revelations and reactions, tag ; the one and only samuel raines!

[Emily Raines]

It had been a long day at the office, that was sure to say – and they’d only just made it halfway through. The clock ticking had felt like it used to have done when Emily had been in a 9am college lecture, nursing a deadly hangover – i.e. not moving at all. Problem after problem had arisen at the office, her in tray filling up much more rapidly than her out tray – and it was with a look of pure exhaustion that Emily threw towards the clock for what felt like the umpteenth time of the day, only to find a small glimmer of hope. Ten to twelve – surely that was close enough to twelve to warrant leaving for lunch.

Another ten minutes was sure to make her brain explode – and so, quickly standing, Emily smoothed her dress down (with how her luck was going today, she was almost surprised to find it hadn’t caught on anything, or decided to do that god-awful practical joke of tucking into her knickers!) , and reached for her coat. Thankfully, no one even glanced upwards, all seeming to be busy within their own work – and no words were called out to her as she moved quickly out of the front door. Even if they had, Emily was quite sure that she would simply ignore them – no one was stopping her, especially not when she had a dinner date to get to.

For her day was definitely about to brighten – her lunch date was with the person she loved most in the entire world; her twin brother, Samuel Raines. He always knew how to bring a smile on to her face, no matter how tired, or burnt out she felt. And of course, came the added benefit of the food. A small café they had found after many visits to various places halfway between their two work-places; one that was certainly not filled with the business-like snobs that seemed to frequent some of these streets. Instead, it was one that served up delicious, home-cooked food – greasy breakfasts, toasted sandwiches, steaming cups of good coffee – what more could you need?!

Her feet brought her automatically on the path, her hands dug deep into her pockets, arms wrapping the coat around her torso. The chill was still evident in the air, the slow creeping into spring not fast enough for her – she wanted the days where she could lounge on the grass, with a bottle of wine and laughter, not worrying about where all the jackets were and whether it was going to rain.

But what did that matter, when you had the joy of café’s that firmly had the roof over their heads, and heating all in one! With a soft smile finally gracing her lips, Emily stepped into the familiar shop, gaze searching for a table; preferably one slightly away from the main hustle and bustle, so that Sammy and herself could have their usual, what other people may deem as occasionally peculiar, conversations; and it seemed, for the first time today, her luck was picking up. There was the perfect one – not too close to amenities such as the kitchen and the toilets, therefore forcing people to be constantly nudging your seat to walk past you, but far enough away from the main dining area to feel private!

With almost a triumphant swing in her step, Emily quickly moved forward, sliding into a chair, her coat being deposited over the back of it. Deftly, her fingers moved to pick up the menu, her stomach rumbling already at the smell of the food being cooked. Already she could feel her day picking up; and right now, she just needed one more thing – for her dear twin to actually turn up!
However, even as that thought crossed her mind, her gaze flicked upwards, the soft tinkle of the bell indicating another customer entering the small café – and instantly, the smile grew on her face, transforming her expression to one finally of happiness. Finally, he had arrived!

"Sammy!” A call of his name, and a quick wave of her hand rose above the crowd, and with a grin, Emily moved to tightly hug him.

Mmm, her day definitely was getting much much better.

[Samuel Raines]

His day was organized in a neat schedule that went out the window the moment he woke up, and he spent the next two and then some hours nursing a cup of hot chocolate and a couple of pieces of toast in front of the TV, concentrating on a morning marathon of Phineas and Ferb. His shift had gone late last night, and when combined with a most unfortunate subway delay, he hadn't gotten home until well after midnight. Even so, he'd been awake at 7:30, on like a light, and incapable of going back to sleep. There had been nothing left to do but camp in front of the TV, offer distracted goodbyes to his house mates, and slip into dizzy catatonia.

That cursed old long case clock that seemed so looming in the room, showed nearly ten o'clock by the time he stirred from his catatonic state and dragged his still PJ-clad self from the couch, slouching and dragging his feet as he made his way around the house. Sleep was in his eyes, his skin, sinking into his flesh, and gravity seemed an especially potent force today. Eventually, when he had passed from kitchen to living room and back again at least seven times, he started asking himself the day's most dangerous question: What harm could a little nap do?

He learned the truth at precisely 11:47 AM, when he woke suddenly from his shallow slumber, too-long hair standing up this way and that (it really was time for a haircut), the room seeming to spin in his drowsy state, and looked over at his alarm clock. In a shock of a moment, panic seized him; he was overcome by a sudden realization. He was meeting his sister and favourite person for lunch, and he was going to be late.

In the blink of an eye, he was out of bed, racing into the bathroom and not even taking the time to run a comb through his hair while he jumped into his clothes and let his mouth have a quick encounter with a toothbrush. Instead, he ran his hands through his hair in a passing, futile effort to calm his chaotic locks. The end result was 80% a failure; still it seemed a too sincere type of bed head, which would only pass for style in the eyes of someone especially inclined to give people the benefit of the doubt. But this was the hair he rushed out the door with, barely remembering the bare essentials in his mad rush.

