Day 43: Waiting Room / Lobby 1

[arc_wrench]

Well, today was certainly turning out to be... interesting. A few things seemed to be going as planned, for once! Soon, he might not have to deal with so many actual meatbags quite so often! It made his personality core very nearly glow with excitement

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[damned_visitors]

"The one and only!"

It was amazing to see her son's face again, the light in his eyes when he hopped out of his chair... his untidy-as-usual hair. Iris' heart felt like it was jumping into her throat. It was similar to the way she felt when Ronald would come home after a long time on the campaign. Warm and devoted.

Back then, when Tom had taken after his father and enlisted, it had felt like a little hole had grown in her heart. Of course she had kept busy doing this and that, working from home as needed. But seeing her son again, and getting better, was a little bit of magic that would likely prove to be the milestone of her year.

"You're right. It has been too long," she said, reaching out to brush some of her beloved son's hair out of his eyes, then ruffling it up again, affectionately. The way he kept it was cute, and reminded her of the way she kept her own sometimes-flyaway bangs.

Iris was going to hug him, but she gave him a quick once-over first. Quickly noticing the bandage that just peeked below the bottom of Tom's shirt sleeve, she gave a mock-reprimanding look. "Giving them hell, I see?" She laughed. "Yep - you're my son, no doubt about it. Definitely not a body double. ...Pfff. C'mere, you."

She stretched out her arms for a hug.

[full_score]

She was playing with his hair like she had when he was a child. Part of Claude wanted to feel embarrassed by it, but the fact he'd missed her terribly won out in the end. The familiar gesture was a welcomed one. He cracked a grin and rubbed the back of his neck.

When she saw his bandages, he couldn't hide the hesitation that flickered across his face for a split second. Yeah, giving them hell. More like this place was giving him hell. But he wasn't taking it lying down, either, that was for sure. At least he could do his parents proud in that way, even if she didn't realize it. His attitude now was definitely a huge change from how he'd been before waking up on Expel, back when he was willing to just let people dump on him all the time without speaking up or facing his problems.

"Just got into a friendly wrestling match with one of the guys," he said with a small smile. "Guess it got out of hand. The nurses weren't too happy with us." It wouldn't do to tell the truth, and he didn't want to make his mother worry about him anymore than she already had.

When Mom extended her arms for a hug, Claude didn't need anymore encouragement than that. He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, as if he hadn't seen her in years.

She even smelled the same as before.

That was what got to him more than anything, and Claude could scarcely hold back the moisture that was building up in his eyes as he buried his face against her neck. He didn't say anything else for the moment. He didn't trust himself to speak.

[damned_visitors]

This was the kind of hug that only a mom could give.

Iris could feel Thomas tremble a little, or maybe that was just her mom-senses tingling. She'd spent so much of her time with Tom when he was a little guy that she could tell when he might be on the verge of tears. And it just made her cling to him a little bit, stroking his hair as she did. It had been a very long time since she'd held her son like this. There had been the goodbye hug... but this was definitely more heartfelt.

Moments like these made it very clear to Iris that she had no regrets for how she had chosen to live her life.

"Oh, I bet you did. If you got hurt like that, bet he was out for a couple of hours. I know full well that you remember what I taught you." Even though her main job was wife and mother, she could - and would - punch someone's lights out if she had to. And she had taught Claude some of her own moves; it had been practical to do so. Self-defense was very important. The enemy wasn't always going to have guns.

"And they're feeding you all right? Steak once a week?" She would hug Tom and give him soothing 'mom talk' as long as he needed it. When he pulled back, she would, but she was gonna be there for him no matter what.

[full_score]

"Of course, Mom," he assured her. "I've picked up a few moves of my own since then, too." Surely she could feel how much more muscle he'd built up during his time on Expel and Nede, right? Or was the staff trying to tell him all that was a lie, too? It was a bitter thought, and he tried not to let it progress much further than that for the moment. Claude didn't want to spoil his precious time with his mother, after all.

"Yeah, they feed me plenty." Claude gently pulled away now, deciding that it would probably look weird for someone his age to cling onto his mom like this. Plus he wanted to get another look at her face so he could do a better job of committing it to memory. "Tonight's steak night, I think."

