hugtopia_logs | happy birthday to u

Entry tags:

happy birthday to u

♥ Who: sad rawna kids, maybe less sad other people
♥ Where: rawna’s house
♥ When: 7/4-7/8
♥ What: canon update party
♥ Rating: prolly pg for intense worry

This was not how the afternoon was supposed to go.

It was really just supposed to be a little lounge in the afternoon. Kai had taken Bug out for a little romp in the sunshine, let the little guy stretch its… uh… rind? Get its roll on. Enjoy that one patch of grass for a while, a fruitbug needed some quality time outside sometimes, probably. Kai did at least. Playing with the orange eventually devolved into just sitting around for a bit as it rolled around, and that eventually led to laying back to watch the clouds roll by. Had there been any plans for dinner? Was the kind of idle thought that passed by. Maybe when all three of them were home, they could try making oyakodon or something together. That seemed like a good time.

When idle thoughts and lazy clouds became a nap, he didn’t know.

He didn’t wake up when Rawna’s priests came and picked him up. He didn’t wake up when Bug squeaked at them either, so he missed all the erratic circles it rolled around them as they went off to the temple.

It rolled all the way there, and all the way back, rolling around in obvious circles in the yard until someone it knew came home. Was it you? Yes? Well, better follow that fruit cuz there it went down the road to Rawna’s house.

The priests were kind of expecting them. Even with the mishaps that had happened, Rawna’s priests were familiar enough with this group to know that there was one pertinent reason Shinji or Kyoko would have shown up right now…. Even if they didn’t yet. Yes, their friend was this way. Yes, they could visit with him.

He didn’t wake up then, either.

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Shinji hiding against her back like that was kinda cute, but it was hard to focus too much on that when her tummy was being pat. What? Was she like a dog to him?? How could he not understand how scandalous a thing that was to do to a human girl lying in his bed beside his boyfriend?

Luckily it was dark enough that her blush would probably be invisible, but her flustered mumbling might hint at it. "First a meal, sleep, and then your reintroduction to society..."

But she was free now, so she was just gonna. Slide off the bed and find her feet.

Scandalous.

Sweet, sweet freedom for Kyoko, but a chilly sense of loss for the spot in front of Shinji. Ahh, that was really nice while it lasted, but as soon as that source of warmth is gone, Shinji feels a bit more alert and aware of how much they all probably need to balance their various recovery strategies. A little bit of sleep to soothe their minds. A little bit of food to soothe their tummies. A lot of warm company to heal their hearts.

As he carefully sits up, Shinji stretches out his limbs, blissfully unaware of what sorts of scandals were happening around him. After that, his hand falls back towards Kai, looking for another warm hand to hold on to. Come on, let's get started on step one of Kyoko's plan before returning to step two once more.

Kai gave a soft snort of amusement. Hope the plans of society reintroduction didn't have hopes of curbing scandalous behavior, because that was just going to end in disappointment. "Sure, sure."

Here was that coveted warm hand wrapping around Shinji's, nice and snug as he helped his boyfriend slide off the bed. Here we go. And here was his other scandalous hand, sneaking out to loop a finger around one of Kyoko's before she got too far. Gotcha.

It was off to the kitchen then, where bentos awaited. Kai ushered them to them, only letting go of their hands because he had to go turn the soup back on.

Somehow, Kyoko had not expected that anyone would be going after her hands still, even now, and so that pinky snagging hers came as a total surprise. She didn't even debate whether to pull away, or how, just let Kaito lead her along like that, in a cloud of groggy fluster.

She did come back to herself a little when they got to the kitchen, and she started to piece together those mentions of tamagoyaki and soup into an immediate, tangible reality. Wait... "Weren't you just gonna push the omurice button?" They didn't have buttons for miso soup or tamagoyaki! She was very sure!

Bentos... bentos? None of Kai's promises of soup or Kyoko's wonderings of tamagoyaki had really registered as anything other than the idea of food until now, so once Shinji finds himself in front of actual food, it's honestly a bit of a surprise! He had said that he could just hit the omurice button, but clearly he spent more time on this meal than that. How long had they even been asleep...? Gosh.

He takes a moment to look over this meal, before turning to look over to the chef himself. He seemed to be doing okay, maybe he really didn't feel like making this much was pushing it... hm.

"This all looks really good," almost too good to resist digging in right away! Almost, though, compliments should be paid where they're due, first. "You're still feeling okay after doing all of this?"

