Those long ears flatten back with eyes half closing as Sadie scoops him up with his nose twitching away. Bunsen may not be growing as fast as his owner, but he is getting bigger as a young rabbit should. Curling in her arm, he looks all the more puffy from her compliments.
Immediately called out regarding the lack of time spent in his bed overnight, Benjiro glances guiltily to the neatly made bed and then back at Sadie, “Not...all night. I took a nap.” Which involved his head resting on his arm for all of fifteen minutes at his desk. He shrugs and offers an explanation, “I felt like I was finally making some real progress, and I didn’t want to stop. I may not be able to play fast paced games right now, but making the transition to coaching other players should give my stream a boost and provide some alternative income until I can find another position.”
Realizing she has more than Bunsen with her, he raises a brow curiously.
Sadie, who has looked after many a rabbit, is absolutely convinced that Bunsen is the cutest rabbit in existence. Nothing Bunsen has done thus far has disproved this theory.
"A nap?" Sadie raises an eyebrow, "We're definitely going to bed in a bit then. But I am glad you've found an alternative to tide your streaming over, I know you were worried about that. Tell you what, you can tell me about your setup as we have breakfast and then we can nap together alright?" She shakes the brown paper bag gently, "I got melonpan for you and pastel de nata for me. Sorry, Bunsen, I didn't get you anything."
Being handled since he was a helpless kit certainly has added to his charm. Bunsen never seems to mind Sadie or Benjiro holding him, and he remains a content fluff as the humans talk.
Attention back on Sadie as she provides a plan to help him wind down and recover from the extended working period, he perks visibly at the mention of his favorite baked good. Reaching a hand to gently rub a fingertip between those grey bunny ears, Benjiro smiles, “That I can take care of. I’ll cut some apple slices downstairs while I get us some drinks and he can share with us.” He leans down to give her a kiss on the cheek before he moves for the door, “Thank you, Sadie!”
Out he goes, hurrying downstairs to collect some fresh drinks and the apple slices. Barely a couple minutes later, he returns and makes space on his bedside table for the two glasses and a bowl.
Giggling at Ben's enthusiasm Sadie gently places Bunsen down on the mattress before settling in herself, pulling the duvet up over her legs and rearranging the pillows to better support the two of them. Once Ben is back she folds back the duvet for him and fishes the melon pan out of the bakery bag for her boyfriend.
"Excellent! So, what's your plan with this training then?"
Pausing to appreciate the arrangement of the bedding, Benjiro smiles to Sadie when she folds back the duvet. It looks so comfortable there next to her, and that alone makes him minutely more aware of the fatigue he has held back. Carefully, he sits on the side of the bed and maneuvers in beside her. Despite his slow movements, the frame complains in a creak intermittently until he settles. Left with a bit of embarrassed color at his cheeks, he gratefully accepts the melonpan and extends an apple slice towards Bunsen. The rabbit notices it straight off and clambers up onto their legs to snatch it. Carrying the apple to the corner on the bed, he settles to nibble away at the fruit slice quite close beside them.
“It’s not too complicated actually. I have a website nearly ready that will have a full list of games I feel comfortable coaching, an embedded schedule that will update with requests, and an email to reach me for those requests. I’ll have open streaming times at my regular hours with preselected games. In chat, I’ll ask people who want to be coached for free in the stream to join a random selection through a bot, and coach them live for a round before I move onto the next player. Off stream hours, I’ll open slots for people to hire me to privately coach for three rounds of their game of choice or some equivalent to it for a fee. The only part I have left to figure out is that fee...”
Sadie doesn't really notice Ben's embarrassment at the creaking bed, far too happy to cuddle once he's under the covers with her head resting on his chest and bask in the regular thudding of his heartbeat and the warmth of his body and the cool silver and book smell she was beginning to associate with her boyfriend.
Sadie nods as she listens intently to Ben's plan, "It's a really solid plan and covers loads of your strong points too. As for how much you charge, I know it might be tempting to try and minimise it as much as possible to attract more people but you do need to make sure it's over minimum wage."
Her immediate nearness is a salve to the embarrassment, and Benjiro wraps his arm around her side to cross his hand over her waist to secure her position leaning to his front.
Finally taking his first bite of his favorite baked treat, Benjiro mulls over her advice a little, then responds after swallowing, “Based on average game times, I think that I can find a suitable equivalent. I would need to include a disclaimer that I will charge the same amount whether the session goes over time or under in that case.”
