drear | god, he called for rain

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god, he called for rain

[ the shatterdome is too loud, smells of seawater and sweat, and half the time k-science won't even let him stay in the lab, one of the few quiet places in the entire base. but it's home, in some ways, because heine has lived here for more than half of his life.

and that reason is also the reason why he's doing the introductions for the new pilot arriving today. she's not new new, but new to this shatterdome. heine has read her file.

now he's in his fatigues, arms crossed as he waits on the tarmac for her to arrive. there's a lot to go through before her jaeger even arrives. ]

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[She glanced over at Rammsteiner as if trying to decide if he was teasing her or actually interested.]

Yes. But I was a child back then.

[Now she would take anything that wasn't piloting, but that required some component of physical labor. She couldn't imagine sitting all day and letting her body weaken.]

What would you do now?

No idea. [ he shakes his head lightly, looking off to the side. ] I didn't learn anything but how to pilot.

Anything else's got to be less stressful though, right?

True enough.

[There weren't many jobs where the fate of the world rested on your shoulders and there was a high likelihood of death.]

There's nothing that interests you?

[It's not like she could talk, really.]

If all else fails, maybe you should look into being a hairdresser.

Hey, your hair looks fine.

[ heine scowls, half-joking. ]

...I can't think of anything. But—I guess there're plenty of places to start.

[That comment will earn a snort from her, though she can't argue. Anything wrong with her hair was probably her own doing.

She stopped at the edge of the walkway, leaning against the railing and breathing in the crisp smell of the ocean. There were worst ways to spend the day, full of good food and walking along the harbor.

He's right, of course. There's no real rush to do anything, and they have the rest of their lives to figure out what they want to do now.

Then, idly as the thought strikes her:]

You don't have to accompany me when I meet my friends. We can always rendezvous later.

[Not that she would mind him coming along, but she didn't want him to feel like he needed to be with her at all times.]

[ that's... a reasonable suggestion, honestly. heine considers it—he doesn't know fuyumine's friends, and he doesn't feel the need to meet them—at least not right now. ]

I guess I could take a walk around.

[ and maybe consider finding a job... ]

[Naoto nodded at that, checking her watch thoughtfully.]

We can meet back at that restaurant again in four hours. I'll find you.

[Because it wasn't like Naoto had a phone. There had never really been a need for one. Guess they'd have to do this the old fashioned way.]

All right.

[ that works fine with heine. while fuyumine goes, heine wanders around in the streets, takes a break in a cafe after exchanging some currency. by the time she comes back, heine has picked up a book from one of the shelves and is in it. ]

[When she returned, her face was flushed from exertion and the cold, arms laden with bags full of gifts. It's a bit surprising to see Rammsteiner reading, and she tried to get a look at the title or description as she walked up to him.]

Good find?

[ it's a copy of satre's short plays in english; heine's proficiency in other languages has decreased greatly since he stopped studying. ]

It's okay. [ he nods his head at fuyumine's many bags. ] What's up with that?

[Surprising. She hadn't thought Rammsteiner would be interested in such pursuits, but then again, her knowledge of him was rather limited.]

Plays?

[Her tone was half amused, half curious. When the bags were addressed, she just sighed heavily.]

Gifts. Some are for you.

[She shifted from foot to foot, ready to take a break.]

There's a hotel near here that was recommended. We could stay there for the night.

Yeah. Don't really get them, but—

[ he shrugs, getting to his feet. he'd paid for his drink already, and he's warmed up enough to be able to handle to cold outside... probably. ]

Do they know I'm here? [ scratch that, ] Do they know why you're here?

...let's head to the hotel, I guess.

We could go see some, if you'd like.

[It's an interesting notion, though Naoto's Russian was rudimentary at best, so she wasn't sure how much she'd get out of it.

She turned to start heading toward the hotel, tilting her head slightly to look at him.]

I did mention I had company.

[As for the why... She frowned slightly, lips thinning.]