"I said I'd hit the button if making things was too much," Kai clarified as he gave the pot a little. It had been more or less fine! He'd taken a break in the middle, and it was definitely just for taking a break and not for crying. He sent Shinji a little grin, nodding. Things were fine enough. Probably would be even better when he had more than a few apple slices in him too.

"Both of you always have things done already, had to take the chance to treat you." Stir. "... though I don't know if I made enough so we might have to hit the button anyway."

And also he was rusty, so. They might really need to hit the button anyway.

Kyoko couldn't help fussing a little, still. "You weren't supposed to push yourself at all, though." Could he feel this pout glaring into the back of his head. "You waking up was already our treat! Right, Shinji??" She turned that pout over on the other boy. Right???

Oh boy. As much as Shinji wants to support and encourage Kai's stabs at kitchen endeavors, there's a small part of him that's feeling swayed by Kyoko's protests. He can't help but feel a little worried! After days of Kai laying unconscious in front of them! A mild amount of fussing is probably in order.

"It really was," he protests gently. The best treat of all, in fact, was Kai opening his eyes for them after so long. They weren't about to ask anything more of him! "You didn't have to go through more trouble..."

It would, on the other hand, be a shame to let this meal go unappreciated - another grumble from his stomach will let that thought be extremely known. "If... if we need more, we'll definitely just hit that button." You've done more than enough, Kai! Please continue to rest!!

There were so many pouts and fusses aimed at him, geez. He understood, but geez. "Really don't think either of you can tell me you wouldn't have done the same," he countered, meeting their pouts and protests with a soft look. "Don't think you'd call it trouble either."

Here came the soups. Please accept them, because the food was already made. There was nothing to be done about that. "I spent most of the time with both of you though, so don't worry that much. Just eat up, ok?" He was going to take a seat with them, and he wasn't going to be winded at all! Nope! He's going to tuck into some much needed food himself. Thanks for that food.

Kaito was being very closely watched now, for any signs of that potential windedness. There better not be any, mister!

But the familiar scent of that warm soup wafting through the room provoked another insistent whine from Kyoko's stomach. Stiffening, she looked at the bowls so generously laid out for them. And she looked some more.

And suddenly she was also seated, mumbling her thanks through the heat of a reddened face. "Soup is probably better for someone who hasn't eaten anything in a few days...."

They absolutely would have done the same in the opposite situation. They absolutely would have insisted it was no trouble. Kai is right on the money. They can still have their worries in this situation, though!

The food is, however, a very good distraction. Yeah... yeah. Let's eat. Shinji settles in to the idea, offering a soft, "Thank you for the food," before carefully going for one of those tamagoyaki rolls. Let's just take a bite, and...

Ah. Ahhh.

There's definitely something that's so much more fulfilling about having a bite of food that's not just been lovingly crafted for his and Kyoko's benefit, but the very idea of the three of them, all of them getting the opportunity to eat together again. An extra bit of warmth works its way into his heart and any protests he may have had left about Kai working too hard quietly vanish. This, right here, this small meal with all three of them, after such stressful and uncertain days, this was worth so, so much.

He has to pause after just that one bite to process it all, but then he gives a tiny nod. Yes, this is good. The bite is chewed, and swallowed, before he speaks up softly,

"You did a good job, Kai."

Soup was good for people that hadn't had too much more to eat than he did, either. And if there was anything he made that he actually had any confidence in, it was those soft egg rolls. None of it was big or fancy, but none of them needed anything big or fancy right now. Just a little something, together.

Hunger was the best seasoning, but even more so was good company, especially when it was as sweet as them. That overwhelming feeling was coming around again, and Kai ducked his head a little as he crossed the back of his hand over his eyes.

"Cool. I mean, good. Yeah."

Despite her protests, once she was sat down, Kyoko had dove right into that soup, taking deep sips as a warm contentedness settled over her. Ah... yes, this is exactly right. They were all home now.

Before she could think too deeply about the implications of that stray thought, Kaito had her attention again. He... wasn't just rubbing his eyes, was he?

Setting her bowl down, Kyoko quietly reached over to rest her fingertips against the hand that wasn't busy attending to his face. "It's been a while, huh?"

Kaito...

Something like this is to be expected, honestly, even if they don't yet know what sorts of things Kai may have experienced while he was away from them. Shinji frees up a hand in order to reach over and sink his fingers into Kai's hair. It's all right, let it out if you need to.

