estoria | [closed] i was strolling through the park one day

Entry tags:

[closed] i was strolling through the park one day

Who: Mary Kozakura

coexistent
When: 5/20
Where: The Gardens
What: Puppy love plus one snarky jerk equals a fun afternoon.
Warnings: None for now!

[another day, another... day. it's nothing special. riku's got the day off from the action packed life of a stunt double and is just taking it easy in the gardens (far FAR away from any water-lurking monsters since he's not in the mood for round two of that).

walking around ends about more soothing and peaceful than expected. if it wasn't for the chance of becoming a tentacle monster's new best friend if you're not careful then this place might actually not be that bad. something else ends up making it even better, too. as luck would have it, a small vendor is selling ice cream a short distance away so might as well get something sweet, right? right. he totally deserves a treat, too. awesome keyblade masters always do!! seeing as he is so very awesome and deserving, riku starts on over toward the ice cream vendor.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Mary actually likes the gardens; it's a chance to see more of the plant life, the flowers still blooming and thriving, and it's easier for her to feel relaxed here. Which is hopefully the same for Roxas, which is the main reason she'd asked him out on a walk. Continuing to get some fresh air and distractions could only do the both of them some good.

And thankfully, there's also ice cream, and she's pointing it out-- or so she was, until she catches sight of Riku.

... And promptly turns her head away, because she remembers him teasing her. ]

[it's not like roxas really ever needs ice cream pointed out to him, but before he can react to that... well, mary stops and turns her head, which naturally leaves roxas a bit confused.]

What's wrong, Mar— [but he doesn't need to finish that sentence. or maybe he does, since he doesn't necessarily realize that she's reacting to the same thing. but he can get a sense for riku before he even looks (when did he start being able to do that? it's weird.), though his gaze still shifts to see that...

well, yes. riku is there. and it's just natural for him to bristle out of habit. even though he'd done the very same thing just a day earlier when it was necessary, roxas can't help but to bristle a little. old habits die hard, after all.]

[riku catches sight of the pair around the same time they do him and nearly laughs. two people making unhappy faces at the same time. not halfbad. not a personal best, but not bad. regardless of their joy at seeing him, he's approaching. even villainous types have the right to ice cream!]

Your faces will stay that way if you keep them like that too long.

[there's a pause as his gaze turns toward roxas.]

Not that it makes much of a difference for you.

[sorry, roxas, but since sora's not here? you're the next best thing to tease. riky hasn't done nearly enough of it lately, too, and can't let that get rusty.]

Edited 2016-02-14 05:44 (UTC)

[ ... There's some confusion now, and Mary can't help but look between the two of them-- because wait, what? They know each other? Except Roxas doesn't look all that happy, and as she turns Riku's comment over in her head... she can't prevent her frown from growing sharper. ]

That's not true.

[ Roxas smiles plenty, dammit. ]

It's not like anybody asked you for your opinion, you know.

[he scrunches his nose a bit. ah, yes. here's the exact reason why he always bristles when he sees riku.

because riku's a jerk about things always. and now he's dragging mary into it! which is obviously not okay, ever.]

[cue an eyebrow raise at mary. wow, a bit too defensive there. this makes the guess at friendship get bumped up to close friends. good for roxas, but a shame that it looks like he rubbed off on her instead of the other way around. the kid could use an attitude adjustment (...like riku's one to talk...).]

Maybe not, but facts aren't opinions.

[don't try to be rude or you get rudeku right back. roxas stands no chance against the sass master with 17 years of experience. he looks them both over.]

So you two are friends, huh?

[ WHY YOU GOTTA BE SO RUUUUUUDE--

And none of this is particularly impressing Mary, who is still wondering about their relationship here, but they're obviously not fond of each other. All the same, she answers Riku honestly, even if she doesn't like the way he talks to Roxas. ]

Yeah, of course we are.

...Only in your head is anything like that a fact.

[why are you spoiling this perfectly good puppy friendship time by being a rudeku. roxas is just going to keep making a displeased face about it.

and yes, riku. they're friends!]

I didn't know you knew Mary. [why do you know mary. were you rude to her? riku!!]

[because rudeku helps spoil puppy friendships that clearly want to be more than that!! riku eyes mary for a moment before giving a small shrug at roxas' question.]

Yeah, she fell for me a while back.

[a comment said in the most casual voice ever. interpret that as you will, roxas. no really, riku wants to see how it gets interpreted. call it a curiosity about how close a friendship this is.]

Wh-- [ Splutter, and now she's just flushing an indignant shade of pink. ]

I-it's not like that! I never fell for you!!

[roxas isn't even entirely sure what that's supposed to mean, but both the way riku says that and the way mary reacts is enough for roxas to grit his teeth.

what the hell is riku doing? why is he saying things that are flustering mary like that?]

Leave her alone, Riku. [he says it with a bit of a sneer. if riku had been this much of an ass to him, he'd probably be less angry, but it's upsetting mary, and that's absolutely not okay.] Don't make stuff up!

