firewalled: (Default)
Rich Goranski ([personal profile] firewalled) wrote in [community profile] come_sailaway2022-09-01 09:14 am

[Closed] And of all these angry people in the world

Who: Rich Goranski and Six
When: Post Event
Where: Sports deck, early morning
Summary: Rich swallows his pride and decides to actually thank someone he thought was a major dick
Warnings: probably not much aside from discussion of event aftermath and of trauma responses



Rich is... trying to be better. There's been a lot to deal with, after that hell night in the diner. Reassuring his dads that he wasn't secretly missing an arm, trying to comfort Darcy and Dimitri, who were practically missing arms with how hard they had to fight... even after the initial panic was over and after Rich had slept maybe 12 hours straight, there was still the matter of getting back into a routine, of eating meals without glancing over his shoulder every few moments, and of feeling safe enough to turn the lights out in his cabin at night.

There was still one loose end he hadn't quite tied up, though. (All that other junk he's dealing with? Oh, totally fine. A couple nights' good rest is clearly all you need to sort your mental health out.) Rich had seen who was driving the rescue truck that evening, and he's pretty sure the guy didn't have a deep intimate connection to, like, the weird winged newscaster or the sword fighting ghost girl. No, Six was there for Rich.

Even after Rich had threatened him and fought back against him to the point of dislocating his own shoulder, Six had come to find Rich. And he had done it in César's truck. It seems like the guy really was trying to work with César rather than enacting any sort of revenge... which is just rude, because it means now Rich has to apologize for that first fight, and thank him for not abandoning a snot-nosed kid he probably can't stand the sight of.

He checked in with César to find out where Six usually hangs out, and though it means waking up at the asscrack of dawn, Rich pulls himself to the sports deck during Six's usual training time. He's in sweats of his own, definitely pretending he's just here for a pleasant jog when he coincidentally runs into the intimidating man. And no matter how intimidating he is, Rich also (completely casually and in a way that certainly doesn't betray the time practicing in the mirror to get it right) smiles lightly and waves a hand when he spots Six training.

"Hey! Just going for a morning jog! I didn't know anyone besides losers were up this early!"

Smooth, Goranski. He'll never figure you out now.
sixthdeadliest: Do you really think you can handle this? (Come and get me)

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-01 04:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Six had paused for a moment, having heard someone approaching. He stood with swords in hand due to having stopped in the middle of one of his practice routines to avoid potentially harming someone.

He looked over his shoulder at the kid and raised a brow, a smirk on his lips, the swords currently relaxed at his sides. "So what does that make you?"

He turned his back to Rich and raised his swords. "Doing some last bits of training before anyone else wakes up and needs to use the sports deck. Try to keep clear."

And with that, he refocused on his imaginary enemies, keeping an ear out for Rich's real footsteps. He darted forward, practically a blur with the flash of steel as he tore through his imagined opponents. He switched the magna blades between their usual forms as well as the staff and electromagnet configurations, using the latter configuration to pick up and fling the loose weights into a set of punching bags he'd set up as ranged targets at the far end of the area. He swapped to unarmed combat as well, fists and feet moving almost unnaturally fast.
sixthdeadliest: I will never understand them. (Teenagers...)

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-06 12:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Honestly, Rich, passive aggressive would've been a godsend. The rest of the Numbers had no problems being openly aggressive with one another.

Six stopped on a straight punch, glancing back over his shoulder at the kid. He straightened up. "I'd hope so. I've been training for most of my life."
sixthdeadliest: Relaxed. (Leaning against a wall (full body))

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-12 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
"Ah. That's what this is about."

Honestly, the kid's rambling had been getting on his nerves with him wanting to pinch the bridge of his nose and tell him to get to the point. (What was it with teenagers and rambling? He didn't remember being half as much of a motormouth when he was around that age.)

"You can stop worrying about it. I talked things over with César. He'll never be my favorite person, but I'm not going to slice him into pieces any time soon."

Unless César decided to really push his buttons and try and repeat old mistakes. In which case, Six was going to rat out every single one of the scientist's dirty little secrets that he knew.

"Let it go."
Edited 2022-09-12 01:46 (UTC)
sixthdeadliest: (Grumpy)

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-13 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
Best to dispel that notion and fast.

"I might have been ranked last, kid, but that doesn't make me 'kind'. I have lines. Not many but they're there.

