Archive of Our Own

Tripwire hums and shifts, still gently scratching at the base of Shuriken’s horns. It’s been a few minutes, maybe even longer. They’ve zoned out, thought about other things. Gentle, soothing music in the background (playing on their phone, lost somewhere amongst the pillows), something random playing on his phone…perfect to relax. Which, honestly, they desperately need. Constantly. They always have too much stress. He does, too! Living two lives, even though they’ve sort of made him calm that down. For his sake, and theirs.

“Shuri?” They call out, peaking down at his absolutely blissed out face. Definitely half-asleep, and very much so having the time of his life. “Hi, Shuri,” they softly chirp, once he slowly blinks at them.

“Hi, Trip…” Yeah, absolutely half-asleep. Still, he reaches up to briefly press the back of his hand against their cheek, before going limp again. Just as desperate to touch them as they are to touch him. “What’s up?”

With a small bit of laughing, an expression of how happy they are to just be around him, they voice their thoughts. “Oh, not much. Just wanted to hear your lovely voice.”

The blush on his face is worth everything, by the way. The most precious treasure they could ever have. “No way. You’re lying. And… your voice is better.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder… er, wait, I have terrible eyesight… uh. Agree to disagree? Your voice is better.” Ignoring the claim of them lying, because they’re already backing out. It’s a stupid idea, anyway. Well, not stupid, just… embarrassing.

“Pfft… Trip, I’m not that oblivious. What do you want?” Seeing right through them. No matter how silly he is, he’s so emotionally smart. They wish he could see that, too. “...If you want to stop scratching me, the answer is no. Another hour, pleeaase?”

“Another hour? Swords, how long have I been doing this? You’re just terrible.” But they don’t stop. Instead, they use it as a way to buy time. This… feels scary to bring up. Yeah, the two are insanely close, dating, etc., etc… but. Scary. It’s intimacy on a whole new level, beyond cuddling and getting as physically close as possible.

But Shuriken doesn’t tolerate that. Instead, he actually manages to peel away from them and turn to face them, briefly elbowing them in the side before very quickly moving. “Tripwire. C’mon. I’ll bug you ALL night until you tell me!”

“Ooh, my Sillyken, the answer will stay no.” They boop him on the nose, then gently cup his face, both cheeks. “I chickened out. Sorry. Maybe I’ll tell you another time.”

A little too honest, considering the way he perks up and almost out of their hold. “Oh? Really, now? Are you saying there’s no way to persuade you? Not even if I share something super scary?” Using their own language against them. And he’s so unaware of it all. Just does it naturally. Opposites really do attract.

“...Mm, maybe. You go first.”

“Trip, you’re very obviously trying to get out of it.”

“You won’t want to share after I say mine.”

Ooh, he looks nervous now. “You’re not… it’s not negative, right?”

Oh. “No! No. Swords, no. It’s very positive. Just… distracting.” Immediate relief on his face. “Sorry, you’re still stuck with me forever and ever.”

“That’s the best thing I’ll ever hear,” he mumbles, squirming into their hold again… then freezing. “Wait. I’m being distracted. You!” Perks up again. “Swear to share after? I’ll hold you to it, or I’m sleeping at my siblings’ apartment for a week.”

Well, they don’t want that. “Worst case scenario… um, actually… one of the worser scenarios, you want to do that anyway after I share?”

He huffs, bringing his hands up to grasp their shoulders. “No way! You’re being paranoid, Trip.” But… yeah, they partially can’t help that. “I promise. I swear on my shozoku. I won’t leave.” He even says it as seriously as he can, making direct eye contact, even though they’re not able to maintain it. At least they can see the effort.

“...Fine. But if you react negatively, you have to keep it to yourself, so I don’t die or have a bad mental breakdown.” Tripwire takes a shaky breath, then smiles down at him, an attempt at reassurance, even after admitting to how seriously they are taking it.

Shuriken takes a few seconds to think of what he’s going to share. “Well, remember how Vine’s plants grow everywhere in the apartment complex?” He barely waits for their nod to continue, looking increasingly embarrassed. “Whenever it got bad, I’d break into different rooms and apartments to cut it down. Partially to keep anyone from filing a complaint.”

“Shuriken!” They feign a scolding tone, despite how ridiculous they find it. He knows the dangers of what he does, but they know he believes it optimal. “You’re just terrible. Breaking and entering?”

