#ownersan

It must be some sort of weird spell, right? That had to be it. Celty doesn’t understand it otherwise. Shinra’s clingy-ness had been irritating for a while, but at some point it did become endearing to her. Coming home to an apartment that was Shinra-less gave her anxiety that she didn’t need.

Looking around the apartment, there didn’t seem to be any signs of struggle. Going back to the door, she inspected it and was pretty sure that their locks hadn’t been tampered with. But Shinra usually let her know if he left their home, and it was making Celty think about all the worst scenarios that could happen.

Though she doesn’t like it, the first person she thinks to ask is Izaya.

[ I need a favor... ] [[ Oh? What a rare treat! What do you want with little old me?  ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ ]]

[ Drop the cutesy act, this is serious..! ]

[[ You think its cute! ヽ(o＾▽＾o)ノ]]

If Celty had eyes, she would be rolling them.

[ Do you know where Shinra is? ]

Celty doesn’t like that it takes a little longer to reply to this question.

[[ I’m not his keeper you know, that’s your job...  (￢_￢;) ]] [[ But in any case, I do know where he is, but I’m afraid you’re probably not going to like it. ]]

Celty is about to type her reply, but she receives one more message before she can.

It is a series of pictures. The first one is outside of Russia Sushi, the next one is at the entrance, the one that follows is inside the restaurant. The next and last one, Celty isn’t sure what to make of it...

Its a picture of Shinra leaning over the sushi bar towards Simon with the most lovestruck expression on his face. Simon in the picture doesn’t seem to be bothered by it and is wearing the same happy expression that he always has.

Izaya sends her one more image. Its a selfie of himself, with Shinra and Simon in the background. This time, Shinra has bodily climbed over the sushi bar and has his arms wrapped around Simon’s midsection, cuddling him as if he were some sort of oversized teddy bear. Simon this time looks a little bit uncomfortable, his hands going down to Shinra’s armpits presumably to pick him up and put him back in his seat. Behind Simon, Celty shivers at the glare that Dennis is directing towards Shinra.

[ Keep him there. I’m on my way. ]

[[ Doesn’t seem like he wants to leave! But I’ll stay to see what happens  ┬┴┬┴┤･ω･)ﾉ ]]

When Celty arrives at the scene of the crime, she has a hard time grasping the situation.

Simon looks at a loss, quite literally keeping Shinra at arms length as the doctor struggles to bridge the gap between them. Usually Russia Sushi is packed at this time of night but due to the current circumstance, they had to close shop early. Simon couldn’t work, and Shinra kept making weird outbursts of love and made people around them uncomfortable.

Dennis and Izaya are sitting across from each other at the sushi bar. Dennis looks more than unhappy, and Izaya is sipping a drink from a straw like a child so enthralled by what he’s watching.

[ What’s going on??!?? ] Celty types, holding her phone out to Simon for him to read.

“I do not understand either,” Simon says with a despondent shake of his head. “Thought he was showing appreciation. I also appreciate in kind. But I think this is too much...”

“Too much?” Shinra echoes in disbelief. “What do you mean, too much! I haven’t even showed you the poem I wrote!”

“When did you have time to write a poem?” Izaya asks from the bar, highly amused. He had never seen Shinra like this before, towards someone who wasn’t Celty.

Shinra grins, tapping the side of his temple. “It’s all up here. It’s a work in progress, but I think it would be three pages long by now!”

“That’s much to say, in very little time...” Simon comments. He looked very visibly uncomfortable. “Его голова витает в облаках, не так ли?” (His head is in the clouds, isn’t it?)

“Может быть, он действительно сумасшедший... Не то чтобы я думала, что тебя трудно любить, Самия.” (Maybe he is insane... Not that it’s hard to love you, Simon.) Dennis says with a shake of his head. He pours a shot of vodka for himself, then offers another glass to Izaya.

Izaya looks at the glass, then shrugs. He downs his glass at the same time as Dennis, as an act of solidarity. “Извините, но это нормально для Шинра.” (Sorry to say, but this is normal for Shinra).

[ I’m so sorry about this!! ] Celty shows to Simon. And, quick like she always is, with the side of her hand she hits the back of Shinra’s neck hard enough to knock him unconscious. The doctor goes limp in Simons arms.

“Oh, such relief...!” Simon says with the biggest sigh any of them had ever heard from him. “So strange of him to act in such a way!”

i made a ref sheet for my OCs Cocoa and Ownersan! mostly to help myself draw them on model more consistently...... ha ha.............

~+~

Dennis:

The way he proposes is simple and exceedingly corny. It’s late at night, the only people at Russian Sushi was him and his s/o whom he’d ask to stay longer so that they could try the new dish he was thinking of putting on the menu. When his s/o takes a bite of it, they find a ring very gently resting on the rice. Dennis tries to act casual about it but internally he’s worried that they’ll say no or that they’ll think he’s being ridiculous. Surprise surprise though, his s/o laughs because it’s such an adorable gesture. Plus the sushi was good too.

Simon:

“But I already know how to cook--”

“Not the way I do,” Dennis interrupted as he waved his knife in an almost threatening way. “Sit down and listen.”

Kao sat down obediently and watched as Dennis carefully prepared the fish. It was way passed closing time already, the usually busy streets of Ikebukuro held less people than it usually did but the humdrum and buzz of chattering people still filled the night time air though it was muffled from where they were inside the back kitchen of Russian Sushi.

Dennis carefully sliced the fish, thinly but not too thinly, and set the sliced pieces onto a plate in front of Kao. “They’re supposed to be this this, not more not less--”

“Why are you teaching me this-- Do you intent to make me a successor to your store or something--”

“Hush. The rice must always be prepared fresh and served at body temperature.”

