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[Ryuji's pretty great at standing out in a crowd himself? usual access to hair bleach or not. but nah, he's not sitting, he's just standing next to a table, a plate of the usual toast set there, as he'd apparently planned to sit himself down to eat. he lifts a hand to wave back.]

Hey.

[but then, before he could enjoy a helping of space toast, something suddenly came up. literally. his open palm closes, save for one finger pointing straight up.]

[because there appears to be clothing stuck to the ceiling.]

H...ey. [His eyes follow Dave's upward pointing gesture, not sure what he's just signed himself up for. And when he sees what's dangling up there, he's not sure he's ready to believe this hardboiled bullshit that's going on.]

Seriously? Is this forreal?

[It hits him that they're probably being actively haunted again. Which is dumb as balls, because it's been at least a week since Ryuji flushed anything completely egregious down the toilet. A WEEK.]

Oh hell no. Not this goddamn bullshit again.

[Again.]

When Hajime was havin' a movie night, I tossed a piece of popcorn up in the air to catch it in my mouth and it just started floatin' up in the air like the shit was possessed.

[He wanted to eat it so badly! Ryuji chased it around until Hajime caught his attention and he lost focus of it. Still had no idea that the only reason it was going down like that was because of Jedi magic tricks.]

[it's no wonder the ghosts are out to get them, considering all the crimes against toilets they commit, probably to the detriment of both the station itself and the other poor bastards on board the thing with them.]

Huh. Did you ever catch it?

[he needs the denouement here, Ryuji, help a bro out. did the popcorn live to float on and become a stale kernel lodged in the ceiling or what?]

[... wait, hang on. focus, Dave.]

I'm gonna go fetch whatever that is. I mostly just wanted a witness.

No...

[He looks so dejected when he says it, like he had just come up second in a race he really wanted to win. Sure, he had an entire bowl of popcorn with equally delicious treats to devour wholly, but none of them were as tantalizing as his white whale. He'll never know, either, that it wasn't the ghosts doing it. Unless Hajime told him.]

It was the one that got away.

[Speaking of getting away, this doesn't really have anything to do with the clothing just hanging from the ceiling. He should probably do the floating thing and take it down. He'll be Dave's cheer boy from the sidelines. Witness.

It's definitely more amusing than mulling over the pros and cons of accepting a contract with an unknown devilish entity.]

Anyway. I'll spot check you, dude. Like lighting weights, you gotta have a guy to make sure you don't end up like that scene in Billy Bonka where the kid starts flyin' up to the ceiling fan and has to burp to get down.

[there is something about Ryuji's sad, defeated puppy expression that somehow strikes him like a tuning fork, to the point where Dave actually starts moving to go fetch some popcorn from the replicators. like, he's pretty much instinctually drawn to fixing that frown ASAP. make up for the popcorn colonel of the SS Haunted Reverie that managed to escape.]

[but he doesn't even have time to do that, or really even consider it, before —]

Billy .... Bonka.

[before Ryuji goes ahead and lobs a copyright infringement-free dodgeball at him. and Dave does not actually make a move to dodge. it just smacks him completely square in the face. he is out. there's no tagging him back in this round.]

[..............]

[no ... don't think about this too hard!! think about ascending to the ceiling, instead, where copyright laws can't follow. he pulls two jackets away from whatever's keeping them pinned to the ceiling, dropping them down without really giving them a second look, because the "whatever's keeping them pinned to the ceiling" is as much strange as it is an old and familiar friend, and that catches his attention instantly. but the jackets are blue. they're warm and comfortably sized. you know which ones they are.]

[also, Dave seems to have found a skateboard.]

Edited 2018-10-09 21:20 (UTC)

[Did he stutter?

He doesn't think he did. Billy Bonka and the Chocolate Factory, right? That's what he was talking about here. How could Dave never have seen such a timeless classic?

And he doesn't know why Dave starts to go in the opposite direction at first, either, but boy... would he be entirely too stoked about wanting to get him popcorn just because some ghost felt the urge to deny him of the simple pleasures in life. That's cute, dude. But it comes and goes without further question, because that motion must've been a wind up to the pitch of Dave just floating right on up to the ceiling.

Ryuji still thinks it's kind of cool, even though his arms are crossed and he's trying to play it off like it's just normal, everyday stuff.]

