"it was," kavi began, squinting as they tried to remember all the nitty details. "all three, actually. you were like… the ringleader of a heist. but instead of money or diamonds, we were stealing rare houseplants from one of those evil garden center chains. you had the blueprint, i was the muscle, and the rest of our crew was, uh, my brother and that guy from the dog park who always wears the rainbow crocs. you know the one," they went on, gesturing with their mug, "with the norfolk terrier that hates everyone? the dog was in it too, actually. she was the getaway driver. but instead of a car, she was hauling ass on a roomba. which honestly seems right for her."

"i blame melatonin gummies for the inspiration, but to sum it up: you were trying to convince a goose to pledge to your sorority," they said. "it was wearing a tiny letterman jacket, by the way," they included, because that felt like an important detail to share. "and in the dream, you were wearing a sash? like a beauty pageant sash, but it said 'rush chair' in glitter. the goose was not impressed, but you kept saying something about 'legacy admits' and how his mother was a swan, which i don't think that's how birds work, but dream-you was very confident," they finished with a shaky grin tugging at their lips.

"it wasn't, like, interesting interesting," kavi started, which was a lie, but a small one. "but we were at this farmer's market. except all the vegetables were, like, sentient? and you were trying to negotiate with a very aggressive zucchini about the price of tomatoes," kavi continued with a nose scrunch, the memory already fading at the edges. "you were losing, by the way. the zucchini was not having it. and i think i was there to—i don't know, translate? because apparently dream-me speaks vegetable and dream-you is very passionate about produce fraud."

"also, if your pcs gain sentience, they're not going to resent you. they're going to form a union. demand better cooling systems. reasonable hours. it'll be a whole thing. you should start negotiating now."

kavi's mouth opened. closed. opened again. "i—okay, well, when you say it like that, it sounds like—" he pushed his glasses up his nose, which was a stalling tactic. the frames weren't even sliding. "i made it for you. specifically. on purpose," he tried to explain, "i looked up your favorite color and everything. which is—i mean, you mentioned it once, at that thing in november, the one at danny's place where you were wearing that jacket, and i just—my brain does this thing where it files stuff away and i can't control it, it's basically involuntary at this point," he rambled, gesturing too much with his hands. he shoved his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie to make them stop, then pulled them back out because that felt weird, then crossed his arms. "i started it in january," kavi admitted. "i frogged the first attempt. and the second one. the second one was actually decent, but howl sat on it and i found cat hair woven into, like, every third row, and you don't need to be wearing my cat. that's—no. i couldn't do that to you."

kavi pressed their lips together, intentionally not looking at diego. it was genetic, this inability to maintain composure, passed down from generations of ancestors with weak constitutions for hot people. kavi shouldn't have cared that diego was shirtless. they'd dissected naked frogs in bio lab without flinching. and yet, here they were, unable to function because for some reason all of diego was worse than a fully exposed amphibian. they forced themself to focus on the fridge instead. water, just water, that was all they needed—if they could remember what water even was. "you, uh, want any? of the tea, i mean. or are you a coffee person only?"

kavi pressed their palms flat to the countertop and tried not to let their eyes wander anywhere near torrance's... well, everything. they went for the kettle, but there was torrance again, right in front of the sink with his snoopy mug and a lazy smile. "i mean, if you want to be admired, i guess i could do that for a minute. after the tea. unless you want it now. the admiration," they said as a joke, a counter-tease, but immediately their ears were too hot, and words kept coming, "fuck, that wasn't me trying to make it weird, it just, uh, sounded weird when i said it out loud," they fumbled, clutching the empty kettle close for security.

did he hear that right? not 'did you want some?' or 'i'll make us some', but 'got enough for two cups?' kavi slow blinked back, momentarily lost, only managing a squeak and a frantic nod, moving with new uncertainty. "uh, for sure, yeah. two. one for you. and for me. tea, i mean. not…" he couldn't finish that sentence as his tongue decided the only reasonable response was to glue itself to the roof of his mouth. he hummed, an unintentional sound, fishing around in the cabinet for the good masala blend always buried behind the peanut butter. he tried to ignore the way colby's torso was just.. there. hanging out in the open, like the world's most casual art exhibit. kavi managed to wrench the tea tin free, fingers slipping off the lid once, then again. "this thing's on there tight. i swear i have, like, negative wrist strength," kavi complained, aiming a faint smile in colby's general direction. he kept his head down, concentrating fiercely on prying open the lid, anything to ignore his own foolishness or how the cat was now back, tail flicking judgmentally against his shin. "it's like a safety feature, so my brother doesn’t steal it when he visits."