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[themanagerisavampirex]

[themanagerisavampirex]

"Oh shit, not Mrs. H!" Nani said, very much wishing to not be parted from Paxton or his mouth for a moment longer. "I heard she got one of those mobility scooters and she's been unstoppable."

Nani paused for just long enough to let the impulse to beep the horn one more time take over. Once it was out of her system, she was out the car and by Paxton's side. "Where the hell've you been, Loca?"

"something like that? hmm okay, you battering that horn for dear life says otherwise. mrs hasagawa will have been alerted to steal me away" he chuckled, pressing another kiss to her lips for good measure.

"you gonna come in or are you and the car going to run riot with that horn a bit longer?

[themanagerisavampirex]

Nani kept her hand on the horn for a moment longer simply to hammer home that she was, in fact, starved of attention from Paxton. As he approached, she rolled the window down, smirking like nobody's business.

"Something like that," she replied, shrugging her shoulders as nonchalantly as possible. Couldn't look too desperate, now could she? The involuntary hum that passed from her lips to Paxton's said otherwise.

"Hey."

he was hoping to surprise nani with his arrival back home but apparently she was the equivalent of a cia agent and tracked him down. at the sound of lunatic car honking, paxton laughed, already knowing of who it would be. who else would have such insane enthusiasm? not his family. he turned and found nani battering the car horn like her life depended on it.

paxton walked over to car and crouched to nani's eye-line "what? did you miss me or something?" he asked teasingly. he leaned in and pulled her into a sweeping kiss

"hi"

[themanagerisavampirex]

"I'd be afraid to wreck your house," Nani admitted, stuffing a chip in her mouth. "I just... can never find the balance with her, y'know? One minute I think I'm overreacting or not reacting enough and then the next she does something like this and I just... I don't know what to do about." Her eyes turned to the table. "She isn't a kid anymore either, and..." She sighed.

Nani nodded sympathetically. She knew that feeling, in some way. The feeling of having so many eyes on you, judging under the guise of being concerned for your well-being. She imagined it would be different losing a spouse than losing a parent, but it did not take away the unfortunate connection that she and Becky had in feeling overwhelming grief and having a whole town not know what to do about it. Thankfully, at least now, those looks had passed for her.

"I know he'd want you to be happy," she said quietly, hoping she wasn't overstepping. (She was overstepping in other regards, of course, but that didn't matter so much.) "How many beds were there?" Nani asked, now overstepping on purpose. "I have given all the information I can give, Becky. Just saying."

"i have considered it more than a sister should with his previous dramatics, he wouldn't survive wrecking my house." she smirked with a laugh following "punishment is punishment, as much as i love her, it's unacceptable to do what she did." lilo and nani were family to her and as much as she adored lilo, she sided completely with nani on this. lilo suffered a much kinder fate than tj would have if the show was on the other foot.

becky knew that it must've been exhausting for nani to be the subject of peoples attention, she knew that feeling all to well from the time she was under the microscope with jimmy. as much as she loved to tease nani as friends did, she knew there needed to be a break.

"it never feels right being here on his anniversary and people always look at me like i'm supposed to be a weeping widow twenty four seven, he wouldn't want that." she sighed, she missed him. she always would. becky rolled her eyes at the blatant fishing for information her friend was doing "we didn't just sit there, we're not ducks, nani." she laughed "we visited historical sites, tried new food, travelled and soaked up the sun. i think it did us both some good...and you don't get to dig for info when you think you're being sneaky about paxton. info for info, it's only fair"

[themanagerisavampirex]

"Me and my total lack of deal will have a great life together!!!" Nani shouted back as Lilo stormed off toward the door, slamming it in her wake. The slam was met only by Nani silently screaming into her hands for a good ten minutes.

"You and your total lack of deal can just have a nice life together then!" Lilo shouted, hair mostly hitting the inside of the trash can. The sound was definitely 'aarrrggghh' but she wasn't going to let Nani have the satisfaction.

Throwing her hands up in frustration, some of her hair still in her hand-- "Forget about it! Just forget about it!!" And with that, she'd slammed her way out of the back door and away. The point, the reason, completely lost between them both.

[themanagerisavampirex]

Nani immediately crouched to look at the sink, seeing that Travis at the very least had seemed to fix it. How it even got broken was beyond her, but she didn't dare ask lest she unlock a new level of rage. "Travis, you're a--"

Nani jumped back, holding her fabric weapon in front of her face to stop the freezing cold spray emitting from the pipe.

"--A dead man if you don't!"

She jumped in with the dishtowel to try and block some of the current, but it wasn't much use. The pipe was fucked.

"Loose pipe-," he answered, finally breathing the fresh air from the outside. At long last, Travis got to his feet, his body protesting. If he'd been down there any longer, he might have fused with the sink. "Like i said though, it's all goo-----"

BOOM!

Before he could finish the sentence, there was suddenly water spurting out at them, the pipe burst underneath the sink. Shit. Wherever Lilo was, he hoped she was running fast. "I can fix that."

