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[gnasher]

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RIP IN PIECES 08.13.15 - END GAME

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[climber]

The way we got together was an accident, you idiot.

And-- [Abrupt pause, then hesitant continuation.] Everything else I could think of, we've already done.

[gnasher]

Like what?

[climber]

We go on rides together on the hill. Sometimes we eat there. ...or we just stay there for a while.

Like it's a spot, only for us.

[gnasher]

[romantic...]

Is that the only place you guys go on dates to?

[climber]

Pretty much. We go out together to places sometimes but we've never really had anything like a formal date before.

[gnasher]

Idiot, there's plenty left to do, then! Me and Makoto haven't even run out of date spots yet, and we don't just sit around on a big pile of dirt.

[climber]

We're climbers. Big piles of dirt are important to us.

[gnasher]

-- I get it, but you don't see me trying to hold every special occasion in a pool, even though me and Makoto are both swimmers. Swimming's important to us -- really important -- but it's good to do other things. It shows you care enough to put yourself out on a limb, and make an effort.

[gnasher]

[a pause, as Rin thinks about how to put it]

For our year anniversary, I took Makoto to the water park. We had a bungalow overnight, and we floated around on the lazy river, and went down a bunch of waterslides, and ate a lot of kebabs... the water was a part of it, but it's not like we were doing time trials. It was a new way to get at the feelings we both liked -- being with eachother in the water, and having fun. -- The aquarium's the same, it's one of my favourite date spots. And the beach. And Makoto likes the lake, he put up lanterns there once...

[he trails off, not sure if his point's been made clear]

[gnasher]

It's not just about the water, though. Makoto likes the planetarium, and the Korean BBQ place. I like the zoo, and the cafes, and going on picnic hikes into the woods. We both like the Ritz. We both like stargazing.

It's exciting to find new places and experiences like that together, outside of what we know.

[climber]

[This should be helpful. Instead Makishima feels intimidated as hell and thinks he's a shitty boyfriend. How can he compare to anything like that??]

...it's easier to spend time on a hill than in a bunch of water. [That's all he can come up with as a response. He's such a loser.]

Maybe trying this wasn't a good idea.

[gnasher]

Oi.

[it's a sharp reprimand]

When you're climbing up a big hill and you can't see the top, do you just let off on the pedals and roll back down?

[climber]

No. [Immediate response.] I've never done anything like that.

[gnasher]

Why would you do it now, then? Is the victory not worth it? Is Toudou not?

[climber]

[Immediate and angry] I never said that!

[gnasher]

[and less cold]

Then see it through. You wouldn't have believed you'd ever get this far, last year.

[climber]

[He wouldn't even have believed he'd be with Toudou at all last year. If he didn't have the patience and the will to understand Toudou and his feelings better, if he hadn't tried so hard and given him the same effort he does in all their races... this wouldn't be happening.]

...you're so embarrassing.

[gnasher]

You're so slow.

[a laugh, but it's not unkind]

It's -- hard. Doing special stuff for someone. It's embarrassing, and awkward. That doesn't make it not worth it.

[gnasher]

[ah]

Did I ever tell you Makoto slept through our first Valentines' Day? I know it's just a stupid holiday [no he doesn't] but I planned all this, stuff, for us to do, and made a fancy dinner and went nuts about it... and then it was a complete disaster. I thought I was gonna puke if I saw Makoto ever again.

1/2

[climber]

[He wants to bark back a retort, but he doesn't, because Rin's being entirely too helpful and he needs to stop being such an ass. Not only that, but he realizes this is a sign that he might be trying, but he needs to try harder.

It's entirely worth it.]

[climber]

--what? [What the fuck.] How does that even happen?

And how did you not kill him after that?

[gnasher]

He stayed up all night doing something for StuCo, those paper flowers and chocolates everyone got... [trails off into a grumble, eventually answering] -- I didn't want to kill him, I wanted to kill myself. It's mortifying, when you put all this effort out and it falls flat.

[gnasher]

I spent all day thinking crap like, holy shit! He's too embarrassed to even talk to me! We never talked about doing anything, why would the hell would he be expecting this! Holy shit, I went way overboard!

[are you more embarrassed yet]

[gnasher]

After we straightened everything out, it was fine. It's really stupid, the whole thing, looking back on it now.

But if I called it quits, we wouldn't have just moved in together.

[gnasher]

What's the worst that can happen? You look stupid? You fuck it up? Who cares. You try again until you get it right and he knows how you feel. He deserves it, right?