Thankfully, the subway was neither late nor jammed when he got there, and by the time he came stumbling through the doors of the café, messy-haired and wide-eyed as he looked around for his sister, the time was a miraculous 12.09 PM. There was a good chance he wouldn't have seen her if she hadn't called out, but when she did, a sigh of relief escaped him as he rushed to embrace her. "Oh God, Ems, I'm so sorry I'm late, I totally lost track of time and then I had a nap, no, actually, the other way around, but I definitely didn't mean to be late, I'm a terrible brother." It was only natural; his words got away from him, racing wildly, and he held onto her like she was a life raft and he was an unfortunate passenger of the Titanic. It took a few moments before he separated from her, smiled broadly and apologetically, and slid into his seat. "Have you been here long? What time is it? Oh man, I don't even know, I was... I fell asleep." Again, the apologetic face was back, filled with guilt and a wish to turn back time.

[Emily Raines]

The giggles couldn’t help but to slip through Emily’s lips, as her cool gaze focused purely on her twin brother – it looked like he had quite literally rolled out of bed, with the way that his hair had clearly decided to take it upon itself to stick in ways that Em was sure was against the laws of gravity. With a small shake of her head in practically admiration at how he had managed to get into the state he was in, she lifted a hand to try and tame at least a few of the curls; but with a roll of her eyes, she knew it was useless. His hair was something that had forever been a battle to be anywhere near normal – a battle that was never helped with the amount of hats he always seemed to wear!

The words seemed to tumble out of his mouth with no chance of stopping or interruption, melding into a bundle of excuses, and apologies. For all his intelligence, Sammy could be one hell of a klutz at times, flying round everywhere, with seemingly no clue of what was going on; although, Emily knew that actually, he was more in touch with the world than a lot of people gave him credit for. Her green gaze followed as he slipped himself into his chair, her body automatically following in a similar fashion into her own, the soft shake of her head again flicking her own curls around her shoulders – not a shake of disapproval, but rather one of almost disbelief.

“Sammy, don’t worry” she spoke quickly, finally getting a chance to edge in some of her own words, her hand sliding across the table to meet his, squeezing gently. “I’ve really only just got here too!” Emily certainly didn’t want her brother to worry about the fact that he had been slightly late – all that really mattered was that he had made it.

She grinned towards him, her hand moving to slide the menu across to him, although she was 95% certain she already knew what he would order – they had been here enough times to have sampled almost everything that they had to offer; and so, had managed to pick firm favourites.

“Now tell me… Who do I have to blame this time? Spongebob, or Phineas and Ferb?” She winked, the giggles starting again softly. Emily knew more than most exactly how much her twin brother was a fan of cartoons – on an ideal day, she would be curled up beside him on the couch, surrounded by plenty of tea and toast, with no plan of getting out of her pyjamas for the whole day – but unfortunately, her job required a bit more steady nine-to-five rota than Samuel’s did. Whilst she was at work for the morning, her brother had clearly been sleeping and/or watching television – though, of course, she knew she didn’t envy his job when he was actually doing it. Private investigation could come nowhere near to making life-or-death decisions, especially with poor little children! Sometimes, she really didn’t know how he managed to do it..

[Samuel Raines]

Inwardly, he was convinced that his hair now resembled something out of a fashion mag, sculpted out of its unruly state by his sister's finger's gentle coaxing, which he truly believed had the ability to perform hair-related miracles. Of course, this was far from true, but thankfully, Sam had never been one to worry too much about outward appearance. (Some might say that this was nothing to be thankful for; some of his outfits were aesthetically offensive to anyone in a five-mile radius.)

More pressing was this matter of being late, and though Emily assured him that it was alright - but of course she would, she was Emily, Creature of Light and Perfection, his sister, the radiant one - he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had some making up to do. Especially when her question sounded, followed by Emily's own brand of girlish giggles. A blush coloured his cheeks, a lop-sided smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and guilt, embarrassment and amusement alike spread across his face like a detailed tapestry.

"Um..." he started, hesitating for a moment, letting his eyes dart to the table, back to Emily's eyes, back to the table, sinking to rest there for a few moments. His hands found the edge of the table, thumbs tucked underneath it, the rest of his fingers tapping a discordant rhythm on the surface. "...Phin' and Ferb..." At this point in his relationship with these treasured cartoon characters, he felt he had earned the right to abbreviate their names. They were compatriots, now, comrades, brothers in arms - in enjoyment. A breathy laugh escaped him, followed by a more substantial one, lengthening into a chuckle, a near-giggle. "I'm sorry, I'm such a child."

He tried to hide, picking up his menu and ducking down into the lists of burgers and sandwiches, tittering behind the laminated surface of the page. After a few moments, he peeked over the edge of the menu, watching her silently before suddenly, with flourish, putting the menu down, meeting her eyes directly and putting on the most serious face he could muster. He was still smiling. "They have really engaging episode arcs, though!" By the end of his statement, he was grinning, a grin that didn't fade when a server came to their table, offering them both a smile and a welcome back - they were familiar faces here by now - and asking for their orders. Sam's was as predictable as he suspected Emily's would be - he went for his usual order, the chicken BLT sandwich, a tried and tested favourite, with a chocolate milkshake to go along with it. (A treat was, of course, obligatory on these occasions.)

He turned his attention back to Emily once the server left, grinning broadly and putting both elbows on the table, leaning over it almost demonstratively. (Sam's place would never be among the ranks of high society.) "How was your day, Ems?"