groundzeroes | IC Inbox

you lactose intolerant or anything?

( because she is currently standing in line for pizza with a shopping bag of wine in her other hand, wondering if he's one of those people who insists on eating nothing but rice, egg yolks and chicken. )

[This week has been Rough As Shit. Getting a text out of the blue from Kate is a welcome diversion.

He considers confessing to his aversion to shiitake mushrooms, but figures the chance of encountering them is low enough that he doesn't need to bother.]

Nothing.

You coming by?

( see, she was right to just escape the city and try her hand at soloing whatever aggressive wildlife is out there. less traumatic. )

yep. 20 minutes.
rooftop of the roost?

( she doesn't even have to parkour herself up there now she's getting a hang on flying, which makes carrying all of this easier. )

See you there.

[Since Rei owns the Roost, he is of course the first one there-- which is rare in itself. But being there before Kate also means he gets to see her airborne, and his eyebrows rise as he watches her alight.]

Goddamn.

( there's got to be a particular level of heaven devoted to "hot ladies flying up to deliver pizza and wine". )

Not quite.

( even if God is real, she doubts it had anything to do with her. )

You prefer red or white?

( here, Rei, take the pizza — which he will quickly see if plain cheese, with extra cheese. enough that it almost looks like it could buckle under the weight of melted dairy — while she yanks two bottles of wine out of the carrier bag.

she's presuming he doesn't mind drinking out of a bottle. )

Red.

[Rei accepts the pizza box and sits down on the hard surface of the roof with a sigh.]

Really pulling out all the stops tonight, huh. [The words are ostensibly a jab, but Rei's voice is too tiredly appreciative to really make it sound like one.] Glad you made it.

( a flippant response lingers on her tongue but...

nah.

instead, her brows raise at the tone and she finds a spot next to him, handing over the red wine before she speaks. )

Was hungry. ( shrug. it's a small thing, but she could have just avoided saying it in the first place. but there's little point in hiding something so tame around Rei. he's seen her at much worse places than a little ravenous.

she's just going to yank a piece of pizza before speaking again. ) Sounds like you need it.

( that quip was seriously lacking any punch, dude. )

[Rei doesn't answer right away. He takes his time opening the wine-- thank god for screw caps, even if it usually means the drink's cheap-- and takes a long swig.

The urge to be vulnerable to someone when he's currently brooding over someone else learning vulnerabilities he hoped they wouldn't feels a bit... farcical. Frankly, this whole thing is ridiculous. He's getting too soft, seriously.]

Just treading water. [Rei gives her a lopsided smirk.] Though it looks like you certainly haven't been, if the flying is any indication.

( if that wasn't entirely true, she'd be offended. the philosophy of "the cheapest drink with the highest percentage" is a good one when you're just looking to get drunk and burn off the energy remaining from your trip back.

(and a shower. she does have enough manners to not turn up without at least washing the grime off.) )

Took a month to figure it out. ( a lot of bruises and even more time on her ass, and she's still nowhere near where she wants to be with this skill. the trip up to the roof took enough energy as it was.

(the parkour is easier right now. just maybe not with wine and pizza.)

she takes another bite of pizza, chewing slowly, thoughtfully. treading water, huh? that's very much her lifestyle, if she thinks about it too much. drinking just enough to keep from dreaming, keeping her head above water by grasping for ways to keep busy. but Rei... )

Always thought you'd be sunbathing poolside.

( he hasn't really shown many cracks before this — even back in the cave, mutually agreed silence notwithstanding in her own mind — so, in the words of her mother: what's up, buttercup? )

Edited (can't do it i can't have her say what's up buttercup no matter how funny it is to me) 2021-05-30 11:29 (UTC)

[Rei laughs dryly at Kate's impression of him. That's certainly the persona he's crafted for himself-- she has that much nailed.]

Maybe so. [Still....

he takes another drink.]

...Kate. You've made hard choices before, right?

Yeah.

