A/N: The last in a series of short oneshots (the first two being 'Almost' and 'Playing Favorites'). This concludes (eighteen year old) Anise's visit to Grand Chokmah. For this story, we shall pretend that Dist survives the encounter with Nebilim, and has been incarcerated (in a manner of speaking) in Malkuth.
Anise's duties as an ambassador took her all over Auldrant, in an effort to propagate and uphold Yulia's teachings without having to rely on the now-defunt Score. There wasn't much time for sight-seeing, and meeting up with her friends usually only lasted for a few hours - much less than she would've liked, but all in the name of work, of course.
Peony had always been very accommodating, however, and ensured that Daath's emissaries were comfortable in his capital for as long as they stayed, making sure that their work was balanced with leisure. And just like that, Anise had some free time on her hands.
Jade had been right in saying that she was always busy. For Anise, rest was something taken in very brief breaks. Now that she suddenly had the time for it, she didn't know what to do with herself. Guy's hands were full with duties as the head of his house, the Colonel had been called away to the military headquarters, and Peony had his own imperial responsibilities to attend to.
And that was how Anise found herself staring up at fontech research facility before her. She'd managed to get Guy to tell her about this place a few days ago, and had only now managed to muster up enough willpower to actually visit.
Getting in was easy. She charmed the guards with practiced ease, and once she mentioned her name (as well as the Colonel's, and maybe Peony's too…) she was inside. It was a lot like Belkend's facility - smaller, but it had the same too-bright fonlamps, the same boring steel and iron motif around the laboratories, the same lonely academic atmosphere… She didn't know much about fontech, but she could tell the equipment here was a lot more specialized and a lot more expensive.
"Geez, I wonder how much they're investing on this one alone…" She murmured, a hand reaching out to touch a shiny red button on a nearby, impressive-looking contraption -
"If you so much as get your fingerprints on that, girl, I'll see to it that your fingers are sliced off immediately."
Anise sighed, and rolled her eyes (but drew her hand back).
"It's so nice to see you too, Dist."
He dragged her to a nearby room ("Without any important, irreplaceable fontech for you to touch and destroy!") to sit on a leather couch by a low table, littered with documents. Anise was surprised he even had a couch or a coffee table, considering...
"Pretty impressive for prison quarters, yes?" He was saying smugly. "Of course I'll have to be comfortable if they want any sufficient research done at all! Though they could have chosen a more appealing color for the couch… Honestly, the brutes have no sense of what goes with Dist the Rose's color."
Anise smirked. She was pretty sure the Colonel had something to do with the color of most of the furniture here. "Funny, I thought hot pink was your favorite color?"
He huffed. "Honestly! Eighteen years old and no sign of you ever outgrowing your nasty habit of being a brat." Anise just laughed.
"If you've come to laugh at my expense, the exit is that way." He huffed and gestured dramatically towards the door. Suddenly, he paused to gave Anise a suspicious look before glancing around furtively. "… You're alone? Why aren't you hovering around that accursed, four-eyed snake's shoulder?"
Anise immediately scowled. "Booo, I don't hover!" She made air quotes around the word. "And the Colonel probably wouldn't want to come within ten miles of this place if he didn't have to! I had some free time, so I thought I'd drop by. What, is it a crime to want to visit?"
He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously and sneered. "You expect me to believe that you simply came to give this old man a house-call?"
"Geez, you sound just like the Colonel." ("You didn't answer the question!") "I came 'cause I wanted to, so there! That should be reason enough, shouldn't it?"
He folded his arms and looked down on her with an arch of an eyebrow. Obviously that wasn't the only reason; after all, last time they met, they'd been on opposing sides of a battle...
She sighed impatiently when he still refused to sit across from her. Deciding to take things into her own hands, she started clearing away various documents that were previously spread neatly on the table.
"Wh-what do you think you're doing, girl? Those are very important blueprints you're manhandling!"
She didn't even bother to look up, and went about unpacking the contents of a paper bag that she'd brought in with her. "I brought lunch. Knowing you, you probably haven't even had breakfast yet, let alone something remotely good for you!"
Dist stared. Anise continued unpacking, revealing boxed lunches: omelette rice and carefully packaged ramen.
"The noodles get all rubbery if you take too long to eat them, so don't complain!"
In spite of himself, he smiled.
A/N: And that's it for this brief series! If you don't get the reference(s), please do read the Dance Gaiden (aka the Dist and Anise anthology) for more about their quirky little not!friendship. It's hosted on mangafox, as well as on Wings of An Angel.
Thanks for reading!