Dicklivery Service

[kokuryuu]

🧙 WHO: Souma and Jongdae
⚔️️ WHAT: Spotted Dick Mission. Two idiots with feelings sharing a tent, what could go wrong.
🕒 WHEN: right now
🗺️ WHERE: Ash Mountains
⚠️ WARNINGS: I predict language and suggestive themes.

[As the day drew to a close and the shadows were at their longest, Souma was steadily moving along at a speed normal sane people would continue strenuous. His gait had been this same speed all day, and he had never really broken a sweat. In fact, he rather looked like he were out for a constitutional in a park rather than climbing a tall grassy mountainside.

Every now and then he stopped to see if Jongdae were still with him, at first anyway. By now he was fascinated with the mountain in the oncoming twilight and he had stopped paying attention to anyone or anything else at all. This place was a bit like his home!

Souma was excited to peer behind each boulder or explore each tree. He chuckled to see each furry little orange caterpillar drop from the trees above like a tiny dive-bombing bird of prey. Every mud puddle or orb spider's web captivated him. ]

It is becoming dark.

[He says this while watching a large black and yellow spider lower itself from an ash tree on a thin line of silk. It's so amazing!!]

I think that this cleaning is a good place to camp. We should eat the evening meal. Sleep. I hear water from over there-- [He points to the trees to the left.] A small river. Smells clean.

Comments

[itsjiaheng]

[ jongdae has done his best throughout to keep up, not wanting to look weak or embarrass himself. he's done pretty well, all things considered — like the fact that just because he's still part-manticore, it doesn't mean he's still actually a monster with 'monster perks' — but he's sure to feel how hard he's been pushing himself later. how did souma do it??? was he secretly a machine when he wasn't a kelpie??? jongdae would be impressed if he wasn't working so hard. it's times like these he really missed having wings. it's probably only that souma stopped to look at things so often that allowed him to maintain his pace because it meant he had time for a breather more often than he might have otherwise. ]

Is it..? That's cool. [ it's debatable if he's even fully parsed what souma said, at least at first. give him a few seconds. ] Uh—...

[ wait. camp? ]

Here? But there's... like bugs out here? Where are we supposed to sleep?

[ this is maybe an obvious sort of question, but in his experience, even doing things out in the "field", there had always been a place to stay. he worked for a multi-billion dollar corporation at one point. their field teams were very well-equipped. he's never been camping by the normal people's definition.

as he drags his feet to catch up to souma, he notices the spider and manages to find the energy to back away quickly. ]

Holy shit. And why are the spiders so big?! The spider-iest clearing doesn't look like a good place, to be honest...

[kokuryuu]

I d-do not believe that there are clearings without a good spider or three?

[He nods at the disgusting looking many-eyed arachnid like it's NBD.]

Less mosquitoes.

[Souma unshoulders the heavy pack of gear he has been hauling and tries to find a compartment that does not use a zipper for closure. There isn't one, but he really doesn't trust zippers. They pinch you. Dastardly fiends.]

They gave us a basic battlefield tent. It is in here. Come, we must make it erect. First, is the ground-cloth.

[itsjiaheng]

Is that so? Ahaha...

[ but fewer mosquitoes is a good thing, even if it means he's going to constantly worry if a spider might drop down on his head at any moment? he's probably forgetting the last time he had a lot of mosquito bites because faced with the monster spider the spider seems way more terrible. but maybe if he tries not to stand directly under any trees...? ]

Make it—.. ah. [ he's too immature to repeat that. ] A tent though? Like one tent? A singular... tent?

[kokuryuu]

[Souma fiddles with the bag some more and then accepts with great disappointment that he must use a zipper to open it. He bends his head forward with obvious resignation and uses his fingers like pincers to carefully take the tab of the zipper and ever so slowly, try to open it. He is handling it as one might handle a scorpion tail.

This is when he catches what Jongdae said. And he jerks in surprise. And promptly catches his sleeve and a bit of arm hair in the zipper, somehow. By some gods-granted miracle, he stifles the yowl of pain. His face blanches slightly and Jongdae can see him swallow, steeling his jaw muscles and shoulders so that nothing shows. There is one vein on the left side of his forehead that can be seen as it works, and his eyebrows draw lower.

In another moment, he is staring at Jongdae while stuck in said zipper, his expression hard to read. Mystified? Wistful? Angered? It is impossible to say.]

Tent. Th-th-they said tent at the mission desk. Not tents.

[He looks down to try and get free of the zipper, with a snarl.]

F-foul little scoundrel. May your issue be full of old food crumbs, and your descendants fray at all the edges.

[itsjiaheng]

Yeah? That's—... that's cool. Just checking.

[ he's definitely not dying inside or anything. it's not that he minds sharing space like that. it's no fault of souma's that he's awkward about it. he doesn't know what he does at night. how could he? plus, there was the bit there where he was getting up to do things in his sleep, apparently, so needless to say, he doesn't exactly trust himself not to be completely embarrassing.

he's busy stressing about this, which is why he probably misses souma's initial struggles with the zipper. it's not until he cursed it — in that very out of a period drama way — that jongdae catches on and realises what's happening. ]

Oh, hey... lemme do it. It's easier if you have two hands for that, I bet...

