#SORRY THERE'S A LOT OF BUILD UP ASDFGH i actually didn't go into full detail abt his Thoughts bc i don't wanna repeat myself too much hehe

[becameundone]

WHERE: outside atticus' apartment, the marionette WHEN: 22nd june, after midnight WHO: tomo & atticus ( @pcisxnivys )

Tomo considered himself a sort of nocturnal creature; without the cover of night, he felt bare and exposed, even if the blackout blinds and the curtains drawn over them were doing a good job of hiding the truth. Or, maybe, it had nothing to do with the long, drawn-out days and a lot more to do with the reporters and news crews mulling about the town, vulture-like in the way the mere whiff of death had drawn them in. They picked at the bones of that mystery, tearing all the information they could from the locals as though it were flesh from a rotting carcass. It had been the same when his father offed himself and the maggot tabloids had swarmed in before he'd had to chance to even begin decomposing; the human tragedy at the middle of it all was forgotten, looked over in favour of the enticing glimmer of a good story.

In any case, tonight was yet another one of those nights. He knew the shape of them all too well already; he'd be up for hours, the promise of sleep dangled just out of reach but his head too full for him to bear staying awake any longer. There was no dropping by Min's place and pestering him for company, for his cousin didn't take well to Tomo appearing in the middle of night and, besides, Tomo didn't have it in him to drive. That same problem also kept him away from the nightlife, although not exclusively. For a long time, Tomo had sought distraction from his woes in the halls of nightclubs but Anchorage was different. In Tokyo and LA, he could have slipped into private rooms on the power of his own name and a mutual friend or two. He could stumble into bathroom cubicles with his tongue down the throat of a young star who was just as bound to secrecy as he was. That sort of veil didn't exist here. Tomo could only exist out in the open and right now, that sounded like Hell. He had resolved, instead, to do something different. It was a first but Tomo was okay with firsts.

Now, he had made his way to the apartment floor directly above his. Although the hallway was well-lit and roomy, its vast emptiness was oppressive. Stood there in his shaken state, Tomo felt as though the spotless perfection would swallow him hole. Nothing clung to these walls, they looked as untouched by any human hand. This place was not allowed to have flaws or blemishes. On paper, neither was Tomo. He wondered if there were cracks in the foundations, deep beneath the matte paint and sleek lacquer. He swallowed a heavy breath before approaching the door. There was no doubt in his mind that, the moment he opened his mouth, he would sound just as frantic as he felt but, if he were lucky, nobody would think that was anything out of the ordinary. Tomo wrapped his knuckles on the door and waited for it to open.

"He~y," he said, a bouncy lilt to his voice, "Atticu~s, Acchan— Acchan? Can I call you Acchan? Nah, probably not, right? It's cool if I stop by, yeah? I mean, sure, tell me to fuck off if you need to but I thought I'd just say hi." (Somehow, that came out sounding a lot calmer than he'd expected. Phew.)