dave strider (
oculusriffs) wrote2018-04-28 11:13 am
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TG: this is going to be fucking stupid isnt it
[want to get in touch with Dave? you can leave a TEXT, VOICE, or VIDEO message — or alternatively, he shouldn't be too hard to track down in person. it's a hunk of junk space house. in space. he's around here somewhere.]
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Which, cool, he should've barged in sooner, or something- not like Ryuji could've done much of anything to alleviate the actively multiplying viral bodies growing in either of them, but maybe he could've done this supportive thing a little better.]
'Course... hey, right here's where I wanna be, so. [At the risk of sounding ridiculously sappy, he cuts himself short there and moves toward Dave, one step, and then another, getting up in his personal space to bring the back of his hand up against his forehead to feel how warm he was---
And, shit. Yeah, this probably isn't healthy. Thermometers aren't really needed to get the vibrant warmth coming off from him.]
What kinda idiot told you to get out of bed? [He knows that idiot, he is that idiot.]
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[because he fell out of bed. get it. that ... was definitely meant as a joke, a really dumb way of saying that he is cool with that kinda idiot, because Ryuji made the effort of shuffling down the hallway to check on him instead of holing up and hiding like Dave did. and he's sort of stumbling toward fully having that realization, and then trying to make up for it, especially when he catches sight of what the virus is doing to Ryuji. he won't be able to stop himself from worrying that he messed something up.]
[but here's something else that the two of them kind of have in common: when you turbo torch all of Dave's defensive barriers, the stubborn leftovers of a really toxic influence that still need squashing, the guy that's left behind is completely desperate for affection. and that's even though it's something he's also not really all that used to.]
[so he probably doesn't realize exactly how heavily he's leaning into Ryuji's hand there, and it definitely is not just because he's sick. but he's decided to shift his focus on making sure Ryuji isn't also a towering teenage inferno instead.]
Uh. You're cool now though, right? [literally and figuratively. Dave even lifts a hand to reciprocate, and it's likely a little bit awkward. it's hard to tell what a fevered forehead is supposed to feel like when it's someone else's forehead, but he's just going to have to figure it out.]
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But. Yeah. They're the same in that regard too, like a truckload of other things that they have in common so freaking much. As if this entire exchange was enough to take all his sharp edges and make them a lot smoother, a knife of outward aggression turned with the handle outward, he eats Dave's touch up. There's a sort of sad smile that forms at it, since he knows how sick he is, and how Ryuji's probably going to become, and.
It's the same thing, every single time something bad happens in this station. He doesn't want to see him go through more torture, and they both probably know that whatever's going on is just the beginning of something worse to come. It doesn't really feel that great to have all these protective instincts over each other only... to not be that great at succeeding in those. That's a dumb thought, for sure, and nothing to get seriously depressed over or anything, because Dave had done more for him in the past few months than anyone he could ever count in his entire life. He didn't know how to express that one, either.
He lifts his hand from Dave's forehead, traveling to find the other's wrist as he pulls downward, away from his own hot spot and up against his cheek, just so he could feel what that would be like. Expression turning more vulnerable, he eyes Dave before looking down toward the floor a bit and 'hmm'-ing for a moment.]
Yeah man, practically glacial.
[And it's enough of a touch to keep him going, admittedly, before he feels like he's taking too much for himself and letting go. He's not great with words, that's for sure, but at least his actions have meaning behind them. And right now, he nods over to the bed.]
You know what could be even cooler though? [There's no game plan here, he's wingin' it.] Let me take care of you for a bit. I wanna be a good boy--- [Whoa.] A good boy. C'mon.
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[he means that to a couple of different things, honestly. give him a few seconds to catch up and process everything, like that kind of awkward but still very affectionate set of gestures they both just did, still stubbornly trying to look out for each other when they're both down and the space station is still kicking them hard, and the fact that he's basically being told to relax and not worry, which are pretty big requests to make of Dave. he has no shades or very strong emotional barriers to stand behind as he is, so the concern is pretty blatantly right there, out in the open. he's not even trying to hide it at this point.]
[but he lets his hand drop to his side, reasonably satisfied that Ryuji is not, in fact, living lava. not right now, anyway. it's anybody's guess what the fuck sort of bullshit a space ailment is going to pull on them next.]
