Two wrongs didn't make a right.
Minegishi had said so. That was why they were sitting in the kitchen getting it organized and labeling everything. Every single box, bag, and can. Everything needed to be labeled and organized so that Shimazaki could know where things were and what they were and also he would stop opening every single can to know what was inside of them. That would make life easier to everyone. Especially Shimazaki.
And Mob loved to help out….even if she wasn't sure that she was good at it.
She had a piece of paper in front of her and a braille label maker. She just had to make sure that the dots on the paper matched the dots on the paper. She just had to make sure that she was doing this right or the entire thing would be pointless and their whole morning had been wasted. She and Minegishi were organizing the kitchen and labeling everything for Shimazaki so he could actually know where things were and what they were. It was a lot of work, and braille was a very complicated language, but she was going to help out as best as she could.
Even though she sometimes made mistakes.
"Um….I think I messed up again. I think that a dot is in the wrong place…sorry." said Mob as she picked up a box of black tea. She had been trying to write communal black tea but instead one of the dots looked like it was in the wrong place and now she had no idea what it said at all and then when Shimazaki went to get some tea he wouldn't be able to find it and it would be all her fault and she was such a bad friend sometimes….
She was the one who had gotten him in trouble with Minegishi in the first place.
She was the one who had given him the sugar cubes idea and then that had made him and Minegishi fight…and they had made up and stuff….but still she had made them fight. Also she had made Minegishi ignore him and he really hated being ignored and stuff. They had made up but she had still made Minegishi act sort of mean, sort of very mean, to Shimazaki…and now at least she could help make up for it…
Well she would have been making up for it if she could just stop making so many mistakes.
"That's fine, just try again. I doubt Ryou's getting up any time soon. He didn't come in until around dawn. You're fine." Said Minegishi as they froze in front of the open fridge. They were tempted to swap jobs with Mob….no, they should have been the one to do this. Let Mob have the easy job of labeling all of their tea…and why they had do many teas would never be understood…while Minegishi went through the fridge that hadn't been cleaned since they moved in. They had only been in this house for a little over a week and somehow it was full of rotting leftovers….wonderful….
Well they had to do what they had to do.
They had been an asshole to Ryou. He had done something stupid, dangerous, and stupidly dangerous…but they had been an asshole to him, too. They had treated him terribly, had been aware that they had been treating him terribly, and they should not have been treating like that….because they knew what he had been through. He had been through hell plain and simple. He may have been blasé about it but he had been through hell….and they should not have made him relive that…and he had always been careful not to make them relive anything….so they had…both….messed up. Well two wrongs did not make a right. So here they were, sitting in front of the open fridge labeling everything and cleaning out leftover that had somehow started to rot despite the fact that they had barely been living in this house.
"What was he doing all night?" asked Mob. She hoped that he'd been ok. She'd been on an adventure with him before, she knew how he could be, and the thought of him getting hurt or lost or…or anything. It makes her sad. He's her friend and she needs to keep him safe…even though she knew that he was more than capable of keeping himself safe….
She just wanted her friends to be ok.
"I have no idea but I'm pretty sure that I smelled the ocean this morning so I don't think that he knows either….and I have no idea why he keeps going into the ocean when he gets fucked up." Said Minegishi as they labeled some more of the energy drinks they had found. So apparently the vegetable drawer was the place for these now. Whatever. They could make fresh vegetables….but it would have been nice to have had a place to put them so they didn't have to play green grocer every time they got hungry.
"Maybe he felt like going swimming." Said Mob
"He hates the ocean. He doesn't trust it and water makes everything look fuzzy to him." said Minegishi
"Oh….so why did he do that?" asked Mob
"I have no clue why he does half the stuff he does….he's such an idiot." Said Minegishi. He was, he really was. He was an idiot and he was annoying and he had done something stupid beyond words….but here they were labeling the entire kitchen in braille for that idiot…that complete and total idiot….
