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There would be a pause between the knocking, the buzzer, and the door clicking unlocked in a manner that said it was being opened automatically rather than by a hand. Indeed, the one that greeted Yuuri wasn't the resident Finn himself, nor his erstwhile ginger feline companion, but rather the striped Mauvian b*****d who seemed to spend a rather inordinate amount of time at the Warehouse himself.

Probably because Lauri had set up beer on tap and allowed the Mauvians to order pizza for themselves as they pleased.

"Heeeeey, Perfect timing. Get in here." Tiberius marched outside, shoved his giant body against the back of Yuuri's legs and began pushing just in case he got some stupid idea about escaping. As much as Tibs enjoyed the human drama of playing with Lemons and his 'pack', he did have other places to be, a Mistress and a job to do for her. There were other things he could be doing - he did like the b*****d though, so he hadn't wanted to just abandon him on this most glorious of anniversaries. Or something.

But the kid was here, so. Now he didn't have to worry! Wouldn't have to worry, as soon as he determined that Yuuri would stay the hell put.

In the kitchen, Metallica could be heard. Nothing else. Blue and white candles were set on the counter-tops. Tiberius kept shoving until Yuuri was in the Warehouse and the door shut behind them. "Aw, it's really sweet of you to drop by, what ever did you bring me, sweet stuff?" Now that Yuuri was inside, he could stop herding him so forcefully and instead make more pleasant feline figures about his captive's ankles in a greeting that mimicked shackles.

"You're gonna stay, right? I mean, you wouldn't just...abandon us...on this important day. You know what day it is, right? That's why you're here, isn't it?"

"Oh, it's fine. Really." Yuuri kept trying to offer him the bag. As though Tiberius had hands with which to take the offering. The Mauvian puffed up and turned so that Yuuri had no choice but to follow him over to the kitchen, "He's upstairs getting a flag or something."

Tiberius sniffed, hopped onto the counter, and then turned so he could stare at Yuuri. "Sweetness, you realize you keep trying to give a cat a bag? I don't have hands you precious little darling." He chuckled and licked one of his paws in a manner that was obviously meant as a not-so-subtle cut in Yuuri's direction, which was pretty much how Tiberius operated when purposefully trolling and/or being a direct d**k at someone.

"So how about you put that cute little gift for your not-boyfriend on the counter and set it out next to these garish goddamn candles and wait for him to come down so you can present that gift properly. It's rude to not at least say hello, y'know." The Mauvian's tone had ceased to be cutting, and was more conversational - even somewhat conspiratorial, as though he and Yuuri were the best of friends and were in on this very large and important secret together.

"Not every day Finland celebrates it's hundredth anniversary of independence, after all." Tiberius was walking a fine line, a very fine line - he didn't want to upset Yuuri enough to leave, but neither did he plan his presence being required either. The Mauvian knew what Lauri had planned for the day and wanted no part of it - the last time he'd hung around, he'd ended up getting nothing done and had required a thorough bath before even attempting to return to Stroud's apartment. He did not want a repeat.

If someone was going to end up in that position, stuck entertaining the Finn? It wasn't going to be Tiberius. Nope. He nominated Yuuri. "Oh, heck. Darn." Tibs glanced at a clock and made his entire body droop despondently, "Yuuri, I hate to do this, but I really gotta run an errand for my Mistress. You know, she's super demanding. I'll be back later, no worries. If you could just keep Lauri company until then? I'd be super grateful!"

"You're the best. Thanks!" Before he could argue, Tiberius ******** zoomed though the kitchen and open floor space over to the 'cat space' and out the special cat door.


Down the stairs came a metered thudding, the sound of one man descending with whatever prize he'd managed. "Found it!" Lauri held a medium sized Finnish flag before him as he came padding barefoot into the kitchen/sitting space; he'd expected to find Tiberius waiting but instead there was a rather...distressed looking Yuuri with a bag.

"Yuuri." The Finn greeted his packmate with slightly more warmth than usual, cheeks slightly pinked. Clearly, he'd been drinking...and perhaps something else already that day. "Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää, Suomi!" He waved the flag a bit, and then tossed it over his shoulder so he could grab a step stool. "I wanted to hang it." Normally, he wouldn't have bothered explaining; he rarely did.

In fact, Lauri's explanations were usually 'it's my house', which applied to just about anything, including his penchant for walking around in nothing but underwear, as he was doing on this fine day.

Yuuri's pronunciation was quite good - Japanese sounds were pretty close to Finnish in many ways, after all - and Lauri was pleasantly surprised. Whether he would have been sober was a whole other thing, but lubricated by the day's festivities and vices already indulged, he beamed. "Very nice."

He also laughed because...really, where else would he be? But Yuuri was Japanese and wasn't often direct. It required some sort of translation to get to what he was saying. He was as indirect as Lauri tended to be direct, generally. The gift drew his attention, though the Finn moved to turn his music down so that talking - and understanding what was said - was easier.

So when his packmate mentioned one of his absolute favorite dishes, he perked and sidled over with intent. "Yuuuuuriiiiii" Lauri drew the name out as he peered down at the bag, setting the flag that had been on his shoulder down onto the counter instead. "You brought my favorite for Independence day. How did you know? Did that garbage cat tell you?"

He took the parcel and pulled the pie out and set it on the counter, admiring the crust and the way the colourful fruit looked baked. It was very tempting to just poke a finger in as he might have as a child, but he was an Adult, so no. "Too early for pie." Lauri actually sounded...mournful. "Ah, but we should eat something now. You're staying for dinner, of course. To celebrate."

