[He keeps his face covered as shame begins to creep its way into his fragile psyche.
There are a few friends he's made here, to be fair, but how many of them really want him around? Even back home, it's been a semester already and if the others were to find out that he were missing...
They'd be relieved, wouldn't they? To know someone so irritating was just out of their hair, gone from their lives.
Such realizations are the kind that can kill a man, at least, emotionally.]
Could've fooled me, seeing as you're on the ground.
[He grips Asher's shoulder reassuringly: Jin might not've dealt with drunks very often, but he does at least know how to let Asher know that he's here to help.]
[Maybe he is sick. Does this count? Alcohol has its ups and downs, but this is definitely rock bottom. It's not so much that he wants to vomit, no, it's more that being alone leaves him with more than a few unkind thoughts. As much as he projects confidence, when the doors close and he's by himself...
He feels miserable, unloved, but unsure how to change it.]
Where?
[There's fear in his eyes, although he doesn't push the other away. Pity is no good, pity isn't friendship, but it's something.
[Jin wraps an arm around Asher's side and hoists him up by the shoulders. Takeda is the psychic, not Jin: he's got no way to communicate that, rather than pity, it's sympathy that drives him to help the other man. An awareness that, many years ago, he was down and out, too.
Once Asher's steady, he replies:] Your room, clearly. Neither of us are drunk enough for you to be coming back to mine.
[And now is the only time he could even insinuate anything of the sort.]
[Jin will notice once he snakes his hand around the other that there's definitely something sturdy beneath the well-fitted clothes, and that Asher may not be as ill-equipped for a fight as one would initially think.
His foot slides against the ground and it takes all of Asher's energy to keep himself balanced despite the younger man's help, so he misses the joke entirely. Even his response time is delayed, and it takes him a few blinks and a few more seconds to form words.]
I don't wanna go back there.
[Going back means retracing steps, remembering.
Remembering all the stupid things he's done tonight.
God, he'd fucked up with them all, hadn't he?]
I don't want...
[Asher can't quite finish the sentence. It's embarrassing, after all... Not wanting to be alone.]
[His shoulders and torso are broader than Jin expects; he blinks back his surprise as Asher leans against his arm, his body sliding back against Jin.
God, this had not been a wise decision.
Fortunately, the other man doesn't catch the meaning, or the moment that Jin's too surprised by the way that Asher feels to move. Steadily, but surely, Jin takes a step back towards where Asher had come from... just in time for him to hear his rambling.
There's something deeper here: something that Asher wouldn't have admitted to him while sober. It shouldn't be a surprise-- doesn't everyone have secrets?-- but somewhere, he'd taken that for granted. His voice is patient, searching, even as he wonders whether any of this is something he's supposed to know at all.]
[That's more earnest than he was expecting by far.
Jin barely knows Asher. He's someone he had saved, once; Asher had rescued him before, too, days ago but years behind in Jin's mind. That's barely worth him going to all this trouble to drag him, drunk and emotional, back to his room-- much less to listen to the man lay himself bare and be able to offer him very much in return.
What does he even say to this?]
Everybody does. [is what he decides on, and it's got a real weight of sympathy to it, because it's true. He himself...] Don't think about it too hard.
[Jin will be able to see Asher receding, drawing further and further into the depths of his own mind. He may be drunk, but that doesn't change the fact that he'd willingly accept help from a stranger.
Those words do placate him slightly, and it's evident in the way Asher's body relaxes. Much to Jin's chagrin, perhaps, he will feel the other get even closer.]
I think about it a lot.
I wish I didn't.
im not even going to bother making this a gag tag 1/2
[Re-establishing the distance between them under the guise of adjusting the arm that holds the other man steady (asher why) gives Jin a chance, once again, to think. He isn't very good at this comforting thing-- at least not with strangers.
Then again, Asher's not quite a stranger anymore, is he? How many times have they crossed paths now? Two, three times-- maybe more if he'd run into him while he couldn't remember it?]
You should keep it out of your head, then. Like it or not, [Jin shifts again, unwittingly bringing Asher in closer again. (goddammit.)] you're not alone here. We're all here together, as long as ALASTAIR wants to keep us.
[Where the hell is his room already. These things should be labeled.] Any of these rooms look familiar?
[Those words of encouragement, coupled with the unintentional moment of being drawn together again, do appear to rid Asher of his troubles briefly. He stares dumbly at Jin's face, admiration in there somewhere.]
No.
[The words come out softly. His room is pretty far from here.
Jin sighs, glancing with uncertainty at Asher's vacant gaze. This is going to take forever: maybe he'll luck out and Asher will sober up in time to figure out where the hell they're headed. He manages the sheepish beginnings of a grin, though.]
Let's keep going, in that case.
[As much of a pain as this is... he doesn't mind it as much as he thought he did.
