He yawned and stretched his arms out, then put a hand over the sleeping Inigo so he didn't fall while Kas stood up. "You might want to pack some extra clothes. Arina is unpredictable, and she might force us there overnight. Depends on her mood, I guess, and what's on her mind." Really, he doubted even his cousin knew what was going on in her head.
Just thinking about it made him mentally whine and tip his head back. Maybe having Joanna there would divert the girl's attention, but who knows. "But yeah, let's stop there first," he finally answered, mindlessly petting the snoozing kitting as he looked over at Joanna with a soft smile.
Just watching the two warmed Joanna. "I'll do that, but first we'll bring your stuff back so you can check out. I don't want you paying for something you can't afford." She hummed, walking over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist once more. "You're really warm, and I need to stop wanting to hold you." Mumbling, she pulled out of the hug as fast as she had gone in for one.
She took his hands, and slightly pulled him along out the bedroom door. "Where's all your stuff? So we can get it out and down stairs before it gets too late." Asking, she stopped right outside of the room, and placed his hands on her hips. Feeling playful, she slid her arms up his chest and rested them there. "Because I normally hate driving at night."
"Way to make me feel like a bum," he grumbled, though his lips twitched up in amusement. Her random hugs were nice, welcomed, even, and he appreciated her concern regarding his things and money. "My things are in my bag, so…" he leaned down to peck her forehead, then detached his hands from her hips and pulled her arms from his chest. Inigo whined in protest at the rocking of his bed, and Kas rolled his eyes and transferred the grumpy kitten to Joanna's shoulder.
"I'll be right back." He slipped back into the hotel room, then grabbed his bag from the corner where he stashed it. He didn't have much, which was fine by him—meant he could travel light and not worry about losing anything. After double-checking that he had everything, Kas went back out into the hall with Joanna and locked the door behind him.
"Ready?" She asked, pulling the kitten off her shoulder and stroking it's head. A warm smile was on her lips, as she ran her fingers through it's fur. "So soft.." She hummed to herself, rocking the small thing to sleep. She lifted her gaze to meet his, but continued to stroke the kitten's fur. "My car is, obviously, outside in the parking lot."
With that said, she knocked her head back to get it out of her face. That caught Inigo's attention, and the kitten reached up to try and snatch her hair. "Hey! Don't pull my hair." She mumbled, pulling it out of Inigo's reach.
Kas watched the adorable interaction between Inigo and Joanna, then hitched up the strap of his bag and nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I'm ready. I'm soo looking forward to seeing my cousin again," he drawled, his eye-roll so violent his black irises almost disappeared. To distract himself, he reached out to the curious kitten and stroked two fingers down its spine.
"I'd be concerned if it was in the lobby," he said with a crooked smile, referring to her telling him where her car was. He was in a slightly playful mood, hoping that he'd be able to lift himself up from everything that just happened. It'd be a bonus if he could lift Joanna's spirits as well.
Joanna lifted her gaze to meet his, her green eyes seeming relaxed. "Hey, I got a ticket one time. It doesn't mean I'm a terrible driver." She clicked her tongue, turning on her heel. She headed for the stairs, only glancing over her shoulder to see if Kas was following. "Come on Kassy-poo. We don't have much time before it gets dark." She hollered and started down the stairs.
A smirk rested on her lips, and she hopped down the stairs carefully. She didn't want to fall, for either her pride, or the fact she didn't want to scare or hurt the small kitten.
Kas scrunched his nose at the 'Kassy-poo,' grumbling to himself as he followed after Joanna. "I dunno, a single ticket can lead to two, then ten, and then we find ourselves in a pond," he teased, coming up beside her while they made their way down.
After lightly petting Inigo, he leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to the side of Joanna's head. "I really hope this blows over quickly, for us both, but mostly you," he murmured, as if speaking any louder would bring Redore crashing through the nearby wall, flaming and royally pissed off. He kept his focus on the kitten to avoid thinking about that visual, which surprisingly worked. Maybe the hope of it all ending was making him less scared of his brother.
"Oh relax. If you're so worried, then you drive. Just don't get me into an accident, I'm trying to sell that car." She mumbled, feeling a smile spread across her lips when he kissed her. Inigo began to purr even louder when Kas brushed his hand over the small kitten's fur.
Joanna came to the bottom steps, and looked up to Kasiya. "What do you mean?" She hummed, turning to face him when she hit the bottom step. A smile was still on her lips, but she seemed confused by his words. "Like, everything in general? Or do you mean something else?" She inquired, stroking Inigo's fur.
