Dead Men Talking (Cecil / Tomomi)

Grim, grim grim. As the rain pattered down outside, a soft boy with a serious expression knelt down in front of an upside down sofa, slowly dismantling some of the features beneath it, before sitting back with a sigh. Looking to the wall, as though envisioning a window  that didn't exist, Tomomi groaned before flopping down onto his back, pulling his phone from his pocket.

Memories of when he and Cecil helped Nadia with her father... The confusion and awkwardness in communication that followed... The feeling of needing to tell the truth at some point or another, to clear things up... And now, the feeling of impending dread and defeat. No matter how many times he thought about it, he had to act. Before it was too late. Before it caused problems.

Opening up his phone and getting to the contacts, Tomomi tapped out a little message to his best friend.

Tomomi: hey cecil i dont suppose you could come visit today could you its important

At home, Cecil lazed about, taking a break from his usual wandering as the rain pattered down. Strolling about the city was nice and all, but it wasn't like he could be on his feet 24/7, and days like these made a good enough reason as any to take a break and put his feet up.
Feeling a buzz in his pocket, he cracked open one eye and retrieved his phone from his pocket, checking to see what his notifications had to say this time.
He opened his eyes properly as he saw the message.

Cecil: ...shall we have that night in, today?

Smiling almost bitterly to himself as Cecil replied, Tomomi nodded to himself, before typing out his reply.

Tomomi: sure although i thought that was supposed to be fun haha. see you whenever you want to get here

And with that, Tomomi moved his sofa back to its original position, setting the stuff he'd removed to the side, and sitting down on it to make sure it was still functional, waiting for a message back from Cecil, and also preparing for his aarival.

Cecil: I will MAKE this fun
Cecil: Just you watch me!

And with that, Cecil darted upstairs.

"Hey, bro, what are you doing?"


"Sure this isn't an excuse to make out with your girlfriend?"

"Shut uuu-uuup!"

"Leave your brother in peace, Rydia."

"Thank you!"

"You remembered to pack condoms, right?"

"OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

Laughter filled the house as Cecil rushed down the stairs and out the door.


At Tomomi's door, Cecil appeared, somewhat wet from the rain.

"...I may have forgotten to get something to cover me from the rain in my hurry to get out."

At the sound of a knock and opening the door to the sight of a drenched Cecil, Tomomi laughed slightly, shaking his head and gesturing inside, holding the door open for him. "Ooooohhhh... You maaaayyyy want to go get dried first then. Ignore the mess, and there are some towels in the bathroom. The stack that's folded is the stack of clean, dry towels, so, um, help yourself, then make yourself at home. I made sure to get some lemonade, so, would you like some?"

Looking grateful, Cecil steps in, slinging off his bag and heading to the bathroom. "Lemonade would be nice, thanks." He groans as he starts working away at his soaked self, shaking his head. "Small piece of advice: Do not go through several districts uncovered while it's raining."

Going to the "kitchen", aka the area with the table and fridge, Tomomi got out some plastic cups and poured the duo some lemonade, smiling and waiting there as he nodded and listened to Cecil's sagely advice. "If it's still raining when you head back, you can borrow my rain poncho if you want? It's nothing fancy, but, hey, keeps the water out!" He declared with a grin, before taking a sip of his lemonade.

"Jesus, I'm going to need another towel to finish this off..."

Cecil exits the bathroom, hair loose and messy as he towels away at it. "Nah, the rain should have cleared up by tomorrow. Should be fine." He frees one hand to grab his lemonade as he walks over, still working the towel with one hand as he takes a swig of his drink.


"Don't worry about it, alright?"

Grinning as Cecil declared that, Tomomi held his lemonade in hand before gesturing around the room. "Ah, um, help yourself to wherever you wanna sit. Honestly, the floor may be more comfortable than the sofa though, so um... Yeah... Sorry about that?"

With that, Tomomi flopped down just on the floor. "Currently removing the inside of the sofa, so, it's still safe, but, not as comfy without the springs to keep the bounciness of it. So, um, how is it going? I know it, um, hasn't been long since we last met up, but, you know... You doing alright?"

Giving Tomomi a puzzled look, Cecil lays the towel down on the counter. "Uh...why are you dismantling the sofa...?" He shook his head, and moved over, settling in on the ground. "I've been managing. Dealing with the stuff that's been happening. Also getting dragged into things as I go about my days...so about normal, really."

