Chapter Text
Kagetsu wrenched the door open before his new roommate could even knock on it. He had been waiting at the window all morning for her arrival. The young woman had long, violet hair and a dress that would look more fitting at a cocktail hour. This all matched Panette’s description.
“You are Miss Ivy Aisley!” he exclaimed.
She seemed a bit taken aback. “I am. And you are Haruto Kagetsu, I assume.”
“Indeed! But please just call me Kagetsu. Welcome to your new home!”
He moved out of her way and ushered her inside. The living room was nothing fancy, but Zelkov had made sure it was spotlessly clean. Except for the drink and bag of chips Kagetsu had left on the couch while waiting. Oops.
“You can see the living room here, and there is the kitchen, and the bathroom is over this way, and here is my room, and there is your room, and at the end of the hall is Zelkov’s room.” Kagetsu pointed everything out.
“Lovely,” Ivy said. She clutched the strap of her bag.
“Zelkov!” Kagetsu knocked on his friend’s door. “Come out and greet our new roommate.”
Zelkov stuck his head out. “I am in the middle of something.”
“Can it not wait?” asked Kagetsu.
“I must apply pressure for the glue to set properly.”
Ivy extended an elegant hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“I doubt that,” Zelkov said and closed the door.
Ivy regarded the door with her lips pursed. Kagetsu suppressed a sigh. His friend was not good at first impressions.
“When he is engrossed in a project, he can think of little else,” Kagetsu explained to Ivy.
She raised an eyebrow. “I see.”
“Let us settle you into your room,” he said a bit desperately.
She followed him to the empty room. The bare walls looked desolate without Panette’s blacklight posters covering them. The shelf no longer supported dripping wax candles and incense burners. Kagetsu had been heartbroken when she told them she was moving, but he was excited to have this opportunity to befriend a new roommate.
“Panette left you her mattress,” he said.
Ivy grimaced. “Better than the floor, I suppose.”
There was not much else in there aside from a nail polish stain that even Zelkov had not managed to remove from the carpet. Ivy put her bag on the mattress with a sigh.
“Do you have more luggage?” Kagetsu asked.
“Yes, it’s in my car.”
“I will get it for you!”
She studied him for a moment. “...Thank you.”
They went down the two flights of stairs and around the back of the building to the parking lot.
“Which one is yours?” he asked.
“That one.” She pointed.
“The black convertible?”
“Yes. It’s mine. I own the title. I pay for the insurance,” she said defensively.
He put his hands up. “I am sure you do.”
“I… um…”
She turned away and unlocked the trunk. It was stuffed to the brim with boxes and bags. The back seat too was filled.
Kagetsu turned his dismay into determination. “This will be a good workout.”
That turned out to be the truth. After several laden trips up and down the stairs, his legs were burning. At that point, Zelkov emerged from his room and wordlessly began to help. As Ivy struggled with a large box, he plucked it from her arms and carried it up the stairs. She scowled at his back.
“I admit that I am curious. How do you know Panette?” Kagetsu asked to distract her, and also because he truly was curious. They seemed very… different.
“Are you familiar with Timerra Melos?” Ivy asked.
“She visited a few times. She was quite fun, though we were scolded by the landlord for grilling on the balcony.”
“That sounds like her. I went to school with Timerra. As her mother is the richest woman in Elyos, my father encouraged me to befriend her. I’m sure he saw it as a networking opportunity. But Timerra was a bit more free spirited than he realized. Some of her friends were quite… unique. Panette was one of them, of course. We got along well — aside from the time she took me to explore that abandoned building, and we nearly were arrested,” Ivy grumbled. “Anyway, Panette was who I called when I had my… disagreement with Father, and she said that my timing was perfect. I needed a place to stay, and she needed someone to take over her lease. So here I am.”
She did not sound overjoyed about that, but Kagetsu was sure it would change.
“I am so glad to have a new friend!” he said.
She side-eyed him. “We just met…”
“Is that not how all friendships start?”
At that moment, Zelkov returned and picked up the last box. They all made a final trek up the two flights of stairs. Zelkov put the box in the middle of Ivy’s room and turned to go.
“Thank you for your assistance,” she said frostily.
He only gave a slight nod. As he was about to leave, he paused and said, “I would suggest locking your door, unless you do not mind Kagetsu going through your things.”
“It was only once!” Kagetsu protested.
“Because I repaired the broken lock.”
Kagetsu sputtered as Zelkov disappeared back to his room. Ivy’s narrowed eyes followed him, then went to the stacks of boxes around her.
She exhaled. “I suppose I will unpack.”
