route_1065 | witty lyrics go here.

Who: The Dangans who happen to be in the area
Where: Goldenrod City
When: October 6th
Summary: Naegi finds out they have a house. Also it's Kirigiri's birthday. General house/birthday shenanigans happen.
Rating: Mondo's mouth is a thing so PG-13?
Log:

[ Needless to say, Naegi didn't expect any of this; who would expect finding a key and a note that indicated that an entire house had been left to Asahina - who wasn't with them anymore. Still, a house is a house and winter is drawing closer with each passing day and it would be nice to stay somewhere that isn't an inn or hotel room. Naegi's not going to look this gift Ponyta in the mouth.

Kirigiri and Naegi are the first to go there, to make sure it isn't some sort of trick or scam before informing the others. It looks nice despite the busted window on the first floor and the...door seems to have been left wide open.

Better start investigating, then. ]

[ Some time later, Naegi's encountered at least twenty-four Eeveelutions, a ton of food and pillows scattered all over the floor and he's concluded that no, it's not a trap. It just hasn't been taken care of and has been ruled by the Eevee Kingdom for some time. So he sends out the following text to the others: ]

Guys, I have good news! Come to the following address when you can, all right? It's the house next to the breeding center so it should be easy to find.

[ Pretend the address is included. :| Shortly afterwards, a second text message is sent out: ]

By the way, it's Kirigiri-san's birthday today.

[ ...Naegi has no idea why he knows this. He's pretty sure she hasn't mentioned it. At any rate, by the time the others get there there will pizza, cake and party hats but not much else because there's only so much you can do when you just remembered her birthday. Here's hoping the Eevees won't eat everything the second you turn around.

Also, floor plans for future reference. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She looks away at that first bit, because it's easy to say and she knows his heart is in the right place (it always is), but in her mind there's really no way to understand — really understand, in that petulant adolescent way she invokes sometimes, convinced she's always right and everyone else is wrong — without having been there and seen it. And he will, someday, but that's something that will come later for him, and so right now she's the only one who knows.

Which leaves it up to her as to whether or not she wants to try to tell him, and that's a conundrum in itself.]

...

[Breathe.]

We're the only ones who find it.

[She ducks her head, shoulders quivering a touch.]

The mastermind left a 'gift' for me.

[ The mention a "gift" makes Naegi look down at the present still in his hand. He just wanted to make her happy by surprising her with something nice for her birthday...and then he caused this to happen instead. ]

You don't have to say more if you don't want to.

[ ...Right, the birthday present. He should probably do something about it. ]

I can put this away if you like.

It's...

["It's fine", she wants to say, but she's tried that once before now and he'd called her on it, rightfully so. Really, it's more that she wants it to be fine; already she's starting to hate the vulnerability that allowed this to happen in the first place, the fact that she evidently couldn't control her own reaction even when all rational evidence pointed otherwise. She's supposed to be stronger than this (and she's always refused to let the influence of that man affect her before), and to see firsthand that she's not...

And it'd come at the expense of hurting Naegi-kun. She can see it from his perspective now, how it must look — an honest expression of kindness backfiring so spectacularly. It's really horrible, isn't it.

He'd wanted to make her happy.

Since when does she deserve that?]

Wait.

[Almost hesitant, she extends a gloved hand instead.]

No. Can...I see it?

S...sure.

[ He holds it out for her to take and open. The gift wrapping isn't isn't particularly good looking and the bow appears to be a bit crooked; it's the result of doing things in a hurry and it shows. Once Kirigiri opens it, she will find a pair of bojobo dolls inside. ]

[Ordinarily, she'd probably be the type to meticulously peel off the tape and unfold the paper and neatly set it aside in as close to one piece as possible, but this time she wastes no time in ripping right into the paper, saving only the bow before shredding through the rest of it.

She's not sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't bojobo dolls. When she gets the package open, she draws them out carefully and cups them in her hands, enthralled by the detail.]

...Thank you. I'll treasure them...

[Well, she seems to be perking up a bit, at least. And she fiddles gently with the limbs of the dolls as she continues, examining the handiwork.]

How did you know...?

[Whether she means the fact that she'd like the dolls, or the fact that it's her birthday in the first place, it's hard to say.]

[ Oh, she likes it. She really likes it. Naegi can't help but feel relieved, both because he apparently managed somehow to hit the jackpot in the "choosing a present that isn't junk" category and because she seems to be perking up now that she's shredded the gift wrap. ]

I'm not sure. I guess I just remembered it's your birthday.

Mm. Which means you must've known before...

[She fiddles with the dolls a little more, then looks up to regard him properly.]

I'm...glad. That you remembered, Naegi-kun.

I'm glad I remember it, too. It's not much but it's a start. I...I want to remember more things about you, Kirigiri-san. The things we did during those two years...

[And what she does here is something that Naegi's seen once before — back at school, when she'd had important information to tell him and had brushed past him in an effortless way, leaning in close to murmur the name Mukuro Ikusaba as she did. That's what she does now, her bojobo dolls still carefully nestled in one hand and the crumpled paper abandoned nearby; she steps forward, veers slightly to one side, comes up next to him and leans in close.

What she does here is something that he hasn't seen before, because rather than mouthing words against his ear, her lips briefly touch the curve of his cheek instead.]

I want that, too.

[And then, just like that, she's out the door and gone.]

[ ................................

...............

... ]

Huh?

[ As he stares after her, he slowly reaches up to touch where she had kissed him. ]

witty lyrics go here.

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