I said I was given leave.

[Which was somewhat true, seeing as how they hadn't been hunted down and dragged back to a base yet.]

Maybe if they have subtitles.

[ heine's is even less usable; he's never spent any time in russia. ]

I guess they're not looking for us yet. [ if they haven't heard anything from the hong kong base. ] Maybe they don't care after all.

We could check.

[This port was fairly international, since the base was here. It probably wasn't too far fetched.

She shrugged slightly at that notion, not sure if she minded if they cared or not.]

It's better if they don't. Though it might be they just don't want to drag us unwillingly. It wouldn't be good press.

Probably the concierge'd know.

[ he's letting fuyumine lead to the hotel, because honestly he'd get lost on his own. ]

And too much work. [ is it too much to hope that they'd be left alone for a while? they did save the world and... all that shit, heine thinks. ] Guess we just have to deal with it as it happens.

[Naoto shot him a curious look, trying to decide how to phrase her question.

She hadn't planned on staying so close to a base, since it seemed like a terrible place to hide, especially since the whole point had been to leave the shatter dome. And yet...]

How long did you want to stay here?

Dunno. If no one's looking, then we don't have to go until we've taken some time off, right?

[ heine's okay with fighting a war against alien creatures, but eventually, he needs a break. maybe now. ]

Right.

[It took a moment for her to agree, mostly since it seemed unfair and lopsided. Rammsteiner had been integral to them leaving the shatterdome, but instead of reaping most of the reward for it, he was willing to stay here.

The hotel was a modest establishment that was fairly clean and priced well enough, sandwiched between a laundry mat and a bookstore. It didn't take long to book two adjacent rooms.]

Some of these are for you. Once I'm settled I'll bring them to you.

[She said, lifting up some of the shopping bags.]

[ wherever they stay doesn't matter much to heine. as they move up to the rooms, he shuffles his bags and nods at her words.

he settles into his own room, just dumping his bags and washing his hands after changing into the provided slippers. while waiting for fuyumine, he lies down on top of the covers and closes his eyes for a while. a while turns into a few minutes, and then a doze. ]

[It took Naoto to dump everything on the bed and get it all sorted, still surprised at how much she'd been talked into receiving and buying. She couldn't complain too much, since when she had mentioned she wasn't alone, they'd gotten gifts for Rammsteiner too. It was enough to make her happy they'd come here, where people were warm, as if to make up for the biting cold.

It took her longer than she would have liked, but once all of Rammsteiner's gifts were gathered up, she went to knock on his door.]

[ heine doesn't respond at first, asleep—it takes another knock or two for him to stir and get the door. his hair is even more mussed than before, and he rubs his eyes, a motion less controlled than his usual movements. ]

Hey. [ tiny yawn. ]

Sorry to disturb you.

[She was a bit surprised that Rammsteiner was already sleeping, and slightly guilty she had woken him.]

Here.

[She held out the bags, most of them containing clothes and an assortment of random knick knacks.]

You don't have to keep them if you don't want to.

[She inclined her head, expression smoothing back to apologetic.]

I'll leave you to your rest.

...thanks.

[ he takes the bag, still a little too out of it to prevent his expression from showing the mild confusion and surprise. gifts aren't something he's used to. he wouldn't throw them away unless they were totally unusable and/or he didn't have space for them later.

before he closes the door, he remembers to ask: ]

Dinner at 7?

[ which, on second thought, makes it sound oddly like a date... ]

[Yeah she wasn't sure what he was going to do with all of those items, or even if they were to his taste, but she was terrible at denying those she loved simple pleasures. She inclined her head at his thanks, shrugging slightly.]

They aren't all from me.

[If that makes it somehow more palatable. She was already turning back to her room when she heard the question, pausing to look at him thoughtfully.]

If you're tired, you should rest. Just come get me when you wake up.

[Would either of them know what to do on a date or even realize it was a date? Let's have realistic expectations here.]

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