Montague-Dojima Apartment, Tokyo, Tuesday Daytime

[withoutverona]

Romeo's college required he take a business ethics course. It wasn't such a bad idea, really. In Verona, showing up with a few bodyguards and asking pointed questions about how attached a rival was to his cars was considered a reasonable opening salvo. He flipped through the text with a highlighter in hand, occasionally shooting worried glances at the door.

Yurika wasn't saying anything, but he could tell something at work was troubling her. A friend had died; that was as much as she'd told him, and that was worry enough.

He reread the passage on ethical hiring practices and hoped she'd be home soon.

[OOC: For the hime and calls/emails/texts.]

Comments

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

And lo, around lunchtime there was a thump, and a bump, and a hime flopping through the door.

"Ohaiyo!" she yelled, kicking off her shoes. "Anyone home?"

[withoutverona]

"I seem to be," Romeo said, rising from the couch to give her a hug.

... it was possible someone wasn't hiding his concern all that well.

"How was work so far?"

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"One arrest already this morning, so the Chief told us to grab an extra long lunch," she replied, ignoring the concern in favor of kissing his cheek and then trying to drag him towards the kitchen. "He's got to go downtown and do some fast-talking with the local police, since we miiiiiiiiiight have caused some property damage."

[withoutverona]

Romeo took her hand by the fingertips and followed her toward the kitchen.

"Anything put asunder that can't be fixed?" he wondered aloud. "... not that I'm not grateful to have you for lunch. All I have is my text for class tomorrow."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"The traffic pile-up near Tokyo Tower? So not my fault," she replied cheerfully. "That would be Sakai and his motorcycle trying to chase down the suspect, and nearly nailing a few pedestrians."

"Which text are you reading? Anything interesting?"

[withoutverona]

"Sakaki is a menace," Romeo decided, equally cheerfully. "Did you catch the Witch?"

He went to the cupboard to pull down a packet of ramen. "Not in particular. Business ethics. According to it, I should tell my father not to prefer hiring Montagues."

Because that would go over well.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"That would go over well," she teased, shaking her head as she went to pull some sodas from the fridge. "I can see it now; he'd check you over for a head injury!"

[withoutverona]

"He might skip the checking and just commit me to an asylum," Romeo said. He put on a pot to boil water, shooting a glance at her. "You didn't answer my question."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Didn't I?" No, Yurika, you didn't. "Oh, hai, we caught him."

"Tagged, bagged, and bundled off to the Factory to serve out whatever rehabilitation they do down there, despite all Haruto's menacing attempts to the contrary. That boy is not allowed any more sugar, I swear."

[intraspective]

Ino was at work and booored.

Clearly that meant she had to call him for entertainment. Best employee ever, seriously.

Lookit that! Ringing phone!

[withoutverona]

Ringing phone, which meant Romeo had to answer it. He checked the display and smiled.

"Ino!" he said. "It's been forever. How are you?"

[intraspective]

"Do you want that figuratively, literally, or generally?" Ino asked, fiddling with the wrapping station. "And if a few months is forever then I question your definition of eternity 'cause it hasn't been that long, has it?"

Yes, it totally had been.

"And hi!"

Because greetings came after babble today apparently.

[withoutverona]

"I think I want a figurative answer to the question of how you are," Romeo decided -- mostly because he had absolutely no idea of what such a thing would sound like. "And you're right. Not forever. But long enough, at the least?"

[intraspective]

"I'm calling you now," she pointed out, because that was totally answer enough for 'long enough', "and I'm always right."

She wished.

"And I'm--" give her a second, now she actually had to try to find an answer for that, "Uh... like a boar facing down a serpent, and then a bee over chamomile, I’ve turned into a butterfly?"

That... made no sense. Do not laugh, Ino. Do not--she laughed.

[withoutverona]

Romeo coughed to cover his laugh at Ino's claim she was always right, and at the decidedly mixed metaphor. "Are you about to fly away and live on nectar? Careful, butterfly: Winter will come soon."

[intraspective]

"No no," she said, laughing. "I already went through my winter, I'm totally deserving of a spring for at least a little while. This butterfly is totally going to hang out in the sun."

[withoutverona]

"So the butterfly will get warm, and sup on nectar, and display its wings?" Romeo asked. "Lazy times, for a butterfly. I hope you enjoy the idle spell, if it comes after winter."

[the_merriest]

Come on, come onnnnnnnn, there had to be a signal around here somewhere.

Oooh! If she stood right there, she got two whole bars! Rikku was going to do her damnedest not to move as she punched in the number.

[withoutverona]

Romeo picked up the phone, grinning at the caller ID.

"Is this really Rikku?"

[the_merriest]

"You bet!" she bounced, excitedly. "Romeo! Howfore art thou? Okay, I suck at fancy-talk. Hey!!!"

[withoutverona]

Romeo took a moment to respond, as he got caught up in trying to decide if 'howfore' was a word in any dialect he knew.

"Hello hello," he said, as he decided on 'not, but not worth mentioning.' "I'm well and studying business ethics. How are you?"

[the_merriest]

"I'm okay," Rikku said. "I've been organizing. We're having a big conference-thing here soon, and people are actually gonna show up and pretend they can get along, isn't that great?!"

They weren't particularly happy about it, but that was okay, because she was five minutes away from slapping them around like the whiny little brats they were. So long as they pretended to be nice, she didn't have to get scary. Woo!

[withoutverona]

Romeo .... didn't follow. Or, rather, he did, but he didn't understand her tone.

"Would you rather they were trying to kill each other?"

[the_merriest]

"Oh, not even," she said quickly. "I'm actually really proud of myself for getting it all together. Sorry if I sound a little high-strung? Everyone's being stupid, like usual, but if we can keep them from being too stupid, this actually might work out, like ... maybe things would start clearing up without anybody getting hurt. If we can keep a bunch of whiny jerks in line, I mean. So .... it's worth the stress, you know?"

[withoutverona]

"It's nothing I have any experience with," Romeo offered gamely. In truth, all of this was far over his head and left him more than a little uncomfortable -- there should be adults in Rukku's world to do this, shouldn't there?

"But, well, if you think it will work, then I'm happy for you ... and when are you coming out to visit again?"