log

[alphawho]

Who: Church, Sigma
What: Long-awaited brotherly lunch
Where: something something restaurant
When: Sunday 11/22
Warnings: usual Church warnings

Maybe he should invest in contacts to make his eyes look normal if he's going to start making more of a habit of going places where remaining with a helmet on isn't going to work so well. Church is pretty nervous about the idea of seeing things from before, but hey...maybe it'll jog something. He'll just wait totally not at all nervously for Sigma.

Comments

[ambitious_muse]

Sigma's only a little late. Relying on the shuttle to get places is really annoying, and its general late-ness gives him too much time to consider the things that could go wrong.

It'll be fine. He knows that. This will be good for him and for Church. He's got a memory card in his pocket in case Church wants to take the pictures home. During lunch, though, he's got his datapad.

He exits the airlock and sees his brother waiting. "Sorry I'm late," he says. "Shuttle ran slow."

[alphawho]

"It's okay. I didn't take the time to run away screaming, so, that's step one complete." See, it's...kind of funny! Break this ice with some self-depricating humor! "How are you holding up?"

[ambitious_muse]

"You missed your chance. Now you're stuck with me," he teases. "I mean. I feel like I spend every day propped up on textbooks and work, but it's keeping me from falling apart?"

[alphawho]

Church lets them get seated with a couple menus in front of them. "Well, I mean, I guess whatever works? Beats medicating with alcohol."

[ambitious_muse]

"You probably see a whole lot of that, don't you?" he asks. He sets his datapad on the table and looks idly at the food choices.

[alphawho]

"Yeah, and sure, I get tipped for it, but it's not exactly the prettiest. We all do it now and then, though. If it wasn't effective, we wouldn't have alcoholics."

[ambitious_muse]

"I can't stand the hangovers," he admits. "It doesn't help when I have to get up early. But, hey, I suppose it's nice to have a job."

[alphawho]

"I'm always down for jobs. Sometimes hard to get, sometimes hard to keep, but worth it for an income. How the fuck else you gonna get money, right?"

[ambitious_muse]

"I mean. You could do what I'm doing," he says. "But I don't think the family would be very happy."

He's allowed to say that, right?

[alphawho]

"Pretty content doing what I'm doing now." Status quo. Maybe he should stop being so adamant about keeping to it. "And yeah, pretty sure everyone else would just cut me out of the family at that point, or something, I dunno."

[ambitious_muse]

"I wouldn't. It would be awfully hypocritical of me," he points out. "Besides, you've probably seen plenty of dangerous things in your time at the bar."

[alphawho]

"Uhhhh, I guess. We do occasionally have to call the cops. But it's not all that dangerous, which is kind of weird, given all the mercs that hang out there. Obviously all the problems are on the red side of the bar."

[ambitious_muse]

"That does sound lucky," he says. "Of course you have to keep blue side proper, right?"

[alphawho]

"Totally proper, totally cool. Obviously everything goes to shit when I'm not working. The whole bar would crash and burn without me."

[ambitious_muse]

"I bet," he says. "They're lucky to have you."

The server arrives to take their orders. Sigma has settled on the chicken tikka masala, but he'll let his brother order first.

[alphawho]

He does love boasting about his importance in his place of work. Inflating his own ego is pretty great. Food is good, though. Lasagna? Lasagna sounds good.

"Yeah, well, who wouldn't be lucky to have me, honestly."

[ambitious_muse]

"I know we are," he says. "That's why I'm here, right?"

[alphawho]

He'd say something snarky about Delta, but...Delta's at least been trying, lately. More or less. So maybe he shouldn't be a little shit about one of his brothers to another one of his brothers. "No, I think you're here because you're a way better person than I deserve."

[ambitious_muse]

"Maybe that, too," he teases. "Or I want you to believe you deserve it." He pulls out the datapad.

[alphawho]

"...Yeah, I guess that's a thing, too." He eyes the datapad warily. Sure, he wants this, wants to see and know, but there's always that part of him that is silently freaking out and would just rather run away.

[ambitious_muse]

Sigma leaves it for him and reaches for his drink. He's more than welcome to take it, though if he's nervous, Sigma can start him off with a few highlights.

[alphawho]

He can't remain impassive, even though he'd sure like to. There are pictures. They're old, but even a decade plus apart, he can still see the resemblances of some of the young'ns to the grown men (and woman) they are today. And him.

He's looking at another person, someone he's long since been removed from. A mirror to a life he never had. It's him, but it's...it's just not.

