[ As promised, after a late afternoon spent hiking Starlight Cliff with Eren to take some photos, Maruki is once again making himself at home at the cottage. It's been a while – definitely since the pre-Green Knight days – and it's strange to see someone else besides Eren and Jean (pour one out for Mikasa) around.
Not unwelcome, though.
They're nearly done with dinner and Maruki's legs still ache. Despite the hike being his idea, and his persistent enthusiasm for it all throughout, he simply still isn't an outdoorsy kind of guy... He's doing his best to change that because His Girlfriend Refuses To Get A House but it's slow going.
He stretches them out beneath the table for the umpteenth time this evening, groans like the old man he is. Both elbows propped up on the table now that he's finished with his food, he pillows his chin on his hands and grins at Subaru. ]
So, are you glad you moved in, Subaru-kun? I mean, outside of getting to enjoy the best cooking in Somnius nightly... aside from my own, of course!
[ It's clearly extremely good for Eren that Subaru is here now, but he wants to hear it from the horse's mouths. Forgive him for asking such a Dad Question. ]
[It’s been kind of weird for Subaru to have Maruki here. It’s not like he’s Eren’s dad or anything, but he knows the two of them are really close, so he’s been desperate to make a good - or at least, a lasting - impression. He’s been a little boisterous, a little loud, a little…well…obviously nervous, really. It’s a small wonder he hasn’t embarrassed himself yet.]
You can’t get away with a claim like that without inviting us for dinner too!
[He says, performatively scandalised. But he settles down to actually address Maruki’s question.]
Of course I am! It’s a nice place, I don’t have to climb up a ladder to get home every day, and the best part is - [He grins, wide. Maybe this might be embarrassing for him, but he doesn’t really care.] I get to play housewife for Ere-chan and get to greet him with a “welcome home”!
Maruki can't stop the laugh before it escapes. There's nothing unkind about it, though – entirely good-natured amusement, and more than a little surprise. ]
Ah, that was unexpected! Sweet, though...
[ There is no part of him that will ever understand the way Eren and his partners operate, but it doesn't matter. If it's good for Eren, then that's that. ]
Maybe I can come cook for you two here sometime! And Jean-kun too, god knows I owe him a hundred times over by now. It would be better than you coming to the castle...
Ah, I live in a castle that's... a little overwhelming to visit at times.
[ 1. Deeply depressed plant(?) alien with a void(??) inside him that's hellbent on consuming them all and destroying life as they know it.
2. "Teenager" who subsists only on raw meat and has made one of the downstairs closets their hive because they are secretly millions of bugs in a trench coat (soon to be very literal.)
3. Mermaid who wears very little clothing and adds every man, willing or not, to her harem of husbands.
And finally– ]
Akechi-kun lives there as well, and he values his privacy deeply, so there's also that.
You live with Akechi? I guess that makes sense, since he’s from your reality…must be tough for a guy who values his privacy to be a celebrity.
[Poor little meow meow.]
Going for dinner in a castle does feel way too casual…anything less than five courses would feel totally out of place! There’s no way I could put that kind of pressure on you!
[GOOD! HEAR IT! FUCK AKECHI GORO! She's like a sister to Eren, really...
[At Subaru's comment, Eren nudges him with his elbow and gives him a look that only exists for Subaru - something between incredulous and amused (even given his general lack of expression) that begs the question, "How are you literally the lamest person alive?"]
It's just where they live. Five courses? Settle down.
[ It really is fascinating, seeing how Eren acts around... well, anyone else. They spend so much time together, just the two of them in Eyn Sof, that Maruki has gotten used to a very different side of Eren.
He laughs, waves it off easily. ]
If only we were that fancy! Please keep thinking of us that way.
[ His smartphone buzzes in his pocket; he removes it briefly with a murmured apology, has to check in case it's a patient. It isn't, but when he swipes away the message, he sees the photo gallery still left open and grins up at the two of them. ]
Subaru-kun, would you like to see the photos we took on our hike today?
[ And by that he mostly means Eren's photos, but he is nothing if not a man of leading questions. ]
[Subaru says nothing to Eren’s expression or comment, he just gives him a look in return - one that can only be described as kind of stupid, answering the question implicit in his look.
He gives Maruki a nod, and wonders if they’re all going to crowd around his phone to see them.]
Yeah! Especially if you’ve got any cute ones of Ere-chan.
[ Oh, Subaru really is smitten smitten. Teenagers...
(18 still counts as a teen! You're barely sentient in Maruki's eyes!!)
Maruki hands his smartphone over across the table. ]
Here, you can look through. If you swipe in the wrong direction, you'll just see the cat that sleeps outside my office.
[ Neko-chan... His only ally against Levi...
Maruki didn't take as many pictures as Eren did, all told, despite having gigabytes of storage instead of a finite amount of film. He tried to be intentional with them instead of snapping one every few seconds, even though Starlight Cliff is incredible enough to warrant it.
They went at sunset to have enough fading light for decent photos and enough encroaching darkness for the plant life to begin to turn bioluminescent. Maruki has several wide-angle shots of particularly densely-packed areas of glowing foliage, aware he can get more in his scope than Eren could with his polaroids and wanting to complement them. There are a few close-ups of particularly strange plants, and a particular shot of a particular spot on the path to the summit, dense glowing foliage forming a canopy overhead.