"Are…are you still mad at him? I mean you called him an idiot…" said Mob. She held a box of tea close to her chest. She wanted them to get better. Minegishi and Shimazaki….and also she hated it when Minegishi got upset. She hated it even though they had said, time and time again, that they weren't ever going to be mad at her….it didn't matter if they were mad at her or not. She just didn't want them to be mad….though she didn't want them to be mad at her either.
"I'm not angry with him, I'm just stating a fact. He can be a total idiot…and I guess that I can be too." Said Minegishi with a shrug.
"No, you're not. You're one of the smartest people that I know. Please don't say mean things about yourself….and also please don't say mean things about Shimazaki. I think that he can act like a crazy person sometimes but that doesn't mean that he's an idiot. He knows a lot of things about a lot of things and also he can read all of this complicated dot language….and stuff." Said Mob. She wished that Minegishi would stop saying such mean things about themselves. They were smart and nice and a good friend…even though they also could be sort of mean sometimes….but that didn't mean that they got to say mean things about themselves.
"Alright, Rou's a genius and so am I. That's why I decided to spend my whole day putting this kitchen back in order and labeling everything." Said Minegishi
"Um….I don't know if he's a genius….but I think that you said a very nice thing about him….and I think that it's good for your to say nice things about him…and also maybe you should say nice things to him…because he likes you and…and stuff." Said Mob. She smiled and looked down at the box of tea in her hands. She wanted them to say it back to him, that he loved them, but she knew that she couldn't make people fall in love with each other and that you had to say I love you from the heart, not just to say it back, because that would have been lying and Minegishi was not a liar…and certainly they would never lie about something as important as love. What could be more important than love?
"I'm fixing this entire kitchen for him. That's nice enough." Said Minegishi. They stopped themselves from rolling their eyes. Mob could be so transparent sometimes. They knew what she was getting at and they knew that she needed to come off of it. The shippening was getting worse…and it would only get worse and worse as the years went on. It was bad enough at almost eleven….what would almost twelve be like? Almost thirteen? Puberty was such a bitch and they were glad that they never had to go back to that terrible time in their life.
"Ok. He's going to be so happy when he wakes up and he can find things again. I can't wait." Said Mob. This was going to be so great. Minegishi had been sort of distant from Shimazaki since what had happened, they had stopped ignoring him but Mob hadn't seen them cuddling in a while and she hadn't seen them kiss since that time when they had been fighting and that just wasn't right at all. Friends were never supposed to fight…and especially not them. Shimazaki was in love with them and he might not be in love with them…and also their friendship would suffer…and then she had no idea what that would do to the group…
They needed to get along.
Because they were her friends and friends always needed to get along. Plus Shimazaki was in love with Minegishi and that was the best thing ever! If Mob had been in their place then she would have forgiven him and been his girlfriend….well if she had been Minegishi…maybe. She didn't really want to be his girlfriend…that was mean and she knew that it was but she just….didn't like him like that. She wanted Minegishi to be his theyfriend, though, because then they would have someone to love them and be their boyfriend and what could be better than having a boyfriend?
Well a lot of things like being able to play with Sho again or being able to see Baby Mukai again or having a mom again or having a dad who didn't smother you…or a bunch of pet cats…..
But having a boyfriend must have been pretty great. She wanted Minegishi to be happy and to have someone who would love them and take care of them and make them happy and then they could get married and have a wedding, Mob liked watching weddings on TV and Minegishi wouldn't have to wear a dress since it was their wedding and they could wear whatever they wanted so they wouldn't have to worry about that, and then they would have kids and then Mob could help take care of them and then her kids could be friends with their kids and also Sho would be there and he liked to help take care of babies and also he would have kids and then they could all be happy together….and stuff….
So Mob was very glad that Minegishi had forgiven Shimazaki…and her too even though Minegishi had said that they hadn't been mad at her…Mob had still gotten that feeling.
