recolle | (Open) Spoopy Month

(Open) Spoopy Month

WHO: Iwai and OPEN
WHERE: Various locations
WHEN: Throughout the month
WHAT: Between nightmare scenarios and a ton of roses, Iwai has a full month.
WARNINGS: Some violence, some suggested Persona 5 spoilers (you will be safe if you want to tag though so just let me know if you'd like me to be extra careful for your tags!). Will be updated as necessary but some necessary content warnings will be at the top of scenarios.

10/3-10/5 - Out with the Roses

That damn Baren. Iwai frowned at all the roses off to one side of his shop as he chewed on the stick of his lollipop. He'd told those working for him that it was up to them to figure out how they were going to get rid of the things. An entire truckload of damn roses. And with the fog and the nightmares going on these were just extra irritating.

(And no way was he ever thanking the guy for at least making it so he could do a nice gesture with three of them. Nope. No way, no how.)

Which meant that for a few days his employees and customers were very likely to see a giant pile of roses in the corner until he could get them cleared out. That should be fun, right?

Nightmare A - Neglect (CW: Child neglect, drug and sex talk within)

The vision was that of a small boy sitting on his futon with what looked like a small sandwich. A sandwich of bread. All around him was trash and there's even unfortunate things like condoms just scattered about. The boy continued to eat as he watched the door earnestly. It looked like there was nothing in the outside world beyond the windows.

That door opened and a woman came stumbling inside with a cocky looking man behind her. The boy stood up and the woman frowned at him. "Oh. I forgot I had you here."

She looked back at the man and pressed her chest to him. "Don't worry. He won't bother us. My room is this way."

And then they went down the hall leaving the boy alone before the vision repeated itself.

Leaning against a wall nearby was Iwai watching the whole thing, glaring at it and looking so tense. He'd tried to get out of here but it was like he was doomed to just watch this over. And over. And over. And over...

Nightmare B - Danger (CW: Violence)

This vision began with some rough looking Japanese men in suits holding out guns. Iwai was there too but he quickly ducked behind a box as the shots started to ring out. "Shit..."

Patting his clothes on instinct, he found that he was unarmed. Those bastards were going to kill him. "Shit, shit..."

The footsteps were getting closer now as the shots stopped. Here in this shipyard they were going to kill him. They'd actually tracked him down before he could leave Japan. That was what it was, wasn't it. It had to be.

The steps were closer...

He was going to die here...

Fog - Vanishing (Here be the vague spoilers. This will be rather vague here so if you would like it kept that way please let me know in the subject!)

Iwai wasn't sure what was going on. He'd been on his way back to his place when all these people around him had appeared. They were coming towards him with terror in their eyes and arms out stretched. It was like some kind of damn zombie movie if it were a film about scared crowds instead. And why they were all looking to him was beyond him but he knew better than to stay in their way. Survival was important here.

So he ducked into what had to be the park and got behind a tree, poking his head out now and then. Just in time to watch some of them scream as they started to just...ripple out of existence.

"Damn it..." What the hell was this? He didn't have anything to deal with things like this! Biting the stick in his mouth, he froze when he heard what some of the screams actually were.

"Save us!"

"Save us, Iwaaaaaaaaaaai!"

What? Why him?

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Hey, if Iwai needed a bit to just lay there with his face hidden, that was okay with Fai. God only knew Fai had had more of those moments himself over the years than he'd care to admit. He buckled himself into the driver's seat and started the car, nudging the dial toward heat given the chill in the air.

"Aw, thanks! But I think I probably would have panicked if you hadn't been there." Which was absolutely true. Fai knew how to react in a fight now, thanks partially to some of the things he'd remembered and partially to the experience of fighting so much in August, but by himself.... Well, it had only been when he'd seen Iwai hurt that he'd reacted without hesitation.

He pulled the car out onto the main street that would lead them back to his apartment complex and reached for the radio dial. "So what do you listen to? I'm not going to hear Britney Spears when I turn up the volume, am I~?"

"Pretty sure you'll hear some news station because I was keeping track of weather reports."

Not that it helped. The people here figured the fog was perfectly normal. Just like every other mass weird thing that happened around here from the looks of things. Putting his hat back on his head instead of on his face, he glanced at the radio.

