Movin' In [KAITO]

[Akii Chiyako Kurosawa]

This was the first year that she had decided against living in the dormitories and for the first time in a while she felt like she had made the right decision. No more would she get woken up in the early hours of the morning by her neighbors stumbling back to their dorm rooms, completely plastered after a night of partying. Akii had never been one of those girls and was proud to say that she never would be because she had standards and goals to achieve and drinking and sleeping around with half the campus definitely wasn’t a part of any plan of hers. No, but now she’d finally be getting a little piece and quiet because she had gotten her own apartment downtown.

Today was the day that she’d be moving all of her stuff in and Kaito was supposed to meet her at the entrance to the Graceful Dahlia apartments and go up with her but he was currently running a little late it seemed….or maybe she had just be a little too early? That very well may have been the case because currently she was feeling so incredibly eager that she decided to go ahead inside, he was smart and was capable of putting two and two together and realizing that she had already gone inside. She fumbled with her keys for a moment before inserting the correct one in the lock, turning the knob and pushing the door open. The silver haired 3rd year felt her pulse quicken, her lips curving into a huge grin. This was her place, all hers. She’d never felt this free before and it was such a liberating feeling, she felt so independent and felt like she’d finally reached adulthood—despite the fact that she had lived on her own at school for the past 2 years, but this was taking it to the next level, a whole new set of responsibilities.

A majority of the furniture had already been brought up because the man driving the moving truck had felt bad that a young, cute girl had to move her things herself and had offered his assistance, so all that really needed to be brought up there were her smaller belongings such as her clothing bags, small appliances, her art supplies and some other miscellaneous items that she had picked up.

“Wow, I forgot how big this place really was…” She mused, much too big for one person. It was a wonder how she got such a nice big apartment for so cheap, maybe it was because she was a student? Regardless, she was glad to have gotten such a great deal.

"Wonder when Kaito-kun's gonna show? Can't really say that I'm surprised that he's late though.." She laughed.

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[Kaito Ichigo Matsumoto]

"i have somewhere to be soon, you know." he practically bit out the words, attempting to tug his arm away from his brother's grip as the slightly older male dragged him towards yet another shop. his words went ignored for a long moment before his twin shrugged his shoulders and continued along, mumbling something about how they never spent time together anymore. that was a lie, of course, since they'd just spent most of the summer together, lived together, worked together, and, during school, roomed together.

the other boy was just jealous, he figured. kaito had been spending more and more time with someone other than him, and he didn't like it. they'd been together since birth, completely inseparable, and here he was slowly drifting away. but it wasn't like he planned to leave his brother completely on his own, he just knew that, someday, they'd have to part ways. it wasn't fair for one to keep the other from making friends and moving on with their life.

as much as he loved his twin, he was getting annoyed at how childish he could be. pulling the occasional prank, staying up way too late playing games. it was all fine in moderation. spending time together was the same concept. there was a time when he'd had no interest in ever leaving his brother's side but, well, that had changed. he'd met a girl that he really liked and he wanted to spend time with her. "this isn't a game, i have to go."

kaito managed to pull himself free of his brother's grip and started away from the shop they'd been about to enter. he felt bad for leaving, really he did, but some things were too important to miss them. especially for something as stupid as buying pranking goods.

he'd wanted to get there early but, in the end, he was late. she'd already gone up to her new apartment by the time he made it to the complex, so he picked up a few boxes and headed up after her. he wasn't terribly late, at least. but late was late and he didn't like not being on time. or early. he'd really wanted to get here before her, too! "yeah, sorry about that. you know how my brother can be." he smiled apologetically, at first, before it morphed into a grin. setting the boxes down inside the door, he gave the place a good look over. "it's pretty big, huh?" it was the bigger apartment type, but he hadn't realized it would be quite this big. he'd been expecting something a little cozier, really.

but this place would look plenty cozy once everything was set up how akii wanted it. it'd be a great place, definitely better than some dorm room on campus. maybe he should look into getting an apartment or something too.

