Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

[zerotohiro]

'Busy, leave a message!
...oh, you've reached Hiro Hamada. Whatever. Still busy!'

Hamada art by D-Joel, found on tumblr

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[flaredo]

[ Thanks for the assist, boyfriend. ]

Yep, what he said. It's tradition. You'll get to do the same if your brother dates anyone, too.

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[zerotohiro]

Can I maybe hire you two to do it? [He's only sometimes intimidating, guys, come on...] And like that'll happen anytime soon anyway.

[There's a pause.] ...thanks though. Both of you. She's pretty lucky to have you guys looking after her, too.

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[flaredo]

Yep, she is. [ She'll admit it. ] But Ruby's pretty tough on her own. I'm pretty sure the two of you will be fine.

Buuut we're not for sale on brotherly talks.

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[masakados]

Yeah, sorry about that. That's all yours.

[YOU'LL MANAGE, HIRO but he's grinning. Seems like he's pleased at the thanks...]

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[zerotohiro]

[A pause.] Yeah, good point. Ruby's usually pretty good at snapping me out of it anyway. [Whatever "it" is.] …and she doesn't know you guys are telling me all of this?

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[flaredo]

No, she knows. Not about Naoki... but enough to tell me not to scare you off.

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[masakados]

[Naoki grins, bringing his hand up to his mouth in a sad attempt at covering it.] Anyway, if this was enough to scare you off, we'd really have to wonder.

[He's teasing now since the hassling is mostly done.]

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[zerotohiro]

Gimme a break. It takes way more than that to scare me off. You're gonna have a hard time getting rid of me at this point.

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[flaredo]

Who said I wanted to get rid of you?

You looked totally spooked earlier, though.

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[masakados]

It felt like you were gonna run away for a second, too, [Naoki adds, very helpfully.]

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[zerotohiro]

I was not! Quit exaggerating. [But judging by the fact he's starting to blush slightly both of those are definitely true.] ...just don't tell Ruby, okay?

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[flaredo]

My lips are sealed. Ruby never told me what kind of talk she had with Naoki, either.

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[masakados]

[Naoki smiles at that.] I won't tell her either. Sometimes you wanna look cool in front of who you like, huh?

[NAOKI'S MORE OR LESS GIVEN UP ON THAT BUT YOU KEEP DOING YOUR BEST, HIRO]

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[zerotohiro]

Well don't tell her that either. [So yes. He absolutely wants to look cool in front of her because he's 14 and awkward and Ruby's the greatest.] Can I ask you guys a question though? [He turns serious suddenly.]

It gets...easier, doesn't it? Like less weird to think about the longer you keep doing stuff like this.

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[flaredo]

Oh, yeah. I mean, I never thought it was weird when we started dating, but Naoki was pretty shy and awkward at first.

[ It was adorable, though. ]

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[masakados]

Thanks, Yang, that's just what I want everyone to know.

[HIS REP. His cool rep... Just kidding. He doesn't have a cool rep once somebody gets to know him. Naoki mock-sighs, one hand on his hip, but says:] Like Yang said--it wasn't weird, it just took getting used to. You get more comfortable with each other.

Then, before you know it, it just feels natural.

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[zerotohiro]

[There's a look toward Naoki that almost says something akin to "it was sort of obvious", but that's only because of a conversation or two he's had with Ruby. Still, the advice is solid even if he's unsure and he scrubs a hand over his face.]

As long as she still likes me while we're figuring it out, I guess I can handle that. [He peers at them between his fingers.] Maybe I should just be glad I didn't have to fight you two so I could date her.

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[flaredo]

[ Yang just... sort of makes a face at the mention of "fight". Maybe she's reliving the talk with Naoki's demons. ]

Yeah, uh... I thought about it, but I'm pretty sure Ruby would be mad if we took it that far.

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[masakados]

[Should've never asked for their advice, Yang. Demon advice is worst advice.]

You thought about that, Yang? [HE NEVER HEARD THIS.] Anyway, I wouldn't have wanted to make you fight me, Hiro.

[He's very well aware of his own, uh, overpowered state.]

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[zerotohiro]

Can you not? [Training with Yang is one thing. Fighting her is a whole other. But he blinks at Naoki, tilting his head curious.]

You don't think I could handle your demons? [It's a very innocent question here, don't judge him.]

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[flaredo]

[ Yang just offers a guileless shrug, but she'll let Naoki field the question. While also grinning, because ah, yes. Go ahead, boyfriend, let him know. ]

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[masakados]

[Oh... Oh, Hiro. Naoki looks over at Yang with a helpless smile before shrugging his own shoulders.]

Probably not. Long's the weakest out of all of them, and he's still really strong.

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[zerotohiro]

Stronger than Yang? [His gauge of strong has definitely changed since arriving in Cerealia okay.]

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[flaredo]

Not for much longer.

[ Yang, please. ]

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[masakados]

Yang can take him down. [Naoki's laughing.] It's when Yurlungur gets involved that fighting gets tricky, right?

[He grins teasingly at her. That element-absorbing thing is a pain in the ass to fight.]

Pixie's my strongest demon, though not stronger than me.