Private Meet the Family, Day 1: Surprise!

[Toko]

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She was thankful when the pinkett quickly stood up from her spot, deciding to take the tray Nao carried into her hands, before both girls settled back down close to one another as before. The drinks were passed around with the help of Ollie, as well as the little yougurt treats, and all through it Nao was none the wiser about the moment Ari and Nico had been sharing prior to her return.

"I used to drink a bit more when obaachan was around, she always loved a nice cup of sake with her food~"

Her attention turned to Nico as the girl asked about the refreshments Nao had brought over, the woman smiling as she pointed at the large glass first. "This is honey and ginger iced green tea... the lemon and cucumber slices, along with the mint, make it nice and refreshing for this summer weather." She then pointed to the tiny little yogurt bottle.

"That is a yakult, a little yogurt treat. It has a nice tangy flavor, and I always feels it opens my appetite right before a big meal."

The group was certainly heading towards a big meal soon indeed, at least from what Nao had been able to visually gauge the small amount of time she'd been in the kitchen with Theo. Soon the topic turned towards additional activities they could do, Nao slowly sipping her own yogurt treat as she listened.

"I think the day after tomorrow should be good for a beach day, according to the weather it was expected to be clear and sunny skies... unlike the cloudy weather expected today and tomorrow, and I think they also announced a high chance of rain for tomorrow too."

That said a beach day certainly sounded like something fun for the group to do, though that thought was tabled for the moment when Nico lamented not being able to get her hands on all the weeb shit she would like.

"Well... if you guys are interested we could do a weekend stayover trip to Okinawa-shi?" It would give them a couple of days to prepare and book things, considering today was a Sunday, before a thought crossed the woman. "Ah, if that works for everyone of course, I'm not sure when you're all scheduled for your departure flight...?"

After all, Ollie had never answered that particular question...

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Olivier would squint at Ari as he shunned his prying eyebrow waggles, offering him nothing in return. Fine then motherfucker, keep your secrets, I'll get them from you when you're drunk. He would eye the bottle of yakult and swig it down, admiring it's...yogurtyness. He wasn't a huge fan, but he didn't hate it either. He would lean back and hand Nico a can of Kirin from behind Nao, and set one beside Ari. Sipping his drink, he would also offer one to Nao, feeling like one of the poor vendors who walked around his faire breaking the immersion hawking cold beer and peanuts.

Lastly, he would take one and set it in front of himself, saving it for a later moment. "Kanpai" he would proffer, raising his glass of tea to any who would klink with him before taking a sip. Better to rehydrate before boozing up, last thing he needed was to get sloppy first. He wasn't Brutus, so even beer like this could bring him low if he wasn't careful. He would listen to the suggestions of what they all had in mind, although Nao's question made him realize he'd forgotten to mention how long they were going to be in town. He would lower his glass to reply before accidentally inhaling some tea down the wrong pipe sending him into a coughing/sputtering fit for a moment.

"Ack-Gomen," he would manage after about thirty seconds of coughing. "We're gonna be flying out not next Sunday, but the following Sunday, so we'll be here for two weeks. As for plans, I don't have too much terribly in mind, just uh..." He would blush slightly, scratching his head. "Wednesday I wanna take Nao stargazing, but that's about it for me."

After a moment, making sure he was fine, he would return to sipping the tea and keep his own interjections for later. He would honestly prefer to see what everyone had in mind first before adding anything else in, the last thing he wanted to do was take over the conversation too much, run his mouth for too long, and then have people be annoyed with him. Sure they were his friends, but all but one of them were familiar with Brutus Dahlgren, the boisterous giant who made talking and spending time with people easy. Part of him worried that they like Brutus, and not the man sitting with them, but he could never be caught dead saying that out loud.

No sir.

