[He is being good, and it's kind of weird, not even going to lie. Ren feels like he's been kind of pushing the limits of this guy, so he should really be nicer about this whole thing.]
You're fine kid. I was the same way at your age. [ And well into his 30s.
Either way, Tony makes his way back from the library to their room. Ren said it was safe, but... Just in case Akechi came back for seconds, he knocks on the door to 201 anyway. ]
Regardless, he's taken the time it's taken Tony to get up here to straighten things out a little, make it look at least a little tidy, and change into fresh clothes. So when he knocks, Ren nods, remembers Tony can't see him through the door, and speaks.]
It's okay, it's-- just me.
[Thank goodness his hair always just looks Like That so he doesn't have to like, brush it properly.]
Edited (why do i just add spaces that shouldn't be there) Date: 2025-04-12 05:08 am (UTC)
[ Tony bursts through the door and slides into the room. ] Hey, kid. How's Akechi? How's the rest of 'em? [ He rifles through a few things in the trunk at the foot of his bed and pulls out a bottle of whiskey and a glass. ] How's your weird not-rubber dagger? [ He crosses the room, to the table. ] You keepin' it sharp? [ He pours himself a drink and takes a sip. ]
[Somehow, Ren is used to and not used to Tony doing this sort of thing at the same time. He's like if Ohya stayed as drunk as she was but also had free access to weaponry. It's one part scary and one part really cool, if he's being honest. In the meantime, he just sits on his bed and watches the other man bluster about.]
It's... everyone's actually okay, right now. More okay than it has been.
[It's been. Y'know. The last party Sure Was. But thinks are actually almost cool now. It's weird to think about.]
Though two more people from home came in. What about you?
We got four more. [ Tony says with a quick, clearly not-at-all-suffering sigh that turns into a chuckle about halfway through. ]
I don't think I'm being paranoid when I say your world and mine are sorta... [ How to phrase this to a kid who probably doesn't want to hear this...? His arms gesture widely. ] Bein' targeted? [ He punctuates it with a forced laugh. ] Sorry, I shouldn't- You're a bit young to be worried about all that. [ Weird not-rubber knife and all. ]
I should be telling you to make sure you and your friends stay outta trouble.
[Ren just kind of. Looks at him. Tony absolutely knows this Look by now, because it's the one that says 'if I was a less composed person, I'd be laughing in your face right now', or maybe 'do you even listen to what comes out of your mouth'. Instead, he just shrugs.]
Lots of adults have told me that. But they also couldn't do what needed to happen then.
[Also, Ren thrives on trouble. Trouble really should be his middle name. He's too good at it.]
Is everyone coming from your world... someone you know? Because everyone so far from my world has been a friend of mine. Someone I'm close to. They don't even always know each other.
[But they always know Him, because, well. That's what you get for being a protagonist, honey.]
[ Tony chuckles. He gets it; he also thrives on trouble and doing the impossible when everyone's telling him to sit down and wait for the professionals to handle it. ]
Most have been people I've known. Otherwise there's only one or two steps of separation. But mostly? All old teammates of mine. [ A beat. ] But there's a couple friends of friends; one of my teammates has a son, now.
[ He's glad, honestly, he got such a little tactically minded guy as his roommate. Makes it easier to talk shop when he's not worried about scaring the kid. ]
[Yeah, unfortunately for any of Tony's sense of parenting, Ren is the same kind of stubborn bitch as many of his friends, teammates, and Tony himself. Never count him out when you're down to the wire and he's your last hope at something; it's when he does his best work.]
That's a lot of teammates.
[He can barely keep his small team safe. He has no idea how he'd handle dozens in Mementos or something. Then again, it's not like he doesn't have a bunch of friends and confidants he keeps up with...]
Are they from your future, then? Is that... strange to get used to? Having someone who knows more about your own life than you do.
[Oh. He swallows what would be the subsequent lines, such as well are you sure and maybe there's still time before he says them and derails this entire conversation. He doesn't know Tony's story. Not everywhere is like his Tokyo. Hell, it probably shouldn't be. But that's not really the point.]
They could still... tell you things, I suppose. But... if it were me, I think it would feel odd. Hearing about another life.
[He probably shouldn't linger on this, but unfortunately, this is the situation where Ren tends to thrive entirely by accident.]
Are you happy to see them again? Under better circumstances.
It's not not odd, but- [ Christ, what a loaded question. The kid doesn't even know exactly how loaded it was. All the bullshit that happened between him and the rest of the team all those years ago, how retirement turned into fixing everything for everyone (almost). ] Yeah. Yeah, I'm happy to see them again.
They- [ Tony hesitates a split second. ] They were always the best part of my life. [ Lame. ] That's not changin' just cuz I'm dead now.
[Ren is watching like he tends to do- not judgemental, just curious and gentle, sussing out the situation without bringing more than he needs to. He's good at this, letting his head tilt just slightly and his shoulders fall, putting himself together so Tony doesn't have to. This seems like the kind of thing he needs right now- an anchor, but not someone to be better than him. Just someone to keep him grounded.]
I know how you feel. If... if I thought I'd never get to see anyone I cared about again, I'd be happy to be able to get another chance.
[He gives Tony one of those gentle smiles.]
You never know what the future will hold. But you can still forge your own path forward. Make that future one you want to be part of.