“What do you think a game coach should make hourly? No special education required, but experience is necessary both in play and shot calling teams.”
Yes, maximum cuddle has been achieved! Though Ben's question is a difficult one to answer, "Maybe around a tenner an hour?" Sadie throws the number out there, "I honestly have no idea but you'll have to balance it so that you get a good number of potential customers without sacrificing actually making a good amount. You might have to do a bit of research to see if there's anyone else who does this and how much they charge."
Bunsen has finished his apple slice and has hopped his way back to the top of the bed in search of another, adorable nose twitching away. Sadie gives him a scratch on the head and passes the rabbit another slice.
"There is actually something I wanted to talk to you about, though it'll probably bring the mood down a little. Emiko called me last night," Sadie admits, "She was worried that she'd accidentally hit a sore spot of an Echo when she last spoke to you."
He hums thoughtfully, “That sounds like a good price to start actually. I have seen other game coaches pricing vary above that, but having a special price to start might be an excellent way to draw in attention for the first week. I could also use lower rates for anyone who buys more than one session at a time if things go well.”
Bunsen eagerly accepts the head scratching and the offered treat is taken gently from Sadie. Then he hops down to their feet to sit and nibble at it more slowly than the first. Baby buns only have so much room inside for food at one time.
When Sadie mentions the desire to broach another topic, one that promises to be less pleasant, Benjiro tilts his head curiously with his smile fading to listen. That Emiko called her makes his shoulders sag slightly, and he shares his confusion, “She does worry, but I don’t recall thinking of my Number when we’ve been speaking recently. Why did she think that?”
Sadie's thumb rubs gently back and forth against the fabric covering his chest, "She said she was speaking to you about what happened to one of her classmates and you started spacing out." She glances up him, "She asked me if I knew about any Echoes that could have caused it, I think she wanted to avoid upsetting you if that turned out to be the case."
Recognition dawns as she clarifies the topic that had dampened his responses temporarily, and his expression drops flat as anxiety itches awake. His gaze breaks away, looking down and away from Sadie, “Mm. No, it wasn’t anything to do with an Echo. I will speak to her about it so she doesn’t worry and can keep talking to me. The way it made her feel won’t go away any time soon.”
Before he talks too much, he takes another bite of the melonpan.
That's avoidance if she's ever seen it. But there's something a little different to this expression of Ben's ability to avoid certain topics. It's more fragile. To push or not to push? Which would help Ben the most?
"Alright, that'll be a big relief for Emiko I'm sure..." Sadie trails off, "It's a horrible situation to have experienced. Did...did you experience something similar...?" Sadie asks softly.
Despite his increased appetite lately, his hunger is beginning to wane. He sets the melonpan down to reach for his drink, mulling over how to answer Sadie in those few seconds a drink allows him to think. Glass set down, he gingerly brings his arm around her in a little closer to snug the hold.
Voice more somber, he answers her with implication, “It’s a very common experience in Japan. Last year, students 19 and under accounted for 599 suicides. Some of those were elementary age.”
"It's alright... That number is lower than it used to be, and younger children weren't involved last year. Japan has 126 million people, and the trends for everyone are changing for the better," he offers in a way of dampening the raw number of lost children that exceeds people living per square kilometer. "It just isn't the same there as it is here."
“...not really,” he answers with a sour note only to rest his chin on her hair for a moment. A ginger squeeze is given with his arm, then he straightens back up and picks up the melonpan he set aside.
“Thank you for talking to Emiko about it. She likes to keep up a front of confidence for most people,” his tone is lighter now, trying to move the conversation off himself.
The squeeze prompts Sadie to lean further back against Ben, physically comfort him in the way words clearly can't. She tilts her head back to look at his face, "Any time, Ben. Emiko is very important to me and I'm glad to help her. Even if it's just talking." She gently kisses the underside of his jaw, "And its the same for you too."
A tired smile shows as he looks back at Sadie, and he nods his head gratefully as she assures him that talking with Emiko so personally is valued. The kiss at his jaw and the point to emphasize her willingness to talk with him is a mild surprise, or enough to make him pause in thought. He shakes his head once and smiles as he replies, “You have enough on your plate right now. Besides, you haven’t even touched your pastel de nata.” It wouldn’t be good if she was left hungry while trying to take a nap together.