"You can put on whatever you want though. I don't know a lot about American music anyway."

Sure he'd been here twenty years but that didn't mean he was an expert on American pop culture.

"Whaaaat--?! Unacceptable!" Fai's indignation was largely put-on, but the grin a moment later clearly cemented that he was just being playful.

Well. Maybe a little indignant. (Music had always been his passion, after all.) But mostly playful.

"That just means I'll have to teach you! I have a lot of great music back at my place, but I'm sure I can find something--" He fiddled with the dial for a moment until landing on a classic rock station.

"Perfect! Lesson number one: Kansas." They didn't have much more of a drive before getting to Fai's apartment anyway, so Carry on Wayward Son ought to fill in that time nicely.

Iwai frowned. Not because of lessons or the music type or any of that though. "They're called Kansas?"

Song had a nice beat to it though. He'd give it that. Iwai scratched his chin then closed his eyes so he could listen to it. It wasn't often he was actually the passenger in a car. It was a nice change honestly. Meant he could relax for a moment.

"They're good even if their band name is just a state."

Fai shrugged good-naturedly. "Yep, Kansas! It was prog rock in the early seventies, what do you expect? One of the most influential prog rock bands of all time was named 'Yes.' Just that. 'Yes.' And then there was 'Boston,' 'The Alan Parsons Project'...."

Don't get him started on music, Iwai. Seriously.

But Carry On was a great song and Fai quieted back down to let Iwai listen to the rest of it. If he was going to get the guy interested in learning more about Western music, he couldn't have asked for a much better introduction. (Maybe Billy Joel.)

Just as the song was ending, Fai pulled Iwai's car into a spot near his own pink Prius in the parking lot outside the complex.

So. Americans had weird names for bands. Good to know. Iwai figured that at least this song was a good one which was a bonus.

Bringing his seat up, he got out of the car with a stretch and immediately looked around in the dim light for any signs of other things in the fog. When he didn't see anything, he went around to wrap his arm around Fai for when they went to walk in together. The guy was still wearing his coat so there was no way he could be cold but he still wanted to keep him warm anyway.

And wow did Fai's place look inviting when that door opened up.

(Yep, Fai could definitely get used to this thing with Iwai's arms around him, even though they'd only been out on a couple of dates by this point.)

He flicked the overhead light on as they walked in and both cats immediately stirred from their resting places on opposite ends of the sofa. Fai laughed and shrugged out of Iwai's coat, and stole a quick kiss on the other man's cheek as he passed it back to him. And then blushed fiercely (apparently it was time for that again) as he stepped toward the doorway leading to the kitchen.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'm going to start something to drink. Coffee or tea? Or hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate sounds good." Because Fai would never tease him for his sweet tooth.

Going to the couch, he sank down and smiled at the cats who clearly wanted his attention. "Hey guys. Good to see you too."

Carefully, he helped them make themselves at home all over his lap, stroking their soft coats and scratching their ears. Apparently they liked him. At least that was pretty safe to assume based on how they seemed to claim him every time he came over.

Relaxing now, he settled in for just enjoying the comfort of this place and a couple of soft cats making themselves at home on his lap. It was nice.

Nope, no teasing about liking sweets here. At least not until Iwai was feeling better. And even then it would be more like innuendo and less like true teasing anyway~

Fai padded into the kitchen and pulled a saucepan down to start milk boiling on the stove. He needed to get some food into Iwai too, or at least offer it, although they'd only ever eaten together the one time and he couldn't say for sure what the other man would care for. Plus it was getting late, so any kind of freshly cooked meal was going to take them well into night-time. So while the milk warmed, Fai hung the refrigerator door open and took stock of the leftovers he'd carefully saved over the last few days.

"The hot chocolate's in the works," he announced, reappearing from the kitchen a minute later. "Your choices for dinner are lasagna, homemade potato soup, or...." He moved to where he could get a better look at Iwai--and not for the first time ended up kind of trailing off with a silly grin as he realized his cats had claimed the older man.

"Feeding me too, huh?" Giving him hot chocolate, getting him food, letting him pet the cats while he relaxed. And he knew Fai wanted to take care of his neck too. Damn, he was just getting spoiled here. "Either of those things sound pretty good to me."