“Yeah… I broke into Katana’s apartment once, found him awake, lied and said ‘wrong apartment’ and left as fast as I could… never again. So I know the plants are bad in his apartment.” Barely a second goes by before he shifts from embarrassment to excitement. “So you’ll tell me now, Trip?”

“Swords, Shuri, one sec! I need to prepare, it’s super scary.”

He nods, and goes quiet.

Tripwire closes their eyes, turning their head away from him, steeling themself. Trying hard not to think about how it could go wrong, and instead thinking about how to best go about it. Eventually, they open their eyes and look at him again.

“Do you… want to hold my gear?” They’re not exactly done, and his eyes are already incredibly wide. “Maybe mess with it a little? I could… teach you how to use it? I-If you want.” They’re looking at the pillows. So they force themself to look at him again.

Well, that’s probably the most excited they’ve seen him. Overwhelmed, incredibly so, but definitely excited. Is he…? “Do–Don’t cry! I’m sorry!” Nervously, they use their thumbs to wipe at the corner of his eyes. Luckily, he already took off his makeup, hours ago. Not exactly good to wear in bed, since it’ll smudge all over him. Especially while crying.

With surprising strength, given the situation, Shuriken basically tackles them against the bed, pressing his face into their shoulder. Shaking lightly, definitely still fighting tears. They wrap their arms around him. He’s… definitely too overwhelmed for words, huh? Their fault, hyping it up so much. Plus, he’s the most sentimental inphernal they know, and they know… um, a few. Not the time to count.

So they give him some time, gently wrapping their arms around him. Still, better to explain now then set him back into tears later. “I really trust you, if my offer isn’t obvious enough. And we never can get physically close enough, so… spiritually get closer, I guess…? I know it’s… more significant to you than it is to me, but… I’ve thought about doing it from your perspective more than I have my own. What it would mean for you, because it’ll mean that to me, too.”

Oh, that is an ugly sob. They cannot help the small titter of laughter, which they quickly mumble a “sorry” for, kissing the top of his head, running a hand along his back. “I love you, Shuriken. I really do mean it when I say I want to spend ‘forever and ever’ with you.” Even though their forever is (theoretically) literal, and his is… limited. The thought crushes them a little. They have to make the most of it, to make up for that. They’re snapped out of the depressing line of thought from the borderline wail he makes, squirming to get as close as he can to them. It’s cute, how he gets when overwhelmed with things like this. Even if nothing else has been as bad (good?) as this before.

It does take a while for him to calm down enough to get coherent. “I love you too, Tripwire! I want to spend forever and ever with you, too! I really want to hold your gear!” Still shaky and full of tears, but they’re well aware he’s just… so happy. Which is the opposite of what they expected, embarrassingly enough. They believed that, maybe, the two weren’t actually close enough for this, and they were being delusional.

Tripwire shifts to sit up more, patting the spot on the bed usually reserved for him. “You gotta sit up for this, Shuri. Don’t want to risk any… accidents.”

He’s pretty quick to follow instructions for once, leaning up against them, melting into their side, rubbing at his soaked eyes.

“We should wait for you to be able to see before you try anything. So just… hold it for now, okay? Don’t mess with any buttons, or the wire itself.” A bit of a warning, out of concern for his safety, as they summon their gear, gently grabbing one of his hands and placing it on his palm. There’s no way to really describe it, but it…feels like putting themself into his palm? Literally. Something about the spiritual connection of gear and inphernal. It’s a bit jarring, like feeling themself in two places at once.

When his fingers gently curl around it, even just for a brief moment, they jolt. “Okay, I didn’t expect that to be such a prominent feeling.” They… maybe need to explain? They aren’t sure if he was doing any sort of gear sharing with his siblings. “You holding it. It’s a little scary? I’m not used to feeling so much.” Maybe they do have a way to explain it. “It’s like… how I imagine feeling would be without the emotional numbness.”

The sharp exhale is a bit more of a reaction than they expected. But they get the feeling it’s him trying to regulate whatever’s happening in his head. “Trip…” he mumbles, looking up at them, trying to convey so much with just his eyes. They’re both aware it’s not enough, and that neither of them can express everything. There’s a pain to that, such an intense desire to love harder and more.

“Quit crying, Shuri. There’s more fun stuff to do. Don’t you love rushing?” Teasing him, trying to lighten the mood a little.

