Mikau: Hello! So nice to have you back. We've been swamped at work the past two days, so I've worked straight through my lunch both days, standing at a copier for hours on end. Therefore I feel crappy and will cut things short. I'd really like to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter: Bunnyz-chan, MinamiJSakuya, Miss Emotion, Ern Estine 13624, Assasin8, Kimmiko T, neonquincy1217, twilightserius, bn, Shana-Fujioka, Spade, Lady Rosencrantz, Yumi Edogawa, and mielshen (I'm so glad you liked it!). Seriously. Your support is really indispensable to me. *Cries tears of joy* Also this week we've got Falling in Love Literally, the Kid Capture Brigade, and Just Passing Through. Have fun!
Disclaimer: If I owned it, I think I'd dig a little deeper into Akako's character. She doesn't get the spotlight much, but I feel like there's some really cool character development that could be done with her. I feel like she's not very well-liked because most readers don't strive to look past the way she's portrayed and truly understand her.
…
Chapter Seven: Lightning Bolt
Shinichi felt so lost.
He knew it was all in his head, knew that he was succumbing to negative, defeatist thoughts. He was well aware that he was giving in to these feelings of depression, and he was sure that he could fight them off if he just tried, but…it was getting hard.
He'd done such a good job of throwing himself into his work at first. He dove headfirst into all of the cases surrounding him, following the scent of the Organization, searching for clues. He'd made such progress, and as long as he had something to go on, something else to focus on besides all of that 'woe is me' crap, he'd done well. He'd succeeded in fighting off the angst even when he heard Ran crying at night or saw her look wistfully at the phone, waiting for him to call.
So long as he had a lead, Shinichi had been able to beat back all of the shadows, keep away from the self-pity that naturally came with his cruel situation.
But it had been a good eight months since he'd found anything new. The Organization either hadn't been terribly active during that time or Shinichi was just missing it all entirely.
The point was that the hope was gone. It'd been so long since he'd been himself, and he was beginning to wonder if there'd even be a place left for him once he did get his body back.
His classmates would be graduating high school and going off to college this coming spring. Ran had been tossing around the idea of going to the States for school.
Things were looking bleak for Kudo Shinichi, and he was beginning to wonder if he should maybe just throw in the towel, break things off with Ran, and try his hardest to make due, get by with the name Edogawa Conan.
When he considered it, it felt like a little part of him was dying inside.
So Shinichi was lost.
Even as Conan he was grumpy and melancholy. He was turning reclusive and taciturn, and the Shounen Tanteidan were picking up on that. He really only felt like himself at Kid heists, and those weren't frequent enough for his liking, as ashamed as he was to say it.
Shinichi didn't know what to do with himself. He'd considered a therapist, but…he didn't want to end up on medicine or in some sanitarium or something. No trained medical professional would believe the truth, so… And he didn't feel like there was anyone else he could confide in either.
So his chance discussions with Kid had been rather cathartic, almost therapeutic.
Though…he had never dreamed, even in the most bizarre of his sleeping visions, that he'd find himself in this position. Imagine! Having coffee with a quote unquote criminal! But…if Kid was to be believed—and Shinichi had a feeling that he really was—Kid wasn't a real criminal after all, so…that made it okay, right? Hanging out with him?
Whatever. It was good for his sanity, at any rate,—as truly strange as that was to admit—to see that there were far more pitiable people in the world than Shinichi. It made him feel better to know that there were people out there several hundred times more screwed up in the head.
…He just kind of wished he had some way of getting into contact with Kid, though. Because it was the Tuesday after the murder at the mall, and already it was shaping up to be a bad week.
Ran was irritable. She'd called Shinichi's phone and left an impatient message reminding him for probably the thousandth time that she hadn't heard from him in a year and would really like to know if he were dead or not.
He didn't have the courage to call. He couldn't even bring himself to text her. He didn't want to say he was busy with The Case and that he'd be back as soon as he could. He didn't think that was strictly true anymore. He was far from busy what with the leads drying up, and he wasn't sure if he'd ever be coming back.
Would it be better to keep silent and let their love slowly die, or was it less cruel to contact her and risk inspiring false hope?
He didn't know, so he did nothing.
And Ran cried at night. She'd fallen so far from the strong, independent woman that Shinichi had loved, and it was all Shinichi's fault. He had ruined her.
