mitochondriaaya | Break ins!

"...and then I said how was I suppose to know the difference right? Denture paste, tooth paste? Who knew one was glue?!" Kyle laughed and held open the door to her floor. They'd just exited the stairwell after Kyle's normal night of taking Darlene out.

Pheh. Normal. That was a depressing thought. "Well...they do put nice, step by step pictures on the side of one of them?" That was a CLUE Mr. Detective.

"Who reads toothpaste tubes? Really, I just passed it to him!"

"...I do? Janna's allergic to Xylitol and a lot of toothpastes have that in as a sweetener." Because it was bacteria neutral or something. Anyway! "So do a lot of chewing gums, so no giving her gum unless you've checked!"

That was...not the come back he was expecting. "What the fuck is Xylitol?" She was making that shit up wasn't she?

"No, honest! It's a fake sweetener! Toothpaste can't use sugar right? That defeats the point of brushing, so they use fake stuff but Janna's allergic. The doctor said it wasn't uncommon!" SHE WAS NOT MAKING IT UP!

"Huh," weird. "What do you use then?"

"Toothpastes that are mainly baking soda based with mint extracts!" The whole family did! It was a solidarity thing!

"Damn allergies huh?" Kyle smiled as they turned down her hall then...froze, hand reaching for the gun he wasn't wearing. Fuck. "Darlene, stay here." The door was kicked in.

"What? You need my key t-" Oh. OH. THAT WAS HER DOOR. WHO WOULD WANT TO KICK HER DOOR IN?!

"I think some of those people Traver pissed off may have stopped by. I'll look around."

Darlene nodded mutely, wide eyed...then lifted her cell to her ear to call Traver the moment her partner went into the apartment. Because...that was her life in there. Her material life. She needed to talk to Traver.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

sliceitwithwind

"Ditto."

Dilan laughed at them some more before reaching down to pick Sheeva up and off the little people, "C'mon, guys, up and off the rug. Sheeva is quite excited enough...and I'm not taking her for her nightly walk." Breaker wouldn't, after all.

From:

mitochondriaaya

"No, but you'll follow us," Aya countered cheerfully as she worked on untangling herself from Braig. "Breaker follows Traver after all, and Darlene will go because it's her dog and she likes walking with Traver anyway." Ah, character logic.

So much fun.

"We'll put her on the retractable and let her run double or triple what we do."

From:

sliceitwithwind

"We could go down to the park." Braig suggested, "Let her run in circles there rather than try to keep her from running into the streets." He worried!

"Fair enough. Nobody in the park will bother us at this hour."

From:

mitochondriaaya

"Good plan, and she'd love to chase any of the little things that come out when the park is quiet!" With the retractable at full extension there was plenty of chase to give too! set the pup wear herself out on mice and racoons!

"Staging anything tonight or just a quiet, hand holding walk?" Because they had no idea when there would be observers now really, so best to plan ahead!

From:

sliceitwithwind

"Quiet walk. Darlene's all shaken up, only going out 'cause the dog needs a walk." Braig said.

From:

mitochondriaaya

"That was my thought, I just wanted to make sure." Because the boys could have noted things she didn't after all! "How good are we at detecting bugs? If Kyle's coming over regular to pick up Darlene..." They didn't want this small haven compromised really.

From:

sliceitwithwind

"I've got some stuff to do regular sweeps." Dilan promised quietly, "I'll check everything you bring in, and Breaker will keep Madigan out of the apartment."

From:

mitochondriaaya

"That will frustrate him no end." Aya reached out to wrap a warm little hand around Dilan's ankle. "I'll do my best not to bring home anything I've left unattended." Things could live in her locker, easy. Especially since she'd trust precinct security over any apartment now.

From:

sliceitwithwind

"Good. Safety first, after all." Braig rubbed at his missing eye, and the doorbell rang. Dilan hopped off the couch, bringing back their pizzas. So many pizzas!

From:

mitochondriaaya

So many pizzas and not for Sheeva! The sad puppy was going to sit on Dilan's ankles and look hopeful.

"Always safety first. Hmmm, No one needs to be buzzed in in this building. How do we intercept Kyle?"

From:

sliceitwithwind

"I answer the door." Dilan said quietly, "Always. It only makes sense, Traver wouldn't have many people over himself, and Breaker would be there to vet them."

From:

mitochondriaaya

"And on Breaker's off days?" She countered just as quiet and serious. "You will need them."

From:

sliceitwithwind

"I do." Braig said, "Kyle won't try to push past me into the place, he might try to push past you."

From:

mitochondriaaya

"He would, too." She admitted sourly. "He might even find Darlene trying to block him 'cute'." In his patronizing, annoying way.

"I don't know which way he'll crack after tonight. More obsession? Trying his damnedest to get Darlene out of Traver's again or will he play cold 'make her beg for forgiveness for yelling at him'?" It frustrated her to not have a reliable prediction.

From:

sliceitwithwind

"No clue." Dilan said, "He didn't really give indicators either way. Just that he was pissed that you weren't jumping at the chance to move in with him."

"Traver," said Braig, "is almost as smug as me at that."

From:

mitochondriaaya

"Why are you smug?" Aya laughed. "It's not like there was a chance I would move in with him!" No chance in Hell.

Darlene on the other hand, well, she could understand that worry.

"Darlene was already starting to feel a little foolish to keep up the 'living alone' bit anyway. She's made a mumble or two at the girls, though not to Kyle directly." And the break in would be the last straw really. "If he turns the 'enemies of Traver broke in' to 'Traver sent someone to trash your place so you'd move back in' Darlene will smack him.

From:

sliceitwithwind

"Smug is a normal state for him." Dilan said, tugging the pony-tail gently, "It's sort of default."

Braig, meanwhile, just gestured at Dilan. Who WOULDN'T be smug if they had a Dilan? Then, "Heh. I'd pay to see that. The smack, I mean."

From:

mitochondriaaya

"Ah, so it's just omnipresent smug, not situational smug." Aya grinned around her slice of pizza and...well, nodded when Braig gestured. Who wouldn't be smug over dating Dilan?

"It probably wouldn't happen in 'public'. It'd have to be something Kyle could brush off later and that wouldn't happen if other important people saw it."

From:

sliceitwithwind

"Oh, yeah, I know." Braig said, "You're just gonna have to describe it in detail later if it happens."

"Eternally smug, yes." Dilan said, bending down to kiss Braig's hair.

From:

mitochondriaaya

"In dramatic detail," Aya promised easily. "Possibly with hand puppets if I'm a little slap happy afterward." Because even the idea of being able to hit Kyle made her grin.

"And I guess he's got cause really."

From:

sliceitwithwind

"Don't encourage him!" Dilan said, "He's hard enough to deal with as-is."

Braig stuck his tongue out at Dilan before answering Aya, "I can make puppets, easy."

From:

mitochondriaaya

"Not encouraging! Just pointing out fact!" She held up her hands in mock-surrender. "It's just truth! Hot, skilled, and he has the worlds best significant other! Do you want some kind of crippling issue to balance that out?"

From:

sliceitwithwind

"Damn," said Braig, "I am good."

Dilan just laughed, slapping his forehead.

From:

mitochondriaaya

"Not that he doesn't deserve a good kick sometimes..." Aya drawled and tossed a balled up napkin at Braig's head. A napkin Sheeva was more than happy to intercept.