[oh... that hits him like a jolt, that bit of an electric shock one gets when hearing something really unexpected, but also something ... something he doesn't necessarily mind hearing? it's not unwanted. he's sort of getting the tiniest impression that Ryuji is very awkwardly trying to flirt with him, and he doesn't mind that at all, and that's sort of the last emotional reaction to it he'd expect out of himself, and maybe. maybe he doesn't actually understand a goddamn thing about any of this at all.]
[and that all jumbles up in his head in a way that makes his face feel hot, too, though most of it might be hidden behind the shades. and the words that slip out of the trainwreck that is his brain right now —]
I ... yeah.
[— wind up just as awkward, and unintentionally a bit dick-ish. oh god, he didn't mean that rudely! Dave's usually so good at being cool about everything, deflecting when something gets to him, one way or the other. but it's like every time he hangs out with Ryuji, he chips off more of that coolkid emotional armor he's wearing, and Dave is unconsciously terrified that when he pulls back that last barrier, tears down that last wall he's hiding behind, Ryuji will wind up hating the person he finds.]
[he should say something else. very belatedly, while mentally sifting through their previous conversations for something to draw on, Dave realizes that he'd accidentally referred to himself as Ryuji's Lois Lane. and suddenly, he'd very much like to just waltz through an airlock and live on the top of the space station.]
[jesus christ, Dave, say something!]
I mean ... you do, too? If I'm being honest.
[there's no air or sound in the vacuum of space. and out there, no one could hear how terrible this is.]
[he takes something of a half step away, even more cognizant of how close they're standing to each other, but then the music starts again, and Dave freezes in place, getting at least one answer to a question that had been reeling through his mind earlier. and unabashedly (in)appropriate that the song pick is, it's also drowning out the way his heart is pounding frantically in his ears.]
So. Classic rock, then. [it's both a statement and a question, and an effort to diffuse the tension. he still wants to know pretty much everything about Ryuji's taste in music.]
no subject
[and that all jumbles up in his head in a way that makes his face feel hot, too, though most of it might be hidden behind the shades. and the words that slip out of the trainwreck that is his brain right now —]
I ... yeah.
[— wind up just as awkward, and unintentionally a bit dick-ish. oh god, he didn't mean that rudely! Dave's usually so good at being cool about everything, deflecting when something gets to him, one way or the other. but it's like every time he hangs out with Ryuji, he chips off more of that coolkid emotional armor he's wearing, and Dave is unconsciously terrified that when he pulls back that last barrier, tears down that last wall he's hiding behind, Ryuji will wind up hating the person he finds.]
[he should say something else. very belatedly, while mentally sifting through their previous conversations for something to draw on, Dave realizes that he'd accidentally referred to himself as Ryuji's Lois Lane. and suddenly, he'd very much like to just waltz through an airlock and live on the top of the space station.]
[jesus christ, Dave, say something!]
I mean ... you do, too? If I'm being honest.
[there's no air or sound in the vacuum of space. and out there, no one could hear how terrible this is.]
[he takes something of a half step away, even more cognizant of how close they're standing to each other, but then the music starts again, and Dave freezes in place, getting at least one answer to a question that had been reeling through his mind earlier. and unabashedly (in)appropriate that the song pick is, it's also drowning out the way his heart is pounding frantically in his ears.]
So. Classic rock, then. [it's both a statement and a question, and an effort to diffuse the tension. he still wants to know pretty much everything about Ryuji's taste in music.]