Kim
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Michael
Craig invited him to make cookies! He can't deny how happy that made him. The day went from a blegh boring expanse of... Whatever, to jumping to get shoes on and running a brush through his hair.

They're baking, so he pulls it back into a ponytail. Probably more hygienic that way? Yes? No? Who cares it looks nice. 

He is wearing a plain gray sweater and jeans. He did not put much effort into his outfit today, but doesn't think it'll be that big an issue. *I mean, Craig wouldn't care. Plus, we're just baking. Just. Baking.*


...Still, there's a certain giddiness as he makes his way to the kitchen with about 1.5x as much speed as is typical. He knows what this is. It's *Just* Cookies. But... He's excited to just be *Around* Craig. To just be *Around* Someone that positive. At least, outwardly positive. Who knows what's going on inside Craig's head? But when around Craig, Mamoru's negative thoughts are a lot less common. It's nice. Really, genuinely, *Nice.* And he's content to just be near him.

He enters the kitchen, scanning quickly for Craig. The guy is like six feet tall and his hair is... Well. You know. So he's not hard to spot. 

Moru grins, approaching. He feels both like an idiot and like he's about to have a great time.

"Hey. I got your text."
Carol
Craig was unpacking all the ingredients when he decided to shoot Mamoru a text. He just felt like meeting the boy again. 

"Do you wanna help me bake cookies? I'm in the student kitchen :)"

He put his phone down after clicking send, going back to preparing the ingredients.

The familiar green haired boy popped up not long after. Craig turned around, still tying his apron to his waist as he faced Mamoru, "Hey," He says with a smile, a large rubber band in his mouth. "Oh! I like your hair." He comments, moving the rubber band to his hand. 

He ties his apron and goes to tie his 'hair' into a loose bun. *"Guh, this is suffocating."* A strand of hair chokes out as he ties the unruly strands on his head, swiftly ignoring the comment. 

He's not wearing his usual attire this time. His familiar, beat up purple jacket was on the table, folded up nicely and he was only wearing a black t- shirt, pants and a pink apron he found in the kitchen cupboard. 

He grabs a spare apron next to him and hands it to Mamoru, "You came quick," He said, chuckling slightly, "Thanks for coming in such a short notice." He turned around to face the counter and the ingredients atop it. 

"I don't often cook with someone else but I figured it might be nice," He hummed, picking up the flour and scale, "Plus, I wanted to meet up with you again." He turned to face him with a smile. 

"Anyway, lets get to business," He said, "What kinda cookies do you like? We'll make it if we have the ingredients." He gestures to the wealth of ingredients behind him.
Michael
*Aoiwegoighoihwfhieihwqfkln*- He short circuits at the compliment, but bounces back in a second. 

"Thanks- yours is also nice." He smiles a bit. A little bit of a joke but also a genuine comment. He likes Craig's... 'hair.' It's unique. But like, a good unique, not a thinly veiled insult unique.

He takes the apron, hands lingering for a second before he quickly tying it. No ruining his... Uh. Sweater he totally didn't sleep in. Nope.

"And yeah I uh- wasn't really doing anything when you texted. Thanks, by the way."

*I wanted to meet up with you again.*
He melts internally at that. 
Yeah, no, he's crushing. Hard. 
He manages to not show physical signs of the keyboard smash that is his internal monologue. 

It's hard to overthink or think negatively when there's not much able to be in your brain that's coherent. 

"And- yeah, I wanted to meet up with you too." Looking directly at Craig is like looking directly at the sun, so he angles his smile a little to the left of him.

"Cookies... Uh... Chocolate chip is my personal favorite. And wow. That's... A lot. I guess cookie baking is encouraged." Yay. A little joke. That is objectively not funny, but he's trying with his blank brain.
Carol
"And yeah I uh- wasn't really doing anything when you texted. Thanks, by the way."

"It's my pleasure," He smiled ear to ear. 

