[FIN] A New Need to Vent

[Suudonym]

"Naw, you just go ahead and keep turning your neck. We got aspirin in the cabinet." He moved in direct contradiction to his words as he said them, setting the mug down before flopping unceremoniously into the seat.

"Wah wah, so get a job like everyone else. Oh wait don't tell me, service and manual labor are beneath her." He made a distasteful expression as he took the mug back into his hand. "Welcome to real world, babe. Life's just one big game of compromise. Hard to believe anyone could make it that long without picking up on that little tidbit."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

The corner of Akira's mouth quirked upward in a sardonic smirk as Nate came to sit down, shaking his head playfully giving his roommate a small kick through his blanket.

"Yeah, I told her to get a job too, but that was right before she threatened me. Maybe she's not into anything other than her past modelling career," he agreed. "She was calling me selfish, which I guess I am. But I'd rather work on getting my s**t together first before attempting to supposedly lend my services to the community."

He looked back at the white-haired young man. "What about you? What if you were stuck in some silly arranged marriage? How would you deal with it?"  

[Suudonym]

"You think I'm into lugging a bunch of boxes around a warehouse? You don't have to be into it. It's a job. You get money that you use to live." Of course earning that money to live through doing something that someone loved and enjoyed was the ideal, but how many people could claim to be living that ideal? He imagined that Akira, working night shifts at a convenience store, would understand the sentiment. "That's that moral high ground again," he remarked. "You know, a person's first responsibility is to himself. Someone who prioritizes other people's s**t when their own is a wreck is nothin' but a martyr."

The question evoked a raised brow. "Uh. Well. That's... not really something I can imagine? All this arranged marriage business sounds like fairytale crap, to be honest. Like, people actually do that in this day and age? In, like... normal societies?"  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"How many jobs do you have again?" Akira asked curiously. "And...didn't you get that warehouse job because of your sister?" With a sigh, he nodded. "Mmm, someone's probably been watching too many movies. Can't help anyone if you can't even help yourself."

Nate's question gave the brunet a pause before he laughed. "Huh, guess not. Not in normal ones. But even some fairytales have sucky endings, don't they? I think sometimes people forget that they can be truer to real life than we know. The lessons behind them, at least."  

[Suudonym]

He raised a pair of fingers, "Just two, the warehouse and the bakery. And... kind of? I applied because I knew my sister'd been fired so there was probably an opening and hey, there was." Both of his jobs were essentially because of his sister, but he assumed that wasn't what Akira was referring to. As far as he knew, the only person aside from his friends from Ambergris and his family who knew about his sister's and his exact circumstances was Sera.

"Well, the fairytales all go on about that 'be true to yourself' crap, so I'd say the lesson to be learned is 'tell 'em to ******** off.' Life's too short to let someone else decide the way you live."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Oh. Well I don't think I ever told you and I'm not sure it counts for much coming from me, but I think it's admirable how you manage to do all of that and still keep such a...good sense of humor," he finished with a smile. "I just have one job and I'm pretty worn out by it. Two jobs like that would be enough to bring anyone down, I think, but you just keep moving forward day after day. Mind me asking if you've got any future plans you're working toward? Saving for something like school? Do you have a dream job you hope to attain one day?"

He wondered what kept getting Nate out of bed each morning; what motivated him to do what he did. Because, frankly, Akira was pretty stuck and unsure where he wanted to go with his life. The talk with Dove had just reminded him he was still in a sort of transition finding out what he wanted to do with himself once he finally did get his act together.

"I'll second that," he replied heartily. What was the saying? "You only live once."  

