puppycrush2 | week three

[It's almost deafening in here. Noting the state of Lessing's ears, Sanji angles his head toward the former and raises his voice a smidgen in response.]

Yeah, I won at a slot machine the last time I went to a casino.

[He keeps his gaze trained on the blinding sight before them.]

Ready to try your luck?

[ At least Sanji has some experience here, so that's something. Slot machines seem easy in theory, so he'll go for them for now.

It's a real shame, because he did have plans to actually talk to Sanji on this date, but the music and sound effects are going to make that more difficult than he expected. Maybe on the way back to the house he can do better (or maybe he'll actually find that restaurant later).

First he just needs to blow all the money they gave him first. ]

I guess...

[ He sounds doubtful as he makes his way over to the slot machines. ]

Hang on.

[Once he has Lessing's attention, he jabs a thumb in another direction, pointing to a less occupied circle of slots off to the side.]

Let's sit over there.

[It's quieter. He's not on a mission to turn Lessing deaf for some coin.]

[ Bless you, Sanji. You're a good, considerate man who takes note of things like other people's discomfort, and Lessing meant what he said when he paid him a compliment in order to clear the gamified check list last week.

That's a lot of why he wanted to talk to him today, and that quieter corner, though still not exactly quiet, seems like a much better spot for it.

He looks visibly relieved as he turns to head for it. ]

Alright.

[He doesn't want compliments from a man!

Nodding, Sanji makes a beeline for the slots, where he slides into a vacant seat with his back to the crowd. He crosses one leg over the other as much as the gap between the chair and the machine allows, then leans back.]

The key is to bide your time. If you go too fast, you'll lose just as quickly.

[ Tough shit, bucko. You're getting them anyways!

Just that one time though. Lessing isn't actually that good at handing out compliments, so Sanji is probably safe now.

He will put some of the money gifted to them directly into Sanji's hand though now that the other man has settled, instead of sitting at the slots himself. ]

Great, sounds like you know what you're doing then.

[Phew.

Sanji arches an eyebrow at the money sitting atop his palm, then lifts his gaze to peer up at Lessing.]

You're not playing?

I've never really cared about gambling.

[ It's clear he was not the one that thought up this location for the date idea, and it's all on the producers here. ]

[He should've come here with someone else. Shaking his head, he leans forward to feed some money into the machine.]

Take a seat anyway. We can chat while I play some rounds. Then we can try something else.

[ He probably should have. This is all really wasted on a guy like Lessing, but he did want to talk to Sanji anyways, so he'll do as instructed.

......

.........

The problem is just that wanting to talk to someone, and being good at breaching conversations are two different things. Lessing stares blankly at Sanji's machine while he tries to think of something to say, a few different ideas forming in his mind as he does, the loud cacophony of sounds starting to fade into the background as the wheels turn in his head.

Unfortunately, while Lessing's mind might be actively trying to decide how he wants to say what he wants to say, to the outside observer (ie Sanji) it seems like he's just sitting there spacing out while stretching this into an uncomfortably long silence.

This is why Lessing usually goes to do manual labor when he has to mull things over, because it's a lot less awkward and a lot more productive than whatever is going on here. ]

[Starting off with a small bet, he rests the heel of his palm on the terminal and presses the button to watch the slots roll. Lessing's a quiet guy, so Sanji doesn't mind waiting. The reel slows to a stop, and Sanji presses the button again with the same low-stakes bet. Then again. And again.

And again.

. . . Is it just him, or is Lessing not going to say anything?

Finally, Sanji looks over his shoulder while the slots run once more.]

If you want to play, you can just say so.

[ There's the slightest start at that, as Lessing sits up a little straighter. ]

Oh, no.

[ But he has had enough time to get his thoughts organized that he's decided where he wants to start.

And that's with Sanji himself. ]

I wanted to ask, it's been a few days now, but how are you doing?

[ It didn't seem like either Dorothea or Sanji were left devastated by a bad truth booth, and Sanji had been pretty quick to pick someone else during the matching ceremony. ]

Hmm? Are you talking about the truth booth?

[That's the only thing he can think of that's from a few days ago.]

You're a thoughtful guy, aren't you? [He turns back momentarily to run the slot machine again.] Anyway, I'm fine. Dorothea and I both knew what we were getting into, and we accepted the result.

