A/N: I would've loved to have had this updated on its one year mark but I was on the road without internet- which was disappointing and difficult to do. Still hard to imagine that it's one full year and it's still not done. Anyways, I want to thank everyone who's been here through it all and for all the reviews and favorites
Fingertips moved to massage at the dull thundering behind his temples as the chair beneath him squeaked slightly when he leaned back in. Despite multiple phone calls out to the city council building and even calls to their personal numbers, it seemed like no one wanted to bother with speaking to him directly. All he got was secretaries all day who rattled off excuses about their absences, even when he knew for a fact that they were probably in their offices just watching the red light on the phones go on and off. He guessed it was naïve to think that they would have at least had the decency or maturity to speak with him directly, but he supposed they knew too well of his ill-feelings towards such… a showy event. And here of all places. It was problematic and risky but hell it had been done in the past, really once during his own internship here but even then he opted to skip out on it; now, he didn't have the luxury of doing so.
A soft knock at his office door was probably the last thing he wanted but he called them in anyways; it would probably be best if he had something to distract him from this mess.
"Hey, I just got a call from the City offices and they wanted me to pass on some details about that whole shindig-" Cirucci started as she pushed her way through the doorway; a small notebook in one hand with a list of things running down the middle and other such scribbled in the margins. She stopped in mid-sentence and watched as he removed his glasses to set aside before he covered his face with his hands. "Hmm, yeah something about that doesn't seem right."
"It's not like I've been trying to get in contact with them all day or anything." he remarked in a slight mutter; an edge of near bitterness in his tone.
"Well, out of the two of us, I am the prettier one so I can see why they'd want to speak to me first." she shrugged lightly as she used the pointed heel of her shoe to push the door back closed behind her. "Anyways, let me just rattle off this list real quick for you. But uh… well they settled on a date, they want the whole shindig to go down next Friday since apparently they don't think it's going to be all too crowded then; they want to use a few of the break rooms, which they'll clear out by Thursday and get everything set up- that way they won't be in the way and the hospital could still function if necessary. They've already hired caterers, a clean up crew and most of the technicians to get everything prepared, so that'll get all of that off your back. Uh… what else?" she glanced back down the list to see what else could have been missed; a lot of her scribbling was about pointless matters that she had written down in a haste of the man's words on the other line. "Also, they requested that you'd be there and you have to have a date; I tried to explain to them that you're kind of a solitaire figure but they insisted and even tried to persuade me into filling the position but I was just like-"
"Cirucci, please stop talking."
"You have to admit, that was pretty good."
He eventually moved his hands and pushed them through his hair before he slipped his glasses back on. "Did they make any kind of specifications of how long I had to attend this thing?"
"Well no, not really." she answered. "But they probably want you there for more than just 'walk in, walk back out' kind of deal."
"There goes my plan then."
A quiet sigh escaped her as she cleared the space between the two and took the corner of his desk as a seat once more. "I take it you're not one of those big, up and flashy kind of people right? These kind of events must just drive underneath your skin."
"Not as much as you do, but yeah something like it." he nodded.
"Come on, I'm trying to help here and you're being a butt to me."
He took note of the light frown that curved her purple lips; she was giving a good attempt at making light of the entire situation… he supposed he should give her credit for that much. "I know, it's just that this entire scenario has put me in a bad mood… the fact that they would go over me and go out of their way to avoid further contact from me… they just really don't want to fight this thing; they just want an easy decision without any conflict."
"Can you blame them? Given the chance, you'd probably murder them all in their sleep."
"I'm not going to confirm or deny the possibility of that response." Ishida started. "But it looks like we're stuck in it for the long run now… might as well pull together some kind of staff meeting and inform everyone of it- unfortunately."
"Good, then Milianne and I can cut work this weekend and go shopping for a dress."
"Do you really have to be there though?"
"I don't know whether to take that as an insult or, well actually that's just kind of insulting to be honest. Since when were you so upbeat on keeping me hidden?"
"That is not it, it's just… I don't know, I'm not entirely sure if I feel comfortable with you at such a public event like that."
"I think you're just oversensitive and I also think you don't want me there because you don't want people to see me get all dressed up and pretty; you're just going to be jealous."