Instead, he would simply listen and enjoy their company, a warm smile on his face as he cherished this moment.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Yu nodded a quiet thanks to Oli as the man handed him a beer, taking the cold can from him and setting it to the side. He could have it with their dinner. Theo should be finishing up pretty soon, Ari guessed. Because this anime bullshit meant that time really didn't flow in a way that made any sense, and what should have been maybe five or ten minutes of conversation was actually thirty.

"Oh, yeah, a beach day could be fun," Ari chipped into the conversation as he clinked glasses with Oli. "We could do some barbecue or something too. I'm pretty handy with a grill, if I do say so myself." Honestly, Ari had always been better with a barbecue than he was with pots and pans.

At Nico's comment of weeb shit, Ari perked up slightly, leaning forward as Nao suggested they venture into Okinawa. "Oh, yeah, I'd love to go see Okinawa City!" he said excitedly. "I've always wanted to go visit. Plus, I also wanna see if I can find some anime merch, or some souvenirs. Maybe a keychain or something." Or a shit ton of clothing, because, let's be honest, anime clothing was gonna fall right in with Ari's e-boy aesthetic.

As Oli brought up stargazing with Nao though, Ari donned a devilish grin as he bumped shoulders with the man. "Oooh, date night, I see," the man teased, wagging his eyebrows slightly. "I bet the night sky is really pretty out here," he then said, relieving Oli from his pestering as he took a quick sip of tea. "Anyways, you guys keep talkin' about whatcha'd like to do, I'm gonna go check on Theo and see if I can get an ETA on food. My only request, I wanna go on a hike or something. I need to go touch grass or something while I'm out here." he joked, before standing up and heading inside.

Ari reappeared a couple minutes later saying, "Food's almost ready. Uh Nao, I'll help set the table and stuff if you show me where everything is."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

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"Kanpai!!" She shouted out, Kirin on hand as she clashed it straight with Ollie's glass of tea, gently enough not to spill anything, despite what almost looked like a punch with how she swung her hand.

Toko offered an explanation on the beverages, the ones she already lost interest of given the can on her hand. Between sips she gave nod after nod, because poor Nao deserved at least to be taken seriously despite how much green tea turned her off from knowing anything else about it. The yogurt that wasn't called yogurt though... That's when she got her interest like a flytrap. "Sounds tasty." She commented, another gulp from her can helped her fill the dead space between a lie and not knowing what else to describe about it. "I'll take some of that yogert later tonight if you still got some on the fridge." A thumbs up later, and Nico started to listen to the back and forth between ideas.

Ollie had a lovebird scenario planned already with his 'stargazing', and she just pikahue'd at him the moment he blurped out such suggestion.

On the other hand, Ari had his own plans to see Okinawa apparently. "Hey hey now, Okinawa City ain't a bad idea. Kills two birds in one shot I say. We should really just aim to what the majority wants to be honest, and if we can fit it in on the first place. We all got our budgets here." Something particulary stingy for her, but nonetheless important.

Finally Nao suggested something Okinawa related. Okinawa-shi? Eh, close enough.

"Okinawa-yes, i'm all in for it." She teased, pulling one last gulp of her can, turning herself to face Nao. "Leave it to me, I'll go with the idiot." She offered. "You already been runnin' on and about. Theo probably can tell us where it is anyways." And no, she wasn't about to let her react to it as Nico stood back up with a big dumb smile on her lips and aimed to snatch Ari by his arm to try and, hopefully with his agreement on this, drag him off to the kitchen. "Well be back reeeeal soon!"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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She had happily finished her bit of yogurt, the cold Kirin can accepted from Olivier but unopened as Nao placed it besides herself—intending on having it with the meal instead of by its lonesome. "Kanpai~!" Her own voice joined the others as Nao raised her own glass of iced green tea, softly clinking with the others before quietly sipping on the contents as she listened to the conversation on hand... that is until Ollie begun to choke.

