pslplz | Futureverse

Beyond Goku, Hak can see and hear the effects of the loaded game. It's a pretty sweet set-up, no surprise. Both of the denizens here are gamers. Hak wonders briefly whether both of them are home.

"Yo," Hak says, lifting a hand in greeting before stepping inside. "I need a place to crash. Your couch free?"

For how long, who knew? Hak isn't going to make any promises because he can't. He needs to find a job, which is going to be a pain, and then he'll have to find an apartment to lease, which is another pain. And anyway, being closer to Goku was the whole point of coming this direction. Living in the same pad is as close as you can get.

"Oh."

Goku follows him inside, curious at what happened that his brother is sort-of homeless. Well, as long as Goku's got a house, Hak's not gonna be homeless, so there's that.

"Yeah," he says, and it doesn't even occur to him that maybe he should ask Omi for permission. After all, this is his brother. What's he gonna do, say no? In any case, it's been a while since they've lived together, and while they do have the occasional spats like brothers do, he's rather fond of Hak. He doesn't even ask how long he plans to stay. (If he said forever, Goku probably wouldn't even object).

"Somethin' happen?"

"I'll find something, I think," Goku says confidently. In a way, he might be interested in too many things. But he's got some ideas already, and he's pretty sure he'll fall into something eventually. How hard can it be?

"I think I'll move to the city after I graduate. Maybe we'll see each in person?"

Edited 2019-08-11 00:19 (UTC)

"Ah, Helena and I got tired of each other again. Same old," Hak says dismissively. He does pause, though, and after toeing his shoes off and slinging his duffel down against the wall beside them, he turns to Goku and smiles. "Good to see you again. Been all right?"

That's not the most shocking thing ever, Goku supposes. It wouldn't be the first time he'd left the house. All those other times though, Hak crashed in other people's houses. He feels weirdly happy that his brother came to him, this time.

"Uh huh. Practicing for the Tokyo Grand Prix in a couple weeks. You're coming, right?"

"Only if they have free beer," Hak teases. Of course he's coming. He's not going to miss his little brother's big day while he's in town and (probably) jobless.

"Speaking of... I don't suppose you got any here? It's been a long day."

And Hak would know that if he actually would only show up for the free beer, Goku would punch him in the arm. But the look Goku gives him makes it clear he knows it's a joke.

"Yeah, I think so. Come on," Goku waves him into the kitchen. He usually has a pretty good idea about what's in the fridge at any given time, being a frequent user of it, himself. He's never liked the taste of beer, but he knows that Omi keeps it around for his boyfriend-type-thing. Anyway, he figures Omi wouldn't mind if he borrows a few. He'll pay him back, of course.

He pulls the fridge open and sticks his head in.

"There's some Belgian...white?" That's what it says on the bottle, anyway.

"I'd like that," Mamoru says with interest. "Who knows, we might even see each other in person before that."

Goku can still punch him in the arm if he wants-- Hak doesn't mind. They're brothers and with brothers comes teasing and with teasing comes retaliation.

He's actually a bit surprised (maybe even impressed?) that they have cold beer. No offense to either of them but they seem too boyish to be beer drinkers. He follows Goku over to the fridge and peeks in over his shoulder.

"That'll work," he says.

"Okay." He's not sure what's the difference between whites and pale ales and lagers. To him, it's all just kind of bitter and bubbly. He pulls a bottle from the fridge and hands it to his brother.

"How's dad doing?"

Hak prefers something darker and stronger than a Belgian white given the choice, but he's happy enough that there's anything, and pushes the cap off with his thumb to take a nice swig.

"Old and cranky," he says with his typical irreverance. Of course their dad has always been strict and a bit... particular about having things a certain way. Age has exacerbated the comfort of that rut. "He doesn't know what to do with himself anymore since the military forced his retirement. Guy needs a hobby."

"Yeah! We can go out to eat or something. Is that dumpling shop still there? The one we used to go to lots?"

Of course he remembers.

"Guess he's never done anything else," Goku says thoughtfully. He can't imagine being without a hobby, having so many interests himself. If his dad wants to pick something up though, he'll be happy to introduce him to all kinds of stuff he likes.

"Is that how come you an' Helena are fighting again?"

Stir in the curry mixture and continue cooking until thickened, 6–8 minutes more.

Omi takes the small pot off the stove top and pours its contents into the large stew pot he borrowed from Aya. The kitchen is a mess: flour and curry powder dusting the countertop, a cutting board with carrot tops and a chef's knife in need of washing, potato peels in the sink, and a large bowl of udon noodles waiting on the side. The recipe for Beef Curry Udon hovers in hologram by the hood.

It's a double batch this time. Omi expects Hak and Goku will both want some when they get in, and that they will want seconds, if not thirds. He's definitely noticed an uptick in the grocery bill since Hak joined the household, and it wasn't exactly modest to begin with between Goku's appetite and Omi's preference for higher quality ingredients.

He should probably go out and buy one of these large stew pots for their own home now. Omi has a feeling Hak may be hanging around for longer than a couple of weeks. He has to admit that Goku seems even happier than usual having his brother around, and Hak seems to be enjoying being close to Goku again.

It's a strange, not wholly comfortable feeling in his stomach. There's an old saying that two is company and three is a crowd that feels quite apt, and he's not quite sure that he's part of the two.

