ah... i suppose i owe you guys a bit of story time...
take a seat... and i'll tell you how Peppino risked it all to save my brother.
(A few months ago...)
...and ever since, he's been wearing that red outfit. Says it's because he wants to distinguish himself between other Peppinos, but... you know. Might be lying.
I can't thank Secret enough. She's the reason John's alive n' well... can't ever repay him properly.
Peppino did exactly what he was told to do. Everyone left that tower alive. I don't think he could live with himself if he let anything else happen like that, even if he had to lose a bit more of himself doing this.
So I clean the shop for him every weekend. It's the least us Pillars can do for him.
And I was just thinking, like, I actually don't know that much about you. And I admit I haven't been very open or, like, talkative to you about your interests or anything like that, because you're...
(Because I'm like you?)
Yeah, it's like, a preconceived notion that because you're some sorta replica of me, we're gonna have the same interests or whatever, and that's your whole thing. And it's not. It's not fair of me to think of you like that.
(I don't blame you for that, though. Honestly. My existence isn't exactly a one-sentence deal.)
No one's is.
Croak! (Not my point. B-but...) [chuckles]
Lost your point, didn't ya. It's not that big of a deal, anyway.
(Give yourself some credit, Peppino, I think you've done a very good job at caring about me and what I do. Just in different ways than you may be used to.)
Well-- yeah. It's the least that I owe you.
(Your care is not owed. There's no cycle to feed; my affection already has its unconditional catalyst.)
Stop gettin' philosophical with me, demon! Sheesh. I'm trying to be sweet here.
...
...Er.
Hmm!~
WHAT!
(If you want to be sweet, try actually flirting.)
Is that a challenge? Alright. I can flirt. And no, it's not croaking, I've already learned my lesson from that.
RrRRRrrrrrHRHRHHRRHHHRRR!~ (Sorry!)
[Sighing] OKAY. So. "Cutie". Uh. You come here often? Nice suit. You look nice. Handsome even. Yep. Uh huh. Wow, tall too. Double whammy. You know, everyone's taller than me, and that's fine. I like havin' a tall nasty frog to care for me all the time. Oh and the WAAAY you SNUGGLE on up to me at night; fantastic. A+. Like a weird oversized housecat. And you know just what food I like and the shows I like and how I prepare my coffee in the morning when I don't have enough time to do that before opening the store and you carry me when I'm too exhausted and you cook for me and listen to me when I gotta just yell about shit and--
[Has dissolved onto the floor]
--Ah- Oni! [laughs] Hey! Come on! [reaching into the goop] Come ooon. Is that all it takes?? That was nothing! Get back up here, you coward!
(Your face is red.)
It's-- always red! And I'm sorta tipsy! [wheezes]
(I DUNNO HOW TO TAKE THIS RIGHT NOW. ARE YOU STILL PLAYING ALONG OR NOT.)
[stops] Hhah, wh-- playing along? [flabberghasted] Nah nah nah, hey...! I agreed to come out here because I wanted to-- like... humour it! Try it! Not just because I was feelin' bad, you know?
[slowly reforming] MMmmn?... (You're. Serious?)
Y-yeah! I think...! Hah..!
RRRRBBRBBVBVVBWW. VBRVVB... S-- SO DO. UM. (DO YOU--)
Do I whaaat! [grabbing at him] Speak to meee! [chuckling]
(YOU'RE. THIS. IS. THIS IS ACTUALLY A DATE.)
Yes! YES IT IS! IT'S A DATE! I'm on a date with you!
[ugly frog shrieking]
AAHHAHAHA...!! Jeez! What was THAT?!
(Wh-what's with the change of heart?? A-and there was the whole hiding it from your family thing--)
BECAUSE I DUNNO WHAT I FEEL YET! AND-- AND BEING HERE, WITH YOU AND GUSTAVO N' BRICK, and just having so much fun, I feel like I can finally-- think! And not have some fuckin' weirdos watching me from that askbox! Or my family breathing at me! It's-- it's wild! I'M FREAKING OUT! I'M FREAKIN' OUT ONI HOLD ME--
A--BBBUHH?? [gripping him]
IT'S-- IT'S NOT. ANYTHING SERIOUS OR DECISION-MAKING TONIGHT. I JUST. WANNA DO THINGS WITHOUT-- FEELING SHAME. So just. Hold me. Alright?
O-OKAY. RRRRRR.
Everything's gonna go back to routine tomorrow, and who knows what's gonna happen. [chuckles] I don't even wanna go. I just wanna stand here.
Rrrrr... (Can you... explain a little more why you're a little... hesitant about me?)
Ah... jeez, lemme... see if I can word it right. I... have a real hard time letting people in. You see how I live. I haven't even seen Gustavo since before our window got broken. I never have people over. I don't even like talking to customers that much.
(You've gotten better at it. I wouldn't say you have gone back in such a thing, just hitting a wave where it is more difficult than usual.)
Maybe you know me more than I thought. Either way, I... I've never really been a fan of dating. Just in general. All that romance-y garbage hasn't ever worked out for me. It's like a storybook moreso than a reality. Doesn't work the way I do. It's too... strict. Closed. Weird. Ruins friendships. I've lost some good men and women to dumb shit that either I've done or they've done. It crumbles too fast and doesn't feel worth it.
(Is... forging a bond like I have in mind considered... dating?)
I dunno. Is it?
(What you're describing sounds... torturous. Nothing like what I have in mind.)
Is that so. Mind tellin' me what you have in mind, then?
Aye, aye! Hey! [squishing his cheeks] Easy! One word at a time. Let's hear it.
RIBBIT. RIBBIT. RIBBIT. RI-- RIb--ribbit... (It's... it's... almost the same as what... we have now. Just... returned?)
That's it?
???
You're telling me this "bond" thing you've been wanting is just, what we kinda do already, but with me "returning" it? Like-- like how?
(LIKE. L-LIKE. IF. LIKE.) [sticks his tongue out]
I already "do the deed" with you.
NO NO-- [leans in, gently licks his cheek] TH-- (I DON'T KNOW THE WORD FOR IT.)
Kissing. You're thinking of kissing--
(YEAH KISSING.)
... [ponders]
HHHNNNN. HHHHHHHHH. HHHHHHN..?
... [gum click] Wow. That, uh, changes some things, actually. And here I was thinking you wanted some sort of enchanted frog prince and princess fantasy bullshit. That's what the askbox tries to make it out as, anyway.
(I'll be honest, I'm not 100% acquainted with the more mortal and human structures of that whole concept. I don't enjoy what you've told me so far.)
[more nodding]... Huh.
...
Well, uh, I got some things to think about now. [chuckles] Lotta. Things.
(Please don't let this ruin anything.)
I won't! I won't. Just forgive me if it takes a while. Heh. We gotta go into work tomorrow, and focus on that, yadda yadda... I'm gonna be a little private about it.
