i'll eat you up i love you so much.

[unbreachable]

"And in the end, you were all I knew. "

Comments

[truckerhats]

[oklahoma isn't awful, if roy's being honest. it's boring and flat and pretty uneventful, but it's at least quiet. after his latest mess with oliver, quiet is definitely not a bad thing.

he originally moved west to get out from under ollie's boot, find some breathing room and let himself relax, but there's only so much he can live off of with commissions for robotics and weapons projects coming in here and there. so, to ensure he had some steady pay (since oliver thought it would be just peachy to dump roy's bank accounts and all his shares in the goddamn company), roy found himself a job as a mechanic.

fixing cars and tractors is practically child's play compared to what he usually does; he was working on this shit when he was ten, and by now, he could do it with his eyes shut.

which turns out to be pretty useful when he needs to make sure he gets work done and gets paid for it.

he tends to make more since he's willing to leave the shop to get things done. he takes his tools with him, and even if that's kind of a pain, but he gets more customers that way, so he's willing to deal with hauling them around in the back of his old truck. today happens to be one of those traveling days, and he drives himself over to one of the farms that's only about twenty minutes out from the shop. apparently the guy's having trouble with his tractor, and roy's more than happy to give him a hand.

he pulls up near the farmhouse, parking and climbing down from the cab before going up to the front door. the house is pretty cute, actually, and the land around it is nice enough, though roy's really never been much of a farmboy. he hesitates for a moment, then reaches out to knock.]

[unbreachable]

[ He'd picked up and moved everything into the middle of nowhere in the hopes that he'd be left alone, that people wouldn't recognize him when he needed to go into town, that he could live as normal a life as possible after Knifehead.

It mostly goes according to plan; Yancy dies in 2020 and by 2022 he's got a three year old daughter that is the light of his life and the only thing that keeps him functioning most days. He has another life to take care of besides his own, and it keeps him moving, keeps him working. Keeps him hauling hay and feeding pigs and plowing fields, keeps him growing food and paying bills - along with paying those select few he has hired to help.

Like a nanny.

Elsie is enthusiastic, but she sort of gets in the way of the bigger machinery -- he lets her do small tasks like shuck corn or sort berries, but most of the time she eats the berries he's going to be trying to sell and ends up a mess of sticky sweet juice and stained clothing.

Life's not bad, out here - it's not glamorous by any means, but it's pretty decent, all things considered. They're inland enough that the kaiju aren't really a threat to society, little redneck town removed enough that they're unaffected by rations and government control. It's rural as fuck and that's how Raleigh likes it.

They work hard, though - Raleigh and everyone else - and when things break, it's a strain on everyone so it's important to get things fixed as fast as possible. Loading the tractor up and trying to haul it to town isn't an option and would take too long, so he calls around, finds someone that can come to him to fix it and when the knock comes on his front door? He's opening it with a smile, a young girl with white blond hair and big blue eyes barnacled to his leg. ]

You the mechanic?

[truckerhats]

[roy looks back at the door as soon as it opens, and he gives the bill of his hat a flick to push it up out of his face.]

Yup, that'd be me.

[he grins back at raleigh, then looks down to see the adorable little kid plastered to the other man's leg.

now that's just precious.]

Roy Harper.

[he extends his hand to raleigh, just to be polite.]

[unbreachable]

Raleigh Becket.

[ Raleigh extends his hand to give him a shake; it's only polite since Roy initiated it, but he's interrupted by a hiss and a tug of his jeans by little hands. She's gesturing at him to bend down, and Raleigh looks from Roy to her, and sheepishly he kneels, letting her pull his head close so she can whisper in his ear.

He turns a funny color of red, clears his throat then picks her up into his arms. ]

This is Elsie, my daughter. Elsie, this is Roy. He's gonna fix the tractor.

[truckerhats]

[roy really just can't keep the grin off his face when the kid's being that cute.]

Hiya, Elsie. Nice to meet you; I'm Roy.

[he gives her a little wave.]

I'm gonna make sure your dad's tractor gets all fixed up.

[unbreachable]

[ She looks between them, scrunches up her face, then holds her hand out like the grown ups did.

Go on, Roy, shake her hand.

