The Perk, Saturday Morning [10.25]

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Dōjima had listened to the radio broadcast this morning, intent on mocking those of her classmates that had family show up.

She had a very, very, bad feeling about some of the things she'd heard, and found herself at the Perk in desperate need of coffee.

If she was right (and she probably was), the old bastard could damn well do the leg work and come find her.

[OOC: For the guest, but Open Perk is Open for all your caffeine addiction needs!]

Comments

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

In the corner, hat pulled down low over his face, sat Juliano.

He had a steaming cup of tea in front of him, and a cup of coffee sitting on the table across from him. And an empty chair.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

He wasn't even going to let her pick her own drink, was he?

Dōjima took a moment to order a scone from the barista before making her way over. It wasn't JGoB quality, but making him wait was mildly satisfying.

"If that has less than two shots of expresso, I'll be disappointed," she quipped as she sat down. "Ohaiyo, Colegui-sama."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

Three shots, in fact, but Juliano would wait for her to find out herself.

"Good morning, Miss Dojima."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"I would say 'welcome to Fandom', but according to radio you've already been around getting acquainted, haven't you?" she asked sweetly as she reached for the coffee. Oooo...smelled fantastic. "I hope you're finding everything okay."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"It is an interesting place," Juliano admitted. "And I have spoken to some interesting people."

He lifts an eyebrow, "Did one of them advise you of my arrival?"

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Romeo was busted. Very, very, busted, and now she was wondering who else he'd been talking with.

"Why? Was it supposed to be a surprise?" she asked, taking a small sip of her drink. "Small island, you know. News travels fast."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"Oh, not at all," he lied. "I was simply wondering how your friends would react."

"And not informing you... how interesting." Not very good friends, were they?

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Did I say that?" Dōjima replied. "I don't recall saying that, Father. I said that news travels fast around here. Which, I suppose, could mean a number of things."

She smirked at him slightly over the rim of her cup. "You know what I like to say about assumptions."

Pushing it? Yes. But Yurika wasn't interested in letting him set the tone for their games today.

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"You are good, Miss Dojima. I will not deny that."

But Juliano is better. He's been doing this for a long time.

He let his gaze flick to her coffee, as if to point out that he knew what to have waiting for her.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"You already knew that," she pointed out, flashing a bright smile at him as she tapped the side of the drink.

"Which brings us to why you're here. Leaving Headquarters to spend a weekend at the exact same school where the newest STN-J member is enrolled? Isn't that a bit scandalous? Or are you here at the request of my father, to check on his errant offspring?" Dōjima hummed quietly in speculation. "So many options."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"Your father did ask me to attend," Juliano demurs. "He wished for me to check up on his troublesome daughter."

Of course Dojima knows that convincing her father to ask someone to do something they already want to do is quite easy.

"How could I deny such a request?"

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"There's a word, I'm rather fond of it, especially in regards to my father," she remarked dryly. "It's called 'no'. I understand his influence at SOLOMON, but now he's going to be insufferable since he got you to do his fetch and carry work with me. It's going to make my first few months back in Japan that much harder."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"Yes. And those at STN-J are likely to decide that any out of character behavior from you is simply aggravation with him."

Juliano smiled coldly.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Arigato, sensei," Yurika said sourly. "I shall keep that in mind as he parades me around at various social functions."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"You will manage." That wasn't an assurance, it was an order.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Hai," she acquiesced, taking another sip of the coffee. "Of course I will." That he thought she needed the reminder rankled her pride, but she shoved it down.

"So, how much of the town have you seen?" she asked politely. "Am I supposed to give you the complete tour, or will the cliff notes version do?"

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"give me a summary," Juliano suggested. Without telling her how much he did or didn't know already.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"As reported, the town recently doubled in size," Dōjima answered. "Small businesses, empty warehouses, that sort of thing. Nothing too terribly exciting, except for the sushi place and the onsen." She was biased, but she doubted the Father would mind.

"That doesn't make it any less of a small town. Everyone knows everyone's business, and I can guarantee that the entire island will know we had coffee by tonight."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"Seeing as I am an old friend of your family, I hardly see this as a problem." That was, after all, the cover he planned to use.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Dōjima just smiled at him as she took a bite of her scone.

"You are," she agreed after a moment. Whether she meant a 'family friend' or a 'problem' was open to interpretation. "But that still doesn't answer why you are here, Father."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"Your father asked me to see how you were doing." And that was why he was here.

"He wanted to know if you were feeling anxious about your future, after you graduate." After the evaluation.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"My father finally takes a genuine interest in my welfare, or in his investment into the STN-J?" she asked bitterly, folding her arms. "He's running a bit behind schedule. I hear most parents start caring before the child is born, not when she's about to graduate high school."

