[Ryuji's just standing there mapping new horoscopes on his shoulders, and Dave's also left there letting him, enjoying the touch, suddenly feeling a little silly for wanting to hide it in the first place. but then, Ryuji had hid his, too, so ... chalk it up to the both of them behaving similarly when it comes to the serious moments they share with each other, as they're always wont to do.]
You think so? [Dave is used to being called cute by this point. beautiful is kind of a new one, though — new enough that it lingers, like an August heat wave in Texas on his cheeks.]
[he sort of wonders if Ryuji would still be doing this if they were the regular freckles he used to have. honestly ... probably. that's what he would figure.]
I guess I wouldn't mind standing out in the open shirtless if you were ever lost and needed a lighthouse. [Dave. what? that's not very romantic, nor is that the purpose of lighthouses.]
I mean ... I get what you're saying there, I think. There's pretty much nothing to like about everything that happened last month.
[He's also really not used to calling boys beautiful. Or anyone, really, for that matter. It doesn't feel that weird though, because it wasn't like he was saying it just to try and smooth something over. He honest to god feels that way, and, yeah, he'd still probably find his regular old freckles pretty damn amazing too. If they were laying in bed, he could count them to fall asleep. He'd still try to find the little dipper there, even if his body hadn't turned into a light brite.
And sure, maybe being a lighthouse doesn't sound very romantic on the onset of the suggestion, but Ryuji smiles at it anyway. It's pretty par for the course in their weird attempts at this to begin with, and it fits with an aesthetic that Ryuji had loved to begin with. Pirates. Ships. Seas. All that cool stuff. Nothing more free than the ocean. His own perception of rebellion when he first came into his own persona. So, it fits and strikes a chord.
His nautical knowledge of the purpose lighthouses serve is also pretty fuzzy. He's a city boy.]
That's definitely a good way to anchor me back to shore. [He takes in the weight of last month's events, again. Not wanting to keep living in the past, especially not a past that he thought was going to have an end to it, he holds steady to his self-promise. Not to waste chances, because the station can take everything away if it wanted to.]
But, yeah. I think you got what I'm sayin'. [He tugs Dave a little bit closer to him. How warm is that face? Is it enough to create a space heater? Fry an egg on it?] Told ya once. I'm always gonna find my way back to you.
[And suddenly, he doesn't really feel that self-conscious about the markings on his back. It was enough to hear that he liked it. But the feeling's mutual enough to believe that... he didn't have to hide it from Dave as a way to stop remembering how shitty everything went down during the virus, but rather, accept it.]
Cool, 'cause. I'm kinda used to sleepin' shirtless. It gets so hot at night, y'know?
[the face is probably somewhere between a space heater and habenero. but he allows himself to be tugged closer without protest; they could be forehead to forehead or cheek to cheek at this point with only a little more movement, and it suddenly feels an awful lot like there's been a weight lifted off his shoulders, too. which is a silly choice in metaphor, considering his shoulders look a lot more like what's outside the closest airlock than they do load-bearing.]
Yeah? I always thought it was kinda cold in here. [because he's a cold intolerant baby who honestly probably complained the entire time he was frog hunting with Jade.]
Guess that makes sense, though. I think most lighthouses are like. In Maine or something.
[he gets the message. and he sends one back of his own: he means that if Ryuji's always going to find his way back to him, then Dave will do his damndest to be there for him to find.]
[........ wait, does Ryuji even know where Maine is?]
[it does occur to him that he's pretty much in a prime position to dunk Ryuji, as payback for the way he took the both of them out in spectacular fashion a few minutes ago, but ... eh. he's not really that fussed about it, and he's thinking that right now, he prefers standing here, being all up in his business, instead.]
[the whatever-number-decker-revenge he's on now will, as it has for the past five months or so, will just have to wait.]
[It's got a recognition factor of 4/10. Enough to know it's a state, not enough to know where it is on a map, and now that he knows there are lighthouses there, 5/10. And here he was thinking that Hawaii was his favorite. And then Texas. And now, maybe Maine.
