Take My Whole Life Too

Participants:

cardinal_icon.gif elisabeth_icon.gif

Scene Title Take My Whole Life Too
Synopsis Stolen moments
Date August 12, 2010

Redbird Security Solutions


The basement of Redbird isn't quite done yet, but Elisabeth has clearly been using it for its intended purpose already today. There's a breakwall down at the far end where rounds of ammunition have already made holes. She's standing at a table just finishing assembly on the rifle in her hands after cleaning it and checking it out. There are only a couple of hours before they head out, but she's already dressed in the black cargo pants, black T-shirt, and combat boots she'll wear out. Her hair's still loose, though. She doesn't look ready to go quite yet, her attention solely on the preparations.

"Hey." A quiet greeting that nevertheless carries well through the basement as Cardinal comes down from the upstairs, carrying a bundle of near-reflective fabric piled and folded in his arms. He's otherwise dressed in urban camo BDUs and a black t-shirt of his own, gloves covering the hands that rest over the foil-covered suit in his arms, "How're the weapons looking? Still in good shape?"

"Yep," Liz replies, popping the clip back into the one in her hands and setting it on the table. She turns to face him, resting her hips back against the table. "Picked up a couple extra pieces of armor from Cat yesterday. Jaiden's solid on the range. He's leery of firing on dumb-ass kids just out there following order, but I'll keep him close to me while we're out there. He'll be all right."

"I've arranged for a downpour, so he should have plenty of ammunition for his power anyway," Cardinal says as he walks along over to the unfinished range, setting the fireproof suit down on a table with a rustling thump, "And he can use that nonlethally."

"Good," Elisabeth replies, pushing off the table she's leaning on. As he sets down his load, she wraps her arms around his waist from behind, her cheek resting on his shoulderblade where she can bury her nose against his T-shirt and breathe in the scent of him. She doesn't say anything for a while.

Cardinal leans back against her, both hands raising up to close over her arms. He tilts his head back to rest against the top of hers, his eyes closing briefly. There's silence for a long few moments, and then he stirs to pull from her grasp, turning around in her arms slowly and draping his own over her shoulders. "Hey," he says softly, leaning down to rest brow to brow.

"Hey what?" She releases him enough that he can turn easily though keepign her arms around his waist, tipping her chin up to rest her forehead to his. Elisabeth smiles a little, blue eyes closed — he's too close to be attempting to look at him. "No pep talks, mister," she teases lightly.

"Nothin', then," Richard replies with a smirk at the tease, murmuring, "Not saying nothin'. Jaiden working out pretty good, then, I take it…?"

Elisabeth shrugs at that and tilts her head a little to place a soft kiss against his lips. She whispers softly, "Don't know. Seems willing to do what needs doing." She pulls a little away and opens her eyes to look up at him. "You really want to spend the last couple hours before we walk into hell again talking about Jaiden? Who, by the way, I haven't done a damn thing with other than flirt. In case you were wondering," she says mildly.

A light bump of nose to nose, Richard's lips quirking in a slight smile as he leans back a little. "Hey," he murmurs, brows raising, "You're the one who didn't want a pep talk or anything. I'm just trying to make conversation, here…"

She laughs, though those blue eyes search his face quietly. "Pep talk won't help," Elisabeth admits. "I will always be stressed every time we have to do this. And I'm…. " She nibbles the corner of her lip and admits softly, "Scared. You're going in. Again. Without me. Again. It's causing me stress, and there's nothing you can say to make it go away. I…. don't really want to bury your silly ass again." Her tone is light, but the worry isn't.

"It's gonna take more than some big fat iceman to bury me, Liz," Cardinal replies with a crook'd smile, although there's a hint of worry in his own eyes, "I'm more worried about you. You're the one dealing with guns and shit. I've just got a monster. I'll take the monster any day of the week."

Shaking her head, Liz retorts, "And we'll do great with each of us worrying about the other, yeah?" The tone is still light. What's the point in angsting about things you can't change? Worrying she can't help, but making it more stressful than it has to be isn't her style. "Don't get dead. That's an order," she murmurs.

"You too." Cardinal brings a hand up, fingers brushing hair back from her face as he offers a wry smile down to her, "And don't get arrested either, that'd pretty much suck for everybody."

Elisabeth laughs outright. "If I get arrested, Kershner'll….. say I was there on her orders or something. I hope. Maybe." Whatever. It's just not that important, she figures. "And on a side note, by the way — you get your wish. She's got a specialized helmet on order for me, it should be here by September." She wrinkles her nose at him. "And she wants to know if you somehow ordered yourself a set of Horizon armor, because one's been diverted."

Cardinal's chin dips in a firm, approving nod at the mention of the helmet. "Good. You keep it…" A pause, then, and he grins like a schoolboy who'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "…would I do that?"

There's a blink. "Oh my God! You did?" Liz demands. She laughs outright. "Seriously?"

"I… might've had Alia adjust a few specifications on the order," replies Cardinal with a quiet chuckle, shoulders shaking a bit, "No time to learn how to use it before we hit the hospital, unfortunately…"

"Jesus Christ," Elisabeth laughs quietly. "Nice. Very nicely done," she compliments him. "You don't want to use it before we hit the hospital anyway," she adds quietly. "If you did, it would bring a shitstorm down." In spite of the fact that she wishes he could use it. It would make her feel better. She lays her head on his shoulder and smiles a bit as a wisp of a song wings through her thoughts. She whispers, "Dance with me?" It's a strange request, perhaps, standing here on a firing range surrounded by armor and weapons.

"You know I'm terrible at dancing…" Cardinal's tone rueful as he leans back a bit, looking down to her, hand brushing against the curve of her cheek as he murmurs then more quietly, "I can give it a try, though."

She smiles, whispering, "Anyone can do the old shuffle and sway." With no music, her feet will follow his in the slow sway if he chooses to start it. Elisabeth tilts her face into his hand, one hand coming up to capture it against her cheek as she presses a kiss to his palm. Her jaw firms just a hint as she does it, as if she pushes away emotions that are too heavy for the moment. When she looks back up, her smile is still a little teasing as hums under her breath, "Wise men say…"

"…only fools, rush, in…" A soft laugh tumbles past his lips as Cardinal moves with her in the silence, to the sound of music they can only hear in their heads. A step to one side, a step to the other, swaying and circling in the muffled silence of the basement, looking down to her with a tender expression, hand on her shoulder and hip.

And they dance, one moment that's theirs, captured before the world needs them again.

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche


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