tinyf1re | (no subject)

(no subject)

[it's birthday time! Axel is 19 years old today, and while that's not considered a milestone age much of anywhere, it's still a birthday and he's still celebrating it. the first part of the day was probably spent with Kai and his older self, but now it's approaching sunset and he's taking a short break to text lil' Kairi. he's been busy loading up the wagon/cart that attaches to Kai's bike, with firewood, food, a sleeping bag, and an extremely compressed little pop-up tent that he'll never get to collapse again and will probably just leave behind tomorrow.

"So how about that Agrabah campout we talked about? 2nite?"

he'll go regardless, and if Kairi's not up for it tonight they'll go some other time, but.]

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[ Well... she does appreciate that. It's cute, and she's still continuously impressed. ]

How long did it take you to get everything ready?

Not that long, honestly. Older me 'n Kai have a big supply of firewood already, and for the other stuff I just kinda ran through the grocery store with the cooler.

[she's cute, and he's honestly amazed sometimes that anyone likes hanging out with him, but especially her, she's just so perfect. ;o; ]

Where do they get all that firewood anyway?

[ She thinks it's probably Olderxel punching trees down or something. Since her hands are empty she dusts them off and then plants them on her hips, trying to figure out how they should arrange this. Should she just let Axel do it? He seems to have a particular vision. ]

I dunno, actually. Knowing this place it probably just leaves some new wood once in a while, but maybe older me goes through the woods once in a while for some.

[he does indeed have a vision, and probably more experience at building a fire than she does. along with the actual firewood there was also a bundle of sticks, which he gets and then flops down onto the rooftop to arrange. there's a blob of greyish fluff that seems to be the foundation for the sticks.]

[ Kairi has never built a fire in her life, so that's almost certain. She's helped a little, for beach bonfires, but not in any way that really counts. She takes a seat on the edge of the roof and drops her chin into her hands to watch, as typical when it comes to Axel. ]

Chopping wood always seems to be that thing guys do in movies when they're worried about something, so punching trees is probably super stress-relieving. Remember that time I was Red Riding Hood for Halloween and I got lost in the woods?

Oh, yeah! That was kinda scary, but at least you didn't get hurt or anything.

[presumably. there's now a small pyramid of sticks set up, with the fluff underneath, and Axel summons a bit of fire into his hand and feeds it carefully into the middle, where the fluff immediately goes up and the sticks start to catch as well.]

Yeah. I'm kinda worried about when the dressing room decides to stop protecting me.

[ Since she has never gotten hurt, not really, Kairi's just always blamed it on the dressing room being nice to her, the same way people act protective and treat her like nothing bad should happen to her. She's been hurt emotionally, yeah, but never had anything destructively traumatic happen to her, and she's never been hurt more than common childhood injuries. ]

Maybe it already has, and you haven't noticed because there are so many people looking out for you.

[this version of Axel's never had anything major happen to him here except for that time the dressing room flooded, less than a year after he arrived. that fucked him up for a while, but apart from that there hasn't really been anything.]

[ Ah. Dokidoki. Kairi gets the giggles from that response, but she's at least a little shy about it. ]

Then I hope my protectors stay with me for a long time, if that's the case. Or even if it's not.

Of course we will. Uh.

[dammit. well, whatever. who knows if he's even personally protected Kairi at any point, but probably. maybe during a spell or something, like the blackout one where his older self got those cool facial scars from protecting Riku! yeah! can he be consumed by this tiny fire now. he's definitely not trying to be absorbed into it while Hachibi snickers at him.]

[ Almost certainly! Just because she's avoided terrible injury and terrible going-ons in general doesn't mean she hasn't been in danger, although perhaps less than it appeared. She's gonna come over and hug him from behind, because she thinks he's cute. ]

I'd track you down if you didn't.

[god, i hope he got to do some sick stuff with fire and kicking, that would be awesome. but he's seen the sort of attack stuff Kai and other people can do with light, so Kairi probably isn't as defenseless as some people might think, yeah. he doesn't tense up when she hugs him, at least, like he might have in the past, and leans back into it a little!]

