Deer Country In-Box

[burnitblack]

un: dabi  *cla-chick* ... what?  *growl* [ that would be his omen ] [ contact through his omni stone can be text, audio, or video. contact through his omen can be visual, mental, or physical. ]

Comments

[swellter]

[ When he arrives at the bar, he'll hand over Dabi his present a small 4x6 inch rectangular gift with not a lot of height to it. When Dabi unwraps it he will find a family photo. A quietly smiling Rei seated between her children, hands neatly folded in front of her looking fondly at the camera with a charming sort of grace in her pose. Fuyumi stands to her right crouching down to her level, very close, and beamingly happily at the camera. Natsuo stands to the left of her with a large hand on his mother's shoulder in a casual sort of pose, looking straight at the camera sporting a grin that reaches his eyes. Shouto stands next to Fuyumi a fond look in his eyes and at the corner of his mouth a barely-there smile. And next to him is Touya, white hair, a casual pose, looking off to the side as if he doesn't want to be there but there's no animosity, instead a sort of reluctant acceptance.

It's the photograph he received upon washing up on shore, he'll tell Touya. The one item he's never parted with until now. A gift from Trench. Not truly real but to Shouto it means the world to him. He'll utter a fond, "Happy Birthday, Touya." Once Dabi opens it. Whatever he decides to do with it. It's his now, to do with as he will. ]

[burnitblack]

[touya's there when shouto arrives, actually deciding to show up. more out of a reluctant curiosity than anything brotherly or family. but he accepts the gift. there's a brief minute or two where it stays on the table beside his hand, as if he thinks he'll get away with not opening it in shouto's presence. but... tch, fine. he'll open it.

the response is an extremely brief twitch of his eyes, widening for the splittest of seconds before narrowing once again. it's not the first time he's seen a picture of his family. but what's strange to him is who's in the picture. rei, fuyumi, natsuo, and shouto, he expects all of that. the standout part is himself. he never took a picture like that. there's no way the four of them would be in a picture with their mother like this during the point of their lives when they were together. the unhappiness and stress in their house would've made this kind of shot all but impossible to take. and yet... here it is, looking at him in the face. with enji conspicuously absent from the family photo. another aspect that makes him doubt the authenticity of the picture...

but there's no effort on touya's part to burn it.

he listens silently when shouto tells him that it's something washed up, given to him by trench. not real, yet still important. a picture of what could've been... the quiet but fond wish for his birthday sounds alien to his ears. it's been years since anyone's wished him a birthday. might've been best if he forgot he even had one. but shouto says it and touya accepts it silently.

whether it's a trade or repayment or something else, touya spends the rest of the day with shouto. no real plans asides from simply being with him. probably spends the night at his place too.

as for the picture, touya keeps it safe. he'll try to find a way to get the picture replicated, using his contacts and resources. (hey, he's got cameras in his stockpile of goods.) if he's successful, he'll meet up with shouto to return the picture -- after showing him he's got a copy -- because he doesn't want to take it away from his little brother when it's that important to him. but if he's not successful, then he'll keep it all the same.

a picture of what could've been...]