[He makes for the edge; unfortunately, it's hard to look cool swimming when you're holding a pair of shoes up in the air. No showing off this time. He's laughing, though, still coming down from the thrill of the chase, so to speak.]
We'll see about that! [She's heading for the edge before she hops out of the water and sits on the edge, feet swinging in the water even though every part of her is soaked. Leon laughing is, perhaps, one of her favorite things about this day. It's nice to see.]
You know what could be fun for everybody? We could set up a mini-Olympics or something here. Relay races and see who can slide down the slides fastest and everything. The water temperature's perfect, too. [She's busy wringing out her hair and pulling her shirt away from her skin a bit.] I still can't believe there's actually a water park in Cerealia.
[He tries to be a good boy about getting an eyeful of Rise in a wet shirt, one that was already pretty thin material, and he mostly manages, but yeah he looks. Nice. He just strips his own shirt off, because he has that luxury, and tries to push his hair back from his face. There goes his hard-earned (with hair gel) styling, whoops.
But man, is he thrilled.]
There's all kinds of stuff here! I mean, CERES is screwed up and probably evil and all, but they seem pretty dedicated to the whole part where this's supposed to be luxury accommodations . . . except for when they almost kill us. But inbetween all that, it's a pretty cool place to live.
[He leans over to bump up against her side, just a brief, light touch.]
But we could make it even cooler, right? I'm all about this pool party contest!
[Let's be honest, at this point there's not a ton she can do and she honestly didn't think this through that much. If she's really bothered by it, she's not letting it show. On the other hand, she's leaning back on her hands even as her feet continue to kick the water, polished toenails painted pink and clearly seen through the minimal splashing.
She doesn't say anything at first, though her eyes do cut a glance at his chest before she studies his hair, giving that more thought than anything else.] It looks cute like that.
[And that's all she says before rolling right along, bumping her knee into him lightly.] I don't know if I'd call all of this luxury but it's definitely better than having nothing. Besides, some of the luxury places sound a little silly. [Like an erotic bakery.] We have a lot of competitive people here. We could organize teams and everything, and the people who don't want to compete can have their own pool--ooh, and maybe water volleyball! Do you think it'd be expensive to rent out the whole park for a few hours?
[He nudges her toes with his in retaliation for her knee, grinning. Cute pink . . . she's pretty and feminine from top to bottom, huh?]
Water volleyball, huh? I'm in! I'm a natural at that kinda thing!
[An expert handler of balls, that's him. He's never played in the water before, but it sounds like it could only improve volleyball. That and watching girls in swimsuits play it, which is basically the point of volleyball anyway.]
It's probably pretty expensive for one person, but you'd just have to ask everyone to chip in, right? By the time you split it between everyone, it won't be that much! And the park'll probably make money on it anyway, right? It's not like all these people would decide to come just on their own. So maybe we'd even get a deal!
[He's pretty smart about business, he thinks. An untapped talent of his? Totally.
And then, belatedly, as he pushes his bangs out of his eyes yet again:]
—You really like this? I dunno, it makes me look younger this way!
[They've fallen into a pattern of letting limbs and toes casually touch, it seems, and she laughs at his enthusiasm for the subject. (As long as Leon never gives her ammunition by openly calling himself an expert handler of balls, everyone will be fine.)]
I think I'll be the judge of that. [Another nudge.] I guess everyone could chip in if we don't make the price too high. [She's putting some real thought into this.] The park would make a lot of money on food and supplies like sunscreen and towels which would double its revenue plus whatever we pay to have the place to ourselves, but in order to get everybody here we'd need a really good selling point. You remember Lili's festival don't you? I was running an event of my own and one of the biggest things to get everybody to come was ice cream. I'll see if I can coordinate something with the owner.
[She doesn't give a verbal confirmation just yet about his hair though, instead reaching over to fluff it up a bit with her hand.] What's so bad about looking younger anyway? [She probably looks a little younger herself now that her make-up's worn off thanks to their swim but not by much.] That's why you always spike it up? To look older? Must take a lot of time.
Not just that! It's my style! Wearing it down doesn't really match my look, y'know? It's not cool!
[And he is nothing if not cool. Or so he'd like to think. He laughs and ducks his head a little when she messes up his hair, though; it's already a mess, he can't even be mad.]
Ah, that's why I grew a beard, though . . . that's part of the look too, but I definitely look way younger without it. And beauty's totally worth the time!
[Wait. He reconsiders that.]
Not that I'd call myself "beautiful." I save that for girls.
