Day 60: Cafeteria

[gald_digger]

Anise had been lying snug in bed, only vaguely aware that she was awake, when her rest was disturbed by the one sound in the world she'd never wanted to hear again.

"Good morning, everyone!"

The girl's eyes shot open and she immediately sat up straight. There was no doubt about it. That was the Head Doctor, that bastard, and he was back! Now that

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[cigarettes_plz]

Morning hit him like a sack of bricks. Badou was dimly aware of a familiar voice coming across the intercom, but the words all seemed blurred together, unimportant white noise. There were bandages covering fresh wounds where his eyepatch used to be, up both of his forearms and across his left palm. He pressed his fingers against them lightly.

If it wasn't for that, it would be like nothing had changed at all. They hadn't gotten far enough. All of that for fucking nothing. He would be furious if he thought it was any more than an utter waste of fucking energy. Not only had they not managed to get out - the military was gone. Last night had been a chance and they weren't ready for it. But really, what else did he expect?

The nurse came to lead him out, and Badou followed her without comment. He didn't even care. He didn't want to hear it. This shit. Seriously, this shit.

But despite his resolution to be a sullen asshole all morning, the smell of fresh waffles seemed to claw its way right down into the pit of his stomach and awaken something beastly and incapable of giving a shit about his mood. He was starving. Literally. He'd been picking at his gruel for days and now there were waffles.

It was amazing how much more human a mouthful of strawberry could make him feel. And besides, just because they hadn't gotten anywhere that didn't mean no one had gotten anywhere. He remembered a little belatedly that he'd made a date this morning, too.

The place was still mostly empty by the time he finished piling his tray, so spotting Renamon wasn't much of a challenge. The look on her face, on the other hand, that was - jarring. He'd seen it before, back home, and he knew what it meant.

He set his tray down across from her and slid into the seat without waiting for an invite. "Tell me that's not the face you make when you're lookin' forward to my company."

[yin_yang_fox]

The movement near to her came belated--she glanced up quickly, off balance at being came up upon. There was a disturbance within her and it needed to be adjusted. And very soon. For the one near to her, she was only gracious, giving a nod in greeting before she even registered his words. Looking forward to his company. Because-- She blinked rapidly for a moment, then lowered her head slightly. In all the time she had been here, she hadn't yet forgot a meeting. And here she was, surprised by one she had only made yesterday.

Yes. She was losing her equilibrium, in bits and pieces.

"Forgive me," she murmured quietly. "I seemed to have forgotten we were meeting." Nothing of the man's weight on her--it was not that Badou lacked importance but that Renamon was faltering, failing. And she needed to refind her feet. The Digimon swallowed, and inhaled deeply. A visible effort to pull herself together was made, and when she looked up at him, she seemed more herself. But for a blankness in her eyes. "Though I do have good news for you."

[cigarettes_plz]

That she glanced up at all was slightly reassuring, but only very slightly. Renamon was normally so composed and quietly alert, seeing her startled and so off balance was - well, he had never really thought of it as a possibility. Surprising her that one time when he'd come back from the supposed dead was all he would have ever expected.

Then again, last night had been an enormous clusterfuck. With Landel reclaiming the title of Head Douchenozzle... they were pretty much back to square one. He didn't know why exactly he wasn't storming around angry or sitting here dead-eyed, but maybe he had reached a threshold for how much grief and disappointment he could take. One thing he could say for being a normal guy from the city: it got you pretty accustomed to swallowing down despair and still having to work shifts and smile pretty in the morning.

Not being overly distracted himself made it that much easier to see how badly off Renamon was, and it wasn't as if she was hiding it well anyway. He understood some of it. Frankly, she had a lot to lose. Who knew what had happened with her connection in the military, or what powers she had briefly regained and lost? He was a normal guy all the time, but he wasn't unsympathetic. He had seen Alle at full power last night. For the first time since Badou had met him, he was a whole person in a way that was almost undefinable. Taking away so much less than that could break someone.

Business partners or no... he was honest to god worried about her.

He waved off her apology with a single distracted gesture. "Me too, until a minute ago," The words were less casual, softer than he intended. He debated for a moment about saying something else, but he couldn't think of even where to begin. He took a bite of waffle and nodded at her, concern and curiosity blending openly in his expression. "Good news would be pretty welcome. Lay it on me."

[yin_yang_fox]

She would care for him a little bit more, for the simple fact that he allowed her her distraction. Did not speak or ask on the matter, but looked half as well as she felt, and that in itself gave understanding. She looked at him briefly, an extended beat longer than necessary, and then nodded her head. "I found what you wanted." And that alone allowed her to give the smallest of smiles to the man, pleased. "I have a handgun and an extra clip for you that I procured last night."

Last night being a give and a take, both blatant, and now, almost unwanted. Like being blind and deaf after having perfect senses. Her gaze skittered to the side, but she continued. "It's possible that we'd be able to retrieve more. I have a ring that goes straight to the back room at the sheriff's station currently."