"So I read this book the other day," a voice called out as Conan began his ascent up the Detective Agency stairs that Tuesday evening after classes.
The schoolyard sleuth turned, glancing about for the source of the voice that, oddly enough, seemed to be directed at him.
"I kind of wanted to talk about it with you."
There by the trees lining the street stood a young woman of fifteen or sixteen. Her hair was as black as jet, and her eyes followed suit. She was wearing a short, cotton skirt of bubble gum pink, thigh-high stockings, and a tight t-shirt that read "I'm a TRAP!" in bold letters right over her barely contained, massive chest.
Conan blinked. He looked around, thinking that the doe-eyed, black-haired girl might be addressing someone else, because surely she couldn't be talking to him…right?
He blinked again when he saw no one within range on the mostly empty street. "Me?" he asked, a little taken aback as he pointed to his nose.
She nodded, grinning.
Shinichi knew that half-insane smirk. "Hell," he hissed, marching right over to the 'girl' to whisper indignantly, "What the hell are you doing here? What do you want?"
Kaito blinked innocently. "I came to see you, and I want to talk about the book. Sorry. I would have called ahead, but I didn't have your number."
Conan rolled his eyes. "Oh, you could have found it out with your skill. The police have it in their database because of all of my involvement with solving crimes."
Kaito pursed his lips. "Revision: I would have called ahead, but I wasn't so sure if I wanted you to have my number. Who knows? You might decide to do something nefarious with it or you could call me again and again in the middle of the night or drunk dial me or something."
Conan didn't say a word in response. He just glared hard enough to get his message across: "I am not amused".
"Moving on," Kaito decided. "Wanna get coffee? My treat today."
Those words kept Shinichi from walking away. Coffee… He hadn't been able to get his daily coffee fix since he'd started living with Ran, so free coffee was like a Godsend. How could he refuse?
Besides, hadn't he just been thinking about wanting to talk things over with Kid? See? It was all working out…for once.
"Okay," Conan finally agreed after some deliberation. "But not here at Poirot. They know me here, and it would be bad if Ran found out that I'd had coffee with someone like you."
Kaito blinked. What the hell was that supposed to mean? "Tantei-kun, I don't think they can tell that I'm not exactly on the up and up just by looking at me. It shouldn't be a problem. I think you're being a little too paranoid."
Shinichi was really reluctant to say anything, but… "Uhh… It's not that you look like a ruffian or anything. It's just…your clothes are…a little…"
Kaito blinked in genuine confusion, shaking his head. "No. Look." He gave a little turn. "See? I'm all covered. I thought about what you told me last time, and look! No cleavage! And my skirt is longer. I even wore decent undergarments, so... Okay, so they have polka dots, but—"
"—Your shirt is too tight and the skirt is still too short," Conan informed, not unkindly. "If I go to Poitrot with you dressed like that, Azusa-san's going to ask Ran about you, and then Ran really is going to take me to a counselor because I apparently exhibit warning signs of being a troubled youth due to the fact that my parents allegedly abandoned me."
"Seriously?" Kaito raised an eyebrow at Ran's overreaction. Though…considering that the child witnessed serious crimes on a daily basis, occasionally getting kidnapped, combined with the fact that Conan's parents really had abandoned him back when he was Shinichi and now once more in his hour of need… Yikes. Maybe Kudo really did need a shrink. But…then what did that say about Kaito? He'd done the whole counseling thing when he was little. He wasn't so sure that it'd helped him much.
"Seriously," Conan sighed. "She's concerned because I've seemed depressed lately, so she's been reading all kinds of books and articles. I think concentrating on Conan helps her. It distracts her from the fact that Shinichi's gone, but…her being overprotective of Conan kind of wears me out."
"I can't imagine," Kaito gently replied before subtly steering the conversation away from brooding material. "So…if we can't go to Poirot since my apparel is still considered inappropriate, what did you have in mind for our coffee date part three?"
"There's a little café not too far away, more of a breakfast place than anything, but it's called Christie's, and I don't think Ran's ever been there, so…?"
"Lead the way," Kaito affirmed.
They arrived about fifteen minutes later and took a booth seat over by the window where the last glow of the scarlet sun was just shining in.
