i know now

[blyat]

WHO: Cain (blyat) and Abel (adsero).
WHERE: New Tokyo, PRESERVE headquarters and around the city, New Amsterdam.
WHEN: October 14 - 20.
WHAT: Heavy discussions, tension, working things out, explaining things, etc. Also returning back home.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Foul language on Cain's part, topics of seduction/manipulation, sex, and drugs/loss of autonomy. NSFW for later explicit content.


[Cain is standing outside the shared dormitory, dressed to the teeth in winter gear save for the last few warmest articles -- these are twisted up in his hands, synthetic wool pulled around his knuckles, scarf hanging over one forearm, jacket temporarily slung over one shoulder. It's an effort to keep himself from sweating in the warm confines of PRESERVE's headquarters while they prepare to go out into the icy no-man's-land beyond the doors. His hair is damp from a recent shower, curling at the tips, sticking to flushed cheeks. He had waited outside the bathroom facilities for Abel to wash up just the previous night, a silent guardian. Maybe it was unnecessary, but he couldn't quite train it out of himself. The all-consuming urge to tiptoe around Abel was mediated only slightly by his need to ensure the other's comfort and adjustment to the strange place they've both found themselves now trapped. On the rare occasions he's parted from Abel's side since arrival, his mind never quite unfastens from them.

They haven't truly smoothed everything over. Their brief, emotional exchange had left him raw and worn to a threadbare bone of exhaustion, but it wasn't closure. If anything, he's had to quell the very real and very attractive lure of hope that it was going to work out. Too far out yet to tell. Maybe Abel's head will be clearer with time, with thought, maybe he'll decide he doesn't want to remain Cain's partner in any capacity. And Cain will have to accept that.

Difficult to share living quarters during the tenuous interim of all of that, however. He's had to exercise extreme caution in all physical realms. They'd shared a bed so long, and this setup was nearly identical except for the freckled blond half-wedged between them. At least Prompto acts as something of a distraction. Easier to turn his attention on him and Hideki than focus on how close Abel is to him, when they're all together in that small room. The rest of the dormitories are similarly packed, of course, so it isn't an excuse. It isn't a sly and well-played opportunity to get closer to Abel.

He's conscious of that too. All the time, watching the line between them, giving Abel more space than perhaps needed. He isn't sure what else to do.

At the click of the door, Cain raises his head, fists curling into the hat. All thoughts ground to an abrupt halt.] ... Ready? Wanna drive this time?

Comments

[adsero]

[Back on the Sleipnir, his and Cain's schedule had kept them mostly separate-- Cain coming back late, leaving early, they'd meet for maintenance, lunch, a quickie in a cargo bay, it was comfortable but left Abel wishing they spent more time together just... being together. Now that Cain's acting as his protective shadow, it's hard to ignore the obvious reason why Cain never spent time with him like this. It made things too personal, made Cain too vulnerable, maybe it made it harder to lie. Somehow this feels worse though-- constantly having Cain in arm's reach but knowing that there was more than just three feet of air between them.]

[Truthfully, Abel knows he needs this time to recover. If his entire life hadn't been turned on its head while escaping the Sleipnir, it sure was doing somersaults now. His hair was shorter and clung to his scalp in small tight waves, like someone had shaved it and it had grown out. His arms were a mess, if he'd had anything to eat before showering that first time, he might have lost it out of sheer panic. What had been done to him? Where had he brought himself and Cain? That shower had been long, and Cain was still waiting outside when he came back dressed and wide-eyed. Sleep had followed soon after, and he woke up to Prompto between him and Cain. He needs this space, he knows he does, but he also feels more isolated than he ever has in his life. He wants to believe that this means he needs Cain, needs to trust him again, feel Cain hold him like he's the center of something.]

[What if he's just ignoring every warning sign again just to feel good, though?]

[There's nowhere they can talk. Hideki is exactly what Abel pinned him as just by looking at his bed-- lazy, slovenly, expects everyone to wait on him. The exact kind of rich boy Abel hates being likened to. All of the common areas were always crowded, bathrooms included, and Abel can't trust himself to shove Cain in a closet and not give in to what he wants before they've actually talked. So outside it is. There's a hoverbike involved, he's looking forward to that, and the night before he'd actually had an idea about how to approach this. And fortunately, everything he needed was right under a blackout drunk and passed out man.]