Kas tipped his head as he thought about how to explain his thought process. "My evil alter ego," he eventually came up with, "That's the only thing I really want to go away. My past gets buried once he's dealt with, and then I get to figure out whatever this is," he gestured to them both with a soft smile, "with you, for however long you want to put up with me."
He lightly pressed a hand to Joanna's back when he got to the bottom step as well, guiding her out of the hotel as he continued to walk. "And I ain't driving," he said with a chuckle, "That car won't be running for long if I get behind the wheel."
A smile came to her lips, and she continued to stroke the kitten. "We'll see what happens once he is dealt with." She hummed, chewing on her lips while she thought. She really didn't mind his company, craved it even. It was something that was special, deering even, to her. As he didn't show this sort of affection to just anyone.
Feeling his hand against her back, her face flushed. "So you're saying I'm driving to this mad scientist cousin of yours' then?" She asked, trying to relax her red face. He didn't seem to mind touching her, being gentle when he did. She'd have to add that to the list of differences between the two twin brothers.
"Not scientist," he corrected, "Evil tech genius that may or may not have some screws loose, but that's just my professional opinion." He tipped his head back and scowled faintly up at the stars. "She's smart, I'll give her that—hella smart. Confident and proud of her work. But that confidence and pride is more like arrogance and a self-inflated pride that needs to be knocked down a few feet."
However, as much as he complained about his cousin, there was a particular sparkle in his eye whenever he spoke of her. She was the only family he had that treated him as good—the meaning of 'good' could be argued in this case—as she treated everyone else. She didn't discriminate against anyone, simply treated them as allies or enemies, and she took care of her allies in her own way.
She rolled her eyes, standing on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "Fine, insane tech genius. But I'm driving then?" She inquired once more, and picked up her pace a little so they could get out of the hotel. She was focused on getting out of here so she had more time to drive.
Thoughts began to fill her brain, as she thought of what and where the things she was going to bring. Like her makeup, and similar things. She didn't want to be stuck there without a toothbrush or face wash. So she made a mental note to grab the travel size to fit in her small backpack with her PJs and extra pair of clothes. She was sorting her thoughts, so it would only take her about ten minutes to be fully ready to go. She didn't want to keep him waiting for a long time, especially if she was driving.
"Yes, you're driving." He smiled at the kiss and glanced down at her, but looked back up as they reached the front doors. He held one open for her and ushered her through with a sweep of his other hand. "As I said, you wouldn't want me behind the wheel if you want that car in one piece to sell." He offered a crooked smile, showing that he was being a little dramatic about his poor driving skills.
"I can see the gears turning in that head of yours," he commented, arching a brow down at her. "I take it you're coming up with an entire packing plan?" He already had a good guess that that's what she was doing.
She nodded slightly, barely paying attention to him. She was making articulated movements, and had already unlocked the car when she turned to him blinking a few times. "Sorry, what?" She asked, back tracking to what he had said. "Oh- yeah. Trying to pack very little, but enough to make it through the next day. " She shrugged, setting Inigo in the back seat so she could get the trunk for Kasiya.
Shutting the door, she turned to the trunk, popping it open. "Go ahead and put your stuff here. Then you can pick where to sit, you'll just have to hold Inigo while I drive." She hummed, looking up to him. "Good luck. This should be an interesting car ride."
He snorted and bent down to kiss her forehead. "I look forward to it," he said sarcastically, then pulled away to put his stuff into the trunk of the car. He decided to sit in the backseat of the car, mostly so he could stretch out and play with the kitten, so that's exactly where he went when he shut the trunk lid. He opened the car door and picked up a disoriented Inigo, then slid into the seat while pulling the door shut behind him.
Kas had no regard for seatbelt rules when he sat down and got situated—which was stretched across the entirety of the backseat, his back to the door and legs sprawled out across the seats. He set the kitten in his lap and smiled when the kitten latched onto his fingers in a hug, teeth lightly knawing on the digit before delicately licking at the nonexistent wound. Cats were so bipolar but so cute.
Watching them, Joanna sighed when he didn't buckle in. If she got in trouble for it, she was going to make him pay for it. "You boys settled back there?" Humming, she turned the radio on and let the soft beat echo from the front to the back. "If so, let's get a move on." Her words came from over her shoulder, as she looked behind him to back out of her parking space. Her focus shifted to driving, and only that.
None of her invasive thoughts were bothering her now, because she focused strictly on the road. Kasiya speaking to her was going to be about it for things she was listening to, he might bring her thoughts back, if they did slip. Pulling out onto the road, she watched the traffic carefully and drove at a steady pace.
((Hello! So, I've actually hit quite the mental block, so I'm taking an indefinite hiatus from nb to recharge my brain and get the creative juices. I hope you don't mind!))
