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"Thanks" not for everyone, never for him, and he was lucky enough to have gotten a GED. Though he supposed that meant he was smart enough for some things, just - maybe not higher education type things. A soft shrug for it nonetheless.

Playing with his tiny salad, with a tiny fork. It almost looked too pretty to eat. Which meant it'd taste delicious. Little bits of bitter greens and crunchy bits, the flowers were almost kinda sweet. Though he'd never understand what peoples obsession with putting flowers and rabbit food on their plates was. Eating healthy and eating lite, it was a thing, but like..flowers as food? He could never indulge in that kind of cuisine on the regular.

Nodding in confirmation, grinning for the way she hushed herself. "Heh, oh man, I wish I coulda gotten in on those. Losing can be pretty fun too yanno? Like, confirmation of living stuff - surviving something has it's merits, taking away the lessons from that? Even when its a net loss." reverent little grin for that. He was jealous almost that she'd gotten to spend more time with his original General then he had. He would've enjoyed it all, he knew. Though any loss was entirely his own fault. Missing out on all that time; coming back to find Auro gone entirely.

"He probably was. I'm likin' what I got now though. You n' our firebrand..really wish we could drag a few more in for team projects n' stuff. Just like..without adding to your burden, yanno?" he had plans. Musings and ideas of plans. Things he wanted to see for them; though all of it was rather selfish.

The little bites of bitters and petals disappeared under slow tined pluckings of a fork. Waru pondered the idea. He had thought about it, truly had, getting in more people. Giving his firebrand people who would be loyal to him, who were tolerable beyond measure, and giving Nembus people who would make her feel better about herself. People who would bring them up as a whole.

A hound unleashed and what he would bring back would not be treasure, or bones, or license plates from the backs of cars - but people. People weren't like that, he knew, things to be handed off like gifts, and still...

"I really do, with the being alive part. Doing this - the jobs we do? Sometimes you need it. I work real well under a leash, but when I'm off it? I'm off it, and what I do with my time off is - huh - Well..." pauses for explanation, grasping at his own words like straws, because he knew he was a little extreme with his pursuit of things. The way he hunted down happiness in the form of physical action like it might vanish into dust if he stopped and took a break for even a second. "..I try and make it as freeing as possible, yanno? In a visceral kinda way." a shrug for that, the best way he knew how to describe himself really. His need for those sorts of things.

"I do have ideas - talked about it with our mutual barbeque of a boss. I won't do conscription. I won't do the other thing either. Suggested a friend of mine, actually...He'd be into all this, the networking, the things it could do for him?" the salad slowly disappeared, another series of chimes and another series of dishes. A trio of something that looked fresh enough to grow off the table itself. A stone fruit salad, poached pairs covered in frothed creams and syrups, a little bowl of assorted melons and what looked to waru like peeled caramelized grapes topped with a sugary spun nest that looked far too delicate to put a spoon through.

"Really, what I did was let our boss pick between two folders. So whatever comes of that is on him now. If were talking about people already with the company tho? I've seen him hanging around this other employee, he's like us, long silver hair, penchant for fire." he'd find the name, somehow, get it back to Nembus. She probably knew how the database things worked, what all the folders in Faustites cabinets were for. She could figure out if the guy had a general of his own, if he'd be a good fit.

"I don't want anyone that wont fit with 'this'. Like, I can do people for days Dee. M'greedy like that, so I kinda gotta be careful about wanting anything more than what we've got, yeah?"

He definitely thought they were something, what brief instances he’d seen, passing conversations. He hoped at least, that they were, that Faustite was branching out and having fun. Doing more than simply existing as a tethered fire bound into the dingy depths of the negaverse, and that goddamned supervillains lair of an office.

“If they aren’t a thing, then they should be. People need to have…people? His office at least needs a plant in it, maybe…” curious humm and he poked at the fruit, watched it melt onto the deeply curved spoon. Syrup, sugar, the natural softness of it - warm glaze - pleased little sounds for every bite of it.