What's up th--- ARR--- [Immediately, as the jackets begin to drop down to the floor, he tries to catch them both. One lands squarely on his face, and the other in his arms like he's just caught Ra......pun...zel... leaping out of her high tower.

Goddamnit.

[He's struggling to not let one of them hit he floor while not getting his head stuck into a sleeve, and, God, Ryuji- there's a chair right there, it's not like you have to work very hard to make that happen.]

[okay, they're going to have a long and hopefully productive conversation about everything wrong with Billy Bonka in a few minutes. assuming Dave doesn't get distracted.]

[but he certainly could answer that question, as he floats back down, skateboard that seems to have that same glitchy texture as the sord..... and that one pair of shades in tow. he could even, once he's back in range, help Ryuji out with his clothing malfunction there.]

[you know what else Dave could do? he could sit back and watch for a few, to see if Ryuji manages to literally thumb wrestle his way out of a pair of letter jackets.]

[... hm.]

[decisions....]

Dude, hold still. [he reaches forward and plucks the errant coat off of his head. there you go, Ryugenie, you're free.]

[Coming back up for air feels amazing. There are bright lights in the room again, and he's not stumbling over himself to try and treat these ghostly garments with the respect they deserve. Are they unidentifiable? Maybe a good wash in the laundromat would reveal their true armor bonuses.

And once the entire spectacle dies down, he looks at the skateboard. It's hard to make heads or tails of it, like he's looking into a piece of purely fabricated bullshit, and he's seen two artifacts that had the same qualities. And has nil patience for any of its bullshit by this point.]

... Dude... is this forreal...

[But he's also somewhat amused by the fact that Dave can hold onto it. It's like these things come with levels of fried- gently to a golden brown or blackened and willing to crumple away, begging for its own non-existence to be brought back to it. Like the shades, he's guessing this is more the former than the latter. Better to pay attention to something actually real, like the varsity jacket in his arms.]

Whatcha think this stands for?

Completely for real.

[as if to prove his point (??) Dave releases his grip on the skateboard. and as if the logistics of Unreal Air itself wasn't already a point of contention, despite the fact that it's true that the both of them are very familiar with this particular brand of bullshit, it just ... starts floating to the ceiling again. nary a care in the world.]

[It is RIDICULOUS what kind of air this thing is getting. Dude come get the ruler check this out.]

[anyway, with that subject back on the ceiling, he turns the jacket he grabbed over in his hands to get a better look at it.]

No idea, though. You're the sportsball guy in this relationship, I figure you've got a better shot of guessing right than I do.

[He's so fucking tilt over this. Ryuji doesn't exactly know why he's tilting, but he sure is, and it's written right on his expression of incredulity as the goddamn thing just happily joins the ceiling like the floor was literally made out of lava.]

Did you. Did you really just.

[With a free hand, he covers his face, index finger reaching just between his eyebrows as his palm eclipses his nose and mouth.]

You just let that thing go back up there after all that work you did grabbing it and getting its bullshit ass back down here.

[Yeah, that's probably the point of contention he has over the entire thing, to be honest.]

Uh... [Oh?

Oh.

Oh.]

Thumb wrestling... championship.

Well, yeah, there's a reason it's called Unreal Air.

[and for all the tilt Ryuji may be feeling over it, the usual subtle signs are all pointing to Dave being equally pretty goddamn pleased with himself. the way he sort of half rolls his shoulders in a casual shrug. the light smirk that sticks around a few seconds longer than usual.]

[because there are a lot of things that he likes about Ryuji — and pissing him off via Homestuck mechanics happens to be somewhere toward the top of that list.]

[— wait what.]

Thumb wrestling championship. [.................]

So ... what, the ghosts are building us up for the pay-per-view rematch?

[don't get Dave wrong, he's still going to wear the shit out of it — in fact, he's already pulling on the one he was holding. it's warm. it's a callback to how a moment that started off pretty shitty turned out pretty fucking great, all things considered.]

[it's ironic.]

Yeah. Probably. I don't think they know how badly the ratings cherry bombed last time.

[Casually said, of course. Ryuji watches Dave pull on the jacket, almost expecting it to blow up or immediately rip in true ghost knockoff fashion. But when nothing happens, it strikes him that the second one... is probably meant for him? Like, it was all too contextual to the both of them for it not to be.

Oh.

