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before it gets better. part 5.
▶ Part 4
He almost runs into Walter, but Tiir finds himself unable to pay the unreadable expression Walter shoots him much thought. His hands are shaking something fierce, and he has to paste them to his sides to cease their trembling.
Hastily, without explanation, he says, "Let's go."
To his surprise, Walter nods.
Tiir dashes to his room and flings the door open. The room is rather bare, making it no task to find the curl of black hair poking out behind the bed towards the wall.
"Guriko."
"Tiir-nii?" the meek voice calls out, and Guriko's head rises, her brows creased in concern.
Reaching for his bag, Tiir begins to stuff as many necessities as he can into its small confines. He tells Guriko that they need to leave, now, and that they won't be coming back again. Guriko expresses more confusion, but he promises answers for later and takes her hand in his to usher her out. He stops in front of their parents' room and snatches what savings he can find.
Eerily enough, Walter is waiting with something in his hands at the backdoor, his intended destination. He hands Guriko her shoes. Reminded of Walter's lack of his own, Tiir rushes to the front to give him one of his pair.
In an effort to speed up their departure, he resorts to piggybacking Guriko while Walter carries their meager luggage. His heart palpitates in rapid succession, but Guriko's steady beating as she dozes off on his back calms him.
******
When Tiir goes to pick Guriko up from school, one of the staff frowns. Although he has half a mind to leave right then and there, Guriko stops him because she's forgotten something in the classroom and sprints back to retrieve it.
The staff member takes this opportunity to stride up to him with far too much confidence in her steps, her heels clacking against the tiled floor. Despite his superior height, she looks down on him.
"How dare you. You're unfit to care for that girl," she accuses with a righteous sniff.
Tiir's eyes narrow, but any and every rebuttal he comes up at the sudden accusation with are thrown out the window when Guriko comes sprinting back. He relaxes, pasting on a smile quickly enough for her to be unaware of their conversation.
The staff member eyes him before doing the same. Crouching, she bids Guriko, now at Tiir's side with his hand resting on her shoulder, goodbye.
Her smile is too bold and Tiir wants nothing more than to make her pay for lying, for poisoning Guriko's ears with her fabricated personality.
His hand never leaves Guriko's shoulder on their trip back home.
******
Midnight strikes, and Walter hasn't come home. With his absence, Guriko refuses to go to bed. Tiir's uncertainty must have surfaced, because she won't buy his insistence that everything will be fine.
"Until Ter-nii returns, sleep will not be partaken!" she declares, and Tiir has no choice but to let her stay up, school day or no.
She eventually falls asleep. Tiir tucks her in and stays up for another two hours.
******
Just as he prepares Guriko in the morning for school while she wipes away the drowsiness in her eyes, the door swings open. Guriko shoots away from his arms like a bullet when Walter stumbles in, a hand covering the visible half of his face. He doesn't look at Guriko, turning away and sluggishly making his way inside.
"Where were you?" Tiir asks, half out of concern and half out of scorn. "You never come this late."
"It's early. Go to school, Guriko."
"Ter-nii -- "
"Go to school!"
"Walter!"
Upon hearing his name, Walter cringes and drops to his knees on the floor. Guriko is at his side in an instant, then is as quick to rise to fetch a wet cloth when she sees his bruised eye, dropping her backpack and kicking off her shoes in the midst of her retreat to the kitchen.
Walter swats his hand away when Tiir tries to steady him. He picks himself up and moves to their room, where he takes a haphazard seat on his mattress. Guriko follows suit with a soaked cloth in hand, before going back out to retrieve Walter's belongings at the door.
(She doesn't go to school today.)
Tiir deduces that Walter is more fatigued than he is hurt, since the only injury he can find is the single black eye, which Guriko has taken to dabbing at with the cloth. To her credit, Guriko doesn't flinch when Walter suddenly sits up straighter. She instead moves in to offer him the cloth, a gesture that goes ignored.
When no one talks, he starts irritably, "I got fired. The morning job."
Tiir prods, "Why didn't you come home yesterday?"
"I was working overtime."
Tiir asks Guriko to leave, who does so without protest. They could argue that it's pointless, because the walls are thin enough that she can hear whatever they're about to talk about, but Guriko would be uncomfortable being in the same room if things take an ugly turn, which appears likely.
