i'm too impatient for the event so play something small with me maybe

[compendiem]

WHO: Minato/ota
WHERE: Wiffle-Waffle
WHEN: Friday, 8/3, all day
WHAT: a """stake-out""" aka eating waffles and talking because nothing will happen on the 3rd like it usually does. some info-sharing to get people up to date (or alternatively, non-productive wheel spinning with Minato because he knows NOTHING haha)
WARNINGS: none

i.
[ Shit goes down on the 3rd every month --> we don't know what's going to happen aside from something being wrong with Retrospec --> the waffle house used to be where the Retrospec building is and its mailbox is outside --> stake out the waffle house just in case something happens

That's basically the thought process that went into this, but word might not have gotten around that it's happening. If anything, what draws people's attention, if not by word of mouth, is that whoever's on the way to the waffle house early Friday morning may see Minato on his way there too, struggling to push a wheelbarrow up the street.

It's a covered wheelbarrow. There is definitely a blade or three poking through the cover where he'd tried to tie the fabric down so it wouldn't blow off. But don't mind that; help him push. ]

ii.
[ The Wiffle-Waffle is a respectable business which wouldn't appreciate loitering, so head on inside and let's have a waffle party. You're also paying for your own waffles, because Minato isn't made of money. He tries to keep his head down, mostly, finding a far away corner booth to sit at and waving people down with a credit card in one hand, the other hand held by the side of his face as if it does anything to obscure his identity from the workers there who shoot uneasy looks his direction from time to time. ]

Four waffles. Plain. If you can order that for me...

iii. (chronologically after prompt i.... I so clearly edited this in after the fact without reading)
[ He's just stuffing a mini-armory of axes and swords into the mailbox, don't mind him. ]

iv.
[ Time trudges on with nothing happening— a good thing, really. But Minato fiddles with his phone a lot during the time, pulling up a message he'd sent to Zee, checking and rechecking Wednesday's post from Joanne in hopes that it'd corrected himself.

With people here, it's a good a time as any for some info sharing. If anything, it'd be good for people to catch up on what happened last August that'd gotten so many "veterans" riled up, and Minato's one of those who wasn't there and is interested in learning more about it all. ]

So... Summer in Recollé sucks, huh. [ yeah ] ...I was talking to Zee a little, and he mentioned something about old maps, if you know anything about those. I guess it's of the city? Or Retrospec itself. I'm still a bit lost on it all, actually.

Comments

[servileness]

[ She can't win here. She's not going to win. It's clear when a surprised, "Oh" escapes her lips. It's too much. Her head is getting hazy, and she can't have that now.

She breaks away from him, takes the necessary steps back until the only parts of them touching are their hands, and she slips away from that, too, after a beat. She can't give into the temptation, not when they're both private people.

Her face is flushed. There's no hiding it even as she tries to rearrange her hair to cover most of it. ]

Later. [ Her mouth is dry, and she swallows. ] Just... later. I need to... get a glass of water.

[ She walks straight for the waffle house even though if she were more clear-headed, she'd probably walk in the opposite direction of there so she wouldn't run into anyone who probably saw them. ]

[compendiem]

[ Later, aka she's going to kill him later when she calms down and reflects on all of this and then kills him. He can't let her go with her last thought being that, but at least it's the waffle house she heads towards, where he was planning to camp out in too, so he makes sure his wheelbarrow's been emptied of everything he brought before heading inside too.

Where is she, so he can continue being a terror, but less of a terror because they're indoors. ]

[servileness]

[ She is still more dumb than usual, so she's seated at the back of the restaurant. Really, she should've not chosen to go into this restaurant because seeing him again is dangerous. To everyone.

She got that glass of water that she said she needed and is holding onto it tightly. ]

[compendiem]

[ She's going to break that glass of water at this rate, and Minato doesn't make it any better in that he strides up to her table like nothing's wrong, and slides into the seat next to her instead of across; no escape now, without upending the entire table. ]

What do you recommend from here?

[ he asks, picking up the four menus stacked at one end of the table and starts setting them up around them like a barricade. ]

[servileness]

[ Yeah, she is. She's frazzled, and he's setting her nerves on edge. Her first thought when he slides into the seat next to her is, This asshole. Her second is, I love him. But it's naive to think that she'd need to upend the table to get out when all she has to do is shove him.

