September 8, 2016, 7:24 AM
Washu's Lab
The Westwood Apartments
San Antonio, TX, USA
Ben was quick to help the little goddess get herself straightened out.
"Sorry about that, Skuld. If we knew you were coming we would of had something ready."
Skuld simply grunted in irritation. "Well, you guys need to hurry up. Big sis is out there waiting for us."
Ben blinked in surprise. "Belldandy is here?"
"Who's Belldandy?" asked Tenchi.
"Only the best thing to happen ever," Ben replied with a grin. "Don't worry, you guys will love her. Ah, Washu-chan?"
"Way ahead of you, kiddo," replied the little mad genius, causing Ben to cock an eyebrow at her.
A door appeared in the hall that Ben and Jacob had come in through and opened, revealing the mess that was the apartment courtyard...
...And the heavenly sight that was Belldandy.
Drop.
Dead.
Beautiful.
There is no dressing it down for anyone. Belldandy is an absolutely perfect woman. Nothing about her build is out of proportion. She has perfectly even features with perfectly even skin tone. And the best thing is that she pulls off all this perfection without any of it even approaching the uncanny valley - for her, the perfection is as natural and easy as breathing.
And then, when she opens that perfect little mouth of hers, the most lovely and melodious voice comes out.
"Benjamin! Jacob! How wonderful to see you two!"
"Howdy Miss Beldandy," Benjamin greeted, nodding his head politely since he had no hat to tip, as is the proper Texan custom. "It's good to have you here... though I'm a bit abashed."
Belldandy smiled serenely. "It's quite alright, Benjamin. Lord Phantomhive was good enough to make arrangements for me to be here today, seeing as you're all in quite a mess."
"Ah, how was Lord Phantomhive?" asked Ben conversationally.
"Quite the gentleman, really. It's a shame that we couldn't recruit him to our side, but sometimes we must concede to the Demons. I think he is honestly happier working under Hild anyhow."
Ben smiled at that. "Well, never let it be said that Lady Hild doesn't run a tight ship."
"Hey, is he alright," Washu whispered in Ben's ear, nodding towards his younger brother. "He hasn't said a word in the last ten minutes.
Ben looked a question at Jacob.
Jacob shrugged, "Just trying not to say anything stupid."
Belldandy smiled warmly at the younger brother. "Don't be too worried, Jacob. You're time will come."
Jacob gave Belldandy a questioning, borderline WTF, look. "...Oookay...?"
Belldandy simply beamed optimism and then went on, "I see that I came during breakfast. I apologize for the poor timing, but it's hard to look in here to see what's going on before any of us pop in."
"It's alright," said Tenchi a bit nervously. "In fact, maybe you should join us?"
"Thank you so very much, Tenchi-san. My sister and I do appreciate that."
##
There was an initial round of introductions, which went rather well. Tenchi's family took the entire thing in stride and Belldandy and Sasami quickly got into a passionate discussion about the culinary arts.
Of course, this led to Washu-chan and Skuld getting into a similarly impassioned discussion on the sciences.
High level terminology in two vastly different fields began to bounce around the table, leaving everyone in a nervous silence. Tenchi and Benjamin happened to look at each other, sharing helpless looks.
It was almost too much for Benjamin and he bit his lower lip in an effort to keep from laughing. Tenchi had to stifle himself as well as he caught on to the humor of the situation.
At that point, both of them were certain - everything here was going to be just fine.
##
Everyone had filed outside... and promptly desired to go back indoors. The swimming-pool-turned-cesspool was no less a cesspool after a night of neglect.
Even Belldandy covered her nose in disgust. "This is simply dreadful. I feel terrible for the people that lived here."
Some, like Aeka and Ryoko shot confused looks at Belldandy, but Ben looked to them and shrugged, silently communicating that this was simply the Goddess's way.
"At any rate," she went on, "I see I should get to work right away. Any special requests?"
"Soundproofing and blast resistance charms, if you please," said Benjamin quickly. He then turned to his younger brother.
"Can you... do something about the palm trees?" said Jacob. "They look kinda... precarious."
Belldandy smiled. "I can restore them into a state that is healthy. And I do think the blast and sound charms are a good idea. It seems some of your neighbors are keeping cocks in their back yards, anyhow. I can't imagine anyone getting used to that easily."
"Cocks?" asked Sasami.
"Roosters," said Benjamin. "Male chickens. Lots of Hispanic people live here, and roosters make surprisingly good night watchmen."