"But you can report back to him that no, I'm not anxious. Why should I be? I have a job, I can find an apartment, and I'll finally be back in Tokyo and out of this American backwater."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

Juliano nodded. "And is there something you would not like me to report?" Something she wanted him to know personally?

Besides the obvious, of cours.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Tell him whatever you want," she answered with a shrug. "I'm sure by now, my antics have long since ceased to shock him."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"And what should I tell him about that young man...? What's his name?"

As if Juliano didn't know.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Which one?" Yurika drawled, leaning back in her chair to smile darkly at him. "There were two that came along on my tour of SOLOMON, sir."

"If you mean Romeo, then please. Mention him all you like. Just be prepared for my father's rant about my 'worthless gaijin lover,'" she said. "Romeo is not my father's favorite person."

"Actually, he might say the same about Reno... since he probably didn't bother to learn Romeo's name, and they both sound similar enough."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"And should I tell him to expect to have to deal with either of them after you graduate? I am sure he is hoping that you will leave all of your foolishness behind here when you leave."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"My father expects me to be nothing but foolish," she snapped. "I would hate to disappoint him."

"But considering they both have duties elsewhere, I find it highly unlikely he'll have to suffer the indignities of my annoying gaijin friends more often than once a year, if even that often."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

Juliano nodded. "I'm sure he will be happy to hear that."

He leaned back and sipped his tea.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Don't go filling his head with expectations," Yurika sighed. "You and I both know I don't have the temperament to be what he wants me to be. That's the entire reason I'm here."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

Another nod. They're in public, so Juliano won't point out that her father is an idiot.

But the slight twitch in his jaw might give it away to someone who's dealt with him before.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Yurika noticed the twitch, and did her best not to smile.

"Is there anything else my father is curious about?" she asked blandly, "Or is his only pressing concern who I have in my bed?"

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

A tiny, almost proud, smile slips across Juliano's face.

"Your father simply wants to know that you are content with the choices you have made."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"If I had been sent to Fandom when I was younger, I might have made different choices," Yurika admitted. Especially if she had been here before Father Juliano had approached her with his offer. "But I've done what I had to do, with the options that were available to me. If I'm supposed to feel guilty about that, well, my father should know better by now."

He could decide which father she meant, and which choices. It was equally applicable all around.

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"I am sure your father will be relieved to hear that," Juliano suggested.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Relived to hear I'm not burdened down by my wild hedonistic past? That I'm not burdened by guilt?" she teased, finishing off her drink. "I can't see him being too thrilled, especially since I'm sure I'll be back in the swing of things once I return to Tokyo. He's probably enjoyed not needing to hear all the lurid gossip about his only child."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"He has not said anything to me," Juliano pointed out. But then he offered a half-smile, "But you are probably right."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"And what does my father have to say about my tour of the SOLOMON facilities, and my visit to the STN-J office?" Yurika asked sweetly. "Or is that none of my business?"

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

Juliano's cold smile returned. "It was good to see you again, Miss Dojima."

That was a pretty clear dismissal.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Yurika laughed, then, and tossed him a wink as she stood to clear her trash. "You can't blame a girl for trying," she pointed out. "And you would have been disappointed in me if I hadn't."

She sketched a quick bow and grinned. "Jaa, Colegui-sama. There's a party in the Park tonight, and I need to go find people and taunt anyone else who got hit by unexpected visitors."

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

He sat silently until she had taken two steps toward the door. Then he spoke without raising his voice.

"That boy says he loves you." His eyes were narrowed, watching carefully for her reaction.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

She paused mid-step, taking a moment before turning her head to regard him over her shoulder.

"Hai," she answered, smile not wavering as she met his eyes. "He says it a lot, too. Isn't it sweet?"

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

"And that you say the same." His tone was carefully neutral, no hint of approval or disapproval evident.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

She turned and walked back to the table, bending over to give a kiss on the cheek to a favorite uncle.

"All girls have secrets, Father, even girls like me," she murmured quietly, eyes dancing with amusement. "Let me keep this one, ne?"

[father-juliano.livejournal.com]

Even a man with as much self-control as Juliano couldn't suppress a slight smile at the gesture.

For just a moment his eyes looked fond and he inclined his head. That was answer enough, after all. "Be safe, my child."

He didn't bother trying to hide the fact that he meant it.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Haaaaaaaaai!" Dōjima answered, tossing off a wave as she left. "Arigato, Colegui-sama. Enjoy the rest of the stay, if I don't see you before you leave!"

He'd probably be lurking around, since that's what the old man did, but Yurika was under no delusions. She wouldn't see him again this weekend unless he wanted her to.

[bprd-demon.livejournal.com]

"I'd like a gallon of coffee, please. Lotsa cream, lotsa sugar." He smiled, a particularly winning smile. He looked around a bit as the staff tried to find a cup big enough.