[Ragna isn't really the type to give presents to people, but there's something about the (post-)Christmas (sales) that managed to make him change his mind, apparently. Alternatively (and far more likely), he's remembered that Rose might have had birthday sometime in the past ten years or so. Whichever it really was, the result will be arriving at Rose's place in the form of a small package shortly after all holidays that could be gift-giving occasions have already passed. Oh well. Better late than never, right?
Inside, she'll find this lovely gift and a card that reads as follows:]
Happy Christmas and Merry New Year and all that crap. Here's to another year of this bullshit. - Ragna
[She is, frankly, a little embarrassed at how much a snow globe that says FUCK manages to touch her. To say that it's been a bad year for her is nothing less than an understatement, which to be fair she knows could apply to everyone on the network, but she's also pretty sure no one else lost an eye to a plant. (She thinks she has a little room for self-pity, okay!!) Unsurprisingly, she hasn't kept touch with much of anyone lately because of it.
Which is why it surprises her to see this, never mind how late it technically is. She didn't expect anything from anyone aside from maybe her family, yet here this is. Especially given how she's been pretty MIA, the idea of anyone thinking about her outside of family and maaaaaybe work is almost bizarre.
Besides the mushiness of her feelings that she'd vehemently deny anyways though, it's a good gift. Ragna definitely knows her.
So a few days later, he'll find a card in his mailbox that has a giftcard to a pretty pricey restaurant and the following message:]
It's way too late for holiday greetings now, so for when you get tired of home cooking. Or something. Still gonna cash in on that meal at some point though by the way. And thanks. - Rose
[If there's one thing Ragna is even worse at than giving gifts, it's receiving gifts. He can't remember the last time he got one (if ever), and if you ask him, it's for the best ─ that way, he doesn't "owe" anyone anything. He honestly didn't expect a present in return (if anything, he'd be content with a simple "thx" message), so finding the giftcard in the mail was not only a surprise, but it also left him with mixed feelings. Not that's he's not happy with it, mind you ─ but being grateful for it doesn't make it any easier for this stubborn oaf to accept being given something. For what it's worth, a part of him sort of realizes he's being ridiculous, so he decides to try and swallow his pride this one time as he sends Rose a text.]
hey got your card you didn't have to
[It's only after he sends it that he realizes that maybe it's not the best possible way of expressing gratitude, so he figures it's better to actually follow it up with something else.]
thanks imma use it well and yeah i remember that no worries it'll be nice to eat out something that isn't cheap ass fast food for a change though
wanna tag along?
[Because he's a friendless loser and going to a restaurant that's fancier than McDonald's alone seems kind of... sad. Plus she'd be getting something out of it, too, so maybe he'd feel less awkward about her spending money on him.]
[She's surprised to even get a text about it honestly, having been under the impression that they'd both just silently appreciate what the other had done without ever actually acknowledging the gifts. It's easier that way. But to actually be thanked like this, well. It's not like it's bad either. Just different, that's all.
And honestly, she's never been one to turn down food in any way. It's probably for the best that Ragna isn't as shameless as Rose is.....]
don't worry about it figured you might appreciate a change in diet but if you're serious about that invite i'm down
[Come to think of it, yeah, that might have been a better way to handle this. He just sort of, uh, panicked and─ okay, the whole thing gets more and more pathetic the more Ragna thinks about it. It's a good thing they're keeping this conversation to text, because he's not sure if he'd come off as casual if he was speaking. The embarrassment is too real.
Oh well, what's done is done anyway, no use dwelling on it now. They're apparently getting somewhere with it, so whatever.]
[She's honestly running out of ways to kill time. Wait, that text probably makes her sound like some kind of jobless bum though, doesn't it? Which she might as well be right now, but she's not that much of a loser, okay!!]
[Come on, Ragna is probably the last person on the planet who'd judge her for that. Hell, if he could, he'd take a break from work, too. A permanent one. So he definitely understands where she's coming from.
Doesn't mean he can't tease her a little.]
uh huh riiiiiiiight
nah i gotcha how about today then? good food shouldn't be left waiting
[sorry not today is what she types out at first, her thumb hovering over the send button. Aside from her family, the only people who've seen her eye (or sudden lack thereof) have mostly been people she isn't too close with. In a way, there was a bit less pressure than seeing people she knows well. Taking gawking stares or sympathy from near strangers was hard enough. Getting that from someone she knew well might be even worse.
But it's not like she can keep putting this off forever either. She's going to have to go back to work at some point, and why not test the waters like this? See how comfortable she is with it. Yeah, sure, let's just put it like that.
