Private Meet the Family, Day 1: Surprise!

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

With Nico so closely tailing Ari, it would almost seem like they were friends. Almost. Both parties knew it was only because of the food. And both knew that they would return to war as soon as their bellies were full, and their bowls emptied.

Although there was little Ari could do to stop Nico from sticking her spoon into his bowl the first time around, by the second attempt, the man was already pulling the bowl away from her exclaiming, "Hey, hey, hey, hey! Are you gonna share too? No? Then eat your own damn food!" The woman acted like she'd never seen food before.

At the bus stop, finally, things began to calm down a little more. Mostly because the Neanderthals had finally gotten their fill of food, which meant they'd be satisfied enough for the next ten minutes to not be at each other's throats, or doing something completely brainless. Theo fucked off for a little bit somewhere more quiet, and Olivier sat himself down on the bench, smiling like a little school girl at his phone as he texted back and forth with someone.

"How's Toko doin?" Ari could hear Nico say quietly to Olivier with a big shit-eating grin on her face, like she'd just caught Olivier red-handed.

"Yeah, Toko is doing well. She's about to work out for a little bit after having just taken care of her chores," Ari heard Olivier reply, finally drawing the e-boy's attention fully.

"Oh yeah?" he said from his place leaning against the bust stop's siding. "And how are you two doin'? You never gave me a straight answer when I asked you at the Starfall Club."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

Olivier caught up her attention once he gave her and Ari the typical disappointed parental figure look, the one she's pretty used to by now and thus proved ineffectual. "Hungry. Who cares about people in an airport? I'll try and eat less when we get to Toko's neighbor." That's as much as a promise she could do to him, with zero guarantees at it.

One happy little spoon tried to reach out for a bowl, only to be DENIED a meal once Ari pulled it back and voiced his indignation. Nico just stared at him, lids half-closed. "Don't you grow tired of being a bitch?" And then she offered her bowl without breaking eye contact with the Eboy. "Hand over the goods." She threatened with her plastic utensil aimed at him to withhold his part of the trade.

"Ninini DoNt PuT yOUr GeRms In SomeONe eLSE'S mOutH." She tilted her head from side to side with each word just to remark him how stupid that all sounded. As if the sneeze virus could actually do something to her. With how many colds she caught as a kid, this was just cold², with extra spice. "What's life if you ain't sharing germs, huh? Just look at dipshit over here, he's real happy with mine." She pointed back at Ari. "Enjoy yourself a bit, stop being so edjin."

Oli's answer seemed to have prompted Ari who caught up on what she was about, sending a metaphorical shiv back at Big Guy with the right question, put at the right time. Nico tried not to smile, since that would mean he made her smile for once in his whole career as the group's clown.

"Oooh it's a 'we' now?" She looked back from Ari to Olivier. "Yeah I mean that makes sense. You seem to know the most japanese, and leaving aside depresso-twink over here, you know the most about japanese culture too- Kinda sus not gonna lie." Suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"How is any of this sus?" He would raise an eyebrow, pocketing his phone. "I was planning this trip ling before Ari or any of you had planned it. I moved it up a bit is all." He would smirk as he observed Ari and Nico being cute.

"I was going to wait for like, her birthday or our aniversary or something, now its going to coincide with our one month. " He'd casually slide that one in as he eyed another bowl.

"As for your question Theo, theyre calling us foreigners and rude." He would glate at Noco and Ari. "Which stops when we get to Ogimi. I might end up moving there someday and I dont need them already hating me, or thinking less of my girlfriend."

An outright admission, though not one he was ashamed of. "As for your question Ari, we started dating a little after the Kurungar fight." He'd turn to Theo. "Thank you for saving her by the way, we haven't seen eachother since, but you don't seem like as much a piece of shit as I thought..." Hed pause. "Sorry bout that"

@Jin

 

[Jin]

When Nico mentioned how Ari was enjoying her germs, he rolled his eyes in disgust. "You two should just get a room already," he muttered as he glanced back to the other man, who actively chided the other two for their behavior and proceeded to explain about what the words Theo had heard meant.

