son of nyx

"Really? Yay!" Leyla squealed as she threw her arms around his neck, showering him with kisses. "I'm going to remember that you said that. But, okay, okay! I'm just excited! We'll have to go shopping together come the fall," She reasoned as she snuggled happily into his side. "It's only for twenty minutes. It's not like we got the 12-hour one and tons of benefits. Your skin is going to be looking flawless until you're entirely back to your vampiric self. I really don't think that's a fact, but I love that you think it is. Oh!" She exclaimed as she fished out her phone out of her pocket so that she could snap a photo fo them before he could protest. "I love you. Thanks for making this the best birthday ever," She beamed up at him.

"Do you also remember calling me a cold-blooded killer?" Ken asked. "That tends to shape a conversation. Seemed fairly convinced of it too, so why are you expecting anything different now?" He gave a sharp, humourless laugh, gaze settling on her for a long moment before he continued. "This moral high ground you're trying to occupy is baseless. It doesn't suit you." He took a step forward, deliberate but not threatening. "Tell me, did writing my name down make you feel better? Justified? You nearly got your wish."

"Pie hole. We've been over this. It's an expression. Hence the name of the store," She rolled her eyes lightly over, though the corners of her lips lifted ever so slightly as this little exchange had become one of their many routines. "No, but you can never be too careful. What if you're like a silent carrier?" Gigi posed, already moving to go wipe down his usual table for him. It was already pristine, given that he was the first customer to claim it that morning, but sanitizers only killed 99.9% of all germs, so another quick scrub down hardly hurt. "Sickness can mess with people's brains. The cold medicine can make you all loopy, and then the next thing I know, my perfectly reasonable friend is out here doing something completely uncharacteristic. If you hadn't just been ill, I wouldn't have had to ask, but we had entered into uncharted territory, though-" She let out a sigh of relief given that he was clearly better enough to give her sass. "Thankfully, you're back to normal, so you're table and I'll be right out with those pastries."

"Ridiculous expression," he replied without missing a beat. "A silent carrier?" Ken raised a brow in question, "I still wouldn't be here if I wasn't certain. And my brain wasn't affected, if that's what you're implying." He looked genuinely, if only theatrically, affronted. "I'd like to think I'd notice if my judgement was suddenly compromised." Without waiting for her rebuttal, he gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Yes, I'm back to normal. Your concern can officially be put at rest." Giving a nod of thanks as she wiped the table down, Ken sat down. "Yes, yes. Take your time. I'm in no real rush today."

"No," She shook her head as though to reassure him that they were good. "I just don't even know if I'd be a very good parent. I don't exactly have anyone to go off of, but we can talk about that later," She reasoned, giving his hand a little squeeze and then another tug towards the car. "Good plan," She nodded as she gave his arm another tug, practically dragging him to the car at this point.

"I understand that," he said with a small nod. "But I also know you'd be good." He lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss against her knuckles before letting the conversation rest where she'd asked it to. There would be time for it later. Right now, they had enough unknowns without adding another. "Hmm?" His brow furrowed as she reached for his forehead. "No, I'm not actually sick," he said, as though stating it plainly would somehow make it true. When she insisted he was burning up, he frowned. "Are you sure it isn't just the weather or something? I drink lots of tea." The exhaustion, the aching, the sluggishness made sense as lingering side effects of ichor. "I'm fine."

Location ➠ Happy Scoops Status ➠ Closed to Ken (@kenxmatsui)

Ken looked from the nearly empty tub of cardamom pistachio to the man in front of him, then back again with a frown. He'd waited in line, suffered the heat, and endured listening to the family behind him spend five minutes debating sprinkles. He wasn't about to split the only flavour he actually wanted. "Neither am I," he said simply, as his attention shifted back to the cashier. "I'll take the full scoop." There wasn't any negotiation in the statement, just a certainty in announcing the obvious conclusion to a discussion that never should have existed in the first place. "You can order something else," he told the man without as much as an apology or remorse. "Or come back some other time."

"As a costume not as a crowning achievement!" She huffed. Her eyes narrowed over at him as she continued to pout. But when he shook his head in disbelief, she couldn't hide that bright smile of hers for any longer. "You're talking to the girl who robbed you blind when we first met. I think we both know the answer to that question," She teased, lifting herself up to her tiptoes so that she could press her lips against his cheek. "Deal! So then you'll actually dress up next year maybe?" Her eyes lit up at the thought, about to start planning their halloween costumes now in the middle of July if that was the cast.

"That is different. Extreme and terrible still, maybe even worse that you'd picture me as such now." He made a dramatic show of crossing his hands over his chest with a huff, but that all melted as she drew closer. "Yes, fine. Don't start thinking from now, though. There's plenty of time still. Though, something tells me that won't stop you." Ken shook his head, unimpressed by it all. "It feels strange, but I suppose I have to get used to it. Good, at least there's a benefit." He looked at her, a smile kicking back up on its own. "Even if you tired to not, you'd still look cute," he stated. "That's a fact really."

