[It's a house!! It's barren and half empty, but at least there's a roof and one bedroom for Mitsuru. Better than crowding in the inn or taking naps in the dirt. They'll figure it all out eventually.
And true to his word (for once), it's not too much longer before Shinjiro gets home and tosses his coat to his floor sleeping spot to begin hunting for a hair tie.]
You figure anything out by staring at it yet?
[It's a lazy ask as he finally finds his elastic (Or mitsuru's elastic. Who knows.) And starts pulling the hair away from his face.]
[ There hadn't even been a discussion as to who would have the actual bed. She might feel a little bad about Shinjiro's sleeping arrangements but at least he's actually indoors. That's one battle won in and of itself.
It's probably her elastic.
And never has a girl looked so confronted by a pile of clothes. ]
This will be the last time you have to show me, I assure you.
[Look, him being in a building is already a win. And it's not like he's been complaining about it at all. So must be fine! He'll keep adding more blankets or whatever to his weird floor-nest as he goes, so don't even worry about it.]
We can frame your notes if you really need. Or have a quiz later.
[As always, he has the driest sense of humor, but then nods at her piles of Things.]
Did you fill something up with water, or do we gotta start there? Sink or tub or whatever'll work.
[ The thing is sarcasm or not, there might be a part of her that actually thinks he's serious for a moment. A quiz is exactly the kind of thing she would pull on someone if she were trying to teach them something. That or sign them up for extra classes over the summer.
She's just super considerate like that. ]
I've already filled the sink with water. Although I do have a question before we begin.
[ Pause. ]
Does what you're about to show me also apply to more delicate items?
[ Yeah, she left those out of the laundry pile for the purposes of this lesson, because there are certain things that should be left a mystery in her view. ]
[It... takes him a second. Like fancier fabrics? Silk or whatever? Sure, why not--
And then after a second it kicks in. Thank you, Mitsuru, for having the foresight to not put your underwear in on this. Having normal conversations would be hard for a bit after that.]
Oh. Yeah. [He's gonna pretend they're not talking about your rich-person panties and bras.]
It's way easier on stuff than throwing it in a machine. And for some fabrics, it's just better. [Like his fucking coat. Unless you are an absolute madlad you do not throw a woolen coat into a dryer. Or a woolen much of anything unless you want it felted to all hell.]
It's basically like washing anything else, you just wanna make sure you don't stretch or wring it too much. [At least with their bare supplies they'd managed to get some various types of detergent, so he'll start rummaging in the cupboards for that, before handing it out to her.]
Here. Add some soap, get it all mixed in, the start adding things and swishing them around a bit. After that, just... let it soak some.
[ Right. Okay. Fancy bra and panties are good with this process, duly noted. Along with the rest of his instructions - which she follows, perhaps a little overly cautiously. Because she pretty much overthinks everything so why would this be an exception to that? ]
You're very knowledgeable about all of this.
[ Or you know, just a normal person who's never had actual servants to do this sort of thing for them their entire life. Still, she actually sounds mildly impressed, as only someone who clearly has no clue how distinctly normal this is can.
Soap added, mixed in and she starts slowly adding the non-underwear items to the bowl. ]
I do realise I'm somewhat... ignorant, when it comes to things like this. But you won't need to show me again.
[He just shrugs at the... compliment? It's probably a compliment. No need to make her feel awkward by telling her it's normal. Or worse, making things even more awkward by bringing up the whole 'uh, yeah, orphans, you know, do shit ourselves-' thing. Instead, he'll let that one roll right on by.]
You just never did it before. Don't worry about it. [Absently he waves a hand, as though brushing it off.]
Hell, you ask me to speak French or do calculus or whatever and I'm gonna have way more questions about that than you do about this.
[Besides, she's not shown any hesitation when it comes to getting her hands dirty or doing work herself. She just doesn't know. No problems there.]
Now of it's stained up or whatever you do gotta rub some soap into it before this part and let it sit for a while. But half the time it won't come out anyway, so don't kill yourself trying.
[ His patience with her ignorance of what should be more than an every day thing - it's reassuring. Comforting really, that somehow, despite everything that same Shinjiro is still there to some degree. Mitsuru and Akihiko had spent so long shouldering the burden of being the older, more responsible ones that she's rarely had an opportunity to look back at when things were, on the face of it, so much simpler.
