maskormenacelogs | [ closed ] reiner get in the car

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[ closed ] reiner get in the car

WHO: two losers go on a roadtrip for the weekend
WHERE: not north carolina they're living large and in charge
WHEN: backdated to last weekend
WHAT: reiner thinks he can drive and annie's like "well he says he can" and then it ends in desperate attempts to avoid property damage maybe and also some leaf viewing if any trees aren't yet stripped bare
WARNINGS: ridiculous, shingeki's can't drive, jokes about reiner looking 30

[ Nothing can go wrong with this. Annie's cataloging everything that can, but that's beside the point. They actually had one of the military issue loaner vehicles left off on the street outside their townhouse early that morning, and Annie's staring at the keys in her hand while slinging her pack over a shoulder. ]

I have the map - do you have the other canteen?

[ It's Weekend Roadtrip Time. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Since turning sixteen, Reiner has at least made an effort to pay attention to the laws regarding people his age and what they're allowed to do; he's had the vespa Nonah donated to imPorts for months now, but a car is something different.

But it can't be that different, he figures; easier, if anything. He's read some of the driving manual and figures that should be enough to let him figure out what to do once he's behind the wheel.

Reiner waves at Annie and points to a bag he has slung over his shoulder. ]

Yep. And you got the keys? We should get started.

[ Annie tosses the keys his way, lips quirking up in a hint of a smile. It's more amusement at how ridiculous this is, but it's - forward momentum. She likes that. It helps shake off other lingering feelings from the last few weeks, ones she's mostly not talked about. ]

You're driving. I've been waiting on you.

[ Not long, all things told, but neither one of them really cuts the other one slack in situations that don't matter. Annie heads outside, turning her face up to feel the winter sun for a moment. It's pleasant, a different kind of biting chill than she's used to back home. She likes sunlight, especially on days like today.

You know, days that might be good days. ]

[ Reiner catches them easily and takes a moment to look at the car, get a measure of it. He doesn't feel the same things about this trip that Annie might -- he doesn't fully grasp her motives for it, at least on a conscious level -- but he can appreciate the challenge and distraction it offers.

He opens the driver's side door, tosses his bag in, and smirks at Annie over his shoulder. ]

Nice day for a drive, too -- you planned it well. How far are we going today?

However far we end up getting in about two hours. Longer than that stuck in a car didn't sound appealing.

[ She's marked out different places along the way, depending on when they got fed up with driving. Not having a set in stone destination actually feels better than the other way around. She heads around the front of the car toward the passenger side door, finding it locked. She stands there after knocking her fist on the glass once, a solid rap to let Reiner know hey let me in maybe??? ]

Works for me. Just point the--

[ He stares through the glass at her for a moment in confusion, then looks at the buttons on the door and on his key. One of these unlocks it, right? He presses one button, which for a brief few of seconds before he presses it again triggers the car alarm loudly.

Reiner smacks the ceiling of the car once in irritation before he gets back out, slamming his own door behind him. ]

Damn, what the hell was-- here.

[ He goes around to unlock her side manually. Off to a good start. ]

[ Annie stands to the side as he comes around, having startled at the car alarm. It's not one of the things she's had activate right next to her, though the first time she'd heard one at all, she'd had to ask her escort at the time what the hell it was. Given most people seemed to get used to hearing accidental triggers, she's not sure if it's much of an anti-theft deterrent anymore.

If it ever was.

She quirks up her eyebrows once the door's unlocked.Today's going to be...

...

...

... well, they'll probably survive it. Annie settles her pack between her legs, pulling out the map to have it in her lap. ]

We'll need to head out West on the highway... Reiner, have you ever driven on the highway?

West, huh? No problem.

[ He circles back around the car, reminding himself which direction is West in accordance to where they are now. Luckily that's something he -- any of them -- is equipped enough to do so on his own, using natural signifiers.

He opens the driver's side door again and gets inside, sitting back and studying the mirrors before he decides to adjust them, carefully. The seat is not quite adjusted for someone of his height, but he doesn't know how to fix that, so his knees are crowded. ]

Well, I've never driven a car... like this one. [ He leans his arm on the steering wheel. ] Relax, Annie. This is me you're talking to, what can't I handle?

[ She gives him a flat look - there are things they both can't handle, and it's not flattering or kind to start in on that list.

Which she totally will, should it prove necessary later, but the damning look in silence right now is going to have to suffice.

Don't dare her into answer, Reiner. She will.