"He had better be…and he had better stop opening everything and putting it back in the fridge after this." said Minegishi as they got up and dumped out a flat can of whatever the red sugar syrup Hatori drank instead of water. They were going to have to section out the fridge for everyone….and it wasn't that big….God. This place was not designed for four people to live. Suzuki had a bunch of family homes built….for some reason. Wishful thinking, maybe. Or just plain stupidity.
It wasn't like anyone high ranking enough in Claw to live here would be having kids anytime soon.
Claw was not the place for those sorts of people. Family people. People who should have been allowed to have kids. Really building a bunch of apartment buildings or something would have made more sense. Easier to house people. Easier to give them space from each other. Or maybe even just making these places bigger…that would have helped….but no, Suzuki had to go with prefabs of single family homes…and not very big ones either. Well he did only have the two kids that lived with him, and the love child nobody was supposed to mention even though everyone could tell plain as day that the baby was his…but whatever. It was whatever. Let him have as many kids as he wanted. Let him try and people the world with espers. It wasn't like anyone else in Claw was going to. There was a gender imbalance between espers they had noticed, not a lot of female ones and way too many male ones, and most espers themselves seemed a little too unstable to be having kids in the first place….
Or maybe that was just the lives that they'd lived. Nobody with a stable life joined Claw after all.
"He'll probably still open Hatori's stuff just to annoy him…and I don't know why he does that. I mean I guess because Hatori used to like you but he only likes boys, dad said so, and…well….I think that you're a good person and I think that Hatori would be very happy if he was your boyfriend…but I just don't think that he would like to be your boyfriend. Sorry." said Mob. She didn't want them to think that there was something wrong with them. She just wanted them to know that they didn't have to worry about Hatori liking them….because he liked boys only…and that made Mob feel vaguely…not happy. Disappointed. She didn't know why. People could love whoever they wanted to love…and he didn't love her…and she didn't love him…
So why did she feel like this?
Like she wanted…well she wanted to be near him and stuff….but not like she wanted to be his girlfriend. She mostly just wanted to look at him a lot….and Minegishi had said that she just wanted to look at him because she thought that he was attractive….she had felt that way about boys before, though, and she had never felt like this….whatever this even was…
She went back to labeling before she thought any more about this.
"Mob, I've said it before and I'll say it again. You can have Hatori. I have no interest in Hatori. I have never had any interest in Hatori." Said Minegishi as Mob started labeling like her life depended on it. They hoped that she was labeling those boxes right…but it was tea. He could smell tea through the box. He'd be fine.
Mob on the other hand…..
She needed to find a guy her own age…and soon. What about that Ritsu guy she had apparently been talking about? She had never mentioned him before but Minegishi didn't know everything about Mob that there was to know. This kid that she was into had better have been her own age. Daddy issues were a thing…and apparently Mob was getting them…and that wouldn't be good for her in the long run. She seemed to have a thing for socially awkward nerds…which her father was. No wonder he and Hatori got on like a house fire. Well there were plenty of awkward nerds out there that were Mob's own age. She was ten now, of course no grown man would give her a second glance, but she was getting older and she'd be a teenager and…yeah. Minegishi felt like they were going to have to be grinding up a lot of creeps for fertilizer. Well at least their plants would do well.
Maybe they could move to one of those all woman islands until Mob finished growing up….that wouldn't be so bad.
"I-I know…and I don't want to be his girlfriend. I mean I know that he's a good person but…but he doesn't do a lot for himself. I don't mind heling people out but….but I also like to show people how to do things. Like how I used to have to tie Sho's shoes for him but now he can tie them himself. Or how my dad didn't know how to log into the Netflix but I taught him….but he kept on forgetting….and Hatori does that for him now. But I still like it when people can do things for themselves…and stuff. I like him and all….but I don't want to be his girlfriend….and stuff. I know that's mean but that's how I feel." Said Mob
"You don't want to spend your life doing his laundry and tying his shoes for him. There's nothing mean about that." Said Minegishi
"There is. You're supposed to do things for the people you care about. Like now. You care about Shimazaki and that's why you had the idea to do this for him." said Mob
"This is different. I fucked up. I was pissed at him and I did something…well…cruel. I was cruel when I ignored him and I have to make it up to him. Don't get me wrong, he fucked up too…but two wrongs don't make a right. I'm not mad at him anymore and I'm making it up to him. That's the difference." Said Minegishi
"But you're going to have to do this for him again because we move a lot. I'll help too, you know I will, but having to do this again and again is the same as me having to take care of Hatori if I was his girlfriend." Said Mob. She wouldn't have minded if she had been in love with him, she would have done anything for someone she loved, but having to take care of someone all the time….that seemed like a lot and it also seemed like something that would keep her from loving someone like that…but she didn't know. It was a lot to think about.