[She processes all of that, still fluffing his hair a bit because she can. He's not wrong. Wearing it down doesn't go with the punk vibe he projects everywhere but it's still strangely attractive to her.
But she gets it. She gets having certain things to have certain looks. Isn't that a large part of being an idol? Isn't that why she's currently the absolute picture of femininity right now? She definitely gets it. That doesn't stop her from pouting slightly.]
But he knows how he feels about this, and it doesn't immediately occur to him to answer in any other way:]
Hey, there's all different kinds! Y'know? A beautiful girl's just beautiful! If she looks good, she'll look good in any situation. It'll come through however you see her! And different girls have different beautiful things about 'em, too, so it's not like anyone has to be a perfect 10 in every way to be sexy. Ah, but that doesn't mean every girl's my type either . . . those're different things. Know what I mean?
[Wait, though. When he pauses, he takes a moment to consider, and then flashes her a slightly sheepish look.]
[It's about then she lets her hand rest in his hair before she pushes his head to the side, letting it tilt under the weight of her hand and dropping it back into her lap shortly after.
…the sad thing is that she's a good actor. She's calculating to herself, but she looks up at him with a more demure, curious expression instead.]
Not really. But you know the next question is what kind of girl is your type. You don't wanna lead people on if they don't stand a chance, do you? That just seems cruel.
[He rocks with the push and then brushes his hand through his hair as he swings back upright to look down at her face. The hair's a lost cause. He's not doing it any good touching it, but it's compulsive.
And he doesn't see through her acting, but he also doesn't know how else to take the pointed comment about leading people on. She's asking because—why else would she say it that way, right? Maybe? If not, then—?
His chest feels tight, in that excited, pleasant, familiar way that only a really cute girl can bring on just right.]
Uh . . . maybe you don't mean it this way, but just so you know, you don't have anything to worry about. Y'know, about standing a chance or not.
[She considers that for a moment before there's another peal of laughter and she pulls her feet out of the water, standing up to her full height and holding out a hand to him. She's absolutely not acknowledging that right now. It's a strange thing to think about, and something she'll mull over in private.
(For example, she can think about why it makes her stomach flip in the same way it usually does about Yu. People tell her she's gorgeous all the time. Why was this different?)]
Let's keep going. We still have a lot to check out don't you think?
[He looks up at her when she stands, and privately thinks, I'm pretty sure there's nothing else I'm gonna check out here as much as I'm checking you out right now.
But instead of saying that—he might have already been pushing his luck with the last thing he said, he knows—he reaches up to grab her hand and gets to his feet, dropping his shoes so he can step back into them.
She's not saying yes . . . but she's not saying no, either. That's good, right? It's good for him, at least: if she'd done something like turn around and ask him out, he's not actually sure what he would have done. He needs his own time on this kind of thing. So for now? This seems pretty ideal.]
Yeah, I'm ready! I've still gotta get my revenge for the slide!
[Well considering her shirt is still wet and see-through...but she's not thinking of that. Her mind's already moved on and when he's up on his feet she's slipping her shoes on as well. They'll figure this out eventually.]
Hmmm. Revenge? I'd like to see you try. [She turns and folds her hands behind her back, turning to look back at him for a brief moment as she begins to walk.] C'mon. Let's go check out the wave pool.
[It'll be a good day, she thinks. They can move past that conversation, spend the rest of the day checking out the park, and distracting each other from the aftermath of the robots. It's perfect.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
I'm gonna get you on the next one! Just wait!
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You know what could be fun for everybody? We could set up a mini-Olympics or something here. Relay races and see who can slide down the slides fastest and everything. The water temperature's perfect, too. [She's busy wringing out her hair and pulling her shirt away from her skin a bit.] I still can't believe there's actually a water park in Cerealia.
no subject
But man, is he thrilled.]
There's all kinds of stuff here! I mean, CERES is screwed up and probably evil and all, but they seem pretty dedicated to the whole part where this's supposed to be luxury accommodations . . . except for when they almost kill us. But inbetween all that, it's a pretty cool place to live.
[He leans over to bump up against her side, just a brief, light touch.]
But we could make it even cooler, right? I'm all about this pool party contest!
no subject
She doesn't say anything at first, though her eyes do cut a glance at his chest before she studies his hair, giving that more thought than anything else.] It looks cute like that.
[And that's all she says before rolling right along, bumping her knee into him lightly.] I don't know if I'd call all of this luxury but it's definitely better than having nothing. Besides, some of the luxury places sound a little silly. [Like an erotic bakery.] We have a lot of competitive people here. We could organize teams and everything, and the people who don't want to compete can have their own pool--ooh, and maybe water volleyball! Do you think it'd be expensive to rent out the whole park for a few hours?
no subject
Water volleyball, huh? I'm in! I'm a natural at that kinda thing!
