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esp_dragonv2) wrote2020-08-19 12:00 am
esp_dragonv2) wrote2020-08-19 12:00 am
Before and After
Fandom: AI: The Somnium Files
Summary: Date's head was quieter without Aiba.
Notes: Written for GaleWrites for Parallels.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 1,300
Status: Work in progress
Date's head was quieter without Aiba.
"Hey, what do-" Date stopped, staring at the contents of the fridge. Right, Aiba wasn't... It was too much of an ingrained habit to ask her things.
"Stew," Mizuki said, kicking the door closed behind her as she dropped her school bag on the floor.
"I thought you said you hated my stew?" Date said, double-checking what he'd need to get. Aiba would have known what was missing and chimed in already, and Date let out a small breath, gripping the fridge door.
Mizuki scowled at him. "No, I just said I wasn't in the mood. I'm in the mood for it now."
"All right, all right," Date said, raising his hands to placate her. "I'll need to go out and buy some ingredients though, so it'll be a while before it's ready."
"That's fine. What are you buying?"
"Huh?" Date looked at her in confusion. "Why do you want to know?" Mizuki had never asked him what he was getting at the shops before.
Mizuki's scowl deepened. "It's so you don't forget anything, because I'm coming with you, duh. Got a problem with that?"
"My memory isn't that bad," Date said.
"Yeah it is, old man. Are we going or not? It's going to be dark soon!"
There wasn't much Date could do against Mizuki's strength as she pulled him out of the house by the hand.
* * *
"Don't you have homework to do?" Date asked as they walked down the supermarket aisles.
"Already finished it on the train home," Mizuki said. "We're close to the holidays so they're not giving us much anyway." Her gaze kept drifting back to the snacks selection.
"You can get some snacks so long as you eat them after dinner," Date said, grabbing something else.
"I didn't say I wanted any!" Mizuki retorted instantly. "Stupid Date," she muttered under her breath.
While Date reached for more ingredients, he saw Mizuki sneak a few chocolate bars into their basket from the corner of his eye.
Did she think he wouldn't notice when he had to pay...?
* * *
"What are you going to do?" Mizuki asked, leaning back against the kitchen counter as Date unpacked the shopping bags.
"Make stew," Date said, collecting a pot. "Did you change your mind?"
Mizuki sighed irritably. "No. How do you cook it?"
Date hesitated for a second before he set the pot on the cooker. Mizuki was being unusually helpful - had something happened? "Oh?" he said, grinning at her. "Are you wanting to know my special recipe?"
"W-what? No, of course not!"
She did? Huh. "The first step-" Date said, holding up a finger, "-involves washing your hands."
Mizuki squinted at him for a few seconds before turning around to wash her hands in the sink. "I don't see you washing your hands."
"There's only one sink!"
"I didn't see you washing your hands before cooking either."
She was watching him that much, huh? "I did it while you weren't looking."
"You did not! And I would have heard the running water too."
"I moved fast enough to wash my hands before the spray hit the sink," Date said, reaching over to wash his hands, since Mizuki was leaving the tap on.
Mizuki scowled at him, studying him. "You're a bad liar, Date."
"You don't think I can move that fast?" Date said, waiting for Aiba's retort about dirty magazines. It didn't come, and he turned the tap off.
"I've seen you rush around for work," Mizuki said as she dried her hands. "If you did, you wouldn't be late all the time."
"Not all the time," Date said, sorting through the ingredients.
"All the time," Mizuki repeated. "Boss said so."
...Should he be worried those two seemed to be talking more together? But it would be good for Mizuki to talk to more people.
* * *
Mizuki frowned at her bowl, not eating it.
"Still too hot?" Date asked, stirring his own stew.
"No..." She picked up her spoon and carefully dipped it in, like she wasn't sure what it would do.
Oh, right. Date ate some and hummed, Mizuki watching him, looking like she wasn't breathing.
She ducked her head and ate some. Her eyes widened and she kept eating.
"What do you think?"
Mizuki had another spoonful and huffed. "It tastes better like this."
Date nodded. Mizuki had flavoured it to her taste, which was less salt than he normally put in, so he'd have to keep that in mind in the future.
"But I'm not cooking all the time," she rushed to add, scowling at him.
Maybe he could find something else she would like to eat and cook herself.
* * *
"When are we going to see Iris?" Mizuki asked.
"Visiting hours won't be for a while," Date said as he washed the dishes.
