Third Floor Common Room, Tuesday Afternoon

[bitchprince]

With the cold and his so-called 'class' being what they were, Arthur could no longer avoid spending at least some time within the dorms. So he took a broom into the common room, perched it somewhere against a wall nearby, and then cast a questioning eye over the room's contents.

At least a chair was a chair no matter where you went. He took a seat, a great, big, space-claiming seat, and leaned the elbow that wasn't contained by the sling on the arm of the chair. From that position, he took careful stock, including a wary one of the black box that rested in the room.

The locals seemed to have a thing about boxes.

[[ open post and open CR ]]

Comments

[the_merriest]

"I had Reno along," she smiled. "So if it had gotten too bad to handle, I'm pretty sure he would've dragged me out of there. Oooh, no, we went to the chocobos later, they were back on his world and not mine. I think they were my Christmas present? My world has chocobos, too, but they're all yellow, and his has all sorts of colors, and I so don't get that. If you're gonna have the same creatures, you'd think they'd be the same, and not 'hey, we have penguins, too, but sometimes, they're purple.'"

[withoutverona]

"Is it different from how bears are black in America and white at the poles?" Romeo wondered. "And that reminds me, I have a Christmas gift for you even though you don't celebrate. May I get it?"

[the_merriest]

"Oooh!" Rikku bounced. "Yes, please! I have something for you, too. Uh. If that's not rude, since I don't celebrate exactly? Someone said it was okay to get people gifts, anyway, and so I did. Break for ten and regroup with presents?"

[withoutverona]

"Break for ten," Romeo agreed. "And I would never think it was rude for you to give me something."

He rose to go to his room, and was soon back with a tiny box and a larger round gift.

[the_merriest]

"Ooooh," Rikku grinned, handing him a wrapped, flat package and a smaller, flat disc that was probably a CD.

The second had a note stuck onto it: If the music sucks, you can return it. It might not be any good. But since we're both stuck here all winter, I couldn't resist the name.

"Holidays are awesome," she announced, ripping into the box and giggling. "Oh my gosh, this is so cute."

[withoutverona]

"I like the cover of the CD, at least," Romeo told her with a grin. "And ... what does the t-shirt say, do you know?"

[the_merriest]

Rikku was already tearing into the lollipops. Mmmmm.

"Like the note said, if the music sucks, you can totally take it back," Rikku said quickly. "Find some good cheery beach music, instead. And the shirt is supposed to say 'alcohol lover,' unless the people who made it screwed it up. Dojima would know for sure, right?"

She unwrapped a strawberries-and-cream flavored one and popped it into her mouth. "Want one?" she asked, holding the canister out. "These are good."

[withoutverona]

"She would," he said, reaching for a sucker and putting it into his mouth. He held it in his cheek so he could talk around it. "That reminds me, we should double date sometime. I feel as if it's been months since we all went out."

[the_merriest]

"Oh my gosh, I think it has," Rikku sighed. "I mean, how long has it been since you and I even got to sit and talk, for crying out loud? Do we want to do a fancy kinda double-date, like, out to dinner, or do we wanna do something where we go beat things up? Of course, we could always try for both."

Although beating things up while in fancy out-to-dinner clothes might not be such a great idea.

[withoutverona]

"There's a shortage of things to beat up on the island," Romeo pointed out. "I'd settle for Caritas or a game of pool."

[the_merriest]

"There really is," Rikku said. "Which is a shame. Oooh, I still suck at pool but it was fun, anyway. Plus I can be bribed into sabotaging Reno's shots with well-placed tickles. I'm in."

[withoutverona]

"I should teach you to better your game, so you can come out to surprise us with good shots and win it all," Romeo decided. "Hustling at pool's a useful skill to have. Are you free this weekend? I suppose you have to check with him."

[the_merriest]

"That would be awesome," Rikku said, staring at him with big eyes. "I mean, that's kinda what I do in fights, anyway. I'm little and hyper, so nobody expects me to be able to punch, yeah? And I'm totally free, this weekend. I dunno if he is. He works Sundays, now."

[withoutverona]

"Oh, what's he doing?" Romeo asked. "That only show how long it's been since I spoke to him, that I didn't know that."

[the_merriest]

Rikku giggled. "There's some police group, in town, except they're freelance?" She shook her head. "No idea how that works. He says they're kinda crazy, but in a fun way, and he answers the phone, when they don't fight him for it."

She seriously had to drop in, one of these days.

[withoutverona]

"Like private detectives?" Romeo asked, perking up. "That sounds like perfect work for him."

[the_merriest]

"Doesn't it?" she grinned. "He loves it. I don't know the specifics, but they seem to be the harmless kind of crazy." All of the random shooting notwithstanding. "And he was getting restless not having things to do, you know?"

"Oh, hey! Speaking of jobs stuff! How's manager-ing going?"

[withoutverona]

"I like the work of it, and Turtle's looking over the books for the shop in hopes the IRS doesn't drag me off," Romeo told her. "How is the Arms?"

[the_merriest]

"If they come looking, you can hide in my closet," Rikku said generously. "I'll claim you took off to Venezuela to avoid the law. That should buy you a few weeks."

She shrugged. "It seems the same as always. I let people in to meditate, I upgrade weapons, and I don't sell anything. It's kinda weird, but I like it anyway."