Of course he was. Yuuri had brought the dessert, so naturally he'd be staying. Was it possibly a bad idea to allow the Finn to cook while obviously under the influence of multiple mind altering substances? Yes. Very possibly. Thank ******** he'd already put on the stew in a crock pot the night before.

If the Finn noticed Yuuri staring - or anything other than the offered gift at all - it went without commentary, possibly without notice due to Lauri's obviously intoxicated state.

"Mustikkapiirakka," The Finnish word came out like music, like a sigh, like happier times when Lauri wasn't Lauri and could remember perhaps things from childhood that had formed the memories that caused such an intonation to happen at all, "has always been my favorite." He frowned momentarily at the golden crust, thick brows drawn close, "I think." Then laughed again, "Not that I would ******** remember!" It was quite funny to think about it, a whole life that he didn't understand, forming his likes and dislikes, right down to the way he preferred to jerk off!

Fantastical, really.

"Very good guess." Lauri smiled broadly at Yuuri, the words accented heavily, drawn out so the 'very' was more like 'werry' with that 'r' rolled like he'd forgotten where the syllable was going for a moment. Then Lauri turned to get two bowls down from the cupboards, thunking them harder than he meant to because his limbs weren't as easily managed as usual.

"What? It's settled already, I tell you." Was it time to eat? Kind of. The stew was ready anytime though Lauri hadn't planned on eating until later, but Yuuri's pie kind of changed things. He wanted to eat it sooner rather than later, which meant eating stew sooner rather than later. I feel I'm forgetting something... Oh yeah, the flag. "You can serve two bowls, yes? I need to hang this."

Without waiting for an answer when he was pretty sure that Yuuri was competent enough to manage moving food from one container into another without supervision, the Finn picked up his flag and grabbed the ladder that was waiting so he could hang one side and then the other; he only nearly fell three times and toppled the whole thing once, laughing and cursing the whole time because he hadn't locked the damn thing into place and it had gone arseways at the first step.

He would barely even bruise from that!

Lauri stepped back to admire his work once the flag had been secured, arms across his chest in a manner that suggested satisfaction. There were reddened splotches along his torso and skinned areas on his legs from his tumble, but the Finn paid no attention to such things - it had flashed pain so briefly to warrant no concern.

"Did he?" News to the Finn. As far as he'd understood, the shitcat had other business to attend to that day, but the inner workings of the benighted Mauvian were not his to contemplate. "Maybe we will be lucky and he will be stuck in dumpster." Eyes the colour of a storm-washed sky went from flag to fieldmouse, narrowing thoughtfully.

Yuuri was smiling, just a hint of curve to mouth suggesting play.

Was he being sassed about his ladder? "It has a taste for blood, like most of my tools." Lauri chuckled and left the ladder where it was in favor of fetching beer. "Instead, get bowls and spoons. We eat." Secure in the knowing that Yuuri would bring food, the brunet moved to the sitting area where he waited expectantly, folding himself up onto the couch cross-legged like a heathen. Both beers were set on the couch beside him, safely resting in the crevasse formed between cushions.

Tiberus was an indubitably s**t cat. Lauri doubted it was even an exaggeration to say that he was probably the worst that the Mauvian species had on offer, and that was when he was dead-a** sober. When he was more generously lubricated, as he was currently, this status was an absolutely surety.

Regardless of how elegant the Mauvian might have looked, he was genuine, bonafide, grade-A garbage.

Yuuri's supposition that things were strange to experience for the first time again had the Finn nodding his head a little to acknowledge that he'd heard and understood it again this time. "It's....different. Things are vague familiar. I think willingness makes it so." He'd forgotten a great deal, yes, but there were also many aspects of his life that were wispy and ticklish along his memory; familiar to his body and mind in strange ghost-like ways - it didn't always feel like he was doing things 'for the first time again' but more like he was doing something again he hadn't done in ages (even if it was something he'd done yearly as Pasi, such as celebrating Finland's independence).

"Mmph." Lauri accepted the compliment on his culinary skills with ill grace, "Good ingredients. I just toss in pot. Nothing done." Even so, it was pleasant to hear that Yuuri liked it as well; he was picky in many areas that Lauri was not, so even if the Finn liked it, that didn't mean anyone else would eat it.

A cookbook? The Finn snorted and ate a few bites, eyes crinkled up at the corners with amusement. "Joo, that's exactly what I did." Lauri waved his spoon at Yuuri and winked. "More than that too. How to be me."

There he went again, going red. Yuuri's mixed blood did him no favors with hiding the way blood rushed to his cheeks be it by embarrassment, arousal, or fear. Even stoned Lauri knew which option was most likely - Yuuri was s**t for hiding his feelings, despite knowing the sort of thing he plainly dreamed of was entirely out of the question for an aromantic b*****d like the Finn. He preferred to imagine it was a physical thing only, which was much easier to fathom, especially at points like the current one when holding onto deeper thoughts was exceedingly difficult.

"Build things. Drink vodka. ********. Be Finn." He nodded as he spoke, spooning another bite into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully until he was distracted by the delightful flavors and completely missed how engrossed Yuuri was getting in some train of thought or others.

"Being matter of courses celebrating Finnish holidays." Like this one, which was important. "Holidays mean pie." Thus eating, though Yuuri kept pausing in his eating. "You are thinking too much. Today is a day for not-thinking." Was he going to have to get Yuuri stoned again? He was, wasn't he. That was fine, they had an entire pie to split, the stew was done and could be consumed at will, and it wasn't as though Americans celebrated Suomi's Independence...if things got dire take-away was always an option.

Lauri gestured at his packmate with his spoon, expression still unencumbered by the usual stern grump; "You need to relax. I will get you stoned again."