Cool?

Cool. He'll put his own on. This is pretty sick. Comfortable as hell, too.]

Swag. [Ryuji doesn't think it's ironic at all, for the record.]

Did they? I thought the ending was pretty good.

[Ryuji was obviously the first person he thought to ask to bear witness to some clothes stuck to the ceiling, so maybe it isn't as much of a coincidence as it feels that he's here to claim a jacket that seems to be completely intended for him.]

[Dave digs around for a few seconds and finds a smile. it's small, but pretty blatant, because aside from being possibly tricked into winning another thumb wrestling match, for once, it doesn't feel like this is an underhanded ghost gift. it isn't an apple that had a flavor of temptation to it, nearly sending him veering off somewhere really stupid on the timeline. it isn't a comic taped to the wall.]

[far as he can figure, it's just ... something nice that he can share with his boyfriend. no strings, aside from the ones stitching fabric together, attached.]

I guess I don't mind winning again, if it's a rematch they really wanna see.

[He absolutely has the ability to feel his own sleeve and not bother Dave with wanting to touch it, but then again, it comes with the added bonus of being physically intimate, so Ryuji approaches, and tests out the fabric on him. Lets his fingers trail down the side to pick up how well put together these actually are.

And as if he knew he was spending way too much time on that, he lifts his head upward and meets Dave at eye level. A really stupidly complacent look dances dopishly around his features until he smiles. He's excited, and it's hard to contain himself sometimes.]

God, not only are you the world's biggest cheater, but also, like, the world's biggest brag. [Also two traits he could wear just as well as these jackets.]

But, shit. We're this station's top power couple. [Don't ever say that??? again???] Matching outfits 'n everything.

[It's unbearable how wide his smile is right now.]

Power couple?

[you'd think he'd groan over that, but ... nah. he's still saving any noises of disapproval for Billy Bonka's existence — which he has not forgotten about, and will absolutely be bringing it back up at a time that's in equal measures inconvenient and inappropriate.]

[no, honestly, he doesn't really disagree with Ryuji here. the two of them, put together, have managed to evolve into some really bizarre force of nature, a spark plug and a kid who likes rapping way too much that somehow managed to convince murderous ghosts to throw them a relevant bone by being terrible at thumb wrestling.]

[so he doesn't really think Ryuji is wrong. that's why he lifts a hand to catch Ryuji's as it trails down his arm.]

Eh, it's fine. I don't mind being all those nouns if it means I get to match with you.

[WOW. a patented Dave Strider statement, in that it's jammed with multiple meanings, but this one comes with a bonus of being sappy as shit. he bites his lip, instinctively wanting to toss a joke in there, too, but ... but.]

[he just leaves it. because it's true.]

[Smooth, Dave Strider.

Really. Really. Fucking smooth.

It forces Ryuji's cheeks to tinge a different color, and goddamnit if those words don't get to him with the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. Funny how a few months ago, someone copping his style would've sent him full tilt, and now an earnest comment like that gets the dokis raring up to go like a Harley.

And in a way, it sort of makes up his mind, right here. About this whole Devil bullshit. Sure, someone with a silk tongue could probably swindle Ryuji out of everything he ever saved up, both in the realm of dollars and sense here, but even with everything that she had promised him, up to and including enough strength to protect the people he can't live without... just.

Fuck it.

He can do it on his own. He can handle it just fine as it is. It's probably one of those stupid teenager moments, when one person thinks they're actually Superman because they've got a heart to protect, but Ryuji is right there in it. Invincible, in a way, because he's got a matching jacket for armor and, well, Dave. It's more than just a good vibe. It's everything to him right now.

Ryuji watches him bite his lip and knows that it's because there's something he wants to follow up with that, but unfortunately, whether or not Dave was planning on letting loose into a joke, he's not going to get the chance. There comes a point where Ryuji just can't take it any more, and with a tug backwards to their linked hands.

He goes right for it.]

[maybe there's something to be said about the embarrassing comic book metaphor they keep falling back on, that served as a catalyst that led them to where they're standing right now — because if there's one thing Superman's gotten really fucking good at, it's sweeping Lois Lane right off his feet.]

[and for a second he's trapped between surprise and finally reaching a collapse of the tension that had been building since the first time they tried to kiss, before the power rudely shut off both itself and the date they were having, and a mild internal flailing over what he's supposed to be doing with his hands, and should he try to move his shades out of the way? and.]

