Participants:
| Scene Title | Tonight You Belong To Me |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Lynette exercises her right as longterm not-wife-but-close-enough to demand some of the man's attention. (And the title is a bit of a meta tribute to the weirdness of all this in their waking life. >.> I couldn't help myself!) |
| Date | August 04, 2011 |
In Dreams
Winters are always bitterly cold above ground in New York, not that it matters to the robots that patrol above them through the ruins. Thick flakes of snow shift down from the sky, covering everything around the entrance to the tunnels of Midtown. A short distance away, a lone figure huddles in a jacket, with the collar flip up to cover his neck. His graying hair is covered by not by his father's old fedora, but a cowboy hat that Delia found. It's pulled low over his eyes, shadowing the blue orbs.
He sits crouched in some old ruins on watch, a rifle resting against his shoulder, keeping his hands free. In his hands is a fresh newspaper that one of the others brought to the Ferry hub, knowing Benjamin would want to see it.
He did.
On the page was some article about his oldest child, the Mayor of New York. More importantly was the picture of Bradley with his son. Ben had never met his grandson, but still he likes to see the newer pictures of how he's grown. He's still proud of his grandchildren, even thinking of tiny sickly Beth often.
Slipping out of the tunnels with an old thermos in one hand and a sandwich in the other. She's tucked into a jacket that doesn't quite fit, but keeps the cold out and that's good enough for her. Her gaze flicks around, looking for unfriendlies as well as trying to spot a certain member of the watch. It's obvious when she sees him, as she pauses a moment to just look for a moment. Something about his crouching silhouette, with the hat and all, she might not be able to exactly explain why, but it always makes her smile. At least.
Heading over his way, she comes over to crouch down next to him, greeting him with a lingering kiss to the cheek. "Hey there, handsome," she says, her smile dipping a little crooked before she glances over to the paper he's looking over. Her expression softens; she never has wanted children of her own, but by now, it's probably more out of habit than anything.
"When did he get so huge?" She asks as she tilts her head a little. "He's looking more like a Ryans every day."
"Him and Benji both," Ryans comments lightly, invoking the other of his grand kids. "Seems like only yesterday either of them were born. He smiles up at her, folding the paper in half. "Hello, beautiful." His eyes crinkle deeper at the corners, but he doesn't look nearly seventy years old.
A free hand is snagged, his fingers curling around it and a kiss lightly pressed to it. "Coming to join me out there?" He glances out at the white expanse. "It would be a nice change of scenery." His gaze drops to the container in her hands. "And please tell me that is something warm. I'm not like Nicole, I think I stopped feeling my fingers a few hours ago."
"Kids. They obviously exist on a separate plane of time." Because, of course, she isn't getting any older. Lynette smiles as he takes her hand, and a little wider still at the kiss. "I thought I might come distract you for a little while, yes. I'm sure there's nuance and beauty in every snowflake, but piled up like this they seem to lose some of their attraction."
There's a glance to the thermos, as well, but she looks back to him a moment later, eyebrows lifted. "So ice water was a bad choice?" She only teases for a second, though, since in the next, she's opening it to pour him a cup. Still steaming and all. "Coffee. It's even decent. No promise it'll get all the way to your fingers, but Nicole hasn't figured out how to share that particular talent." Lynette's method of warming people with her ability goes a little past pleasantly toasty and right into extra crispy.
"You are an angel, love." His hands wrap around the offered cup gratefully, taking a moment to set the rifle aside to rest against a crumbling wall. "You can just make sure I'm warmed up later." A rare smile gracing his lips, before taking a sip of his coffee. He huddles over the steam savoring the warmth, letting eyes close. For a moment he looks like a weary old man.
He offers her the paper again, once he's taken a moment to enjoy the warmth. "Beyond Bradley and his son. The rest of the news isn't looking so good. Tensions are really mounting on the political front. Foreign countries are starting to eye the country like a dying animal." Which is probably not far from the truth. "I think the rubber band is about to snap, so to speak."Which means more problems then just their own government.
"You bet your ass I will. It's my favorite part of the day," Lynette says, shifting to sit next to him, leaning a little against him as she pulls the paper open. "Hmm, they're only about a decade behind the rest of us seeing it as a dying animal," she says with a familiar, cynical tint to her voice. It's part of her dichotomy; she's far from the optimistic sort, and yet, refuses to do anything but fight for the vision of a better future.
"I do believe there's a saying. Something about things getting worse before better, like that? I'm surprised it's taken this long for things to start coming to a head." The woman falls silent there, dipping into a bit of sullenness like she tends to when she's thinking about the worse case scenario. But after a moment, she folds the paper and turns to look over at him.
"I love you," she says softly, but definitely not flippantly. Even now, when it's obvious to everyone, herself included, that she is, indeed, in love with him, it's a phrase she doesn't toss out often. But when she does, she means it. "If things go… bad out there, just…" She pauses there, letting out a huff at herself. she's never been good at the mushy parts. "I just do, that's all."
Ben makes a good leaning post, sitting still for her while she looks at the paper. Eyes wandering over the text, but not really reading. Those three little words, they make him smile, deepening the lines of his face. Sliding an arm around her shoulder, he pulls her close.
