midnightstar

Since graduating from the Academy, life has been..interesting for Alisa, to say the least. She's been kept very busy, since she was upholding her promise to her mother on showing her the proper way to run the company, and it wasn't easy to put in those changes. Though it would have been a lot harder if she didn't have the support of those around her. But because of that, she hadn't been able to get time to get to visit Rean as much as she liked.

Translation: As much as she liked = every day. She did get to visit - or vice versa - at least on the weekend, and she talked to him almost every night thanks to the range on the ARCUS. Just as finished up for the night, she made her way up to the penthouse, glancing around to make sure she was alone (And you never know with Sharon) in order to take out her ARCUS once more and see if she could get a hold of Rean before bed. She was planning on seeing if he was in the area - alternatively, she was sure she could get away for a visit, if he wasn't busy.

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"Mmmm well in terms of getting mess take care of quickly, it is easier and more efficient to sweep up ash than the trash itself intact I suppose." Rean could certainly see the advantages behind that but it would probably be safer to make Rumu a little bigger to fit a chamber inside to laser thing like that inside of Rumu's laser chamber.

"Right, but we'll have to make sure that it has a 100% accuracy at all times or we'll have lawsuits on our hands." Or worse, little RUMU units will get weaponized. That'd be a nightmare. "But for the time being," she leaned down to put RUMU on passive. "Better to keep that off until we get everything worked out."

And RUMU could happily putter about and explore. As if realizing it wasn't required to do any cleaning, it seemed to wonder what it SHOULD be doing. Its charge was fine, so it opted to idle around, exploring the full extent of the apartment like a new pet discovering its territory.

"Yeah you have a point. Best to avoid that altogether then." Rean agreed. After all this project was meant to restore the civilian good will with the company. Then again it was a simple enough problem to fix. So Rean had faith Alisa and the researcherss would come up with a good compromise.

"He seriously is far too adorable with how curious it is about the place." Rean said in the end with a fond almost adoring chuckle.

Alisa giggled, "I know. It's one thing seeing the concept down on paper, but it's another thing entirely to see it moving about on its own." She glanced over at the table where their finished dishes were sitting, "Ah, I should probably clear the table." Thank goodness they have a washing machine, or it might delay her from spending time with Rean more.

"You should relax on the couch. You're probably sore still from fishing anyway, right?" AND he's a guest, so she won't ask him to help.

RUMU on the other hand, was watching the two with apparent interest, so when it -- he -- saw Alisa move to the table, he rolled over towards her, "RUMU will help."

This surprises Alisa, and she glances down at the little bot, then at Rean, then back at RUMU, "Oh..! Uh, well, can you manage it, RUMU?"

The little bot proceeded to lift off the floor, a little steadier, and clamps unfolded from beneath the unit like a pair of arms, "RUMU loves to Help~!" And that said, he promptly picked up one of the pots and very carefully, slowly, started puttering over to the kitchen.

"Huh... I could have sworn I read in the documentation that the units required a verbal order first, but... well I'm not going to complain if they were programmed to be smart enough to pitch in without being asked." She grinned at Rean, "Right?" Or maybe it was Rean's influence on things with artificial intelligence!

More time with Alisa was just as desirable for Rean. So he moved to help out the lovely heiress only to get directed over to the couch. Yet what really made him take her up on that offer was actually Rumu's initiative to help out his creator in such a menial task.

"That's definitely not a bad thing. Wanting to help is a very good trait to have if you ask me." Rean certainly felt oddly compelled to pet and cuddle the little machine watching hims dutifully take thing to the washer.

Haha, Alisa would have been tempted to give it a furry casing if that was the case. Maybe she would suggest the team make alternate casings, one with 'fur' that could slip over the body if she knew.

Although even with a fur casing, RUMU wasn't very cuddly for a Happiness Bot. In any case, with Alisa's direction, RUMU happily helped her load the washing machine with the dirty dishes, chirping a 'RUMU loves to help~!" or 'RUMU is helping' each time he passed between rooms.

By the time they finished, twenty minutes later, RUMU came rolling out of the kitchen with his voice a pitch deeper, "Charge Low.." he almost sounded sleepy as it moved to return to the charging station. Alisa emerged right behind it, looking pretty darn pleased by the results so far. "All set..!" Now it was just her and Rean again...

THat was probably somrhing that could be considered for a later update. Fopr now though Rean had to admit that the little construct was for all intent and purpose pretty much a success for it base project goals. Well the laser thing would need sorting out of some kind. Also going down stairs . THat was a definite must. Battery life would probably need a bit of upgrading too. Still he had no real critique to offer about the little guy.

"I get the feeling he's going to fly off the shelves when he reaches the public. Especially if he keeps that adorable personality"

That would have sounded like real critique to her!~ He was absolutely right too. If the battery drained that quickly just from doing a few tasks, that was a failing on the battery.

"I hope so. I'm definitely not planning on changing his personality any." She might suggest a few new additions to it based on what she's seen now. She glanced over at Rean again for a moment, then started as she realized - yep, still in that robe. "Oh! Y-Your clothes should be ready now. I'll go get them."

