estoria | [closed]

[At first the idea of going from being with Ruby to being with Ruby was a little terrifying. It was nerve-wracking and he did his best not to say anything about it, but after the initial panic it was...a lot easier. Nothing had really changed between them if he was being honest with himself and part of him wondered if maybe they'd been kinda dating for a lot longer than they'd made it official.

Like Ruby, he's finding that doing things with her is more fun. It's weird, like maybe there's just an extra brightness around the whole thing, or maybe it's just like Tadashi said when Hiro had asked the difference between friends and dating. "You'll just know."

So anyway, this isn't unusual. He's in his street clothes today and his hand's clasped in hers and he's allowing her to lead them onward and forward today. Milkshakes are absolutely appealing and it's nice to have something to look forward to, even if he's laughing at her.]

Don't say I didn't warn you if you end up with something gross like a spinach milkshake. [He's using his free hand to open the door then, already glancing inside to see who else might be there. It's a small place, but it's not deserted by any means.]

[roxas doesn't catch who happens to be coming inside; he's seated across from mary with his back to the door, and he doesn't really pay all that much mind to the door opening and closing. people come and go that he doesn't know all the time, so he's not really expecting that a friend will walk in.

so for a minute, he's just got his eyes trained on his milkshake. it's mint chip, and... it's pretty good? he's never really had milkshakes before though, so it's kind of new to him.]

I don't think I'd want it every day, but it's not bad. [which is still more or less roxas-speak for "it's not ice cream, but i guess it's okay." minor details! he shrugs and looks at mary with a small smile.]

How's yours? [little does he know that friends are incoming.]

[ Mary's still studying her milkshake just as intently, just kind of admiring the darker red swirls in her pale pink concoction and forgetting to have actually tried the thing until he brings it up. ]

Right, I should-- [ Except she does glance up when the door jingles open, abandoning her straw and brightening when she actually recognizes who it is. ]

Hiro! And... [ girl holding his... hand... oh right, she vaguely-- ]

Ruby...?

[ LOOK AT YOU TWO BEING ALL COUPLE-Y. ]

Ewwww, spinach milkshake, that sounds awful--

[But Ruby's still laughing as she wanders on further into the shop, and she doesn't quite notice Roxas and Mary until Mary speaks up. She brightens up upon seeing a familiar face (even further, if possible, since she's already basically cheerful as can be being on a date with Hiro), grinning.]

Oh, it's Mary! And--

[...Wait... are they on a milkshake date........ To Hiro:]

Um, are we interrupting something important?

[It seems to be a pattern that the girls are the ones paying attention because Hiro sure wasn't until Mary spoke up. He grins at her, suddenly aware of how this looks and his expression turns into something a little more sheepish even if he grips Ruby's hand a bit tighter. So yeah. This is happening, but his eyes are moving to look at who Mary's with.]

Nah, Mary and Roxas do stuff like this a lot. [This time it's Hiro pulling Ruby closer toward his friends. He remembers what Mary had told him a few days ago but it's hard to really take it seriously when they're alone together.] Taking a break from ice cream today?

[oh. he's not really expecting anyone else, so when mary points out hiro and ruby, he turns around with a bit of an expression of surprise. he recognizes hiro instantly, of course... but ruby's an unfamiliar face.

but it seems like she's someone that the both of them know, so she must be okay. roxas isn't going to question it much. it's cool, though he's expecting some kind of introduction eventually. he's a little puzzled at being questioned over whether or not it's important. they're milkshakes... it can't be that important, right?

(only ice cream is important, okay.)

but hiro's question eases that a little bit. he can answer a question like that, and he covered the basics anyway.]

Mary said we should try it. Today seemed like a good day for it, since we weren't doing anything else.

[it's no ice cream, though. that's for sure.]

[ Mary's definitely taking in their clasped hands and flashing Hiro a-- well, almost awed look, but there's a bit of pride too. Seeing them like this, when it's not just Mary plastered to a mountainside while the two of them took down a griffin... they look really good together, she thinks. ]

That's because it's always good to try new things, and doing it together is better. [ She's adding this in, glancing at Roxas-- before she points to Ruby. He and Hiro already know each other, so... ]

Roxas, this is Ruby. She's Hiro's... [ ... uh. Saying "girlfriend" is a little embarrassing, and Roxas may have read the manga she'd given him, but would calling her that make him feel uncomfortable by reminding him about love and people with hearts??