And where Dave would've complained about the cold, Ryuji would've done the same about the heat. In fact, he's pretty sure his best friend has heard him bitch about the humidity more times than he ever actually needed to hear.]
Huh? You think so? I dunno. I was practically dyin' in that jumpsuit all the damn time. It was also really freaking tight. Maybe mine was just a size too small or something.
[You know. For those guns of his.
And it's probably high time that the both of them ditched this pool, considering they're both lacking the proper attire, but given the opportunity, he'd much rather enjoy their closeness. He's still acutely aware that the reason they ended up in here, despite the way their conversation had turned, was an act of mutiny; he's not worried about it.]
Buuuut. I guess I don't mind bein' the one the keep you warm at night. [Did he just invite himself over tonight? Yeah, probably. He's a rude boy, after all.]
[Ryuji won't hear a protest from Dave; seems to him that a heated water bottle of a boyfriend to warm him up would be a good way to cap off another simulated space day. even if said boyfriend and his pool roomba happen to be the reason why he's cold right now in the first place, as he hoists himself out of the pool, plopping down on the edge, legs still dipped in the water.]
Christmas ghosts must have been full of mercy to be saving you from permanent jumpsuit wedgie.
[Dave....]
Can we get something to eat first though? [dripping wet, apparently? nah, Ryuji said he brought towels, it's fine.]
I'm kinda thinking I might even be adventurous. Maybe I'll have a bagel instead of toast this time.
[Wedgies are the absolute worst. You'd think Ryuji would be the doler-outer of such sort of thing considering how much he bullies pretty much everyone he knows, but alas, he's never actually intentionally given someone one.]
I really ain't into my butt bein' flossed by own clothes.
[He has stories of those running shorts that used to do exactly that, at least, up until the school changed it so that there was a mesh lining on the inside in order to keep things in place. Nothing like some good netting to keep the nuts in line, either.
Which, gross.
But Dave pulls himself up out of the pool, and Ryuji looks up toward him from the pool. He's fucking scandalized, okay? Reaches out a hand and tugs at Dave's ankle a little, playful in his gesturing.]
A bagel? You sure you ain't.
Pulling my leg here?
[That was dumb, Ryuji. But when he smiles as brightly as he does like that, or lets go of him long enough to guide his boyfriend's ankles up against his own shoulders so that he can use him as a footrest, can't possibly be annoyed at his lame attempt of a joke, right?]
Aight. Bagels it is. Too fast to live, too young to die, dude. Livin' life on the edge. Of a pool.
Man, does anybody like that kinda ass flossing? Wait — probably better not to answer that.
[they're both completely gross, it's ... fine ...]
[Dave leans forward, flinging that train of thought to the wayside, then, hands gripping the edges of the pool, smirking down at his comfortable new footstool.]
But your terrible jokes aside, yeah. I'd ask the thing for a full breakfast-for-dinner deal if the last time it made bacon didn't end up a complete disaster.
Don't try askin' it for bacon cheeseburgers, by the way.
Yeah, dude. That right there is my thing. Just tickle my anal pickle.
[He answered it. He sure did answer it. It also ventures toward one of things he says immediately out of instinct and then in the dead of night will wake up and groan, realizing that if someone were to draw a Venn Diagram of Things That Are Better Left Unjoked About and Jokes About Your Anal Cavity, that he'd be there. Right smack dab in the middle.
Eh, it's whatever.]
Totally noted. Not that I think you'd try it, but don't ask for takoyaki either. They're uh. Little deep fried octopus balls with mayo on top.
[He feels like he's missing something here that's crucial and needs to be stated.]
I dunno what I was expectin' seeing what the replicators would do with tentacle meat.
[Smiling back, he imagines he's never been closer to death than attempting to eat one of those. But a bacon cheeseburger sounds great. Mouth-wateringly great, actually. Too bad they're going for bagels.]
This is gonna sound really effin' rude of me, but what's up with Americans and hamburgers to begin with?
[boy howdy, it sure has been a race to the bottom when it comes to blurting out shit since ... pretty much the day they met — though, with that one, Ryuji's definitely pulled ahead.]
