[Cut to 4 years ago when Ryuji was just hitting the puberty stage and stared at an expensive melon at the market before realizing that he was sporting a long johnson in public and had to think about his school principal before that cat came down from the tree. At least??? At least he's past that point in his life. This one was, at least, a lot more understandable in retrospect. Not that retrospect ever helps in the heat of the moment (telling him what his heart meant, the heat of the moment).
To say that Ryuji's staving off a massive blush is a herculean understatement here. He just practically dry humped his boyfriend in public? Okay, it's okay. It's fine. They're good! He's deeply in love with this guy, they've been dating a while (6 months!!! 6 months...) thinks he's about the hottest thing in any universe, so... it's okay, right? Natural kind of thing to do, and he's right- although he might have a reason to be proud of being able to do that to him, making a not-big deal out of it is definitely a way to keep his head on his shoulders.
He slowly nods at the request. Should he sit down? Try to cover himself up a little bit, because it's still... front and center, and god. God!!!]
Okay. I'm chill. Calm as a buddhist monk just meditatin' and butterflies comin' to visit his bald little head and everything.
[If you believe it, it will come true.]
What, uh. Wait, there's more? Forreal?! What else is in there?
[that is to say, keep thinking about it. maybe it'll quell the raging hormone storm long enough to also calm a bit of an embarrassing situation. even though neither of them, frankly, have anything to be embarrassed about — such is the way when you're two boys who love each other a lot, but who are maybe still trying to figure out the whole intimacy thing.]
But, yeah. Here. [first thing's first: he snatches a smaller box out of the burrito box, and hands it over to Ryuji. it's still warm. there is an inviting aroma lightly wafting. it's —]
I asked the bot for a meat pie, and it ... kinda delivered.
[— it's another callback to a moment they shared together, though this time, everyone in the room is fully aware of the actual definition of a cow pie. and the item in the box most certainly does not meet that definition. it wasn't really the kind of meat hand pie Dave was going for when he consulted Bender, but it is a chicken pot pie, and that's about as Southern as you can get when you're not able to tack a bunch of pictures of Houston to the walls in the deepest voids of space.]
[and also, Dave is fully aware by now that the Status: Hungry thing is just a part of who Ryuji is. and so, he's simply worked it into his six-month anniversary deal.]
[One day, he'll tell Dave about his principal cool down image. Nothing makes him lose it quicker than thinking about a guy without a neck who is quite possibly one of the most rotten people he's ever met. But maybe he shouldn't, actually. That's kind of weird too. When you're this much of a disaster at this sort of stuff, you come up with ways to tame the lion downstairs.
And in an attempt not to turn this into the scene from American pie, Ryuji will just take the box into his hands and let the warmth run its course into his palms. He tilts his head, soft smile splayed on his lips as the aroma wafts upward.]
Whoa, seriously?
[He was utterly distracted by the smell of it to realize that this was a gift born out of the very dream chamber of their relationship, and as he snaps to, he realizes really quick what's going on here. Their date. Up in Space Houston. And it's hard to feel his heart just fucking melt right then and there, recalling the moment that he slid a cow pie covered up on a skateboard towards Dave's direction.
Ryuji dares to peek into the box and look at it. He notices that Dave's been bringing him food a lot lately, and hell, he definitely doesn't mind that at all, but he also forgets that Dave can sense his state of being through their two way connection.]
Hey... [He's going to devour this thing. That's written in the stars, but, first.] This is just like that date we hate. Except... instead of everything goin' wrong. It's just. It's perfect. [Imagine that, a life where things aren't completely working against them 24/7.]
I dunno what to say. I got to make out with you, you're feedin' me. We got entertainment. Shit, you're just straight up amazing, you know that?
[the machine hadn't given him the food he actually wanted, which was as stark a parallel to their old date as any, but. heh. a smile creeps across Dave's face, a small to medium sized one, pleased and a little flustered, and preening just slightly that his romantic and kinda sappy ideas are going over well.]
I mean, you say shit like that and it just makes me wanna go for round two.
[oh. welp — proposition just up and blurted out, before he could stop himself, and maybe even before they could finish chilling out after round one. but he's still riding high on his successes here, and so far it's been pretty effective at stripping coyness and redressing him in forwardness.]