[because he's more inclined to trust mary on this based on her reaction alone.]

[interesting. a pretty intense level of flush from mary and teeth gritting about something that doesn't even involve roxas? that speaks volumes. riku might tease the two for a little while longer. testing a hypothesis is the only way to prove if it's true or not, right? naturally.]

I'm not.

[said in the most nonchalant, 'there aren't two puppies glaring at me' way ever. he is nice enough to not just leave it at that and elaborates this time.]

She really did fall; I managed to catch her before the ground did.

If you say it like you just did, it sounds like I like you.

[ A most unhappy grumble. Geez. Don't give Roxas ideas! ]

...You could have just said that.

[why does he have to complicate things and make mary upset?]

Whoops, sorry. Didn't realize it came off that way.

[riku says so in an almost deadpan while glancing over at the ice cream stand. award for the most unapologetic, half-assed sounding apology ever, truly.]

How about some ice cream on me to make up for the little misunderstanding?

[see? he can be nice! no ulterior motive or anything here, nope.]

... I guess... [ SHOULD SHE TRUST THIS, SHE'S NOT SURE. But free ice cream! ]

Oh yeah, you sound so sorry.

[it really is the most unapologetic apology ever.

...but ice cream? ice cream. this is hard, but roxas isn't refusing, even if he looks like a cat that just had a bucket of water poured all over him.]

So that's one maybe and one no verbal head chewing off for suggesting it which makes two yeses.

[riku knows the way to people's hearts (hah). his goodness knows no bounds and, why, he even steps aside so that the two can order up first. golly gosh, ain't he just swell and stand up gent?]

Pick whatever you guys want.

... [ Well, then. She'll go up and put in a quiet request for chocolate (because of course Mary's still shy of strange ice cream vendors).

Wait, does this mean Riku's hanging with them now?? ]

[this is so weird. it's weird and uncomfortable and roxas isn't really sure how to deal with it.

...but he's not going to turn down free ice cream either, so naturally it's sea-salt that he goes for before looking to riku. he's slightly suspicious even still—this whole situation is just uncharted territory for him and he has no idea what he's supposed to do.]

[yup, hanging with you guys and third wheeling it up in true rudeku fashion.

riku goes in for a nice and simple chocolate one himself. nothing like the sweet sweet taste of darkness. what'd make it sweeter would be not have a look of doom directed at him while eating. why not kill two birds with one stone and both prove a hypothesis while also potentially ruffling roxas' feathers a tad more. as soon as he pays the guy, he speaks up.]

You can knock off the death glare. [okay it isn't that bad, but details details. the punchline is yet to come.] I don't plan on sticking around long so you guys can get back to your date in a few.

[he finishes by casually taking a bite out of his ice cream as if he just hadn't said that.]

It's--! [ MARY DON'T SQUEAK. ] It's not a date!! It's just an... outing! A friend outing!

[ Riku why are you doing this to her when she's been trying so hard to act normal?? ]

A... date?

[roxas gives riku something of a look, but moreso looks to mary with concern at her reaction.

...?

he's confused by this, naturally. is this a date? what does a date even consist of? is this a date?]

[two reactions and dr. riku's experiment proved a success. the results boil down to main parts: crushing girl, oblivious guy. this… this is sora and kairi all over again. riku resists the urge to laugh and maybe simultaneously sigh, which is hard when déjà vu happens right in front of your face.

…friend outing, though. really? mary, good try but that high pitched squeaking that only dogs could hear gave everything away. rather than grill her on it, riku instead focuses on determining what level of obliviousness roxas sits at. please let it be lower than sora level.]

You know what that is, right, Roxas?

[is riku going to have to give a birds and bees talk here? educating poor nobodies on matters of the heart and not heart like a good samaritan.]

[ NO DON'T BE CONCERNED OR LOOK AT HER, MARY IS TOTALLY FINE AND IS NOT IN FACT DEBATING HIDING BEHIND HER ICE CREAM, THAT WOULD BE SILLY--

No, she's just staring sort of fixedly at the ground. Riku... Riku why. ]

[he does know what a date is. kind of. and only thanks to the help of other people, but before he can protest to riku, roxas is realizing how uncomfortable mary is.

which, of course, sets off his automatic defenses here. how many times can the nobody kitten bristle in one afternoon? it looks like riku is trying to go for the record.]

Let it go, Riku. [this he says with a little sneer.] Stop making Mary uncomfortable.

Pretty sure that one isn't on me.

[SORRY MARY. THAT COMMENT JUST MAKES IT WORSE AND HE KNOWS IT. and maybe is enjoying the teasing just a teeny bit...

but really, it's not his fault! most people won't react like that to an explanation of a date is! people with puppy crushes, though, are a different story all together. his next comment, one made to mary and after another bite of ice cream, won't help make things more comfortable, that's for sure.]

Must be some interesting dirt down there for you to be staring at it like that.

.......

[ Mary may hurt him. Once she's done being INCREDIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE, because Roxas is right, she totally is. Can he not point out how awkwardly miserable she's feeling right now?

