voidtreckerexpress

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Who: Inigo, Tidus (aka the two shared braincells duo) and you!
Where: The standard coach
When: Horseshoe 17
What: Inigo and Tidus are handing out free stuff because Tidus is the train's official sugar daddy.
Warnings: Probably nothing, will edit if necessary.

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Hey guys, forget about that public breakdown the other day. Today Inigo is on the ICP with a big smile, seeming as cheerful as ever. It's fine. It's cool.

"Good day, everyone! Tidus and I brought some things back with us from Irivar to share with everyone. So why not come over to the standard coach and see if there's anything you'd like to take with you, hm? We have quite the selection! Oh, and.. erm, Taiki, Roland, Bryn and Della.. If you could make sure to come see us, we'd appreciate it! Otherwise I might have to send Ti--"

Before Inigo can even finish the sentence, there's an offscreen obviously very Tidus-y voice calling out, "Inigo! Ask for Sakura too!"

Inigo huffs, turning his gaze to the off screen source. "I was getting to that!" (No he wasn't.) Apparently he accidentally pulled his ticket off the ICP as he starts moving away from it too, because the feed just cuts out. Just come get some sweet stuff.

---

Their set-up in the standard car is a simple, if messy, one. They have a few of their offered freebies on the same table they occupy, each guy facing the other, sat by the wall. From the immediate front, fragrant bags sit no bigger than a palm, a variety of scents better to tell when held to the nose. Whetstones sit stacked mostly on top of one another, and then a cluster of hair ribbons and circular hair ties behind them. Behind the bags are a few scent oils--basically, perfumes, if not very big. There's a few to choose from, but...

...not as many as there are the soaps, which take up a half of the table in their choice. It's like a lush shop here of choice, different colours and sizes.

And Inigo and Tidus? Sit there, either playing cards or fiddling through the paper craft book available from the art supplies where the old library used to be.

A chalkboard sits balanced, with the words 'FREE 2 TAKE' written in big letters. In case you missed the public announcement.

1:
Come up, and have a look. Ask about what they've got.

2:
Or while you're here, maybe you can help Tidus, who pipes up to ask-

"Hey, quick question. How long 'til you're comfortable hugging someone?"

(ooc: as a note, all threads on this will be threeways! please enjoy trying to handle both teens at once. you can't seperate them.)

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Ugh, again with the fans thing! Is Tidus just rubbing it in at this point? That he's very beloved, has tons of people who want to hug him, and Inigo doesn't? And yet he'd still much rather and with less complaints hug him than Inigo himself?

It stings, though Inigo knows by now throwing a fuss about it will just make things worse. He just has to swallow it down. Focus on the good things, Inigo! At least Nita says she doesn't mind a hug from you, right?

So instead he just clarifies, "Tidus likes hugging his fans." He tries his best to sound neutral as he says it, but he can't fully keep the pout out of his tone.

"... Not much of a sports person myself, if that's what you mean. But it's one of the ways hugs can happen, yeah."

Sometimes a frame of reference is just limited, Inigo! Gosh!

A wry smile comes to her face. "Well, you don't have to be a fan of someone to like them all the same, right, Tidus? It's not all the same context."

What do you mean, 'Tidus likes hugging his fans'?! Huh?? HUH???

"Right! They're just super excited to see you, and sometimes it's 'cause a big win happened! Hugging fans isn't the same as hugging other people. Or even friends!"

Wait. He has a point here, gesturing his hands (or waving them, slightly) towards himself. "You get why a hug's happening with a fan. ... ... and, you know," he adds mildly lower, "it was nice to make them happy."

HE MEANT WHAT HE SAID, PUNK.

".. I don't get it," Inigo protests, though not as loud as usually. It makes it sound less whiny and more genuine - like he really doesn't get it. Like he's trying to understand, even though there's hurt bubbling at the pit of his stomach, waiting to latch onto him more at the right moment. "Why wouldn't you get why a hug is happening with anyone else? What makes it different when it's a fan?"

His questioning look isn't aimed at just Tidus - Nita seems to know sports too, or at the very least moreso than Inigo, so maybe she gets it? She's smart, after all. And not as horribly biased against hugs as Tidus is.

"... That's a good question," Nita asks.

Another point to Inigo! Sorry Tidus.

"I mean, if you're used to hugs only coming for one reason, or just a few reasons... defining a new one would probably be strange. It's- it's like culture.

"Where I'm from, one of the closest big cities is packed, but you don't hug the people near you. You try to respect their space. You're just walking about going on your own business. But when you're at an event-"

Like sports!

"With people who are all after or enjoying the same thing, then spontaneous hugs make more sense. Is that like what you're thinking of, Tidus?"

"M- maybe?"

This is getting difficult, in an uncomfortable way. The way that Inigo speaks, and then there's about culture and packed spaces, and now he isn't so sure what he's saying, or anyone is saying. Is he just wrong? What is he even wrong about? That he's been awkward a few times at all?

"I'm just... when else am I gonna be hugging people?" That's what he doesn't get, and Tidus is looking away from the both of them now, messing with the 'flower pots' he's been cutting out from the weird brick paper that came in the variety selection.

"It's like I don't hug enough or do it properly." For you, he bites down, but it's right there on the tip of his tongue.

At least with the way Tidus speaks now, and the way he awkwardly focuses on the crafts they were working on - a move Inigo very much recognizes, considering that's exactly what he does when he feels awkward - Inigo realises that the other is feeling awkward.

