2024-10-15: Warming Up

• Log: 2024-10-15- Warming Up
• Cast: Akane Shinjo, Rikka Takarada
• Where: Nouvelle Tokyo - Takarada-Shinjo Residence
• OOC - IC Date: 0099-10-15
• Summary: After a long day on both ends (though a happy one!) Akane and Rikka debrief in a warm bed. Cool October weather is nice if you're not alone.

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<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

With a long, almost wistful sigh, Akane flops onto the bed and stares up at the ceiling. It's done.

Well, okay -- the model is done. The real ring -- the one she's going to present to Rikka -- will require getting time with 3G's fabrication lab after she gets grades back from that, and then require her to take it to a gemologist. Those steps are boring and easy, though, comparatively (other than getting time); actually making the ring is far and away the hardest part. Even though physical art is her usual approach, working with metal has been relatively new for her -- and a ring requires a whole lot of incredibly fine detail and much more... aggressive tools. It's been a fun challenge, though it's also been -- well -- a challenge, and Akane's a little exhausted by the all-day round of effort it took to finish.

She might normally try to get her feet under her with some household tasks -- but right now she just wants a few minutes to lie down. Whether that's alone or together is up to Rikka.

... well, strictly speaking it's not up to Rikka exclusively, because about 50 seconds after she flops down, Balam hops up from the floor to the bed, and then from the edge of the bed to Akane's stomach.

"Hi there," Akane murmurs, scritching his cheeks without moving to look.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Akane flops onto the bed - and something next to her shifts. That's the only warning she gets before an arm goes around her waist as Rikka, who had already been lying in bed, herself, rolls over to look at her.

She's trapped now, by her girlfriend and her cat.

"Hey~." Rikka greets with a small smile. "Long day?"

It's not hard to tell, from the way she flopped onto the bed with a sigh. She doesn't need to be a Newtype to figure that much out.

Rikka can sympathise - she's had a fairly long, busy day, herself. It's no wonder, then, that she'd be laying in bed rather than anywhere else in the house.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Akane lets Rikka pull her in, and smiles warmly; nestling in, she says, "Yeah. I think my first project this term was a little on the ambitious side... getting it done on time meant skipping lunch today! I really wanted this one to be perfect..." She gently nudges Balam off her stomach so she can adjust her own postion to get even closer to Rikka.

He does not stay off for more than a few seconds.

"I'm really looking forward to showing you," Akane says with just a hint of teasing in her voice, "but the grading process is going to be a while. For this one I have to show it to, uh, kind of a lot of people to get everything handled."

Akane may be sliding to a different meaning of 'grading' silently -- the kind that involves taking the product of 3G's fabrication lab to a gemologist.

"What about you?" she asks, gently pushing a stray hair out of Rikka's face. "You seem like you had a pretty long one too..."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Akane nestles in and for a moment Rikka shuts her eyes, satisfied, as she listens to Akane recount her day.

"You've been working on that one for a while. I'm looking forward to seeing it, too." Rikka replies. It sounds like she's been working hard on it - putting all that effort in to make sure everything's just right. She blinks for a moment, though, as Akane brings up the grading process. "I didn't realise it was that involved... I'm sure it'll make the cut, though, with how much you've put into it."

Rikka's arm shifts just briefly to give Balam a quick scratch behind the ears, but soon enough, it goes back around Akane's waist. A smile crosses her face as Akane adjusts her hair.

"Yeah. I had to go in pretty early for some tests, so they could see how I'm doing." Rikka replies. "Good news is, though... I'm done - I've got a clean bill of health, now."

She seems proud to report that, at least.

"...But I had to make it to classes right after, and around lunch time I got a call that one of the houses we were looking into had a sudden opening in their tour schedule, so I rushed to snag it. I went right there after classes, so, it's been a lot of running around today, for me." Rikka concludes. It really has been a busy day for both of them.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Yeah... this was a way bigger project than I'm used to, and the materials situation is kinda complicated," Akane explains, as she rolls her shoulders a bit and makes herself more comfortable. Balam experimentally bats at her shoulder in response. "Aah -- we have got to trim his claws," she mumbles, as she notices they're long and pointy enough to be felt through her blouse.

Akane continues to settle in, closing her eyes for a few moments as Rikka recounts her own day. "Oh, that's right, that was today... For some reason I thought it was Thursday? I was wondering why you were gone before I even got up," she murmurs. When Rikka reports her results, though, Akane starts tearing up a little bit; she scoots in much closer, and now it's her turn to put her arm around Rikka. "I'm so glad..." she murmurs. While she doesn't quite reach a full-on cry... Rikka can plainly see the relief on her face.

The mention of house tours, though -- that stops her from diving too deep into that complex emotion. "What did you think of the place? I had a tour before I got home today, too, but it was the owners and not an agent? And they got kinda weird about my age, even when I showed them my work ID -- and I had my portfolio too, and even then... plus the bedrooms are like, way too small for the kind of money they're asking! It's a skip."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka nods thoughtfully, at that.