Goku probably doesn't see it that way, and it isn't like he's being excluded from anything. It's just the nature of interactions: they most naturally occur in pairs. And it's both reasonable and heartening for Goku to be spending most of his time lately with his brother that he hasn't seen much of in years. If it was Yuushi, Omi knows he'd be doing the same as Goku. He's been privileged enough to live just a few doors down from his brother, though. He's never had to miss Yuushi the way Goku's had to alternately miss Mamoru and then Hak.

The pot bubbles with the mingled aromas of beef, onion, curry and chiles rising in the curls of steam.

Hak frowns and thinks on that question for a minute.

"...History says this was bound to happen sooner or later, but I'm sure dealing with him can't be giving her more patience."

That's a pretty insightful thought for Goku to have; he doesn't even see Helena very often. Goku is like that, though. He gets people.

Of course, that question might just as well have been meant to be about his patience levels. Goku would probably be right about that, too.

"Hmmm okay."

Their dad can be kind of a big presence around the house, so it wouldn't surprise him if him being there all the time makes for more fights. Goku knows, being stubborn himself, how spats can start when you're always bumping into each other. But he thinks it's just the way it is, with families.

"Oh, you wanna sandwich?" He goes back to his tower of deli meat and sliced cheese that was left on the counter next to the bread. It's actually kind of impressive. Goku can make a mean sandwich (not that it takes tons of skill or anything, but anyway).

Now that is a sandwich. Hak's eyes widen ever so slightly with approval for Goku's sense of appetite. It matches his own. Hey, they're strong guys. Strong guys need a lot of calories.

"I see you know how they're made. Hit me up."

He pauses and takes another look around the apartment.

"Your roomie out?"

The tour is taking a brief break for Golden Week. Akaya takes advantage of the down time to do absolutely nothing, which is somewhat rare. He usually spends it in the studio or attending promotional events and so on. But the songs in his head aren't going anywhere, and he can always record snippets here and there on his wearable if needed. Meanwhile, he's at Omi's, kicking back.

Omi is cooking for a small battalion. Might as well be, with the Brothers Son. Akaya thought he ate a lot, but that's before he met those guys.

He sits at the breakfast bar scrolling through his various social media accounts and punching in the occasional reply to an especially clever or interesting post. He doesn't volunteer to help, but he wouldn't object to doing so - if asked.

While the curry finishes cooking, Omi tries to do a bit of tidying with the sink and countertops. He probably could ask someone else to do it, whether Akaya or Hak and Goku, but he doesn't see a point in leaving it there and asking someone else to do it later if he's capable of handling it himself now. He's always been a bit independent that way.

And since gaining two in-laws that both have a flair for cooking amazing food, he's worked to develop his own culinary skills. As content as he might be to chow down on delivered pizza or Chinese takeout once in a while, he starts feeling gross if he doesn't get real food in the mix.

When the counters are wiped down, the cutting board and knife washed, and the potato peels disposed of, he checks the taste of the curry mix. He adds some salt, gives it a good stir, and turns off the heat.

"Done. Sorry for the wait-- you want some?"

He hates having to put Akaya on hold since they don't see each other much, but he couldn't very well stop in the middle of a recipe. Luckily they have plenty of time today.

"Hehe." Of course he does. He doesn't bother much with lettuce or tomato (if he felt like salad, he'd make one separate!) Goku takes out a plate and piles on the first sandwich and slides it across the counter.

As he preps his own sandwich, he nibbles on a few slices of ham, like a preview.

"Mmmhm. I think he's out with his boyfriend. Or maybe kind of." (Kind of boyfriend? Something, anyway).

Hak doesn't bother washing his hands first. He picks up the massive stack of meat and cheese and takes a hearty bite from it. He wrinkles his brow in confusion at Goku's answer, though he has to wait until he swallows some of that food before he can follow up.

"Maybe... kind of out?" That sounded uncomfortable.

"Are you kidding? I'm starving."

Akaya swipes off on his scrolling media feed and it disappears. He slides off his stool and saunters into the kitchen, peering into the stew pot that's still bubbling from the residual heat.

"Are you sure you made enough?" he says jokingly.

Goku doesn't waste any time with his sandwich either, and it's already half-way eaten by the time he replies:

"I mean kind-of-boyfriend." It made sense in Goku's brain, okay? Obviously he was talking about the second thing, not the first thing.

"He's like a rock star or something." Not that that explains anything at all. He's just supplying (not really) helpful information.

"You think you're making a joke," Omi says with a wry grin. He wouldn't be surprised if it really was gone by the time all four of them were through.

He gets two bowls from the cupboard, passing one to Akaya. After scooping some noodles into the bowl, he ladles the curry on top of it and sprinkles the top with chopped scallions and chile flakes he's set out in advance.

While Akaya dishes up his serving, Omi gets out two pairs of chopsticks, handing him one pair once he's ready.

"This is my sister-in-law's recipe. She adds mushroom stock to the curry for extra umami-- it's really good." It also thins it enough to make it the right consistency for coating the noodles.

That's probably not even a kind-of boyfriend, Hak concludes. Hopefully Omi doesn't have any delusions about how serious it is. Celebrities exist on a different plane from most people.

"How long has that been going on? --You met the guy?" He asks before another bite.

Futureverse

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