"What?" said Ryoko in surprise. "Really? A bird as a guard?"
Benjamin chuckled. "You won't think the same thing the first time a goose has a go at you. They have teeth... ON THEIR TONGUES."
Washu cackled as Ryoko started at that revelation. "Did I forget to mention?" she said gleefully "The birds around here evolved from small, vicious theropod predators."
"You'll never look at birds the same way again," Benjamin quipped, earning a laugh from his brother.
Jacob shook his head and added, "On a side note, I hope none of you have any problems with bats. San Antonio has the single largest bat colony in the world."
Amid sounds of awe from their guests, Ben said, "We'll get into flora and fauna of the region here in a little bit. For now, though, I'll turn things back over to our esteemed guest."
"Thank you, Benjamin. Skuld and I will go ahead and get started on the spell right now." She then turned to her younger sister and nodded. "Ready now?"
"As I'll ever be," Skuld replied with gusto.
The two sisters began to chant softly. It was hard to make out the words, it was like the entire world had stopped to pay heed to them. Right away, Washu had her holographic terminal out - no doubt she was recording everything on every measurable scale she could think of.
Suddenly, everything around them was bathed in a brilliance that shone within the structures as everything was rebuilt, renewed, and reinvigorated.
When the glow faded, the entire complex looked fresh and new, as though the last of the contractors had just packed up and left. The courtyard was filled with lush, green grass. The walks were crisp, clean, and level. The palm trees stood straight and proud, their trunks hearty and the fronds bright. All the trash and graffiti was gone. All the broken window panes were intact and crystal clear. The pavement in the parking area was fresh, still offering up a slight scent of hot asphalt, which mingled with the scents of fresh paint, fresh foliage, and the smell of a clean swimming pool, filled with clear blue water and ready for swimmers.
"Well blow me down," said Benjamin in awe as the two Goddesses continued with a new series of chants.
"This is amazing!" said Washu-chan quietly. "They're somehow reinforcing the quantum structures throughout the complex!"
"Meaning?" asked Ryoko.
"The blast resistance! They're making everything stronger without actually altering any of the physical properties!"
"Hah!" cried out Benjamin. "Like the USS Constitution!" He got some odd looks at that, and smiled. "America's first fighting frigate. Her oaken hull was so sturdy that the British sailors swore that direct hits with canon balls _bounced_ off her hull. And she's still a commissioned ship in the US Navy."
"Not really the same, but appropriate," said Washu with a chiding smile.
After several more chants, the two finally stopped. Suddenly, as if a switch was thrown, birds began singing and flitting about once more.
"There! That should do it," said Skuld triumphantly, though she appeared a bit peaky.
"Indeed," agreed her sister. "Though I must admit, that took a bit out of me."
"Alright then," Ben said, taking charge of the situation. He had seen the anime before and knew where this was going. "Jake, go get something for Belldandy and Skuld to sit on, then go and get some drinks from the convenience store. Soda is fine, but absolutely no cola."
Jacob lightly sighed, "Okie dokie... Wonder how she would take Big Red...?" He muttered as he walked off to get some chairs.
"Why no cola?" asked Tenchi.
Benjamin sighed. "You all might as well know, our friends, the Goddesses and Demons all have some pretty funny quirks. Belldandy's older sister drops dead asleep when you play enka music. Her friend among the Demons can't stop dancing if you play rock and roll. Though the lovely lady Belldandy has something different: she can put away enough booze to drink all of Russia under the table. However, slip her a little sip of cola, and she gets so smashed that she's living out John Lennon's Love Potion Number Nine."
"... WHAT," was Ryoko's contribution while everyone else stared at me like I'd grown another head.
"Benjamin, did you really have to tell them?" said Belldandy, all but pouting.
Ben looked apologetically at the Goddess. "Sorry, but I wanted to forestall any potential accidents. I've seen what happened to you in the Anime."
At this moment, Jacob came back with a pair of chairs and he placed them behind the two Goddesses.
"Thanks Jake," said Ben in passing as the younger brother made for the convenience store across the street. "Anyhow, you two go ahead and have a seat. The rest of us will go ahead and check things out and see what there is to see.
##
Over the course of their exploration of the complex, Benjamin worked out the particulars of the disposition of the units. There were mostly one- and two bedroom units, with four studio units and three three-bedroom units.
Appliances were... thin. Each unit had an oven with a range-top, all gas-fired. But some of the units didn't have refrigerators.
