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just_1_word | 39.4. Job
Sep. 10th, 2009 04:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tacticalmind39.4. Job
Co-written with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
doesntwaltz
[Follows THIS and THIS]
Rob hadn't used his car much since arriving in New York. In fact, he wasn't overly confident being behind any wheel in the traffic of a city the size of New York, let alone behind the wheel of his car, which he didn't want to end up total in the side of a taxi. But he also wasn't in the mood to deal with public transport or the like right now, so he got into his car and drove over the Leila's place. And got lost, inevitably. He took a wrong turn at a wrong light, or something, and only made it to his destination well over an hour beyond the time he told her. The whole thing served only to aggravate him more than he was, but he managed to stamp it out as he walked up the block to her apartment, looking forlornly back at his car and wondering if it really was safe to leave parked in the only spot he had found free... and he only even parked it there after much contemplation why the spot was free in the first place. His car had to be about the only thing in the world he was paranoid about.
He rang the buzzer on the apartment, and checked the back pocket of his jeans to make sure the divorce papers were still there where he had shoved them. He reflexively looked at his watch, as if checking how much time he had left until 0700 hours on Thursday. It was stupid, but this had left him more discontent than he liked to admit. He had to try and get his head together.
Leila jumped to let Rob into the building, realising too late that although she was leaving the actual door to the apartment unlocked, he still had to get into the building. She waited to see if Luke and Tab stirred, but they seemed to stay behind the door to the bedroom. Leila tried to work out if she should sit, or stand, her arms moving helplessly as she remained indecisive. She started to pace, running her fingers through her mess of blonde hair. She caught her fingers in a knot, and rushed to grab a brush before Rob came up. She knew he liked her natural, but there was natural, and then there was was stone age.
She still had the brush in hand when she heard footsteps, throwing it in the direction of the kitchen sink so she didn't get caught in the act of grooming. She ran her fingers over her lips, and frowned, still trying to work out why Rob needed to see her so desperately. Her stomach clenched, and she had this feeling like it wasn't going to be good news. And it probably wasn't a booty call.
Rob pushed the door of the apartment open hesitantly, trying not to make too much noise. He figured if he had crashed out when he got home, everyone here would be tempted to do the same thing, especially considering the miniest member of the family had spent the night there. She wasn't much of a crier, but when she did, she made a good job of it. Rob couldn't blame her, though. If his Mum and Dad were in a crisis, he would probably want to bawl and ask for his Dad too. He glanced around and spotted her with a smile. "Hey," he said quietly. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you up or anything? I'll go as soon as I can. I just... this is important." He took her hand and leaned in to give her a soft kiss on the lips in greeting.
Leila smiled at him, raising her free hand to caress his cheek before he pulled back. "Hey. No, it's fine. I dozed off, but I don't mind you waking me up. Rather you than someone else. I was just hoping it wasn't a message about Andrew. Now that Ali's looking after him, I'm hoping he'll be okay. He'll have the hangover from hell, but he should be okay." She looked at Rob from behind her glasses, her eyebrows now raised expectantly. "You don't have to rush off. What's happened? Are you okay?"
Rob scratched at the back of his head and offered a small, wry smile. "Yeah, I know. Poor guy. I don't think I could even handle black label vodka on a good night, let alone a bad one. But at least they have food there, if he ever feels like eating again in his life." He cleared his throat, fighting the urge to pace again. His tongue darted out to wet his lips. "Let's go corny and cheesy, here. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"
"Tell me about it. I've never been a massive vodka drinker. It can be evil." Leila snorted a small laugh as she watched him. "That's not really corny and cheesy. Maybe more just a cliche, or something. Um... let's go good. Maybe it'll help bolster me through the bad."
Rob shook his head, hovering a little as he wondered whether he should sit or not. "I think he wanted something that got to the point fast. Drinking that stuff can only be as punishment, surely. Those cosmos nearly killed me that night. I'm more than happy to be a beer guy." He took the papers from his back pocket and pulled the letter from his solicitor out. "My divorce is through. It got finalised last Wednesday. She got the house back home, but a small price to pay to get this fast-tracked." He handed her the letter with a small shrug so she could see the fact for herself.