Her control is weak as it is, and when her fingers curl around the glass from his proximity, a small crack forms. It's not enough to break, but she quickly lets it go. She covers her face with her hands and grumbles. ]

I hate you right now.

[ There's no heat in that. ]

[compendiem]

I know.

[ He reaches for the glass, sliding it over in front of it; if it breaks the rest of the way, he can take the fall and his reputation in this establishment won't even change. Also, free water, of which he helps himself to.

"I'm sorry" is probably what Clover's waiting for, but is he sorry... He isn't sorry, taking advantage of her covering her face to lean his shoulder against hers before he gets batted away. ]

I'll make it up to you.

[servileness]

[ She doesn't want an apology. She took part in it. She wanted it. That's what she hates. She hates how much she wanted that to happen, how much she enjoyed it, how much Minato excited her...

He's too shameless, but she doesn't mind as much as she should, and that's a problem. She sighs. ]

I'm afraid of that.

[compendiem]

Inspiring fear into people's hearts is all I've ever wanted.

[ It's not a problem. He's not the person to go to for help in correcting one's behavior, not when his own is so off the tracks at times. Please have somebody in your life that gives better advice, Clover. I hear Ren is good at that. ]

[servileness]

Despite everything that you are, you inspire something else to my heart.

[ She gives up hiding. She leans her head against his shoulder and waves a hand at one of the menus he propped up. ]

Order whatever you want. I'll pay.

[compendiem]

[ Not fear, but...? Deep, deep exhaustion, probably.

Minato doesn't spare the menus a single glance, as he'd come here with what he wanted to order already in mind: ]

Six dozen plain waffles.

[servileness]

[ That is one of the many feelings he makes her feel, yes.

It's an accurately timed order since the waiter walks up at that moment. Clover heaves a sigh so resigned as if she expected something that ridiculous. ]

You heard him. [ She waits until they're left alone again to ask: ] How long is that going to last you?

[compendiem]

I have twelve more hours to go.

[ A waffle every ten minutes or something; he believes he'll be able to sustain himself like that, snacking throughout the day so that he'll never get hungry. ]

Less if you want any. You aren't going to have just water?

[servileness]

Maybe later. I'm not hungry now.

[ She'll have to figure out what the healthiest option is at a waffle house or break and get a Belgian waffle. ]

I came in here to cool down more than anything else.

[ Which he should know because he was part of the problem? ]

[compendiem]

[ That's a foreign concept to him, who rarely gets riled up enough to necessitate a cool-down session, but he helpfully slides her glass a water back over, after he'd already helped himself to some. ]

What if something happens today? It might not be too bad to be a little on edge.

[ He busies himself with the menus, stacking them like one would build a tower of cards. ]

...I was talking with Souji's mother earlier last month. 'bout how I was feeling anxious about things lately. How I wished something would just happen, for the sake of happening and shaking things up a little. Isn't that terrible?

[servileness]

You'll protect me, won't you? You'd rescue me if I needed it? Like a damsel in distress.

[ She's kidding, a little. Her smile is a little too sharp. She's too powerful to be taken so easily, and she'd rather be capable than helpless. She knows all too well how Four would rather be protected, but she can't be just like that.

Clover watches him play with the menus for a little while, mulling over her answer. ]

Not always. I think... for you to want some kind of excitement is a good thing. We're usually in a constant swing of something happening and then resolving eventually. Sometimes, it's better to know what will happen or what's wrong because the waiting game can be what's terrible.

[ Clover doesn't quite want what Minato wants because she misses the days when her biggest worry was whether or not she'd be the top of her class. ]

It's not like you want the world to end.

[ She hopes he doesn't, at least. ]

[compendiem]

[ He sees that smile and gives her a soft one in return. ]

I was hoping we'd protect each other.

[ It's more often than not that he's the one being helped out, anyways, capable of handling things himself and preferring to do things on his own, but accepting of help when it's insisted upon, especially when it's a fight. ]

It's what you say, though: the waiting game gets old. I've been waiting for almost two years now, for everything to be fixed.

