Sleeping on the Blacktop [Manish & Amanita]

It was very interesting to just. Watch manish interact with life. Even if that life was just inside of this VR game. Everything amazed him and while Amanita was super interested by how it all worked. It was absolutely just one hundred percent more interesting to watch Manish instead. So as they rode in their carriage, the road ahead bumpy and the horses kicking up dust, he found his head resting on his hand and listening to Manish talk and talk.

"If it's a little dust town like this they're going to need something to eat right? And a garden is about as good as they'll get." So he was sure that he was going to need to learn how to put a garden together or something like that. For a game. Knowing that Manish was trying his best to be an approximation of normal and his brain was going haywire from social cues he gently patted him on the shoulder. "You'll do great making a garden, and I'll help you with what you need."

Since technically Manish thought that Amanita was hired for that anyways. "We can share a camp. It'll be safer that way from wild Pokemon and we can have each other to help one another. If we're going to be playing together then what's the point of being separated?" Plus it stopped Manish from getting into more trouble than he could be dug out of. "I want to help you with what you want to do, so think about what you want to try first and we'll do it." It was easy to please this guy. Almost too easy it felt like.

He listened quietly as manish began to spiral some. He had never seen someone get so nervous over the fact that someone was being nice to him. It was a strange phenomenon for Amanita. But not one he couldn't deal with. After all this entire thing was his job apparently. But really it wasn't. But Manish didn't need to know the little details right now about it all. All he needed to do was keep focusing on the fact that it was apparently great that Amanita was his friend now. And really it wasn't so bad for him either. At least he had been pleased with the fact that they were going to just camp together.

It was baby steps as he gently picked the hat that had fallen back up. Before Amanita could replace it on the other man's head though the carriage had stopped and ruined his plan to give it back. But maybe that was for the best. Brushing those mushrooms off in here would probably create some sort of mess or something. At least brushing them off outside would mean they wouldn't be bothering anyone who had to ride in that cart next. "It seems like that old movie Tombstone." He was pretty sure that was about a doctor and his boyfriend with a deadly illness or something? It was cowboys or something. Maybe he should actually watch a western or two to prepare for the whole thing.

Stepping out of the cart he listened more to Manish ramble and ramble on about his father. In Amanita's personal opinion, the guy was an ass. And Amanita knew a lot about being an ass. But he wasn't going to say that out loud at the moment and instead took the time to focus his attention on settling Manish back down to a nor-... Well, not normal state of being. But at least a calmer one. Carefully he began to brush the stress mushrooms from the other man's hair and set the hair back in place before finally settling the hat firmly back where it went.

"I'm not going to tell your father anything. I promise. Whatever you tell me stays between the two of us. I pinky promise." Holding up his finger, even though he felt a bit childish, he held it out for Manish to do the same with his own. For some reason thinking that the gesture would probably mean a lot to the other man. He seemed to be a bit easy to read like that really. "We can just look around for a little bit for now, while you get your bearings. And then when you decide you like a spot we can get ourselves settled in it." That seemed like a good enough idea for now. Just wandering around would probably keep Manish's attention on something other than spiraling.

Once he saw how reverently manish treated the pinky promise... It suddenly didn't feel so childish to Amanita anymore. It felt very serious and he knew that Manish was taking it like that as well. The mushrooms were of course back and the hat was on the ground again for a moment as they fulfilled their contract with one another. The most serious of pinky promise contracts. "There, now it's sealed." Though he didn't do the thing that people normally did with sealing pinky promises. A kiss to the thumb. He was pretty sure that the other man might honestly have a heart attack if that were the case. And he didn't want that on his conscience.

If he was being honest he probably would have just walked around town, pinky in pinky with Manish if the other guy had wanted it. It wouldn't have bothered him any. He'd done weirder things with much less interesting people. But instead he scooped up Manish's hat once more and brushed the dirt from it. Walking with it in his hands and listening to the other man point out things and compare them to his father and things his father had done. Honestly Amanita wanted to log out and show Manish literally any film his father hadn't been involved in. For both of their sake.