“I will retrieve the box cutter,” Kagetsu offered.
“That would be… helpful.”
Kagetsu went to the kitchen and rifled around the utility drawer. The box cutter was not there. He went and knocked on Zelkov’s door again.
“What is it? You are interrupting my concentration.”
“I know how much that irritates you, my friend, but the box cutter was not in the drawer. We have need of it.”
“Are you completely sure it — Oh…”
Zelkov opened the door, shoved the box cutter into Kagetsu’s hand, then closed the door again. Kagetsu shook his head. All the tools in the apartment ended up in Zelkov’s room sooner or later. When Kagetsu got back to Ivy’s room, she had opened up some of the bags and was hanging clothes in the closet. The closet was already half full.
“This may be a problem…” she spoke to herself.
“Perhaps you can find someone selling a dresser,” Kagetsu suggested.
She hummed and began laying things out on the bed. Kagetsu sliced open one of the taped-up boxes. The first one was full of books. That was a bit boring, but he looked through them anyway. Several of the titles he had seen in the stacks of books in Zelkov’s room. Then there were some with pictures of swooning ladies and men with long, dark hair and piercing eyes on the covers.
“Dark Heart’s Passionate Embrace?” he read out loud.
Ivy snatched the book out of his hands, blushing furiously.
“That was not… It isn’t…” She took a deep breath. “Kagetsu, I appreciate your… warm welcome, but I would like to unpack in peace. Alone.”
His face fell. “I see… I will leave you. But if there is anything you need, just say so.”
“Thank you,” she said, then muttered to herself, “Panette and her ‘odd ducks.’”
He dragged his feet out of her room and heard the lock click behind him. He sighed. Was his new roommate going to be as unsociable as Zelkov? Already they were clashing.
That could not stand. There could be no conflict in their household. Kagetsu set his mind to formulate ways of reforging the bonds of roommates into that of best friends.
Neither Ivy nor Zelkov emerged from their rooms for dinner. If Kagetsu had hoped that things would be more positive in the morning, those hopes were dashed when he came out of his bedroom to find the two simmering in silence. Zelkov was chopping something in the kitchen with unnecessary force and speed while Ivy was putting on a pair of high heels. She was dressed formally again for some reason.
“Good morning,” said Kagetsu.
“Perhaps it might have been a good morning if someone hadn’t been vacuuming at three AM,” Ivy snapped.
Zelkov flipped an omelet. “It was necessary to clear away wood shavings.”
“At three o’clock in the morning?” she demanded.
“Yes.”
Ivy rounded on Kagetsu. “Could you not hear it?”
“I… I did not.”
“He has never had an issue with any of the noises that my pursuits may entail,” said Zelkov as he slid the omelet onto a plate.
“He does this frequently?” Ivy once again addressed Kagetsu.
It was not entirely true that he had never had an issue with it, but it was also not something he had felt the need to bring up. He gave a noncommittal shrug.
“Kagetsu could sleep through a wrecking ball destroying half the building. You are lucky it is a Sunday, and you did not have to listen to his alarm go off eight times.”
“I am trying to be better about that…” he said sheepishly.
“And while we are on the subject of inconsiderate behavior,” Zelkov went on. “What sort of person spends an hour in the bathroom, then leaves a wad of hair in the drain?”
Ivy’s cheeks colored. “Perhaps we can compromise. I will clean my hair out of the drain, and you will not make noise after eleven PM.”
He looked down his nose at her. “I cannot agree to that.”
“I know Panette would not have put up with this,” Ivy grumbled.
“She spent much of her time wearing large headphones.” Kagetsu offered.
“Ugh.” Ivy put her hand to her temple. “I don’t have time for this.”
She raised her chin and marched to the bathroom where she presumably cleaned the wad of hair out of the drain. She marched back out and snatched her purse off the couch.
“I am going to church,” she announced.
“Have… fun?” Kagetsu replied because he felt like something needed to be said.
Ivy huffed as she walked out the door. Zelkov let out a huff of his own after the door slammed shut.
“Kagetsu. You are free to take this substandard omelet if you wish. I was distracted while making it.”
Before Kagetsu could say anything, Zelkov had stalked back in his room. Kagetsu shook his head as he picked up the plate. The omelet looked perfect to him, but it was common practice for him to eat the food that Zelkov deemed failures. His friend seemed to get most of his sustenance from eating bowls of cereal at odd hours.
He quickly cleaned his plate, then stared at it, thinking of his predicament. He decided that some help was needed.
“Who the fuck is calling me on a Sunday morning?” Panette growled from under her pillow as her phone continued to buzz.
