[closed / incomplete]
WHO: Renji Abarai [rukongai_dog] and Luke fon Fabre [replica_dreck] and the Disreputable Dog [walker_dog]
WHAT: After Renji’s upset journal entry, Luke shows up to give some comfort.
WHERE: Renji’s home
WHEN: Late night, after the clinic fire
( Renji may be miserable and Luke may not know how to immediately fix it, but hell if he was going to leave Renji alone in his misery. )
WHAT: After Renji’s upset journal entry, Luke shows up to give some comfort.
WHERE: Renji’s home
WHEN: Late night, after the clinic fire
( Renji may be miserable and Luke may not know how to immediately fix it, but hell if he was going to leave Renji alone in his misery. )
"You should dry off first," she advised. "You'll catch sick if you stay all wet and cold like that. I'll be all right for a little while longer. Fur, you know."
With a satisfied nod, she turned her attention to Luke, her tail wagging furiously and a grin spreading across her muzzle. She loved meeting new people, and this one definitely smelled friendly.
"Of course I can talk," she said simply. "I'm the Disreputable Dog - or the Disreputable Bitch, if you want to get technical."
She gave no more explanation than that - she never did. And it always seemed to be just enough for people to shrug and scratch her behind the ears.
Ooh, scratching - that sounded really good right now. She flopped down onto her hindquarters and lifted a back paw to scratch furiously at her neck, just above her collar.
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"It's... a long story," he told them quietly. "I... was..." Impaled. Beaten to a pulp and left in a ditch to die. "Havin' a bad week a couple months ago. I wanted painkillers, and Katou had 'em. I got a job... sellin' 'em for him, too."
He knew Luke knew of Katou, but wasn't sure about the Dog. He didn't pause to explain, though.
"I came home one night... outta it. 'Kuya... made me swear notta do anythin' like that again. But he didn' order me to." Here he swallowed and looked at the Dog and Luke - they could probably already tell where this was going.
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Luke got the idea quickly and squeezed Renji in the hug again.
Easily, he could understand why Byakuya didn’t want Renji taking them. Luke had only just met Renji then and he had felt similar, didn’t wanted anyone taking it. He could also see the appeal in taking it. Luke had done too many cowardly things in his life to be unable see the appeal. Byakuya, though... by not ordering Renji, by just making him swear... Byakuya had been putting his trust and heart in Renji’s hands ( ... )
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She lifted her head a bit to glance up at the two of them.
"Luke is correct," she said softly. "If he loves you half as much as it is glaringly obvious you love him, that is a good course of action."
"Those we love," she continued, laying her head back down, but still looking upward with her brown eyes, "are those who prompt us most to change - and those we hurt most often in the process. But they are also the ones whose support means most."
"I know you are hurting," she said, a bit more sternly now, but still gentle enough in her own way - and at least she hadn't progressed to nipping yet - "but this is not the time for self-pity. You have made a mistake and driven away the one you love most - and it is only by your effort that you will win him back."
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He couldn't write that entry now, though. Not... like this. He was too injured and too proud and too out of it, and he had a slight suspicion that if he moved from where he was with the Dog and Luke, he'd suddenly be a lot less stable.
"I'll figure somethin' out," Renji said to no one in particular. "Dunno if he'll come back, but... I gotta try."
He'd always been trying when it came to Byakuya. Now he simply had to switch focus into trying to get Byakuya back.
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They weren’t much, but they were much more optimistic than anything he’d heard from Renji since it happened. Luke just hoped that realization that it was fixable would allow some of the depression to recede.
“She’s right. Having your trust broken hurts and it might be hard to win that trust over again...” Luke shifted away just a little, just enough so he could look at Renji. To be this upset... Renji really had to have all of his heart focused on Byakuya. It was easily something most people would be jealous of. “He’s stupid if he doesn’t come back to you.”
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Then again, there was something to be said for the intimacy of a private apology, as well...
But perhaps in a bit. Her job here...was likely not quite done yet.
She snuffled affectionately at Renji's bare chest and arched up to lick him softly under the chin.
"Everything will be all right," she repeated. And she would do her best to make it so.
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Not that it was easy to be proactive when depressed.
"Thanks, guys," Renji mumbled, honestly grateful. Although he felt little different than he had five minutes ago, he now had... something to do, something that wasn't aimlessly wandering the streets of Rivelata or getting high.
Though he'd probably still get high.
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Luke doubted that Renji would be this in love with someone too stupid to see what they had. He was certain it was just a matter of time before the two found their way back to each other. Despite the broken promise, Luke was positive it wouldn’t be a mistake Renji repeated once he had Byakuya back.
“It’s what friends are for, right?” Luke replied with a bit of a smile. A glance was had back to the Dog and he let his head slip to Renji’s shoulder, while he gave her a stroke of thanks. She’d really outdone herself here.
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"One can never have too many friends," she said vaguely, then wriggled a bit more to snag the hairbrush in her mouth and drop it in Luke's lap.
"Best take care of that hair of his now," she advised. "Before it gets hopeless. I'd help, but..."
She shrugged, settling back down in Renji's lap. Whether it meant "no hands" or that she'd rather lie and be scratched, well...
Did it really matter, either way?
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His body sped up a bit again. Jitters.
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He, reluctantly, ended the hug, pulling back and drawing his bare feet up to sit crosslegged and facing Renji from his side. Luke smoothed Renji’s hair, settling on the section closest to him to begin with. He plucked up the brush and brought it to the very ends of the red hair in his hand, carefully, gently, starting to work out tangles.
“You know,” Luke started, almost wistfully, but mostly filling the silence. “Where I’m from red hair is a mark of royalty.” Born in Kimlasca with hair like this, Renji could have gotten into high society.
Completely oblivious to Renji’s jitters, of course.
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