[themanagerisavampirex]

Nani gave Lilo a generous 3 second headstart before taking off in an Olympians-would-be-jealous sprint. The pair tore through the house, hurdling chairs and taking out anyone who was dim enough to get in their way.

Only one of them was making it out of this party alive, and it sure as hell wasn't Lilo.

"Lilo, I am so finished with you!" she called after her, cursing her sister's blithe weaving in and out of the crowds. "Once I get my hands you, it is so over! I'm going to kill you, and then I'm going to bring you back to clean up the mess, and then I'm going to kill you again!!"

"YOU!"

The words echoed throughout the town, the country, the whole damn world! The room shook, the 'guests' around Lilo had already been terrified out of Nani's way. They were making a swift run for the exit whether that was the windows or the doors. They were almost blocking the way. They were leaving Lilo out to dry.

Only a few split seconds passed but it felt like an eternity. The rage was palpable. The anticipation was killer. Lilo felt like their eyes had been locked in battle until at last, adrenaline kicked back in.

Nope!!!

She turned on her heel, running faster than she'd ever ran in her life, pushing through the crowds, jumping over Travis' feet. The wild goose chase was afoot.

[themanagerisavampirex]

While Paxton had been off seemingly galavanting (wtf kind of 'work' could a bartender really be doing?) Nani was left behind in Redwood Hollow absolutely fighting for her life. Since Lilo's great idea to throw that party, things had only gotten worse. Nani was very, very, very close to becoming the worst! sister! ever! And it didn't help that she didn't have her big, strong man to cuddle away all of her worries.

Now, Nani wasn't quick to confess that, despite it all, she still had Paxton on the brain. He was so much on the brain, in fact, that she could have sworn she saw his car turning a corner on the same road she happened to be on. Obviously that couldn't be right if he was away, but she detoured from collecting her morning coffee just to be certain. Sure enough, it was Paxton's car and she wasn't dreaming! But she had to check still, just in case. No other reason.

She pulled her car to a stop nearby, waiting for Paxton to step out of the car before honking her horn so obnoxiously loud that the curtains of a nearby home twitched.

@themanagerisavampirex

against his protests, paxton had been sent away on a job for his father figure - one that was considered off the books. throughout his travels, he found himself longing for home. not his house but the woman who occupied it more than often, the home that had a mini fridge at the door that housed their keys because he somehow ended up picking up the habit from her.

paxton parked up the car and took a moment before he climbed out to get his suitcase from the boot.

[themanagerisavampirex]

Starter for @baileylxghtfoot

Maybe Nani was just really tired, or maybe Bailey was talking about something so wildly out of her realm of knowledge that she couldn't keep up. She tried to give people with niche interests the benefit of the doubt, given that her sister was also into some weird-ass things, but sometimes it left her dumbfounded. She should have known better than to engage in anything 'D'N'D' related.

"I'm gonna be honest, I don't know if half the words that even came out of your mouth were even real."

[themanagerisavampirex]

@paxtonpatterson

fake idgafer, i saw you yearning

[themanagerisavampirex]

Nani stopped, mid-coffee sip. She recognised the woman's face, but only vaguely (a symptom of living in a small town where everyone knew everyone.) She noted that she seemed worried, but assumed it must be because she was looking for somewhere she hadn't been before.

"The Blues?" she repeated, wracking her brain. "The surname rings a bell but I think I need more context than that. Are you visiting?"

As Dory wandered along, a sense of aimlessness filled her. Her phone, entrusted with the map by her mother, had been stolen, leaving her stranded without a clue of where "home" was. Feeling disoriented, she approached a passerby to ask, "Hello there, do you know where the Blues live?" She felt a hint of panic, fearing that she might even forget her parents' names. "I'm lost…"

@themanagerisavampirex

[themanagerisavampirex]

@paxtonpatterson

put those big brown eyes away dude now is NOT the time

[themanagerisavampirex]

🎲 - Naveen

a grocery store past midnight, the only other people in the store are the workers

"Dude, I mean this in the nicest way possible," Nani said, to the random (but also kind of vaguely familiar) person standing in the middle of the grocery aisle. "But you look like you've never seen a grocery store in your life."

Granted, it was after midnight. No one in their right mind visited the grocery store after midnight. (Nani, clearly, was not in her right mind.) "You good?"

@theceonaveenmaldonia

[themanagerisavampirex]

Nani always felt she was one foot in 'fuck around and find out' and the other in 'take absolutely no risk ever, ever, ever!' It was a weird place to be, but she decided not to think about it lest she never sleep again. Nani laughed, totally ready to big-up Tiana's ideas now that she had got going with them. "Why not make it a drive-through bowling alley?" she suggested, jokingly. "You know, I wouldn't be mad about catering at the recitals, though. You don't know panic until you see a kid walking to the stage with a Nutella sandwich in their hand..." Nani let her ramble, barely managing to sip her coffee between laughing at the ideas herself. (She would hold her to the half-naked chipotle guys though...)

"I try not to think about why they come back too often," Nani replied, now earnest. "If you worry too much you start counting how many aren't there instead of how many are. I guess they come because they like it? We're a little dance family." Nani pursed her lips. "Bribery works for the kindergarteners and the teenagers. Getting those kindergarteners and teenagers out of parent's hair for two hours really sells it to the parents."

