Cake Catastrophe (video; un: Sly Blue and RuffRabbit)

[bottombitch]

[ The scene may not be an usual one. There's a fire alarm blaring, the haze of smoke and the dismayed sound of a man who has fallen prey to some misadventure in cooking. Aoba whines about how he's ruined a birthday cake he toiled over for hours, makes a fuss at how he couldn't have possibly got it wrong, all the while trying to shut off the alarm.

Noiz is naturally filming this culinary disaster as it happens and is presenting it live on social media. Don't forget to hit subscribe, folks.

When he pushes open the door to the kitchen, there's enough smoke that it's left a dull haze hanging around the kitchen even with the ventilation fan on full blast and a certain blue-haired young man is flapping a dish towel frantically before the oven. The door is open and it belches smoke, makes him choke and cough as he hauls out the burnt remains of what may have been a cake.

He clearly did not do the cooking by the book, either through sheer laziness or by using some messy recipe and the cake turned out crazy. It looks more like a blackened bit of sponge than anything edible.

It’s at this point that the camera turns a bit to show the plain-faced cameraman, who reaches forward to rip a chunk of the blackened cake up from the smoldering mess, to take a bite.

Of course, he makes a face. Eyeing the camera now, he shakes his head. ]

Someone should teach this idiot how to bake.

Or at least point him to a cookbook.

[ And apparently, that’s too much for the victim star of the video to handle, as he runs toward the cameraman, hands out to take the comm from him. ]

You complete brat! Are you filming this?! Don’t eat that garbage, what are you doing--!?

[ Looks like the show is over, unless you want to reply to the video that now abruptly shuts off to help this pair of fools. ]


[ ooc: Aoba's dialogue is in blue, Noiz is in green. ]

Comments

[bottombitch]

[ Aoba really shouldn't tease him about Rhyme, especially since he can't even play it right now. But sometimes he just can't help himself. ]

This really isn't a complicated concept, even little kids understand this. They're always excited on their birthdays because they get cake and presents... even they know that when people celebrate this day with them, it's because this day is special to them too. ♥

[ It's unintentionally bittersweet, may remind him of the absence of this special feeling when growing up, make him feel a little more distant from a normal childhood... but at the same time... ]

Today's the day Noiz was born. That means it's an important day for me too.

Let's go~ [ Did you notice he hasn't answered your question? ]

[bunnyblock]

['Let's go.' Yeah, alright. He'll just nod along and let the other drag him out of the communal apartment and down the hall, not arguing that he's being dragged somewhere he's wholly unprepared for.

He could always just leave if he gets uncomfortable, so...]

Never saw birthdays that way before. [Honestly. He doesn't feel the need to tell the other that he didn't get birthday parties or presents from his family, usually just clothes or new books to learn from in the quiet of his own room. Aoba should already know that, like he seems to know everything else.

So this whole 'making a cake' and 'going somewhere special...' He's completely baffled. But it was that last sentence that keeps him off the topic of his question that's still being avoided: 'It's an important day for me, too'.]

Don't over-exaggerate. Idiot.

[bottombitch]

[ Aoba drags him all the way to the zoo, although their trip is made easier with some small interruptions to utilize whatever public transportation they can afford. Aoba splurges for the occasion, opting to hail a ride. This ride is short, private and quiet as a result.

They're not far from their destination, just a moment away before he finally lets himself laugh. ]

...I think I saw an interesting expression just now. Are you excited to see it?

[ He worries the signs will give it away. The road seems filled with advertisements for Riverview Zoo, so he turns to Noiz from the back seat and puts a hand to the side of his face, directing his attention to him. ]

Have you figure it out yet? Close your eyes... no peeking.

[ Aoba leans forward in his seat, directing his mouth through the open space for the driver to hear. ]

Ah. Gate F, please!

[ It's the closest entrance to the pens, after all. The ones he hopes Noiz will like best. He made sure that as soon as they exited the vehicle and passed in the tickets Aoba has at the ready, they will be faced with many various pens and cages of fluffy rabbits of all shapes and sizes. ]

[bunnyblock]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[A simple answer for a simple suggestion--whatever suggestion Aoba thinks he saw certainly doesn't cross Noiz' mind as Weird, even if it's entirely possible he made a strange face.

He's quietly glad that Aoba doesn't drag him onto a train or some sort of bus--he really hated public transport and even when he'd escaped Germany he'd avoided the Deutsche Bahn entirely due to how close people seemed to sit together no matter what time of day it was.

