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Toby was sitting in the living room couch, the sun has just rised and they kind of just wanted to chill on a better spot after sitting down on that uncomfortable wooden chair they have in their room, the chair was too small for them to be comfortable. the problem with this option is that Kato would probably be the first to wake up, so they'd have to interact.
the thought made them frown angrily, they have to deal with him everyday, but if they leave Kato, that means leaving the rest of the group too, and they don't have a job to afford a home anyway. Toby thought of getting along with Kato, but never acted upon it. however Aly did try to make the two get along in the past and still does, Toby figured this by themselves some time ago, it made them feel a bit embarrassed.
they sure did jinx it, because take a look at that, Kato's here, what fun - they look away, they clearly do not want interaction right now, but Kato didn't bother to read their expression.
Kato sits down far from Toby, how kind, that wasn't enough to Toby though, they moved even further from him, they didn't really talk to each other until-
Kato: "I've been meaning to ask, what the hell's in your room??"
There he is, starting a conversation, they'd rather be in the most crowded place possible than be with him.
Toby sighs and rolls their eyes, "Oh you know it.." they sounded more tired than anything, not even that mad.
Kato smiles curiously, tempted to know what in there. "Well, I've never seen your room!! actually I don't think ANYBODY has seen your room!!"
Toby: "Too bad, Kitkat.. not even I know what's in my room; I keep forgeting." they joked, but.. their bad memory is a real issue that they refuse to talk about.
Kato tried to annoy them, "Show me, Show me, Show me, Show me, Show me, Show me, Show me, Show me, Show me, Show me, Show me-
Toby: "Ughh fine! just shut up, I'll give you a glance!" they were clearly being sarcastic.
Kato: "Really?"
Toby: "No." they said, and walked to their room, locking it.
they weren't in the mood to deal with this guy today - but this is the norm for Kato at this point, he wouldn't know if they're mad because they hate him or perhaps they're having a bad day, the truth is that Kato doesn't really know what's Toby's problem, are they really just an asshole? or was he the problem? no wonder Aly wants them to get along so badly.
the day went normally for the gang, although Toby stayed in their room, they didn't want to talk to anyone, they're pretty introverted so it must be normal for them, but to not exit their room at all? it's kind of concerning, so Aly checked in on them.
Toby was resting at the moment, since sleeping isn't really possible for them unfortunately, if they could sleep - they'd nap a ton, they're already used to being active at night.
they heard a knock on their door.. they hoped it's not Kato, since he wanted to see their room so bad, but they got up anyway and slightly opened the door to take a peek to see who's interrupting their "nap"
it's Aly, thank god.
"Hey, are you okay? I haven't really seen you today.." she said confusingly.
"it's okay." they said blankly
"Thanks for checking in on me." the fact Aly cares for them always made them happy, if they can't be read by their facial expression then their actions can say a lot about them.
"Need anything else?"
"No.."
Toby carefully closed the door, trying not to make much noise.
---
Today wasn't really interesting, it was already midnight by now, Toby does whatever at night, they were about to write something until-
knock knock
they stand up and walk over to the door.
Toby: "Kato.. is that you!?"
"Do you think I'd open the door or something!?"
Kato: "I can't sleep! and I wanna to know what's in your room..!"
so dramatic, that's so stupid, they thought to themselves.
they then figured that if they show their room to him he'll finally shut up.
they fully open the door and cross their arms, still looking a bit pissed, not saying anything.
Kato takes a step in, the first thing he looks at is their piano. aswell as a desk with an open notebook and a pencil next to it, seemingly nothing written on it, and various different bowties near the edge of the desk, too.
the only source of light was the blue lantern on the desk, they also had a shelf of books on the right side of the wall and a blanket on the floor with a pillow next to the piano, which confused Kato for obvious reasons; resting on the floor seems like hell.
there was also a shovel at the corner of the room, for some reason.
Kato, extremely confused: "Where did you get that piano?"
Toby: "Ehhhhh.. Don't worry about it-
Kato: "Woahhhh.. Can you play it..?"
Toby: "What?"
Toby looked pale.. as usual...
it didn't annoy them or anything, it just.. made them feel confused - it just didn't made sense to them that Kato is asking for a favor.. from them.. maybe it was a chance to get to know him better.. but they were at denial; they were taking this reaction a bit too seriously.
there was a bit of silence before Toby finally broke it.
"I guess I can.. although if someone wakes up because of the noise.. the blame is on you." they pointed at him.
they dragged the wooden chair that was at their desk, making it facing the piano, they sat down with a bad posture.
but they hesitated to begin playing; not because they didn't know what to play, it's just that this whole thing made them feel so nervous for some reason, they are playing the piano for KATO of all people. wow.
the idea of someone knowing about this made them feel embarrassed, they don't want people to know they'd care enough to play a song for him, let alone talk to him at midnight.
although it wasn't very obvious to Kato what was going through Toby's head right now, Toby's facial expressions are completely unreadable when it comes to negative emotions, it's just something they need to deal with. Kato always wonders what Toby is feeling. Yeah they get pissed at him all the time, but is that all there is to it?
after a long silence, they finally begun playing a relaxing melody that fitted the midnight vibe.
they played it by muscle memory, not perfectly though, they'd sometimes pause too long trying to figure out where the next note is, and often they'd play the wrong note and try to correct it, it made them feel even more anxious. despite not playing for a whole audience; playing for Kato alone gave that feeling, this was exactly why they won't let anyone in their room, it all felt so intimate for some reason, too intimate.
the tune didn't last long though, they wanted to keep it short as possible. when it ended, Toby turned further away from Kato, who was standing next to them. they were waiting for a response.
"Woahh.. That was pretty cool!"
"thanks.."
Toby's face lit-up, suddenly they felt calm, they tried not to smile but failed, it truly flattered them.
it was the first time they ever smiled at Kato out of comfort.
heck, it was the first time they let someone into their room, and that lucky person is Kato, it all felt so special.
"You should probably go to sleep.." they said softly.
"Yeah..!" Kato walked away, not closing the door, which should've annoyed them, but it surprisingly didn't really bother them much.
they needed to process what just happened before closing the door. they felt nice now despite how their day started, this was like an apology to that.