dinohouse | [Mushverse, mostly for Liveman family] Throwing Kamen Rider Gaia into the mix

The parents are finally in bed and I sigh in relief as I hear the light get switched off. It's about time, I thought they were never coming up. I just need to wait a bit now, give them time to go to sleep before I do this. Eventually though, I get out of bed and make my way downstairs, careful to avoid the creaky stairs.

I should probably tell them I'm working with Gaia and EYES now, but they'd just try to talk me out of it and I need to do this, for any number of reasons; getting paid is only one of them. I rummage inside my bag and pull out the envelope before heading into the kitchen. That's where Megumi keeps her purse and she does the groceries so she gets more. There's a lot of us to feed, after all, and I know she worries about it, even if she won't admit it in front of us. I split the rest of the wages between Jou and Yuusuke before ripping up the envelope and dropping it in the bin.

There. All sorted for the week. I dust my hands off in satisfaction and head back to bed.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

spacenerd

"Okay, if you say so," I tell him, clearly not believing him in the slightest.

From:

hotshotlightning

"I do say so."

I turn back in my seat and sigh a little, tapping my pen against my mouth. She's not going to leave this alone, so now I'll have to field her questions as well as avoiding Jou. Today's going to be... interesting.

From:

yellowlion

Ohhhhh, there he is. Cafeteria.

I grin over at him from the teachers' line.

From:

hotshotlightning

I grit my teeth and ignore him. He's trying to psych me out and it's not going to work, damn it. It's not.

From:

yellowlion

Oh, I'll get it out of him. It's only a matter of time.

From:

hotshotlightning

Well, I managed to avoid him while I was at school, I don't think I'll be that lucky when we're at home. He has Yuusuke for back-up as well.

From:

yellowlion

I manage things at home by giving him a job to do and/or checking on him every five minutes.

I'm not being an asshole in terms of giving him more work to do than the others. He can still relax. I'm just keeping an eye on him.

From:

hotshotlightning

How am I supposed to relax when he keeps checking up on me every five minutes? Much more of this and I will crack. Which is exactly what he wants.

From:

yellowlion

My own work's done for the moment, though I have an experiment running I'll have to check on soon. I plop down across from him with the newspaper.

From:

hotshotlightning

Ignore him, ignore him...

My brace beeps in the silence and I freeze. Oh crap.

From:

yellowlion

Eyebrows up somewhere around the ceiling fan, I put the newspaper down and wait patiently for him to do something about that. "Go on, then," I prompt. He looks terrified.

From:

hotshotlightning

Damn it, damn it, damn it. Why now? But they wouldn't call me at home unless they had to.

Keeping a wary eye on Jou, I answer it. Hopefully it's something I can take care of quickly.

From:

yellowlion

Another brace? Or did he get someone to retool the one I gave him?

What the hell.

From:

hotshotlightning

Ayano-san gives me the co-ordinates and I risk a sideways look at Jou. Don't make this hard for me, please.

"I'll be there."

How does Gamu get himself into these situations? At least it's not far from here, that's something.

From:

yellowlion

I sigh as some things fall into place. "You going off to fight?" I ask tersely.

From:

hotshotlightning

I wince but nod as I stand up. "I shouldn't be too long. But they wouldn't call me unless they had to."

From:

yellowlion

I groan under my breath. "Be careful. Call me if you need help. And give me a full goddamn explanation when you come home."

From:

hotshotlightning

"I will," I tell him, with another wince. This is exactly why I didn't want any of them to find out. They'll worry.

From:

yellowlion

I can track him if I need to, anyway. He knows that. And it gives me a measure of comfort.

I shake my head at him. "Go."

From:

hotshotlightning

There's not really much I can say to that so I don't bother. I give him a quick nod instead and head out the door, slipping my shoes on as I reach the front door.

This really better not take too long.

From:

yellowlion

[i.e. Katsumi'll just come back?]

I hate this.

I know I could go after him, but he'd kill me, and I have to show I trust him. Even if he didn't trust me enough to tell me. I'll have to tell the others once he explains.

I'll just perch on the edge of this seat here and watch the door until he comes back.

From:

hotshotlightning

(Can't be arsed with fighting scenes atm. >.>)

I hesitate at the front door, then push it open. While I'd like to think he won't be waiting I know better.

I toe my shoes off once I get inside, rubbing my wrist gingerly. It's only a sprain, I think, nothing exactly life-threatening, but I still hope he doesn't notice.

From:

yellowlion

I've extended my pacing track to basically cover the entirety of the bottom floor of the house.

Ah, there he is.

I grab him by the shoulders. "You okay?"

From:

hotshotlightning

I jump in surprise as he appears out of nowhere to grab my shoulders, holding up my hands placatingly as he does.

"I'm fine, Jou, don't worry."

As if he wouldn't anyway.