"The difference between Ryou and Hatori is that Ryou has actual limitations. You might have forgotten but he can't see. Hatori can see. He can see and he can make his way through the kitchen without everything being labeled and organized and he can do pretty much everything else for himself, too, considering the fact that he's twenty years old practically. He's a grown man and he's perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He's just been babied his entire life." Said Minegishi. At least Mob had more sense than to get involved with Hatori. They weren't trying to get her involved with Hatori, he was about ten years too old for her, but they did need her to stop thinking that she had to be everyone's caretaker and that she was being mean when she didn't want to be. She did a lot for a ten year. She was a lot for a ten year old. Caretaker to her brother, second highest ranking member of a multinational, criminal, esper cult….Daughter of the world's biggest megalomaniac and weirdo…and also pseudo wife to said weirdo….and that was the word for it. Minegishi couldn't think of another word for when Suzuki dressed his Daughter up in his dead wife's clothes and made his Daughter sleep next to him, watch said dead wife's favorite shows, and just….he was creepy plain and simple when it came to Mob…and she did not need any more on her plate…
And she needed to learn to realize that.
"I guess…but I still feel bad…about the way I feel. Like….I don't know. I sort of…wish that I liked him again…because there's a lot about how I feel that I don't…get….and I want to like him and I know that I should be able to be there for whoever needs me….but I don't want to be with someone who can't do a lot for themselves…and also…well maybe I do like him. I don't know. It's complicated. It's more complicated then braille." Said Mob as she made another label. Braille was complicated, there were a lot of dot patterns and she had no idea what it all meant, but at least all she had to do was copy what Minegishi had written down for her.
She didn't have a guide like that for her feelings.
She knew what love was. She had seen love time and time again in movies and in anime and manga and stuff. Sort of in life, too, since Shimazaki loved Minegishi. Also her mom and dad must have been in love at some point. They had gotten married….and stuff…but she had never seen mom and dad kiss or cuddle and she had never heard dad tell mom that he loved her. Shimazaki and Minegishi made more sense even though they weren't married or even boyfriend and theyfriend. They seemed like they were more in love than her parents had been, though. They kissed and cuddled and did nice things for each other just because. Dad gave mom money and bought her things but he had said that his job as her husband was to provide for her. Mom made food and took care of her and Sho and kept the house nice but she had said, when Mob had been really little, that she had to do all of that because she was dad's wife and that was what wives were supposed to do.
Mob didn't think that it should have been like that.
When you loved someone you did things for them just because. Like how she picked the non-marshmallow pieces out of Sho's cereal for him or how Sho drew pictures for her sometimes. That was brother and sister love. Love-love should have been the same way. Minegishi sad that they were doing this because they had been mean but they did nice things for Shimazaki all the time. They read to him and they moved his laundry to the dryer when he forgot about it and they put the narration on for Shimazaki when they could and he didn't even have to ask….and he did nice things for them all the time too. He brought them plants, not only when he messed up, he would come home with potted plants or seeds or weeds, he liked dandelions and stuff even though they were weeds, and also he would bring them stuff to drink and smoke and he would bring them medicine, too, when they got sick. He was really nice to them when they got sick, the kind of sick where they laid down all day holding their stomach, he would bring them medicine and chocolate and rub their stomach and their back and cuddle them and stuff….and it just seemed…..nice…
She wished that someone would do that for her…even if she never got sick she just wanted…something like that from someone who loved her.
