chikaidestroyer | ∞ 74: A windy day [action]

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∞ 74: A windy day [action]

[Despite the mild windiness today, Albert is sitting out on the porch of his house. He has a few notes and his journal with him, but he's mostly just out there to think and drink a little. The town meeting was just yesterday, and it certainly proved a few things he had surmised about the populace. There had been a few opinions he had heard that more clearly showed others' state of mind (some for the better, most for the worse), and he had to readjust those plans accordingly.

Now to think of the next course of action.]

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[He tenses up again, brows knitting together as he looks at his brother.]

What is it, Caesar? [He's more uncomfortable than he's letting on.]

I'm sleepy.

[Head goes back on Albert's arm. Caesar has a feeling it's only a matter of time before he's pushed off the couch.

...so he decides to ~~cling~~ hold onto Albert's arm. Just in case.]

[... ... ...]

No, Caesar.

[He'll back off a little to avoid death.]

Why not?

[Not far enough. Albert is still tense.]

Why not? You're asking that while you're doing something this questionable? [If he was more frustrated that bewildered, he really would be pushing Caesar off of the couch.]

Huh? [Did he really have to say it like that?] I'm not doing anything, let alone anything questionable! You must be imagining things.

You're practically in my lap, Caesar, telling me to read to you. You haven't done that since you-- [...]

[Face? Meet palm.]

[Caesar doesn't think Albert quite understands yet, but that reaction is priceless. He's going to have to try hard to keep a straight face.]

Hey, I never asked you to read to me. [You didn't let him get that far, sob.]

[He pinches the bridge of his nose as he calms down a little.]

I'm sure you were going to get to that shortly. Please do not tell me you are mentally regressing in your boredom.

Wh-why is that even a possibility? [Caesar will move over so there's actually a reasonable amount of space between them again. You can relax, Albert! For now!] That has nothing to do with it.

Because I can't think of anything else to explain what you were doing. [Can you hear the exasperation?]

But... you have an explanation for everything. [He's not making fun of Albert. He just doesn't get why he gave up so easily.] Uh... does that mean I have to explain?

[Giving up easily is so much simpler when it's your idiotic little brother doing stupid things in your house.] You can explain later. [And he's setting the book aside to push himself off of the couch.]

[Well, that was good, because he hadn't really thought about how to say it yet. A few minutes to get his thoughts together would be helpful.]

Where are you going?

To get the tea. [Though why he's bothering to be hospitable is a mystery.]

[Which is exactly why Caesar asked, but he'll nod in response to that. He's going to try to be a good boy and sit here quietly and not break stuff. Or something. Albert could probably use a little space anyway. You know, for his sanity.]

[Albert does his best not to glare at nothing as he head back to the kitchen, busying himself with the hot water and tea before he has to head out to where Caesar is again. Why is Caesar doing this now? Being annoying is one thing, but not rising up to throw a tantrum over an insult is a sign that there was more to all of this.

...Wait. What day was it again?

He couldn't very well glance at his journal while it was in the other room. Damn. Albert still looks contemplative as he returns to the sitting room with the tea.]

[Something about this whole thing reminds Caesar of when he was younger and he'd get into trouble over something... well. Something stupid. He isn't sure if he should speak up or wait for his brother to say something first. Caesar knew Albert would probably take all of this the wrong way, but he couldn't really imagine what he was thinking, exactly. So confusing, Albert.]

[Albert waits until he puts down both teacups before he speaks.]

I seem to be asking this of you a lot lately: Why?

Um... But it's not really... [Oh, dammit. This was going to be harder than he thought. That nervousness he had when he first showed up here? It's back again. He sighs.] Well, your birthday is coming up, isn't it? I didn't know what to get you [or if it was even appropriate to get you anything at all], so I thought I'd do what I do best—annoy you. Uh, but I was serious about what I said earlier.

[There's a drawn-out sigh. So that was it? His birthday?

...He had forgotten all about it. Even without the other situations going on now, he paid little attention to his birthday nowadays.]

What were you serious about now? That entire display was bizarre enough not to be taken seriously.

I wasn't serious about any of that! [Especially not the part about you being comfortable, gosh.] I meant... well, it's been a long time since I've been able to spend time with you on your birthday. I was serious about that part. [He shrugs.] It was stupid, but I thought that since I had the opportunity, I might as well take advantage of it.

Living in different countries doesn't make it easy to do such a thing, even if it was something we agreed to do. [His tone is terse, and he holds his teacup to tap his finger on its surface; that's the most obvious release for his restless energy.]

...What a typical present from you.

Of course it doesn't. I don't know how many chances I'll get to do this, so I was left with no choice! [And really, there's also this slight worry at the back of Caesar's mind that maybe when he goes back, he won't want to do these things, even just to be silly.]

That's why I decided to be extra annoying. I can't believe you put up with it for that long. You really do have patience a mile wide.

["Left with no choice."] Don't be melodramatic.

[And he doesn't really want to admit that his sheer amount of patience was partly because this was Caesar he was dealing with.] Were you waiting for me to hit you upside the head?