driftfleet | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Zelos Wilder (good end)
Broadcast: Video
Action: Marsiva. From the hospitality deck, but he'll be moving around after!
When: 10/7 Morning!

[Again. Again. Zelos takes a good few minutes looking around before he decides that he's definitely been left behind in some way. Another handful of minutes pass, and he's tapping at the device meant to broadcast. If he's nearly alone up here, then he's just got to find out if there's anyone else out and about somewhere else, right?

Despite the stress he's feeling right now, the image that appears on screen to everyone is pretty upbeat. And pretty cocky, too.]

Yo! Looks like I missed out on the party. There's gotta be someone out there, right?

[He leans in a little closer for effect before sighing and pulling back, both arms raising in a shrug.] This is just my luck. Come on, give me a sign or something!

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[Baroona fixes him with a confused but slightly amused look.] What?

[Zelos is flustered, that's evident as day, but even having been at his side for a month isn't enough to tell him why. All he has is assumptions-startled reactions and sheepish behavior-that all point to one thing.] It didn't mean anything. You don't have to worry.

[He shrugs nonchalant, looking away.] You turned me down pretty quickly when the misunderstanding happened.

Turned you down, huh...

[The words fall out automatically, thoughtful and doubting in tone. "Turning him down" was probably more like reacting like this, huh? He does want to run away and not think about this any more, but. He'd been thinking of it back in Zelien, too.

The pang he gets from it all makes him daring without thinking, and he tries to act like it's nothing all while hiding meaning beneath his words with a laugh.]

Who said it didn't mean anything? ♥ Did I sound that convincing, hmm?

[But the words slip out and he's even more nervous, laughing to cover it and forcing himself to grin teasingly at Baroona.

Shit. He doesn't need this. Not again, not someone else. This sort of thing isn't supposed to happen! He's just a shallow guy! He just wants to have fun!]

[Now that makes him pause. It's different from all he other teasing comments, sincerity lurking just below. He can see it clearly, just not what it means. His steps falter and he gives Zelos a befuddled look.]

You did then, I'm not sure about now.
[Reaching out, he takes hold of Zelos' arm, forcing him to stop and turn around.] Zelos, are you... serious?

[It feels like a stupid question. Too presumptuous. His uncertainty eases his hold.]

[He freezes up. Stopping right in place, his body turns with the grab, but his gaze leads elsewhere, stubbornly refusing to look at Baroona since that question. This is what he wanted, wasn't it? He had left it to fate, in a way, to see if he could see past it, and it looked like no matter what version, Baroona was as observant as ever.

The problem was, he had no idea what to do now. He wasn't brave enough to admit his confusion right now, and even if he was, he felt like he didn't deserve to be. He laughs, forced like the last one, and turns to try and fake his way through this as well.]

We've been talking for a while, huh? I'm getting kind of tired! Maybe I should go find a place to sleep...

[He's so bad at this.]

[Baroona scoffs.] You're such a bad liar.

[That stayed the same across all universes. Still, his grip does ease up, as if he's finally giving up the fight.] We've barely gone over what's happened. You're acting strange. If I make you that uncomfortable I can leave.

[Those words are what shocks him into reality. What's he doing? Trying to run away again? With a disappointed frown, he lets out a soft laugh again, but this time it's different. If a laugh could be self-deprecating, this was it.]

...It's not that you make me uncomfortable. [He can't believe he's freezing up over admitting something like this. Who cares? If Baroona doesn't treasure him the same way, he doesn't have to. That's fine.

He doesn't want to leave. He wants to be here. To protect him, too.]

I don't share this stuff with just anyone, you know. I'm comfortable around you.

[He lets that set in for a few moments before nodding with his head for them to keep walking.] Come on.

[It sets in but Baroona's uncertain how to treat it. The statement felt obvious, like something he already knew being reiterated. Was he supposed to be impressed?]

I'm comfortable around you too... [Said quizzically, still wary on if he's saying the right thing.] I figured you knew that already, though.

[A beat.] Is something else going on?

[You're going to have to spell it out to him, Zelos.]

[Oh. At that, he laughs a bit, sounding relieved as he smiles. Reaching over, he takes one of Baroona's hands and speeds up their walk a bit, tugging him along.]

Oh, no. I'm not spelling it out for you. Besides, you're being too slow. We've got a whole ship to check out! Come on, come on!

["Spelling it out"? Spelling what out? What was going on?

Baroona nearly stumbles as he's pulled and thankfully, that's enough to preoccupy him.]

What? Hey! You still have finished telling me about the me you knew! [Not that he's moving to stop him, jogging to catch up with Zelos and not even thinking to pull away from that hand.]

We can keep going with that, so don't worry!

[Tugging him along even still, he finds a nice pace that's a little fast but nothing too crazy.]

Let's see, which part should I tell you next...

[He shoves him, playfully.]

Stop stalling and give it up already, asshole.

[He laughs again even as he stumbles from the shove, but Baroona will just be tugged along with him.]

Okay, but first, let's do it like this. One more story each, and then we can save the rest. Share one each every day until we run out. [He looks back to him as they walk, still smiling.]

That way it's more natural! Not like some huge dump of information... I don't know about you, but it'd be a little hard to deal with all that at once.

[They're just trading stumbles at this point. Baroona would be annoyed if the proposed plan hadn't made so much sense. He smiles at the thought, the image of them telling stories to each other each day.]

You're right. It's a good idea. [He looks down at his feel to hide his smile.] It sounds nice.

[Still looking away, he pushes at Zelos with their joined hands.] Go on. Start your last story.

If we didn't hang out at night, we'd usually send each other messages. Your spelling was horrible, but your typing was even worse.

[He laughs, but it's fond, and he gives a reassuring look back as they walk.] Don't worry! It was kinda cute. Anyway, you'd somehow end up repeating the messages on playback multiple times, so I ended up having to explain how the thing worked all over again.

You didn't want to listen at first, you stubborn ass. But once I pointed out how useful it was, you lent an ear a bit more easily. Still not sure that you got the hang of how to use it, but you were definitely getting better. So we'd text to practice sometimes.

[Having all of that called cute just makes him more embarrassed. Hunching his shoulders, he glances away with a scowl.]

Where I was, you tricked me into thinking emoticons would steal my soul. I ended up asking the whole network about it. Everyone thought I was an idiot.

[He's still sore about it, honestly. After a moment's hesitation, he offers:] ... I think I'm better at texting. The glass had this thing that corrected what I wrote. It helped.

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