and the property values just keep going up

[cross_and_bow]

Time passes. Juliet practices, Shell Bell makes squares - increasingly irritable about it, she really doesn't like the perpetual discomfort, but she bites down on that as best she can and churns them out - and Tony installs things.

Finally he has installed enough things.

Comments

[cross_and_bow]

"Oh well," grumbles Juliet, and she takes a last glance around the bar for familiar faces, finds none, and heads for the door.

[poeticterms]

"Welcome back," says Jarvis. "I see you've brought friends."

[cross_and_bow]

"We're calling them Plus and Minus - Minus being the native one. I can make more progress sparring with the adjusted difficulty level and Plus has a flexible schedule," Juliet says. "Plus, this is the local Jarvis."

[poeticterms]

"Hello," says Jarvis.

[dearsweetsoulful]

"Hello to you too."

[cross_and_bow]

"Jarvis, what time is it? I can't trust my phone after being in Milliways and I didn't check it before we went," says Juliet. "I'm going to guess - ten? But now I'm all ahead of Sunshine time and shouldn't fire-wand. I think I'm good for one more sequence though."

She's good for one more sequence, although in hammering out the kinks in her responses she winds up with a scratch in her wrist deep enough to bleed.

She's not even thinking about the audience when she holds out her arm to Minus. "Waste not, want not?"

[eversomuchfun]

Laughing, he puts his mouth to the cut.

[dearsweetsoulful]

Plus raises his eyebrows.

[cross_and_bow]

"Oh, uh." She declines eye contact. "The dietary staple here is microwaved animal blood, I'll nuke an extra jar for you tomorrow evening."

[dearsweetsoulful]

"Thank you," he says. "Very kind."

[cross_and_bow]

"This place should probably eventually acquire its own fridge and microwave, though, I don't think Charlie actually likes all the blood in our fridge even though he puts up with it," Bella says.

When Minus is finished with her cut she drops her hand and interlaces her fingers.

[eversomuchfun]

He laughs.

"It will, don't fret."

[cross_and_bow]

"I think I'll go get a lot of trigonometry problems wrong and crash for the night," says Bella. "With Shell Bell gone I guess that means walking home again. One escort or two?" she asks, glancing at Plus.

[dearsweetsoulful]

"Two," shrugs Plus. "While I'm here, I may as well be useful."

[cross_and_bow]

"Oh, I should warn you," says Juliet. "I have covered the town in lots of hidden crosses. Do they bother you as little as they do Minus or will that make the walk unpleasant for you?"

[dearsweetsoulful]

"...I can see why he likes you so much," he says. "No, it won't trouble me at all."

[cross_and_bow]

Bella giggles, and out they go. "Bye, Jarvis," she adds before shutting the door behind her.

[eversomuchfun]

It's a quiet walk. Minus takes the opportunity to hold Juliet's hand the whole way, while Plus is presumably lurking along somewhere nearby.

[cross_and_bow]

"Don't go near the porch," Bella thinks to inform Plus when they approach her house. "Sunlamp bulbs and a motion detector, you see." She kisses Minus goodnight from a safe distance.

[eversomuchfun]

Mmkisses.

"Goodnight, love."

[cross_and_bow]

"G'night!"

And she skips into the house and halfasses her trig homework and goes to bed.

The next day at study hall, she says to Giles, "Guess what!"

[pythbox]

"I don't have the faintest dream of a clue."

[cross_and_bow]

"Found an alt of Sherlock in Milliways. Not Shell Bell's, and not the one who matches the Tony who visited either - they've both gone home now, by the by, Jarvis is all installed. An unrelated Sherlock who is also a vampire but this one has a soul."

[pythbox]

"...How'd he come by that?" inquires Giles, adjusting his glasses.

[cross_and_bow]

"Some manner of pre-arranged... thing. He still has his Tony and Jarvis, so I imagine they were involved. You can come by and see if he'll tell you, this evening. I'm doing sparring in place of fire wand while he's visiting because I can make unusually good progress with the both of them."