Work Text:
Second Date
The museum Cave wants to meet him at is close enough to walk to, which is good, because riding in a bus makes Stal feel queasy. He gets there five minutes early, thank the DJ, and,
“Stal! Hey!”
Cave charges over from the entryway, grinning all over, and pulls Stal into a hug. Stal returns it, his tentacles twining around Cave's—not the suckers, that's too much still, but the movie they watched last week went well and they're definitely friends now. “Hi.”
Cave's tentacles don't move, of course, he's an inkling, but his ears press back and when they let each other go Cave's cheeks are stained a deep green. “I'm so glad you could make it,” he says, speaking slow enough for Stal to make out each word. “Do you want to go in?”
Stal nods, and smiles, and pushes his tentacles back again until they lie down in that slick-backed style that looks so fresh. “What cost be?”
“Oh, d'Alfonsino's free on Tuesday afternoons,” says Cave. “No cost.”
That's good. Stal was ready to pay, he's been paying attention in the budgeting class, but not paying is better. They'd better go in, then.
Stal grabs Cave's hand so they don't get separated and tugs him inside. Cave holds on, giving Stal's hand a squeeze when they walk past the ticket person and she talks too fast even as she waves a fin at them, and then they're inside.
It's an art museum. Stal's heard of those, even if there aren't any underground. It's where people just... just...
Cave squeezes his hand, and Stal realizes he's been stopped in front of a painting of a pond surrounded by jellyfish, the light of the sunrise refracted through their bodies into different colors, for way too long. “I like it too,” says Cave.
Stal grows hot to the tip of his tentacles, which squirm despite the way he keeps them slicked back. He squeezes Cave's hand.
Cave squeezes back.
There's something on the wall there. Writing. Stal steps closer to the painting and squints at it. “The ardist was, uh...”
“Don't feel bad,” says Cave. “I can't say her name either. I'm pretty sure she was a clownfish.”
Stal shivers. Cave's voice is hushed, but there's no one else in the room, and it seems far too loud. The two of them are just here, together. All alone. Staring at beauty.
Stal likes it. He reaches out with one tentacle, ruining his style, so it can twine around Cave's shoulder. “There be more?”
“Lots,” says Cave. “I thought you'd like it. When we were at the movies last time, you said you were in an art class. So I thought, we could look at art.” He smiles, and with one finger, touches the end of Stal's tentacle.
Stal wraps it around Cave's finger. “I do like it.”
“I'm glad,” says Cave. “I like it too.”
“So we look,” says Stal. “And then, we burger. I pay burger time.”
Cave laughs. “Fine, you can pay this time. Come on, the next room has some rockin' sculptures.”