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[risorto]

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[silvercrusader]

I wouldn't turn down a little assurance.

[He shoves his hands in his pockets and sets off. The beach isn't too far from their home-- maybe an hour's walk at most, and that's if he's going real slow.]

I mean, what, is it like a bicycle, you never forget, or can you be rusty at sailing?

[risorto]

[Bruno walks alongside Polnareff. He's made this walk to the beach countless times by now, but it's rarely with company.]

I kept a boat in Napoli, Jean. [Granted, he didn't have much time to make use of it, but when the opportunity arose...] Even if it weren't something I could ever forget, it hasn't been that long.

[silvercrusader]

I didn't know that!

[It's not as if they're that intimate yet, but he's a little surprised he hasn't heard about it yet.]

What's it called?

[(What's it called, he says in the present tense, which is something he's very aware of around both Bruno and Kakyoin. But he doesn't take it back or switch tenses; he says it as if the boat is going to wait in Napoli for Bruno to get home).]

[risorto]

[Bruno shakes his head a little.]

It never had a name.

[He doesn't follow the change in tenses.]

[silvercrusader]

Probably a good thing. Nothing could outdo the Codfather.

[He notes that past tense in his head, but he doesn't want to point it out. It's a good day. It's cool out, there's a faint breeze, they have a boat, and he's walking next to a guy he's got a crush on. He's not about to ruin things by bringing up death.

He stares at nothing for a long few seconds, and then, thoughtfully:]

The Seaduction. I liked that one. Or . . . Pier Pressure.

[risorto]

[Bruno's fine with lapses into silence. He's a quiet person by default, so sometimes silence itself feels better than conversation depending on its placement within a conversation. But it doesn't last for very long — it never does with Polnareff — and Bruno's brow furrows a little even as his smile widens some.]

Those weren't rejected names for the Codfather, were they?

[silvercrusader]

[So long as Bruno is smiling, that's all the encouragement Polnareff needs.]

I had a lot of time to think about this. I gotta tell you, Seaduction was up there, I really liked that one.

[But now he's ticking them off on his fingers.]

The Sand Witch. The Titanic Two. A-Boat Time. Seas The Day-- most of these work better on paper, I'm not just saying phrases. I came up with them on my own, by the way-- you know who didn't help at all? Kakyoin. The guy can tell you ten million facts about tea in China but he can't come up with a good boat pun.

[risorto]

[Bruno purses his lips at first, but it's not long before he has to turn his head away to laugh quietly into the back of a hand.]

Oh, I'm sure he could have come up with at least one if you gave him enough time.

[silvercrusader]

I gave him weeks! Weeks, and all I got was-- actually, he came up with some pretty good ocean puns, but nothing I could use for the Codfather.

[He shrugs.]

He had the chance to name a boat and he missed it. Actually, they all did-- Jotaro, Giorno, Fugo, all of them. I've been talking off everyone's ear about this and none of them came up with anything.

[risorto]

[Bruno barely lowers his hand before he snorts and quickly covers his mouth again with a hand.]

You asked Fugo?

[He can understand the others. Kakyoin and Polnareff have an antagonistic friendship, but it's still a friendship and Kakyoin is clever. While Bruno doesn't know Jotaro well enough to say whether or not he'd have that kind of humor, but it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility. And Giorno is obvious. But Fugo? He can't imagine a single scenario in which Fugo would indulge Polnareff on something like that. Not without careful goading which he doesn't think Polnareff exactly possesses.]

[silvercrusader]

I didn't-- don't laugh! I didn't ask him directly, but I told him what we were doing. Don't laugh at me.

[He leans over, elbowing him with another wrinkle of his nose. So offended.]

He's clever! And he might pretend otherwise, but he's got a good sense of humor, so he ought to have made his mark when he had the chance.

[risorto]

[Not surprisingly, nothing Polnareff is doing is helping in the endeavor of making Bruno stop laughing. He only veers a couple of steps away from Polnareff when he's elbowed before moving back beside him.]

Mi dispiace, but... [Hold please, there's some interrupting laughter.] You didn't really expect him to give you anything, did you?

[silvercrusader]

Bruno!

[Has a man ever been so offended?]

I expected him to support me! We're friends! I swear to god, if you don't stop laughing--

[risorto]

[Bruno holds up both hands in surrender, but he has to purse his lips and can't afford to open his mouth to say anything back to keep himself from laughing. He's doing his best here for Polnareff's sake. If his shoulders shake a little, that's purely an illusion.]

[silvercrusader]

[Okay, you know what-- now it's a full-on shove, two hands, hard enough to get him to stumble (though not so hard Bruno will fall).]

[risorto]

[Bruno stumbles at the shove, recovering quickly though that's not at all what's important here. What is important is that when he gets shoved, he gives up trying to contain his laughter. What's more important than that is this is the loudest Polnareff has likely ever heard Bruno laugh — which still isn't all that loud, certainly not relative to Polnareff's laughter, but he laughs louder. He laughs louder and he does nothing to hide it. He doesn't look down at his feet, letting them instinctively recover his footing, and he doesn't try to cover his mouth with a hand as he lets his arms drop back down at his sides.]

Jean, I'm sorry! [he says, amid the laughter and edging close to breathless.] But I don't know what you expect me to do when you tell me you asked Fugo for help with a pun!