"But by the time we get to the hospital it'll be closer to when we can see her, right?" Mizuki insisted.
"...Yeah, all right," Date said, nodded. It would be good to see how Iris was doing.
* * *
"Date! Mizuki!" Iris said from her bed, smiling when she saw them. She looked pale, shadows under eyes, and her bed had been adjusted so she could sit up. Hitomi was sitting in a chair next to her, and Date hesitated at the sight of her. He and Mizuki had arrived as soon as visiting hours had opened so Hitomi must have arrived just before them. Maybe she would want-
"Come in, come in," Hitomi said. Mizuki had already entered, bringing over one of the chairs.
Well, if they were all right with it. Date went in to join them.
* * *
Mizuki turned to Date when there was a lull in the conversation."You need to leave."
"Uh, what?" He blinked at her.
Mizuki pointed to the door. "You need to leave now."
"Aah," Iris said with a soft laugh, "are you sure-?"
Was there something she didn't want him to know?
Hitomi cleared her throat, drawing Date's attention to her. "I think Mizuki wants to discuss something with us that she doesn't want to with you...?"
What could that be? Mizuki didn't always tell him everything and... And...
Date looked around at everyone. Hitomi, Iris, Mizuki.
Mizuki wanted to talk alone with older women.
He paled, eyes going wide.
Oh. Oooh. She was at that age, wasn't she?
"Right, uh, I'll just be outside then," Date said, before leaving. At least he didn't have to talk to her about that.
* * *
Mizuki stared out the car window as Date drove them home.
Date's eye was drawn to a few convenience stores as they passed them.
"Do you want to pick something up from the store?" he asked at a red light, tapping the steering wheel. He was going to have to get used to this, huh?
"What for?" Mizuki said, still staring out of the car.
"If there's something you need."
She looked over at him, frowning. "I don't need anything."
"All right." The lights changed and Date started driving again. Maybe he should stock up on different things anyway, for when she would need them.
He had thought it would have been Renju and Shoko who would talk to her about growing up; he'd assumed Mizuki would eventually go back to them one day and he didn't need to think about it.
But that wasn't happening now. They were gone, and they weren't coming back.
Mizuki was alone.
Date knew what Aiba would have said, even if he couldn't hear her voice again either.
He would need to look up the adoption process first, before fielding it with Mizuki, to see how she felt about it.
Summary: Date's head was quieter without Aiba.
Notes: Written for GaleWrites for Parallels.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 1,300
Status: Work in progress
Date's head was quieter without Aiba.
"Hey, what do-" Date stopped, staring at the contents of the fridge. Right, Aiba wasn't... It was too much of an ingrained habit to ask her things.
"Stew," Mizuki said, kicking the door closed behind her as she dropped her school bag on the floor.
"I thought you said you hated my stew?" Date said, double-checking what he'd need to get. Aiba would have known what was missing and chimed in already, and Date let out a small breath, gripping the fridge door.
Mizuki scowled at him. "No, I just said I wasn't in the mood. I'm in the mood for it now."
"All right, all right," Date said, raising his hands to placate her. "I'll need to go out and buy some ingredients though, so it'll be a while before it's ready."
"That's fine. What are you buying?"
"Huh?" Date looked at her in confusion. "Why do you want to know?" Mizuki had never asked him what he was getting at the shops before.
Mizuki's scowl deepened. "It's so you don't forget anything, because I'm coming with you, duh. Got a problem with that?"
"My memory isn't that bad," Date said.
"Yeah it is, old man. Are we going or not? It's going to be dark soon!"
There wasn't much Date could do against Mizuki's strength as she pulled him out of the house by the hand.
"Don't you have homework to do?" Date asked as they walked down the supermarket aisles.
"Already finished it on the train home," Mizuki said. "We're close to the holidays so they're not giving us much anyway." Her gaze kept drifting back to the snacks selection.
"You can get some snacks so long as you eat them after dinner," Date said, grabbing something else.
"I didn't say I wanted any!" Mizuki retorted instantly. "Stupid Date," she muttered under her breath.
While Date reached for more ingredients, he saw Mizuki sneak a few chocolate bars into their basket from the corner of his eye.
Did she think he wouldn't notice when he had to pay...?
"What are you going to do?" Mizuki asked, leaning back against the kitchen counter as Date unpacked the shopping bags.
"Make stew," Date said, collecting a pot. "Did you change your mind?"