Now that she does have a chance to reflect, it has her smiling, small and ever so brief but genuine. ]
I think we both know how useful calculus is going to prove during our time here. Still, if you require tuition...
[ She's joking... maybe. Still, just because she's dealing with a tiny little thing like being stuck in some other dimension doesn't mean Mitsuru is willing to risk letting her grades slip when and if she ever gets out of here.
Still, onto the more pressing issue of... learning about how to deal with stains in your clothes. Which is beginning to sound like a rather fruitless endeavour if the way Shinjiro talks about it is any indicator... ]
If it won't come out half of the time then it would seem that the simpler solution to this is to simply avoid getting stains on one's clothes altogether.
[ Said as though the girl has never gotten a red spaghetti sauce splatter on a white blouse in her entire life, because she probably hasn't. Does she look like she regularly gets marks on her clothes? Come on. The fact that she even regularly wears a white turtleneck in the first place... ]
In any case... I don't think I have anything that requires that level of attention on this occasion.
[ Honestly, you would probably have a hard time telling if any of it has actually been worn... ]
[He makes a face at the offer of her tutoring him. Listen, it's fine. Classes were boring even when he wasn't a depressed asshole hellbent on death, and now they just seem pointless.]
Sure, you could... but it'd probably be better for both of us to just accept we each got things we're better at. I'll let you handle that kinda thing if it comes up.
[the stupid banter is nothing if not comfortable and familiar. Nothing pressing, nothing world-ending, just two idiots who can barely function in different ways trying to help each other out. It makes the pit of his stomach feel like a void, a bit. Some sort of yearning for nostalgia that can't really exist again. But it's a regular enough feeling that he ignores it.]
Yeah, do your best. If it does happen, we can deal with it then. [Or. You can deal with it depending on the garment. He's aggressively not thinking about that.
Speaking of-- man, all her shirts look basically brand new? He tilts his head slightly, watching her slowly add one, before suggesting:]
You know, depending on what it is, you don't have to wash everything every time you put it on, right?
[ He won't. Mitsuru knows he won't. It's just weirdly reassuring to have someone so familiar to niggle at while she's here. Just like home and all that.
She pauses as she's about to place another of her shirts in to soak, apparently taken aback by what Shinjiro informs her. ]
I just assumed... [ An awkward pause. ]
I mean, Kikuno would always take things away to be cleaned once I'd worn them.
[ You know, her personal maid. One of many Actual Maids that her family has back home. ]
[Okay, that does earn a bit of a laugh. It's short, and maybe just more an amused sort of breath, but it certainly exists. Mitsuru at the ready to assist with functions and matrices and whatever the hell else-- both of them damn well knowing Shinjiro hasn't done anything close to math homework in years.]
I guess it'd be a start to your resume here. I dunno which of us would lose it first, though.
[She pauses, and he'll step up and reach out to just take that shirt from her hand, taking it and joining it with the others with some easy swishing, agitating motions. He might as well participate some.]
Yeah, it ain't bad to. And obviously there's a lot you gotta do more often. But don't kill yourself thinking things are filthy when you just wore 'em half a day or something. 'Specially if it takes forever to dry and we barely got anything here yet.
[Sorry for your lack of maids, though.]
And you're not gonna have to constantly be scrubbing out blood from getting punched in the nose like me and Aki, so don't worry too much.
I've had to build up quite a capacity for patience, I assure you.
[ You know, dealing with Akihiko's impetuousness, having to explain pretty much Everything to Aigis, Iori's... Iori-ness... etc.
Her expression shifts a little at the mention of Akihiko again. She's quiet, pensive... it's unlike her to let that perfectly composed facade slip, but she does, even if just for the briefest moment. "He really misses you." "It's not the same without you." "It was supposed to be the three of us." All things that cross her mind that she could say, that she wants to say but-
Mitsuru sighs. ]
I already told you when we were in the forest, if Akihiko arrives nobody is going to be punching anyone.
[ It's so much easier to just... not. Focus on the punching, the bad behaviour, the bit she can correct. Everything else is just complicated.
Just. Focus on the laundry. Dump another shirt in and swish it around and pretend there isn't a part of this that is painful. ]
You mentioned drying - do we even have somewhere to hang clothes after this?