Leila took the papers, pulling him back towards the sofa. She sat down, focusing on the letter as she read. Her mouth fell open a little, and she turned her head to fix her gaze on Rob again. "Shit, this is... fantastic. Isn't it? I mean, it's a divorce so I'm probably not thinking champagne and party poppers, but still. You're a free man. How does it feel?"
Rob laughed and sat down beside her, folding his hands in front of him. "Yeah, of course it's fantastic. It feels... cathartic. Relieving. She had been causing me some hassles with the settlement, so I was more than ready to see the end of. Actually tried to pull the 'I'm pregnant and need maintenance' card." He snorted and shook his head. "I'm just glad it's over, to be honest. Marrying her was the biggest mistake of my life."
Leila's face twisted, and she hissed out a breath. The more she heard about Rob's now officially ex-wife, the more she hated the woman. She leaned over to steal a quick kiss, and handed him the letter back. "I'm glad it's over. I don't even know her, and I know she was never right for you. Fuck her for trying to pull that card. Bitch. She deserves the biggest Karmic payback for that."
Rob took the letter and tucked it back into the envelope. "I don't think it will be too long before she gets it. She was messing with some powerful people when she screwed me over. It was the reason why she could screw me over so badly. I think it's only a matter of time." He put the envelope down on the coffee table so he could take her hand. He couldn't stifle the small sigh that escaped, rubbing his fingers over the back of her hand.
"Good. She earned it." Leila's eyebrows drew together, her joy at his divorce shortlived as she dropped her gaze to their hands. The bad news was going to be really bad, she could tell. Now she didn't need that feeling in her gut telling her. She was trying to race ahead, and anticipate what it could be, but she was failing. "What is it? You're starting to scare me a bit, you know that?"
Rob just felt tired and he let out a slow breath. "I got called. They're shipping me to Afghanistan this Thursday morning, first thing." He looked up at her apologetically, and squeezed her hand.
Leila felt like the floor and couch had been ripped out from under her. She thought she was going to fall over the way her head kept spinning. "What?" she asked, her voice husky. It was like she couldn't remember how to talk, or blink, or do much of anything. She knew it was always going to be a possibility, but now? Now, when she needed him to be here. Needed him to keep her steady while she kept her family steady? She felt herself nodding dumbly, and raised her hand to cover her mouth. "I... Thursday?"
Rob wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back. "I know, I'm sorry. If I could change this and not go, I would do it in a heartbeat. I can't even get my head around it myself, but I got the call from my commanding officer this morning and I can't call on my leave. It's my first assignment as a Sergeant. I have no choice but to go, especially considering I'm still tarnished from the damn court-martial. And I wish we could have more time, and that I could keep my promise to you to be here for you, but I'm so sorry. We have four days... it's just... better than nothing, I suppose. And I can be in touch when I'm over there, I promise."
Leila clutched at him, burying her face against his chest. She wanted more time, needed more time. This was the Army though, and there was no more time. He was right, he had to go. "Shit, I'm sorry. I hate that I'm not taking this as coolly as I wanted to. I fail at bad news taking. Four days is definitely better than nothing. You better keep in touch... I'll kill you if you don't," she added in a mumble.
Rob just continued to hold her and kissed her head, letting it linger. "It's okay. I know it sucks. It sucks a lot..." He didn't actually want to tell her how much it sucked, but fact of the matter was, if anything happened to him overseas, she probably wouldn't be notified, and if the news did reach her, it would be some time after anything went down. It made his gut churn and something was setting off an uncomfortable anxiety inside him. This wasn't fair. He was finally getting a chance at being happy, and he was getting taken away again. Shipping out was never easy, and he always found it hard. But this just felt different this time. How could he prove to her that it would be alright when he didn't know if it would? He felt like she had given him so much accepting what he was and who he was, but he had nothing to give in return. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked her, a slight plea heard in his tone.
She nodded, lifting her head to look at him. Leila shifted to climb into his lap, needing to be even closer to him. She drew him into a slow kiss as she slipped her arms around his neck. As it came to an end, Leila rest her forehead against Rob's. "Yeah, I just... need a moment. I'm going to miss you so much. It's hard enough dealing with Andrew, and now this? I'll get through it. Just... need a moment. Or ten."
