(no subject)

[believing_heart]

It's raining outside when Lucy arrives, umbrella in one hand and bag in the other. Her purse, a large messenger bag, is slung haphazardly over one shoulder. Lucy closes her umbrella, stuffs it into her purse, adjusts the bag's strap so it's more comfortable on her shoulder, then raps on the front door.

She bites her lower lip as she waits for an answer, but none comes. She knocks on the door again, hoping that perhaps he was in the shower or that his music was too loud and he just didn't hear it, but still, there's no answer.

If the situation had been different, she might have called her brother in advance of her arrival. But her decision to leave had been a spur-of-the-moment one, and she was sure that he wouldn't approve of it.

"Okay!" she says to herself. She sets her bags down on the ground on the stoop, then sits down right between them. If Tsukasa's not home now, well then, she'll just have to wait for him! Things wouldn't be so bad, after all; a little overhang above provided enough shelter from the rain to keep both Lucy and her things dry.

The longer Lucy sits, though, the more tired she becomes. She had been up all night trying to decide what things to take with her -- and the trip from Vegas to Jersey had been a long one. Before too long, the redhead finds herself quietly dozing off, her head resting against her sturdy suitcase.

Comments

[believing_heart]

Tsukasa had always been perceptive, unlike his often oblivious little sister.

"Thanks," she says appreciatively, pouring some of the leaves into her own little cat steeper.

"I'm glad that my big brother's so happy," Lucy says, beaming. It was good that he was doing something he enjoyed, even though it was obvious to even Lucy that it wasn't what their parents wanted. "So you really don't mind me staying here?"

[thekingofkamenriders]

"Well, I will admit that it's going to be a bit of an adjustment, but it might be nice to have someone else around here." He glances around at his living room. "At the very least, it'll make me be a little less sloppy." He thinks, "I'll have to get you a new phone, though. I doubt Mom and Dad are going to be wanting to send it all the way here, and I want to be able to keep tabs on you. I imagine that's something that will be a requirement."

After his tea is ready, Tsukasa will take a sip, thinking. "There will be some rules, though. If I need to work, I've gotta work, no matter how bored you are, and if I tell you that you have to be back at a certain time, you'll be back at that time, understand?" There's also an implied commentary on homework there.

[believing_heart]

Lucy curls her hands around her mug. "Okay," she says with a nod. These conditions aren't altogether different from the ground rules her mom and dad laid down for her at home.

No matter how much work Tsukasa has, there's no way he'll ever be as preoccupied as mother and father.

Lucy takes a long sip of her beverage. "It's good," she says. It's been awhile since she's been able to drink tea with her brother again.

"That girl," she says, her eyes darting towards the photos on the living room coffee table. "Is she a friend of yours? Or is she just another model? You have a lot of pictures of her." Or so Lucy had noticed.

[thekingofkamenriders]

It was nice, just being able to spend time as a family again. Away from the pressures of not living up to unrealistic expectations or familial guilt. He'd missed this very much since he'd been gone.

And then Lucy had to ruin it. Tsukasa will start to cough a little bit, choking on his tea when his sister asks about the model. "She...she's a friend. A very good friend, and a wonderful model." God, he was glad that he'd already finished the lingerie spread that she'd done. "But, just a friend. We're co-workers, so it just wouldn't be proper." Not that he'd mind, of course.

"Girls like her get hit on all the time by photographers, so I try to just not act like that. I know at least a few of the girls I work with appreciate it."

[believing_heart]

"Hit on?" Lucy tilts her head slightly to the side. "Do guys usually do something like that with their co-workers?" It just seems weird that guys would do something like that.

Then again, Lucy had zero experience in the love department. If someone was hitting on her, she'd have absolutely no idea -- not unless someone else pointed it out, anyway.

"If you got a girlfriend," Lucy says, hands still cupped around her mug. "I'd be really happy. I always wanted a big sister."

[thekingofkamenriders]

"Some of the guys do. It goes with having a lot of men around a lot of attractive women." It was easy to tell that Tsukasa found that practice distasteful. He's not going to even begin to mention some of the other practices that they can attempt.

"Oh, I just remembered, if anyone calls the house and asks for 'Tommy K', that's me. Professional name. Just...don't ask questions about how I'm talking on the phone. It's an image thing, and I really don't like it."

As far as his love life goes, "...Well, I'll be honest, Lucy, I'd be really happy to. You know how lonely it can get on your own." And now for the question that he's been dreading for a while. "So, how about you, do you have a boyfriend back at home?" His hand clenches a bit on the tea cup at that question. He doesn't WANT to know if there's a boy seeing his baby sister, but he should know.

[believing_heart]

Lucy directs a single finger toward herself. "Me?" Hikaru blinks, as if the thought had never occurred to her. "No," she says, shaking her head. A blush starts to draw itself across her cheeks. "I wouldn't know what to do if someone asked me out anyway."

[thekingofkamenriders]

He grins. It was her time to feel uncomfortable now. "What, are you telling me that no young man has asked you out at all? I find that a little hard to believe." THE TABLES HAVE TURNED, LUCY. He shrugs a bit, "Well, I'm sure you'll know what to do when the time is right."