Christie's was a quaint café that looked remarkably like some little old granny's house. A little old grandma that did a lot of knitting and embroidery, lots of cake decorating and flower arrangement. There were lacey doilies, pastel colors, glass figurines, and little knickknacks spread about the shop, and it smelled like the corner bakery what with the aromatic, decadent cakes. There were seventeen kinds of pie—fruit, mousse, meringue, and cream—and the various little tarts and pastries looked professional, like some classically trained French patisserie had just put on the finishing touches before gingerly setting the sweets into the case. The crust was flakey with a bit of shine to it that made Kaito's mouth water. Everything was so colorful and bright, and the myriad treats all looked fresh…inviting. The sweets waited enticingly in their case.
"This place is awesome," Kaito breathed in a mix of awe and reverence, forgetting himself briefly and slipping into a different female voice than he had been using before.
Conan shrugged, settling down into his seat across from the thief. "Yeah. The food's good."
"I just want dessert," Kaito chuckled, eying the chocolate éclairs and the chocolate lava cake and the chocolate mousse pie and the double fudge brownies with chocolate frosting.
"Remember that you're paying this time," Conan snickered.
Kaito began to sulk. "I'll just have to come back with Hakuba sometime, and then I shall obtain ALL of the chocolate."
Conan cast his acquaintance a look of suspicion. "So…Hakuba Saguru takes you out to coffee?"
Kaito shrugged, not looking at Conan. He was still busy staring down his prey. "He drinks tea. I have drinking chocolate. Neither of us drinks coffee unless we're doing an all-nighter or something. Even then, he doesn't like the taste, and I take my coffee with ninety-nine parts creamer, one part coffee…and then some whipped cream on the top, so it's mostly just sugar, not so much caffeine."
"But you two go out and have your respective drinks together like you and I are doing right now?" Conan dug, still unable to get over the idea that Hakuba Saguru, the Superintendent's son, was honest to goodness, friends with the Kaitou Kid.
"Sort of. I mean…I don't go out in disguise when I go with him. Sometimes I cross-dress, but…" Kaito looked back at Conan and smiled. "But, yeah. Haku-chan and I actually just hang out." Without preamble, Kaito launched into the whole purpose for his visit. "So, I borrowed this book from Haku-chan the other day, and I wanted to talk to you about it."
Conan shrugged, sipping at his blacker-than-coal coffee. "Sure. What book was it?"
Shinichi intended to engage in polite conversation about the book with the kooky magician for a reasonable period of maybe ten or fifteen minutes. After that, Shinichi planned on bringing up his current frustrations and hopefully receiving some comfort and commiseration—at the very least, a sympathetic ear—from the thief.
He'd never expected that the book would be one starring Sherlock Holmes or that he'd spend a full three hours gushing about his hero with his own antithesis.
Conan was, very, very late for dinner that night, and Ran was not happy.
…
Kaito, for his part, was absolutely astounded. He'd known that Kudo liked Holmes from the recon he'd done, but…he hadn't realized that it was a full-on mania of Hakuba-ic proportions. If Haku-chan wasn't so set on distrusting Tantei-kun's motives, those two could have been best friends.
Which reminded Kaito never to formally introduce them outside of a case so as not to give them the opportunity to bond. That would be bad as far as certain thieves were concerned.
But…Kaito had never seen Kudo Shinichi as animated as he was now that he was talking about his idol. I mean, for one, the kid was smiling. Ear to ear, actually smiling. Not that smirk he got when he'd figured it out. Not that grin he wore when he was on Kaito's trail. This was an honest to goodness smile of unsoiled, childlike joy.
And Edogawa Conan really was a cute kid when he smiled like that, rambling on and on about one of his favorite subjects in the world.
It kind of made Kaito see Kudo in a new light. Before the guy had just been grumpy, critical, and unimaginative. Freaking brilliant, but a sourpuss. Well, who wouldn't be with all of the death and the crime around them? But this Tantei-kun now…he was actually kind of fun and goofy and, honestly, likeable.
Even though Kaito didn't like Holmes quite that much, he still found himself having fun listening to Conan's gushings and watching life and enthusiasm fill someone whom Kaito had before thought of only as a grouchy old man trapped in a little kid's body. He was finally getting to see the real Kudo Shinichi, and he was a little surprised to discover how much he truly liked the guy.
Somehow several hours passed before either of them took any notice, and they were pulled out of their discussion by an angry call from Ran.
Conan bit his lip, seemingly torn as he looked back and forth between Kaito and the phone. "I…have to go home now."
