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[with the roof opening in a neat way, subaru has very much moved his nights there to stargaze with and without his telescope; tonight he's "invited" natsume to join him, aka wheedling him until he did, and as always

as always,

while it doesn't seem that subaru pays much attention to anyone at all, even his friends, he has. ever since natsume returned like the others, ever since the student body returned to school, and while natsume's good at hiding things from almost anyone...

well!

subaru's gonna let it sit for a bit, fiddling with the telescope until it peers at the stars above, and invite natsume to take a gander.

people always look with their dominant eye, after all.]

Sakasaki-kun! ( right on the 30 mark, and yes he's going to danganronpa stand right in front of him. )

How was breakfast, did you leave me a piece of toast?

[... that is, when natsume stirs; he'll find subaru sleeping seemingly soundly at his side, face turned away as his arms pillow his head. the rise and fall of his shoulders are slight, but there's a tenseness in his visible hands that seem more on the edge of a nightmare than not; it doesn't help that their room has the tendency to feel uneasy past 8am, and it's very much past that.

> wake the sleeping boy?
> attempt to leave without waking him?
> return to sleep?]

( please specify us a date, because i didn't know.

now, maybe natsume's in a classroom, or somewhere in the dormitory, wherever he was able to get ahold of the tv to be alone — as for komaeda, he's nowhere nearby. rather, he shouldn't be, but it's the fact that he can hear someone talking that catches his attention, a certain voice that's like music to his ears, and he would follow anywhere depending on the journey. the voice was soft, but then it gets louder as he comes closer and closer to a certain door, and his head cants to one side as he stares at it.

as familiar as it is, he takes a step forward (cautiously) as he presses his ear against the door trying to listen, at this point he's trying to learn who the other is talking to. he doesn't know the topic of conversation, but he'll give it a few seconds before attempting to open the door. he wants to make sure he's hearing right, after all. )

☆1

Whoever gets to the door first will realize there's something on the other side, so it's probably best to refer to either Natsume or Subaru to check what it could be. Either way, two people will find their name written on a stocking that's hanging on the handle, and various gifts on the floor.

Edited 2021-12-19 10:36 (UTC)

[guess who got up earliest today and gently set something by Natsume's pillow? that'd be Helena.

her gift to him is a cat made of wood, with velvet ribbon around its neck. that said, the rest of the ribbon spool is under it, like a little stand - it's fine quality, and his to use as he pleases.

she did make sure to get one that feels nice for him.]

( it's after the party, probably, and there's going to be a few knocks against natsume's door. he did tell komaeda to visit with these... plates, and plates of cookies, and so he's here. )

Sakaksaki-kun, are you in?

[it's a time when Subaru's out of the room, when Helena quietly slips away to the kitchen and returns with a sandwich cut in two. she's not said anything, but she notices - she notices much more than perhaps people want to give her credit for. when someone's trying to subsist on little, and she knows because she's done it herself, when they withdraw and something isn't the same.

when their world gets tilted on the axis, and seared and cut.

instead of asking, she sits near Natsume, and places the food between them.]

You should eat something, you know.

[when was the last time he had a meal that was actually substantial? and not half disregarded?]

[Happy birthday, Noah puts shadow cat ears on Natsume as a "fun prank bro" to get his attention, and once he has it, he'll point his finger upwards to a blanket of stars in which he's written HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATSUME because he can't just talk like a person.]

[so, if Natsume thought his roommates were going to forget about him...they did not, and have been quietly planning for a bit to surprise him. nothing big, but Natsume's probably been suspicious since they only both told him happy birthday in the morning. he's right to be, because he'll come back at a point when he's been out...

to both Helena and Subaru waiting to sing him happy birthday. they've set up a little display, with glitter and lights and a small spiced chocolate cake for him. in addition, he does have two presents - a set of earrings that they'll confess they handmade to match him as well as his birthstone, and a letter with sections from both of them, written in Braille so he'll always be able to read it.

Helena thanks him for his friendship and support, his care and kindness towards her, and wishes nothing but the best for his upcoming year in all he does. and Subaru writes (via dictation) that he thanks him for always being there and reaching out to him, helping him meet the friends he has now and remaining still in his life even if he's annoying at times. more than anything he'd love to spend the rest of their lives together, friends until they're old and grey, and promises that they'll have that chance in the next life -- he doesn't need to be able to see the future to know they'll always find each other, like two stars in the same gravity. so yeah he gets a friendship letter and a love letter both.

honestly, the true gift is that no one went overboard in celebrations and that Subaru just hid a wish to tell him happy birthday under wolf rp.]

[well usually she has months to plan for friends' birthdays but everybody here always makes it a surprise SO. she instead condenses her gift-planning into a day and waits by his room until such a time that she can confront him.]

Happy birthday! [holds out a plate with. a perfectly ordinary sandwich on it? there's no candle but she did tape some orange construction paper to a toothpick and that's on there.]

[...

he misses natsume. he doesn't miss the drying chicken bones, but he misses natsume. subaru doesn't even see him in the school halls because he hasn't actually been going to class lately, pained first by loss and then by the knowledge he learned (is learning) from sara just yesterday. he tries a few beginnings, paces the room and hates how it feels like something's watching him, then ends up just

going outside to sit behind the dorms, the chill of the shade comforting somehow.]

give me back my bed

[yeah nailed it]

[...

time to try again]

do you remember when we sang together at the cultural fes

[because she hasn't been in class, she's had a few days to collect herself. to feel wounded, broken in a hidden place. it means that in the afternoon, she makes her way to the room where Natsume's been, torn himself away from them, and knocks gently.

no one in that room would knock so nicely. she's hoping she's gauged the timing right.]

[... ... ...

well, it's been a minute since. the whole meeting thing. with things revealed... the truth more fully laid bare... there's an empty feeling scratching at his heart, still lingering since a week ago, but anger smolders further within it. he fiddles around the whole day, slinking back to school to attend a class or two before he slips away again, laying on the roof and staring at the still-light sky.

it's warming up. he wishes he could enjoy it with someone.

... ... ...]

do you think it mattered?

[helena hadn't come back like normal.

he had given it the benefit of the doubt, that maybe she had decided to go wireless visiting jizo since there was no need anyway for it, but

she isn't back in the morning, and subaru crawls into natsume's bunk annoying as ever. sits, a weight at the side, before laying down. he isn't sure if he's allowed, still, not that he ever was in the other's opinion.]

Na~tsume. Wake up.

sometime first week of sept idk

9/17

10/03 noonish

10/??

12/25 — door handle

12/25

12/25 — night