pslplz | Futureverse

The game projector is on pause, but the effects are still pretty stunning in standby mode. The entire living room looks like the bridge of a futuristic starship, with the tv screen doubling as the ship's own window into the galaxy. A fluorescent glow of the various command panels bathe the room. Goku hasn't bothered to switch it off, since he plans on going back to his mission after a brief snack break. He's in the kitchen fixing himself a sandwich when he hears the doorbell go off. Weird, since he's not expecting anyone.

He puts down the bread (but grabs a quick bite of it) before trotting to the front door and sliding it open.

"Hey!" Goku's face lights up. He's surprised, but not in a bad way. "What's up? Come in!"

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?"

"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.

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."

"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?"

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?"

"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.

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.

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.

Goku, on the otherhand, doesn't make any assumptions because of the rock star thing. Maybe because he thinks Akaya is also just Akaya, and nothing especially different.

"I dunno. A year? I met him maybe a couple times. He wasn't wearing much," Goku says with a smirk.

Hak almost chokes on his sandwich from his snort. Well, well. Good for Omi, then. A year is actually a pretty long time; maybe it's more serious than he gave it credit for.

"I see. Bet that was awkward."

"A little? But it's not like he's got anything I've never seen before." Goku can be rather matter-of-fact about it. The timing was a little weird, definitely for a first-time meet. But they weren't completely in the middle of it, so there's that.

Anyway, Hak is forewarned, in case he walks in on anything in the future.

"So it's fine as long as it's not a girl?" He prods with a grin. Hey little bro, you walked right into this line of teasing.

And the point is taken that Omi has a special friend and may not always be as careful about location as he should be.

"That's not what I meant," Goku says with a slight blush. Yeah, he did accidentally step into that one, didn't he?

"...so is there anything you wanna do while you're here?"

Mostly, it involves going to all the tasty food places together, if Goku gets to pick. But Hak can feel free to suggest things, too.

Hak's grin makes it quite clear he's enjoying Goku's trip-up. And if he were feeling like it, he might happily continue to press on it. This time, he'll allow the subject change.

"Aside from watch you race? Spar. Show me how good you've gotten."

Futureverse

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