#and gisu comments that ''it really is something out of a soap opera''

[razzle-zazzle]

Ramble about more Dion x Morris x Gisu plz

Okay okay so. In my other post I mentioned having a lot of thoughts on how they get together.

ahaha this got longer than i expected it to so under a cut it goes

So. We've got Dion and Gisu making googoo eyes at each other. They've kind of discussed what's going on between them, and they've kind of just mutually hooked up without really talking about it because they're both interested and soft romantics and dumb teenagers. Morris and Gisu are friends, and Morris is becoming friends with Raz and Queepie; this creates plenty of opportunities for Morris and Dion to interact.

It takes a while, for Dion and Morris' idiot rivalry to crystalize into a friendship. Takes a while for Dion's annoyance and Morris' dares to turn into camaraderie, for their challenges and arguments to become a way to let off steam and break away from their responsibilities. But once they do, they start hanging out in more casual settings, start interacting on more even ground.

It starts when Dion's going through a routine, and Morris decides to catcall him, knowing that it'll annoy Dion to no end. He's right. He's so right about how much it annoys Dion that he does it again the next day, whooping and hollering obnoxiously.

"Oh, you want a piece of this, Martinez? Not my fault if I'm making you swoon!"

...Dion responds in kind. It throws Morris off for a second—but only a second before he shoots back with a "Well why don't you come over here, and show me up close?"

Gisu finds the fake flirting hilarious. She's laughing. Dion and Morris are trying to one-up and fluster each other in the most obnoxious way possible and she's laughing. She lives for the chaos, lives for banter and bickering and fighting that isn't serious in the end. And it really isn't serious—it's two idiots reciting sappy poetry and posturing like peacocks in an effort to one-up each other. It's Gisu occasionally pitching in a comment of her own about something sweet Dion did for her just to needle Morris. It's amusing to everyone else to watch these two idiots be idiots.

But Morris and Dion are not good at deescalating. They're not good at really knowing how to stop, once they get going. Not yet. And this isn't the kind of contest with a conclusive ending.

The shenanigans continue, along with all of the other stupid dares that Dion and Morris get up to—they're not doing the fake flirting all the time, and are generally just spending more time together as friends. The fake flirting has got a definite "Oh you wanna kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid" feel to it. But ironically. Completely ironically, they swear. The other junior agents get annoyed after a while, but similarly write it off as a dumb little challenge that'll peter out eventually,,,,, hopefully,,,,

And then it isn't ironic. It hits Morris suddenly, the realization that Dion's voice makes him want to throw and kiss the acrobat in the same breath. It hits him suddenly, in the middle of an unrelated conversation, his brain making the connection.

It takes Dion a little longer to realize. A little longer to have his "oh god I want to punch him in the mouth,,, with my mouth" moment. When he does, it hits him like a truck.

This is the part where things get awkward. Oh, sure, it's hilarious that Dion & Morris essentially bamboozled themselves into Having Feelings For Each Other, but let's not forget Gisu! Morris doesn't want to ruin his friendship with her, Dion still has feelings for her and doesn't want to just break it off with her just because he went and fell for someone else at the same time. He may be a dumbass, but even he can recognize that that's a jerk move.

So. We hit the awkward awful drama part. The part where Dion and Morris both hit upon the conclusion to just. ignore the fact that there is a mutual romantic attraction between them. Except now their interactions have become stilted, awkward, edging into bitter, their bickering sliding into genuine arguments because they're angry with each other and themselves over the whole situation. Because they're teens who aren't sure how to interact with each other now—they're making a bigger deal out of this then it really is, but it still is a substantial shift in their dynamic that they're not sure how to handle.

As for Gisu? Oh, it was hilarious in the beginning. She was living for the chaos. But now it's just... awkward. The guy she likes to hang out with and impress and kiss and her best friend can't talk to each other without getting in a genuine argument or shutting down. It's no longer fun for the three of them to hang out together, and Gisu can't stand it.

She pulls Dion aside because if there was ever a time for a serious talk, this is it. He affirms that he still likes her, and Gisu's still interested in him, but—

She wonders if maybe they should just try to settle into being friends. Maybe it'd be better if the three of them all shelved romance for now. After all, she's pretty sure that her and Dion being all sappy and trying to impress each other is just going to be a summer fling in the end, right? The Aquatos will leave to travel again, and Dion will run into some other pretty guy or girl and try to impress them.

But Gisu's a romantic idealist at heart, so she just kisses Dion and tells him she'll talk to Morris. And then he and Morris will talk, and work out whatever is going on between them. And everything will work out, because Gisu would much rather everything work out.

