[Part of him thinks maybe they should talk about what happened with the ghosts. Part of him is worried that she's going to see him as more vulnerable than he really is and that she's going to be more concerned than she should be. Part of him wants to possibly actually tell her about what else happened...but it's still something that's tied up in a ton of uncertainty so he focuses on what he knows best.
Which is apparently that Ruby's hair has hints of red in it that he never really noticed before? Wait, no.]
That's the most important part. Baymax would've picked up if something was wrong, too, so you're in the clear. [He leans back in his chair a bit.] I wasn't worried...I know you can take care of yourself. It's just that you were getting a little worse. [There's a blink of surprise.] I didn't think I even looked bad. [Maybe a little deprived, but whatever.]
Whatever. So...what do you think we should do to celebrate the fact you're no longer under house arrest by tyrant Yang?
[Mostly. Mostly worried. A little tired. And...something else. Something else that Ruby's less sure of, but extra concerned about.
...But she leaves it at that, instead grinning at that.]
Heh, tyrant Yang. Classic. [And true.] Let's see... [celebrate. What does she want to do to celebrate? She...
... wants to spend time with Hiro, isn't that really all it is? Wow, she's got it bad. Yang was right. Yang was right.]
Um... [Where's here sign, universe? The sign that Yang said she'd find that would make it so she could know it was the right time to say something and then everything would be okay!!!] ... this is fine, y'know.
Working on things and... well, being here. That's fine.
Yeah, well…there was a lot going on the last couple of days. [That seems to be the only explanation he wants to give right now, too. He can't help but snicker under his breath because hey, tyrant Yang sounds about right in that case. However, he's surprised by her answer. Maybe he shouldn't be, but he is.]
Are you sure? Figured maybe you'd want to actually go do something since you were stuck for a while. [A pause.] I mean I'm okay with this, too. I guess it's not that big of a deal as long as we're together, right?
[She'll leave it at that. They can talk about it later, when Hiro's ready. Especially because...well, yeah.]
I mean--I am doing something. And we could go do something if you want to! But yeah, I figured, so long as we're together I don't really care, so this is fine, and um.
[... Wow, those words sure escaped the both of them, huh.
[There's a grateful look at that. As always, Ruby knows when to leave subjects alone and it instills a lot of trust in her. She's always been good that way. He's not in the mood to make her sad with anything he's thinking so another time.
They're doing great for themselves. He thinks about what Yang said, about thinking of why he likes Ruby when they're together and finding a way to say it but…how do they know it's the right time? Maybe it's too sudden to say it right now.
Maybe it's better to just ease into the day and play it by ear. No plan.]
I like this, too. I mean I can probably rig Baymax up to project a movie or something and we can just hang out but we don't have to go anywhere else yet. [The Cerealia equivalent of Netflix and chill, apparently.] I still owe you from pancakes anyway since you covered for both of us though.
[Clearly, netflix and chill, cerealia style, is now the plan. Ruby wasn't exactly expecting that, but nor is she complaining. Movies! Hanging out! Pancakes?
She perks up then, grinning in response.]
Oooh, are you gonna make them? You did say you could make pancakes.
I did? [He sounds genuinely confused for a moment before he remembers why it's a bad idea to lie and try to impress girls.] That's right! I did! [Well. How to get out of this one...] I mean everything to make pancakes is back at my apartment. Can't really make pancakes here y'know? Major bummer.
[He hasn't realized the flaw in that plan but he's trying. Except...she seemed pretty excited about that. And he likes making her happy...] You really want pancakes?
She just picked pancakes because he mentioned he could make them, but really she just wanted to eat something that he made (and something sweet). But if that's trouble--]
If you just want to pop some popcorn or something, that's fine too. Movie snacks!
[Sometimes Hiro really thinks he should just shut up and roll with things, then he wouldn't be left floundering around like this. Give him a moment to think that through…
…
…well. It's not like pancakes can be that hard to make. He's watched Cass make them enough times and there's a mix, right? And water and…some other stuff, the box probably has instructions. And he's tall enough now that he can see over the stove.]