But his laugh is small and weak, and he shakes his head, staring down at their gear again. It’s such a loving look that they feel jealous, even though it’s basically directed towards them still. Mental illness isn’t very rational, though. “No…” Such a shaky tone, like he’s about to lose the fight between him and his tears. “Not this,” yeah, the whisper makes it pretty clear that he did lose. Still, he takes another sharp breath, trying his hardest to keep going. “I never want to rush with you, Tripwire. I want…” he trails off, as if uncertain on what he does want. Or maybe how to word it? “Everything. As much as I can have, for as long as I can.” Simple, but the look on his face makes it clear it isn’t exactly what he wants to say. But it’s the closest thing he has, for now.

Not that that stops Tripwire from basically dying and resurrecting (it wouldn’t be the first time; Phighting has gotten them comfortable with the feeling). “I’m impatient. I won’t claim to be otherwise. I want everything as fast as possible, but… I like my slow moments with you. Especially when I’m tired.” Which is often. Residual mental problems from their previous identity is still a problem for them now, and it’s harder to heal when you open scars to learn what they are. To be able to heal properly. “I am very greedy, though. I want everything, too. As much as I can have, and then tons more. Which… admittedly, might be why I rush so much.”

Shuriken snorts, though it’s mostly a bunch of crying-related wetness. The tissue box is on his side of the bed, and they focus on fishing his phone out from wherever it goes tangled into the blanket, locating it off of sound. When they find it, they simply turn it off, handing it to him. Significantly much less wet partner. Soulmate? Big, scary word, but what else would they call him? Partner doesn’t feel big enough anymore. It hasn’t for a while. “Trip… you’re ridiculous.” There’s an impatient squirm from him. “Get back over here. Please. No please. Demand. Over here. Now. Please. Wait. No please.” Stuck in a loop of ingrained ‘please’ (Vine Staff’s effort) and demands (Tripwire’s behavior).

They free him, sitting next to him again, leaning over him to set his phone on the bedside table, next to the tissue box. “If you knock it down, I’m not picking it up for you. If it cracks, that’s your fault, too.” They’d pick up his phone a million times if he asked, even if they’d get annoyed and complain. But they do NOT want to encourage him to be more lazy. So he isn’t allowed to know that.

He makes some vague noise of acknowledgement, then snuggles into them. Still holding their gear, though the sensation isn’t as intimidating anymore. “I won’t be touching it for a while. Not when I have something this important right here.” Whether he’s talking about them or their gear… eh. Technically, it’s about them either way. They’re too detached from their gear, probably from disuse for so many years. It’s hard to remember that it is literally them that he’s holding, the actual them, technically. If their gear was destroyed, they would die, too. The soul is stored in the gear, or… something.

“This button is the ‘retract wire’ one,” they point at one of the buttons, gently pulling out some wire and pressing it to demonstrate. Obviously letting go of the wire as they do so, to avoid cuts. “You try. Pull some wire out.” Nervously, they weakly add, “slowly? It sounds like it’ll feel intense for me.”

While he nods and listens, they still jolt when his fingers touch the wire itself. Right. That’s the ‘heart’ or ‘core’ of their gear, no wonder it’s so… feely. “Okay, that’s very intense!” For a brief second, their mind drifts to his gear. “I wonder if that’s how it’d feel if someone straight-up touched yours? Since it’s all the main part, instead of mine being… the wire inside as the main part.”

Understandably, given they just expressed curiosity about his gear while letting him touch theirs, he gets a little embarrassed. “...That ‘hypothetical someone’ would be you over anyone else. And I assume yours is more sensitive than mine, since it has an… inside part?” They blink a few times, and he fumbles for an explanation. “Like touching the outside versus the inside of a mouth? Inner versus outer cheek.”

“Ohh. That makes sense. Using the mouth hypothetical, I guess yours doesn’t have one? An inner cheek.” Huh. That’s a weird thought. Being more sensitive than others. No, wait, that’s their normal. Right. Their sensitivity isn’t normal. But it is? It’s their normal, and normal for others like them. Ugh, they’re confusing themself.

“I suppose not.” All of a sudden, he looks on the verge of tears again. “Which makes this even more special…” wavering voice. He’s about to cry again, huh? “That you trust me enough to…” sniffle. “Touch you, in ways I can’t even imagine.” That almost feels like a challenge, but they aren’t able to rise to it. Between their inability to place their own emotions and their emotional numbness… there isn’t much to comprehend in the first place. So very little to explain.