[Abel shuffles out of the dorms, already fully done up in every piece of warm gear necessary with a small pack. He flashes Cain a brief smile, mostly because he doesn't know what else to do.] Sure.

[He knows his way to the garage, but once he gets there he waits for Cain to tell him which bike is alright to take.]

[blyat]

[He knows the disorientation. He knows the discomfort of being uprooted, changed, messed with as they all were, in so many unseen ways it's difficult to list each. In ways they likely haven't discovered yet. He wishes there was some method of offering Abel comfort or answers, something, so he didn't feel choked to silence when he watched Abel going through the quiet motions of this adjustment period. Cain's never mastered the art of communicating those sentiments verbally -- little okays, little reassurances -- and he can't take Abel into his arms right now, much as he might want.

So it's down to this. Watching, waiting, an anxious period of time until they can deal with this step by step. Start with the problem: Cain did something cruel and horrible under duress. How can that be fixed?

Black eyes fall to the pack in curiosity, but he lets it go without comment for now.]

We gotta drop off some supplies with people first. Nico gave me an address. [A nod toward the woman in question, currently preoccupied on the other side of the garage.] Stuff's already loaded into the bike's storage compartment.

[Small, but they're only taking medical supplies this time. He pats the hoverbike in question as invitation for Abel to hop on.]

After that, we can... [Cain offers a vague shrug.] Look around, I guess. Haven't really explored much myself.

[adsero]

Oh. [Abel looks over at Nico, recognizing the woman vaguely as one of the people in charge. He's not disappointed, he's actually happy that he finally gets to do something that isn't sitting around or sleeping. He smiles faintly again.] Great, let's do it.

[He directs the pack around to his front and straddles the bike, makes quicker work of the goggles and helmet this time. There's no neural handshake for him with the bike, not yet, but Abel is fairly confident he doesn't need it. He runs his thumbs over the gearshifts and waits for Cain.]

Just tell me where to go.

[blyat]

Sure thing.

[Typically, he would route the coordinates to the bike's own navigation system with the implant, but they're doing this the old-fashioned way. Or, at least, Cain will be backseat navigating. A mildly humorous reversal of roles.]

Hey, let me carry that. [Once his own goggles and helmet are secure, he holds out one hand for the pack while climbing over the seat behind him. Easier to keep it on his back than have Abel suffer the burden while driving.]

[adsero]

[Abel hesitates for a moment, but it would ultimately be easier for him to drive if Cain put it on his back.] Ah, sure, okay. [He takes it off his front and hands it over-- it's not heavy, something is sloshing and knocking against something else inside of it.] Just something warm if we get cold.

[Abel tries to curtail any follow up questions by revving the engine and putting the bike into reverse.] Ready?

[blyat]

[Bag held aloft by one of its straps, he jostles it to test the contents, brow hiked high in Abel's direction. Just something warm. A surprise for later, then. He doesn't push it despite the urge of his own interest. Once the bag is hauled squarely onto his back, he settles, arms coiling around Abel's waist, head craning forward to put their helmets together (knocking with a little bump) so the directions can be heard over the icy wind.]

Yup, lead the way. Head straight out and turn right at the first street corner.

[He's making the most of this, arms comfortably wrapped around Abel's torso, hands tucked against his sides. Abel is slender enough that even the thick barrier of clothing doesn't prevent the snug circle of a secure embrace.]

[adsero]

[Straight out, turn right at the first corner. Abel has to repeat the words in his head because for a moment all of his focus is on the points of connection between him and Cain. He'd fantasized about this before, on the Sleipnir. Putting Cain on the back of his motorcycle and showing him all the roads he went down whenever he felt trapped, the one that was so beautiful in autumn, the one that twisted so dangerously that he took at ridiculous speeds whenever he was horny and couldn't go home. This is a far cry from those dreams, but it's the closest anyone has been to him since the Sleipnir so his body rejoices. But his head won't join the party, not without needling Abel for being so desperate.]

[He drives.]

[Abel drives how he flies-- elegant and for the joy of it, not just to get them from point A to point B. He slides them through turns, around closed off streets, through alleys that Abel decided just looked interesting, and towards the end of the trip he makes another loop around the block because he 'missed the turn, sorry'. He doesn't like the cold, but he likes this enough to want just another minute. Eventually though, he stops outside of the address and puts the kickstand down before killing the engine.]

This is it, right?