"Chocolate chip is a classic," He hummed, turning around and picking up some ingredients from the pile, "I used to make chocolate chip cookies with my guardian whenever one of us was feeling down when I was younger." He hummed, putting the cranberries and other unused ingredients off to the side. "I know her recipe like the back of my hand by this point." 

He stops what he's doing and pats his pants down before pulling out a small leather bound book from his pant pocket. The book was old and grimy, the leather was worn and the white string binding the book together was old and almost yellow. 

"She gave me this recipe book in case I needed it, I remember she wrote down all of her best recipes is this sad old book." He chuckled, turning the old, yellowish pages of the book. "Here it is," He found the page he was looking for and placed it down on the table for the both of them to read. 

The neat, cursive writing on the yellow paper with all different kinds of stains and spills made the book look ancient for what its actual age was. 

He scanned it quickly before picking up the bag of flour and pouring it out into a bowl. 

"Oh! Right, I'm curious, have you ever tried baking?" He hummed, measuring out the dry ingredients. "Have you tried making bread or cake or anything of that sort?"

He hands Mamoru another bowl and the wet ingredients, "Could you help me measure out these ingredients?"
Michael
He listens intently, silently noting how Craig said *Guardian* And not *Parent.* Something had to have happened there... But it's not his business. It'll come up if it comes up.

He tries to look over Craig's shoulder at it but.. You know. Height difference, so he just stands by his side and glances. It's... A very old book. Sentimental.

He assumes that the book is very old. Maybe the writing in it isn't but... It's very neat handwriting. Careful. He can feel the love and care that was put into it radiating. *I wish I had something like this from my family..*

He shakes that thought out of his head. Now is not the time.

"I've uh... Dabbled. But I've never like- *Seriously* Baked. And I haven't in a while. After a mishap my parents didn't want to let me use the oven anymore." He gives a nervous laugh after that, then frowns. He shakes off said frown, smiling again.

Measuring! Something he's good at! He gets to it, careful to do it over the sink so he doesn't make a mess, putting the ingredients in the bowl. 

"I prefer baking to cooking, to be honest. Everything's specific. You'll know where you went wrong if you do."
Carol
"I've uh... Dabbled. But I've never like- seriously baked. And I haven't in a while. After a mishap my parents didn't want to let me use the oven anymore."

"A mishap?" He inquired, tilting his head a bit, noticing Mamoru's frown. "Did something happen while you were baking? You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable, of course." 

His happy demeanor softened a bit, seeing Mamoru's expression. 'Did he set fire to the kitchen? Messed up a recipe?' he thought to himself quietly as he measured out the rest of the ingredients. 'What could have happened for him to frown like that?' 

"I prefer baking to cooking, to be honest. Everything's specific. You'll know where you went wrong if you do."

The comment snapped him out of his worrying state and his mood started to pick up as if nothing happened. "Really? I personally find measuring things the most stressful part of baking." He chuckled, "I like it when I can tamper with the amount of ingredients and just do with what I have. But baking is very relaxing when its a familiar recipe." 

Once Mamoru is finished up with the wet ingredients, he grabs a whisk and hands it over to the boy. "Great! Now just whisk everything together and slowly add in the dry ingredients," He said "I'll preheat the oven and help you with folding things in in a bit."
Michael
He sighs. "Yeah uh... I kind of set the kitchen on fire. But it's- fine. Everything was replaced. Like... Like nothing happened. Like I wasn't even there." There's a pang of cold... Something in his stomach. He clears his throat, trying to make that feeling go away.

And then bam new topic yeah!
"Yeah.. I get that. It's just- you'll know where you messed up, how to fix it. It's not as uncertain." Whisking time!

He gets to it, carefully adding in the dry ingredients bit by bit.

This is easy. 

He steals glances at Craig every so often. Moru knows his own parents would gladly have every trace of him erased by now. But who knows about Craig's guardian.

