lifeaftr | [open] It's Going To Need Some Work

Who: Sayoko, Tachibana, and whoever wants to help with the housewarming
What: Having picked out a house for her and Tachibana to share, now they need to figure out how to make it into a home.
When: Early-ish March, not long after arrival
Where: Islet 2, Shack 2
Warnings: None yet! Will add if needed.

[For Tachibana]

It became plain to Sayoko not long after arrival that she'd have to find some sort of shelter. It became even more plain, once she came across Tachibana, that she'd have to find a place for both of them. Given all that came before her arrival, and what they'd managed to confess to each other after it, she absolutely does not want to be apart from him. If he feels the same, she can't say for sure... but she'd like to believe it. And she'd like to ensure that there's somewhere good for them to stay, somewhere that he can feel safe coming back to, no matter what happens.

The cob house that stands empty and waiting for occupants is... not precisely what she had expected to find, but it's sturdy and it's pleasant-looking. She would say that she can't complain, but after determining that there's nothing more than a few cut-out shelves inside of it, a few protests are already welling up inside of her. It is after a very short inspection that she steps back out, then lowers herself down onto the grassy lawn with a deep sigh. "There are so many things we're going to need. I'm not even sure where to start."

[For Others]

With her thoughts pulled together and the beginnings of a plan in mind, Sayoko has decided that she at least wants something to sleep on that's not a bare floor. And that's not her winter coat, either. She has a feeling she's going to need that as a blanket. So she is sitting out in front of the newly-claimed house, a stack of sizable foraged palm fronds beside her, trying to work out for herself just how one weaves the damned things. They're long and flat and sturdy and take a fold obligingly, and maybe if she folds the fronds from one side over onto the fronds on the other, something will work itself out... but things are really in the early and experimental stage, right now. She is open to suggestions. And maybe even seeking them, given how she occasionally looks up and around to see if anyone is wandering nearby.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Tachibana had been inspecting the walls and peering up at the roof, attempting to assess how good of a condition the building was in. He glances over as she emerges before walking to her side, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"There are others around we can ask," he pointed out. "Even if there's not likely to be a convenience store nearby, there should be something to help," he offered, giving a small smile to go with the attempt at a joke.

That hand on her shoulder is pretty reassuring. A little bit of tension leaves her, and she smiles up at him. "I'd rather to go a 100 yen shop right now. But we don't have either of those..." She then laughs, letting her gaze drift away. "...I don't mind asking for help. I just feel like I don't have anything to give to anyone in return, yet."

"Voucher for a free checkup?" Tachibana suggested, shifting to sit next to her with a warm smile. "There's always a need for a doctor." Less so for a Kamen Rider who couldn't even transform...

"I'll need paper for vouchers." Her next laugh is much more genuine. "And somewhere to practice! Though I think there's a building that's meant to be a clinic... there's hardly anything in it, though."

"There's always treebark for that," Tachibana countered warmly. "Equipment is a bit more a problem, yeah," he admitted. "Without any infrastructure or even electric, it's a bit of an uphill climb, getting set up with a new office."

"It really is. You start thinking through the things you'd need for anything, and then you'd need another thing, and then you'd need something to power it, and then you're just..." She brings a hand to her forehead and sighs deeply. It is too much. It is just too much. "My backpack has a first aid kit in it, so at least that means we've got a few clean bandages and some sterile wipes and scissors...."

"There was rubbing alcohol in mine," Tachibana offered, shifting to put an arm around her in support. "and a few matches. Not too bad for a deserted island clinic."

"Oh? That's a good start! I just hope we don't have a sudden rush of patients." The support is appreciated. She lets her hand drop back to her lap and settles in against him. After a moment of companionable silence, she shifts her other hand to rest lightly on his leg. This level of affection with Tachibana still feels so new. She's still working out the limits of it.

"...we should worry about ourselves, too, though. We should at least have somewhere to sleep... I think."

It's not much more than they had on their few dates, the physical closeness, linked hands, leaning against each other as they walked.... but those moments had been so fleeting, and the time afterwards...

There was a doubled sort of reassurance, that came with the physical closeness. And words that he had still only spoken silently to Sayoko's memory that he couldn't figure out how to say aloud to her now.

"You can use my jacket, until we find where the sleeping bags are hidden," he offered with another soft smile. "And once we get a fire pit set up, we won't need to worry too much about warmth, with how thick the walls are."

"Ah, no! I have my own jacket, I can use that! You still need to keep warm, too, you know." Along with her verbal protest comes a little nudge with her elbow. That sort of physical contact, playful and casual, comes a lot more easily. "We should try and figure out something to lie down on. I've never done that well, just sleeping on a bare floor... you can sleep anywhere. I think I'm jealous, now."

He laughed softly, returning the nudge with one of his own. "Best thing I learned at uni," he joked, tone warm. "There should be some sort of grass or straw or something that we can put down. Make a human sized nest of sorts."

"Is it?" She bursts into laughter, head dipping to bunt gently against him. "It's the thing that's going to get the most use right now, isn't it?" Tachibana's inability to take care of himself sometimes wrapped back around to being incredibly good at persisting despite very unfavorable conditions, didn't it? Though a strange dream island is a lot more unfavorable than getting locked out of his dorm and needing to crash on a common room floor...

"Grass or straw... that wouldn't be too itchy, would it?"

There's something magical in the sound of that laugh, something that melts away so much of the hardness Tachibana had cultivated to survive. Whatever hardships he had to face in this strange place... it would all be worth it to keep hearing that sound.

"If it is, you can layer one jacket on top of it to cover that, and have the other for the blanket," he pointed out.

Her next laughter slides into something more of a regretful moan. "Tachibana-kun... Are you sure that you don't need it?" He doesn't, does he? She doesn't have an actual counter-argument for his efforts at being selfless, does she?

"I'll be fine," he assured. "As long as you're near, I'll be fine."

And what can you possibly say in response to that, as an argument? Any words of protest catch in Sayoko's throat and she gazes up at him, face flushing. "...then I'll be right here." Her arm shifts, and now her hand is slipping around to rest on his back, instead. She hadn't been able to be 'right there' for him. Right now, more than anything, she wants to make up for that.

"...does that mean we'd..." There is a new idea that has come to her, and she needs to venture it carefully. "...be sharing the bed?" That would certainly keep her near. And also have... other benefits.

He pauses, blinking once before a faint blush touches his cheeks. "...if you want to..." The words are almost shy and bashful as he all but peaks at her through the mess of his bangs that half hide his face with how his head has ducked down. "It'd be a good way to share warmth... right?"

She holds her breath for the length of that pause, worried that she'd been too forward or too obvious... and when it's plain that it was all fine, she lets that breath out in a huff of gentle laughter. She beams up at him, cheeks still quite flushed. "It would. We wouldn't even have to argue about who gets to have the jackets, too." A tiny, tiny excuse for doing what they both perhaps want to do anyhow.

A soft laugh escaped at her comment. "The only way to stop that debate, isn't it?" he realized, tone still oh-so-warm as he nuzzled lightly against her.

[open] It's Going To Need Some Work

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I keep forgetting this icon exists because it's not grouped with the other smiles :D

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