"Yeah, that's the vibe I was getting," Theo sighed as he resigned himself to the walk of shame that brought him before the bus stop. The other two were lost causes, but the most ironic- almost funny- point (at least to the tallest member of the group, objectively) was that he currently found more in common with Olivier than the other two meatheads. Even if it was caution born of his desire to be a fitting suitor for Toko's player.

It occurred to him the man was pretty invested when he said that he might move to the Island. "Don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself?" he asked the man. "You've been dating a month and you're talking about marriage. I can't even imagine moving for someone I've known my entire life."

Theo blinked as Olivier changes speeds on him and delivered... well, not the greatest apology ever, but it was more than he usually got from anyone. He wasn't sure how to take it. "Y-yeah, alright," he faltered. No part of his itinerary involved emotionally charged banter, especially not on his own part. He had to improvise. Quickly. "It was no big deal, she was right there anyway."

If he were being brutally honest, he would have mentioned how it indebted the man to him, but then, Theo wasn't a forthcoming man. In truth, this outcome was welcome in its own way. He was now fully aware that Brutus was thankful for his timely intervention. It meant the bridge he watched burn during their first encounter was slightly more structurally sound than he originally thought.

"Might come a time when you get a chance to return the favor," Theo said at last, the most honest and true to his character statement he had made over the course of the entire trip.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Ya know, it really amazed Ari that he was the one with brain damage, and yet Nico seemed to be the one who forgot everything. "Speak for for yourself, Unlucky Bitch," Ari said, moving his bowl back over to Nico's side, his eyes locked on hers as he took his rightfully owed spoonful of...honestly, he didn't know what the fuck she ordered but it was probably tasty. Besides, this was about the message. That message being you didn't just take a man's food without sharing some of yours, no matter how much of angry little twerp you were.

By the time Nico had gotten back around to insulting Theo again, Ari was already stuffing his face with food again, too entranced by the delightful flavors of Japan that he completely zoned out to what the two were saying. Something about Nico's germs or something. Who cared when there was so much donburi to enjoy.

Ari withheld his skeptical look as Olivier so adamantly insisted that he had been planning a trip to come visit Toko long before Ari had ever mentioned it. Not that it wasn't a possibility, but the way the man seemed to so fervently insist on it brought some doubts to Ari's mind. He'd let him save face though, it wasn't like it bothered Ari none.

And then, as Olivier went on to thank Theo for saving Toko (wait, Theo saved someone? Did he get paid? Was Olivier sure it was Theo?) some big red flags started going up in Ari's mind. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one who caught that though.

"Hey, Theo's right here. Maybe you should slow down a bit. I mean you guys just started dating." Great now all they needed was Nico to agree with both him and Theo and they'd all know the world was doomed.

The sight of a large, fast moving object moving towards them drew Ari attention, and he pushed himself up to stand fully upright as he gestured towards the other. "Oh, perfect. Bus is here," the man said, double checking he had everything with him before gesturing for everyone to get on ahead of him.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

"For for myself? Do I speak for for myself?" She repeated the same mistakes he did with a smugass grin, a highlight on each with how her tone added importance to it. But she couldn't argue for long, not when his own bowl was open for her to feast on. If he wanted to keep the staring game, she would do so the same and even keep herself from blinking. "Fuckboy." She muttered, mouth full of... Whatever he ordered, yeah.

Nico leaned back at Olivier's reply, smuggest smile she could pull and all with not a single word out of her, as he probably could guess she's just mentally nodding at everything he is saying as if it were some kind of excuse. Until the mention of an anniversary widened her eyes and had her point a finger at him, akin to a 'You? With Toko? Really?'

Nico quickly gave him a little punch on his bicep. Friendly, considering she didn't go hard on him "Damn man that's amazing, congratulations to you two!" She exclaimed with a short chuckle. She kept herself from questioning his choices like Ari and Theo did. The last he needed was everyone lecturing him about his life, and if the big guy got a heart break it was on him anyways, despite the unpleasant taste that would leave on her mouth.

She couldn't imagine Nao to be that kind of person.

When Theo took the role of being the jackass by suggesting for a room, Nico snapped back at him, with a bit more of intensity on her voice and bitterness to match. "For you two, maybe THEN you can get your first kiss, virgin." But she didn't want to spend a single second standing, and as Ari mentioned the bus coming, Nico dumped the leftovers on the trashcan and pushed past the group to make it into their transport.