Gisu talks to Morris. He doesn't want "whatever I've tricked myself into having for Dion" to get between them. He just wants to get back to his radio station and put all of the drama behind them.

And it looks like it'll work! The three of them hang out—it starts out awkward, but then Gisu brings up how much she wants to try skating atop the Motherlobe, and suddenly Dion and Morris are encouraging her and helping her plot her way up there and Morris mentions he'll bring the camera and it's almost exactly like how the three of them interacted before all of this drama. It's great, and Gisu's having a good time—

She doesn't quite catch the exact moment it all fell apart. In hindsight, she'll remember that something Dion said must have rubbed Morris the wrong way, and Morris snapped back a sly little insult, and it must have devolved from there. But in the moment, it felt like Gisu was on top of the world one second, and then Dion and Morris were at each other's throats the next.

Gisu intervenes. It devolves into a three-way shouting match; Morris and Dion are shouting at each other, Gisu's shouting at them both for being immature, they're yelling at her to get out of it. Dion ends up going back to his family's camp angry and bitter. Morris' shoulders are hunched, his thoughts a low, jarring static to Gisu's senses. Gisu huffs and leaves to go skate her frustration off.

But Gisu's an idealist, like I said. She's stubborn, and she doesn't want to just give up just because things got a little heated. So she goes to Otto for advice. And then Milla. And she takes the time to think, and plan, and comes to a conclusion two days of Dion and Morris outright avoiding each other later.

"Right." Gisu drags them both out to a quiet little spot in the Questionable Area. "I'm not dealing with your awkward bullshit any longer. None of us are leaving this spot until we've worked," She gestures vaguely at all three of them, "this out. So. Start talking."

And that's where it starts. The conversation meanders, at first, with Morris and Dion dancing around the real issue until Dion caves and outright says that he likes both of them. A lot.

"And shit, I'm sorry for screaming at you." Dion adds, his eyes locked on the ground as he cringes. "I don't want to be fighting with you all the time. Not like that."

And Morris returns the sentiment. He's happy so long as he's got K.L.O.B. running, so long as he's still got his friends.

"But enough of this sappy junk." Morris waves a hand dismissively. "K.L.O.B.'s not going to run itself." He shrugs, affecting as casual an attitude as he can manage. "I'm fine with losing out to Gisu on the romance front anyway—that ship has clearly sailed."

"But what if romance didn't have to be a two-player game?"

Ah, yes, Gisu's sappy little heart and it's sappy little idealism.

Dion makes a soft noise somewhere between an inhale and a squeak, looking at Gisu with a look she can't parse. Morris blinks, equally caught off guard.

Gisu wonders if maybe she should backtrack.

She doesn't.

"I mean, I like Dion, you like Dion, and—and romance is just love and communication, right?" She shrugs. "So maybe we could..." She's not sure where she's going with this, but her mouth is moving faster than her brain can keep up. "Maybe it doesn't have to be a two-player game."

Dion makes a soft noise. “So we just all date each other? The three of us?”

“Maybe not all three of us.” Morris offers. “Maybe me and Gisu both date you? We could probably work out a timetable.”

And that's how it starts :]

Obviously they're not perfectly aligned right then and there—they spend some more time talking, trying to figure out what they want. Dion and Morris go on a date atop the waterrise ("first one to the top wins!" "oh, you're on."), and then Gisu drags Dion off for a "skatedate." Morris and Gisu request permission to go out to town and then go watch a movie together, trying to figure out if they're even interested in each other. The three of them hang out like they normally do, any awkwardness lingering in the air disappearing as they settle into a comfortable dynamic.

They don't tell anyone what's going on, not right away. They're all still trying to figure everything out themselves, sort-of sort-of-not dating while trying to get their bearings. Gisu and Dion do research on polyamory at the local library together. Morris subtly (read: very unsubtly) broaches the topic to Milla, asking her what she thinks of it. Milla correctly intuits what's going on and reminds Morris that "communication and consent are the basis of a healthy relationship."

So everyone (except Milla) initially assumes that Dion & Gisu are still dating, and whatever was going on with Dion & Morris has been worked out. Everything's back to normal, no need to worry about the rest of the junior agents being dragged into the drama.

Morris and Gisu and Dion slowly settle into a relationship. They have a few small fights, early on, a few disagreements as they slowly work out their new dynamic. Every time, they return to the same spot in the Questionable Area to hash it out. They're not perfect. But they're willing to work for it, all three of them.

They're still working out how to go about announcing it—Dion does want to tell his parents, he's still looking for the words—still working out how to explain it, when Norma, looking for Gisu to get her help with an assignment, finds Gisu and Morris having a picnic together, unambiguously making out.

It goes about as well as you'd expect.