"Ah, daijoobu...?" Her own glass was placed down as Nao leaned just a bit closer to the man, a concern look on her face before she gave a small sigh of relief as he recovered from his coughing fit. "Naruhodo... in that case a weekend trip to Okinawa-shi should be doable." She couldn't help the blush that crossed her cheeks as Olivier presented a plan of his own for Wednesday, her hands grasping the glass of green tea firmly as the woman busied herself on drinking... though the smile lingering on her lips showed she was rather fond of the idea.

"Ah, h-hai—"

As Ari called out for her help Nao had been quick to accept, but before she could place her glass down and go over Nico was already standing and stopping the woman from doing anything else for them. The pinkett's logic was pretty solid as well, causing the woman to settle back down, the drink now on her lap as Nao continued to nurse it carefully.

Was she nervous?
Abso-fucking-lutely...!

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"I mean, we could also beach it up in Okinawa City if we don't fry too hard over here. Isn't this region known for some absolutely gorgeous shores? I'd be down for some more shore time for sure." He would rattle off onto a little tongue twister, smirking slightly "Perhaps collect and sell some seashells as well?"

The idea of an extended trip seemed fairly fun, and given it would probably take Nao to a part of the island she didn't frequent often, it made this trip more exciting for her and he was all for that. "As for grilling count me out. I can rock an actual stove, but I always lose control of the heat as and scorch the shit out of anything on a grill."

He wouldn't bother dignifying the ghastly gremlin face that Nico had adopted at mention of his date idea, his eyes instead darting to Ari who had bumped into him as he began to tease the not so giant. In Terrasphere this gentle comradery would have been easily dealt with, the giant Brutus would have remained unmoved and would perhaps have nudged the twink back and sent him flying.

Olivier was, as we all know, not Brutus.

Instead, the bump sent him off balance ever so slightly, sending him to his right and bumping closer into Nao who had been leaning in to check on him. He managed to catch himself inches from her face, managing to save his tea in the process as the other two stood up and went to go set the table. He found himself staring into her ruby eyes with his own sapphire gaze, a blush forming across his face as he jolted back to right himself.

"G-Gomen." He would stammer nervously, shooting a glare back to the heels of Ari and Nico. It would seem that turnabout was in fact, fair play and they had left the two love birds together. "Do you..." he paused, trailing off. "Think something happened when we left them out here? Their whole vibe has...changed."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Blessedly, Ari had come back just in time to see that in the aftermath of his bumping shoulders with Oli, he and Nao were still locked mere inches from each other's faces. The man had suppress the urge to laugh and quip 'and now kiss' like the juvenile he was.

Instead, the man was suddenly grabbed and pulled inside by Nico. "Do you even know where the dishes are!?" the man cried out as he was practically dragged to the kitchen.

Of course...Nico did not know where anything was. On the bright side, all the food was ready, and placed rather nicely in various dishes. Sadly, Theo was nowhere to be seen, so they couldn't just ask the man where anything was.

"Well, guess we better start looking," the man sighed, starting to open cabinets one by one. It couldn't be that hard, right? There were only so many places Nao could put dishes and utensils after all.

"Man, that is a lot of chopsticks..."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

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Was it a coincidence? Yup it gotta be. Where she tried to leave them alone, the fact Ari not only made them bump on eachother, but managed to MOVE Ollie at all left her transfixed on spot. Did he even had that much strength? Nah, it had to be Ollie going easy on him, or perhaps plotted with the eboy himself to get that bump to happen.

Still, the man himself could only glare, powerless at how her masterful plan came along. Nao was too shy to say no, and her flimsy arguments certainly did the trick to convince her. Of course, that left them with one problem once her pearly smile went past the sliding door and the both of them ended up on the Kitchen, one small little detail, diminutive really, minuscule in the grand scheme of things.

"Nnnope!" She shook off her head, not once stopping her ceaseless yanking of his arm. She didn't even knew where the kitchen was, but that didn't prove hard to solve with her hound's nose twitching at the alluring scent of a warm meal.

Theo had been busy, and the cuisine they were presented with once they made it to their destination just had her mouth watering with anticipation. If only she could distract Ari for a few seconds, enough to steal a bite out of one of the several dishes in display, tempting her into the sin of gluttony...

