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Sure.

[The non-Riley-supporting shoulder shrugs lightly.]

I was also stealing from him to steal ten solars, but mostly the other thing. It's fun.

[And if Haruno did that, too, Riley doesn't need to know about it. So that's that. Don't become quick on the uptake now, kiddo.]

Can you forgive my degenerate morals, or does this just make it worse?

Giorno, oh my god, this is like, so much worse!!

[ She's very lightly shaking his arm. Her voice is like an octave higher than usual. ]

Why is it worse!

[RILEY HE'S LAUGHING AT YOU NOW. THE SEAL IS BROKEN. YOU ARE BEING TOO MUCH OF A DAMN FOOL]

You— you're not supposed to- it's like— it's just worse!!

[ Stop laughing! Stop laughing, it makes sense!! ]

I don't think that it is! I think you want it to be worse because you're embarrassed, but you know it isn't and that I've done absolutely nothing wrong.

[Convince him he's not Mona Lisa Saperstein! You can't!]

You literally did something wrong, stealing is a crime!!

[ this is so stupid ]

And I am a criminal. Such is life.

[This is incredibly stupid.]

It works, you know. In case you were wondering. There's about a 75% success rate. People find me very charming.

[Disgusting but unfortunately kind of true.]

How?

[ WOW, RILEY— ]

How do they find someone who steals from them charming?

[ —oh, okay. ]

That should be, like...an absolute deal breaker.

Because it's a game.

[Although he's not laughing at her anymore, the corner of his mouth does quirk up, wryly amused.]

If I want to take someone's money, they'll never know I was anywhere near them. If I take something, let myself be seen, then the other person gets to play the game, too. It's an invitation. "Step inside the circle and see how it's done." That's all. Sometimes people choose to accept that invitation, sometimes they don't.

Edited 2021-08-12 07:09 (UTC)

You're telling me there's people who're not just intrigued but like...excited about that?

[ The phrase you're looking for is turned on, Riley.

She actually kind of...frowns a little. Not like her judgmental lecture frown, but a genuinely unhappy one. ]

...I'm never gonna understand dating.

[He could bring up the fact that he's a literal criminal again if he wanted to. Adrenaline junkies exist even outside of the criminal element, but they also very much exist inside it. On the Giovanna crazy flirting scale, this is like, a 2 maximum. Doesn't really matter, though.]

[Another shrug, easy and relaxed.]

I'm not claiming that I do. I don't exactly have experience with dating. Even if I did, my approach would probably not be any more traditional.

[. . . Hm. Is this something he can explain?]

I don't do things by halves. I can have fun, but I don't do . . . casual. Or small. I think people struggle with that.

I mean— I don't do...casual either, but it's still...

[ This isn't exactly a topic Riley wants to talk about. But it's heavy on her mind. ]

None of the boyfriends I've had've ever felt...right.

[He makes a noncommittal noise.]

[One thing he's learned about Riley . . . his instinct is always to get involved. To push. To make changes, whether they're asked for or not. But with Riley, it doesn't work that way. If she's pushed, she pulls back, back and back and back until she trips and falls. It's not worth it.]

[She has to take the first step.]

Maybe you don't like boys.

[And he's ready to meet her when she does.]

[ In some ways, that's an answer she expected. It almost seems natural, how easy the jump is.

And yet, at the same time...

She stands on the edge of a ravine. The answer's on the other side. But, that answer's...scary. It's all-consuming, it's the missing puzzle piece, it's—

It's an alternate answer to the one she'd given herself. That in the end, this just wasn't something for her. ]

What? No, that's... [ Not as easy to shrug off, after the dream world. ] I- would've known if that's the case by now. ...Right...?

[Hm. He's thoughtful for a moment, quiet, before shaking his head.]

Not necessarily. I don't think it works like that. Besides, it's . . .

[Quiet again. He remembers back to Christmas, the way she pulled away from him then before they understood each other, the way she assumed his intentions instinctively and shrunk from them. Their lives have been different, very different, but this might be the area most outside his realm of experience. He's never had to be Riley Williams, the pretty, bubbly, collectible cheerleader.]

There are expectations put on all of us. Some are harder to lose than others.