Pancakes are okay. [How to make this more smooth…] Know what? We can head back, I can make us pancakes and you can meet Mochi now that you're better. I disassembled the microwave here anyway.
[/INTERNAL SCREAMING. It's a lot harder to ignore the cute, but he's still doing a decent job even if he has to quickly look away before he grins too much.]
Give me a sec to put this stuff away. What kind of pancakes do you want anyway? Strawberry again? [He's carefully starting to pack up his tools and the wire frames and the glass, crossing the room and opening a small lockbox under a table. Stuffing the contents inside and locking the box again, he looks back at Baymax.]
Okay, buddy. I'm satisfied with my care. [The robot obediently waddles forward back to his charger, deflating and locking himself up in his case for Hiro to grab. With that, he tilts his head to gesture for Ruby to follow. Off to his doom they go.]
Yep! If you don't mind, I mean, then yes definitely. [Strawberry is still the best at all times. And...well, now that there's the possibility of pancakes made by Hiro in her future, Ruby's significantly more excited about this entire thing.
Nope, this is going to be great.]
Leeeeet's get baking--! [A beat. She frowns.] Coo...king?
I think it counts as cooking. [With that they're out the door, Hiro pulling on Baymax's case to roll behind him as they move toward the residential area. His free hand sort of twitches inside the sleeve of his hoodie, fingers curling and uncurling as though he's debating if he wants to grab Ruby's hand.
It's not much of a debate before they get to the Hamadas' apartment though and he unlocks the door for her, letting Ruby inside. Hopefully...she won't mind the mess? The couch has a pile of pillows and blankets neatly folded on the end of it (even when he's sleeping on a couch Tadashi makes his bed) and on the back of the couch is the fat Japanese bobtail calico cat. There's a section set off in a corner of the room with a desk covered in pieces of Tadashi's work, and a separate section for Hiro's own home lab. A small TV's perched across from their couch, and there's also probably an assortment of stuff just spread out...books, clothes, sneakers; it's a well lived-in apartment that two boys live in with a hall leading to Hiro's room and their bathroom.]
It's not as big as your place, but Tadashi and I are making plans to knock out the wall between this apartment and the next one over really soon so we can double our space. [He rolls Baymax to sit next to the couch before nervously eyeing the kitchen.] Make yourself comfortable. I'll get started making breakfast.
[She really doesn't mind the mess, don't worry. She's seen so much worse (and it's not like she's all that tidy herself), so really she's just curiously looking around even as he lets her inside. She can't help it. She's curious. She's curious about the place Hiro lives in and what's spread around. It's just...a way to learn a bit more about him, maybe.
Which is a thing she wants to do.
She always wants to know about Hiro.
... She's got it bad, doesn't she.]
That sounds like it'll be pretty good! If you need any help knocking down walls, just let us know. I mean--Yang.
[There's a lot for her to look at. There's a bunch of drawings tacked and taped to the wall of Hiro's workspace and a small laptop that's on even with the lid almost all the way closed. There're tools like pliers and rulers and markers spread around and a couple of small metal roses carelessly left half-buried under some papers...and also empty energy drink cans and a half-empty cup of noodles. A slightly worn blue journal's also sitting on his desk. Tadashi's area's pretty clean compared to Hiro's desk but it's probably filled with a lot of things, too.
Surprisingly (or hell, maybe not even surprisingly anymore) he doesn't mind letting Ruby look around and do her own thing. He's completely comfortable in his own space and he's comfortable allowing Ruby inside.]
I might take you up on that. We're still measuring to make sure we're not gonna knock out the entire complex but the apartment next door's mine anyway. It just makes sense to combine them. [There's a sudden internal panic though at the suggestion.] Uhh...no! No, it's fine, I've got this.