( are there people who haven't? they must truly be living blessed lives. or sheltered ones. )

Scale of one to ten. How hard?

( she's going to take a wild guess that it's on the higher end of the scale if he's taking so much time to talk about it.

but at least that time gives her a second to take a swig of white wine. ugh. tastes like vinegar (all wine does on some level, fight her), but that familiar burn of alcohol is a promise of a blissfully quiet night asleep. )

Oh, ten. [He stares out at the horizon, thinking back to the realization that he could no longer be a father to his sons.] But that part's long past, mostly.

[Rei can't help but laugh to himself again, the noise just a halfhearted breath of air. This is real cringey shit. He wouldn't dare breathe a word, even in this vague bare-bones fashion, in front of anyone from back home. There's some comfort in speaking to someone who could never influence things. How embarrassing.]

The real bitch is when other people get their own ideas about it. You know.

( ten, huh? when was the last time she made a choice that felt so hard?

hm. doesn't matter. that's not a path her brain needs to go down. better to concentrate on what Rei's saying, on taking another bite of pizza. )

Thinking they would have a better solution? ( would have made different choices? easy to point out all the alternatives when you're treating it like a thought experiment. )

Something like that, yeah. [The look Sasara gave him when the truth fell from his lips will stick with Rei for a long time. And now, of course, the damn kid knows more than he should, which is a liability, and Rei's plans are getting messy, and he's stuck here in Avalon unable to do shit about it... eugh.

But the worst part is frankly Rei discovering he actually cares, even a little bit, about what Sasara thinks of him.

Rei sighs, sounding amused.]

It's just a pain in the ass. [Another long pause-- this pizza is good.] Seriously... The hell is that.

That's pizza.

( she isn't one to grin, but there's an amused twinkle in her eye as she says that. she's not sorry, it was right there.

but first, before she says something honest — god forbid, and fuck you very much Rei, why and how do you manage that, even when all she was planning on was a chill evening talking about nothing important and getting drunk? — she's going to take a drink of wine.

a very long drink of wine. )

The box is open now. Can't take back the fact you both said, did — whatever — some shit. ... 'Cept with magic, probably. Wouldn't recommend it. ( what would Jay say in this situation? c'mon, Galloway. channel your inner shirtless hunk of muscle. ) Guess what really matters is figurin' out why their judgement bothers you so much.

( like, some random on the street saying they could do it better might be annoying, but it ultimately doesn't matter. it's not worth getting yourself bogged down about. but a friend, a family member? that might be different. she knows she'd shrug off the opinions of everyone back home if they weren't named Jay or Marc. and even with those two, there are things they'll never have the framework to understand, places where their judgement is, ultimately, irrelevant.

it still bothers her to know Marc would have a conniption if he knew she assassinated people earlier this month, or that she set fire to a building, but the only reason he's bothered is because she's done her damnedest to make sure he doesn't have to make those decisions for himself. )

Would it bother you if it were anyone else in this place sayin' the same thing?

[Kate may not be the type to smile or laugh, but Rei certainly is. He takes her quip with the humor it deserves, then listens to the rest of her probing in silence.]

I get what you're saying. [The mortifying ordeal of being known by people you care about, and all. Rei is no stranger to the idea of emotional liability—social engineering is a key part of scams, after all— but damn it, it's annoying to find himself more prey to it than he thought.]

Ah... the human condition. [Rei looks her in the eyes finally, tapping his fingers bemusedly on the wine bottle.] Can't live with it, can't live without it, huh.

( the tables have to turn sometime, Rei. sorry. gonna have to figure out how to handle that side of the relationship. at least it means she doesn't have to feel under scrutiny this time.

(that happens all too much when she's around him, but for once there's no magic making things needlessly complicated.)

his eyes catch hers and she quickly turns her head. this is awkward and real in a way so many things here aren't. she's done well to keep herself wrapped up enough that there are few people here she'd truly miss if they disappeared, and those that make that list are there by and large because they're comfortable enough to pass the time with. like losing a favourite television programme or when a nice pair of jeans gets irreparably ruined.

it sucks, but you know you'll find something to replace it soon enough.

but... ugh. she thinks she might have to call Rei an actual friend. this is the worst. )

We're social animals. ( she tips the base of her bottle of wine towards him, in something of a toast. trust her, she's spent a majority of her life trying to pretend she isn't, and days of solo exploration outside the city only helped her remember how shit spending time with nothing but her own head for company is. ) Y'know long-distance trade were happening 130,000 years ago?

( podcasts. you learn some wild shit. )

Oh yeah? Fancy that.

[Rei watches her avoid eye contact with his usual half-smirk. They're on the same level about these kinds of things—arm's length is close enough— and it makes Kate easy to talk to... but she's certainly more bitter about it than he. (Rei is more resigned to it. No sense in wasting time worked up about his own choices.)

He looks away again.]

That'd be a big undertaking back then, right? [Finished with the pizza, Rei reaches into his pocket for a smoke.] Makes you appreciate humanity's progress.

( if she has to spend 20 years in Avalon, maybe she'll get there. but that isn't the case yet, and the bitterness largely comes from being locked away from the two people who she did allow closer than arm's length.

... never mind. if she keeps letting her thoughts drift to Marc and Jay, she'll never get to sleep. )

Assume so. ( did they even have the wheel back then? the podcast didn't go over that. ) Point is... people need people. ( yes, she's aware of the irony of this statement coming from her, but she's particularly aware of how comforting the company of another is after her time away. ) Might say it's for resources or whatever but...

( oof, hold up. she's gonna need more wine if she goes down this alley. she is not talking this deep on a third of a bottle. that's more an empty bottle conversation. )

Ugh. Y'get what I'm saying.

( which is, how would these ancient people from times before TVs, phones, or even a bike (probably) know they needed these resources from places nearly 200 miles away.

they can't have wanted that when they went out that far.

they wanted... something else. to know what and who else is out there. )

[Rei laughs then, surprising himself enough to blow out the lighter he was trying to light his cigarette with.]

Can't believe I'm hearing that from you of all people. [Again-- it's a dig in syntax, but his voice is too fond for it to have any bite to it.]

Guess there's still some idealism in you yet, huh, Kate-chan?

( she could argue the point more than simply flipping him off, but it isn't that important. what she said was true and applies even to her, despite her best attempts to seem otherwise.

besides, she's drank just enough to admit ignorance on one ever present, niggling little detail. )

The hell does "Kate-chan" even mean?

( because the only time she's ever heard the word "Chan" is in regards to surnames, and even she knows that can't be it. )

Ah? [That's right... that part doesn't quite translate, does it! It's been a while since someone asked; he'd nearly forgotten.]

It's your name, of course. [Snort.] With an honorific attached.

[HES NOT EXACTLY BEING HONORABLE THOUGH]

( no shit and here she thought her name was Bob. )

What, you're calling me "Miss Kate"? ( she glances at him out of the corner of her eye and takes another drink. ) ... Weirdo.

( does this mean she should be calling him "Mr. Rei"? or worse, "Sir Rei"? )

You're not wrong... [On either count, lmao.]

But it's more like... [He swirls what's left in the wine bottle and tilts his head to look at her, expression coy.] 'Cause you're a pretty little thing.

( well, he's right, even if she'd argue being called little. ~~she could still snap his neck if she felt like it, tyvm.~~ Kate turns her head in Rei's direction, allowing silence to reign for a moment while her eyes linger, just a bit too obviously, on places that are not his face.

... not that it's the first time she's done that, either. he's hard to miss at the gym. )

Guess everyone's little when you're built like that.

( she allows herself one more glimpse and takes another drink from her bottle. )

text; so about those drinks on the rooftop.

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LMFAO "(kate voice) buttercup" is killing me

one day. maybe.

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hey nic can you stop writing novels of introspection? nope

prints it out and eats it 🥺🥺🥺

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irreconcilably curses this thread ☠