So he tries to dial it down a little bit. It's not like he meant to force Tidus into a corner or anything. Inigo glances between Nita and Tidus, thinking. What would be best to say here?

Maybe he should just explain himself instead?

"Well, for me it's just.. I think hugs are very comforting." And Naga knows Inigo could use comfort. So, so much comfort. "And it's nice. Being so close to someone. But, um.. I know I'm kind of.. needy.."

"... Tidus?"

Nita feels more than a little awkward now, but she's picked up on something, and she knows she'll only feel more awkward if she lets the matter lie.

"You're not saying you only have that one context - hugs from fans - to draw on, are you?"

The tone is far from accusatory; she's not asking for a story, and given Inigo's change of tack she may not even be expecting a yes or no.

But she makes herself look at him, at both of them, with no shame creeping in.

"No!" His hands stop cutting, and he swivels his head to Nita along with the protest. "I've hugged more than that, it's just-!"

He means to roll a hand, but he's waving about the pair of scissors, all the more flustered. Ugh!

"I didn't hug much growing up-- guys just don't hug a lot where I'm from, or not my side of the town. We slap hands, or give a knock on the arm. That kinda thing! This-"

He makes a motion of hugging someone with both arms (and scissors still in hand).

"Yeah, you break it out for sports. After a win with the team, or a fan -- or even with a cute girl! You know..."

And he's about to say, I hugged Yuna--or thinks it anyway. But then he realises where his thoughts have gone, and he ducks his head again. Goes quiet for a second or so.

"...it's something couples do," he says instead.

Well, clearly that didn't work. Somehow they manages to swerve straight into the most awkward possible topic of all anyway. Because Tidus says couples, and Inigo knows exactly what his friend is thinking of, especially with the way he goes quiet, with the way he doesn't look at them.

Tidus is thinking of Yuna. He doesn't even have to explicitly say it. Inigo knows, and it breaks his own heart a little too with hurt for Tidus. He thinks of trying to comfort the other, maybe grab his hand or-- no, that'd just make it weirder. And probably harder for Tidus.

His foot moves under the table to gently knock against Tidus's own foot. It's simple, nothing insistent. Just a sign of 'I'm here for you.'

"I get it," Inigo says, a bit more softly. His gaze shifts over to Nita, a hint of pleading in it, like he's asking her to please not linger on this couples thing before they full on upset Tidus with thoughts of Yuna. "It's probably weirder to just randomly hug someone then."

"I know that's the norm in some places on Earth," Nita offers,

"And probably other worlds entirely, too. But- it's still strange, even to me after all this time..."

Nita, you're not that old.

But she does pick up on the awkward swerve, and picks up enough on Inigo's cue to stick to the new subject.

"It's a learning curve, not a- a speed race or anything like that."

Inigo knocks him on the foot, and Tidus flickers up his gaze. Adjusts it away again when he isn't sure what to say, silent communication or otherwise. Nita's comment on it being strange gets his lips to pinch, but he feels bad too, when Inigo says it's weird too, even though he realises he's being understand.

Just sure are a lot of words being thrown around here that aren't great for any of them, right?

"Well, you're not a weird random stranger, okay?" He aims that at Inigo, looking at Nita and then, for his own benefit - he groans, slouching in his seat some, leaning back his head.

"Ughhhh, it was a dumb question anyway. I hate serious conversations about nothing! Can't we talk about something fun?"

There. Let him be a goofball so they can change the subjects easier.

Inigo almost instinctively protests, wanting to say that it's not a conversation about nothing if Tidus's feelings are involved--

But he knows that's a dumb idea. Especially when they can just move a little away from the topic, away from anything that feels too raw. Even Nita is helping - and Inigo can't just throw that away, just because he may be getting a little insecure about his own needs, or a little worried about Tidus's mental state.

So after a quiet, awkward second or five, Inigo picks up one of the paper flowers he's been folding earlier, holding it out towards Nita.

"How do you think this is looking so far?" Look, his first attempts were nothing to write home about, but this one doesn't look too shabby! "Glorfindel asked me to help decorate the place using these. Tidus is helping me practice."

There, is that a better topic?

"Not every topic is a winner."

But all the same, she couldn't agree more on the need for a topic shift.

She appraises the flower, reaching out for it in turn with eyebrows raised.

"This is pretty cool. You worked on it together?"

Gently stroking one of the petals, she glanced between them again, then smiled.

"Gonna need a lot of them to fill this train up."

"I'm just cutting whatever he needs," Tidus explains; sometimes choosing which of the papers would be nice, but man, he isn't the guy with an eye for pretty around here. "I think this is for here, the library... wasn't there something about fabric flowers for medbay?"

But Tidus had no idea what they needed for that. The fabric, anyway.

Oh shush, Tidus, you're helping! Look how he's giving you credit, bro! Even cutting the paper for him helps!

"I think Glorfindel had some specific places in mind to put these up, but.." He pauses, then laughs slightly. "Don't ask me about it, I sure can't remember all the details of his plan."

He'll have to ask him about it sometime.

"But I figured already getting started on it and practicing can't hurt. I want them to be just right before we put any up!"

"Still, it's a good idea. And I don't remember hearing about fabric flowers, but I can help get the materials by the next platform if there's need."

Assuming Tidus didn't talk Piccolo into helping as well...

"And- I wonder... neither of you have done crocheting, right?"

She wouldn't be too surprised if they had, though. You really never knew on this train who did what!

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