[blyat]

[There's no shock when Abel demonstrates the same affinity for driving a hoverbike as he had with flying a starfighter -- where Cain was fast and efficient and fine to rely on the machine's autonomous pilot, Abel whips them around corners for fun, peels across snowbanks and icy streets with ease despite the unfamiliar weather conditions. By the time they stop outside the address, Cain is windblown and grinning. He peels both helmet and goggles off in one movement.]

Fuck yes, that was awesome! You think I could shoot a rifle off of this thing while you're driving?

[Naturally his mind is keen to pair their talents, and he's still buoyant on the adrenaline of the ride. It's fun to fantasize. Yet Cain soon sobers to the question while climbing off the bike.]

Uh, yeah, I think so. Here, the supplies. [Backpack still shouldered, he pries open the bike's compartment and hauls out the small medical bag inside. Then he points ahead, toward the boarded-shut structure of what appears to be a residential unit. They're higher up in the city now, all steel and suspended on the ocean -- Cain pointedly does not let himself linger on that realization.] Some lady's supposed to meet us inside that building to take 'em.

[adsero]

[He looks so beautiful when he's happy.]

[Cain's enthusiasm is infectious, and Abel finds himself grinning too, buoyant from the praise and Cain's daredevil attitude.] Probably, you said you were good.

[But yes, the supplies, the reason they're here. Abel looks up at the building-- it's tall, not the tallest around them, but it looks like the residents have a decent view. They might even get back to enjoying it once they have food, water, and power back. He walks up the steps to inspect the boards.]

There must be another way in if this is boarded up from the outside. [Abel nods to the right and starts circling the building, nobody boards themselves up outside of their safe zone, there should be a side door of some kind.]

[blyat]

Don't tempt me.

[He doesn't have a weapon here, not of that variety, although his thoughts drift to a dream shared where he was back at the range, a rifle in his hands and sharp shots cutting the air. Almost as though it was yesterday, or a lifetime ago. Difficult to tell which impression is more real.

Following, boots crunching on the flattened snow as they navigate a path around the residential housing unit, he waves a hand forward.] Right there, check if it's unlocked.

[A firedoor on the side of the building -- clearly another path inside. Perhaps it won't be locked or barricaded against the frigid wind. As accustomed to the harsh environment as he is, he's not enjoying it. Not keen to linger in it longer than necessary for the dangers it presents.]

[adsero]

[Abel crunches over, hopping along while Cain carries all of their things, and tries the door. Fortunately, it opens. Abel knocks after the fact and calls in:]

Hello? We're ah, with PRESERVE, with some supplies?

[It looks like they're in the mailroom now, it's dark and cold. Abel waves Cain in, but he doesn't see anyone just yet.]

[blyat]

[They stand in the chilly mailroom for another few moments before a bright voice calls out, Hello, hello! Please, right in here! Around the next corner is an open-area lobby, pale light cast through shuttered windows in streamers across the ground. A short older woman is standing there bundled in winter clothes, and she smiles as they both come into view. She explains that most of those who lived in this unit have sequestered themselves on the topmost floors where the heat has been centralized, but a few were still suffering from prolonged exposure to the cold. We are fine, plenty of food and water on hand, only needed a bit of extra medical help.

Cain steps back while this exchange happens, leaving most of the conversation to Abel. This is the part he's never mastered. Bringing aid, doing the tasks that need to be done, being told where to go and what is needed when there's no other choice -- all of that is simple. But actually delivering the help out of good will (rather than the expectation of suddenly waking up on a train to the city) is not a skill in his wheelhouse. He shrinks away from the woman's stream of thank yous that follow the exchange.

After it's done, he leads the way back through the mailroom.]

That was easy.

[adsero]

[This is where Abel comes to the front. He's a master at pleasantries, meaningless or meaningful, and is all smiles and polite questions concerning the state and safety of everyone in the building. He offers to talk to someone about sending an actual doctor, but apparently the medical need isn't quite that dire, just a shortage of regular medications. After letting the woman know that it was no trouble and to contact them again if they needed more supplies, Abel hurries to catch up with Cain.]

Hang on, I want to check on their electrical connections. Maybe I can get the power back on, it's freezing in here. [Abel shifts awkwardly, wondering if Cain is going to want to get back sooner rather than later.] Usually the boxes are on the roof...

