Cool okay. Uh. Right. He left the bracelet back in the living room so he can put it back on—

Fuck he hates his backlash so fucking much. Fuck.

Okay back to the bedroom with him because apparently now he is capable of genuinely believing that good things are real rather than just saying whatever sounds like the correct next thing to say while trying to have as few thoughts as possible.

Haru's on the phone texting Tess an apology.

And Jaeha can climb back in bed, he supposes, though now he doesn't know... what to do with himself. Because, uh. Why did he climb back in bed again. They're not really having a conversation anymore. But he doesn't have a reason to do anything else.

Uhhhhh.

Haru finishes his text and collects his pants. "I can order sushi or something else that'll survive a delivery in the cold?"

Oh riiiiiight they're not like dating or anything, that's right, there is no reason for them to do anything else together. "If you want." But also he barely got used to looking at Haru naked and doesn't want to stop. Haru's so hot.

You fucking simp.

"I could still make dinner though."

"Oh if you want to do that then by all means."

He is having unidentified feelings again, isn't that nice. He loves it when that happens.

Maybe he should've kept the bracelet off.

"No reason to break the streak today. ...well, at least no reason given that we got you to zero quickly enough."

"What's for dinner?"

"Is there anything in particular you want for dinner?"

"I dunno what you have groceries for on hand. Chili, if I'm assuming you can pull the ingredients out of thin air."

"Well, I'll go see if I do have ingredients for that. I've been trying to keep the pantry and fridge well-stocked." He gives Haru's abs one last mournful look and then hyup kitchenwards.

(He himself has not put clothes on. Haru said he's attractive, the house is well-heated, and he has aprons, so, nyeh.)

Then he will get to catch Haru looking at his ass, once Haru emerges from the bedroom about twenty minutes later.

It feels good to be wanted. 

(There's a feeling there again that he doesn't understand. He doesn't like it.)

(He maybe understands it a little, actually, but he'd rather not, so instead he doesn't.)

"Chili is a go."

"Oh good. Does it come with cornbread?"

"Yes it does."

"Oh good, I realized while I was," handwave, "writing my diary that I wasn't sure if you'd know they go together."

"—you have a diary?" That's kind of adorable? Wait has he written about Jaeha in it. Of course he has. Jaeha wants to never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever read anything in that diary ever.

"Sort of? It's not like, dear diary, today I did thus and such, it's more like debug mode for my brain. I can't do it when I'm backlashed at all which is one of the reasons I'm accustomed to such a light dungeon schedule."

"Uh." Blink. "You don't have to tell me but I have no idea what you mean and now I'm curious."

"I write down everything I'm thinking and then it holds still for me to look at and make decisions about. I don't have superhuman body language control, I just knew in advance that you were probably going to be hot so I wrote about it and made advance plans about that, for example, and then you did not surprise me by being hot in a way I had to react to in the moment. I was actually expecting to need more time than I took, just now, because there was the sex thing and also the near death experience, but apparently my reaction to the near death experience boils down very neatly to 'I am going to see at least five people resign in disgrace so help me'."

Thaaaaaaat's hot. He should never—

—hm.

"So it was mostly the sex thing? Any conclusions relevant to me?" He is so confident and sexy right now, Haru should think he's really hot.

"Just firming up my principles around the 'esper wiggle room' thing. And having checked in with myself I can confirm that I do not feel taken advantage of nor do I think that you would have wronged any nearby counterfactual Harus."