"Soo... Did you bake cookies often?" Trying to make things more lighthearted.
Carol
I'LL TRY TO GET ONE OUT TONIGHT IM SORRY

"Yeah uh... I kind of set the kitchen on fire. But it's- fine. Everything was replaced. Like... As nothing happened. Like I wasn't even there."

"Ahh, I see," He hummed, cranking the knob on the oven, "Well, mistakes are bound to happen every once in a while, right? Don't beat yourself up over it too much. What happened in the past is in the past." He reassured, turning around to face Mamoru's back. 

"If it makes you feel any better, I almost killed my entire garden when I forgot to water them when my guardian was away." He chuckled at the memory, walking over to where Mamoru was standing. "I could have started a month-long famine. Evelyn was livid. It was one of the few times she was really mad at me. She never barred me from the garden though." 

He looks over Mamoru's work and his smile widens ever so slightly. "This is great!" He exclaims, grabbing the bag of chocolate chips and pouring them into the bowl as Mamoru continues folding. 

"I kinda get what you mean with the baking thing." He said, "I just like being able to experiment, yknow?" 

"Soo... Did you bake cookies often?" 

"Yeah!" He says, "I do like baking, cookies especially. Well, that's mainly because that's what I grew up making." He chuckled, watching Mamoru fold the dough. "I'm just not as adventurous with baking as I am with cooking. I only know a handful of recipes and all of them come from this book. Big recipes are just kinda intimidating." He says, chuckling. 

He looks down at the dough to see the chocolate has been spread equally. "The dough's done," He says with a smile, grabbing two spoons from a cupboard. 

He takes a small spoonful of cookie dough and raises it to Mamoru's face. "You shouldn't really be eating this because it has eggs in it, butttt,, a little cookie dough never hurt anyone."
Michael
*What happened in the past is in the past.* He wishes he could think like Craig did. 

He can't help but hide a small snicker behind his hand at the knowledge that Craig almost killed his garden. It just seemed unlikely that he'd forget to water them. 

Maybe that's why he's so attentive now, though.

*Evelyn.* That must be the name of his guardian. Moru's happy to learn more about this guy.

He grins as Craig pours in the chocolate chips. Woo! There's a bit of powder from the dry ingredients on his nose.

"I bet whatever you make is good. You'd put a lot of care into it." Being told that he was doing something- even a simple task like this- great, in a genuine way, makes him so happy. 

Listening to Craig talk makes him happy.
"Mm, yeah. Anything big can be intimidating." ~~*Cough Ares c-*~~ 

Once the dough is raised to his face, he does the natural thing and leans forward to eat it directly off of the spoon that was held out to him.

He will forever by haunted by the fact that he didn't just reach out and take the spoon before doing that, but that's a future Moru problem.

"Mmm.. You know, if I got sick off of *This* Dough I may not even mind that much." He's only mostly joking. 

Something about the process of making it just makes it automatically taste better.
Carol
Craig scoops a spoonful of cookie dough and puts it in his mouth. He smiles as Mamoru eats the dough off his hand, his spoon hanging from his mouth still. 

With his other free hand, he wipes the powder from Mamoru's nose without a second thought "There." He mumbles with the spoon still in his mouth. 

"Mmm.. You know, if I got sick off of this dough I may not even mind that much."

"Some things are worth the risk." He chuckles, putting the spoons in the sink. 

"I wasn't always a careful person." He hummed, answering Moru's comment before. "I remember I went through a phase where I was just- out of it. Y'know? I mean, I'm practically almost always out of it whenever I'm alone but I was just bumbling around the place with no purpose or care. I don't remember much from back then but Evelyn helps me jog my memory once in a while." 

Craig vaguely remembers the first few weeks of living with Evelyn. He doesnt remember much; only remembering some events because Evelyn told him and the cold feeling of nothing. From what Evelyn has recounted to him, Craig was just out of it for 3 weeks straight. 

