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♥ Who: Shinji, Kaito, and Kyoko!
♥ Where: Kai and Shinji's new digs
♥ When: Ranir 25th
♥ What: birthday? party??
♥ Rating: G probably unless Kai takes off his shirt again

Kyoko's bright mop of hair was a little more mussed than she'd like it to be for a dinner with friends, but it couldn't be helped now. She'd changed out of her Santa of the Clause uniform in a rush this afternoon, eager to put the finishing touches on her gift, and there just hadn't been time to spruce herself up at all after it finally met her approval.

Not that she expected Kaito or Shinji to mind--aah, they really were such good, generous boys. She truly was glad they'd been kind enough to invite her over tonight, of all nights.

Though it had been months now since she'd been given explicit permission to enter their home without knocking, Kyoko still never did so unless s t e a l t h was in order. So she would have knocked today even if her arms hadn't been busy carefully cradling a large, suspiciously cake-sized box.

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"You're the one that's been too good to us," Kai went on warmly, "So. We wanted to add another good one to your list."

It was in fact a whole entire surprise.

Not that Kyoko truly thought Shinji and Kaito weren't people she could expect this level of warmth from, if she was honest with herself--they'd been proving that over and over for months now. But she couldn't let herself get used to it, couldn't be allowed to just expect it of them. Hoping for more was the most dangerous thing.

But ah, what was she supposed to do now, when all her carefully crafted defenses against loneliness turned out to be pointless, and flimsy anyway? She wasn't prepared. She couldn't make the right face and thank them cheerfully; there was nothing to stop the tears from flooding down her cheeks.

"Oh," she managed, around a thick lump in her throat, the corners of her mouth pulling up insistently. "Oh..." Here, she should at least wipe a hand across her face. "You... really got me!"

Oh dear. Those are good (?) tears (!!) he's sure, but boy oh boy does Shinji really feel unequipped to deal with tears of any kind, even ones that are from a place of so much warmth and care. Still, there's nothing too stifling about it, so it's nothing his own small smile can't weather.

"I didn't think it would end up being a surprise, but... if it's a good one, then I'm glad."

Being able to do these kinds of things for someone really is incredible. Especially if it's for someone who's been so good to the both of them, and especially for someone who can take these kindnesses and gestures to heart. The tears might be a bit much to make her contend with on her own, though, so even if the kotatsu is nice and cozy...

"Do you want a towel, or anything...?"

While the tears were a little alarming, those insistent little curves at her mouth were encouraging. Okay. Yes. These were good tears, probably.

"I'll get one," Kaito said, already scooting his way out from under the blanket before protests could be made. "You're gonna want to actually taste your dinner!"

He'll be real fast there he go! To the other room he dashed so he could come back with a clean dish towel in hand. Crouching back down next to the kotatsu, Kai held it out to her as he gingerly pat her head. Not a ruffle this time, just a soft, quick pat. "There we go."

Oh no, they had already done such a kind thing for her, and now she was making them fuss over her even more. That was just no good. She had to persuade them not to lift another finger!

... But ah, Kaito was already gone, and back just as quickly, and she still hadn't managed to squash the lump in her throat. And then he patted her head, and the tears welled up fresh and hot again. Ah. Ah, jeez.

Humbly accepting the towel, Kyoko scrubbed her face with it, leaving her with red cheeks to match her eyes and the tip of her nose when she was finally able to smile fully at them again.

"... Thank you," she managed at last. That was important, after all. "Really, really, this time... thank you."

Despite his own general hesitance to reach out, the temptation to offer a comforting hand to her shoulder or back does nudge at him a bit. Kai's got him covered, though, with that gentle head pat. Good, very good. That looks like it went over as well as it reasonably could have.

"Of course," he answers gently, a relaxed sort of warmth taking his expression now that the overall tension of a sudden outpouring of tears has eased off a bit. Of course, they're more than happy to do these sorts of things for her - how could they not be? She has been incredibly good to the both of them. Even self-assessed greedy boys are going to want to return that kind of kindness. "We're really happy we get to spend today with you."