[to that end, he seems a lot less embarrassed about what he just said than he would have not even two months ago. Dave remembers he's still holding on to that plastic ninja and bends at the knees briefly, just kind of. stabbing the guy headfirst into the tortilla.]
[death by burrito in space. it's how he, if he were a gacha ninja, would want to go.]
First things first, though. [hefting the box in his arms, he stands. let's do a space food litter.]
[He really does think it's kind of perfect. Regardless of whether or not that this meat pie didn't come out of satan's oven to it's specified recipe, it's the combination of effort that it took to put all of this stuff together. He knows what going through those motions are like, he did it for Dave when he wanted to take him to space Houston for a night- just the thought of doing something for someone just because it's nice, and knowing that it'll make the other person feel good about, well, everything. It stands to be said over and over again, but it's just so deeply obvious that they'd do pretty much anything for each other. Without being asked, in almost all the cases.
That, though, doesn't really stop Ryuji from standing there, his forehead raising as his ears push back from the surprise at the second round comment. His own boner hasn't even completely went back to bed for the evening here, and there he fucking goes, just mentioning that he wants to do that again, and--- god, it's starting back up and he wishes he had an on and off switch for that thing.]
I'd kiss you in your mouth again, yeah, that's a thing we could do. Sign me the fuck right up.
[Wow, elegant as ever.
And as if he realizes he just said quite possibly the dumbest thing this Hangar's ever heard in its entire long history of being here, he rubs his nose with the back of his hand and tries to cough to cover up pretty much all of that?? Six months of dating and he can still own up to being this incredibly messy about everything.
Thank god for goals, though, because Dave's hoisting the box in his hands, and Ryuji, like a puppy, is very keen on following him out there.]
Yeah, alright. What's the plan? Want me to supercharge you up and you give it a good asskicking out into orbit, or you got somethin' else in mind goin' on? Just gotta be careful that we don't like explode the goddamn thing and end up shitting rice into space.
[They have launchers for the glass spheres, dude. Don't make this that complicated.]
[it's not the first time Dave has made a subtle pass like that, only to have Ryuji respond by blatantly barreling right through it — and it most definitely isn't the first time it's left Dave flustered, gripping tightly onto the box of stupidly big burrito.]
[why are you flustered, bro, you're the one who started this! both the this of right now and the this that was the second he decided to just go ahead and start a snogging session.]
[he breathes in, biting his lip, shifting the box a little.]
Was just gonna launch it like a glass bomb, dude.
[so, yeah, he was thinking about using the launchers.]
And then, uh. I guess — [oh god. Dave, you're already blurting it out, may as well just wind up and take the shot and hope it doesn't come out too terrible.]
[The flustering is always a mini sort of compliment for Ryuji, even if he wants to try and make him as comfortable as humanly possible... pretty much all the damn time. And Ryuji smiles at that, thinking that maybe he was overreacting to the strategic initiative in attempting to blast this burrito out there, when it was a lot easier to just let the moon base do what it was meant to do.
Typical of Ryuji, really.
And hey, at least this time, the view is a lot better than watching it get swirled down a toilet. God knows how it stayed completely intact as it made its maiden voyage into orbital space. Speaking of swirling, Ryuji's now reeling, realizing what Dave just said and internalizing it. Which, isn't helping his wandering teenage mind.]
You mean there's gonna be an after party? A VIP room for the both of us.
[He doesn't really have to say that. He doesn't??? but he does. As they head over to the launchers, he looks out into the vastly large globe of a planet below them. Familiar, in a way, that space has become a natural part of their relationship.]
For all the shit we've been through, I gotta say... uh. I mean. There are a billion billion other people out there. Different universes, different planets circlin' different suns all movin' around willy nilly in galaxies that we'll never see. But I couldn't think that I've been anything but extremely lucky for that one in a billion billion chance that brought us together, y'know? That I have you as my moon.
[Oh, he realizes that was fucking corny, and scratches the back of his head, smiling.]
Ahh... I guess I'm just always gonna be this sappy, huh? Still gonna love me when I'm like, practically ready for the old person home at age 40 and still sayin' shit like this?
You've been saying shit like that since pretty much day one, and I'm still here.
[light and affectionate, an awful lot like the little smile Dave's sporting right now. he tips the box like one might try to pour a giant bowl of cereal, letting his burrito creation sort of just. coagulate into the launcher's loading mechanism. it's disgusting. it's probably going to leave a skidmark on its way out into orbit, and they're probably going to get in trouble for it.]
[it's almost just like the first burrito they flushed. this one is much more flavorful, sure, but it's reached that familiar void in appealing texture of the burritos from another dimension, since it's been sitting in the box for a little while now. he loves it.]
[he loves the memory, not the burrito.]
I'll let you have the honors — and I'll let you pick out the VIP room — but there's one more thing I wanna do first.
[please hold while he just straight up drops the now empty box, cementing his status as a hangar litterer, and pats at his person, searching for something.]
[Sometimes, rarely these days, he still feels himself the incessant urge to ask things like this, even when he has every reason in the world to know the security that exists in their relationship. They're bound by a shared history, magic that left a mark on their wrists, and the affection they have in their hearts for each other, and that's, logically speaking, more than he could ever need. And yet, sometimes, he still feels that urge to ask for the reaffirmation. Signs of a childhood and an upbringing where that sort of certainty just wasn't there; he's never been great at doing anything but wearing his elbow scars out in the open like that.
Still, it's cool. It's all good. He eyes the launcher, the box, and in his mind's eye, traces a path that will inevitably end up junking this thing right into orbit. At least, hopefully. Who knows? Maybe it'll crash down right on top of the Director as she screams out in an agonizing roar of contempt for burritos. Either way, it's still a win.]
I love this tradition. [It's the best one, clearly. When does he get to hit the launch lunch button?]
[if he knew that's where the question was coming from, he might say he understood — his own insecurities, the way he worries over whether the people who matter to him feel the same way about him, manifest a bit more subtly, though. it's at least part of why he always tried so hard with the coolkid persona. it's the way he's pretty much constantly up in Ryuji's business, even when he's acting cool about it.]
[it's the way he's kind of nervous about handing over this gift, worried that it's going to wind up being a misfire. considering Ryuji just got done spreading a thin layer of sap all over space and presenting it to him like a love song, though, Dave's almost positive the worry's unfounded. but just like the million other ways the two of them are alike, he's had to grow up with that same uncertainty, too. he's better about fishing for reaffirmation than he's ever been, but the urge is still there.]
Yeah, it's a pretty fucking great tradition. Here. [eloquent as ever. Dave produces a small gift from his jacket pocket, and hands it over. it's a skateboard. a skateboard ... with wings?? intricately carved out of wood, impressively detailed so that the wheels even roll, made with a precision that Dave is most definitely not capable of — which means he got someone else to carve out this very goofy idea he had for Ryuji specifically.]
[jury's out on whether it can actually fly, but it's certainly aerodynamic enough.]
[For a few, brief moments, he just stands there looking at it, which might not play out how Dave is expecting this to go down, really, probably provides the worst sort of anxiety woes that he didn't like what he was giving to Ryuji, but give him a moment to ever so freaking gently receive the gift. He holds it in his hand, terrified that he might do something to break it after getting it, all of three seconds into actually having it to begin with. He looks back over at Dave, and then at the flying skateboard again.
Considering he only ones of one person in this entire moon base that works wood nearly as well as this, and she had offered to make a memorial for their lost friends, Ryuji guesses that hot mom-san was in on this, and with a little push to test the wheels, it moves forward. Goddamn. This is the coolest thing he's ever gotten in his entire life.]
Whoa. This is goddamn awesome. [Hey, look at this, did you know that this thing right here is really amazing? It needs to fly.
Wait, it strikes him. Anniversary? Anniversary. Oh shit.]
Thank you. Shit, I didn't. Uhhh. Happy anniversary! [Can he pull off this deception check with a -10 modifier? Probably not, but losing track of time was something he was good for. By all accounts, he knows he's 18 but has no idea when his birthday passed. At least... Dave's got a handle of.
Of course he has a handle of time? That was, likely, the dumbest thought he's had in a good long while.]
I didn't really have anything prepped to give you in return or anything. Can "I" be your present? [It's the gift that keeps on giving! He smiles sheepishly. Everything suddenly makes sense.]
[Dave kind of figured out upthread that Ryuji didn't know what day it was, if it makes him feel any better. and he's not miffed or anything — is six months kind of too early to be going all out on anniversary gifts like this? he doesn't know. the thought to do it crossed his mind once, and in a split second he made the decision to follow through.]
[he exhales a breath he didn't realize he was holding once Ryuji voices his approval. the fact that he likes it. and there's an equal measure of time where Dave feels sort of silly, too, getting so anxious over whether he'd like an admittedly silly, yet symbolic, sort of gift like a skateboard with wings. knowing Ryuji, he'd probably be thrilled with half a block of instant ramen and a few shakes of flavoring left in the packet as an anniversary gift — even if Dave thinks he deserves that, and far beyond that.]
At the obvious risk of outsapping you and your moon comment earlier, you kinda already are? [oh boy. they could drown a record-breaking pancake shortstack with all this sap they've been dishing out today. Dave doesn't really care.]
But yeah, that sounds good. Great, even. I mean — I'm not sayin' that as a joke or anything, that's really probably the best thing you could give me right now.
[like how he'd immediately hopped into a glass ball to help Dave when he'd asked, reading between the lines to see that he was asking for help in the first place. like how he'd barged in on Dave when he was sick, and insisted on taking care of him. like how he'd grabbed Dave's hand when he was in the middle of a long and anxious ramble over admitting he liked him, settling him down immediately, six months ago.]
[Six months is a rather big milestone, though, and maybe a part of Ryuji not recognizing the amount of time they had spent together was in partly due to the fact that it went by so incredibly quick. And in that span of time, there were so many conversations, so many stupid things, great things, sad things, too. He's sappy enough to say love song lyrics out loud to him, and he's definitely sappy enough to make note that every single day of these past months have been made infinitely better because Dave was by his side.
And he'd be really, really freaking stoked for a package of ramen as an anniversary gift. Hard pressed, too, whether or not he'd actually eat it and just leave it as a longstanding thing that he owns. Put it on a mantel, make a mantelpiece out of it and just lovingly stare at it from time to time.]
Nah, outsapping me isn't even possible, dude. [He tilts his head, not intently trying to make a competition out of anything, but inadvertently doing so anyway.] But you've made me this way, too? Like, I wanna just tell you everything all the damn time, and I wasn't really in tune with my feelings before I met you, but. Yeah. You've... you've really opened me up to a lot of things, and if we're bein' real here, which we are, I don't wanna ever go back to not understanding what those feelings are. Like love, and shit.
[He's rambling again, and it's not really on point of what's going on, but more the stream of thoughts that just come tumbling out of his loud mouth. Settling down a bit, he's good with that. Giving himself as a present to Dave is something he absolutely would do.]
Want me to wrap a bow around myself? [No, stop right there. Don't ruin this.] Like. Only a bow. [Ryuji smirks brightly and, carefully still holding the best gift ever, leans over to gently touch his bicep, driving it a little bit lower because he can't not touch Dave when he's being this goddamn cute.
Somewhere along the way, he wanted to ask if 6 months was a big thing for relationships back in Houston, in the same way that the 100th day is for people back in Japan, but it gets lost in all the other things that are so, so much more important to say or do right now.]
[there's ... really a lot he'd like to say here, to add on to those thoughts about feelings and how Ryuji's helped him be more open about them, or at least try to be more open about them — and it'd be easy to continue this two-person ascent of Mount Mushy, hiking their way to the top so they could yeet a burrito right off the highest peak.]
[there's a lot he'd like to say about how he feels the same, that he's probably grown as a person more in these past six months than he has the first seventeen years of his life, and how Ryuji makes it easier for him to be okay with himself — all his faults, completely accurate or just in his head, and all the unfortunate baggage and messed up past he's been carrying with him. trying to live with.]
[yeah, there's a lot he'd like to say ... but then Ryuji goes and says something else, reaches over and touches his arm, in a way that kicks every rational thought to the curb and lights up every hormonal sensor and neuron in his being.]
Is that like, a legit offer? 'Cause, yeah. Definitely.
[Ryuji should probably hit the launch button before they get too far off track.]
