[Fine, fine, he'll tear himself away from the cat and catch up to Tsukishima. Looking at the drinks and snacks, though, a frown flits across his face, then quickly gets smothered by a smile and shrug.]
Ah - I didn't bring any money with me when I left... I'm good, though, I don't need anything!
[Oh jeez. Suga does, at least, have the good grace to look sheepish - he'd quietly hoped that Tsukishima would take him at his word about being fine, but he's also desperate for something to warm him up after being outside for so long. At least it's obvious that he wasn't angling for this outcome...]
Hot chocolate, please. And I owe you a drink with every post-practice cake from now on for this.
[All of it. He's putting on a brave face, but Suga really hates being reminded again and again and again of how pitiful he and his situation are right now. Just about his only saving grace is Tsukishima's enduring stoicism in the face of it all - if someone was fawning over him, Suga would just die of shame on the spot.]
He does do 'Get a damn drink so you don't die of dehydration and frostbite.' ]
Fine.
[While the barista works, he starts looking through a shelf of Sci Fi. He'll answer, if Suagawara says more. Otherwise the hunt is on for new (old) books.]
[At first, Sugawara just takes the opportunity to watch Tsukishima move around a space in which he feels comfortable, unrushed and unchallenged. There's a gradual loosening of posture, a softening of the stiff line of his mouth; before long, he doesn't look anything like the boy who so obviously has a caustic remark tucked behind his lips at all times just in case.
Tsukishima's always been interesting to Sugawara because his boundaries are so towering and opaque but the more sides of himself that he deigns to show, the more Sugawara wants to learn. He's like a 3d puzzle or model that keeps spawning new pieces to add finer and finer detail.]
Sci-fi, huh? [Curious, not at all judgmental or teasing.] What kind do you like best, space travel? Transhumanist? Political?
[Tsukki's in his element. Flipping through titles. Occasionally he scoops one up, skimming pages with brow furrowed. Similar to how he looks on the court, without the gritted teeth. These choices are smaller. Only impact him. There's no team, no tests, just books.
He half forgets Sugawara's around. Looks up blinking.]
[Another little crack in that massive protective wall.]
Some of it, yeah! Mostly what I like is horror, but the best horror usually crosses over with sci-fi. What's scarier than a story that actually feels plausible, right?
[It's... probably not a surprise that the second-brightest sunshine boy on their team loves horror books and movies, huh.]
Those are always my favorite video games, too. Everything going wrong in all the worst possible ways because some technological or biological game-changer fell into the wrong hands.
[Pardon Suga for a moment while he gapes at Tsukishima for drinking fresh, straight black coffee without even a wince.
... okay, now he accepts the hot chocolate and wraps both hands around it contentedly.]
Thanks again, Tsukishima-kun.
Of course, that's a classic! Have you seen The Fly? Just disgusting, it's one of my all-timers. [He blows across the top of his hot chocolate and takes a sip.] You still didn't answer, though. What kind of sci-fi do you like best?
Hey, we should watch a bunch of sci-fi movies together sometime! We could have a whole marathon, half your picks and half mine. I've got no one to watch horror movies with, Asahi's such a baby and -
[- all the wind goes out of Suga's sails at once. It's obvious who he was going to talk about next. Movies will probably be weird now, won't they? Too date-ish, sitting together in the dark with blankets over their laps until the early hours of the morning. What else will they have to give up while they adjust to this new normal...?
Damnit. The backs of his eyelids are stinging again. He turns to face a corner formed by two tall bookshelves and screws his eyes shut, hot chocolate cradled close to his body in tightly clenched hands. Don't. Don't.]
So he doesn't blow it. Reads the back of Terminal Boredom, instead. When he's sure Sugawara's shoulders have stopped shaking, he picks up the conversation again. Clean as a game pass.]
[Tsukishima's calm, even voice is like a balm for Sugawara's raw emotions. He turns back around with slightly reddened eyes but a wobbly smile on his lips, and the amount of fondness reflected in his eyes at that moment would even shock himself if he could see it.]
Heh, sure. I'll keep the gore to a minimum, too. And of course Yamaguchi's invited if he wants to join in!
Ohh, I get you! So I should definitely add Akira to my list.
[Sure, Akira's animated and thus might not even count, but the joke still proves that Suga's once again bouncing back. He grins at the sudden defensive scowl on Tsukishima's face - does this boy just live in fear of Suga's random bursts of affection now? - then wanders off to peruse graphic novels.
Spending time with Tsukishima really might be something Suga has to work into his schedule more often, if he can. It's calming in a way he wouldn't have expected.]
[Yes. It's annoying. Slides too close to the 'Big Brother' attitude some of the other players take. Needling and jostling Tsukki, bugging him about eating. Like he needs any more of that.