"I guess it would be, when you're working with different kinds of materials... still, I'm proud of you for seeing it through to the end." Rikka replies - and pauses. "Oh yeah, it'd be around the time for that, huh..."

That'll be an undertaking of its own.

"Mm-hm." Rikka confirms with a nod, that it was today - and when Akane tears up, scooting closer and putting an arm around her, Rikka hugs her closer in turn. "Me too. It's a relief, honestly... We'll have to do something to celebrate."

It sounds like Rikka wasn't the only one with a house tour today, though - Rikka listens, her interested expression slowly shifting to a frown.

"Don't think I'd want to give them any money, anyway. It's no big loss." Rikka replies. As for the place she was looking at... "It was kind of nice, for the most part. The rooms are decently-sized and there's a lot of space in and around it. I think there's a lot we could do with it... The neighborhood isn't bad, either. On the other hand, though, getting up close to see it for myself, I could tell there were some parts where it needs some work done. I think we could make it work, but it'd take a little effort. So it might be better to put it on the fall-back pile."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Definitely," Akane says, expression bright. "For celebrating... maybe iberico pork? Oh, or bluefin... we haven't really done anything with pork in a while though and I kinda have the craving now." Meat is one of the few foods that has improved in quality and accessibility in the Universal Century -- and Akane's dying to cook something interesting.

As Rikka talks about the tour she did, Akane cuddles in even further, practically planting her face just under Rikka's neck, along her breastbone. She is listening -- but it feels so nice to have that level of closeness.

"Hmmm... how's the earth floor?" Akane asks, curious. "I don't mind doing a little improvement on the place, because that usually means it'll be cheaper overall, but I dunno if we have that kind of energy to put toward it with everything else going on either..." She affirms, "Definitely a maybe. We can keep looking."

She definitely seems less exhausted -- more content -- as she stays settled in. "We've got a decent number of fallbacks already," she murmurs into Rikka's breastbone. "Maybe we should start looking closer to Bay Tower? I know that's kinda expensive but maybe it'll be cheaper on the east side because of those kaiju attacks..."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Pork or bluefin... Rikka rolls that over in her head - and, eventually, Akane's point does win her over.

"Pork does sound good... now that I don't have to worry about my dietary restrictions anymore I kind of want to get into some of the stuff I couldn't have over the past few weeks." Rikka agrees.

Akane cuddles in even further - and in return Rikka rests her chin atop Akane's head, taking a moment to just appreciate that closeness.

"Hmm... so-so? I don't think it'd cause us any problems, but it's not like... remarkable. I can show you the pictures." Later, of course. "You're right though... That can be kind of a big undertaking."

'Maybe's are fine, though! More options is better than fewer. Akane does have a good suggestion, though, and Rikka rolls it around in her head for a moment.

"That would make it easier to get to and from work... And the places are probably a bit nicer." Rikka thinks for a moment. "I think... it might be worth at least looking, yeah."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Oh, yeah, definitely. Then pork it is!" Akane hasn't had a chance to cook pork in a while; the two of them have a fairly conventional Japanese diet, which means more fish and eggs than other proteins. It's nice to change things up!

"Hmm... okay," she says. ('So-so' is already Akane's absolute bottom; anything worse would probably fall out of contention really fast.) "Yeah, when we get up... right now I kinda wanna just stay here," she says, as Balam hops up onto Akane's side, then walks over to Rikka's, then lands behind her and starts gently bonking his head into her shoulder blades.

"Ehehehe... they're certainly mostly new construction," Akane points out, with characteristic gallows humor. "I bet we can get some tips at work, too. I know Keita and Hinoki are like right up there, so we can ask them what it was like? ... probably Hinoki first." Akane wasn't around for Keita's house getting crushed and the ensuing insurance claims...

... but she's heard stories.

"Your hair is so fluffy today... did you do something special?" Akane asks, as she feels a bit of it brush against her cheek.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"Sounds good." Rikka replies. It'll be nice - they haven't really had a whole lot of opportunity to indulge themselves. It's a reminder that she'll have to pick up her gym regimen again, too...

...But that can wait, just a little.

That gets an 'okay' - and as Akane says she justs want to stay here Rikka smirks, just slightly.

"No complaints here~." Rikka agrees. Balam hops up, climbing over top of them, bonking her shoulder blades with his head...

She shifts, just a little, to give him a gentle nudge of acknowledgment.

"Yeah, they would be..." Rikka replies thoughtfully - and she can't help smirk just a little at Akane's characteristic humor. Still, a thoughtful look crosses her face soon after.

"That's a good point... I'm sure they'd have some good advice." Rikka agrees. It's good to get the perspective of people who've been through it before.

She smiles, though, as Akane compliments her hair - looking pleased that it's been noticed.

"You like it? I had to switch conditioners, so I changed up my routine a bit to accomodate it..." Rikka explains. "I think it worked out pretty well."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

It's not as though a few weeks off will instantly undo all their effort -- though it comes on the heels of another few weeks off for completely different reasons... so it might be good to get back on the horse sooner than later. Akane nods, saying, "This weekend, then! I'll look forward to it."