Yeah. You're right, there's- [ He didn't really want to hope for this, but maybe... ] There's always a chance there could be a way back home from here, even for me.
[ Tony lets out a sound that might've been a scoff or might've been a chuckle. ] You ever think of becoming a therapist, kid? You'd be pretty good at it.
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chiming
text | un: iamironman
Date: 2025-03-30 09:04 pm (UTC)From:Safe to come back to the room?
[ Tony can respect the kid's privacy! He's being good! ]
no subject
Date: 2025-04-03 05:55 am (UTC)From:Sorry about that.
[He is being good, and it's kind of weird, not even going to lie. Ren feels like he's been kind of pushing the limits of this guy, so he should really be nicer about this whole thing.]
-> action
Date: 2025-04-03 09:11 pm (UTC)From:Either way, Tony makes his way back from the library to their room. Ren said it was safe, but... Just in case Akechi came back for seconds, he knocks on the door to 201 anyway. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-04-12 05:08 am (UTC)From:Regardless, he's taken the time it's taken Tony to get up here to straighten things out a little, make it look at least a little tidy, and change into fresh clothes. So when he knocks, Ren nods, remembers Tony can't see him through the door, and speaks.]
It's okay, it's-- just me.
[Thank goodness his hair always just looks Like That so he doesn't have to like, brush it properly.]
no subject
Date: 2025-04-12 09:05 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2025-04-17 05:17 am (UTC)From:It's... everyone's actually okay, right now. More okay than it has been.
[It's been. Y'know. The last party Sure Was. But thinks are actually almost cool now. It's weird to think about.]
Though two more people from home came in. What about you?
no subject
Date: 2025-04-17 09:51 am (UTC)From:I don't think I'm being paranoid when I say your world and mine are sorta... [ How to phrase this to a kid who probably doesn't want to hear this...? His arms gesture widely. ] Bein' targeted? [ He punctuates it with a forced laugh. ] Sorry, I shouldn't- You're a bit young to be worried about all that. [ Weird not-rubber knife and all. ]
I should be telling you to make sure you and your friends stay outta trouble.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-23 05:26 am (UTC)From:Lots of adults have told me that. But they also couldn't do what needed to happen then.
[Also, Ren thrives on trouble. Trouble really should be his middle name. He's too good at it.]
Is everyone coming from your world... someone you know? Because everyone so far from my world has been a friend of mine. Someone I'm close to. They don't even always know each other.
[But they always know Him, because, well. That's what you get for being a protagonist, honey.]
no subject
Date: 2025-04-24 10:32 am (UTC)From:Most have been people I've known. Otherwise there's only one or two steps of separation. But mostly? All old teammates of mine. [ A beat. ] But there's a couple friends of friends; one of my teammates has a son, now.
[ He's glad, honestly, he got such a little tactically minded guy as his roommate. Makes it easier to talk shop when he's not worried about scaring the kid. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-04-30 05:32 am (UTC)From:That's a lot of teammates.
[He can barely keep his small team safe. He has no idea how he'd handle dozens in Mementos or something. Then again, it's not like he doesn't have a bunch of friends and confidants he keeps up with...]
Are they from your future, then? Is that... strange to get used to? Having someone who knows more about your own life than you do.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-01 09:58 am (UTC)From:[ A beat. ] It's weird, yeah. [ Another, longer beat. ] But uh- You know. [ The kid does not know. Tony shrugs a shoulder anyway.
He realizes Ren wouldn't know a moment later. ] I'm sorta- Dead back home. So it's not like they have much about me to update me on.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-04 06:39 am (UTC)From:[Oh. He swallows what would be the subsequent lines, such as well are you sure and maybe there's still time before he says them and derails this entire conversation. He doesn't know Tony's story. Not everywhere is like his Tokyo. Hell, it probably shouldn't be. But that's not really the point.]
They could still... tell you things, I suppose. But... if it were me, I think it would feel odd. Hearing about another life.
[He probably shouldn't linger on this, but unfortunately, this is the situation where Ren tends to thrive entirely by accident.]
Are you happy to see them again? Under better circumstances.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-16 03:08 pm (UTC)From:They- [ Tony hesitates a split second. ] They were always the best part of my life. [ Lame. ] That's not changin' just cuz I'm dead now.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-27 12:51 am (UTC)From:I know how you feel. If... if I thought I'd never get to see anyone I cared about again, I'd be happy to be able to get another chance.
[He gives Tony one of those gentle smiles.]
You never know what the future will hold. But you can still forge your own path forward. Make that future one you want to be part of.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-28 10:17 am (UTC)From:[ Tony lets out a sound that might've been a scoff or might've been a chuckle. ] You ever think of becoming a therapist, kid? You'd be pretty good at it.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-02 05:28 am (UTC)From:People give me a lot of credit. I just think they need someone to talk to.
[But also hahaha maybe he has some bad associations with counseling and therapy that surely will not follow him into adulthood.]
People lean on each other. So if I can help with that, then I'm happy.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-04 06:35 pm (UTC)From:But seriously, thanks for talking to your old-ass roommate.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-12 05:10 am (UTC)From:Of course. We have to look out for each other. Besides... I think I owe you one. Or a lot. For being so cool with uh, me and Akechi, so. Anytime.