[ once the water's accepted, John turns to lean himself against the sink, arms crossed and watching Dirk - smile amused, stance easy. the second Claire's name met the mix, any last traces of worry left it. if Dirk was with Claire, and if he's come back loose and singing and fine, chances are he's not lying when he waggles his hand just so.

and then John finds himself on the receiving end of Dirk's very detectively squinting gaze and he narrowly avoids a snort, goes instead for a raise of the eyebrows, laughter turning to the wider stretch of his smile. ]

Me? Some of us work for a living.

[ it's a joke. they've only recently discussed Dirk's financial ventures, and honestly the chances are that Dirk works harder and more consistently per hour at his job than John at his. if that in itself weren't enough, the level drop from mock offence to explanation leaves a clear distinction between play and truth. ]

Everyone's on their best behaviour tonight. If I'm going to be sat on my arse doing nothing for hours, thought I might as well do it at home.

[ tl;dr, he's skiving off the last couple of hours of his shift, good morning Dirk. ]

Now I see I should've texted ahead. Could've been out helping you reach outrageously.