[An expert handler of balls, that's him. He's never played in the water before, but it sounds like it could only improve volleyball. That and watching girls in swimsuits play it, which is basically the point of volleyball anyway.]
It's probably pretty expensive for one person, but you'd just have to ask everyone to chip in, right? By the time you split it between everyone, it won't be that much! And the park'll probably make money on it anyway, right? It's not like all these people would decide to come just on their own. So maybe we'd even get a deal!
[He's pretty smart about business, he thinks. An untapped talent of his? Totally.
And then, belatedly, as he pushes his bangs out of his eyes yet again:]
—You really like this? I dunno, it makes me look younger this way!
no subject
I think I'll be the judge of that. [Another nudge.] I guess everyone could chip in if we don't make the price too high. [She's putting some real thought into this.] The park would make a lot of money on food and supplies like sunscreen and towels which would double its revenue plus whatever we pay to have the place to ourselves, but in order to get everybody here we'd need a really good selling point. You remember Lili's festival don't you? I was running an event of my own and one of the biggest things to get everybody to come was ice cream. I'll see if I can coordinate something with the owner.
[She doesn't give a verbal confirmation just yet about his hair though, instead reaching over to fluff it up a bit with her hand.] What's so bad about looking younger anyway? [She probably looks a little younger herself now that her make-up's worn off thanks to their swim but not by much.] That's why you always spike it up? To look older? Must take a lot of time.
no subject
[And he is nothing if not cool. Or so he'd like to think. He laughs and ducks his head a little when she messes up his hair, though; it's already a mess, he can't even be mad.]
Ah, that's why I grew a beard, though . . . that's part of the look too, but I definitely look way younger without it. And beauty's totally worth the time!
[Wait. He reconsiders that.]
Not that I'd call myself "beautiful." I save that for girls.
no subject
But she gets it. She gets having certain things to have certain looks. Isn't that a large part of being an idol? Isn't that why she's currently the absolute picture of femininity right now? She definitely gets it. That doesn't stop her from pouting slightly.]
And what makes a girl beautiful anyway?
[Good luck, Leon.]
no subject
But he knows how he feels about this, and it doesn't immediately occur to him to answer in any other way:]
Hey, there's all different kinds! Y'know? A beautiful girl's just beautiful! If she looks good, she'll look good in any situation. It'll come through however you see her! And different girls have different beautiful things about 'em, too, so it's not like anyone has to be a perfect 10 in every way to be sexy. Ah, but that doesn't mean every girl's my type either . . . those're different things. Know what I mean?
[Wait, though. When he pauses, he takes a moment to consider, and then flashes her a slightly sheepish look.]
. . . Was that a trick question?
no subject
…the sad thing is that she's a good actor. She's calculating to herself, but she looks up at him with a more demure, curious expression instead.]
Not really. But you know the next question is what kind of girl is your type. You don't wanna lead people on if they don't stand a chance, do you? That just seems cruel.
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And he doesn't see through her acting, but he also doesn't know how else to take the pointed comment about leading people on. She's asking because—why else would she say it that way, right? Maybe? If not, then—?
His chest feels tight, in that excited, pleasant, familiar way that only a really cute girl can bring on just right.]
Uh . . . maybe you don't mean it this way, but just so you know, you don't have anything to worry about. Y'know, about standing a chance or not.
no subject
(For example, she can think about why it makes her stomach flip in the same way it usually does about Yu. People tell her she's gorgeous all the time. Why was this different?)]
Let's keep going. We still have a lot to check out don't you think?
no subject
But instead of saying that—he might have already been pushing his luck with the last thing he said, he knows—he reaches up to grab her hand and gets to his feet, dropping his shoes so he can step back into them.
She's not saying yes . . . but she's not saying no, either. That's good, right? It's good for him, at least: if she'd done something like turn around and ask him out, he's not actually sure what he would have done. He needs his own time on this kind of thing. So for now? This seems pretty ideal.]
Yeah, I'm ready! I've still gotta get my revenge for the slide!
no subject
Hmmm. Revenge? I'd like to see you try. [She turns and folds her hands behind her back, turning to look back at him for a brief moment as she begins to walk.] C'mon. Let's go check out the wave pool.
[It'll be a good day, she thinks. They can move past that conversation, spend the rest of the day checking out the park, and distracting each other from the aftermath of the robots. It's perfect.]