streetwalkers | TRAINWRECK AU MASTER POST

[ shinji simply stares back, raising one eyebrow. vaguely, he wonders if byakuya isn't getting enough sleep or perhaps he's looking more irritable than usual because he's on the verge of sobriety.

he can't really hide the way his words are laced with haughty amusement.
he holds out his hand. ]

Want me to go get it?

[ he wasn't sure if he felt like watching his father struggle to complete a simple task due to his acute under-socialization. it would probably take too much time and there was a birds of prey show in the next twenty minutes that he was interested in watching. ]

You'll run off with my change.

[He grumbles, shoving his hands into his pockets and hunching his shoulders a little in something resembling determination. He's not about to let his little monster of a twelve-year-old play the adult role in this situation. As much as he hates interacting with other people, something as simple as buying drinks isn't going to stop him from functioning.

He heads cautiously for the stand, expecting Shinji to follow.]

What do you want?

[ well, that's true. he would.
with a thin smile, he puts his hands up.

shinji follows a few steps behind, with still raised eyebrows. of course, he didn't want to give away that he was keen to watch his dad interact with other people. it was always funny, like a dog walking on its hind legs. once at the stand, shinji stands on the tips of his toes and peers in. ]

I want juice. [ manners? what manners. ]

[He'd ask what kind of juice, but that'd just asking for more trouble. Now that the cashier is making eye contact, he just wants to get it all over with as quickly as possible.

He mumbles his request -- a kiddie juice for Shinji and a sweet citrus soda for himself -- and pays with cash, flinching reflexively when the stranger's hands move towards him. It's a relief to move away from the stand, and he does so perhaps a little more hastily than is normal-looking. He shoves Shinji's juice at him only when the social contact is entirely broken, and glances nervously at the signs pointing to the various areas of the zoo.]

There. Don't complain if it's not the one you like.

[ it's all processed sugar anyway, but shinji doesn't really care for the fizziness of a soft drink. he twists the cap and takes a sip -- ah, good. apple and grape cocktail. ]

It's fine. [ he's somewhat impressed by how byakuya seems to be holding himself together, but maybe it might be more fun to watch him slowly unravel... ]

I want to see the snakes now.

[Snakes are okay! Anything that isn't the insectarium is okay, honestly. He turns off in the appropriate direction, not bothering with any cushy excited discussion. This is going much better than he expected, but he's not capable of that kind of daddy attitude anymore. Once, before the Holy Grail War, he would have smiled and done his best. Now there's no point, and it's easier not to try than to be shot down. He's learned already that they'll never be normal or happy, so he'll just accept the "not too terrible" experience they're having today as the best he can get.]

Yeah, sure.

[ truth be told, shinji doesn't want anything to do with that either but he hasn't quite realized that people are generally interested enough in insects to put them on display like these other creatures. no, since he accidentally discovered that room even the presence of a housefly is enough to send his anxiety on edge. to think that people would put that sort of thing out on display for human entertainment is a thought quite beyond him at this time.

but snakes are cool.
shinji likes snakes.

even though their relationship is obviously broken and mutated, shinji remains amused at the fact that this outing really isn't all that terrible. he watches closely to see when byakuya is forcing himself; watches to see when he has those tiny moments of pseudo-relaxation. really, his own father was just as interesting as the animals in the zoo. locked in place and kept for the sake of appearances.

shinji walks a couple of steps ahead into the display room.
the snakes don't seem to be very active either, so he starts reading placards. ]

They slow down when it gets cold...

Edited 2013-01-20 20:17 (UTC)

They're cold-blooded.

[For a moment he wishes his vice was something more publicly acceptable, like smoking. Then he remembers that they wouldn't let him do that in a zoo either and dismisses the thought.

He stops at the tank of some sinister-looking, thick black snake and leans down to look at it more closely. It resembles Kirei, he thinks, and he shudders.]

You'd slow down in the cold too, if you were.

[ he raises an eyebrow. ]

So they should wear sweaters, then. [ honestly, how difficult a concept was that to grasp? if you're cold, put on a sweater. it's that easy. frowning, he taps on the casing. wake up, mr. snake. ]

Maybe their lamps aren't warm enough. [ he says with a shrug as he takes another drink from his juice pack. slinking down the line and peeking at the variety of different snakes, he ends up face to face with a terrarium full of frogs.

for some reason, shinji has a soft spot for these slimy little bastards. ]

It's not something that sweaters would fix.

[He watches Shinji watch the animals, comparing the two in his head a little. Maybe it would be easier if cold sedated the kid. As for him, he's going to play the fun game of trying to spot the lizards in their habitats.]

