Groovy Tunes, Saturday

[furnaceface]

Jono could make himself available in his office today, but the truth of the matter was, he would really rather claw out his own eyes than spend a day sitting at his desk waiting for somebody to come along to grill him on what he was teaching their little darlings. Besides, he had a business to run, here. There was a new Janet Jackson album out

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[living_endless]

Didi looked a little strained around the eyes as she came in, though her face bore a smile. It was a gritted-teeth kind of smile.

The large red-headed man trailing her might explain the inspiration for both.

"Jono," she said as she came in. "Hi. This is my father, Time. We're doing the grand tour."

Time inclined his head in a stiff nod of greeting, clearly waiting for Jono to say something.

[furnaceface]

Jono took a moment's pause, blinking between Didi and Time before... nodding his own greeting. He figured if anyone had the patience to let him sort that one out for a moment, it was probably this guy.

Right? He hoped?

Lord, he hadn't seen a look like that on Didi's face in a long while. Hell, he couldn't remember the last time, really. Even coffee with Morpheus hadn't had her look half so stressed.

//It's a pleasure to meet you, sir,// he said, pulling himself to his feet. //I hope your visit to the island has been good so far? Can I get either of you anything? I've got coffee and tea just upstairs.//

Or alcohol. Did you need alcohol, Didi?

[patertempore]

"I could drink tea," Time said, after a long, long pause in which he seemed to be considering whether Jono's tea would be acceptable. "Loose tea if you have it, not a bag."

"And," he added, "it's a pleasure to meet you as well." He did not sound entirely convinced of this.

[living_endless]

"Two teas," Didi interjected gratefully, and she was going to throw in a telepathic request for whiskey in hers in hopes Jono would pick up on it. "And thank you. Dad, Jono's the one I mentioned earlier -- we've known each other a long time."

[furnaceface]

//Comparatively long,// Jono replied, a little wryly, giving Didi a little tingle of acknowledgment that he'd heard her request. //Would you two like to come up? I can close shop for a few minutes. Or I can come back down with tea, if you don't mind the wait.//

That part was more for Didi's benefit. If Time couldn't handle the wait... he'd be surprised, but so be it.

[living_endless]

"We'd love to come up," Didi said, before her father could say anything at all. Jono's place was much more likely to be comfortable than standing around in the store. "You don't mind surprise guests?"

[OOC: Sorry for vanishing. Family stuffs.]

[furnaceface]

//Never,// Jono replied, giving her a wry smile around the corners of his eyes as he made his way to the door and flipped the sign to 'closed.' He'd open again when they were done, easy enough. //I actually do have loose tea upstairs, and the place should be clean enough.//

Since most of the things he owned that created clutter when left unchecked had been moved to Hannibal's place by now. The upstairs apartment was sort of weirdly presentable once you took away the stacks of music magazines and the scattered assortment of records that generally wound up tossed here and there.

[patertempore]

"Thank you," Time said. He seemed to have decided Jono was acceptable enough company for an afternoon, at least.

He'd also forgotten to maintain a consistent form and now looked perhaps 12 years old, but eh. Details.

"I'm not used to places that are this busy," he added. "There are so many people here who want to talk to us. It reminds me why I don't leave my realm."

[furnaceface]

Jono had spent enough time in the company of shapeshifters that watching an old man melt away into a young boy didn't earn much more than a moment of processing time, and then a small nod.

//The trick is finding a quiet place to retreat to while you get your bearings again,// he offered, gesturing to the back room, where the stairs to the upstairs apartment were. //The island is the opposite, for me. It's far smaller than the cities I'm used to. There's a constant murmuring in places like those that gets quieter here. And here's been home long enough, I know where to go for some peace and quiet when I need it.//

Which was still fairly often, in spite of how well he seemed to function these days when he went out in public.

[living_endless]

"The preserve's a nice compromise," Didi put in,as she and her father followed along to the staircase. "it's still got that thrum of life, but it's peaceful. Not a lot of people hanging out there."

She glanced down to catch Time's eye. "We'll go there next, okay?"

"If you want," he said, diffidently. "I'm just waiting for a spot of good tea and a nice rest."

[furnaceface]

//Ah, family,// Jono said, keeping his voice between just himself and Didi as he made his way up the stairs with a vaguely amused twinkle in his eye. A little more openly, so that Time could hear as well, he added, //Well, we'll see what we can do about the tea, at least. And there's an armchair that's at least decently comfortable.//

Using the sofa, meanwhile, didn't come highly recommended. He'd liberated it from the Boards back in the day, and one side of it had a permanent imprint in a Jono-shape that wasn't anything like the way that Jono was actually shaped, these days.

Good luck getting up from it ever again.

//I think there might even be some milk, if that's how you take your tea,// he added. He sounded vaguely proud of that fact. He... wasn't going to admit to Didi's father that it was on hand at all mostly because he was a big squish who kept it on hand for the cat. //And sugar.//

[living_endless]

//He didn't tell me he was coming,// Didi thought at him, inner voice annoyed but tinged, somehow, with affection. //It's been loads of fun. Really.//

Then -- aloud this time -- she added, "Just sugar for me. Milk and sugar for Dad. And thank you."

[patertempore]

"No sugar," Time said, quite possibly to be contrary, and claimed the armchair without waiting for discussion. He considered this a privilege of age and position.

"This is nice," he added, taking in the apartment. "Very ... uncluttered."

[furnaceface]

//One with sugar, one with milk,// Jono echoed, and then glanced over his shoulder at Time (and the armchair) for a bemused moment before vanishing around the corner into the kitchen.

At which point he found himself silently thanking God, all the angels, and Hannibal Lecter for making certain that he at least had presentable dishes and quality tea at all times. Even if he didn't spend most of his time here and he didn't drink the stuff himself.

When was he ever going to need any of it? Right now, apparently.

//I've been tidying up around here a fair bit lately,// he said, a touch wryly. //The clutter has been a touch more neatly dispersed, recently. There is a cat somewhere in the building, she might wander out to say hello, but if that's a problem I can tuck her away in one of the rooms.//

[living_endless]

"How is Joni?" Didi asked warmly. Cats were usually a safe topic, and they seemed in need of one of those. "I haven't seen her in forever.Hope she does decide to wander out."

She had taken a seat on the couch. The less Jono-imprinted end of it.

[furnaceface]

//She's well,// Jono replied, peering out from the other side of the kitchen doorway with a smile in his eyes once he'd plugged the kettle in. He talked about Joni with that same sort of warmness that some people reserved for their own children and didn't seem to think for a moment that doing so was odd. //Follows me to work when I'm here, but spends most of her time at Hannibal's, pestering Beethoven.//

A beat.

//Hannibal's cat. Not the composer.//

Because around here, you could never clarify too much.

//Still tiny. Still thinks shoelaces are the greatest thing man has ever invented. Appears to have forgotten to stop being a kitten and start being a cat somewhere in there, but I can't complain about that.//