puppycrush2 | week two

[ ritsuka's disappointment means nothing to him, toplevel, he already earned it!!!!

anyway. he begrudgingly agrees to go, if only because he's surprised Ritsuka is even talking to him again at all. Steve had at least another week's worth of cold shoulders left in him! His feelings remain mixed; on one hand, he's still annoyed at how she talked to him before, but on the other, he genuinely meant it when he told her she was cool, and not talking to her kinda sucked. It's annoying, and exactly why he always says he prefers the company of weapons to people.

Yet here he is. ]

Trivia? Boring, [ he comments dryly. ] Yeah, let's hope for guns and volleyball.

[ Ritsuka can't be thwarted by one argument. Steve's going to have to try at least a little harder than that. And she'd told Asa she needed to keep moving forward, too. Which means bridging that gap again, whether he's ready for it or not. ]

Guns! Okay!

... Well, maybe we'll get extremely lucky.

[ Except the first question is about Broadway musicals and she's already grimacing. ]

Yeah, right.

[ he's never been lucky in his LIFE!! and he's not starting now, apparently. Steve balks at the question, sighing in exasperation. ]

I don't know anything about musicals!

Neither do I.

... I think we're in for a rough time.

[ She at least sounds apologetic. Even though she had no idea this was the destination. ]

Story of my life.

[ he leans back, crossing his arms behind his head and looking resigned. This is going to be an awkward date - he can feel it. ]

They might let us go back if we ask.

Done with me already?

[ It's said very lightly, though. ]

[ girl, don't make him answer that right now. He scoffs in lieu of an actual reply. ]

I don't like losing, [ he offers instead. A pause while another team turns in their answer. ] Why'd you even ask me?

[ She just scribbles in "The Phantom of the Opera" which she only knows because she knows the Phantom--it's fine. It's a musical. ]

Because you're right, I hardly know anything about you. And unless I do something about that, it won't change.

[ And she's not about to let them avoid each other over something like that. ]

You're also gonna have to call me a hell of a lot worse than "preachy" to shake me for more than a day.

[ that's also the only musical Steve knows. I'm so glad.

he kind of just assumed she'd dump him (as a friend, naturally) because that's how these things have gone in his life - Claire was probably an exception, he'd thought - but here she is. It's a welcome surprise; apparently, it was weighing on him more than he realized, because he feels better almost immediately. ]

Oh yeah? Be careful what you wish for. I can be a real piece of work.

I'm used to that. [ Sincerely. ]

Though usually people don't tell me that outright? It's usually "you just don't appreciate how great I am", or something along those lines. The honesty's nice!

[ Steve calling himself a piece of work sure is something! ]

Ouch. You're the one being a little too honest here.

[ she didn't have to agree with him......... ]

Well, calling me preachy hurt a little too.

[ So there. ]

And if I thought you were as bad as you say, I'd probably wait a little longer before reaching out.

So I'm still bad? Harsh.

[ he sighs... but also, yeah, he knows he's a little fucked up, so he can't argue that much. The buzzer for the answer goes off - unsurprisingly, they were wrong - and Steve shakes his head. ]

... Sorry for saying that to you.

... It's okay. [ It's fine, buzzer. They don't need you. ]

I'm sorry for making you feel like you had to.

[ at that, he actually smiles - a warm one rather than his usual cocky grin - before shaking his head again, more faintly. ]

It's not you. Back home, I got jerked around a lot. It felt like everyone thought they knew what was best for me and didn't give a damn what I thought - especially my dad. Bit both of us in the ass later.

[ the next question is up!! and it's... about what geological time period T. rex lived in. Steve squints at the board, then sighs. ]

We're so screwed.

So you had to deal with a lot of it, huh? I can get why you'd be frustrated... especially with it coming from your family.

[ She pauses at the question. ]

Wait, maybe I know this one... Cretaceous?

It's a whole stupid mess. You don't even wanna know.

[ he's at least had more time to sit with it - or most of it, anyway. The most recent wound is still raw, but he's been so preoccupied with his own demise that he hasn't had time to think about his dad's.

More importantly: dinosaurs. ]

Wait, really? [ a beat. ] Not Jurassic? There was one in Jurassic Park.

Try me sometime. [ She's also lived out a bunch of whole stupid messes. ]

But yeah, I thiiiiink the Jurassic period ended before that. I think it probably sounded better for the movie to call it that, though, because "Cretaceous Park" just sounds weird, doesn't it?

week two | dates

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