[It's probably not prim and proper to start peeling off his shirt in the middle of a glass sphere launchpad, but that doesn't stop Ryuji from actually thinking that it's the right idea. He's got mush for brains, mushy on the brains, and what if he just... tugged at his clothes a bit.
Is that okay? Is this okay. Is he really going to do this? He doesn't have charm, can't pull off sexy in the way that actually makes him look anything but goofy and endearing even when he tries, but you know what? Fuck it. Sure.
Ceasing from letting his fingers splay downward where they'd eventually have found purchase in Dave's hand, he wraps four fingers at the bottom of his own shirt and pulls upward, revealing his abdomen slightly, along with the little ridges of muscle that are slowly growing into place. And like an idiot that's trying to impress a 10 out of 10 beach goer, he gives a casual upward nod. It has all the cheapness of Nautica Voyage laced with the overbearing scent of Axe deodorant, but Ryuji's all about living that life where he wants to show off when he can. And it's especially stupid? Dave's seen him shirtless before. This isn't even a tease.]
I'm all yours, babe.
[What's next? Sidling up to Dave a la Marilyn Monroe and with a sultry voice singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. Paladin"?
Anyway, if this does nothing for Dave, it's probably for the best, because Ryuji quickly realizes the layers of extra he's just stockpiling onto this entire exchange, and laughs softly, tilting his head, but still stuck in the throes of how much... he absolutely, unabashedly does love this guy who's in front of him. Stripped down out of every other costume they're being forced to wear, he still will always end up being himself around him.
And now that that's over, he's going to launch that fucking burrito sky high. It's long overdue at this point, really. Let's get this baby out there in space so when Faerun finally hits their equivalent of the 1959 moon landing, then they'll get to see the remnants of what two teenagers did to keep a piece of themselves and what they stood for suspended eternally in orbit. And they're going to be so confused.]
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To say that Ryuji's staving off a massive blush is a herculean understatement here. He just practically dry humped his boyfriend in public? Okay, it's okay. It's fine. They're good! He's deeply in love with this guy, they've been dating a while (6 months!!! 6 months...) thinks he's about the hottest thing in any universe, so... it's okay, right? Natural kind of thing to do, and he's right- although he might have a reason to be proud of being able to do that to him, making a not-big deal out of it is definitely a way to keep his head on his shoulders.
He slowly nods at the request. Should he sit down? Try to cover himself up a little bit, because it's still... front and center, and god. God!!!]
Okay. I'm chill. Calm as a buddhist monk just meditatin' and butterflies comin' to visit his bald little head and everything.
[If you believe it, it will come true.]
What, uh. Wait, there's more? Forreal?! What else is in there?
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[that is to say, keep thinking about it. maybe it'll quell the raging hormone storm long enough to also calm a bit of an embarrassing situation. even though neither of them, frankly, have anything to be embarrassed about — such is the way when you're two boys who love each other a lot, but who are maybe still trying to figure out the whole intimacy thing.]
But, yeah. Here. [first thing's first: he snatches a smaller box out of the burrito box, and hands it over to Ryuji. it's still warm. there is an inviting aroma lightly wafting. it's —]
I asked the bot for a meat pie, and it ... kinda delivered.
[— it's another callback to a moment they shared together, though this time, everyone in the room is fully aware of the actual definition of a cow pie. and the item in the box most certainly does not meet that definition. it wasn't really the kind of meat hand pie Dave was going for when he consulted Bender, but it is a chicken pot pie, and that's about as Southern as you can get when you're not able to tack a bunch of pictures of Houston to the walls in the deepest voids of space.]
[and also, Dave is fully aware by now that the Status: Hungry thing is just a part of who Ryuji is. and so, he's simply worked it into his six-month anniversary deal.]
no subject
And in an attempt not to turn this into the scene from American pie, Ryuji will just take the box into his hands and let the warmth run its course into his palms. He tilts his head, soft smile splayed on his lips as the aroma wafts upward.]
Whoa, seriously?
[He was utterly distracted by the smell of it to realize that this was a gift born out of the very dream chamber of their relationship, and as he snaps to, he realizes really quick what's going on here. Their date. Up in Space Houston. And it's hard to feel his heart just fucking melt right then and there, recalling the moment that he slid a cow pie covered up on a skateboard towards Dave's direction.
