flameinthedarkness

"Okay, okay, okay," Cater promises, still giggly and bouncy--but he'll have to chill it on the raunchy art talk, anyway, because they've reached the store. It's shiny rows of capsule machines are right there out front, waiting and eager. "Let's see what we have here...aha! Phone charms! I'll try that one out, then, for sure. Anything catching your eye?"

...or at least wait until the second date, Cater. Give him some time. Today has been a lot!

But still... really fun.

As the got near the store to eye up the machines, Idia can spot about what he expects; some cute animal ones, the latest trending anime or maybe one a season or two behind since Sage's Island is so far out, some random everyday item set, some food set, some really abstract and weird ones. The normal mix. He joining Cater and crouching down to be able to get a good look at all the options. It does require him to let go of Cater to do so, but Idia's looking over them seriously as he would treat any other collectable. Hmmmm, what does he like here. Gotta be something he wouldn't mind either a one off of, or would want to collect the set. One way or the other.

Looking over and... yeah, he sees one he'd like to try for. "Yeah, I got one in mind." A bit of a smile as he goes to his pocket then, "Oh, guess we need change. Hold up." Standing again and heading inside for a bit.

He'll take a little bit of time... before appearing again, a hand out to offer Cater some change for the machines, "Here." But also carrying a box in his other hand. "I remembered you said you needed to grab something to bribe Riddle with. They had these strawberry cake things. You can take it back with you." Then sorting out his own change for the machine he picked.

Cater nods when Idia goes off to get change--and it reminds him that he still has some arcade tokens in his pockets. Guess he'll have to go back sometime even if Idia's too mortified. He's surprised when it takes a bit, but Cater leans against a beam outside the store and surfs his phone as he waits, stashing it away again when Idia's back.

"OMG! You're a lifesaver--I'd totally forgotten." It had been hard to even think about Riddle when he'd barely been able to take his eyes off Idia. He takes the box with a smile, peeking into it and absolutely taking a couple cute pics for posterity before finding a safe spot to place it while they get to their gachapon fun.

A few coins later and he's gotten some things that he intends to give away to other people, but then he gets one that gets a laugh out of him. "Hey! I got it!"

Bounding the short way over, Cater presents Idia with his brand new phone charm.

"NP, all good." Idia leaving Cater to do his thing with photos as Idia goes back to the machine he was looking at before, hoping it won't take too long for him to get the one he wanted... and the rest, well... eh, he's fine with leaving them for others to pick up, he really only wants one of them; a little orange cat with a jester hat on it's head. It's just too perfect.

Idia's prepared what he would consider enough coins, though ready to go and get more, but... yeah, hopefully enough, starting his RNG grind... and going... and going... and going... and ten goes later as he checks out the capsule and, "OMG, finally." What a pain, planning on leaving the others for someone passing to grab. He didn't need them.

Glancing up at Cater's cry, Idia looks over to see, "Pfft, yeah, I guess that works, huh?" Before presenting his own prize he got. "What you think?"

Idia's win totally puts his to shame. "So adorbz! OMG! It's like a little Cinder cat! It's perfect!"

He totally can't stop smiling looking at it. He was somewhat kidding when he said that Idia should get a clown...but he found one! It kind of makes him wish he'd gone for a cat to match...but he already has a bulky phone case, so the slim charm works well for its intended purpose.

"Make sure you give it lots of attention, I'm sure the little guy is as high maintenance as I am. Just look at that sly look in his eyes."

Honestly... it's super bulky for Idia too, and he really doesn't use a phone often, but... he can put it somewhere in his room. Maybe his shelf behind his computer, or by his bed. Somewhere in view. "I might get a different one later, smaller, for my phone. This is more, like, a display one." It would so get in the way on his phone... and he is not attaching it to his computer, sorry Cater.

"Ppffttt, careful saying that, may take up too much of my time if it's that demanding." Idia going to shove the little charm into his pocket but... sure, lets test it out, pulling out his phone to attach it and... "Guess it's ok." It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

"I really like yours as well. It both subtle but, like, we get it, right?"

"Yeah," Cater agrees without hesitation, stringing his new charm into his phone as well, admiring how the blue is striking against the red and white. "We get it."

And it feels like they're the only two people in the whole world right now, anyway, so who cares about what anyone else thinks. Cater looks up from his phone to Idia again.

