Everybody wants to rule the world

[maskormods]

WHO: YOU.
WHERE: Downtown Cape Canaveral
WHEN: Wednesday January 15th, around 5 PM EST
WHAT: Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome.
WARNINGS: None anticipated; let us know if this should be edited.

Cape Canaveral. It's no longer the heat of the day and in January the temperatures will be livable; not too hot and not too cold, either. A pleasant change from the City, perhaps. The sun is on its way to setting but the last light of the day still fills the sky, bursting the city into color. The air smells like ocean.

The locals are friendly and smile and wave, looking on at you in awe. They'll approach if you ask for help, or a question, but they don't want to interfere, either; if you want to be left alone you probably will be. American flags can be seen in many windows and restaurants are rolling out their dinner menus. There's no parade, no big banners, but many storefronts have handmade signs and posters that read:

Welcome, imPorts! We love you!

The woman at the Porter told you what to expect: You know what your tattoo means, you've been given your file, and you know in a few hours they're going to be here to answer more of your questions and see if you'll stand with them or if you'll go off on your own. "It's your decision," one of them had said, but you were already told what you get if you agree and what you don't if you don't. After that's done, she told you, you'll be driven to your new homes.

In the meantime, enjoy the area, or try to. It may not be what you're used to, but after the apocalypse even Florida might seem like an improvement.

Comments

[fronttowardenemy]

Had a feeling you'd say that.

[ It's more of an undertone when he says that. It isn't with any disrespect. It is what makes the most sense, as reluctant as he is to admit to it. ]

Seems to be the only option.

[glassbox]

[ she isn't sure why hearing that admission makes it a little easier for her to breathe. it's reassuring somehow, that he won't just up and vanish -- at least not now. there's never any promises for later, not with this man, but she's stopped banking on promises anyway. she'll take whatever time she can get. ]

Well, don't sound so goddamn cheerful or anythin'.

[ the words lack any real bite. ]

It won't be so bad. I said I'd take care of you, didn't I?

[fronttowardenemy]

[ He glances up at her when she says that. She's always had a few inches on him, and now from the chair, he does have to crane his head to accomplish it. ]

You did. [ Even if a lot of that night is fuzzy, he can remember that well enough. ] Didn't think you'd take it that far.

[glassbox]

Why not?

[ she doesn't seem fazed by his response, loosely folding her arms under her chest as she watches him. ]

I've been married half my damn life. I think I can look after one man, unless y'got other folks linin' up.

[fronttowardenemy]

Prefer you didn't make that comparison.

[ It's another mutter, although sincere. He's more lenient with her now, but only by certain measure. He can't be so lax that he gets the wrong idea in her head. ]

May regret the offer later.

[glassbox]

[ what he says makes her pause. she can't explain why even that small, subtle rejection makes her feel a little defensive. maybe he has been too soft on her. whatever it is that they have has become so familiar to her -- almost normal.

finally, she answers pointedly: ]

You're the one that regrets things around here, not me.

[ she glances away. ]

Y'want my help or not?

[fronttowardenemy]

[ It isn't something he should give consent to -- on the other hand, he knows he's not fully capable on his own like this. He could manage fine, but if it came to a conflict, in that life that followed him everywhere... He's not equipped for that time, which is guaranteed to come. ]

Yeah.

[ He sounds bland enough, betraying nothing of the amount of truth he offers in that agreement.

He glances at her, nodding, and his hands drop to the wheels of his chair. ]

Should go.

[glassbox]

[ as usual, his passivity in any situation works at her nerves, riling her far too easily. she purses her lips at him for his bland response before glancing away again, trying not to seem as petulant as she might feel.

it isn't really anger -- though that always ends up being the simplest thing to show on her face -- but her emotions feel tangled and mixed, her mind still dwelling on the things he said to her while the world was falling apart. ]

Where to, Captain?

[ the honorific is more colloquial than anything else, turbulent emotions making it fall short of her playful, affectionate teasing. ]

[fronttowardenemy]

[ The response surprises him. He supposes it shouldn't; her husband was a military man. Even more harmless than that, it may be simple taunting. He's giving orders, so she responds in kind.

Still, it pauses him for a moment, before he gestures to the file in his lap, then the one she holds in her hands. ]

Should be obvious. [ Frank begins to move forward, expecting Lil will follow. ] Wanted us together anyway, looks like.