"Uhuh..." He mentioned chopsticks, but her own brain wandered elsewhere for a few moments and left him alone to search for utensils, until a ten second delay after where she paired up and begun to do some searching of her own. "By the way nice bumping, Eboy. Bet Ollie is hatin' our guts now for leavin' them alone again." Secretive, tone hushed into mere whispers. These sliding doors were always made out of thin paper on her animes at least, a not-so-soundproof material. The bane of plotting. "It's like a match made in heaven. Nerveous big guy and kawaii japanese chic- Aha, bingo." She found plates, at last!

And hopefully by now Ari had gotten more than just chopsticks. It's not like they couldn't take everything in rounds, some back and forth would certainly relieve Ollie's shoulders after forcing these two back to privacy.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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One moment she had been leaning in to ensure her boyfriend wasn’t dying via coughing, and the next Anaí had found here face suddenly mere inches away from his as Ari’s friendly shoulder bump had caught Olivier off balance. Her eyes had opened wide in surprise, a look that was mirrored—even if to a lesser extent—on his face as well, before both had quickly jolted upright as if an electrical current had ran up their backs.

T-Too close…!
"A-Ah, ki ni shinai de…!"

She would try to wave away the situation, though her cheeks were still bright red, as Nao busied herself for a few moments with her glass of iced green tea. In the distance she could hear the voices of Ari and Nico as they talked and rummaged through the kitchen… hopefully they were doing alright in their quest for locating plates and utensils.

"… eh? You think so?"

Ollie’s sudden inquiry regarding their friends caught Nao by surprise, the woman tilting her head slightly to denote her initial confusion before an index finger rose to tap her bottom lip as she pondered.

"I’m not sure…? Sure, she did punch him in the game that one time… but they must have patched up since? After all you wouldn’t travel half way across the world with someone you disliked, ne?"

Unlike Olivier however the Japanese woman hadn’t really been able to experience the duo’s dynamic for long and, unbeknown to Nao, she wasn’t even aware that their current behavior in front of her was meant to be their best behavior as they had promised Ollie for their two week stay in Japan.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Olivier would nervously fiddle with his glass of green tea which was not dangerously close to empty, soon to rob him of anything to excuse the silence. Her face was just a red as his, which was a good sign? Bad? His mind was so flustered he couldn't really piece it all together.

"Eh, the trip here was..." He would frown slightly, chewing on his lower lip. "Turbulent. Those two have a very...antagonistic friendship? Kinda like how I tease you? But instead of their hearts going all doki doki and getting cute and flustered they choose violence."

He would take another careful sip of his tea, draining it till nothing but ice and the cool garnishes remained, setting the glass aside and turning his full attention to Nao. "Though, if I'm being honest I think it's mostly in that we're all united in our desire to see you hun."

Gods she was so fucking adorable when she was all flustered. The way she fiddled with her glass nervously, the way she would fidget with her hair, he didn't need hypertense to see why she was so fucking cute. "Plus, any excuse to gather people who dunked on that Colossus and the Kurungar in one place sounds like one hell of a good time."

He would adjust for a moment, reaching over to grab the pitcher of tea and refilling his glass. "You need a top off?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Ari hadn't been paying enough attention to whatever it was that Nico was doing to realize that she was sampling the dishes like a starving peasant before they even made it to the table. It wasn't until she had joined him in searching for dishes and utensils again that he made any real notice of her again.

"Hmm?" he hummed in reply to the girl's comment. "Oh, yeah, I guess," he said with a chuckle as he opened up another cabinet, this one filled with glass. At least they'd gotten that far. "I didn't really expect him to go flying like that," Ari admitted. "I mean, the man looks like a goddamn brick wall. Guess he's not as sturdy as I thought," he went on with an absent shrug as he began to pull down glasses for everyone.

