Ryo sat on the massage chair, watching as Haruto walked around, turning off all the lights before taking a seat on the couch… only the light coming in from the window offering any sort of real vision, he had to strain his eyes to be able to see Haruto clearly…
"Is all this really needed…?" He questioned as he watched Haruto stare at him as if he was about to go through some sort of cult initiation.
"Dude- it's all about the mood, we're about to become boys for life you know? We got to take this seriously." Haruto responded looking far to serious for what this really was, which- well he didn't actually know what it was, but definitely not this.
"Okay…?" He'd respond, leaning back and taking a breath as he relaxed in the chair, his hand pulling off his bead bracelet on his rist and beginning to move the beads one by one slowly as he often did when nothing better do was happening.
"So… you a virgin?" Haruto started off, very strongly at that. He was staring at Ryo as if this was an interview to join a world class company or something, and this was a key question to decide if qualifications were met…
"Not exactly…?" Ryo responded, a bit awkwardly but, it was an awkward question to ask all things considered, they only just met… "You?"
"Course not," Haruto responded casually his hand waving through the air as if to dismiss the stupidity of the question. "Why not exactly though? Did you like miss or some shit?"
Ryo couldn't help but cringe at that, his face squirming at the mere thought. "No man, next question though, not getting into that right now."
"Fine fine… Butt or boobs?"
"Dude- is this a fucking dating show what are these questions man?" Ryo responded looking slightly annoyed at the questions which honestly he didn't want to answer to much…
"So boobs."
"...Yeah."
Haruto let out a triumphant "Ha!" as if he'd just solved a murder case. "I knew it man! You got that, boob energy man!" He leaned on the couch, his smile large as could be as he stared at him.
"What the hell does that even mean?" Ryo asked, still leaning back and fidgeting with his bracelet beads, moving them down the string one by one.
"Oh ya know, you uh…" Haurto seemed a bit perplexed by the question his hands moving in a way which clearly would get him looks… "got that, refineddd taste ya know? Butt guys are like, more simple, book guys, are like deep and crap."
"So you're into butts?" Ryo shot back.
"How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess," Ryo replied dryly, a small smirk on his face.
"Hey now, what's that supposed to mean?" Haruto replied, although he was still grinning as he did.
"Who knows, you give off butt energy." Ryo responded using Haruto's own logic.
"Alright alright, but seriously though," Haruto shifted on the couch, getting a tad more comfortable. "We're getting into the deep stuff now. Worst date, go."
Ryo let out a small groan tilting his head back. "We really gonna do this all night?"
"Hell yeah we are? I told you man, bonding, plus, I need to know how bad you are to know how I wingman ya know?" Haurto replied.
"Don't need a wingman."
"Everyone needs a wingman," Haurto said with a wave of his hand, "now quit stalin, spill."
"Highschool I guess, took this girl to the date at a theater, she sat on her phone the whole time," Ryo responded, closing his eyes as he pictured the sad scene in his mind… "Brightness was up and everything."
"Jesus- that blows-" Haruto started only to get interrupted by Ryo.
"Doesn't end there, after the movie, she made me pay for her and for her friend to go to karaoke session, and ditch me…"
"Brutal… were you like a shit kisser or something?"
"Who knows…" Ryo responded opening his eyes again, letting out a small yawn, "You?"
"Oh- I ain't ever had a bad date man, I'm built different." Haruto said very proudly sticking out his chest slightly with a grin.
"I just met you, and I already find you detestable…" Ryo said, though there was clearly no malice behind it, just amused annoyance.
"Aww, come on man! I'm just confident!" Haruto protested, laughing. "Fine, fine... there was this one time. Girl seemed perfect online, right? We meet up at this cafe, and she shows up thirty minutes late."
"That's it? That's your worst date?" Ryo raised an eyebrow, continuing to fidget with his bracelet beads.
"Hold up, I'm not done man. So she's late, and when she finally shows up, she immediately starts talking about her ex. Like, nonstop. For two hours straight."
"Oof."
"And then, and this is the kicker, when the bill comes, she goes to the bathroom and just... never comes back. Left me sitting there like an idiot for another hour before I realized she'd ditched me."
Ryo let out a genuine laugh. "So much for being 'built different,' huh?"
"Hey, that was a fluke! An anomaly! Besides, I learned from that experience. Now I always suggest going dutch upfront."
"Smart move, though doubt you care, seem loaded anyway."
"True? Anyway," Haruto leaned forward again, his silhouette animated in the dim light, "next question. What's the weirdest thing you're into? And before you ask, yes, I mean anything."
"Jesus, dude..." Ryo rubbed his nose bridge, making the glasses on his face move slightly. "You really don't believe in easing into this stuff, do you?"
"Nope! Go big or go home. This is advanced roommate bonding here."
Ryo was quiet for a moment, the soft clicking of his wooden beads the only sound. "I guess... I collect vintage Lord of the Rings stuff? Like, not just the books, but old movie posters, foreign editions, weird merchandise..."
"That's not weird, that's just nerdy. Come on, give me something good."
"That's all you're getting, man. Your turn."
"Fine, fine. I'm weirdly obsessed with those ASMR videos where people just... organize things. Like, watching someone sort colored pencils by hue for three hours? Peak relaxation right there."
Ryo paused his bead-rolling and stared at Haruto's dark silhouette. "Seriously?"
"Dead serious. There's this one channel where this girl just folds laundry for forty minutes straight, and it's like meditation for me."
"That's... actually kind of wholesome, at least coming for you."
"Right? Don't knock it till you try it buddy." Haruto stretched out on the couch. "Okay, rapid fire round now. Favorite food?"
"Katsu curry."
"Favorite movie?"
"The Fellowship of the Ring."
"Of course it is. Biggest fear?"
"Spiders. You?"
"Commitment," Haruto said without hesitation, then immediately backtracked. "Wait, shit, hold up, that came out wrong. I meant like... long term life commitments ya know? Like picking a career and being stuck with it forever or some bullshit."
"That's fair, actually. I stress about that too."
"Really? You seem like you got your shit together pretty well"
"Nah man. I change my major focus like every other month. Last week I was convinced I wanted to do finance, this week I'm thinking maybe law..."
"See? This is the kind of real talk I'm looking for!" Haruto sat up excitedly. "None of that wackl bullshit. We're getting to the good stuff now."
Ryo couldn't help but smile a little. Despite the ridiculous setup and weird questions, this was actually... sort of nice. "Alright, my turn. What's the real reason you wanted a roommate when you could clearly afford your own place?"
The room went quiet for a moment, and Ryo could see Haruto's form shift uncomfortably on the couch.