He makes a noise of complaint when he's yanked around and not allowed to watch the scenery fly by as well, shooting Aoba annoyed looks through the cracks of the others' fingers, eyebrows furrowing heavily against the studs between his eyes.]

How am I supposed to guess without a hint. Oi.

[His tone was low and irritable, but... he was already this far in, the worst that could happen is Aoba could bring him somewhere completely weird--and then it was just easy to tell him he wasn't interested and walk away. He'd feel no shame about it, so...

When they finally get out of the car, there's a terribly familiar scent in the air. Nostalgia isn't something Noiz feels often, nor fondly--but the smell of the Zoo was something that he could never forget.

After all, it had been somewhere he'd run and hide in his youth, back before his parents had locked him up inside the confines of his own bedroom--And when his eyes fall on the enclosures full of Rabbits...

It's the first time he feels anything close to relief in a long time.

He's not shy for a moment, walking right by the friend who had gone through all the trouble to bring him here in order to step into one of the pens--it was a petting zoo, it's not like he wasn't allowed inside--immediately taking a seat in order to attract one of the more lop-eared breeds to himself.

It's like riding a bicycle, a feeling you never forget how to deal with, and once again, Aoba Seragaki has left him completely baffled.]

...I really can't believe you, you know.

This, too... [Aoba knew about this, or...?] ...You really are something.

[bottombitch]

[ It feels like cheating, like having the answers to a test in hand, or knowing the winning numbers for the next lottery. He already knows the ending to this movie and watches the scene unfold like it's his favorite part.

He gets to see this. Noiz' first time seeing his favorite animal like this in the first time since... who knows?

Aoba watches Noiz approach the pen. The air is heavy with the scent of animals, but not really offensive. The place is well kept, the pens cleaned and animals brushed. It's definitely strong, that smell of so many animals housed in one place. It reminds him of Germany when he was running around aimlessly searching anywhere for Noiz after a fight. His little brother had told him where he could be found and he thought 'of course' and 'this is exactly the sort of thing Noiz would like'.

So this is why he chose this for his birthday. And because he knows it too, when Noiz is having a bad day and is nowhere to be found, this will be where he looks for him. ]

It's not very hard to guess. Your Allmate is a rabbit, and you even wear them on your hat.

[ Aoba feels his face burn a little with a blush, pleased that it's gone over so well, but then again? He was cheating. Topping this next year will be a challenge. Maybe if he bought a pair of rabbit ears and a...

...

...Let's not think about that right now. ]

Aaah, they look so soft! [ He finds a spot near Noiz and settles in, watching the rabbits rustle and wiggle their noses as they take gentle jumps around the enclosure. ] I can see why you like them so much.

[bunnyblock]

[Without a shadow of a doubt, this place, the directions to get there, everything about it... he was already making a mental map of it, a quiet, comfortable place to go from now on, if he ever needed to be alone. Truly alone, not just hiding in the housing block away from prying eyes.

Once again Aoba had shown to know far too much about the things Noiz found important, and while it might drive any person into insult, offense, suspect or paranoia--somehow, it felt... oddly okay, to have someone in his world. Understanding him, knowing him more than what he showed on the surface.]

I never really thought about it.

[Seriously. He didn't. Despite the fact that Aoba was right--a lot of the things he familiarized himself with were rabbit related--even right down to his Rhymer team name, which he still clung to here.]

...They're quiet, and they take a while to trust people. [Rabbits, he means. He knows enough about them, so perhaps that's why he felt a draw to them. They were like him.] But if they lie on their side, it means they trust you.

[He'd visited the zoo enough when he was a kid to even have the rabbits fall asleep on him--a rare show of trust for such skittish animals.

As Aoba settles next to him... he's going to point to the rabbit he's currently seeing to.]

...Don't touch their ears, or their feet.

Between their eyes, or their cheeks.

That's where they like to be petted.

[bottombitch]

[ It had been a concern, that maybe taking him here would have been too personal and Noiz would have been pissed that Aoba knew even this. But it was a distant one, he took care to make the ride over as stress-free as possible. It's a shame about the cake, though...

Aoba leans forward, his elbows on his knees and rests his chin in his hands. Watching. It's really calming, especially when his eyes fall on a pile of rabbits sleeping together, their little noses twitching as they breathe shallowly.

He turns to watch Noiz as he explains how to handle rabbits, with one part in particular shocking him. He drops his hands and blinks, wide-eyed. ]

Heeeh...?

Really? They don't like their ears to be touched?

