drear | god, he called for rain

[ heine turns his head in an attempt to get a look at the back and mostly fails. he'll just have to trust her on it. ]

Good enough.

[ after a pause, he strips off his gloves and washes them quickly in the sink, washing away some traces of dye. ] Kind of itches, though. How long do we have to leave this in?

Half an hour.

[It was definitely odd to see Rammsteiner with darker hair, his red eyes still standing out. She reached into another bag to pull out sunglasses, holding out a few pairs to him.

This whole exercise felt silly, so she had to keep reminding herself it was necessary.]

We should get those contacts as soon as possible. Your eyes will still make you stand out.

I know they do. [ heine glances back into the mirror and scowls. his eyes are pale red rather than a very vibrant shade, but with the freshly-dyed brown hair, they might stand out even more than they did before the dye. ]

...I'm gonna go see what's on TV.

[ he hopes there won't be much about the closing of the rift, but that's probably a vain hope. ]

[Naoto nodded in acknowledgement, shoving the sunglasses back into the bag and instead busying herself with cleaning up the bathroom. Most of it seemed to be a hopeless cause, but at the very least she could clean off what little dye got everywhere.

She crinkled her nose at the state of the toilet, and finding little in way of cleaning supplies, gave up and headed back out to the living room.]

Anything of interest?

[ heine's settled himself on the couch in front of the TV, remote in one hand and holding his towel down on his shoulders to block any last drips of dye. the only things on the few channels remaining are news broadcasts about... the closing of the rift.

he sighs at fuyumine's question and tilts his head at the screen. their pictures were shown a little while ago, with no mention of their disappearance from the shatterdome. ]

No. Just this shit. We should get out as soon as possible tomorrow morning.

[Naoto frowned at the screen, leaning over the back of the couch as they cycled to another news story. She supposed it wasn't surprising that they made no mention of them being missing, which should work to their advantage. If they were trying to keep this as mum as possible, they couldn't come out in full force to find them.]

Agreed.

[She straightened with a sigh. Then, a bit thoughtfully.]

I can take the couch.

[Mostly because she wasn't sure she wanted to venture in the bedroom.]

Grab a blanket from the cabinet, I guess.

[ heine won't protest fuyumine's offer. he waits a while longer for his hair to dry off, then goes to settle in with his duffel bag.

the next morning, heine's up bright and early, military schedule ingrained in him from years of living in the shatterdome. struggling awake, he washes his face in the bathroom sink and stumbles out to the kitchen. ]

[The couch had somehow managed to be lumpier than the one at the dome, though it could also have been the fact that Naoto had been restless, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

In the end she had given up and gotten up earlier than normal, cringing at her new outlandish hair before taking a quick shower. She pulled on one of the dresses she'd been given at her old shatterdome, tugging absently at the sleeves as she headed into the kitchen, scrounging around for something to eat. Now that she thought about it, she'd never really had to cook before...

Luckily it seemed like Rammsteiner's friend was in the same boat, and had plenty of microwave friendly dinners that didn't seem too hard to prepare.

At the sound of movement, she turned slightly, dipping her head in greeting.]

Morning.

[She waved one of the dinner boxes.]

Hungry?

[ heine yawns, barely covering his mouth. ] Hey.

[ though they've always lived in close quarters, waking up together in a non-life-threatening experience is... weird. heine's too hungry to worry about it, though, and too sleepy to notice what fuyumine's wearing until he finishes rubbing his eyes.

weird. ]

Nice getup. And yeah. [ he could eat. ]

[She stuck another one of the TV dinners into the microwave, looking through the drawers for silverware. For a moment, she was tempted to ignore the remark on the clothing, but felt like she should offer some explanation for it.]

It was a gift.

[Apparently she was a much more light hearted girl than she appeared to be, whatever that had meant exactly.]

The buses seem to leave every half hour for the airport. We can catch the next one after we're done eating.

[ a gift. right. ]

Sure. [ he doesn't protest either suggestion, just takes the utensils and idles until the microwave beeps. heine takes the microwave dinner and leans against the couch arm to eat. it tastes basically like salt and artificial flavoring, but it's fine. no worse than cafetera food at the shatterdome.

once he's done, he tosses the trash and starts picking up his things, ready to leave without any more fuss. ]

[Don't make her comment on your hair Rammsteiner, because she will.