@kenxmatsui

"Shut your what?" Ken questioned. It was hardly the first time he'd heard the greeting, yet asking had become something of a habit. "Do I look sick?" It wasn't really a question. He had spent the better part of a week confined to bed and had no intention of repeating the experience if he could help it. "And do you honestly think I'd step outside my house if I still was?" Catching a cold in the first place was offensive enough, but feeling worse than death because of something as mundane as a virus had been an indignity, something he had no desire to experience again, and was immensely grateful that particular chapter seemed to be behind him. "Don't ask stupid questions." She should've known better. If he was still contagious, he'd be staying much farther away than six feet. "I want my usual table too."

"It's a flag, Ken. You wave it. Like this." Rohan smiled, bringing up his own small flag and shaking it back and forth so that its colors flapped easily in the breeze. And in truth, he was grateful for that breeze, as meager as it was. The day was proving to be another in a never-ending series of scorchers, but he was still enjoying the festivities and getting to celebrate with his friends.

"Yes, I know, but why was I given it?" But a moment later, he answered it himself. "I guess that's the nature of this parade, isn't it." It felt silly for a second, but Ken did as told and waved the flag about, joining in on the celebrations around them. It was good in a way, fun was still up for debate but he did smile. "No, not my usual, but first time for everything I suppose. It is nice. Yes, well, having you here helps considerably to not feel out of place. I can hold another flag, sure, but, that's it, alright? No one is putting paint on my face. You can get another one on my behalf," he flashed Rohan a smile.

His first instinct when she smacked his hand away was to tell her not to touch him. The words made it as far as his lips before escaping as a scoff as she swayed. His gaze lingered for a moment, watching as she nearly fell over. He never understood the appeal of voluntarily surrendering control like that. It was pathetic.

Ken stared at her for a long, unimpressed moment, as though giving her ample opportunity to realise the stupidity of what she'd just said. Naturally, she didn't.

"I know about Beetlejuice," he said with an eye roll at her shocked reaction. "Indeed. Here I am." He scoffed again, "You're calling it supporting business? How kind." He really didn't need help on that front, especially not from her not when Lunar Cove's wealthy were his clients. "Maybe I should let Lupe discover your little operation," he added on, attempting to joke. "She's been struggling for work." Of course, he'd never let Lupe have that, or any kind, of win. "Huh? No. I'm in it because it's fun. The fuck would I be in this for the pain?I'm not a masochist. And if I wanted adrenaline I'd go for a run." He rolled his eyes again. "Not doing this for your entertainment either, Lennon. Ask someone else." But with his stamina returning, he knew he'd last a while in the ring anyway, he just didn't want to give her the satisfaction of a show. "I think it's about to start. I better not catch you again."

"Oh," She gave him a small nod before giving his hand another small tug forward. "I know that?" Her brows, however, creased as she slowed as they reached the car. "I wasn't saying that you were? I just don't really have an opinion one way or another," She admitted, giving his arm a slight tug this time so that he was closer to her side from where they stood beside the passenger door. "I never thought I'd even get married, let alone live this long, so I've never really thought about it either, but I suppose I'd be happy either way? I mean, birth itself sounds kind of scary, but less so with you, and I don't know. I think maybe let's just go get the test and then depending on the answer and our reactions to it, then maybe then we'll know?" She posed, giving his hand a quick squeeze before moving to climb into the passenger seat. "So, do we need anything else from the pharmacy while we're there? Like are we out of bandaids or sunscreen or ice cream?" She began to rack her brain for a possible shopping list as they drove, not wanting to sit in silence and, while she'd normally be singing along to the radio, even with her turning up the music, she couldn't shake her nerves enough to sing.

"Okay, good. I thought something I said upset you," he admitted. The way he came across to others and how he was around Leyla was vastly different, but even so, on occasion he did have to pause and analyse how he sounded, what he said out of habit. "No, me neither." That was a shared story and shared sentiment too, never thought about the future when he never anticipated to live long. And, now, an eternity stretched before him bringing so much more things to think about. "Okay, we'll do that first and think on things later." Only if his mind took that into consideration. It fired off into scenarios, there was only two answers the test would say, yet he thought through every branching possibility from that. There was that worry of course, that spiked at each point; what if he was like his parents? No. he couldn't let that ever happen.

"I said it counted as a costume and fit with the couples costume vibe, but out of all of the opportunities to dress up, no, that shouldn't get to count as my win! A christmas sweater would be much better, or an actual matching costume for Halloween this year," She pointed out with a small pout. "Then take back that as being my win or I'm going to start imagining you in a garbage bag all the time," She threatened, narrowing her eyes over at him. A smile did, however, crack across her lips as he finished getting changed and settled in next to her. "Okay!" She exclaimed happily as she moved to crawl into his lap, practically straddling him as she undid the packaging of the panda mask. Leaning in she pressed a kiss against his lips before she placed the panda sheet mask over his face. The brightest smile imaginable broke across her own face as she handed her mask over to him. "Your turn."

"There we go. You said it counted," he replied with a grin. It was teasing, of course, but his brows pulled to a frown at what she said next. It wasn't anything serious, yet his head shook shook with disbelief all the same. "You'd really do that, huh? Threatening me with that treatment? Terrible." Naturally, he conceded without much more of a protest, yet the teasing couldn't be completely removed from his tone. "Alright. Would you like best out of three then, if Bond can't count as the only win? Two more chances."