[ See, she knows you're supposed to hang them up at least. ]
[The brief moment is palpable. Like a mire settling on top their discussion-- the strange lack that comes from having only the two of them here, and the gaping void he can't bring himself to think about that there must be bsck in Iwatodai. It's the sort of thought that, if he acknowledges it, will make his chest tighten and ache, rising up all the 'what if-'s that he'd already denied time and time again. The sort of itching discomfort that makes him wish he could just leave-- run until he can't breathe until he can't be found until he doesn't have to deal with the absolute mess he's created and continues to create--
But they're both extremely practiced at schooling their expressions and keeping things to themselves. So the silence for a moment just sits between them, unremarked upon. And perhaps that respect for one another's avoidance is part of the problem.
He finally pulls his hands out to shake them dry, rubbing fingertips on his pants. There's too much there and none of it can be fixed. So why dredge it all up?]
Yeah, I saw some lines out back. Probably for whoever in the area to share.
[Just normal conversations, just motions getting through the day. It's not a problem until someone makes it one.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I cannot believe my constant phone typos
And true to his word (for once), it's not too much longer before Shinjiro gets home and tosses his coat to his floor sleeping spot to begin hunting for a hair tie.]
You figure anything out by staring at it yet?
[It's a lazy ask as he finally finds his elastic (Or mitsuru's elastic. Who knows.) And starts pulling the hair away from his face.]
DW, I SAW NOTHING... (wee hurhur)
It's probably her elastic.
And never has a girl looked so confronted by a pile of clothes. ]
This will be the last time you have to show me, I assure you.
RIP me
We can frame your notes if you really need. Or have a quiz later.
[As always, he has the driest sense of humor, but then nods at her piles of Things.]
Did you fill something up with water, or do we gotta start there? Sink or tub or whatever'll work.
no subject
[ The thing is sarcasm or not, there might be a part of her that actually thinks he's serious for a moment. A quiz is exactly the kind of thing she would pull on someone if she were trying to teach them something. That or sign them up for extra classes over the summer.
She's just super considerate like that. ]
I've already filled the sink with water. Although I do have a question before we begin.
[ Pause. ]
Does what you're about to show me also apply to more delicate items?
[ Yeah, she left those out of the laundry pile for the purposes of this lesson, because there are certain things that should be left a mystery in her view. ]
no subject
And then after a second it kicks in. Thank you, Mitsuru, for having the foresight to not put your underwear in on this. Having normal conversations would be hard for a bit after that.]
Oh. Yeah. [He's gonna pretend they're not talking about your rich-person panties and bras.]
It's way easier on stuff than throwing it in a machine. And for some fabrics, it's just better. [Like his fucking coat. Unless you are an absolute madlad you do not throw a woolen coat into a dryer. Or a woolen much of anything unless you want it felted to all hell.]
It's basically like washing anything else, you just wanna make sure you don't stretch or wring it too much. [At least with their bare supplies they'd managed to get some various types of detergent, so he'll start rummaging in the cupboards for that, before handing it out to her.]
Here. Add some soap, get it all mixed in, the start adding things and swishing them around a bit. After that, just... let it soak some.
no subject
You're very knowledgeable about all of this.
[ Or you know, just a normal person who's never had actual servants to do this sort of thing for them their entire life. Still, she actually sounds mildly impressed, as only someone who clearly has no clue how distinctly normal this is can.
Soap added, mixed in and she starts slowly adding the non-underwear items to the bowl. ]
I do realise I'm somewhat... ignorant, when it comes to things like this. But you won't need to show me again.
no subject
You just never did it before. Don't worry about it. [Absently he waves a hand, as though brushing it off.]
Hell, you ask me to speak French or do calculus or whatever and I'm gonna have way more questions about that than you do about this.
[Besides, she's not shown any hesitation when it comes to getting her hands dirty or doing work herself. She just doesn't know. No problems there.]
Now of it's stained up or whatever you do gotta rub some soap into it before this part and let it sit for a while. But half the time it won't come out anyway, so don't kill yourself trying.
no subject
Now that she does have a chance to reflect, it has her smiling, small and ever so brief but genuine. ]
I think we both know how useful calculus is going to prove during our time here. Still, if you require tuition...