Oh, she knows more evasion when she hears it, and a poorly veiled attempt at it too. Glancing down at the pastry in her hands, impulse worms its way up from the back of her brain and, with nary a thought and staring at Ben, she shoves the entire custard tart into her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a hamster even as she stares Ben down.
"There, my plate is empty." Her words are ridiculously contorted by the pastry, "Now we can talk more."
The ridiculousness of her action catches him by surprise, and he cannot help but let out a short laugh at the way her cheeks are stuffed by the crammed pastry. The smile brought by the laugh lingers as he starts to respond, “Sadie, that’s not what I meant and you know it. Please don’t choke.” Benjiro reaches with his free hand to get her drink and offer it to her. Being stared down however, he falters and his smile disappears. It is so hard to deny her, especially when their relationship has been built on a foundation of honesty and trust.
Finding his resolve to not dump his personal conflict on her weakening, Benjiro reaches his hand up to rub at his face with fingers disturbing his hair to let the longer strands cast over his forehead and one eye. As his fingers trail off a cheek, he looks unusually weary under the faint shadow from his dark hair. His voice comes out much quieter when he finally broaches the matter reluctantly as he looks back towards Sadie without meeting her gaze, “...I don’t know how to tell you what happened without making you worry more. Especially now that I have had a chance to understand it better myself.”
It's pretty tricky to pout when imitating a food-hoarding hamster but Sadie nearly manages it before she swallow with a wince, perhaps that was a bit too much, and washes it down with the drink Ben offers her.
"It will definitely make me worry more," At least it will if the effort that Ben has gone to to dance around the subject is anything to go by, "But it's worth it so that I can understand a bit more of you, I want to be able to support you as best I can." Her wide eyes and attentive gaze emphasise the kind and patient tone.
As they have been talking, Bunsen had finished his apple slices and curled up between Benjiro’s feet with one side pressed to an ankle. Snuggled with two, he listens as Sadie patiently explains her intention. His gaze lifts the final tick upward to meet her eyes, and with a slower breath in and out, he decides to talk about the unhealed wounds, “...okay.” He sets her drink aside when she finishes, and wraps both his arms around her to ground himself.
“The reason I faltered talking to Emiko has to do with my mother...” he begins as a warning to Sadie. Leaning his head back against the wall behind them, he continues, “You know I was never really close with her, and she kept things to herself. It was after we moved to Japan that my grandmother took me with her to visit a grave. It belonged to my uncle. I hadn’t even been aware my mother had a brother. ...I was informed that he took his life after he behaved in a way that was not condoned by the family. ...family honor and all that.”
He pauses as he has to swallow, the act taking more effort than usual. “The last time I spoke with my parents, my mother told me not to return home. But...she also told me to remember my uncle.”
“That day, I was at the cliff... I won’t lie and tell you I did not consider her directive. But the life I have here in Mossgate, the life I have with you, gave me all the reason I needed to defy it.”
Sadie's arms wrap around Ben almost automatically as her pulls her into a close embrace and she tucks herself in even closer to Ben as she hears the way his heart hammers against his chest. At the first mention of his mother Sadie's ears jolt up in alarm and she gives him a squeeze in where her arms are wrapped around him as she wrestles down the urge to scoff.
It's a good job she doesn't, instead all she can do is stare up at Ben as he becomes visibly more upset. Her grip on him tightens in sympathy, her pupils blowing wide until its almost impossible to see the iris as she gets more and more upset for her boyfriend. And then Ben final tells her what his mother's last words to him were and she very quickly has to drop her hands from around him as her claws slide out, her pupils shrink to near pinpricks and her ears flatter completely against her head. She can feel herself shake as her entire body tenses and she bites down on her lip to hault the growl that is starting to rumble in her chest.
Fury. Fury enough to rend her speechless.
Sadie drops her head onto Ben's chest with a thunk and takes some deep breaths and trys to think calming thoughts before she speaks.
His eyes blink at the traces of tears in his eyes as he lifts his head from the wall when her hands move away. Her reaction is more intense than he had anticipated, catching a glimpse of her claws as she starts to shake with pure tension. Concern for her flares, but her head drops against his chest as she starts to exercise restraint with conscious acts of breathing.