In fact, she'll answer by redirecting to gesturing at his knees: ]

Is that comfortable?

[ Handling starts on an equipment level, Reiner. Also being tiny sometimes has advantages.

If not for seeing over wheels out the window, then for fitting into tight spaces. ]

[ He doesn't answer for a few moments, ignoring that look as he tries to readjust himself -- leaning back in the seat, moving his butt as far back as it will go, trying to get his long legs to fit in the small space they're supposed to.

Finally he exhales, giving up. ]

Fine, how do I fix it? I can't drive if I can't even move my foot from one pedal to the other.

[ All vehicles are different, okay. ]

This thing's built for someone your size.

Probably because the soldier who dropped the car off is closer to my size than yours.

[ #Logic

Annie investigates the side of her seat, close to her door. ]

There should be levers or buttons on the side -

[ She says, cut off when she finds the one that's actually under the front of the seat, pressing up on that bar while her legs are braced and shooting backward to the limit of the seat's adjustability. Now Annie has room she didn't need to spare for her legs... and a seat that's leaning a bit further back. Her elbow plants in the back of her seat, keeping her propped up, eyebrows quirked up as she examines her, uh, progress. ]

There's a bar under the seat. The other buttons and levers are the seat position. It seems.

[ Ones she'll proceed to fiddle with as she doesn't want to be half laying back this whole drive. ]

Under the seat? All right...

[ Reiner reaches beneath where he saw Annie put her hand, feeling around for the same levers that seem to have worked for her. He's careful to press on the bar, not wanting to slam his full strength on it after seeing how apparently sensitive these switches are -- the seat slides back and his legs and hips follow suit, fitting into the space beneath the wheel more comfortably.

It's relieving -- this is much better. ]

Thanks, Annie. You okay there? [ She seems to be having a little trouble in the opposite direction. ] Make sure you're comfortable before we're on the road for two hours. You might fall asleep if you stay that way.

[ He's just giving her shit. MAYBE THEY'LL GET IT TOGETHER before he starts this car. ]

[ You know what Reiner, you know what...! Annie solves this problem with the angle of her seat before worrying over the leg room, then gives up when there's more resistance to the seat sliding back forward. Whatever. Now her pack has more room, and she parks her feet on the dash.

She's achieved teenager optimal status, spreading the map out over her impromptu leg-lap-table space. ]

Planning to rock me to sleep over there?

[ She looks up, out the front window. ]

If you're all adjusted now, Reiner... we want to head out West to the I-[ number here ].

You better not sleep, or I can't promise we'll end up anywhere you'd approve of.

[ He smirks, staring at the keys for a moment before he starts the car -- the engine revs loudly, but luckily doesn't flood; he has enough experience with this part of the process.

Check the mirrors. Look behind him. Signal. He read about all this, and manages to perform it all to a T... until they get to the end of the driveway, and the car's wheel abruptly drops off the curb it was angled onto. The bump makes Reiner's head hit the roof with a metallic clunk.

Great start. Reiner's back teeth grind briefly. ]

... Weird. [ Ahem. ] So then, I turn here?

[ She's braced, so the whole abrupt drop barely makes her do anything other than bounce. Annie stares at Reiner in mute "the frack" judgment while she evaluates if they're going to be held responsible for property damage. ]

Reiner... whatever you do, do not damage this vehicle. Not even a scratch, or we're never getting a vehicle to rent again.

[ From the man who handles these things for the military, but man that is important okay! ]

Turn right. Head down to the stop sign and take a left. Then turn right at the stop light.

[ Reiner looks over his shoulder again to make sure the street is clear, rubbing the back of his head with mild irritation etched on his face. The expression fades back to neutral as Reiner focuses on following Annie's directions. It's not all that complicated once he gets going, the functions of the car relatively straightforward, he feels like. It's not piloting a titan body, sure, but it's not rocket science either. So the car is a little harder to maneuver than a moped? He'd get the hang of it. ]

Right, stop sign, left, right -- no problem.

[ He hums idly, backing successfully into the street and turning right. ]

Relax, Annie. What do you think I'm going to do, drive us through a tree?

[ Sorry, Reiner, she's currently examining the map to find routes out of the city on streets that don't involve the highway. ]

No through, into.

[ Since this car is so not rated for razing trees. ]

Have you driven on freeways before?

[ They're both easier and more difficult at once - Annie does and doesn't like them herself. Still, she seems to have decided not to keep up commentary on his driving. So far. ]

I'm not going to drive us through or into a tree. You think I don't know how to navigate something like this? It's not a big deal.