Kaito nodded. "Yeah. Sorry to keep you out so late…. And sorry about getting your guardian mad at you," Kaito apologized sheepishly, chewing on the inside of his cheek.
"No, not at all." Conan waved his arms, waving Kaito's misconceptions away. "You weren't keeping me. It was definitely the other way around, and Ran will get over it. She's…testy lately, so…"
"Sorry," Kaito replied generically, not knowing what else to say. "…Did…you want to talk about it?"
Conan shook his head with a sigh. "No. Thanks. You know, I thought I did earlier, but…honestly, just going over it again and again and dwelling on the way things are isn't helping me. I really do feel a whole lot better now after talking with you about Holmes tonight. It…" He smiled bashfully down into his mug, empty save for the last dregs of coffee film (or tar or whatever that black stuff in the cup had been) still clinging to the side. "It was really revitalizing to just talk about fun stuff. That's the first time I've felt like me in a while, so…" He looked back up and cast the genuine grin on Kaito. "Thank you so much."
Kaito shrugged. "I had fun too. I wasn't so sure before, but now I'm really glad that I read those books."
"You have to read The Sign of Four!" the Holmes fan urged. "You have to, and then we can talk about it. I want to know what you think of Mary."
"Mary?" Kaito raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure he liked the introduction of a female name other than "Irene". He was kind of fond of the bromance Sherlock and John had, and he didn't want it screwed up by a woman.
Conan nodded. "Mary."
Kaito's forehead furrowed its way into a frown. "Well, now I have to read it," he sighed as he got up and paid the check.
They walked slowly to the door and proceeded towards the train station reluctantly.
"Can I see you again?" Conan asked, voice barely getting above a whisper of embarrassment.
Kaito shrugged. "I'll be having a heist next week. You can see me then."
Conan bit the inside of his cheek. "I meant…like tonight. I wasn't done talking about Holmes when Ran called, so…"
"I don't think you'll ever be done talking about Holmes," Kaito snickered.
The child seemed to shrink a little more. "I mean…if you don't mind listening…could we have coffee and talk about Holmes again sometime?"
"Sure. I don't mind." Kaito gave another shrug. "Like I said, I had fun too. Next Wednesday and Thursday are bad for me because of the heist, but…when did you have in mind?"
"Tomorrow?" the detective asked hopefully.
Kaito blinked but easily agreed…and then stayed up the whole night reading The Sign of Four.
…
On Day Two of their Sherlockian discussions, Kaito tried to do better with the outfit. He tried his best to think conservative, but…it was hard. He liked skin-tight clothes made of spandex, and he loved showing off just how good he was at cross-dressing by showing off his body, but…
Apparently Kudo Shinichi was a prude or he didn't want to be tempted by other women when he…well, kind of sort of had Mouri Ran. Maybe he was just afraid that Mouri-chan would find out that he'd ogled another girl's breasts and kick him through a concrete wall as punishment.
Whatever the reason behind it, Kudo Shinichi was the one Kaito was having coffee with, and he didn't want his liberated style of dress to scare the guy off, so Kaito would deign to play by the detective's rules and, therefore, try to dress a little more modestly.
Kaito failed.
Apparently a v-neck crop top and a short skirt with leggings underneath was still not Catholic-school-girl enough for Kudo Shinichi, upholder of virtue and purity.
So, in order to not be seen by anyone who might know Conan and tell Ran, they once more headed to Christie's to have their coffee date.
And that was okay. They still had a great time; Christie's was a wonderful café.
They talked, inevitably, about The Sign of Four and Mary Morstan.
Kaito spoke of how she seemed like a lovely woman, but he'd hated her from the first and really wished John would stop feeling protective of her and talking about how pretty she was.
Talk of Mary eventually spurred a discussion of the many wives of Watson theory and a lesson for Kaito in the chronology.
Out of all of this was born a very interesting conversation:
"They're not gay," Conan snorted. "I'm pretty sure Holmes is asexual."
Kaito raised an eyebrow and then rolled his (presently) peridot eyes at that. "Clearly you know nothing of gay. Trust me. I know gay, and I know gay when I see it. Sherlock and John are in love; they're just a bit too awkward and British to know what to do with their feelings." As a side note, Kaito added, "And believe me, I'm very familiar with British too. Haku-chan's family has provided me with plenty of source material."
