The meaning of family

[tempestabianca]

WHO: Jushirou Sogyo, Ken Hidaka, Kairi Russo, Kiyone Kotetsu, Lulu Marmalade, Hiyori Sarugaki, Kia WelBehenna, Ulquiorra Schiffer, Soiree Meira
WHAT: Sogyo Family Dinner
WHERE: Jushirou's happy home
WHEN: Noonish, Thursday

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[vergessenekind]

Kairi had arrived a bit earlier than she needed, just to make sure that her dishes, traditional Dampfnudeln with Vanillesoße and cherries, and Japanese pork buns, made it there while they were still warm. And of course, there was enough for everyone, and then some. It took all she had to keep Demyx's fingers out of the food, eventually getting her to make cookies for him and Saix before she left, so she was more than a little exhausted by the time she got there.

Sighing softly, she leaned against the wall, eyes shut for a moment before she looked over at Ulquiorra, who had arrived with her. She took the moment to look him over, noting that he gave off a slightly uncomfortable vibe. Or maybe that was her, feeling a bit uncomfortable for him. After all, having invited a Monacello to a gathering where there'd be a few AMC members was unnerving for her - he just had to have been a little uncomfortable.

"Ulquiorra, do you think you'll be okay tonight?" the redhead asked softly, pushing herself off of the wall and stepping closer to him. Kairi was, quite obviously, concerned about his comfort, and now that she'd soon be living with him, she knew she had to be extra sensitive about said comfort, whether it be physically or emotionally. Smothering him wasn't an option, lest she find him being distant or something of the like.

[sfigato_quarto]

Ulquiorra followed after Kairi, shuffling along behind her until she stopped by the wall. he had his hands in his pockets, and had been staring down at the ground for most of the walk. He was wearing his normal nice pants and a suit jacket, the only change being that this time he wasn't wearing a tie. He just had a simple dress shirt with the top two buttons undone. He signed a little.

This was not his idea of a good time. He didn't like people. He didn't like AMC people even more. Kairi had said it was people from her work, but wasn't that girl who shot at him also from Kairi's work? Yes, Ulquiorra had started to put a few things together in his head about this group. But he was sure they also knew very well who he was. He had served, even if in the shadows, for a man who was openly connected to the Family Monacello. Ulquiorra was even related by blood to his family. There were really no doubts that he was Monacello.

Ulquiorra broke away from his thoughts when Kairi spoke. Yes, the only reason he was coming was for her sake. That was it. He hoped that this evening would slide by fine without a hitch. No one should start anything. Not at what sounded like a nice family dinner. Besides, he had something he needed to do tonight. Something very important.

He looked down at her. "I'm fine," he replied, flatly. "Do you require help carrying that?" He eyed the food. He knew it would have been nice of him to cook something for the occasion. But he didn't want to be too friendly with people who would soon love to lock him up. That wasn't an option.

[vergessenekind]

"Nope," she replied quickly, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before moving to set the food on the table. It was kind of upsetting to herself, that she was so nervous about this whole thing. This was, after all, her third family. And they said that the third time's the charm, right?

Besides, Kairi didn't have the stamina to keep worrying the way she was. As long as she was able to stay near Ulquiorra to keep her own nerves calm, she'd be fine. All smiles like she usually was, for sure.

It was strange. Sometimes, the look on Ulquiorra's face saddened her, as if the markings on his face were especially vibrant enough to draw her attention to them, his eyebrows furrowed in just the slightest, and the corners of his lips seemingly pulled down further to the point where he actually looked sad. And other times, it calmed her when she was nervous or especially jumpy, as it was just something she could count on to always see, like a comfort that would always be there, no matter what sort of craziness or event was happening.

Today was one of those days when Ulquiorra could keep her calm, that was for sure, and she decided it, feeling her smile, her natural smile, return to her. Everything was going to be fine, Kairi convinced herself as she made her way back next to the other, her hand, like a magnet, putting itself into his, giving it a light squeeze as if to reassure him as well.

[sfigato_quarto]

"Only if you say so..."

Ulquiorra blinked once, then twice at the sudden kiss. Kairi never stopped surprising him with random acts of affection. He was not the type to ever do anything like that in return, though. He just frowned a little, upset that she had been a little too fast for him.

The dark haired man looked around the house as Kairi arranged things on the table. Yes, he was plotting possible escape routes. She didn't see it, but he was wringing his hands. He probably would not have been nervous in the slightest if he was meeting her family for the first time and they had no AMC connections. There was nothing like "meeting the parents" when they would probably want to arrest him by tomorrow (if they knew who it was that wa going to plant that bomb). It made him entirely uncomfortable. He hadn't even met them yet.