When the door clicks shut behind her, Tiir asks why he was fired.
Walter turns his head away, and Tiir knows. He screwed up. Something is bothering him, so he bungled at work. He hates messing up, loathes what he considers failing when everyone has the right to make mistakes, so when Tiir tells him as much, Walter clenches his fists.
"This mistake is what's going to lose us money we need," he growls.
Tiir offers to look for a second job. Walter shakes his head and demands that he stays with Guriko, remaining stubborn even after he's told that one of them has to have another vocation. He insists that he'll be the one to do it.
"No one's going to hire you with an eye like that." Tiir pauses. "Where did you get it?"
"She'd rather be with you," Walter repeats.
"She loves you."
Walter stands far too quickly for his own good. While the bruised eye takes away from the otherwise intimidating glare, something cautions Tiir into standing as well. He waits for the rebuttal.
"I know why we're here. That's why you are staying with her."
Although he doesn't yell, Walter is close enough compared to his usual silence. Tiir, on the other hand, adopts a quieter approach that does well not to betray his surprise and disappointment.
He tries his name, but Walter has already stormed down the hall. Tiir follows, seeing that Guriko's door is open by a hair as he passes. (How much did she hear?) He calls Walter again, and this time, Walter whirls around.
"What!?"
"You're not leaving the house like that."
Walter opens his mouth when a knock sounds from the other side of the door behind him, causing them to freeze in their tracks. After a moment of complete and utter silence, Tiir walks over to answer.
Hands knit together behind her back, a blonde girl with two ponytails offers him a soft "hello."
"Is Walter here?" she asks.
Before he can ask her name, Walter nudges him out of the way using an elbow.
"Fenimore."
***NOTES***
I can never give Guriko more scenes because I don't know how to write her. (fuu) Incidentally, note the open door in the middle of their argument. She meant to stop them, but Walter stormed out before she could.
Fenimore is not Walter's girlfriend.I wish. And she wasn't the one that punched him, what are you on --
The end is nigh. Brace yourself for the worst part as my writing steadily declines.
▶ Part 6
He almost runs into Walter, but Tiir finds himself unable to pay the unreadable expression Walter shoots him much thought. His hands are shaking something fierce, and he has to paste them to his sides to cease their trembling.
Hastily, without explanation, he says, "Let's go."
To his surprise, Walter nods.
Tiir dashes to his room and flings the door open. The room is rather bare, making it no task to find the curl of black hair poking out behind the bed towards the wall.
"Guriko."
"Tiir-nii?" the meek voice calls out, and Guriko's head rises, her brows creased in concern.
Reaching for his bag, Tiir begins to stuff as many necessities as he can into its small confines. He tells Guriko that they need to leave, now, and that they won't be coming back again. Guriko expresses more confusion, but he promises answers for later and takes her hand in his to usher her out. He stops in front of their parents' room and snatches what savings he can find.
Eerily enough, Walter is waiting with something in his hands at the backdoor, his intended destination. He hands Guriko her shoes. Reminded of Walter's lack of his own, Tiir rushes to the front to give him one of his pair.
In an effort to speed up their departure, he resorts to piggybacking Guriko while Walter carries their meager luggage. His heart palpitates in rapid succession, but Guriko's steady beating as she dozes off on his back calms him.
When Tiir goes to pick Guriko up from school, one of the staff frowns. Although he has half a mind to leave right then and there, Guriko stops him because she's forgotten something in the classroom and sprints back to retrieve it.
The staff member takes this opportunity to stride up to him with far too much confidence in her steps, her heels clacking against the tiled floor. Despite his superior height, she looks down on him.
"How dare you. You're unfit to care for that girl," she accuses with a righteous sniff.
Tiir's eyes narrow, but any and every rebuttal he comes up at the sudden accusation with are thrown out the window when Guriko comes sprinting back. He relaxes, pasting on a smile quickly enough for her to be unaware of their conversation.
The staff member eyes him before doing the same. Crouching, she bids Guriko, now at Tiir's side with his hand resting on her shoulder, goodbye.
