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Kaine is walking back from practice; Tamarack and Baxter with them as they all make their way back to the cul-de-sac. It’s a slow walk, Baxter and Kaine chatting about their different dance practices while Tamarack chimes in with her own questions now and then. Once they hit the road to the circle, they all say goodbye with the promise to meet up again the next time their practice classes end at the same time.
Kaine waits until both Tamarack and Baxter are out of sight before making their way over to Qiu’s house instead of their own. They knock on the door, not at all surprised when it’s Qiu’s dad that answers. “Oh. Hello there, Kaine. How’re you doing today?”
“Hi Mr. Lin. I'm doing fine, how’re you?”
“I'm doing great, haha. I assume you're here for Qiu?” Kaine nods. “They’ve been up in their room all day. Mom had to bring food to the door.”
“Ah...” Kaine sighs with a nod. “I’ll see if I can get them to come out for a bit, at least. If not, at least they got some social interaction today.”
Mr. Lin chuckles at that, but the sound is tired and Kaine shares the sentiment. They love Qiu, but they've been in a funk lately and it’s getting harder and harder to bear. They're let inside and quickly make their way upstairs to Qiu’s room, knocking on the door though they don't wait for a response before opening it. Kaine knows they won't get one.
“Autumn, I came to see you.”
Qiu’s laid up in bed, covers pulled over their head but Kaine can see the light of the phone underneath and hear the muffled noise of whatever’s on the screen. They go unacknowledged, but Kaine steps into the room anyway, closing the door behind themself. Kaine walks over and flops down on the bed, lifting the blanket up only a bit to peek at the person underneath.
Qiu looks up at them, indifferent, with the light of the phone reflecting off their face. “Hi.”
Kaine huffs fondly, leaning down to gently bump their foreheads together. “Hey. Your dad said you haven't been out of your room all day.”
Qiu hums, attention being taken by their phone screen again. “Yeah. I'm tired.”
“Mm... Too tired to go around the back with me? The temp is pretty nice out. You won't even need your coat. We could also bring your blanket out, if you want.”
Qiu hums again with a glance up at them, but doesn't give a verbal response. Only shuffles closer as they pull the blanket from over their head, so they can rest their head on Kaine’s shoulder.
Kaine chuckles at that, but doesn't insist on their previous question. “That’s okay,” they whisper. “We can stay in, too. What’re you watching?”
“YouTube.”
Kaine hums, making themself more comfortable as they settle into the bed. They’d be laying there for awhile.