"Ladies first, losers!" Her battlecry shouted, Nico didn't become any less of a nuissance to society while in public. Even when all these people stared at her like frogs, all she did was to follow the general rules for any other public transport ever, only with Yen instead of dollars. Girl wanted the seat closest to a window

And she would get her goddamn seat closest to a window.

With her baggage dealt with and a place to sit acquired, Nico pulled the Best eyemask in the entire planet that everyone should be made aware of out of her pockets and put it on. This implying she wore this thing on the plane too.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"How often do you date someone you find yourself in life or death situations with on a regular basis? I don't plan on getting down on one knee anytime soon unless something...drastic happens, but at the same time." He frowned as the bus drew closer. "Given how things are in Terrasphere, something could change at any moment, right now both of us are deathless, but what if you know? I'm just planning ahead, looking at where the road could take us." He would look to Nico who was being surprisingly reasonable about the thing, had they all agreed he would have thought it would be a sign that either his romance with the woman was doomed to fail, or the world was going to end.

The bus would open its door with a hiss, and Nico would rush onto it like an overexcited child. Olivier would trudge up it, dragging his bag behind him as he ascended into the bus and found a spot with relative ease. Their route was not a particularly popular one, so with the exception of a few elderly looking Japanese men. He would plop down into an empty row on the aisle seat, setting his bag between his legs and getting comfortable. He would pull out his Raycon Everyday Future Earbud case and keep them set on his lap. If nobody took a seat near him, or talked to him, he would put them on and could be heard muttering things like.

"Ogenki Desu Ka?"
"Sou desu ka?"

Ad infinitum until interrupted, stopping only to look at a his phone for texts from Nao.

Totally weird question
Because I'm doing that thing where Im laying awake in my bed left to my own thoughts
Thinking about shit like, the future n stuff and how we might die if we fuck up
What do you think about like...kids and stuff?
I... honestly, I never really thought about them.
Kids are cute, and I like them, but...
They're also a big responsibility... and I'm not sure if I'd be a good enough mom in the first place.
That's fair, I've just been thinking about like...
Legacy n shit
What will survive me if I die and all that jazz
Anyways, I'm gonna try and get comfy and sleep, sorry to bother you hun~
oyasumi Ollie-chan...
daisuki yo
I love you more

He would set his phone down into his lap

@Jin

 

[Jin]

He stopped to look at the man for a moment as he spoke about drastic possibilities and the future, and Theo slowly blinked. Would not the sane person think, "we could die" and opt to remove themselves from that particular situation? He pursed his lips, fully ready to point that fact out to the man just as Nico mentioned first kisses. He looked at the woman and pointed at Ari.

"He's had more than thirty dates in the past four years," he said of his real life friend, unblinking, unabashed. "He has no shortage of available kisses, and based on the stories he's forced me to sit through at length, on multiple occasions, it would be more realistic to count his number somewhere close to a thousand. And I'm being conservative."

Theo blinked again. "Unless you're offering to kiss me, in which case, hard pass. You just slurped down a bowl of Ramen and I can smell the salt and seaweed from over here. I don't have any mints with me."

He decided, for now, to let Olivier enjoy himself. This trip was for him more than it was for anyone else. He watched the woman board the trip ahead of him, then headed for the very back. He sat in the very corner, tucking his feet up underneath him, and covered himself with his hoodie. If nothing else, he was going to get rested up and enjoy the vacation that had been forced on him by his mother.
This trip couldn't end soon enough.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

For some reason, it surprised him when Nico took to the childish game of making fun of Ari's slight stumbling over his words. He shouldn't have been surprised. And yet, he was. The man, once again, deadpan stared back at her, dead, unamused eyes boring into her...to no effect...Ari knew it had no effect, and yet he still tried.

Despite Nico's enthusiastic congratulations for Olivier (and Ari was also happy for them, mind you), he still looked over to Theo, their eyes meeting for only a split second. Just long enough for him to confirm that they were thinking the same thing. Maybe they were just realists. Or maybe they were cynics. But they both saw too many places where things could go wrong.

