bakerstreet | Pillow Fort meme;

[Gai really appreciates that the rest of the crew are all fond of Earth. It means, among other things, that they end up returning fairly often--not just to consult other sentai, but for shore leave and rest. The balance of time they spend out exploring the universe versus hanging out on his home planet means he rarely gets homesick. (Granted, sometimes he feels a little bad about that considering how many of the others lost their planets to Zangyack... but this is the future they all chose together, and as long as the others are at peace with it, he can accept that.)

This visit home, though, is different. This time he's taking advantage of getting kicked off the Galleon to visit his mom and stepdad--and, of course, drag Don along. There's some big news to deliver, after all, at least after his mom gets over the whole leg-in-a-cast business. Not to mention it'll be nice to fall asleep in his old bed with Don curled up next to him.

It's Friday night, so his mom has night classes to teach and his stepdad's out bowling. (Yes, bowling. He's a sweet dude, but kinda endearingly boring.) Don, being Don, is puttering around in the kitchen in his usual slightly neurotic way. Gai's not dumb; he can tell this is a nerve-wracking experience for his poor nervous boyfriend. And while he's still kinda limited in what he can do with a bad leg, there are a couple of ways he can think of to make this more fun.

So while Don's making dinner, he insists on staying behind in his bedroom to do some puttering around of his own. Which includes unplugging the fairy lights he had strung up over his desk and re-hanging them over his bed. And dragging all the spare quilts out of the closet. And getting his old night light out of the box under the bed.]

[It's an unfamiliar kitchen. That's why he's all out of sorts. Yeah, that's definitely it. Because the Ikaris are kind, gracious people who-

Well.

Who absolutely terrify him for a lot of reasons, most of which Marvelous would tease him about. And he's in their kitchen cooking their food and he can't remember where everything goes once he's through washing up and everything is terrible. But dinner should be good! If nothing else, dinner's always good when Don cooks it. Or Gai.

Sandwiches might not be the most appropriate dinner, but the bakery nearby had very tempting rolls and they're just easier to clean up after when one of you is eating in bed.

On the subject of the bed, he finds it quite changed when he nudges the door to Gai's room open.]

Uh.

Gai?

Are you in here?

[He's managed to sort of hang the quilts up in a kind of canopy using the lamp on one side and a couple of coat hooks on the other. Granted, Gai's leg is sticking out of the little tent, but it's a pretty respectable blanket fort otherwise!] Oh! Hey, Don, I was just about to text you. Come on in!

[He grins and pulls up the bottom of the quilt that's currently serving as a door. The fairy lights are looped around the bars of the headboard, creating a kind of warm glow in the space beneath the blanket roof.]

Make yourself comfortable!

S- sure. [He didn't see you there, Gai, what with all the sparkly colorful things that aren't you.]

You must be feeling a lot better if you managed to do this. [He passes the tray through the door before he crawls in. It's a single bed, so there's not a lot of space under those twinkle lights. Not that he's opposed to smooshing up against Gai.]

Yeah, I didn't even need painkillers this morning. [He shifts so he can balance the tray on his lap and kinda lean against Don. If his range of motion weren't still limited he'd probably tuck himself up like an excited little boy reading a scary book under the covers, but as it is he's pretty content to sprawl out on his half of the bed.] These look great. I bet Mom'll be jealous she missed out.

[Don's face could light up the fort by itself for a second.]

It's just sandwiches. [There's not enough room to squirm. Dang!] And I made sure to leave some out. Teachers work hard, so I'm sure she'd appreciate it.

[He's gonna try squirming anyways.] Do you think this is going well?

[Okay, Don gets a quick forehead kiss for being thoughtful towards his mom. And for being cute, but Gai thinks he's always cute so it's always an excuse.] Yeah. They like you! Mom told me she's been looking forward to seeing you. [He picks up one of the sandwiches and digs in, that goofy smile still plastered across his face.]

That kind of makes it worse.

[Wait, crud.]

Not worse! I mean, it makes it harder? I don't exactly function well under... expectations.

[Even though he's still got a mouthful of sandwich, his expression softens. Thankfully he's a much more polite eater-and-talker than most of the rest of the crew, so he waits until he's got his current bite down to talk.]

I know you're nervous. But it'll be okay, I promise. [He attempts a sly smile, though frankly it just makes him look like a doofus.] That's why I built this fort. So you can hang out in here without worrying about anything.

Gokai Silver's new technique, Anxiety Barrier? [Don plucks at one of the quilt walls and the light around them sways.] It's... really sweet. Considering this can't be totally easy for you either.

Well... yeah, not really. [Gai fidgets a little.] My parents know I like guys, but I've never brought somebody home to meet them before. And I want all the people I love to get along with each other, you know?

