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[Nooo, don't look at his ears. Emil gives him a look, then sighs, but it's content; his precious boy who doesn't understand sarcasm... Okay! He will tolerate the ears.

And he will enjoy this Chroma, shifting to thread their fingers together and tugging Lalli toward the door and into the hall.]

Dinner! I picked a fancy restaurant, the fanciest. Within walking distance, anyway.

[This is what Emil learned space google searches for. But he knows Lalli, and he knows, logically, how strange it would feel to sit in a fancy restaurant in this place where everyone is a weirdo, so—]

And after I picked the restaurant I found a park nearby, so we can eat outside. Under a tree or something, I guess, you know.

[How did he do... Is this a good date...]

[A fancy restaurant? Dread. The fanciest restaurant? Dread 2: The Dreadening, honestly, but it's oddly difficult to focus on the bad when Emil is holding his hand like this. As long as they're together, Lalli will make an effort to suffer through—well, not anything, but most things, because Emil makes him... happy.

And of course Emil's smooth eating-under-a-tree addendum only strengthens that sentiment. Sitting together in what passes for nature in this weird city... like, is that a thing Emil wants to do, or is that a thing Emil thinks Lalli wants to do? Because it suddenly is, and he feels a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.]

...A tree. [It sounds ridiculous! Of course he has to repeat it as he looks over at Emil, but ah, look at how that faint smile deepens.] You want to eat under one?

[Instead of eating with everyone else??? So why'd they get all dressed up!!! No, no. He gives Emil's hand a light squeeze, allowing Emil to keep leading him right along, because okay! Alright. Maybe it's Emil's new ears... hmm...]

I do. It sounds... good. [A content little hum, then, before he adds:] Just us.

[His selfish little heart is obviously quite happy, thanks.]

[Annnnd... totally nailed it. Ten points for Emil, who is so good at real dating, he can tell. The smile is proof, and ultimately, that was his real goal. Fancy dinners are great, yes, and one day he'll feel like actually impressing some strangers with his fancy outfit, but not while he has these dumb ears and wants to impress his weird forest boy more than anything else.

So: great! Emil beams back at him, tugging him along. Fancy food coming soon.]

I want to eat with you.

[But like, differently from being gremlins in their apartment. He understands nuance only this much.]

I think you'll like it! Even if you only get a dessert, it's sure to be good, you know, it's that kind of place. And they'll put it in a box and we can leave!

[The joys of takeout. There's a nonzero chance Emil's idea of fancy in a city like this is, like, a higher end Space Applebees, but never mind that. One day they'll discover Space Uber Eats and never go out again.]

[Thank goodness Emil specifies that the food is going to be packed up for transport, because does Lalli see anything wrong with, like, carrying off an entire plate of whatever it is he wants? Hmm. He's gotten better about some things, it's true, but he's still... him.

Which is probably why he's going to wind up ordering buttered noodles straight off the kid's menu, but it's fine! He's not even thinking about what type of food he is and is not willing to eat, because listen, Emil...]

A... box? [Goodbye, soft smile; hello, confused look. He's puzzling this out.] How much food are you getting?

[How much food do they NEED! Pictured: one slice of cake sitting at the bottom of a crate.]

[Lalli... darling. Emil gives him a look, not quite getting what the problem is here because he's seen a takeout box all of once before.]

Ummm, a dinner? What are you getting, a single cracker?

[Dimly, he wonders if he should have also located a menu and let Lalli look at it on his own time, before they inevitably spend ten minutes looking at it and then he orders a boring piece of cake while Emil's exciting dinner gets cold, but. This is a date, and he will be patient.

The box issue still takes him a minute.]

It's not a box big enough for some idiot to hide in, if that's what you're thinking. It's plate-sized!

[Listen, in Lalli's defense... there's a lot going on right now! A lot of feelings being felt, specifically, so forgive him for being a bit obtuse—and forgive him for inevitably picking at Emil's food when his slice of cake turns out to be insufficient. This is romance? This is love.

Anyway, at least he didn't think the box would be that big. That earns Emil a baffled sort of blink, but oh, okay... plate-sized, not Reynir-sized...]

...Aha.

[Translation: Still sounds strange, but sure? He can work with it? So long as Emil continues holding his hand, all is right with the world, etc etc.]

I don't know what I'm getting? I don't know what there is. [And while he's in—wait for it—too good a mood to be pissy, he has to add a simple observation:] The food here is weird.

[Why do so many things glow! Riddle him this! Maybe he WILL order a plain ol cracker to go with his dessert.]

[Emil will get two plastic forks... He scoffs and waves his other hand, like yes of course the food here is weird, but it's also basically free because all they have to do is hold hands and kiss a lot, so it's forgiven.]

I guess! Most of it is okay, though. And it's not gross porridge with shriveled apple bits in it.

[So, pros and cons. Glowing alien food has its merits.]

Everything here is pretty bizarre. Isn't this whole place a bunch of cities stacked on top of each other? Who thinks of that?

[The bakeries here have plenty of affordable cinnamon rolls and cookies, it's true, but those ears atop his head still lay back a bit—without him even registering it, of course. There are just times... when even plain porridge... would be totally fine...

So maybe a part of him misses Draega! "Misses." He'd much rather go home, of course, but at least Draega was smaller than this wild and wacky place.]

Someone stupid. [Bam!] There's not enough room here. Everyone is too close to everyone else.

[Sometimes he can hear their neighbors through the walls, or, gods forbid, stomping around above them? The thought alone elicits a discontent little mrr.]

...And it's too bright.

Hmm. And it's loud.

[Emil doesn't mind the city as much as Lalli does, for sure, but it is a lawless hellscape compared to what he's used to, even as someone who isn't a Finnish country boy from the middle of nowhere. His hometown had, like, 700 people? Mora is a big city; this place is nuts.

But there are very exciting things about this place, which reminds him--]

Speaking of loud, [always a good start] have you seen those "cycle" things people ride around? Like a car with no outside.

[No... this is a bad description. Oh well.] I think they're, hmm, neat?

[Gods, it's so loud—but also so quiet, which is another matter entirely. Good and bad, you know? Tricky stuff, which is why he only hums in agreement, drifting a bit closer to Emil as he tries to picture whatever it is he's talking about.

...Huh. Effort is clearly being put forth, as evidenced by the way his face screws up entirely, but—]

Nnnno. [A beat, and then:] Maybe? Show me.

[One day, he means, but he gives Emil's hand a squeeze anyway. He's not immediately jumping to calling this thing "weird" or "pointless," so... there is effort being put forth here...]

...Tell me why you like them.

[Like, what's important to Emil is kind-of-sort-of important to him, too, but if they're loud...]

ic contact

I don't know what you mean

a mystery for the ages

will i ever be awake again

https://i.imgur.com/9sMSoBu.jpg

you were right

when am i not

often

🐝🔫

i don't deserve this

sure, jan