"You?"

As Cecil asked about the sofa, Tomomi went to explain before waiting, letting his friend finish speaking first. Then, as Cecil explained how he was, with regards to how everything had been, and then asked how Tomomi was, the boy took a hard sip at his lemonade.

"Yeah, it's um... The sofa's actually, um, about that... The past days that is. I... I have a plan. I need to talk with Nadia about it, but, I'm going to make the sofa a potential hiding place for her while still retaining usability, so that I can smuggle her here to hide and keep safe, because you know, all the problems and all..." He muttered, voice growing quiet.

"A-as for how I am... Well, I guess just thinking? I... I've been thinking a lot about what happened. Where we lost... And where we won. Trying to plan out how we can recover this and protect Nadia as best as possible, so, um, you know, yeah..."

"...right. I...see." They...did kind of have a lot going on.
A creeping guilt washed over him as he delved further into the thought. Here he was, just going about his days for the most part, while Tomomi was making plans for the future and trying to give Nadia her life back.
He hadn't been able to do that.
He hadn't thought of any good plan to make that happen.

...ugh. Nope, he couldn't keep sinking into that pit. Needed to...

He smirked.

"So when did you plan on telling me you were going to steal off with my girlfriend?" Cecil sported an evil, teasing grin as he thought out his plot to make light of it all. "You and her, in a little closed space, you in your bed and her in your couch...you almost make a guy thing it's not the government or the jesters he has to be worried about, you devious little git."

At Cecil's joking about Tomomi clearly stealing Nadia, Tomomi laughed awkwardly - most awkwardly because, this was... This was almost like a reverse of a conversation Tomomi had with Nadia prior. Where Nadia thought she was stealing Cecil from Tomomi.

It made the laughter turn more pained than anything else, Tomomi giggling and curling up slightly, spilling a bit of lemonade on the floor before trying to recompose himself, gasping. "A-a-about that... I-it's actually one of the s-serious things I wanted to talk to... To you about..." He muttered, gasping for breath as he tried to prevent himself from panicking. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. He promised himself he'd be honest. He'd get things out. He'd tell the truth.

Hands shaking, Tomomi set the lemonade down at his side to avoid spilling more, smiling through tears at Cecil as he continued. "I... Um... I spoke with Nadia a bit about this, and um, have decided it's probably, um, best to be honest... I um... I-I've... Um... I've had a um... A, well, a... Um... C-crap, I rehearsed this to try figure out how to tell you... W-well, one of the things that made the conversation with the ice cream awkward for um, Nadia, and, um, myself, and um... Well... Something I think needs to be said just to... Get everything out there... Um... Well... I... I've got a crush on... I..."

Hyperventilating, the word finally slipped through his lips.

"You..."

"To- Tomomi?"
What - did he? - oh geez, crap, he hadn't meant to - that was just a-

wait

him?

he

he meant

him?



Cecil looked blankly onward, for a moment, mind sent into disarray by an impossible second occurrence as his best friend broke out in tears.
This time, though...he had a little more presence of mind.

"...well, I was completely off track, wasn't I?" Taking a look at his cup, he chugged down the remains and tossed it away. Carefully, he got up and moved so he was sat by Tomomi, and put one arm around him. "...I'm going to be honest, I found the idea ridiculous the first time I was told, and it's still a little strange hearing a confession like this, but...you don't have to cry, Tomomi. He lets out a small, quiet laugh. "It...must have been painful, huh?"

Head down and eyes blurred, Tomomi was initially unaware of Cecil moving. But as Cecil sat next to him and gave him a semi-hug, Tomomi froze, completely caught like a rabbit in the headlights as his fears about this were proven unfounded. Quivering, he looked up to Cecil before hugging back, burying his head against his chest in tears and nodding slightly at the question, before withdrawing and facing forwards and down again, speaking once more.

"It... K-kind of... I just... I just felt scared... Scared that it would ruin our friendship... Or make you uncomfortable, or Nadia uncomfortable... But, having to hide it... When as it is, we already have a lot to hide... It felt... It felt like everything had to be hidden, everything has to be hidden... I... I'm so sorry... I... I'm not saying it to, um, d-do anything, I just... It was so awkward where Nadia knew, and, I don't want the two of you to feel like things get worse about your relationship because I am selfish and I... I.... I... T-thank you..."