[It's hard to say if he's assuring himself or Ruby.] I mean if you want to just sit at the table and wait that's fine but...I got this. [In fact, he's already moving and into the kitchen he goes. And up on the counter he goes because he's too short and so he's prowling through cabinets. Pancake mix, where are you...] How hungry are you?
[Oh.... that was pretty intensely certain. She can only blink at him in response to that before she shrugs.]
Well, okay then. I'm gonna just poke around then. Uh, but if you need any help, just yell or something, okay?
[She does want to look more closely at Hiro's desk and all of his drawings and everything he's been working on, after all, but it doesn't seem quite right to leave him to cook pancakes alone. Still, if he's sure...]
I'mmm the usual sort of hungry! Like--not super ravenously starving, but I could eat some pancakes, like, multiple, that would be fine.
Helpful as always. I think that probably calls for, like, six or eight. [He's pretty hungry too now that he thinks about it. Maybe he should text somebody for pancake advi--no this is fine! Everything is fine and there's a small bang as he hits his head on a cabinet he left open. He winces, but it doesn't seem to bother him too much as he waves a hand in dismissal, using the other hand to pull out the box of pancake mix.]
It'll be fine, Ruby. Don't you trust me? [Have a very large not-at-all-suspicious grin.] Don't worry about it, make yourself at home. And don't move stuff on Tadashi's desk because he'll probably get annoyed when he can't find stuff. Not that I know from experience or anything. [Mumbled to himself, but still. It's not like Ruby can get in too much trouble while he's in the kitchen. Down from the counter he goes to turn on the stove and let that heat up while he starts to read the instructions on the box on how to do this.]
[Uh..... well, him hitting his head against the cabinet door really doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, but other than wincing, she doesn't actually bring it up.]
R...iiiight... okay then, I'll leave it to you.
[Though she does glance over her shoulder a few times as she wanders towards his desk, because... yeah, she does trust him, but somehow she's worried, okay.
This is an ominous pancake making session here.
But soon enough, she'll be engrossed in poking at his sketches and designs, so at least Hiro's home-free for now.]
[He has enough hair to pillow his head, it's fine. There are a lot of ominous things happening here but he can totally handle this. He's rattling around the kitchen getting pans and bowls and stuff he needs, setting the box down on a part of the counter even as his attention moves toward the fridge to open it and look for the strawberries.
Most of the sketches are robots, because he's such a surprising and unpredictable individual. The ones on the wall are blueprints for a variety of robots, a small dinosaur, their pancake-robot, and a few other things. There are notes about the colony tacked up there, too, and some printed out pictures of plants and monsters from their adventures in the jungle. Aside from the blueprints there are also just some other little drawings in his usual cartoon style scattered on his desk. They're drawings of things in the colony, things Ruby might recognize from past ViViD games (like the creepy nurses) and also people they know. There's a drawing of Yu and Izanagi with some notes scribbled on it, a drawing of Hiccup and Toothless, and even a drawing of Ruby with Crescent Rose. There're designs for upgrades to his gunblade, notes written in a certain cipher, pieces of wire and glass and melted plastic, a few spare tools and scrap metal...she has a lot she can sort through.
And in addition to all of the junk on his desk, there's soon a meow somewhere by Ruby's feet before Mochi jumps up on the desk and pushes a lot of things out of the way, settling on Hiro's laptop to sit right in front of her. Pay attention to him, Ruby. And while Hiro's busy in the kitchen he does call over his shoulder.]
A ton of those are half-done. When everybody got sick in the last couple of weeks I put my projects on hold. Any bets on how long things will stay normal this time?
[It's some fascinating work, and Ruby's distracted by all of it--unsurprisingly. She can't help but peer at the pieces bit by bit, but then comes the meow, and then she's gushing.]
Awwww, you must be Mochi!
[As is required when meeting fluffy fat cats, she immediately stoops to pick him up and cuddle him. Uwaaaah.]
You're so cuuuute!