Still, they reach to wipe away his tears. “You’re being a baby, Shuri. Your siblings would kill me if they knew I was making you cry so much.” They kiss his forehead, then reach to move his fingers, to have him hold their gear properly. “Like this.” It feels electric. Not in a ‘sparks of romance’ way, but like there’s something dangerous running through them both. Alive, aggressive, and free. “This is scary,” they mumble, using one of their three default words. Scary, silly, stupid.

“Scary is one way to put it,” he agrees, gently running his thumb in a circular motion. Or, maybe, a sort of cloud-like motion. Like Vine Staff’s arm, like his tattoo. It’s an important shape to him. “You really trust me with this? Shuriken, of all inphernals?”

“Why would I trust anyone else?”

He goes right back to tearing up. “I swear, we do this every week.” Go through his insecurities, where he vents about traits of his, and they counterargue, express how much they love each and every trait. Even the recklessness, and the impulsivity.

“I’ll do it every week, and one day you’ll believe me. I love Shuriken, not just the ‘good traits’. I love you for you, stupid.”

A snicker. “You got that right, at least. I’m not that smart, but at least I can be your idiot, and you can do math for me.” He’s just the worst. Math isn’t fun for them either, and they don’t want to do it. But they do it for him, don’t they?

“Keep that up, and I’m holding you hostage until you know how to do calculus. I never finished school, and I still know more math than you, Shuri-dear.”

All of sudden, perhaps trying to win the ‘argument’, he presses the button on their gear. The sensation itself is familiar, they barely even feel it at all, but the current behind it isn’t. They both jump, for slightly different reasons. “That’s like a tape measurer!” Shuriken very helpfully exclaims. As if they haven’t used that comparison countless times to multiple different people, and is likely the design inspiration behind their modifications.

“...I don’t even know how to describe what I just felt. You’d have to experience it yourself, which isn’t very possible.” It’s enough to make him freeze up. “I’m not mad. Just trying to figure out what I just felt. Um… almost like doing something you always do, but getting zapped by static electricity the entire time, which isn’t normal, and makes no sense.”

Considering how that sounds, his wince is pretty reasonable. “Yeesh. Sorry, Trip.”

They click their tongue, and shake their head. “Nah, it wasn’t too unpleasant. I can get used to that, pretty easily. It feels almost normal, just a little odd.”

Instead of giving them an answer, even just a noise or stupid joke, he kisses them. On the lips, just briefly. Silly grin on his face, looking like he won the lottery. “That sounds like you’re willing to let me keep messing with it. More than just tonight?”

“Shuri, you could take it with you on some vigilante night and I wouldn’t mind.”

Yeah, completely forgetting what that exactly means. He doesn’t. Silly grin vanishes in favor of a wobbly face trying not to cry, and they end up kissing him to keep him from blubbering out something. They love him, but he cries like a seal, and whines like a dog. They’ll deal with the tears soaking into their skin, not the repetition of the meaning. Considering how he is very much so eager to let them kiss him again and again, he doesn’t seem to mind being shut up.

Once they’re certain he isn’t about to go back to crying, they pull back, timidly wiping at their face to get rid of transferred tears. “I mean it. Once I get used to you messing with it, though, so I can do my own things instead of freaking out about sensations the whole time.” Another kiss, so he doesn’t start talking, and they can think. “This button cuts off the wire. Always grab a bit more than you think you need.” They place his finger on the other button, but don’t grab any wire. Letting him do it.

“The texture’s different,” he notes, sounding a little bewildered. “Is that so you remember which is which?” Without waiting for the answer, he’s already pulling out some wire, and pressing the button. It’s equivalent to letting someone carve at their horn growth, they’d say. Once the wire is disconnected, they can’t feel the touch. And the whole sensation of the process isn’t as intense as the other processes. Which is nice.

“I assume so. I don’t know what the original intent was. But it seems likely.” They kiss him again, just because they like kissing him. A lot. Too much? It’s nice texture, and one way to get close. If they could, they’d fuse into one being with him, that’s how close they need to be. Can’t get there, and no way are either of them sacrificing gear for a kid. Too young, immature, risky behaviors, and… well, there’s enough new-spawn out there that need caretakers. The easy explanation, the one the two would probably give if asked. But they’re both well aware that Tripwire wouldn’t be able to handle it, and that’s the real reason. Plus, they’re both not the nurturing type, so the new-spawn probably wouldn’t turn out too healthy. Especially with Tripwire’s… everything taken into consideration.

