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"Smitten, ah, love struck?" Tch, hadn't he played matchmaker enough? The only thing keeping him on the subject was the knowledge that it would likely fluster Natsumi, which was always amusing. He didn't mean it unkindly, it was simply teasing from one friend to another. She was cute when she blushed. "Natsumi this, an' Natsumi that, an' all paranoid over whether you liked 'im or not. Poor lad. Back to 'igh school with th' two of you!"

He noticed the change in demeanor and allowed himself a soft laugh of his own while he waited on a response. However, he soon noticed her smile appeared more...forced than he would have expected, not to mention the change of subject was blatantly obvious. Nonetheless, he stepped forward to open the door for her, reminding himself that he was perfectly safe before entering the room behind her and somewhat reluctantly letting the door swing closed.

With no real reason for being there other to keep her company, Thom simply took a seat near the door. Easy escape, his mind pointed out, but he shoved it aside, dragging the subject back to the one Natsumi was trying to avoid. "You seem upset? Didn't think th' subject would bother you."

"Oh, perfectly understandable," he assured her, sinking lazily back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest. "No rush, is there? Long as we're all stuk 'ere, no reason t' push things." And in the event that they did, by some miracle, return home, Thom was quite sure Natsumi could do better than Newt. And Taro.

Remembering his conversation with Newt, he gave the girl a curious glance, trying to figure out what might possibly have happened since he had seen her last. That was when...? Taro's transformation? Briefly his eyes fell on her tail, and it clicked. He snapped two fingers, straightening up slightly to point towards her. "I knew somethin' was different. You've changed since I last saw you, correct?"

Since...? OH. Ohohoh--oh s**t was he an idiot. He slapped a hand to his forehead, sloucing down in his seat. Stupid, stupid, stupid--Now Newt's words made sense. How had he forgotten? It had just completely slipped his mind. He searched for an excuse, but could find none. It had just never...really...clicked. Even in speaking with her of the incident, he had treated the lost baby as more of an afterthought than a real being. He hadn't wanted to think about it any more than she did. "Natsumi, I'm sorry, it... A lot's 'appened since then," he attempted lamely.

She was a horrible liar. Thom was completely at a loss, moreso when Natsumi's voice broke at the end of her sentance. He didn't believe her in the least. He wouldn't have even if her voice hadn't cracked. Over it? You didn't just...get over something like that so quickly. Admittedly, it remotely made sense for him to have forgotten. It wasn't his baby, and there had been more pressing concerns. But the deaths of his teammates in the bus wreck still haunted him, especially after his brief stay in 'hell', and they had only been friends. Close ones, but friends. A child, he imagined... That would be much worse. He wasn't sure what to say.

Silence stretched on while Natsumi dealt with her laundry. Thom searched for a possible subject, staring off at nothing in particular while doing so, and often interrupting his own thoughts by mentally berating himself for bringing up the subject and causing the awkward silence. He was extremely grateful when Natsumi spoke up once more, head snapping up to her voice while his mind processed the words.

Borrow a book? That could be good. He hadn't read Lord of the Rings in ages. But he couldn't take her book with him. He had no where to keep it and would likely ruin it fairly quickly. He would have to read it inside. Leave it inside. And they would have to go back to the duplex to get it. Up into her duplex. Above his. His duplex. He cleared his throat as an image of the opened doorway came to mind, hands falling to squeeze the arms of the chair he was seated in. "I, ah... No, no, I wouldn't want... want t' ruin it, y' know? Not really stayin' in my... my duplex right now."

Silence was bad. Natsumi was there. Natsumi was there. He repeated the thought to himself time and again as he fought against the replaying images. He needed to get out, go outside, be clear of the restricting buildings--but Natsumi was there and didn't want to be alone any more than he did. He couldn't leave, but he could focus on her, and, hopefully, his prison wouldn't seem so much like one.

He jumped visibly when her voice reached him once more, though he seemed relieved by the fact that she was speaking again. Breaking into a weak smile, he nodded his agreement, but hesitated. "I wouldn't... wouldn't be able t' go back to th' duplex with you t' get it. But I could stay near th' lake, per'aps, an' you could meet me there? It's practically in th' village."

Being down to one clean pair of pants and one clean pair of underwear signalled another laundry-washing trip. Given how there wasn't much in the way of clothing Zach could wear any more, laundry runs were more important than ever. His plastic laundry hamper was heaped with the two types of clothes he still wore, and by carrying it in front of him his vision was considerably obstructed. His tail was jumping from side to side in a little in a poor attempts to balance him out. He had every intention of getting in and out of the public laundry room as quickly as he could.

He shuffled through the doorway, still hefting the hamper high. It was his luck that to maneuver he looked around it to the side where Natsumi and the snake-man were not sitting. Dutifully he walked straight past them without a hint of notice and set the hamper down on the floor by one of the washers. Keeping his wings folded to avoid banging them into things, he reached down for the topmost of the pants to toss in. Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Yellow and black, a couple of colors that screamed danger in a form more powerful than mere words. He straightened up and turned his head more as he did, to see the very cobra he'd been doing his damnedest to avoid since the psychopath had nearly strangled him to death. His breath fled in a high-pitched wheeze at a sudden realization of where the crazy snake-man was in relation to the door.

He was trapped!