[but the more Ryuji refers to the bed, the more it occurs to him that being vertical right now is a really bad idea. he might actually fall over again if he tries to stand around for too much longer, so ... yeah, he'll make the the pretty pathetically sad sick shuffle back to bed. and he'll even mumble a bit as he does it — something about how he'd give up the extra clothes the ghosts gave him for space Christmas, and maybe even shampoo for like month, if it meant he could have a bottle of apple juice right now.]
[.... wait.]
Hey. [now that he is at least seated on his bed.] I've been meaning to ask you something.
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And god, the amount of personal things he would actually give up to see Dave have a juice box worth of AJ in his hand is probably equally embarrassing, like he feels that it's imperative to him to make sure that whatever he wants is fulfilled and catered to. It's unrealistic at its worst, and potentially dangerous at best, but for now, it's just a sad afterthought, that he can't officiate his needs as they come driving by, piece-wise.
He wants to go to the bathroom to get a towel wet with cool water and place it up against his forehead, to calm his forehead down like it wasn't a forest fire that even Smokey the Bear couldn't control with a stern warning, but he's pulled in a gravitational whirl, as it usually happens to Ryuji when Dave says something that isn't finite and conclusive, and he finds himself sitting down next to him, legs spread at shoulder length as his own blanket slides down the width of his shoulders. It's cool. The blanket wasn't doing much, but he's not going to complain at this point. Doesn't seem right.]
Yeah, dude. Shoot away. [He looks over. Ryuji's past the point of being coy about pretty much... anything, really. He's told Dave how he feels about him, so it goes without saying that there's not really much else of a secret he wants to keep.]
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[at the same time though, he knows very well how badly keeping secrets can backfire, even if they were kept out of necessity, or just out of trying to avoid hurting someone. it's not telling your best friend she was going to accidentally murder you, letting her sit with that for three years, then blurting out during an argument that you knew all along that it was going happen. it's wishing he had known that listening to some advice would have created an offshoot and gotten him killed pointlessly (even though, okay, he'll readily admit that was also largely his fault).]
[so he's at least on the path to trying to break that habit. to be honest with himself, and honest about his feelings. they probably wouldn't be sitting here like this, navigating a relationship together, if Ryuji hadn't barged on in and encouraged him to start trying, just by virtue of being himself.]
[in any case, if Ryuji was anticipating an insightful question about the meaning of life or something personal, even, then he might have to wait, because the deepest thought Dave is capable of having at the moment is about which direction he should flop. and on that thought, he's sort of swaying back and forth between faceplanting in his pillow and leaning on Ryuji instead.]
[right, right. here's his question:]
Okay ... Khaki Sun. What the actual hell?
It's been bugging the shit out of me since I first heard it — mostly just cause I wanna know what other sort of ... weird names don't line up between our Earths.
[Dave, no.]
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(Let's also maybe pretend that it's not a selfish act in an of itself either, like Ryuji didn't practically bullheadedly demand that he let Dave take care of him. And, you know, do the aggressively relationship thing, and maybe it's too much? Is this too much? He has no goddamn clue what he's doing here, but he wants... so badly to be comforting.)
And sure, despite the message being somewhat full speed ahead on the relationship stuff, Ryuji isn't about to actively try and change Dave. He figures stuff will come out like it always does between them- a rambling of completely non-related stuff that becomes incredibly topical and somewhat transparent until Ryuji asks the hard hitting questions. But... it does feel good knowing. Feelings. Emotions. Ryuji has to work on that too, so maybe it's something they can get better at together?
Either way, he's got an arm around him, and it's sort of wild that just a few weeks ago this would be giving him a near heart attack, or blushing beyond recognition and that thought is completely effin' blown by the wayside when Dave opens his mouth to answer Ryuji's offer to speak his mind and.
What the actual hell?
God.
Why does he like him so much?
--- is probably what he should be thinking, but he just fondly groans at that.]
Yeah. You never saw the commercials when you were a kid? These extreme snowboarder kids would turn into a golden kinda mess of liquid and it's kinda weird that it implied they'd like... cannibalize themselves if they were Khaki Suns or something like that, but the fruit punch one.