"They are cute as hell though. I just hope Oli doesn't like, press her a little too hard or something and make her feel uncomfortable. Seemed like he was moving a little too fast earlier." Admittedly, it was probably just the culture shock that Theo had mentioned before. Rambunctious, forward, and very loud Westerners didn't exactly fit in with the quiet and composed Eastern mentality. Chances were good the two would figure it out between them, and the other would root for them all the while. Well, maybe not Theo, the man hardly did any rooting at all. But Ari and Nico would.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

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Flying would have been an understatement, and it really was, that's why she just laughed her ass off outloud. A cacophany that could be heard from the other side. "Dude you hit him like a boss fight, probably gave him veteran flashbacks of that giant temple we woke up on the swamp." Ah but Ari wasn't there sadly, or she couldn't remember him that well- How many black haired dudes get stuck in a VR game anyways? Probably thousands, all look alikes to her. "Cool story though, remind me to tell ya' about it. I asked Toko for a hug and she refused, and I yelled at Ollie when he got emo about a slime he shot from his cannon, and then we got hired by Terrasphere's Nasa program. Good times." Nostalgia started to shove her like Ari shoved Ollie moments earlier.

He picked the glasses, and in tandem, the plates and utensils were all neatly prepared with the former below and the latter on top. "Fast? Man, I love Ollie not gonna lie, but the guy went harder than french revolution. I mean, I kinda get why but..." Well, no she didn't, and how she spaced out proved that much. "Yeah I agree with you honestly, I just hope he doesn't scare her off. By the way since we are on topic, you and Theo acted like little shits with him on the bus stop." Passive in tone, as if to avoid demonizing him and edgeman. Less of a scold, more of a remark. "Like, I agree yeah but, he is just excited that's all. He will calm down tomorrow I bet, and if not then you can give him 'The Talk'"

"By the way get the food." A drowsy remark afflicted by the corruption of sleep depravation, or just talking too much out of a sudden and having her brainpower rot, Nico stepped off and carried over the hefty plates & utensils with one arm, the left reserved for the glasses, finding her first stop on the sliding door, where the pair might be able to see the sillohuete behind it.

Fuck. Okay, leg it is.

With both of her arms preoccupied, she instead rised her leg up, making sure to balance everything accordingly, and then went to push the thin door with her feet, like a total gamer would, only problem is?

This is not a regular door.

'CRUSH!' The tear of the poor sliding door as it now had a hole, with her pink hello kitty sock in full visibility to Nao and Ollie, as if the culprit wasn't obvious enough.

"FFFFFFUCK!"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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Her own iced tea was pretty much gone by now, the woman playing instead with the ice inside the glass using her straw. However that paused as Olivier described the relationship between Ari and Nico, causing Nao to chuckle at the mental imagery it provided.

"Y-You know... that does sound like them, actually~"

A hand rose to wipe a faint tear from the corner of her eye after she was able to stop laughing. "I s-see..." His statement about all of them wanting to come see her left the woman feeling embarrassed, her blush renewed at the words, though she did offer Ollie a soft smile.

"... I'm happy to hear everyone likes me enough to jump on a flight half way across the world to meet me."

The mention of the temle golem and Kurungaar earned a softer chuckle from Nao, a nod of agreement given in return. She was certainly happy at the opportunity of meeting everyone in the real world, not to mention she had been quite surprised by Jin/Theo too! As Ollie motioned the pitcher towards her glass Nao shook her head softly, fearing if she kept drinking more she'd get full before the food was served.

"A-Ah, no, I'm alright for now—"
"FFFFFFUCK!"
"Min'na daijoobu?!"

The glass she had been fiddling was instantly placed down before Nao got up, quickly crossing the meditation room as she heaaded for the kitchen before coming to a stop as Nico came into view.

"Aa, yokattaaah..."

There was a relieved sigh that escaped Nao as she confirmed Ari and Nico were perfectly fine and not hurt, before she noticed the puncture on the shoji screen leading to the kitchen.

"Don't worry about that... it's an easy fix."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"FFFFFFUCK!"