Ah. That's important here, huh? [For once, the shadow of anxiety that comes over Don's face passes quickly. He brightens again.] But it's a really small part of the Universe.

[He nudges Gai with his shoulder before he starts in on his own food.] I like your mom, though. You're definitely her son.

You think? [He's just gonna let that remark about Earth slide for now, though something about it sticks in the back of his brain for later.] Mom's definitely enthusiastic about her work. When I was little she told me that if you don't have a passion in life, you won't get anywhere.

[For just a moment he wants to ask what Don's parents were like, if they can maybe visit someday--but considering how little Don talks about his home planet or his family, they probably didn't survive the invasion. And Gai would feel horrible if he brought up those painful memories after what they've been through recently. So instead he just smiles and focuses on his sandwich. (It's very good! Don might be modest about his cooking skills, but Gai loves how he's willing to experiment with alien ingredients.)]

[Don nods while he's got his mouth full. As someone with a lot of passions, that rings very true to him. He swallows and leans into Gai.] Marvelous might like her better than he lets on if he knew that. Passion and dreams and stuff. I doubt he'd come down for a visit or anything, but that's. Probably for the best.

Yeah. Between you and me, I think my stepdad thinks Marvelous-san's a punk. [It's not exactly easy to shimmy around in a small blanket fort full of fairy lights, but Gai manages to shift so he can get an arm around Don. It's not the most comfortable position they've ever been in, but they get to lean on each other, and Gai always feels this weird sense of relief when they're casually touching this way. Like he's someplace safe.] I tried telling him that being a pirate is a really cool, exciting thing, but he said if Marvelous-san got a haircut he'd be cooler.

[Of course he hasn't told any of the others about that. He would end up jammed inside the brig barrel for a whole week.]

He'd have a fit if he saw Joe, then. [Don's smiling freely now, anxiety forgotten. He leans his head on Gai's shoulder.] What about me? Or would it have to be all messy like Marvelous' to be punk hair?

[For some reason, some gear in Gai's brain clicks gently into place and he gets this sudden sense that something's just gone right for him--like seeing a sudden opening in a fight, but quieter, sweeter. Between his injury and that whole business with Marvelous-san the other day, Don hasn't really been relaxed in a while, and now Gai can feel some of that tension ebb away. He lifts his free hand from Don's shoulder to play with his hair a little.]

You? Definitely classy. Modern-day handsome prince material.

[Don shrinks from the compliment, but not from the fond touch. It's too new and too nice to squirm away from just because it's embarrassing. That describes the whole situation, really. Stuffed up in a makeshift tent in his boyfriend's old bedroom with twinkly lights, getting crumbs on the sheets.]

A prince and a cabin boy who's too brave for his own good. That's a good fairy tale, right?

[He has a mild fascination with them since the ring thing. Could you blame him?]

[~~Gai may have already bought him one of those pretty and inexplicably inexpensive chain-bookstore editions of the Grimm stories. Because he's a nerd.~~]

Hey, yeah! [Truth be told, that's been on his mind a lot too--what was that line he heard in some movie? Something about true love not coming along every day?] A cool dragonslaying pirate prince. The cabin boy falls in love with him at first sight, of course. [He says this airily, like a little kid declaring the rules of a make-believe game, before his last bite of sandwich.]

And the cabin boy is... offputting, at first. He's one of those people who shine too bright and make people nervous when they don't think they can shine like that.

[He flexes his toes in his ridiculous socks, smiling but not looking at Gai.]

He doesn't mean to, though. [Gai's voice drops a little, like this is a secret.] It's just that... he's got enough light that he can see how amazing the prince is. Because he is, you know. He's smart, and handsome, and curious about stuff, and very kind.

[Don covers his face with both hands. Which means he kinda smooshes his sandwich into his face for a second.] M- maybe we should tell scary stories instead!

[For once, though, that modesty--okay, let's be real, that cringe reflex--kinda nags at Gai. He reaches over with his now-sandwichless hand to curl his fingers around one of Don's wrists.]

You know I don't say that stuff to embarrass you, right? [There's a tiny, hopeful smile playing at the corner of his mouth.]

~~Don't make that face!~~

I know! [Don squirms and his pulse runs faster under Gai's fingertips.] But it makes me get all- [He gestures vaguely to his reddened face.] It makes me get like this when people say nice stuff to me, and I feel dumb when it's you and you see me like that.

So.

I know it's dumb.

It's not dumb, it's just... [The hand that's been playing with Don's hair settles at the back of his neck.] I don't want you to feel like I'm teasing you. [A beat.] Or like my parents are, either. If they say nice things to you it's not because they feel like they have to.

Pillow Fort meme;

Ikari Gai | Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger | starter for justcallmedoc

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