[blyat]

[The train ride between New Tokyo and New Amsterdam is an ordeal he's not prepared to field, pulled aside by the hand of a security officer as soon as he's halfway through processing at customs. Drugs in his bag. The look he shot Hideki Maeda could have withered steel -- but they weren't held long. One quick phone call to a powerful set of parents, and all four of them (Abel included, a permanent panic at his elbow) were on their way after brief detainment. The sooner he could be free of Hideki's restrictive shadow, the better. At this point, he wanted to be home more than he wanted anything else.

Home. Maybe that's how he thought of it now: that tiny apartment, nestled in the heart of New Amsterdam's cityscape just south of the artificial river. It's the closest he's come in years.

The rest of the trip passes in a haze of exhaustion, and he nods off on Abel's shoulder at some point in the interim, oblivious to their surroundings. The act of downplaying what they are now matters less to him when no one's paying attention and he has to endure several hours of extended travel on a train under the ocean, so he doesn't care. And then finally, New Amsterdam looms above and around them, a sprawl of urban technology and feat of engineering. Parting ways at last with Prompto and Hideki, Cain leads the path back toward his apartment: a tall residential building nestled in with others, home to a sparse rooftop garden, each level identical to the last. Up the elevator and down the next hall, and they're there. A cramped but functional living area and two identical bedrooms attached on either end.

Once quick glance over the tidy interior reveals no sign of Deimos or Giovanni. He hadn't seen Giovanni on the trip, come to think of it, and Deimos appeared to be keeping a low profile... Maybe that was a good thing. Cain hadn't even had a chance to talk to him about Abel's arrival yet with everything else that was going on -- babysitting Hideki in shifts didn't leave much room for it.

Dropping his bag on the couch, he lets out a sigh and drops down on the cushion in one exhalation of relief.]

So fucking exhausted. Dunno how I managed to survive that whole thing without strangling Hideki, that asshole.

[adsero]

[What a hideous trip.]

[Abel had honestly been looking forward to seeing the train system. The fact that it was underwater was especially intriguing, and he imagined it would be so quiet and comfortable that he could finally relax for a moment. Hideki Maeda, of course, clearly sensed that Abel was getting comfortable and so he threw another curveball at them.]

[The panic was instantaneous. Abel couldn't let Cain go to jail over this, not when prison was apparently the worst thing that had ever happened to him on Mars. What should he do? What could he do? He didn't know this place's political system or laws-- but he could still argue. His resolve turned to steel, the look he gave the officers was almost the same as the one he would give his nav console in the middle of a dogfight. He was not about to let them take Cain or Prompto away when this man had once again made their lives hell.]

[When they're finally released, Abel gives both the officers and Hideki a scathing look, clearly furious as he follows Cain to their train. Cain might have been able to sleep, and Abel is glad for it, but he's too furious and amped up to rest. He starts reading what he can find about the laws and politics of New Amsterdam and gently cards his fingers through Cain's hair as he sleeps.]

[New Amsterdam is possibly more impressive in person than in the photos Abel found, and his mouth opens slightly as he takes in the rising spires and shining surfaces. It's beautiful, in a strange way that Abel isn't used to, but he can admire it. This place was going to be his home for the foreseeable future...]

[He follows Cain closely back to the apartment, and when the door opens he does take a moment to pause at how small it is-- again. He really has to stop being shocked that places are smaller than he's used to. But it's neat, clearly Cain's space as Abel notes the little touches here and there that speak to his probable taste. Abel sets his bag down on the floor and joins Cain on the couch, looking a little stiff and not entirely comfortable yet.]

Don't strangle Hideki, I want the privilege. [Abel rubs his forehead and the bridge of his nose, finally surrendering to the fact that he has a headache from all of that.] You and Prompto maintain your cover, and I'm the murderous jealous boyfriend, it's perfect.

[He's probably only half kidding here. This man has possibly caused him more stress than Cain in barely a week, and he's like a disease that won't go away.]

[blyat]

[The small personal touches are scattered but present: clean mugs drying on a rack by the sink, patterned in profanity and constellations; a static hologram poster on the wall of what appears to be a ship meant for spaceflight, but not technology or engineering Abel would recognize from their own world; a bright neon hoodie hung up on a hook; and pairs of boots kicked off near the door. Giovanni and Deimos are mixed in, too, if the knife left on the coffee table and the plants set on a shelf are any indication. But neither of his roommates left much trace otherwise, and storage in the walls provides them with enough space to tuck away the extraneous.