It was just unfortunate that he'd probably be craving meat of a different kind once the doors unlocked.

He'd have to wrestle with that later, though. Instead, Claude studied his mother with concern. "Dad said you were sick the last time he came to visit. Are you feeling okay?"

[damned_visitors]

"Oh, I know you did. Ingenuity's an important value in the art of combat, of course!"

Thomas pulled away, and Iris was left smiling. She removed one hand to her shoulder, taking the purse off of it and having a seat in one of the lobby's chairs. She had already regained her strength, but the doctors had told her to take it easy for a little while, so she was doing her best. The purse was set down by her feet, exposing a little bit more of the paper sack inside.

"That's good! It's probably okay to tell you now - when we considered the Institute for you, we took a good hard look at the kitchen's credentials. Obviously it's not home cooking, but it should be better than military food, at least." She'd had to eat military food before, and while it was passable, it was never exactly lip-smacking.

As for the question about her own health, she chuckled, trying to wave away the subject. "Ahh, it was no big deal. Just the flu. By the time your father shipped out again, it was pretty much all taken care of. And you've been well, right? Those friends of yours treating you okay?"

[full_score]

Claude sat down across from his mom, taking note of the brown paper bag in her purse, but not commenting on it quite yet. Aside from the weird clothes they were wearing, and the fact she'd called him Thomas once when she first arrived, this was just like a conversation he would have had with her back in the old days.

And then she had to mention that she and Dad were the ones who put him here. Claude couldn't help but briefly furrow his eyebrows at that. It didn't make sense -- there was no way his parents had agreed to put him in here. They'd just been brainwashed to think they had...right?

"Y-yeah, it's definitely better than military food," he told her. "Don't worry about that -- they're feeding me just fine." It was probably the only good thing going for this place, to be honest -- well, not counting some of the good friends he'd made here, anyway.

He was glad to hear she was better, but it'd still been worrisome to hear she'd been sick at all. More worrisome was that it seemed like Dad had been on leave when he came to see him, and now he'd apparently been "shipped out" somewhere. How did that account for the presence of a younger version of his dad in Landel's, though? What kind of crazy story did the Institute come up with to explain that?

It was probably better not to bother his mom with those kinds of questions, though. Instead, he smiled and said, "Well, that's a relief. And I'm doing all right, I guess. My friends and I are getting along great, and I've made some new ones along the way. I wish you could meet them all, Mom."

He'd just omit the fact he'd made some enemies, too.

[damned_visitors]

"Okay, okaaay, I won't worry too much," Iris said. She didn't need to be told twice. If it was better than military rations, then everything would be A-OK for Thomas. She wasn't a worrier at heart, she didn't think, but she wanted the best for her son. And his uncle Rob, for that matter.

When she heard about how he was doing, she nodded. "I heard a little bit about them from your dad, actually. He said you seemed to be doing pretty well with them. So get your butt healthy and bring your friends over to visit, and Uncle Rob, too. We can have a luau or something when it gets warm again. I promise I won't let your dad near the grill this time, if he's around. You remember what happened last time." She jokingly shuddered.

She reached into her purse and took out that paper sack she may or may not have been teasing him with, then took one cupcake, then another, from it. They were vanilla, piled with kind of girlish pink icing and a raspberry on top. "But for now, we can have our own little party. Cupcakes! One for you and one for me."

Iris extended the cupcake to her son. She knew his secret weakness for delicious sweet things!

[full_score]

With Uncle Rob? Claude didn't have an Uncle Rob. Who was she referring to? Another person from his "real life", no doubt, but...it was still weird, just the same.

Still, the idea of bringing his friends over to his house to meet his parents was interesting, to say the least. He'd never dreamed he'd ever get that kind of chance -- he'd always imagined the rest of his life would be governed by the choice of staying with his friends, or going back home if the time ever came. One or the other -- it didn't seem like he could have both. But he remembered how Dr. Sohma had told him that there was no reason for him to have to choose in this particular world, and he had to privately admit the idea was appealing.