Ryuji dares to peek into the box and look at it. He notices that Dave's been bringing him food a lot lately, and hell, he definitely doesn't mind that at all, but he also forgets that Dave can sense his state of being through their two way connection.]
Hey... [He's going to devour this thing. That's written in the stars, but, first.] This is just like that date we hate. Except... instead of everything goin' wrong. It's just. It's perfect. [Imagine that, a life where things aren't completely working against them 24/7.]
I dunno what to say. I got to make out with you, you're feedin' me. We got entertainment. Shit, you're just straight up amazing, you know that?
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[the machine hadn't given him the food he actually wanted, which was as stark a parallel to their old date as any, but. heh. a smile creeps across Dave's face, a small to medium sized one, pleased and a little flustered, and preening just slightly that his romantic and kinda sappy ideas are going over well.]
I mean, you say shit like that and it just makes me wanna go for round two.
[oh. welp — proposition just up and blurted out, before he could stop himself, and maybe even before they could finish chilling out after round one. but he's still riding high on his successes here, and so far it's been pretty effective at stripping coyness and redressing him in forwardness.]
[to that end, he seems a lot less embarrassed about what he just said than he would have not even two months ago. Dave remembers he's still holding on to that plastic ninja and bends at the knees briefly, just kind of. stabbing the guy headfirst into the tortilla.]
[death by burrito in space. it's how he, if he were a gacha ninja, would want to go.]
First things first, though. [hefting the box in his arms, he stands. let's do a space food litter.]
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That, though, doesn't really stop Ryuji from standing there, his forehead raising as his ears push back from the surprise at the second round comment. His own boner hasn't even completely went back to bed for the evening here, and there he fucking goes, just mentioning that he wants to do that again, and--- god, it's starting back up and he wishes he had an on and off switch for that thing.]
I'd kiss you in your mouth again, yeah, that's a thing we could do. Sign me the fuck right up.
[Wow, elegant as ever.
And as if he realizes he just said quite possibly the dumbest thing this Hangar's ever heard in its entire long history of being here, he rubs his nose with the back of his hand and tries to cough to cover up pretty much all of that?? Six months of dating and he can still own up to being this incredibly messy about everything.
Thank god for goals, though, because Dave's hoisting the box in his hands, and Ryuji, like a puppy, is very keen on following him out there.]
Yeah, alright. What's the plan? Want me to supercharge you up and you give it a good asskicking out into orbit, or you got somethin' else in mind goin' on? Just gotta be careful that we don't like explode the goddamn thing and end up shitting rice into space.
[They have launchers for the glass spheres, dude. Don't make this that complicated.]
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[why are you flustered, bro, you're the one who started this! both the this of right now and the this that was the second he decided to just go ahead and start a snogging session.]
[he breathes in, biting his lip, shifting the box a little.]
Was just gonna launch it like a glass bomb, dude.
[so, yeah, he was thinking about using the launchers.]
And then, uh. I guess — [oh god. Dave, you're already blurting it out, may as well just wind up and take the shot and hope it doesn't come out too terrible.]
I dunno, go somewhere not. Public.
[perfect. completely nailed that sentence.]
no subject
Typical of Ryuji, really.
And hey, at least this time, the view is a lot better than watching it get swirled down a toilet. God knows how it stayed completely intact as it made its maiden voyage into orbital space. Speaking of swirling, Ryuji's now reeling, realizing what Dave just said and internalizing it. Which, isn't helping his wandering teenage mind.]
You mean there's gonna be an after party? A VIP room for the both of us.
[He doesn't really have to say that. He doesn't??? but he does. As they head over to the launchers, he looks out into the vastly large globe of a planet below them. Familiar, in a way, that space has become a natural part of their relationship.]
For all the shit we've been through, I gotta say... uh. I mean. There are a billion billion other people out there. Different universes, different planets circlin' different suns all movin' around willy nilly in galaxies that we'll never see. But I couldn't think that I've been anything but extremely lucky for that one in a billion billion chance that brought us together, y'know? That I have you as my moon.
[Oh, he realizes that was fucking corny, and scratches the back of his head, smiling.]
Ahh... I guess I'm just always gonna be this sappy, huh? Still gonna love me when I'm like, practically ready for the old person home at age 40 and still sayin' shit like this?