"Yup. Braille is easy, feelings are hard, and I don't want to sugar coat it for you. They'll only get harder. But that's ok because you'll get older and you'll understand better….ok? And no, you don't have to be Hatori's girlfriend to feel this way about him. You can feel however you want to…but don't expect anything to come of it." Said Minegishi. That was good…right? They had no idea if they were saying the right thing or not. This was complicated. They wished that someone had said something to them when they had been her age besides 'don't kiss girls it's not right' and 'stop messing around with boys you're acting like a slut' and so on and so forth. Well they at least knew what NOT to say….and they never would have said anything like that to her in the first place…but they still had no idea what to say. This was like a minefield. They didn't want to scare her, they didn't want to make her think that there was something wrong with her, but they did want her to stop chasing after guys who were way age inappropriate….
They needed to find some guys her own age…but they didn't know any other kids…and also they didn't much want to be a ten year old's wingman since that would involve interacting with other ten year olds who were not Mob.
"I know. He likes boys and I'm not a boy and I don't want to become one, either. I like being a girl. I don't have to wear pants and I can have long hair and play with dolls, too. Also my shampoo smells better." Said Mob
"You can do all the things that you do and still be a guy…but that's not the point. The point it…he's a hell of a lot older than you. You deserve a guy your own age. Like…what about that Ritsu guy you were talking about? Ryou said that you mentioned him a lot." said Minegishi. They were not going to go into gender politics with Mob…nor were they going to speculated about Hatori's sexuality with her, either. That as Hatori's business…also apparently it was President Suzuki's business too….and not for the crazy reasons Ryou thought up…it was not something that they were to speculate with Mob about.
"I…think I might have dreamt him up. I think. I don't know. I asked my dad if anyone named Ritsu ever lived with us before, in my dream I was in a house that was mine but also….not mine…and I was looking for him. Well I was looking for Sho and I was looking for him, too. It was…weird. I think that because I miss Sho so much I dreamt that I had a new brother….or something. I don't know. It was just a dream. Dad said so. He said that dreams are not reality…and I know that…so no matter how much it feels like a memory it was just a dream." Said Mob. She still felt that loss feeling…but that was just because Sho was across the world in Korea doing very important work and stuff. She would stop feeling it once he came back…and she hoped that it was soon. Dad didn't seem to care but she did. He even said…he said that things were nicer without Sho around…and that….that had been such a mean thing to say…
Dad could be so mean sometimes.
She had no idea how dad could be so mean to Sho but so nice to her. He took her to the doll museum and also they watched Frozen together and played Terraria, she liked Minecraft better but said nothing since it made him happy, and he also said that he ordered her a dollhouse with water and electricity and stuff…not that she knew why she needed it but it was still nice…and also next week he said that they could have another outing to another doll place since she liked dolls…and she was happy…
But also she wasn't.
Because he was still such a jerk to Sho. No wonder her brain had made another brother. Sho was the best brother in the world but dad treated him like he was the worst. Why? So what if Sho could be loud and he used to hit her all the time and he never cleaned up after himself and she had to pour him a drinking glass of ranch to get him to eat all of his food groups…he was still the best little brother ever. She loved him so much…and she just wished that dad had loved him, too. Dad…dad had always been for her and mom had always been for Sho and it had worked out when they each had a parent but now they only had dad and dad….well he needed to learn how to share his love between both of his kids. Mob had shared her love between both of her parents, and she had shared it between Sho and baby Mukai too when she had been living with them…and it wasn't that hard…but dad was a totally different person from her. Dad….he was just….different….
Not very nice at all….to Sho.
