takutomaruki | HOME/LAB [maruki family thread tracker]

The next morning — 6:07 AM

Maruki blinked awake.

It wasn’t pain, exactly, that pulled him from sleep—it was more like discomfort mixed with a foreign sensation.

Hair.

Hair in his mouth.

He gagged a little on instinct, sputtering quietly as he tried to sit up only to realize that something—someone—was tangled around him like ivy.

Ichinose.

Her long hair had become a blanket of its own, draped across his face and neck, some of it clinging to his lips, while her body was half-turned in sleep, pressed gently up against his chest. At some point in the night, they’d rolled over, completely taking over the bed’s center. Their legs were a mess of entanglement—her calf hooked lightly around his, her foot against his shin.

Maruki stared into the middle distance.

Hungover.

Too warm.

Still foggy from sleep.

But... not entirely unhappy.

He remembered Morning's words still. Touch-starved. Strange. The idea of him being starved of it...

He carefully lifted a handful of her hair and draped it across the pillow behind her, gently untangling what he could without waking her. It was everywhere—he couldn’t not smile faintly at the sheer chaos of it. She looked so small and peaceful like that, curled up under the blanket, her features soft in sleep, lips parted slightly as she breathed against his shoulder.

He blinked at her.

Then blinked again, clearing his eyes as he finally—carefully—slipped himself free from her.

His feet touched the floor with a soft thump as he stood, ruffling his hair back into something that looked marginally human. He reached for his glasses on the nightstand, slipping them on with a sigh. He was still contemplating the mild dehydration and a night of unexpected cuddling.

He stretched, bones cracking faintly in protest.

Then he checked his phone.

No urgent texts. A few missed notifs. An email from a classmate timestamped 3:21 AM. He squinted at that and made a mental note to flag it later.

And he was barefoot good god, he was an animal. He needed to get his shit together.

A few hours after Ichinose would see a pile of clothes at his side of the bed, tailored accordingly for her. A simple long white dress shirt paired with leggings. Why does he have women's clothing on him? Well, that was a mystery that Kuon was free to address.

There's a simple text on her phone. Left a change of clothes if you want to use them. If you are feeling cold there's my hoodie in the closet.

The hangover had sufficiently knocked Ichinose out - light snoring, completely unperturbed when Maruki untangled himself, and she slept on easily for another half hour with ease.

By the time she did wake, she was groggy, fighting a fierce headache - that's right, she actually got drunk for the first time in a while - and sleepily pat at the clothes to grab them and then her phone before trudging out of the bed.

Borrowing your shower!

Wouldn't be hard to find. She checked the closet for a spare towel and headed to the bathroom, cleaning up and shampooing as best as she could with the unfamiliar soaps - her hair texture wouldn't be the way she liked it, but at least she'd be clean. And the scent wasn't too bad, either, not heavily perfumed or overwhelming...

After a relatively brief shower (at least, as brief as her hair length would allow), Ichinose had changed into the offered clothes and tied her hair up in a towel turban before emerging into the apartment proper. Water. Hopefully quickly.

"Good morning!" she greeted in a practiced chipper voice.

Maruki had been writing a rather careful note in his diary on the balcony, a cigarette hanging off his lips as he read through a recent entry, pen ink still fresh.

...Hamuko-san certainly knows her way in catching me by surprise. The bag is spacious and accommodating :D Pretty useful during summer rather than carrying everything around in my pockets or wearing a thinner jacket. It helps in not relying on Azathoth for everything. Maybe she would like plants in return? Something permanent which can grow under your care. I could even get a hint at how much she's neglecting her own needs. We ended up talking a lot about...everything really. Is my smile really that deceptive? I hope I didn't end up saying something too strange. I don't even remember much from last night. Bits and pieces. And then we were sleeping in the same bed. I mean, surely if she was uncomfortable, then she would admit it right away, wouldn't she? No reason why she shouldn't. I don't remember a specific conversation we had, however. Said we will discuss it tomorrow. Maybe its not that urgent...?

His attention is diverted when he hears footsteps through the just open balcony door and he catches himself, pulling the butt away from his mouth and crushing it into the mounted ashtray. Bending down quickly, he placed the ashtray behind a small chair. He coughed, clearing his throat and the stench as he quickly picked up some peppermint and started chewing on it. He waved one hand to get rid of the smoke while carefully holding the diary in the other; pen tucked in between pages and an extended finger.

Once he was presentable- showered, shaved and dressed in a simple cotton shirt with sweatpants, he closed his diary and greeted her with a quick wave. "Good morning! Looks like someone's finally awake!" He grinned excitedly, his headache only vaguely thrumming as he ended up walking her way either way. Since he needed to keep his diary in his room.