But Sugawara also knows how to be calm. Even on days that aren't going so well.
[Retreat a bit when the walls go up and Tsukishima will always follow, given enough time. Suga still doesn't feel like he understands the boy, but he's getting a bit more predictable with time.]
Not just horror, but there is one I've been looking for that went out of print ages ago... let me know if you see one called Flesh Colored Horror by Itou Junji, I'll see if they can put it away for me until tomorrow. I need this collection and it's just nowhere.
[He's scanning the shelves intently, finger skimming over the spines of each volume to make sure he doesn't miss anything.]
I love Junji Ito and also CANNOT have those books in my house XP
Oh, those ones are great! You need to read The Enigma of Amigara Fault, though... it's so weird, like just aggressively weird, and still manages to scare the crap out of me.
[Suga also loves goofy comedies and spy thrillers and even a few soppy romances, but somehow the conversation has swung toward the craziest stuff in his favorites list and he's endlessly amused by Tsukishima's reactions to them.]
I'd skip No Longer Human, though. It's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but if you know anything about the original story - bleak doesn't begin to cover it. You don't need to be inviting that into your brain.
Reminder to self - Do NOT search "Amigara Fault" before bed XP
[Suga sets his hot chocolate down on a shorter shelf and accepts the books from Tsukishima's hands with all the solemnity of a junior high student accepting cram school textbooks for their entrance exams. This is very serious business! Some printings of Flesh Colored Horror go for thousands of dollars, and even the most recent are disappearing into collections so fast that -]
Oh my god.
[The cover's not one Suga has ever seen before, so he almost sets it aside without noticing the title. Ito covers tend to be rather busy, after all, as does all of Ito's cramped, claustrophobic art when it's rendered in full colour.
But this is it. Second-to-last printing, with an alternate cover.]
Oh my god. [He looks up at Tsukishima like he's just come face to face with Ito himself.] Oh my god!! You're magic, Tsukishima-kun!!
[Don't hug him don't hug him don't hug him. Just keep both hands on the book. This is such a glorious moment, too glorious to ruin with a random attack of unwanted affection.]
[Of all the things that could possibly cheer him up after hitting such a profound low, Suga would never have expected any of this. It really does feel like Tsukishima cast some kind of magic day-improving spell.]
Maybe if all the bookstores in Japan have been hiding their copies on the top shelves, and I'm suing for discrimination if that's true! Where's the shop owner, I need to see if they'll hold this...
[With one more big, blinding smile of his own, Suga rushes over to the barista who made their drinks earlier to explain his situation and plead for a 24-hour hold.]
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Ah - I didn't bring any money with me when I left... I'm good, though, I don't need anything!
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I said they have coffee or hot chocolate.
Just pick one.
[Or he will pick FOR you.]
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Hot chocolate, please. And I owe you a drink with every post-practice cake from now on for this.
[All of it. He's putting on a brave face, but Suga really hates being reminded again and again and again of how pitiful he and his situation are right now. Just about his only saving grace is Tsukishima's enduring stoicism in the face of it all - if someone was fawning over him, Suga would just die of shame on the spot.]
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He does do 'Get a damn drink so you don't die of dehydration and frostbite.' ]
Fine.
[While the barista works, he starts looking through a shelf of Sci Fi. He'll answer, if Suagawara says more. Otherwise the hunt is on for new (old) books.]
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Tsukishima's always been interesting to Sugawara because his boundaries are so towering and opaque but the more sides of himself that he deigns to show, the more Sugawara wants to learn. He's like a 3d puzzle or model that keeps spawning new pieces to add finer and finer detail.]
Sci-fi, huh? [Curious, not at all judgmental or teasing.] What kind do you like best, space travel? Transhumanist? Political?
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He half forgets Sugawara's around. Looks up blinking.]
You're into Sci-Fi?
[Those are specific subsets.]
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Some of it, yeah! Mostly what I like is horror, but the best horror usually crosses over with sci-fi. What's scarier than a story that actually feels plausible, right?
[It's... probably not a surprise that the second-brightest sunshine boy on their team loves horror books and movies, huh.]
Those are always my favorite video games, too. Everything going wrong in all the worst possible ways because some technological or biological game-changer fell into the wrong hands.
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[Just then, the order gets called. Tsukki takes his coffee, swigs it - No sugar, no cream - Then hands Sugawara the hot chocolate.]
I'm not that surprised. You're nice but you also have a sadistic streak.
You've seen Alien, right?
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... okay, now he accepts the hot chocolate and wraps both hands around it contentedly.]
Thanks again, Tsukishima-kun.
Of course, that's a classic! Have you seen The Fly? Just disgusting, it's one of my all-timers. [He blows across the top of his hot chocolate and takes a sip.] You still didn't answer, though. What kind of sci-fi do you like best?
