"I'll be there in a moment, sofu. Please have patience."
Carmen had woken up mere moments after his grandfather was up and rummaging around, but he hadn't even twitched since then, waiting in the pitch dark to see if his elder would find what he was looking for and return to bed. This was another in a string of events like this; His grandfather would awake from a feverish dream and start wandering around either the living space above the shop or make his way into the shop itself to try and look for something or someone. Carmen had been forced to explain to him twice now that sobo had passed away, much to the contrary of the old man's vivid dreams. They had only been getting worse, too, and tonight seemed to be no exception.
With a great deal of effort, Carmen forced himself to escape the comfortable, warm embrace of bed gravity and sit up to turn his bedside lamp on. A shiver ran up the young man's spine the moment his feet hit the cold, concrete floor, and he silently cursed both the nearly run-down heater upstairs and the out-of-season weather. It was impossible to nap in the park with the weather so chilly, which had completely thrown off his sleep and study schedules as of late. That's what he told himself, at least, as he stood and started to move around his large, well-furnished bedroom. It was supposed to be a particularly cold night, so that meant pants and a shirt... pants thicker than the pajamas he was wearing.
Or pajamas and pants.
Carmen's half-lidded eyes suddenly shot open at his epiphany, and he hurried over to his dirty clothes hamper to scrounge for... Yes, perfect.
Now wearing a slightly creased, white polo and a pair of silky, comfortable slacks over his already warm and soft pajama pants (which was the single greatest idea he'd conceived in his short lifetime,) Carmen rushed to get his shoes and his favorite brown aviator jacket, and checked to make sure his phone and wallet were still in the pockets. He was out the door with the jingle of keys and a quick snatch of his guitar--
He stopped half way out the door and looked the case in his hand. It was 1 AM, on a weekday, but habit and muscle memory had him reaching for it anyway. Carmen spent longer than he probably should debating on if he should bring it or not before deciding to roll with it, sliding his arms through the appropriate loops and locking the basement door behind him. A quick hop, skip and jump up the stairs and into the back of the bakery and he was headed to the front for--... Oh. Oh boy.
The back of the bakery was a mess, with pots and cookware scattered across the counters and floors, and an entire bag of flour knocked out of the cabinets and spilled onto the floor. Carmen took it all in with a deep breath. It could wait until they returned. He'd just have to be late to microbiology tomorrow to make sure it all got cleaned up before the store opened. For now, he had a grumpy grandfather to deal with.
"Sofu, please, wait for me! It's unwise to be alone on the streets at this hour!" The tired young man calls. He can see the bent-over shadow of his grandfather just as it passes out of view on the street, and hurries out to follow the old man... After turning off the light in the front of the store and re-locking the door.
"Sofu, come back, please! You've only gone to Yumi-San's home today, and she'd have called if you lost your wallet there, I'll help you search the bakery again in the morning!" Carmen 'whispers' loudly as he hurries down the street. His grandfather was old, but he could certainly move when he wanted to... But just where had he gone?