Raleigh's looking kind of perplexed and amused, but he's waiting. ]

[truckerhats]

[roy blinks at her itty bitty hand, and then just laughs easily and reaches out to take her hand and give it a little shake.]

Now that's a proper introduction, kiddo.

[unbreachable]

I like tractor rides. [ She tells him matter-of-factly as he shakes her hand. ] So you better do a good job.

[ Raleigh chokes. ]

Elsie.

[spottedprick]

[People are abuzz in the Q-department today. They're not chatty people to begin with but they do... vibrate with energy. The source of their restlessness is the little bundle cradled against their Quartermaster's side as he types one-handed, occasionally pausing to readjust his hold on the baby before resuming. When people approach him with their work for the day, they can't seem to stop staring at the dozing infant, while Q just stares stoically back as if he's always come to work with the baby in one arm.

Q knows he really shouldn't have brought his son into work, but between the child's mother randomly showing up and handing him over along with the paperwork to prove he was indeed Q's child, the complete impossibility to hire a nanny on such short notice (especially without a proper background check), he'd decided to bite the bullet and bring the infant into MI6 for the day. Contrary to what people might think, he knows how to handle children from his own nieces and nephews and cousins, and while he might behave as if he couldn't care less whether the boy were with him or not, he'd firmly told the few employees to offer their services as nanny for the day to go away. As if he'd just drop his child in someone's unprofessional care, especially when they themselves had work to do.]

[unbreachable]

[ Raleigh hears tell of the 'newcomer' and of course...he's gotta go see it for himself.

Honestly, how can he not?

It's really hard to believe, is all.

He wanders in, brows raised, then just sort of melts because oh my god so cute. ]

[spottedprick]

[Q just glances over at the cooing blond and raises his eyebrows, absently adjusting his hold on the infant.] Can I help you?

[unbreachable]

Heard the rumors. He yours?

[ This is probably the softest look anyone will ever see on RAleigh's face, and the quietest he'll ever be.

Not that he's loud but whatever. ]

[spottedprick]

Yes. [The baby begins to react to the speaking and grunts, squirming awake and blinking huge, pale grey eyes up at Raleigh with quiet curiosity, very much like his father.] For Her Majesty's secret service, we're far better at circulating office gossip than holding secrets.

[unbreachable]

[ He chuckles softly. ]

Even in MI6, you still have watering holes, I guess.

[spottedprick]

So it would seem. [He absently begins to sway to help the baby doze off again while refocusing on one of his screens, typing surprisingly fast with one hand.]

keywords

[mark1bitch]

[Yes, all right, so this whole "parent" thing wasn't exactly high on her "to do" list. Or even remotely near it. There were more things to do, better things to do, like fighting in a war to save the goddamn world. Or helping to run an entire Shatterdome at the Marshal's side, or... hell, just plain selfishly staying in some kind of peak physical condition.]

[But, as it seemed, bringing messages to the K-Science sector and having an active love life with another jaeger has... unfortunate results, in her book.]

[She hasn't said a word to Gipsy on the subject, yet. It's too absurd to talk about. Not to mention, she doesn't even know what she's going to do yet. Aside from Not Talk About It. And time drags on.]

[Until it absolutely can't go hidden any longer -- like when you're trying your damnedest to wrestle your way into your workout gear and just... can't. When you're in shared quarters and forgot to lock the door because you never had to lock the door before, and you're swearing and hissing worse than the last time you kicked a kaiju off your drop partner's face.]

[Yes, this is truly a noble warrior here.]

[her_heart]

[ ....quite the noble warrior.

Gipsy finally comes in to check on the noise and commotion, brows pinched together, expression concerned. ]

...Tango?

[mark1bitch]

[Shit.]

[Probably not the best reaction to the sound of that voice. Not the best reaction in the slightest. But it's the first thing to flash through her head. She turns, abruptly, toward a wall, in hopes that will help hide what's obviously happened here.]

[And maybe preserve some kind of dignity.]

Yes?

[borntopilot]

((ooc; continued from here.))

[ She makes it to medical. She makes it in the door, talks to the doctors, makes it to the examining table, needle in her arm with something to calm her. Makes it to them starting the machines up and then she freaks out.