"My memory's kinda weird," He mutters, "I remember my past. In detail. But I just cant- I cant think of it? Does that make sense? I know *Something* Happened in my past and I *Know* What it is I just cant bring myself to think about it." He grumbled, looking mildly frustrated. "Whenever I try to think about it my head starts to spin and the noise grows so loud I feel like I'm getting knocked out of my own mind-" 

He stops.

With a slight shake of the head, he reaches for the ice cream scoopers and hands one to Moru. "Sorry, that's besides the point." He perks back up, pulling the baking tray, already lines with the parchment towards the both of them.

He takes a scoop of the batter and places the dollop on the tray. "Cookies."
Michael
The powder being wiped from his nose caught him off guard, and he can't help but grin as his face reddens a bit. He turns away, disguising it as turning to put his spoon in the sink. 

In truth Craig's touch just makes him giddy and it'd be embarrassing for him to see that. 

He manages to calm his complexion down by the time Craig also puts his spoon in the sink. "Agreed." Some things are worth the risk. 

Like risking embarrassing himself to be around Craig. 

And then, Craig starts talking. Moru listens. He's quiet at first, not really knowing what to say, taking hold of his scoop to get the batter on the parchment. 

"I can't say I know what that feels like but... I kinda get what you mean I think. It's like there's a fog and if you try to push against it... It pushes harder and knocks you into this weird state where nothing feels like it's exactly *Happening.* ...And maybe it's.. You know, trying to protect you? If that makes sense? Like your mind thinks that not thinking about your past will just- I don't know. I don't know what I'm talking about." Moru shakes his head.

He's curious, but there's no way in hell he's asking. Moru couldn't do that to him. He's similar, but in an odd not entirely similar way. A lot of what happened to him in the past is a blur. Day in and day out of similar things happening with nothing to remember except how awful he felt, and how nothing ever changed. Until now. Now things changed. 

He steals a glance at Craig again before focusing on the dough.
Carol
Craig listens carefully as Moru speaks, all the while placing the perfectly round dollops of cookie dough on the tray. "Yeah," He says when Mamoru stops talking, "That makes sense. It is kind of nice just living without the burden of your past." He hummed, not looking up from his work. 

Craig felt relaxed all of a sudden- like world just kind of washed away, leaving just him, Mamoru and the cookies floating around in a white void. A sudden clarity washed over his mind that he hadn't quite experienced before. 

"I'm pretty simple minded by design- I mean it hurts to just think too hard about myself. I don't have the luxury of finding an identity for myself, yknow?" He said, letting the brief moment of clarity wash over him completely, as his posture and tone of voice starts to relax a bit. 

His cheery expression fell monotone as he talks while continuing to place the scoops of cookie dough on the parchment. 

"I mean, a person's past shapes who they are as a person, and I'm not affected by my past because I can't even recall what it is in the first place. Because I have nothing else to attach myself to, my identity is solely centered in what I physically am and the things i make. I find it frustrating sometimes. The feeling of knowing something existed without being able to mentally contextualize and remember what it was that happened is so tear-jerkingly frustrating. But sometimes I feel like its a blessing. Maybe the fact I can't know is for the better, it can't consume me if I don't know what it is." 

*Snap* 

 *Blink*
 *Blink* 

Craig stops as his world starts to rebuild itself around him and the constant chatter in his head begins again.

"Gosh what was that," He mutters, holding his head, nose scrunched up a bit. "Sorry- all the thoughts I wasn't able to think about before just came spilling out all of sudden. That was the most clarity I've ever experienced ever." 

"My head hurts a bit." He mumbled, looking a bit shaken up.
Michael
His dollops are less than perfect, and it is taking self control to not get frustrated with it. Craig being here helps with that.

It's his turn to listen again. He finds himself reaching out a hand to touch Craig's arm after. It's instinct. 

"It's fine. Don't feel sorry for talking. I like listening." That. Sounded stupid and he is mentally cursing himself for it. So naturally, he keeps talking, pausing from the cookie dolloping.