Ollie would rise to his feet as Nao rose up as well. His heart rate spiking into the stratosphere. A million and eight variations of them lighting Nao's house on fire, or someone needing a trip to the ER raced through his mind as he followed after her. God damnit you two, we're not even through day one.

He would find Nao standing in the room outside the kitchen, and his eyes would shoot to the pink hello kitty sock sticking out of the screen door. Immediately ace detective Olivier could peace together the scene on the other side. Nico with her arms full of something, Ari probably in a similar boat. They were bringing food to them? But why? The dinner table was right there, so unless something was afoot, there was no need to drag it all out?

"Are you okay?" He would call out through the screen, not bothering to open it lest he make the problem worse for the ditzy woman on the other side.

"If you need help fixing it, let me know..." He would turn to Nao and give her a wry smile, you know the type, the one that white people give you on the side of the street after answering something along the lines of "Living the dream" when you ask them how they're doing. "I've done a lot of tent patching and such with the troope, it might not be the same but I'm more than willing to help clean up after those two..."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

"Okay, I did not bump him that hard," Ari replied with a chuckle as he finally located all the utensils (the western utensils...cause they were not about to eat Italian dishes with chopsticks), gathering them for transport to the dining room. "Sounds like you guys had a better time with whatever the fuck you were fighting during the fever than we did." The man visibly shuddered at the thought of the undead dryder matron, the ear-splitting shrieks. And that hadn't even been the worst of it all. The bugs. The goddamn bugs. Eight dead that day. One permanent. That was way too sobering a thought for right now.

Thank God Nico was funny.

"The French Revolution?" Ari laughed at her description of Oli. "I mean, I guess you're not wrong, but interesting choice of descriptor."

What was even funnier though? The fact that she deigned to start patronizing him on the way he and Theo had tried to make sure Oli had all his bases covered. Because, as the trip had thus far shown, he did not. "Hey, we're just looking out for the dude," Ari said to Nico, his jaw tightening. "Obviously the guy hadn't thought everything through. Just don't want him screwing himself over," the said as he began to gather up the food, a plate in each hand. He'd have to come back to grab the rest-

"FFFFFFUCK!"

Ari winced at the sudden noise, whirling around, though remaining careful to not send the food flying. He had been about to ask if Nico was alright when he'd spotted exactly what the problem was. "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me," the man deadpanned, before setting aside the plates of food as Nao walked in, taking this far better than it seemed anyone else.

"Here, hold on," Ari grumbled at the one person in the world who was somehow even dumber than he was. "Don't yank your foot out, let's not make this hole any bigger," he said as he knelt down halfway, placing a hand on the small of Nico's back to help keep her from falling over and just tearing out the whole door entirely, while the other hand softly gripped her calf to help guide her foot out without further damaging the panel.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

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It came off as a surprise that he showed up on the fever fiasco. Did he really manage to sneak by her gaze? Doubtful, he wasn't with them on the swamp, but neither did she notice him at the camp- Twice at that. Must have been an act of good luck, or a case of 'ignorance is a bliss'.

Well, her opinions did change enough to see him in a different light now that they could hold a conversation without devolving into fisticuffs like usual...

Her mind had been everywhere but her destination, and the shoji paid for it as her stupid strength made short work of the poor screen, at least enough for her foot to make it through, and to cuss out to the world, to japan for it's feeble doors and her own leg for the brute strength she's been gifted. While she panicked, Nao gave the iconic anime response when one is relieved, while Ollie gave her the more westernized version of it.

"I'm okay, just... Kinda stuck. Fuck, I'm gonna rip this thing in two-" Before she could finish that thought, a voice chirped behind her to curse when no one else would and her blood froze for a split of a second when Ari of everyone in this house decided to take matter in his hands. A cold sweat ran down her back when she saw him kneel down next to her, the urge to kick him in the face felt unreal, but unfortunately her hello kitty foot was stuck on origami door.