[Blissfully unaware of her predicament, Ragna is rather pleased with this development. He has no doubt this year will turn out completely batshit, too, but they're off to not a bad start of it, so he intends to enjoy it while he still can.]
[She'll be waiting outside by the time he gets there, although she might be hard to spot given her extremely nondescript outfit. A sweatshirt and jeans, the hood even thrown over a baseball cap. It's not like she tries to stand out on a regular basis anyways, but this is almost comically incognito.
But, y'know, there's no turning a flower coming out your eye incognito.]
Hey. [Yet her greeting is as casual as ever when she sees him. There's totally nothing weird going on here, right!!]
[Ragna has pretty much given up on trying not to stand out. Not because his fashion sense has changed in any way, but his white hair is enough to get him a fair share of judging looks. He figures it makes him stick out like a sore thumb, but once he hears a familiar voice and turn to see Rose, he suddenly realizes he might not have it that bad.
At first, he just sort of gapes at her ─ and really, who can blame him? There is a flower in the place where she used to have a perfectly normal eye. There are many pressing questions on Ragna's mind right now, such as "What the fuck" or "How the hell" or "Jesus fucking Christ" (the last is not actually a question). Eventually, his brain catches up and he just lets out a sigh, reaching to scratch the back of his head in resignation.]
... Y'know what? I'm not even gonna ask. Pretty sure I know where you got that from.
[It starts with "Re" and ends in "spec". So now that they've got that covered, his initial instinct is to ask if she's alright, but he hesitates at the last second. Mostly because he's fairly sure no one who has a freaking flower growing out of their eye is "alright". Besides, he figures she wouldn't even admit she's not fine (he knows he wouldn't if they switched places). Not to mention he probably wouldn't be the first person to ask that, and he imagines it must be getting old by now.
With all that musing out of the way, Ragna finally realizes he's been silent for a little too long and now things are getting pretty awkward. Still, he does his best to play along with the whole casual thing Rose is clearly aiming for here.]
... So, we're heading in?
[Not as smooth as intended, but he's trying, okay?]
[She can feel a muscle in her jaw leap at the gaping, but she takes a deep breath and tells herself to calm down. It's not like she can blame him, after all. Even if she's pretty sick of it after a few months of it, at least she can say she's kind of used to it. For better or worse.
When he really doesn't ask about it though, the tension in her shoulders fades away. Aggressively ignoring the issue is really all she can ask for and all she really wants, and she had a feeling Ragna would get her not wanting the concern. She's sure it's there, and it's appreciated on some level, but she appreciates just not talking about it even more.
So with the obvious awkward issue out of the way, she nods and starts walking.]
[As much as Ragna likes to think he doesn't care about anyone or anything, it's hard not to worry at least a little bit when seeing her like this. People aren't supposed to have flowers growing out of their eyes ─ but there again, neither are they supposed to turn into giant eight-headed monsters, so perhaps he has no room to speak here. And hell, what good would that even do for her? The only thing he can really do for Rose is to ignore this and treat her normally.
So without further ado, he follows her inside the restaurant.]
Same. The shit with everything being bland and tasteless was worse than if they had taken all the colors of the rainbow away.
[If there's anything he finds himself being grateful for since the whole Retrospec mess has started, it's the fact they managed to fix that... whattheycallit... unreality bullshit in a timely manner. His life is miserable enough without taste being taken away from him, thank you very much.]
Fuck, don't remind me. That was the absolute worst fucking time of my life.
[Is she exaggerating? Maybe juuuuuust a little, but honestly not by much. How are you supposed to enjoy life's simple pleasures when you can't even taste cake??? And she's definitely still bitter about the money she spent on a cake only to lose taste the next day, okay.
As they enter the restaurant, the person at the front desk definitely raises an eyebrow at them, but the customers further inside are all dressed to different degrees of casual to formal even with the swanky and fancy interior. She knows a few places with dress codes thanks to her clients at work, and they're never worth the hassle in her opinion. Besides, giving Ragna a gift card to a place like that wouldn't have worked out for a lot of reasons.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
backdated to the beginning of the month; delivery
Inside, she'll find this lovely gift and a card that reads as follows:]
Happy Christmas and Merry New Year and all that crap.
Here's to another year of this bullshit.
- Ragna
[He's one step from becoming a poet, clearly.]
no subject
Which is why it surprises her to see this, never mind how late it technically is. She didn't expect anything from anyone aside from maybe her family, yet here this is. Especially given how she's been pretty MIA, the idea of anyone thinking about her outside of family and maaaaaybe work is almost bizarre.
Besides the mushiness of her feelings that she'd vehemently deny anyways though, it's a good gift. Ragna definitely knows her.