He nods, playing with the cut wire. Their stomach turns, and they get all nervous about him possibly cutting himself on it. But he’s being smart with it, not pressing it tightly against his skin at all. “I’m gonna figure out how to wrap my horns up like yours,” he declares, “and still have it look good.”

Yeah. The two tried that once, to match, and… he looked like some decorated tree. Wire looks good on their horns, not on his. They match in other ways, instead. Like the cloth of matching colors tied to each other. Pink, the color they have in common. His horns, Vine Staff, and Tripwire’s eyes. Maybe being albino is a good thing (ignoring their messed up eyes, the sensitivities, etc., etc…), since it guarantees that match. “Pfftt…. I think it’s more likely that you get asked what holiday you’re dressing up for.”

He makes a noise of offense, dropping the loose wire on their head, turning his attention back to their gear. “How long have you been using the same wire, anyway? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you change it?”

“Well, if it’s still functioning… don’t fix what’s not broken.” He looks slightly grossed out. “Shuri, it’s wire. Remind me of the last time you washed your mask?” They wash it weekly, but they’re pretty sure he hasn’t caught onto that yet.

That question is answered by the way he freezes up. “...It doesn’t smell bad yet. Or… anymore? It sort of used to, since I was lazy about cleaning off blood sometimes…” Swords. Their soulmate is the grossest. They lie. He’s pretty average in cleanliness, from what they’ve seen. And he does better for them.

“Because I’ve been cleaning it, stupid. There aren't any traces of blood, by the way. You’re welcome. Hard to find ways to do that without damaging the mask.”

The admission earns them a soft kiss on the cheek, and a bashful look. Another great treasure. Two treasures. “Thank you, Trip. You’re the best. Surely, someone would’ve figured that this random Thieves’ Den inphernal with pink horns was this totally famous Silver Shadow vigilante with green horns, and checked my coincidentally-the-same mask for blood. Seen none, and decided I couldn’t be Silver Shadow.”

They snicker, lightly bonking their head against his. “Yeah, obviously. You’re welcome, I save you yet again. You owe me a peaceful life together, and I get to make fun of you when your horns go grey.” They pause for a few seconds, then make a face. “Shuri, that blows. I’ll never get to go grey. I don’t have pigment for all that. It’s such a beautiful thing, and I’ll never get to do it.” But they shake their head, angling it just so… “You’ll just have to be beautiful for me. You always are, though.” Aggressive yank of their head, squawk from him. They had hooked their horn around his.

“Tripwire!” Shuriken scolds, with a quiet laugh. “How horrible. You’re going to look decently young forever, even when…” the happy atmosphere fades, just a little. They’re both thinking of the lifespan difference.

So they change the topic, try to make it bright again. “Better than being Ban Hammer, and looking thoughtless forever. Do you ever see his face and go ‘wow, bet that inphernal is having a thought right now!’? Nope. He never looks like he’s having one.”

It works. He laughs, absentmindedly flipping their gear over in his hand. “I don’t look at him much. But I do like looking at you. I like it a lot. Top ten favorite hobbies, easy.”

Scary. “Most of my gear is instinct. You know the basic ‘control’ of it, you just need to apply your understanding of physics to something a little different in the gravity department.” Are they changing the subject? Yep. Will they address it? No!

Thankfully, he’s well aware of that song and dance by now, and doesn’t push. He got a reaction, their embarrassment. There’s a faint burn in their cheeks. They’re lucky they barely blush, since it’s so apparent. It is on most inphernals, considering all the wild variety of colors in everything. “We can put that into practice some time. You help guide me through the motions. And… mm, actually, I don’t want you using my gear. It feels like a bad idea, giving someone who can barely see access to small, sharp objects.” Rude! Fair, entirely understandable, but rude!

“But I still get to hold it at some point, right?”

“Of course. Not tonight, though. Maybe… tomorrow night?”

Does he know? What tomorrow is? Does he keep track of the days? They do. They have an alarm, and it should be going off soon. How exciting. This is the prelude to the main event, which they have stashed under the bed. Since that’s designated as their storage space. They have a very advanced storage system, actually, which is managed with the wire from their gear. They can feel through it, like… a spider web…? Close enough.

“Okay. I’ll hold you to that. Tomorrow, I get to investigate.” It’s an exhilarating thought. Being allowed to hold his gear, to be trusted with his life literally in their hands. Intoxicating. Maybe he really shouldn’t let them.

