Funerary Happiness [Cassidy]

[Cassidy Morgan]

"Wh-what? Wait, no. No! You're... a General and I'm a Handler and... and everyone should know what to do when... when, uh... the... to do... the... situation! The situation! Presents itself! Yes! We're... the training and the..."

Rambling. Cassidy was rambling and, for the first time in a long time, she felt utterly lost. It was a different feeling. It was not the kind of "absence" and "lost" she associated with her usual nighttime adventures. This was a genuine "I don't know what the hell I'm doing" kind of "lost"; one she hadn't had to deal with in many years. And, nerves and potential embarrassment aside.... she actually, kind of, liked it. It felt... "normal." She hadn't considered anything about herself "normal" in... eleven years.

"S-su... superior. You're my... superior, right? You... you can't say that! Not... not yet! Oh my God. Oh.... my... God. Wait! Don't... don't do anything!"

And all of a sudden, she simply walked off. Cassidy was, given her dress and her general dislike for running, half-power walking away from him. She took a quick detour from the path leading towards the garage, and disappeared behind a row of hedges and flowers.

At first, she decided, that it couldn't be happening. It didn't make any sense, and, missions or not, they hadn't actually met. There was nothing in her character (by her opinion) or reputation (by everyone else's... and maybe her's as well) that could have prompted such a thing. Nothing. Not a thing. She was generally useless and mostly unreliable, unless dire circumstances forced her to "play ball." ...And then the flow of remembrance from the meeting that had set up this situation returned to her. It was fun, it was flirty, it was stupid - all of the usual things. But it was also a Goddamn funeral. She'd been asked "out" - not really, but basically - to a funeral.

Cassidy let out an epic sigh. Of course this made sense. Almost. Everything made sense except Oscar's last statement and question. She WAS[/b] the "last resort." Just like with Central, only... not as strategized. She was still a last line choice; she just happened to be in the "right" (or wrong) place at the right time. Why he would... she cut that bit off. It was just being nice. It was showing... showing... gratitude for "sticking with it" and "taking one for the team." This! This was territory she could deal with. Even if his last question was so... so...

She shook her head vigorously, so much so that it threatened to dislodge Angela's carefully placed veil. Luckily (or unluckily for Oscar), it held its place, and she was able to - more or less - compose herself. Her jaunt back to where she'd left Oscar was actually faster than her escape, though the tweaking pain in her heels told her she'd regret the move later.

"Stop! Stay! Wait! I... I mean!" She stopped, re-composed herself (again) and cleared her throat. Then there was a pause. A beat passed. She stalled, readjusting her stance to a more "confrontational" one, posture wise, and flipped her veil back into place. She pointed directly at his forehead. "Whoa there, cowboy!" Her usual persona came through strong, revitalized by her complete discounting of Oscar's seriousness. That would just have to wait until later and she was just there to play along - for now. If there was a seriousness to it, well... that would come after. She'd deal with it then. "You better holster that hand cannon and get with the program, Mister. You wanna "play ball" like that? C'mon... I know you just transferred back, but aren't you getting ahead of yourself? Let's make it through this, and then you can ask stupid questions and promise stupid things, 'kay? God," She paused, taking a moment to reach up and check the bun that her hair was in, in spite of scratching a temple or some other gesture of indeterminate not-sure-what-the-hell-to-do gesture. "You can't even be serious, right? Dating me? Let's just drive your career into the ground together, right? I'll hit the switch by accident. But!" And she stopped again, abruptly turning her back on him - to hide the blush she couldn't stop. "If... If you mean that, I'll..." She caught herself. "Just. Being. Nice!" She felt it as strongly as ever. She was a train wreck by reputation, and there wasn't much that could change that. "Whatever. You're too nice for your rank, Oscar. Ask me out, after. I... I freakin' dare you. I'm gonna... I'm gonna reject your first attempt on principal, for your sake. Jesus, you really ought to know better. I mean... I mean, really. Really... ought... to... know better. Just!" And she swirled around, throwing her hands forward, as if to stop any attempt he might have made at physically closing the distance. "Just ... watch, okay? You'll see. It's a dumb idea. I'm a dumb idea, and you'll see it at this... at this thing we're going to. If you don't? Then... whatever. I don't know what to tell you. Except I bet you're stupid, but I'm not gonna just go and play along without warning you."

And with that, she readjusted her veil and stopped. A moment was taken to look at him, from beyond the lacy haze, but then she turned back towards the garage. It was better to just go. She... half-prayed he wouldn't stop her and would just go along with her movement, but she would have bet on the opposite. Lady Luck was never with her, and she damn well knew it.

[Oscar Leonhardt]

Cassidy had stopped making sense and Oscar was growing progressively amused with her behavior. Although it had been a serious number of years since he had last approached a woman with interest, he wasn’t nearly attached enough for the seriousness of it to fully ruffle him to wordlessness. She told him to not do anything and he lifted his hands in confusion, eyebrows arched, before letting them drop to his sides. He watched her walk away and disappear from sight and he was left standing there, rather awkwardly, but very obediently not following. The moment of alone-ness gave him time to cast another glance at his surrounding, arms coming to cross over his chest. The nervousness he had felt was slowly ebbing away with this serving of stalling.

Oscar believed in taking chances and he had been poked with an opportunity just moments earlier to his proposition. If it hadn’t been to her banter they probably wouldn’t even be in this situation, but it had happened and he had enjoyed the impression he was forming, her reputation aside. From all that he was currently witnessing, there seemed to be a lot more to the whole story than anyone knew about.

He let his arms slip back to his sides when he returned. He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off and he allowed her to be the first to express what she thought. His eye stared at her pointing finger from a painful angle and he blinked. Stupid questions? Promise things? He didn’t remember making any promises. There was a pause but he felt there was more to come and kept silent. Soon enough, the matter of his career came into play again, although he would have pointed out that the only thing she could truly affect would be his reputation. What people thought of him wasn’t really his concern and his career would be just fine. It all sounded like excuses.

The way she worded her next arguments had a bit more impact, however. Her self-esteem seemed to be somewhere in the ground and it kept digging, probably on its way to China by now. But that wasn’t the main problem, the real thing that struck him like a slap across the face was being called an idiot for even considering it. At that moment, all of his emotions withdrew and hid neatly behind a carefully constructed façade he hadn’t used since coming back to central. And for once, in her presence, he became the collected General everyone needed him to be in the field.

“If you’re so keen on ruining it from the very beginning, then who am I to stop you?” There was a smile on his face but it wasn't backed up by any sort of humor. His hands drew together behind his back and his posture was rather stiff and straight. The look in his eyes was decidedly business-like. “I guess I should stop being stupid and stop keeping people waiting,” He followed her to the garage without further protest. Whether Cassidy had said all that she had because of her inexistent elf-esteem, her actual enjoyment of the life she led or genuine bad protocol when delivering rejection, Oscar couldn’t say for certain. However, he wasn’t the sort to rise up to challenges and he was definitely not going to approach the matter again if it would only make him an idiot in her eyes.

With that resolve in mind, he was in the car and rather quiet all the way to his own vehicle. He would have kept the door open for her to go in and taken a moment to adjust the tie he had left inside to his neck. It would be a very quiet half-hour drive to the graveyard.


((Post in graveyard coming next!))