recollé ic inbox 4.0;

[parodeity]

DAVE STRIDER

consider this your warning about stairs. itll just keep happening bro. im telling you man

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION

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[windeity]

I don't think so. You are not exactly someone who can disappoint me in stuff like this.

[parodeity]

First time for everything. Shut your eyes, will you?

[ to enhance the surprise, even though he just told john to calm down...pick a side, dave ]

[windeity]

Okay, okay. [Which. He does.] How far are we going? Or is that part of the surprise too?

[parodeity]

Not that far. Call it the space of like, two or three songs tops. And it's not like a "surprise" that much - I mean, it's just an idea, and you can say no when we get there if you want?

[ presumably this is some mundane bullshit and dave is just making it sound dire for some reason ]

[windeity]

[He goes quiet for a sec.]

I doubt I would say no. It's Saturday, and I like hanging out with you. And the summer Saturday was fun even when you thought it was going to be dumb.

[parodeity]

There's still a part pending to that.

[ whenever john asks for more summer. but anyway!

eventually they pull up to The Stardust, and dave parks. ]

- around this time of year, there's an outdoor one, too. [ a rink, he means. ] Noooot usually somethin' I bother to do, but -

[windeity]

I know. I am saving it.

[For Reason. But once he feels the car stop be opens an eye, listening to Dave explain and slowly perking up.]

...ice skating? [He sounds weirdly hopeful about this.]

[parodeity]

Yes? [ hopeful is good, probably. dave usually Avoids the outdoor rink for the most part because 1) cold 2) fucking COLD but john's being a moron pressing his face to windows and catching snowflakes with his tongue.

so. ]

Skate rental's pretty cheap.

[windeity]

[Winter!!! He pulls away from where he's peering out the window where the rink is and he turns, grinning widely as he unbuckles his seatbelt.]

It doesn't look that crowded yet either. [But.] Are you sure? This requires...you know. Being outside.

[parodeity]

Pretty sure that occurred to me when I drove you here and mentioned the outdoor rink? [ he can deal for a while...and at least it's not, like. NATURE. ] You know you want to, so why not?

[ and OUT OF THE CAR dave goes? ]

[windeity]

[And John immediately follows! There's a slight bounce in his step as they head for the rink and the skate rental area and he's tilting his face up a little toward the sunlight and the snow.]

I am curious. What made you think I would like ice skating? [Since he raised such a fuss about dancing, after all.]

[parodeity]

Because you like physical activity and, for some godforsaken reason, winter. And this is like the unholy child of both those things?

[ and it is also the nearest he thinks he can get john to dancing for the forseeable future ever again so there's that. once they hit the skate rental he simply pays the fee for both of them and assumes john will grab whatever they eat or wherever they go next. ]

You also like...I dunno, cliche bullshit?

[windeity]

[He can't help but laugh in response.] You have a point. It is surprisingly harder than it looks. [He just...lets Dave take care of that and heads for a bench to start lacing up his skates. It's pretty clear that he's done this a few times before.]

I personally just feel that winter is not winter if you do not go ice skating at least once. It's been a while since I have been to a real outdoor rink though.

[parodeity]

Because the ass mayo doesn't cut it.

[ ...

he means "snow". dave's lacing up his skates efficiently, but then, one of his best friends used to work here. once he has them on he's up on his feet and going to step out onto the ice, though. ]

[windeity]

Ugh, don't taint snow like that. [But he's in his skates and up on his feet, immediately following after Dave and gliding straight past him, goodbye.]

[parodeity]

Snow's already tainted, Egbert, wake up and smell reality?

[ that's perfectly fine, since this is not a Date and dave's pretty sure he couldn't get john to hang back and hold his hand, and also: that would be stupid. he's got his camera out again and fiddles with the settings as he lets himself skate forward, not bothering to concentrate on it.

dave's balance has always been good, and since getting back a lot of bullshit from the past it has become very nearly supernaturally so; it's the cumulative effect of years of training. once he has the settings as he likes them, he'll start snapping shots as he goes, because he can. ]

[windeity]

Absolutely not! [He would though. He would be fine slowing down, taking his hand and pulling him alone the ice but this is not a date and so John's busy twirling away like an idiot. He either doesn't notice or he doesn't care that Dave's taking pictures and instead, he reaches into his pocket for his phone and grins, selecting a song for their background music.

The thing is that John's pretty good at staying up and it seems that regaining his flight and sense of aspect has helped. He's gliding over the ice easily, turning himself in circles and skating lazy figure eights on the ice. Like John noted, it's not that busy yet.]

Dude. [There's a grin as he skates closer, eyeing the camera.] What if you miss something important?

[parodeity]

I never miss anythin', fuck you. [ this is a blatant lie even if he is fairly observant. dave turns and skates backwards, stopping his snapshots of the scenery to frame john in his lens and snap a shot of stupid blue eyes and an amused grin instead. ]

Can you do tricks?

[windeity]

I'm not a dog, jackass. [But he grins anyway which is a pretty good indicator that it's possible.] What are you thinking?

[He doesn't mind again and he's not sure what Dave's looking at via camera, but John already figured it's not a big deal if it makes Dave happy.]

[parodeity]

Nothin' much, I was just curious. I know how to do some jumps, or I can probably bullshit them, but I didn't know what all you can do.

[ ...look.

it's not that difficult for him to do anything requiring this particular kind of athletic skill? ]

And agree to disagree on the dog thing. [ a hint of a smile. ]

[windeity]

Spins mostly. I could maybe do a jump if I tried but I have not done so in a while. You should show me though. Maybe I can learn by example. [He makes a face then, still amused despite himself.] Shut up. If that is true, does that make you a cat?

[parodeity]

Not while I'm holding my camera. [ bodily harm is preferable to breaking this...? ] And I can practically see your tail waggin'.

[ he's kidding, though. ]

As to the rest, you tell me.

[windeity]

[He sticks his tongue out before gliding away, spinning in a small circle to catch more snowflakes.]

Let's see. Likes to push buttons, pretends to be aloof but actually loves cuddling and keeps me up a lot of nights. Sounds like a cat to me.

[parodeity]

[ ...dave takes more pictures. he wonders if it's easier or harder to look at john through a lens, but can't decide. ]

I don't love cuddling, what the fuck is this slander? [ like, yeah he does? definitely was also thinking about holding john's hand like 2 seconds ago. but john can't read meta text so fuck off? ]

[windeity]

[Consider: what are you going to actually do with all of those pictures, Dave? But he's laughing as he grapevines his feet across the ice at a slow and steady pace.]

Uh huh. Okay, my bad, you're a body heat leech. Is that better?