Her smile is too bold and Tiir wants nothing more than to make her pay for lying, for poisoning Guriko's ears with her fabricated personality.
His hand never leaves Guriko's shoulder on their trip back home.
Midnight strikes, and Walter hasn't come home. With his absence, Guriko refuses to go to bed. Tiir's uncertainty must have surfaced, because she won't buy his insistence that everything will be fine.
"Until Ter-nii returns, sleep will not be partaken!" she declares, and Tiir has no choice but to let her stay up, school day or no.
She eventually falls asleep. Tiir tucks her in and stays up for another two hours.
Just as he prepares Guriko in the morning for school while she wipes away the drowsiness in her eyes, the door swings open. Guriko shoots away from his arms like a bullet when Walter stumbles in, a hand covering the visible half of his face. He doesn't look at Guriko, turning away and sluggishly making his way inside.
"Where were you?" Tiir asks, half out of concern and half out of scorn. "You never come this late."
"It's early. Go to school, Guriko."
"Ter-nii -- "
"Go to school!"
"Walter!"
Upon hearing his name, Walter cringes and drops to his knees on the floor. Guriko is at his side in an instant, then is as quick to rise to fetch a wet cloth when she sees his bruised eye, dropping her backpack and kicking off her shoes in the midst of her retreat to the kitchen.
Walter swats his hand away when Tiir tries to steady him. He picks himself up and moves to their room, where he takes a haphazard seat on his mattress. Guriko follows suit with a soaked cloth in hand, before going back out to retrieve Walter's belongings at the door.
(She doesn't go to school today.)
Tiir deduces that Walter is more fatigued than he is hurt, since the only injury he can find is the single black eye, which Guriko has taken to dabbing at with the cloth. To her credit, Guriko doesn't flinch when Walter suddenly sits up straighter. She instead moves in to offer him the cloth, a gesture that goes ignored.
When no one talks, he starts irritably, "I got fired. The morning job."
Tiir prods, "Why didn't you come home yesterday?"
"I was working overtime."
Tiir asks Guriko to leave, who does so without protest. They could argue that it's pointless, because the walls are thin enough that she can hear whatever they're about to talk about, but Guriko would be uncomfortable being in the same room if things take an ugly turn, which appears likely.
When the door clicks shut behind her, Tiir asks why he was fired.
Walter turns his head away, and Tiir knows. He screwed up. Something is bothering him, so he bungled at work. He hates messing up, loathes what he considers failing when everyone has the right to make mistakes, so when Tiir tells him as much, Walter clenches his fists.
"This mistake is what's going to lose us money we need," he growls.
Tiir offers to look for a second job. Walter shakes his head and demands that he stays with Guriko, remaining stubborn even after he's told that one of them has to have another vocation. He insists that he'll be the one to do it.
"No one's going to hire you with an eye like that." Tiir pauses. "Where did you get it?"
"She'd rather be with you," Walter repeats.
"She loves you."
Walter stands far too quickly for his own good. While the bruised eye takes away from the otherwise intimidating glare, something cautions Tiir into standing as well. He waits for the rebuttal.
"I know why we're here. That's why you are staying with her."
Although he doesn't yell, Walter is close enough compared to his usual silence. Tiir, on the other hand, adopts a quieter approach that does well not to betray his surprise and disappointment.
He tries his name, but Walter has already stormed down the hall. Tiir follows, seeing that Guriko's door is open by a hair as he passes. (How much did she hear?) He calls Walter again, and this time, Walter whirls around.
"What!?"
"You're not leaving the house like that."
Walter opens his mouth when a knock sounds from the other side of the door behind him, causing them to freeze in their tracks. After a moment of complete and utter silence, Tiir walks over to answer.
Hands knit together behind her back, a blonde girl with two ponytails offers him a soft "hello."
"Is Walter here?" she asks.
Before he can ask her name, Walter nudges him out of the way using an elbow.
"Fenimore."
I can never give Guriko more scenes because I don't know how to write her. (fuu) Incidentally, note the open door in the middle of their argument. She meant to stop them, but Walter stormed out before she could.
Fenimore is not Walter's girlfriend.
The end is nigh. Brace yourself for the worst part as my writing steadily declines.
▶ Part 6