[ carefully he reaches over to help, holding souma's sleeve while he gently inches the zipper back open to release the trapped material slowly. ]

There. Zippers are kinda tricky, huh? You should've seen me the first time I figured out buttons.

[kokuryuu]

I detest these little teeth-snake demons.

[He grumbles and then takes out a tarp which is intended to be the ground cloth, a tent, stakes, rope, and the poles. He glances up at Jongdae, then his cheeks pinken.]

Thank you. It seems... you are always saving me.

So, in return. I shall build the tent to shelter you. If you will help with the poles.

[The poles of the A-frame tent are folded up in segments on the ground, and they need to be snapped together, which seems another thing that is surely asking for trouble.]

[itsjiaheng]

The good news is they make jeans that button up...

[ why is he mentioning this? maybe he thinks souma would look good in jeans, but he'd hate for him to struggle with that zipper. oh, why does he think about this?? ]

I think we're sort of even though. It's not like you haven't helped me out before...

[ still, he can't keep himself from blushing a little. he has that reaction plenty, but souma has a way of wording things that makes his thoughts go crazy. it's sort of... romantic? or that's how he takes "to shelter you". ]

R-right, the poles. I can do the poles.

[ he straightens up to have a look at things. he's.... never seen anything like this before, but he's good at putting things back together! technically. sort of? he's going to give it his best shot, at least. there's only so many ways to try and put something together, right...? ]

[kokuryuu]

Mm.

[There's the faintest dusting of pink on Jongdae's cheeks, he can see it. Is that just his imagination? Souma stops and takes a good long look.

No, that's really there. He feels... what is this odd feeling? He isn't sure he has had it in a very long time. It's always difficult for Souma to identify what emotions he experiences, especially the positive ones, or the layered type. He prods at it in his heart, as he chooses the flattest area for the ground cloth and clears it meticulously of stones and smooths a hollow in. Jongdae will be pleased to know that it is several yards east of that hideous spider.

It is as he is covering the hard ground with soft leaf litter that something occurs to Souma: he is acting like a male crow or pheasant or star-bird, trying to show off to a mate. And Jongdae is his mate. That's the feeling he had, it was satisfaction. Masculine pride at having impressed his intended. A little smile quirks at the left corner of his mouth and he makes a point of carefully spreading the leaves evenly, enjoying this role. Because it is just as he said, he wants to make a shelter for Jongdae. A home. He wants to be that shelter.

He puffs his chest out, shoulders squared. It isn't long before he has the cloth and the tent laid out and he shifts his attention to Jongdae and asks in a low, sultry voice:]

Are you ready, Jongdae?

[itsjiaheng]

[ souma taking a closer look does nothing but make him blush even more, so he gets right to work trying to solve the pole puzzle while he can still salvage things and avoid getting all flustered over nothing. fortunately, it's not an overly complicated procedure — there's only so many pieces with so many ends — so it takes him a little longer to work it out than it maybe ought to, but he at least feels better knowing he won't make a complete fool of himself.

it probably also takes him longer because he keeps looking over at what souma's doing and it's hard not to have the same thought because he's seen the meme. he's quoted the meme a hundred times because he thinks it's great. the broader implications of him thinking about that meme hit him a little later, when he remembers the whole point was lemme smash, and now his mind is busy spinning around that thought. ]

Yes. Wait. What?

[ what he'd missed was the question but he'd already started talking before he could think of the simple act of asking for clarification. missed the words but not the tone of voice, which is probably why jongdae seems uncertain about his affirmative answer after a moment. said like that... what had he just said yes to? ]

[kokuryuu]

I need your help. To put the poles in. So the tent will be up. And...

[He has to stop and think of the next words, but it also makes a nice dramatic pause. He takes a deep breath to steady himself, and then moves forward.

He can count the number of times he has shared an opinion verbally to Jongdae on one hand. It might be so simple for there people, but to Souma, it feels very much like something he shouldn't do. And venturing out of that protective shell of safety... it can be intimidating.]

It will be fun.

[Souma pauses and looks directly into Jongdae's eyes. The sunset colors are reflected there, and it is so beautiful that he can't help but take a step closer. He bites his lower lip, feeling the familiar sharp way his heart aches inside, and savoring it.

If love is real, maybe that is what the beginning of it feels like.]

Camping out. Catch dinner. Bathe in a river. Watch stars.

You said that... that I should have fun. More.

[He fidgets just a bit with his hands, forcing himself not to look down.]

Do, do you remember? In Ryslig. I did not think I should. H...

[Here his voice catches, and he has to slow down to coach himself through the sound.]

H. Ha, ha-have, have. Fun. Because...

Because I th-thought I might. Become... accustomed. And then when I was sent back to... to my world. It would hurt so. Much.

[He looks to Jongdae now, wondering if that was too much to say. It's hard learning this.]

Sometimes... I fear that I...

[Souma stops and runs his hand over the back of his neck, rubbing it.]

I come across like a whipped dog. Don't I.