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Yeah, I nearly puked. Never again.
[Braced by caffeine, he mulls over the topic.]
Space travel. I'll read other stuff, but if there's not a spaceship what's the point?
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That makes sense - of course Tsuki wants to go to space!
[At least his hands are occupied so there's no hair-mussing?]
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[That is absolutely Sugawara's "Hair-Mussing" tone. Tsukki wonders when he learned it. Taking another sip of coffee, he glowers.]
well then i'll steal ur idea
Hey, we should watch a bunch of sci-fi movies together sometime! We could have a whole marathon, half your picks and half mine. I've got no one to watch horror movies with, Asahi's such a baby and -
[- all the wind goes out of Suga's sails at once. It's obvious who he was going to talk about next. Movies will probably be weird now, won't they? Too date-ish, sitting together in the dark with blankets over their laps until the early hours of the morning. What else will they have to give up while they adjust to this new normal...?
Damnit. The backs of his eyelids are stinging again. He turns to face a corner formed by two tall bookshelves and screws his eyes shut, hot chocolate cradled close to his body in tightly clenched hands. Don't. Don't.]
Yes this is BETTER
So he doesn't blow it. Reads the back of Terminal Boredom, instead. When he's sure Sugawara's shoulders have stopped shaking, he picks up the conversation again. Clean as a game pass.]
Do we get vetoes? Maybe your taste is trash.
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Heh, sure. I'll keep the gore to a minimum, too. And of course Yamaguchi's invited if he wants to join in!
BAD DW eating my post!!!!!!!
It's not so much the gore as the... Goop? Like, things melting around on you.
[Tsukki stays right where he is. Space is important.
Also, the look on Sugawara's face? It's close to the one he gets before Hair Attacks. No thank you.]
WOW RUDE
[Sure, Akira's animated and thus might not even count, but the joke still proves that Suga's once again bouncing back. He grins at the sudden defensive scowl on Tsukishima's face - does this boy just live in fear of Suga's random bursts of affection now? - then wanders off to peruse graphic novels.
Spending time with Tsukishima really might be something Suga has to work into his schedule more often, if he can. It's calming in a way he wouldn't have expected.]
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But Sugawara also knows how to be calm. Even on days that aren't going so well.
Eventually, Tsukki wanders over to his aisle.]
So - Horror comics, too?
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Not just horror, but there is one I've been looking for that went out of print ages ago... let me know if you see one called Flesh Colored Horror by Itou Junji, I'll see if they can put it away for me until tomorrow. I need this collection and it's just nowhere.
[He's scanning the shelves intently, finger skimming over the spines of each volume to make sure he doesn't miss anything.]
I love Junji Ito and also CANNOT have those books in my house XP
[The bookstore does its best, but a lot of the titles end up jumbled. Tsukki scans the higher shelves.]
I've read him. Hellstar Remina and Spiral.
Pretty messed up.
[That's not condemnation in Tsukki's voice. That is him impressed.]
tbh the images alone give me nightmares so i won't go near him lmao, but fandom osmosis is powerful
[Suga also loves goofy comedies and spy thrillers and even a few soppy romances, but somehow the conversation has swung toward the craziest stuff in his favorites list and he's endlessly amused by Tsukishima's reactions to them.]
I'd skip No Longer Human, though. It's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but if you know anything about the original story - bleak doesn't begin to cover it. You don't need to be inviting that into your brain.
Reminder to self - Do NOT search "Amigara Fault" before bed XP
Got it.
[There's a few more Ito books lurking. Tsukki hands them to Sugawara.]
That's all from the top. Is it in there?
drr drr drr~
Oh my god.
[The cover's not one Suga has ever seen before, so he almost sets it aside without noticing the title. Ito covers tend to be rather busy, after all, as does all of Ito's cramped, claustrophobic art when it's rendered in full colour.
But this is it. Second-to-last printing, with an alternate cover.]
Oh my god. [He looks up at Tsukishima like he's just come face to face with Ito himself.] Oh my god!! You're magic, Tsukishima-kun!!
[Don't hug him don't hug him don't hug him. Just keep both hands on the book. This is such a glorious moment, too glorious to ruin with a random attack of unwanted affection.]
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Someone brave might call it a smile.]
Now you're exaggerating. I'm just taller than you.
[Though there's a flicker of pride. Knowing it was him, handing Sugawara that book. Something worth searching out.]
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Maybe if all the bookstores in Japan have been hiding their copies on the top shelves, and I'm suing for discrimination if that's true! Where's the shop owner, I need to see if they'll hold this...
[With one more big, blinding smile of his own, Suga rushes over to the barista who made their drinks earlier to explain his situation and plead for a 24-hour hold.]
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