Freaks out and tears the needle out herself, pushes everyone away and refuses help and doesn’t accept the assistance of the nurses who are trying to help her get back into her clothes.

She practically runs out, barreling down the halls and bouncing off walls because she’s unsteady on her feet, bursts into her room and slams the door behind her before hitting her bed and bursting into tears and sobbing long and hard for several hours..

She couldn’t do it.

She doesn’t know if it’s weakness or fear or a desperation clawing in her bones to keep this one thing or what, but she couldn’t do it.

Keeping it from Herc is going to be difficult, btu she’s learned well from him how to mentally shield; he’s fucking amazing at it, one of the best there is (as loathe as she is to admit that she isn’t the best at it) and he’s taught her well.

But even then…

She isn’t sure she’ll be able to keep it out. She has a nasty feeling that when the time comes to Drift, she’s going to have to let herself chase a RABIT, one that’s going to throw them both into a pit of misery the entire time because focusing on her hate and rage and the day her mother died is probably the only way she’s going to be able to keep the thought away.

Chuck’s sobbed out by the time Raleigh knocks on her door and she knows that right then and there she’s going to have to lie to him, tell him she did it, that it’s over and there’s nothing to worry about, she just needs a day to get her shit back together, it’s all outpatient and painless now, no big deal.

She’s just not sure if she can do it right now, because it’s all still so raw, so real – she feels like she’d done it, her arm aching from where the needle had been, the patch job she’d done herself sloppy and half-assed. She can still hear the machines, the sound of the heart monitor beeping, the doctors murmuring in hushed tones.

She rolls over, faces the wall and covers her head with the pillow.

He’ll have to go searching for her, then round back when he finally figures it out that she’s hiding from him. ]

[righthemisphere]

[Her avoidance earns her two more hours of solitude before Raleigh circles back.

No one in Scramble Alley had seen her for hours. All her usual haunts were empty. It was eerily quiet.

And he isn't an idiot.

He's figured it out by now.

And it hurts but he get it.

Raleigh glances down at the plastic box he's been carrying around for hours and frowns, finding himself back outside Chuck's room.

He frowns lightly and leans his forehead against the cold metal door.]

I brought you dinner. It's a little cold.. I uh. I guess I'll just leave it here..

[He finally sets it down, hands feeling oddly empty. Task completed, he guesses. This is all.. This is all so wrong.]

[borntopilot]

[ She can practically feel his pain, it's almost fucking tangible and she can't fucking take it. Hiding from him is the only thing she knows how to do right now but it also feels wrong, because this affects him too, just in different ways.

She exhales a slow sigh, closes her eyes and finally speaks. ]

Doors open.

[righthemisphere]

[He can feel his shoulders slumping even further towards the ground. A knot in his stomach tightening. Just like the lump in his throat.

He doesn't want to bother her but..if she didn't want him to know she was in there then she didn't have to say anything.

So he slowly picks up the box again and pushes the door open, lingering for a moment and closing it behind him before crossing the room and laying the box on a part of her desk not covered in papers and machine work.]

I thought you might be hungry..

[borntopilot]

[ She grunts in response, but he's right. She is hungry and she watches him set the box down with wary, guarded eyes before sitting up properly and scooting to the edge of her bed and reaching for it. ]

Yeah. Little bit.

[righthemisphere]

[Oh- she wants it. He's still standing in the middle and it's easier just to pick it back up and hand it over. Complete with plastic silverware the cafeteria seems to think is easier to supply than metal. But..it makes sense seeing as a lot of bits and pieces have been melted down for Jaeger production.

Should he go? Should he sit?

He just kind of..lingers. Brows drawn. Trying to be present but as inoffensive as possible.]

[borntopilot]

You can sit down and not be a fuckin' creeper about it. Jesus, you've seen me naked, Becket.

[ Play it casual, like this is an every day thing. Like he always brings her food, always brings her a little plastic box with a little plastic fork after she's had a 'medical procedure'.

...Except she didn't have it, did she. And now, in return for his sweetness and worry and fear she's going to lie straight to his face. Can she really do it?

Yes. Yes she can. ]