Man, the fruit punch flavor. You could trade that shit for literal gold in elementary school. And banana milk.
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Banana milk. [what the fuck, he's never ... heard of banana milk. there's an entire fucking thirty-second pause while he processes that, and sort of wrinkles his nose at the idea, but that's only because he has a very obvious bias when it comes to fruit-flavored beverages.]
[.......... banana milk.]
No, I mean - I remember the commercials, but our shit wasn't nearly that, uh. Fashion forward? Are khakis even a thing anymore? I don't fuckin' know.
But they're called Capri Sun on my Earth. Which just makes them sound like soccer mom juice or something - I think they had commercials like that, too, though.
[Dave is too out of it to offer a thoughtful rating on how how comforting Ryuji is being, other than that he can sense the affection behind it. but the fact that he's electing to stay where he is, being a lot more warmly efficient than that shitty blanket Ryuji brought with him ever was, is probably a good indicator of what he thinks. maybe they need to work on these sort of things compared to someone else's standards, but right now, they seem to be going along at a rate that's working just fine.]
Capri might also be an island.
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[Oh god, not one of these loops again.
But seriously, if he's never had one before, that's a weird thought to Ryuji. Cultural differences, probably? Maybe America didn't have those things stocked in the grocery stores or something. Or maybe his earth was really into strawberry milk. There's so many possibilities to think about here, and such a small amount of willpower to actually do so.]
It's... really freaking delicious. Kinda has the same color as your hair, too. [His master plan all along was cannibalism, it's already begun. The zombie virus is taking its course.
But all this talk about brains doesn't quite (grey) matter. His initial worries seem to calm down a bit when Dave is up against his shoulder and hooooly shit, that's a cool feeling. Well, not exactly cool, since he's practically melting sitting up, but it didn't really feel all that different than baking in the sun on a summer day.]
Hell yeah, khakis are definitely still a thing. I have a pair of cargo khakis back home that I wear in the summer. The pockets are great for holdin' shit. Dunno if there's an island... y'know. Named Khaki or anything. Think... I might've failed geography...
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[so he decides to focus on a mishmash of thoughts about pockets, shorts and geography instead. and those subjects just kind of rattle around and get to know each other in his brain, while he sits there in silence for once in his life instead of letting whatever the hell he's thinking about fly free. when he does finally say something, though, it's probably a valid enough thought.]
S'fine. Earth geography's pretty pointless right now anyway.
[he sort of mumbles it, though, and is less leaning and more completely hanging off of Ryuji by this point, somewhere between falling asleep and not really being able to. it's the same sort of state he's been struggling with for a day or two now.]
[but, that's when he finally notices it: the weird, unnatural looking discoloration that looks like it's slowly snaking its way down Ryuji's hands, and suddenly, he's as fully alert as he's capable. with little thought to what he's doing other than he needs to get a closer look, he reaches over and grabs at Ryuji's wrist so he can get a better look.]
What the hell is this. [he doesn't mean it sternly. if anything, he just sounds anxious.]
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Ryuji's noticing him starting to become increasingly woozy, too, so maybe the dude can get a little rest? Similar to the way that Dave couldn't move when Lisa is on his lap, he'll stay there and let him get some shut eye if that's what he needs. There's a sort of complacency in that too, like he feels a little bit more secure of this whole, uh...., relationship thingy, almost as if he's trying to learn the ropes via brute force. It's going pretty well, no complaints on his end, until his wrist is pulled and examined.
His eyes follow downward to where Dave's are, and. Well, this is great. Looks like it was starting to spread down to his hands, too. It was relatively expected to happen anyway, but- geez, what a boner killer. Which also sets off a whole plethora of regrets, too, because he knows where this is heading. Or at least, he thinks he does. Damn, he was actually settling in on this whole aggressive Take Care Of Dave mission. As if the station would actually allow that.
It's also kind of alarming how his tone shifted so quickly. His mental room is being painted in colors of lavender, trying to calm himself down enough so that it doesn't turn into a big thing. He'll be okay.]
I dunno. It doesn't hurt though. It just looks kinda weird. [Ryuji... your body is literally decaying, that's not really going to make anyone think that everything's honky dory here.]