What? I dunno, I guess they're the octopus balls of America. [Dave.]
It is easy as shit to find one, though. Why, are they not all that big in Tokyo?
[if he weren't already aware of the disaster that would result from it, though, he'd consider putting a burger on the bagels. ripping on the machines is easier than lamenting the fact that good tasting food is ... pretty much a rarity here, though.]
Okay, okay. Counterpoint. We now call it the Octopus Balls of America, or, OBA for short. Japan can now be Japanburger.
[As far as he knows, this far into the future, there's a good chance that neither of those things exist anymore. He's read the biopic on the state of Earth, or at least, skimmed it for the most part and knows the place is pretty sucked dry.
Imagine a world where a hamburger costs $50 because cows are so rare and hard to come by.
Damn.]
Uhh... we have Big Bang Burger back home. It's a huge fast food chain. They serve these, like, colossal sized meat terrors. Joker ate one once... but... I think he was on the toilet for a week after it. Guy's got guts.
[Oh, which also reminds him, since he knows Haru--]
[Dave is sort of in two camps at once when it comes to vital video game exposition: the "live and let live" camp, and the "live and don't give a shit" camp. which is to say, he's always relied on someone who's a complete nerd about poring over every minute detail and regurgitating it in an even more pointlessly verbose FAQ to give him the rundown on things. which is to say, Rose isn't here. which is to further say, he has no idea what any of that biopic says.]
[he'd be bummed that the AJ probably ran dry, though.]
Shit, really? [to ... all of those points of information, honestly. Texans love to brag on how everything's bigger there, so the idea of a monster horrorburger isn't what's surprising. it's more the fact that one, those sort of challenges exist out of the U.S., and two, someone actually managed to best a challenge like that.]
[but he ultimately zeroes in on the most interesting tidbit of info, here. and you'd think Dave would be curious about the story on that, how Haru came to run a fast food chain, and you'd think he'd immediately ask for it, and ... those are probably the correct things to think.]
[This is the dawning of a new age for Ryuji, who, has never once thought about asking Haru if they got free Big Bang challenges out of the deal. Hey, it was pretty obvious that if you couldn't complete it, you had to pay for it, but surely the corporation wouldn't miss a few kids meals?]
I... uh.
[Those toys were really cool, he wouldn't lie about that. Who doesn't love gacha burgers, even if you're well past the age of qualifying for eating those things?]
Man, now I kinda wanna ask, but like. I dunno. It seems kinda rude just bein' like "yo, we get free shit, right, since we're tight and all that."
[He contemplates it. Haru would probably laugh at him if he did ask.]
Screw it. I wanna know.
[And with that, Ryuji's finally going to get himself out. He's dripping everywhere, but of course, he doesn't mind.]
That kinda seems like the square one perk of being a burger bigwig like that.
[get it? Haru has fluffy hair. but, Dave doesn't have the slightest clue what a gacha burger is; if you were desperate enough for a certain Teenie Beanie Baby the people at McDonald's were usually pretty good at obliging. but he'd probably be on board with the idea.]
[in any case, once Ryuji's out of the pool, he near automatically scoots closer, bumping a starry shoulder against him, a bird instinctively shuffling toward warmth.]
Just thinking about it's making me hungrier, though. Where'd you put the towels again?
Ryuji is never thoroughly fed up of Dave's bullshit, since he keeps coming up to the back of the line and ordering another happy meal. He's hoping for the dolphin Teenie Beanie Baby at this point. Dolphins are cool.]
Oh. Ehh...
[As if he could complain about Dave scooting closer and sucking up some of the heat away from him, he'll just loop a loose arm around his shoulder all too confidently.
Little bit of a problem with that, actually. Did you just say towels? Yeah, there's definitely only one. He didn't have enough clairvoyance to know he'd need two.]
Hold that thought.
[He doesn't really want to let go? But there's stuff to do, so he pulls himself up as the small whir of Simba eating in the distance provides some BGM, and heads just outside the door of the fitness center. He grabs the towel he brought for Dave, comes back to him, and drapes it squarely around him. The loose ends of the towel extend behind his back like straight jacket sleeves, and Ryuji gives a playful tug to whoop his butt into gear.]
