decelerate | ( ɪɴʙᴏx. )

[ Harper ducks into the car, and the safe familiarity it provides. She doesn't pass up the chance to shoot Dallen an aghast look, albeit one that's completely unconvincing. Despite what she might like to say, there were some things that still remained unchanged, in all their honesty.

She tucks her skirt in primly and shuffles her bag to her side. ]

No horror.

[ they're twins, after all, so whatever look harper tries to throw at him isn't something he'll fall for. one of the things he's gotten really good at is reading his sister, so—

there's a smile playing on his lips as he starts up the car, pulls out the parking space and gets on the road. ]

So we're watching Love Actually. You're making the popcorn.

[ heh. ]

[ Harper thought as much, cradling the wintermelon tea in her palms, rested against her lap. Swiveling to look out the passenger side window as the city flashes by, her expression may or may not match his, but she's not sure she feels up to being so transparent with it.

Instead, she chimes matter-of-factly: ]

Kettle corn. With cinnamon.

Sounds awesome. I'm game.

[ he follows the usual road that'll take them home, driving safely because hey, his sister is here and he doesn't want to spook her unnecessarily. when he stops for a red light, he glances her way and notices the drink on her lap. ]

You don't like the slush or—?

[ maybe the whole zombie thing is still bothering her? ]

[ Starting with a blink, Harper seems to not understand what he's getting at until she looks down herself and notices she's completely forgotten about the drink. ]

This is from the new place down the street, isn't it?

[ She'd only been talking about it for a month, since the sign had gone up on the storefront. It was a darling place, with a cute veranda. Pink and cream, cursive writing. Everything she liked about little places like that. ...Of course, he remembered. And gone into such a cutesy place by himself.

Lifting the drink, she takes a sip, making sure to get a tapioca pearl or two. A second or two passes where her expression is completely neutral, like that of a tough judge, a sweets connoisseur — ]

...Good choice.

[ he was starting to get worried, okay. maybe he picked the wrong flavour, maybe she's allergic to wintermelon but he'd know about that, there's barely anything kept a secret between the two of them, but— the worry melts away when she takes a sip.

phew.

the green light tells him to go so he does, makes a left turn at the next street because they're approaching the street that leads them home. ]

Yeah. We should go there sometime. They got cute snacks and junk, with cats and puppies made out of icing.

[ dallen isn't totally ashamed to be seen anywhere near that place. ]

[ She presses her lip to the straw in thought, sipping every now and again. Now that they're headed along familiar streets, familiar turns and signs, she's unwinding. ]

I don't think I've ever made a puppy out of icing. Are they better than mine?

Nah, 'course not. Yours are always better.

[ soon enough, he's making his way through the parking lot. getting to their usual spot isn't too hard from there on. as always, once he's turned off the engine and everything, he opens the door for his sister.

someone grew up to be a ~~loser~~ nice brother. ]

You say that because you're obligated. I want to see them though! Icing puppies. Maybe I'll try birds next time... fondant sparrows.

[ Harper climbs out of the car, gathering up her things. It's clear the comment is completely harmless. Normally she'd tease him further, but she figures that'd do, for now. Once they're making their way through the lobby and into the elevator to reach their apartment, she tightens one hand on the strap of her bag, and considers the slush clutched in her other. ]

Dallen.

[ dallen doesn't do anything beyond nodding his head in reply to her plan. birds would be interesting to see, it sure will beat puppies at any rate. plus, his sister should already know that he always means what he says so he doesn't bother clarifying it.

when the elevator doors close, he turns to face her at the mention of his name. ]

What's up?

Maybe I'm a little on edge, but... I have a bad feeling.

[ Of course she does — things like this only happened in movies, and dumb television. But no, now it'd happened, it'd really happened to her. What she was absolutely sure was impossible.

And she had proof. ]

[ that's never a good thing.

dallen still doesn't know the full extent of what happened, beyond harper running into zombies and arms being thrown around, but that doesn't mean he'll worry less. harper looks pretty spooked, after all. ]

'cause of the zombies, or something else?

[ She has to spend a moment digesting that question, which sounds so strange, even to her. Raising her gaze, she watches the numbers flash by. They're fimilar, but even that feels distant. ]

I guess it could just be that. Nevermind, okay?

[ dallen doesn't even hesitate to step closer, just so he can be by his sister's side. ]

Hey, come on. You know it's just gonna eat away at me until you say it. [ mostly because he's really worried now. ] What's wrong?

[ Brat, he knew she'd crumble. ]

What happened today. It was impossible, right?

[ For some reason, she can't shake that this was mixed up with something else. Something else that was weird, and also impossible. Briefly, she thinks of the numbers she'd thought of some weeks earlier. Numbers she'd never thought to do anything with, up until now. ]

[ it takes him a bit to answer, like he doesn't know how to proceed. ]

I dunno. Will it go away if I say it was?

[ dallen gets what she's trying to do here. she's trying to make sense of it, like she always does, and usually he'd agree with her, but it's like something syncs them up. it makes him wonder the same things she's asking herself right now: what if this was the start of something even weirder?

if it is, then they're better off not sweeping it away, right? but he'll go with whatever harper wants. he always will. ]

[ Maybe it's because he's her twin that she feels it immediately. Not agreement, necessarily, but a kind of harmony that was hard to describe without experiencing it. She'd never try to anyway — it was just special. But whereas it'd be a comfort before, now it was just another thing to think about. Did he feel that way because it's how she felt, or did he have his own reasons...? Surely not, she tells herself. Surely not.

As the elevator chimes to signal their floor, she's left contemplating why that is, on top of everything else. ]

I want it to.

Then we'll make it go away.

[ simple as that.

dallen doesn't know if it'll be that easy, but he'll try. maybe it's because of how she looks, how worried she sounds, that he really wants to make this work, and he's her little brother. he'll always attempt the impossible, if it's for her sake.

he steps out of the elevator and waits for her to follow. they can talk more about this back at home. ]

( ɪɴʙᴏx. )

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