“...Do not put it in your mouth.” They… were thinking about that, too. It’s obvious on their face, and he laughs. “Trip! It’s so sharp, and you want to cut up your mouth on it?”

They shrug, playfully tugging on the loose fabric of… “Hey, you’re wearing my shirt!” It’s one of their sleep shirts, considering that it’s big enough to be loose on him. “For the record, my tongue is already weird. Some extra cuts wouldn’t be too bad.” Geographical tongue, baby!

He grins and shakes his head. “You wear my clothes.” He does it way more than they do, and he knows it. “Besides, you know how to get clothes real comfy for sleep. I never find anything as comfortable anywhere.”

Does he know? Of course he doesn’t. No way he checked under the bed, right? He probably doesn’t even remember, right? It’s technically not his spawnday, or something? Since he and Vine Staff were spawned on the same day, but… the Darkage Clan picked a different day, to disassociate him from her. Still, the two celebrate on separate days for convenience. More focus on celebrating one, instead of trying to split it between two inphernals. And less monetary pressure.

Apparently, they’ve been silent for too long, since he’s up in their face. “Trip? Are you okay?” A glance back down at their gear. “Is this… too much? We can stop. I mean, I can’t exactly learn how to use this in bed, and we’re both too tired to actually do anything.”

“Yeah. Um,” awkwardly, they just… de-summon their gear. It’s smooth, so there isn’t any interference in the process if someone else is holding it. Noted. “Another time. When we’re less tired, and also not busy.”

Perfect timing, considering the loud, shrill, vibrating alarm that scares them both. Both of them jump, but Tripwire is quick to turn and fish around in the pillows until they find it. Big grin on their face, excitement gleaming in their eyes.

Once they turn it off, they angle towards Shuriken, slamming their hands down on his shoulders, which makes him flinch. “Happy Spawnday, Shuriken!”

Pure disbelief on his face. He’s frozen like that for a few seconds, then makes a face. “Worst spawnday gift ever. Taking your gear from me.”

“That’s not my gift, silly,” they let go of him, getting out of bed and immediately ducking under it. He says something, but they can’t hear it over their massive shuffling of small objects and crinkly things they keep. Okay, WHY is there a bowl down here. That’s not theirs. They pull it out, and drop it on his knee. But they’re back under the bed before he even gets to say a word to them, trying to find the right wire.

Eventually, they do. And they tug, tug, tug until they’re out from under the bed. Then they keep tugging, until their back is against the wall. Finally, it comes out. Lots of turns, okay? They wanted to keep it secret and buried, but also have an easy trip coming out.

Shuriken laughs, understandably, over how ridiculous it is. The bowl is on top of his phone. He better take care of that later, they do NOT care that it’s his spawnday. It’s icky and shouldn’t have been in THEIR space. “Seriously, Trip? How much stuff do you even have down there?”

“So much. You don’t even know. I could keep three bodies down there, and still have room… uh, you’d smell the bodies, though, so I can assure you I don’t have any.” They clear their throat, patting one of the three boxes. “These! Are for your spawnday. I made these. So you have to take good care of them.”

He gets up, all curious, not even minding their threat. “Made?” He bends down and picks up one of the boxes, tilting his head, just a little. “It’s all… light. Did you make it out of wire?”

They nod. “Duh. Very time-consuming, though, so I probably won’t do as much next year. Just one gift, like I’ll be doing for everyone else.” Now they’re terrified again. Heart pounding,  breathing uneven. “Quit staring at me like that, and just open it, Shuri.”

While he clearly wants to comment on that, he knows better. So he gently opens the box, pulling out a bow, so carefully woven that it’s impossible to tell it’s made of actual wire, instead of something like yarn. They’ll be honest, they’d been working on it for months. Very difficult. “Oh,” he breathes, looking up at them. “I picked up the smallest box first expecting it to be the laziest one.” Wow! Rude. He’s so mean to them tonight.

But they don’t say anything, not even to call him mean. Just stands there and stares, even crosses their arms. Waiting for him to open the rest of the boxes.

Huh, he’s blushing. “I didn’t… expect you to do any of this. I thought you’d do something small.” Now he looks panicked. “Wait, now I have to do something super big! You shared your gear AND made me things! Trip, you’ve set me up for failure.”

