puppycrush2 | week one

[ Yeah, that happens. ]

Yeah, same here.

[ They're once again in the same boat, but Ritsuka doesn't look too perturbed by it, letting Josuke go to tap her chin. ]

I think I would've considered you and Ryuji as a pair, otherwise. I guess there's still you and Anna-chan...

But taking two off isn't a bad thing, like you said.

He was a maybe for me, but I figured he might be too similar to my friends already. [ And maybe the show wants him to be different?! ] As for Wednesday, I was hoping she was gonna be able to help me overcome my fears...

[ She was helping a lot already!! He even tentatively agreed to maybe see a scary movie!! He eases up since Ritsuka's let go of him, but doesn't pull away entirely. ]

Anyway, I don't think it's me and Yanami, unless her and Will fall through. [ she moves a little fast for him... scary. (affectionate) ] So that brings me back to the drawing board. Our best bet might be the two of us pairing up.

[ VERY CASUALLY AND BLUNTLY. He means it from a strategic standpoint, yes, but he also thinks it's obvious he likes Ritsuka and enjoys being around her. So she should be fine if he ends up picking her, right? Unless she shows an adverse reaction right now... ]

[ HE SURE SAID THAT CASUALLY AND BLUNTLY. He, in fact, said it so Casually and Bluntly that it doesn't register for about 0.03 seconds and Ritsuka is already sort of nodding thoughtfully because whatever he's saying, it's probably sensible--

And then it hits and he'll know the exact minute when it hits, because the nodding slows and her eyes go a little round.

Okay. Do not blush. You're fine. This is very strategic discussion. This is very strategic discussion, don't actually look at her, she's ducking her head, why can she not handle herself being the topic after so many Servants hitting on her-- ]

R-right, well, I sorta had that thought too... since you called me a dumbass and everything. [ Meaning friend status! ]

[ you're so fucking lucky she's getting culinary advice right now this would be prime spying time. ]

[ you just stay in the kitchen (proud, independent woman support) ]

[ Oh... why is she lowering her head? He lifts his arm from her shoulders gracefully, running it over the side of his hair. Maybe she wasn't thinking of picking him at all, with that delayed and surprised(?) reaction? Though she did say she thought about it. ]

You did? 'Cause I'm not about to be like those damn coworkers of yours.

[ He's not gonna pick her if she gives him even the slightest hint of not wanting to... he's still mad about what he heard about the drinks and the advances. Wanting to keep things light, he gives her grief soon after: ]

Or are you holding out on me on who your big plan is?

[ She's lowering her head because she can feel the heat gathering and she doesn't want to be teased about it!! But ugh, the ribbing gets the exact reaction he probably wants, which is Ritsuka lifting her head and-- ]

I'm not holding out on you, I was thinking you might be pretty high up there!

[ Thinking that and just didn't have a chance to tell him yet, right.... he laughs, not feeling bad at all for eliciting this kind of reaction. ]

That's great, then. There's no problem.

[ There's no guarantee the chips will fall that way (neither of them might be picking tomorrow! haha!! imagine that it would be crazy if they somehow both had pick tomorrow), but he's glad to hear he's not gonna step on her toes if he picks her. ]

I'm still thinking about the other ones, [ Mark? Kat? Sanji? Steve so he can continue trying to save his life even though he's a jackass???? ] But if I'm "pretty high up there," you've got to have some other ideas.

A few, yeah. But I think I could probably get along with anyone.

[ Her superpower. She is also not telling him he was the highest. Nope. ]

Kat's really cute, Lessing's easy to talk to, Minami and Steve both said I might be an option, Sanji's really supportive...

[ Yeah. The list goes on. ]

Yeah, I like Kat, too. And Sanji... his food tastes so freaking good.

[ This is a major factor but not the only. Anyway. ]

But I'm like you, I get along with everybody. Mostly. I gotta think about it some more.

[ There's a few sticklers, he's not gonna lie, but he doesn't feel too pressured to force himself to befriend them. This protag is fine not being chummy with every single person. ]

So why me? Like, I know we get along and everything, and we both kind of came here to get a breather [ among other reasons ] but... is it because we've been working well together?

[ Listen... Ritsuka, despite being on this show about romance, has largely been focusing on everyone else's romance, and has just been happy to make friends-- ]

Well, yeah, sure. But I don't see this as work.

[ He waves a hand at the space around them, referring to the whole game. If she's thinking that this is because he thinks they're good co-workers at the office, that's not it. ]

I told you, I wanna get matched with a friend, so isn't it obvious I should pick from those? [ Shrug!! ] Out of the other choices right now... you're probably the one I trust the most.

[ Her and Sanji, probably, just based on personality. She's working hard towards their goal and already knows a bit about the situation he just came from, so that makes it easier for him to relax around her. He doesn't mind admitting that — it's very rare for him to hide or choke down his own feelings, even if they might embarrass him. ]

[ Somehow, it isn't surprising at all that it isn't "because you're cute" or "you're really my type", which she'd pretty much expected because as Josuke said, he doesn't really think that way. It's almost a relief, and Ritsuka laughs before she can help it.

Not at him, but she does feel a little better about this whole thing. ]

Yeah, well--I trust you too. There's some things I'm... not really ready to talk about, and it might not be the best thing for anyone to hear, but I feel like at the very least, I can tell you about it one day.

Come on, don't make it sound so ominous...

[ He complains, dryly, not even wanting to think of what surprises may be in store. Fishing a comb out of his jacket pocket, he goes about fiddling with his precious hair. Well, she'll tell him when she can tell him — until then, he'll just have to wait patiently. That's fine by him. ]

It's definitely gonna scare you off.

[ Blithely. ]

I don't know. I've seen some crazy shit over the last few months.

[ Like rats that melt people.... ]

I'd say "bet I could top it", but you know... not really the challenge I had in mind with our next bet. And I don't think I'd feel happy winning it, either.

[ Just a feeling. ]

week one | overflow

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