WHAT A PAIN - !

My family's been dealing with stuff for quite some time now--I haven't really mentioned it because it's been a pain in the ass and, y'know, personal family matters and such. My grandpa's house sold for full price yesterday, no inspection, which is great!!! I'm glad my grandpa will have some extra money just in case he needs it, and I think getting out of that awful house and living with family will be good for him considering he had a "I'm lonely but too stubborn and would rather guilt everyone for not paying attention to me even though they are" phase.

However, it... really hasn't been easy. A lot of different things have been driving my family crazy throughout the last few years because of my grandma's passing. :I Moving EVERYTHING out of that house, emotional outbursts, family members' true colors coming out, all that good stuff. :/ I got everything I really wanted from my grandma's stuff--mostly trinkets and such with memories attached to them.

I'm just... glad the housing situation is settled now? I'm hoping we can all finally move on a bit. One thing I DIDN'T find that I really, REALLY wanted was one of the really old plushes my grandma had that I used to play with all the time. He was a big ol' cute sheep that I named "Ferdinand". Tiny Henri even made him a little beaded necklace with a name tag on it. :') And for a second, I really did think he was gone, and I was rather upset--I haven't seen him in years and I figured he was thrown out at some point.

BUT NO...... HE WASN'T!!! My grandpa was going to throw him away, but my mom saved him- ;;; I'm so happy he's safe; I cried when I saw him!!! He's missing his bead necklace, but I can make him another one. ;w;

"...Max?" There's a brief glance to the lagomorph beside him.

"Yeah?" And a light ear quirk on said lagomorph's part to go with it.

...Max was in a bad mood. Sam had known of such details beforehand--and while Max wasn't really showing it... he was. Whether or not he realized it. The lack of ludicrous yet witty comments and generally stoic silence spoke louder than Max ever could, and that sure said something.

"Still a little sour about coming back, little buddy...?" The question is gentle, spoken with a soft smile... testing the waters in its portrayal, almost.

There's a surprising bit of silence, at first. Not very long for a regular individual, but for Max...? Then, there's a rather audible exhale. Not so much in any anger or upset... an acceptance of the inevitable telling, more so.

"Honey... you know I'm not happy about this." Despite the reply's contents, there is a grin in return--one Sam hadn't seen since they'd eaten breakfast together just about. "...But I do just wanna get it over with so I can focus on spendin' some QT with my best friend on our new adopted daughter's island, sooo... that's where we are now in the ol' noggin. That and questioning the morality of square dancing, anyways."

"Square dancing..." There's a brief mull... and an even bigger smile on the dog's muzzle. "...do you think they mandate square dancing in hell?"

"Maybe in the layer below it, sure."

Manhattan's creamy center incoming... and so was what was left of that problem building. While the upper levels had crumbled to nothing but bad memories and nostril-burning trauma, there was still... a small bit of it standing. The lower floors had somehow survived the collapse, much like Sam had escaped certain death's clutches as he and Max tended to do by whim of some resounding force that craved chaos and illwill for the world. As they inevitably approached the... err, admittedly still harrowing sight... Sam would continue their banter nevertheless.

"You know, sweetie? Maybe we should ask Jaembo if we can build a vacation office on her island. You know, an office where we still don't do any actual work within its walls but in a tropical setting where we can also pester our daughter with our undying presence."

"You think Jae's slouched neck of the woods has enough crime to satiate us?" Max seemed to take to picking his teeth with his foot. "Seems like kind of a snooooozefest over there..."

"Nah, probably not," Sam shrugged. "But it'd be nice to have a second office anyway for no apparent reason other than the ever-effective "just because"~."

Even so, sub-par banter wouldn't save them from the sight that now only moderately towered over the DeSoto upon pull-up. What remained of the building still casted a shadow upon the sidewalks below... and in spite of the construction machines parked around it, it didn't quite seem to be high up on the list of priorities... Tsk. Well. Either that, or they saw the terrifying sight of the DeSoto peeking over the concrete waves and the workers all ran for their lives.

Considering the silhouettes running off into the horizons themselves? One may suspect the latter.

Turning the key to cease the ignition... Sam felt a chilling sense of déjà vu overwhelm his poor, battered body. The calm before the storm... the ability to even allow banter to slip through the worsening cracks they didn't even know were there... before Max had fully succumbed to his ailments and collapsed onto the pavement.

...Perhaps their physical wounds weren't the only wounds still festering.

"Sam? Saaam? Hey--"

Ah--Sam blinked quite a few times. Stumbling out of his stupor and falling flat onto his muzzle. H-how long had Max been calling for him? How long had they just been... sitting there in the car?

"Oh, I... I'm sorry, Max-- What were you saying...?"

There's... a somewhat sharp bit of air sucked through fangs. Max seemed to look away for a moment, gandering through the window of his side, all before it'd gradually straighten toward the glove box in front of his situated form.

"This... was why I didn't wanna come back so soon."

The words are... distant. Not emotionally, either. As if they had traveled eons away within the deafening silence that settled within the DeSoto. This wasn't the only reason, no... and yet, it was the loudest one within the unspoken lines of the initial distaste. The wounds hadn't even had the time to settle, let alone do any sort of scabbing nor healing.

Max knew that. And Sam... Sam didn't want to acknowledge it. And didn't... until now.

"...It's... just like you told me though, Sam," Max began, a gentle rub of the bandaged paw he still cradled.

"It'll be in n' out. Then, then we can focus on us... for a long, looong time. Okay, honey~?"

Right... right. They had... they had a job to do. One... last... job. Related to this mess. And then, then... they could both finally move on from all of this. Not only with their usual antics, their strict policing and detecting...

...but with their union.

"O-of course..." There's a slight nod... a deep breath ceasing the action rather suddenly, before... there's a much more affirming nod right afterward.

"Of course, little pal~." No, he's not sniffling--you are.

With that, Max had actually beamed--and hopped right out of his seat to open the door on his side, and precariously jump out on all-fours.

"Now c'mon, let's get this over with so we can go bother Jae again!!!"