Wanting to revel in her happiness was clearly the most greedy thing of all! Making her cry twice had to be an indicator of this or something.

Reclaiming his seat between them, Kai nodded along intently with his agreement. "Uh-huh. We've been looking forward to celebrating it." They'd already missed one, so there was a lot of birthday to make up for. "We might not... uh, be super great at parties," Kai said with a sheepish chuckle, "but you deserve the best one we could muster up."

BLAM went Kyoko's fist on the table, followed by a chorus of clinks from the dishes.

"Everything is incredible," she informed them flatly. No arguments. "It's downright astonishingly wonderful. You might actually be party-planning prodigies. True geniuses."

oh jeez

There are plenty of arguments to be made against that claim, but every single one of them is shaken right out of Shinji as he gives a sharp startle at the noise and sudden, dramatic tone shift from Kyoko. A rebuttal of 'I wouldn't go that far' dies in his throat, even if the thought will stick firmly in his head. That is! Some ridiculously high praise!

"We... did the best we could," is what he comes up with to reply to instead. It's not an argument! But it's also a careful dodge of such lofty words as 'prodigies' and 'geniuses'. "If you're enjoying it, then... all that work was worth it."

Oh--

There was a quick glance at Shinji when he saw that little movement out of his periph, but it was fine. This was fine. They were apparently geniuses! Them. Pffft. Kai couldn't help treading dangerously, chuckling at the assessment with more amusement than before. So strongly spoken, and they hadn't even gotten to desserts or presents yet. They had dinner to get through first, gosh.

"Uh-huh. We better tuck in, though, for maximum enjoyment." All that clinking had just been a reminder that they each had bowls of deliciousness just waiting to be devoured, after all.

Geniuses!! No arguments allowed on this point!

But Kyoko's fierce intensity faded out almost immediately, and within moments it was as if she'd never been doing anything but radiate sunshine. The point was made, and she was ready to really show her appreciation!

"Yeeees! Can I start?" She plunged right ahead with an itadakimaaas anyway, the question only having been a formality, before eagerly slurping up an oyster. "Mmmnaaaah!!"

Them, geniuses. Who could have imagined!

Whether that's an accurate assessment or not, there is still in fact food waiting to be eaten. Shinji lets the tension ease right off his shoulders now that Kyoko's gone back to being purely cheerful, turning his own attention back to his bowl. No more waiting, it's time to finally dig in! Give this hot pot the attention it deserves!

"Let's eat."

Nom...!

"Mmh!"

Ah, yes, it was finally dinnertime. Kai followed suit with a cheerful thanks, taking that first, long anticipated taste. Ah...!

"Shinjiii," Kai sighed out, "you really did it this time."

There was a flurry of food rapidly but delicately being moved from mouth to bowl, at Kyoko's corner of the table, so for a minute or so she could only make incoherent noises of appreciation.

"You really did! There are so many things, and they're all so delicious, it's easy to just keep eating more and more!" Ssslurp, there went some shirataki noodles down the hatch, before she came up for air. "Since when have you had all of this!"

She's not accusing them of holding out on her, truly. It's just an amazing bounty!

So much praise! Too much praise. Some heat rises to his cheeks, but that could very easily just be from the warmth of the kotatsu and hot pot, and it's simple enough to hide any bashfulness behind the action of chowing down on this truly tasty dinner.

Kyoko's question, too, is good cover, and after chewing his way through one of those mushrooms he can answer, "We got a lot of it just for today." The best way to keep someone on their toes for their birthday dinner is with fresh and unexpected ingredients! "And - ah, you're welcome to take any of it later, as always."

Just the right amount of praise. And all perfectly deserved. It was all very scrumptious, and Kai was absolutely ready to settle all the credit on Shinji. He'd done a really good job!

Kai happily munched on a carrot, nodding along some more. "Its the birthday dinner that keeps on gifting."

Edited (where did that linebreak come from) 2020-12-20 04:43 (UTC)

There Kyoko was, with a mouthful of succulent, savory shiitake when Shinji dropped that revelation on her.