"Please do get something to drink, it's surprisingly hotter than yesterday," he jabbed a finger behind him and passed her, making a quick note of the clothes and the towel. Ah, if Shibusawa was here he would tease the shit out of him. Thank goodness they weren't too big or small on her. "I will be right back." With that, he turned to his room to do the needful.

Back in the living room, Ichinose's bag was kept at the coffee table before the couch, Hamuko's satchel now nestling next to his laptop bag. There's a glass of water, a packet of aspirin along with a bowl holding almonds soaked in even more water.

Edited 2025-05-15 14:18 (UTC)

A smoker, huh? She thought she could smell a bit of it on him, though he did his best to keep it minimal. Detail noted internally, Ichinose moved to the living room to fetch her earring and put it on, fiddling with the ring at the end as she took the glass of water and an asprin and chugged it in one go.

...Soaked almonds? What in the world? Was that meant to be some hangover cure...?

Hmm.

She decides to stick to what she knows, instead: going for as much water as she can stomach. Her muscles were sore, bones aching a bit from being so dehydrated and drunk, but catching up on water will at least soothe things. After using the sink to refill her glass twice after she drained it, she settled back down at the sofa, already feeling free of the nausea and waiting for the rest to settle in and make the rest of the pains go away.

Once he had placed everything, he walked back in after washing his hands again so that he could further remove the smell of smoke. He usually ended up smoking at odd times such as this, and having someone over at his place meant he needed to make sure they were comfortable.

And he got nervous almost with almost every first-times. First time having Ichinose over at his place as a friend or otherwise would have left the same effect.

He walked back in, noting her silence. And the untouched bowl of almonds.

"You slept well?" He asks instead, unsure how she felt.

"I did. Hopefully I didn't end up kicking you too much," she chuckled in amusement, sipping from her glass some more. She gestured to the bowl of almonds.

"What're these soaking for? Is this a hangover cure you have in your back pocket?" she asked, a lilt of amusement in her tone.

Oh, she's amused. Maruki's expression settled into ease as he waved his hand in dismissal. "I did end up waking up with my mouth full of hair, but that's as far as it went," he remarked while gesturing at the towel now wrapped around her head. He followed her gesture to the bowl of almonds, confused by the question before realisation swept over his expression.

"Those were for you...you mentioned you liked snacking on them, so figured you would like it," he chuckled lightly as he gestured at the bowl and reached down himself for one of the soaked almonds. "It's a healthy snack to start your day with- though as for an actual hangover cure, I do have one specific recipe in mind. If you are down for something savoury."

With that, he walked past her and bent down to grab some things from the lower cabinet- already getting down to business.

He really is memorizing all of the little details about her. Charming. How in the world did someone break up with him?

She leaves the question unvoiced, settling instead for plucking a few almonds out and enjoying them. "Mmm, I've never actually soaked them - I usually just eat them out of the bag. Good for the salt fix, that way - but this is surprisingly nice too."

Relaxing against the back of the sofa, she turned to watch him as he moved to the kitchen. "I don't mind anything savory. I was going to offer ordering breakfast in if you were too hungover to cook, but if you're up for it, I won't say no!"

He sets down a few things before diving into his fridge and pulling out an open container with a towel draped over it.

"I don't usually order breakfast unless I really can't make it through the day. I do enjoy cooking at home." He grins as he arranges the pot on the stove and then gathers some vegetables to chop them. "It's actually a pretty popular hangover cure, sooo I will let you guess. Most of my ingredients are up and ready- just need to assemble them together."

"Ohh, a soup... that makes perfectly good sense, very hydrating, after all. Let's see..."

Something quick and easy, suitable for breakfast - come to think of it, he's made something for her breakfasts and lunches along those lines, hasn't he?

"Miso, maybe? The konbu would be great at providing minerals a dehydrated body's missing."

The clams were always the tricky part, given that if you were a newbie you needed to make sure you drain them of any pests or parasites before you could safely consume them.

As someone who did end up getting regularly hungover, he always kept some at bay.

"Getting warmer~ no pun intended," he teased as he tossed in some chopped ginger and japanese leek before proceeding to make the miso broth. "It is one of the ingredients."

Edited 2025-05-16 10:57 (UTC)

"Hmmm... you're probably adding some protein or carbs... extra tofu, maybe?"

A fun guessing game! With a bit of a yawn, still catching up from waking up so hungover, Ichinose got a handful of the damp almonds to start crunching on them.

Takuto paused, glancing back at her. "Do you prefer that with your miso?" he asks with a cheeky twinkle in his eye. Try again.

With that said, he easily moved the pot away from Ichinose’s view and grabbed the previous container from earlier- now opening the clams to slip them into the broth. He's done. Nearly.

"That would be traditional! Hmm... enoki maybe? Good source of vitamins... or maybe shrimp, or some other leftover seafood. I knew someone who would always save the last bits of fish from dinner to put into his miso in the morning."

Frugal! Waste not, want not, right?

