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“I fear I do not understand,” Lovecraft laments, and with that declaration, all of Aya’s hopes shrivel up and die. She’s completely lost, and Bram was no help at all, so Lovecraft was their final chance at figuring out what the hell Aya’s math homework is asking her to do.
Her head falls, thumping against the table, and she lets out a groan. It didn’t seem so hard when her teacher explained how to do it in class, but then she got home and looked at the problems and suddenly she couldn’t remember how to do them at all. Why are fractions so confusing?! When is she ever going to need this in real life?!
“I apologize,” Lovecraft says, as if that makes the situation any better. Him feeling bad about not being able to help won’t get Aya to pass her next test! Ugh. Why did Bram have to end up dating the one other ability user in Yokohama who is just as ancient as he is? Why couldn’t he have picked, like, some super math genius instead?
Aya frowns. The two super geniuses she knows are Dazai and Ranpo, and she feels like either of those options would be about a billion times worse than Lovecraft. So maybe not a math genius. Maybe just someone who knows a normal amount about math and could help her out. Someone who attended high school in the last decade, at least. Or…just someone who attended high school at all.
“Do not worry.” Bram places a hand on Lovecraft’s shoulder. “It is not as if this math is a skill utilized in daily life. I believe I knew how to do it once, many years ago, but it has long since left my memory due to lack of use.”
“That’s still not helping,” Aya points out. Even if she totally agrees that this is worthless. Who the hell cares if you can convert a fraction to a decimal?! There are, like, actual problems in the world to deal with. Maybe if schools taught you how to be a functional member of society instead of this bullshit, there would be less ability users trying to destroy the world. Did anyone ever think of that?
Bram purses his lips. He leans over Aya’s shoulder, taking another look at the homework assignment. She started doing a few of the problems, but then she got confused, so what she does have written down just looks like random chicken scratch. Aya can’t even make sense of it herself.
“Perhaps… Ah, no. I am confused by the wording of the instructions.”
“Yeah, me too!”
“I meant…I may be more help if they were printed in English, unfortunately.”
“Oh!” Aya jumps up from her seat. “We can translate them with my phone!” She darts off to grab her phone from her backpack, then returns in a flash. Though she was only gone for a few seconds, Lovecraft took the opportunity of her absence to wrap itself around Bram, placing kisses to his neck.
Aya wrinkles her nose. “Ew.”
Neither Lovecraft nor Bram apologize, or even have the decency to look slightly sorry. Aya used to think they weren’t as bad as some of the people at the Agency, but the more time she spends around them, the worse they get. It’s like everyone she knows is obsessed with PDA for some reason.
She snaps a picture of the instructions on her homework, then lets her translator app work its magic. She has no idea how to read English, so she passes the phone to Bram, hoping that the translation is good enough that he can understand the assignment.
But silence stretches onward for several very long moments, and Aya’s reignited hope quickly begins to die again. Bram spends a while squinting at her screen. He zooms in and then out. He tilts his head, and then he tilts the phone. He shows it to Lovecraft, who merely shrugs.
Bram hands Aya’s phone back with a defeated sigh. “I still do not understand. Apologies, my princess. Perhaps you can use that device to ask someone from the Agency for assistance?”
Aya frowns. Kunikida knows a lot about math, but sometimes, he knows too much, and then his explanations go straight over Aya’s head. Dazai and Ranpo are smart but annoying, and also Aya gets the feeling that Dazai hates her for no reason. Atsushi, Kenji, and Kyouka don’t know any more about math than Aya does. Jun’ichirou might be able to help, except it’s Thursday night, which means he’s busy with his partners.
It’s looking pretty bleak.
Aya opens up her contact list. Chuuya is good at physics but sucks at explaining things. Lucy is really good at basic math, but she got stumped by the long division homework Aya had last week. Sigma can’t explain how to do math because they were born with the knowledge of it and never had to actually learn. Poe scares her. She doesn’t even know why she has Jouno’s number, but she doubts they would be helpful either.
Damn.
Maybe she should just give up. Who cares about flunking one test? It’s not like she lives with her dad anymore, and Bram won’t get mad when he’s just as lost with this as she is. Actually, he probably doesn’t even know how to check her grades, so if she doesn’t show him the failed test, he’ll never know.
Perfect!
“Perhaps we should sleep on it,” Lovecraft muses. “I feel a nap is in order. I am exhausted.”
It’s not exactly what Aya had in mind, but the timing works out—she can definitely twist it into something more fun if she tries hard enough.
“I’m not tired! Besides, we haven’t even eaten yet.”
“Nor has the princess finished her homework,” Bram points out. He kisses Lovecraft’s cheek. “You may lay down if you wish. I will join you in a bit.”
Lovecraft hums.
“This is stupid anyway!” Aya declares. “Can we watch a movie?”
“Kunikida-san informed me I am no longer permitted to let you talk me into allowing you to neglect your homework,” Bram notes.
“But none of us know how to do it!”
Bram considers this. Lovecraft nuzzles its face deeper into Bram’s neck. It murmurs something Aya can’t make out, but whatever it is causes Bram’s resolve to break.
