[ closed ]

[realimperfect]

Characters: Re-l Mayer & Roy Mustang

Location: Watch office and moving to the nearest bar

Rating: PG-13 at worst? I DUNNO

Time: Late night 12th February to early morning 13th February

Description: Re-l drags Roy out of the office for a few drinks and a deep conversation may follow.




She didn't know what time it was, but, really, some part of her internal clock said it was far too late to keep working at this computer with sent relentless tapping of fingers on keys. Even her eyes, after a while, couldn't stand to sit in front of the screen anymore. But she was keenly aware that Roy was still in the office - or at least, that he hadn't said goodnight if he had left, and typically that was what told her it was time to turn in as well. When Mustang called it quits she'd been working a little too long as well.

Or at least, that was the scale she'd come to measure it all by at this point.

Shutting down the computer she rolls her chair back, resisting the urge to rub at her eyes as she stands and stretches, gingerly rolling her still injured shoulder before exiting her little corner of the office.

No surprises here - Roy was still at his desk.

"Mustang - " She pauses long enough to ensure she has his attention, brows raised a little. "I was thinking of getting a drink before I went home, would you like to join me?" Hey, can't blame a girl for having a drink to a relax a little before bed, can you?

Comments

[thewarisover]

"That does tend to be the nature of change, in my experience. I'm one to believe that ultimately, what is, is best, though."

Even if it meant losing someone you cared about. Call it whatever one wanted - a defense mechanism, denial, what have you. Roy was a soldier. Loss was part of the job.

[realimperfect]

"The situation is a catch twenty-two, really. There are down falls to every plus I can find." Which, of course, is the way of the world, but, at the end of things - she supposes she selfishly misses what she knows best. Though she found Romdeau terribly boring - it was still the place she'd grown used to and called home.

The cramped rabbit, and living in her new conditions simply couldn't compare to her old status, in the round-about.

[thewarisover]

"Funny how that works out, huh?"

Roy chuckled a bit, stared into the bottle of his drink, and took another swig.

This was why he did not like breaks. He ended up thinking again.

[realimperfect]

"What? How you think something will be a fool proof plan until you have it - and then you realize the implications of that as well?" There's almost a rueful chuckle, there, as she orders another glass of wine. If there's one thing Re-l can manage to drink quickly, it's whatever brand of wine she's ordered for tonight.

"I suppose it's funny, but in a way it's a cruel irony as well."

[thewarisover]

"Which is another thing that one can either choose to laugh at, take into stride, or get upset over."

Roy personally preferred the first two options. He was tired of being brought down too low.

"...So, any particular reason why you wanted to drag me out here?"

Re-L wasn't actually concerned about him, was she?

[realimperfect]

"Because we're a little too alike in some ways and different in others. You'd work until five AM to distract yourself from feeling guilty, and if you keep that up you're going to be useless to all of us." There, was that blunt enough for you Roy? She takes a drink of her new glass of wine, crossing her legs under the table as she sits back, prim and proper by default despite their less than posh surroundings.

"Plus, alcohol puts most people to sleep."

[thewarisover]

That made Roy chuckle. It was a short, rueful sound.

"You've got it all thought out, huh," he murmured, as he took another swig of his own drink.

[realimperfect]

"Unfortunately." Re-l was a bit of a planner, and she couldn't really help it. But it helped that Roy and herself were so alike, at least in some aspects, so she could bet on certain reactions. For now, though, she didn't mind the company, and knowing that she was at least preventing him from lingering and brooding too much.

For the moment.

[thewarisover]

"This is probably one of the main reasons why I hired you."

And he did value Re-L's input on a lot of things. Her skill set was also rather unique, which helped.

"...Thanks, though. I've been getting a bit too caught up with some of the stuff back at the office anyway."

[realimperfect]

"I know." Enigmatic as always to what she was answering, exactly, but presumably she's pretty confident on both fronts. A part of her had wondered when she'd joined the watch in the first place whether she was simply settling in to old habits and what she was comfortable with again, but well..

What the hell else would Re-l Mayer do in this situation other than that?