She's probably worrying about it more than she should, honestly, but this is Mary, worrying happens a lot. ]

... really special person, [ she finishes instead. ]

[Roxas, huh... Ruby just commits the name to memory even as she trails after Hiro willingly--it seems easier to make friends when she's with Hiro, and she's not sure what that means, but she'll roll with it.

Besides, she is happy to see Mary again, too.]

Nice to meet you, Roxas! I'm-- um, Ruby, right, Mary...said that...

[Also hearing "special person" makes her blush a little, even if she's clearing her throat valiantly!!! And carrying on!!]

... Right! What sort of milkshakes did you get?

[That look is returned with one that says he'll explain a lot of things later, and the tack-on of "really special person" causes him to blush a little, too. It's still foreign to hear it from other people. At least Mary didn't say "girlfriend." He's happy that Ruby's immediately jumping right into conversation with his friends, more than pleased with the idea of his friends becoming her friends, too.]

Ruby wanted to come here because they have weird flavors. [May as well tease her a little bit.] They can't be that weird, can they?

Oh... it's nice to meet you too.

["special person," huh. he looks at them both curiously for a second, and he can kind of figure out what that's supposed to mean. still, it goes over his head just enough for him to not really question it.

it isn't really his business anyway, right? he can always ask mary about it more later, since it would be weird to say it now.]

Weird flavors... I dunno, maybe some of them are. [but he's not exactly well-versed in milkshake flavors.] Mine's "Mint Chip," apparently. I don't think it's very weird, though.

[they sell mint chocolate chip ice cream at the shop, and that's pretty much the same. only less frozen.]

I got "Raspberry", and I don't think that's weird, either. [ She looks up at the flavor board, though, thoughtfully. ]

But there's... bacon? And waffle flavor....?

[ Except she's looking kind of UNSURE about the deliciousness of any of this. ]

[She almost feels bad interrupting Mary and Roxas somehow, but on the other hand... new friends!! And Mary is nice and Roxas seems nice so--

Wait what.]

Waffle flavor...

[???]

Whoa, that is pretty weird. Mint chip and raspberry sound pretty good though! [A beat.] They sound like they'd go good together, too!

[Sorry, he's pretty stuck on "bacon" because why would you ever...but hey, at least he doesn't feel like he's actually interrupting anything with Mary and Roxas and he's tilting his head back to look at the flavor board, too.]

Raspberry and mint? No way...dare you to try it though. [He wrinkles his nose, staring at the board for a moment before looking back at Mary and Roxas.] You guys are gonna be here for a while, right?

[so many of these things seem unappealing. really... bacon and milk blended together sounds gross. then again, he's not sure raspberry and mint go well together either?

(or maybe it's really good, he's not sure.)

either way, he's shrugging.]

We just got here a few minutes ago so... probably. I don't think we're in a rush, right? [he'll ask mary, but as far as he knows, they didn't have any plans aside from this.]

Mm, I don't think we're doing anything after this... [ Unless Roxas has plans. But it's not anything big that they're interrupting. Totally platonic friend bonding! ] So we shouldn't have to rush.

If you want to try the raspberry one, though, you can have some of mine?

Only if you try it too! [But that's just said under her breath as she nudges Hiro with her elbow. Then she's quick to beam at Roxas and Mary, if... somewhat awkwardly.]

Um, well... you're Hiro's friends, so...do you mind if we sit with you?

[That's what Ruby was assuming Hiro was going for, anyway.]

[He's still not sure he's feeling it. Mint belongs in certain things and paired with raspberry isn't on that list. He shakes his head at Mary's offer though and he grins, gesturing to the counter to order.]

We'll even buy our own milkshakes. And it'll be more fun if all of us hang out together don't you think? [He's mostly asking Roxas at this point, since he knows Mary's thoughts on the matter. There's also the ulterior motive of, you know, spying on his two friends. Hiro's a nice friend.]

Yeah, it sounds like fun.

[roxas responds with a smile... he has no reason to refuse, right? they're all friends here, in some tangential way. ruby seems nice, and if both hiro and mary like her, then it's probably fine.]

Didn't you want to do more stuff like this anyway, Hiro? Just... hang out.

[ Hiro better not imply anything or even so much as lift an eyebrow over the course of this... friend bonding session, or Mary Will Have Words. Later.