Hm, maybe he could add some enoki in... he hums as he goes around the kitchen and grabs some of it from the adjacent section in his fridge. He quickly chops some of that, ensures that all the scum is gone for sure he lowers the heat and watches the shijimi clams open up nicely. "Oh-? Sustainable! I approve of your friend," he grins at the mention of adding fish.

Once he's sure the miso is dissolved, he lowers the heat completely and removes the pot. He serves more of the portion to Ichinose since he had some earlier this morning before garnishing it with some chopped scallions. "You were very hot to the actual dish, and now I am just hoping the cure is worth the wait." He chuckles lightly as he sets the pot aside, checks the stove and walks past to get some of the fruits he had chopped up earlier when he got Ichinose's text.

Maruki sets down the dish in front of her and sits beside her, holding his own bowl. There were some apples cut in the shape of bunny ears on a small platter as he finally eases up and turns to Ichinose with something like excitement.

"It's Shijimi Miso soup. Just with a few touches of my own."

"Clams! Now that makes sense. That smells fantastic, thank you," Ichinose chuckled in delight. She went right for the soup, taking a sip and relaxing a bit, the warmth washing over her as a small balm against the soreness and aches of the hangover.

"That was my ex boyfriend - he was such a penny-pincher, even though I offered to cover more expenses if he needed. Men are so stubborn about letting a woman contribute, even if she's doing better financially than he is."

"No problem," he grinned as he went back to attending to his soup, stirring the ingredients together. "These clams just eat away at the toxins produced in your system- I don't know where I would be without it."

Ah, ex-boyfriend. He remembered when she had mentioned partners to him earlier- this might be a relationship that didn't end on good terms. Better tread carefully.

"Hmm, probably because men struggle with the idea of not being the provider, kind of like a problem we bring up on ourselves," he sighs as he takes a quick sip of the broth. "Brings back memories when we used to struggle with bills too- a researcher's pay leaves much to be desired."

"I can imagine. You're all in on cognitive psience, right? I was able to pay my way around easily by selling code and getting a few programming gigs during school," Ichinose chuckled. Between that, selling EMMA and her inheritance... she's been pretty comfortable for most of her life.

"Are you also too proud to let your partner take care of you?" she asked after chewing on a clam, giving Maruki an amused grin.

"I opened up a counselling clinic back home along with being a part-time counsellor at Shujin Academy. I occasionally visit those places here, too. My Palace gives me more patients though," he explains. "It's easier to tackle the limitations of my previous profession with cognitive pscience."

Are you also too proud to let your partner take care of you?

His expression sobered a little at the mention of it. A partner.

"I wouldn't...call it proud...?" He tries as an answer, glancing back at Ichinose with an eye pinched playfully. "You would have to ask my former girlfriend that question for an unbiased opinion."

"Ohh? Was she a doting type of girlfriend, or did she butt heads with you over wanting to help out?" Ichinose snickered in amusement, curling up on the couch with the miso bowl in her hands like a cup. Warm...

"My ex would raise a fuss about me being the bread-winner. So sensitive about it, I never understood why - I tried to listen, but it just never made sense to me."

Maruki couldn't really answer her question right away- not with the way he seemed to be so utterly focused on the soup before him.

Butting heads...in a way he had always opened his heart to her in time of need. She doted on him with ideas, and he did everything in his power to spoil her too.

"Sounds like there's a reason why he's your ex," he remarked easily as he crossed one leg over the other. "Perhaps he was a little insecure. When the roles shift, even if it's for the better, sometimes people might feel... lost, or even ashamed. Defensive even." Rumi earned more than him back before everything so when her company laid her off, when she ended up in that comatose state, things felt so much more hopeless. With him saving money for her treatment to working on his research...

"...she was more of the reassuring kind. She had the ideas, and I used to do whatever I could to make them come true."

Hmm... the topic of his girlfriend seemed to really dampen his mood. That sort of reaction means he might still care for her, doesn't it? Ichinose tilted her head in thought, for a moment, watching Maruki's expression.

...Did she still pine for her ex boyfriend? ...Not really... she didn't think about him much. Even now, reflecting on him and his little quirks, even reflecting on how defensive he would get or the other things he said... it didn't feel like much of anything. That was a while ago.

"You're the most cold, heartless woman I've ever met. You don't even care about me."

He probably wasn't wrong, if even now the thought of him dumping her didn't stir her much. It didn't make her make a face like what Maruki was making.

"She sounds nice," Ichinose offered instead of vocalizing any of that, pausing to sip her soup. "It's too bad. It seems like that loss is painful."

"Painful?" He whips his head back at her, confused for a moment. Was there something on his face that made her come to that conclusion?

"Well, obviously. Getting dumped is painful, right?" She tilted her head. Wasn't that obvious? Of course that was supposed to hurt a normal person.

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