towerofanimus | Regains and Such

Characters: Rick and anyone else!
Setting: All day on October 2nd; prompts are floor 100, floor 26 (morgue), then floor 27 (laboratory).
Format: Starting action-spam, will match though!
Summary: Rick has feels about his regain, then goes about his usual jobs in the Tower.
Warnings: Rick has feels.

Floor 100

[The park was always most pleasant in the early fall. Its trees' bright orange and yellow leaves basked the fountain square in a perpetual glow of warmth despite the crisp weather, shielded from the main street and lakeside venues like a grotto within a wild forest--the cut stone path would be the uneven pebbles by the shore of a creek, and the fountain its burbling currents.]

[Pumpkin tea would not have been Rick's first choice of beverage to consume whilst resting in this clearing. But then again, he wouldn't have chosen to sit on the ground, either, since the bench shaded by the old oak wouldn't have been a hologram. The warm drink might've held more weight if he could feel the occasional gust of wind that very clearly rustled the loose leaves around him.]

[All of this is well and fine. Rick doesn't need the physical feedback of floor 100 to remember sitting in this park and all the feelings associated with that. It does help, though, now that he's found his wallet in his trunk--which in itself wasn't terribly important, and neither was the money, cards, receipts or other random scraps and notes and identification found within.]

[The small picture in the front pocket seems to have done a much better job at catching his eye.]

[He sits at the end of the room facing the holographic fountain, alternating between staring at the photograph and nursing his tea in listless silence.]

Morgue/Laboratory

[Of course, Rick can't stay in the park forever. It isn't until well into the afternoon when he finally gets around to his other tasks, namely cleaning the morgue and his usual collar fluid-related duties, and he'll be oddly distracted when he does. His mind is obviously somewhere else.]

[Someone should probably snap him out of it before he gets stuck in a cold locker or drops a beaker in the sink or something.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ryoji tends to barely give this room much of a once-over when exploring the upper floors of the Tower. While most found it somewhat comforting, Ryoji just found it unsettling. He'd seen so little of his world, and the place that was most important to him was his high school, if only so he could spend time with his friends... friends that were eerily absent in the hallways of this illusion. Seeing his school like this, so similar to how it had looked when he had returned to his destroyed world, was enough to make him turn and run almost immediately upon entering.

When he spots a familiar figure sitting on the floor, however, Ryoji convinces himself to stay a bit longer. He can't recall the man's name, but he had been meaning to talk to him after the infiltration, and ask him what had happened... More importantly, it was clear to him that something was on the man's mind, and he'd like to help him out if it was possible.

He takes a few steps forward and clears his throat, a bit awkwardly.]

Um, excuse me... Are you all right?

[Rick glances upward without moving his head, recognizes Ryoji, looks back down at the picture in his hand--]

[--sharply jerks his head upright in a full double-take and stares, expression blank but vaguely startled. This...isn't the first time he's seen someone after they've died. Almost everyone else in the infiltration group they were in died, too, and Rick talked to them after the fact and they were fine, and he was fine, and everything was fine.]

[But somehow, he never really expected to see Ryoji again. It's very unsettling and he has no idea what to do about it.]

[After a few moments of silent gaping, Rick eventually decides that he should at least stop staring at him, so he looks at the floor instead.]

[For a moment, Ryoji has no idea why his interruption has been met with such shock. He didn't look threatening at all, and he wasn't really one for hurting people when he was in his right mind. And besides, Rick knows hardly anything about him. They just met during the infiltration...

Ah. Ryoji can see why that bothered him. Death is a regular part of living in the Tower, but it had taken a long time for Ryoji to get used to it. He'd been so convinced death was something that marked the end to a story, that was something unavoidable and something that made life unattainable. Yet here, people returned from the dead the very next day. Perhaps it was only fair with the dangers of this place, but there was still a small part of him that couldn't accept it. Perhaps Rick had the same problem.

Ryoji keeps standing awkwardly, but he doesn't look away.]

I... I'm sorry, I didn't realize I would surprise you. I didn't mean to upset you...

[Oh no, now he's gone and made things worse by being awkward, as he usually does. Rick stammers incoherently for a bit before he's able to collect his nerves.]

--N-N-No, it's--I'm--

[He realizes what he's about to say with a concerned frown.]

...i-it's n-n-not your f-f-fault.

[Apply meaning to that as you like, Ryoji.]

[Man, they're both just bundles of awkward, aren't they? In any case, Ryoji kind of appreciates the reassurance, no matter what he actually meant when he said that.]

I understand. But it's not your fault either. So there's really no need to be so nervous. I'm not angry or anything...

[He's just a weird little teenager that has terrible luck. Nothing to do with Rick at all.]

So, um, are you okay?

[This is marginally reassuring. I mean, there's only so much you can do to make Rick stop beating himself up about something--but he concedes, for the moment, with a few last defiant stammers and a heavy blush.]

...Yeah. Y-Yeah, I'm...f-fine.

[He briefly considers closing his wallet and hiding the picture, but he figures Ryoji's caught a glimpse at it by now--trying to sneak it away would be rude.]

J-Just...thinking, is all.

[Ryoji just gives a nod at his response, moving to sit down next to him. Slowly though, so he doesn't freak him out. He understands how hard it is to talk to people sometimes, especially when having a difficult time...and pretty much everyone was unhappy at one point or another in the Tower. Ryoji does honestly want to help, though, if only Rick will be willing to show him what will bring him comfort.

He glances down at the photograph, and smiles a little sadly. So he has someone he loves back home. He understands that all too well. He was never in a serious relationship before finding someone here, but being separated from them that long, and not knowing what happened to them?]

...If you don't mind me asking, was she your wife?

[But there are so many other things she was to him--his best friend, his confidant, his partner in work and love, his inspiration, his passion--and most important of all, the grounding presence to a world once changing, now blotted from existence--that he can't imagine ever settling for the simple title of "wife." Still, it offers more expression of who she is than what Rick could ever hope to produce himself. He gives in and nods, numbly.]

...I see. I'm sorry. It's hard to lose people that important to you.

[Ryoji had already felt guilty enough about what he had done to Minato. If he hadn't been there with him in the Seal, Ryoji would have felt even worse about what had happened. And now that he's been here so long, he can't imagine losing people like Yukiko and Diarmuid.]

Who knows, though? She could always end up here. I-I mean, I wouldn't want to wish that on anyone, but...

[Rick sputters with ironic laughter.]

--Y-Yeah, I--I thought I w-wanted that w-when I f-f-first c-came here, too. C-Couldn't s-stand the th--thought of b-being alone...

[His smile falls and he shakes his head.]

...I j-just...h-hope she's s-safe, w-w-wherever she is.

[Ryoji frowns a little deeper at that laughter. He knows when something like that is forced.]

I understand... I wouldn't have wanted to be left alone either.

[Thank goodness there had been some people to get him back on his feet when he first arrived.]

Don't worry. She'll be safe. We're going to get everyone back.

Regains and Such

Floor 100; it was only a matter of time before he ran into you

yes very good

:3

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