Conan seemed to hesitate before he answered, opening and closing his mouth several times before asking, "Are…you…gay? I mean…you talked about a girl you loved, but…? I mean, is she really…a she, or…were you just…?"
The detective's face blew up like a volcano, his cheeks turning the most resplendent shade of crimson outside of an amaryllis. "S-Sorry!" he quickly backpedaled. "Never mind! I'm sorry! That was rude! Of course you're not gay! I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate that—"
"I'm bi," Kaito replied without fuss and completely unashamed. If Kudo had a problem with that, then he wasn't really worth talking to anyway. "I honestly prefer girls—thus the one I'm in love with—but…I find guys attractive too."
It took almost a full minute of Conan staring and blinking at Kaito for those words to process. The detective twitched a little and then began to fidget.
"Problem?" Kaito asked with all the cool nonchalance of an American spy from the films.
Conan shook his head. "No. No. That's…good. Fine. Everything's fine." Still he squirmed uncomfortably.
Kaito couldn't help but snicker. "Oh please. Don't flatter yourself. I'm not into little kids of either gender, and you, friend, are not my type. So you can go back to happily chatting about Holmes now because I have no nefarious designs to molest you." He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Why do straight guys tend to think queer guys are all sex-crazed perverts? I've never understood that."
"Fear of the unknown." Conan shrugged. "I think…woman are a lot more resilient because they're used to the idea that guys could possibly hit on them. I mean, that's why we have the female-only car in trains and stuff. Men generally can walk around without worrying about being bothered, but…" He pursed his lips, trying to decide how he wanted to phrase it. "I think the problem is that guys are afraid of being treated like women…or how they treat women, anyway. It's kind of scary and uncomfortable since men are used to being at the top of the food chain. The thought that someone could prey on them is…unsettling."
Kaito hummed in thought. "Interesting. Thanks for clearing that up. Let me take this opportunity to inform you that I'm the one that likes being treated like a woman, so you've nothing to fear from me."
Shinichi wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse…. He felt more awkward than anything, but at the same time…he was morbidly curious.
"So…that explains a lot." Conan cleared his throat and got his wiggle-fit of uneasiness out of his system. "I mean…" He gestured to the way Kaito was dressed.
Kaito blinked and then chuckled when he understood. "Oh? This? No. Sort of, but… No. You see…it's easier to get around as a woman. People make concessions for you, give in to the puppy-dog eyes. A lot of my tricks wouldn't be as affective if I went around as a guy because a lot of the people I have to deal with are male. Disguising myself as a girl just makes things easier for me. It doesn't have anything to do with my sexual preferences…at the moment, anyway. Sometimes it does. The other day at the mall, it was partially about the shoes, partially about wanting to see guys drooling over me. You see, I've got this ego that needs constant stroking. I'm very high maintenance, so…"
"I've noticed." Conan smiled wryly. "…So…"
"So?" Kaito echoed.
"We're cool? We can still be…" He squirmed once more, shying away from the word. "You know…tentatively friends until you tell me about your mission and I decide whether or not it's a good enough of a reason? We can still…hang out like this, even though I'm kind of a homophobe?"
Kaito chuckled, glad that things seemed okay between them. It would have been a shame to have to break things off with Kudo over something like a silly prejudice.
"Yeah. We're good, Tantei-kun," he assured. "And you're not a homophobe. You're just uneducated. Like you said, fear of the unknown. Once you know me better, I'm sure you'll be able to embrace others like me as human beings deserving of love and respect."
Conan nodded slowly, still wondering about that. "So…you really think that Holmes and Watson…?"
"Definitely," Kaito decreed with authority.
They talked for a good two hours more about figuring out the chronology and fan theories about Sherrinford Holmes and other such things. They even dipped into Hemlock Shears or Herlock Sholmes of the Lupin series and how greatly that portrayal differed from what Kaito now knew of the great detective.
Sadly, their discussion was once more cut short by angry phone calls from irate guardians.
They agreed to reconvene the next night to go over The Hound of the Baskervilles and to watch the fist season of BBC's Sherlock at Shinichi's friend Professor Agasa's house.