As they all boarded the bus (blissfully lacking in anything but a few old men) everyone slowly took their seats as Theo detailed the extravagance that was Yu's love life. Except that none of it was true. Ari narrowed his eyes at the man and gave him the universal 'what the fuck are you talking about?' look that even the blind could see and recognize. "Dude," the man chided his friend, before taking the aisle seat across from Olivier. "I dated like...two people in the last three or four years. What the fuck are you on?"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

"PFFFT..." Fiora couldn't hold back a laughter. She's seen Jin's dead seriousness before, but in this form, at this time of the day? Localized in this bus stop of all places? "Okay wait, so you telling me that drinking from the same glass as Yu's is like drinking the drool out of the whole United States. Got it." Her eyes went back to Ari after his own friend ditched him down the bus when all her previous insults were meant for Theo. "Never give them something they can use against you. Because they will." She just said, cryptic if only amused in tone. Something only Theo out of all the people here would truly understand.

And then he had to screw it up by assuming she would give him a kiss, the cringe on her features had her crank her neck to face him once again "Bro, kiss you? The most attention you gonna get out of me is when I fill a restraining order with your name."

Lucky enough did the bus arrive. Lucky enough for the whole party to forget both about nitpicking at Olivier's thoughts (Which she imagined would come next with the glances these two shared earlier and the unison in their arguments), and also about Theo's dubious orientation. She would imagine Ari would have earned his own fair share of edgelord germs but apparently he ain't swinging that way!

Once they reached the bus though, everyone got focused on their own little deals. Everyone except for Ari, who spoke up to the accussations done at the stop. Lucky enough, the place was almost deserted save for a couple of elders, so she had all her ears up for that drama.

"Damn, I feel bad for the people you dated already!" She called out, arms crossed under her bust as she leaned back on her seat.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

The two would begin their argument and Olivier would turn his music on and begin to drone them out. He would juggle working on his Japanese, which he felt he was making some progress on, and texting people back home. Theo was sleeping based on what he could tell when he glanced back.

Hey mom, I landed alright. We're on a bus to the place we're staying.
That's good honey! You met up with your internet friends alright?
Yeah, I found them pretty easy, hard to miss bunch if you ask me.
And you're on your way to visit your girlfriend?
Yeah, Nao.
And you haven't met her before?
Not outside of the game
And so...
Mom, it's Deep Dive, while she doesn't look like her model, I've met her.
You trust these people?
With my life mom.
Have a good time! Please use protection! Last thing I need is grandkids from across the world.
I will have a good time, and don't worry, I wont be making any grandkids for you.

Yo, Ollie, did you fly alright?
Yeah Tony, I'm omw to her village on a bus right now
Sick man! Have a good time.
How's the Troope doing?
Andrew is pissed that you beat him in the tourney, he swears you cheated.
If you call skill cheats sure.
Donnie is worried that you're gonna get promoted from squire to knight and force him into a squire role.
That's a bump up for him isn't he?
He likes being the jester.
Fair enough, any other issues?
Priscilla is mad you're fucking off to the other side of the world for like two weeks when the Vinnie wouldn't even approve her a day off for the NOVA meet and greet in Dallas.
Yeah well Priscilla didn't win a crown title for the Troope now did she?
How the fuck did you swing that anyways? I've never seen you move that fast.
Dude, you gotta get on this Terra grind man, I've been fighting so much on there that it's like bleeding over.
I just fucking might dude, can't have my squire outpacing me. Next thing you know I'll be supporting knight No 2 to your MC roles.
Lmao, get some sleep fucker. Make sure you stay on your side so you don't fuck with everyone else's sleep.
Ay, will do. Sleep well with your lady in your arms tonight chief.

All in all, the hour of the half trip basically flew by. He felt like he had a solid grasp on maneuvering a shopping center more or less, and if he needed to find the shitter he was set. Now he would have to help his friends learn these things, otherwise he would be stuck on asking people for directions to the potty for the whole trip.

The Bus would stop at Ogimi community center, allowing them to get off and leaving them to walk the rest of the way down the road to her house.

"Alright, according to directions here it's gonna be a nineteen minute walk up this road to her place."


@Jin

 

[Toko]

.

.

"Totemo aaatsuuu...!"