"Yeah…acid is a hell of a drug. Sometimes you see things that happened, you relive them, and sometimes your brain just lets go of the wheel and makes up whatever the hell it feels like. It sucks about your brother and I'm sorry he's gone. But he's coming back….eventually. You've just got to remember that he's coming back." said Minegishi offering up the only world of comfort that they could. Mob missed her little brother, he was a little demon child but he was still her little brother so of course she would miss him, and Minegishi…they offered up the comfort that they could. Even though they had no idea when the little monster would be back. Even though they had no idea why Suzuki would let his only son be gone for this long.
Almost a month now.
This had been hard on Mob, everything was hard on Mob, but this was especially hard on her. She had abandonment issues most likely stemming from not being able to process her mother's death….not that Minegishi was in the habit of psychoanalyzing their friends. She needed to be with her brother though, they didn't need to do any psychoanalyzing to know that, but they also knew that the only thing that they could do in the time between now and her brother coming back was to make her happy.
So that was what they did.
They reached over and pulled her into a one armed hug. She needed it. She had seemed ok but, yeah, acid was a hell of a drug. She was doing better than Minegishi usually did…but her brain had decided to slip off into fantasy it seemed. Not the endless parade of every moment of humiliation and pain that she had ever felt. She had thought up a different world with a different brother, and hopefully different parents, and that was the best they could have hoped for. Also she hadn't accidentally killed anyone, another plus, though she was NEVER doing acid with Ryou again…
And maybe they should have made him a label dictating as such.
"I know…and you make me feel better. I just feel a sort of…loss feeling….but it'll go away once Sho comes back. I know it will." Said Mob as she hugged Minegishi back with both of her arms. She missed Sho more than anything but at least she had friends to help her through this. What could be better than having friends? Well having a little brother of course…
But friends were a close second.
Friends could give you advice and give you reassurance and also give you hugs. Like now. Minegishi was good for all of that…they were the best. They were the best friend that she had ever had…not that she didn't have any other good friends. Like now. She felt a shift in the energy around her. She felt a shift in the energy around her, another aura pressing down onto hers, and then a pair of arms around her and Minegishi. She smelled…the ocean. The ocean and…what was that. Not bad but…not good either.
"Ryou, get off and go take a shower. You stink." Said Minegishi as they slid free. They ended up bumping into a pile of tea boxes….who was hoarding all of this tea…..and the pile fell down. Great. Well at least those were labeled.
"That's not nice, Toshi, I smell great. I smell like the ocean. Everyone loves the ocean." Said Shimazaki as he let go of Mob. He felt around the kitchen with his powers. Everything was so crazy it felt like they must have been cooking…but they were on the floor…and also he didn't smell any cooking. He smelled….glue? Glue and….someone had left the fridge opened. Probably him at some point, last night was a blur after all.
"You smell…ok." Said Mob. She had no idea what he smelled like. Well the ocean and also….not normal. Well that was…that was because….oh. He didn't have any cologne on. All of that must have been washed off in the ocean. So that was what he smelled like without cologne…it was sort of…nice? She didn't know.
She fixed the pile of tea that had been knocked over. Someone in this house must have really liked tea.
"Mob, stop being polite." Said Minegishi as they went back to labeling cans. Ryou was looking at them now. They could feel it. They…didn't dislike it. He was….he was alright. They were alright with him. Everything had been forgiven. Mob was fine and she knew never to go along with that craziness again and everything was alright.
So they could look at him again.
They did. They glanced at him while they worked. Mob went by their example. They worked and Mob worked and he watched them working. They looked at him, there, and now they could get back to it. He was…well he was a lot of things. In his sleep clothes for one thing….and in love with them for another. That was what hung between them in the atmosphere. They had seen him dressed like this before, and they were used to what that made them feel, too. They were used to that but now…now there was something new between them. They would have made up with him like normal if Mob hadn't been there. They would have pulled him over and kissed him and…everything that came after. Those things that he liked, those things which were terribly one sided and they didn't do that often, those things that they did to make up….and of course they would. When Mob was gone. When she was off doing Mob things. They would make up with Ryou….
But this….this love thing…it would hang around between them.
