outfields | open post ; reunited meme

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meme: themed

open post ; reunited meme

THE "REUNITED" MEME

for all of your shipping multiplied by time and distance needs.

I. atmosphere:
01. bittersweet: you parted with unfinished business, or circumstances are less than ideal. whatever it is, this isn't a fairytale reunion of long lost lovers.
02. angry: whatever happened last still has you itching to tear someone's head off, or you're outraged by what they did while you're apart, or you're going to set the record straight once and for all--!
03. excited: you can't wait to see them again.
04. anxious: what if things have changed too much? what if you're not the person they liked before? what if? you might know this is irrational, but that isn't going to stop you.
05. hurt: they left you behind, or in a time of need, or without saying goodbye, and you're anything but over it.
06. tender: you've been apart, but you care about them, still. always.
07. distant: whatever separated you, you've decided to protect yourself, and if that means pretending not to care that you've seen each other for the first time in five years, then so be it.

II. circumstances:
01. accidental: you ran into each other at the grocery store, you rang a number you can't bear to delete from your phone without meaning to, you stumbled on their twitter and followed because the app is shit, wait shit we both changed our online handles and made friends all over again.
02. new information: you haven't spoken to them in months or years, but something you've only just found out changes everything.
03. purposeful: you sought them out, for one reason or another.
04. set up: someone else is pulling the strings, and arranged it to put you together again.
05. in a crowd: it's your class reunion. you knew you might see them there, but even when you do reunite, there's people who know you both around.

III. wildcard.
what it says on the tin. make it yours!

as usual, drop top-levels with or without a starter, or let me know if you want someone in particular and i will provide!!

the tumblr post i stole the concept for this from is here if you want ideas.

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[ he cracks a full smile as nori gets close. it doesn't seem like he's gotten taller, but he seems... bigger. more present. and not just because he's literally, physically there after years of not being around. college was good to norifumi kawakami, at least a little. that's nice to know, that nori's done just fine without him, even if it stings a little to know he's missed out. he's getting the end product without being around to support the building of it.

he shifts to slide his tablet in his bag, tugging the strap across his chest to resettle the bag behind his hip, and nods, lifting his hands with a flourish. ] Well, if I'm a mirage, no one told me, so yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm here.

[ he rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck. ] On my way back to my apartment, specifically.

[it was sort of a silly thing to say, in hindsight, and now he feels kind of dumb, but it was a very characteristic thing to do-- get startled, point out the obvious, shyly withdraw. except he's not literally withdrawing, he probably couldn't do it even if he wanted to. which he doesn't. at all.

regardless, his smile goes a little sheepish, like, well, duh.] Oh, yeah. That makes sense. [with the train platform and all. from there, though, his expression shifts more toward curiosity.] Are you-- are you nearby? [that's a better question.]

[ he laughs, soft, and makes eye contact, holds it. ] Ish? Twenty minutes or so.

And you? Have we been like three neighborhoods apart for years? [ wouldn't that just be their luck. half an hour from seeing each other all that time, and it's only luck putting them together again? ]

[he's agog for a moment, which is an answer in and of itself, probably. but, he collects himself:] Um-- I guess we have, I'm... well, here.

[go figure. he smiles again, as though any past weirdness between them has been forgotten. it hasn't, but he's too excited about seeing him again to fully give into it, and shakes his head, disbelieving.] I guess it feels kind of fitting that we're only just now running into each other, though...

[ the snicker he can't hold down is probably more than a little familiar. it's not the one he usually pointed at sawamura or furuya, though, barbed as that one had been on the underside. ] Haha, it does, doesn't it!

[ he sticks his hands in his pockets as a train enters the station going the other way. once the noise settles he clears his throat. he could get on his (their?) train when it comes, nori's number in his pocket, sure, but that feels like it's not enough. he doesn't want to let a chance to at least - hang out, or share space, or something - slip away over a train schedule. ] Are you heading home? [ are you free, or am i out of luck? ]

[he does remember that little laugh-- and the distinction between it and the others of its ilk. this is bizarre, too coincidental, but since it looks like they're going to be on the same train in a minute it feels like it'd be a waste to not try to stretch out this unlikely reunion.]

Yyyyeah, I am, did-- do you want to catch up? [the inquiry is small, tentative, shy, much more like the nori that miyuki used to know. he's a little afraid that spending more time together will reopen old, mostly healed hurts, or prove that it just wasn't meant to be, but the boldness he's gained more recently coupled with honest interest in seeing how things have been ultimately push him to ask anyway.

maybe things will even be different now-- despite everything, he does believe in serendipity a little bit.]

[ oh. for a moment he's almost still. the overlapping visions of the teenager he didn't let himself open up to in high school and the young man he doesn't quite know yet are identical, and it sticks in his throat.

he nods the beat after the question is out of nori's mouth. if that seems too eager, well, whatever. he is eager, to see more of nori. one corner of his mouth quirks up. ] I'd love to. We can find a coffee shop? Or you can come over, as long as a little mess isn't gonna bother you...