[ So he can fly away? that was the original goal, but now, he'd just like everything to be fixed so he can stop revolving his life around a calendar and having to steel himself for the start of each month. That's no way to live, dictated by whatever catastrophe awaits them, but last year... Last year, a catastrophe happened, but some real progress had come out of that, and it's what he wishes for again. ]

[servileness]

Ideally, I want that, too.

[ She wants them as equals, give and take. Isn't that how a relationship should be? Even if they weren't dating, she'd want that. Does she tell him she'd kill him, or would that be too much, too worrying? ]

I doubt it'll be fixed any time soon. Once they divulge more information, then I could see us moving towards an end. Towards a life that isn't thrown into chaos every month. I suppose our deadline tonight is 9PM. That's the time they usually like.

[compendiem]

[ He throws a glance to the clock on the wall, feeling the time creep to a stop every time he lets impatience get a better of him. 9 PM. Having a deadline puts him little at ease; the anxiety creeps forward instead, because he really doesn't like the waiting. ]

It sounds like Retrospec doesn't have much info for us, to divulge any. Been trying to keep in touch with Zee, but... [ He shakes his head, slouching in his seat and then sitting back up when he sees his first order of waffles making its way towards their table. ]

Playing guard is really boring too. Not allowed to sleep, so it would've been fun to play with your new gloves or something.

[servileness]

He seems to be more clueless than the technicians. It's a shame.

[ It does give some insight in how Retrospec is run, though. How much information is on a need to know basis? More than anyone on the network would like, probably.

She watches as Minato's waffles are set down and waits until the waiter leaves after giving them syrup and other toppings. ]

I'll stay awake, if you want to sleep, as long as you don't sleep on your food. You can do whatever you want with my glove, too. I'll give it to you for today.

[ And only today. She isn't comfortable with anyone having anything of Four's too long, as if it'll poison them with her hatred. ]

[compendiem]

[ He shakes his head, though the promise of letting him play with the glove makes him smile, unable to hide that eagerness. ]

I promised myself I wouldn't sleep. If something were to happen, I wouldn't forgive myself. It's why I joined the coalition in the first place.

[ Out of some sense of duty- or thrill seeking- or just wanting to make himself useful. Something. He pulls the plate of waffles to him, foregoes the bottle of syrup and little bowl of fruit, and eats it plain. ]

[servileness]

All right. Let's see to it that your promise to yourself stays true.

[ She wants that more for him. Minato at one thousand percent is the Minato she likes best, even if he is 1000 percent doing something she doesn't like. At least he's going at it 1000 percent, and that's what matters.

She eyes him eating the waffle plain, and.... ]

Why?

[ When he could enhance the eating experience.... ]

[compendiem]

[ The Minato she loves seems to be the Minato running on a thermos full of espresso and a subsequently constantly full bladder that keeps him from being asleep for longer than half an hour at a time. The Minato that enjoys plain waffles without thinking about the carb crash that he'll have to battle out after. ]

Why I joined the coalition? I guess 'cause John and Dave were there. And I wanted to be a part of something bigger.

[ Something more important than his singular existence. ]

[servileness]

[ At least their sleep schedules can be unhealthy in similar ways in that case.

That isn't the question she meant, but the answer makes her smile anyway. ]

It's a good cause.

[ She takes her combat bracer out of the bag and puts it on his lap. She doesn't need more people to look at them than when Minato started stacking the menus. ]

[compendiem]

[ His eyes light up in the way a child's does when given a new toy, the rest of the waffle held in his mouth as he pats the crumbs off his hands and puts the bracer right on. It doesn't fit perfectly, but it fits well enough for him to flex his fingers within it, itching to try it out on something.

He swallows the rest of his waffle before he speaks again. ]

Are you sure you're not hungry? I could cut one of the waffles in half if you don't want a whole one.

[servileness]

[ Well, at least Four's weapon of choice makes someone happy. That's a plus?

Maybe it's a plus. Please don't cause property damage, Minato. ]

Do you think I'll die if I don't eat in the next minute? I'll be fine. I'm fine. I promise. I'll take half a waffle just so it doesn't seem like I'm loitering.