't even want to call me your friend before, but now you're telling people you like me.

[ How far they've come!! ]

[unhappy]

It's Mercury.

[ Obviously, as if that explains anything. ]

We don't keep secrets from each other.

[glorifies]

[ Ah, so that's why Emerald was so surprised when Akashi asked if Mercury hurt her. If they don't keep anything from each other, then they're probably very tight. ]

I see.

I'm glad we're friends.

[ That's what he was driving at when he brought up that she likes him. He can say it now, too. ]

[unhappy]

Me too, stop being a cornball.

[ She turns back around the rest of the way and rests her forehead against the back of his spine. ]

He wasn't too bad was he? He just came fresh off of Cinder-- of the battle Cinder died in, our side losing... If he was there, I was there too so he's probably exhausted hauling me off if we needed to escape and in a bad mood.

[ She knows if they get cornered it's her job to get them out of there. She doesn't have any of the details of what happened, or even who else was with them, but Cinder was the only one he told her died. But regardless, she's really hoping Akashi hasn't decided to write him off. She doesn't expect them to get along but it'd be nice if they weren't actively trying to pick a fight with each other, so she wants to know what to expect. ]

[glorifies]

[ He's not being gross on purpose, gosh!! ]

I just want you to know you're not alone, that's all.

[ She doesn't just have Mercury! ]

He's nothing I can't handle. [ At that time, anyway. He's not sure how it will be once Mercury's. . . feeling better and more oriented with the place. ]

[unhappy]

It's weird.

[ Not to have an expectation of being alone. She knows it took her a while to contact him, but the fact that she felt she could contact someone for help is a first. ]

Uh huh. I'm the only person he'll let handle him, so if something comes up just let me know. No pissing contests.

[ She doesn't want Akashi to get hurt. ]

[glorifies]

I suppose it might be. You'll get used to it.

[ Akashi looks back at Emerald for a split second before facing front. She really needs to speak more eloquently. He doesn't want to get too distracted when they could topple off the horse if he does. ]

I'm not barbaric enough to do that.

[ Literally and metaphorically. Either Mercury is an ally or an enemy, though. Right now, he's still in the middle. ]

[unhappy]

[ When he looks back, he'll have seen her quirk an eyebrow at him. ]

Sure, Mr. "I am Absolute, know your place."

[ He said it in front of her after playing the two jerks at the basketball court, she's not going to not tease him about it. She's pretty sure that's the definition of a pissing contest to compete against someone for the sole purpose of proving dominance. ]

[glorifies]

[ He doesn't need to prove his dominance. His existence is proof of it enough.

Although sometimes he does like to flaunt it because some people are assholes. :) ]

I won't make Mercury kneel unless I have to.

[ That's not him challenging Mercury to a pissing contest. It's him slapping the guy with authority. ]

[unhappy]

Yeaaaaah... I don't think his promise to me not hurt you unless you hurt me first is going to last through you making him kneel, so I'd hold off on that and just call me over if he's being a pain.

[ That's not exactly what he said, but the implication that Emerald would stop liking Akashi for any reason would require Akashi to hurt her a lot to get her to tell Mercury it was okay. If A is B and B is C, then A must be C. ]