Lucas looked behind him carefully before going forward to the shin-ra building entrance and fixing his clothes before clipping on his badge before walking back into the building he had grown to know so well
Autumn stood in the lobby of the Shin-ra building with her arms crossed as she watched her younger brother approaching the front doors. She was nervous and excited at the same time. It had been awhile since they’d seen each other and every part of her wanted to run up and pull him into a big hug but she also knew how dangerous it was for him to come here given his current assignment. If he was followed AVALANCHE would be waiting to kill him when he returned to the streets.
“Follow me.” Autumn commanded before turning around and heading for the elevator. Her face was unreadable as they crossed the entryway but she dropped the act the moment the elevator doors closed. “How are you? Is everything going alright?”
"Follow me" was the first command she said to him when they met in the lobby he could tell she was excited that he was here but at the same time understood why she didnt want to go up and give him a hug in the lobby due to potentially being followed by AVALANCHE even though he was making sure he wasnt being followed. as the elevator doors closed is when she finally started talking "im...okay" he hesitated nervously feeling his hands shake "everything is going alright for the most part...some of what theyre doing is just..." he trailed off his hands visibly shaking showing the effects this first mission was having on the 22 year old
Autumn reached out to take his trembling hand in her own, if he would allow it. She’d been in similar situations in her own job and knew how frightening it could be trying to pretend you're someone that you’re not. It was lonely being surrounded by people you knew you couldn’t trust and exhausting to be constantly on guard.
It was her first instinct as a big sister to want to protect him but she knew there was no way he could back out of his assignment now. Not after he’d already succeeded in infiltrating the cell. It would take months to get a replacement on the inside. “That’s good, that’s good…” She murmured, “You can tell me all about it when we get to my office.”
The copper haired Turk took a step back as the elevator reached her floor, “Did you want anything to eat? A drink, maybe? I can have something delivered.”
Lucas let her take his trembling hand in hers rest on her wrapping an arm around her tightly giving her a one armed hug his mind just glad that he was with her right now soon stopping as the elevator stopped. when she made the offer of if he wanted something to eat or drink he noddded feverishly "please kinda hard to get something to drink when a good majority of what most of them drink is alcohol and having to eat and drink bar food" he told her explaining litterally how his meal would be whatever he could buy at a nearby bar. "hows work as a turk treating you? must be hell" he asked now his turn to question her
Autumn’s eyes narrowed at his response and her voice took on the scolding tone of their mother, “You need to find a way to take better care of yourself! This mission is important but it won’t be worth anything if you die of starvation.”
The doors opened and she led him through a room with several desks piled high with paperwork and into a long hallway lined with doors. They reached a door with the name Autumn Nevada carved on a plaque to the side and she unlocked it with a brass key hanging off her lanyard.
She opened the door and gestured for him to come inside. It was a simple office space that had been elevated to her aesthetic. A wall of stacked metal filing cabinets loomed to the right and the plain left and back walls held a total of three paintings of sunflowers. There was a desk in the middle made from recycled wood from an old shipping pallet and a lemon yellow desk chair sitting behind it.
Everything of interest had been stashed away for the moment and the only items on the surface of the desk were a locked computer, a phone, and an empty flower vase.
Autumn was a little surprised at the tone of his question. It wasn’t the sort of thing people usually said out loud. “It’s fine.” She shrugged as she closed the door behind them but she regretted the dismissive tone the moment it came out of her mouth. This was her brother and he was clearly struggling. He deserved a more honest answer. “It’s-” She paused for a moment as she searched for something better to say. “I spend the night here a lot. I don’t like my apartment anymore. It’s creepy. I wish you could have come live with me like we talked about before.”
he grimaced at her scolding him like their mother "sorry..." he apologized as the doors opened and he followed behind her as he looked at the hallway in astonishment before reaching a door with a plaque that had her name on it before he stepped into the room as she gestured looking around the simple office space 'its fine' he heard her respond before hearing her suddenly speak again 'it's... i spend the night here a lot. i dont like my apartment anymore. its creepy." she explained about her living conditions which he nodded understanding where she came from with this as he walked around the office stopping infront of the desk when he heard her speak 'i wish you could have come live with me like we talked about before' this caused him to ball his fists placing them on the desk "me too..but him..that bastard!" he yelled slamming the bottom of his fists on the desk forgetting his strength due to how much he fought when he was younger "he had to ruin everything!" he said obvious hatred for their uncle his arm shaking
Autumn was caught off guard by her brother’s sudden emotional outburst but she shouldn’t have been. A lot had been placed on his shoulders. The weight of unrealistic expectation hung heavy over the Turk who despite dismissive reassurances from her mother had always been uncertain that their parent’s love was indeed unconditional. Surely, Lucas felt this as well.
