angelofnaboo | [IC] Empatheias Inbox

-- ah, hello, Padmé, this is Natsume Tak-- uh, Takashi. It's Takashi. I've been, um, saving my money for a while and I think I have enough to find a place of my own.

[Have a very long and awkwardly hesitant pause.] Only, I'm...I've never gotten my own place before and...I'm not really sure how and--

-- and really, you don't need to bother yourself if you don't want to, but if...you have any ideas about...where to...and how...

U-Um, that'd. That'd be nice.

[Huuuuuge sigh, because asking for help is hard.] Thank you. I-- um. I suppose I'll talk to you soon.

[When she replies to this message, she can't help but sound amused. It's very much like the young man she knows.]

Takashi, if you need help, it would be an honor for me to assist you. However, maybe you'd like to tell me if there's an issue with the friend you said you were living with before?

[Her amusement is evident, but it does nothing but make Natsume feel more at ease. If she's amused, that means she isn't irritated. He'll sound a little embarrassed when he replies.]

No, no, not at all, she's been very kind to me. I just...I want to take care of myself. I don't want to have anyone worried about me.

[Why ever would she be annoyed or irritated by him? She adores him as the sweet young man he is.]

Takashi, dear, part of being involved with other people is worrying about them. Don't you worry about your friend if you don't hear from her after a while? Or Kyan-san, your dog?

But if you're seriously interested in finding a place of your own, it need not be in the middle of nowhere. There is an empty apartment above the one where Anakin and I live. I'm sure that Master Kenobi would like a buffer between himself and us.

[Bit by bit the natural nervousness Natsume has about every social interaction is melting away, at least when it comes to Padmé. It'd probably be troubling to her, but she's truly one of the handful of people's he's met who's never given him reason to fear them.

There's a pause, full of a mixture of emotion -- excitement, hope, confusion, then earnestly:]

Right above yours? Are-- are you sure?

[If he told her that, she'd be even more honored. Her relationship with Natsume is different from the one she has with Luke, but similar. She enjoys both

Even if the young man seems to need a lot more assurance than Luke.]

Yes, of course, Takashi. You'd be close to people who care for you and can help if you need it, but you'd still be on your own at the same time.

[That's one thing Natsume will probably take a lot of time to get over -- needing to be constantly reassured.

But now he pauses a moment and, when he replies, there's a soft note of wonder in his voice.]

I've...only one other person's ever wanted me to be near them. I'm...

...thank you.

[THat is but one way that he's so much like Anakin that it hurts her, but in a good way. And the almost awe in his voice is so sweet that she smiles gently before speaking.]

Takashi. This isn't like your home. This is a good chance for you to find a family that wants you and you want it. I'm only sorry that my family seems to be a magnet for trouble.

Besides, Anakin and I are both very fond of you. Don't forget that.

...I like your family. Any sort of trouble would-- would be worth it, I think. If you truly wanted...um. Wanted me to stay close to you.

[The shyness in his voice suddenly makes him sound a lot younger than he is, a yearning that he's kept locked up tightly for years and years.] I won't forget. I promise.

I like them most of the time too. Even if they get on my nerves. Although, I suppose that's part of being family.

So, when do you need help moving your things? I can come over today since I'm not working.

[There's a faint hint of wistfulness in Natsume's voice now -- clearly he has no idea what's normal in a family.] I suppose, as...as long as you all care for one another it's worth it, right?

Oh! Oh, um, I don't really have many things, but...if you'd like to come over that'd be very nice. [Look at him, getting better at accepting help!]

It's true that familial love does make things easier to digest.

[You know, being related to mass murderers and the like...]

Of course I can come over. After you give me directions.

[Have a pause, then a flood of embarrassment, followed by a mental map of the city, the way from Padmé's to Natsume's place marked carefully.]

S-Sorry, I should have started with that.

[She ignores his embarrassment, instead sending him silent, merry joy as she commits the map to memory.]

Don't worry about it. I'll be there in....twenty minutes. If you want to start packing, I'll bring over any empty boxes around the house I can find.

Do you have anything terribly heavy?

I know that the apartment above mine has most basic pieces of furniture, but if there's something you need specifically, I can ask Anakin to help us.