For now, she's nodding enthusiastically, a lot more open and comfortable than Ruby's probably seen her. It's nice... having friends around her age (sort of). And even if it's not just her and Roxas, maybe having people around will distract her from her own thoughts.

But she doesn't actually add anything to the conversation. Of course she's okay with it. ]

[Just friends here, doing friends things.... only friendship. Friendship!!!!

Just two basically dating duos of friends here.

This is fine.]

Okay! Then... we should probably get milkshakes, Hiro! So we aren't out of place.

[Roxas is right. This is a lot more what he had in mind when he and Roxas had last spoken.] This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about. We'll get ours and be back in a sec. [He's almost pulling Ruby right along with him to the counter, making sure they're out of earshot before they step in line to order.]

We'll go out by ourselves later. Roxas and Mary are pretty good friends of mine so...it'll be fun to hang out with them today. Just don't think it's weird if Roxas doesn't get something. [He hasn't figured out why that is, but he's at least noticed the pattern. He's staring back at the two blondes, looking over the top of Roxas's head to stare at Mary. Unfortunately, he does in fact raise an eyebrow. They're talking about this later. He's so distracted with that though by the time it's their turn to order he ends up ordering two raspberry and mint milkshakes. Whoops. Sorry, Ruby. At least he's paying for them. While they wait for the milkshakes to be made he leans against the counter, still holding Ruby's hand and idly staring at his friends.]

I don't think any of us really had a ton of friends before we came here. You'll fit in with both of them.

[They'll return with their milkshakes soon. At least that gives Roxas and Mary a few moments to themselves, too.]

[roxas doesn't really have all that much to say on the matter, honestly. when ruby and hiro walk away, he takes a sip of his milkshake, looks to mary... and then looks over to where ruby and hiro are waiting in line for a moment.]

I guess it worked out we decided to come here today. It seems like it'll be fun. [not that it wasn't fun with mary already, but the idea of having other friends they can hang out with sometimes too is... exciting. before cerealia, he'd had axel and xion for a time, but it never seemed the same as what he saw from the kids in twilight town. hayner, pence, olette—they seemed like the types that would run around and try new things and just always have fun together. that's... normal, right?

so the idea of doing something that kids their age normally do is outright exciting to him, and maybe that shows a little in his expression as he takes another sip of his milkshake. be excited with him, mary.]

It's not as much fun with just me?

[ She could be hurt-- but that isn't how Roxas is, she knows. Being with a friend is a good thing, so being with more friends is even better.

So she does purposely try to keep that comment light, even if something twinges unpleasantly in her chest. Roxas is clearly excited, and it's not like she doesn't like Hiro and his girlfriend(??? whatever she's still ignoring the raised eyebrow Hiro offers) so there's no real loss here.

She'd already known there wasn't really anything special about this anyway. ]

Yeah... [ Her smile's a little muted, but the sincerity's there. ] I think it'll be fun too.

[Ruby's too far away to see any of this, of course; she and Hiro are waiting in line now, and that's when Ruby, with her eyes still trained on the menu, tries to be subtle, leaning over towards Hiro a bit.]

So, like...

[Hiro had said they weren't interrupting anything, but that had seemed pretty date-like to her. Like. Seriously.]

Are you sure they're not together-together. Because that was pretty romance-y, and I mean, I know I don't really know a lot of romance-y things, but sharing milkshakes together alone is sort of like... movies-romance-y, you know?

[She's just trying to figure things out here, really... she doesn't think it's weird if Roxas won't get things (there are a lot of things Ruby doesn't get), but should they really be interrupting this?? Even if new friends are good!!]

[He gives her a pointed look.] All of the romance-y stuff you do know is with me anyway. [That is to say they're both pretty clueless, but he frowns slightly. There's a story here, and he shakes his head quietly.]

It's complicated, I think. I'll tell you more about it later but they're not together-together even though maybe they should be. It's probably a good idea not to bring it up.

[The milkshakes are up and ready for them to grab and he takes one with his free hand, leaving the other for Ruby to take as he leads her back to the others even if he doesn't immediately sit down yet. He's thinking, that's all.]

Actually, I'm kinda glad we ran into you guys. I wanted to talk to you two about some stuff anyway. [And because he knows how he can come off:] Not business stuff, before anybody asks.

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