That's because she was Alisa. Her own harshest critic. Still the batter life was something quite obvious to pick up on so even if he didn't say anything Alisa would have surely spotted the problem.

Speaking of problems he blinked curiously as she remembered his state of dress.

"Oh. Right it's been enough time hasn't it." He said scratching at his cheek with a bashful smile for already forgetting about his rather compromising attire.

Rean may be an even harsher critic than she is though. Alisa was more thana little surprised she had forgotten as well. And.. she had hugged him like that. Hugged him and didn't want to let go even.

She flushed pink at the memory, "Y-yeah. Just a second." She quickly made her way into the next room to get his clothing out of the dryer, bringing it back out for him. "Here - it just stopped a few minutes ago, so it's still warm."

When it came to himself definitely. But that was neither here nor there. No with Alisa coming back with his freshly dried clothes he had no real excuse not to change. At least partially. He wouldn't have to put on the big overcoat since they weren't heading out again just yet.

"Thank you, Alisa. I'll just head on over to the room and get changed right away then." Since the poor girl had red cheeks full time now and it was getting to him too a bit.

Alisa nodded meekly, nodding, "All right, no rush." They weren't going anywhere yet at least. So while he went up to go and change, Alisa wandered over to the couch to sit down with a soft sigh. Glancing up to the room Rean vanished into, then back to her lap, absently fidgeting a little.

Rean didn't take long to get changed since he just had to slip on his pants and shirt though unintentionally leaving a few of the top buttons loose. So that was how he would make his return. Well not quite. He did come in from behind Alisa since he could easily jump down from the railing on the second floor and slowly snuck up behind the girl who was distracted in her own thoughts.

Intentionally leaving a few buttons open? How cruel! He was just throwing that temptation at her now! Alisa meanwhile, was oblivious to Rean sneaking up on her, her attention on her lap as she fiddled nervously with the material of her skirt. Not bad nervous of course, general nervousness - both from being in the room alone with him, and with their date to come and... okay yeah, the mental image of him in that robe Sharon left him. Ohboy.

Such a wonderfully distracted target. Rean couldn't help himseslf as he stood right behind Alisa before he put his hand over her eye while he leaned in over her with a chuckle.

"guess who~"

Alisa jumped with a small yelp of surprise, about to reach up and pull his arm away - though at that chuckle, she stayed her hands, a grin on her lips, "Mmmh, it's definitely not Sharon," she suggested, "And something tells me it's not grandfather... who could It beeeeeeee..."

"Who indeed~ Probably someone who really loves being here right now~" Rean purred softly his body slowly pressing closer against Alisa while he allowed himself to nuzzle affectionately against her neck.

She caught her breath in surprise, not just from him saying how much he loved being there, but the WAY he said it. The way he said it and the affectionate gesture. "Rean..." she murmured softly, as much a 'guess' as her affectionate acknowledgement of him being there. She didn't turn, but leaned back against him, flushed cheeks and all, "I'm really happy you're here too." Beyond just happy, she was ecstatic.

His hands smoothly slid away from Alisa's eyes and instead he looped ahis arms around Alisa from behind while he pressed up against Alisa fully, just enjoying the sensation of her body against his and the sound of her soft beautiful voice.

"Mmmmm to think this would actually feel so nice in person."

Once he wrapped her in his arms, Alisa let out a sigh she didn't realize she'd been holding, closing her eyes blissfully. If she could capture this feeling forever, she could endure the days and nights she was alone. "I...I feel the same way." she agreed - which was obvious from the way she was leaning into him, her arms coming up to wrap over his. She's wanted this for so long, she couldn't even put it to words. She's -dreamed- of being in his arms, and now she was.

Rean would do his best to hold on to this feeling too. Amidst the battles and the ruins. It wouldn't be easy but it would still be better than nothing at all to keep him grounded.

"I love holding you like this, listening to you talk. Seeing you so excited about that little guy. I love everything I can get around you."

Hearing him say the things he loved about her was a thrill to put it mildly; her heartbeat racing a mile a minute, she was SURE he could hear it, or see it at the very least.

"Rean..." She tightened her grip on his arms, "I've ...dreamed about hearing you say things like that. I've dreamed about being held by you like this. If I could stay in your arms..." She just wanted to stay in his arms for the rest of her days.

"Mmmm yeah. I wish I could give you that too." Again all about him giving and not receiving. One of his few bad habits. But he wasn't focusing on that nor was she pushing Alisa away to save her that pain of separation that they would have to go through once this magical vacation came to its unwanted end.

"Don't ... don't do that." Alisa murmured softly, "It's not just you. If I hadn't made that promise to my mother I would be able to see you more often, even with your... your missions."

... she shook her head fiercely, "No no no, that's not what I want to say." No endangering the sweet atmosphere they were starting to cultivate. "I mean..." She sighed, "Let's... not think about what we can't have...and just focus on what we can."

That was far too close. The last thing Rean wanted was to hold back his important people from their life's goal. Alisa's especially was one he couldn't help but admire from the bottom of his heart. So her save came at the perfect moment to keep things from getting grim again.

"I can agree with that. Though maybe....I should sit down with you so it's more comfortable for both of us." But noo that meant he would have to release Alisa from his current hold.