A loud whine escaped Nao as she slid the door shut behind her, reclining against the frame as a deep exhale left the woman. Honestly, summer was the worse season of the year... it should be illegal for it to be so warm when it wasn't even 10 in the morning yet!

[ Ollie-chan~ ]

Morning Bun Hun, hope you have a great day today!
I'm about to hit the hay, but I'll catch you later T-side?

Haaai, oyasumi Ollie-chan~
I'll log into Honeyhome this evening, see you then?​

The sudden text brought a smile to her lips, a soft giggle escaping the woman as she realized it was probably around 8PM or so for Olivier back in Texas. "... he must have a long day tomorrow." Her phone was placed on the counter then, Nao looking over at the sink where last night dishes were still waiting. "Right... that's what I get for not doing them yesterday before playing." With a sigh she headed over, better to get any chores out now while it was still early... otherwise they'd keep piling on for later.

[ Ollie-chan~ ]

Sounds good to me babe!
Also, I know I said I was going to sleep,
But damn I can't sleep
Fucking Tony is snoring like a bear again.

Again? (˃̣̣̥▽˂̣̣̥)
You have a long day tomorrow though...
Try rolling him onto his side?​

Got any plans for today? Anything special planned?

Iie, just got back from dropping the latest orders at the post office
Gonna work out now before the day gets too hot (╯︵╰,)​

She had just finished rinsing the last plate, placing it on the rack to dry out, when the vibrations of the phone by the table alerted Nao that she'd received new messages. A puzzled look crossed her face for a moment as she dried her hands on a kitchen towel, before giving a soft sigh as she saw the name on the notifications. "He really needs to figure something out with Tony about his snoring..." It wasn't the first time, and Nao was pretty sure it wouldn't be the last time either, that this same situation had unfolded... spanning all the way back to a time before the pair had officially started dating.

[ Ollie-chan~ ]

Oh, working up a sweat are ya?
I've been hitting the weights myself too, anything else going on today?

Yeah, a nice cold shower right after... the heat is unbearable this summer (⋟﹏⋞)
Mmm, brunch I guess...
Woke up late so I had to rush for the post office so no breakfast ╥﹏╥
. . .
You should really try to sleep though, didn't you have two different shows tomorrow?​

If I gotta I'll drag my sleeping bag out into the woods, it's a clear night tonight.

Wait... is that safe? ●﹏●​

Wish you were here tho, I could use a snuggle partner.

⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄-⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄​

I'm not super worried about tomarrow's show, I know it'll be a blast

I just don't want you to get hurt by accident because you're tired...​

I'll be fine lover. I just won that huge tournament, I'm on top of my game.

A blush colored the woman's cheeks at his choice of word, Nao still wasn't used to the openly blatant affection that Olivier would show her... in game or out of it. "Mattaku..." She understood it was a normal aspect of Westerner culture, and while she did try her best to embrace it Nao couldn't help but become flustered from time to time.

The phone had been placed on the counter once more, Nao walking away to a different room in the house before pulling out her yoga mat. For the next while the woman went through her exercise routine, unaware of the few buzzing sounds her phone had made in the process. It wasn't until she had finished, the mat now stored away once more, that Nao noticed the alerts on the phone's screen just as she picked up a glass of water for a drink.

[ Ollie-chan~ ]

Totally weird question
Because I'm doing that thing where Im laying awake in my bed left to my own thoughts
Thinking about shit like, the future n stuff and how we might die if we fuck up
What do you think about like...kids and stuff?

"Phhbbfft!!!" She had just unlocked the screen to get a look, before the question of kids caused the woman to sputter before choking on her current drink. "N-Na-Nani...?!"

Her cheeks were now brightly flushed, the glass placed down on the counter before that same hand grabbed a towel to clean up the water mess on the surface. It took a few moments before Nao finally replied, the woman struggling to find the right words after being suddenly blindsided by the topic without prior warning.

[ Ollie-chan~ ]

I... honestly, I never really thought about them.
Kids are cute, and I like them, but...
They're also a big responsibility... and I'm not sure if I'd be a good enough mom in the first place.​

That's fair, I've just been thinking about like...
Legacy n shit
What will survive me if I die and all that jazz

Zurui...