Rob felt terrible. For the first time, he actually felt guilty for the job he did. He wanted to keep apologising, but he figured it would just piss her off. He bit down on his lip and nodded. "I'm sorry," he ended up still repeating, though, unable to stop it. "I was hoping I would have more time. I kinda needed it myself, but this is just my life and I'm really sorry you've had be dragged into it."
Leila smiled despite the heavy ache in her chest. "Don't apologise for that. I haven't regretted a single moment of knowing you, Littlerock. Not one. We'll get through this. You said yourself that you'd be able to keep in touch."
Rob nodded and then cleared his throat. "Mostly," he corrected. "It ain't gonna be every day, maybe not even every week. It depends what we get thrown into over there, or how things move. I ain't ever been posted to Afghanistan before, so I don't know the lay of the land. Plus, new base, new people. I'm gonna be really out of my comfort zone. I thought I would have more time to adjust to the idea, or more notice to prepare, but this does happen sometimes. But I will be in touch as much as I can. It just ain't all that glamorous. Some places have web cams, though. Just ain't really had much of a need to bother with them before."
"Do I at least get you for these four days?" Leila asked quietly. "I don't need glamorous. Haven't you figured that out, yet? Just keep in touch when you can. I'll wait. I'm not going to be her, Rob. You're all I care about."
Rob only realised he was subconsciously assuming Leila would react like Ellie with the news of his deployment. He didn't know anything else, and now that he knew Ellie had been fucking around on him the whole time, he didn't really know how it felt to have someone worried about him when he was on duty, beyond his folks. "If there was anything I could do to make this up to you, to assure you that I was... going to come home... that it would be okay, I would do it. You know that, right?"
Leila nodded. "Yeah, I know." She caught his lips in a kiss, pressing her body against his. "I need to be with you. Please."
Rob nodded, searching her eyes. He hoped through his anxiety he could actually manage to give her what she needed. "Okay."
All muses referenced with permission and are from theprinceton2nyc universe
Word Count | 2,349
Co-written with
doesntwaltz[Follows THIS and THIS]
Rob hadn't used his car much since arriving in New York. In fact, he wasn't overly confident being behind any wheel in the traffic of a city the size of New York, let alone behind the wheel of his car, which he didn't want to end up total in the side of a taxi. But he also wasn't in the mood to deal with public transport or the like right now, so he got into his car and drove over the Leila's place. And got lost, inevitably. He took a wrong turn at a wrong light, or something, and only made it to his destination well over an hour beyond the time he told her. The whole thing served only to aggravate him more than he was, but he managed to stamp it out as he walked up the block to her apartment, looking forlornly back at his car and wondering if it really was safe to leave parked in the only spot he had found free... and he only even parked it there after much contemplation why the spot was free in the first place. His car had to be about the only thing in the world he was paranoid about.
He rang the buzzer on the apartment, and checked the back pocket of his jeans to make sure the divorce papers were still there where he had shoved them. He reflexively looked at his watch, as if checking how much time he had left until 0700 hours on Thursday. It was stupid, but this had left him more discontent than he liked to admit. He had to try and get his head together.
Leila jumped to let Rob into the building, realising too late that although she was leaving the actual door to the apartment unlocked, he still had to get into the building. She waited to see if Luke and Tab stirred, but they seemed to stay behind the door to the bedroom. Leila tried to work out if she should sit, or stand, her arms moving helplessly as she remained indecisive. She started to pace, running her fingers through her mess of blonde hair. She caught her fingers in a knot, and rushed to grab a brush before Rob came up. She knew he liked her natural, but there was natural, and then there was was stone age.
She still had the brush in hand when she heard footsteps, throwing it in the direction of the kitchen sink so she didn't get caught in the act of grooming. She ran her fingers over her lips, and frowned, still trying to work out why Rob needed to see her so desperately. Her stomach clenched, and she had this feeling like it wasn't going to be good news. And it probably wasn't a booty call.
