Chapter Text
REI'S POV - 23rd December
"Sayazaka's cool, we exchanged numbers the other day, and he's really funny; funny as in he's really stupid, but I don't mind it if it gives me a good laugh.
When we first met, I thought he was trying to rob me... 😿 I'm glad he was nice though, he bought those prawns for you.
I've also learnt he really likes cats... "
"What? You hate cats though..?"
"Yeah... I don't understand why he likes them so much, whenever I see him he's always around the strays."
"That's annoying..."
"I'll survive--hey, didn't you have a cat when you were younger?"
She looked out the window, avoiding his question, but she couldn't avoid his gaze, a pair of curious and concerned eyes piercing through her.
She sighed and responded:
"I think so, might've been a dog. I dont remember." She went silent again.
'I don't think it would've been a dog' --was what he wanted to say, but he kept quiet.
"How about inviting him tomorrow?" --Vivian suggested.
"What-- who?" Rei's eyes widened, then narrowed again. "Oh, Sayazaka?"
She nodded.
"He'll probably be too busy feeding the cats." Rei rolled his eyes. "But I can ask him."
Vivian chuckled.
"You're so stupid." --she leaned back, lying on the bed and staring at the peeled paint on the popcorn ceiling.
KAI'S POV
Mrp.
He felt it brush up against his knee and looked down, hands frozen above the soil.
"Why, hello there, Kuma."
It made a rumbling noise. It was purring as it continued to rub its head against his knee.
He chuckled and shook his head, continuing to pat the soil smooth. He reached his hand out without looking to grab the watering can he had placed there. Instead of the cold handle, he felt his hand close into a fist.
He turned to the side, baffled.
"Wha- where's the watering can??" --he looked from side to side, his gaze returning to the cat.
"Did you see the watering can, Kuma?"
Prreow.
Kuma rolled onto its back, pawing at his ankles.
Kai sighed and scanned around for the missing watering can again, before reluctantly reaching to pet Kuma.
"You're distracting me..."
The cat only purred in response as Kai scratched its chin, before rolling over to stand up and brushed up against his knee again.
Kai could only laugh at the cat as he stroked it, before getting up and stretching his legs.
"Yikes, my legs are so sore, Kuma."
It mewled loudly.
Kai walked around, checking in the shed for the watering can. Not finding it, he felt a little lost.
'Where could I have left that can...?' --he thought to himself, scratching his head.
Inside the house, he checked the conjoined living room/kitchen area, but he didn't find it.
CLATTER
Kai froze--it came from the bathroom.
Kai slowly approached the door to the bathroom, pressing himself against the wall.
Was it an intruder?
He was scared, but he didn't want to risk them recking his parents' house... They would get so sad. He paused and took a deep breath before peering around the wall into the open bathroom.
There, on the counter, was Kuma. It was licking the sink. On the floor was a bottle of shampoo and the watering can, knocked over by some fluffy paws.
"Kuma, you're not supposed to be in here. You scared me so bad." The cat snapped its head in his direction, before its eyes set on Kai and it relaxed again, turning back and licking the sink.
He sighed and stepped inside, relaxing his shoulders and crouching down to pick up the discarded items.
Kai, full watering can in one hand and Kuma under the other, walked back outside.
"Kuma, don't come inside, my parents would kill me." --he warned, letting the cat jump out from under his arm.
It meowed in his direction and went to chew on some grass.
Sigh-- 'I wish I could take all of my kitties home...'
Kai stood infront of all the new plants he'd planted with his hands on his hips, feeling quite proud of himself.
'Phew... I'm so tired. I'm glad i can finally relax now, maybe I can finally finish that documentary on cats.'
He pulled the rubber gardening gloves off of his hands and put them back in the supply shed, full of old trinkets and tools.
After a shower and a nice change into his pajamas, he plopped on his twin bed, phone in hand.
As he turned it on using the fingerprint sensor--he'll never understand how it works--he saw the little WhatsApp icon in his notification bar. He swiped and saw it was a message from "Pirate guy".
"Are u busy tmrw?
Vivian and I are having one of them cool fancy Christmas dinners and we were wondering if you'd join."
His parents didn't do anything fancy on Christmas eve, only on the actual Christmas.
"sure 😁
what time should I come?"
Now he'll just wait for a reply.
Ping!
It hadn't even been a minute, and he'd already replied.
"Yayy :)
Would 19:00 be fine?"
He'd responded with a simple "yep" and closed WhatsApp, switching on the documentary.
REI'S POV - 21:50
There was a quick and loud knock on the door, the one you'd expect if a psychopath showed up at your house.
"Come in..." --he groaned.