The blush still lingered on her face, though the shade had gone down a notch or two, as she read the next words that popped up on the screen. It wasn't like she was against kids, but the topic just hadn't been something that Nao had honestly thought about before... and it wasn't one she expected to hear after only three weeks and some change of officially dating Olivier.

Man, Westerners were really something else entirely...

[ Ollie-chan~ ]

Anyways, I'm gonna try and get comfy and sleep, sorry to bother you hun~

Oyasumi Ollie-chan... daisuki yo ​

I love you more

She placed the phone face down onto the kitchen counter, a heavy weight suddenly lingering on her chest as she wondered if perhaps her words weren't what Olivier had expected to hear... but aware that trying to breach the subject more over text would probably leave too much room for misunderstandings, on both sides. Perhaps they could talk more about it tonight when she logged into TerraSphere and met up with the Felis...

A sigh escaped her lips at the thought, her hand rubbing the back of her neck before the woman frowned—reminded now that she was currently sweaty after working out. "Yeah, definitely time for a shower..." At least the cool water would help counter the insane heat for the day, her eyes glancing to a clock as she noticed it was almost midday now.

@Brutus Dahlgren @Yugam @Fiora Di Angelo @Jin

 

[Jin]

"NIneteen minutes?" Theo was absolutely despondent. "The bus couldn't have kept going for like, two, three miles? There's no automated walkway? Isn't this supposed to be one of the most high tech countries in the world??"

He realized the others were already walking ahead, and he grabbed his baggage hurriedly. If he didn't keep up, they would leave him behind. "Don't know if you noticed, but I'm a scrawny cashier who goes home and dives for literally 2/3 of the day. I'm not exactly the pinnacle of physical fitness-- hey, wait up!"

Theo rushed along, sweaty and stumbling over himself. "I swear to god, Ari!" he called out, huffing. They were so excited that they were practically jogging. He was ready to keel over at the slightest touch. "From now on leave me out of your ill-advised-poorly-planned-last-minute trips across the entire world."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

The bus soon came to a stop, the slow lurch pulling Ari out of his half sleep. Earbuds out, back in their case, chucked in his bag, and the four all stepped off the bus in little Ogimi. Yu raised his arms over his head and stretched, then shaking his legs a little which had fallen asleep on the long ride over.

"Nineteen minutes? The bus couldn't have kept going for like, two, three miles? There's no automated walkway?"

"Aw, c'mon Theo," Ari said to the man with a grin on his face. "Your mom made me promise I'd make you touch grass. Just enjoy the outdoors for once in your fuckin' life."

For his part, Ari couldn't be more excited to just get to walk through the forested countryside of a foreign land. It was so different from home, where everything was brick, concrete, and asphalt. There was real, honest to goodness green.

The crew began their short trek to Toko's place (Theo lagging behind and complaining the whole way). And though Ari's smile had long since faded, he was enjoying himself. Fresh air, the faint scent of sea salt, a soft breeze. It was enough to almost make the man forget why he hated his own existence so much.

Almost. Because Ari was soon reminded why he hated life itself when Nico finally ruined all the peace and quiet.

"This motherfucker never touched grass either."

"Why do you always have to ruin things by opening your goddamn mouth?"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

"Alright that ain't so bad, let's get on with leg day." She mentioned back to Olivier once the group begun their long-haul to finish the 'Meet Nao!' Questline, which she hoped would reward her with a nice, tasty bowl full of japanese food, or deep fried food, both worked.

It made it hard to believe how Theo lagged behind. She wasn't THAT fit either (Despite giving herself less credit than she should). Sure, she walked everywhere since she hates buses and all, but didn't they all were on a budget? How could any of them afford not walking on their lives even?!

"This motherfucker never touched grass either." She looked back at Theo, a hand gesturing back at Ari as if to give some kind of reassurance to the weeb. "Be chill, we are almost there, just eighteen minutes and thirty more seconds to go!" Whimsical in attitude, Nico then set her sights to the road, to the emerald beauty that surrounded them, as it was not an usual opportunity to get a look at the world outside of the concrete jungle.

"Why do you always have to ruin things by opening your goddamn mouth?"

A vein practically popped on her neck at that point, as silence got ruptured by fuckboy noises.