[and then those last two thoughts he was fretting over are pretty much flung to the wayside as instinct takes over instead. tension's replaced with an immense satisfaction over finally getting something he's been wanting for months, while they were both still working at their own sedate pace toward it. and even though instinct's guiding his hands right now, they don't really know what they're supposed to be doing either — but one hand does find its way up to Ryuji's head, fingers sliding through hair that may not even be bleached anymore, trying to somehow pull him closer, trying to show that Ryuji's decision to just go for it and kiss him was a move that was more than welcome.]

[who cares if his shades get smudged? Dave doesn't.]

[also, it should be pointed out that this makes Unreal Air a really bizarre version of mistletoe that's as unique to them as ever.]

[Tech Deck the halls, dude, because Ghost Christmas is upon them. The TP was hung by the deck four rooms with care, in hope that some shit sin tubes would still be there. And all through the mess hall, this goddamn mess over here is unfolding. It's the crescendo of hormones that had waited until the exact spot in time to deliver the coup de grace to whatever the hell that had put its hand in front of Ryuji's face, telling him to stop.

Probably something stupid. Worried that he'd blow it. He'd swing and miss before the sportsball even passed over goal plate. Ryuji might not have an exactly keen sense of how this is all supposed to play out, and maybe... just maybe he's seen a few romance movies here or there, or maybe it's just because it feels natural to do so, he takes the otherwise occupied pair of hands that are conjoined and guides Dave's hand to his side, so that he could mirror the gesture and hold him back in kind. The other moves up to that... so, so adorable squishy cheek of his as he cups his face, pinky and ring finger just at the turn of cheekbone.

Finally.

It's not as terrifying as he thought it would be, indicative of pretty much... everything that's happened in the intimacy department between the both of them, and those shades of his are going to be smudged to hell with how inept Ryuji is at figuring out the angle that this is supposed to happen. He'll learn. He'll get it right, but right now, he was so hastily excited that he had done it, that it'll just have to be a little off.

And just like that, yeah, this is absolutely his first kiss, and it strikes him that he doesn't actually know what's supposed to happen next, because his urges are definitely there to just press on and turn this from a release of pent up feelings that he's had for months into something that would make both of them flush into nonexistence, probably. Maybe. Ryuji pulls back for a second, and it's dizzying how much vertigo it's giving him, but he'll place another one just a little more off center than the last, at least by the degree of one whole lip as Ryuji manages a kiss against his upper lip.

And of course, breathe through a smile and a short apology for it, caught somewhere between a laugh and an exhale.]

[Dave's spent an embarrassing amount of time before this moment trying to imagine how things would have gone if Kristoff had paid the utilities, if the date Ryuji had set up for them ended the way it was intended to. or, rather — he's been imagining what would have happened if he had just kept his cool and gone in for a kiss like he'd wanted, an absence of lights to shine on paper photos of Houston or not.]

[though ... this is going pretty much exactly the way the two of them usually work things out, too. it's another one of those moments between them that simply forged itself naturally, a branch winding its way through a serious conversation over what it means to change, to a slight tilting over a skateboard stuck to the ceiling, on its way to the sunlight, a resulting defining moment in the relationship they've been building up together.]

[it's the way offhand, blurted out thoughts seem to blow up into something much more significant. it's the way they tried to hold hands through a planchette. it's the way an assault by a pool roomba led to the conclusion that they're both into each other's appearances, and as it turns out, okay with their own.]

[it's the way Ryuji kind of misses when he goes in for a second kiss, and Dave can't help but laugh a little, too. one of those very rare, much wider smiles spreads across his features, and it kind of feels like he's had the wind snatched right out of him. which is kind of funny, isn't that supposed to be Ryuji's weakness?]

[Dave's got about as much of an idea on what happens next as Ryuji does, so he just goes ahead and does the first thing that comes to mind: he kicks the "what happens next" can down the road, letting his hand trail down through Ryuji's hair, settling at the back of his neck to gently keep him right where he is for just a few more minutes, so Dave can close the gap again and try this "just going for it" thing for himself.]

[and his aim for Ryuji's lips is true, though maybe lacking in the finesse he tends to have in activities that aren't kissing his boyfriend. but just like Ryuji, he'll get there with time.]