He doesn't really feel it when he presses his nose against her hair affectionately, so that he can offer back a, "I love you, too. Even if you refuse to marry me." It's a tease, something he asked once a long time ago. It hadn't changed their relationship. Hell, it was practically like they were married anyhow.
"If things go bad, I'm sure you'll watch after my family for me." The old man is always of the opinion he'll die before she does, having outlived his life already. He can't outrun the reaper forever. "You pretty much are family, just like Huruma." Just in a different way. Of course, mentioning the tall dark woman makes him sad. With her health flagging and the prognostic not being good. "They will listen to you."
Lynette chuckles at the tease, and she slips her arms around him just to hold him a little closer. "You could never afford a decent ring," she quips back. It isn't at all the real reason, but she's at least past distant pain enough to joke about it. Enough that she didn't storm away at the proposal. She knows that has a lot to do with him, even if she never mentions it, she's pretty sure he knows it, too.
"Absolutely. I know how much minding your brood needs," she says with a wry grin, "And if they don't listen, I'm not above zapping each and every one of them. Even the Mayor." Pause. "Especially the Mayor."
Chuckles softly, Ryans hugs her tight with that one arm. "I swear that boy didn't take after me." Of course, Ben was an absent father… so one could argue it is his fault. "You have my permission to give them a jolt if they pull out the Ryans stubborn streak."
A cheek rests against the top of her head. "Going with me for the next trip out to the island?" He took those trips, not only as one of the heads of Special Activities, but to visit Huruma. "I'll be out there for a time."
"Clearly not," Lynette says, seeing as how Ben is here and his son is… Mayor of New York. "I'll run out of juice under that criteria," she adds, seeing as how the Ryans stubborn streak is about a mile wide.
"I think I could manage a trip out there. It's been a while since I've gone, I'm sure there's plenty of work to do out that way, too." Which is to say, she's not planning on going a long stretch without him. "I'd like to see her, too." She smiles a bit sadly there, as even with the oddness of loving the same man, Lynette has always liked Huruma. Respected her. It's a rarely rare thing.
"Good." Ben sounds pleased by her answer, never liking to have to be apart for long periods of time. "It would be awfully cold out there without my personal heater." He gives her another little kiss to the temple before his arm drops away to take up the thermos for a refill.
"You have a gun on you?" Ryans asks suddenly, glancing over as he pours his coffee. "I need to go make a trip out to check on a few of the others through the ruins, once my relief gets here." Which shouldn't be too long. "You can keep me company. After all two is better then one out there."
"Oh, I'd at least send you along with a blanket." Lynette lets him get his drink, considering it is mighty cold out here. But his question gets a lift of her eyebrow, "I always do. Never leave home without it.
"I'd love to. I even wore my walking shoes." It may be all she has nowadays, but she'll always be a shoe lover. "However, when we're done checking up and the relief is all in order and so on, I'm going to be demanding and insist on a night in. I hear candle light can be considered romantic on some occasions." Instead of just being a necessity from time to time. "And I have big plans on zapping whoever tries to interrupt."
"You know… I believe I've heard the same thing," Benjamin rumbles out softly, a knowing smile on his lips. He takes a deep breath and lets out a heavy sigh, "I think I can take a break from my S.A. duties for a night with my woman. Cancel the weekly Poker night with the guys." Is there a poker night?
He gives her a rather mischievous looking smile, before leaning in to press coffee warmed lips against the curve of her jaw. "I'll make sure to put up a high voltage sign on the door tonight," he jokes softly, before looking towards the entrance of the tunnels. Expecting the figure of his relief, to come out of the tumbled rocks before long.
"I'm okay with poker night, so long as it's strip poker," Lynette manages to get in, a laugh on her voice before he leans in to kiss her, which gets a soft, contented sigh out of her instead. "Good thinking. This is why i tell people I fell for you for your brains." That isn't true at all. She tells people she fell for him for his body, of course.
As he looks to the tunnels, she glances that way for just a moment before she looks back at him and grabs onto the front of his jacket to pull him in for a kiss. One that isn't soft and loving so much as it is a little rough and a lot passionate. And also loving. But in a more active manner. His relief is just going to have to give them a minute.
It's unexpected, Ben is even lifting a hand to greet the man that's just started to pop out of the rubble. Yet, like anytime she kisses him like this. He simply stops caring and answers her kiss in turn, arms pulling her as close as their seated position will allowed. He'll feel odd about such a blatant show of affection in public later.
It's a wolf whistle from the watch relief that breaks the kiss, Ben holding her for a moment more, his hat crooked on his head. He palms her cheek and gives her an affectionate smile. "You are a horrible tease." His voice is rough, rumbling soft.
"Now…" Ryans starts to pull away, to prepare to leave this post. "Stop distracting me from my job, woman." Of course, a wink says he doesn't mind at all.
Lynette groans a little at the whistle, knowing it'll interrupt, but there's still a smile there when she looks at him. "Oh, I know it," she remarks, and she leans in for one more, quicker kiss, "I can't help it. Plus, someone's got to keep you on your toes." She starts to stand, too, brushing snow off her clothes here and there.
She eyes the relief a little, although in good humor, "You couldn't have waited five minutes?" Nodding him over toward Ryans, she starts to move off to wait for him, after they fill each other in and whatnot. She'll just be straightening her hair a bit.