Day 22: Brunch

[dawning-dreams.livejournal.com]

Cid usually liked sleeping in, especially in a place as messed up and uninviting as this, but this happened to be one situation where he really wished he hadn't.

Right there, on the bulletin board. The Head Doctor and he'd fucking missed it? Some part of him wished he'd been there to take his eye out and another part of him knew he wouldn't have been able to. No man that powerful who hid for so long went to dangerous places without some kind of entourage.

Brunch sounded like it'd be filling, at least, though he nearly stopped in his tracks when the bastard announced TEA. TEA. It'd been a damn long while since he'd had some fucking tea, though with all the stress this place had found fit to rain down on his fucking head, it hadn't really been the first priority on his mind. Kinda nice, even if Cid was sure this was just some game the mother fucker was playing to get them all stuck neck-deep in Stockholm Syndrome.

He scanned the mostly-empty room for any sign of a familiar face once he'd piled waffles and sausages and syrup on his plate, though the person he really wanted to talk to was that Reynolds guy. "Spaceship" was the last word he remembered clearly before waking up in his bed, and dammit if he wasn't going to keep it stuck like glue in his mind.

He found a table where he could watch people come into the cafeteria and grabbed for his mug. The steam rising from his drink and the bag of herbs in it was nearly enough to make him grin despite it all, and it was with marked leisure and a little relief that he drank his goddamn tea.

Comments

[soul-defender.livejournal.com]

If Renji were conscious at all, or even half-conscious, Ichigo would have rewarded such a bold question with a sharp, closed-fisted blow to the head. Ichigo could feel the deserved anger bubbling up inside of him, tossing his features away from surprise and confusion back towards pure anger, then creeping all the way up into his right hand, forcing his fingers to tighten and clentch, as if choking the air itself.

"N-nothing. It's nothing." he replied in a cracking tone, his voice sliding between his gritted teeth. It looked as if he was doing his very best to keep himself calm, his eyes closed and his lips cracked into a feigned and waivering smile.

[norainu]

"Alright," Renji said, agreeably. He gave Ichigo a very tired thumbs up. "Smile more or something." He turned his face back toward the table top and made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snore.

[soul-defender.livejournal.com]

"Smile more...why, you, I'll..." Ready to erupt in Vesuvian fashion, Ichigo's raised fist hovered just over Renji's lowered head, trembling uncontrollably by some angry, primal urge to maim. However, as a testament to his iron will, no harm came to the vice-captain just yet, as Ichigo managed to collect himself with a deep, soothing breath, then retract his hand.

A din rose up from the opposite end of the cafeteria, and a very familiar voice began to cry out amid the sounds of what he interpreted as a light struggle. Weaving back and forth in his seat, trying to see past a sea of seated heads blocking his view, Ichigo finally manuevered himself to the point where he caught a glimpse of Rangiku and Gin. It was hard to tell just what was going on, no matter how hard he squinted perceptively, but something, some masculine instinct deep down inside him, could sense...pain. Pain in the worst way. Instinctively, Ichigo closed his legs together.

Ichigo began to rise out of his chair, but after a moment of inspection, the fight didn't look entirely out of hand. Gin managed to steal a kiss, strangely, but hadn't raised his hand to his female colleague. Ichigo sat back down again, but wouldn't get comfortable just yet, not until Gin was safely under the staff's supervision.