(Untitled)

[farfairersoul]

Characters: Razer and Phoenix [closed]
Location: Club O2
Date: March 29, a couple hours after this thread.
Rating: PG-13? For...Razer?

Comments

[ecopiracy]

Phoenix did indeed want to speak to Razer about this, enough so that he was willing to wait even after the first hour passed. However, another hour had almost passed and he still had not seen the man. Phoenix grimaced into his half empty cup, absentmindedly running a thumb over one of the two earrings he'd used to replace the ones he'd lost. To continue to wait... or not?

Movement and footsteps caught his attention, though, and before he had a chance to answer his own question, the matter became completely moot. Expression clearing, Phoenix lifted his hand in greeting.

"Ah, there you are," he said. With a brief incline of his head, he silently invited the other to sit.

[farfairersoul]

"My apologies for being so late." Razer slipped into the seat next to Phoenix, leaning his elbow on the bar. "I was...delayed."

He shot Phoenix a smile, bright and entirely open. Apparently. "I do believe you had something you wanted to talk to me about?"

[ecopiracy]

Straight to the point. Phoenix could deal with that. He leaned back in his chair and looked Razer in the eye. "Yes, I did," he said. "But first I want to hear the impression you seem to have formed about my past."

He wasn't going to give anything away if Razer didn't already know.

[farfairersoul]

Razer took on a musing expression, and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his belt as he thought. He turned the little case over in his hands, then tapped one out and went for his lighter.

"You're a noble--born that way." He lit the cigarette and took a drag. "You were an airman at sixteen, and commander of Aeropa's air forces by twenty-three. Your reasons for leaving aren't particularly clear, but judging by your apparent feelings toward military in general I don't imagine it was on the best of terms."

He shrugged, flicked the cigarette with his index finger.

"I'm more curious as to why you're so secretive about it than why you left it."

[ecopiracy]

"The fact that I was an airman at sixteen means nothing except that I excelled in the Academy, and I was hardly the only person to do so." He gestured, flipping his hand through the air to dismiss his own achievement.

"How does that lead you to conclude that I was either noble or the Commander?"

[farfairersoul]

"Your accent is rather pronounced, for one," Razer replied with a chuckle, taking another drag before he continued. "And your demeanor defaults too easily on being proper. For a pirate, you're a bit too refined. Also, you mentioned some things when you were sixteen that made it even clearer than it already was."

'We haven't met at court...'

He looked away, leaning his chin in his hand and musing for a moment. "As for the commander bit...well, you didn't do a very good job of covering that up in our conversation. Your speech pattern wasn't appropriate for if you were actually speaking of a man you knew rather than yourself. Your reaction was also rather telling."

He waved his free hand in his own bit of dismissal. "I'm hardly going to start calling you by rank--I'd much prefer 'Commander' remain a petname reserved for Erol, if you don't mind--but it wasn't exactly a difficult conclusion to find out once I thought to look."

[ecopiracy]

Razer's reasoning about his nobility was sound. Damn it. Phoenix grimaced, but that battle was lost. It would gain him nothing to continue denying it and would only weaken his other protests.

"You're grasping at straws. It is perfectly legitimate to refer to a man I knew as such, and whatever reaction you are referring to, you're interpreting far too much."

The comment about Erol brought a brief frown to his face. The last time their conversation had touched on the psychotic commander, Phoenix had thought Razer's references to intimacy had been facetiousness. It seemed odd that he was still playing that up.

"I am not a commander, Razer. Period."

Am. Not was. It technically wasn't a lie.

[farfairersoul]

"Perhaps not technically, but you had the title at one point. Which makes your rivalry with Torn rather amusing, as I'm to believe that he did before hie rebellion as well--although he'd regained it by the time I met him back home."

He took another drag on his cigarette, tone still matter-of-fact and entirely casual. "Also, for the record, I never said it wasn't legitimate for you to have been acquainted with a commander." He stood up, giving a shrug. "I said your phrasing was wrong. You, like me, are fond of pretty words: 'A man I knew' should have been 'a former acquaintance' or 'an old friend' or something similar--but not something so awkwardly open-ended."

