( To Bakugo, first of all. He guesses he could have sooner, but there was a number of reasons he'd convinced himself to wait. His new suite being in the basement, requiring him to have to stay with others if he wanted to feel safer, making him a burden once more, made him want to procrastinate. Some small part of himself felt like it was due punishment to sit there alone for so long, too... But most of all, more than anything else: )
I suppose I was still just... waiting, in case someone else might show up.
( But he didn't, and Esikko still feels sad about it, feels worried that he's caused him so much trouble he doesn't want to even look at him for fear of seeing him like he had in that garage. But he runs his fingers in taps against the flower vase he's holding and tries not to think about it.
—and that is right when Hiyori makes that comment about Bakugo wanting to nurse him himself, and Esikko nearly chokes, a hand lifting to cover his mouth in response to the half-laugh half-cough sound he just made. Help. The elevator door is sure to cut off whatever snap of a response Bakugo may have to that one. )
Urusei. [Someone's having too much fun with this. From distractions in the hospital to teasing Esikko in the halls. Bakugo shoves his hands into his pockets, eyes narrowed in focus as the elevator takes its stupid time crawling down the wall towards them with each lazy "ding" of light above. For all his annoying traits, Hiyori's brilliance is a breath of fresh air and relief Bakugo's never going to put to lips.
Same. He's pissed at the idea of a "next time," but given Esikko's track record of recklessness and bad interactions... Tch, he said he'd be more careful about throwing himself into shit situations. Gonna have to trust him on this. If there is a "next time", he'll bust him out of the hospital when he's ready.]
Hmph. [Esikko says he knows and he accepts the mixture of "apology" and promise over the incident. Trusting anything the shitty resort tells them at face value's asking to get trampled on by their psychotic "host" patron. He says nothing to the quiet comment, having already had his words about it during his first talk with Esikko. Nothing's going to change there. He should've focused on getting out faster so he could take the "see" to him.
Any other comment gets T-boned by Hiyori.]
DON'T PUT IT LIKE THAT, YOU SHITTY PARROT! [Hiyori's lucky Bakugo doesn't blast him in the back! Esikko's getting nuked by a vicious glare blazing at his face for daring to half-laugh at such a stupid comment! A bristling vanguard, he lingers long enough to watch the pair enter the elevator, then heads for the stairs.]
Says the person who always puts things crudely himself...
[He shakes his head as the elevator doors close, before reaching over Esikko for the button that'll take them to Bakugo's high floor.
The ride won't last long, but of course he sees fit to fill that short time with chatter. It's what he does, and if he didn't feel inclined to do that, it'd be a sign that something is wrong.]
You know, I first ran into Leo-kun in one of these elevators. I was new and hadn't found anyone I recognized yet, so I was overjoyed to see his face. Then the elevator suddenly stopped, and these talking portrait ladies asked us to flirt with each other. They wouldn't move it again until we did, so Leo-kun acted like my knight, and I was his princess!
[He speaks cheerfully from behind Esikko's wheelchair, the smile obvious in his words.]
I told Baku-kun that sort of thing happens sometimes, and he must have taken it to heart. I don't think it happens that often, but I guess he doesn't want to chance it. That's just the sort of person he is: always stubborn, always vigilant, and always doing things his own way.
( Esikko averts his eyes from Bakugo's accusatory and bristling stare, waiting for the elevator doors to close before he breathes out another laugh. It's far more genuine than anything he's given so far, since the two have arrived to pick him up, and he certainly looks like he's getting some of that life back into him. What can he say? It's nice to see people playing around together, teasing and play fighting and everything in between. )
It's funny that you say that. I warned him about the same thing, during our first meeting. That the elevators could do that... since the first time I arrived in this place, I experienced the same.
( But, was it really so bad? He had met Dabi in that same elevator. Still, Hiyori's words hold truth in their assessment, and Esikko can only smile fondly, pointed down at the flowers in his lap. He toys with the petals a little, his touch only ever seeming to encourage their lift. )
He wouldn't want to be inconvenienced if he can avoid it. Somehow, that hot head of his is a little cute, isn't it?
( Definitely just a little cute, and not something he's been rotating in his mind for a while now, totally— but it's fine, the elevator doesn't take long, and the doors open before too long with a quiet little ding. Still, he can spare a few more words: )
I guess it does work to cheer me up, now and then.
[The elevator door shuts on his scowling glare. He doesn't "ALWAYS" put things crudely! Not using nice flowery language isn't an instant "crude" label! Dumbass. Twisting on his heel, he stalks to the stairs and kicks open the door. Yeah, he could blast his way up to the proper floor, but instead- KABOOM! -rockets to the floor above and catches the railing for a quick looping onboard. Another door's knocked open and he pokes his head out, dagger eyes locked on the elevator. *boop* it goes past the floor, safe and sound.