"You been playing the longest game of 'The outside is lava' in history and you expect me not to point it out?" Nico retorted. "Can't wait until you find out what water is. Shame I can't wash away the filth you call a face, that shit's permanent." She smirked, speeding up on her pace to try and match Olivier's.

"Sooo, I was thinking... What if we surprise her tonight with something cool? You guys are having your anniversary, right? We could bake a cake or buy her some chocolates, I'm willing to pool money for something like that." Figuring it could be a way to end the first day with Nao on a high note, and wingman Oli to get some Cool Boyfriend Points™ with his love-bun. "The other two jerks will join in for sure."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Olivier would pivot and walk backwards to look at the group raising an eyebrow at them all sternly. "I am totally down with doing something cool like baking a cake or getting something neat to cook for dinner or something, that would be rad. What wouldn't be rad is if you guys keep this negging shit on for the entirety of the trip." His blue eyes would dart from Nico to Theo to Ari. "I get it, you guys have a really cute frenemy love hate sort of thing going on and the vibe is just sort of constantly harping on eachother, but so help me god if I have to play mediator and pull the three of you off eachothers throats the entire trip I will lose my shit. We are now..." He would look down to his phone. "Ten minutes away, get it all out of your systems now so when we arrive on her doorstep and I knock on it, we will arrive as a unit and look like a group of well developed and chill fucking people eh?" He would squint at them.

"Please? I only get to meet Nao in person once, I just want this night to go well. Hell you guys can murder eachother once we get to the hotel if you want."

Ari would salute him and give him a smirk. "Yes sir!"
Nico's neck vein would throb before replying "If these fuckers behave I'll behave."
Theo would motion to the two before stating "This doesn't involve me."

Olivier would look to the group and nod as each of them assented, then relaxing the stress from his body he would smile. "Thank you." He would grin slightly. "So when we get there, let me take point and knock okay?" He would trudge up the last bit of the road preparing his mental fortitude. Finally her home would come into view and his heart would begin to thump rapidly. "Alright ladies and gentlefrogs," he would muse aloud. "It's showtime."

He would walk up her door, his heart racing faster and faster. Finally, he would steel himself and reach for the doorbell, giving it a ring.

"Chotto matte kudasai!" He would hear Nao call out. He would take a deep breath.

Thump Thump Thump

The door would slide open and he would find himself standing a mere few inches from his lover. His breath would catch in his throat for a mere moment, before he could finally muster up a simple statement.

"Man, I just really couldn't sleep, but I told you my next show would be amazing."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

.

.

Diiing duuun~

She had finished dressing just before the doorbell to her home suddenly rang, a confused look crossing Nao's face as her hands worked a towel to remove the extra water from her hair. "Ah, chotto matte kudasaiii!" Nao was pretty sure that she didn't have any scheduled deliveries for the day, and if it had been her neighbors they would normally announce themselves along with the doorbell ring.

"Okashii dess..." The soft green hand towel was now drapped over her shoulders as Nao made her way over to the front door, able to see a faint shadow from the other side as the woman worked on unlocking it before sliding it open. "Dare dess kah...?!"

"Man, I just really couldn't sleep, but I told you my next show would be amazing."

Confusion gave way to a look of surprise as her eyes fell on a very familiar face—although one that Nao had certainly not been expecting to physically see here in her doorstep—as the woman opened the door. ". . . !" There was a momentary pause before a blush rapidly began to spread on Nao's cheeks, reaching all the way to the tip of the ears, as a look of realization finally settled in... before the Japanese woman immediately tried to slide the door shut.

Nani yo...?! I must be seeing things—!!!

Her thought process was interrupted when a foot managed to wedge itself in the door's path, just quick enough to prevent Nao from closing it all the way...

She hadn't even seen the other three figures a few steps behind the man.

@Jin

 

[Jin]

He watched with baited breath as He Who Was Brutus Yet Not knocked. They waited. Finally, a muffled response came in the language he still did not understand. He stared at the door, then turned to look at Olivier, then back at the door. This happened several times before he finally tilted his head.

"Is she, ah," he looked at the door, "not coming?"

"She's coming, she said just a minute."

