Location VULTURE Record Store and Vinyl Cafe

[Ironclad]

When the tension rose, Isaiah responded, involuntarily so. He meant to keep unnoticed and do nothing until the exact moment that Kosokue did anything. Which was what Hazel would've wanted, but the change in his voice and how it clearly affected Hazel put him on edge. Kosoke may not have noticed, but Isaiah knew her well enough to know that she was scared and uncomfortable. So Isaiah couldn't help the fact that the temperature in the room dropped a degrees or two, or the fact that the lights flickers just barely as he clenched his fist and did his best to keep his cool.

He managed it, and hoped Kosuke wouldn't notice the small signs he ha involuntarily caused. Isaiah moved slightly closer to Hazel and carefully placed a hand on her shoulder. Just enough pressure for her to feel it, and be reminded he was there. But not enough to draw any attention to his presence.

 

[Arcane Eye]

Hazel didn’t let her nerves break, this time. Part of it was Isaiah’s hand on her shoulder – like she needed more reassurance that he’d followed them back. But the reassurance was nice. She knew he’d be able to tell she’d noticed, because she didn’t lose it when Kosuke snapped at her again.

He might feel the slight tremble of her body, though. It could be mistaken for the bounce of her leg – after all, there wasn’t any tremble in her smile or her voice as she nodded, maybe not quite as excited as most reporters would be at the news of the next Vanity Project.

Because that wasn’t what Kosuke needed to talk about.

“I get it,” she said, with another little nod. “I’m sorry I pressed. I kinda get lost in my own ideas, sometimes.”

And like that, she settled. Her leg stopped bouncing, and she sighed, just a little puff of leftover tension. When she looked at Kosuke, her green eyes were sincere, and clear of distraction.

“Seriously, though. ‘Busy’ aside. How’ve you been holding up, Kosuke?”

Then, with a small shadow of her wry smile, she added, “Off the record.”

 

[Reyn]

OFF THE

Record

skipping through minefields

The lights flickered above them, alongside a drop in temperature- a power surge, most likely, that affected both the bulb and the AC. What a pain. He'd have to get that sorted sooner rather than later; the speakers were expensive, if there was a strong enough surge when they were on, then it could damage them quite severely. Not only that, but the resultant feedback would sound awful to him, and possibly painful to Hazel. He frowned, muttering something under his breath, quiet enough to be unclear in both content and language to anyone listening.

"Hey, don't worry about it." He shrugged, "I'm the same, really; I get so caught up with what I think is gonna happen, that it's hard to come back to the real world sometimes."

He mirrored her smile, though his appeared more genuine- wistful, perhaps. A little sad.

"I've been... alright. Been focusing a lot on VULTURE, and all- I've fallen asleep at the office desk a few times, believe it or not."

It was easy to believe.

"And yourself? How have things been treating you, hm?"