Okay, they crack under that. “Shuri, you’re the only gift I want.” That’s a lie. “No, I’m greedy and want stuff, actually. But literally anything from you is five million times better than, like, winning the Phighting tournament, or something.” They don’t even want to win that tournament. “Trillions of times better, actually. Um, five million times better than getting a pet cat.” That face he makes is not good. “We’re not getting a cat for my spawnday.”

That makes him pout, though it’s clearly fake. “Fine, fine. We don’t have time or energy for that, too…” Then he puts on the bow. Surprisingly, he figured out that it was for a horn without much trial or error. “Huh, that’s actually really comfortable.” But then he dives into another box, a little more eager to open this one. This time, he pulls out something that seems like it’d take more time than the bow. Wire replica of a bonsai tree, with the sections dyed to ‘realistic colors’. Obviously, the leaves are pink. It didn’t take them as long, since they didn’t have to make it so… Well, clothes.

“That took me a week or two, and the hardest part was finding a reference image I liked.” It’s an attempt at being casual, since he looks so excited. Granted, he’s been excited all night, but this is different. It’s spawnday excitement.

He beams at them, practically cradling it. “I have no clue where to put this!” Still, he looks around, and eventually sets it on top of a shelf, the one the two got just for the anxiety-crafts that Tripwire makes sometimes. It fits, and compliments the shelf. Probably the best interior decorating the two will ever do.

They laugh, mostly from embarrassment. “Yeah, yeah. Just open your last gift. I’m tired.”

Which he is happy to do. The box very loudly rips at one point, since he’s just going at it now. This one is something small, and pretty nonsensical. “What’s this?” He asks, since it looks like a bunch of loose wires.

“Glad you asked!” They chirp, strolling over and taking it from him. “...Ookay, it came apart a little. No biggie.” Within a few seconds, they fixed it. It’s still mostly a bunch of loose wires, but now it’s also a bracelet with loose wires coming off of it! “It’s all dull and sorta padded, so it hopefully can’t cut you or anything, and the wires are so you can tie them together. Since you… you know, fidget a lot. I wanted it to be something you can fidget with that doesn’t make much noise, and has a ‘result’ to look at, and is easy to untie.”

The silence is pretty telling, and they sigh. “I know, it’s… not much. I wanted to give you three gifts though, because three plus two is five, like your spawn month. Five. Three gifts, from me to you. And… well, it’s corny, sorry.” Maybe a bad explanation, but they forgot the joke they wanted to make about it. They had a script, but they lost it somewhere under the bed.

He rapidly shakes his head, hugging them tightly. “I love it. I love everything you give me, Trip. Thank you.” Squeeze. Ouch. “I’m so lucky.”

Well, the atmosphere is heavy (in a good way), and they’re tired. Like, real tired. “Being lucky is my thing. Can we go to bed now.”

Breaking the mood, which makes him take a few seconds to process. But he just laughs and shakes his head. “Yeah, sure. You’ve been hyper today, no wonder you’re so tired.” It scares them that he notices and remembers that stuff. Then again, he remembers and notices a lot about everyone he loves. But they’re not used to it. They have seven years of memory, they’re not used to much. But they’re also twenty-four, so it’s not like they have tons of life experience, either way. “I love you, Tripwire.”

“I love you, Shuriken. Unhand me, and get in bed.” His laugh makes them smile, but they’re basically dead on their feet. After the adrenaline, they lost whatever scraps of energy they had left.

Thankfully, they get what they want. As soon as he lays down, they turn off the lights, trip on the boxes, and practically throw themself on him. Snuggles into him, or, rather onto him. It is comfortable, thanks. Though they mostly do it because the two grapple and fight in their sleep with how much they toss and turn. He goes still in his sleep if they’re near, though, and they stop fighting when they’re angled good, like being partially on top of him.

“Good night, Trip.”

“Night, Shuri. Shut up now.”

He laughs, and they jab a finger into his stomach.

Admittedly, it always takes forever for them both to drift off. But it’s still faster than before, when they slept by themself. Maybe it takes longer for him, since they always forget to ask about it, they don’t know. But it’s happy, cozy, safe. It’s hard to believe most inphernals don’t think about experiencing this. How is love so rare, when it feels so good?

Hand on the back of their head. “Trip. Your eyes are open, I know you’re thinking hard again. Focus on sleeping.” Shuriken, too, now sounds very tired. For once, he’s getting to sleep faster than them.

“Sorry, sorry. I got distracted.” They close their eyes, focus on the warmth of him, and let the stream of thoughts slowly die down, until it fades into their slow breathing.