"I... Don't think that your past actions should entirely define you as a person. They're just.. Things you did. People change. So... Yeah. What I'm trying to say is-" 

He shakes his head, trying so hard to think through the words before saying them. Craig's expression... Moru wants to help him look cheerful again, but only if it's genuine. 

"I can't say I know what that's like. I remember a lot of what happened to me in... Painful detail. But when I got *Here,* Things changed for me. It's sort of like... A little reset. It took adjusting and I'm *Still* Getting trying to get my sleep schedule to match the time zone but... It's not that that old stuff doesn't matter. It still... Affects me every day. But the new stuff matters more." He risks looking directly at Craig's face, even though it feels like he may melt at any second.

"None of that made sense but- what I'm *Trying* To say-" He realizes that his hand has been there for a while, and nervously starts pulling it back.

"Is that- you're a good person. And that means a lot. Yeah. And you're not- *Lesser* If you don't- *Remember* Things." He's losing his nerve, quickly looking back down at the dough.
Carol
Mamoru's touch quickly sends him back to reality. He smiles down at Mamoru reassuringly as he speaks. 

His smile only grows wider the more Mamoru trails on. 

"Is that- you're a good person. And that means a lot. Yeah. And you're not- lesser if you don't- remember things." 

He chuckles a bit. 

His chuckle turns into a quiet laugh, and the quiet laugh turns into a full on belly holding laughter. But there was no malice or bad feelings behind it- he wasn't laughing *At* Mamoru. He wasn't quite sure why he was laughing but it was a mixture of awe and adoration for the green haired boy that caused this sudden fit of laughter. 

His head gently falls on Mamoru's shoulder as he tries to calm himself. 

"Sorry," He says, catching a breath, "I'm not sure why I'm laughing." 

"Thank you, Moru." He says after calming down, wiping a tear collecting from under his eye from laughing, "I really do appreciate it." He smiles, looking down at Mamoru with a warm smile. 

He looks away from Mamoru a bit and looks at the now empty bowl of dough and the tray of unbaked cookies ready to be placed in the oven. "I'll go put the cookies in the oven," He hummed, going back to his usual self and putting on the oven mitts, "Could you help me throw the dishes into the wash?" He said, taking the tray to the oven.

He carefully places the tray into the oven and takes off the mitts before returning to the counter. 

He slides his back down the side of the counter before sitting cross legged on the floor. Looking up at Moru, he pats the floor next to him, gesturing him to sit.
Michael
He doesn't know where the laughter came from, but until Moru's little monologue is over he just keeps going.

He knows it wasn't bad intent, though. Maybe Craig just... Didn't know how to react. That's probably what happened. As Craig's head hits his shoulder, Moru's face reddens. He can't help it. He's blushing.

Oops.

"It's- no problem." He can't look at that smile. Mamoru *Can not* Look at that smile. It's too... Warm. It'll make him melt.

"Yeah, sure." He responds to the request, gladly busying himself with filling the bowls with water and putting everything in the sink to be washed later. He'll probably take control of that. He manages to get his heart to calm down in this time.

It was just... So nice when Craig put his head on Moru's shoulder. It was so nice when he let Moru touch his arm. And that is *Dangerous.* 

"Hm?" He looks over at Craig, turning off the water. He smiles slightly, sitting down next to Craig. "The floor was probably cleaned recently-" He jokes. Well, half jokes.
Carol
"The floor was probably cleaned recently-" 

He chuckles, scooting over to Mamoru a bit. Without much thought his head gently falls on top of Mamoru's. "That was a weird episode." He mumbled. "It felt like the world fell apart and it was only us- the constant chatter in my head just kind of stopped all at once. My thoughts were so- *Loud*." He said, barely above a whisper. 

"It was kind of scary." He hummed, closing his eyes, "But it was serene. I kind of liked it." 