So a few days later, he'll find a card in his mailbox that has a giftcard to a pretty pricey restaurant and the following message:]
It's way too late for holiday greetings now, so for when you get tired of home cooking.
Or something. Still gonna cash in on that meal at some point though by the way.
And thanks.
- Rose
no subject
hey
got your card
you didn't have to
[It's only after he sends it that he realizes that maybe it's not the best possible way of expressing gratitude, so he figures it's better to actually follow it up with something else.]
thanks
imma use it well
and yeah i remember that no worries
it'll be nice to eat out something that isn't cheap ass fast food for a change though
wanna tag along?
[Because he's a friendless loser and going to a restaurant that's fancier than McDonald's alone seems kind of... sad. Plus she'd be getting something out of it, too, so maybe he'd feel less awkward about her spending money on him.]
no subject
And honestly, she's never been one to turn down food in any way. It's probably for the best that Ragna isn't as shameless as Rose is.....]
don't worry about it
figured you might appreciate a change in diet
but if you're serious about that invite i'm down
no subject
Oh well, what's done is done anyway, no use dwelling on it now. They're apparently getting somewhere with it, so whatever.]
dead serious
just lmk whenever you're free
no subject
[She's honestly running out of ways to kill time. Wait, that text probably makes her sound like some kind of jobless bum though, doesn't it? Which she might as well be right now, but she's not that much of a loser, okay!!]
just kinda taking a break from work right now
no subject
Doesn't mean he can't tease her a little.]
uh huh
riiiiiiiight
nah i gotcha
how about today then?
good food shouldn't be left waiting
no subject
But it's not like she can keep putting this off forever either. She's going to have to go back to work at some point, and why not test the waters like this? See how comfortable she is with it. Yeah, sure, let's just put it like that.
She hits backspace and retypes her reply.]
good point
meet you outside the place or ?
no subject
sure thing
see you there
moseying on into action
But, y'know, there's no turning a flower coming out your eye incognito.]
Hey. [Yet her greeting is as casual as ever when she sees him. There's totally nothing weird going on here, right!!]
no subject
At first, he just sort of gapes at her ─ and really, who can blame him? There is a flower in the place where she used to have a perfectly normal eye. There are many pressing questions on Ragna's mind right now, such as "What the fuck" or "How the hell" or "Jesus fucking Christ" (the last is not actually a question). Eventually, his brain catches up and he just lets out a sigh, reaching to scratch the back of his head in resignation.]
... Y'know what? I'm not even gonna ask. Pretty sure I know where you got that from.
[It starts with "Re" and ends in "spec". So now that they've got that covered, his initial instinct is to ask if she's alright, but he hesitates at the last second. Mostly because he's fairly sure no one who has a freaking flower growing out of their eye is "alright". Besides, he figures she wouldn't even admit she's not fine (he knows he wouldn't if they switched places). Not to mention he probably wouldn't be the first person to ask that, and he imagines it must be getting old by now.
With all that musing out of the way, Ragna finally realizes he's been silent for a little too long and now things are getting pretty awkward. Still, he does his best to play along with the whole casual thing Rose is clearly aiming for here.]
... So, we're heading in?
[Not as smooth as intended, but he's trying, okay?]
no subject
When he really doesn't ask about it though, the tension in her shoulders fades away. Aggressively ignoring the issue is really all she can ask for and all she really wants, and she had a feeling Ragna would get her not wanting the concern. She's sure it's there, and it's appreciated on some level, but she appreciates just not talking about it even more.
So with the obvious awkward issue out of the way, she nods and starts walking.]
I'm starving honestly. You?
no subject
So without further ado, he follows her inside the restaurant.]
Same. The shit with everything being bland and tasteless was worse than if they had taken all the colors of the rainbow away.
[If there's anything he finds himself being grateful for since the whole Retrospec mess has started, it's the fact they managed to fix that... whattheycallit... unreality bullshit in a timely manner. His life is miserable enough without taste being taken away from him, thank you very much.]
no subject
[Is she exaggerating? Maybe juuuuuust a little, but honestly not by much. How are you supposed to enjoy life's simple pleasures when you can't even taste cake??? And she's definitely still bitter about the money she spent on a cake only to lose taste the next day, okay.
As they enter the restaurant, the person at the front desk definitely raises an eyebrow at them, but the customers further inside are all dressed to different degrees of casual to formal even with the swanky and fancy interior. She knows a few places with dress codes thanks to her clients at work, and they're never worth the hassle in her opinion. Besides, giving Ragna a gift card to a place like that wouldn't have worked out for a lot of reasons.]
Table for two, please.