"So, what d'ya think? Anything else you wanna try and fit in to the day before we catch a shuttle?"

Hmmm, did he? Idia thinking as he put his phone back away... finding that charm getting caught on his pocket in doing so but, you know what, having the little cat hanging out is kind of cute. He can deal with it.

"I would like to get Ortho something. I... feel kinda bad about this all. He always tried to get me to go out with him and first time I do... it's not with him." He feels like a bad big brother... "But I donno what..." Ortho likes board games, and puzzles, but that would mean hunting down a place to find something and that might risk them missing the bus. Maybe a gacha? But was there anything here that he would like? Like really like, not just like because Idia gave him one?

Hmmm, "C-could you help me with an idea, later on. I'd like something small now but... I'd like to plan a day for him out too." Maybe some sort of scavenger hunt around the town. He'd like that.

Come to think of it, Ortho is always so encouraging, trying to get Idia out of his shell. It makes sense he'd want to see Idia go into town, and that he would've been there by his side if it hadn't been for Cater making it a date. Ortho's such a curious kid, to boot...he'd probably love the chance to see so many people out and about doing things that doesn't involve schooling.

"Yeah! Of course! I'd love to help!" If he had a little brother, he'd want to make the trip unforgettable. "We'll brainstorm, and I'll do some more digging to see what I can find that he might enjoy."

In the meantime...

"I should pick something out for him, too. As a thanks for letting me steal you away."

"T-Thanks..." Idia would make it up to Ortho, somehow, and Cater really was good for this too. He knew a lot about stuff going on, and... getting to make something with him... ehhh, gods, what even was this day? It's so... chaotic. A good chaotic but... so much. Idia letting out a sigh, before, "How about some cute gachas? So we don't miss the bus." It would be no good if they can't get back, and the machines are right here.

Idia will give some tips and suggestions of what Ortho likes, knowing he would like anything they got him, and to work with what was here. In the end Idia went with a generic cute one, but didn't bother to check what he got, wanting to make it be a surprise for Ortho. And a second one for him, so they both got one each to share together.

Nodding in agreement, Cater sets back along the gacha line. Thinking that the blind box idea is cute, he adds a second one to the pool for both of them, saying, "now you can both try your luck together twice! Make sure to send pics of your prizes!"

With that, though, also not knowing exactly what kind of things Ortho might like, he pulls from a few more machines--after all, anything that doesn't work he can give away elsewhere. Finally, he finds something from a gachapon of puzzle miniatures and offers it over. "I don't know if Ortho has anywhere he can hang a keychain...but it's cute, right?"

Idia's brows go up in surprise as Cater hands over two items, not expecting that, "A-ah, you didn't have to... already done more than enough today for me..." And still was, clearly, Idia looking down to those two capsules before carefully pocketing them with his own two.

Watching on as Cater keeps going, a shake of his head at this all. WTF... but... in the nicest way, Idia's expression soften as he watch Cater take his time to try and find the right item for Ortho. Idia's glad too, if whatever this is they had was going to work then Cater had to be good to Ortho. They were a pair after all. Wherever Idia went, Ortho followed. He smiles a little as Cater speaks, "I'm sure I can make him something to hang them off him if he wants, or a space to hang them up in our room." He can see his brother wanting either of those.

With all that settled, all that's left is to head over to the shuttle stop nearby and wait. It's hardly anywhere close to curfew, but it's an odd enough hour close to dinner that there aren't many people waiting waiting along with them. Cater sighs as he stands, rocking on his heels as he cradles Riddle's gift in one arm. It's a good thing all those gacha prizes are small enough that they fit in his pockets.

"It's kinda weird," he remarks idly as they wait. "My hand feels so empty right now."

It's... strange. To be going back. Idia's sure it'll be even stranger once they finally get to the gates of the school, but this feels very... well, he's not sure. This all feels so strangely dream-like. And Idia's given up trying to predict how he's going to feel about this all, this day keeps getting turned on its head and throwing Idia off that... he can't even start to guess what is going to happen or how he's going to feel about it anymore.

And even if he could try and figure it out, Cater's less than subtle comment gets a smile from Idia as he reaches out to take his hand. "You're going to be such a pain if you're always this demanding." As if it's a bad thing. And to really reassure it's a joke, Idia moving so their fingers are linked.