Benjamin and Jacob had retired to the newly restored Manager's Office to talk it over and Washu had followed along.
"We're gonna be stuck for appliances if we don't figure things out," said Ben. "Not that we don't really need much more than a few refrigerators, but having a small laundry machine in each unit would be better. Dishwashers and garbage disposals, too."
"Garbage disposals?" asked Washu. "How do they work here?"
"They're used mainly for food waste and such. A rotary pulper sits inside the sink drain and pulps the waste which is then washed into the sanitary sewer."
Washu blinked at the simple solution. "Huh. Uses a lot of water, but I can see how that'd be effective for waste management. Not a bad idea. Of course, you'd have to make sure the plumbing was up to snuff."
"We'll check it out," said Benjamin, "but I think it can be retrofitted into the existing system."
"What about your laundry machines?" asked Washu. "I didn't see a place where we could set them up."
Ben nodded. "We'd have to set them up, but there's companies, mainly based out in Scandinavia, that make two-in-one units - they wash, and then used a condenser system for drying. We can knock out the cabinets to either side of the sink and use one side for a dish washer and the other for the laundry machine."
"Is a dishwasher that important?" asked Washu.
"It's considered a convenience item in American households. Helps cut down time spent working in the kitchen when a big event happens."
Washu nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, I can see it. Anything else?"
Benjamin smiled knowingly and said, "If you wanna upgrade the other existing appliances, feel free to do so."
"Sure su- WHAT?" squawked Washu-chan. "Now wait just a minute, buster, I never said I'd do anything!"
Jacob raised an eyebrow, "Riiight... So you and your fancy lab will just sit there and do... Nothing?"
"It's the principle of the matter!" snapped Washu peavishly.
"Oh, c'mon Washu-chan," said Benjamin in a playful, wheedling tone. "I know you can't resist." He then puffed his chest out and adopted his famous TV Man Voice and BOOMED, "The C-Line of Home Appliances! Ten times more energy efficient that any of the competitors out there! Smart, convienient, capable! If it doesn't have the Crab, then it simply isn't C-Line!"
There was a brief moment of silence, before Jacob looked at Ben. "...So we'll all have crabs?"
And with that, Washu-chan started bapping Jacob over the head with a paper fan, muttering "Don't you start that! I will give you such a pinch!"
"Start what?" Jacob asked in an amused tone.
"Careful there, kiddo. You need to watch what you say to your elders," replied the mad scientist with a wink.
"Oh, I know, but sometimes I can't help myself, I'm sure you understand."
"Try and rein it in sometimes," said Ben, not unkindly. "If we're getting more guests like Tenchi and his family here, then we're gonna be stuck walking on eggshells one way or another."
Jacob sighed, yet again. "Yeah, that actually reminds me about something I wanted to talk to you about."
Ben frowned at that. "Okay, let me finish with Washu-chan first-"
"It's alright," said Washu airily. "I'll get it taken care of, but I'll need to see exactly what you want before I can get started."
"No problem," said Benjamin. "I'll go ahead and do some research and see if I can't find all the technical specifications for you."
"Great! As things are, though, I think I'll start by getting some basic furniture made up. We can sleep on the carpet, you know." Washu waved as she exited the manager's office and Benjamin sighed as he locked the door behind her.
"Alright, Jake, what's up?"
Jacob tilted his head side to side, "Nothing serious or anything, just a... Preference I will have when it comes to the... Shift? Arrangement we'll have."
"Oh? What did you have in mind?"
"Just with my general disposition toward people, I figured that it would be better if I took the "night" shift. Plus I think it would be a good idea to have one of us on hand day and night, just incase something with one of our tenants came up."
"Fah. There's no need for a night shift or anything like that. We'll be living in one of the units, and we'll be on call 24-hours a day. The business hours are just for handling paperwork and stuff. I'll go ahead and deal with people head-on, you can go ahead and keep the books in order and make sure we don't run out of supplies. Is that fine by you?"
"Joy, paper work... Whatever, but I'll still probably end up staying up later."
"That's fine," said Ben, rolling his eyes a bit, but in a way that made it clear he was used to this. "Better that the books be settled at the end of the day anyhow. Besides, we live in the digital age. Your books are gonna be electronic. Mr. Sebastian called me earlier to let me know the computers were on their way."
"That's good, though I might have to bribe Washu into getting me something nice for personal use..."
"Oh fer... Give her your old laptop - she'll spend WEEKS playing around with it. Pretty sure she can whip up something for you in return."