They got it just for today.

Her eyes fell on that still steaming pot, packed with such a generous variety of things she hadn't tasted in over a year now. All collected for this day. Even if Kyoko had been the sort of person to ask for such a favor, it wouldn't have occurred to her to request so many things.

But these two had thought of it. For... her? For real?

"Whaadh," Kyoko said, and then realized that she hadn't swallowed her mushroom. There. "What... if you're gonna get new ingredients, get the ones you want... for yourself, you know? Now you're stuck with all this, when you could've...."

Hey now.

"We got all of it because we wanted it," even if the core reason for it was, in fact, a birthday hot pot, they can't say they're 'stuck' with something they don't want. "It isn't anything we can't use later, too, but making sure we had the right ingredients for tonight was important."

It was all crucial! And, in the end, all tasty. Like this bit of fish, going right in his mouth. Delicious.

"Fact is we're really not picky," Kai went on to say. "Leave it to us and we'd probably be okay with the synthesized stuff for a long time." They'd gone this long without any of those warm notes of fresh ginger, after all. And actually... did any of them have real rice? Kai was exceedingly alright with rolling with things, but Shinji wasn't that far behind him.

"So going all out was a good thing for us, too."

Kai turned another smile towards her. "A lot of what we want and what we want for you overlaps pretty often."

Kyoko's head dipped, but there was no hiding the flush that reached all the way to her ears. It wouldn't be that hard to see how hard she was biting her lip, either, if you just leaned in a little.

Ah jeez. What was she supposed to do with guys like this? They were so over-the-top nice to her, but they knew just how to play it down, like it was the most natural thing in the world. She couldn't scold them for being impractical, and she didn't know how to thank them enough either.

"... Do you like shrimp," she mumbled after a few drawn out moments.

Such a long pause with such an intense blush refusing to let itself be hidden does, in fact, earn a slight lean forward from Shinji. He's just about to offer a soft, inquisitive, 'Kyoko-san? Are you okay?' before she speaks up.

"Shrimp...?" What's this about, now? "Shrimp is good." Truly, neither of them are particularly picky eaters.

Oh. That much color was pretty cute, actually. But, ah, that had been kind of a long pause, hadn't it? Kai tilt his head a bit and--

Shrimp.

"Yeah?" Yes. Shrimp? "... Oh, I guess we did leave it out, huh."

Her head shot up, her burning face now on full display. "You did not leave anything out!!!" How could he even come to such an amazingly wrong conclusion!? "Nothing! This is a 100% perfect meal!!"

Deep breath. Tucking her hands into her lap, Kyoko returned to the shy mumbles from a moment ago. "I just thought I should mention, I happened to get some new ingredients, myself. I was gonna bring it up a little later anyway, but I couldn't resist.... It's not as much as all this, but you can definitely have anything you want from me, whenever you want it."

On the other hand, they could have very easily gotten shrimp for the hot pot, too. That would have been a perfect addition...! Maybe it's not an apology-worthy blunder, but just imagine how good it would have been.

Either way, how very generous, Kyoko! But this isn't... a totally new offer, either, is it? It's been pretty much a one-to-one trade deal between the two houses so far, so her bashful insistence on making sure they know these new ingredients aren't somehow off-limits tugs an amused smile out of Shinji.

"Hmm, this would be really good if we tried again with shrimp, I'm sure." But, not to tease her too much over it, he adds, "Or plenty of other dishes, really. Those sound like they'd definitely be worth swapping some ingredients for."

That full on blast of rosiness had taken Kai off guard, and now he was watching her intently. This whole back and forth between bold, assertive claims and quiet shyness was a fascinating journey through all her endearing parts at warp speed.

It was also distracting enough that he didn't just blurt out the fact that this wasn't new. They did ingredient swaps all the time! It was a common excuse for just showing up.

Ah. Maybe that's what it was.

"Uh-huh. Next time you come over you should bring a bunch and we can figure tempura out."

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