She was about to throw it across the room when she saw the caller ID. She accepted the call instead.
“Kagetsu, how lovely to hear from you!”
“It is good to hear your voice, Panette, but I am afraid things are not well. Zelkov and Ivy do not get along.”
He sounded like his heart was breaking because of this. It probably was, knowing him. The poor dear just wanted everyone to be friends.
“I am sorry to hear that,” she said. “To be frank, I had an inkling that would be the case.”
“Could you not have warned me?” he asked.
“I apologize. Truly. But Ivy needed a place to stay, and, additionally, I did not want my leaving to put you and Zelkov in a bad position with regards to the rent.”
“I understand. You had our best interests at heart,” he said. “But… what am I to do? I cannot stand discord in the house.”
“What you must understand about Ivy and Zelkov is that they have a shit-load — excuse me — a huge amount of issues, such that it would take a therapist years to untangle them. Heaven knows they have good reason for it. Regardless, they are both incredibly repressed and unable to communicate their emotions.”
“And what am I to do about this?”
Panette hummed. “I believe if you give them some time and space they will mellow and come to their own understanding. Eventually.”
“I cannot wait that long. You know how troubled I am by negative feelings in the household.”
Panette was well aware of how sensitive Kagetsu was to bad vibes. He had always been distraught when she and Zelkov had disagreements — and if anyone was upset with him, the world may as well have been ending. Kagetsu might not understand why Ivy and Zelkov didn’t like each other, but Panette knew he could feel it.
She sighed. “Do you want the nuclear option? It will either make everything sunshine and rainbows or smash any hope of peace into dust.”
“...What is it?”
“They need to f — Hm, how can I put this delicately? They need to… kiss.”
“Panette, I am not a child. I know what you are referring to.”
“Well, you shouldn’t. You are my pure little cinnamon roll, Kagetsu.”
He snorted. “Can they not just be friends?”
“With the two of them, it will be all or nothing, I fear.”
“So you think… kissing will fix this situation?"
“If everything is not ruined beyond repair in the attempt.”
“What are my chances?” he asked.
“Mm… Fifty-fifty? Really, I think they would be good for each other if they gave it a shot.” Panette paused. “You know, maybe there is something to this, Kagetsu. No one has ever managed to break down either of their walls before. Perhaps what we need is for an unstoppable force to hit an immovable object…”
“I do not follow.”
“Just focus on bringing them together. Extricating the two of them from their rooms is a difficult enough task as it is.”
“I am aware,” Kagetsu grumbled.
“I wish you the best of luck,” she said, and meant it.
He sighed. “I miss you, Panette.”
“And I miss you too, ducky. I can’t find anyone here to train Muay Thai with. But the opportunity to go on tour with Timerra’s band was something I could not pass up.”
“I understand,” he said morosely.
“I must run, Kagetsu, but keep me updated. Please, try to be patient with Zelkov and Ivy.”
“I will do my best. Goodbye, Panette.”
The call ended. Panette tapped her chin, then she sent a text to Zelkov:
Hey fuckface
Be nice
In reply, she received an emoji of a broken heart and a knife, which meant something like “You wound me with the insinuation that I would be anything less than polite at all times.”
She rolled her eyes and tossed the phone on the bed.
Later that evening, after returning home hot and tired, Kagetsu wanted nothing more than to relax in the shower. When he got to the bathroom, however, he found Ivy in there furiously scrubbing the tub.
“What… um… are you doing?” he asked.
“What does it look like? I am going to make this bathroom sparkle, so he has no room to complain about anything,” she said.
Despite the fact that she had exchanged her dress for leggings and a tanktop — and rubber gloves — she managed to have the demeanor of royalty.
“I see.” Kagetsu stood there awkwardly.
She gave him a glance and took in his sweaty and dirty appearance. “What have you been doing?”
“I had a baseball game,” he explained.
“You play on a team?” she asked.
“Oh yes! It is my pride to be the star batter for the Solm Wolves. Of course, I used to play for the Elusia Wyverns, but we could never find enough players to field a whole team, so we were forced to disband.” He hung his head. It had been a sad day.
Her face froze. “Elusia as in Elusia Enterprises?”
“Just so. That is where I work. Zelkov as well, actually.”
“I… did not know that.”
“Is it a problem?”
“No, no, not at all.” She absently moved the sponge along the edge of the tub.
“In that case… can I please take a shower?”
“Oh. Of course.” She stood up and once again scrutinized the dust and dirt that covered him.
“Do not worry. If there is dirt in the bottom of the bathtub Zelkov will know to blame me,” he assured her.