“I’ll work on it, yeah? People handling, it’s something that I can help with at least. Not like he’s ever gonna get me in his office to do actual ‘reports’” shudder for that because no - absolutely no reports ever - thank you very much. He wouldn’t do it, and Faustite had outright forbade him from putting anything down on paper due to his terrible chicken scratch hand writing. That and his penchant for lighting the things he had written on fire - with Faustite - for reasons…

“Ooh, so that’s your skill yeah? People watching n’ observations. Saw you’re real good with inventory n’ research stuff.” Sly grin and a waffle of eyebrows as he asked “so whatcha got on me Dee, observed anything interesting yet?” The words all tease. Though he couldn’t deny his curiosity for it now that she’d spoken the words aloud. “Ooh, or the firebrand yeah? Love to get a bead on his - anything really.”

He thought so - hoped so - wished. Could only shrug for Nembus's question because he wished those sorts of things all the time, for everyone. Anyone he caught together, talking, being passably nice - turned it into hopes and wishes - especially when it seemed like a genuine thing. He couldn't state anything for certain with the silver fire senshi and Faustite though. Had only seen them chat briefly - let it slide.

"I mean...like..I guess you wouldn't? Just, if you do? Make it cool - oh, or scrawl something weird in it! Give the desk jockeys n' whatever poor sods get stuck inputting all that stuff something to thrill at, yeah? Last thing I want on me, is a boring file." soft smile for her playful expression, shared in the joke because he really didn't care if there was a file. Didn't read 'em, didn't write 'em, let it be someone else's burden eternally until the heat death of the universe. Though he did care that it wasn't boring - if it existed - and knowing Faustite? Waru figured there could be a strong chance it didn't exist at all, because he hadn't exactly come by his General in the most standard of ways...

"Yeah - seeee - you say that, like I'm the kinda person who'll let him be 'relieved of me'" the strongest of quotations, a dramatic roll of his eyes. Hilarious notion that. He'd follow his Bossette anywhere, take up her mantle, laud her praises to his boss, wouldn't be any less anyone's anything for it though. "I'm a firm believer of equality Dee, you 'n him? Get to suffer me equally, shared burden, no one gets outta it, don't care about ranks. If nothing else, that'll make you friends even faster. Shared commiseration, oh, shared topics~ That topic being also 'me'" nodded along and agreed that maybe a plastic plant would be bad..and a living plant would be bad...

Had really only thought of it because the salads were sitting there and getting eaten, an the fruit was good, made him think foliage and green spaces. Shoving them into offices so they felt less like villains lairs and stone coffins.

Hummed around an equally tangential thought that followed. "Hey, I want pictures when were done. Like, of us, in front of that uh weird fish fountain, or is that like fine art here? A high end trout?" a soft snicker for that, and he thought it'd make a good memory, getting pictures together. Something they could both keep, and she could send them to him on her phone and he'd get to see her smile. Remind himself of how it looked for all the times when she wasn't.

Had noticed her phone out all night, taking stills, taking memories, little snap shots of the food and art, all the décor. Knew it was a rare opportunity too. It wasn't like he often attended 'dress up' types of places like the one they were at. He wouldn't get to do this again anytime soon, lamented that. That it wasn't something he could give her all of the time.

He'd make the most of it though, the time they had together in the ritziest of places.

"Oh-god, c'mon Dee!" whined softly as he stared, flustered almost, and couldn't help the slight blush for her words. It wasn't untrue. He had a soft heart for those kind's of things, a soft touch when it came to true romance. Hand holding, love notes, pairing up couples who would've looked good in pictures and sitting on benches at parks feeding birds.

"Nooh, hhn, no please, that is like, the furthest thing from cool." couldn't help the laugh for it, and oh he never should've said anything, what if his file ended up being nothing but fluff instead of all the 'cool' things he could've imagined.

Nearly wanted to hide his face for snickering over it. Smother the sound because it was too good to imagine, that would be the way she'd get him, in writing where he couldn't see it. "I want to be everyone's center of attention, it's uh, okay that's absolutely true. You're a little too good at the observing thing." teased and he was surprised, but then again she was smart, so he shouldn't have been.