Theo looked at the door again. It started to slide open, and the woman inside stared blankly at Olivier. As the recognition crept across her features, she started to slide the door shut. Olivier went to wedge his foot in the door, and with a sudden expression of alarm, Theo jumped forward and caught the man by the back of the shirt.

"Hey hey woah, I don't know about you, but I'd rather not give anyone the wrong idea," he said, glancing one way down the road, then the other. There were a handful of locals looking their way. "I don't know what kind of laws Okinawa has about Forced Entry, but maybe we should explore other options for clearing up this misunderstanding?"

He glanced back to Nico and Ari. "A misunderstanding, by the way, we could have totally avoided by telling her that we were coming."

No, Theo, what an outlandish and horrible idea! If he could have rolled his eyes any harder, the momentum would have seen them tossed from his skull and bouncing down the path. "Ohio grassy mass, Nay-oh sun," Theo greeted. "Olivier thought it would be a great idea if we came all the way across the globe to your house to surprise you without any notice. My name's Theo. It's great to meet you."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Ari was less than half a second from snapping back at Nico, the only thing stopping him being that she'd already latched herself to Olivier, coming up with the idea that they should get a cake, or do some cooking for Olivier and Toko's anniversary. Which...admittedly wasn't that bad of an idea. And for some reason, the fact the knowledge that his IQ didn't drop every time Nico opened her mouth pissed him off. The man glared at the woman as Olivier turned around and began to go off on them about their behavior.

And, okay, Ari felt a little bad about that. Snapping to attention, Ari saluted Olivier, "Yes sir!" giving the man the most meaningful promise to keep his shit on lock for Toko's sake. He even refrained from shooting Nico another dirty look as she agreed to behave if he and Theo did.

The rest of the walk up to Toko's house was filled with silence, and they all watched as Olivier walked up to the door and gently rapped his knuckles on the door. They could hear a voice calling from inside, and the door then slid open. And then slid close. Except it didn't. Theo grabbed Olivier's shoulder, chaos was beginning to break, out and for once it wasn't the two troublemakers' fault.

"Uh, think she's surprised to see us?" Ari asked, leaning towards Nico.

Theo then introduced himself to Toko, and so Ari then stepped up to the plate, raising a peace sign over his head and giving the woman a cheeky smile. "I bet you recognize me, ey? You owe me a rematch!"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

It made her stomach spin and her blood boil, but at the same time, she couldn't blame him- Blaming Olivier for wanting them all to behave was something not even she would do, as that would cross a line.

It's for Toko. Do it for Toko She thought to herself, eyes closed as her lips barely mouthed these words in silence, fists pumping close to her as she got herself some well needed motivation to bear with Brutus's Dad mode once he scolded them all for being a bunch of children.

With Ari and Theo doing their fair share, she just crossed her arms, almost about to burst a vein and get herself in need of medical attention right on spot before replying. "If these fuckers behave I'll behave." With fairly less intensity than usual, which by now should be easy for Oli to read on Nico-Nico Speech that this was a 'yes'

When they finally arrived, the door slid open, with Oli taking the initiative only to have the door slammed right on his face, and Theo going full creep by stopping the lovebird from opening the door and swipe his lover's legs and catch her in the most romantic and westernized way possible.

Right, so much for an anniversary...

"A misunderstanding, by the way, we could have totally avoided by telling her that we were coming." Theo shot them a glance with that, and Nico just tilted her head and gave him the rock's eyebrow.

"Oh hey my finger is rising on it's own." She gestured to her hand, just as she started to crank the imaginary lever next to her right hand's pinky, her right middle finger slowly rising up with dramatic suspense to give him the wordless, universally known 'Fuck you'

Ari then leaned closer (ew) to whisper something, and she humoured him for a moment before giving him a sidelook, then back at the house, then back at Ari. "Surprised? She's having a panic attack I bet." And they were out of luck being in the middle of fucking NOWHERE to call an ambulance.

Theo then introduced himself, and so did Ari, and Nico just pushed through both, a hand over Theo's shoulders just to shove him to the side with a gorilla grip to match and make sure she didn't just yeet him away, and a wide smile on her face. "Hey bun-bun, I'm the badass italian blonde... That ain't blonde right now."

@Brutus Dahlgren