[ He exhales, reaching out the window to tilt the mirror -- not necessarily in the recommended way, but as long as it seems to work Reiner doesn't mind improvising. ]

Nope. It can't be that hard, though. That's just a straight shot, isn't it?

[ Where are the signs? He squints in the mirrors, trying to adjust them again. Oh well, they've got to be around here somewhere. He turns the car sharply. ]

[ There's no way to really subtly brace herself as he turns, but she tries anyway, the map sliding off her knees and toward her feet. It gets stuck with one corner caught on the dash. ]

Would it be too much to ask for a little more caution?

[ She asks when the turn's completed, reaching for the map again. ]

Not always... it means less competing traffic going the opposite direction. Most the time. But it's crowded.

Caution? When have I ever worried about that?

[ Certainly not when he's leaning his arm against the window and laughing in that boisterous, reckless way as one does. But even so, it's more show than substance; he puts both hands on the wheel and makes the next turn more carefully, following driver's etiquette reasonably well for someone who's never a driven a car until just now.

Reasonably well for now, anyway. ]

Crowded, huh... [ He sighs, leaning his arm by the window again as he searches for an on-ramp. ] Then I should slow down, probably.

[ Not yet. ]

[ She turns her head just enough to shoot a quwelling look his way. When, indeed. Only the difference between this and things he'd said over the years they were being trained to play at being soldiers is he doesn't believe it like he did before. He's not confronting Annie in the training yard and asking her to remember what it was like coming here and put your serious face on.

There's not a subtle sort of mocking happening because he's already divided off the knowledge of who they all are.

There's just this. The freaking motor vehicle. ]

Or avoid the freeway altogether.

[ A mild statement delivered through carefully grit teeth. ]

Three city blocks from here you'll find an on-ramp after the light. It's another left under the overpass, if you're familiar with that word, and a left from there onto the ramp that takes you up to the road.

[ Shooting her a sideways glance, Reiner makes a face -- but only briefly. He isn't really aiming to get a reaction from her, defensive or otherwise, but sometimes he can't help himself; sometimes, it's hard to tell what parts of him always were, and what parts of him should remain to one side.

That's the problem with having your mind divided up into boxes. Now it feels like two different puzzles mixed up into one, more often than not. Two people, both without much of a bigger picture to go by.

Without much inflection, as he follows the directions provided, he says: ]

I know what an overpass is.

[ He almost runs a light, but brakes at the last second. After a few moments pass, he adds: ]

... You don't have to worry about me, you know.

[ Presuming she'll understand what he means. ]

People keep telling me it's a privilege to worry about a friend.

[ She's mild in her statement, still braced. It's easier to weather his driving that way, though she's not honestly nervous about him crashing into anything - Reiner has good reflexes - so much as what he might not notice, or who might not notice him. Nothing to do but wait it out, grit her teeth and bear it.

She's not worried about Reiner for her own sake. Not anymore... but for his, and wanting, on some level, for Reiner to be as okay as any one of them ever can be. ]

Not like this... [ Keeping one hand still on the wheel, Reiner rubs his temple with the other, leaning his elbow against the base of the window. ] I don't need to have Bertholdt around to keep my head on straight, if you're concerned about that.

[ Both hands on the wheel again so he can make a turn. She's right to trust his reflexes, except he does cut it a little close when it comes to opposing traffic. Every so often Reiner manages to cut into traffic so sharply, yet cleanly, that the car behind him barely even has time to honk. ]

That's why we're taking this trip, right?

A little. You've been out of it.

[ This was her attempt at shaking him up and getting him back out there moving in something out of pattern. It's about what she can think might help for clearing his head (in a general sense). It's helped her some. It might help him, too. ]

Maybe you don't, but it doesn't mean it'll be easier without him around.

[ why are they so CLOSE TO THOSE CARS Reiner... this is not fun ]

I've had a lot to think about.

[ LIVE A LITTLE, ANNIE. As they get near the overpass, though, Reiner slows a bit and becomes a bit more attentive to the signs. Mostly so he doesn't make a wrong turn, but traffic is also a little bit trickier over here.

He exhales again, glancing over at Annie when he has the opportunity. ]

Him being around never made it easier, either. I didn't even realize when I was letting you guys down.

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LATE I'M SORRY

rolls into a ball HUGS LIKE A SQUISHABLE.COM SQUISHY u good

IF YOU'RE SURE...

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