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[light and affectionate, an awful lot like the little smile Dave's sporting right now. he tips the box like one might try to pour a giant bowl of cereal, letting his burrito creation sort of just. coagulate into the launcher's loading mechanism. it's disgusting. it's probably going to leave a skidmark on its way out into orbit, and they're probably going to get in trouble for it.]
[it's almost just like the first burrito they flushed. this one is much more flavorful, sure, but it's reached that familiar void in appealing texture of the burritos from another dimension, since it's been sitting in the box for a little while now. he loves it.]
[he loves the memory, not the burrito.]
I'll let you have the honors — and I'll let you pick out the VIP room — but there's one more thing I wanna do first.
[please hold while he just straight up drops the now empty box, cementing his status as a hangar litterer, and pats at his person, searching for something.]
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[Sometimes, rarely these days, he still feels himself the incessant urge to ask things like this, even when he has every reason in the world to know the security that exists in their relationship. They're bound by a shared history, magic that left a mark on their wrists, and the affection they have in their hearts for each other, and that's, logically speaking, more than he could ever need. And yet, sometimes, he still feels that urge to ask for the reaffirmation. Signs of a childhood and an upbringing where that sort of certainty just wasn't there; he's never been great at doing anything but wearing his elbow scars out in the open like that.
Still, it's cool. It's all good. He eyes the launcher, the box, and in his mind's eye, traces a path that will inevitably end up junking this thing right into orbit. At least, hopefully. Who knows? Maybe it'll crash down right on top of the Director as she screams out in an agonizing roar of contempt for burritos. Either way, it's still a win.]
I love this tradition. [It's the best one, clearly. When does he get to hit the launch lunch button?]
Huh? Whatcha got there?
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[it's the way he's kind of nervous about handing over this gift, worried that it's going to wind up being a misfire. considering Ryuji just got done spreading a thin layer of sap all over space and presenting it to him like a love song, though, Dave's almost positive the worry's unfounded. but just like the million other ways the two of them are alike, he's had to grow up with that same uncertainty, too. he's better about fishing for reaffirmation than he's ever been, but the urge is still there.]
Yeah, it's a pretty fucking great tradition. Here. [eloquent as ever. Dave produces a small gift from his jacket pocket, and hands it over. it's a skateboard. a skateboard ... with wings?? intricately carved out of wood, impressively detailed so that the wheels even roll, made with a precision that Dave is most definitely not capable of — which means he got someone else to carve out this very goofy idea he had for Ryuji specifically.]
[jury's out on whether it can actually fly, but it's certainly aerodynamic enough.]
Happy anniversary.
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Considering he only ones of one person in this entire moon base that works wood nearly as well as this, and she had offered to make a memorial for their lost friends, Ryuji guesses that hot mom-san was in on this, and with a little push to test the wheels, it moves forward. Goddamn. This is the coolest thing he's ever gotten in his entire life.]
Whoa. This is goddamn awesome. [Hey, look at this, did you know that this thing right here is really amazing? It needs to fly.
Wait, it strikes him. Anniversary? Anniversary. Oh shit.]
Thank you. Shit, I didn't. Uhhh. Happy anniversary! [Can he pull off this deception check with a -10 modifier? Probably not, but losing track of time was something he was good for. By all accounts, he knows he's 18 but has no idea when his birthday passed. At least... Dave's got a handle of.
Of course he has a handle of time? That was, likely, the dumbest thought he's had in a good long while.]
I didn't really have anything prepped to give you in return or anything. Can "I" be your present? [It's the gift that keeps on giving! He smiles sheepishly. Everything suddenly makes sense.]
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[he exhales a breath he didn't realize he was holding once Ryuji voices his approval. the fact that he likes it. and there's an equal measure of time where Dave feels sort of silly, too, getting so anxious over whether he'd like an admittedly silly, yet symbolic, sort of gift like a skateboard with wings. knowing Ryuji, he'd probably be thrilled with half a block of instant ramen and a few shakes of flavoring left in the packet as an anniversary gift — even if Dave thinks he deserves that, and far beyond that.]
At the obvious risk of outsapping you and your moon comment earlier, you kinda already are? [oh boy. they could drown a record-breaking pancake shortstack with all this sap they've been dishing out today. Dave doesn't really care.]