He tried not to let himself laugh at her explanation and managed to hold a fairly decent, stoic expression- despite the difficulty in that matter. "You know what… let's just not fight about this… you just go out and get yourself a new dress."
She watched as he seemed to be withholding something from her and took note of the slightly strain he put on himself. "You're… you're fucking laughing, aren't you?"
"What? No, I just… you should probably leave before I completely lose it." he chuckled.
"I ought to kill you."
"It's nothing… you're very pretty, that's all."
She frowned once more before she pushed herself to her feet. "Oh, I'm going to make you regret that."
He probably should've guessed at some kind of credibility in her threat but… still there was some kind of humor to be found in it. He only nodded and watched as she turned on her heel and eventually left his office; shit, he was probably going to regret that later but for now… he could at least enjoy it while it lasted. In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure why he didn't want her there… maybe a minor offset of paranoia but her reaction to it was near priceless.
"Oh fuck, Ishida…" he muttered quietly to himself as fingers moved to press against his aching temples once more. "She really is going to be the death of you."
"Are you sure you wanted me to come along?" Milianne questioned as she shuffled her way through the rows of finely designed dresses that ranged from long trains to simple cuts that she still would've had to brave her way through. The bright colors were of little interest to her as she tried to find something a bit more modest and not so flashy. "I'm not exactly going all out for this thing, in fact I'm really not even sure if I'm going to be on shift for the night or not."
"Oh don't worry for it, I always like a little company when I shop." Cirucci assured; finding herself more attracted to the long gowns that seemed to grace the floor even after being hung up along the walls. She slowly made her way down the large display as she tried to at first observe what style she wished, what kind of cuts she wanted, and then she could go with a color and find a dress that matched her wants as best it could. Maybe she was a little picky when it came down to finding the perfect dress but hell… she deserved to look her best. "I figured we both needed a new outfit and we both had the time off so why not?"
"I think our age gap might be a bit hindering but I guess a little outside opinion would be helpful." the woman eventually agreed as she pulled out an emerald-green dress from the racks to examine closer. "Our preferences for style are sure to be polar opposite as well."
"Believe me, my friend, Nell, and I had completely different dress styles and we were always arguing back and forth about them. She preferred the around the neck hold while I was about the off-the-shoulder look; she liked a lot of the low back cuts and I preferred front ones; she favored dull colors and I was much of a fan to the brighter ones. Polar opposites in all sorts of aspects, we had a difficult time shopping but it was always an honest opinion."
"That in itself is normally valued more than anything." Milianne chuckled as she pulled the dress from before free and draped it over one arm as she moved on to the next. "So… do you have a date for the dance?"
"Yeah but he doesn't want me there, which means I have to get a stellar dress and make him regret that choice in the first place." Cirucci answered before several more, brightly-adorned dresses that hung on a rack just to her left caught her attention. "I do intend on making him eat his words and… making a show of the event."
Another soft chuckle left the older woman as she pulled one more dress free and laced it over her arm, which was slowly becoming more and more crowded. "Well, you know how men can be under pressure, maybe it's just a sense of jealousy."
"See, I said that to him before and he just laughed." Cirucci muttered as fingers lightly pushed their way through the different rows of dressed before she landed on one that drew her attention freely. "What about you? Do you have a date for this thing?" she glanced over at the woman who was running through some of the racks just a few rows down from her; there seemed to be the hint of a grin on her face. "Ooh, does that mean yes?" she pressed.
Hands lightly tucked away a loose strand of hair and she merely shrugged back towards the younger woman. "I wouldn't really say 'date' but there is someone who asked me to accompany him- probably only because no one else would."
She chuckled to herself and pulled loose the new dress that seemed to beg to be tried on. "Well… I think Albert would make for a cute 'date.' I don't see anything wrong with it, you should get a dress that'll impress him."
"At this age? I don't have to impress anyone."
"But it's far more fun to do so."
"Is that how the younger generation works now?"
She shrugged back at the woman and turned to see where the closest dressing room was located. "I wouldn't say that's how all of us work but… when you have someone who's as stubborn as that date of mine… you have to make him nervous somehow."