The door slowly creaked open and in it stood a tired Vivian. She approached him, her socks almost silent as she stepped across the worn wood. She pulled out his desk chair and sat on it backwards, resting her chin on her forearms and staring at him.
"Why do you knock like that?" --he mumbled, placing his phone on a book and staring right back at her.
"Because I do--anyway--did cat dude respond yet?"
"Yeah, he's coming at 7."
Vivian nodded her head and looked to the side, her eyes fixating on the book laid on the nightstand.
"You don't read, do you?" --she asked, bluntly.
His eyes followed her gaze and landed on the book, the same one he set his phone down on.
"It's a notebook, I write random things in it." --he responded to the unsaid question.
She nodded again, not understanding but nodded nonetheless.
"What did you write today?" she asked, assuming he wrote today since it was ready on the nightstand, recently used.
Rei gulped and Vivian narrowed her eyes at him.
"... I wrote down a new technique I had an idea for while in the shower..." He averted his gaze as he saw her eyes widen. "Scribbled down some examples too."
"Rei... I'm sorry." Vivian apologized, looking at the floor. "Can I-... Can I see?" --she looked back up at him, he looked upset, but she understood.
"Sure." He chuckled. "Do you want to steal my techniques? I know I'm pro." --he teased as he reached for the notebook and flipped through it, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
Vivian giggled and shook her head. Rei found the page and handed it to Vivian.
"Drive hips downwards to set against the charge -- redirect opponent -- slam into the floor(table?) -- CONTINUE LATER. 23/12/2024" --was writen at the top right of the page in a frantic scrawl.
Scattered around it were a few sketches demonstrating said technique, and a few were of techniques you couldn't put into words.
The people were drawn almost like mannequins, no soul in them but still felt like humans.
"These are really good. You're talented, you know that?" --Vivian looked up at him, but he looked away.
"I wish I could fight." --it was so quiet it was almost a whisper.
Vivian kept quiet, she just stared at the sketches, engulfed in pity.
"I got inspiration from a book." --he stated bluntly.
Vivian looked at him again, raising an eyebrow.
"I thought you didn't read?" --she was confused, Rei didn't lie, so what does he mean?
"I read short manuals sometimes. But that was from an audiobook. It used to be my favourite book back then, and I couldn't not read it again." --he assured.
"Oh. That's cute." She closed the notebook and handed it back to him. "Keep it up, I'm going to bed."
"Alright."
24th December - Before Dinner
Vivian was the one to set the table, as she wasn't trusted cooking for all three of them. The table was tiny, only meant for about two people, even that was uncomfortable, but she still managed to fit a third chair in, the only price being she couldn't tuck them in fully.
She took the canvases off the tabletop and stacked them in her arms, placing them in a neat pile by the desk in their shared room.
Then she picked up the dirty glass balanced precariously on the corner of the desk, one shove away from falling and shattering all over the tiled floor.
"Hey, Rei-Rei, I'll wash this later alright? I'm just getting it out of the way." --she reassurred him so he didn't send the glass flying in her direction, avoiding a bullet.
He sighed.
"You better actually wash it, Vivian." -he threatened, knowing she'd most likely leave it to rot.
Vivian rolled her eyes as she walked back to the little table, now clear of any objects but still covered in stains and crumbs.
"Pass me a rag, would you?" --she said in his direction.
Now the tiny table was "fancy", said like that because its still so miniature, but now a red tablecloth that's bound to become stained by the time dinners over was laid over it, and three shiny yet mismatched plates were squished onto it, with their respective cutlery and glasses set out around them.
Right in the middle--ontop of the plates because there wasn't enough space between them to lay it on the table--, sat a bit of mistletoe, tied together with a ribbon, made to form a wonky bow. She would've put a candle or two as well, but the sizing of the table wouldn't allow it, unless someone didn't mind having candle for dinner instead of turkey... Which was highly unlikely.
She was proud of her work, loving the way the tiny table now looked.
"Rei!" --she called.
"No need to shout, I'm like five feet away." --he grumbled, a bit annoyed.
"Sorry, look at the pretty table! Isn't it nice?" --she was really proud.
"Yeah, did you put mistletoe on the plates?" --he asked, baffled but stiffling a laugh.
She glared at him.
"Doesn't it feel like it's missing something?" --she asked.
He hummed and looked at it again, thinking.
"Not really... Add some cushions, those chairs are a pain in the butt, literally." --he laughed at his own joke.
Vivian snickered and went to grab some cushions from the living room part of the conjoined rooms.
Rei was in charge of cooking the dinner, but he didn't know how to cook either. He'd looked up a tutorial on how to make dinner, but nothing useful showed up so he resorted to picking the menu himself.
Rei decided on some roast potatoes, turkey and peas.
'Should be easy enough.' --he thought, but soon found out he was quite wrong.