Warm and filling. That would be good right now.

Seeing one of the cats stretch, he chuckled a big and gave a chin scratch. "Yeah, yeah. I got you. I know that's the spot you like there."

Seriously, he had no problem chatting with the cats like they were people.

"You know what they say about the way to a man's heart~" came the playful, sing-song reply, as Fai took the opportunity to shed his own lighter jacket and shoes and tuck them by the front door where they belonged. Underneath he was wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a button-down with a tie, since he'd been heading straight from work to class when class had suddenly been rescheduled. He hooked a finger in the loop of the tie and loosened it, although as he passed behind the sofa on the way back to the kitchen his hand moved to trail his fingers lightly along the top of the couch--and by extension, across Iwai's shoulders (careful to avoid the injured part of his neck). He leaned down as he moved past and said in a low, teasing voice, "Although from the look of it, the fastest way to your heart is to crawl into your lap~"

Neither Soel nor Larg acknowledged their master's apparent jealousy. Larg reached out to knead against the leg of Iwai's pants with dainty black paws.

"I'll take care of your neck right after the hot chocolate's done!" Fai called back from the kitchen. "I just don't want it to burn, and it'll keep you warm while I patch you up." Since both meal options he'd presented had seemed to be met favorably, he pulled out a second saucepan to heat up the soup.

He felt a shiver run through him at the feel of those fingers. Tilting his head back, ignoring the sting of his short hair hitting the scratch, he watched Fai go by. Such a tease. Kinda fun that he was though. Or maybe it had just been awhile so of course he was into it.

.......

No. He was just into it.

"Jealous?" What? He could tease too.

"Maybe~"

(Definitely.)

Fai finally returned from the kitchen a couple minutes later with his sleeves rolled up, his tie hanging loose, and a mug of homemade hot chocolate in each hand. He'd even sprinkled a few mini marshmallows over the top. His own mug went on the coffee table and then he held the other out to Iwai with a grin.

"You start on this, I'll go get the antiseptic."

"Thanks."

Taking the mug, he gave it a little blow before having a sip. The flavor was rich and creamy and... Damn that was really good. Iwai blinked and pulled it back to look at it. That was...delicious.

"Wow."

Having another sip, he gave the cats another scratch before he settled for just relaxing until Fai could come back.

When Fai returned this time he was carrying a bundle of first aid items: cotton balls, peroxide, antibiotic cream, gauze and tape. Most of this went onto the coffee table alongside Fai's hot chocolate, and Fai settled himself on the edge of the sofa next to Iwai--or at least as close to the other man as he could manage around the sprawl of cats surrounding him.

"C'mon mon petit chou, scoot!" he chided, nudging Soel until the cat gave an indignant meow and jumped down to the floor.

"You can snuggle up to him again soon, I promise," Fai laughed. He reached for the bottle of peroxide and a cotton ball. "How's the hot chocolate?"

"It's good. Never had any that tastes like this."

Iwai had himself another sip then turned so he could present his back to Fai. Adjusting the shirt he was wearing, he exposed all of the scratches to him. Might as well make sure that it was easy to see it. Though he wondered how he was going to get the blood out of this shirt now. Maybe he'd just have to replace it. Probably would be easier.

"Didn't feel too bad but I might not be the best judge since I've had worse."

"I'm glad you like it! I'd offer to show you how to make it, but ma~aybe I'll keep that little secret so I can lure you back here for more sometime~"

Darn, there was blood on the collar of the shirt, wasn't there? Fai made a mental note to snag the shirt from Iwai as soon as he was done cleaning the scratches, before the blood had any more time to set in. And speaking of--he made a face at the scratches on the man's neck, though thankfully Iwai wouldn't be able to see it from this angle.

"I'm sure it could have been worse," he said slowly, "but who knows with fog people? Better to clean it out than to be sorry." And he tried not to imagine all the ways Iwai might have been hurt worse than this, back when he'd been mixed up with criminals as a young man.

Fai pressed one of the cotton balls to the mouth of the bottle of peroxide and turned the bottle upside down, to soak the cotton, then very carefully dabbed the cotton across the scratches to start them disinfecting.

