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 Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 1:04 pm
It had been a bit of a day. Honestly for a little bit there Brian had been pretty sure that he was going to have a total emotional breakdown. The change from army to police force hadn't been so bad. He'd gone from active duty in another land to active duty in his own, sans a bit of the risk of life by mortar and IED. To go from full-on cop to Prytaneum-bound though was something different entirely. In fact, he sort of felt like he had accepted all-new risks of life that he couldn't even fathom. Still, a god had chosen him, him particularly, for some greater good. What was he supposed to do, just visit on weekends?
He popped open a beer while Skype loaded on his laptop and squinted against the glare. He hadn't been putting lights on much. He stood to do just that and, when he came back, the program was loaded. He only had a few contacts at this point, but he was looking for one in particular. Lucky for him, Misha seemed to be up and at home.
He sent out a video call to Misha as he sat on the couch, his laptop propped up on the coffee table and eyes still squinted slightly.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 11:07 pm
It took the connection a few nerve-wracking seconds to stabilize but then, suddenly, there was Misha's smiling face on his computer. Whatever she had been doing before his call came through was clearly discarded without an instant of hesitation as she waved at him. Then she leaned in a bit and fiddled with her computer. It was an older model and sometimes gave her issues with the sound but she was damned if she was going to miss a word of this conversation. Once she had gotten it adjusted to the levels she desired, Misha sat back again and reached up to tuck a piece of her raven-black hair behind a delicate ear. She silently thanked her lucky stars for timing. If Brian had called an hour later, she would have been in pajamas and braids with a clean face and popcorn. As it was, she had already pared down to a tank top and her hair was pinned atop her head in a messy bun with pieces falling down to brush her shoulders. Her make-up was still intact, though. "Brian!" If possible, her smile grew brighter. Then she blew him a kiss, laughing. "How is my favorite Texan doing?" WC: 200
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 9:56 am
Brian smiled when Misha appeared, and he watched in silence as she fiddled with whatever she was fiddling with. His own computer was of middling age, but it wasn't like he was trying to play graphics-heavy RPGs on it. It worked for word processing, for the internet, and for Skype. That was all he really needed.
Misha looked somewhat less kept than usual. She was made-up, sure, but he had never seen her hair put up so casually. Subconsciously, it struck him as a good thing. He was feeling fairly vulnerable right now, and to see some imperfection in Misha's polished appearance was maybe a little vulnerable too. She'd answered right away, after all, when she could have called him back after primping. It wasn't that she needed it, of course, it was just something that Brian was used to seeing.
"I'm alright!" he said, his eyes now well-adjusted to the light. Ah, it was so nice to see a familiar face from the Prytaneum. His apartment felt a little less empty.
"How is it out there? Did I miss anything exciting?" He took another swig from his bottle. He didn't want to get to the real meat of the conversation just yet.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 11:56 am
She sighed in the most melodramatic of ways but he could see the laughter never left her eyes. "Not even a bit of excitement," Misha answered. "I think you took it all with you when you went." She cocked her head to one side and studied his expression. He seemed a bit off, she thought, but nothing she could put her finger on. He looked rested and healthy, no circles under his eyes or lines of tension around his mouth. Still there was something there. She knew she would know before the end of the conversation, of course, but she felt the immediate pang of concern, nonetheless. Propping her elbow on the desk, she leaned her cheek into her upraised hand and smiled at him. "It's good to see your face, handsome. Are you staying out of trouble?" WC: 338
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 12:07 pm
Brian smirked. How flattering. Of course he couldn't be sure if Misha regularly made out with men on the beach, but he had a feeling she didn't. It was a nice memory to stir up anyway.
"It's good to see you too, you have no idea," he said. He let out a little sigh, and for just a fleeting moment he seemed exhausted. He just as soon perked up, though, and smiled. "Come on, now. You know my job is to run into trouble." At least it was for the next couple of weeks.
"We did find a lost kid today, though. That's always terrifying. Exciting in the end, though. Cute kid." He smiled at the memory. The toddler, who had been enjoying a good wander after his big sister closed the door and didn't latch it, was relieved to see his mother again. He'd thanked Brian and given him a hug before heading back inside. His mother had been frantic when she made the call, but it didn't seem like anyone was in for any yelling once all was well.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 12:38 pm
Misha had definitely caught the moment of exhaustion but, as he bounced back so quickly, she let it go and merely noted it in the back of her head. When Brian smiled as he talked about the lost child, she slipped her hand across to cover her mouth and hide her giggle. While she had a feeling Brian wouldn't be offended, she knew too many men objected to any application of the word "cute" to them. There was no denying it, though. Brian was most definitely cute. Especially in this case. Once he finished his story, she shifted her hand away again to offer him another brilliant smile. "How old was he? Did you give him one of those little plastic police badges before you handed him back to his mom?" She giggled. "We toured the police station in third grade and we all got those. I used to wear it and play super princess cop." WC: 494
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 12:58 pm
Misha's laughter only widened Brian's smile as he took another sip. He held the bottle between both hands, fingers tented.