"Hmm, sounds good."
Washu's Lab
The Westwood Apartments
San Antonio, TX, USA
Ben was quick to help the little goddess get herself straightened out.
"Sorry about that, Skuld. If we knew you were coming we would of had something ready."
Skuld simply grunted in irritation. "Well, you guys need to hurry up. Big sis is out there waiting for us."
Ben blinked in surprise. "Belldandy is here?"
"Who's Belldandy?" asked Tenchi.
"Only the best thing to happen ever," Ben replied with a grin. "Don't worry, you guys will love her. Ah, Washu-chan?"
"Way ahead of you, kiddo," replied the little mad genius, causing Ben to cock an eyebrow at her.
A door appeared in the hall that Ben and Jacob had come in through and opened, revealing the mess that was the apartment courtyard...
...And the heavenly sight that was Belldandy.
Drop.
Dead.
Beautiful.
There is no dressing it down for anyone. Belldandy is an absolutely perfect woman. Nothing about her build is out of proportion. She has perfectly even features with perfectly even skin tone. And the best thing is that she pulls off all this perfection without any of it even approaching the uncanny valley - for her, the perfection is as natural and easy as breathing.
And then, when she opens that perfect little mouth of hers, the most lovely and melodious voice comes out.
"Benjamin! Jacob! How wonderful to see you two!"
"Howdy Miss Beldandy," Benjamin greeted, nodding his head politely since he had no hat to tip, as is the proper Texan custom. "It's good to have you here... though I'm a bit abashed."
Belldandy smiled serenely. "It's quite alright, Benjamin. Lord Phantomhive was good enough to make arrangements for me to be here today, seeing as you're all in quite a mess."
"Ah, how was Lord Phantomhive?" asked Ben conversationally.
"Quite the gentleman, really. It's a shame that we couldn't recruit him to our side, but sometimes we must concede to the Demons. I think he is honestly happier working under Hild anyhow."
Ben smiled at that. "Well, never let it be said that Lady Hild doesn't run a tight ship."
"Hey, is he alright," Washu whispered in Ben's ear, nodding towards his younger brother. "He hasn't said a word in the last ten minutes.
Ben looked a question at Jacob.
Jacob shrugged, "Just trying not to say anything stupid."
Belldandy smiled warmly at the younger brother. "Don't be too worried, Jacob. You're time will come."
Jacob gave Belldandy a questioning, borderline WTF, look. "...Oookay...?"
Belldandy simply beamed optimism and then went on, "I see that I came during breakfast. I apologize for the poor timing, but it's hard to look in here to see what's going on before any of us pop in."
"It's alright," said Tenchi a bit nervously. "In fact, maybe you should join us?"
"Thank you so very much, Tenchi-san. My sister and I do appreciate that."
##
There was an initial round of introductions, which went rather well. Tenchi's family took the entire thing in stride and Belldandy and Sasami quickly got into a passionate discussion about the culinary arts.
Of course, this led to Washu-chan and Skuld getting into a similarly impassioned discussion on the sciences.
High level terminology in two vastly different fields began to bounce around the table, leaving everyone in a nervous silence. Tenchi and Benjamin happened to look at each other, sharing helpless looks.
It was almost too much for Benjamin and he bit his lower lip in an effort to keep from laughing. Tenchi had to stifle himself as well as he caught on to the humor of the situation.
At that point, both of them were certain - everything here was going to be just fine.
##
Everyone had filed outside... and promptly desired to go back indoors. The swimming-pool-turned-cesspool was no less a cesspool after a night of neglect.
Even Belldandy covered her nose in disgust. "This is simply dreadful. I feel terrible for the people that lived here."
Some, like Aeka and Ryoko shot confused looks at Belldandy, but Ben looked to them and shrugged, silently communicating that this was simply the Goddess's way.
"At any rate," she went on, "I see I should get to work right away. Any special requests?"
"Soundproofing and blast resistance charms, if you please," said Benjamin quickly. He then turned to his younger brother.
"Can you... do something about the palm trees?" said Jacob. "They look kinda... precarious."
Belldandy smiled. "I can restore them into a state that is healthy. And I do think the blast and sound charms are a good idea. It seems some of your neighbors are keeping cocks in their back yards, anyhow. I can't imagine anyone getting used to that easily."
"Cocks?" asked Sasami.
"Roosters," said Benjamin. "Male chickens. Lots of Hispanic people live here, and roosters make surprisingly good night watchmen."
