empatheias | ( closed )

[ Come the weekend, Riku finishes his shift at work a little before seven and takes a few moments to do the usual routine of removing his cat ears and tucking them away safely before punching out for the evening. With his jacket slung over his shoulder, he gives the time another glance before he decides to head outside the cafe and wait for the blond who he had asked to meet here for this... outing of theirs and while Riku is forever the type to remain cool and calm in almost every situation (to the point where you wonder if he's feeling anything at all), he can't help but feel something on the inside, though he's not exactly sure what, as he leans there against the wall, waiting for Ventus to meet him here. ]

Riku!

[Ventus greets Riku happily as soon as he notices the other teen.

He's bright and cheery, eyes practically shining with mirth as he waves at him.]

[ There's a smile that gently touches Riku's lips when he spots the blond and gives a quick sort of wave back himself. Yeah... that was kind of awkward. Tucking that hand back in his pocket now. ]

Hey, glad you could make it.

[ Pausing, he pushes himself away from the wall. ]

You ready then?

[His lips tugs up into an amused smile at that.]

Ready when you are.

[Although, he does eye the cafe curiously.]

Why did you want to meet at this place specifically?

[ How to go about this... does he tell Ven the truth? Or does he just chalk it up to it being relatively close to where he's taking him? ]

I work here.

[ Might as well just admit it. ]

Come on, this way.

[ He keeps rather close to Ventus but also a little ahead of him so that he can lead the blond to where he wants to take him. Because, yes, it's a surprise. ]

Really? For how long?

[Ventus looks curious as he follows after Riku.]

Not very long. About a month or so.

[ He finds himself glancing over to Ventus then. ]

What do you think?

[He tilts his head.]

Can't tell you since I haven't actually seen you working, but it seems like a nice place.

[ ~~it's because you haven't seen him in those cat ears, Ven.~~ ]

Yeah, it's not bad.

[ Smiling a bit, he glances to Ventus then. ]

Are you hungry? Did you want to pick anything up before we get there?

[~~This will have to be fixed.~~

Ventus takes a brief moment to think about it.]

Nah, I'm good. I'm still full from what I ate earlier today. [Still...] Where are we going, anyway?

[ That gets Riku to smile a little, clearly amused with Ven's curiosity. ]

Don't you trust me?

Can't blame me for being curious, can you?

[His lips curves up into a smile.]

No, guess I can't.

[ A beat. ]

Just don't expect anything real fancy, ok?

Okay.

[....Riku, who do you think you're talking to. Ventus is the kind of person who's happy with anything.]

[ Doesn't mean he doesn't want to make things seem special.

However, the place which Riku is taking the blond to isn't very far from their meeting spot, thankfully, and it's only after a little bit of a walk that Riku stops outside a cylinder sort of building on the corner of a cobblestone street. Truth be told, the exterior of the building seems a little worn, as does the roof high above but it still seems relatively in tact and Riku comes to glance over to Ventus then to gauge his reaction. ]

Well, we're here.

[He peers up at the building. He looks a bit in awe of it, head cocked to the side as he takes it in.

Ventus smiles, turning to him.]

Should I ask if there's a surprise on top, too? [He's joking, but he does seem happy about it already.]

Well, I guess you could say that.

[ Stepping ahead, Riku pulls out a small brass key and quietly unlocks the door to let them in. When they enter? They're met with stairs. Lots and lots of stairs. Well, a staircase, to be exact, one which winds around and leads to the top of this cylinder building. ]

No elevators here, sorry.

[ He smiles back a little to Ventus and begins the climb. Thankfully, it's not too much of one and when they reach the top, they're met with, well... this. Save for a mattress laid out on the floor along with a lamp, a potted plant, and a journal set aside, that's... really... it. Yeah.

Riku stands there, silent for a long moment before he comes to look to Ven out of the corner of his eye, wanting to see what he might think of such a place. ]

It's... sort of my own place to disappear to. When I need to get away from everything.

[ And everyone. ]

[It's with a bounce in his step, Ventus follows after him.

He looks around curiously, taking it in. Somehow, it does seem more like RIku's sort of style. Not the best kind of place, but Ventus doesn't bother mentioning it.

Deep blue eyes peer at him.]

So this is the place where you hide. [Ventus looks at him curiously.] And you wanted to share this place with me?

Yeah.

[ He doesn't even bother to hesitate with an answer. ]

Is it weird?

It isn't. I feel flattered, actually.

[And really touched.]

[ That causes Riku to smile a little as he stands there before he gives a nod and looks back ahead. ]

I'm glad.

[ A beat. ]

Want a tour?

Sure!

[He's definitely not going to say no.]

Well. There's a window. [ To which he points off to it. ] A bed. [ More like mattress. ] A light. [ A lamp that's not currently turned on since it's still light out. ] And... that's about it.

[ To which... he stands there after having stepped forward a little. Yep. Not much at all. ]

Guess it still needs a bit of work on it.

[ But he comes to move to the large window at the end of the room, peeking out for just a moment. ]

You can look out into the market from here at least.

Mm, it's your home away from home. If you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask.

[Seriously.]

How often do you come here?

Well, if you wanted to...

[ To which Riku moves around one of the pillars and picks a can of paint up off the floor. There's only two for the time being... black and white, basic colours. Showing the can to Ventus, he smiles a little, a paintbrush set on top of the can before he leans against the pillar and glances up rather thoughtfully. ]

Not much yet. I haven't had it for very long. But if you want to stop by, I won't ever say no to you.

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brokenlight - 2018-05-22 15:16 (UTC) - Expand

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