“Why--”

“You know how to cook rice, right?”

“Yes, but--”

“And the octopus must be prepared and washed and massaged--”

“Dennis, I--”

“Simon and I have reliable suppliers. Come back here tomorrow morning and we can introduce you to him.”

“Huh? Tomorrow? I mean, I guess I could. What time?”

“Three.”

“In the morning?!”

Dennis nodded and prepared one piece of nigiri for Kao. “Yes, the best ingredients go first so we have to be there before everyone else--”

“But that’s too early--”

“One of our suppliers is Mr. Akabayashi. Have you met him yet?”

“No, but I--”

The night continued and somehow Kao eventually did find himself standing in front of Russian Sushi at three in the morning, shivering in the cold and waiting for Simon and Dennis to take him to the fish market.

He brandished a fly swatter in his hand, eyes sharp and focused on the bug that was nestled carefully in his s/o’s hair. He swung his arm down, only to realize that there was nothing in his grasp anymore. Momentarily confused, he tilted his head up to see Simon holding it out of reach. “Ah, Simon.”

“Do not understand what you’re trying to accomplish,” Simon tutted in disappointment. “Do you intend harm on our friend?” Which was incredibly weird because Simon knew very well just how much Dennis loved his s/o.

“There,” he replied with a jerk of his chin towards the general direction of his s/o. “In their hair. Do you see it?” He was talking below a whisper, hoping that his s/o wouldn’t hear their exchange.

“Ah! A spide--MMPH!”

Dennis had managed to place his hand on top of Simon’s mouth before he could carelessly reveal what he’s been trying very hard to hide. “They don’t like bugs,” he explained easily.

Simon pulled Dennis’ hand away from his mouth and crouched down low enough so that he would be able to whisper to his companion. “But spiders are good luck, spiders are friends,” he nodded his head to affirm himself. “Will not hurt anyone, merely an accident!”

The two Russians eyed the spider carefully.

“I can do it,” Simon said suddenly, making no room for Dennis to argue.

“Samiya, don’t--”

Simon placed his hand atop of Dennis’ s/o’s head, like how he usually did with most of the people he considered friends. As casually as he could possibly manage, he brushed the spider aside as he spoke. “Hello!” He did not plan that as thoroughly as he would have liked. “Are you enjoying the food? Yes? Our crabs are fresh, only the freshest!”

Dennis sighed deeply as his palm met his face.

Slon: He is a happy Russian man. Getting a big hug from a small s/o. So much love from such a small thing, of course he’s happy.

Vorona: A confused Russian. What is the purpose of this hug? Why? Is it necessary? I am not cold, I do not need the warmth of a hug. Why?

Egor: A happy Russian man as well. How thoughtful of his s/o, they are so kind and he is blessed to be with them.

Simon: HAPPY RUSSIAN! Give bear hug back to small person whom he loves.

He did not know how to do dates. He had long since assumed that he was out of the dating game, and thus didn’t take the time to learn about it. Of course he’s seen his customers with their dates from time to time, though he didn’t really pay much attention to them as a romantic item but as paying customers so he hadn’t picked much up from watching either. Romance movies were out of the question, because he knew that they were not really very realistic (or were they?) so it wouldn’t be a good idea to base a date off a movie.

Simon had told him to “be himself.” That’s both the best and worst advice you could give anyone. Easiest to give out too, Simon that sly bastard. Keeps giving everyone else profound advice with their problems but when it comes to the friend that he’s known the longest he gives a half-assed “be yourself.” Dennis already knows that and intends to do that, for he doesn’t know how to be anything but himself.

He sighed. He didn’t get flowers, that just wasn’t his gig. He didn’t make a mix tape (do people still make mix tapes?) because he didn’t even know what songs he’d put in the tape.

He sighed.

Movie and a dinner. Simple, easy, completely him. Maybe a little old fashioned but it should be fine.

He perked up at the sight of his s/o approaching him and his usual smile lit up his face. “Hey,” he greeted. “Let’s get some dinner, and then a movie?” he echoed what he had been planning in his head. He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous but he is, but he’s learned how to steel his nerves.

“Sounds like a plan,” his s/o agreed, latching onto his arm and they proceeded to walk to the restaurant of his s/o’s choice.

Vorona: While she initially doesn’t care too much (because her s/o’s business is their business) she gets curious. What could it be that’s occupying so much of their time? Another lover? Can’t be, Vorona is pretty sure that they love her a lot, without a doubt in her mind. A hobby? A class? Those are the most logical things that make sense. But Vorona doesn’t follow, because that’s a little bit intrusive of their privacy, which she wants to respect since her s/o is someone she really cares for. But she does catch her s/o by complete coincidence walking into one of the cram school places (forgive Kao, he doesn’t know what they’re called haha) and the most logical thing that comes up is yes, they’re taking a class (or teaching it). She asks about it later on, and is thoroughly surprised when her s/o answers in Russian.

Slon: If Slon has a question, he asks it. He doesn’t bother beating around the bush since he deems it unnecessary. So he asks what they’ve been doing all the time, and wont stop asking until it’s answered. We all know Slon get’s frustrated when he doesn’t get an answer to his question so it’s either his s/o tolerates the hours and hours of asking and whining, or tell him what they’ve been doing.

Simon: He is a busy guy too so he doesn’t really notice it. Busiest hours of Russia Sushi is at night time where everyone’s trying to get dinner. So Simon doesn’t suspect a thing, and he just ends up pleasantly surprised when his s/o starts talking to him in Russian.

Dennis: Same with Simon, they’re both really busy at night so he doesn’t notice he’s s/o’s absence during those times. But also like Simon, he’s surprised and pretty amazed.