-Overflow- for 016 | The Good Old Days

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Ageswapping
When: July 15-17
Where: Everywhere
Summary: A breach in the space-time continuum is messing things up.

Continuing from HERE!

Comments

[sweetdeath]

[Of course. And she's learned something!

Between the two of them, it shouldn't even take too long to get all of the dishes done.]

[kurukuruchan]

[ You think she's learned something. She could have figured this out on her own. Joke's on you.

Hibiki likes private jokes, so she'll dry the dishes in silence.

As she puts the last one in place: ] Are you satisfied?

[sweetdeath]

They look good! And it looks a lot nicer in here now, doesn't it?

[Okay, so he hasn't done anything about the counters, but the sink's clear of dishes and the kettle is boiling on the stove. He picks up the teapot she's just dried and opens the closest cupboard searching for tea.]

... Do you know where the tea is in here?

[Oh, and, while he's at it -- he sets the pot down again and hurries over to turn off the stove and move the kettle to another burner. It should cool down at least a little bit before he pours it over the leaves.]

[kurukuruchan]

[ Does she know where the tea is? Honestly, no. But Hibiki is newly-armed with the knowledge that honesty is for suckers. So she looks around the kitchen and casually knocks a fist against one cabinet. ]

Should be here, obviously.

[ Since that's where she'd put the tea if she had designed this kitchen.

Spoilers: future her did. So. She is right. ]

[sweetdeath]

Right!

[He opens the cupboard, and: sure enough, there's a variety of teas there. He snags an Assam leaf and then hesitates, glancing down at her.]

What kind of tea do you like?

[Maybe a strong-flavored black tea isn't the one to go for when he's trying to make tea for a kid....]

[kurukuruchan]

Anything's fine.

[ Disaffection, she is rapidly discovering, is a useful weapon. It hides all sorts of omissions - like the fact that since someone else has always prepared the tea for the tea party, Hibiki never thought to ask the names of any of the teas served. ] No milk.

[sweetdeath]

Okay.

[No milk? Yeah, okay, he's putting back this tea and grabbing a light green one instead. Strong black tea's kind of a milk tea thing.

Another few seconds, and he hands over a steaming cup, teabag floating in it as the water darkens from straw-pale to more vivid green.]

Here you go. Are you feeling better now?

[kurukuruchan]

You say that after you make me work.

[ She holds the teacup carefully, letting it steep a little longer. That seems like a sophisticated thing to do, and she very much wishes to be sophisticated. ]

....Everything's fine.

[ So that's what it feels like, lying.

It's surprisingly fun, lying to liars. ]

[sweetdeath]

Getting something done always helps!

[A certain mood lifter! Or... well, okay, maybe. A good distraction at least. He doesn't believe a word of her "fine," considering her expression, but he doesn't really know how to push.

He eyes her dubiously, instead.]

Okay. What do you want to do now?

[Since they're having tea, and she doesn't want to clean up anymore....]

[kurukuruchan]

[ This tea is probably both cool enough and steeped enough. Hibiki takes a sip. Can't you see she's not the sort of person who rushes things? ] It's strange that you're the one who thinks you give the orders.

[sweetdeath]

I told you I was bad at being a butler. Anyway, though, if I thought I was giving the orders I'd be telling you instead of asking you, right?

[Tsuzuki, on the other hand, totally is the kind of person who rushes heedlessly into everything.

Just look at him, letting a kid name him and everything.]

[kurukuruchan]

[ Hibiki snorts and turns away. ]

...I'm going to sit and enjoy my tea. Do something about the mess, if you can.

[ This place looks like a bunch of children had fun in it yesterday. Rowdy, muddy fun.

Hibiki is above such droll pastimes now. ]

I think we can probably fade out here!

[sweetdeath]

[Tsuzuki rolls his eyes good-naturedly and sets to work. It's not the world's best cleaning job, but while she sips he'll do his best to turn the kitchen from a disaster zone into something more or less ship-shape.]

sounds good! /pins a medal for patience on tsuzuki

[kurukuruchan]

[ And Hibiki sips her tea. This - this feels right, this doing nothing while other people make her world more convenient and beautiful. Somehow, she feels she could get used to this.

Everything will be just fine. ]