[ 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

[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."

[realimperfect]

"He'd only be useful when his mind was in tact and his body worked. And even I can't remember seeing my grandfather off of his ventilator and walking." Grandfather had been so old, and yet he'd never actually told her his exact age. She'd asked, so many times on his birthdays, and he'd only shake his head. Knowing their technologies, and his position... she wouldn't have doubted it if her grandfather had been over one hundred. Either way -

"Though I can't control what BREW chooses to do."

[thewarisover]

"Do you ever wish that you could?"

It was probably an odd question, but it deserved to be asked anyway, especially among...

Well. They WERE friends, right?

[realimperfect]

"What, control BREW?" She can't help the almost sarcastic little laugh as her brow raises, giving him that look of 'really?' Of course Re-l wanted to control BREW, but then again, Re-l Mayer had a habit of wanting to control everyone and everything, and make sure that they did everything perfectly, as she's told them to in the first place. Maybe a bit of a problem, but she was quite content with it.

"Of course I'd like to control BREW, Roy."

[thewarisover]

"'Of course', huh?"

Roy chuckled at that, dropping his gaze to his glass. His fingers drummed against the side of it.

"Honestly, I'd just be content with being able to talk to it."

[realimperfect]

"Why just talk to it? To try and convince it to do things differently?" It was an interesting way to look at it, really, and it interested her. But then again, Roy always had an interesting way of things.

[thewarisover]

"To try and understand why it's doing things in the first place."

That, in Roy's opinion, was always the first step to take in any situation, if it could be helped at all. He had seen too much and done too much to be hasty, even with circumstances like theirs in Death City.

[realimperfect]

"Do you think we could honestly ever understand something like that?" It was an interesting concept, if she was honest, but in practice? It might be harder than just accepting their situation to understand why the BREW would start utilizing fighters from other worlds and bringing them here to fight. Inter-dimensional things, so far as she'd seen, had been testy in certain matters.

[thewarisover]

"It's worth a shot, isn't it? I'm of the belief that anything can be, with enough time, enough resources, devotion and a little luck."

Roy was, after all, a scientist at the end of the day. Even if the answer ended up being something along the lines of "it's a mystery", it was still an answer.

[realimperfect]

"I'm a little more ambitious. I like things done within the time and place parameters I set, and if it isn't, I suppose I'll have to do them myself." No, Re-l, that's called being a demanding bitch, as others had said, but she hardly seems to notice the difference. Another deep drink of her wine, and she can't help but make a little jab at herself. It was funny how not long ago she never recognized how demanding she was, at least until iggy and Vincent had pointed it out.

"You can imagine this is typically why I do everything myself, instead of delegating."

[thewarisover]

"I can. Sounds a lot like how I used to do things."

And still did some things, on occasion. Anyone who had worked with Roy long enough in DOGS could see it.

Old habits were so very hard to kick.

[realimperfect]

"Used to?" Seems someone might have caught on to 'old' habits even now. But then again, noticing traits you share with another isn't all that hard of a task, if she really thought about it.

[thewarisover]

"I used to be much, much worse."

Especially after Maes Hughes had died. Uncovering the truth, getting revenge and dismantling the military hiding the group responsible had become his single reason for living after that.

[realimperfect]

"That happens." She herself had been a lot worse when she had been on her mission to help Vincent, to find him, whatever she could do after he'd willingly plunged out of Romdeau. She had been, admittedly, on a war path against her grandfather and the secrets of the city long before then, but every revolution needed a catalyst, even if she had in a way been a one-woman army.

"I used to be much worse as well. Vincent says I've "calmed down" since we've been traveling. The truth to that, though, is a little debatable...."

[thewarisover]

"We all have our moments, yeah? And habits are hard to kick."

Especially when they were formed for particular reasons, or when they pretty much BECAME one's very purpose for everything.

[realimperfect]

"I suppose. Though according to some my 'moments' were just how I lived life in the dome." But she manages to look a little amused by that, tipping her head slightly to the side. Maybe the wine is making her open up at least a little more.

"But I found being a social pariah was more entertaining than blending in, on most counts."

[thewarisover]

"Yeah, and part of the fun of that is watching everyone react to you."

There were times, in fact, when Roy had pushed boundaries just to get a rise out of people. Just because he could.

Ah, good times.

[realimperfect]

"Precisely. Particularly when by law of expectation, they shouldn't have expected anything less out of me." Her grandfather and others should have known, by the time she turned nineteen years old, that she wouldn't be any different as she got older. As a child she may have been malleable, but as Re-l gained a mind of her own so too did she gain a sense of independence from her grandfather and every one around her in the domed city.

They, simply, had no pull with her anymore.

"I feel like we both learn we're more and more similar the more we talk like this."