the pet store was all out of ponies [closed]

[daikonrose]

♥ Who: Kyoko, Shinji, Kaito, and Magolor if he deigns to bless them with his grand presence
♥ Where: Kaito & Shinji's house
♥ When: July 7th, early evening I guess?
♥ What: b i r t h d a y p a r t y
♥ Rating: G? PG?? I'll update as needed

Kyoko had gotten a little freer about casually stopping by Shinji and Kaito's place lately, especially when she could make up an excuse about swapping ingredients from their replicators, but today marked her first time taking advantage of Kai's unlocked door policy. It also happened to be her first time attempting to enter with stealth.

The final approach down the street to their house took a full half hour, as she ducked around corners and behind confused natives to make sure a certain blond wasn't outside, and paused to listen for faint sounds of a very quiet electric bike. When she drew near enough to fear being spotted from the windows, Kyoko took a deep breath, and called to mind the quick, silent movements she'd portrayed Momiji with--and zipped up to the door. Yesssss!

All that was left in this mission was to slip inside and get to the kitchen without being noticed by the target, and it would be a success. It was only a little harder with the cake box nestled securely in her arms.

Comments

[daikonrose]

Don't worry Shinji, you are in fact correct about most people. One might even assume that Kyoko should have a higher tolerance for this kind of thing because she herself has previously lived with a guy who liked to walk around shirtless exactly like that! And has fearlessly barged uninvited into another man's shower, in the name of staying in-character with a role. It really would be reasonable for her to be a little more mature about this kind of thing! And yet!

Letting out another, smaller sigh, Kyoko pushed herself up to her feet again. There, all recovered now, see. "I can't imagine being so bold even when I live alone.... Guys really are something."

[whenyouneedme]

Let's be real it was just the perk of being oblivious.

It wasn't going to take that long to put that recovery to the test. Just a few minutes was all Kai had needed. Here was a fresh pair of shorts! He'd run a bit of water through his hair so it looked a bit smarter than just that sleep floof from earlier! Wow look at how shirtless this asshole still was as he rolled back into the kitchen!

Ah, but don't worry, there he went slipping one of his dark button-ups over his shoulders as he surveyed the scene.

"Ahh, it smells good."

[daikonrose]

It was nice to be standing upright for those 20 seconds or so. The air was so fresh up there, the view so lovely, a great vantage point. Nothing at all to obstruct her view as Kaito and his bare chest strolled back in.

Throwing herself back against the counter, Kyoko shrank down to the floor again, her new home probably.

"Finish dressing in private!!!!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

It's nice and all that you'd like to live here but maybe the middle of the kitchen floor isn't the best place to stake your claim, Kyoko.

But! Okay! Time fore more damage control!!

"That - that was fast," here comes Shinji once more, getting up in Kaito's space, ready to make short work of buttoning up most of those buttons. There! We go! No more expiring from the sight of bare chests, please! "Hopefully everything tastes as good as it smells."

[whenyouneedme]

"Huh?" Kai blinked at Kyoko again, more aware of the reaction this time but even more perplexed by it. He was already dressed though. What were you talking about!!

There wasn't a lot of time to linger on that though, because it was time to blink at Shinji too as he sidled on up there. "I mean, just needed to grab a shirt." Huh. That was a whole new level of domestic right there, buddy. Kai didn't seem too phased though, some of that casual confusion shifting to a grin.

"Course it will, with you two on the case."

[daikonrose]

While she was down there on the floor, averting her eyes to preserve Kaito's modesty even if he didn't have the sense to care about it, Kyoko took a moment to wonder what it was like to have zero self-consciousness. What a life that must be. How did he do it.

"Kaito... you're really incredible," she mumbled wearily as she staggered to her feet once more. "Please don't always rely on Shinji-san to dress you properly, though."

[whenyouneedme]

"I don't, geez," Kai tutted in response. "Just got beat to it."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He's not going to be hitting those top few buttons, at least, hopefully a hint of bare clavicle isn't going to be Too Much for Kyoko's eyes to witness.