It wasn’t fair. He was too young. He shouldn’t have to do something so dangerous to prove his worth. Autumn had gone undercover many times in her role as a Turk and her instinct was to protect her brother. She stepped around the desk and pulled him into a hug. “It should have been me out there... I could have done it. I could have gained their trust if I had the right in but… It’s too late now. I think at least one of them knows my face.”
She thought back to the incident on the hacked train and the AVALANCHE bomber she'd killed.
he heard footsteps walk around the desk as he knew full well this inhuman weight and expectation he felt from them just to prove he wasnt all talk when day one when he started he was for lack of a better term "thrown to the wolves that is AVALANCHE" to be a double agent of course just from what he had heard from some employees on a smoke break as he was just there to scan for his sister there was an obvious confrontation after he was thrown out to do his mission. feeling her pull him into a hug he hugged her back tightly, he didnt know what it was but he felt himself calming down as they hugged he was grateful that he had a sister like her she was his security and he ironically followed her to the company. "yeah..." he said now completely calm in her arms "hey autumn?"
Post by Autumn Nevada on May 25, 2020 16:45:20 GMT
“Mhm?” Autumn asked without releasing her hold on the embrace. She knew her brother didn’t need the hug to calm down anymore but she did. The Turk had been back to visit the family estate and she’d spent some time at her apartment but nothing had felt like home more than this reunion. She was afraid to look him in the eye at the moment because his outburst had brought her to the edge of tears. She had missed him so much and his mission was so dangerous. What if this was the last time she saw him?
“Oh!” She pulled back as she suddenly remembered she’d promised lunch. “Is this about the food? I should go ahead and put the order in. What would you like? I can get us pretty much anything.”
Autumn walked around to the phone and picked it up while clearly waiting on a response. She didn’t know how long he could stay without arousing suspicion but she wanted to make their time together as comfortable as possible. They’d need to get to business soon and she wasn’t looking forward to some of the questions she needed to ask him.
lucus felt his stomach knot up as he thought about how to ask this specific question to her he knew their time together right now was limited yet important since they hardly got the chance to see each other "well..you see..its not about lunch..." he started as she picked up the telephone "i was wondering if you could put in a request for me to be put into the SOLIDER program?" he asked her knowing that this would be a huge hurdle to overcome
Post by Autumn Nevada on May 25, 2020 21:39:04 GMT
Autumn set the phone back down and looked at him intensely. “Why would you want to be a SOLDIER? That’s such a dangerous job.”
“No.” She shook her head as she sat down and pulled up her computer. “If you’re looking for a transfer there are plenty of positions in the company. Look here!” She tapped the computer screen to show him the job opening. “There’s a spot in human resources and ooh… accounting too!”
His sister’s tone held the same excitement as her usual recruitment speech but with much less eye contact. She had too many friends in SOLDIER already. She wasn’t about to try and pluck her brother from the frying pan merely to fling him into a fire.
“If you need something more challenging they always need lab techs. There’s a bit of a learning curve but that’s no obstacle! You’re a bright boy…” Autumn trailed off as her eyes met his. She knew that none of the ideas she had pitched were landing with him but she couldn’t accept his request.
"but.." he started before she began what he could recognize to be her recruitment speech mentioning positions like human resources, accounting, and even being a lab tech none of the offers sticking as his eyes fell on the desk "dont you trust me?..." he asked soon looking up at her, her brothers tone feeling like he wasnt being trusted
Post by Autumn Nevada on May 25, 2020 23:56:23 GMT
Autumn closed her eyes and let out a sigh. His words stung like a knife in the heart. After dealing with her family meddling in her life and trying their best to mold her to their design, she didn’t like the insinuation that she was somehow robbing her brother of his autonomy. It wasn’t like that. She trusted her brother completely. He was one of the few people that she did trust in that way. She just didn’t want him to make a decision he might come to regret.
“Of course I trust you. I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Autumn bit her bottom lip as it began to quiver, “As far as I know, they can’t unmake a SOLDIER. Once you’re in… that’s your life whether you like it or not.”
The Turk cleared her throat and picked up the phone to dial the cafeteria. She quickly ordered a cheese pizza and an orange creme soda to be delivered to her floor as soon as possible. Pizza held special memories for Autumn as it was one of the foods they used to order when their parents were away on business. She remembered making pillow forts in the parlor. It felt like a party even if it was just the two of them.
She started dialing again, speaking to him even as it rang, “Maybe you just need to talk to a real SOLDIER to get a better idea of what it’s like.”
as soon as mentioned that she just didnt want him getting hurt it slowly began sinking in why she kept throwing out those random job positions. 'as far as i know, they cant unmake a SOLIDER. Once you're in...that's your life whether you like it or not" she told him letting him know of what he would be sacrificing. he listened to her clear her throat before he could hardly keep up with what she was speaking because of how quick she spoke in into the phone. before he started speaking as she started dialing the phone she spoke to him "who are you talking about?" he asked her confused by her statement