[Mushverse: Liveman Family and JK]

[gibken]

So I've decided to not think about my screwed up pathetic excuse for a memory for a few days. I have better things to focus on. Club activities, family crises, Gai getting ready to start school, and most important of all, I found out (possibly inadvertently) that JK's birthday is literally right upon us.

And I want to do something for him. To convince him that he's as important to me as I say he is (though I'm not entirely sure why I feel like he won't believe me otherwise). To introduce him to my parents, too, because even if I am actually a twenty-something space pirate or whatever, they've still taken care of me for this long, and I respect them.

I started smuggling an array of cake baking ingredients into the house a few days ago, hiding them at the back of the bottom shelf of the fridge, and the very back of the lower cupboards.

Tonight I'm just going to make the cake, and try to figure out whether I can afford to order something in to eat for dinner, since I'm not about to spring a multi-person meal on Megumi at the last minute. Maybe Don will help me. I know he's a good cook. I'm absolutely lost outside of baking.

Comments

[gibken]

"They can be!" I turn to face him again. "I didn't mean it like that. I just mean, it's not a huge deal. They don't have to be if they don't want to be. They already know him, anyway." I duck my head and stare at the floor and mumble a bit. "He's kind of my boyfriend, if that makes any difference."

[redfalcon]

"We'll all have dinner. Between us we can put something together. We could -"

I break off when he mentions the word boyfriend and my lips widen into a huge silly grin. Aha. So he does have hormones after all, "score!" I clap him on the shoulder joyfully, "Is he cute?"

[gibken]

I'm not sure why I'm even the slightest bit surprised, because Yuusuke has a boyfriend after all, but I still can feel myself blush and I'm hard pressed to look up at him.

"I think so." That's a given, Joe. I sigh at myself. "He's talented too." I wince when I realize how that sounds. "I mean, he can dance. And sing. Which I can't do."

[redfalcon]

"One of those types, eh?" Mari dated one when we were back at Academia. He performed at some kind of cabaret club that she took us to a few times. The thought of her makes something painful twist inside me, and I hastily rearrange my thoughts, "well, he's always welcome here. What can we do for him? Any favourite foods?"

[gibken]

Oh, damn, see, Yuusuke's making the exact face I didn't want him to make when I neglected to finish my thought about not wanting to be a burden on them.

I'm just not particularly well lately, all things considered, I guess, because I'm giving Yuusuke a quick hug before I even realize what I'm doing.

I really don't like it when he's upset. I don't like it when any of them are upset, but something about Yuusuke is just... it's wrong.

"Um. I think he likes chicken?" I say awkwardly as I pull away.

[redfalcon]

The hug was unexpected, but sweet. I can feel something beginning to choke up my throat, so I cough quickly to clear it, "... okay, chicken. We can work with that. And you made him a great cake." I wonder vaguely if we have any other type of party food in the house. We would have had a few more cookies if I hadn't finished them.

[gibken]

I cough too, turning back to the cake as if I can really busy myself with it that much. "I hope he likes it," I mumble, mostly to myself. Baking is not exactly a hobby I regularly advertise my interest in, and I haven't really had a chance to exercise it lately anyway, considering club activities and what not.

[redfalcon]

"I'm sure he will. If he likes you, he'll appreciate the effort."

It's so cute to watch him get all embarrassed and blushy. I remember my first love. Fuyumi-chan, or was it Nanako-chan, or Mie ...

[gibken]

"I hope so," I mumble again. I turn to face him again with a sigh. "He knows. About everything, about me, I mean. The whole... pirate bit." I clear my throat. I didn't want to talk about it, but I guess it's always bound to come up eventually. "So... you know, you don't have to. Avoid the topic or. Whatever."

[redfalcon]

"I wasn't really expecting it to come up in the conversation. But you or he can talk about it, if you like." I scratch my head. Isn't that a bit heavy for the dinner table?

[gibken]

"I just wanted you to know that it's not exactly a secret." I pout a little, towards the floor mostly. "My friends all know, anyway. That's okay, right?"

[redfalcon]

"Don't see why not. It's nice to have the support. If your friends care about you just as you are, they're good friends." I pat his shoulder awkwardly. Friendship is a bit of a touchy subject for me.

[gibken]

"I don't have a lot. And I think they'll keep it to themselves, mostly, so it's not like I'm going to get run out of school or anything." We have a lot more on our collective club plate than my messed up past, after all.

"You don't... You don't think it's weird, then, that I might be... a lot older than him?"

[redfalcon]

I hadn't thought about that. Despite everything that's happened, I still think of him as a seventeen-year-old kid, "I guess not. If he knows the truth, and he's okay with it, why shouldn't you be happy together?" It's not like Joe is taking advantage of him.

[gibken]

I sigh, admittedly relieved, though I hadn't even realized that I was nervous. I guess despite JK's insistence that he didn't care, I was still worried that my parents might. Which seems ridiculous in retrospect, when have they ever tried to stand in the way of something that made me happy?

Precisely never, is the answer. "Thanks, Yuusuke."

[redfalcon]

"For what?" He's a funny little kid sometimes, "have a think about what you want to do for dinner. I'm sure between us we can come up with something." Megumi is supposed to be taking Gai shopping for sensible school shoes later. If I pick them up in the car, we can go around the supermarket.

[gibken]

"Oh, nothing." I'm not about to spell it out for him. He thinks I'm weird enough as it is.

"I will. I'll figure something out."

[redfalcon]

"Okay. Oh -" I open some cupboards and begin pulling out tubes of silver balls, sprinkles, sugary decoration thingies, glacé cherries, a bag of icing sugar, and some more bits. They're all the things Megumi uses when baking, "go nuts." Oh, right, nuts. Do we have any of those too?

[gibken]

I had already bought stuff to decorate the cake with, but mostly I'm just amused that Yuusuke automatically knows where Megumi keeps all of this stuff. I smile slightly, moving over to sift through what's available. "Thank you."

It needs to be colorful. It's for JK.

[redfalcon]

I unearth a bag of shredded coconut and sprinkle some into my mouth before putting it down on the table, "that cake has turned out nicely. What's in it?"

[gibken]

"Mostly chocolate." JK likes chocolate, I hope. He's always drinking chocolate milk, anyway.

I duck down to retrieve the things I got for decorating, and get out one of the bowls I'd already washed to mix icing in. "I hope it's big enough," I muse aloud. Probably not. There definitely won't be anything left over, anyway.

[redfalcon]

"We could always knock up another one? You're free to use whatever ingredients are in the house. We've got eggs and flour, right? I was gonna pick up Megumi and Gai later so we could buy stuff for dinner. We can always replace it all then." Gai will be so jazzed about this. He's taken really well to living with us. I can't wait to see his face light up at the table.

[gibken]

He has a point. I should have enough supplies. "That's a good idea, thank you. Um. Maybe a different flavor?" What do the others like? I should know this kind of stuff about my family. I feel bad that I don't.

[redfalcon]

I try to think. What do we have? "uh ... plain sponge with jam? Poppyseed? Green tea? Hazelnut? Coffee? Fruit?"

[gibken]

That's a pretty vast array. I stare around the kitchen idly, then shrug. "Coffee's not bad. I can work with coffee."