[cigarettes_plz]

He could tell from that small nod that they understood each other, and that wasn't something that happened to him very often. He had never been much good at all the emotional stuff; it was clumsy and strange, and frankly he kinda sucked at it.

He perked up visibly when she spoke, his back a little straighter, his eye a little wider. The first thing he thought of wasn't a handgun, but if there was anything he wanted more than a cigarette right now... that was it. He only wished his reaction was a little more low-key, because having his fork fall out of his hand less than a second after she spoke wasn't a exactly glowing endorsement of his ability to handle a gun.

She had a gun and a clip and the ability to get more ammo whenever it was needed. Badou wasn't sure he'd just heard all of that right.

"Renamon I..." His fingers twitched visibly, once, before his hands closed against the table top. "You make it sound like a gift."

And as much as some part of him knew that it was meant that way - that just didn't happen. Everything had a price.

[yin_yang_fox]

The brief reaction made her pleased that she tried for it. And the verbal response caused a shift to take place. A gift, was it? She didn't view it as that at all. But it was also true, in a way. Because wasn't that what humans did. With ones declared as friends.

She tilted her head as if considering his words, mulling over the syllables without sound. Then the Digimon only shook her head, breathing out a laugh. "A gift, hm? I suppose you could see it that way." She looked at Badou, expression sober though her eyes laughed. "I see it more that it keeps you alive, and therefore, we can continue to go on being associates. We can continue to give each other information, and hopefully succeed in some prospects for that fact."

It was an answer that allowed pride on both sides; an answer both logical and kind, and it could be taken for what it was. And it was true, in any case. All that she said rang as truth. Though the matter remained, that had not been present in her mind the night prior.

Renamon had only been picking up a gift for a friend.

[cigarettes_plz]

She was laughing at him. Maybe only a little, but it was enough that he noticed. He opened his mouth for a moment, silently offended, and then all at once he closed it again, his shoulders sagging like they'd been relieved of weight. That was utter bullshit. Grade-A organic-grass-only purebred bulls they might be, but it was still complete, utter crap.

So Badou laughed quietly, a little self-deprecating, but with a touch of genuine good humor too. This was kinda ridiculous. Neither of them wanted to call it a gift with no real strings attached but that was what it was, and he didn't think he would have been able to repay something like this anyway. He nodded once. Associates. Right.

A little light had come back into her eyes, at least.

"I'll do my best to be useful then," Badou replied, the words still carrying a teasing edge. "If you need a hand with anything..."

It wasn't an offer he made lightly. Badou valued his life a great deal, and as a rule he didn't put it on the line unless he was being paid or... Or things got a little strange, like last night when he'd really just wanted something to work.

[yin_yang_fox]

A hand slid to her mouth in apparent thought, hiding the edge of the amused smile that rested there. There was a lightness here that might not have existed before. She wasn't quite certain. Between the days and weeks between had they shifted to something like friends? She was not one to place a label and pull it tight--the two worked well enough together, and she would be happy with that. She had cheered him a bit, at least.

Though for his offer....

The Digimon tilted her head in consideration, then spoke truthfully. "Actually, I've been meaning to go back down to the basement soon. Would you like to come along?"

[cigarettes_plz]

To anyone else, Badou would have refused outright. He didn't know enough about the basement and there was a good chance they would run into more trouble than the trip was worth.

Still, he trusted Renamon's instincts to a healthy degree, so if she thought it was worth going down there he was at least willing to give it a shot. And aside from that, she was providing him with a gun and ample ammo.

Badou nodded just a fraction. "Yeah. Yeah, alright. Gotta admit, I've been kinda curious. Is it just you goin'?"

[yin_yang_fox]

Something inside of her loosened. A part of her obviously trusted the man enough to watch her back, if nothing else. She nodded in response, a bit of gratitude in her expression. "You and I, now. Though I'm planning to invite another at the least." Tear was resourceful, and would be useful as a medic in case anything happened. The Digimon planned to seek the other out today, and as for a fourth.... She would see how things went.

"I've been down a few times, once not willingly, and I've heard some curious things since then from an associate." She watched the man closely. "I'd like to see where the center door, and the new one, both lead. The latter can't be opened unless you've traveled through the former, so that is what I intend to do."

There wasn't much weight behind that as way of a legit reasoning, but Renamon had now been in this place for a month, with little to no changes. This was a path she had not yet taken, and so it was that it was now the one chosen.

[cigarettes_plz]

"I know a couple of people who might be willing to come. I can ask later, if you're lookin' for more." He couldn't imagine that it was easy to convince anyone with a lick of sense to go down to the basement when so few even wanted to talk about it. Peter had been totally traumatized after his trip, and that was the least of his concerns about it.

But his thoughts on the matter weren't so different from the Renamon's. At this point, they didn't have a lot of places to go, and even down as a direction. It was more than he had. He couldn't tell himself forever that he'd wait and listen and find some smart way out of this when every time they made a little progress they ran up against another dead end.