But once he is Nice and Presentable for Company, no longer scandalous enough to put so much strain on Kyoko's poor heart, Shinji backs away a bit, sending his attention back to the delicious smelling dinner the two of them have managed to put together.

"Go ahead and sit down," that goes for you, too, Kyoko. Birthday Boy and Esteemed Guest get to relax first! "I'll bring everything right out."

[daikonrose]

The call to dinner activates Kyoko's manners enough to bring her fully back to life, so she nods gratefully to Shinji with a smile. "Thank you!! I will, then!" She might be more tempted to insist on helping a little more, but she's pretty sure her role here ought to be preventing Kaito from doing just that. It's his birthday, he should be spoiled a little!

So it's Kyoko's turn to gently heard Kaito, though there are no encouraging pats from her. Just the return of banter. "He wouldn't beat you to it if you would just finish getting dressed in your room!"

[whenyouneedme]

God help him he was so confused by this entire thing. "I've got hands," he sputtered at Shinji, but Shinji was already gone. Here now was Kyoko, hello. "I wanted to help though," he said. "Figured I could get plates or... something..."

Was he being herded? He was being herded, wasn't he. Somehow he'd gotten that much closer to the table than to any of the actually helpful locations, and Kyoko was very much right there.

[daikonrose]

"No way!" Kyoko had been taking the moments before Shinji arrived to make sure the table was all nice and clear, taking the purse she'd left there to sling it over the back of her chair instead, but she looks up now, a sparkle in her eye. "You're officially forbidden from chores tonight!" Did she go over that with Shinji? Did it matter? She was establishing it here and now! "Don't even think about doing the dishes later, either."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Honestly, even if they haven't gone over the ground rules for what Kai's allowed or disallowed for the evening, that's about what Shinji would have wanted. One way or another, they are definitely on the same wavelength!

Short work is made of bringing the food out, two plates first, presented to Kaito and Kyoko. What was it that smelled so delicious, anyway? Why, it's tonkatsu! With honest to goodness tonkatsu sauce!! Rounded off with a salad of thinly slices napa cabbage and grated carrots, and a side of rice! A whole, complete meal, delivered right to the table.

"What do you two want to drink?"

[whenyouneedme]

"But dishes are my job if the food is already done," Kai attempted to point out. It was a fact! A thing that was true! Mostly! At least that was how things usually worked out, and it had worked out very well so far. So this whole "no don't" thing was really creating some ERROR in his processing.

It felt especially weird now that the spread was here. Whoa! Get a load of that katsu. It was... really nice looking. All of this was really nice looking? Not that he ever thought either of their cooking was ever not nice looking, but this was like... Fancy.

??????

"Whoa. Uh-- water, if you're about to tell me I can't get that either."

[daikonrose]

Kaito's facts were steadily ignored; surely it went without saying that Kyoko intended to swoop in and take over that task. But look, here was Shinji with that gorgeous spread of real actual food! Clapping her hands together, Kyoko sighed happily.

"Thank you! It came out so nice~! Water's good for me too."

Here Kai, a chair was being pulled out, and an expectant look sent your way. "Sit and wait patiently for it."

[whenyouneedme]

Could no one see that he had hands. Had his hands gone missing. Let him use his hands.

He took a seat though. "This is going pretty all out."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

They can duke out who does the dishes later. The only agreed upon thing so far is 'not Kaito', which leaves two whole other options. We. Will see.

Later, though.

Because for now, here comes Shinji once more, three glasses of water securely in his hands, while the plate with his own food is balanced carefully on his arm. "Here you go," the glasses go to their rightful places, before Shinji finally takes his own seat. Finally! Kai can now freely use his hands for the express purpose of getting this Fancy meal into his mouth.

"Maybe?" Sure, it's a little more work than usual, but it sure does feel like there would be other ways to go all out than this. "It's definitely worth it for today, though."