But yeah, that sounds good. Great, even. I mean — I'm not sayin' that as a joke or anything, that's really probably the best thing you could give me right now.
[like how he'd immediately hopped into a glass ball to help Dave when he'd asked, reading between the lines to see that he was asking for help in the first place. like how he'd barged in on Dave when he was sick, and insisted on taking care of him. like how he'd grabbed Dave's hand when he was in the middle of a long and anxious ramble over admitting he liked him, settling him down immediately, six months ago.]
[yeah. he is a pretty great gift.]
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And he'd be really, really freaking stoked for a package of ramen as an anniversary gift. Hard pressed, too, whether or not he'd actually eat it and just leave it as a longstanding thing that he owns. Put it on a mantel, make a mantelpiece out of it and just lovingly stare at it from time to time.]
Nah, outsapping me isn't even possible, dude. [He tilts his head, not intently trying to make a competition out of anything, but inadvertently doing so anyway.] But you've made me this way, too? Like, I wanna just tell you everything all the damn time, and I wasn't really in tune with my feelings before I met you, but. Yeah. You've... you've really opened me up to a lot of things, and if we're bein' real here, which we are, I don't wanna ever go back to not understanding what those feelings are. Like love, and shit.
[He's rambling again, and it's not really on point of what's going on, but more the stream of thoughts that just come tumbling out of his loud mouth. Settling down a bit, he's good with that. Giving himself as a present to Dave is something he absolutely would do.]
Want me to wrap a bow around myself? [No, stop right there. Don't ruin this.] Like. Only a bow. [Ryuji smirks brightly and, carefully still holding the best gift ever, leans over to gently touch his bicep, driving it a little bit lower because he can't not touch Dave when he's being this goddamn cute.
Somewhere along the way, he wanted to ask if 6 months was a big thing for relationships back in Houston, in the same way that the 100th day is for people back in Japan, but it gets lost in all the other things that are so, so much more important to say or do right now.]
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[there's a lot he'd like to say about how he feels the same, that he's probably grown as a person more in these past six months than he has the first seventeen years of his life, and how Ryuji makes it easier for him to be okay with himself — all his faults, completely accurate or just in his head, and all the unfortunate baggage and messed up past he's been carrying with him. trying to live with.]
[yeah, there's a lot he'd like to say ... but then Ryuji goes and says something else, reaches over and touches his arm, in a way that kicks every rational thought to the curb and lights up every hormonal sensor and neuron in his being.]
Is that like, a legit offer? 'Cause, yeah. Definitely.
[Ryuji should probably hit the launch button before they get too far off track.]
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Is that okay? Is this okay. Is he really going to do this? He doesn't have charm, can't pull off sexy in the way that actually makes him look anything but goofy and endearing even when he tries, but you know what? Fuck it. Sure.
Ceasing from letting his fingers splay downward where they'd eventually have found purchase in Dave's hand, he wraps four fingers at the bottom of his own shirt and pulls upward, revealing his abdomen slightly, along with the little ridges of muscle that are slowly growing into place. And like an idiot that's trying to impress a 10 out of 10 beach goer, he gives a casual upward nod. It has all the cheapness of Nautica Voyage laced with the overbearing scent of Axe deodorant, but Ryuji's all about living that life where he wants to show off when he can. And it's especially stupid? Dave's seen him shirtless before. This isn't even a tease.]
I'm all yours, babe.
[What's next? Sidling up to Dave a la Marilyn Monroe and with a sultry voice singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. Paladin"?
Anyway, if this does nothing for Dave, it's probably for the best, because Ryuji quickly realizes the layers of extra he's just stockpiling onto this entire exchange, and laughs softly, tilting his head, but still stuck in the throes of how much... he absolutely, unabashedly does love this guy who's in front of him. Stripped down out of every other costume they're being forced to wear, he still will always end up being himself around him.
And now that that's over, he's going to launch that fucking burrito sky high. It's long overdue at this point, really. Let's get this baby out there in space so when Faerun finally hits their equivalent of the 1959 moon landing, then they'll get to see the remnants of what two teenagers did to keep a piece of themselves and what they stood for suspended eternally in orbit. And they're going to be so confused.]