He isn't especially surprised when he opens the door to his office to find her sitting in his chair reading a book.
"How does it take three hours to pick up groceries from the store?"
"...Traffic."
"You walked."
She continues thumbing through the book even through her dry admonishing; Edward notes with a dull sort of realization that this sort of thing doesn't even annoy him anymore. He wonders which of them this is actually a victory for.
"I had something to say to you."
"Normal human beings communicate that through notes on the counter when the other party is absent."
"You'd almost think I'm not."
He sighs in some measure of exasperation before shedding his coat. "As much as I enjoy our scintillating conversations, Susan, now is not a good time. If you could get on with it..."
"Oh. Yes. The hot water tank broke and the basement flooded." His mouth drops open. "I would have done something about it, but your mechanism jammed and I wasn't particularly keen about dropping through the floor into a foot of water."
"Good God! What -- The basement ... Dammit, Susan!" Forgetting the exhaustion of the day, he bolts as quickly as he can towards the passageway, jerking it harder than he ought to have. "It's not jammed at -- " Whatever. He takes the stairs down three at a time, not even caring if he plunged into --
"SURPRISE!"
His mouth drops open again. Ema takes advantage of this to scoop him in for a kiss; the rest of his senses go numb, with the exception of his hearing which seems to dimly pick up on some strains of an obscenely high-pitched song being conducted by Pinkie Pie. The Legion sulks in the corner, Slugger hands him a box with air-holes punched in the top, Luke excitedly rattles off some puzzles about guessing ages...
"...Happy birthday, Edward."
And Susan, for the first time he can remember in some months, gifts him with a rare smile without a hint of malice or irritation whatsoever.
Riddler/Susan | Shiawase no Kagami | Music Meme 10/9/11
"How does it take three hours to pick up groceries from the store?"
"...Traffic."
"You walked."
She continues thumbing through the book even through her dry admonishing; Edward notes with a dull sort of realization that this sort of thing doesn't even annoy him anymore. He wonders which of them this is actually a victory for.
"I had something to say to you."
"Normal human beings communicate that through notes on the counter when the other party is absent."
"You'd almost think I'm not."
He sighs in some measure of exasperation before shedding his coat. "As much as I enjoy our scintillating conversations, Susan, now is not a good time. If you could get on with it..."
"Oh. Yes. The hot water tank broke and the basement flooded." His mouth drops open. "I would have done something about it, but your mechanism jammed and I wasn't particularly keen about dropping through the floor into a foot of water."
"Good God! What -- The basement ... Dammit, Susan!" Forgetting the exhaustion of the day, he bolts as quickly as he can towards the passageway, jerking it harder than he ought to have. "It's not jammed at -- " Whatever. He takes the stairs down three at a time, not even caring if he plunged into --
"SURPRISE!"
His mouth drops open again. Ema takes advantage of this to scoop him in for a kiss; the rest of his senses go numb, with the exception of his hearing which seems to dimly pick up on some strains of an obscenely high-pitched song being conducted by Pinkie Pie. The Legion sulks in the corner, Slugger hands him a box with air-holes punched in the top, Luke excitedly rattles off some puzzles about guessing ages...
"...Happy birthday, Edward."
And Susan, for the first time he can remember in some months, gifts him with a rare smile without a hint of malice or irritation whatsoever.