Cool, let's get the hell outta this wet shit, everything's all super clingy. [Just like Ryuji at the moment.
[having a weird wrestle straight into the pool when one's personal clothing supply is on the low side is ... probably not the smartest idea. but nobody ever said that either of them made smart moves when caught up in the heat of battle.]
Yeah, all right.
[and hey, Dave's probably feeling just as clingy as a pair of jeans that freshly climbed out of the pool, if the way he pretty much takes that arm-around-the-boyfriend mantle for himself once he's on his feet is any indicator. also, towel on his own shoulders or not, Ryuji's still the warmest thing he could be attached to right now.]
[and that's just the way he likes it.]
[he doesn't even remember Simba's heinous transgression against him that led to this entire situation to begin with — and honestly, even if he did, he'd still be pretty cool with this outcome anyway. bagels. hanging out. reacting to each other's weird word choices. falling asleep, as warm and safe as he can be in this place.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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You think so? [Dave is used to being called cute by this point. beautiful is kind of a new one, though — new enough that it lingers, like an August heat wave in Texas on his cheeks.]
[he sort of wonders if Ryuji would still be doing this if they were the regular freckles he used to have. honestly ... probably. that's what he would figure.]
I guess I wouldn't mind standing out in the open shirtless if you were ever lost and needed a lighthouse. [Dave. what? that's not very romantic, nor is that the purpose of lighthouses.]
I mean ... I get what you're saying there, I think. There's pretty much nothing to like about everything that happened last month.
But I do really like the way you look right now.
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[He's also really not used to calling boys beautiful. Or anyone, really, for that matter. It doesn't feel that weird though, because it wasn't like he was saying it just to try and smooth something over. He honest to god feels that way, and, yeah, he'd still probably find his regular old freckles pretty damn amazing too. If they were laying in bed, he could count them to fall asleep. He'd still try to find the little dipper there, even if his body hadn't turned into a light brite.
And sure, maybe being a lighthouse doesn't sound very romantic on the onset of the suggestion, but Ryuji smiles at it anyway. It's pretty par for the course in their weird attempts at this to begin with, and it fits with an aesthetic that Ryuji had loved to begin with. Pirates. Ships. Seas. All that cool stuff. Nothing more free than the ocean. His own perception of rebellion when he first came into his own persona. So, it fits and strikes a chord.
His nautical knowledge of the purpose lighthouses serve is also pretty fuzzy. He's a city boy.]
That's definitely a good way to anchor me back to shore. [He takes in the weight of last month's events, again. Not wanting to keep living in the past, especially not a past that he thought was going to have an end to it, he holds steady to his self-promise. Not to waste chances, because the station can take everything away if it wanted to.]
But, yeah. I think you got what I'm sayin'. [He tugs Dave a little bit closer to him. How warm is that face? Is it enough to create a space heater? Fry an egg on it?] Told ya once. I'm always gonna find my way back to you.
[And suddenly, he doesn't really feel that self-conscious about the markings on his back. It was enough to hear that he liked it. But the feeling's mutual enough to believe that... he didn't have to hide it from Dave as a way to stop remembering how shitty everything went down during the virus, but rather, accept it.]
Cool, 'cause. I'm kinda used to sleepin' shirtless. It gets so hot at night, y'know?
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Yeah? I always thought it was kinda cold in here. [because he's a cold intolerant baby who honestly probably complained the entire time he was frog hunting with Jade.]
Guess that makes sense, though. I think most lighthouses are like. In Maine or something.
[he gets the message. and he sends one back of his own: he means that if Ryuji's always going to find his way back to him, then Dave will do his damndest to be there for him to find.]
[........ wait, does Ryuji even know where Maine is?]
[it does occur to him that he's pretty much in a prime position to dunk Ryuji, as payback for the way he took the both of them out in spectacular fashion a few minutes ago, but ... eh. he's not really that fussed about it, and he's thinking that right now, he prefers standing here, being all up in his business, instead.]