"Well, since you're a gardener and I'm a swimmer it means that we'll work together really good to make a garden I think. So let's find a place that might have some sort of water source. And we can use that to make a well. And then we can use the well to water our garden." He said our on purpose. So that Manish would know that the two of them were doing this together. And not just for Amanita's sake. "We should build it a little bit out of town probably, and we could set up a little camp next to it for us to build onto. It'll be a fun project in between exploring new areas... don't you think? Because I know you like exploring the wild areas too. But having a place to come back to at the end of it all is nice." He didn't know if he was going overboard with it and trying to get Manish's opinion but he wanted him to think about what he wanted for once.

As more mushrooms sprouted around the two of them he realized that there might be a little bit of a hiccup with the plan. But nothing that was too big of a deal really. People ate mushrooms all of the time. And he was pretty sure that some of these might be edible. And if not they could always try and sell them too. There were a million and one things they could do. "Don't worry about the mushrooms at all. It makes you unique. And really mushrooms are good anyways. You can eat mushrooms after all... Well, some of them." So that was practically a garden anyways. "Even if you don't know much about growing anything else I promise it'll be fine."

As manish fell to the ground to try and dig a hole, Amanita gently leaned down with him, sitting on the ground in front of Manish. "You'll learn quickly, and even if you don't I'll help you. I don't think that gardening in the game actually takes as much as in real life. It's just gathering materials and then probably doing some mini-games! You like games." At least he figured Manish did since they were playing a really big one right now. But feeling like the other man was one step away from crying again he gently began to pluck mushrooms from his hair.

"So don't worry about anything. You're smart and if you want to learn to garden for real then we can do that too. I can get you actual books about it and you won't even have to worry about your Dad knowing you're reading them." He didn't think that Manish's dad or father or whatever he was called would let him get the books he wanted. So Amanita would simply have to smuggle them in himself. Easy as that really. Putting his hands on top of Manish's finally he smiled, a little awkwardly at him. Something he wasn't really used to doing either in or out of the game.

"That's a really smart idea! When we feed the Pokemon they'll probably like us more. And we can even use it for wild Pokemon too if you want! You're really smart Manish!" He was sure that would probably not make him cry? But praising him was always a loaded gun of more mushrooms or borderline tears. He wasn't sure what he would get this time.

Sometimes Amanita really wished that he’d never broken into that house. And that he hadn’t been caught. And that he hadn’t lied his way into this guy’s life. Because manish was much too good of a guy to lie to. But now he was really in it too deep to actually say anything that might crush this guy’s hopes and expectations for this entire thing. This was probably going to be his life until they died or something. Or until Manish’s dad found him.

“I will. I’ll get you whatever you want me to. After all, it’s my job to take care of you and stuff. Right? That means getting you the stuff you want. Books, movies, magazines. Whatever it is I’ll bring it right to you.” He nodded seriously. Because he was serious. If he was going to end up fucking up this guy’s life he was at least going to try and make it a little bit better first. After all, it was the least he could do for the sick game and all the food he’d been feeding him.

“I’ll even bring you snacks you can’t normally get if you want?” Since the house was strange about the food or whatever. He suspected that a monster energy drink would kill Manish like a small Victorian child. But he needed to be able to test that theory by buying them.

He didn’t know what he was expecting when Manish said he was bringing out a Pokemon called Egg… But a mushroom wasn’t it. Though it wasn’t far off brand for Manish. Everything, including Amanita’s name in game, was mushroom related. He waited a moment, ignoring the fact that the mushroom called Manish daddy or whatever. That was a whole other thing. But finally, the leaves began to sprout and a plant, that wasn’t a mushroom, grew slowly.

“There probably is, and I think there’s a buddy bonus if you have a Pokemon help you too.” It was something he had read while reading the tutorials while the game had installed. He was sure that Egg would be able to help Manish out with growing them. “We can do the mini-games for that and I’m sure there are mini-games for setting up camps and things too.” So, there was a lot to be done. “But we don’t have to do it all right away either. We have the time to take our own pace at it. Don’t push yourself too much over it all. Especially not on my account.” After all, a stressed-out Manish meant more mushrooms all over the place.