[daikonrose]

Kyoko receives her glass with another little "thank you~" admiring Shinji's deft delivery. He could be a waiter! And once he's seated, there's a cheerful "itadakimas!" as she brings a piece of that beautiful fried pork up for a bite--but oh, is that modesty from Kaito?

"It's only natural!" She grins. "Delicious food is a must on your birthday, you know." Chomp. Kyoko sighs, eyes closing in bliss, a hand clapping her cheek.

[whenyouneedme]

That might have just been more mild confusion than it was modesty. He was still trying to piece together if there was a reason for such a spread. He'd reasoned that maybe Shinji had just wanted to go a bit hard today, up until the other boy dropped that little line there.

It was worth it for today. That would have been far more mysterious for far longer if Kyoko hadn't chirped so cheerfully so soon. Oh! Geez, he was just going to be coincidental to all these things, huh?

"Ha, that so?" He asked playfully, perked up now that he had solved the bulk of the mystery. Ah, she looked real happy about it! "Happy birthday then!"

Chomp. Oh, it was a real happy time.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

W

wait a second.

"Um," it doesn't seem like Kaito's on the same wavelength here, that sure doesn't quite sound like the kind of thing he'd say unless some lines are getting crossed. Are they really going to have to lay this one out bluntly for him? "It's... the seventh. It's your birthday."

[daikonrose]

Mouth full of delicious tonkatsu, it was another moment before Kyoko was able to do anything besides stare at Kaito, dully perplexed. No, her face said, flatly.

Once she had swallowed, she was ready to continue in that tone out loud. "It's happy birthday to you."

[whenyouneedme]

Kai blinked between the two of them.

Huh.

... Huh?? Kai gulped around his bite, needing a moment to quietly process this. Was it the seventh? Probably, he hadn't been paying that much attention. Even so, it still would have made more sense for this to be a Nice Thing for Kyoko, he thought. Since, well, it was Kyoko. Even just Shinji wanting to go all out on dinner randomly made a lot more sense.

"Uh," Kai said eloquently. "I mean... I guess that's today...?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Oh, oh wow, did he really not realize? More troubling, though, did he not expect some kind of gesture, after the answer to 'when's your birthday' had finally been wheedled out of him? Hm. Hmmmm.

"Well, yeah...! So we wanted to do something nice for you."

Hence, dinner! And maybe even? More? What a wild time it would be, if there were More.

"So, happy birthday."

[daikonrose]

Forgetting would have been less strange if Kyoko didn't know Shinji must have prodded him about it at least a couple times, judging by how long it had taken him to get back to her with that sweet birthday intel. Surely that would have gotten him thinking about it? Sure, Shinji had floated the idea that maybe he didn't want to make a big deal about it, but Kaito really must be the type to not pay attention to the calendar at all, huh?

There was a snort, and then she was grinning fondly at him. Jeez. "To think, I tried so hard to come in secretly, so it would be a surprise."

[whenyouneedme]

Well, you see, he'd forgotten that Shinji had ever asked because the day was just a day. There really wasn't a point in remembering it! He was used to nothing, so he expected nothing, and was now realizing (once again) that maybe he was an idiot. It certainly felt like his face was probably doing something stupid, somewhere between trying to smile but mostly looking really baffled. The surprise... was a resounding success??

They had wanted to do something nice for his sorry ass. What was he supposed to do about that!

Flustered to brand new levels of flustering, Kai quickly grabbed another bite of the katsu (that had been made! for him!?) and aggressively shoved it in his mouth.

"It's--!" Very hot. "Really delicious!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Please don't shove too hot food in your mouth to save yourself from embarrassment.

Between the confused surprise and haste to deflect that attention, Shinji can't help but find himself thoroughly charmed, and, wouldn't you know it, a soft chuckle bubbles up and gets caught in his throat. Glad we got that settled, at least.

"There's plenty more if you're hungry later, but there's dessert, too."

Don't fill up too much!