Just sorta woke up like this? Maybe it's like... a second puberty.
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[that's how Dave sees it, anyway. he hates how unfair it is, but he's never really been one to put up with a bunch of asshole ghosts, either.]
[if Ryuji wanted to pull a cheap shot, Dave could probably be felled with a light shove at this point, not unlike how he was once felled by a ball of yarn in an equally cheap shot. but that's kind of the last thought on his mind at the moment. he runs his thumb lightly along one of the rapidly darkening veins on Ryuji's wrist, anxious.]
That definitely ain't puberty, dude. Have ... have you talked to what's his name, uh. The plumber doctor guy.
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And no, no cheap shots needed. Dave's already cashed in that check for himself, giving Ryuji's wrist attention that makes hair on the back of his neck practically stand on edge, hyper aware of it for some reason.]
Huh? No way. These ain't pipes, they're veins. [He knows what Dave meant. He's being just as stubborn as he always is.] It's okay, really. It'll go away in a few days, probably. Looks like mostly everyone's sick around here, including you, so, uh. The med bay's probably packed and... y'know. Fevers are more dangerous than whatever the hell this is.
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[he's not the type of guy who really cares what happens to himself, he'd said. he's probably not going to get a clearer view of that in action, of Ryuji purposely putting Dave before himself, than this moment — unless he did something really dumb like pull a goddamn Bruce Willis at the end of Armageddon on everyone. which. let's be real, at the rate they're going, at the rate the space station is going, one of them is bound to pull a stunt like that eventually.]
[he straightens a little, but doesn't really pull away. he lacks the strength to, both emotionally and physically. and there's a frustration bubbling up in his chest, too, because he knows from experience that trying to argue the disadvantages of self-sacrifice is going to get them exactly nowhere except both of them blown the fuck up, because he doesn't want to change Ryuji, and it's not like he could anyway, because at the end of the day he understands. Dave doesn't really give a shit about what happens to himself, either, when it's compared to what happens to people who mean everything to him.]
[but it's more than that. he's frustrated over the fact that he thinks he should have the ability to save them; he's got the sort of powers people write entire shitty movies and novels over. but he can't.]
[so what does he do? he wraps his hand around Ryuji's wrist tightly, and speaks bluntly.]
Maybe. But if something's gonna happen to you, I'd rather ... I dunno. Know what it is. Even if I can't do anything about it.
[which is a lot for him to admit, frankly — the fact that he can't save him from this and he knows it.]
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And maybe that same sense of self-abandon is something people don't really assume about him until they get to know him. He might look like and act like the type of punk that wants people to fuck off, and sometimes- yeah- he does. That's definitely true. But he's never fought once on his behalf for his own benefit. He stands up for everyone but himself, because he thinks that other people have a right to have their moment in the sun. On the flipside of that, of course, is the reliance on a really dumb idea... that he's damaged goods himself, but whether or not he deserves anything had never crossed his mind. At least, maybe, and probably it's a dumb idea too- that since he owned up to his feelings, since they both did.
That maybe he deserved to be happy with Dave?
And there are so, so many things he really likes about him- sure, seeing his own style of histrionic heroics reflected back right at him is sort of a reminder of his own stubbornness, but honestly? He respects him so much for being that way. He respects that he understands it and doesn't give him shit for it. He'll course a line through all the things that they can't fix themselves, and it's not Bruce Willis in Armageddon he's aiming for, but Will Smith in Independence Day. Now all he needs to do is learn how to pilot, and maybe he can run off into the hivemind of utter bullshit and blow it to smithereens. But barring that, maybe he can just make a bubble for the both of them, at least. Keep this safe. The way he feels when Dave has his hands on his wrist is too real, too important to not want to protect that.]
Hey. [His voice softens, obviously having hit a chord-] You've saved my ass like. How many times already? And sure, I know it's a pretty killer ass to look at 'n everything. [Ryuji.] But... no matter what, we're gonna be alright. Even if there ain't shit you can do right now. You know? As long as I got a place by your side, I'm gonna find my way back to it.
[He doesn't know what's happening to him, though. He also doesn't really... want Dave to see what his chest looks like, with his heart all blacked out and clearly visible even through the skin. Especially ironic since he's supposed to be a person who can steal hearts.]