Mizuki sighed irritably. "No. How do you cook it?"
Date hesitated for a second before he set the pot on the cooker. Mizuki was being unusually helpful - had something happened? "Oh?" he said, grinning at her. "Are you wanting to know my special recipe?"
"W-what? No, of course not!"
She did? Huh. "The first step-" Date said, holding up a finger, "-involves washing your hands."
Mizuki squinted at him for a few seconds before turning around to wash her hands in the sink. "I don't see you washing your hands."
"There's only one sink!"
"I didn't see you washing your hands before cooking either."
She was watching him that much, huh? "I did it while you weren't looking."
"You did not! And I would have heard the running water too."
"I moved fast enough to wash my hands before the spray hit the sink," Date said, reaching over to wash his hands, since Mizuki was leaving the tap on.
Mizuki scowled at him, studying him. "You're a bad liar, Date."
"You don't think I can move that fast?" Date said, waiting for Aiba's retort about dirty magazines. It didn't come, and he turned the tap off.
"I've seen you rush around for work," Mizuki said as she dried her hands. "If you did, you wouldn't be late all the time."
"Not all the time," Date said, sorting through the ingredients.
"All the time," Mizuki repeated. "Boss said so."
...Should he be worried those two seemed to be talking more together? But it would be good for Mizuki to talk to more people.
Mizuki frowned at her bowl, not eating it.
"Still too hot?" Date asked, stirring his own stew.
"No..." She picked up her spoon and carefully dipped it in, like she wasn't sure what it would do.
Oh, right. Date ate some and hummed, Mizuki watching him, looking like she wasn't breathing.
She ducked her head and ate some. Her eyes widened and she kept eating.
"What do you think?"
Mizuki had another spoonful and huffed. "It tastes better like this."
Date nodded. Mizuki had flavoured it to her taste, which was less salt than he normally put in, so he'd have to keep that in mind in the future.
"But I'm not cooking all the time," she rushed to add, scowling at him.
Maybe he could find something else she would like to eat and cook herself.
"When are we going to see Iris?" Mizuki asked.
"Visiting hours won't be for a while," Date said as he washed the dishes.
"But by the time we get to the hospital it'll be closer to when we can see her, right?" Mizuki insisted.
"...Yeah, all right," Date said, nodded. It would be good to see how Iris was doing.
"Date! Mizuki!" Iris said from her bed, smiling when she saw them. She looked pale, shadows under eyes, and her bed had been adjusted so she could sit up. Hitomi was sitting in a chair next to her, and Date hesitated at the sight of her. He and Mizuki had arrived as soon as visiting hours had opened so Hitomi must have arrived just before them. Maybe she would want-
"Come in, come in," Hitomi said. Mizuki had already entered, bringing over one of the chairs.
Well, if they were all right with it. Date went in to join them.
Mizuki turned to Date when there was a lull in the conversation."You need to leave."
"Uh, what?" He blinked at her.
Mizuki pointed to the door. "You need to leave now."
"Aah," Iris said with a soft laugh, "are you sure-?"
Was there something she didn't want him to know?
Hitomi cleared her throat, drawing Date's attention to her. "I think Mizuki wants to discuss something with us that she doesn't want to with you...?"
What could that be? Mizuki didn't always tell him everything and... And...
Date looked around at everyone. Hitomi, Iris, Mizuki.
Mizuki wanted to talk alone with older women.
He paled, eyes going wide.
Oh. Oooh. She was at that age, wasn't she?
"Right, uh, I'll just be outside then," Date said, before leaving. At least he didn't have to talk to her about that.
Mizuki stared out the car window as Date drove them home.
Date's eye was drawn to a few convenience stores as they passed them.
"Do you want to pick something up from the store?" he asked at a red light, tapping the steering wheel. He was going to have to get used to this, huh?
"What for?" Mizuki said, still staring out of the car.
"If there's something you need."
She looked over at him, frowning. "I don't need anything."
"All right." The lights changed and Date started driving again. Maybe he should stock up on different things anyway, for when she would need them.
He had thought it would have been Renju and Shoko who would talk to her about growing up; he'd assumed Mizuki would eventually go back to them one day and he didn't need to think about it.
But that wasn't happening now. They were gone, and they weren't coming back.
Mizuki was alone.
Date knew what Aiba would have said, even if he couldn't hear her voice again either.
He would need to look up the adoption process first, before fielding it with Mizuki, to see how she felt about it.