they’re glad they aren’t too terribly invested on the collection of words on their laptop - they might have missed the soft buzzing of their phone, otherwise. eyes glance at the time on the digital clock on their desk - this late? a call from kaoru? for a moment, they can feel a certain pressure on their heart, anxiety slowly begins to creep in.
“kaoru-chan?” he answers, almost before his phone even reaches his ear. she doesn’t sound troubled, doesn’t sound pained - a silent, relieved sigh escapes his mouth, and he’s already nodding and standing.
“no, don’t apologize - of course i can. send me your location - i’ll be there as soon as i can. promise.”
they’re already out the door, at this point, one helmet in their free hand, the other holding a bag with a spare. hopefully she isn’t afraid of motorcycles…
he sounds worried. of course he would -- kaoru usually had no reason to call him, much preferring to text on most occasions. the matter is more pressing this time around, though, luckily not by much. “ got it. i’ll drop a pin now. “ she replies, the harrowing night sounding more agreeable when the line drops. a few quick swipes sends her location to renji’s phone, and then dials the nearest towing company to pick up her car.
although she nods more to herself, she cannot bring herself to disagree with being at the edge of a great scenery. she has her reservations, but ends up throwing open her trunk anyway, pulling out a large, heavy case.
when renji arrives, kaoru has her large-lens telescope set up alongside her car. her eye is keyed into the eyepiece, which is set skillfully on one of jupiter’s moons. the roar of the motorcycle can be heard from far down the road, and when she looks up, she is not sure of who exactly it is until his head comes from under the helmet. her visage brightens instantly. “ ah! thanks for coming, you’re a lifesaver! “ a gesture to her lame vehicle shows that it has not yet been picked up. “ the towing company said they’d be a bit ... i thought it’d be a good time to do some stargazing. if you aren’t busy, maybe you’d like to as well? “