ic contact for reverienet

[oculusriffs]

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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[ryuji]

[Just... 5 more minutes. Is that really too hard to ask for? He just wanted to do the whole chicken soup for the time god soul and wrap an arm around him and not have to have something smack its ugly head right into it. Ryuji closes his eyes and breathes out, trying to not get livid at something he has no control over; and besides, getting angry at something right now might distort that into it looking like he was angry at Dave, which he definitely wasn't. He's pretty hard to talk down from a ledge when that happens, though, and maybe it says something that he's more tilted by that than his weird blood issues that are going on right now.

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.

[oculusriffs]

[Dave may be about one degree fahrenheit from completely fucking out of it, but he still remembers something Ryuji said in one of their very first conversations. they'd been sitting around with a pack of contraband licorice, and he'd been trying his best to explain why changing a major part of your past, using whatever method that entailed, always had unexpected consequences.]

[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.]

[ryuji]

[It's mostly true. You don't get to just jumpsuit up into mythical level pajamas, or, in Ryuji's case a skull mask and a set of biker's leathers, and suddenly just become some superhero. They've both made a lot of sacrifices and came through to understand that it's still worth it, right? Ryuji wouldn't change himself and he wouldn't change his past, including every stupid thing that he's ever done. Especially the ones that he did for others. There was a moment he was never privy to, a conversation between Ren and their teacher, Kawakami-sensei, where her initial distaste of Ryuji was finally subdued a little. She had realized that all his shitty attitude or the way he got aggressive - it was never over himself. When he punched Kamoshida, and when he was thrown down and had his leg broken, it was because his team was suffering through their coach's abuse. It was because Kamoshida had let leak the circumstances of his home life... and he didn't care about how that made him look. He thought about his mother, who worked so hard to keep the two of them safe after his father had left the picture. And her honor. Especially her honor.

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.

[oculusriffs]

[Ryuji might not be hiding what's happening to him as well as he thinks, if only because Dave's well aware that veins travel in only one direction, and to one direct point in the body. he has no way of knowing how bad it is, or how bad it's going to get, without demanding that he see it, but in this moment, at least, he's reasonably satisfied that Ryuji will go get it looked at. there's nothing else he can do. he doesn't have any other ideas right now.]

[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.]

[ryuji]

[He doesn't really get the motion of receiving Dave's watch, and at first, a really... really morbid kind of thing passes through his mind that he has to fight off immediately. That this might be some sort of parting gift, that he'll watch Dave go to sleep and then leave. But when he comes back, what if the Worst Thing happens and he has to see something he promised himself he would never let happen?

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.

[oculusriffs]

[look, deliriously ill or not, Dave knows good looks when he sees them? he's never actually outright told a guy he's got a nice ass before, though, which ... sure is a thing he just did. if he weren't already flushed with a fever he might think to be embarrassed about it, but to be honest, he's just kinda happy he thought it for a split second, then blurted it out, as he does. like he was brave enough to divulge an unabashedly physical item on the long list of things he really likes about Ryuji, because shit, he'd said he was going to, wasn't he? right before they were interrupted by their weird time marker of a frozen space burrito.]

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.]