It was hanging there between them now. Mob was glancing between the two of them. The shippening….God…the shippening. Mob was having a field day with this. She would have been over the moon if Minegishi were to turn around and kiss him. Kiss him and tell him that they loved him too. Tell him that they loved him and would always love him….and other such things that may or may not have been true. They didn't know. To quote his eighth favorite song when they touched them they felt all happy inside….but there was more to it than that. More to this than that. More to this than anything. They didn't know…well they did know…they just…didn't want to fuck this up. They didn't want to fuck everything up. They liked this…they liked being near him and being…whatever they were now…
And they were not going to fuck this up.
"What's going on? What's everyone on the floor for?" asked Shimazaki. The atmosphere was weird…but that was what it was. He didn't care. He was near Toshi and Toshi wasn't ignoring him anymore. Toshi was looking at him. They were looking at him, he could tell, even though they were pretending that they weren't. They were pretending to…it felt like they were making labels….sounded like it too.
"We're fixing the kitchen so that you can tell where things are and what they are. Minegishi's idea. They wanted to show you that they were sorry about being mean to you." Said Mob. She handed him a box. This one had cookies in it. Chocolate chip ones. She had followed the guide that Minegishi made and she hoped that she had done it right.
"Chocolate chip cookies. Thanks. Really, you have no idea how annoying it is not to know what it is that you're holding." Said Shimazaki. Toshi did care. He had always known that Toshi cared about him….but it was nice when they showed it. Usually they just made up in bed, or through copious drug use, so this was….nice. This was the kind of nice that made him feel all happy inside. The kind of nice that made him want to hold them and kiss them and rest their head on his chest and play with their hair. To just be there with them and other such things….and also sex. Always sex. But not if they weren't in the mood. Sex was sex, he could have that with anyone, Toshi cuddles on the other hand…those were special.
God, he wanted Toshi cuddles.
"Well you have no idea how annoying it is to come into the kitchen and have everything opened and stale and flat." Said Minegishi as they loaded the fridge back up. They maybe should have actually cleaned it out, gotten right of the spills and the stickiness and whatever it was that was growing in the butter compartment, but they didn't feel like it. That would have been too much extra work. They had enough to do as it was.
Like get hugged from behind.
They felt him shift so he was behind them. They could feel both of his arms wrapping around them and they went very still. Mob looked like Christmas had come early…and at some point they would have to talk to her about living vicariously through her friends. Not now, though. Now they would just…slowly sink back into him. The floor was cold and hard, sitting in front of the open fridge was cold, but he was warm…and he had better now have ended up with a fever from messing around in the ocean…but maybe it was them that was warm. Maybe they were warming him. They didn't know. All they knew was that they were comfortable here….
They were comfortable the way they were.
"I do actually…and thanks. You're the best Toshi. I love you." Said Shimazaki. They heard that, the way Toshi's aura hiccupped. They didn't have to say anything. They weren't pissed at him, they were happy, and that was enough for him. Toshi just being…..Toshi.
"Yeah, I know. Now take a shower or a bath or whatever and then we can hang out…you can hang out with me and Mob. We can watch Yellow Submarine with the narration on. How about that?" asked Minegishi. They didn't want him to go….but they didn't want to stay, either. He had to go and…and just say that, didn't he? God…fucking Ryou….stupid, annoying, wonderful, impossibly sappy Ryou….
"I'll go get the movie started up!" said Mob as she got up. She knew that she should not have been watching that. They were getting all cuddly and she knew that if she had been like that with someone she liked she wouldn't have even wanted her best friend to see that. It would have been embarrassing…and that was on both sides.
She didn't want to embarrass Minegishi and she didn't want to get embarrassed either.
So she went back to the living room. Once she felt Shimazaki teleport away she would go back to the kitchen and finish up. She wished that Minegishi would have liked him back…but she couldn't make them feel anything….but she did want them to be happy. She wanted everyone to be happy…and she was so happy that everyone was better now. That they weren't fighting anymore. That things were ok now.
Two wrongs didn't make a right but doing a nice thing for a friend did.