"I'll try my best," he assured her, and he gave a little laugh at the jibe at Dad's not-so-awesome cooking abilities. To be honest, Claude didn't want to stay in this place any longer than he had to, but he didn't want to lose his memories of his life before Landel's, either. Unfortunately, the sad reality was that, unless he gave all those memories up, he'd just be their mentally ill son who wasn't fit for military duty.

He tried not to let that sudden realization depress him, but it was difficult not to.

Even so, he couldn't stop his eyes from lighting up when he saw his mother pull out some treats from the bag. They were probably store-bought, but they still looked delicious. He took one cupcake from his mother with a small smile. "Man, it's been ages since I've had a cupcake," he said. "Thanks, Mom."

It was a really girlie-looking cupcake, but it still tasted pretty good, he realized as he took a bite from it.

[damned_visitors]

"No problem. It's delicious." Iris was talking partially with her mouth full. "I saw them on the way and immediately thought of you." Actually, she'd been thinking about herself, too. While her food of choice was usually the kind of food that sucker-punched you in the mouth with flavor, she, like most women, enjoyed sweet things once in a while. And she didn't have to hide it, either.

There was more in her purse besides the cupcakes, but that could wait for later.

What else to talk about? She wasn't sure if she wanted to bring up the chat that Tom had with his dad a couple of weeks ago, as it could easily be a touchy subject. But, at the same time, she knew she needed to make him certain that she was here for him.

"I'm sure it's hard for you in here, even though you say you're doing all right. But if there are any questions you have, or anything like that, I can answer them as best as I can."

[full_score]

Claude licked a fleck of pink icing from the corner of his mouth before taking another bite. It wasn't so surprising that his mother would bring him something to snack on, but it was sort of odd that she'd think of him after seeing stuff like this. "Well, I guess I do like raspberries," he said. And sweet things, too, maybe.

It just went to show that his mom actually knew him pretty well.

As far as questions went, however, Claude had more than he could even count. Unfortunately, most of them would probably be met with the realization that he was Claude, not Thomas, and he didn't want to upset his mom if he could avoid it. There were still some things that were probably okay to talk about, though.

"Have you heard from any friends of mine recently?" he asked. It seemed like a pretty innocent question, and was also something Claude was genuinely curious about.

[damned_visitors]

"You do," his mother said, and shrugged. "It's the bold flavor that does it," she explained, as if he had inherited his tastebuds directly from her. She knew their tastes differed, but she fondly remembered serving Tom a vanilla cake with strawberry icing on one of his earliest birthdays. That sort of thing tended to be nostalgia in a carnal sense, and hopefully would calm him down. Landel's Institute probably wasn't as easy as her son was making it out to be.

When he asked about his friends, Iris went through some of the people who asked about her son from time to time. She tapped her chin, thinking a little on the topic. "Well, let me think. Your friend Nadine occasionally sends her regards. She's doing well; it sounds like she's going into entrepreneurship, so I've been wishing her the best. I hear she visited here a few weeks ago..." She crossed her arms, then. "I haven't heard anything about the rest of your friends. None of them really come to call, of course."

Incidentally, her husband had picked up her medicine from Archer's pharmacy the other day, but he hadn't recognized him, of course, and Iris had no idea that one of Tom's friends was a pharmacist. It was one of those odd coincidences that she would never learn about.

It brought up a subject that she'd been meaning to ask about. "I assume you've seen your uncle Rob around in here, then? Is he... holding up all right?" She had a strange, warm kind of smile when she spoke about 'Rob.' She did not notice that she was smiling.

[full_score]

Nadine? Who was Nadine? The only people he knew of who'd visited were Celine and Bowman. Seeing how Nadine was a very feminine name, though, maybe the answer was obvious. Still, the more he talked to Mom like this, the more obvious it was that they came from completely different worlds now. The thought was a depressing one, to say the least.

"Well, I'm glad to hear she's doing all right," he said after a moment. "She seems like someone who'd be a successful entrepreneur, so..."

To be honest, he wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved that she hadn't heard from anyone else, so he tried not to think too hard about it.

Then she had to go bringing up this mysterious Uncle Rob again, and Claude froze for a split second as he wondered who she was referring to. Of course, now that he thought about it, the nurses had told him a relative of his had been admitted into the institute the day Dad had shown up.