Ah, um, really you needn't worry about any...extra boxes. I don't have that much.

A-And I don't need that much either. [There's a little bit of a laugh.] I'm used to being able to fit everything into one box. It's a handy skill, I've found.

Really, as long as there's a bed at the apartment, I'll do very well.

[She shakes her head at his statements.]

That's no good. I'll have to get you out of that habit.

[She's leaving as she talks to him, making her way over to his apartment, per his excellent map.]

I can't imagine trying to live a life like that. Sure, when I'm travelling heavily, I only carry a few bags, but I require more than just a box to fill my life. As should you, Takashi.

O-Oh, well, it was...sort of a hassle when I moved if people had to carry too many things.

[An image comes, brief and unbidden, brought on by the memories -- a much younger Natsume, sitting on a front porch, hair too long, clothes clearly made for someone bigger than him. There's a single somewhat worn cardboard box by his feet, half-full of books and a few toys, with "Takashi's Things" written on it in childish scrawl.]

It was just...simpler.

[Anything she would say is cut off by the image of Takashi as a small child, obviously in one of his "between home" stages. The scene is horrifying and she can't help but be sickened by it.

It takes her a moment before she can gather her thoughts to react and speak, all the while still walking to his old apartment.]

Takashi, we are going to change that. You need more than just a box of things.

[Natsume takes a moment to control his thoughts and memories, quietly embarrassed, before replying with genuine confusion:] But I...I have everything I need. I'm happy.

...I'll come out to meet you.

[She should have expected that reaction from him. He never wants any attention paid to the horrible way he was raised and the people who neglected him.]

Life is more about just having everything you need. Getting some things you want and things that you didn't know you needed and wanted is what makes life worth living.

And I'm outside right now. Whenever you're ready, we can go.

[Natsume wants to believe the best of everyone -- even people who've hurt him. Perhaps especially those. And now he's so unsure of how best to respond that he's going to just...come outside. With a cardboard box that says "Takashi's Things" on it.

Old habits die hard, it seems.] I have lots of Kyan-san's things still upstairs.

[She takes a look at the box in his hands when he comes down and has to bite back a harsh sigh. He is a good child and she adores him.

But if she had some of the people responsible for his abuse here, a few words are the least of the things she'd share with them.]

I can hold your box of things out here if you want to go up and gather them, Takashi. I would offer to do so, but I'm afraid I don't know your current housemate.

[He seems to pick up, albeit subtly, on her disapproval, and fidgets a little until she gently reaches out and takes the box. Then he'll manage a smile somewhere between grateful and apologetic.]

Thank you. I'll be right back.

[It doesn't take him long to gather together the other things into a box of their own, and the box holding his own things is very light. The top is open, and should Padmé even so much as glance down, she'll see a couple articles of clothing, neatly folded, a few books and, scattered atop them, an assortment of dried and half-dried flowers, clearly gathered from here and there across the island.]

[Sometimes, he is far too perceptive for his own good. However, he should know by now that her disapproval isn't of him, but of the circumstances. While his life back on his own world formed him into the young man she has before her, it doesn't make it easier for her to really accept that anyone would abuse and neglect such a sweet child such as he had to have been.

Padmé takes the box from him, letting her hand brush against his so that he can tell that she doesn't hold anything against him.

And she waits patiently, vaguely noting the assortment of items in his box, smiling sadly at the contents that scream they belong to Takashi. It's a sad comment on his life that they're all so meager and yet so perfect for him. When he reappears, she doesn't even draw attention to his belongings.]

And Kyan-san is where?

[The hand brush does it's job, and Natsume has a relieved look on his face before he disappears up the stairs. When he returns, her gentle question gets a moment of confusion, before he fishes what appears to be a squeaky toy shaped like a bumblebee out of the box and squeezes it a couple times.

At the high-pitched squeaks, Kyan-san comes tearing around the corner, leaping up, first at Padmé's ankles, then at Natsume's until he's rewarded with the toy. The young man laughs, with one of those rare, unguarded smiles that he gets every once in a great while.]

Here he is. I knew that would get him. [Then, with genuine concern:] The box isn't too heavy, right?

[IC] Empatheias Inbox

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