...good. I mean. That's how friends and families work, right?

That's how mine do.

[ She's happy with how comfortable he is with her now, and a direct result of it has probably been more affectionate as time goes on. She used to lean on people like this as a way of getting piggy back rides, but now it's just pure affection. One day Kairi will train to be able to fight better... One day! ]

[at least Inaya's probably taught her the basics of how best to run and evade scary assholes, and how to like, headbutt people in the chin. Axel's just glad, secretly and not-so-secretly, that they live in a timeline of the dressing room where there aren't Heartless everywhere, and that most of the bad people have disappeared over the years.]

Okay, I think the fire's going alright now, if you wanna hand me a couple of bits of the in-between sized wood so it can get a little bigger. Do you want food or s'mores first?

Presents!

[ Hello, duh, it's your birthday. Why would we do anything else. Though, to be fair, that probably means food. No one here doesn't think it means food, especially with his nose. She is loading her arms up with wood, though, and helpfully bringing them over. ]

Oh right. I forgot, somehow.

[he's an idiot, that's how. he takes the wood from her and settles a couple of bits on the fire, and then scoots around in place for presents. giev fud. fud delivered by cute girl is even better!]

It's your birthday! Good thing I didn't forget about presents.

[ How can she, though. It's such a busy day of the year for her. ]

Close your eyes.

[ It doesn't really matter, with his sense of smell, but it's the theatrics of if that matter! The thought! She'll be getting boxes. ]

[ >.> is one of the presents a kiss, because he's on board for that. no it's food, he knows this, but tbf there are a LOT of food smells here right now and also lingering around her from whatever else she made for other Axels today, so it'll kind of be a surprise. he closes his eyes and rests his hands palm up in his lap so she can place whatever boxes there.]

How long did it take you to make stuff for all three of us?

Mmmmmmm, a day? I was working on it last night, too. Kairi and Ienzo helped me with some of it.

[ Taste-testing, mostly. She walks over and sets down one box beside him, then dashes back to the wagon to grab the other box and come back over. The other box gets set down beside the first one, then she shoulders off her backpack with a whump away from the boxes to shuffle around inside of it. Aha. The sound (and scent) of cardboard and wax. There's a papery popping sound, and then another one, and then a third one that is definitely the sound of one of the boxes opening. ]

Keep 'em closed.

[what the fuck that's so much!!! why is he cursed with such a cute and generous friend!]

That sounds like a lot of stuff, almost like I didn't need to bring any food at all.

[he jests, of course, and they both know it.]

Yeah right, maybe if it was anyone else. But, it's not that much. It's your birthday!

[ There's another papery popping sound as she settles down across from him on her knees, and then she's moving something into his hands. It's one of the boxes! But it's open, so be careful. Then an envelope gets set between him and the box, and a small package is unearthed from her backpack to be set on the other side. ]

Almost done! I'm gonna put a hat on you, but keep your eyes closed.

[ And she will, unless he stops her. Well, two paper party hats, tilting out on each side of his head. ]

[Kairi you're gonna make him cry with all this stuff, even at his age and despite having experienced several he's still not used to the concept of birthday parties, and that's it's just the two of them makes it even more special. ;~; but he's being good and not even immediately sticking a hand into the box to try and feel what it is.]

That feels like two hats, Kairi.

It is!

[ So confident. Once she has the hats adjusted she leans back to observe, and, satisfied, claps her hands together. ]

Perfect. One more thing, then you can open your eyes.

[ That's a boost of nerves, but she's gotta lean forward and press a gentle kiss on one side of his mouth. It's not that she wants to overwhelm him or make him cry, she just wants him to feel loved! ]

[!!! wait, don't go yet, he's gonna turn his head just enough before she pulls away and give her a chaste little smooch right on her mouth, because he appreciates her! like nothing ever happened: ]

I want a picture of myself now. They're like ears, right?

[ Oh no, she can't fluster him so easily anymore! This is tragic when she's still the one blushing!!! She's happy he's so happy, though, and crashes back on her butt to fold her legs under her and pull out her phone. ]

A little more than you think. I'll take a video and pictures. You can open your eyes now.