[Suudonym]

"Oh don't let my fresh exterior fool you; deep down I'm just a cynical, angry b*****d," he countered with a flippant shrug. It was difficult to keep up that nonchalance, however, as he thought after a reply to the question at hand. It had already been three years now. Sure, he'd never thought himself the college type, but the possibility itself didn't even exist as long as he was bound by his circumstances. A lot of possibilities didn't exist, and he was under constant pressure to draw more income. Losing either of his jobs - or, more catastrophically, both of them - would open up a massive financial hole beneath him. Even if he was keeping up with the hospital's bills, he was far, far, far from paying it all off, and there was still no reprieve in sight, not even the faintest sign that Ellia ever intended to wake. How long was he supposed to keep this up? Five years? Twenty? How exactly did this qualify as deciding the way he lived his own life?

Nate suddenly felt very tired, sinking down against the cushions. "No," he replied lethargically. "I'm just doing what I have to."  

[Kitomyx]

"...You seem to have a great deal more on your shoulders than a typical person your age should have," Akira commented, noticing Nate's apparent exhaustion. It kind of reminded him of those days when he came back from a day of his father trying to show them the ropes of their family's company. The days when he wondered just how in the world he was expected to mange something like that once the weight of that future responsibility was completely his burden and his alone.

But Nate was just a commoner living his own life without any responsibilities other than supporting himself, right? So then what could have made him seem ten years older than he was?

"I was angry, too," he murmured, lying backward to stare at the ceiling again. "And I'm still cynical." Avoiding looking at Nate, he asked, "Just what is it that you feel you have to do?"  

[Suudonym]

"Mmm..." Did it really matter if kept his circumstances to himself? In the end he didn't care who knew, only that they didn't treat him differently for it. A frown sat in his features. "It ain't a sob story," he said, the words emphatic as they were careful. "I'm not looking for pity or sympathy or whatever, so I don't wanna hear it. ...My sister's been hospitalized about three years, almost to the day. I pay for the s**t that keeps her breathing. Or, try to. Whatever." Disgruntledly he tipped the mug to his lips.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"I know," the brunet assured him, keeping his ears open as he continued to stare up at the ceiling. What he heard, though, was nothing like what he'd expected. It took him a minute to absorb the information. "How did she become hospitalized?" he asked slowly. "What kind of treatment is it? Do your parents know?"  

[Suudonym]

"She got into some nasty a** clubs," he said, the words tight, nearly muttered. "She got into the worst kind of drinking and the worst kind of drugs. Got a call one night - late late, like 4AM - sayin' she was wrecked, wasn't waking up. Hasn't woken up since. Been in a coma all three o' these years. My parents were ********' disgusted. She'd already been kind of a black sheep for a while; lived however she wanted, couldn't hold down a job, wasn't interested in school, a typical 'disappointment.' Couple weeks went by, they decided they didn't want to waste the money on her. They said she brought it on herself, she should have known what she was getting into, she should have known better. Ellia Langdon hasn't been on their radar in years."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"...Damn," Akira breathed. He tried to imagine himself in Nate's shoes. What if his own older sister had fallen into a coma and he had to support her on his current wages? No wonder Nate worked two jobs. To manage what he was doing was unfathomable to the stock clerk.

He opened his mouth to offer to help, but then he remembered Nate's pride. So instead, he tried to say something he thought Nate would say. "That sucks, man." He was still partly absorbed in the hypothetical situation of his own sister in Ellia's place. "...Do you visit her?" He also wondered if transportation was the only reason the white-haired young man left his parents, but he dared not ask. He knew he wouldn't have been able to stand being around them when they'd turned their back on their other child.  

[Suudonym]

"Sure as hell does," he agreed easily. He drew in a breath and exhaled it as a sigh. "Yeah, I drop by on my days off, few and far between as they are with the whole two full time jobs thing." He gestured emptily into the air, "I mean hell, I'm paying through the nose for that damn room. Someone conscious oughtta enjoy it, at least every now and then."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Do you...mind if I go with you to visit her some time?" he tentatively asked. "I mean...since you're paying through the nose and all. At least one other conscious person can enjoy it."  

[Suudonym]

"Dunno why you'd wanna... She's s**t for entertainment." Eh, his jokes were feeling kind of flat. He shrugged. "But I guess, if you want to."