[thewarisover]

"Craziness with 004 aside, how have you been doing? Like honestly."

It wasn't a deflection on Roy's part, which was probably surprising given how nuts everything had been for him as of late. He was genuinely curious, and he rarely got the chance, even on down times, to ask after the people who worked with him.

[realimperfect]

"I've been better, of course." She indicates her shoulder with a little motion, as if it doesn't really matter, shrugging the good one after. Life was starting to settle down in Death City, and it was becoming easier to talk to people here the more she learned how.

Still, it was strange to be on a learning curve she never thought she'd be participating in. "Otherwise I've been alright. Nothing out of the ordinary."

[thewarisover]

"Back to business then, huh? How long will it take your shoulder to heal?"

Such an injury was always inconvenient, especially for people like them. They lived in being able to be active, to do things.

[realimperfect]

"They say four to six weeks for complete healing. I'll give it four but by then I'm heading back to work. I'm going stir crazy enough as is dealing with all of this and yet being told not to work." It was a pain in the ass enough to have re-injured it in attempting to save people from being kidnapped, particularly since it wasn't something she typically did - but it was even worse to not be able to work, either.

"In the mean time I can still do desk work and things, though. Otherwise I may lose my mind."

[thewarisover]

"I can relate to that pretty damned well. Never been one to stay still and all."

But Re-L probably knew that already. It was one of the reasons why they were sitting at the bar, having a conversation, in the first place.

"Some of the Meisters in the city have healing abilities that might be able to speed up the process. You might want to check in with them."

[realimperfect]

"I never would have guessed.." But the little snicker after suggests her sarcasm if he didn't catch it, finishing yet another glass of wine. If there's one thing Re-l is also proficient at, it's finishing glasses of wine in record time. Drinking, apparently, wasn't held in too low of an esteem in Romdeau.

"They do?" Huh, consider her interested. "I'll have to put out a message about that, tomorrow if I get the chance. I've been told I put things on the network much too late, so I suppose if I'm looking for help I ought to do it on people's terms."

[thewarisover]

"That might be a good idea, yeah."

Now it was Roy's turn to sound a little dry. Re-L's late night messages were fine with him, but he wasn't exactly the baseline for 'normal' in Death City.

[realimperfect]

Neither of them were, really, but that was probably one of the main reasons she'd even bothered to drag him to the pub right then and insisted on having drinks. Night owls and workaholics were mostly alike, as far as she could tell, and it was always good to keep in good contact with those most like yourself.

"Mmm - I'll have to. I hate this sitting around waiting shit. Drives me up a wall."

[thewarisover]

"Maybe you could pick up a hobby. We're going to have more down time like this in the future, I'm sure."

He wasn't just talking about the possibility of either of them getting injured. The tricky thing with a prolonged conflict was that there WERE long lulls between all of the fighting. It made one... edgy, if one wasn't careful.

[realimperfect]

"What is there to 'pick up', really? I've never really had the time for hobbies or games." That was kind of a sad truth of her life, if she were to be honest about it, but at the time there was no way to know any better.

"I suppose I could pick up playing piano again."

[thewarisover]

"Oh, you know how to? That's an interesting coincidence."

He had learned himself, at a very young age. There had been a piano at the hostess bar.

[realimperfect]

"Yes. But grandfather determined it took up too much of my time and decided to fill it with work instead. I haven't touched a piano in a few years." And someone seems more than a little bitter about that, really. But just as quickly as that flash of anger appears it's erased, and she's perfectly neutral again.

[thewarisover]

That only made Roy smile.

"Well, I don't see your grandfather anywhere here."

[realimperfect]

"Of course you wouldn't. He's dead." But she seems incredibly casual about that, though she's probably told Roy about his attempt on her life, and knowing Re-l, there isn't really a lot of room for forgiveness on that, not after all she'd discovered in the end anyway.

[thewarisover]

"Well, that helps things along, I suppose."

People not getting along with family was something that Roy did not find too disturbing, nor something he felt the need to pry into.

"Of course, BREW does have a penchant for bringing dead people back to life."