"What?" said Ryoko in surprise. "Really? A bird as a guard?"
Benjamin chuckled. "You won't think the same thing the first time a goose has a go at you. They have teeth... ON THEIR TONGUES."
Washu cackled as Ryoko started at that revelation. "Did I forget to mention?" she said gleefully "The birds around here evolved from small, vicious theropod predators."
"You'll never look at birds the same way again," Benjamin quipped, earning a laugh from his brother.
Jacob shook his head and added, "On a side note, I hope none of you have any problems with bats. San Antonio has the single largest bat colony in the world."
Amid sounds of awe from their guests, Ben said, "We'll get into flora and fauna of the region here in a little bit. For now, though, I'll turn things back over to our esteemed guest."
"Thank you, Benjamin. Skuld and I will go ahead and get started on the spell right now." She then turned to her younger sister and nodded. "Ready now?"
"As I'll ever be," Skuld replied with gusto.
The two sisters began to chant softly. It was hard to make out the words, it was like the entire world had stopped to pay heed to them. Right away, Washu had her holographic terminal out - no doubt she was recording everything on every measurable scale she could think of.
Suddenly, everything around them was bathed in a brilliance that shone within the structures as everything was rebuilt, renewed, and reinvigorated.
When the glow faded, the entire complex looked fresh and new, as though the last of the contractors had just packed up and left. The courtyard was filled with lush, green grass. The walks were crisp, clean, and level. The palm trees stood straight and proud, their trunks hearty and the fronds bright. All the trash and graffiti was gone. All the broken window panes were intact and crystal clear. The pavement in the parking area was fresh, still offering up a slight scent of hot asphalt, which mingled with the scents of fresh paint, fresh foliage, and the smell of a clean swimming pool, filled with clear blue water and ready for swimmers.
"Well blow me down," said Benjamin in awe as the two Goddesses continued with a new series of chants.
"This is amazing!" said Washu-chan quietly. "They're somehow reinforcing the quantum structures throughout the complex!"
"Meaning?" asked Ryoko.
"The blast resistance! They're making everything stronger without actually altering any of the physical properties!"
"Hah!" cried out Benjamin. "Like the USS Constitution!" He got some odd looks at that, and smiled. "America's first fighting frigate. Her oaken hull was so sturdy that the British sailors swore that direct hits with canon balls _bounced_ off her hull. And she's still a commissioned ship in the US Navy."
"Not really the same, but appropriate," said Washu with a chiding smile.
After several more chants, the two finally stopped. Suddenly, as if a switch was thrown, birds began singing and flitting about once more.
"There! That should do it," said Skuld triumphantly, though she appeared a bit peaky.
"Indeed," agreed her sister. "Though I must admit, that took a bit out of me."
"Alright then," Ben said, taking charge of the situation. He had seen the anime before and knew where this was going. "Jake, go get something for Belldandy and Skuld to sit on, then go and get some drinks from the convenience store. Soda is fine, but absolutely no cola."
Jacob lightly sighed, "Okie dokie... Wonder how she would take Big Red...?" He muttered as he walked off to get some chairs.
"Why no cola?" asked Tenchi.
Benjamin sighed. "You all might as well know, our friends, the Goddesses and Demons all have some pretty funny quirks. Belldandy's older sister drops dead asleep when you play enka music. Her friend among the Demons can't stop dancing if you play rock and roll. Though the lovely lady Belldandy has something different: she can put away enough booze to drink all of Russia under the table. However, slip her a little sip of cola, and she gets so smashed that she's living out John Lennon's Love Potion Number Nine."
"... WHAT," was Ryoko's contribution while everyone else stared at me like I'd grown another head.
"Benjamin, did you really have to tell them?" said Belldandy, all but pouting.
Ben looked apologetically at the Goddess. "Sorry, but I wanted to forestall any potential accidents. I've seen what happened to you in the Anime."
At this moment, Jacob came back with a pair of chairs and he placed them behind the two Goddesses.
"Thanks Jake," said Ben in passing as the younger brother made for the convenience store across the street. "Anyhow, you two go ahead and have a seat. The rest of us will go ahead and check things out and see what there is to see.
##
Over the course of their exploration of the complex, Benjamin worked out the particulars of the disposition of the units. There were mostly one- and two bedroom units, with four studio units and three three-bedroom units.
Appliances were... thin. Each unit had an oven with a range-top, all gas-fired. But some of the units didn't have refrigerators.
Benjamin and Jacob had retired to the newly restored Manager's Office to talk it over and Washu had followed along.