[... Right. Hiro. Projects. Things. With Mochi in her arms, she thus proceeds to inspect everything again. At least, until she gets to the drawing of herself, and then she's squeaking and burying her face in Mochi's fur. You know, as one does.
[There's a chirp that comes from a happy cat who's getting a ton of attention and he's shifting around in Ruby's arms, immediately starting to purr. Hiro's still wandering around in the kitchen, not at all noticing that the box is actually half on the counter and half on the burner. They'll find out eventually.
Instead, he's busy rummaging for a knife to cut strawberries while also suddenly being very aware of Ruby's squeaking.]
[Everything's fine enough that he's going to actually set down the bowl in his hand and wander out of the kitchen to the living room to see what the hell she's doing. And he's stopping. And staring?]
He's going to claw you in the face. [He's so ferocious in fact that Mochi's purring even louder and allowing his tail to flick at Ruby's face instead. This is fine.
The small amount of smoke starting to drift from the burner is not fine.] Either that or you're gonna suffocate in his fur.
[Suffocating in his fur, that is. Maybe it would save her from her profuse levels of embarrassment that she's realizing that drawing of her is bringing her--
She glances over at Hiro, finally lifting her head from the cat fur.
I mean I'd really like you not to suffo-[He'd been talking about the time Ruby asked that question and he pauses, puzzled by that question.]
What? No, I haven't even started yet. [Except that sure is a box of pancake mix slowly burning into a pile of flames on the stovetop. He looks back behind him and there's a yelp of surprise before he books it back to the kitchen, immediately flinging open cabinets. Fire extinguisher, where the hell are you...now would be a great time to show up! Ruby can keep the cat. This is a little more important.]
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Which is apparently that Ruby's hair has hints of red in it that he never really noticed before? Wait, no.]
That's the most important part. Baymax would've picked up if something was wrong, too, so you're in the clear. [He leans back in his chair a bit.] I wasn't worried...I know you can take care of yourself. It's just that you were getting a little worse. [There's a blink of surprise.] I didn't think I even looked bad. [Maybe a little deprived, but whatever.]
Whatever. So...what do you think we should do to celebrate the fact you're no longer under house arrest by tyrant Yang?
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[Mostly. Mostly worried. A little tired. And...something else. Something else that Ruby's less sure of, but extra concerned about.
...But she leaves it at that, instead grinning at that.]
Heh, tyrant Yang. Classic. [And true.] Let's see... [celebrate. What does she want to do to celebrate? She...
... wants to spend time with Hiro, isn't that really all it is? Wow, she's got it bad. Yang was right. Yang was right.]
Um... [Where's here sign, universe? The sign that Yang said she'd find that would make it so she could know it was the right time to say something and then everything would be okay!!!] ... this is fine, y'know.
Working on things and... well, being here. That's fine.
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Are you sure? Figured maybe you'd want to actually go do something since you were stuck for a while. [A pause.] I mean I'm okay with this, too. I guess it's not that big of a deal as long as we're together, right?
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[She'll leave it at that. They can talk about it later, when Hiro's ready. Especially because...well, yeah.]
I mean--I am doing something. And we could go do something if you want to! But yeah, I figured, so long as we're together I don't really care, so this is fine, and um.
[... Wow, those words sure escaped the both of them, huh.
Saps.]
I like this.
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They're doing great for themselves. He thinks about what Yang said, about thinking of why he likes Ruby when they're together and finding a way to say it but…how do they know it's the right time? Maybe it's too sudden to say it right now.
Maybe it's better to just ease into the day and play it by ear. No plan.]
I like this, too. I mean I can probably rig Baymax up to project a movie or something and we can just hang out but we don't have to go anywhere else yet. [The Cerealia equivalent of Netflix and chill, apparently.] I still owe you from pancakes anyway since you covered for both of us though.
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She perks up then, grinning in response.]
Oooh, are you gonna make them? You did say you could make pancakes.
[pancakes pancakes!!]