[the whatever-number-decker-revenge he's on now will, as it has for the past five months or so, will just have to wait.]
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And where Dave would've complained about the cold, Ryuji would've done the same about the heat. In fact, he's pretty sure his best friend has heard him bitch about the humidity more times than he ever actually needed to hear.]
Huh? You think so? I dunno. I was practically dyin' in that jumpsuit all the damn time. It was also really freaking tight. Maybe mine was just a size too small or something.
[You know. For those guns of his.
And it's probably high time that the both of them ditched this pool, considering they're both lacking the proper attire, but given the opportunity, he'd much rather enjoy their closeness. He's still acutely aware that the reason they ended up in here, despite the way their conversation had turned, was an act of mutiny; he's not worried about it.]
Buuuut. I guess I don't mind bein' the one the keep you warm at night. [Did he just invite himself over tonight? Yeah, probably. He's a rude boy, after all.]
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Christmas ghosts must have been full of mercy to be saving you from permanent jumpsuit wedgie.
[Dave....]
Can we get something to eat first though? [dripping wet, apparently? nah, Ryuji said he brought towels, it's fine.]
I'm kinda thinking I might even be adventurous. Maybe I'll have a bagel instead of toast this time.
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[Wedgies are the absolute worst. You'd think Ryuji would be the doler-outer of such sort of thing considering how much he bullies pretty much everyone he knows, but alas, he's never actually intentionally given someone one.]
I really ain't into my butt bein' flossed by own clothes.
[He has stories of those running shorts that used to do exactly that, at least, up until the school changed it so that there was a mesh lining on the inside in order to keep things in place. Nothing like some good netting to keep the nuts in line, either.
Which, gross.
But Dave pulls himself up out of the pool, and Ryuji looks up toward him from the pool. He's fucking scandalized, okay? Reaches out a hand and tugs at Dave's ankle a little, playful in his gesturing.]
A bagel? You sure you ain't.
Pulling my leg here?
[That was dumb, Ryuji. But when he smiles as brightly as he does like that, or lets go of him long enough to guide his boyfriend's ankles up against his own shoulders so that he can use him as a footrest, can't possibly be annoyed at his lame attempt of a joke, right?]
Aight. Bagels it is. Too fast to live, too young to die, dude. Livin' life on the edge. Of a pool.
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[they're both completely gross, it's ... fine ...]
[Dave leans forward, flinging that train of thought to the wayside, then, hands gripping the edges of the pool, smirking down at his comfortable new footstool.]
But your terrible jokes aside, yeah. I'd ask the thing for a full breakfast-for-dinner deal if the last time it made bacon didn't end up a complete disaster.
Don't try askin' it for bacon cheeseburgers, by the way.
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[He answered it. He sure did answer it. It also ventures toward one of things he says immediately out of instinct and then in the dead of night will wake up and groan, realizing that if someone were to draw a Venn Diagram of Things That Are Better Left Unjoked About and Jokes About Your Anal Cavity, that he'd be there. Right smack dab in the middle.
Eh, it's whatever.]
Totally noted. Not that I think you'd try it, but don't ask for takoyaki either. They're uh. Little deep fried octopus balls with mayo on top.
[He feels like he's missing something here that's crucial and needs to be stated.]
I dunno what I was expectin' seeing what the replicators would do with tentacle meat.
[Smiling back, he imagines he's never been closer to death than attempting to eat one of those. But a bacon cheeseburger sounds great. Mouth-wateringly great, actually. Too bad they're going for bagels.]
This is gonna sound really effin' rude of me, but what's up with Americans and hamburgers to begin with?
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What? I dunno, I guess they're the octopus balls of America. [Dave.]
It is easy as shit to find one, though. Why, are they not all that big in Tokyo?
[if he weren't already aware of the disaster that would result from it, though, he'd consider putting a burger on the bagels. ripping on the machines is easier than lamenting the fact that good tasting food is ... pretty much a rarity here, though.]
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[As far as he knows, this far into the future, there's a good chance that neither of those things exist anymore. He's read the biopic on the state of Earth, or at least, skimmed it for the most part and knows the place is pretty sucked dry.
