Wowwwwww, Shizuma! Make sure you show proper gratitude, alright?
[After all, wanting the food was its own form of praise. He just didn't want it to get taken for granted! Then again, it would probably be impossible for Shizuma to hit Leona's level of entitlement...]
[... and, technically, you know, he's being hired.]
Ah, well, if you really want to do it...
[Ruggie never minded doing it. It was part of what he was getting paid for and, even if it wasn't, it helped him feel like he was equaling out how Shizuma keep letting him eat from the leftovers.]
... Weren't you gonna study, though? [he points a set of chopsticks accusingly]
[ that's right, ruggie, isn't his payment gratitude enough???? or the fact he always texts ruggie how delicious his food is right after eating it......... but shizuma's kind of of a doormat; it's easy enough to mistake his kind gestures as something expected.
but, ah. ruggie's got his number alright. a seemingly selfless gesture has a lot more layers than that, made evident when the younger man's accusation has the redhead grinning sheepishly, pointedly avoiding looking at the pile of books on his coffee table. ]
I wouldn't be able to concentrate anyway, [ he reasons, like he's trying to convince himself as much as ruggie. truth is, he's feeling oddly restless. while doing the dishes doesn't really help, at least it's giving his hands something to do. ]
[It was that kind of kindness that made Ruggie assume that, if he hung around long enough, Shizuma would eventually hit the point he couldn't imagine living without him. Co-dependence was a kind of love. Probably.]
It just seems like a waste, when you already got up this early to hit the books...
[Obviously, it's not his job to keep Shizuma on the right track. He was paid and, if Shizuma ended up in a place where he couldn't pay him anymore, he'd go. Easy as that. Still, he wasn't so cruel as to want to see someone to fail.]
Okay! Clean up what I've dirtied already. I'll finish your lunch... then make you something simple to eat while you read, got it?
[ shizuma had been in love once... not to the point of codependency, but certainly, at the time, it felt like life without yuka was unimaginable... and thus utterly miserable when they eventually broke up. it's not that he isn't willing to love once more, but he'd be lying if a part of him doubts it'll ever happen to him again. but — that's the thing about keeping the door open, right? you never truly know who will walk on it.
ruggie winks, and he sighs, defeated. then, with a familiarity that would make a more with-it shizuma embarrassed, he leans over and gently nudges the other with his arm. ]
Aye aye, sir.
[ ruggie's no taskmaster, but he's made shizuma feel suitably shamed for not being more disciplined. it's fine... it'll all be worth it in the end, when he finally gets his license.
[For being so flippant talking about relationships, marriage, and all that, it's not as if Ruggie really had a depth of experience. He wouldn't admit it, though, admitting that sort of thing never looked good. He could fake it well enough and that worked for most people.]
[... he was thinking that Shizuma could really get suckered by someone, though. It's satisfying to nudge him in the right direction and see him move. When he got that license, well, Ruggie would probably be proud no matter what.]
Alright, this, and this, [he passes along the tools he doesn't need anymore. It's not a lot of mess but, again, it's mainly for Shizuma to feel like he's helping.]
and this, then study.
[... and, as a hunting species, he can't help but want to poke at that exposed side.]
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[ the sheepish grin on shizuma's face seems to imply that question had definitely been one he'd considered asking once or twice before...
he comes to stand by the sink, gesturing towards it. ]
I can at least do the dishes for you, right? Even if I can't really help with the food-making...
no subject
[After all, wanting the food was its own form of praise. He just didn't want it to get taken for granted! Then again, it would probably be impossible for Shizuma to hit Leona's level of entitlement...]
[... and, technically, you know, he's being hired.]
Ah, well, if you really want to do it...
[Ruggie never minded doing it. It was part of what he was getting paid for and, even if it wasn't, it helped him feel like he was equaling out how Shizuma keep letting him eat from the leftovers.]
... Weren't you gonna study, though? [he points a set of chopsticks accusingly]
no subject
but, ah. ruggie's got his number alright. a seemingly selfless gesture has a lot more layers than that, made evident when the younger man's accusation has the redhead grinning sheepishly, pointedly avoiding looking at the pile of books on his coffee table. ]
I wouldn't be able to concentrate anyway, [ he reasons, like he's trying to convince himself as much as ruggie. truth is, he's feeling oddly restless. while doing the dishes doesn't really help, at least it's giving his hands something to do. ]
no subject
It just seems like a waste, when you already got up this early to hit the books...
[Obviously, it's not his job to keep Shizuma on the right track. He was paid and, if Shizuma ended up in a place where he couldn't pay him anymore, he'd go. Easy as that. Still, he wasn't so cruel as to want to see someone to fail.]
Okay! Clean up what I've dirtied already. I'll finish your lunch... then make you something simple to eat while you read, got it?
[he winks]
no subject
ruggie winks, and he sighs, defeated. then, with a familiarity that would make a more with-it shizuma embarrassed, he leans over and gently nudges the other with his arm. ]
Aye aye, sir.
[ ruggie's no taskmaster, but he's made shizuma feel suitably shamed for not being more disciplined. it's fine... it'll all be worth it in the end, when he finally gets his license.
until then, at least he's been fed well. ]
no subject
[... he was thinking that Shizuma could really get suckered by someone, though. It's satisfying to nudge him in the right direction and see him move. When he got that license, well, Ruggie would probably be proud no matter what.]
Alright, this, and this, [he passes along the tools he doesn't need anymore. It's not a lot of mess but, again, it's mainly for Shizuma to feel like he's helping.]
and this, then study.
[... and, as a hunting species, he can't help but want to poke at that exposed side.]