chatime | ✧ — peach iced tea.

[ help

he bring up one of the hats th block he view to them, and he kisses him a little less gently than would be acceptable for a public space. ]

For now.

[ now that's just cheating. there's a quiet noise of surprise before he eases into it—then it becomes more than just a little inappropriate and grounds for being kicked out, but the benefit to being in a small village is

there are no cameras! they can live their stupid exhibitionist life until the shopkeeper asks if they need help? they haven't moved for a while.

elysium pulls away and clears his throat. ]

We are purchasing these.

[ thorns just holds up the hats and then follows after the shopkeeper to the register, acting as if he wasn't just being highly indecent in this lovely establishment.

elysium can follow or take a moment to recover... or rest his ass for a minute... ]

[ he is taking every chance to rest his ass it is no contest. thorns can take his time… he is just casually leaning against one of the walls, as guys do.

it's fine. ]

[ thorns eventually comes back... the shopkeeper threw in free socks for them as thank you for the dinner. thorns owes this person their life you can never have enough nice socks. ]

Hi.

[ smooch. ]

[ they can be cute novelty socks like the ones that hold hands. their whimsy. ]

Welcome back, my sun.

[ he was less than five metres away. stop. he meets thorns' smooch with one of his own; they're out here innocently pretending they wouldn't be willing to bang on one of the display tables if they had the opportunity to.

but he takes out one of the uncute hats to immediately put it on thorns' head. ]

Might as well get into the habit now. Let's be on our way?

[ oh my god they can't work together they're going to be horrific.

but onward! they should also look at general supplies... they can't really afford a cart yet, but maybe they can get the supplies to just build one if it turns out to be cheaper? ]

Let's go in there.

[ they're going to position themselves so they have an unobstructed view of each other at all times you heard it here first.

he seems to follow thorns' train of thought. ]

What if we borrowed or rented an axe? That'd be more economical. There are bound to be a couple laying around that people aren't constantly using. So then we'd just need… screws? Whoever would have an axe is bound to have other tools.

[ this just reminds me of reclamation algorithm which i played for ten minutes then gave up

but oh god they really are in their stardew arc ]

[ he nods his head. everyone in the town at the moment is still thankful to them for the hunt they brought in, so it's probably the best time to try to get some favors in.

they're going to be so cute in their honeymoon era... ]

Mm. We just need to be smart and try to get as much made as possible that we think we'll need. You're so dependable.

[ not the praise

he is such a good husband. he nods while mentally patting his own shoulder. ignore the part where they are literally ready to shank people at any given time, they are the cutest honeymooning couple ever. and the most helpful. ]

Right? I'd never work at a host club. I'd never let us get into a position where we'd starve, either.

[ he's still hung up on this ]

Of course not. No one would be able to afford you anyway.

[ OKAY? how much is thorns imagining that elysium is worth?

well, he's biased, so the number is absurdly high in his mind. ]

You're saying that, but not that I'm priceless?

[ when the price is right, huh. ]

I'm not on the market. Period. Not when you exist. At most, they're getting a cardboard cut-out for whatever number you've got in mind.

[ the things people do to cardboard cutouts though ]

[ this is such a dramatic declaration for a situation that would only happen in another au scenario. they're so stupid. ]

I don't trust them with pictures of you.

[ oh. this story has such a happy ending. elysium pulls thorns aside to hug him to his chest. they are stupid but he is happy… he sways them side to side. ]

I don't think anyone else should have pictures of you, either. Let's keep to ourselves and work hard. That's all we need to do.

[ they are so silly...

but they can buy some lumber and nails, and then get recommended a person they can borrow tools from. there is an older gentleman who does a lot of repairs but he hurt his back recently, so he'd easily let them borrow items if they help him out a bit.

it gives them another in.... ]

[ all that's left is for them to be given dilapidated property and asked to restore it. grow some crops while they're at it? this is already going so well for their first stop.

they never make it to the farm because the gentleman asks if they have anything else planned for the day. they dont. he has unfinished projects in his workshop for them to take a look at—if they're feasible, great! if not, it's fine and he's happy to provide instruction.

it's been a while since he's had apprentices… he starts going off into storytime…

he seems happier the less they know. he's lonely and wants the companionship, it seems. elysium just defers the judgement to thorns? does he still have a squishy heart. ]

[ thorns just nods his head along.

he does still have a squishy heart, but the difference is that he is willing to cut its tendrils and leave if anything inconveniences his relationship with elysium. after giving up his ship, he can now really give up anything. ]

We can help out.

[ they need to save up so much money..... ]

[ i wrote a long ass tag but then i forgot to press send before i lost it TEARS UP

once upon a time, elysium would've dragged thorns into helping without even asking for permission. regardless, it turns out to be a greatly beneficial—not only do they make the guy's day as he proceeds to teach them how to repair chairs with bad legs, they score a free lunch and access to his workshop if they really need it. they seem like good kids? they're such quick learners! wow!

he'll have work sorted out for them the next day if they're amenable. until then, there's an older women who works as an apothecary closer to the outskirts of the village he knows has been having trouble sourcing her herbs recently.

with some pork buns to share as an indicator of his trust, elysium just looks visibly happy about this? it's thorns' strikezone!! ]

[ they are really just going door to door to charm everyone in this village, when they plan on banding them eventually. this is the kind of people they are now...

but thorns just nods his head and comments that they will go check that out. once the man is no longer within earshot, thorns turns to elysium. ]

That'll be simple.

[ he sounds so neutral about this but he is thinking of all the ways he can get herbs ]

[ they are innocently side-questing and doing the work no one wants to. at least for them, the quest rewards are worth it.

he elbows thorns teasingly. ]

Don't skim too much off the top.

[ they may have questionable morals and ethics but these are cute senior citizens ]

Hm? I would never do that.

[ ...

he looks over in the direction of where the clothing show was. ]

I should get a new jacket with larger pockets...

[ don't think too hard on how he made that leap in topics. ]

[ thorns could not be more blatant even if he tried. okay. ]

Say you make off like a bandit. What are you going to do with a bunch of grass? The most we'll need is for hunting and emergency.

[ they are no longer fighting people or monsters every other day of their lives? whack. ]

[ he just shakes his head, clearly disappointed that elysium doesn't just immediately understand the significance. sometimes you bond so extremely hard that you forget the love of your life does not share all of your questionable hobbies since he's normally in the room for them now. ]

You'll see.

[ a threat. ]

What if I want to see it now? [ he huffs, crowding into thorns' space with a loop around his shoulders. ] Explain it to me.

[ he is not so much interested in the science itself (even if he very will commit it to memory), but the asmr aspect of it: cute boyfriend lectures on the logic behind his questionable science experiments and need to blow things up a regular basis.

it's his version of storytime? thorns is such a fascinating specimen. ]

[ elysium this is ill behavior

i don't know anything about plants despite playing more than one ak who would know things about them. but thorns will explain how even the most innocent looking one can actually be quite useful, whether in medicine or toxicology, and while locals may know some uses they might also not have the equipment necessary to discover all of them, so they might be sitting on a goldmine without knowing it.

a goldmine to who, exactly? thorns. to thorns... ]

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