“Oh, very well,” he relents. “I must admit these ‘movies’ you have been introducing me to are…interesting.”
“Yes!” Aya cheers. “Thank you, thank you! I’ll pick a good movie this time, I promise. Oh, oh, and can we make popcorn? Or order food? I’m hungry. I can order it on my phone if you want!”
“I would like chocolate,” Lovecraft murmurs.
Bram nods sharply. “Aya-chan, find a place that will deliver us chocolate.”
—
A few minutes later, the three of them have settled on the couch. The food is scheduled to arrive shortly, and in the meantime, Aya browses through Netflix in search of a good movie to watch. Kunikida logged into his account for Bram, and technically, Aya has her own profile that is kids’ shows only, but she just uses Dazai’s profile to watch things.
Maybe that’s why he hates her.
Oh, well. He can deal with it.
She skims through his recently watched section first, which is really just a bunch of the dumbest shit imaginable, and then she decides to search for monster movies. She had a wonderful time showing Bram the Twilight series, so maybe she can find something of equal caliber for Lovecraft.
(Or—not equal, exactly; nothing will hold a candle to the cultural Moment that was Twilight—but something fun and mildly cringey and atrociously inaccurate to real life.)
Ultimately she decides on a Godzilla movie, because she’s never seen it before and it looks like something her father wouldn’t approve of her watching because it’s ‘made for boys’ or ‘too scary’ or whatever. Plus, a reptile monster is kind of close to a squid monster, so maybe Lovecraft will appreciate it. If they don’t fall asleep first.
Aya rolls her eyes to herself as she presses play.
“Is this another vampire movie?” Bram asks warily.
“Nope! It’s a different kind of monster this time.”
On his other side, Lovecraft hums. Or maybe they’re already snoring? It’ll have to wake up when the food gets here, at least, so Aya isn’t too worried. The beginning of the movie is usually the most boring part anyway.
The food arrives about fifteen minutes in, and Aya pauses the movie before dashing over to the door to get it. Bram trails behind her, watching from afar. Probably because the last time Aya tried to get the food herself, the delivery guy just looked at her all judgy-like and asked where her parents were.
Once their dinner has been obtained, Aya and Bram return to the living room. Aya unpacks everything, passing Lovecraft his slice of chocolate cake and bowl of noodles, which will probably end up being shared with Bram even though Bram doesn’t technically need to eat. Then, she brings her own bowl of noodles into her lap, saving her dessert for afterwards, because she can be responsible when she wants to.
She tells Bram how to unpause the movie, and they continue watching as they eat.
The movie itself is kind of awful, but Bram and Lovecraft provide dry commentary that makes it way better, and Aya has so much fun that she forgets about the stress of her math homework entirely.
Although, she could do without Lovecraft feeding Bram noodles and bites of cake literally right next to her. Like, hello?! She’s trying to eat her own food here!!
(She complains about it, but begrudgingly, she has to admit it is a little cute. And she’s happy that Bram is happy. Even if the PDA is a little much.)
Once they’ve finished the food, Aya curls up next to Bram, stifling a yawn. Lovecraft does the same on his other side, its tentacles wrapping around his torso, reaching all the way over to Aya. After a moment, when she doesn’t pull away, it wraps one lightly around her wrist as well.
She smiles into Bram’s arm, where she knows Lovecraft can’t see. She has to be picky about who Bram dates, to make sure they’re actually good for him, and she refuses to let Lovecraft see her approval so easily.
But…she does really like them.
Aya must drift off at some point, because one moment, the main characters are getting ready for the big final battle against Godzilla, and then she blinks, and suddenly it’s dark and quiet.
She lifts her head, mind spinning slowly as she attempts to take in her surroundings. She’s still on the couch in Bram’s apartment, but she must have slid down, because her head had been lying on his lap instead of against his shoulder.
A blanket was draped over her at one point, and it slips off as she pushes herself up into a sitting position. Both Bram and Lovecraft appear to be asleep. The TV has been turned off, so it’s hard to see for sure with only a faint yellow glow seeping in through the windows. But neither of them make any indication of noticing that Aya has awoken.
She pokes Bram’s arm.
No response.
He’s leaning into Lovecraft, who has him held securely in their grip as they snore softly. They both look so peaceful. It would be mean to wake them, Aya thinks. Usually she doesn’t have any issue being mean, but it’s different when it’s Bram. He cares about her like no one else has since her mother was alive.
Something heavy and painful settles in her gut at that thought. She wonders if the way Bram cares for her is the way her father should have cared—if gentleness shouldn’t have been the job of her mother alone. If good fathers have movie nights and try to help with homework and brush your hair and take you shopping and let you fall asleep with your head in their lap.
Bram stirs, cracking one eye open. “Is something the matter, princess?” he whispers.
For a moment, Aya simply stares at him. And at Lovecraft. At how comfortable they are in each other’s embrace, and how easy it is for them to simply exist in the other’s presence. Aya doesn’t understand their connection, exactly—there is something about it that goes beyond human comprehension, she thinks. But she knows it makes both of them happy. She believes they make each other happy just as much as Bram makes her happy, though in a different sort of way.
“No,” she answers finally. “Everything is perfect.”