[It seems like the elemental proclivities aren't the only thing that's in play here, either. For someone who has Goku in his heart, Dave's the one that's repping the monkey see, monkey do aesthetic pretty damn well. And if he has sucked the wind right out of his boyfriend, then what's supposed to come for Ryuji is basically being dumped straight onto his ass, which, okay, that's exactly what's happening here.

Except the part where Ryuji is actually standing pretty well on his own two feet here.

God, the lengths he would go to just to see that sort of smile out of him more often. It's like a well timed strike right into his heart, dagger twisting and everything, and it's not exactly the worst way to go. It's the same sort of thing that Ryuji would absolutely go down trying to protect, but that's not here nor there, and all bets are off when there's movement to the back of his head. Not fair at all. He's so hungry for affection that it causes his head to lean into it instinctively. Good for Dave, since he's going for it in return.

It's one thing to finally get the bravery required to kiss his boyfriend. But to be on the receiving end of it in return, to see that not only was it completely worth it, but reflected at him. It's not like he ever thought Dave didn't feel the same way towards him as he did towards Dave. That much was so abundantly clear in everything that he did; he constantly felt valued, wanted, and safe around him. It just takes a little bit for Ryuji to have certain things drilled home towards him, and the physical affection of the moment makes him feel all of that just at once. It's just... so good.

He closes his eyes. How in the world he ever found himself on a space station, billions of light years away from home, in the arms of a guy who had an entire road map to the stars on his shoulders. He'll never know, really. But shit, if he wasn't blessed for it.

Still, though, it's a lot of emotions for an emotional boy, and not a lot of experience to back that up. He feels his chest tighten and his knees lock, and, shit, he really wants to just. Do the thing where you leave your boyfriend ding dong dead standing up, so he'll push back into Dave, brain chemicals all lit up by the moment, and pull his face closer, even if it's not going to close any significant additional distance between them. But with just enough of a pressing motion forward, he'll part his lips, and kick the can straight out from the back alley right out onto the highway. Probably too forward, but Ryuji's never done anything too quietly or subtle. Ask him a few months ago if he'd ever know what it would be like to find out what Dave's mouth tastes like and he probably would've found a nearby airlock to junk himself out of in embarrassment. Don't get him wrong, either, his face is entirely red at this point. But at least he's not jumping out into the vacuum of space just yet.]

[Ryuji's got a hell of a knack for blazing new trails out here, a trend that's been observable since literally day one and an initiated thumb war — and honestly, it's a dynamic that's kind of out of the realm of Dave's usual style. it's easy enough to look like you're in charge or leading the way to somewhere important when you're capable, via way of time travel, of being literally several steps ahead of everybody else. it's even easier to be cool and calculated when you're living in a world where a strong barrier to hide behind is the only option you've got.]

[but he's done with time travel. and the more time they spend together, the more Ryuji tears his mental walls down, demanding a chance to take care of him, the more Dave realizes how badly he'd like to be done with acting like he's untouchable, too. just lay all of those flaws and inward misgivings he has about himself out bare, stop trying to hide how vulnerable he really is, because he's got the confidence that Ryuji will keep that part of him safe. because he's already seen it, and he already does — and Dave's already promised to do the same in return.]

[knights are supposed to be the ones doing the protecting. that's how all the stories go, right? but maybe it's okay if a knight has something that needs protecting, too.]

[and that's not to say that Dave can't keep up with Ryuji here. it's more that, instead of trying to act cool about it, instead of trying to match or outmatch him, to move at a frenetic pace and rile the both of them up way too fast, when Ryuji goes and makes an already bold move even more intimate, Dave consciously puts his heart out there and shows that vulnerability by really letting him take the lead. lets him explore a little, and in return, he chases after every little movement or sensation that sets off fireworks in his head and threatens to shut down any cogent thoughts he may have been having, hoping he's able to ignite the same reaction. lets him know, albeit unconsciously, that he's into it by the way he grips at Ryuji's arms, gathering the fabric of his shirt in his fists.]

[he's not perfect by any means. it probably takes a few tries to get to a good point where he remembers through a heated haze to not be greedy and give Ryuji, who is pretty much actually leaving him ding dong dead, a bit of tongue in return.]

[it's also kinda tough to french a guy when he keeps smiling through it like an idiot.]

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