Was a good thought though, getting to be a topic of conversation between his boss's pray he'd annoyed them sufficiently to be an interesting one at least.

Small little bites as he breathed - fought down his own wide grin - another chime and more little dishes came out, except he was paying way more attention to the way Dee's face went and lit up at the mention of pictures then he was to anything else.

"Oh, absolutely pictures then! Like, we can do filters, n' the funny face thing, you can send 'em all over to me. Some of this stuff? Needs captions on it, cause it's food, but you can't always immediately tell what kinda food." and he wanted to take Dee everywhere, let her take all sorts of pictures of all sorts of things.

Lovely to hear her laugh. if he took nothing else away from this? It'd be that, Dee sounded best when she was happy, when she was giggling with it - unconcerned that they were probably getting progressively louder at their table, that they were probably the least refined things in that room.

It was the thing that made him the happiest yet, the sound of it better to him then the taste of the finest dish the whole of the place could've served. More beautiful then the music or the art that dated back further then Waru could comprehend.

She seemed way happier then when she was given the chance to use her hobbies, passions? To indulge in them even if she maybe didn't realize she was. Waru was apt to encourage it. So often he'd stuck her in the den mom position. Nice neat little box in his mind, but like this? He wondered if it would've been better to set her into an older sister role. Kind and overburdened with all the responsibilities she didn't want. Didn't need. Subordinates and team members and unknown expectations.

"Jeeze Dee - c'mon! Ya gotta swearr...if my profile turns into a damned matchmaking app.." pleaded around his own laughter, wanted to see her pictures, would, after.

"We will, we definitely will, filters, n normal ones too. Gotta have some silly stuff in there for context along with the regular stuff, yeah?" and he hadn't thought it odd, had figured her for the blogging type - because fashion - "I figured you like blogged this stuff, oh, or had a site for it? You should make one if you don't - might make it easier to categorize all your times out - yanno photos of normal DC stuff. Park pigeons, the big festival tree, cute clothes in store windows." nodded in full agreement, because it was kinda hard to destroy the food.

Until he tasted it, and then it was easy to be greedy about ruining it.

“Ohmaigod Dee! Dee you can’t just - I don’t even!?!” Snort of a laugh and he nearly choked on his little forkful of sweetness. Almost wanted to hide behind the fan of his fingers, because Dee was an innocent in his head - because it was one thing when he was rambling about things - but when she was asking? When she phrased it like that?!

Put everything into all sorts of light and context.

Big sister vibes all the way - mom catching him sneaking out kinda s**t - “Thor ‘n me, we’re…Uhm…I dunno, actually?” Flustered because it was her, because explaining it to other people was usually…complicated?

“I love him, yeah? He’s sweet, like, the sweetest, but he’s not the only person in my life like that….”

He preferred not having words for it at all. Whatever they had, what he had with others? He liked having lots of people for different things, loving them for it? He liked that kind of openness instead.

“Like you, right? I adore you, you’re my bossette - *always*. You’re my *girl* - and if that looks like dinners, and late night outings, and playing with the orbies in the office when the boss’s not around? Then that’s what it is. It’s all - people make affection *complicated*- when it doesn’t have to be. People should just - I dunno - have each other the ways that make the ‘em happiest?” as friends or lovers or family - Waru had people - orders of people.

People he’d live and die for, people he loved with all of himself. Wasn’t shallow with it, or selfish, he just liked what he liked. Found people that sparked his interest and ran at the wall of it full tilt.

Drowned the sear on his face with a glass of - didn’t even matter - a liquid - nodded along with her. He thought it coulda been useful for more than a job. Coulda just been fun, didn’t have to be job centric or influential, coulda just been her expressing her very calculated art and style of documenting her day to day.

“You should do it - seriously, everything is doctored these days , or art, or edited. Be some kinda fantasy blogger - oh - or you could make it private for yourself even. Like a live journal? Chronicle all your stuff online so you don’t ever lose it.” Tone light and playful, except for how he meant it. Wanted her to try at things she was already good at.