Shifting closer, Cain touches their shoulders together.]

You as the jealous boyfriend? I gotta see that someday. [He's teasing, an effort to bring levity to the tense mood, exhaustion palpable between them both.] It's okay, won't be forever. And now at least there's privacy.

What do you think? [A nod toward the apartment at large.] Fuckin' tiny, I know, but best I could get those first few weeks. Didn't want to stay in the safehouse any longer than they made me.

[adsero]

[Oh-- right, that's. A word. He just used. Abel blushes and attempts to hide it by pulling his legs up on the sofa and getting a little more comfortable. It's definitely Cain's space, nice and neat, the posters, a mug with neon letters that cheerily exclaimed 'FUCK OFF', he's feeling more relaxed as he takes it all in. This is where he's going to live, with Cain, like people who weren't enlisted in the military. Like boyfriends.]

You've seen me when I'm mad, wait around long enough and maybe I'll turn it on someone who actually deserves it. [But yes, at least there's privacy. They can be exhausted without wondering if Hideki is going to march in demanding 'buff cuddles' from Cain.]

It's not tiny, it's... cozy. [It's tiny. And not what Abel is used to, but that doesn't really matter does it? What would he need more space for when they're probably going to be attached like this whenever they're both home? He looks over at the dying plants and winces.] I can't say much for the choice of sad plant decor, but I like the rest of what you've done with the place.

[blyat]

[It's not a word they've chosen to term what rests between them. Not openly to each other, at least. Cain doesn't notice its usage, dark eyes catching on the way Abel lifts legs onto the seat and curls in closer, cheeks brushed with color. He looks on a moment longer than neutral -- taking in the sight of Abel here in his apartment and tucked safely on the sofa near his side. The surreality of all his answered hope.

Snapping out of the daze at those words, Cain's gaze shifts toward the array of potted plants. He'd told Giovanni he could begin keeping them in the common living space recently; it was anyone's guess how many were in his room alone.]

Yeah, those are from the other guy. Giovanni Rammsteiner. We both got here at the same time, and I wanted to lower the cost of this place, 'cause I'd only just started working. It was us two for a while alone. [Cain looks toward the door, dormant and dark underneath.] Haven't seen him in a while, though. Wasn't in New Tokyo. Might be gone.

[With all the movitation and energy he still possesses, he rises from the sofa to approach the plants seated on a small secondhand shelf.] You know anything about taking care of 'em?

[adsero]

Gone? [Abel looks a little distraught at the notion, casting a glance towards the bedroom Cain looks to. He knows that people sometimes vanish from his time perusing the newcomer's guide, but he doesn't like the idea of it happening so close to Cain. They're together, they just figured things out, they're living together now, surely... surely the universe could just be kind for a moment.]

[He stands up with Cain and goes to the plants, frowning gently as he surveys the plants that were clearly in need of water days ago.] I know how to revive a plant that's been overwatered, I was always afraid I wasn't giving it enough... But this. [He shakes his head.] I don't know. We could try watering them...

[blyat]

[He says nothing at the possibility of Giovanni being gone. It's a possibility that has always existed, fixed in his mind. He could lose a roommate -- or a friend, or Abel -- at any time. But what did thinking about it help? Maybe he has the luxury of not yet having lost anyone of true significance to him. Giovanni and him were on decent terms, and the last they truly spoke more than a few words, he'd learned more than expected about the man's macabre past, but the impact is nothing compared to how it would feel to lose Abel after he's just got him back.

How many others have simply vanished? Where do they go? Do they return home, as Keith spoke about on the network, or do they go somewhere else?

With resilience, Cain pushes it from his mind. Focus turns back toward the plants as Abel describes his experience. The array across the shelf includes a spider plant, thin leaves wilted yellow and brown, off-shoots dangling near death. A hand extends to brush across the green leaves as curiosity needles something unfamiliar in him.]

Water's not gonna fix this.

[It feels... different, strange, the connection of bare skin against the dry leaves ringing through to him in a new way. Cain's brows draw together. The next action is instinctive: he doesn't think about it at all. Power flows out through a well-carved channel, his chest shines dim blue through fabric, and life floods into the plant. Green color rippling down the leaves, fuller and waxy, as if he's put his thumb on a clock and rewound time by days. Cain snatches his hand back as if burned, but the evidence is clear. Before both of them now sits a healthy and living spider plant.]