"Besides, all I really did was drive the truck. I lost one of you kids, in case you forgot. Regardless, if I hadn't gone, César would have since I doubt either of his...companions...can drive stick. Or at all for that matter. César's a non-combatant. He'd be more likely to get himself and the rest of you killed."
sixthdeadliest: (Grumpy)

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-13 08:45 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's not denial if it's the truth," Six countered. "And like I said, I have lines. I went to get you all because leaving you all there without good reason would've crossed them. Sending in César would've caused too many unacceptable casualties. That's not kindness. You were right when you called me a monster when we met."

Honestly, what was it with this kid?
sixthdeadliest: (Concerned and holding back)

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-15 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
"...I take it César didn't tell you why I'm called 'Six'. Otherwise, you'd know that it's not just me thinking of myself as a monster."

Did César even know about how the ranking system worked? Six had likely told Rex at some point during the period he couldn't remember, and Rex likely would have passed on that knowledge to his brother.
sixthdeadliest: (Glare)

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-16 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Correct. And we're ranked by ruthlessness, not fighting prowess or raw strength. I was a mercenary assassin before working for the organization I met César at."
sixthdeadliest: Relaxed. (Leaning against a wall (full body))

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-16 03:17 pm (UTC)(link)
"Never said I was completely ruthless, just that I'm not as kind as you seemed to think I am."

Also, how dare you question his self-worth?
sixthdeadliest: Relaxed. (Leaning against a wall (full body))

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-20 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"Pray you never have to see me at my worst," Six stated bluntly. "Or if you do, pray you're not the target."

Because he did not mess around with that sort of thing.

"And you don't owe me anything. All I did was drive."
sixthdeadliest: Yes, that's Holiday; what about it? (Backlit)

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-21 03:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Six didn't say anything for a long moment in response to the kid's bravado, allowing the suddenly heavy, oppressive, downright dangerous silence to speak for him. The dark confidence that he didn't need to boast about his skill, that if it ever came down to a real fight, his opponent would likely die.

The silent reminder that he'd let the kid off very easy before.

After giving it time to sink in, Six turned back towards his imaginary targets, slipping into position to start again. "Do what you want, kid, but just know that I'm not keeping score."
Edited 2022-09-21 15:53 (UTC)
sixthdeadliest: Relaxed. (Leaning against a wall (full body))

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-24 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
Six rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"There's no reason for you to keep insisting on thanking me or paying me back. Move on."
sixthdeadliest: What're you trying to pull? (Frown with eyebrow)

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-26 02:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"You thought what?"

Six looked back over his shoulder, thoroughly confused.
sixthdeadliest: I will never understand them. (Teenagers...)

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-27 04:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Six allowed himself to look baffled as he tried to figure out what the kid meant.

"Why?"
sixthdeadliest: Relaxed. (Leaning against a wall (full body))

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-28 04:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"...I think I need to explain things on my end since I'm not sure what idea César gave you about our relationship.

"We're not friends; we're former coworkers. I might have decided not to kill him over what he did to me, but that doesn't make me his friend. You're under no obligation to be polite to me to 'get along with his friends'."
sixthdeadliest: Relaxed. (Leaning against a wall (full body))

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-09-30 01:06 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's on a case-by-case basis."

At least that was how he understood it. Might need to clear some things up with César.

"It's not that I don't want it, kid. It's just I don't see why you insist on it after I told you that you didn't owe me anything." He traced one of the planks of the wood of the deck with a toe. "What I do doesn't lend itself towards huge displays of gratitude. I'm just a more recognizable grunt on the front lines."
sixthdeadliest: What're you trying to pull? (Frown with eyebrow)

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-10-06 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
"We're all just pawns in the bigger game. Some pawns are more recognizable than others, but we're all still pawns.

"And being alone doesn't bother me. Not exactly trained to deal with large amounts of people."
sixthdeadliest: Relaxed. (Leaning against a wall (full body))

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-10-06 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"Nothing I'm not used to, kid."

Even long before he'd become a mercenary. He'd had to make a lot of compromises when fending for himself on the street.
sixthdeadliest: Relaxed. (Leaning against a wall (full body))

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-10-07 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
"Keeps things simple."

Relationships came with too many messy strings as he'd found out from his partnership and friendship with White Knight. Not all of them were bad, but he didn't need so many people around him. He was having to re-learn it back where he came from.
sixthdeadliest: Relaxed. (Leaning against a wall (full body))

[personal profile] sixthdeadliest 2022-10-10 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Six waited for an explanation, but it seemed like the kid was starting to get the idea that he wasn't going to be joining the "Kumbaya" circle.

"Why don't you head back to bed, kid?"