✧ — passionfruit green tea.

[boba]

Comments

[oversea]

I guess.

[ he stares at him. ]

Ely...?

[ no, that seems too common... ]

[transmit]

[ instinctively— ]

Yes?

[ then belatedly… he dies. (internally) ]

That's an easy one.

[ canon will never give us his name. sorry thorns. ]

[oversea]

I thought so...

[ he goes silent again as he becomes lost in thought.

he is really serious about this nickname thing. ]

[transmit]

Not that many people call me by it…

[ he nudges his shoulder, a gesture that's as teasing as it is encouraging.

people probably don't give him nicknames on the sole basis of how annoying he is. he does not need that much power. ]

But if you're looking for something more exclusive, you are my only hermano.

[oversea]

Is that what you want me to call you?

[ WHY IS ELYSIUM BROZONING HIMSELF ]

[transmit]

[ HE HAS BEEN BROZONING HIMSELF FOR SO LONG WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME

looks at that one elythorns event they called mi hermano. ]

Telling you that defeats the purpose of you settling on one yourself. What sounds right?

[oversea]

[ maybe he has been too focused on making the nickname out of his name... he needs to expand. ]

Pajarito...

[transmit]

I'm taller than you.

[





the longest stretch of silence along with a stare. following that, he offers thorns a pat on the shoulder. ]

You know what? Let's quit while we're ahead. [ … ] Thorns.

[oversea]

[ thorns... feels like he failed something important?

... ]

It doesn't matter if you're taller than me...

[transmit]

[ no… elysium is simply living by the time-old philosophy of expecting nothing, so he can't be disappointed by whatever happens. he gives thorns a wry smile. ]

Does it feel right to you?

[oversea]

[ HE WAS PROUD OF IT!!!!!

but he redirects his attention to the ocean. ]

Elysium.

[transmit]

[ he bumps shoulders again with thorns, laughing. ]

Calling you my compañero de vida will probably get too long-winded after a while. But there's no substitute for that, so I guess we are stuck with just Elysium and Thorns.

[oversea]

... That's fine.

[ it still feels like he failed a test somehow, but there's not much he can do about that now. ]

Come here.

[transmit]

[ it was just one of those dialogue options that locked them into the platonic route for the next year. it's fine. elysium is the master of self-sabotage…

but he takes a step closer. ]

Yeah?

[oversea]

[ he takes a few steps away from the wheel, letting go of it. he gestures at it. ]

Steer.

[ and he waits to see. ]

[transmit]

[ it has been so long since he's been able to do this…… but one of the reasons he knows about the spot is that it isn't the first time he's watched people at the helm like a creep.

but it is different when it's under his hands. different when he's allowed to be here without the high stakes of others' lives and able to fully immerse himself in the moment. the wind presses against his hair, the saline bite of the sea fills his lungs.

this must be what it feels like to be free. ]

A guy could get used to this.

[oversea]

Mm.

[ he watches elysium from where he's at, and he thinks of how this looks so natural and right, like a puzzle piece sliding into place.

he reminds himself that he'll have to leave eventually, and takes a step forward so he can fix the positioning of one of elysium's hands. ]

This is better.

[transmit]

[ exhibit a for why he should be doing a better job of maintaining distance: his hand twists instinctively to catch thorns', leaving him awkwardly holding on as he scrambles for an excuse.

… ]

Are we steering together now?

[ desperately tries to make it sound like a tease. ]

[oversea]

[ oh.

at first he thought elysium was just trying to catch his attention, although the method is... odd. he looks at their hands then at elysium's face. ]

I guess we are?

[ friend jokes are so funny haha ]

[transmit]

[ imagine if he just jerked it in a random direction and startled everyone awake. this could've been so much worse—he could've reacted so much worse—he deserves a medal. ]

You guess? [ he flattens thorns' hand on the wheel, his own still wrapped around it. ] We're literally charting a path right now, aren't we? Where are we off to?

[oversea]

[ elysium is so good at not panicking over his gay tendencies, wow.

but thorns really is thinking that it's nice to be friends who can do this... elysium is so silly? ]

Hm? You can't tell me? Look at the sky.

[transmit]

[ elysium just called them life partners what do you want from him. he's ready to suffer for the rest of his days. ]

As the captain, shouldn't you be telling me?

[oversea]

No. Consider this a test.

[ he expects a lot from him, apparently. thorns just waits for what elysium says... ]

[transmit]

[ okay but has he considered that i, ly, am stupid ]

Where your heart has decided to take us…

[oversea]

[ his heart...

he sighs. ]

I guess this is too much responsibility for you so soon.