"We're gonna be stuck for appliances if we don't figure things out," said Ben. "Not that we don't really need much more than a few refrigerators, but having a small laundry machine in each unit would be better. Dishwashers and garbage disposals, too."
"Garbage disposals?" asked Washu. "How do they work here?"
"They're used mainly for food waste and such. A rotary pulper sits inside the sink drain and pulps the waste which is then washed into the sanitary sewer."
Washu blinked at the simple solution. "Huh. Uses a lot of water, but I can see how that'd be effective for waste management. Not a bad idea. Of course, you'd have to make sure the plumbing was up to snuff."
"We'll check it out," said Benjamin, "but I think it can be retrofitted into the existing system."
"What about your laundry machines?" asked Washu. "I didn't see a place where we could set them up."
Ben nodded. "We'd have to set them up, but there's companies, mainly based out in Scandinavia, that make two-in-one units - they wash, and then used a condenser system for drying. We can knock out the cabinets to either side of the sink and use one side for a dish washer and the other for the laundry machine."
"Is a dishwasher that important?" asked Washu.
"It's considered a convenience item in American households. Helps cut down time spent working in the kitchen when a big event happens."
Washu nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, I can see it. Anything else?"
Benjamin smiled knowingly and said, "If you wanna upgrade the other existing appliances, feel free to do so."
"Sure su- WHAT?" squawked Washu-chan. "Now wait just a minute, buster, I never said I'd do anything!"
Jacob raised an eyebrow, "Riiight... So you and your fancy lab will just sit there and do... Nothing?"
"It's the principle of the matter!" snapped Washu peavishly.
"Oh, c'mon Washu-chan," said Benjamin in a playful, wheedling tone. "I know you can't resist." He then puffed his chest out and adopted his famous TV Man Voice and BOOMED, "The C-Line of Home Appliances! Ten times more energy efficient that any of the competitors out there! Smart, convienient, capable! If it doesn't have the Crab, then it simply isn't C-Line!"
There was a brief moment of silence, before Jacob looked at Ben. "...So we'll all have crabs?"
And with that, Washu-chan started bapping Jacob over the head with a paper fan, muttering "Don't you start that! I will give you such a pinch!"
"Start what?" Jacob asked in an amused tone.
"Careful there, kiddo. You need to watch what you say to your elders," replied the mad scientist with a wink.
"Oh, I know, but sometimes I can't help myself, I'm sure you understand."
"Try and rein it in sometimes," said Ben, not unkindly. "If we're getting more guests like Tenchi and his family here, then we're gonna be stuck walking on eggshells one way or another."
Jacob sighed, yet again. "Yeah, that actually reminds me about something I wanted to talk to you about."
Ben frowned at that. "Okay, let me finish with Washu-chan first-"
"It's alright," said Washu airily. "I'll get it taken care of, but I'll need to see exactly what you want before I can get started."
"No problem," said Benjamin. "I'll go ahead and do some research and see if I can't find all the technical specifications for you."
"Great! As things are, though, I think I'll start by getting some basic furniture made up. We can sleep on the carpet, you know." Washu waved as she exited the manager's office and Benjamin sighed as he locked the door behind her.
"Alright, Jake, what's up?"
Jacob tilted his head side to side, "Nothing serious or anything, just a... Preference I will have when it comes to the... Shift? Arrangement we'll have."
"Oh? What did you have in mind?"
"Just with my general disposition toward people, I figured that it would be better if I took the "night" shift. Plus I think it would be a good idea to have one of us on hand day and night, just incase something with one of our tenants came up."
"Fah. There's no need for a night shift or anything like that. We'll be living in one of the units, and we'll be on call 24-hours a day. The business hours are just for handling paperwork and stuff. I'll go ahead and deal with people head-on, you can go ahead and keep the books in order and make sure we don't run out of supplies. Is that fine by you?"
"Joy, paper work... Whatever, but I'll still probably end up staying up later."
"That's fine," said Ben, rolling his eyes a bit, but in a way that made it clear he was used to this. "Better that the books be settled at the end of the day anyhow. Besides, we live in the digital age. Your books are gonna be electronic. Mr. Sebastian called me earlier to let me know the computers were on their way."
"That's good, though I might have to bribe Washu into getting me something nice for personal use..."
"Oh fer... Give her your old laptop - she'll spend WEEKS playing around with it. Pretty sure she can whip up something for you in return."
"Hmm, sounds good."