Living Spaces [Nagi/Koji]

[Marshmallow]

The relief he felt was small. He almost thought to argue; he certainly didn't feel like he deserved to be here. But if, in spite of things, Koji didn't want him gone...
Nagi let himself smile, inched a few steps toward the door.

"Well duh, you silly billy. Of course I won't use it," he assured, putting some cheer in his voice. "Why do you think I'm always in human shape when you come to visit? I've always been thinking about that, Koji-kun. I just thought I'd already told you, is all. Fucked that part up - I'm sorry."

[Sharei]

Silly billy.

Turn of phrases were weird.

Koji let out a harsh breath of relief and felt his pulse slow. He was sure that the next few days would be rocky as they got used to each other - and Koji reconciled having something like that in the house - but he felt... reassured. At least for now. Nagi hadn't lied to him yet.

"It's alright. It just - caught me by surprise is all. I needed a second."

[Marshmallow]

He nodded, even though Koji wasn't in the room to see it.
"That's entirely fair. Take as many seconds as you need to," the kirin replied gently. "I'll just be shuffling around in here, memorizing the walls and trying not to trip over the furniture. Just blind guy things, you know how it is."

Honestly, as terribly a failure as the last two minutes had been, there were definitely worse ways this could have come out. The optimist started to win some ground against the anxiety: Far better they get this established now, with everything understood and boundaries set, than have Koji bumble into his aura unexpectedly later.

[Sharei]

Koji did take all the seconds he needed to control his racing heart and steady his breathing, and by the time he'd re-entered the room several minutes had passed. Even calmed, he entered with trepidation, cursing himself the whole while. It was stupid to be afraid of a blind man no more capable of fighting him physically than seeing the steps in the hall, but that particular ability filled him with a kind of dread that wouldn't quite go away. Only time would fix it.

"I don't... like people touching or moving my plants without asking," he said finally, returning to the topic of ground-rules for their living arrangements. That was a safer thing to talk about. "Don't water them, move them or play with them. No water deliberately around me unless it can't be avoided. I think that's it for my rules. Those are alright?"

[Marshmallow]

Nagi had just begun to mentally map out the en suite when Koji finally returned. A smile lit up the pale face, glad to have his friend's presence back in the room - and, more importantly, calm. Or at least calm enough. He could only guess at how high Koji's anxiety had spiked, but he was well aware that such moments took far longer to soothe than they took to get started.

Talk of ground rules returned, but mention of the plants cast a disappointed shadow across the kirin's expression. He had been so excited to sense the presence of plants about the house. "Oh... And here I was thinking to offer to help take care of them. I was kind of glad to feel them as we came in," he replied, the words echoing off the bathroom tile and sounding somehow more melancholy than intended. He cleared his throat. "But that's fair, I suppose. Would you be opposed to me bringing in plants of my own, then? The fire ate up my garden..."

[Sharei]

"Please do," Koji said amicably, settling a little further. Gardening was always a favorite subject.

"I'm... a little possessive of my plants. I've grown most of them from seedlings, and they're kind of my... my outlet, if that makes sense? But if you want to bring some in, you're more than welcome to. Maybe we could start a mutual garden in the back yard. There isn't much space left, but I'm sure we could make it work."

[Marshmallow]

Nagi visibly perked at that. He smiled and gave a short nod. “Makes sense! It’s a little like that for me too,” he said. “If there’s space for it, that sounds like a lovely idea. I’d love to start a little garden together. You can show me all your favourites! And maybe I’ll pick up a little bonsai for the bedroom, too…” He trailed off for a moment in wistful thought.

[Sharei]

"I know a good shop," Koji said helpfully. He smiled to himself as he thought of the first time he'd walked into the store and Aaron's smug expression. They'd been fighting over whether or not assets could have interests, and Koji had clearly lost.

"They've got very pretty sakura plants, too. For the outdoor garden, I recommend the garden center that I've been going to."

By the sound of his excited tone, the trepidation was completely gone.

"It's huge, and they grow everything on-site in their own greenhouses."