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Three
Ryk
"Dakota, what's your favorite food?" Nico asked Dakota, and I slid my eyes up from the comic I was reading to watch them.
It was Saturday, which meant Dakota didn't have to go to work today, and he was hanging out with us in the living room. Nico and Dakota sat on opposite ends of the couch, while Star lay sideways on the armchair I was leaning against, his head on one armrest and his legs thrown over the other.
We were all doing our own thing, but we were in the same room for once.
"Hmm? My favorite food? I'm not really picky. Why do you ask?" he asked, putting his phone away. That was one of the first things I'd noticed about Dakota. Whenever he talked to someone, he gave them his full attention, which was a big deal in the human world. These days, people's eyes seemed to be glued onto their phones all day, even when talking with each other.
"Well, I'm still learning to cook, and I wanted to try a bunch of different dishes, so I thought I'd ask everyone what they liked and try to make that," Nico explained, and I tilted my head, twisting around to look at Star, who was curled up in the other armchair and napping.
Or pretending to nap, I corrected myself as I spotted him watching the two with slitted eyes.
"Ah, in that case, I really like a good roasted chicken. I also like apple pies," Dakota added, then glanced away as if he hadn't expected to say the last part.
"Roast chicken and apple pie," Nico said with a firm nod. "Then that's what I'll make next." I lowered my book enough to make myself more obvious.
"Don't you wanna know what my favorite food is?" I asked, adding extra emphasis to my words, and Nico narrowed his eyes at me.
"I already know," he answered—or rather lied—smoothly before getting to his feet.
"I'll be right back," he said, then took off toward his room. I had a feeling he was going to look up roast chicken recipes on his laptop.
"So Dakota, what do you like to do on your days off?" I asked, and he shrugged.
"Relax, I guess? Be lazy," he said with a small grin, and Star raised his head to shoot him a look.
"I can relate to that. Lazing about and doing nothing is fun," he said, and Dakota chuckled.
"Yeah. I don't get to do much of that during the weekdays, so I like to take the weekends easy," he said, then asked, "What about you two? Any plans?"
"Not really," I said, then sighed. "I don't really like crowds, and I especially don't like being alone in them, so I don't really want to go out unless I can convince one of these two to go with me. Hmmm, maybe Nico would be up for a shopping trip," I mused, and Dakota smiled.
"Well, we can ask him when he returns. And if the others are busy, I can come with you," he offered, and I blinked, surprised.
"Really? But won't it mess up your plans to be lazy?" I asked. I didn't want him to not rest because of me. I'd seen how tired he was when he returned from work, and he deserved to spend his days off however he wanted to.
"I'll be fine. You're new to town too, right? I'd be happy to show you around. Any of you," he added, shooting a glance at Star.
"I'm not leaving this chair until dinner, so if you want to go out, you're gonna have to do it without me," Star said with his eyes closed, and I shook my head. He had to be the idlest demon I'd ever met. I wondered how he'd gotten any work done back when he'd still been a torturer.
"You're mean," I informed him, and he merely turned in the chair until his back was to us. How he was comfortable in a position like that, I'd never know.
"You three are really close, aren't you?" Dakota asked, and I turned my gaze back on him.
"Uh, we've known each other for a long time, so I guess so," I said, and he hummed.
"Childhood friends?" he asked, and I tilted my head side to side.
"I guess you could say that," I finally settled on, and Dakota got a thoughtful look on his face.
"It's wonderful that you're still friends, then," he said, giving me a warm smile that lit up his eyes. "I lost contact with all of my childhood friends a long time ago."
I had a feeling his 'long time' and mine were very different, but I could still sympathize with him.
"That sucks," I said, and glanced up when Nico walked back into the room.