Sure, he's aware of the darkness lingering beyond the stills, has a vague knowledge of the things Price did, but... "You all look so happy."

[ambitious_muse]

"We tried to be," Sigma admits. "It's easy enough to smile for a camera."

Some of them are genuinely happy pictures. And then there the ones Omega insisted on, the collection that he snuck when Sigma was little and his brother caught him practicing his pouting and angry faces in the bathroom mirror. To this day, he still has rather evocative facial expressions.

[alphawho]

"It's...a shame, y'know? That the younger ones weren't around. But, I mean, I guess it's better that they came later..." A shame they came at all, to a family like this, from wherever they came from, right? "Did I take a lot of these? Me and Tex? We would've been old enough to get how to work a fucking camera."

[ambitious_muse]

"They barely knew you," Sigma says, catching on. "But we do have pictures of their growing-up years. Including some of Gamma's naked baby pictures, as a backup in case he finds and deletes them from the home network." He must not know about them, or how could they have survived this long?

As far as who took the pictures, Sigma doesn't know. He wants to say Church, because that's what he remembers, but what if it was Beta? He wouldn't know. Price tried to erase them both.

"I bet you did," he says, considering how few pictures there are of the older siblings. "Cameras are that basic, after all, and the rest of us probably did plenty of embarrassing things to take pictures of."

[alphawho]

"This is..." A little overwhelming. And also really cute. He sets the datapad of pictures down, leaning back. "Something. Sure is something. Was it...nice? I mean, obviously Price sucked. And things were...pretty awful as far as he's concerned, but together, was it nice?"

[ambitious_muse]

"It was." It got better after Meg threw Price out, of course. "We all looked out for each other. And we had some good times."

Tromping out mazes in the snow in the yard, building gigantic blanket forts, reading together quietly--all good memories that they shared because they ever let each other be alone. Being alone was dangerous then. It's easier now, thankfully, but he wishes Church didn't have to feel so separated from his family.

[alphawho]

"Are things good now? Like, I get there's stress. A lot of it. Delta sure does it a lot. And things have...happened. To some of you." Ahem, Sigma. "But overall. It's good to be a family together and on your own, without the influences of people who are psychologically damaging as fuck, yeah?"

[ambitious_muse]

"Besides the obvious? Yeah," he says. "To be completely honest, it was always difficult, back when Meg couldn't keep down a job and he and D sometimes went hungry to keep Theta and the twins fed. I worked janitorial on top of my college classes, but that's all they would let me do to help. Now? Both of them have good jobs. I have two good jobs. It's great not having to worry, you know?"

[alphawho]

"Believe me, I'm at least partially familiar with how it feels to finally be financially independent in a feasible, sustainable way. I can eat more than just ramen noodles now some nights." He's joking (mostly). "I can't imagine having to put up with a whole big family of starving mouths and no good jobs. It's amazing you guys didn't end up on the street."

[ambitious_muse]

"Ramen can be surprisingly good if you break an egg into it, or top it off with some vegetables." And add a spicy sauce. Otherwise it's too salty.

He sighs. "We made it. I'm not sure how, but we did. it's not perfect, and I think Omega's afraid that someone would try to take the kids, but--we've given them a good home and done all we can. We've just gotta hope for the best now."

[alphawho]

"If there's anything I can do..." he starts. He's not sure if there is, though. Except to, on occasion, be there. Historically, Church has not been one to be there. There hasn't been anyone to be there for. "Not for money, but like, whatever."

[ambitious_muse]

"Whatever?" He teases. "Are the Littles really that terrifying?"

[alphawho]

"No? I mean. I'm not afraid of kids. Just...I don't deal with kids? I've never dealt with kids until now. I guess it's family. Maybe family scares me, I dunno." Shrug. No big deal! Drink some water, look at other people and not at Sigma.

[ambitious_muse]

To his credit, Sigma doesn't laugh out loud. "Anyone who isn't afraid of those two has never been around at bathtime," he says, completely serious. "They can be terrifying. Overwhelming, even. But they're definitely cute enough to keep around."

[alphawho]

"It's a learning experience, that's for sure. I don't think I'm naturally just...good with kids like it seems like some expect me to be just 'cuz I took care of some of you guys."

[ambitious_muse]

"Nah. Most of it is experience," he admits, "and it's hardly your fault you don't remember. Especially when those two can be so tricky."

Here comes their food. Perfect. Less awkward conversation and more time for pictures.