((Of course not, I get it! I'm sorry for disappearing for over twenty four hours, I wasn't home, so clearly I couldn't respond. I wish you all the best luck))
((temporarily resurfaces because she's bored out of her mind. Chaire!))
Kas hummed a mindless 'yes' in answer to her question, attention on the kitten in his lap that he was busy petting. He was silent for a bit, neither thinking nor blanking out, just devoting his attention to the simple task he'd given himself. However, a sudden thought struck him. "My cousin doesn't do anything for free," he told Joanna, looking up at her for the first time since being in the car.
He had just remembered what Arina demanded from anyone that asked her to do something for them. It didn't matter who was asking, she wanted payment upfront before she did anything—including touching her computer. If someone couldn't pay for her services, then they either weren't desperate enough or important enough to require her expertise, according to her. Such a vain woman.
((Hey! Glad to see you around!))
The car jolted to a half stop, with luckily nobody behind them. Her fists tightened around the wheel, and her face cringed just slightly. Once the car got moving again, at a steady pace, she looked in the rear-view mirror at him. Her rich green eyes showed it all. "And you know… you didn't think to possibly inform me this a little sooner?" Coldly, she asked him with a rather annoyed look on her face.
Of course she would be upset, she didn't like just tossing her money around like this. Even if she had a nice apartment, and a nice car, she half regretted it later. The bill coming in monthly was enough to hurt a person's wallet, with a ticket and a huge unknown wad of cash pulled from her pocket, things were going to get tight real quick. "How much do you think it's going to cost me?"
Meeting her eyes in the mirror, he shifted and subtly cowered away from her cold gaze. "Ease up a bit, Shortcake. Payment is payment, not necessarily cash. The perks of being related to that psycho, I know what others don't." He shrugged and tore his gaze away from Joanna's down to Inigo. "Give her something she can use: a secret, information, help, money."
Slowly, and a bit sheepishly, he lifted his gaze back up to the mirror to risk meeting Joanna's once more. He tried telling her he was sorry for not telling her sooner and making her worry about a cash payment when she clearly had other things to worry about regarding money. Kas lightly bit down on one of his snakebites, lip quirking up slightly in an apologetic and somewhat dopey smile.
Huffing in annoyance, she pulled up to her apartment and clicked off the car. "My question is, why am I the one to have to sacrifice something? What about you? I'm just some strange red-head girl she's never met before. Why would she care about me, huh?" She asked, am slung over the back of the seat. It was rather clear she wasn't happy about any of this.
Trying not to laugh at his pathetic smile, she looked down to the kitten in his lap. It was getting harder to stay mad at Kasiya by the second. "You two are cousins, don't you think she'd much prefer having some dirt from her family?" Pointing out that fact, she pushed open her car door to get out and head inside.
Kas sighed and quickly threw his legs off the seat so he could get out of the car as well, the kitten getting scooped up without warning as he opened the door. "Dunno if I said this or not, but she doesn't treat people differently, whether they be family or not. If we're both going to her, we both gotta give up something." He cocked his head to the side, nose scrunched up. "Not that I have much more to give up."
Gently setting the kitten on his shoulder, Kas gestured wildly with his hands. "Look, shortcake, I'm sorry. I forgot about that particular detail. She's difficult, I know, but I'm desperate and, quite frankly, pretty damn stupid when it comes to dealing with my brother without getting the short stick." Please just don't be mad at me, he silently pleaded, not wanting to look at her and see anger anymore. He was used to it back then, but recently it changed to seeing anything but anger. He would like to have that new normal back.
Jaw set, she half ignored him and started off. "Come on, get your stuff." Joanna muttered, popping the trunk open before turning and walking off. Yeah, she was frustrated, but not angry. She just needed a minute too think things through. Clearly she wasn't sure what to do with this new information. What on earth was she going to be able to give? Most of her life was in an open book, she had no secrets.
Nothing juicy at least. She had sleeping problems, struggled with self doubt, dated her co-worker, and felt she needed more attention than she ever received. It was just bland. Money wasn't an option as of the moment, and she had no good information to give. What was left? Help? What kind of help could she give a psycho genius?
Kas let out a sigh of disappointment in himself, defeated. "Remind me to kill Arina when we get there," he muttered to himself, trailing after Joanna once he had grabbed his things and giving her some space. Okay, it was fair that she was upset about the sudden need for payment, especially when it was him that insisted they go to his cousin for help. But the cold shoulder still sort of stung.
Lips remaining sealed, he silently followed her and stewed over what they were going to do once they got to Arina. One thing he knew he wanted to get done was getting his brother out of his life. Kas' heart constricted at the idea. It was almost too good to be possible. No more torment, no more running. He might be able to live as normal as he could once this all blew over.
