grandtheftmecha | Father's Day...

[On one of his casual patrols of the tower, ~~because he totally wasn't looking for her,~~ Viral found Katina at her hideout on the roof. Seeing the look on her face, he quietly walked over and sat down on the bench next to Katina. Viral folded his arms and waited in silence.]

[She sits there just as quietly for... five minutes? An hour? She can't even tell how long. If Viral cares to look, one of the bottles is cheap whiskey, the other is a type of sake that anyone who ever drank with Daitetsu would recognize.]

...hey.

...Hey.

[He sighs, and watches the sky. If Katina wanted to talk, she'd talk. Viral wasn't one to press these things.]

[Another, definitely shorter wait.]

You know what today is? Not somethin' that'd really matter to you, I guess, but... hell, what do I know?

It's another one of your holidays, isn't it? Remembering fathers.

[Viral pauses this time.]

No, it doesn't really matter to me.

[Katina takes a drink of the whiskey.]

I really should get over it... but every time it's about to roll around, stupid shit happens. Every fucking time.

Life has cruel timing when it wants.

It could let the hell up on me...

Why should you be given special treatment?

It's not that I...

[She pauses and swallows a lump in her throat.]

I know people have it worse than me, hell I've got it pretty good compared to a lot of them, so maybe this is supposed to be my one really bad day to make up for it. I dunno.

[And another drink, because she knows she won't be able to talk about much of anything without it right now.]

Hey... d'ya mind... listening to me rant a little? It'll probably be a pain in the ass to listen to, so you don't have to...

Heh...

[He leans back, clasping his hands behind his head. Wasn't listening to her rant part of the territory now, anyway?]

Of course not. Hit me.

[Katina can't help a little bit of an awkward smile at that, almost tempted to take him literally - she would have on a better day. ~~And if she could read minds she'd ask him what territory that was.~~]

...hell, now where do I start?

Huh...

Terrible at this kinda thing but here goes. I was born and raised in Detroit. Probably doesn't mean much to you, but it's a big ol' dirty city, not the nicest place. Have an older brother, my mom... had my dad... so things were better than they could've been.

I was real close to my dad. Playing games or sports, going to him when I had a problem... textbook 'daddy's little girl.'

[She knew she was off on a tangent already, but it seems easier this way. Taking yet another swig of whiskey has a similar effect.]

So anyways... you get that we were close and all. When I was in high school, there was that war that started up with some of the colonies. Figured I didn't have anything else to do after school and I was always good at fighting, so I signed up and shipped off.

My dad... he was scared as hell to see his daughter going off to war, especially since I wanted to see the frontlines, but... he supported me. He knew I'd made up my mind, so he supported me the best he could. It was... hell. I was so damn young, and I'd never killed anyone, but I made it through... fuck, I got myself promoted for doing what I did. Hurt like hell though, probably screwed with me more than I figured. My dad was there for me again when things were hard... but... it...

[She pauses to take a breath.]

Christ just... bare with me here...

I got some help from a few friends... from my reputation... to get into pilot school. They needed more, so I got fast-tracked into test pilot school... things got a little... difficult for me.

[She pauses again, but only briefly so she can get it all out at once.]

I got obsessed with what I was doing. The military didn't tell me to stop, figured I could pull through, they needed... needed more people. Dad saw it though, knew it wasn't healthy. We fought a lot then... not just, you know, rebellious kid stuff, but really... getting at each other. I was... such a bitch to him...

Cut myself off from my family for a while... figured I didn't need 'em... could do it all myself... I-I was... tough, and everyone around me knew it... stopped checking my mail, got a new phone number... ignored everything about 'em for months...

[At this point, she takes a longer break to steady herself, blaming the whiskey that she really didn't drink much of.]

[Katina sure is hitting him with something... she grits her teeth as a few tears trickle out.]

Damned... damned alcohol is all...

[She rubs at her face a little, pressing on.]

He... while I was ignoring them... he had a heart attack. Doc said it was stress... mom couldn't... afford to hold off the funeral either... got in... touch with me a week... later.

[Katina turns away with her eyes clenched shut, suddenly embarrassed for going off like this.]

Damned whiskey...

[She still hasn't really had very much of it.]

[Viral is very quiet throughout. And for a while after she finishes.]

Well... that sucks.

[She sits there for a bit, choking back a few sobs and just generally feeling like shit.]

...yeah... yeah, it fucking sucks like hell.

[Viral sighs deeply.]

Look. I'm probably one of the worst people to be talking to about this, and I have no idea what kind of man your father was.

... But I doubt he'd be at all happy over you moping like this over him. Shit happens.

Get over it for his sake... or just punch me if I'm wrong. ~~Either way, you'll feel better.~~

[She turns slowly and stares.]

You are... heh... a pretty awful choice, aren't you?

[She doesn't look happy but she's also not crying, though tear stains are still visible.]

Dunno why I talk to you at all... tellin' me to just... just get over it...

[She grabs a handful of his outfit.]

But dammit... you're probably right.

[She isn't letting go though - she might still want to punch him.]

[He holds up his hands in a surrendering gesture.]

You knew what you were getting into, talking to me.

Though... take as long as you need to get over it.

[Her grip loosens, her expression falls.]

Yeah. I didn't want... any stupid pop-psych routines... or a pity party. Guess I coulda gone to Mao for this too... but... I'm glad you came. Really. Thanks.

[She just... lets her hand fall. She'd embarrass herself if she hit him right now.]

[~~Oh thank god she didn't hit him.~~ Viral sighs, leaning back against the bench now that he was free of her grip.]

Don't mention it.

...

I can shut up now, if you want.

You know... you're not as much as an ass as you seem to think you are.

At least that's what I think, maybe I'm just crazy.

Father's Day...

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