"A long while..." A handful of long, agonizing days for them, a number of probably very lonely weeks for Kai. A warm meal with kind company after that long... that's going to be a lot. "We're here now."

Here he thought he was going to get that feeling under control, but it turned out that that was Wrong. Kai shut his eyes tight, pressing the heel of his hand against one as he sucked in a breath. He wanted to lean into that touch of his hair. He wanted to turn his hand to hold hers. He didn't quite get to either.

"Mmm." He smiled a little. "I'm real glad to be home."

What had he seen while he slept? Kyoko wondered again. It would be fine if he never told her, but she didn't think she would ever be able to stifle the worry in her heart.

Kyoko settled her hand more fully over his, determined to see him through regardless. "... Mm. We missed you."

Shinji won't put aside the hope that Kai feels comfortable telling them eventually, but he's more than willing to be patient about it. Those tears... even though they're clearly good tears, he can't help but worry as well. What did they mean for what he dealt with for those weeks?

Jeez. At least Kai's back here where he can be taken care of like he deserves.

"Right." They missed him terribly, but he's sure they don't need to drive that point home any further. His hand smooths over Kai's hair more meaningfully, giving his scalp a gentle little rub. "You're right where you belong, with the two of us."

More than being here, in Havenwell, in this house, by their sides is where he should be.

"I am," he agreed softly. This time he leaned into that rub with a sigh. He turned his hand so he could gently hold hers. It's what he'd meant. As long as they were there, he was home. Didn't matter where. "Missed you too."

This was enough now, he told himself. Wiping his eyes a bit more, Kai took a large breath and eased it out. He looked between them after he opened his eyes, grateful for their patience and affections. He gave Kyoko's hand a squeeze, and reached over to ruffle Shinji's hair right back.

"... Thanks. M'fine. C'mon, let's eat up."

Skeptical though she was about how "fine" Kaito actually was, Kyoko knew this wasn't the moment to press. Better to just quietly return that squeeze, before releasing his hand.

"It'd be a waste not to," she agreed gently. "Since this is a special occasion and all."

"Mmhm." Shinji drops his hand down to give Kai's back a small pat before withdrawing it once more, so that he can continue to eat this lovingly prepared meal.

"Gotta celebrate the first day back of our favorite person." Is it... presumptuous of him to assume that on Kyoko's behalf? His still sleepy mind doesn't stop to think about it too hard, but if she was willing to sit by his bedside for so many days in a row, then it doesn't seem to be too far fetched of a thought.

A special occasion. Their favorite. He knew that was true on one account, but...

"Geez," Kai said softly. Hands free now, he picked up his soup to hide the burning of his cheeks.

Favorite person... Well, Shinji was the one to say it, so it was fine, but...! Kyoko also went with the hide-behind-soup route.

It was probably best to keep the conversation light anyway, so that's what she would do for the rest of the meal, only occasionally fussing at one boy or another to make sure he was truly eating enough.

No protests, huh? Maybe if Shinji weren't too preoccupied with trying to shake off that sleepy fog from his brain, maybe he'd think about that a little bit. On the other hand, if he weren't still bogged down with fatigue, he probably wouldn't have said it in the first place.

Maybe something to remember and consider when he's more alert, or maybe not. The food in front of them is more important, either way. Time to quietly pack away the meal in front of them, in that case. Thank you for food, Kai.

A well deserved, much needed meal for everyone. Let it soothe their souls and give them strength as much as the good and gentle conversation they had. It was nice. They had all needed something as simple and good as this after everything else.

Now that things had reached a steadier baseline, there wasn't really a good reason not to talk about things. The temptation was there to leave it until the morning, but Kai was pretty sure if he left it alone, it'd just stay right there. It was better to just do it now. Let tomorrow be a better day without these things weighing it down.

Leaning back a bit, Kai gave Shinji a soft, somber look. It'd make more sense in a moment here as Kai looked over at Kyoko, asking, "Never told you why I was in juvie, did I?"

Kyoko had stood up to gather their dishes, and was thinking about telling the boys to go on ahead back to bed, when Kaito spoke up. Still reaching for Shinji's bowl, she met his eyes and went still at the look in them.

"Um," That sure was a thing to suddenly bring up, "no, but... it's fine." He didn't have to, even now, not if he didn't want to. "I... don't mind either way."

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