[ at least, he's pretty sure his apartment is largely acceptable... mostly. if he shoves his laundry basket into a corner and moves the stack of textbooks off the couch. ]

[eager is good-- better than good, it's reassuring. he's beyond second-guessing himself at every single possible turn, but... well, if there ever were a good situation to do that, this would probably be it.

additionally, there's probably some sort of shared camaraderie involving young men and not-exactly-spotless apartments, and nori just shrugs. it almost seems too forward to just agree to this, but where the abject fear of failure or rejection no longer hold him back consistently, a sense of curiosity and ability to follow through with it have formed to take its place. he doesn't look completely confident in the decision, but anyone who could, in this situation, would probably be bluffing.

his hands draw together and he worries them a little, an habit made easier by hypermobile finger joints, but he's still smiling, simultaneously shy and daring-- much more self-motivated than he used to be, at any rate.] Mess doesn't bother me.

[ tension lines his back while he waits for an answer, and it eases when he gets the one he'd been hoping for. and then he smiles properly, honestly and sincerely. it's not that he would have minded the coffee shop, if that's what nori had been okay with, but there's a stiffness he attributes to being in public that he doesn't think would serve them well - they've had enough problems with holding each other at arms' length. ]

I figured you wouldn't... you did live in the dorms long enough. [ and his place is cluttered, but there is absolutely none of that gross sweaty teenage jock funk hanging around. ] My place it is, then! [ he pauses to look for the clock hung on one wall, then turns his head away to watch for the train. it wouldn't be much longer, if the train was on time, and he can count on one hand the amount of times it hasn't been in two years of taking it.

he wonders if asking nori to stay for dinner would hedge him in too much. he's got chicken waiting to make it out of his fridge instead of into the trashcan, after all. after a second more of thought - of glancing at nori's small gestures of nerves, unsurprisingly centered on his hands - he decided to leave that kind of question for later. ]

[his own smile widens somewhat, but maybe the change isn't so much size-related as pertaining to luminosity. all of that initial shock has worn off and is leaving him in a more manageable state-- or more usual, at least, with somewhat firmer resolve offsetting his long-time nervous tells.]

That sounds good. --I can't believe you've been close this whole time? [he uptalks, trying to keep himself from babbling in anxious excitement, trying to rein in his rapid pulse because now that he's not so surprised to see him, he's realizing he's pretty much just as attracted to miyuki as he ever was. not exactly an ideal train of thought to pursue at this particular moment, but it's there, even if he's trying to shelf it for a more appropriate time, or until it goes away if there ends up not being an appropriate time again.

he tilts his head to glance down for the train as well, with an any minute now sort of air, but then he focuses back on miyuki's face, wondering about all the ways this could possibly pan out.]

Haha, right? Just our luck.

[ there's a shade of legitimate complaint there, directed not at nori but the universe. maybe it's good they've been apart so long, giving this reunion a better feel, but he'd missed nori and he hadn't even really known how much.

it doesn't help that nori's only gotten harder to tear his eyes away from since high school. ]

At least it isn't rush hour, then we'd be talking and trying not to get crushed, right?

[ he reaches out to bump his curled fingers against nori's shoulder, a casual gesture that becomes a lot less casual when he's interrupted by the screech of their arriving train, distracting him with his fingers lingering.

he notices after they've been there a beat too long, and pulls back to stuff his hand in his pocket. ] Sorry. [ he chucks his head toward the train. ] Shall we?

[he was chuckling a little at the second statement when that hand touched his shoulder, and the laughter simultaneously fades and is drowned out by the noise of the train, and miyuki's knuckles are still resting gently against him; he can feel them even after he takes his hand back.

some things really don't change, he thinks to himself.

not for the first time, he wishes he'd had time to return the gesture.]

Well, unless we want to stand here until the next one, but if we're going to hang out anyway... [he's joking, gently, and moves forward to board the train, but he glances back as if to verify that miyuki is really going to accompany him, or even to verify that he was real to begin with.]

[ he laughs, small, and takes a moment to follow, making sure his bag is closed. he looks up in time to catch nori looking back, and his expression softens before he smiles and hurries to catch up, close to nori's elbow as they pass from the platform into the train car. after a moment of looking around to double-check there's no grandmas or anybody with a baby to worry about, he finds a seat on the bench. he picks a spot close enough to a standing rail nori can stand if he wants, holding his bag in his lap. ]

So, how's school? [ yeah, it's arguably cringe-worthy small talk, but there's bright interest in his eyes. ]

[nori is grateful to the entire cosmos that there's room for him at miyuki's side, because right now he just wants to be... well. right here. it might be an excuse for casual, unavoidable physical contact, it might not, but it's where he is, either way.

he can't complain about small talk being cringe-worthy, it's not like he's really any better at it. besides, miyuki's looking at him like he actually wants to know, and that makes it feel good.]

It's, uh... well, it's school. [he laughs quietly and shakes his head.] It's fine, though, just nothing out of the ordinary.

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open post ; reunited meme

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LORD I almost forgot about this one but here it is, killing me

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