They never—

[ They? ...Her parents. Automatically, she hears the word expectations and they come to mind. He...probably didn't even mean it like that. They're just on her mind a lot. ]

...No one ever, like...told me, I was supposed to... [ A pause. ] I mean, there's— plenty of girls like that back home, and I'm not—

[ It feels weird to talk about this. Like, weird to talk about this here, out in the open, as people keep passing by them, but weird to talk about this in general as well. Riley's grip on Giorno's arm tightens just a bit. Her voice lowers. ]

I never thought there was anything wrong with it, I mean, like...even Cai...

[ She trails off again. That's on her mind a lot, too. ]

[He doesn't respond to her touch right away. This is complicated, no matter how simple he would like it to be for her. When she grips more tightly, he lets her do so, thinks, allows himself the moment to breathe; then it's the vine closest to her that creeps over her shoulder and loops itself around her wrist, between her fingers, and wraps around his arm under her hand. The whole of it squeezes, a gentle hug, before loosening enough that she can brush it off if she wants.]

Thinking it's fine on someone else isn't the same as thinking it's fine in you.

[For some reason he thinks about Steve, that first day on the ice. The backpedaling, that look — it's not the first time he's seen it and it won't be the last, that journey of it-doesn't-bother-me-but. It's not relevant, not really, but there are similarities. It's easier to accept some things in others than in oneself, for a lot of reasons.]

[A lot of reasons.]

Italian men don't look or act like me. No one ever said to my face that I wasn't measuring up, not in such clear language, but that doesn't mean I didn't hear the message. Things like that don't have to come in words, you know?

[Mm. And this . . .] What about Cai? [Because he saw enough of the dream, but this sounds new. Something Riley hasn't told him, all dreams aside.]

Edited 2021-08-13 07:25 (UTC)

[ The vines wrap around her and it takes Riley a moment to place just what they're doing. She doesn't shy away from them before she does because—

It's Giorno. He's Giorno, he's not going to- to hurt her, she trusts him. He's family—real family.

It almost makes her forget to listen, while she's wrapped up in comfort. Almost pushes away all the fear and discomfort. He's right, because sometimes the messages without words were worse, weren't they? The dismissing looks, the missed holidays, the lack of acknowledgement.

Her mouth is dry when she answers. ]

She, um... Like- she's got a boyfriend, but she's...you know. Kissed girls before. At parties, and like— [ Her voice is so quiet. So very quiet. ] ...When I was first... When a guy first asked me out and I was...nervous about it, she...taught me how to.

[Every time he hears another snippet about Cairo, he becomes just a little more impressed. By Riley's account, she's someone who just does what she wants and doesn't care what anyone else thinks. The kind of person he forces himself to see in the mirror every morning. He has a lot of respect for that.]

[He's not so surprised, then, to hear it from that side. That Riley allowed it, though . . .]

[He's quiet for a moment, but then he smiles, soft and unfiltered as his chin dips slightly.]

That makes me happy to hear, actually. I don't know if you put a lot of value on firsts. I don't usually, but — it's good that you kissed her for the first time, instead of someone you didn't know or care about.

[Or have any interest in, most likely.]

[ She does. Of course she does. Riley places so much importance on every little thing, so naturally.

Still, she scrambles to clarify: ] Well, it's not- like, people always say that...you know, practice isn't exactly the same thing, you know?

[ People say. People. ]

[This time, she gets an unimpressed look.]

Do you really believe that?

[ She glances away. ]

...I used to.

Mm.

[She's honest. It's more than he expects about this sort of thing most of the time, but today she seems to be more open. Maybe it's the immersion in a perfect world followed by a month's coma, or something.]

I have a hypothesis. Do you mind if I share it?

[ For her, just yesterday, she was in that perfect world. Perfect in ways she didn't even know were perfect. ]

Um. Sure.

[Another step forward. She takes one, and so does he. Metaphorically, that is. They've been walking this whole time, but there's a difference.]

I think that, because you knew what it was like with her, those boys who went after her could never measure up. No matter how much you wanted them to, you knew better. That it wasn't what you wanted.

Is there anything to that?

Edited 2021-08-14 03:56 (UTC)

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHEERYCHERRY. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 019.46.820.17 * CHEERYCHERRY has joined 019.46.820.17 <CHEERYCHERRY> It's Riley! <CHEERYCHERRY> Please leave a message! <CHEERYCHERRY>** Please be someone with their priorities sorted out properly!

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