relaxfriend | IC Inbox for soulgemmed

[Well, fuck.]

What, no way. I was just seein' if you had any strong feelings on the subject, man.

I mean, I don't wanna end up just dragging you along, y'know?

I'm here, aren't I?

[Gary makes a grand gesture to the mall before them. Let's see what this is all about Dave. Impress him with your sleuthing skills.]

Go on - where to?

[Welp. Think fast, Strider.

Dave glances around, and the first things his eyes settle on happens to be the food stalls in the distance. Okay, he can work with that.]

Food court probably sees a lot of traffic, and I think there was somebody who mentioned finding something there before. We could check it out real quick, maybe grab a bite to eat while we're there.

[He shrugs nonchalantly, like he totally didn't just inwardly cringe at the idea that Gary could make a joke out of what he just said.]

[Gary was being very stingy with his incredulous looks up until now. It's a long moment, Gary contemplating if he should scoff at Dave or laugh. It was clear to him Dave was as serious about this as he was. But the roundabout nature of this whole thing is what actually pulls an annoyed expression to his face.

It disappears quickly though, once Gary snorts laughter.]

Oh, you're going buy me lunch, Dave?

[Here it comes, Dave thinks as soon as the laughter starts.

Then Gary actually talks, and it's... actually, that's not as bad as it could have been. It might be a legitimate question. Play it cool.]

I mean, I could? Unless you're gonna say you're not hungry.

How sweet of you. First chocolates now this.

[In case it wasn't obvious that the mock saccharine tone is totally sarcastic, Gary follows it up with a roll of his eyes.]

Do you actually want to look for these notes or do you find it funny to bring me out here for no real reason?

[Why Dave Strider insists on going through a weird song and dance for every little thing confounds him completely. That is, up until he realizes the reason is because he's Dave Strider. It's so frustrating.]

Whoa, okay, first off if you didn't want anything I would've taken a simple no, dude. I just figured, like.

[Wow. He definitely isn't going to hear the end of this if he doesn't manage to find anything today, is he?]

I mean, we're kinda already here so I thought I'd at least offer.

Whatever.

[He says, sounding like he actually intends to drop it. Seems strange, that he'd give up so easily. But he begins to walk towards the foodcourt, making a show of looking at the ground around them just in case.

But he quickly stops and spins around, snapping his fingers as if remembering something.]

...An atomic bomb.

[Huh, that wasn't so bad, thought one (1) Dave Strider, who was thus lulled into a false sense of security.

As a result, it takes him a moment to even register what Gary says.]

A wh--

[Oh. Oh.]

Dude.

Don't you ever get tired of that joke.

[As soon as the word "joke" leaves Dave's lips Gary lets out a boisterous laughter, turning back to walk towards the food court.]

Joke. What joke?

You're laughing pretty hard for a guy who's implying no joke took place.

[Not that he's bothered or anything. In fact, look at how unbothered he is, inspecting the bottoms of nearby chairs and tables for any notes that may have been taped or otherwise slid underneath.]

[Gary's attempts at investigating are far less focused. His hands are in his pockets as he casually leans over tables - sometimes with people sitting at them just because making them uncomfortable is funny - but mostly he continues to glance back at Dave. Look at how hard he's trying. Still unwilling to admit that what they're doing here is absolutely pointless. That there is some other reason behind Dave making up some lame excuse to hang out when they've been doing just that for as long as they've been friends. In a way it is a joke.

There is an ever present smirk on his face. It's not leaving any time soon.]

That's because it's funny. Hilarious, even. You try so hard, Dave.

[Casually inspecting the back of a chair, before glancing back at Dave again.]

[Dave laughs, but his laugh comes out forced and humorless.]

Dunno what you're talkin' about, dude. Anyway, if you're really dead set against the idea of getting anything to eat, I think we're about done here. Area looks clear to me.

[Which leaves... a movie theater, some clothing stores, and a patisserie, was it?]

[Gary's focus is entirely on Dave now, the smirk never leaving. In fact, it widens, almost as if it's going to turn into a shit eating grin any second. Like a predator about to pounce on his prey.

Then he snickers. And just like that he goes from looking like a predator to sounding like some little shit passing notes in class.]

That laugh only proves my point.

[He sure is ignoring Dave's attempt at crawling desperately away from this topic.]

[Alright, he's just going to look away now. Not because it bothers him or anything, though, of course.

If Gary's going to ignore Dave's verbal attempt at crawling away from this topic, how about a physical attempt? He's just going to start walking. How's that, Gary?]

Man, and you're gonna accuse me of not being serious about going after those notes. We've still got a lot of ground to cover, in case that happened to be a thing you forgot while you were laughing.

[Wow. No, no. See, that's not right. This topic doesn't come to a close until Gary says so. He's been too lenient anyway.

Gary follows, catching up to Dave. As if it would be that easy.]

Right. The notes. The illusive notes...that are totally still scattered about here, going unnoticed by - albeit a bunch of idiots - but the same idiots that found them to begin with.

[Dave stops in his tracks, furrowing his brows.]

I thought we already went over this. Why're you bringing this up now.

[His logic was flawless! Gary agreed with it and everything!]

[It's so unlike Gary to go along with something and then point out its dumb later!!]

Give it a rest. Why are you pretending to care about this stupid city and those dumb notes?

[An amused smirk tugs at his lips. Dave had the habit of making something simple so much more complicated, sure, but Gary had the habit of just exacerbating it for shits and giggles.]

[Back when Dave lived under the roof of an inscrutable irony ninja, he often thought to himself that he fucking hated the way Bro's expression never changed because it made it nigh impossible to ever determine how Bro was feeling or thinking.

Now, looking at Gary's smug goddamn smirk, Dave is beginning to think that maybe he had been too harsh in his indictment of the placid poker face.]

I dunno what your preoccupation is with insinuating I don't care about the notes or the city. I mean, you even agreed it was worth checking out, so what gives?

What gives [He starts with a roll of his eyes] is that I'm not an idiot. And if you'll recall I said it might be.

[He cants his head to the side, shaking it slightly as if in disappointment.]

Normally I'm the one who goes to you for stuff like this. You were always perfectly content just letting this town pass you by. [So what happened today, Dave?] It's like you forget how well I know you.

Wow.

[Luckily, he still has one defense for this!]

It's like you're forget who you explored those schools and that flower shop with.

Oh yeah, I remember that one time.

[Gary laughs yet again, his loud guffaw probably earning a look or two from some passerby's.]

Why do you make everything into such a big deal?

[Hey look though, he's starting to walk towards the clothing shop. Is he giving up?

Probably not.]

Was I the one making this into a big deal.

[He intones the question flatly, but clearly doesn't expect an actual answer to it; or rather, he doesn't want one.

Whatever, it looks like Gary is dropping this, so it's best to leave it at that. He follows, idly looking in neglected corners for anything that might pass for a note.]

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