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[He hasn't realized the flaw in that plan but he's trying. Except...she seemed pretty excited about that. And he likes making her happy...] You really want pancakes?
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[???
She just picked pancakes because he mentioned he could make them, but really she just wanted to eat something that he made (and something sweet). But if that's trouble--]
If you just want to pop some popcorn or something, that's fine too. Movie snacks!
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…
…well. It's not like pancakes can be that hard to make. He's watched Cass make them enough times and there's a mix, right? And water and…some other stuff, the box probably has instructions. And he's tall enough now that he can see over the stove.]
Pancakes are okay. [How to make this more smooth…] Know what? We can head back, I can make us pancakes and you can meet Mochi now that you're better. I disassembled the microwave here anyway.
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[She won't argue that??? Instead, she throws her hands up excitedly in the air, beaming.]
Pancake time, pancake time! Let's go, Hiro, this'll be fun!
[At least she doesn't seem to suspect. Yet.]
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Give me a sec to put this stuff away. What kind of pancakes do you want anyway? Strawberry again? [He's carefully starting to pack up his tools and the wire frames and the glass, crossing the room and opening a small lockbox under a table. Stuffing the contents inside and locking the box again, he looks back at Baymax.]
Okay, buddy. I'm satisfied with my care. [The robot obediently waddles forward back to his charger, deflating and locking himself up in his case for Hiro to grab. With that, he tilts his head to gesture for Ruby to follow. Off to his doom they go.]
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Nope, this is going to be great.]
Leeeeet's get baking--! [A beat. She frowns.] Coo...king?
[.....what do you call pancake making]
Uh.
Let's get pancake making!
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It's not much of a debate before they get to the Hamadas' apartment though and he unlocks the door for her, letting Ruby inside. Hopefully...she won't mind the mess? The couch has a pile of pillows and blankets neatly folded on the end of it (even when he's sleeping on a couch Tadashi makes his bed) and on the back of the couch is the fat Japanese bobtail calico cat. There's a section set off in a corner of the room with a desk covered in pieces of Tadashi's work, and a separate section for Hiro's own home lab. A small TV's perched across from their couch, and there's also probably an assortment of stuff just spread out...books, clothes, sneakers; it's a well lived-in apartment that two boys live in with a hall leading to Hiro's room and their bathroom.]
It's not as big as your place, but Tadashi and I are making plans to knock out the wall between this apartment and the next one over really soon so we can double our space. [He rolls Baymax to sit next to the couch before nervously eyeing the kitchen.] Make yourself comfortable. I'll get started making breakfast.
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Which is a thing she wants to do.
She always wants to know about Hiro.
... She's got it bad, doesn't she.]
That sounds like it'll be pretty good! If you need any help knocking down walls, just let us know. I mean--Yang.
["Yang" is an explanation all alone.]
... Oh--uh, do you want any help?
[SHE'LL HELP... in the kitchen..!!]
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Surprisingly (or hell, maybe not even surprisingly anymore) he doesn't mind letting Ruby look around and do her own thing. He's completely comfortable in his own space and he's comfortable allowing Ruby inside.]
I might take you up on that. We're still measuring to make sure we're not gonna knock out the entire complex but the apartment next door's mine anyway. It just makes sense to combine them. [There's a sudden internal panic though at the suggestion.] Uhh...no! No, it's fine, I've got this.
[It's hard to say if he's assuring himself or Ruby.] I mean if you want to just sit at the table and wait that's fine but...I got this. [In fact, he's already moving and into the kitchen he goes. And up on the counter he goes because he's too short and so he's prowling through cabinets. Pancake mix, where are you...] How hungry are you?
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Well, okay then. I'm gonna just poke around then. Uh, but if you need any help, just yell or something, okay?
[She does want to look more closely at Hiro's desk and all of his drawings and everything he's been working on, after all, but it doesn't seem quite right to leave him to cook pancakes alone. Still, if he's sure...]
