✧ — peach iced tea.

[boba]

this post is so clean

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[oversea]

[ he is being so strong and brave as this happens... praise him...

he is pouting slightly. ]

I don't know what my hand was doing there.

[transmit]

[ he wants to hit thorns on the head but he thinks him being slightly rougher with this bandaging process is violence enough. you know how there are people who couldn't care less how their bandages look as long as they're covering the wound?

elysium is the opposite and meticulous. that shit has to be on perfectly. you would think this is how thorns is freed, but no, elysium's hand stays wrapped around his wrist up until

he kisses it better. ]

You're excused.

[ treats thorns like the kids he occasionally takes care of when he volunteers because that is exactly how he currently feels about this

they're both airheads. ]

[oversea]

[ elysium may be treating him like a child but thorns just

blushes

and quickly spins around so that he's facing the sink and away from him. explodes. ]

I'll clean up my mess.

[ it's so crazy how things you are fully aware are completely platonic can kill you. is this how elysium used to live? no wonder he ghosted him. ]

[transmit]

[ the kids always get all shy whenever elysium turns the affection up too high. thorns' reaction is reminiscent of it 1:1 and it is sooooo cute (somehow purely platonic) and funny. okay. ]

How about you set the table instead? Feels like if I take my eyes off you for even a second, you'll manage to burn yourself——or drag me down with you.


Shoo.

[oversea]

[ he makes a face at him and then scurries away to get the plates and silverware.

normally he would fight more on that, but he thinks separating himself from elysium right now may be for the best? he is so close to him in the small kitchen space and he needs to remember how to be normal.

how do you kill a crush... things to ponder about... ]

[transmit]

[ how do you kill a crush when you're living together and both low and high-key flirting all the time

well

dinner is a simple affair so it doesn't take long for elysium to finish. bon appétit! thorns' plate has a larger portion of his favourite foods. ]

… By the way. If you're spending more time on fencing, does that mean you've decided against the gym membership?

[ is he just going to ignore how they've been flooding his inbox with steeper discounts every other day… they are so desperate for thorns. he's about to get a free few months if he signs up for the annual plan? help. ]

[oversea]

... I can still do the gym. They recommended I get one to stay fit for it anyway.

[ it's said almost like he is trying to reassure elysium that he is not ditching him. see!! elysium is doing him a huge favor!!!

he stares at his food and then at elysium's like he is comparing the two. ]

[transmit]

Oh, good. I usually do mornings on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. We can keep each other accountable.

[ he says this so cheerily. too cheerily. thorns will never know peace again when his roommate is a freak who works out at the crack of dawn. but, it is funny that elysium's the one with abandonment issues now despite being the one to abandon him first… it is a combination of thinking thorns totally has the right to but also how dare he even think of escaping this sticky trap of friendship now that they've re-established it? he can't permit it.

as such, he visibly eases when thorns agrees… internally celebrating this w. yippee. it takes a bit for him to notice his staring. ]

… Something you don't like?

[ insanely has a mental catalogue of his likes and dislikes. this can't be right ]

[oversea]

[ that is so many fucking days hello

thorns will barter his own days later he refuses to be awake that early for most of the week. what the fuck.

for now, though, he points at elysium's food. ]

You have less than I do.

[ is he on a diet...?

thinks about all the food thorns stole from elysium. ]

[transmit]

[ if thorns saw more sun he wouldn't be so grumpy all the time, he thinks

he looks at his food. he tilts his head. thorns is a growing boy… ]

I was gonna have a protein shake later.

[ i hate gym bros ]

[oversea]

Oh.

he is weighing if he should accept this or not because he is not enough of a gym bro to be into protein. ]

... Fine.

[transmit]

[ if thorns does end up joining him on his grindset though he should be drinking protein, though.

hmmmm

he seems to consider this. ]

We should ease you in or you'll run away…

[ muttered to himself. thorns already wants to run? thorns has entered hell. ]

[oversea]

[




he just shoves food into his mouth. he doesn't consent to protein. ]

[transmit]

[ takes a normal bite out of his food. he watches thorns with amusement. ]

Did you prefer getting your macros through chicken?

[ how could alh*itham stop him from getting four chickens again ]

[oversea]

No. I did notice there was only one from the last trip though.

[ he is so outraged by this... internally.

but he really is haunted by the four chickens. he didn't eat any chicken for so long after they ran out. ]

[transmit]

I was only allowed to buy what I could carry…

[ makes it worse

he starts playing with his food, shifting around a piece of broccoli with his fork. at least, today's protein of choice is beef. ]

It really bothered me that I wasn't seeing you around as much. Home is where the heart is, so it should be comfortable… yeah? Feeling like a third wheel probably wasn't great.

[oversea]

[ the way thorns has likely used this argument against elysium before only to get ignored. should he be offended by this too?? even though the answer is simply they are so used to each other that elysium knows thorns will just accept it in the end...

there's another pause. ]

... I was busy, but I did want to give you privacy.

[ because there were times thorns was home and just locked himself in his room. ]

[transmit]

[ if he pays for things and puts them in thorns' arms, what's he going to do? just drop them and leave them at the register? he's too nice for that… meanwhile, alhaitham would…

this is why the vibes didn't vibe. ]

We only just started hanging out as much again.

[ this sounds so clingy but he isn't thinking about it.

in retrospect, asking thorns to get along with someone is a whole different beast than tolerating. elysium is taking mental notes. ]

[oversea]

I don't want to get in the way of your attempts...

[ at finding love... even if thorns hates it. but isn't that what bros do? get out of the way???

he is going to end up on r*ddit reading bad opinions on how to treat in these situations. ]

1/2

[transmit]

[ i (2x/m) rejected my now-crush (2x/m) three years ago and now i have sit here and watch him cycle through relatioships. how do i act normal about this. ]

You think it's that simple? [ he jabs his fork towards thorns, all accusation. ] You give yourself too much credit. Who wouldn't want to date me? That, and, if a best friend was all it took to scare them off, then they weren't worth my time to begin with.

[ give it a second to sink in

… ]

[transmit]

[ he lowers his fork, the fight gone from his posture… ]

… I could've won you over. But I had my pride.

[ there is so much less gusto in this. he chews on his fork… ]

[oversea]

[ the way elysium did win thorns over but he cannot say this. forces you to have him date scien.

but thorns just eats his food... glancing over at elysium. ]

How would you have won me over?

[transmit]

[ you cannot get a more cursed dating history than this ]

The same way I won over your friendship, obviously.

[ 'obviously' but he doesn't sound entirely certain… ]

[oversea]

You just dragged me to places...

[ so he just did the exact opposite thing.

granted thorns can't blame him. in retrospect, elysium was obviously asking thorns out, but he was so used to them being weirdly clingy already that it didn't hit him that invite was different from all the previous ones at the time. hindsight truly is all powerful. ]

[transmit]

The intent would've been different.

[ different how? … he hadn't thought that far. he never pictured their lives turning into some sweeping romance if they started dating, more like quiet proof they meant that much to each other. little would change: maybe they'd sometimes hold hands, maybe even kiss…? he wouldn't even expect thorns to be the type to say 'i like you' all that often. what mattered was that their time together would take on that extra bit of significance.

not that their friendship hadn't been special already. and, as he's come to learn, having a romance with thorns isn't the be all end all. elysium hurries through another bite. ]

But yeah. It's like I was saying. Don't even think about feeling that way. You're my best friend, got it?