Really, she could react with anger, but then Roxas might wonder why she's so mad over such an innocent-seeming comment.

So Mary does the next logical step.

Starts to tear up. ]

[roxas has been trying pretty hard to keep things civil, despite bristling like a cat at nearly every turn.

but there's a such thing as taking the needling too far, and the second he looks to mary and realizes that she's about to burst into tears? his bristling turns into the outright aggressive brand of anger that had them fighting in the first place. he's still got his ice cream tightly gripped in his hand...

but he's also summoning oblivion.]

I said quit it. Are your ears broken or something?

[w-woah, okay, tears weren't the intended outcome. it honestly startles him more than roxas pulling out the keyblades. stupid kid doing stupid things is the way the universe rolls. making a girl tear up via teasing... makes him feel like a villain and in the worst way possible.

but apologies can come later. dealing with dumbasses comes first. riku's not letting this level of stupid happen. the surprise vanishes and shifts into a serious, if heavy frown. no move to draw his own keyblade comes because, well, his brain cell count happens to be a tad higher, tyvm.]

I could ask the same about your brain. Are you seriously picking a fight in spot where people can get caught in the crossfire, Mary included?

[ This is what happens when you tease a delicate soul and she's not quite ready to freeze you where you stand, aren't you lucky-- except Roxas is summoning a Keyblade, which he really only ever does when he's about to fight something, and Mary's a little too stunned to say anything at first.

... Before she realizes this might actually be because of her, and she quickly blinks back tears and speaks up. ]

R-Roxas, it's fine! I'm okay!!

[ OR AT LEAST NOT WORTH WHIPPING A WEAPON OUT FOR. ]

[the thing about this situation is that riku's reaction doesn't actually make him want to concede at all.

even though he's right. and even though he definitely has no intention of hurting mary. he's still gripping oblivion tightly in his hand until mary speaks up, which does get him to concede... he dismisses the keyblade in a puff of smoke and lets his hand drop down.

but he's still got his icy glare on riku.]

That's not okay. What kind of jerk doesn't know when to shut up and makes someone else cry like that? [she didn't do anything to deserve that at all.]

A jerk like me, looks like.

[he says as much without hesitation. he knows he's a jerk and too much so sometimes. no denying that.

one thing that he's learned thanks to recent events is when to apologize. now is one of those times. with the keyblade battle thread eliminated, riku turns toward mary. the teasing tone of voice gets replaced with a genuinely apologetic one.]

Sorry about that. I went a bit overboard with running my mouth.

[ With one threat down (Roxas hitting a non-monster with a Keyblade), only one (Riku is a threat to her dignity) remains. Mary doesn't really look all that mollified, but it's more irritation than distress now when she meets his eyes. ]

You need to be more careful. [ Especially with a fragile soul, gosh. ]

[he lets mary handle this one. it's not really his place to forgive riku for what he said; he does agree that riku went way overboard, though. he looks no less agitated, of course, but he only keeps his trained focused on riku silently, for once.]

[the silence does say a lot about roxas and mary, too. riku makes no comment aloud (he's not nearly at sora's level of tactless, thanks), but it just about solidifies something for him.]

Looks like I do.

[even fragile things can take some teasing! wrap up the fragile soul in some bubble wrap and presto! mary would be exact easy to wrap up cause she's so bitty, too.]

I owe you guys another ice cream for that one. Next time.

[cause too much ice cream will only make the shorties grow wider and not taller.]

[ Well then, next time, feel free to wrap Mary up in bubble wrap and see how well that works. ]

Next time... does that mean you're leaving now?

[ Sorry, Riku, she's a little grumpy. She'll get over it. ]

...Is "next time" even necessary?

[riku's done a good job of pissing both of them off, it seems. the next time is necessary, and roxas is sure of that much... but it won't stop him from grumbling about it right now.]

[she'll be even more bubbly than before.]

Don't get too excited, but yeah, I got things to do.

[leaving peacefully with that would've happened... but then roxas opens his big mouth and no proper jerk can leave peacefully after such rudeness. mary gets a pass for the rude because of the tears; roxas lacks that free pass. riku quirks a brow.]

What, you like having me around so much that you want me to keep third wheeling today, instead? I'm touched, Roxas.

Riku...

[ Don't make Mary activate her eye powers here. Because she will and it will just lead to a lot of questions and general uncomfortableness and that will suck a lot. ]

[roxas is just so done right now.]

If you have things to do, then go do them already and leave us alone. [so to answer the question, riku? no. no, he doesn't want riku third wheeling. not now, not ever.]

[roxas' evil eye is way less fun than anything mary could come up with.]

You really need to work on those people skills.

[because clearly riku is the embodiment of great people skills. he takes another bite of his own ice cream while starting to walk off. no need for any attacking, using eyes or otherwise. ...though it'll be warranted in about two seconds. when he's already a couple feet away, he lifts a hand in wave and gives a final few parting words.]

Have fun on your not-date, you two. Later.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[closed] i was strolling through the park one day

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject