[crow]

“Gee, that’s reassuring,” said Confetti. But despite his tone, he ate what was given to him without further complaint. And as he ate, some of the color did seem to return to his cheeks, and his bearing no longer looked quite so sulky.

What was that that commercial had said? ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’? Maybe that was a part of why he was so… well, the way he was.

[crow]

It probably wasn't all of it, but it did maybe help to explain things a little. Had she been hungry when she was new, come to think of it? She didn't remember very well. She doubted Confetti would ever be a ray of sunshine or anything, but at least he might not be as insufferable if he just ate.

Once she was satisfied that he was, in fact, eating, Peach took her own meal. She ate quickly, not even bothering to savor any of it.

[crow]

It was best to finish quickly and get back to work while Confetti was distracted, just so he didn't hole up in his room again immediately when he was finished. Then she would have to get him out again, and who knew if he would listen to her?

"Thanks for the meal. Hey, I can leave the dishes to you, right?" she said, passing her bowl to Neo. Without waiting for his answer, she went off into the makeshift closet bedroom, and began the process of hauling their futons out.

[crow]

She did so without much decorum, simply dragging them across the floor and out the door into the hallway. They were futons, not bedframes; they wouldn't suffer too much from a little rough handling here and there.

She did pick them up after that though. She didn't want to drag them across the floor the whole way, even if it would have been easier. They did try to keep a clean home, but there was still dust and grime accumulated on the wood floor, and futons were a bit of a hassle to launder since they were so big.

[crow]

She picked up the bedding that she'd set out last night, and carried it into the spare room, where she set it down unceremoniously on one side of the room.

She had to walk past the kitchen to do it though, which meant that the two boys who were still eating were watching her do it. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" said Confetti. "That's mine."

She gave him a look after hearing those words. He'd only slept in this stuff for a day, but suddenly it was his? He must have slept pretty well then.

[crow]

That thought gave her enough mental buoyancy that she could smile at his comment, even though it wasn't any less rude than Confetti had generally been before. "I'm moving it," she said. "You do want a bigger room, right? I mean, that one is pretty small. Neo said you had to sleep all cramped up together."

Confetti shot a look at Neo at that, and Neo put his hands up in a small gesture of surrender, as if to say he had done nothing of the sort.

[crow]

If Confetti was upset about it, however, he didn't show it. "I guess that's true," he said with a shrug. She could see the palpable relief in Neo as the tension went all out of him, shoulders slumping with it. Her smile widened a little. "Alright, I guess that's fine," Neo said, as if he was giving her his permission.

"Great, glad we could get you on board," she said, with no small amount of irony. But if he could sense that, Confetti didn't comment on that either.

[crow]

"You could help out if you like, you know. This would go faster if you did," said Peach as she went back to the closet room for Neo's futon. She was just throwing it out there though, and didn't have much in the way of expectations.

After all, this was Confetti they were talking about. Maybe she didn't know him well enough to be passing these sorts of judgements, but from her own limited experience, he didn't seem like the type to go for manual labor.

[crow]

To her surprise, however, he didn't immediately refuse. "What do you want me to do?" he asked. He didn't sound enthused, sure, but it wasn't the total shutdown that she had expected, so even that much was something, if she thought about it.

"Well, I've got this," she said, her voice muffled slightly for a moment by the distance as she bent to pick up ths second set of bedding. "So that's that done. And Neo's the one who's going to clear out the rest of the room, since all the stuff in there is his."

[crow]

"But," she said after a slight pause, "you could help me move that stuff into it after, if you think you could handle it." She figured that after hearing that the work was moving boxes, that was when his refusal would come, but maybe if she pitched it as a challenge, he'd fall for it.

Confetti glanced at the boxes, then wrinkled his nose. "No thanks," he said. "I'll just stand over here and watch in case you look like you're about to drop something."

[crow]

That wasn't the sort of response Peach would have wanted to hear, but it was also no less than she had expected from him, so she supposed that was that.

"You do you," she said. It was easier to let him be if he was at least going to do her the favor of staying out of the way, and she wasn't in the mood for arguing with him either. As long as he wasn't actively sabotaging them, he could just stay there and watch.

[crow]

She went into the spare room, and put Neo's bed down on the other side, as far from Confetti's as she could get it. Hopefully that would suffice for the two of them. She really hoped she didn't have to get a bedframe, more because of the hassle of setting one up than the cost, but if that ended up being what they needed...

... Well, they'd cross that bridge when they got to it, she supposed. At the moment, this was probably good enough for tonight.

[crow]

The room did look pretty bare, since it was completely empty except for the two futons now, but once Neo's personal affects were moved in, it would look more like a proper room that somebody lived in.

And they did still have to go shopping for Confetti, which she probably ought to talk to him about too. It was better to draft up a list before they went, if he could be bothered, just so they didn't end up buying anything more than they needed once they got to the store.

[crow]

She could just see it happening now, with Confetti asking for anything that caught his eye... Maybe she wasn't giving him enough credit, and that wasn't what was really going to happen, but she had vivid memories of what it had been like with Neo. And Neo was better about hearing the word 'no', between the two of them.

By the time she'd come out, Neo was already in the process of washing the dishes. "I'm done moving your beds, so you should go see about your stuff," she said, nudging him away from his place in front of the sink.

[crow]

"Really? Thanks," said Neo, shooting her a grateful smile, before taking off his rubber gloves and leaving them with her. She watched him go, trying half-heartedly for a moment to figure out whether he was thanking her for moving his bed, or for taking over for the dishes. It was probably both, wasn't it?

"How come he has stuff and I don't?" said Confetti, who was also watching Neo leave, but his tone was more curious than petulant, even if the latter sentiment wasn't completely non-present.