[ Honestly they're so long and graceful-looking, he wanted to touch them. The more you know. ]

I would've never guessed, Noiz... was it just by hanging around them a lot that you know so much? Or did you look it up?

[ He's just going to reach over Noiz to timidly stroke a line between it's eyes with a finger, because he's not really sure if he's doing this right. Is that too soft? Too hard? ]

[bunnyblock]

[If Aoba were using the 'secrets' he apparently knew about Noiz for more dubious enterprises, the light-haired male might be angry about this. He might explode and tell the other to push off, to get out of his business, to stop nosing into his business like some weird stalker.

But everything the other has done and said about the apparent 3 months difference between them had been done in a weird sort of kindness. Showing him that he cared and doing things to (weirdly) try to make him happy. So for now, he's going to allow Aoba to have the benefit of his doubt until he saw the door of whatever steel trap that was being set up around him start to swing shut.]

Rabbits don't have good sight. It'd be sort of like me petting your eyelids.

[Which sounds uncomfortable, right?]

....

I learnt it by hanging around.

I used to spend a lot of time at the zoo when I was younger.

...

Before... they stopped letting me leave the mansion.

[Aoba already knows about that, but it's still hard to say, somehow.]

1/2

[bottombitch]

[ Aoba has a very strange mental image of Noiz touching his eyelids and squirming uncomfortably, wanting to look at him but not being able to. Yeah, that's... super awkward. ]

I see your point.

Just thinking about it gives me a disgusting feeling.

[bottombitch]

[ He falls silent for a time at the mention of his horrible childhood, the gentle stroking on the rabbit's head slowing until he stops. He's heard it before, seen it in Noiz' mind during Scrap. Felt the isolation and neglect heavy like chains around Noiz, weighing him down.

They're still there, even now. That hurts a little, knowing he's still suffering with it all. ]

...Do you want to talk about it?

[ The time at the zoo, the time stuck in the mansion. Anything is fine, just as long as Noiz wants to talk about it. He'll listen, because it's the first time Noiz has uttered a word about his past... it must be difficult, especially since he hasn't forced it out of him like he had last time. ]

[bunnyblock]

[The rabbit under Aoba's hands was quietly flattening out, letting its head rest on the ground as it relaxed under his gentle fingers, its back legs stretching out to make itself comfortable.

Noiz watches this, quiet as Aoba asks that question and it makes his stomach knot up in a way he's entirely unused to. It's a frustrating feeling, due to how he's not felt it in a long, long time. He distracts himself from it by picking up one of the smaller rabbits, cradling it against his arms as his fingers draw circles along its cheek.]

Not really.

[It's an honest answer--he doesn't want to think about back then, let alone talk about it. And besides:]

There's nothing to talk about.

It was the same every day.

[bottombitch]

[ Noiz doesn't want to talk about it. It doesn't surprise him, not when the memories are so painful. They're shameful too, seeing the way his parents had treated him like an inconvenience to be hidden away from plain sight. It wasn't just neglectful, it was abuse. Noiz was alone for so many years... is it any wonder that being in crowded places makes him tense?

Aoba leans his head against Noiz' shoulder, his hair tingling at the slight pressure. ]

Mm. That's okay.

[ He sits with him in silence, absently stroking the rabbit until he starts to relax and stretch out. It's so cute, watching this one and the one cradled in Noiz' arms. It makes him feel a little sleepy, too... ]

Ah! [ Aoba straightens slightly, makes a hushed, excited sound and his hand crawls over to squeeze Noiz' thigh first, blindly trying to get his attention as he stares at the rabbit. ]

He's... he's laying down! Noiz...!

[ He's getting excited about something as normal as this? It's not really something he's experienced before, and here comes that childlike wonder spreading over his face and his voice and body language. ]

[bunnyblock]

[He has more important things to think about right now anyway. He's on a literal planet far, far away from everything that had hurt him. He's missing out on Rhyme but everything else didn't matter--he'd wound up in this place alongside the only person who'd ever paid him any real mind. So thinking about the past...

He didn't linger on it. He lets his thoughts drift to the quiet little situation Aoba had put them in, honestly starting to enjoy himself despite the fact that it's not his usual sort of hobby.

He had busied himself with the bunny that was falling asleep in his arms when there's the distant feeling of someone's hand on his thigh, and he looks up to see Aoba's own rabbit starting to relax.

A smile curls up his lips as he looks at how excited Aoba gets about it and he shakes his head.]

...You're cute.

[bottombitch]

Isn't he just?