Once Rammsteiner seemed ready, she offered him a pair of sunglasses as she pulled a hat on her head. She headed out the door, tilting her head slightly to the side.]

Where to next?

[Getting to the airport shouldn't be difficult, but after that...]

[ look, whose fault was that? ]

You wanted to visit your old base, right?

[ after that... heine shrugs. ] Could just travel. I haven't been to a lot of places.

[Hey she did the best she could. She's a jaeger pilot not a hairstylist.]

Yes.

[She's a bit surprised that Rammsteiner was willing to humor her in that, tensing as she walked in apprehension.]

But perhaps we should travel first. Going to another shatterdome so soon after leaving...

[Not to mention she was wary about returning home. Even though Rammsteiner knew of Magato and his mannerisms, in a way he was the one who troubled her the least. Magato was at least honest and predictable. Her father and sister not so much.]

[ heine acknowledges the suggestion with a low hum of consideration. that's certainly a valid worry; he can't think of where else he'd like to go, though. ]

We could go around the area, and just stay away from the Shatterdome.

[Naoto quieted at that suggestion as they neared the bus stop, turning that idea over in her mind thoughtfully. It wasn't a bad suggestion, and she did really want to see all the friends and family she had left behind.

She didn't bother to speak until they were on the bus, glancing over at Rammsteiner curiously.]

You wouldn't mind?

[It had been mostly his plan to escape after all.]

[ heine just shrugs, shifting the bag slung over his shoulder. ]

I've got nothing better to do.

[ flippant words aside, his tone remains indifferent at worst. ]

[It sounded more like there wasn't a set direction, so Naoto decided there were worse places to go first. At least this one she would know what she was getting into. She settled into her seat, pensive.]

I'll call them when we land.

[The less notice they got, the less likely they would walk into a trap.]

All right.

[ this seems oddly like being on the run because of a crime. considering that they really just saved the world, it's a bit weird. ah, well. heine doesn't want to talk people anyway.

fuyumine just doesn't talk much, which is nice.

as they settle into their plane seats, heine's put his bag away, and simply slumps back in his seat with his earbuds in, ready to just try and sleep. ]

[Given that she didn't sleep that much earlier, the plane ride lulled her quickly to sleep. It wasn't until there was the turbulence of their landing that she woke, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she shuffled off the plane with the rest of the passengers.

She called as soon as they touched down, holding the pay phone receiver away from her ear at the loud enthusiasm on the other line. After setting a meeting location, she picked up her bag, heading back over to Ramsteiner.]

We're meeting up in two hours. We can get a hotel room if you like.

[ heine's just as quiet; sleep deprivation isn't anything new, and it doesn't bother him. he lugs his bag along, waiting by the side of the pay phone until she's done. ]

I'm not going to sleep any more. [ since he'd been unconscious for most of the plane ride. ] We could find a cafe, stay there for a while.

[That's a thought that Naoto turned over for a few moments, before tilting her head to the side thoughtfully.]

Did you want to do some sight seeing? The harbor isn't too far from here and there's museums if you're interested.

[She had rarely had time to explore the city when she was here, but she'd retained information from the people who had. What places to eat, tours to take, and places to visit. It seemed like it could be more invigorating than sitting around.]

[ sight-seeing? heine can't resist wrinkling his nose a little. ] Tourist stuff?

[ it's gotta be more interesting than just sitting around, though, so he relents. ]

...all right, I guess. Where to?

[Naoto shrugged her shoulders noncommittally, not overly invested in the idea, but it had sounded like a better way to kill time than to sit around. It had just seemed like a bit of a waste, to have been housed near this city all this time and never really given room to explore it.

Still, she was pleasantly surprised when Rammsteiner agreed to it, starting towards the exit and picking up a guidebook on the way out.]

The harbor is very beautiful. I could do without the museums.

Harbor, then. [ he watches the guidebook in her hand, but with only a passing curiosity. ] And we can get something to eat there.

[ after the plane trip, he's hungry. ]

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