"Okay."

Haru dishwashers his plate and goes to sit on the couch.

This entire tub of ice cream is going to disappear.  Julien can buy the Swans a replacement later if he wants to!

No comment. Haru keeps an eye on him between paragraphs of Les Mis.

One of the page turns warrants a really quite violent flinch, apparently, but mostly he's just hanging out in the kitchen, doing nothing of particular note.

"- you okay?" about the flinch.

"...I mean, I am still very afraid about the fact that you want me dead, but I'm mostly trying not to let it bother me?"

"I meant because you twitched when I turned the page, did I somehow turn the page in a startling way or was that a coincidence."

"I mean, I - thought you were trying to come closer to me.  For a second."

"Nope. You came over of your own accord last time and said you were gonna this time. I'm not in a hurry."

"Yeah.  Yeah, thank you.  You're - very reasonable for someone who wants me dead."

"I'll put that on my business cards, shall I."

"Ha."

...yeah he's not sure why he thought that'd go over. He shrugs and returns to his book.

"...I don't know, I'm sorry.  You're better than him, anyway.  Than Julien."

"You don't actually have to frame it as a head to head comparison to give somebody a compliment."

"But you're the only two people I know, really.  Or have interacted with.  Kind of."

"Well, I could introduce you to Cricket but I'm not sure he's a great choice for this."

"I guess I did also meet Cricket although not really interact with him per se.  Julien really wants to know what he was going to say about me.  ...I shouldn't have said that.  I'm sorry that I did.  I don't actually think it's a secret to Julien and instead it's just that he didn't want to get pushy, but I got really mad about the fact that he didn't keep all my secrets, so I shouldn't have said it.  Because I'm trying to be better than him."

"...I could guess but I doubt Cricket even remembers. Last Thursday he told Ren that she should install a clock in her skull so her brain cell would have company because she was late coming home with the rabbit hearts to replace the ones that came in a damaged package."

"Huh.  I guess I don't want to hear it if it's that mean but I do kind of want to hear your guess if it's less mean than that."

"My guess is that he was going to tell you off for not talking to me while I was backlashed. Only, you know, colorfully."

"Ohhhhhhh."

"It's why I wanted a cat to begin with, humans have more of their own stuff going on. Cricket has stuff going on compared to other cats but takes his being a cat in this way role pretty seriously. And I've got all those phone numbers," Haru shrugs, "so don't worry about it."

"I wasn't."  ...He slowly approaches from the kitchen to sit down on the floor across from the couch while he says the next bit.  "I think I was right not to want to talk to you at that time, but now you've made me breakfast.  And... I was thinking - at the time - about how I didn't owe you any vulnerability, and I kind of still don't, right, but you're kind of the only available person, and it's kind of more sad not to be able to talk to anyone than it is to talk to the person who wants you dead.  If that person is also willing to make you a nice breakfast."

"...can't say I really follow the logic there."