Thereâs a lecture on the tip of Malikâs tongue. Itâs one Connorâs been on the receiving end of too many times, and Malik is fairly sure heâd be able to communicate it with only a look. Itâs one that very clearly says: stop throwing your sister under the bus. Itâs all they can manage to communicate before theyâre interrupted by the creak of the front door.
Usually in this context Kayaâs presence would be a relief, but as she continues speaking, Malikâs eyes continue narrowing. It isnât a surprise, really, but sheâs high. While she may be meticulous about keeping the pungent, sour smell of bud away, the slow drag of her words and the slight dilation of her pupils is enough to indicate, to Malik at least, sheâs swallowed down some kind of depressant.
What they donât understand is how Kaya thinks sheâs getting it passed their moms. Loriâs a nurse for Godâs sake⊠And while she does flash a knowing glance Malikâs way, neither of them say anything. Itâs become commonplace in this house, even more so given the siblingsâ age. They were all adults now, older, wiser, and perfectly capable of addressing an issue and confessing truths when the situation calls for it. Itâs one of the few things Malik tends to disagree with their parents about.
âRight,â Malik says succinctly, deciding not to dwell much more than that.
Then theyâre on their feet.  âWell, think we just gotta heat the food up a lilâ bit. Iâll pop it in the oven. You guys want anything to drink?â    ( @scggy· )
    jealousy settles in at the idea of kaya coming to dinner stoned when soggy was far too nervous to take a hit in his car beforehand. itâs nuzzling between furrowed brows but the feeling isnât enough to wipe away his pure amusement at the fact. after his eyes scan the room in attempt to read if anyone else had picked up on her intoxication,  his face positions into one that says  do you have more  without, hopefully, making it obvious to his mothers.  ( or malik, for that matter. )  who was undoubtedly the golden child,  a fact that connor would be covetous about if he wasnât equally aware that, with all the stress he put on the family, their moms needed a personality like malikâs. Â
      and it showed. especially when they hop out of their seat to set up dinner properly while soggy had been trying to telepathically ask kaya where she got the bud from.   â iâm good with just water. â  is his first response, though quickly followed by  â actually, let me help. â   while heâs certain they were capable of handling re-heating the food on their own, it beats any small talk that could come up, and hopefully forgives the fact that he was late.
   it was peculiar to think there was a time where the five of them could enjoy dinner like a real family and less like strangers. when the laughs outweighed the bickering, they were younger then. naivety was prominent. he scoots his chair back, the sound scraping against their floors as he stands on his feet.  â water, kay ? â   because, you know, cottonmouth.
Thereâs always been mischief shared between the youngest Braxtons. Oftentimes Malikâs been the hand to force them apart by the shells of their ears, both squirming and griping as they continued reaching for each other. Thereâs a table between them now, and Kaya takes full advantage of the obstacle and the lightning-quick glance the firstborn shares with their moms. She shoves both middle fingers in Soggyâs direction, a shooting star gesture caught only by the tail end when the rest of the family turn back to the scene, just as Kayaâs lowering her hands into her lap. Her smirk remains, though, and it widens as the softest of snorts jumps from her nose. Habitual as her derision towards her brother might be, this time sheâs nothing but playful, her edges softened by the haze inducing high.
Itâs not so playful when she rolls her eyes. Malik and Connor teaming up means that she needs to compensate, too. Her limbs feel heavy when she drags herself out of her chair. The legs clatter and scrape against the floor, and Kaya has to catch it by the backrest before it topples over completely.
âWhoopsâ yeah. Hold on, Iâll... âM câming.â
In the kitchen, Kaya finds her usual place at the counter. She practically dumps her upper half onto it, elbows knocking a little on the hard side while her fingers thread. Thin bands of corroding metal standing in for silver and gold clink together quietly.Â
âSo... Scale of one to ten, how shittyâs this thing gonna be, huh?â  ( @likemalikâ )