["Something else," huh? His eyes spark with curiousity as he wonders what that might be. Despite his obnoxious personality, he does want to tell Jun the things he wants to hear. Jun deserves to have a partner who makes him feel loved. It's just hard to find a middle ground sometimes between holding back enough not to embarrass himself and holding back too much.
But maybe, just maybe, he doesn't need to hold back at all. Not all the time, anyway. Maybe he can live with a little embarrassment.
And he's not embarrassed at all now as he opens his mouth and confirms:]
Well, I do mean it.
[There's no teasing tone, no argument; it's not a sassy retort. He just smiles gently, hoping his sincerity will shine through.
Jun does look handsome in the suit; they both do. That much is abundantly clear from looking at themselves in the mirror. They make an attractive couple, which he knows is what the suits are for: not a unit outfit (though they could be worn as such), but a couple's outfit. He and Jun were recognized as lovers. Not just cards.
He thinks about that and about the gold string that hasn't come off yet, even though he's done away with all his other strings at this point. He thinks about the suite they share together, the bird who's sleeping in her nest, the life they've built here. All of it as a pair, as "partners." Not alone.
He looks at them in the mirror, his fingers twined together with Jun's. His are still colder than their usual temperature. Timeline-wise, the connection with Esikko should still be ongoing, which I failed to realize when I started this thread. At least Weiss helped him find a way to cope with it. A reminder that things are less-than-ideal. Nothing is ideal; they're still being toyed with at every opportunity, still in danger of disappearing. Yet it wouldn't be the first time they've survived a corrupt environment. And not just survived, but thrived... isn't that right?
For the first time since Vil told him about the statues, he feels something like hope swell in his chest.
He turns to look at Jun properly.]
I don't quite know how to explain. But doesn't it sort of feel like our love is being recognized? Of course I don't need anyone's approval to love Jun-kun. And we don't need matching outfits, matching rings, or anything like that, either. But...
[He squeezes Jun's hand, his eyes narrowing in thought.]
It feels good to have something like that anyway, doesn't it? It's another way to show where our hearts are, no matter how much they say that sort of thing isn't done here. It feels almost like we're being told not to give up. And I wonder...
[He trails off.
Jin Mingming said the goal of this place, more or less, was to get everyone to be intimate with people they never would've met otherwise. People from different worlds. In doing so, this changes their fate. She said she didn't think being intimate with someone from their homeworld would promote longevity within the resort. But she also gave them this gift. Was it a consolation prize, because she knew her words upset him? Or was it an attempt to say something else?]
1/2
But maybe, just maybe, he doesn't need to hold back at all. Not all the time, anyway. Maybe he can live with a little embarrassment.
And he's not embarrassed at all now as he opens his mouth and confirms:]
Well, I do mean it.
[There's no teasing tone, no argument; it's not a sassy retort. He just smiles gently, hoping his sincerity will shine through.
Jun does look handsome in the suit; they both do. That much is abundantly clear from looking at themselves in the mirror. They make an attractive couple, which he knows is what the suits are for: not a unit outfit (though they could be worn as such), but a couple's outfit. He and Jun were recognized as lovers. Not just cards.
He thinks about that and about the gold string that hasn't come off yet, even though he's done away with all his other strings at this point. He thinks about the suite they share together, the bird who's sleeping in her nest, the life they've built here. All of it as a pair, as "partners." Not alone.
He looks at them in the mirror, his fingers twined together with Jun's. His are still colder than their usual temperature. Timeline-wise, the connection with Esikko should still be ongoing, which I failed to realize when I started this thread. At least Weiss helped him find a way to cope with it. A reminder that things are less-than-ideal. Nothing is ideal; they're still being toyed with at every opportunity, still in danger of disappearing. Yet it wouldn't be the first time they've survived a corrupt environment. And not just survived, but thrived... isn't that right?
For the first time since Vil told him about the statues, he feels something like hope swell in his chest.
He turns to look at Jun properly.]
I don't quite know how to explain. But doesn't it sort of feel like our love is being recognized? Of course I don't need anyone's approval to love Jun-kun. And we don't need matching outfits, matching rings, or anything like that, either. But...
[He squeezes Jun's hand, his eyes narrowing in thought.]
It feels good to have something like that anyway, doesn't it? It's another way to show where our hearts are, no matter how much they say that sort of thing isn't done here. It feels almost like we're being told not to give up. And I wonder...
[He trails off.
Jin Mingming said the goal of this place, more or less, was to get everyone to be intimate with people they never would've met otherwise. People from different worlds. In doing so, this changes their fate. She said she didn't think being intimate with someone from their homeworld would promote longevity within the resort. But she also gave them this gift. Was it a consolation prize, because she knew her words upset him? Or was it an attempt to say something else?]