[ shinji doesn't agree and thinks that the snakes would look pretty dapper in sweaters, so there. he's already moved onto frogs anyway. would they look good in raincoats? possibly. ] Mm...

[ he's zoned out.
maybe he'd rather be a frog than a little boy.
but when he turns around, he doesn't see byakuya. ]

Hey! [ there are more people around than when they'd just walked in, making it difficult to point out anyone in particular. so he walks around the exhibit, wondering if this had been a plan to abandon him here at the zoo. perhaps he'd have to look into becoming a frog after all. ] Hey!

[ a few people turned around, but none of them were byakuya.
oh, there's another portion of the exhibit. maybe he went in there. ]

Hey, old man --

[ oh god he definitely was not in there. ]

[He doesn't notice Shinji's panic. He's wandered off to the next room, assuming the little shit can take care of himself for a few minutes while he peers at a giant tortoise. He can't imagine living that long. Thirty-six years have been an ordeal. He's not sure he wants to think about going through another ten, let alone a hundred.]

[ it takes him a moment or two to get his feet working (too long) before he hurries out and flits around the exhibit before he finally finds byakuya looking at what might as well be a mirror into his future before frantically tugging on his sleeve, other hand with a white knuckled grip on his empty juice pack. ] I don't want to be in here any more. W-we need to go!

[ be he certainly didn't want to go home, either. just maybe to see something soft. rabbits? a baby deer? just away from here. ]

Eh?

[He's surprised to see the panic on Shinji's face, and it shows. Sometimes he forgets he's got a child, considering the ease with which he ends up on the "bullied" end of their interactions.]

If you say so.

[He doesn't mind either way. He leads Shinji away from the reptiles and towards a bench outside.]

[ to someone with a bit more common sense, having the reptiles and amphibian displays lead toward exotic spiders and cockroaches probably wouldn't be surprising. but shinji was somewhat lacking and he was very much surprised. they sit and for one reason or another he's yet to unclench his little fist from the fabric at the wrist of byakuya's shirt.

frowning, he looks up at him. ]

D-do you have a map?
Where else can we go. [ sayonara, frogs. he'd see you all another day. ]

There's penguins. And a petting zoo, if you promise not to kick the goats.

[He pulls the battered map out of his pocket, handing it to Shinji. He's certainly old enough to make his own decision in that regard, though he looks younger when he's so visibly shaken.]

Why are you so freaked out?

N-nothing, they just had a stupid lizard in there it was kind of scary... [ and back up on his feet! still spooked and white knuckling his juice pack, but definitely excited to get the fuck out of that general area. ]

I like penguins. Let's go see those.

Well... okay.

[He doesn't care enough to argue. They're in public, so pushing Shinji into an argument is probably a bad idea. Instead he gets up and heads towards the penguins.]

[ he eventually tosses his garbage into a recycling bin and uses both hands to unfold the map properly. navigation was an effective distraction and only every so often along the way would he glance over his shoulder to make sure byakuya hadn't wandered off again.

if only because his presence might lessen the chance of running into anything else he didn't want to see.

on the way to the penguin exhibit, they pass the petting zoo. remembering something, shinji can't pass up the opportunity to mention: ]

You know, I only kicked that goat last time because it ate a button off my jacket.

Edited 2013-01-24 02:35 (UTC)

You shouldn't kick them no matter what.

[He grumbles, glancing at the pathway to the petting zoo. He wonders if they'd remember Shinji there, and if so whether they'd kick him out before he even got to pet anything. That's a disaster waiting to happen. Suddenly, he's glad Shinji picked the penguins.

On the downside, the penguin exhibit is inside and it's cold.]

And they shouldn't eat clothes.

[ it's not like he's never been smacked for misbehaving, he simply thought he was teaching it a lesson.

shinji's actually pretty into penguins. they're active, at least! and they seem to enjoy putting on a show. it doesn't take long for him to get glued to watching them. hopefully it would be a good attempt at distracting himself from the other crazy shit he's seen today. i mean, penguins and frogs? that's a pretty good day. ]

I heard that penguins can recognize each other even though they all look the same.

They probably don't look the same to each other.

[He wraps his arms around himself as he watches Shinji watch the penguins. He doesn't like the cold -- he doesn't have the vitality to protect against it, and it doesn't take long before he's shivering.]

Hm. [ he actually hadn't considered that. touché, old man. glancing over his shoulder, he notices byakuya isn't holding up too well. ]

You're that cold? [ raises an eyebrow. ]

Old people get cold easy.

That must really suck. [ but... penguins... ]

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