[ COLLEGE AU 2 : GYRO+JOLYNE ]

[rettangolo]

[ So. After all this time, all the apartment invasions and willful mooching and the constant annoyances that Gyro's posed to Jolyne, he thinks it's high time he actually gives back a little: that is, he finds now as good a time as any to take Jolyne out on a date. A real one, one that doesn't start with him shooting her a text that says 'u busy rn, want pizza ?'.

He shows up in front of her apartment at a reasonable hour— 7 is fine, right?— with no hat, no tacky belt, and his hair swept to the side, over one shoulder. No flowers— overkill— but with a full wallet and some semblance of actual effort in his overall presentation.

Miraculously, he rings the bell instead of knocking the door down, waits until she answers before speaking up. ]

Hey. I'm early for once, where's my medal?

[ nailed it. ]

Comments

[stringmealong]

[ She makes a face at the guy. ]

What do you think I'm into, exactly?

[ Then looks back at Gyro with a smirk. ]

Or maybe it's that you're worried you're less hot than some guy two steps away from the grave?

[rettangolo]

[ A snort, and he downs a good portion of his drink in one; just to assert how completely mature and not a baby he is, supposedly. ]

Hey, hey, hey. You're the one that agreed to go on this date with me, you're the one that should be offended that I'm doubting your taste.

[ Unsubtly, he slides on over on the cushy lounge chair, sits so that their shoulders are touching and his hair pools over Jolyne's arm. ]

—Question, though.

[stringmealong]

Maybe I am a little offended if you think agreeing to go out with you means I'm that easy.

[ She doesn't sound particularly offended, though, and she takes a leisurely few moments to drink from her own drink before she turns to him, casual about the contact. ]

What is it?

[rettangolo]

So. This is a "date", right.

[ Araki bold mandatory. He doesn't put air quotations around the words, but it's implied. ]

Would you say we're "date-ing".

[ What kind of question is this, Gyro Zeppeli... ]

[stringmealong]

We're currently in the process of a date, sure.

[ But that's not what he's asking. Probably. Who knows what Gyro's going for some of the time. ]

...We'd have to keep doing it to make it a thing, and it's a little early to say whether it'll be a complete disaster or not. What, do you want to be my boyfriend?

[ She's flippant about it, but some small amount of hesitance still comes through. More hesitance than she's had about things like checking out his ass or fucking on her couch, certainly. ]

[rettangolo]

[ It's not that he's in any rush to put a label on what they do (he's not), but Gyro looks thoughtful for approximately a second, actually looks like he's putting things into perspective— which, granted, he does a lot, but usually in the privacy of his own space. ]

Don't know, actually. I just thought it wouldn't be bad.

[ He says bluntly, as casually as he can be while also being completely honest. ]

—Don't make it weird!

[ Ah, now he's slightly embarrassed. ]

[stringmealong]

[ His honesty and embarrassment makes her more relaxed again, and she conceals an actually affectionate smile with a sip of her drink before poking his shoulder and responding offhandedly. ]

You're the one who made it weird. Don't ask someone if you're dating if you don't know what you want the answer to be.

[ But after a beat, she feels the need to give a real response too. ]

...It doesn't sound bad to me either. If I thought it did I wouldn't have come out. We can see how it goes.

[rettangolo]

I was just pitching it to you. Just wanted to see if you'd catch it or drop it.

[ Painfully obtuse Gyro Zeppeli metaphors: check.

But he finds himself feeling somewhat pleased with her conclusion anyway, which brings him to a good place where he can joke about it. ]

But while we're on the subject, tell me if there's any family ritual I'm going to have to know about if I want to date you. What does your old man like.

[ A beat. ]

...Man, does he like anything? [ Listen, he's seen Jotaro, ok... ]

[stringmealong]

What, do you think I know what he likes?

[ It's not like he spends a lot of time chatting with her about his hobbies and preferences, or like she even really knows how to get his respect herself. She frowns slightly, turning her glass around in her hands. ]

It would be nice if you could get his approval, but your guess is as good as mine.

[ She takes another large gulp of her drink. ]

It's not like you need his permission first just to date me, anyway.

[rettangolo]

[ It's a commonality, he supposes— Jolyne has her issues with her father, the way Gyro has some contentions with his. But he lets it roll off his shoulders, doesn't comment on it because he's cagey that way, sometimes. ]

Good. Because I wouldn't ask.

[ And he grins because he's being truthful, and he downs the rest of his drink with a flourish. ]

The subject begs the question, then: worst date you've ever been on?

[stringmealong]

[ She drains the rest of her mojito to keep up as she considers that. ]

Hmm... One time I was out with Romeo, and we were killing time before dinner and stopped by this car dealership. He was like, hey, let's pretend we're shopping and get them to let us take some for a test drive! So we went in there acting like some rich couple shopping for a BMW or something. He told me to try to look respectable, but it didn't even really matter, the guy just ignored me anyway.

Thing is, the one Romeo was eyeing was a two-seater, and of course they weren't just gonna let him drive off with it alone. So they left me behind so the sales guy could ride with him, and I spent like an hour sitting there in the muggy office while he drove all around town getting sold to. We missed our dinner reservation too.

Romeo was just like, "well, I couldn't let him know I wasn't really interested!"

[ She sets her empty glass back on the table with a bit more force than necessary. ]

[rettangolo]

[ His expression transitions from casual to vaguely bleak as he listens to this story; he doesn't know what he was expecting, really.

And as always, he's fairly blunt about his assessment: ] I'll never know what you saw in that guy.

[ Maybe it was what Gyro didn't see and never will, but. That aside... ]

Note to self, then: the only car ride I'll ever take you on are bumper car rides. Deal?

[stringmealong]

[ She's a little grim about it herself; with perspective it's easy to tell what a douchebag Romeo had been to her, but somehow it had all seemed worth it at the time, and not just because of the sex. ]

That sounds fair.

[ But after a beat, she smirks at Gyro again. ]

I mean, I like riding in actual cars too, as long as it's the actual riding part. But I dunno about your driving.