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[risorto]

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[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.]

[risorto]

[Bruno is good at masking a lot, but there are some things not even he can keep buried from the surface. Not when he's so quickly and firmly establishing a necessary distance that he somewhat hates himself for because he wouldn't have to do this in the first place if he had been more careful.]

Mm? [he hums softly, as though he doesn't know all the while maintaining eye contact with Polnareff, smiling again.] I'm fine. You just caught me before I had my first coffee.

[He waves his hand a little, dismissively.]

I'll wake up better in a while.

[silvercrusader]

[Well, that's all right, then. He's not quite so dependant on the stuff, but he's had days like that. Satisfied, Polnareff threads his fingers together behind his head, leaning back into them as they walk towards the beach.

It's a pleasant journey, albeit a bit quieter than they'd been before. Bruno doesn't offer much, though he's not impolite-- just quiet, giving scraps of answers to Polnareff's incessant questions. Eventually, he gives up on getting something from Bruno and shifts entirely into storymode-- yammering on about Stands he and Jotaro and Kakyoin fought, or cafes they visited, or some meal he ate once in Germany.

By the time they get to the beach, it's nearly noon. It's almost unbearably hot, but that just makes the allure of the ocean all the stronger. Polnareff's outright beaming as he sets the backpack down a few meters away from the shore, nearly vibrating in his excitement.]

They're gonna be so jealous-- I'm definitely taking pictures, I brought my watch just for that.

[risorto]

[Polnareff is teetering into giddy excitement and it's not that Bruno appears to be unhappy — far from it because for once, one of his smiles is a little more genuine — but he does seem perhaps a little reluctant to engage with that much excitement. Which may or may not be all that unusual because Bruno's excitement usually is understated relative to most people, let alone compared to Polnareff.]

They? Or just Jotaro?

[Bruno summons Sticky Fingers, who opens up the backpack again and begins pulling out the pieces.]

[silvercrusader]

I mean, they all should be jealous, but probably Jotaro most of all. I'll bring him back a shell or something, though. A starfish. A shark. Whatever.

[He can't do anything for Bruno right now, and so Polnareff wanders over to shore. Kicking his boots off, he heads into the ocean, shivering as the cold water laps his feet.]

Kakyoin'll be secretly jealous. But I'll take him out, so it'll work out.

[risorto]

[Sticky Fingers seals the backpack back up and Bruno steps over closer to the pieces. He crouches down and begins arranging the pieces back together, propping them up until Sticky Fingers can seal them again. He only glances over at Polnareff over at his shoulder once, using putting the boat together as an excuse to keep his back turned.]

I have a hard time imagining Kakyoin agreeing to that.

[silvercrusader]

He might! I mean, I'm not saying he's gonna lay out on the deck and sunbathe, but he might come. Definitely my chances increase if Jotaro's there, though.

[The ocean is nice, but Bruno is nicer. Polnareff wanders over, leaning over Bruno and peering at Sticky Fingers. They're touching a little, legs against Bruno's side. He's gotten used to these kinds of little touches; they barely register anymore.]

I should've brought a bottle of champagne. Or wine. But maybe we can throw a water bottle at it, that'll probably count, even if it doesn't shatter.

[risorto]

[Bruno only looks at Polnareff out of the corner of his eye when he comes over and only once he feels Polnareff's leg against his side. Otherwise it's eyes focused on what he's doing. Sticky Fingers is quickly to pull zippers closed, sometimes letting them fall out of his hand and go the rest of the way before they simply disappear out of existence as though they never were. Slowly, the boat is coming back together just as it was.]

I wouldn't let you waste a bottle of wine like that...

[When it's time to essentially move down the line, Bruno moves away from Polnareff with a small sidestep before he stands back upright. At least for a brief second. He has to then lean over to the other side to straighten a piece out and hold it before Sticky Fingers can zip it together again.]

[silvercrusader]

Well, there you go. Works out.

[He's gone from being utterly repulsed by Sticky Fingers to fascinated, all in two months. It helps that the Stand is working on something nonliving, of course; it's all quite easier to take when it's not somebody's arm that's falling off. But it's fascinating, right, to see an entire boat be pieced together seamlessly, looking just as perfect as it had in their backyard.

It's a little two-man craft, but it's theirs, and it's seaworthy. Or at least, he hopes it'll be; he's still half-convinced they might sink. But whatever! They're going to try! Excelsior, onwards and upwards!]

You wanna be the one doing the pushing or you want to be the one sitting cozy while I push you out?

[risorto]

[Bruno continues moving down the rest of the length of the boat, letting Sticky Fingers put the last couple of pieces together. He steps over to the backpack, picking it up and setting it inside.]

I'm fine with pushing.

[silvercrusader]

Suit yourself, skinny.

[There's something absent in Bruno's voice. It's not as if he's excessively loud in his warmth, but nor is it ever really absent from his voice. At least, not when he talks to Polnareff. There's always an undercurrent of fondness there, just as there is when he talks about Fugo or Giorno. It means friendship. It means I like you.

They've spoken on mornings before. This isn't just tiredness. And yet it's not yet enough for Polnareff to say anything out loud. There's just a worry in his chest, that's all; a breathless moment of uncertainty before he shoves it away.

He grabs his backpack and helps Bruno push the boat over to the shore. A moment of hesitation-- and then he slips onto the boat, feet dangling, watching Bruno a little uncertainly.]

[risorto]

[Bruno says nothing to the skinny comment, dismissing Sticky Fingers. He simply toes off his shoes, dropping them inside the boat while Polnareff is settling into it. Once he is settled, Bruno starts pushing. He gets a little help from Sticky Fingers initially, though his Stand never visibly manifests. It's enough momentum that once the boat's in just deep enough that it's able to glide more or less on its own. It's clearly a practiced motion and more muscle memory than anything else that Bruno then hops into the boat himself. He gives it a few seconds.]

[He looks over at Polnareff.]

You said to wait until she's on the water to ask. She isn't sinking, so... [He tips his head a little.] How does it feel?

[silvercrusader]

[Polnareff huffs a laugh and glances over, his smile softer than his usual grins.]

Perfect.

[She is, too. Their little boat glides steadily out on the water, pushed along by the waves and momentum. She's dry; the boards hold fast against the water. She's perfect, and he starts grinning, because this is his. They built this, and it's not sinking, and god, but he's proud.

He reaches over, punching Bruno affectionately in the arm.]

We built a boat! A perfect boat-- we're amazing, you know that?

[risorto]

[Bruno smiles only a little and his gaze darts away because it feels a little unfair to smile like that right now, but this time it is genuine at least.]

Think you'll start building more now that you're done with this one?

[silvercrusader]

[There's been a lot of individualistic talk on this trip. Your boat; think you'll start building more. It's a bad sign, and now that worry is starting to grow.]

Not alone.

[It's a little direct, but so is he.]

[risorto]

[Bruno hums in acknowledgement and seems to be leaving it at that at first as his smile fades back into something more neutral.]

It would go faster.