Rob pushed the door of the apartment open hesitantly, trying not to make too much noise. He figured if he had crashed out when he got home, everyone here would be tempted to do the same thing, especially considering the miniest member of the family had spent the night there. She wasn't much of a crier, but when she did, she made a good job of it. Rob couldn't blame her, though. If his Mum and Dad were in a crisis, he would probably want to bawl and ask for his Dad too. He glanced around and spotted her with a smile. "Hey," he said quietly. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you up or anything? I'll go as soon as I can. I just... this is important." He took her hand and leaned in to give her a soft kiss on the lips in greeting.
Leila smiled at him, raising her free hand to caress his cheek before he pulled back. "Hey. No, it's fine. I dozed off, but I don't mind you waking me up. Rather you than someone else. I was just hoping it wasn't a message about Andrew. Now that Ali's looking after him, I'm hoping he'll be okay. He'll have the hangover from hell, but he should be okay." She looked at Rob from behind her glasses, her eyebrows now raised expectantly. "You don't have to rush off. What's happened? Are you okay?"
Rob scratched at the back of his head and offered a small, wry smile. "Yeah, I know. Poor guy. I don't think I could even handle black label vodka on a good night, let alone a bad one. But at least they have food there, if he ever feels like eating again in his life." He cleared his throat, fighting the urge to pace again. His tongue darted out to wet his lips. "Let's go corny and cheesy, here. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"
"Tell me about it. I've never been a massive vodka drinker. It can be evil." Leila snorted a small laugh as she watched him. "That's not really corny and cheesy. Maybe more just a cliche, or something. Um... let's go good. Maybe it'll help bolster me through the bad."
Rob shook his head, hovering a little as he wondered whether he should sit or not. "I think he wanted something that got to the point fast. Drinking that stuff can only be as punishment, surely. Those cosmos nearly killed me that night. I'm more than happy to be a beer guy." He took the papers from his back pocket and pulled the letter from his solicitor out. "My divorce is through. It got finalised last Wednesday. She got the house back home, but a small price to pay to get this fast-tracked." He handed her the letter with a small shrug so she could see the fact for herself.
Leila took the papers, pulling him back towards the sofa. She sat down, focusing on the letter as she read. Her mouth fell open a little, and she turned her head to fix her gaze on Rob again. "Shit, this is... fantastic. Isn't it? I mean, it's a divorce so I'm probably not thinking champagne and party poppers, but still. You're a free man. How does it feel?"
Rob laughed and sat down beside her, folding his hands in front of him. "Yeah, of course it's fantastic. It feels... cathartic. Relieving. She had been causing me some hassles with the settlement, so I was more than ready to see the end of. Actually tried to pull the 'I'm pregnant and need maintenance' card." He snorted and shook his head. "I'm just glad it's over, to be honest. Marrying her was the biggest mistake of my life."
Leila's face twisted, and she hissed out a breath. The more she heard about Rob's now officially ex-wife, the more she hated the woman. She leaned over to steal a quick kiss, and handed him the letter back. "I'm glad it's over. I don't even know her, and I know she was never right for you. Fuck her for trying to pull that card. Bitch. She deserves the biggest Karmic payback for that."
Rob took the letter and tucked it back into the envelope. "I don't think it will be too long before she gets it. She was messing with some powerful people when she screwed me over. It was the reason why she could screw me over so badly. I think it's only a matter of time." He put the envelope down on the coffee table so he could take her hand. He couldn't stifle the small sigh that escaped, rubbing his fingers over the back of her hand.
"Good. She earned it." Leila's eyebrows drew together, her joy at his divorce shortlived as she dropped her gaze to their hands. The bad news was going to be really bad, she could tell. Now she didn't need that feeling in her gut telling her. She was trying to race ahead, and anticipate what it could be, but she was failing. "What is it? You're starting to scare me a bit, you know that?"
Rob just felt tired and he let out a slow breath. "I got called. They're shipping me to Afghanistan this Thursday morning, first thing." He looked up at her apologetically, and squeezed her hand.