I'mmm the usual sort of hungry! Like--not super ravenously starving, but I could eat some pancakes, like, multiple, that would be fine.
[That was not descriptive at all, Ruby.]
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It'll be fine, Ruby. Don't you trust me? [Have a very large not-at-all-suspicious grin.] Don't worry about it, make yourself at home. And don't move stuff on Tadashi's desk because he'll probably get annoyed when he can't find stuff. Not that I know from experience or anything. [Mumbled to himself, but still. It's not like Ruby can get in too much trouble while he's in the kitchen. Down from the counter he goes to turn on the stove and let that heat up while he starts to read the instructions on the box on how to do this.]
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R...iiiight... okay then, I'll leave it to you.
[Though she does glance over her shoulder a few times as she wanders towards his desk, because... yeah, she does trust him, but somehow she's worried, okay.
This is an ominous pancake making session here.
But soon enough, she'll be engrossed in poking at his sketches and designs, so at least Hiro's home-free for now.]
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Most of the sketches are robots, because he's such a surprising and unpredictable individual. The ones on the wall are blueprints for a variety of robots, a small dinosaur, their pancake-robot, and a few other things. There are notes about the colony tacked up there, too, and some printed out pictures of plants and monsters from their adventures in the jungle. Aside from the blueprints there are also just some other little drawings in his usual cartoon style scattered on his desk. They're drawings of things in the colony, things Ruby might recognize from past ViViD games (like the creepy nurses) and also people they know. There's a drawing of Yu and Izanagi with some notes scribbled on it, a drawing of Hiccup and Toothless, and even a drawing of Ruby with Crescent Rose. There're designs for upgrades to his gunblade, notes written in a certain cipher, pieces of wire and glass and melted plastic, a few spare tools and scrap metal...she has a lot she can sort through.
And in addition to all of the junk on his desk, there's soon a meow somewhere by Ruby's feet before Mochi jumps up on the desk and pushes a lot of things out of the way, settling on Hiro's laptop to sit right in front of her. Pay attention to him, Ruby. And while Hiro's busy in the kitchen he does call over his shoulder.]
A ton of those are half-done. When everybody got sick in the last couple of weeks I put my projects on hold. Any bets on how long things will stay normal this time?
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Awwww, you must be Mochi!
[As is required when meeting fluffy fat cats, she immediately stoops to pick him up and cuddle him. Uwaaaah.]
You're so cuuuute!
[... Right. Hiro. Projects. Things. With Mochi in her arms, she thus proceeds to inspect everything again. At least, until she gets to the drawing of herself, and then she's squeaking and burying her face in Mochi's fur. You know, as one does.
So her response is pretty muffled.]
Um..... A week...?
[A muffled cat response, yes.]
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Instead, he's busy rummaging for a knife to cut strawberries while also suddenly being very aware of Ruby's squeaking.]
...what are you doing to my cat?
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Nothing.
[Wow Ruby, you definitely nailed that one.
Don't worry, Hiro, everything is fine.
Just... totally fine, nothing's going to light on fire today. (Yeah right.)]
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He's going to claw you in the face. [He's so ferocious in fact that Mochi's purring even louder and allowing his tail to flick at Ruby's face instead. This is fine.
The small amount of smoke starting to drift from the burner is not fine.] Either that or you're gonna suffocate in his fur.
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[Suffocating in his fur, that is. Maybe it would save her from her profuse levels of embarrassment that she's realizing that drawing of her is bringing her--
She glances over at Hiro, finally lifting her head from the cat fur.
... ... ...]
Hey, Hiro, is something burning...?
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What? No, I haven't even started yet. [Except that sure is a box of pancake mix slowly burning into a pile of flames on the stovetop. He looks back behind him and there's a yelp of surprise before he books it back to the kitchen, immediately flinging open cabinets. Fire extinguisher, where the hell are you...now would be a great time to show up! Ruby can keep the cat. This is a little more important.]
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