inordertobelieve

Thinking about it, I'd be surprised if she didn't approach you out of own volition now that you're back around - might as well accept her invitation to coffee then and see how it goes.

[ He steps over to the fruit selection at the grocery store's entrance, eyes glancing over the displayed pears for the brand that they bought last time, because Teru is nothing if not a creature of habit. ]

[Light sets the basket down and picks out a particularly round looking pear. In the back of his mind, he can practically hear the word "juicy" which causes him to frown and set the fruit back down.]

Does she know, by the way?

[About us being together, he means. Not that it makes a difference, but he'd rather not be caught off guard by it being potentially brought up either.]

[ Seeing that Light is apparently dissatisfied with that specific pear, Teru will just point towards the familiar brand with a questioning look. Out loud, he continues the pear-unrelated conversation. ]

She may have a hunch, but she's never asked and I saw no reason to update her on private matters.

[Light snags one of the pears Teru is pointing at, and spins the fruit in his hand to quickly glance over for any bruises or defects. While he talks, he gently tosses the pear up a few centimeters into the air and catches it again neatly in his open palm.]

For the best. I don't see why it'd have to be any different.

[More carefully he puts the pear in the basket and picks them both up.]

I know it isn't pear season nown, but 270 yen... what's next?

Green tea. Then salt.

[ Neither of these things take especially long to grab - the movements are as routinized as can be when one needs these household items on a daily basis. Teru flies by the shelves, dropping both into Light's basket as he goes. ]

Toilet paper, now.

Mm.

[They make their way over to that section of the store, passing by a frazzled looking middle aged woman and a screaming toddler. Light makes no eye contact, and instead mutters a barely audible noise of disapproval.

They reach the aisle with toilet paper, but perhaps to Teru's dismay, the usual brand is out of stock. What's present however is: this and this. Light merely raises an eyebrow at Teru when he sees this is the case.]

[ Teru stares silently for a moment, then he mutters to himself: ]

This is absurd...

[ He's never in his life seen a more bizarre arrangement of toilet paper for sale. What would even cause the usual to go out of stock like this? He hasn't heard about any diarrhea waves in town, certainly. ]

That can't be all.

[ He says this full of determination and pushes two packages of Hello Kitty aside, absolutely unwilling to face the horror. Why is there so much Hello Kitty here anyway?

In the end, nothing much surfaces except for one single lone package of this. The only effect it has on Teru is to make the other two look a little more harmless.

In silence, he restacks the Hello Kitty packages and in silence he reaches out for the purple brand. He's a broken man. ]

[Light's eyebrow remains raised throughout this whole process, somehow torn between amusement and annoyance. Out of all the available choices, the purple brand is the least offensive, but it's still slightly ridiculous. Spoken with notable incredulity:]

I'm not sure which is more disturbing. The fact that we're actually buying this or the fact that the one printed with lips was apparently popular enough to be close to sold out.

[ Part of Teru just wants to suggest checking for normal toilet paper at another store, but he realizes that this is more effort than this ultimately trivial matter deserves. ]

People have a very juvenile sense of humor.

[ With the tone he says it in, you'd think it was a federal offense. ]

[Well, with the purple toilet paper now soon to be an imminent reality of their daily lives for a short while, Light merely looks at the roll in Teru's hand and mentally shakes his head.]

Is that a change you'd like to see for the future? No more ridiculous toilet paper?

[His tone isn't serious, though he doesn't sound overtly amused either.]

[ Teru stares down at the rolls himself, gloomily. ]

... good people won't design these.

[ He's probably not serious, but he sure sounds it. Apparently in the new world, people simply will have better taste than this automatically.

With a final effort of determination, he finally puts the toilet paper into their basket and accepts their fate. ]

[That actually gets Light to chuckle somewhat.]

Would you wholly embrace it if it were books instead of lips then?

[It's hard not to see the contents of the basket and immediately play a mental game of 'which item doesn't belong' though and seeing the toilet paper nestled next to the salt like the flamboyant cousin that nobody invited to the family reunion only intensifies the desire to shake his head as they finally move away from that aisle.]

[ .......... ]

Tell me one good reason why I would want books associated with this particular activity.

[ They belong nowhere near his butt, thank you very much. ]

I don't have one. But when you're given two choices, neither of which are particularly appealing....

[He frowns and trails off.]

Ah.. we're forgetting the cheese.

Right. I wouldn't want to miss it for breakfast tomorrow.

[ Teru is all too happy to just quit talking about toilet paper and head over to the correct cooled shelf to get his favourite brand of cheese. Luckily, that is actually in stock. ]

That's it then, yes?

[Light glances down at the basket another time just to see if anything seems missing, but nothing particular comes to mind. He starts walking towards the cashier, knowing full well Teru would stop him if they were in fact leaving things out.]

[ Mikami raises an eyebrow. ]

For our mundane needs, yes, but I would recommend getting the eel as well.

[A pause.]

Why don't you find the eel and we'll meet at the cash register?

I'll be quick about it.

[ It's a completely unnecessary promise that he'll do well, but he does indeed quickly head over to the frozen goods now. ]

[Having been spared from the prolongation of an awkward moment, Light merely heads over to the register, dignity intact. He exchanges platitudes with the cashier, but it's obvious enough when someone feels uncomfortable around him and the small talk dies sooner than decorum typically demands. Teru returns to the cashier just as the second to last item is being scanned.]

Fast indeed.

[After all the items are scanned and put into plastic bags, it's worthy of note that the cashier looks at Teru rather than Light when he informs them of the total amount owed.]

[ Teru is getting used to these kinds of reactions by now, but he can't help his anger every time. He wants to speak up, he wants to correct the cashier on how much of a fool he's being to disregard the very person who will grant him salvation, to be so superficial, so....

But he can't, so all he does is take out his wallet and quietly hand over the amount demanded of him. He would have paid either way, given the nature of the day, but now it leaves a bitter aftertaste. The most goodbye the cashier gets from him is a nod with a cold look.

Teru grabs one of the bags and turns his attention to Light. ]

That went smoothly, we'll have plenty of time at home now.

[Light opens his mouth to say that he'd pay for their groceries, but decides aganst it and walks to the end of the register in silence. The cashier's reaction is entirely to be expected, and even though Light can't quite blame him for it, it's still pathognomonic of a greater societal ill that Light has grown to loathe. He picks up the other plastic bag wordlessly, pride intact.]

For the most part, yes. [He begins walking outside, and the store greeter from before bows them out.] We can't let Sayu in the apartment until after the purple nightmare is over.

[He's half joking, probably.]

[ Teru takes that comment more seriously than any human being should, but that's because he knows how Sayu will not let some things go when it comes to her brother. Imagining an eternity of God being taunted over toilet paper.........

Thankfully this package is smaller than standard size. ]

That might be up to a month..... maybe we need to invite her out for lunch to appease her in the meantime.

[Light raises an eyebrow. He shouldn't be surprised Teru has an actual estimate of how long that might be.]

You make it sound as though Sayu is a deity in the fashion of the ancient Greek ones that we need to bring offerings and tributes to.

[Though he's more clearly joking with that comment.] She's been wanting to go to one of those new live-music cafés in Aoyama. As that's a step up Ryuga Hideki concerts, I suppose that'll do in the interim.

[ ... live music cafés sound like a layer of hell, but he has to agree that they should be a step above converts, if nothing else. ]

That's worth a thought then.

[ Not a thought that he wanted to have, but ah well. ]

If you'd believe public opinion the whimsical nature of teenage girls can be compared to Greek Gods anyway. Though I'd accredit her with more sanity, actually.

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