bursts into tears

[oversea]

Comments

[oversea]

I'll try.

[ he is looking at the car though... ]

How do you get around over there?

[transmit]

[ in his mind palace: an image of thorns up at the middle of the night, staring at the engine with his flashlight… and then exploding. his stare intensifies. ]

The same way I get around here? [ why is he asking this. ] By car…

[ that someone else drives…

…

he's realising if thorns ever visits him he probably should pretend to be more of a normal person. hm. ]

… You're free to use mine when I'm not here, you know. Given it isn't totally busted [ IT'S JUST THE BATTERY!!! ] like it is now.

[oversea]

Don't worry, I'll look into it.

[ him saying this is not going to make elysium worry any less. but thorns is like, how hard can this be? he is going to watch so many youtube videos later.

he does remember that elysium mentions being in cars often while they text... but he obviously does not text and drive so he is a passenger... ]

You must pay a lot in ride shares.

[transmit]

[ NO!!!!! he is going to explode this car himself if it takes away thorns' time away from him. he's going to get an insurance payout like the cheesecake factory. ]

If I can put things on the company card, why wouldn't I? But I'm serious. If you can avoid taking public transit in this weather, you should. Otherwise you'll get sick.

[oversea]

I don't get sick.

[ this is so blatantly false considering their dating origins.

... ]

Do you have to... pay back what you put on it...?

[transmit]

Were you pretending to be sick that one time, then?

[ just

calls him out on it. ]

… And I never thought about it that far, but even if they did, it's not like my salary won't be able to cover it. [ … he leans over to thorns' side to open the door for him. don't think about it! don't think about it too hard!! ] Look. [ points. ] Our ride's here.

[oversea]

[ how absurd they must look, getting out of a car just to get into a ride share. but it's fine, the driver can judge... ]

I'm afraid to ever find out what your salary is.

[ thorns won't ask because it is both none of his business and also he does not think he wants to know.

...

if they get more serious it will probably become his business eventually. but they are not at that level yet. they haven't even kissed... ]

[transmit]

It's not as high as you might think since a lot of it is paid out from our portfolio. But whatever you decide to do, Thorns, I'll do my best to support you.

[ this could mean just about anything. thorns could quit his job and become a chemistry youtuber? the possibilities are limitless.

but the driver does ask what's going on with the car… elysium answers offhandedly that it's busted. the driver seems interested in the problem…? thorns can engage him if he wants; elysium genuinely sounds so ready to sell or scrap the thing. ]

[oversea]

[ elysium you can afford a mechanic. he really is so accurately giving off the vibes of a rich person. him no longer having to hide it is so funny.

but thorns will explain the situation... no there's no smoke, there weren't any weird sounds... since when? well no one has used it in months. the driver wonders if anyone can be this stupid but explains they might need a new battery so they should check that out...

thorns pulls out his phone to google car batteries. ]

[transmit]

[ thinks about how this au started solely to fuck up flat and with 0 planning and wipes tears

again, elysium doesn't have the time or the patience for anything or anyone that isn't thorns, so he thinks he's being perfectly reasonable about his actions considering his priorities. except, the longer thorns keeps talking to this guy, the more elysium's mouth quirks downward. he's only just gotten here, after however long they've been apart, and thorns is giving more attention to his car?

okay.

he kicks thorns' foot. ]

I can get someone else to look at it.

[ the uber driver looks at him in disbelief from the rearview mirror and says he'll do it in ten for fifty and gas. ]

Deal.

[oversea]

[ OKAY.

the driver is just happy to have just made some easy cash while thorns squints at elysium. he reaches over so he can pinch elysium's thigh.




and then gets shy at touching his thigh... ]

[transmit]

[ he pinches thorns' hand pinching his thigh in retaliation, and





also gets shy, but grabs onto his hand anyway. is this pda…? wow, bold. thinks about how they are probably a middle seat apart. ]

Why are you acting out?

[ hehe… ]

[oversea]

[ this is the tamest form of pda. the driver has definitely seen worse, and yet these two are acting as if this is deeply scandalous. ]

You deserve that...

[transmit]

Deserve what? For wanting more time with you?

[ he teasingly

scratches the back of thorns' hand.

it's probably even more annoying to watch this kind of behaviour from two supposedly grown men. what are they, high schoolers? ]

[oversea]

Were you jealous of your car?

[ they are still young enough that their brains aren't fully developed yet so it's fine...

he uses his other hand to grab elysium's. ]

[transmit]

[ don't give them that much credit. ]

Did you have to put it like that? I just thought there were better ways for you to spend your time.

[oversea]

Uh huh.

[ he looks at their hands. he does wonder where they would be at in their relationship if they weren't currently long distance, but he supposes that doesn't really matter since that's not what happened.

he squeezes his hand. ]

[transmit]

[ they would probably keep taking everything for granted and move at an even more glacial pace. but that's neither here nor there, especially once they reach the drop-off point and elysium quickly trades contact information with the driver. the things he does for thorns. tch.

but he never releases thorns' hand, tucking it neatly into his pocket the moment they're both out of the car. they're immediately greeted by a brightly illuminated street with mariah carey drifting through the air in a muffled echo somewhere nearby. ]

I just thought it'd be nice to get in the mood.

[ his steps are slow, but if thorns insists on his usual pace, elysium will go along with it. ]

It's a little late, but what do you think about setting up the tree together later? We've still got a couple of days to enjoy it on season.

[oversea]

[ the way that elysium really had to have been thinking about this... what was he going to do if thorns already ate.

but he'll follow elysium's lead for speed. ]

Mm, I think we can. It'll be... festive.

[ ... ]

A real one?

[transmit]

[ well

they could've still gone on a nice walk… he keeps his gait at a leisurely pace. ]

Do you wanna do a real one? They're probably all on sale considering the day. We could do that.

[oversea]

[ ... he is thinking of how annoying it is to get rid of them afterwards.

...

no, he should for... romance? ]

Yeah. We can decorate it.

[transmit]

You don't look super convinced.

[ he stares… ]

Should we get a fake tree?

[oversea]

[ he opens his mouth to say something, and then at the last moment decides against it.

'who knows when we'll get to do this again?'

by next christmas, elysium is going to be on the other side of an entire ocean, after all. ]

We can do a real one.

[transmit]

We'll have to get all the lights and tinsel.

[ with thorns' hand tucked into his pocket, he can't exactly swing their arms, but his grip tightens anyway, his whole mood brightening considerably. ]

Ornaments, hot chocolate, stockings… we have a lot to catch up on. I already have things I wanted to fill them up with. The flat wasn't decorated at all!

[ as light as the atmosphere is, it's solely because he's trying not to think about how, if they'd done this any earlier, they could have taken their time and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. he's still enjoying himself now, but there is that wistful aspect of it that this is far from the ideal relationship anyone would ever want.

…

can he make thorns happy like this? he can only hope so. ]

[oversea]

[ it wasn't decorated because thorns was not remotely thinking about any of that on his own, if elysium leaves while the decorations are still up, it will take thorns a while to get them all down.

but he does want to give this a try. and spending a holiday together is a big step, even if it's something they might have done if they weren't together. maybe. ]

I forgot to.