Back into the stairwell. Smoke and light detonate once more, and the entire process repeats from one floor to the next, making sure the elevator is on time and track with each level. Hiyori's probably talking Esikko's head off right now. So long as the shitty elevator car isn't giving them trouble, he's not going to interfere with the ride.
Hiyori was one of three people on his first day here who told him about elevator shenanigans. Esikko was another. Enough to convince him of the real risk. He's never set foot in an elevator the entire time he's been in the resort, a year and a half later, thanks to the advice. Besides, he has more fun exercising by taking the stairs with his legs or flexing his Quirk with his jumps.
When the elevator doors slide open, Bakugo's waiting in the hall, arms folded across his chest and looking all impatient with the scent of smoke and burnt sugar clinging in the air around him.]
[He nods cheerfully, head bobbing in his reflection on the shiny gold doors.]
Yep, it's definitely cute! He'll get mad if you say so, but it won't change facts!
[What's said in the elevator stays in the elevator. Bakugo can't hear them calling him cute, so he can't complain!
The ride isn't long enough for Esikko to confide just how often he thinks about Bakugo's cute head or for Hiyori to develop suspicions on the matter. But he doesn't miss those last words, nor does he miss the quiet fondness with they're said. That gives him hope that they'll be fine—Esikko and Bakugo will be. The awful thing that just happened won't drive a wedge between them. Whoever Esikko was hoping would visit him in the clinic, and whatever is going on with that person, at least he has Bakugo. And he has Hiyori, too, so...
The elevator dings and he rolls Esikko out. He's hardly surprised to see Bakugo there after experiencing for himself how far that Quirk can fling a person, but still he comments:]
Fast! Who knew you'd learned to teleport...♪
[He turns Esikko's chair in whatever the right direction is, and off they go. Privately he wonders what sort of state Bakugo's suite is in, given the scorch marks and scratched floors he saw last time. But for Esikko it still beats being cooped up in the clinic, right?]
You and Loki-kun should race each other sometime. I'd be curious to know who's faster: the trickster god, or the "explosion god"!
[The stupid chattering continues while he waits for Bakugo to open the door and let them in.]
( There's a soft and fond little laugh from Esikko's wheelchair as he watches ahead. He's really beginning to get an idea of how Bakugo and Hiyori's conversations must always go. A cheery Hiyori commenting silly things like this, and a prickly Bakugo responding in kind... Cute. They seem like real friends. )
What sort of competition measures actual teleportation against flight speed?
( Lightly, as he shifts to tap at his own Watch, checking for notifications that aren't there. It's a small fidget, let go of easily when they make more progress towards Bakugo's room. He has no idea about what happened inside of there, but he is curious to see if there are any signs about how he's been doing, so he wants to pay attention. )
[One floor after the next, each one seeing him stop by the elevator door and watch it pass. Back into the stairwell and another explosion trails smoke after his passing. Hands catch golden bars, momentum swings him over the edge, and he's on his feet again, waiting for the next 'ding' of the elevator moving into position, then carrying on. Of course it's a damn chore! But he isn't about to let the two in the rising cube get pestered by some stupid resort shenanigan. When you give a shit about someone, you do stupid things.
Bakugo leaves the stairs behind, his current stance a bored-looking impatience with hands in his pockets and shoulders rounded. Waiting for the elevator doors to finally open and spit out its untouched occupants. Good. It behaved. The resort won't have to repair a smoldering wreckage plummeting to the base of an elevator shaft.]
Haa? I can't teleport, Parrot! [Pure speed! Is Hiyori trying to start something? Annoying dork. Bakugo turns on his heel and leads them into the fleet of Ace and Jack suites. His isn't exceedingly close to the stairwell, so it's a small walk to reach it, given the size of each suite filling the floor.]
Loki? He's the guy Web Face mentioned. A god, right? [Their footsteps stop in front of his room's double doors and he unlocks the right one before heading in. Given the length of time that's passed, most of his suite's great room is repaired and refurbished, though some open spaces suggest there are a few pieces left to get back. The remains of repair work, such as a ladder, paint, and cleaning supplies, are stacked to the foyer's side.] Che! Prince Prick's right. That's a bullshit challenge.
[Who's Web Face? Who knows! But when given the chance to explain who Loki is, Hiyori seizes it at once, nodding his head at the god question.]
Yep! But not just any god. He's the one and only trickster god from Norse mythology! Which means he can shapeshift, make copies, make things disappear, conjure stuff out of nowhere, teleport, and do all kinds of things. He showed off his magic at the Magic Showcase I held, and at one point he froze the stage and turned it into an ice rink. Then he made two sets of ice skates, and then we danced! On ice! ♪
[He smiles brightly, the memory a fond one.]
I'm sure he'd be happy to show you his magic, too. Just be careful not to get tricked, since it is his specialty.