[silvercrusader]

[God help him. Save him from this man, this bright brilliant beautiful man, breathless and happy and laughing without limitation. He's wanted to kiss Bruno since the barrettes, maybe even before that, but never so much as he does right now.

Jean, he says, and he bites his bottom lip, watching him with a smile. That rather ruins his insulted look, but that's all right.]

You're not sorry at all, that's the worst part of it.

[It's continuing the joke, of course, but his voice has lost the offended edge it had a few seconds ago. God, but he looks good when he laughs.

(Two steps, he thinks. Two steps and he could be right in front of Bruno; one swift movement and he could have him breathless for an entirely different reason. Two steps, and it'd be so easy. He's taller than Bruno by just a few inches; it's the perfect height to cup his cheek and tip his head up and just--).]

[risorto]

[If Bruno were being less attentive to Polnareff, it's possible that he might not have noticed at all. He might have remained distracted by another warm bubble of irresistible laughter and this game they're playing with each other. But Bruno is almost always attentive to other people regardless of what's happening and that's especially so when he's intent on avoiding another shove. But he's managed to get a few steps ahead, turned around and walking backwards with his eyes on Polnareff so he doesn't miss a second of it. He sees that smile and Polnareff biting his bottom lip. He sees that look in his eyes.]

[It should be like a jolt when someone looks at you like that. Bruno knows that. He does. But all he feels instead is a sinking feeling and when he purses his lips this time, it's to hold his smile in place rather than to stop any abrupt laughter. It's a sinking, low feeling that he wishes he didn't feel because it comes coupled with guilt because he sees it now. He sees all the little warning signs that this was happening now, that Polnareff's playfulness began taking on a different meaning. And all those questions...]

[Bruno shouldn't have— He should have noticed sooner. He should have noticed sooner and changed the course. He should have kept that professional distance, but he didn't because...because...]

[Merda! he thinks sharply as he turns his back to Polnareff, only then allowing his expression to drop far closer to something that he actually feels. He wasn't careful. He wasn't careful and in the end, Polnareff is going to be the one that's going to end up hurt. When Polnareff looks at someone like that, they should feel that jolt. He deserves that.]

[He deserves more than Bruno can give him.]

I am a little bit, [he says, barely missing a beat. He's making himself smile again to keep his voice light and just a simple regression to his usual quiet. But he is. He's so very sorry. More than Polnareff will probably ever know. Bruno moves his hands in front of himself, fingertips reaching for pulse point. He breathes slow to quiet a racing heartbeat.]

[silvercrusader]

Liar.

[Maybe, he thinks happily, it'll be today. He can't come out and confess, not so abruptly, but maybe it'll be today Bruno realizes. Or, hell, if Giorno's theory is correct, maybe he does realize, so maybe today will be the day they stop dancing around each other. That would be nice. He'd like that. It's not that he doesn't like moments like these-- god, no, he's going to remember Bruno's open laugh for the rest of his life-- but it would be very nice to be able to kiss him afterwards.

But! They've all day, and Polnareff has no intention of forcing something. So he puts his arms behind his head and skips forward a few steps, catching up to Bruno with a grin.]

You gotta show me how you made those desserts, by the way. I swear to god, every time I try they come out like crap; you do it the first time and they're perfect.

[risorto]

[Bruno briefly glances over at Polnareff as he catches up.]

You'll remember that I had help.

[He leaves it there. Not commenting on how Fugo used to help him most of the time when he would make meals or other treats for the rest of the team.]

[silvercrusader]

[Tonight, he'll realize it started here. The lack of elaboration, the carefully neutral tone-- he doesn't recognize it yet, but he will. This is where it all started to go wrong.

For now, Polnareff simply glances over, smile wide and friendly. This is a good day.]

Yeah, but Fugo's not here now, is he? Besides, he'd fuss about measurements-- so no, it's gotta be you.

[risorto]

[Bruno shoves his hands in his pockets, keeping his gaze ahead.]

He thinks if the two of you cooked together, you'd refuse to do any measuring just to try and prove him wrong.

[silvercrusader]

[There's something . . . off. He isn't getting the smiles he usually gets. It isn't as if Bruno smiles often, but he does for Polnareff.]

He's probably right.

[How could anyone resist doing something like that? But something about this conversation feels a little odd, and so he adds:]

Is that a yes from you, then? Not today, obviously-- we've got to sail today-- but sometime soon?

[risorto]

[Bruno glances over at Polnareff.]

You'll have to run out of them first.

[He follows that with a weak and brief smile he doesn't quite feel.]

[silvercrusader]

[He's not good at reading people-- or at least, not like Bruno is. He can't look at someone and read them like a book. But he knows some things, and he likes to think he's learned enough about Bruno's smiles to see that one isn't that real.

Which means something's wrong. Something's changed within the past few minutes. He'd been fine before; he'd been breathless with laughter before, so what--?]

You say that like I couldn't finish them off by the end of the afternoon.

[It's a joke, but it's said quietly. Polnareff's smile fades a little, and he leans over, keeping their eyes locked.]

You all right?

[Maybe it was something he'd said. They all have dark memories, and the slightest things can trigger them. Jotaro doesn't like the dark; Kakyoin doesn't like clocks. Maybe he'd said something stupid by accident.]