S.H.I.E.L.D ・ Uɴιтed discussion

Gustave walked in and sat down on a chair.

Christian glanced up as another walked in. He'd been reading over a recent mission report before sending it in, making sure he had gotten all the important parts in before sending it off. His jacket was draped over the back of his chair, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up as he leaned his elbows on the table. He nodded at the other man briefly, trying to recall if they had worked together previously or not.

((also, from now on, do try to have longer posts. The rules thread states 3+ sentences per post. This is a warning.))

((K sorry))

Gustave sat back and slouched a bit. Then he realised there was food. He reached towards the bowl on the table and put a crisp in his mouth. He munched loudly, savouring the taste. When he finished chewing, he said "So, who are you? I don't remember working with you ever."
Gustave picked up another crisp to eat.

Christian had gone back to his work, but looked up when he realized he was being spoken to. "Christian Rhodes," he said, "I think I've seen you around before, but I can't say I know you." He leaned back, having finished reading over the report.

((sorry i didnt reply for ages))

Gustave leaned forward and reached into the bowl. He popped another crisp into his mouth. After he finished munching on it, he said, "Which department do you work in? I work in Operations. Maybe that's why we haven't seen each other around..."

"I'm in Operations too," Christian answered easily. "Have been for the last-" he checked his watch, running a hand through his hair. "Ten years? Eleven?" He shrugged. "I've been around a while." He shrugged again, leaning forward to brace himself on the table. "I guess we just...miss each other."

Gustave leant forward and whispered, "What kinda stuff are you doing? Anything cool? It's fine if you don't want to tell me, because my clearance may not be high enough though..."

Christian gave him a weird look. "Just a report. Level 8 clearance." He closed down the report, making sure he had sent it. No need to get the lower agent excited about it or anything.

Gustave tried to sneak a glance at the report, but then saw that Christian closed it. Gustave leant back and pretended that he hadn't sneaked a glance at the report he had no access to.

Christian leaned back in his seat, propping his arms behind his head. "How do you like SHIELD?" he asked in an effort to make conversation. He smiled, tapping one finger against the back of his other hand.

"Oh it's pretty cool you know. I actually get to make a difference in the world, to help people, a lot. It's very satisfying because it feels like I actually have a purpose in life." Gustave looked genuinely happy.

Christian nodded. He understood where he was coming from. "Makes sense," he said. "It's a good job. If dangerous." He shrugged; the idea of danger had never bothered him.

"Yeah very dangerous." Gustave looked around to see whether anyone else was in the room. He then leant close and whispered, "On my first mission, I even wet my pants I was so scared."

Christian chuckled a bit; not meanly, but enough to show he was amused. "Can't blame you," he said, "It's scary, what we do." He eyed Gustave, considering. "How long have you been here?"

"I've been here for... um..." Gustave furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember. "Errr... I think it was six years, not sure..." He scratched his head. "Oh yeah! It was seven years. It feels like I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. just yesterday." Gustave stared off in the distance reminiscing about his first time at S.H.I.E.L.D. He sighed wistfully.

Christian nodded. "I've been here ten. Or maybe eleven. I can never keep track." He shrugged; that didn't matter so much to him.

Gustave nodded. "I understand." There was awkward silence as Gustave desperately tried to come up with something to say. He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, but he couldn't come up with anything. ᴄʜʀɪsᴛɪᴀɴ sᴇᴇᴍs ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ᴘʀᴇᴛᴛʏ ɴɪᴄᴇ ɢᴜʏ. ɪғ ᴏɴʟʏ ɪ ʜᴀᴅ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ sᴀʏ...

Christian stretched lazily. He'd had a long couple of weeks (like that was anything new) and today he needed to rest. "You been getting out much lately?" He asked. He assumed the answer was yes, as he hadn't seen Gustave around, but it could have just been a case of not noticing.

Gustave leant back and slouched. "Well, I, uh, just got back from a long undercover mission." Gustave crinkled his nose as remembered his experience undercover. "I don't think I'll go undercover for a while. It wasn't that great of an experience, even by S.H.I.E.L.D. mission standards. I mean, it was okay, but..."

Christian nodded thoughtfully. "Undercover isn't my strong suit," he admitted. "They don't give me those missions much anymore. But at least you made it through."

The tears that had been welling up in Gustave's eyes, the ones he had tried to hold back, spilled down his cheeks. He turned away and his shoulders heaved as he sobbed silently. sᴘᴀʀᴋʏ! sᴘᴀʀᴋʏʏʏʏʏʏʏʏ! ᴡʜʏ ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪᴇ?! ᴡʜʏ?!

Christian...didn't know how to respond to that. "Uh, you okay, man?" He asked, leaning forward a bit to give Gustave a worried look.

Gustave turned back towards Christian. "No! I'm clearly distraught and yet you ask whether I'm okay?! Isn't the answer obvious?! I'm crying here! Grieving for my best friend here!" He lowered his voice. "You don't understand." Gustave turned away.

"Hey, calm down. Just a question. How else am I supposed to act?" Christian stood up. He didn't know this guy very well, and didn't quite know what to do. "I'm gonna leave you alone, okay?"

"You're supposed to say, 'I don't understand, but I'll be there for you when you need me.'! Not 'Are you okay?'! Would you be okay if your best friend died?! No! Of course not!" Gustave glared at Christian. sᴘᴀʀᴋʏ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ'ᴠᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡɴ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ... ᴛʜɪs ɢᴜʏ ᴏʙᴠɪᴏᴜsʟʏ ᴅᴏᴇsɴ'ᴛ. ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ᴄʜʀɪsᴛɪᴀɴ's ɴᴏᴛ sᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ɴɪᴄᴇ ɢᴜʏ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ...

"For one thing, we just met." Christian said evenly. This guy obviously had emotional issues. "You look like you would rather be alone, so I'm going." He opened the door and stepped out.

"N-y-o-s! N-yes! No-s! Y-o! Ga!" Gustave was conflicted. He wanted Christian to stay, but he would seem to needy and they'd just been fighting so he should go. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏ ɪ ᴅᴏ?

Christian stopped himself from shaking his head; that probably wouldn't do well. Closing the door behind him, he left the room.

Gustave felt so lonely, so so lonely. "NO! COME BACK! DON'T ABANDON ME! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE!" he shouted to Christian, having finally made a decision.

Gustave was left in the room, alone, grieving for his dead best friend, but also wondering what to do with his life. He was so lost that eventually, he stopped crying and stared into space, not awakening from his trance even if random people clapped in his face, just in front of his eyes.