It was 7:53 and he'd grown tired of waiting for his brother to come out of the house.

Riku closed the door of his car, locking it with a press of a button. What could be taking Mera so long? Jogging up the wooden steps up into the large two-story house, he looked from the lush living room into the hallway.

"Mera?" He pulled off his glasses and walked right past the bedroom, heading towards the back yard, where he could hear a gentle scratching at the back door. "Mera? We'll be late if we don't get out of here now," he called as he opened the door a crack, letting his younger brother's cat slither in and occupy a chair.

He turned with a heavy sigh, brushing his hands into his long bangs and hair, frustration seeping straight through his business suit.

Almost passing by the bedroom once again, Riku glanced to the side to see his younger brother sitting on the edge of the bed, shirtless but in his dress pants, hair combed. Eyes lingered on the shirt that hung from Mera's hand, irritation dissipating fast.

"Can't get my shirt on," he muttered simply, staring at the side stubbornly. "It's right-handed."

Riku was thankful he was so practiced at keeping a stony face that his swallow went unnoticed. Sometimes, being a lawyer had its advantages. Silent, he plucked Mera's shirt from his hand and started to help his brother with his clothing.

He'd have to keep this in mind. Maybe they should go shopping... it was worth thinking about. His eyes flickered up to watch his brother's expression, as it went from irritated at his own defeat to thoughtful, and solumn.

He couldn't worry about Mera while he was in court. He had to be completely focused, and thinking about his younger, disabled brother was more than a little distracting. Shopping it was, then. Tomorrow. No dwelling on it.

"I didn't need your help."

"Yeah, right. … you're done, now. Let's get going before I lose my reservation."

"Where're we going?" Mera nearly rolled his eyes, shooting Riku's back a look as he stood up, having folded Mera's sleeve up so that a peek of the stump of his upper arm could be seen.

Riku looked over his shoulder, handing the black shoes over to his brother, and tying them for him, even if Mera tried to move his feet away. "The Eastern Garden--hold still."

"I can do that."

He nearly rolled his eyes, but pulled his hands back so his younger brother could finish dressing himself. "It's an expensive Chinese place," A moment passed, before: "My last client's paying for this."

"Good."

Riku got to his feet, tension ebbing out from his shoulders as he laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You. You didn't like them that much?"

Mera stood opposite Riku, and tried to cross his arms over his chest--before awkwardly putting them to his sides. It was hard, even after years, to get used to the fact he only had one arm. "They were stuck up. Besides," he lowered his voice to a mutter, "they had ties to that DiZ guy."

Riku's eyes softened. "Yeah, they did." And there was no way he could explain to Mera the complicated legal measures he had to take to make sure both he and Mera were kept out of this case in particular. Instead of trying to, he placed a hand on his younger brother's shoulder to steer him out.

"So I guess we're eating really good tonight. How about you order the most expensive thing on the menu, and I'll order the second most expensive."

"What if the most expensive thing is caviar? I'm not eating caviar."

"It's not gonna be caviar, Mera."

"How do you know?"

"Chinese resturant."

"They could serve caviar at a Chinese place."

Riku tried to argue his point as he locked the door behind Mera, prolonging that discussion to avoid the one he knew was coming up: his next case. More specifically, his next case, who his client was and how long he'd be working on it.

He didn't know the details of the case yet, but he knew new information had been streamlined into the investigation, so the case was reopened, and thus, Riku had been called in. His mentor was the first person to actually try the case, but after retiring... the case had been pushed into Riku's hands. He hadn't known what to do with it when it'd been given to him--the case stirred some old, old resentments and just thinking about it...

He could still see Mera bleeding out on the ground, clutching his now absent arm. He could still feel the panic rising in his chest as he tried to call 911, even if it'd been years ago.

"Riku!"

With a sharp flinch, he drew his eyes up from Mera's broad shoulders (used to be that Mera was small enough for Riku to let him ride piggyback until he was fifteen). "Yeah?"

"You're driving."

"No kidding." He sighed, running a hand through his hair before he manuvered over to the driver's side of the car.