[Is this lighting a competitive fire in Bakugo yet? Yes? No?
Either way they're about to enter his suite. Hiyori waits a moment instead of pushing Esikko inside right away, trying to assess the state it's in. The answer seems to be "better shape than last time," and that's a relief. One's room isn't a perfect proxy for one's mental state, but it's still a good sign, isn't it? A sign that things are healing. Even if scars remain, and even if they're still trapped in a horrible place where people like those brothers can roam free...
Well. Bakugo's the resilient type. He'll pull through, Hiyori thinks. And Esikko could probably be doing worse himself if he had the leftover bandwidth to worry about Bakugo. Hiyori pushes him through the doorway, still chatting away.]
Then perhaps we could find a different challenge. One that tests your explosions against his explosions! Or you and him could both launch someone, the way you launch me up the stairs, and we'll measure how fast the person flies! That sounds fun, doesn't it? Esikko-kun likes that idea too, right? I don't like most contests, but being in the judges' seat is a completely different story.
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( To Bakugo, first of all. He guesses he could have sooner, but there was a number of reasons he'd convinced himself to wait. His new suite being in the basement, requiring him to have to stay with others if he wanted to feel safer, making him a burden once more, made him want to procrastinate. Some small part of himself felt like it was due punishment to sit there alone for so long, too... But most of all, more than anything else: )
I suppose I was still just... waiting, in case someone else might show up.
( But he didn't, and Esikko still feels sad about it, feels worried that he's caused him so much trouble he doesn't want to even look at him for fear of seeing him like he had in that garage. But he runs his fingers in taps against the flower vase he's holding and tries not to think about it.
—and that is right when Hiyori makes that comment about Bakugo wanting to nurse him himself, and Esikko nearly chokes, a hand lifting to cover his mouth in response to the half-laugh half-cough sound he just made. Help. The elevator door is sure to cut off whatever snap of a response Bakugo may have to that one. )
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Same. He's pissed at the idea of a "next time," but given Esikko's track record of recklessness and bad interactions... Tch, he said he'd be more careful about throwing himself into shit situations. Gonna have to trust him on this. If there is a "next time", he'll bust him out of the hospital when he's ready.]
Hmph. [Esikko says he knows and he accepts the mixture of "apology" and promise over the incident. Trusting anything the shitty resort tells them at face value's asking to get trampled on by their psychotic "host" patron. He says nothing to the quiet comment, having already had his words about it during his first talk with Esikko. Nothing's going to change there. He should've focused on getting out faster so he could take the "see" to him.
Any other comment gets T-boned by Hiyori.]
DON'T PUT IT LIKE THAT, YOU SHITTY PARROT! [Hiyori's lucky Bakugo doesn't blast him in the back! Esikko's getting nuked by a vicious glare blazing at his face for daring to half-laugh at such a stupid comment! A bristling vanguard, he lingers long enough to watch the pair enter the elevator, then heads for the stairs.]
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[He shakes his head as the elevator doors close, before reaching over Esikko for the button that'll take them to Bakugo's high floor.
The ride won't last long, but of course he sees fit to fill that short time with chatter. It's what he does, and if he didn't feel inclined to do that, it'd be a sign that something is wrong.]
You know, I first ran into Leo-kun in one of these elevators. I was new and hadn't found anyone I recognized yet, so I was overjoyed to see his face. Then the elevator suddenly stopped, and these talking portrait ladies asked us to flirt with each other. They wouldn't move it again until we did, so Leo-kun acted like my knight, and I was his princess!
[He speaks cheerfully from behind Esikko's wheelchair, the smile obvious in his words.]
I told Baku-kun that sort of thing happens sometimes, and he must have taken it to heart. I don't think it happens that often, but I guess he doesn't want to chance it. That's just the sort of person he is: always stubborn, always vigilant, and always doing things his own way.
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It's funny that you say that. I warned him about the same thing, during our first meeting. That the elevators could do that... since the first time I arrived in this place, I experienced the same.
( But, was it really so bad? He had met Dabi in that same elevator. Still, Hiyori's words hold truth in their assessment, and Esikko can only smile fondly, pointed down at the flowers in his lap. He toys with the petals a little, his touch only ever seeming to encourage their lift. )
He wouldn't want to be inconvenienced if he can avoid it. Somehow, that hot head of his is a little cute, isn't it?
( Definitely just a little cute, and not something he's been rotating in his mind for a while now, totally— but it's fine, the elevator doesn't take long, and the doors open before too long with a quiet little ding. Still, he can spare a few more words: )
I guess it does work to cheer me up, now and then.
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Back into the stairwell. Smoke and light detonate once more, and the entire process repeats from one floor to the next, making sure the elevator is on time and track with each level. Hiyori's probably talking Esikko's head off right now. So long as the shitty elevator car isn't giving them trouble, he's not going to interfere with the ride.