“...Sadie,” his voice full of worry and a little hurt to see that his pain is causing her such distress. He adjusts his arms around her to lay one hand behind her head with fingers split to avoid covering her flattened ears to hold that arm vertical on her back with the other crossing diagonally to wrap his hand at her shoulder. He squeezes her in the hug, the strength of it encroaching on uncomfortable before it wanes to a supportive firmness. Bowing his head to touch his chin at her hair he whispers, “She left my life... Don’t let her twist you up.” Legally, he belongs with Agatha and Rosemary now. The only way his mother could hurt him further would be through his sister, and the woman cares for Emiko far more.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2019-08-09 04:27 pm (UTC)Immediately called out regarding the lack of time spent in his bed overnight, Benjiro glances guiltily to the neatly made bed and then back at Sadie, “Not...all night. I took a nap.” Which involved his head resting on his arm for all of fifteen minutes at his desk. He shrugs and offers an explanation, “I felt like I was finally making some real progress, and I didn’t want to stop. I may not be able to play fast paced games right now, but making the transition to coaching other players should give my stream a boost and provide some alternative income until I can find another position.”
Realizing she has more than Bunsen with her, he raises a brow curiously.
no subject
Date: 2019-08-11 11:40 pm (UTC)"A nap?" Sadie raises an eyebrow, "We're definitely going to bed in a bit then. But I am glad you've found an alternative to tide your streaming over, I know you were worried about that. Tell you what, you can tell me about your setup as we have breakfast and then we can nap together alright?" She shakes the brown paper bag gently, "I got melonpan for you and pastel de nata for me. Sorry, Bunsen, I didn't get you anything."
no subject
Date: 2019-08-16 04:09 am (UTC)Attention back on Sadie as she provides a plan to help him wind down and recover from the extended working period, he perks visibly at the mention of his favorite baked good. Reaching a hand to gently rub a fingertip between those grey bunny ears, Benjiro smiles, “That I can take care of. I’ll cut some apple slices downstairs while I get us some drinks and he can share with us.” He leans down to give her a kiss on the cheek before he moves for the door, “Thank you, Sadie!”
Out he goes, hurrying downstairs to collect some fresh drinks and the apple slices. Barely a couple minutes later, he returns and makes space on his bedside table for the two glasses and a bowl.
no subject
Date: 2019-08-19 08:33 pm (UTC)"Excellent! So, what's your plan with this training then?"
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Date: 2019-08-20 12:01 am (UTC)“It’s not too complicated actually. I have a website nearly ready that will have a full list of games I feel comfortable coaching, an embedded schedule that will update with requests, and an email to reach me for those requests. I’ll have open streaming times at my regular hours with preselected games. In chat, I’ll ask people who want to be coached for free in the stream to join a random selection through a bot, and coach them live for a round before I move onto the next player. Off stream hours, I’ll open slots for people to hire me to privately coach for three rounds of their game of choice or some equivalent to it for a fee. The only part I have left to figure out is that fee...”
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Date: 2019-08-21 10:43 am (UTC)Sadie nods as she listens intently to Ben's plan, "It's a really solid plan and covers loads of your strong points too. As for how much you charge, I know it might be tempting to try and minimise it as much as possible to attract more people but you do need to make sure it's over minimum wage."
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Date: 2019-08-22 02:10 am (UTC)Finally taking his first bite of his favorite baked treat, Benjiro mulls over her advice a little, then responds after swallowing, “Based on average game times, I think that I can find a suitable equivalent. I would need to include a disclaimer that I will charge the same amount whether the session goes over time or under in that case.”
“What do you think a game coach should make hourly? No special education required, but experience is necessary both in play and shot calling teams.”
no subject
Date: 2019-08-26 08:03 pm (UTC)Bunsen has finished his apple slice and has hopped his way back to the top of the bed in search of another, adorable nose twitching away. Sadie gives him a scratch on the head and passes the rabbit another slice.
"There is actually something I wanted to talk to you about, though it'll probably bring the mood down a little. Emiko called me last night," Sadie admits, "She was worried that she'd accidentally hit a sore spot of an Echo when she last spoke to you."
no subject
Date: 2019-08-28 02:44 am (UTC)Bunsen eagerly accepts the head scratching and the offered treat is taken gently from Sadie. Then he hops down to their feet to sit and nibble at it more slowly than the first. Baby buns only have so much room inside for food at one time.