[ Frank hadn't lingered on it before, dismissing it as he expected to dismiss everything they assigned to him. However, now Lil made an offer, and he's accepted it.

He will see how long this lasts. ]

[glassbox]

Yeah? [ mild surprise touches her tone. ] Y'really do have a hard time gettin' rid of me, huh?

[ truthfully, she hasn't paid much attention to the file she was given -- she'd never really been much of a bureaucrat, and paperwork of any kind rarely topped the list of her priorities. she was far too much of a hands-on type for fine print. still, at his gesture, she opens her file half out of curiosity alone, flipping through it as she walks along with him, unconsciously controlling her long stride to stay squarely beside him.

at length, after scanning the pages, she reads out loud a little skeptically: ]

"Supermodel." [ then, glancing over at the file in frank's lap: ] What'd they give you?

[fronttowardenemy]

Seems so.

[ Modeling. Lil certainly has the look for it. He wonders if she'll accept it or not. She seems like she's used to far more excitement.

Then again, this place isn't discouraging 'heroism.'

Frank is practical enough that he read the file thoroughly. So, when Lil asks, he doesn't need to open to again to check. ] Firefighter.

Not that I'll be capable.

[glassbox]

[ truthfully, it's beginning to sink in for her how different things could be here. her penchant for bright dresses and high heels aside, she's always lived a remarkably unglamorous life. the waitress from yellowknife got drafted by the canadian government -- and the rest is history. the foreignness of it all has small second thoughts spawning in the back of her mind.

she closes her file and glances back at frank as he answers her. ]

Guess they figured you'd be comin' over with workin' legs. [ her attention lingers on him though, becoming something between thoughtful and appraising. finally, in a mild, almost habitually taunting way: ] Bet the uniform'll look sharp though. Y'could always just sit there an' look pretty.

[fronttowardenemy]

[ He hardly needs to be reminded about it. ]

If they wanted that, they'd have given both of us the same job.

[ It's a long sentence. Before, she'd have had to fight him for more than a few curt words. Now, it's not only several, but it's with an edge of dry, flatly delivered humor. The distance between them is short and he may have to make space again -- for now, it's a better strategy to stay close.

A soldier needs allies. ]

[glassbox]

[ his little quip makes her pause and glance at him again, as if she isn't quite sure she'd read his tone right. her gaze lingers a moment or two before she finally answers him, her tone deceptively nonchalant despite the self-conscious way she tucks hair behind her ear. ]

Y'better stop teasin' me, or I'm gonna start thinkin' y'can actually stand me or somethin'. [ up ahead, the line of cars waiting to take the newly arrived imports to their homes catches her attention. one of the drivers must be assigned to them, because he waves them over as they approach. ] Then you'll have a harder time gettin' rid of me than y'did before, big guy.

[fronttowardenemy]

Never said I couldn't stand you.

[ He shouldn't bother making the correction, yet still it comes. It's easier to speak to her now, after she dug him out of the wreckage of the end of the world. Maybe it's due to that original debt she's owed finally being repaid: he saved her life, and she saved his. Now, the ground beneath them seems level.

After what she did for him, it's justified. Still: he has tried partnerships before, and they never ended clean. If it wasn't someone who turned on him, it was his lifestyle which betrayed who he had taken in.

When the driver waves towards him, he frowns towards his chair. This whole thing will take getting used to. ]

Harder time doing much of anything.

[glassbox]

[ she doesn't know what to do with all these small reassurances -- they get under her skin and make her face feel slightly warm. she isn't sure if that feeling is something she should protect herself from, but she's a little happy, despite everything. after all, under that tough and angry exterior, she's still just a lonely woman. ]

It's temporary, hon.

[ that's all she says, the only simple reassurance she offers in return as they approach the car. maybe it's a bit forward of her, but once the door is open, she doesn't wait for his permission or give him much warning, using the advantage of her build and mutant strength to get him into the back seat before moving to slide in on the other side.

only then does she add mildly: ]

Anyway, y'got me.

[fronttowardenemy]

[ It doesn't take him off guard when she picks him up so casually like that. It seems like a small thing, compared to all that's happened between them, but that isn't accurate. This is a different level of trust and closeness, to allow that without blinking or even remarking. It didn't even strike him as anything strange; the approach seemed natural enough.

Therein lies the problem. ]

Yeah. [ His voice mutters slightly as he sinks back against the seat. ] Guess so.