"He was just about two," he said and nodded. His mother had said he'd "just turned." "Nah. I would have if I had any, but all we had in the car was a teddy bear. The kid wasn't particularly upset, either." You never wanted things to go bad enough that you had to whip out the teddy bears in the trunk. That meant trauma, or at the very least a screaming, crying child.
"I love when the kids come in. You feel like Superman." He chuckled and looked down at his hands. "But, uh. About that...."
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 2:04 pm
Uh oh. Here it came. As Brian trailed off, Misha quickly weighed her options. Expect the worst and treat it as such or make a joke to roadblock any horror shows. Then, like always, she went with both. "You're wearing red and blue spandex right this instant and you called me so you could show it off? That's naughty, handsome. Teasing a girl like that." Almost immediately, though, she sobered and leaned in closer to the screen. Her eyes shone with honest concern and her smile faded until her full lips were in a soft line. Her voice slipped down into her lower range and went quiet and intimate. "Brian? Are you okay? Please say you didn't get hurt." WC: 613
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 4:04 pm
Brian laughed, but only a little. He might have stood up to show off his casual-time outfit were they not so quickly returned to the subject at hand. Once again, Misha was making light to try and ease the situation. He appreciated the gesture.
"No, no, yeah, I'm fine," he said, waving a dismissive hand, "I just, uh. I put in my two weeks today." His brow furrowed and he took a swig from his beer, a deep one, and tilted it up for efficiency's sake. Ah boy. That felt weird to say even if it was true.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 4:20 pm
Misha prided herself on her unflappable nature. She had taken any number of bad situations and turned them around. She had heard tons of bad news and dealt with it, using a smile and her determined optimism. Life had its ups and downs and things changed all of the time. This, though... She managed to keep her face mostly neutral except for tilting her head a bit more. Then she gave up and a furrow appeared between her delicately arched eyebrows as she bit down on her lower lip. Her grey eyes searched his face. "You... quit?" she whispered. She suddenly shook her head and seemed to brace herself. A faint smile eased the line of her mouth. "So are you okay?" WC: 735
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 5:13 pm
Brian laughed.
"I didn't get shot!" he said, "I just quit..." Of course beingshot-at he was used to. Quitting, not so much.
"Yeah, I'm... I'm alright." Beneath his stoic expression his lips pulled into a half-smile. For a moment his gaze shifted down to the floor, and then returned to Misha. It was a nerve-wracking sort of thing, to abandon your career for the Prytaneum; to forget years of training and experience. Still, somehow, it felt like the right thing to do. "I don't know how, but I'm alright." He breathed deeply and sat back on the couch, then ran a hand back over his peach fuzz head and sighed the air out.
"I just couldn't do it any more. It wasn't the same, and it was obviously going to get me in deep sh-huh-- trouble if I had to keep leaving for missions. I mean, defying the Chief is one thing, but defying the big guy in the sky with the beard and lightning bolts? Mm-mm. Not gonna try that one." He finished off his beer and set the bottle on the coffee table, just barely still in frame.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 5:51 pm
She nodded as he explained his thought process and his reasoning. The corner of her mouth twitched up in a crooked smile, quickly suppressed, as he censored himself from cursing in front of her. Misha still watched his face for clues closely, though. He had spent years with the police; he had told her about his devotion to it, his lifestyle pre-Prytaneum. He had an actual career unlike her and it was one for which she not-so-secretly thought he was suited. Her Brian was just a really, deep-down good guy. Strong core. Smart brain. When he made the crack about Zeus, she laughed and shook her head. "I guess so. Who wants a lightning bolt up their a**?" She deliberately used the word and smirked at him. Then she rocked back a bit in her seat until he could see more of her torso in addition to her face and hair. "I keep waiting for Aphrodite to get annoyed with me that I'm not doing enough." WC: 901
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 6:00 pm
Brian noticed the flicker of a smile but didn't realize what it was attached to. He let it go. Just because he observed things didn't mean he had to pursue them, not in civilian life anyway.
He heard "a**," though and thought that it was probably silly to censor himself around Misha. He was a bit out-of-sorts at the moment.
"You know, Beth said the same thing?" He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "About Hera, I mean. I don't think anybody knows what we're actually chosen for, do they? Not yet anyway. I try to not worry about it. Hopefully quitting won't... un-choose me."
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 6:17 pm
"If he does, I'll have words with him. I've been told that I can be very, very persuasive." This time the smirk shaded towards outright smugness before Misha laughed and shook her head a bit. Another dark curl fell from the messy bun atop her head to brush her neck and bare shoulder. She pushed it away impatiently, eyes focused on Brian. "Neither you or Beth have to worry. I can't imagine your gods having second thoughts. You were Chosen because, frankly, darling, Zeus has always had taste."
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 6:25 pm
Brian couldn't help but laugh. He could just imagine Misha praying in a short red dress with ample cleavage room. With what he knew of Zeus, it might actually work. Of course that might mean a demigod in the works. He didn't think that was quite worth his role as a Chosen!
"That's how he chooses his Chosen, you know. On taste," he said, "For example, I have excellent taste. I don't make out on the beach with just anyone." He chuckled, grinning.
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