"Here, hold on,"

"Hold on to WHAT Fucko?!" She hissed out, disapproving glance back at Ari who proved to know her ankle better than she did with how he avoided any extra tear upon the screen. Her arm holding the glasses rested atop his head to further balance herself, her whole body relied on that one hand of his on her lower back, and once they got her foot out to taste freedom from the paper-thin prison that is japanese sliding screens, she inclined her body against Ari, making sure to wrap an arm around his shoulders as she kept balancing plate and glasses alike.

Once that little moment out of a cliche was done for and she recovered her footing, Nico released him from the prison that were her arms. "Not like you could make it any bigger though." She teased, smugness restored after her rescue was successful, yet it didn't last much in the presence of Nao herself, as she so remembered this isn't her home, nor her country, nor... Anything.

And that's when guilt truly got to her, fangs gnawing at her lower lips as she struggled to even hold eyes up to their hostess. "I'll pay for it!" She jumped right back into action. "I'll uhhh!" Say something smart, apologize! "I'll help you fix it and all. Ari and Ollie here can help me out even, they are pretty good at... Fixing!" The most nerveous wink in existence followed.

And puppy eyes to both of the men she just made mention of, as if to really get her out of this one. Specially considering the little detail neither of them knew - She didn't book a hotel or anything, so if she would sleep outside like a dog or not all relied on the impression she gave Nao.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"It's quite alright... they're not as hard to patch up as it looks. Besides, it gives me an excuse now to get a bit creative with it."

Besides it wasn't like it was an expensive repair either, shoji paper was relatively cheap to acquire and Nao always had spares stored away in case accidents like this one happened. She waited until the Hello Kitty sock was finally pulled away and into freedom to walk closer, a hand carefully sliding the door open before she gave Nico a soft smile.

"Mmm, that sounds like a good idea..." Carefully she reached over to help relieve Nico of some of the load she'd been carrying. "... who knows, it might be a fun activity for a slow day."

She was none the wiser to the somewhat tender moment that had transpired between the two younger members of the group, the shoji screen offering enough privacy and clouding their figures. Her hands were now carrying two of the large plates along with the many utensils that Nico had gathered on top of them, moving over to the table by the living room as the woman begun to set the table.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Ollie squinted as he watched the silhouettes dance behind the screen. A million and five thoughts were dancing through his own head. Unsure of how this entire situation had come about, but also, curious about the lack of profuse swearing coming from that side. He would have sworn they'd have been cursing up a storm, but Ari had managed to untangle Nico with hardly an incident or a shout.

Curious and curiouser.

It looked like things were getting spicy, or so he would think at least. He would chuckle a bit and take some of the plates from Ari and raise an eyebrow.

"No Theo?" He would ask cocking his head to the side slightly before turning back to Nao, "Let me help love." Setting some of the plates down, he would move quickly to make sure everything had proper utensils set up.

The idea of a rainy day repair sesh didn't seem awful, if anything it would be an interesting activity. Learning how to repair traditional Japanese sliding doors.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Ari rolled his eyes as he helped Nico free herself from the shoji's grasp at her creative usage of the word 'fuck'. In truth, he was surprised the girl didn't continue insulting him, or hell, even punch him, the moment he'd touched her. It wasn't worth ruining that fact by making some snide remark though. Enjoy the small victories.

Having succeeded in pulling Nico's foot from the door without worsening the damage, the man stood back up, making a small show of dusting his hands.

"Not like you could make it any bigger though."

The deadpan stare Ari shot her was quickly becoming a habit. Lifting a hand, the man delivered a swift flick to the girl's forehead, just as Nao slid the door open.

"I can take care of it tomorrow, if you guys want," Ari responded, choosing to ignore the fact that Nico had just volunteered him for the job. "For now, lets eat, I'm fucking starving." The man picked up the dishes of food and brought it over to the table and placing them down. "Any drinks you guys want from the fridge?" the man asked as he went back to the kitchen to grab the last remaining dish of food.

@Fiora Di Angelo