Tiana wanted Nani to feel good about her new restaurant (new as in years down the line), but Tiana also wanted Nani to like her choices as she got there. Like, if Tiana did include half-naked guys serving light Mexican food, would Nani actually want to eat there? She actually hoped so. She wasn’t going to include that wardrobe choice or that style of cuisine; she just wanted to keep the ideas flowing.

“Nani, I want you to know that my ideas for the future are something I care about,” Tiana started. She hesitated, then continued: “But you’re making me want to mess around more! I mean it. This place I’m imagining, it’s huge in my mind, but what if I did a drive-through? Or a bowling alley? This is too much fun. I wonder if I could officially cater the Ohana kids’ dance recitals. Or the Hollow Hootenanny. I could create a model for my restaurant that ensures only the kind, thoughtful citizens of Redwood get the freshest batches, and the no-good, selfish ones receive stuff that’s at least two days old. Or I could do it different, and the no-good, selfish ones get food for free but they have to come in and get it themselves, and when they walk through the door…they’ve gotta swallow their pride, because surprise, I actually am hiring half-naked guys and they really are serving official Chipotle meals.” Tiana cackled. “I’m too unserious.”

Tiana said, “So how come your Ohana clients want to keep coming back? Returning people must be the heart of the business. I’m thinking you sweeten the pot, right? Give them some special thing during lessons they can’t refuse? I went to a hair salon back when I was in Louisiana, and they served beverages! That’s what I could do. Of course we’ll have the beverages. But we’ll give people fun worksheets or let them sign their names on a big sculpture. Business owners have to do something, right?”

[themanagerisavampirex]

Nani knew better than to have a cheeky little coffee so late in the day but... well, you only live once. She had popped into the Enchanted Rose for, like, 10 minutes max to catch up with her friends, and then it just magically appeared in her hand, y'know? Couldn't argue with that. Victor and Babette hadn't been there, but it left room for her to catch up with Tiana, who really was a blast.

She glanced up in the direction that Tiana gestured. There was, indeed, a dog with a jacket. "Dog with a jacket," she repeated, delighted at the sight.

"You have to really, really want it," Nani pointed out. She leaned against the wall they had found themselves lurking around. "It's really nice that you trust my judgement, Tia, but you're the only one. Can't say my ego's mad about it though," she replied, half-joking. Yes, Nani ran the studio and the dance school within it, but half of the time she felt like she was just making things up as she went along. Actually, her whole life had felt the same way. Raising Lilo? All winging it. Adopting Stephen? Winging it!

"Honestly, I don't know how long it would last. Ohana looks like it's doing well, but we're always just... one bad season away from having to close our doors. Another school would either take us for everything we had, or it wouldn't get off the ground at all." Nani rarely talked business, but with Tiana so curious, she had to be honest. "A restaurant, though. That would have to be something really special. Or at least gimmicky. Like... half-naked guys serving chipotle or something."

starter for @themanagerisavampirex

Tiana leaned against the wall of the Enchanted Rose Cafe and ran her hand through her braids. “Look over there,” she told her friend Nani, gesturing to a man walking a small dog wearing a jacket. “Dog with a jacket.”

Tiana liked to come to Nani with her business questions, like “how long does it take for someone to actually open a business” and “how do you know something’s a good idea for the business and not a risky one.” Today she and Nani were discussing new places in town and places they’d heard could close soon.

“The cool thing is, I have a lot of good reasons to be confident,” she said contentedly. “My restaurant might close after a couple years, it’s true. But my friends lately have been so encouraging about my ideas. I really think this place could survive.” Tiana took a sip of the lemonade she’d bought after her waitressing shift. “Nani, you’re one of the coolest people I know. Tell me what you think. We both know that Ohana is the best. And other dance studios just wouldn’t cut it. So if some other dance place opened in Redwood, do you think they’d end up shutting down sooner or later? Because like Ohana, all the food places in town right now are rock solid, I’m telling you. They’re not closing their doors anytime.”

[themanagerisavampirex]

"Stress? Stress?! I don't know the meaning of the word!" Nani countered, so sarcastically that it almost came full circle and lost its irony. She sighed, ignoring the twitch in her eye. "The way you're talking, I'm one 'can we talk?' away from an intervention," she grumbled.

"Victor, I'm fine. I promise. I'm always fine."

Nani had learned to just keep going. Try hard, do your best. Keep going.

"Anyway," she returned pointedly. "How are you? How's things with Babette? You haven't tried killing each other in a while." Wink, wink. It sounded like things were going very, very, very well for her friends.

"not to everyone else, but to a man that knows stress when he sees it? sure" he chuckled, taking a sip of his beer "everything doesn't need to be everything. you can take time for yourself you know. i know you'll say you don't have time, but you do and you know we're all here to help, right?" he wanted nani to know that she wasn't in this on her own. she deserved some time to herself and if the paxton rumours were as true as babette says then he was fully on board nani having some fun with someone.

[themanagerisavampirex]