[ She's joking... maybe. Still, just because she's dealing with a tiny little thing like being stuck in some other dimension doesn't mean Mitsuru is willing to risk letting her grades slip when and if she ever gets out of here.
Still, onto the more pressing issue of... learning about how to deal with stains in your clothes. Which is beginning to sound like a rather fruitless endeavour if the way Shinjiro talks about it is any indicator... ]
If it won't come out half of the time then it would seem that the simpler solution to this is to simply avoid getting stains on one's clothes altogether.
[ Said as though the girl has never gotten a red spaghetti sauce splatter on a white blouse in her entire life, because she probably hasn't. Does she look like she regularly gets marks on her clothes? Come on. The fact that she even regularly wears a white turtleneck in the first place... ]
In any case... I don't think I have anything that requires that level of attention on this occasion.
[ Honestly, you would probably have a hard time telling if any of it has actually been worn... ]
no subject
Sure, you could... but it'd probably be better for both of us to just accept we each got things we're better at. I'll let you handle that kinda thing if it comes up.
[the stupid banter is nothing if not comfortable and familiar. Nothing pressing, nothing world-ending, just two idiots who can barely function in different ways trying to help each other out. It makes the pit of his stomach feel like a void, a bit. Some sort of yearning for nostalgia that can't really exist again. But it's a regular enough feeling that he ignores it.]
Yeah, do your best. If it does happen, we can deal with it then. [Or. You can deal with it depending on the garment. He's aggressively not thinking about that.
Speaking of-- man, all her shirts look basically brand new? He tilts his head slightly, watching her slowly add one, before suggesting:]
You know, depending on what it is, you don't have to wash everything every time you put it on, right?
no subject
[ He won't. Mitsuru knows he won't. It's just weirdly reassuring to have someone so familiar to niggle at while she's here. Just like home and all that.
She pauses as she's about to place another of her shirts in to soak, apparently taken aback by what Shinjiro informs her. ]
I just assumed... [ An awkward pause. ]
I mean, Kikuno would always take things away to be cleaned once I'd worn them.
[ You know, her personal maid. One of many Actual Maids that her family has back home. ]
no subject
I guess it'd be a start to your resume here. I dunno which of us would lose it first, though.
[She pauses, and he'll step up and reach out to just take that shirt from her hand, taking it and joining it with the others with some easy swishing, agitating motions. He might as well participate some.]
Yeah, it ain't bad to. And obviously there's a lot you gotta do more often. But don't kill yourself thinking things are filthy when you just wore 'em half a day or something. 'Specially if it takes forever to dry and we barely got anything here yet.
[Sorry for your lack of maids, though.]
And you're not gonna have to constantly be scrubbing out blood from getting punched in the nose like me and Aki, so don't worry too much.
no subject
[ You know, dealing with Akihiko's impetuousness, having to explain pretty much Everything to Aigis, Iori's... Iori-ness... etc.
Her expression shifts a little at the mention of Akihiko again. She's quiet, pensive... it's unlike her to let that perfectly composed facade slip, but she does, even if just for the briefest moment. "He really misses you." "It's not the same without you." "It was supposed to be the three of us." All things that cross her mind that she could say, that she wants to say but-
Mitsuru sighs. ]
I already told you when we were in the forest, if Akihiko arrives nobody is going to be punching anyone.
[ It's so much easier to just... not. Focus on the punching, the bad behaviour, the bit she can correct. Everything else is just complicated.
Just. Focus on the laundry. Dump another shirt in and swish it around and pretend there isn't a part of this that is painful. ]
You mentioned drying - do we even have somewhere to hang clothes after this?
[ See, she knows you're supposed to hang them up at least. ]
no subject
But they're both extremely practiced at schooling their expressions and keeping things to themselves. So the silence for a moment just sits between them, unremarked upon. And perhaps that respect for one another's avoidance is part of the problem.
He finally pulls his hands out to shake them dry, rubbing fingertips on his pants. There's too much there and none of it can be fixed. So why dredge it all up?]
Yeah, I saw some lines out back. Probably for whoever in the area to share.
[Just normal conversations, just motions getting through the day. It's not a problem until someone makes it one.]
See, you'll be a pro in no time.