Well wasn’t that kind of her? Sure, it’d be better if she didn’t put herself in danger for his sake. Or really, it’d be nice if she didn’t have to leave her nice apartment just to see him off. But when a grandmother gives you such a lovely gift, it’d be rude to try and give it back to her. “Thank you much, ma’am. I really do appreciate it.” He can’t help but smile, big and warm, as he says it again. As if he could say it enough. He can’t promise anything about the worrying, but he’ll keep that from bringing her down too.

Still. That was tomorrow. Now, he had a warm blanket across his shoulders, a warm cup of tea ready for drinking, a warm cat bonking at his hand, and…well, tablets don’t really get warm like phones, do they? They just sort of work. Like those e-readers with the really simple screens, the dim ones, they barely seem electric at all. Which makes sense, it’s not really electric, it’s magic, but it’s not that unreasonable to expect magic to be warm, right? Or cold, or tingly, or glowy, or something. Magic typically does something magical. Or it ought to, anyway. He gets all the way to #thellamemes on reflex before he slams the magitechnical door shut. The unread notification instinct carries him all the way to his DMs and there he stays. Yuki’s chat history fills the screen, with no room for anything else. He didn’t see any messages in the group chat. If he stays here, he can pretend there’s nothing there. And there’s no other unread DMs.

For now.

He licks anxiously at his lips (still tingling) as he reads. And reads again. Shoot shoot shoot shoot [i]shoot.[/i] He types with one hand, getting the words out as quick as he can. The cat won’t abide any other interruptions, and neither could he.

>[.cinnamondrumroll]
>I’m okay! Sorry I didn’t reply sooner. I haven’t had a chance to check my tablet until now. But I’m okay, I’m safe, nobody here’s trying to catch me.
>I don’t know where I am *exactly*, but I don’t think anybody else does either.
>Except for the aforementioned “nobody here” people. But they’re good, they’re friends. And not trying to catch me.

No response. So, Yuki probably didn’t have her tablet out either? Probably? So he had a bit of time to think. He typed and deleted a few notes, played with phrasings in his head, pet a cat, and then typed away.

>I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m alright for now. We haven’t heard anybody on my trail for a long time, and I’ve got a plan for the next day or so. No sense in leading a hunter here if we don’t have to.

Wait. Wait. Wait.

>Are you okay? Is your friend okay? That hunter didn’t get you, did they?

Yes, brain, he could’ve added an emphasis to “get” there, thank you for the tip. Except Yuki clearly doesn’t like them like that, and that’s not really an appropriate joke to make otherwise. Very helpful.

She’s still not typing back.

She’d silence her tablet if she was in trouble, right? She wouldn’t have let a warning ding give her position away, right? She’s Yuki Edogawa. She’s a seasoned adventurer. The snowkitty herself.

He should’ve said “thank you.” Instead of leaving it implied. No, he should take her up on the offer to chat and figure it out from there. That’ll show her she’s still in the loop. They’re still in this together. He’s not ignoring her now that, I don’t know, adventure happened. Or something. He opens up his notes again. Types. Deletes. Rewords. Thinks. Deletes again. Compares. 

…was he [i]sure[/i] she’d silence her tablet?

The cat enjoys some much deserved two-handed affection. The distracting tablet sits on the arm of the chair, open to a DM. Every now and then, Hazel sneaks a finger over to tap the screen and keep it awake. The only sound in the room is the ticking of a grandmother clock, and the purring of a contented cat. He sits. He watches. He waits.

She’s still not typing back.