“Hmph. As if I care what he thinks,” she said in contradiction to her earlier sentiment.
She stripped off her rubber gloves and threw them under the sink then swept out of the bathroom.
After a refreshing shower, Kagetsu went to the kitchen. He had been hoping Zelkov had made more “substandard” food, but it appeared not. It would be a ramen and protein shake night again. He was microwaving the ramen when Ivy came into the kitchen.
“Do you have a drill I may borrow?” she asked.
“Zelkov has one,” he told her.
“Oh. Could you… request it for me?”
“You should ask him.” It would be a good excuse for them to talk.
Her mouth twisted. “...Of course.”
She walked down the hall and rapped her knuckles against the door.
“Is there something you require?” asked a testy voice.
“I would like to borrow a drill.”
“...For what purpose?”
“To hang a curtain rod, if you must know.”
Zelkov finally opened the door. “And how do you plan to do that?”
Ivy put a hand on her hip. “With a drill.”
“Do you have a tape measure? A level?”
“...No.”
“I thought not.”
He retreated back into his room, and Ivy stood there gaping. She was even more shocked when he returned with a step stool, laser level, tape measure, and large drill.
“Could you please move aside?” he asked her.
She stepped out of the way then followed as he went to her room. Kagetsu couldn’t see them at this point, but it was no effort to hear them.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“Installing your curtain rod.”
“I never asked you to do it.”
“I do not want you haphazardly punching holes in the wall. Have you ever held a drill before?”
“I… I’m sure I have at some point… Fine! If you want to do it so badly, then do it.”
Ivy flounced out of the bedroom. They both had a particular skill at leaving a room dramatically. She dropped onto the couch beside Kagetsu and crossed her arms.
“He prefers it this way. Really,” said Kagetsu.
“It appears that Zelkov does all the cooking, cleaning, and handiwork around here. What is it that you do?” she sniped.
He smiled at her. “I fill the space with liveliness and cheer! And I pay a larger portion of the rent.”
That seemed to mollify her slightly.
“Have you eaten dinner?” he asked.
“I didn’t go to the grocery store…” She put her hand over her face. “I really don’t want to go back out.”
“You may have some ramen if you would like.”
“That kind in a cup?” she asked. “Like in the ads?”
“Um, yes.”
Kagetsu pulled one out of the pantry and set it on the counter. Ivy approached as if it was some great curiosity. She took a moment to thoroughly read the instructions, filled the cup up to the line with water, then put it in the microwave.
He opened the utensil drawer. “Do you use chopsticks?”
“Yes. That is one thing I know how to use,” Ivy said sourly over the whirring of the drill.
He handed her a pair. The microwave went off, and she retrieved the cup. They stood there as she waited the precise amount of time for it to steep. At the specified time, she picked it up and swirled it around with her chopsticks. She lifted one noodle to her mouth. Kagetsu watched as she tried it.
“Well?” he asked.
“It is… salty.”
“Would you prefer the spicy kind?”
“No. This is sufficient. Thank you. It is… kind of you to give it to me. I will have to repay you.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “There is no need! They are not expensive.”
At that moment, Zelkov emerged from Ivy’s room. “It is done.”
“Let’s see,” she said.
Kagetsu followed out of curiosity. Everything in her room was as neat and orderly as it could be considering the lack of furniture. There were a few stacks of boxes that seemed to be full of clothes that did not fit into the closet. A perfectly aligned curtain rod hung above the window.
“Where are the curtains?” Zelkov asked.
“I have them here.” Ivy picked them up off the bed. “But I do not need you to hang them.”
“You may, perhaps, need my stepstool, though.”
Her lips thinned to a straight line, but she said nothing as she threaded the curtains onto the rod. She stood on the stepstool to fit the rod into the brackets. Zelkov watched her with his face impassive.
The curtains were a deep forest green. Much like Zelkov, Ivy favored dark colors. Of course, Panette always had as well. Yet, they all had a different style of dark. Zelkov’s was monochromatic in a way that caused him to fade into the background. Ivy’s looked sophisticated. Panette somehow made black seem festive.
Kagetsu’s musings were cut short as Ivy said to Zelkov, “There. You may take all your things back now.”
“You are satisfied with my work?”
“Yes.” Ivy inhaled and exhaled. “Thank you.”
“I only wanted to make sure it was done correctly. I would rather not have to patch the drywall later.”
“I’m sure you have managed to live up to your own lofty standards. You may leave my room now,” she said icily.
Zelkov gathered his tools and left without another word. Kagetsu decided that it would be best if he left as well. The tension in the air was palpable once again. The nuclear option was beginning to sound appealing.