[Akii Chiyako Kurosawa]

She tilted her head, glancing over her shoulder just as Kaito walked through the door with a couple of her boxes, offering her an apologetic smile. The silver-haired girl shrugged her shoulders and turned around to face him, “No worries, you really weren’t all that late. I guess I was just a little too eager to come up and take another peak at the place.” Her lips twitched into a bright smile, one that was specifically reserved for Kaito and no one else. It was kind of funny to think about how reserved she had been before Kaito had decided to pester her into letting him into her life—and she supposed that it kind of was the same for him since before her he and his brother kind of lived in their own little world, from what he had told her. She had met his brother a couple of times but he was nothing like Kaito, he was possessive and selfish but she felt bad because he probably thought that she was trying to rip Kaito away from him.

“Yeah it is. It’s actually a lot bigger than I expected it to be, even with all the big stuff already moved in.” She bit her lip, sun-sparked eyes scanning over the living room and the kitchenette. It really was rather big for a tiny girl such as herself, “Hm…maybe I’ll get a dog or something so it’s not quite as lonely,” She laughed, “And, of course, I expect you to visit me as often as you can!”

Having gotten distracted by their conversation she took one of the boxes from his hand and walked around the livingroom, towards where her bedroom was and set the box of clothes down just inside the door. As she walked back out into the living room she accidentally brushed shoulders with Kaito, “Oops, sorry Kai.” Her cheeks tinted a light shade of pink as she made her way back outside to pick up a few more boxes. She figured that it wouldn’t take too long to bring the rest of her things up. In all honesty she hadn’t really needed his help with the boxes, she had just used it as an excuse to see him today—maybe she had taken a leaf out of Hiro’s book, but she was allowed to be selfish every once in a while, wasn’t she?

"I hope you didn't have any important plans today that I dragged you away from...!" She called back over her shoulder.

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[Kaito Ichigo Matsumoto]

ah! there was the smile he'd been needing to see! it had taken him a while to get her to open up to him, to get her to smile like this for him, when they'd first met. a lot of pestering had been involved, though not so much that it pushed her away, but when he'd finally gotten her out of her shell, well, it had all been worth it. it wasn't just some one-way road, either. while he'd been -practically- forcing his way into her life, she'd been changing him, too. his world opened up and became more that just he and hiro; the way it had always been before. someone would come along and show his brother the same thing that akii had shown him. that there's more to life, that there are plenty of people out there, and that it was okay to care about someone else.

"getting a dog would suit you, i think." he chuckled a bit. he'd always wanted a dog but he'd never been allowed to have one. living on campus in a dorm room kept him from getting a pet even now, when he was no longer being told what he could or couldn't have by his parents. that was the universities job now, it seemed. but he though akii having a dog would suit her well. he could almost picture her walking the dog down the street or sleeping with it curled up in her lap. at least until it outgrew the 'lapdog' size, unless she got and actual 'lapdog' or something.

kaito shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "i'd come by every day if you wanted me to." his tone was a bit playful, but he was actually quite serious. more serious than even he realized he was. he enjoyed spending time with her, it wouldn't be any trouble at all for him to come by. the auburn headed male watched as she took one of the boxes to one of the bedrooms, her bedroom, his own face reddening slightly when she came back and their shoulders brushed together. "oh, don't worry about it. it's fine."

he followed akii outside where he picked up a couple of the heavier boxes to take up to her apartment. he couldn't, after all, leave all the heavy lifting to a pretty girl. that would be a terrible crime! besides, none of it was too heavy for him to carry and he certainly didn't mind lending her a hand with it all. seeing her was worth a little bit of manual labor. "i didn't have any other plans at all. and even if i had, none of them would have been more important than coming here and helping you."

[Akii Chiyako Kurosawa]

He was the one person that she felt absolutely comfortable and at ease with, it was strange how one person could alter your whole perspective on life. It was silly but because of him she had started making an effort to become more social at school and in her classes, which maybe didn’t really seem like much but it was a huge change for her. All her life she was used to keeping quiet, growing up in a family that didn’t want her she learned that it was just better for everyone if she kept her mouth shut to prevent her parents from fighting even more than they already did. But that was a distant memory now that she had someone who encouraged her to open up and be herself, and she couldn’t have been more grateful for him.