Was that their explanation for the age gap between the man who'd come to see him a couple of weeks ago, and the man who'd shown up as a patient? That he was his uncle?

"O-oh, yeah, he showed up this week, didn't he?" Claude rubbed the back of his neck, trying not to look at uncertain as he felt. "He and I got to hang out a little during the field trip to Doyleton yesterday. It was...nice." If he didn't think about the zombie attack and things like that, anyway.

[damned_visitors]

"Yes. She's opening a little shop full of rare antiques, calling them 'treasures.' I think it sounds cute! It's opening its doors soon, so we'll have to take care and stop by one of these days. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you doing well," Iris said. Nadine seemed so sharp... and the rumor was that she had amassed quite the collection of rarities over the years. No doubt she'd be getting a lot of business from some unsavory people, but there was also a rumor that she was a fighter... A reformed fighter, but one nonetheless.

She wondered why Thomas was a little nervous as he mentioned his uncle. Had they gotten into a spat? The two of them usually interacted much like Tom and his dad; military superiority mucking up family relations. It just went to show that the military could do strange things to people. With her and Ronald, an assignment had brought them together... with the men in her life, assignments dragged them apart.

It had been more than a little frustrating in the past.

"Nice? Hahaha, okay. I get it." She winked. "You don't want to talk about Uncle Rob, do you? Fine, fine, I'll change the subject; I'll ask the nurses how he's doing, instead." That would probably be easier on her son. She didn't want any uneasiness right now. There had already been far too much of that after they'd recovered him...

She clicked her tongue, then started rummaging around in her purse. "Let's see... ah, here it is!"

Finally, Iris pulled out a little USB flash drive, a little piece of red electrical tape marking it as her son's. "Bet you remember all the stories you wrote on this, right?"

[full_score]

"Treasures, huh?" That was definitely something Celine would do. Even if she was brainwashed, they couldn't squelch her love for rare and exotic items. For a moment, he wondered if the Celine of this world had parents who worried she'd never find a husband, too, which in turn made him wonder what sorts of memories Landel decided to let people keep, and which ones were altered or erased completely.

There was probably only one way to find out, but, quite frankly, Claude wanted to keep his own memories intact.

Realizing he'd fallen silent, he hastily added, "Y-yeah, I'd really like to see her again, actually. Could you tell her I said hello if you hear from her again?"

When she caught onto the fact he didn't like talking about Dad's presence in the institute, Claude couldn't help but feel a little sheepish. He hadn't meant to imply that things were awkward, or that he didn't want to talk about "Uncle Rob" -- more than anything, he just wasn't sure what to even say. It wasn't like the man was actually his uncle.

Poor Dad -- er, poor other Dad, anyway. He'd probably be broken-hearted if he ever found out that they'd made him the nonexistent brother of the man who'd married Mom.

...This was getting confusing, even for him.

Thankfully, his mother knew how to change the subject, and she withdrew something small and thin from her purse. From the looks of it, it was some sort of portable device that stored computer files. As Claude polished off the last of his cupcake, he leaned forward to get a better look.

"I do?" he blurted before he could stop himself. "I mean, uh..." Claude rubbed the back of his neck, grinning. "Of course I do! Hahahah!"

[damned_visitors]

"Of course I'll tell her," Iris said, taking another bite of her cupcake. She was eating it kind of slowly, trying to make the time last as long as possible. She definitely didn't want to rush things right now! "I'll stop by when it opens, if you're not out by then. Definitely." She licked a little bit of pink from the side of her lips.

Tom's reaction to the flash drive made her laugh a little bit. What kind of response was that? "You couldn't forget something like this."

And even if he had, she didn't really want to think about that right now. She could kick a chair later in frustration that her son wasn't better yet, but right now she was just happy to be here with him.

Just in case he needed a little memory boost, she described what was on the drive. "I promise I didn't read any stories you hadn't given me express permission to read before." She winked, then handed it over. "If they give you any hell for keeping this, I'd like you to direct them straight to me. I know there's stuff on here you want to keep working on... so think of this as a little incentive to get better!" She doubted he'd have the chance to find a computer here, but if he could, maybe it would remind him of his old life...