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It's a nice morning for the Kingdom Of Science. Clear skies, promising a light breeze. No drastic weather. No problems, hopefully.
But for Ryusui, he's a bit bothered.
"Ha-ha! As the captain of this vessel, I require a bar, casino, and much, MUCH more!" Ryusui shouts, snapping his fingers. His desires are seemingly endless.
Senku sticks a pinky into his ear.
"Hah. No. That's ten-billion percent useless. We need to save our resources for something of value." He mutters. "Regardless, I'm busy. You can keep complaining, or you can leave me and Kaseki to work in peace."
Ryusui sighs, that cheesy grin still not leaving his face.
"How about ten million Drago? Twenty million Drago! I don't care about the cost, I simply desire the best!" He snaps his fingers, carefree.
Senku puts a palm to his forehead, sighing.
"Let me put it into terms you understand. Your greed, no matter how strong, simply won't get us the required materials we need. It's pointless to keep complaining." Senku snaps.
Ah. Not even money could buy Senku's science. What a pity… "Well then, I'm off to do something else!" Ryusui says, walking out of Senku's science base. He's off to do something better than arguing!!
…Well, maybe not better. But it's definitely peaceful.
Ryusui arrives at a quiet stream, where some villagers might go to wash their clothes. However, it's nice and peaceful. Nobody else is here. Just Ryusui and his own thoughts.
He sits down on the bank of the river, taking his captain's jacket off and setting aside, placing his hat on top. He crosses his legs on the stony shore of the river, sitting on a soft patch of grass. Ryusui takes time to think. Out loud, of course.
And that's to one archer's demise.
Ukyo had no plans of eavesdropping, let alone spying on the captain of the Perseus. Ryusui just happened to come by the riverbank while Ukyo sat on a low branch of a tree, just out of view. His back is against the trunk, with one leg on the branch and one dangling down.
Ukyo sighs, trapped. If he leaves now, then Ryusui's break would be disturbed. But if he stays… Well, then he'd hear some stuff he might not want to.
It's a dilemma. But, when Ryusui starts talking, Ukyo realizes the decision has been made for him. He can't leave.
"Senku says my greed can't buy resources, but that's not true! My greed can do anything! He just doesn't drink, he wouldn't get why our ship needs a bar… Plus, Francois makes the best drinks!" Ryusui rants to himself, grabbing a stone from the shore.
With a toss, he throws the stone into the shallow river, watching it sink to the bottom. Ryusui sighs, and lays down on the soft grass below him. His arms are crossed behind his head as he looks up at the bright blue sky.
"...And I haven't gotten to confess to him yet. My greed has no limits, but my mind does. I want him so bad, yet I can't find the words to express my desire." Ryusui mumbles to himself, looking pensive.
"I'm a coward. I just need to tell Ukyo how I feel."
Now, if Ukyo didn't already know this, he would flinch and ruin his cover. But, with his sharp hearing, he already knew this. In fact, he has feelings for Ryusui as well. Very, very strong feelings.
And even though he wants to confess, there's just too much going on at the moment. Ukyo had decided he'd confess later, maybe on the Perseus when they set sail to America. But, with his heart racing whenever he even steps foot near Ryusui… It couldn't last much longer. He sighs silently, looking down at the defeated captain.
Maybe the moments they already shared were enough. Quiet moments by this shore, as Ryusui talks and talks about his greatest desires. The friendly yet intimate moments they had already shared could be enough, especially if it meant Ukyo wouldn't go through the trouble of confessing.
But his heart still aches. It longs to spill out the thoughts flooding his brain and turn them into words. He wants to tell Ryusui how he feels so bad. But he can't.
Ukyo sighs yet again. Why is this so hard?
He looks back down at Ryusui, who seems to speak again.
"I just can't hold it in. My desire is too strong. Ukyo, with his beautiful face, soft skin, and talents as an archer and sonar operator… I love him more than life itself. My dear Ukyo means so much…" Ryusui mutters, closing his eyes.
Ukyo flinches.
He can feel his face burning.
Yes, he'd already known about Ryusui's endless desires, but WHAT?! Why did he go so in-depth? Does he really occupy this much space in the confident captain's mind?! Ukyo's heart pounds from two things.
One, Ryusui's dramatic love confession.
And two, he thinks with horror, is the shower of leaves he sent down by flinching. The green leaves fall to the ground, along with a few sticks too. Why is it so loud?!?
Ryusui's head snaps up, seemingly breaking the train of thoughts he was having. He looks around, and stares at the area where the sound came from.
"Who's there?!" Ryusui asks, instinctively reaching a hand towards where his dagger would be if he were to have it on him. However, he doesn't. Ryusui grumbles, sitting up. "I said, who's there?"
Ukyo's breath hitches. Suddenly, everything seems a bit louder than usual. His heart is pounding, blood rushing to his face in embarrassment. This is bad.
He should leave.
He reaches a foot down to the branch below him, trying to escape silently. However, with his shitty luck, that branch turns out to be weak and snaps under his foot. Ukyo freezes, watching it crash to the ground.
His cover is for SURE blown. What would he say to Ryusui?! He can't just lie and say he's 'exploring'. His sailor instincts would catch that immediately.
Ryusui stands up, tense. "Come out right now." He says, voice quiet and more threatening than usual.
Ukyo sighs, taking a shaky breath out. He doesn't exactly have a choice.
He leaps from the branch to the ground, taking a couple of leaves with him. Standing up, Ukyo looks at Ryusui, embarrassed. He couldn't exactly explain what he was doing, could he? His eyes meet with the sailor's.
Ryusui takes a few seconds to process.
"Ah! Ukyo! My dear friend!" He says, voice slightly wavering. "...How much did you hear?"
Ukyo shakes his head, embarrassed. "I- I heard you complaining about the lack of accommodations on the Perseus." He says simply. "And how much it bothered you."
Ryusui walks forward, hand scratching his head. "And… After that?" The captain asks, uncharacteristically nervous.
Ukyo sighs. It's now or never.
"You called yourself a coward." Ukyo says softly, eyes coming up to meet Ryusui's. "That's not how I would describe you. Confessing to someone is hard. Even the King Of Greed suffers from being lovestruck." Ukyo laughs half-heartedly.
"Ah. So you did hear that." Ryusui states, internally panicking. Ukyo can barely make out the light dusting of pink covering the captain's cheeks. A few moments of silence pass between them.
Ukyo stands up on his toes, reaching Ryusui's lips. He places a soft kiss on them, before returning down.
"If it makes you feel better," the archer starts, adjusting his cap, "I feel the same. I was planning on confessing aboard the Perseus, when all of the prep finally gets done…" He admits, cap hiding his flushed face.
Ryusui grins like a man who just won the lottery. His face is now burning red as he lets out a relieved sigh. He snaps his fingers, letting out his signature laugh.
"Well, I'm glad! I desire you so much, Ukyo! You're a treasure!" He states, closing the gap to trap Ukyo in a tight hug. After a moment, Ukyo reciprocates.
He sighs, adjusting his hat.
This isn't how Ukyo expected his confession to go, but it's a welcome surprise.
Today isn't bad by any means.