open || sky's blue daba dee daba da

[complementing]

WHO: YOU
WHERE: Peach Beach
WHEN: Backdated to November 4th, all day
WHAT: BLUE SKIES AND OCEANS ARE BACK. So it's time for a beach party to enjoy them. In November. Bring a jacket.
WARNINGS: None at all!

[THE SKY IS BLUE AGAIN. And after a run down to Peach Beach, Minako realizes that THE OCEAN IS BLUE AGAIN too. This is such a joyous occasion that Minako calls in sick at work to be able to enjoy the day to the fullest. But why just enjoy this by herself? This is the text she sends out to everyone she knows.]

come down to Peach Beach for a sky and ocean viewing party today!!! BLUE IS BACK!!! Invite all the Retrospeccers you can think of!!

[Thanks to a quick call to Yoon-sung, catering is called in, and there's free food for everyone to eat, as well as several large bonfires for people to roast marshmallows and keep warm by. But mostly, there's a lot of blankets and chairs for people to sit on for ocean and sky watching. That's literally all this gathering is for.]

Comments

[androidheart]

[Angela snickers at Minato's curious sense of humor. It's pretty funny when he makes an effort like this, no matter how dryly it may come off.]

Uh-uh...You were just...you. But blue. It felt very familiar, I was happy to see you.

Though I am always happy to see you.

So perhaps she and I are quite similar. [beeeam]

[compendiem]

You'd be one of the only ones, [ he murmurs at his knees, wondering why, exactly. Happy isn't the word he'd use, and he doesn't exactly jump for joy every time Angela comes to see him, but there's a feeling of... comfort. safety. stability. something, that he doesn't really have otherwise. Is that happiness? ]

With how everyone's acting towards the blue sky and sea, maybe that's what it takes. [ He pulls at his bangs again, lifting his hair out of his eyes. ] What do you think? Should I dye it?

[androidheart]

[Another laugh, loud enough that she needs to stifle it with the back of her hand.]

A novel idea, but I don't think it's neccesary.

[Leans in to further examine the color of his hair and eyes.]

...No. The other you seemed very pleasant, but I am quite fond of you the way that you are now!

Besides, it would be rather strange looking when your brown roots started to grow back in.

[compendiem]

So long as it's winter, I can hide it.

[ Demonstrating, he pulls the hood of his jacket over top of his head, much further than necessary so that it overshadows his eyes as well. It's not nearly cold enough to wear scarves 24/7, but once the temperature dips down below 40, he gets to cover up the bottom half of his face and hide away even more. ]

Ta-da.

[androidheart]

Do you need your hood and your hair to cover your eyes, Minato?

I worry for your safety. Shall I offer you my arm on the way home?

[compendiem]

Yes. Earmuffs too, when it starts snowing.

[ Winter is the best; he gets to block out everything and nobody can blame it on rudeness the way they can with headphones. The warmth he cares about more than he does safety, looking up at Angela with some surprise, because what dangers does this city have that he needs an escort? Besides freezing his nose off, the one part of his face he can't cover if he wants to breathe. ]

...It's not cold enough for the streets to ice over yet, though. And if we're linking arms, I'd just pull you down when I fall.

[ Winter is the final boss. There's no winning. ]

[androidheart]

[please don't get sick and die in her arms, minato]

I would never allow you to fall!

I will carry you if I must. [She grins in a way that many would find frightening––really, she's just fiercely loyal.]

And just because there's no ice on the street doesn't mean Minato Arisato isn't liable to send himself tumbling downward.

[compendiem]

[ Is she insinuating that he looks on the verge of collapsing right on the streets when he's outside? Because she isn't wrong. If he's outside, it's late at night after work going home and that's basically what he looks like, not trusting himself to fall asleep at the wheel and so he doesn't drive back.

Being carried around is embarrassing, but... convenient? It'd be convenient. ]

Can you really lift me? [ He sounds a little amused, seriously contemplating this. ] I'm almost sixty kilos.

[androidheart]

Do you doubt my conditioning, Mr. Arisato?

[Pats her bicep proudly.]

If there is one solitary thing I am grateful for my in upbringing, it is that my parents ensured I would have a capable and physically fit body.

Though my athleticism has waned since finishing military school, I am certain I could still carry you for a prolonged period of time. Piggyback, bridal style, or otherwise.

[compendiem]

How about on your shoulders? It'd be nice being tall for a change.

[ Since I kept him at his canon 17-year-old height!!! It isn't something he likes to bring up a lot, but he makes the excuse of sitting or lying down a lot so that others can't tell. ]

[androidheart]

My shoulders?

[Pensive for a moment, as if a particular thought wandered into her mind and can't seem to find its way out right away.]

Oh, I think I could do that.

[Shakes her head, actually she doesn't sound quite as sure of herself as before.]

In fact, I would be honored for you to place your life in my hands!

[but angela gonna angela]

[compendiem]

That's a phrase people use when one's life is in danger...

[ It's not even about ice or monsters any more, it's whether or not he'll fall straight off Angela's shoulders. His balance isn't altogether very great either, but part of that responsibility would be on him not to get dropped on the head. ]

But it's alright. Don't know when I'd need you to do that for me anyways.

[androidheart]

Consider it an IOU, for you to call upon in your time of need, then.

Except you do not actually owe me anything, because I would go out of my way for a dear friend without a need for any sort of recompense.

Especially so a friend so kind as to allow me refuge in his blanket fort.

[compendiem]

[ If only he could rack up favors this easily, by doing nothing more than simply sharing his space. Thinking about it, he's got some personal projects that need a bit of height, so he might forego the stepladder and call Angela one of these days instead, but that's neither here nor now. ]

I can't very well kick you out, can I? You already endured that once...

[ Not by him, but... Parents. A topic he probably shouldn't bring up, but would feel bad if he never broached and appeared not to care. ]

Has it almost been a month?

[androidheart]

[Angela's mood dips slightly at the mention––typically she tries to maintain her usual spirit, but the longer things go, the harder it is not to feel more and more angry about it.]

It's getting there.

[Her eyes drift off of Minato into...well, nowhere in particular, really.]

I am...grateful that so many people have been willing to help me. Without them, I would be living in an under pass, or something.

[compendiem]

[ It's an all around terrible time for all of this too, with Thanksgiving coming up, then Christmas, New Years... The sorts of holidays usually spent amongst family and friends, which Minato expects to spend alone too, out of choice rather than necessity.

He hums a little in his throat, wondering what platitudes he could say that Angela doesn't already know. ]

If enduring gets too hard, I'm good at making blanket forts. You can call me. IOU.

[ Sometimes small, around the same level as being carried up on her shoulders, he thinks. ]

[androidheart]

[Angela finds herself smiling without even realizing. Minato tends to be a bit...awkward, in his phrasing and his interactions with her––which isn't something she minds, she's definitely gotten used to it. Still, there's something very genuine and sweet about this sentiment in particular. She reaches out and touches his shoulder, fully expecting him to pull back.]

I would be blessed to live in one of your warm and spacious forts, Minato.

Thank you. [She'll lean over and just...gently bump the side of her head into his.]

[compendiem]

[ If there's any warmth in the fort, it's because there's two bodies inside and a blazing fire at their backs; the same can't be said about space though— there's hardly enough space to pull back even if he wanted to, already having done that before and backed himself into this corner where he can avoid neither the touch on his shoulder or bump against his head.

He'll just sit here like a robot until it's Angela's turn to become one. ]

...You're welcome. But I'm a last resort, alright? I'm sure you'll do well enough without needing my forts.