Hiyori was one of three people on his first day here who told him about elevator shenanigans. Esikko was another. Enough to convince him of the real risk. He's never set foot in an elevator the entire time he's been in the resort, a year and a half later, thanks to the advice. Besides, he has more fun exercising by taking the stairs with his legs or flexing his Quirk with his jumps.
When the elevator doors slide open, Bakugo's waiting in the hall, arms folded across his chest and looking all impatient with the scent of smoke and burnt sugar clinging in the air around him.]
Took long enough.
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Yep, it's definitely cute! He'll get mad if you say so, but it won't change facts!
[What's said in the elevator stays in the elevator. Bakugo can't hear them calling him cute, so he can't complain!
The ride isn't long enough for Esikko to confide just how often he thinks about Bakugo's cute head or for Hiyori to develop suspicions on the matter. But he doesn't miss those last words, nor does he miss the quiet fondness with they're said. That gives him hope that they'll be fine—Esikko and Bakugo will be. The awful thing that just happened won't drive a wedge between them. Whoever Esikko was hoping would visit him in the clinic, and whatever is going on with that person, at least he has Bakugo. And he has Hiyori, too, so...
The elevator dings and he rolls Esikko out. He's hardly surprised to see Bakugo there after experiencing for himself how far that Quirk can fling a person, but still he comments:]
Fast! Who knew you'd learned to teleport...♪
[He turns Esikko's chair in whatever the right direction is, and off they go. Privately he wonders what sort of state Bakugo's suite is in, given the scorch marks and scratched floors he saw last time. But for Esikko it still beats being cooped up in the clinic, right?]
You and Loki-kun should race each other sometime. I'd be curious to know who's faster: the trickster god, or the "explosion god"!
[The stupid chattering continues while he waits for Bakugo to open the door and let them in.]
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What sort of competition measures actual teleportation against flight speed?
( Lightly, as he shifts to tap at his own Watch, checking for notifications that aren't there. It's a small fidget, let go of easily when they make more progress towards Bakugo's room. He has no idea about what happened inside of there, but he is curious to see if there are any signs about how he's been doing, so he wants to pay attention. )
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Bakugo leaves the stairs behind, his current stance a bored-looking impatience with hands in his pockets and shoulders rounded. Waiting for the elevator doors to finally open and spit out its untouched occupants. Good. It behaved. The resort won't have to repair a smoldering wreckage plummeting to the base of an elevator shaft.]
Haa? I can't teleport, Parrot! [Pure speed! Is Hiyori trying to start something? Annoying dork. Bakugo turns on his heel and leads them into the fleet of Ace and Jack suites. His isn't exceedingly close to the stairwell, so it's a small walk to reach it, given the size of each suite filling the floor.]
Loki? He's the guy Web Face mentioned. A god, right? [Their footsteps stop in front of his room's double doors and he unlocks the right one before heading in. Given the length of time that's passed, most of his suite's great room is repaired and refurbished, though some open spaces suggest there are a few pieces left to get back. The remains of repair work, such as a ladder, paint, and cleaning supplies, are stacked to the foyer's side.] Che! Prince Prick's right. That's a bullshit challenge.
[As competitive as Bakugo is, he's not an idiot.]
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Yep! But not just any god. He's the one and only trickster god from Norse mythology! Which means he can shapeshift, make copies, make things disappear, conjure stuff out of nowhere, teleport, and do all kinds of things. He showed off his magic at the Magic Showcase I held, and at one point he froze the stage and turned it into an ice rink. Then he made two sets of ice skates, and then we danced! On ice! ♪
[He smiles brightly, the memory a fond one.]
I'm sure he'd be happy to show you his magic, too. Just be careful not to get tricked, since it is his specialty.
[Is this lighting a competitive fire in Bakugo yet? Yes? No?
Either way they're about to enter his suite. Hiyori waits a moment instead of pushing Esikko inside right away, trying to assess the state it's in. The answer seems to be "better shape than last time," and that's a relief. One's room isn't a perfect proxy for one's mental state, but it's still a good sign, isn't it? A sign that things are healing. Even if scars remain, and even if they're still trapped in a horrible place where people like those brothers can roam free...
Well. Bakugo's the resilient type. He'll pull through, Hiyori thinks. And Esikko could probably be doing worse himself if he had the leftover bandwidth to worry about Bakugo. Hiyori pushes him through the doorway, still chatting away.]
Then perhaps we could find a different challenge. One that tests your explosions against his explosions! Or you and him could both launch someone, the way you launch me up the stairs, and we'll measure how fast the person flies! That sounds fun, doesn't it? Esikko-kun likes that idea too, right? I don't like most contests, but being in the judges' seat is a completely different story.