... What the fuck?

[adsero]

Maybe not... [Abel doesn't want to tell Cain that it's hopeless, it's always sad to have to give up on a plant, something that depended on its human to give it what it needed. The first few times he'd carried a pot downstairs to clean out, followed by 'Ethan just let the housekeeper water them, that's the third one', it had been frustrating. Maybe Cain felt the same way, especially given he hadn't meant to leave these plants alone for days.]

[He's about to reach out and put a comforting hand on Cain's shoulder when the plant starts greening again. This is incredible, Abel's eyes nearly bug out of his head as he watches the plant rise back up, strong and healthy when it was certainly at death's door. His eyes go from the plant to the glow at Cain's chest-- it's him. Cain's doing it, not the plant.]

[When Cain pulls his hand back, Abel finally completes the motion he'd started and puts one hand on his shoulder and the other on his forearm, worried that he's hurt himself somehow.] Are you alright?

[Abel looks back at the plant-- still healthy even though Cain's not touching it anymore.] I'm assuming that's the first time you've done that...

[blyat]

[Through skin contact, bewilderment and shock flutter out of Cain, rising above the tangle of general fatigue from the trip. His eyes are wide and dark on the plant that sits before them. Alive and well. He reaches out again, petting fingertips over the thin feathery leaves with a slow shake of his head.]

Yeah, uh. Never done that shit before.

[More than the change in the plant's livelihood was what he felt during its process of recovery, how it had sung out to him that it needed help. It was calling out to him, a thin thread of communication reaching across some unspoken barrier.

Cain's attention turns toward another plant -- a fern, this time -- and he attempts to recreate the same. Brushes his hand over the brittle dead leaves while his chest radiates blue color. And it happens again: life springs from dry shriveled roots, green returning in a wave of health. Another plant, then, a small succulent perched on the shelf.]

... This one's not dead. Just needs some water.

[adsero]

[Abel watches, intensely fascinated but sympathetic to the shock that Cain is feeling. He keeps his hand on Cain's shoulder as he works on the fern, then the next plant, and then the little succulent.]

How can you tell?

[This is beautiful to watch. Rough and tough Cain, bringing life back to the poor neglected plants with a brush of his fingers. It's almost poetic, coming from such a rough and cold place as Mars, that Cain can create beautiful greenery from what's withering. Abel slides up behind him, his hands running over Cain's shoulders in a soothing gesture-- this is clearly new and making him nervous.]

It's beautiful. And it feels like you.

[blyat]

[The touch is like a balm and Cain finds himself relaxing incrementally under those hands, some of the tension beginning to drain out through the empathetic contact. Better than becoming overwhelmed. He doesn't know what's going on, this isn't his power, but maybe there's an explanation. Maybe it isn't strange, or even bad, if this is what it allows him to do.

Stepping back from the shelf, he turns to cross the small space to the sink. There he fills a small cup with water and then returns to the succulent, draining it into the pot.]

Dunno about it feeling like me... [He bows his head as if to conceal his face. Shorter dark hair hangs in his eyes -- not the length it was the last Abel saw him on their ship, but still wild and untamed.] When I was in that dream world, when I... died, I woke up on Mars, back home. There were flowers everywhere in every shade of blue. Shit like that doesn't grow there. Can't, environment's too harsh. [Abel knows that, of course.]

[adsero]

[Abel lets Cain step away to look after the plant, leaning his hip against the sink and watching his Fighter try to work out the mental tangle this discovery has put him in. If he's thinking back to something he'd only told Abel under duress, something that clearly bothered him, it's serious. Abel wishes he had a clear answer, but he doesn't even know what his first ability is. He only knows what he's read, which isn't much at all. The description of the dream sounds like the end of the knot, though, and Abel thinks silently for a moment.]

If you're thinking about it literally then, yes, you're right. Blue flowers don't grow on Mars. But, if you think about it Alexei... you've already made things grow in the most unforgiving of environments. [Ethan, for example.]

[But, metaphors aside, this is really happening and must have a source-- the dream, maybe.] You said when you woke up, Hideki was your friend without you doing much of anything. What if this is like that? You woke up in blue flowers in the dream, and now you have a connection with plant life. It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility if you made someone like you enough to traipse out to New Tokyo and spend a week in the snow and cold.