He retrieved his fork and went back to digging into his waffle, listening to Renamon while he ate. His interest was obvious, his brow knitting briefly at the words not willingly, but he let her finish first.

"I gotta tell you Ren, I'm not normally willing to bet my life against curiosity. You only get to lose that kinda bet once." The fork sank into his waffle with perhaps a little more violence than necessary. "Let's hope it's worth it."

He paused, looking up from his breakfast. "And do me a favor? Don't ever go down there by yourself. If you're short a man, just drop me a note. I'm in favor of keeping my associates alive too."

[yin_yang_fox]

"I'll keep that in mind," she said honestly. She would prefer to work with those somewhat known, and in all honesty, she'd prefer Sasuke on the task, as the ninja knew the basement well and she trusted him to react properly. Tear she had only just met, but the girl showed promise and smarts. And lined up correctly with the Digimon. She would work with what was offered. Renamon hadn't seen the Konoha ninja for a few days now.

She listened quietly to what he said, perking only once at the use of a nickname she hadn't heard in over two weeks. And the one that called her that before was-- No, now was not the time to think in that direction. She was silent for a moment, over that memory and the weight of Badou's words, and then she glanced up, tilting her head almost apologetically. "You're contradicting yourself," she said softly. "You don't want to risk yourself on a whim and yet you want me to call you if I explore there."

It spoke more than what had been touched before. The quiet line between a working relationship and a friendship. Her eyes angled away before returning back to him. The question was obvious, a simple why unasked. It was up to the man if he wanted to answer it.

Renamon, however, owed him more than the offer of a firearm. She blinked a few times, then shifted, straightening. "I was going to let you know what happened the other night, correct? I met Marc with a few others."

[cigarettes_plz]

Badou nodded. He understood, really. He trusted Heine and Alle with his life, but anyone else's... that was another matter entirely, assuming they'd even want to try this in the first place. It was mostly a numbers thing. Better four of them on a mission like this than just two, right?

He hadn't even realized the nickname slipped until it caught Renamon's attention, and then there were other things on his mind while he finished speaking and she took her turn. She had a point. Badou dropped his gaze to his plate, but a slight smile lingered, self-deprecating and tired. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess that doesn't make any sense."

But it sort of did, in a way they were edging around. It was less of an offer to go down and do dangerous, probably senseless things, and more of one to watch her back when she did. He shrugged, and lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"Look, you're..." He raked his fingers through his hair, feeling heat rise in his face despite himself. "I don't wanna lose anyone else if I can help it, is all."

When she spoke again, Badou nearly dropped his fork for the second time that shift. There had been rumors of people meeting up with the voices on the radio for as long as he could remember, but he hadn't really trusted any of them.

"You met Marc?" He repeated, just in case he'd misheard. "This is a story I wanna hear."

[yin_yang_fox]

He admitted the contradiction, but with a look Renamon knew well. Instantly, she wished to take back her teasing, if only because she understand the conflict. He continued, and she dropped her eyes respectfully, silently taking in the half-confession. She was someone that he knew. Someone that was competent that could assist him. And in a place that most knew almost none, Renamon was a friendly existence. She understood. Because he existed as the same. "I know," she said quietly. "I feel the same way." She raised her eyes and nodded. "I don't want to lose anyone else either."

A simple line that meant everything in this place. She inhaled, and moved on to the subject she had raised. "I did," she replied. "He's much like he was on the radios--young," she pointed out. "He comes off earnest, but he seems to understand what he's up against. He also seems to lack choices, from what he said about Landel. Which," she continued, looking up at Badou. "Wasn't much. It seems he's under the same restriction that some others are. He couldn't speak about any of Landel's weaknesses or powers. Though I wonder what happened now...." She mused silently, then added the obvious. "Landel is back so where is Marc?"

[cigarettes_plz]

It was strange. Losing one person back home had nearly killed him, but losing so many here... it was different. Not better or easier, but different. It wasn't like he'd managed not to get attached - hell, he was starting to see that was the only way to keep going in this messed up little madhouse - he just... got attached in a different way. He knew from the start any day one of them could be here and gone. So he didn't depend. You just had to do what you could.

It was gonna hurt like hell if he ended up losing Renamon any time soon. She was too familiar, regardless of whatever they ended up calling this. He nodded once, and let that be the end of it for now.

Business was easier to talk about. What Renamon said was interesting. Marc had come off pretty damn young, and it all seemed to check out... Badou thought back to the night before, but he couldn't recall any announcements or radio messages - he'd been too distracted, left his radio behind.

"If he's not working with Landel, probably held for interrogation or dead. I doubt Landel's feeling so friendly now that he's got his power back. But I dunno. Could be we'll hear from him tonight." Badou drummed his fingers once against the table top. "And I've got a feeling this ain't the last we'll hear of the Military either."