So, uh. I mean, how about this? What if I stay long enough to make sure you get some sleep and I'll head over after you've dozed off? This way we can both stop worrying about each other for a few minutes.
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[and even if he's fully aware that there's nothing he can do, and even if he just outright admitted it, it's so, so hard to stop having the thought that agreeing here feels like he's giving up. it's the same stubborn overprotectiveness that drew the two of them to one another in the first place. he needs to stop being sick, to cool off so he can think straight and try something.]
Yeah. All right. [there's a bold thought, that Dave's going to stop worrying. but he lets go of Ryuji's wrist, fumbling with his own smartwatch for a minute, until it slides off and he deposits it into Ryuji's open palm.]
[it's ... not entirely clear what Dave wants him to do with it, because he doesn't actually specify. he could be giving Ryuji permission to go shitposting under @turntechGodhead. maybe he thinks Ryuji needs to take measurements for that smartwatch cozy they were snarking at each other over earlier.]
[or maybe, Dave wants to make sure that what Ryuji's said does happen — that he's going to go out there, get taken care of, then find his way back here. he'll need the watch to open the door, after all.]
[... what was he supposed to be doing? oh, right. sleeping. it'd probably be more comfortable if he moved to actually lie down, but he just relaxes where he is instead. and maybe just goes ahead and says his next thought out loud.]
You're not wrong, though? 'Bout the ass. [Dave.]
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Fuck that thought. It's not right. And he kinds of hates himself for even having it. He swallows down, a lump in his throat- and shit, Dave's somewhat immortal. That's not even in the realm of things that can happen. So, really, don't think about it. Instead, he accepts it, and- oh, right? You need these to get into rooms. Wow, he sure does feel dumb. The station's getting to him, as it has before, and will probably happen again.
Ryuji raises an eyebrow though, because is now really a time to pump up the volume on the flirting front? Probably, to be fair. When is it ever really a good time to tell anyone that they have a nice ass.]
Nice.
[He slides the watch on his other wrist. How bored do you have to be to send messages back and forth between yourself if you're stuck in a waiting room with nothing to do? Probably just the right amount. Please look forward to the torrent of roleplay that Ryuji's going to sadly commit to, in order to keep his mind off actually having to go through with being poked at and prodded. Man, he hated hospitals so much- and even though this wasn't exactly the same as a full blown operation, it had the feeling of it.]
Like filet mignon at a buffet, yo.
[Is he really still talking about his butt?
Yeah.]
A-anyway... I'm thinkin' you've had enough. Too much and you're gonna get the meat sweats. [Doubly meant here- he really should be in a horizontal position, so Ryuji will lift his hand up to his shoulder, scoot over a bit to make room, and guide him down. If the positioning isn't right, he'll try to fix that too, to let him spread out a little bit, or curl, or... hell, he doesn't really know how Dave sleeps other than the time he asked to sleep in his bed and that was with the other teen slumped up against a wall, so he couldn't judge by that.]
Night, knight.
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Dunno much about filet mignons, but guess I do now.
[yeah, he looks pretty damn pleased with himself as he lets Ryuji lay him down for a nap. he'd be a lot less pleased if he knew about the morbid thought that had crossed his mind, though, because somehow, it feels like it'd take a lot more courage to lie to him right now. like he wouldn't be able to come up with anything other than the truth, that the universe has never really cared whether he's sort of immortal or not. space stations probably aren't any different.]
[but anyway, it sounds like he's got a lot of very confusing text messages to look forward to, until he figures out that Ryuji was texting himself. and, Dave has two standard modes of sleep, assuming Sburb shenanigans aren't involved. the more common one is pretty light, and in short bursts, like a cat or some other small animal that always has an ear open, just in case. that's the mode he was in when he was sitting against the wall, while Ryuji was sleeping in his bed.]
[and then there's the sort of sleep he slips into once Ryuji has him nice and tucked in. it's that rare sort of sleep that only happens when he's exhausted beyond measure, and more importantly, when he feels safe — and when he sleeps like this, he is completely fucking out, limbs splayed and body flat against the mattress. he won't be coming around again until he's good and ready, which is probably for the best, because it's not like the fever's going to be breaking anytime soon.]