200 Vol. 4 pt. 3 Patch 1.0: Settling In (1/2)
”So, are you sure that you don't want us to get a stair lift installed?” Ryouta asks Alice.
Alice turns red and shakes her head. ”Certainly! I would never be caught riding one of those until I'm covered in wrinkles! Furthermore, they are rare and expensive these days, so I am sure that you would not want to cost my father even more money for something I would hate!”
”You're only bringing that up since you don't want one.”
”I am! That doesn't affect my point! Why would I need one of those in the first place when I have you and Cassandra to carry me up and down the stairs?”
”Isn't that just inconvenient and selfish?”
”It is, but I shall make it up to both of you.”
Cassandra sighs and shrugs. ”I don't really care either way,” she says. ”You're light,” she tells Alice, ”and I doubt you'd want to constantly be going up or downstairs.”
”See! Cassandra has no issue with it, so neither should you,” Alice tells Ryouta.
”Such a selfish girlfriend. But, alright. I honestly don't mind. We'll just make it work,” Ryouta says while Serra pokes his chin from his lap. ”Yes?” he asks, looking down at her.
Serra sticks her tongue out at him.
”What's that supposed to mean?”
Serra shrugs.
”You're like a needy kid who just wants attention.”
Serra nods.
”By the way, Cass, don't you have an appointment for something tomorrow?”
”Y-yeah,” Cassandra answers, looking away.
”Are you still keeping it secret?”
She nods, but when he looks at Alice, he sees her smiling and looked excited.
”What do you know?” he asks Alice.
”Oh, nothing,” Alice answers in a totally-not-suspicious manner.
”Do you know anything?” Ryouta asks, looking down at Serra again.
Serra shrugs.
Ryouta sighs and gives up. Whatever Cassandra's appointment is tomorrow, he'll just have to wait until then to find out. ”It's not nice to keep secrets, you know,” Ryouta tells them.
”Consider it revenge for not letting us meet Oleander yet!” Alice tells him.
”I… technically met him before, but yeah, I want to meet him and actually know who he is this time,” Cassandra says.
”Oh, yeah, right. We went together to that bar you worked at,” Ryouta says.
”Yeah, the one where you tried getting into a fight while drunk, you dumbie.” While Cassandra may try her best not to call him a bastard anymore, she still gives him some playful and much-more-innocent sounding insults at times.
”He was asking for it. Probably. I don't really remember it.”
”He was, but you're still dumb for trying to fight some guy that was twice your size. What if there was nobody there to break it up and you got beaten up?”
”Uhh… I'd get the satisfaction of knowing that people were going to judge him for beating up somebody who's technically crippled?”
While Serra slides her arms underneath Ryouta's shirt to get some warm, skin-on-skin contact, Cassandra sighs due to her boyfriend but then looks like she just thought of something. ”We need to split up chores,” she says.
”Right! How should we split them?” Alice asks.
”I'm used to doing them all myself, so I'll just do whatever you all hate the most,” Ryouta says.
Cassandra and Alice look at each other and smile.
”I hate doing dishes,” Cassandra says.
”And I hate taking out garbage! Not that I have ever done so, but the thought of it is not a pleasant one!” Alice says.
”And you? Which chore do you hate doing?” Ryouta asks, looking down at Serra.
Serra signs that she hates all of them.
”You really are a kid. Pick one you hate the most.”
Serra puffs out her cheeks but gives in and signs that she hates doing laundry.