Leila felt like the floor and couch had been ripped out from under her. She thought she was going to fall over the way her head kept spinning. "What?" she asked, her voice husky. It was like she couldn't remember how to talk, or blink, or do much of anything. She knew it was always going to be a possibility, but now? Now, when she needed him to be here. Needed him to keep her steady while she kept her family steady? She felt herself nodding dumbly, and raised her hand to cover her mouth. "I... Thursday?"
Rob wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back. "I know, I'm sorry. If I could change this and not go, I would do it in a heartbeat. I can't even get my head around it myself, but I got the call from my commanding officer this morning and I can't call on my leave. It's my first assignment as a Sergeant. I have no choice but to go, especially considering I'm still tarnished from the damn court-martial. And I wish we could have more time, and that I could keep my promise to you to be here for you, but I'm so sorry. We have four days... it's just... better than nothing, I suppose. And I can be in touch when I'm over there, I promise."
Leila clutched at him, burying her face against his chest. She wanted more time, needed more time. This was the Army though, and there was no more time. He was right, he had to go. "Shit, I'm sorry. I hate that I'm not taking this as coolly as I wanted to. I fail at bad news taking. Four days is definitely better than nothing. You better keep in touch... I'll kill you if you don't," she added in a mumble.
Rob just continued to hold her and kissed her head, letting it linger. "It's okay. I know it sucks. It sucks a lot..." He didn't actually want to tell her how much it sucked, but fact of the matter was, if anything happened to him overseas, she probably wouldn't be notified, and if the news did reach her, it would be some time after anything went down. It made his gut churn and something was setting off an uncomfortable anxiety inside him. This wasn't fair. He was finally getting a chance at being happy, and he was getting taken away again. Shipping out was never easy, and he always found it hard. But this just felt different this time. How could he prove to her that it would be alright when he didn't know if it would? He felt like she had given him so much accepting what he was and who he was, but he had nothing to give in return. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked her, a slight plea heard in his tone.
She nodded, lifting her head to look at him. Leila shifted to climb into his lap, needing to be even closer to him. She drew him into a slow kiss as she slipped her arms around his neck. As it came to an end, Leila rest her forehead against Rob's. "Yeah, I just... need a moment. I'm going to miss you so much. It's hard enough dealing with Andrew, and now this? I'll get through it. Just... need a moment. Or ten."
Rob felt terrible. For the first time, he actually felt guilty for the job he did. He wanted to keep apologising, but he figured it would just piss her off. He bit down on his lip and nodded. "I'm sorry," he ended up still repeating, though, unable to stop it. "I was hoping I would have more time. I kinda needed it myself, but this is just my life and I'm really sorry you've had be dragged into it."
Leila smiled despite the heavy ache in her chest. "Don't apologise for that. I haven't regretted a single moment of knowing you, Littlerock. Not one. We'll get through this. You said yourself that you'd be able to keep in touch."
Rob nodded and then cleared his throat. "Mostly," he corrected. "It ain't gonna be every day, maybe not even every week. It depends what we get thrown into over there, or how things move. I ain't ever been posted to Afghanistan before, so I don't know the lay of the land. Plus, new base, new people. I'm gonna be really out of my comfort zone. I thought I would have more time to adjust to the idea, or more notice to prepare, but this does happen sometimes. But I will be in touch as much as I can. It just ain't all that glamorous. Some places have web cams, though. Just ain't really had much of a need to bother with them before."
"Do I at least get you for these four days?" Leila asked quietly. "I don't need glamorous. Haven't you figured that out, yet? Just keep in touch when you can. I'll wait. I'm not going to be her, Rob. You're all I care about."
Rob only realised he was subconsciously assuming Leila would react like Ellie with the news of his deployment. He didn't know anything else, and now that he knew Ellie had been fucking around on him the whole time, he didn't really know how it felt to have someone worried about him when he was on duty, beyond his folks. "If there was anything I could do to make this up to you, to assure you that I was... going to come home... that it would be okay, I would do it. You know that, right?"
Leila nodded. "Yeah, I know." She caught his lips in a kiss, pressing her body against his. "I need to be with you. Please."
Rob nodded, searching her eyes. He hoped through his anxiety he could actually manage to give her what she needed. "Okay."
All muses referenced with permission and are from the
princeton2nyc universeWord Count | 2,349