So long as he can actually get Asher back to where he should be.]
But Asher will somehow make the connection, tomorrow morning, that someone thoughtful had helped him to his room after he decided to make a mess of himself in the kitchen.
And at the very least, he will know who that was.]
Okay! Ummmmm...
[Asher bites his lip again, craning his neck as he searches their general vicinity for signs of anything familiar.]
I think it's that way?
[This is better than before.
No matter how long the journey, they'll be making it together.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[He keeps his face covered as shame begins to creep its way into his fragile psyche.
There are a few friends he's made here, to be fair, but how many of them really want him around? Even back home, it's been a semester already and if the others were to find out that he were missing...
They'd be relieved, wouldn't they? To know someone so irritating was just out of their hair, gone from their lives.
Such realizations are the kind that can kill a man, at least, emotionally.]
I don't feel sick.
[Just sad.]
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[He grips Asher's shoulder reassuringly: Jin might not've dealt with drunks very often, but he does at least know how to let Asher know that he's here to help.]
I'm gonna pull you up. Let's go, man.
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He feels miserable, unloved, but unsure how to change it.]
Where?
[There's fear in his eyes, although he doesn't push the other away. Pity is no good, pity isn't friendship, but it's something.
At least someone cares.]
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Once Asher's steady, he replies:] Your room, clearly. Neither of us are drunk enough for you to be coming back to mine.
[And now is the only time he could even insinuate anything of the sort.]
Tell me where to go, all right?
no subject
His foot slides against the ground and it takes all of Asher's energy to keep himself balanced despite the younger man's help, so he misses the joke entirely. Even his response time is delayed, and it takes him a few blinks and a few more seconds to form words.]
I don't wanna go back there.
[Going back means retracing steps, remembering.
Remembering all the stupid things he's done tonight.
God, he'd fucked up with them all, hadn't he?]
I don't want...
[Asher can't quite finish the sentence. It's embarrassing, after all... Not wanting to be alone.]
no subject
God, this had not been a wise decision.
Fortunately, the other man doesn't catch the meaning, or the moment that Jin's too surprised by the way that Asher feels to move. Steadily, but surely, Jin takes a step back towards where Asher had come from... just in time for him to hear his rambling.
There's something deeper here: something that Asher wouldn't have admitted to him while sober. It shouldn't be a surprise-- doesn't everyone have secrets?-- but somewhere, he'd taken that for granted. His voice is patient, searching, even as he wonders whether any of this is something he's supposed to know at all.]
Your room? Or somewhere else?
i dont have the right icon for this ASLKDFJ
[He's not answering the question directly, partly because he can't focus and because the physical contact has him feeling even more confused.
Jin's body is comforting, warm.
In an odd way, just what he wanted.]
I hate being alone.
no subject
Jin barely knows Asher. He's someone he had saved, once; Asher had rescued him before, too, days ago but years behind in Jin's mind. That's barely worth him going to all this trouble to drag him, drunk and emotional, back to his room-- much less to listen to the man lay himself bare and be able to offer him very much in return.
What does he even say to this?]
Everybody does. [is what he decides on, and it's got a real weight of sympathy to it, because it's true. He himself...] Don't think about it too hard.
no subject
Those words do placate him slightly, and it's evident in the way Asher's body relaxes. Much to Jin's chagrin, perhaps, he will feel the other get even closer.]
I think about it a lot.
I wish I didn't.
im not even going to bother making this a gag tag 1/2
2/2
Then again, Asher's not quite a stranger anymore, is he? How many times have they crossed paths now? Two, three times-- maybe more if he'd run into him while he couldn't remember it?]
You should keep it out of your head, then. Like it or not, [Jin shifts again, unwittingly bringing Asher in closer again. (goddammit.)] you're not alone here. We're all here together, as long as ALASTAIR wants to keep us.
[Where the hell is his room already. These things should be labeled.] Any of these rooms look familiar?
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No.
[The words come out softly. His room is pretty far from here.
That's okay, though.
He doesn't mind if they keep looking.]
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Jin sighs, glancing with uncertainty at Asher's vacant gaze. This is going to take forever: maybe he'll luck out and Asher will sober up in time to figure out where the hell they're headed. He manages the sheepish beginnings of a grin, though.]
Let's keep going, in that case.
[As much of a pain as this is... he doesn't mind it as much as he thought he did.
So long as he can actually get Asher back to where he should be.]
no subject
But Asher will somehow make the connection, tomorrow morning, that someone thoughtful had helped him to his room after he decided to make a mess of himself in the kitchen.
And at the very least, he will know who that was.]
Okay! Ummmmm...
[Asher bites his lip again, craning his neck as he searches their general vicinity for signs of anything familiar.]
I think it's that way?
[This is better than before.
No matter how long the journey, they'll be making it together.]