Chapter Text
Larry’s been looking around for Gumshoe for the past… while now. It hasn’t really been that long, but it still feels like it has been to him. It’s a really nice day out, and he wanted to bring him along with him someplace… which requires actually having the other guy with him. Larry has been getting closer to him lately, after a pretty long time of not really knowing the big guy so well. He figured, on this nice day, he should invite him to hang out, maybe they’ll have a good time! In truth… he’s kind of into him, not that he would admit it to anyone just yet.
He finally decides to just pay a visit to his apartment, not sure why he didn’t start with this.
The place is kind of sad looking, even from the outside… Larry rings the doorbell and waits for an answer.
…
The door opens after a moment, and there’s Dick Gumshoe, and a view of his unfortunate looking home. It seems he hasn’t gotten ready to go anywhere just yet. “Hello? Who’s… oh!” His face lights up when he sees who it is. Such a nice smile! “Heya, pal! Didn’t think I’d get a visit from you today!”
Larry returns that friendly smile with one of his own. “Hi, Gummy! I just came over to, um… well, it’s a nice day out, y’know? Sooo, I thought… maybe… I could come ask you to, I dunno, hang out a little? We could go someplace together?” He’s internally cringing at how much he struggled to say that. Why are words so hard?
Gumshoe doesn’t seem to mind at all, though. “You wanna hang out? Oh ho ho! Sure thing! Just… gimme a sec to change, okay?” He pauses to think, before pointing at a beat up looking chair. “You can sit over there or something, I won’t be long.”
He gestures him to come inside and walks off to get ready for their little outing. Larry sits in the sad chair, thinking to himself. Well, that went better than he expected, though he’s not sure why he expected it to go... not well, in the first place. Probably just nerves.
He sits up again once Gumshoe returns, still with that big, lovely smile on his face. Larry wonders if he’s really this eager to go somewhere with him as he seems. He didn’t even specify where they’d be going!
“Alright, that’s better. I’m all ready now, pal!” He stands proud. (Hm... tall…) “So, where are we going?”
…Where ARE they going? “Uh...” Larry does an embarrassed sort of grin. “I…I don’t know, really. I kinda put all my focus on how I’d ask you to come with me in the first place…” Doesn’t hurt to be honest, he hopes. “B-but, uh!! Oh! Maybe we can go to the park or something! And… hang out!!” Ah, good one, Larry. That’ll do it.
“Huh? A little park trip? Hey, that sounds good to me! You can’t go wrong with something simple like that!” He really does sound eager. “Let’s go!”
Can’t just keep sitting around, they have a park trip to go on! Larry gets up out of the chair and follows Gumshoe outside.
One short trip later… they’ve arrived at the park! Larry can’t help but continually admire Gumshoe’s enthusiasm. This guy reminds him of an excited puppy sometimes, especially right now, considering where they decided to go. It’s really cute…
“It really is nice out! Great day for the park! Good choice, pal!”
“Oh, well, I just thought… it would be a good spot to hang out! Right…?”
“Right! It’s real nice!”
The two of them are walking together, enjoying the nice weather. There’s not a lot of people here, so it’s pretty peaceful. Larry tries to pretend he doesn’t keep looking at Gumshoe… the way he smiles so warmly, and he sure looks different without that big coat on... Yikes! What are these thoughts supposed to be? He quickly tries to focus on something else.
“Hey! Gummy!” He grabs his arm to get his attention, not giving it much thought. “Look, there’s… a little bird over there! It’s really small!!” He points over at some birds. They ARE pretty cute…
Gumshoe looks over with a gentle gasp. “Oh… they’re so small…! Like you could hold ‘em just in the palm of your hand!” He holds a hand, as if to demonstrate.
“Dude, you could hold more than just a bird in your hand. Your hands are huge!”
“Huh? Are they?” He looks at his own hand, curiously.
“Yeah, seriously. Look, watch this.” He (gently) grabs him by the wrist, bringing his palm closer to him, and puts his own hand against it. It certainly is smaller. He’s a lot smaller than Gumshoe in general. “See??”
Gumshoe laughs a bit. “Ha! You were right! Unless… you just have little hands!”
“Um, I do NOT have little hands! You’re obviously big.” He circles around him, waving his arms around. “Biiiiig. Huge. The god of wide shoulders.”
“The what??”
“Never mind! Come on, I don’t wanna stand here all day! This way!”
He runs off in another direction, looking back to make sure Gumshoe follows him. He’s not really sure where he’s going, but it seemed like fun to run around for some reason.
The two of them end up having a good time playing around in the park for a while. Aimless outdoors fun with a friend… that’s not something he’s done for a pretty long time.
It’s really nice!
After a while, they find themselves sitting on a bench, laughing together.
“Haha! Aw, man. This was better than I thought it could be!” He’s in a great mood, now. He looks up at Gumshoe, smiling. “I guess I missed this kind of innocent fun.”
“Me too. I had a great time!” Gumshoe looks back at him.
There’s a quiet moment as their eyes meet… Larry has to force himself to look away, he can’t handle the way he was being looked at… He stares at the grass, cheeks slightly flushed, but still smiling. “M-Maybe we could hang out again some time. Just the two of us, having a good time… Uh… Doesn’t have to be the park again!” He’s confused at himself, why is asking to hang out with his buddy again making him feel like this? Some strange feeling in his chest…
He looks back at him again. “We could… there’s lots of things. Yeahh…!!”
Gumshoe just keeps on smiling and pats him gently on the shoulder. “I’d love to! Anytime, pal! As long as I’m not busy, at least… you know how it is!” He stands up. Larry stands with him. “You’re a great guy! I’m real excited to get to know you better!” Suddenly, he pulls Larry into a hug. He’s just too enthusiastic about this. Not that it’s a bad thing…
Larry wasn’t expecting that, but it’s very welcome. He always imagined that he gave really good hugs. He was right. “Oh-! Y-yeah! Uh, me too! I mean… I wanna get to know you too!” He sorta hugs back. Does this have to end?
That answer would be a yes, as Gumshoe steps back again. “That’s great!
I better get going before it gets too late… see you again soon!!” He waves to him, as he starts to head off.
Larry waves back. “Yeah, see you…!”
He sits back on the bench, just to recollect himself for a moment. He really did have a nice time with Gumshoe today, even doing something so simple like hanging out at the park. And he’s left with a feeling he can’t quite place… but he’s certain at least, that he’s excited at the thought of being close to him again.
… Better head home and not think too hard about these feelings. All around, a good day.