"I probably wouldn't make it this good anyway. So I'd have to come back."

He didn't wince or hiss as the scratches were cleaned. Obviously he really had had worse. Honestly he had a few scars to prove that. But hey he understood that needed to get cleaned up because better than it getting infected or something at any rate.

Sure did sting like hell all the same. No surprise there.

"At least I kept you safe." That was what mattered most to him honestly

Fai laughed. "It's good to know I've at least got something else besides a couple of adorable fluffs to recommend me! How else am I supposed to reel in a man?"

He kept dabbing at the scratches until the peroxide wasn't bubbling anymore, then set the bottle and the cotton aside and moved on to the antibiotic cream. Very carefully, with light strokes, he spread the cream across the scratches--and then paused to blush fiercely at Iwai's statement.

That was what Iwai was worried about? Keeping him safe?

"You don't ever have to get hurt for me," Fai said softly. He moved to finish spreading the cream across the scratches, to try to distract himself from blushing like an idiot. "I don't ever want anyone get hurt because of me. Especially someone I care about. But... thank you."

"I'll do what I need to do to keep you safe. Just turned out this was the best way."

Iwai glanced over his shoulder then and paused. Was Fai blushing? Because he'd said he was glad he protected him. A smile came to his lips and he turned enough so that way he could cup the back of his head and pull him in for a quick kiss.

"Hey. I'll keep you safe when I can. I got you." Turning back, he let Fai finish up taking care of the scratches.

A kiss was probably the last thing Fai was expecting at this point, although it was by no means unwelcome. By the time Iwai turned back around to let him finish tending to the scratches, Fai's heart was hammering and he had to sit there for a moment and try to focus on what he'd been doing.

Antibiotic cream. Scratches. Right.

The rest of the first aid process consisted of pressing gauze to Iwai's neck and tearing off bits of tape to form a little bandage, and when Fai was finished it didn't look like he'd done too bad of a job at all. At least the wounds wouldn't get infected and the bandage wasn't likely to fall off while Iwai slept.

"There we go. And now the shirt needs to come off~" Fai let the mischievous tone creep back into his voice and picked at the hem of Iwai's shirt, as if he were threatening to take it off of him himself.

He'd been about to turn back around when hands messed with the back of his shirt and he was left blinking at him over his shoulder. Wait, what? "Only my neck was scratched."

Pause.

"You just wanna see my shirtless." He wasn't complaining, mind you. More just that he didn't know of most people who fixed a person up then tried to get pieces of their clothes off. (He didn't even think about how maybe washing his shirt might be part of this.)

Fai grinned. And blushed. It was some mixture of grinning and blushing and trying to be sexy and cool and teasing but really just looking like a blushing dork, honestly.

"Well, you're right about that!" he laughed, "but I also want to try to soak the blood out of your collar so you can wear this shirt again. I'll find you one of mine to wear in the meantime, I'm sure I've got something that'll fit you."

(It was definitely going to be a sleep shirt, because although they were the same height, Fai was a stick and nothing else of his would fit Iwai.)

"But you know, if you want to flex for me, I wouldn't be against it~"

"You have something that will fit me?"

He looked doubtful but at least went to pull the shirt off. To reveal he did indeed work out sometimes. And that he had a few scars here and there from fights he'd unfortunately been in ages ago. All healed by now and just reminders of his old life.

"Here you go." He didn't see why he needed to save the shirt but he wasn't going to say no to help.

Fai made an amused, non-committal noise and shrugged at the question, grinning. "I'm pretty sure? I keep a couple of regular-sized t-shirts for when I'm bumming around at home. One of them should--"

That thought derailed when Iwai pulled his shirt off and Fai realized that he was sitting right next to a very attractive shirtless man, whom he'd just kissed (or been kissed by, rather) not two minutes previous. It would take so little effort to reach up and run his hands across the warm skin of Iwai's back, maybe trace a few of those scars....

Much to his own surprise, a few seconds later Fai found himself doing almost exactly that--except the fingertips of one hand were tracing along the gecko tattoo on Iwai's neck instead, following the shape of the tattoo now that the man's shirt wasn't in the way.

"I don't think I ever asked what this was for?"

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