[ i'm here. yamagi has to keep himself from swooning. right. shino's here. shino's here, with him, and he's not going anywhere. it's still hard to wrap his head around, but the proof of that reality is looking him in the eyes and smiling like the sun. ]

That's right. What on Earth would I do without you?

[ yamagi is going for sarcasm, so he turns his head to hide a bashful smile after rolling his eyes. ]

Anyway, that's... pretty much the last of it. There's nothing else on the agenda today. Everything's taken care of.

[ he keeps a dedicated mental checklist, and sure enough, handling those supplies was the last thing on it. yamagi shuffles his feet, not quite knowing what to do next. he... doesn't want to just. leave. even with shino working here, the time spent just the two of them is always so precious to him. he wants to hold onto that.

maybe this is an opportunity he's been waiting for. ]

Shino... Do you want to... um.

[ grab a drink together. use your words, yamagi. this should be simple. baby steps. he starts over, freeing his hair from its ponytail and letting it down just to do something with his hands. ]

Maybe we can go and...

[ damn it. he can't even look at him. you'd never guess he was giggling just a minute ago. the look in his eyes is helpless, just a little bit pleading. please, he thinks, just take the hint. yamagi doesn't drop them often. not on purpose, anyway. ]