There is one photo that might be considered of Eren, though he's not the focus. Off to the side of one of the wide angle shots, his back half-turned to Maruki, his camera trained on one of the plants. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cottage bonding time !!
Not unwelcome, though.
They're nearly done with dinner and Maruki's legs still ache. Despite the hike being his idea, and his persistent enthusiasm for it all throughout, he simply still isn't an outdoorsy kind of guy... He's doing his best to change that because His Girlfriend Refuses To Get A House but it's slow going.
He stretches them out beneath the table for the umpteenth time this evening, groans like the old man he is. Both elbows propped up on the table now that he's finished with his food, he pillows his chin on his hands and grins at Subaru. ]
So, are you glad you moved in, Subaru-kun? I mean, outside of getting to enjoy the best cooking in Somnius nightly... aside from my own, of course!
[ It's clearly extremely good for Eren that Subaru is here now, but he wants to hear it from the horse's mouths. Forgive him for asking such a Dad Question. ]
no subject
You can’t get away with a claim like that without inviting us for dinner too!
[He says, performatively scandalised. But he settles down to actually address Maruki’s question.]
Of course I am! It’s a nice place, I don’t have to climb up a ladder to get home every day, and the best part is - [He grins, wide. Maybe this might be embarrassing for him, but he doesn’t really care.] I get to play housewife for Ere-chan and get to greet him with a “welcome home”!
[He absolutely just did the voice then.]
no subject
[Eren thinks he's perfect--
[The girl voice--
[Still perfect-- More perfect, even--]
He really says it that way, too...
GUESS WHO FORGOT TO TRACK THE THREAD LIKE A DUMBASSSSS
Maruki can't stop the laugh before it escapes. There's nothing unkind about it, though – entirely good-natured amusement, and more than a little surprise. ]
Ah, that was unexpected! Sweet, though...
[ There is no part of him that will ever understand the way Eren and his partners operate, but it doesn't matter. If it's good for Eren, then that's that. ]
Maybe I can come cook for you two here sometime! And Jean-kun too, god knows I owe him a hundred times over by now. It would be better than you coming to the castle...
for shame Caitlin
He’ll take ‘sweet’, too.]
What, have you got some hellish roommates you can’t bear for us to meet? I can’t imagine it’s that untidy…
[He has no idea who Maruki lives with, actually!! These are all light natured theories.]
jeff literally could have tagged this in her sleep and u failed her
no subject
Ah, I live in a castle that's... a little overwhelming to visit at times.
[ 1. Deeply depressed plant(?) alien with a void(??) inside him that's hellbent on consuming them all and destroying life as they know it.
2. "Teenager" who subsists only on raw meat and has made one of the downstairs closets their hive because they are secretly millions of bugs in a trench coat (soon to be very literal.)
3. Mermaid who wears very little clothing and adds every man, willing or not, to her harem of husbands.
And finally– ]
Akechi-kun lives there as well, and he values his privacy deeply, so there's also that.
no subject
You live with Akechi? I guess that makes sense, since he’s from your reality…must be tough for a guy who values his privacy to be a celebrity.
[Poor little meow meow.]
Going for dinner in a castle does feel way too casual…anything less than five courses would feel totally out of place! There’s no way I could put that kind of pressure on you!
no subject
[At Subaru's comment, Eren nudges him with his elbow and gives him a look that only exists for Subaru - something between incredulous and amused (even given his general lack of expression) that begs the question, "How are you literally the lamest person alive?"]
It's just where they live. Five courses? Settle down.
no subject
He laughs, waves it off easily. ]
If only we were that fancy! Please keep thinking of us that way.
[ His smartphone buzzes in his pocket; he removes it briefly with a murmured apology, has to check in case it's a patient. It isn't, but when he swipes away the message, he sees the photo gallery still left open and grins up at the two of them. ]
Subaru-kun, would you like to see the photos we took on our hike today?
[ And by that he mostly means Eren's photos, but he is nothing if not a man of leading questions. ]
no subject
He gives Maruki a nod, and wonders if they’re all going to crowd around his phone to see them.]
Yeah! Especially if you’ve got any cute ones of Ere-chan.
no subject
[He could be wrong!]
Go ahead and show him. I'll go get the others. [Eren is a hipster who only takes Polaroids - he's in his freshman girl era.
[Off to retrieve his bag, then.]
no subject
(18 still counts as a teen! You're barely sentient in Maruki's eyes!!)
Maruki hands his smartphone over across the table. ]
Here, you can look through. If you swipe in the wrong direction, you'll just see the cat that sleeps outside my office.
[ Neko-chan... His only ally against Levi...
Maruki didn't take as many pictures as Eren did, all told, despite having gigabytes of storage instead of a finite amount of film. He tried to be intentional with them instead of snapping one every few seconds, even though Starlight Cliff is incredible enough to warrant it.
They went at sunset to have enough fading light for decent photos and enough encroaching darkness for the plant life to begin to turn bioluminescent. Maruki has several wide-angle shots of particularly densely-packed areas of glowing foliage, aware he can get more in his scope than Eren could with his polaroids and wanting to complement them. There are a few close-ups of particularly strange plants, and a particular shot of a particular spot on the path to the summit, dense glowing foliage forming a canopy overhead.
There is one photo that might be considered of Eren, though he's not the focus. Off to the side of one of the wide angle shots, his back half-turned to Maruki, his camera trained on one of the plants. ]