…
The third night, Kaito made sure that his apparel was appropriate. He wore booty shorts and a cute, off-the-shoulder top that just exposed a sliver of his midriff. The top was billowy and of a soft, coral color. He did his dyed auburn hair up in a braided bun with some wispy bangs hanging down and framing his face, done up in minimalistic, natural-looking makeup. To this he added his favorite Grecian-style wedges: tan leather with straps going up to mid-calf. As the finishing touch, he went into his mother's room (formerly the guestroom…before…) and borrowed her pink pearl earrings, necklace, and bracelet.
There. Classy and yet sexy at the same time. Kaito burned with confidence as he made his way to the Beika District.
Upon his arrival at the Professor's house, the young girl in residence—the other not-child, the one he'd almost been blown to smithereens in order to save—greeted Kaito with a stare of suspicion.
"Edogawa-kun! Your 'friend' is here."
Kaito could hear the air quotes in the small blonde's perpetually bored-sounding tone.
And then the young scientist walked away muttering, "Who dresses up like that to come over and talk about books and watch movies?" She next addressed the Professor, not bothering to whisper. "Keep an eye on her. I bet she's a sexual predator. Look. She looks like she's dressed up for a date." Back to Conan: "Edogawa-kun, you didn't meet her on the internet or something like that, did you? One of those Holmes forums?"
"Haibara!" the shrunken sleuth screeched, face flushing in mortification. "You're being rude!"
The girl gave an indignant sniff, a shrug, and then headed back down into the basement.
Kaito began to fidget in character, pushing a bang behind his ear in a nervous gesture. "I thought I looked nice," he mumbled.
"You do! Don't worry. You do," Conan assured, showing Kaito in and over to the couch. "The shorts are a little…well, at least I can't see your underwear today, but—The rest of your outfit looks really nice. You did a good job today."
"Thanks," Kaito chuckled with a proud grin.
And then Professor Agasa himself tentatively approached, setting a tea tray and some snacks down on the coffee table in front of Kaito. "So…what was your friend's name again, Conan-kun?"
The little detective froze, fishing for a lie.
"Kai." Kaito spoke first with a charming smile. "We met on one of his cases."
"Oh." The Professor nodded, still a little unsure.
"She's fine, Hakase," Conan assured, vouching for the thief.
The old man looked unsure of whether he should believe the boy or not (being well acquainted with Shinichi's propensity for lying), but he nodded and left, saying, "Well, just let me know if you need anything."
This time Conan had informed Ran that he had no intention of returning to the Agency that night and that he would be going to school in the morning from the Professor's house, so Kaito and Shinichi's Sherlock marathon was allowed to stretch on into the wee hours of the night uninterrupted…until three o'clock in the morning when Haibara came up from the basement to find her…friend? …classmate? …Kudo-kun (?) and the mystery girl asleep on the couch, cuddling.
Haibara shook only Kaito awake so that she could give him a warning about the laws protecting children from predators. Free of charge, she threw in a lecture about cougars and the reputation 'Kai' would get for messing around with little boys almost half her age.
She concluded with a firm, "So I think you should leave now" that positively irradiated Kaito's skin with it's icy venom.
That young woman gave Kaito the same "Uh-oh. Danger!" feeling that he normally received from Akako when she was up to something witchy.
Still, Kaito stood his ground. "Thank you very much for your concern, Miss, but the trains stopped running a few hours ago, and I don't have money for a cab."
He closed his eyes, curling up in the pillows like a chinchilla as he added, "Besides. I'm not a girl; I'm a cross-dresser, and I don't like little boys whether they're actually mentally fifty or not. So I thank you once more and bid you goodnight, young lady."
Haibara frowned, not sure what to make of the strange…was that really a man?! on her couch.
She pursed her lips, determining to leave things be for now…. Leave things be, but definitely lock her bedroom door.
She'd interrogate Kudo-kun on the way to school the next morning.
…
Mikau: So…anyone else hate Mary purely because she breaks up the bromance? I think she's a lovely person; I just can't stand her in canon. But BBC's Mary…she's kind of fabulous. I just couldn't hate her. Anyway, this is kind of a screwball chapter. Some parts I really, really like, but then there are others that I just think…ugh. On a random note, now that I've figured out how to work the Flavia machine at the law firm I'm temping at, I really want to get hired permanently. It makes green tea lattes for me. My needs are few and simple. As my Poirot family can attest to, nothing makes me happier than green milk tea. Also, I'm seriously thinking about working on The Healing Process this month. Yay? Wish me luck.