"Ha! If I'm a pain you're a glutton for punishment," he teases right back, grinning in a sort of triumph when Idia's fingers wiggle into the spaces between his own. "But really, though, I also mean...I'd usually just be on my phone right now. There've been a lot of times today where I'd usually be checking Magicam, but I honestly haven't even thought about it."

Huh, "...oh, yeah, I guess... me too? Like, not Magicam but... anything?" Idia had really only used his phone to take photos while they were in the cafe. Huh, though... and it is Cater, "Ah, do you want, um... another photo? Before we head back?" Idia asks but it's in a tone where he's clearly not sure of what he's offering. He knows it makes Cater happy, but... he's not too sure on it, still. But being around Cater is making him wonder if it's so bad after all. A lot of things today have been like that...

With the suggestion, Cater beams. "I'd love another photo!" He hopes by this point it goes without saying that he won't post it anywhere--just keep it as a way to commemorate the weirdest and maybe most fun day he's ever had.

Not wanting to let go of Idia's hand, he puts down the pastry box so he can use that hand to take out his camera. This time, the selfie stick comes out--it's obvious that he's way too used to taking photos on the fly, the way he manages to set it up one-handed.

"Say 'nyaaaaa'~"

Right before he presses the shutter, Cater leans in and plants a kiss on Idia's cheek, hoping to capture whatever expression it motivates in his newly-dubbed boyfriend.

Sigh. Ok, no, he can do this. He can do this! Even as Cater brings out that selfie stick and... ehhh, Idia is so out of his element, wanting to hide in his hood, throw a hand up over his face to try and cover himself in some way. And he considers it, really does. But if it's just for them, and Cater has been a total brat all of today, in mostly a good way, then... Idia can try and get even, right?

So a Cater says that word and taking it as a count down to this all, Idia pushes past his nerves, planning to try and catch Cater off guard by turning at the last second to kiss his cheek. Only to find that Cater had the same idea!? Well, Cater certainly gets that shock from Idia he was hoping for, but not face on like he was expecting, instead in profile as their lips brush against each other for that photo before Idia leans back.

"WTF! I was supposed to catch you out with that! Not you do the same!"

Cater's fingers are faster than his brain, and he captures that moment before fully processing that Idia had turned his head and they both surprised each other with a kiss at the last second. "--pffft! OMG!"

Bursting out into merry laughter, he looks at the photo. It's both terrible and cute at the same time, slightly motion blurred due to how fast Idia leaned away, but their lips together and eyes full of gentle confusion.

"Idia! That's so cute! Hey, do it again, I'll act surprised!"

It's partially a joke and partially serious--after all, the fact that Idia was going to take some kind of initiative at all in that regard is kind of amazing, and a shock of butterflies burst in his stomach.

"No! No! No! That's all you're getting!" OMG! Idia's free hand coming up to tug at his hoodie, pulling it as far as he can over his face to try and cover it, leaning away from Cater more... but not letting go of his hand either.

"Why did you do that?!" It clearly being all Cater's fault.

"Awww, come on!"

He can't help but laugh--he doesn't mean it badly, of course, and even as Idia hides himself he still doesn't let go of Cater's hand, which tells him that he isn't too mortified.

"I just wanted a picture of you all pink and cute, but this is even better!"

"NO!" Stop it, Cater! He can't tug that hood any further! It's not his normal, deeper one! Stupid dressing up. He never is again. Never ever.

"OMG stop! You're horrible!" Idia is never suggesting photos again. Ever.

Cater somehow manages to whine even as he's still got laughter in his voice, all but leaning full bodily into Idia's side. "Don't be like that! Come on, how can you be mad at a face like this?"

He bends his body to try and sneak a peek into where Idia's hiding in his hood, giving him his best kittenish smile.

"Easily." Idia snaps back instinctively... then lets out a sigh, regretting it as soon as he said it. That was harsher than Idia had meant it to be. "...sorry." Another huff of a sigh before Idia stops mucking around with this all, not trying to hide any more.

But also now has Cater leaning into him. Which is another problem. "Um... you, ah, going to stay there?"

It is harsh, so even though Idia follows it up with an apology he still flinches in surprise, teasing expression falling into something a bit more awkward. "No, no, I'm sorry. Too far, huh?"

When his position is pointed out, Cater steps off. His phone stashed away once again, he rubs the back of his neck. "I won't do something like that again without your permission."

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