Razer moved around the curve of the bar to step behind it, pulling down a bottle of vodka from the shelves above and a couple glasses from those below. "You also never have a problem responding to something that doesn't strike a chord in you." He filled both glasses and slid one over to Phoenix.

"You most certainly had a problem responding to that."

[ecopiracy]

The grimace on Phoenix's face turned into a scowl. "Do not compare me to Torn." He eyed the glass that Razer just passed him. Vodka. Not exactly his drink of choice, but stronger than what was in the glass he already had.

"I could easily have been distracted by something else." The protest was pointless. Razer had him pinned and he knew it. With an irritated noise in the back of his throat, Phoenix lifted the glass of vodka and downed a good third in one shot.

"So now what?" he demanded as he brought the glass back down. "Why do you even care who I used to be? That isn't who I am now."

[farfairersoul]

At least he stopped denying it, that was nice. "I care only insomuch that you care, really." He took a drink and then waved a hand in dismissal. "I have no reason to blackmail you, and can't think of you doing much to change that."

Razer paused for a moment, pursing his lips in thought. "Well, unless you got temperamental and stupid and decided to do something to the Commander. That wouldn't turn out well." His tone was entirely matter-of-fact, neither amused nor secretive. And yet, there was a glint to his eyes that said it might have been more a warning than just a simple statement. He was well-aware what exactly Phoenix thought of Erol, and it was all right just so long as it didn't escalate beyond silent loathing.

"I'm curious why you're so secretive about it, to be honest. You're one of three would-be commanders on this ship from our world alone, it doesn't particularly set you apart from the norm."

[ecopiracy]

Phoenix waved his free hand dismissively. "This isn't something you can blackmail me with. I would prefer it did not become public knowledge, but that does not mean I will bend myself to another's will simply to prevent others from finding this out."

He considered taking another hard swallow, but no. Too much, too fast would not do him any favors. Instead he lifted his chin as he met Razer's eyes. "I cut my ties because I did not and do not want to be associated with the Aeropans at all, beyond acknowledging the place of my origin. The feeling is quite mutual, I assure you."

A pause, then an odd, sidelong glance. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were being protective."

[farfairersoul]

Razer nodded at the explanation; it made sense, for the most part, and it wasn't as though he thought Phoenix would be stupid enough to go after Erol. If he did lose that much mental acuity, a little blackmail would hardly stop him.

The look didn't go unnoticed, and the pirate's curious statement made Razer chuckle a little. "He doesn't need me to be protective. Usually." He shrugged and took another drink. "That hardly means I'm not allowed, does it? You still worry about the Baroness, and I think she could probably beat you to hell if she tried."

[ecopiracy]

There was only so far a joke could be taken before it could no longer be considered a joke. The amusement in Razer's voice was not directed at himself, but at what Phoenix had said. He acted as though he was stating a fact - and he'd been doing so for much longer than such deadpan jokes should last.

Phoenix stared. "You care about him."

[farfairersoul]

Razer frowned slightly. He didn't have problems admitting it, of course, but hearing someone else say it almost seemed to belittle the relationship. He took another drink, a final drag on his cigarette before flicking it away, then straightened and sighed.

"I suppose that's the closest to a proper term for it anyone is going to get." He fixed Phoenix with a curious, just barely unamused look. "I suppose you disapprove."

[ecopiracy]

He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing Razer say. "You do realize what sort of man he is, don't you? What he's done and his absolute disregard for it?" It seemed impossible for Razer not to be at least somewhat aware. The man was sharp and paid attention to almost everything people said.

[farfairersoul]

Razer's response was a short chuckle. "Of course I do. His methods are a little less subtle than mine, but he's military. Military men aren't often known for the subtlety." He smiled and gestured idly with one hand. "Suffice it to say, we compliment one another rather spectacularly."