[ A quiet nod. That's good at least, since it seems like it'd be kind of rough to be put in that situation. Even if you didn't have feelings for the person you were up there with, it's still a dismissal you know is being witnessed by your peers, and that can be rough to go through.

Sanji's a pretty impressively strong willed guy though. After all, he was willing to make a complete buffoon of himself and stuff cigarettes up his nose while being on tv. Lessing could never. ]

That's good at least... and everything that happened after it too?

[ With Asa... ]

[Sanji's feelings toward the matches, and therefore the truth booth by extension, are complicated in some ways yet simple in others. He thinks Dorothea was more unsettled by the outcome than he was; for her sake, he's been careful not to make a big show of the negative result.]

If you mean the ceremony, it was what it was. We can probably expect emotions to run high all the time.

[Personally, the ceremony didn't bother him as far as his matchup went. He was called up at a contentious time, and Asa genuinely had better things to do than sit with him.]

[ A good guy with a lot of concern for people... maybe women a little more than men, but people in general. That's part of why Lessing wanted to talk to him today, though he's focusing on Sanji first, before slowly redirecting the conversation to that topic. ]

Seems like it's going to, and not just about the match making either.

[ He doesn't give an example of what he means, but Ritsuka's confession about her actions prior to this show had just come out, including all of the big reactions some people had to it.

Lessing's own face is impassive, hard to read, but he's clearly studying Sanji carefully for any signs of a reaction to the bait he just laid out. ]

. . . Yeah.

[As expected, it's another loss on the slot machine. Sanji runs it again, expression taking a solemn turn.

He's not so obtuse that he doesn't understand where Lessing is going with this. The latter cares for Ritsuka, and she really went through it the other day. Out of his element as he is, Sanji worries for her, too.]

But that's to be expected when you have a house full of people from all over.

To an extent, yeah.

[ He's broken up fights between students like that before. Though in this case... ]

People will probably work it out among themselves for the most part too, but...

[ He trails off for just a moment, sitting up a little straighter as he fixes his gaze very firmly on Sanji now. ]

Until they do, the people experience those high running emotions could probably use support from people who are a little more level headed. People from both sides of the fight.

[Sanji's hand rests limply over the slot machine's button.

Really, Lessing can be talking about anyone. The house has its fair share of strong, explosive personalities that more often exacerbate arguments than defuse them. (In fact, Sanji counts himself among them; he just hasn't had a reason to get truly angry yet.) Considering recent events, however, two particular sides come to mind.]

I promised Ritsuka that I'd watch over Josuke. As for her . . . she's been through enough. I don't care what the others have to say; I have no intention of ruining her vacation.

[ This is one of the reasons that he wanted to talk to Sanji about this, because he'd gotten the sense that Sanji would understand what he was saying here.

Though more importantly, he wanted to talk to Sanji, because he didn't think Sanji would isolate and shun Ritsuka. It's not a smile, not exactly, but the corners of his mouth relax a little at hearing that. ]

Not ruining it isn't just leaving her be after all of this though. It means still spending time with her, and making sure she's having a good time too.

That's a given.

[He bets on the machine again. It's an ostentatious thing, full of noise and flashy lights, but still easy enough to ignore.]

Ritsuka has been nothing but considerate since our first day on set. I'm not gonna treat her like none of that meant anything.

[ Now is when the corner of Lessing's mouth actually twitches up a tick.

Relaxing his posture, he holds his hand out for some of the money he just foisted onto Sanji. ]

Here. I'll try at least once.

[A brief melody plays as he wins a modest bet. Sanji glances at the sudden hand in his periphery, then meets Lessing's eye with a smirk.]

Didn't I say to start slow?

[He deposits a fair amount of money onto Lessing's waiting palm.]

Don't spend it all at once . . . Well, not that it's our money.

[ Lessing shifts the coins in his hand, taking just one as he stick in in the slot, and pulling the crank on the side to start the flashy, colorful wheels in the front spinning. ]

I don't think you can spend that much on these machines.

[ He could go to some of the other tables, of course, but it's not like he actually knows the rules of games like poker. A perpetual poker face is only going to get him so far when he doesn't know which hands are good. ]

week three | dates

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