all this time

[lighthearted]

WHO: Sora, Soldier: 76, and various
WHERE: All over New Amsterdam
WHEN: Early December
WHAT: Moving in, cheering up, etc!
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Will add if needed.

[ Pre-discussed starters in the comments below! If you would also like to plot something, feel free to PM me. ]

Comments

[personalwar]

[ Both of them are so stubborn that there are times where Jack feels as if conversations with Gabriel are tantamount to turning his wheels in a ditch, but sometimes it's just a matter of being bullheaded enough to keep at it.

He takes a step back, placing one hand on his hip as he bows his head and lets out a sigh. ]

I still think that going to an actual hospital and fashioning a reason that we need our implants replaced is the better move here. El could probably help us falsify records.

[ Does Jack want to owe anyone, particularly an AI who's already kept secrets from them? No, not exactly. But he also doesn't want to get brain damage. ]

If we do it ourselves, then you're gonna have to be the guinea pig.

[ Seeing how Reyes is the one who's digging his heels in on this, it's only fair. ]

[gravemistake]

Do you trust El?

[Because Gabriel doesn't trust anyone, in this scenario, and he's starting to see a situation where they're going to be asking favors. He doesn't want to be beholden to anyone for this, even if what Jack is proposing is arguably safer in the short term.

As always, he has to think about the long game, and he seems fairly casual about being the one to go under the knife.]

I'm fine with that.

[He's got something of an ace up his sleeve in that department, he thinks, even if Jack won't be very happy to find that out.]

[personalwar]

[ Jack shakes his head, because his trust also doesn't go very far. There's a time when he'd been freer with it, but not anymore. Not since Overwatch's messy end, and it's Gabriel himself who's to blame for some of Jack's overwhelming paranoia.

He still doesn't know how much of that had been an outright betrayal. He still doesn't know how much Gabriel had been keeping from him. ]

Okay. [ He heaves out a breath, his eyes flicking down toward the floor. ] You got the stuff for it? I grabbed some scalpels and other medical supplies when he raided that facility, but I think we're gonna need something more heavy-duty if we're cracking your head open.

[gravemistake]

I’ve got some stuff for it.

[He and Kovacs had made off with some medical supplies and some drugs as well, but unfortunately brain surgery is a little more complicated than that. Gabriel knows what Jack is getting at—if Gabriel is not prepared to do it right now, then he’s just bluffing.

He folds his arms.]

Forgot my bone saw, though.

[personalwar]

What a shame.

[ Jack's tone comes out completely dry when he makes that comment, and he glances away, heaving out a sigh of frustration as his arms drop back to his sides. All this effort put into getting worked up and they still don't have everything they need to do what Gabriel's suggesting. ]

To get the right equipment, you're probably gonna have to break into a hospital.

[ Not an easy task, he would imagine, but if anyone can do it, Gabriel could. The question is, will he put his money where his mouth is? ]

[gravemistake]

[Now he's being taunted, and Jack of all people should know that he's not going to get away with it. Gabriel Reyes will always call a bluff, and even if he can't take care of this one right this second, this is just more incentive to make it happen.]

Yeah, I guess I'm gonna have to break into a hospital.

[But Gabriel is, perhaps, further ahead on this than Jack knows, given his excursion with Kovacs in the morgue.]

So many places to break into, so little time.

[personalwar]

[ If Gabriel manages to get the necessary tools, then so be it. Jack will attempt to do some sort of back-alley brain surgery on him, and it will likely end in tragedy, but it won't be anything that Gabriel himself didn't ask for.

Neither of them should be so cavalier about this, but they're both too old and disillusioned to put much stock in their lives.

Seeing his opening, Jack actually manages a small smirk as he shoots back: ]

So is one of those places gonna be a furniture store?

[ No, he hasn't forgotten about what started this argument. They don't even have a couch. ]

[gravemistake]

It was not on my list.

[Probably he's going to be an upstanding citizen and buy furniture, with money he's been making by betting on Jack at the fighting ring, of course. Not that he's going to mention it.]

Maybe if you ask nicely.

[personalwar]

[ Jack sighs and leans his weight back on his heels, shaking his head to himself. ]

What do you want, a "pretty please with a cherry on top"?

[ The words come out as an exasperated drawl, and then he begins to turn away. As far as he's concerned, their argument is over. It remains to be seen if what they've discussed today will actually lead to anything, whether that's more bone saws or couches in their lives. ]

[gravemistake]

Hey, it might be nice.

[He'll worry about furniture soon. The argument might be over, but it was still a good reminder of how volatile the two of them can still be. They've only just gotten here, but Gabriel is already ready to have some time to himself.]

I'm gonna get some air.

[And maybe he'll look at some couches. Maybe.]