ic inbox!

[secundus]

 

[ it's just the basic voicemail message, complete with the gentle female automated operator telling you you've reached the inbox of—awkward pause, jason's voice saying his own name—and that he's unavailable at the moment. leave a message after the beep. ]

Comments

[viragos]

i'm roxy's roommate, ino
nice to meet you
and stuff

[secundus]

[ oh jesus, okay, that's different, then. he was a little apprehensive, but... if she's roxy's roommate, she can't be all bad. ]

oh

well

nice to meet you too ino

did you need something?

[viragos]

[ that is where you are sorely mistaken, sir. ]

oh you know
nothing much
i just wanted to let you know that if you hurt roxy i will forcibly remove your testicles from your body and wear them as earrings
that's all
also what are your intentions towards her?

[secundus]

[ hwat ]

you are a master of persuasive speaking i can give you that much

[ he might be a little bit terrified; he's faced death and demons and come out alive, but this is an entirely different ballgame. this is social interaction. this is dealing with a girl who could very likely follow through on that threat, considering the nature of the people in zodion. ]

we're just friends!

as far as i know

[viragos]

[ she'll take that as a compliment. ]

just friends
that's all?

[ think about your answer very carefully, jason. ]

[secundus]

well [ he doesn't want to provoke her by saying the wrong thing, so he goes for the vaguest and most innocent answer possible. ] i can't see into roxy's mind or anything

[viragos]

really
it's kind of obvious she's into you you know

[secundus]

[ he could have guessed it were it not for the fact that roxy just seems to enjoy flirting with everyone—nothing against her, of course, but he didn't want to unreasonably consider himself special.

embarrassed, he hesitates in his reply. ]

are you sure about that

[viragos]

[ wow this situation is more dire than she thought. ]

uh
duh
seriously you guys are tragic
that still doesn't answer my question though
don't you want to go steady with my girl

[ despite how flippant the texts sound, there's something kind of earnest about her last question. roxy's feelings are pretty clear, but jason's? not so much. ]

[secundus]

[ she says it like it's so obvious, and jason feels as though he might either be ignorant—a strong possibility—or willfully obtuse—equally strong—but he's also very...

relieved?

even though they're not words from her mouth directly, the idea of roxy being into him, romantically, even if only slightly, well... it's exciting. he's twitterpated. ]

i do

i also just think it would be weird to ask

we don't REALLY know each other

[viragos]

[ oh, well.

if that's all.

(still, ino's happy, because this means that roxy will be happy. good answer, jason.) ]

how well are you expecting to know her?
rhetorical question.
i mean, you've been on a few dates now
and don't pretend like she hasn't texted me to put the proverbial tie on the doorknob
i think that's a pretty good start

[secundus]

i guess

[ he's just... bad at girls. he hasn't had a real crush since he was maybe twelve years old, and being dead or otherwise incapacitated for most of puberty really kind of put a damper on his chances to learn. ]

should i ask her out for real? is it too soon?

[viragos]

[ you're lucky ino is so generous because seriously. she's good at this. ]

i guess the question is
do you want to ask her out for reals?

[secundus]

maybe not right now

[ which, of course, implies eventually, but... he's got such real shit going on that it might be better to avoid dragging roxy into his problems for now.

but if not soon, when? ]

[viragos]

why?

[secundus]

[ he is not going to let a conversation about roxy turn into a hint toward his alter ego, so! time to bullshit. ]

i'm kind of new at this whole thing

[ which is not untrue... but it's far from the actual reason. ]

[viragos]

yeah
a lot of people tend to be new at stuff they've never tried

look
whenever you're ready
you're ready
i think we both agree that roxy is pretty awesome
so don't keep her waiting forever, you know?
i need new earrings

[secundus]

[ D: ]

okay, okay

i'll think about it

don't punish me for my hesitation plz

[viragos]

of all the things i could punish you for, that's about the middle of the list

[ is she kidding?? ]

make sure you stop by the apartment sometime, okay?
or drop in on souzai steakhouse
i'll hook you up, my treat
i want to see roxy's excellent taste in person

[secundus]

[ he is pretty sure she's not kidding. ]

yeah no problem

i'll wear my nicest clothes and maybe even brush my hair

anything for free food

[ even if the price, really, for his meal, is making a good impression on ino—with no family around, meeting roxy's roommate seems to be the best equivalent of meeting the parents to be managed.

what a step. ]

[viragos]

i'm expecting maximum effort here.

hey
for what it's worth
i think i would be disappointed if i had to maim you
you seem like a nice guy

[secundus]

aw

and you seem like a nice gal

roxy's lucky to have you

[viragos]

i know
but that's beside the point
until next time
i mean it about the steakhouse so don't disappoint me