[ He's so caught up in thinking the rabbit is being the cutest thing in the universe that he mistakes Noiz' observation for being about it, not him. He's practically vibrating with excitement and tension, trying not to disturb it when it's looking so comfortable.

Then his eyes fall on the one falling asleep in Noiz' arms, his little body huffing air faster than it would seem 'relaxing' for a person or a dog, but there it is... drifting off. ]

Uwaaah, I can't, I don't think my heart can take this... so adorable...

[ His eyes are prickling, he's not going to cry, he's just got something in his eye. Honest. ]

[bunnyblock]

[It's almost funny, the moment that passes where Aoba mistakes what Noiz had said--thinking he was talking about the rabbit. He can't help a soft laugh, the sound escaping his nose in a small rush.

He closes his eyes, giving his head a single shake as the guy keeps going without a clue, about how cute it is.
As he continues, the rabbit opens its eyes again, as if wondering where the hands that had been treating it nicely have gone--before kicking its legs out to the side, getting comfortable.]

Oi.

[He doesn't say much more than that, trying to get Aoba's attention...

...as his small, handheld communicator comes out, and he's snapping a picture of the slightly teary-eyed guy and his new rabbit friend.]

1/2

[bottombitch]

[ Aoba takes the bait. He's mid-sniffle, smiling like a total dork as he strokes the rabbit's soft fur when he looks up with tears brimming in his eyes at the sheer cuteness unfolding before him when he hears the telltale soundbite of a picture being taken. ]

...Ah?

[bottombitch]

HAAAH?!

[ Did he just...

No, he wouldn't. Oh, who is he kidding? Of course Noiz would, the brat! He took a picture at this very embarrassing moment! How incredibly rude! Aoba bristles, balls up his hands into fists and nearly curls in on himself in sheer embarrassment. ]

N-Noiz!! Did you just take my picture?

[ He's just going to clutch at his sleeve now in the hopes of not disturbing any sleeping bunnies as he tries to grab for the communicator device. Give that here, you jerk! ]

Don't you dare post that!

[bunnyblock]

Aa. I did.

[And Aoba's screaming and his almost offended question doesn't seem to be enough to make him even TRY to deny it.

Even so much so that he flips the device around to show him--a very peaceful picture of Aoba looking absolutely delighted next to the dozing, happy rabbit.]

Something wrong?

[bottombitch]

Mn...!

[ Aoba stares at it, his mouth settling into a stern line on his face as he assesses it, finds himself grasping at straws. It's actually... kind of nice. He imagines it took either considerable skill or luck to capture the precise moment before he out and embarrassed himself with his emotions, somehow managing to make it look... adorable. Aoba's expression is easily outshone by the subject matter and that's fine by him.

Did Noiz do that on purpose? ]

...

[ Aoba takes the device from his hand to look at it from lower down, watching the screen from as low as his lap, and then rushes forward to press his lips against his cheek.

He probably can't feel much more than some dull pressure on him, as if some sheet of rubber was placed between them, but Aoba can't help himself. It's fleeting, just a press of warm lips against cooler skin and then he's pulling his chin against his chest again and staring off to the side, pushing Noiz' device back against his chest. Take it back. ]

[bunnyblock]

[If the other were to inquire about the precision and timing of the photo, he'd be met with a noncommittal answer, anyhow. You don't manage in Noiz' line of work with lucky photographs and found footage, after all.

Fortunately, he not only doesn't bother asking Noiz about that at all--but instead he does something baffling instead.

It makes the hacker's brain still for a moment as he hits Aoba with his best calculating look--as if he's putting the pieces of a very articulate puzzle together for the first time.

The fuss this morning with the cake, the secret plans with a specially-arranged ride to a place Noiz had always found comfort in, followed by an action as ... oddly 'innocent' as a kiss on the cheek...

His hands come up to take his communicator from the other, and he finally looks away. Something passes through his mind quietly as he looks down at the photo he'd taken.]

Hey.

Do you have any more plans? [Are they going to get a real cake? See the rest of the zoo, after this?

He's seemed to slip back into normal conversation too easily after that kiss, but there's an oddly determined look in his eyes.]

[bottombitch]

[ It makes sense, Noiz was in the business of acquiring and selling data. To the right buyer, photographic evidence was as valuable as the content captured and quality combined - of course he'd have an eye for capturing a good picture. After having seen it and found it... Acceptable, Aoba couldn't help but reconsider the urge to delete it from his comm device, kind of liked the thought of Noiz having that sort of picture of him close at hand.