Her hand pulled his hand from his own, where he had been wringing them together absent-mindedly. He looked down at her with an expression that would be read as blank to most people, but to people who were well versed in his facial expressions, it was one of questioning. His hand closed around hers.

[vergessenekind]

Noticing the look on his face, which was much easier to read now that she'd figured his expressions out a while ago, she could only smile a little more, before looking down at their hands. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she shifted her hand, just enough so their fingers could intertwine. Kairi simply liked it better that way. After all, it was a simple gesture that just happened to say a lot.

Another strange thing that she couldn't help but notice - it was no secret that her friends would say that Kairi was better suited with someone like Red X, and she'd admit, he was charming and very kind to her, almost impossibly so. And they, of course, had their history, yet she found herself more attracted to Ulquiorra. Not just physically (but it helped, at least), but because of the trouble she still believed she caused for him.

But no one could blame her for thinking that, right? If she hadn't got involved in anything having to do with him and Grimmjow, things might've turned out just slightly better. She couldn't deny that the fight wouldn't have happened, or that the topic of the two of them wouldn't have been brought up sooner or later, thusly ending the whole 'relationship', but there was that guilt lingering there. And being there for Ulquiorra to, hopefully, or at least somewhat, fill the void that Grimmjow left, was her way of making that up to the raven-haired man.

Glancing back up at him as she continued her train of thought, she smiled again, then stood on her tiptoes to murmur into his ear.

"If you're uncomfortable, I'm sorry. But everything's going to be fine, I promise. It's just a dinner~." After all, she had to have enough optimism for the both of them. But with those, hopefully they were, words of encouragement, Kairi reached up her free hand and pressed gentle fingertips to the side of his chin opposite of her, willing him to turn his head so she could press a reassuring kiss to his lips.

short reply is short

[sfigato_quarto]

Ulquiorra was fine holding her hand like this, he guessed. He wasn't one to think too much of public displays of affection, or public display of anything really, but he guessed he could deal with this. She was moving in with him. He owed her something for making the apartment less haunting to him. He had painted all the walls, replaced all the carpet, gotten a new couch, the walls had been plastered again, and the pipes in the kitchen were all fixed...even all of his physical injuries from that night had healed, but inside he was anything but.

Before Kairi had left for Japan, when they were still living in her house, he had wanted to get a new, bigger apartment with her. But that had fallen through when she had decided to leave. He guessed he would reconsider it again, since his apartment really was for one person. It was small, and he found himself being reminded of Grimmjow's biting comments about it being cramped.

"I am fine," Ulquiorra repeated. The last thing he would ever do was reveal the fact that he was a little nervous. He was more nervous about leaving the dinner in time to put the bombing into action than anything else. But that was another thing he didn't want Kairi to know.

He frowned, his eyes dropping to annoyed half-mast as she tried to move his chin. He fought a little at first, mostly jokingly, before he let her kiss him.

ilu anyway, 'cause mine's shorter~

[vergessenekind]

It was a quick kiss, of course, lingering only a moment longer than she intended simply because she wanted to let him know that she was absolutely sure that he had nothing to worry about. She didn't know if Ulquiorra knew anyone that was going to be around tonight, which, really, wasn't her fault. Kairi hadn't ever established that things were on a need-to-know basis as far as she knew. Then again, she hadn't asked much about the family, mostly out of fear of reopening old wounds. So she had no idea that Ulquiorra's former superior was so openly aligned with Monacello.

Maybe later she'd rectify that lack-of-knowledge problem.

With a small smile, she settled against him, leaning her head on his arm again. She'd grown used to the silences that occurred between them, and she knew which ones were awkward and which weren't. Even then, silence was comforting to her, and she let her eyes slip closed due to her fatigue, though content with the way things were at the moment.

mine is shorrttteerr

[sfigato_quarto]

Ulquiorra didn't mind the kiss too much, he guessed. But he looked around the room, a bit nervously to make sure no one had been watching.

Sometimes, or maybe even most of the time, Ulquiorra really didn't have anything he wanted to say. Small talk was a pointless use of energy, or so he believed, and he would save that torture for the dinner. He knew that by now, Kairi was fine just being near him, like he was with her. He didn't need any reassuring words, usually. He just needed a wordless form of support, like the weight of her body leaning against his.