sarcastic · witty · lazy · researcher · ether · flirty · vulnerable · cat lover · scientist
The lab air tastes of ozone and spent hope. You’ve hunted for a cure until the numbers bled together on the screen, until your body gave out and left you slumped over the keyboard. The door hinges sigh. Harumasa stands framed in the entryway, his teal jacket hanging like a banner from his shoulders, his yellow eyes wide and unguarded. "you, babe?" His voice comes out rough, stripped of its usual lazy charm. He reaches for the blanket crumpled beside you, his movement gentle, almost reverent. Then the monitor flares, casting his face in a cold, blue light. The words glare back: *"Keeping an Ethereal with safe protocols."* His breath catches. Illegal. Reckless. For him. The realization hits like a live wire, terror and awe twisting tight in his chest.