Imagine a world where a hamburger costs $50 because cows are so rare and hard to come by.
Damn.]
Uhh... we have Big Bang Burger back home. It's a huge fast food chain. They serve these, like, colossal sized meat terrors. Joker ate one once... but... I think he was on the toilet for a week after it. Guy's got guts.
[Oh, which also reminds him, since he knows Haru--]
Haru's the kinda sorta CEO of the thing, too.
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[he'd be bummed that the AJ probably ran dry, though.]
Shit, really? [to ... all of those points of information, honestly. Texans love to brag on how everything's bigger there, so the idea of a monster horrorburger isn't what's surprising. it's more the fact that one, those sort of challenges exist out of the U.S., and two, someone actually managed to best a challenge like that.]
[but he ultimately zeroes in on the most interesting tidbit of info, here. and you'd think Dave would be curious about the story on that, how Haru came to run a fast food chain, and you'd think he'd immediately ask for it, and ... those are probably the correct things to think.]
That mean y'all get free burgers or what?
[oh. never mind.]
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[This is the dawning of a new age for Ryuji, who, has never once thought about asking Haru if they got free Big Bang challenges out of the deal. Hey, it was pretty obvious that if you couldn't complete it, you had to pay for it, but surely the corporation wouldn't miss a few kids meals?]
I... uh.
[Those toys were really cool, he wouldn't lie about that. Who doesn't love gacha burgers, even if you're well past the age of qualifying for eating those things?]
Man, now I kinda wanna ask, but like. I dunno. It seems kinda rude just bein' like "yo, we get free shit, right, since we're tight and all that."
[He contemplates it. Haru would probably laugh at him if he did ask.]
Screw it. I wanna know.
[And with that, Ryuji's finally going to get himself out. He's dripping everywhere, but of course, he doesn't mind.]
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[get it? Haru has fluffy hair. but, Dave doesn't have the slightest clue what a gacha burger is; if you were desperate enough for a certain Teenie Beanie Baby the people at McDonald's were usually pretty good at obliging. but he'd probably be on board with the idea.]
[in any case, once Ryuji's out of the pool, he near automatically scoots closer, bumping a starry shoulder against him, a bird instinctively shuffling toward warmth.]
Just thinking about it's making me hungrier, though. Where'd you put the towels again?
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[NO, STOP, DON'T FALL INTO THIS PATTERN.
Ryuji is never thoroughly fed up of Dave's bullshit, since he keeps coming up to the back of the line and ordering another happy meal. He's hoping for the dolphin Teenie Beanie Baby at this point. Dolphins are cool.]
Oh. Ehh...
[As if he could complain about Dave scooting closer and sucking up some of the heat away from him, he'll just loop a loose arm around his shoulder all too confidently.
Little bit of a problem with that, actually. Did you just say towels? Yeah, there's definitely only one. He didn't have enough clairvoyance to know he'd need two.]
Hold that thought.
[He doesn't really want to let go? But there's stuff to do, so he pulls himself up as the small whir of Simba eating in the distance provides some BGM, and heads just outside the door of the fitness center. He grabs the towel he brought for Dave, comes back to him, and drapes it squarely around him. The loose ends of the towel extend behind his back like straight jacket sleeves, and Ryuji gives a playful tug to whoop his butt into gear.]
Cool, let's get the hell outta this wet shit, everything's all super clingy. [Just like Ryuji at the moment.
Even though he was harshly betrayed.]
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Yeah, all right.
[and hey, Dave's probably feeling just as clingy as a pair of jeans that freshly climbed out of the pool, if the way he pretty much takes that arm-around-the-boyfriend mantle for himself once he's on his feet is any indicator. also, towel on his own shoulders or not, Ryuji's still the warmest thing he could be attached to right now.]
[and that's just the way he likes it.]
[he doesn't even remember Simba's heinous transgression against him that led to this entire situation to begin with — and honestly, even if he did, he'd still be pretty cool with this outcome anyway. bagels. hanging out. reacting to each other's weird word choices. falling asleep, as warm and safe as he can be in this place.]