“Oh yeah? You really think so?” Her eyes lit up, she had never been able to have pets growing up either and had resorted to playing with the neighborhood dogs instead. But she now had a place to call her own and she never had to go back to Traverse Town ever again or see her family again, so it was time to finally do all the things she had always wanted to—and that included having a dog. She could just see herself walking the dog, side by side with Kaito, through Amaryllis Park while the autumn-turned leaves fell around them. She bit her lip and averted her gaze from him so he wouldn’t see the light blush the painted her cheeks from the thought of her and Kaito. But really, she wanted to be able to do all those cute things with him—even though their relationship was still in the ‘friend’ zone, they had been spending an increasing amount of time together—but she still didn’t exactly know what they were in all honesty. She was just glad that she had him in her life.

Tilting her head, Akii smiled brightly and teased, Oh don’t tell me that! If that’s the case then I won’t ever let you leave!” She was joking, of course, because there was no way he could just stay here—besides what would his brother think? Hiro would probably hate her even more than he probably already did.

The boxes weren’t heavy at all so she was able to take three of them with her up the stairs, though she had to slow her pace to keep herself from losing her balance. “Did you eat already?” if he hadn’t then she’d make them a quick lunch, but if he had then no big deal they could finish brining these boxes up and just hang out, anything to keep him around for a little while longer.

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[Kaito Ichigo Matsumoto]

what were they, really? spending all this time together, having so much fun together. just really close friends didn't seem to cover it, though that was what they technically were. right? neither of them had said anything about being anything more than that, though he'd thought about what it would be like on more than one occasion. like right now, for instance. watching as her eyes lit up, excited about getting a dog. helping her to get all of her things into her new apartment. it would have been nice to be able to just stay there. with her. rather than going back to the dorms.

then they could sit around and watch movies together. play with the puppy together and always walk it together. he couldn't help but think how nice that would be. hiro would hate it, of course, but he'd get over it. he'd have to. but that probably wouldn't happen, right?

kaito grinned, "who said anything about me ever wanting to leave?" he chuckled, balancing the boxes he'd picked up and following just behind akii as the two of them headed back up. he sat the boxes down against the wall beside the entry door once they gotten back to the apartment. "i haven't, no." he'd been too busy getting dragged around by his brother and then, when he'd finally gotten loose, he hadn't had time to get anything. he hadn't really been hungry anyway, probably because he'd been so focused on getting here as quickly as possible.

hiro could be so rude and obnoxious so it was always great to spend time with akii, who was nothing at all like that. sometimes he wondered if his brother really did hate akii, what with the way he acted anytime the girl was involved. maybe it wasn't hate at all, though. maybe he just pretended like he hated her out of jealousy, because kaito was spending more time with her than with him lately. or maybe hiro actually had a crush on her and was all upset because it was kaito she chose to spend time with.

it wouldn't be too surprising, for kaito, if that turned out to be the case. they had their differing personalities and tastes but they did tend to like the same people. they had the same circle of 'friends', always had. well, until now. akii and hiro couldn't be called friends at all.

that was a shame, really, because kaito thought they would get along really well if hiro would just stop being a jerk all the time. then again, if she started spending time with hiro, he'd be the one getting jealous over it. he'd never really minded sharing toys or games, or even friends, but he didn't really care to share akii. not with anyone. it was a selfish though, but it was true. "i'll get the rest of the boxes then. unless you want me to try and make something for lunch?" he could probably manage alright, but he'd never really made anything but instant food before. gathering boxes would be more suitable for him and it would only take another two trips or so.

[Akii Chiyako Kurosawa]

To say that Akii was excited about starting this new chapter in her life would have been a major understatement, she was already thinking about which breed of dog to adopt, what recipes she should learn, and what places in town she should apply to for a job. Her mind was racing with a thousand different thoughts a minute, she felt so free but also was really enjoying these newfound adult responsibilities. She was so unlike a lot of college students who would rather put off taking on all of these extra worries and responsibilities but…she just wanted to start her life and cut as many ties with Traverse Town and her family as she possibly could.

Her cheeks burned bright from his words, she ducked her head so that her hair fell in the way to cover up her the bright red so he wouldn’t see. Just the thought of him being there, never leaving, she didn’t know why but she really liked that thought. The thought of waking up in the morning and seeing him sitting at the kitchen table, having dinner together, sitting side by side doing homework—she shook her head and bit her lip, “Yeah? Well maybe you shouldn’t leave then.” She wasn’t joking that time, but knew that he might have interpreted her words differently.