... She likes seeing Rikka push herself. It's a little selfish.

She focuses in on the hair instead, then. "Oh, I can super tell when you say it like that. Your hair's always really amazing, but the texture's really great like this." Akane slides her hand up gradually, starting to play with it a bit. "I should probably switch conditioners too... I keep noticing how limp my hair gets. I've got a little breakage too... I haven't been taking great care of it this month." She shakes her head, saying, "Later."

Balam gives Rikka one last bonk before pressing back to back and curling up. He seems content with this interaction.

Akane's quiet for several seconds, just appreciating Rikka's hair -- and the moment as a whole, really. Her expression turns thoughtful after a little while, though... "How's class going? Do you feel like you still need some help in applied engineering?" Akane actually had a little fun with that when she came last week... there's something about seeing mechanisms work that's more fun than it ought to be.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"Great. I'll look forward to it, too. We can come up with some things we can make together." Rikka replies, with a small nod of her own.

Akane makes some observations and Rikka smiles, content to let her play with her hair.

"I'm glad." Rikka replies, sounding pleased. "I paid a little more for it, but I think it's been worth it."

Akane considers switching, too, and she gives it some thought.

"Hmm... I can give you some suggestions? I know a few that might work well for your hair..." Rikka offers. "We can look into it later."

Balam gives her one last bonk before curling up against her. Rikka looks pleased about that, too.

Akane is quiet, and Rikka is fine with the quiet, too - taking a moment to just appreciate laying here with her(and Balam too, of course.)

"It's going great, thanks. It's starting to pick back up a bit, but now that I've got my energy back I've got more than enough to meet it." Rikka replies - and considers the offer. "I don't think I need the help anymore... but if you ever wanted to stop by again sometime, I wouldn't say no, either."

She smiles.

"I really appreciated it, though. You made things go a lot more smoothly."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Oh, that'd be great!" Akane says, brightly. Hair care is another thing that tends to go out the window when she starts feeling overwhelmed, and the last couple of months have been... difficult at best.

Akane reaches over Rikka a little, shifting position and finally pulling her face off of Rikka's breastbone; Balam gets a couple more headscritches before Akane moves up to look into Rikka's eyes. "That sounds perfect. I'm a little ahead of schedule on class stuff now myself so I might stop by again? It's really cool to watch you work." Her expression turns warm in a faraway way as she adds, "It's like a whole different side of you that I mostly don't get to see around the house... then again, none of our stuff has broken yet." Something hits her abruptly -- "I guess it's kinda the same as when you pick a lock, ehehe. We really haven't had the occasion for that one in a while..."

That's a fond memory, and it draws Akane a little more into the bed. "Hmmm..." Akane leans in, letting out a much more contented sigh this time. "How long should we lie here before we get up and make dinner? It's really comfy in here..." A little more playing with Rikka's hair, now -- Akane seems fascinated by the texture.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"Great." Rikka replies with a smile. It's something that'd help Akane out, and it's just something she likes to talk about.

Akane shifts and Rikka moves a little too to accomodate her as she pulls away and gives Balam some headscritches. Rikka's eyes meet Akane's, and she gives her a small smile.

"Okay. Any time." Rikka replies with a nod. A whole different side of her, huh... "I've been learning about this kind of stuff since I was a kid to help out around the shop, so... it's relaxing, I guess. I get to just focus in on something and take care of it."

She nods, though.

"Yeah... Well, if it does happen, I probably know what to do about it." She says. Akane brings up picking a lock - and Rikka chuckles softly, at that.

"We haven't, huh... We did have one good one, at least." She replies. She still remembers that night fondly, too.

Akane leans in, and Rikka leans in in turn.

How long... Rikka considers that thoughtfully. Ultimately...

"We should probably get around to that..." Rikka admits - and then, gives Akane another hug, cuddling in. "...I think we can afford just a little bit longer, though."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"That makes a lot of sense... it's a pretty nice thing to learn. I'm not actually really handy or anything... the Mobile desk needs to know some of that stuff and it's kinda why as it got harder it kinda ended up being the wrong desk for me?" Akane lets out a brief 'heh,' then smiles. The false start... is kind of a nice memory in its own way -- because it's what led to here, now, in bed, talking their way through the week.

"... Okay. Just a few minutes," Akane whispers, gently kissing Rikka's cheek -- then her neck -- then nuzzling back in.

"... I like the way it starts to get a little colder in October now," she says, feeling Rikka's warm breath near her head.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"It is. It's... kind of a relief, knowing that if something goes wrong I know how to fix it." Rikka replies. It'll save them a lot of trouble in the long run. She nods, though. "Yeah... I could see that."

She smiles, just a bit.

"You ended up where you needed to be eventually, at least." Rikka concludes.

Akane agrees - and Rikka feels pleasantly warm for a moment at those gentle kisses.

"Me too." Rikka agrees, appreciating the warmth of Akane in her arms.