route_1065 | // and if you call, I will answer

Entry tags:

hal 'otacon' emmerich | metal gear solid

// and if you call, I will answer

Who: Hal Emmerich and ~open~
Where: Goldenrod City
When: Afternoon of March 16th
Summary: Coffee and discussions over coffee.
Rating: gonna roll with a T just to be safe.
Log:
Hal Emmerich didn't have an ordinary sleeping pattern. In fact, he'd had no such thing since he was about eighteen years old. Like many eccentric geniuses, he functioned mainly due to an amount of caffeine that would keep an entire army wired for days.

Lately, he'd taken to spending some time in a cafe near the hotel--it was quiet there, something he rather enjoyed. When one traveled with Liquid Snake, peace and quiet weren't often part of the deal. Ordinarily it didn't bother him, but the occasional break was nice. Otacon sat at a table with a cup of coffee in front of him and half a sandwich in his hand--the other half had been stolen and was currently being devoured by his Arbok, Kotai Of The Infinite Stomach.

"Between you and Liquid, I don't know who's going to drive me crazy first." he remarked with a sigh. At his side, the eleven foot cobra simply nuzzled her trainer's head in response.

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"What about me?"

Be more precise, Otacon. Cooper frowned a little, but agreed with the statement.

"Having heard what you have to say about them I'm glad we don't have them. But that does seem to be the main and perhaps sole difference."

"Believe me, I'm glad you don't too. A world like that is just what Philanthropy was created for."

Otacon gave an awkward smile, adjusting his glasses.

"W-well, you seem like a nice guy. If it doesn't sound too strange, I'd like to get to know you a little better--really, it seems like I don't meet enough regular humans around here. So I guess what I'm asking is something like 'do you want to tell me about yourself'?"

Honestly, no. Cooper never particularly liked talking about himself - because it seemed he never had any positive stories to share.

Still, he could stick to basics here. It was just part of conversing, and he was good at that. Well, sort of, anyway.

"I grew up in Philadelphia but now reside in San Francisco. Great apartment, wonderful view of the Golden Gate, within walking distance from this small Chinese bakery that make the most amazing treats. I originally wanted to join the circus but instead became a Special Agent at the age of 23 and have spent most of my life trying to understand the concept of evil. I have recently developed a liking to small towns and donuts, which is a stereotype of the law enforcement I will gladly uphold if they are ones with jelly in."

He stopped there, having said all of that fairly quickly, practically rattling things off as soon as he thought of them. He didn't really smile, but there was a hint of one as he waited for Otacon to reply.

"I've been to both states, though not for long." At this point, Philanthropy had probably been everywhere in the country. "California was pretty nice, though. If I ever get the chance, I might try to go back."

It sounded like a normal life to Otacon, and that honestly made him a little jealous. It had been too long since Otacon's life was even remotely average.

"As for me, I'm afraid there's not much to tell." Which wasn't entirely true, but most of the details would be better left unsaid. "I grew up in Massachusetts for the most part. Left home when I was seventeen, did a lot of studying and graduated MIT and Princeton early. I never really understood people back then, so I kept to myself and worked with computers."

That was putting it lightly--a better way to phrase it was that he preferred the company of circuitry to humans. One made rational sense, the other didn't.

"I joined the FBI and got kicked out, then worked for a company called Armstech until I was 25. That was when everything with Metal Gear REX happened, and I've been with Philanthropy ever since."

"Left home when I was sixteen, myself. Travelled for three years before I picked up my studies again. A recommendable experience - puts things in perspective."

While Cooper had understood people rather well he was a loner at heart and staying away from the people he'd had around him all his life had been a good way to understand what he wanted with his life. And at times, other people did do things that he couldn't really grasp. He was an old soul, in a way - always a little bit of an outsider.

But he listened with attention.

"Assuming we're about the same age, that's a long time to be on the run," he replied at the end of it, expressing a sort of careful sympathy.

"Perspective? I guess that much is true, yeah."

He'd gotten plenty of perspective on how insane the world in general was in the course of one lifetime.

"I'm thirty--well, thirty-one if you count my last birthday here back in September. So it's been just about five years since we started Philanthropy. It's been even longer since I was home, though."

He didn't really answer to that other than with a neutral humming sound. Then, as if just having realized it:

"My birthday is in a month."

He frowned, and spun the empty coffee cup around, his fingers holding onto the edges of it. He smiled somewhat, though, after a moment's thought.

"I never had a birthday in a different world before."

"It felt pretty strange at first, to be honest. But honestly, the friends I have here made it seem...y'know, normal. I never really celebrated my birthday after I left home."

"I stopped celebrating my birthday some time ago. To be perfectly honest I don't see the reason to."

Nor did he typically have anyone he'd like to celebrate with. He stopped celebrating a lot of things 'some time ago'.

"I don't have anyone I'd even celebrate with back home except for Snake. Even then, we never really have enough time for it."

Otacon shrugged his shoulders, sounding dismissive.

"It's nothing important, anyway. Least of all compared to whatever else we're doing at the time."

"Time tends to be an issue," he agreed, twirling the cup around once more before weaving his fingers together on the table. "As well as priorities. But here we seem to have more of the former and less of the latter. I suppose one might as well take advantage of that."

"That's true. Honestly, I'm not sure what to do with myself half the time. Everything was so hectic back home that all this spare time is still kind of strange even now."

Even more so where he seemed to be in a world without combat or soldiers of any kind.

"It's not really a bad thing, just...strange."

"Yes... it is."

A little distant, he looked out the window again, to the people outside. Stress was a normal factor in his job, but here, he was feeling stressed from not feeling stressed. While it was understandable, it was a little frustrating that he couldn't quite shake this off.

"I guess adapting to this world is as much work as adapting back to our own will be in the future."

"At the very least, yeah. It'll be hard to go back to just the two of us after being able to contact at least six different friends with one call."

Then again, Otacon was used to losing people. It was the story of his life, after all.

Cooper too. Loss had been entirely too common - part of why he never broke his habit of distancing himself from people. You learn things like that the hard way.

But he smiled at that.

"It really is easy contacting people here. The technology is incredible. I don't think the people I know would believe it - but that goes for this entire experience."

"Same here. It's not quite on the level of a codec transmission, but I think it could have a wider range. And that's not even considering all the other technology, most of which is on a level even I can't imagine."

"A majority of the technology used here is best described as science fiction."

"...Yeah, you're right."

He didn't quite say anything past that, as though Cooper had hit a nerve without realizing it. If that was the case, it certainly didn't stop Otacon from smiling.

The silence stretched on for a while. Cooper could tell something was a little off, but he chose not to press the issue.

"I guess I better get going," he said simply, after a moment. "I'm trying to find a job."

He stood, putting some bills on the table as payment and then smiled, genuinely.

"Thanks for the company."

"Anytime." he answered with a far more sincere smile of his own. "It was nice talking to you."

Right back at you is what he didn't say, but he smiled a little wider as he donned his coat.

"You too, Hal. I bet I'll see you around."

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// and if you call, I will answer

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start of cr = successful? /o/

awwww yeah.

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