She perked up a little, a small smile playing on her pale pink lips when he mentioned that he hadn’t had the chance to eat anything yet. The silver haired girl liked to think that she was a pretty decent cook, she’d been making her own meals since she was a young child so all of that practice had certainly helped her out in the long run. Though she wasn’t entirely sure whether he’d like her cooking or not, it made her feel a tad self-conscious in her ability but she quickly swallowed her nerves. No one had ever said anything negative about her food before and she knew that Kaito definitely wouldn’t even if he didn’t like what she had prepared. Though she thrived on feedback and would prefer to be told what was wrong rather than covering it up.

She laughed, “Would anything that you made even be edible?” Her lips curved into a teasing grin, “No worries, you grab the rest of the stuff and I’ll start making lunch.”

Luckily she had already gone grocery shopping for some essentials a day or two earlier so that she wouldn’t have to go out after unpacking today. Turning on her heel she marched over to the fridge and pulled out two chicken breast halves wrapped in saran wrap, placing them on the counter while she pulled out a bowl and a mixture of Cajun spices. Unwrapping the meat and tossing it around in the bowl until it was perfectly coated with spices, she then filled a pot with water and placed it on the stove to boil.

“I hope you don’t mind a little Cajun pasta, I saw this recipe online the other day and thought it looked good.” She smiled, “And I know you like spicy foods so…”

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[Kaito Ichigo Matsumoto]

he was momentarily silenced by her words. if he'd been the same boy he'd been last year, or even six months ago, he'd have written it all off as a joke, laughed, and joked right back about it. he wouldn't have payed any attention to her tone or the way she looked down to hide her face. and he wouldn't have been seriously entertaining any ideas regarding anything they'd talked about so far. most of the thoughts that had been running through his mind wouldn't have been there, either.

waking up here, in the same apartment as her, would be the best way to wake up in the morning. they could eat breakfast together, have dinner together, do homework together. they could just sit together on the sofa and watch movies or whatever show was on. they could both help take care of the puppy; playing with it, walking it, taking turns feeding it and stuff. or maybe, if he were there, they could get two dogs. so that they'd never get lonely when their human's were off at school or work. that might be hectic at first but it would be worth all of the trouble in the end.

kaito's face was red, only he didn't have the hair to cover it up. instead, he just looked away, rubbing the back of his head like it'd help the blush go away. "yeah, maybe i shouldn't." he wasn't sure how to put any of his thoughts into actual words. he'd never needed to do that before because hiro just always knew what he was thinking and there had never really been anyone else to share any real feelings with. sure, he'd always opened up to akii, but not with anything like this. they'd been friends who went out together and had fun. mentioning anything more than that, with any real note of seriousness, made him nervous.

thankfully, there were other things he could focus on right now. like akii's teasing or the boxes he still needed to go and grab. a slightly indignant pout formed on his lips, though he wasn't actually angry at all, and he headed towards the front doors. "i'll have you know that my cooking is perfectly edible." it just might not taste all that great. he was a waiter at a cafe so he rarely had to make anything himself. just the drinks and ice creams, usually. there were occasions where he needed to put together sandwiches and things like that, but never any actual cooking.

he waved his hand as he headed out the door to collect the remaining boxes, not hurrying but also not really taking his time. the more he thought about things, the harder it was to stop thinking about things. and one of those things right now was food. he managed multiple boxes easily, each time he made a trip down to get them, so it didn't take him very long at all to finish up the task. the pile that had once been located outside at the entrance was now stacked neatly along the inside wall beside her door.

"heh. you know me too well." he grinned as he stacked the last couple of boxes and situated them so that they wouldn't fall. "but i'm sure anything you make is tasty anyway."

the grin faded and he bit his lip, face reddening again slightly. it was useless to try pushing their earlier conversation out of his mind, it just kept on nagging at him. after washing his hands in the sink, he leaned against the counter and looked up at the ceiling. "hey, so... if i wanted to... would you be okay with me moving in here..? i mean... i guess... it might be a little early to ask something like that." was it hot in here, or was that just him? "but even though we've never talked about it... you're kinda... my girlfriend, right?"