✧ — passionfruit green tea.

[boba]

Comments

[oversea]

[ see, this is why you need to take off the ring immediately so no one sees it...

he isn't entirely sure how to answer, since it's a little difficult to find an excuse for this that makes sense. ]

... It's from no one in my crew. It was a goodbye gift from someone.

[transmit]

[ the more he learns the worst this gets. ]

… What. Was long distance not an option?

[oversea]

It went beyond long distance.

[ ... he just sighs, gesturing back to the bar again. ]

Come on. I don't want to bore you.

[transmit]

[


HE HAS A DEAD LOVER? sorry. this revelation is literally going to root him in place. ]

Why would you think it'd bore me?

[ THIS SOUNDS SERIOUS? or maybe… he's still trying to get over it? or can't? he's going to mourn over them for the rest of his life?

oh god. ]

[oversea]

[ this conversation is just getting worse and worse. thorns should have just let that one guy badly hit on elysium instead of going through this. ]

We never talk about stuff like this.

[ why isn't... elysium moving... ]

[transmit]

[ he is no longer not moving but he's clutching his head in his hands and muttering frenetically under his breath. ]

… Dios mío… I had no idea… how can I call myself his amigo like this?

[oversea]

[ the way thorns is unaware of what conclusion elysium has leapt to, but he at least knows it's definitely a wrong one.

... but this is probably for the best? ]

Elysium, you're talking to yourself.

[transmit]

I'm sorry, bro…… I'll do better…

[ THE DELAYED ALCOHOL-INDUCED EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN ]

[oversea]

[ oh my fucking god

he gives him a halfhearted pat on the shoulder. ]

It's fine. Don't worry about it.

[transmit]

[ he needs more than a few seconds to collect himself and crouches down to bury his face into his knees.

…

this is why he and thorns can never fall in love. not that he was thinking about it to begin with, and maybe he has on occasion, but that notion has just been more reinforced now more than ever. ]

[oversea]

[ REINFORCED INCORRECTLY!!! this really is the gen route

thorns isn't sure what to do here. he looks around awkwardly. ]

... I shouldn't have said anything.

[transmit]

[ why is whether it's gen or not so dependent on elysium tears up ]

I haven't been super reliable…

[oversea]

[ they needed to get drunker for thorns to start hitting on him... they made the mistake of leaving the bar... ]

You've been fine? You just gave me food.

[transmit]

We only see each other so many times a year.

[ you'd think him sobering up would be a good thing, but no. he rises to stand to look at thorns directly, hands square on his shoulders. ]

Considering everything you've been through, it's hard to imagine you're fine. Everything had to happen in… a six month timespan? And then things would've ended later than that. [ … ] That's no amount of time to recover.

[oversea]

[ what the fuck is he imagining.

thorns glances at his hands before finally meeting elysium's gaze. ]

... Let's just enjoy our time together before you have to leave, Elysium.

[transmit]

Right. We should do that.

[ … ]

I'll put in a request to stay a little longer this time.

[oversea]

... Are you sure?

[ thorns really should have asked fiammetta when does rhodes blow up but he was not thinking that far ahead. ]

[transmit]

I usually keep my schedule pretty open when it comes to our check-ins. It's always hard to predict what might come up around you, you know…?

[ mostly because

thorns rarely tells him anything outright, and he's learned to play it by ear since long ago. he just didn't expect dead significant others to be one of those things, but even that fits within the kind of support he wants to offer his friend. where does he begin to untangle this?

… ]

Anywhere from an extra week or two's easy.

[oversea]

[ well. other elysium may as well be dead to him now considering they are separated by time and space.

thorns still feels like he needs to correct something here but he has no idea of how to go about that. ]

... If you're sure. Try not to get into any trouble.

[transmit]

[ THE DIVORCE WAS REAL…

how is this one timeline so much more disastrous than the other. ]

I should be saying that to you…


You can't be reckless. [ … he thinks about the rumours he heard of thorns falling off the ship. on god. can he leave thorns alone? ]

[oversea]

[ things can't always go well....

but thorns does not know what elysium is thinking of, so he just tilts his head at him. ]

Can a pirate not be reckless?

[transmit]

[ is this how thorns has been coping… ]

Not to the extent where you're endangering your life more than usual…

[oversea]

[ once again he does not know the very specific thing elysium is thinking of so he can't point out getting drunk and falling off a ship is not him purposely risking his life. ]

I am very skilled.

[transmit]

[ thorns… no… there are so many other ways to feel something. it would be easier to isolate how personally attacked elysium feels if his thoughts hadn't ended up somewhere os extreme. he is bothered because thorns has been dealing with this all alone… yeah!

he gives thorns' shoulders one last squeeze before letting go. ]

… I'll figure something out. Don't worry. [ this is how you get people to worry. ] Outside the usual restocking, you don't have any plans over the next few days, yeah?

[oversea]

[ thorns just feels like this whole conversation went somewhere that will be very difficult to take it back from. and while he doesn't like the idea of elysium thinking he's dating someone else (he is thinking worse than that), thorns assumes he can maybe live with it for now... ]

Not really, no. Just my usual tasks, but I do those early in the morning and in the evening.