When Sadie mentions the desire to broach another topic, one that promises to be less pleasant, Benjiro tilts his head curiously with his smile fading to listen. That Emiko called her makes his shoulders sag slightly, and he shares his confusion, “She does worry, but I don’t recall thinking of my Number when we’ve been speaking recently. Why did she think that?”
no subject
Date: 2019-08-28 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-31 06:43 pm (UTC)Before he talks too much, he takes another bite of the melonpan.
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Date: 2019-09-08 09:53 pm (UTC)"Alright, that'll be a big relief for Emiko I'm sure..." Sadie trails off, "It's a horrible situation to have experienced. Did...did you experience something similar...?" Sadie asks softly.
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Date: 2019-09-12 12:02 pm (UTC)Voice more somber, he answers her with implication, “It’s a very common experience in Japan. Last year, students 19 and under accounted for 599 suicides. Some of those were elementary age.”
no subject
Date: 2019-09-15 02:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-09-17 07:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-09-24 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-05 03:23 pm (UTC)“Thank you for talking to Emiko about it. She likes to keep up a front of confidence for most people,” his tone is lighter now, trying to move the conversation off himself.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-07 09:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-09 11:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-11-02 08:13 am (UTC)"There, my plate is empty." Her words are ridiculously contorted by the pastry, "Now we can talk more."
no subject
Date: 2020-02-10 02:58 pm (UTC)Finding his resolve to not dump his personal conflict on her weakening, Benjiro reaches his hand up to rub at his face with fingers disturbing his hair to let the longer strands cast over his forehead and one eye. As his fingers trail off a cheek, he looks unusually weary under the faint shadow from his dark hair. His voice comes out much quieter when he finally broaches the matter reluctantly as he looks back towards Sadie without meeting her gaze, “...I don’t know how to tell you what happened without making you worry more. Especially now that I have had a chance to understand it better myself.”
no subject
Date: 2020-04-29 06:06 pm (UTC)"It will definitely make me worry more," At least it will if the effort that Ben has gone to to dance around the subject is anything to go by, "But it's worth it so that I can understand a bit more of you, I want to be able to support you as best I can." Her wide eyes and attentive gaze emphasise the kind and patient tone.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-30 04:53 pm (UTC)“The reason I faltered talking to Emiko has to do with my mother...” he begins as a warning to Sadie. Leaning his head back against the wall behind them, he continues, “You know I was never really close with her, and she kept things to herself. It was after we moved to Japan that my grandmother took me with her to visit a grave. It belonged to my uncle. I hadn’t even been aware my mother had a brother. ...I was informed that he took his life after he behaved in a way that was not condoned by the family. ...family honor and all that.”
He pauses as he has to swallow, the act taking more effort than usual. “The last time I spoke with my parents, my mother told me not to return home. But...she also told me to remember my uncle.”
“That day, I was at the cliff... I won’t lie and tell you I did not consider her directive. But the life I have here in Mossgate, the life I have with you, gave me all the reason I needed to defy it.”
Fell asleep in the middle of tags again
Date: 2020-05-02 08:25 am (UTC)It's a good job she doesn't, instead all she can do is stare up at Ben as he becomes visibly more upset. Her grip on him tightens in sympathy, her pupils blowing wide until its almost impossible to see the iris as she gets more and more upset for her boyfriend. And then Ben final tells her what his mother's last words to him were and she very quickly has to drop her hands from around him as her claws slide out, her pupils shrink to near pinpricks and her ears flatter completely against her head. She can feel herself shake as her entire body tenses and she bites down on her lip to hault the growl that is starting to rumble in her chest.
Fury. Fury enough to rend her speechless.
Sadie drops her head onto Ben's chest with a thunk and takes some deep breaths and trys to think calming thoughts before she speaks.
I do that waaaay too often
Date: 2020-05-03 08:03 pm (UTC)“...Sadie,” his voice full of worry and a little hurt to see that his pain is causing her such distress. He adjusts his arms around her to lay one hand behind her head with fingers split to avoid covering her flattened ears to hold that arm vertical on her back with the other crossing diagonally to wrap his hand at her shoulder. He squeezes her in the hug, the strength of it encroaching on uncomfortable before it wanes to a supportive firmness. Bowing his head to touch his chin at her hair he whispers, “She left my life... Don’t let her twist you up.” Legally, he belongs with Agatha and Rosemary now. The only way his mother could hurt him further would be through his sister, and the woman cares for Emiko far more.
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