How embarrassing, what a stupid thing to get so happy about. But there he is, heart racing like a damn teenager, thinking way too hard about the implications of that simple act that really just amounts to 'taking a picture' -- Aoba is getting worked up over basically nothing, getting caught up in his own thoughts as usual.

Aoba had already begun to fold in on himself, leaning as far onto his knees as he could to resume stroking the rabbit with ease and hide his red skin from direct view, letting the mess of blue hair curtain and frame his face. ]

Mm?

[ His plans had been derailed at first, but this trip proved a nice and pleasant diversion from it. It also allowed the apartment to air out from the pungent, nose-wrinkling stink of burnt confectionery. ]

I really screwed up earlier, but after this I really had nothing planned.

[ He smiles at him, hugging his knees as he looks at him from below. ]

Did you want to go somewhere else? This is Noiz' day, after all. You can do whatever you'd like. ♥

[bunnyblock]

[He had his own reasons for taking the photo--reasons he wouldn't really be able to put into words until far lately, in all likelyhood. His fingers move over the surface of his comm device, making sure the image was saved before he's moving to tuck it away.


After the other answers, he merely nods his head once--looking back down at the small rabbit that's decided Noiz' arms were the best place to sleep. It was comfortable here, like this, and he was entirely okay with staying for another little while, but...]

...I want to eat, and then I want to go home. I have something I want to do.

[bottombitch]

Something you want to do?

[ Maybe he's got a job, some project to keep him busy. Aoba's envious, just a little bit, for the fact Noiz has already found something to inspire his passion and ambition like this. He's just content to make it by, go through the motions to make a paycheck until he settles in, finds a goal of his own that isn't him playing the world's loneliest satellite to Noiz. ]

If you'd like, I can get what you want now and meet up with you at home!

[ He thinks he wants alone time with these cuddly, cute rabbits. After all, this is Noiz' secret love. Enjoying his day with them is exactly what Aoba wants him to do, he wants him to indulge his birthday celebration doing anything he wants.

He pushes up against his knees, smiling sunnily into Noiz' face. ]

Is there something you want for dinner? You'll tell me, won't you?

[bunnyblock]

[He takes a moment to look down at the enclosed space of rabbits...

Before moving to half lie-down in the space where there weren't any in his way. He props his head up against his wrist, sliding the little bunny he's cradling back down onto the mostly-clean pen, before glancing up at the other.

There's a cheeky look on his face--almost one that could be called crafty in nature. Who even knows what he's thinking, with an expression like that--Aoba could only hope to guess.]

You're really going out of your way for me.

[Offering to let Noiz relax here while he goes off to get dinner...

Another peg in that list of confusingly kind things Aoba seems focused on doing for him.]

...I wan't something I haven't tried before.

[A pause.]

Something Aoba likes.

[bottombitch]

Don't get too used to it, it's because this is a special occasion.

[ Except in those moments when he forgets himself and helps Noiz out of his coat when he comes in the door, or makes him dinner, or drapes his arms over his shoulders and pecks him on the cheek. All of those hormones and feelings have his head mixed up more times than he can count.

Aoba lifts up from his knees and cups his chin, thinking. ]

Something I like and something Noiz hasn't tried before... mm.

[ Aoba considers it. He'd hoped that by excusing himself he could have the luxury of picking out a cake without losing face for not knowing a thing about baked confectionery, or perhaps distance himself enough to steal a photograph for himself with Noiz being used as a mattress for totally relaxed and slumbering rabbits (this is still, for the record, on the table).

But he's distracted by that look of mischief that tugs at his memory. He recognizes it, but he's still not sure if it's up to no good, or perhaps too much good than he can handle. It makes him nervous, he's wary of that expression, but he gives it up. Noiz wants something to eat, after all... he's on a mission. ]

Aah! I know just the thing! I'll come back here with it, so hang tight okay?

[ And sure enough, about half an hour later he returns, laden with a small box containing a small cake with a single candle in it (unlit, of course) and another bag containing what would be their meal. He asked for it to be given in a fairly well ventilated container. Whether it was cool or hot didn't matter so much as the texture and the toppings. ]

...Noiz, are you awake?

[ He sets down his burden. Inside the container is something that... looks like pancake filled with seafood and vegetables and striped on top with mayonnaise and some kind of sweet brown sauce and sprinkled with red ginger and bonito flakes. It's okonomiyaki. It's... kind of like pizza? For someone who maybe has never had pizza ever. ]