He opened his eyes and stared at the oven in silence, head still gently resting on Moru. 

"The chatter tends to quiet down when I'm around you," He said, thinking out loud, "My head's just a little clearer whenever you're around. I don't know how you do it." He looks down at Mamoru's face (or rather his forehead) from where he was. 

"You're like," He paused, "You're like the garden. I don't know how you manage to calm my head but you do and I want to spend more time with you."

He laughed at himself and lifted his head from Moru. "Sorry, that came out of nowhere." He smiled, looking at Mamoru properly this time. "But I meant what I said earlier." 

He looked away from the boy and continue staring at the cookies in the oven. "I really like spending time with you. And I think you're a very nice person." 

"Being with you is like a breath of fresh air." He pauses and chuckles once again. 

"I really think you're a good person- and an even more wonderful friend."
Michael
*Abahfsiohgohiiehfhi*- All coherent thoughts leave his mind when Craig puts his head on his. He likes the contact, he just doesn't know how to react to it.

He listens to Craig carefully. His voice is almost a whisper, so he has to pay attention to pick everything up.

He's looking up at Craig to the best of his ability with trying not to move. 

*He wants to spend more time with me.
He likes being around me.
He thinks I'm nice.
He likes me.
He likes me.
Even if just as a friend he likes me.*

He can't help but grin like a fool, glancing away from Craig when he lifts his head back up so he won't see the flush creeping across his cheeks.

That'd be embarrassing..

"You- you do? I- thanks. Uhm- I want to spend more time with you, too." *Stop stuttering and stammering stop it stop being weird just be normal-* "I feel- calm around you too. And- yeah." He can't even hate himself for being weird right now, that's how happy Craig's words made him. Those will carry his mood all day, probably. He can regret his reaction at nighttime.

He looks at the oven, fingers gently tapping the ground. He wants to touch Craig's arm again, but doesn't.
Carol
"You- you do? I- thanks. Uhm- I want to spend more time with you, too."

A soft smile grows on his face as Mamoru stutters out those words. "I'd like that." He said quietly, leaning in on the green haired boy.

He felt a little more tired than usual. His happy, upbeat personality mellowed out a bit, leaving him a bit more loopy and cuddly. 

"I feel- calm around you too. And- yeah."

The statement was a bit hard to believe when the boy was physically stuttering and blushing in his place next to Craig but he didn't comment. 

"Yeah?" He hummed, his smile growing wider as he leaned closer to Mamoru. "I'm glad." 

He felt a warm feeling pool up in his stomach as he notices Moru's ears turn a shade of pink. He wasn't sure what the feeling was but it was comfortable. 

The feeling was foreign, but a welcome one. 

Craig yawned and snuggled deeper into Moru's side. "Sorry," He mumbled, "I'm a bit worn out. Push me away if you don't like this." 

He closed his eyes and was soon knocked out on Mamoru's shoulders, his hair gently grazing Mamoru's face.
Michael
Oh *Joy.* Mamoru has no idea how to react to this. His heart is pounding. Him liking Craig is definitely not up for debate. 

He wants to stay like this. It's nice. *Scary,* But nice. The fear isn't the normal, oh-god-I'm-gonna-die fear, just... The fear of not knowing what comes next. Of knowing that this could be dangerous. That his feelings could be one-sided. 

Nope, no, he doesn't want to think about that, he wants to enjoy the moment, screw feelings.

"No- it's fine. You can stay there." *Please stay there.* 

...
...
Moru quickly realizes Craig is asleep.
Well he can't move *Now.* It's like when a cat falls asleep on you. You can't wake them up- it's basically illegal.

He nearly sneezes with the hair grazing his face, but manages not to. He gently, carefully, leans against Craig. Except he can't nap. 1) his heart rate is *Way* Too high for that, and 2) the oven is on and he doesn't want to be responsible for *Another* Kitchen fire. One was more than enough.

So he'll just sit here and enjoy the moment.