damned_institute | Day 49: Early Afternoon

So much for not ending up drowned.

In retrospect, Sam probably should've escaped to a diner or something and stayed dry since it wasn't as if his walking about had yielded anything remotely useful. But he'd wanted to actually do something. He hadn't expected it to go from pouring to dumping buckets, either, but there it was.

At least he'd managed to talk to Dean this morning. Really talk, that was. Yeah, he still had no idea how the hell he was gonna pull any of this off—figuring out this date crap, saving Dean, the list kinda went on—but he'd gotten Dean on board and somehow that was...important, in and of itself. They hadn't been on the same page in awhile. Maybe they still weren't, but it felt that way for now. Sam couldn't ask for more.

Though God knew how long it'd last. Probably not very. You grow up around someone and after awhile, it got easy to predict how things usually went between the two of you.

Shaking rain-soaked bangs out of his eyes, he slipped into the nearest place he could find. Which happened to be—actually, it happened to be a pretty nice place. Nicer than some of the little shops around here and definitely way nicer than the run-down motels he tended to crash in. It made him feel twice as awkward, considering he was already dripping wet on top of everything else, but honestly he didn't even care. They already figured he was crazy so it wasn't like they could think any less of him. Right now, he was more interested in avoiding pneumonia than making friends.

He did keep off the couches, though. No point in leaving them wet for anyone else coming in. He ducked down near the fireplace instead. It was a real fireplace, not one of those fake ones that half of the places had these days. You didn't see those a lot anymore. With any luck, the whole psychiatric patient gig would keep most people away while he made his futile attempt to dry off.

Man. He wondered where Dean was. A part of him kinda hoped Dean was just as soaked as he was. It'd only be fair.

[~~his new best friends~~ Lelouch and Nunnally]

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She watched him carefully for a moment, then determined that his lag in reactions were only from sleep, and not something else. This decided, she relaxed marginally, blinking once.

"Fine," she answered perfunctorily. A beat, and she rethought it, wondered instead. She glanced at Ikari, gaze slightly unsure. "The place we're staying at. It has something to do with military experiments?" She didn't so much as doubt the words of her seatmate earlier, but would rather confirmation.

"...military experiments? I... I don't think so." Then again, how could he be sure? What had they been doing to Kaworu last night, after all? He frowned and glanced down at his hands, flexing his fingers. He wasn't sure what to do about it - he couldn't do anything.

"Maybe it is the military. I don't know."

Was it not? His hesitance, though, could mean he truly wasn't sure. Ayanami blinked, looking away from Ikari for a moment to watch the fire. In the smallest amount, her mouth thinned.

"Someone I spoke to seemed to believe that," she answered. "They were adamant."

"I don't know. It... sort of seems like something they'd do, but none of the people I've met seem like they're in the military..." For a moment he remembered the silent men in dark suits and sunglasses who had come to collect him, once upon a time. Or Lieutenant Ibuki. Or even Misato. They were all in the military, weren't they? Or at least a paramilitary organization.

He sighed. "I don't know what to think."

His shoulders slumped and he stared down at his hands, trying to think of something to say.

Asking the other's opinion now was futile. If one was unsure, they stayed that way until new facts came in to play. In this town, all they would learn would be more rumors from the others around them. Rei did not know anything in the short time she had been here. Three items of interest had presented themselves--a different name, a strange hall, and an unknown exploitation. Nothing more.

Military experiments, tests. With those items in front of her, she could believe as much. But she did not know. And without that knowledge, it was meaningless. Her eyes slid back to Ikari, watching carefully. "Do you know," she started quietly, "what they did to him?"

To the Fifth Child, she meant. To the one who had introduced himself as Kaworu Nagisa. One similar. If one didn't look too deep to find opposites.

"...no." He tensed, shoulders hunched. He didn't know and it scared him. "I... I wish I did. I just... I don't know."

He had nothing more to say. He couldn't help Kaworu. He could barely help himself. He was pathetic and alone again - he knew nothing and again he'd let a friend suffer while he stood by helplessly. It was just like before. Just like with Toji or Asuka or Rei. He always failed.

A response in the negative was enough--the reactions while speaking gave too much away of Ikari's discomfort. It was a guess at the reason. The conversation. The place they were in. The lack of knowledge. A concern for the Fifth. As it was, she didn't know, and could not move in the correct direction. A memory flashed, of the night prior--a hand holding and then arms wrapped around.

She could not offer that either, but she could understand that touch could be a comfort. Rei leaned to the side slightly, shoulder brushing Ikari's. Strange. It felt. Strange. But not necessarily bad. "He'll tell us. More than likely."

Shiji stiffened slightly as he felt Rei's shoulder brush his own through their clothing. It wasn't an unfamiliar sensation. He'd been leaning against Kaworu an hour or two ago when he fell asleep. He'd never really felt that with Rei. Their relationship had been strange, but appreciated. He wasn't sure what to think of her, now that he knew. The room filled with orange light and staring, crimson eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut, blocked out the images. This Rei cared about him. This Rei was his friend. Wasn't she? He slowly settled again, trying to be content with the slight sigh of physical affection, trying not to be nervous. It was harder than it sounded. He snuck a quick glance at her. "Y-yeah. He probably will."

He hoped so, anyway. Shinji hated worrying. Then again, there were a lot of things Shinji didn't like.

Day 49: Early Afternoon - Black Rock Inn

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Agh, I totally thought I replied to this. Sorry!

no problem.~

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