Scott and Noriko
Apr. 15th, 2014 04:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
om_surge posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
om_mainScott and Noriko go for a ride, then he breaks the news of the limitation he's putting on the team.
Noriko would have made a face at the thought of anybody saying she had a spring in her step and she was, in fact, still a long way from that. But she felt as if she might have a spring in her step, for how well things with Philip were going. So she was headed over to the garage for some more motorcycle maintenance time with Scott in a decidedly good mood, whatever that meant for her.
It certainly didn't make her greeting extra cheerful when she saw him by his bike. A simple "Hey," as usual, did the trick perfectly. "How're you doing?"
Scott glanced up from where he was crouched as she came in. "Hey. I'm alright." He stood up and wiped his hands off on a rag. "How're you?"
"Good," Noriko agreed, stepping closer to look at where he was at with the bike. "What's the plan for today?"
"Was gonna see if you wanted to take her out." He said, shrugging. "On the grounds, of course. I'm a bad enough influence without getting people arrested."
"Terrible influence," Noriko wryly agreed (although her wry was possibly slightly less wry than usual). She was always very aware of what it meant for Scott to let her ride his bike, and she reached out to touch gauntleted fingertips to her saddle. "You riding pillion?" she asked, lips quirked into a tiny smile.
It drove him nuts to ride second seat like that, but he nodded. It'd be easier to take control if something went wrong. "Sure. Just let me wash up so I don't cover you with grime." Scott made his way over to the small sink in the garage, turned the water on, and began to soap up his hands and forearms.
"You seem like you're in a good mood," he commented.
"It happens, once in a blue moon," she assured him in her usual dry manner. "Besides, I'm taking you for a spin." Definitely teasing, even if it didn't much sound like it.
Scott snorted. "Yeah, that must be it." Cleaned up a bit, he toweled off and then reached for his leather jacket.
Noriko just buttoned up her denim jacket (she didn't have any leather), by now used to doing it with the gauntlets - and it was a lot easier with those than with the mark ones. She moved over to the bike and grabbed her before pushing the kickstand up, wheeling her out of the garage before straddling her. "Are you gonna insist about the helmet again?"
"Absolutely, yes." He handed her his helmet, and then picked up his spare one for himself. She wasn't bad, but he wasn't confident enough in her skills to risk head-injuries.
Noriko rolled her eyes and put the helmet on, then turned on the engine and waited for Scott to settle in behind her, vizor raised in case there was anything he wanted to tell her.
Carefully, Scott straddled the bike behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Okay. Take her out easy, and then take the trail by the lake towards the back of the property."
"Aye aye," Noriko acknowledged wryly, closed her vizor, and got going.
* * *
"Well, you didn't kill us," Scott offered as he let go of Noriko's waist and climbed off the seat.
"It's all about positive reinforcement with you, isn't it," Noriko replied, sounding slightly more amused than she usually would've let show. She got off the bike and pushed her back inside the garage, kicking out her stand before taking off her helmet.
"You want a star chart or something?" Scott asked with a smirk. He carefully took off the spare helmet and set it nearby. Fixing his hair into anything not resembling 'baby chicken' probably wouldn't work, but he attempted to pat it down anyway. There was minimal success on that front, though. "Mockery is how I express my approval."
"Well now I've gotta ask you express your disapproval," Noriko pointed out as she put her helmet away.
"Depends on the person and what it is I disapprove of," he replied.
"Here's to hoping I never have to find out," Noriko simply replied, unbuttoning her jacket. "Thanks," she added, for the ride.
He shrugged awkwardly. "No need. There's a lot going on right now. And if it means I have to do a fuck-ton most of the time, and that I can't let up, it also means I want to get out on the bike that much more, you know?"
"Not necessarily behind me," Noriko pointed out, but she wasn't arguing. Scott was a big boy, and she was a big girl. She'd thanked him, and what he did with her thanks was up to him. "What have you been up to?"
"A lot of thinking, a lot of preparation," Scott admitting. He tugged his jacket off and tossed it on the work bench. "I've been working on what we talked about. Trying to figure out how to make it work."
"What are your thoughts?" Noriko asked, hooking her thumbs in her pockets. If she could help by being a sounding board...
"Honestly?" He shrugged and grabbed something, anything to polish and a rag. "I think we need to do something. Something more than reacting and PR. But I think I'll have to make some concessions to get it."
"Want help?" she asked, with a nod that meant with the polishing, but truth be told, she meant it about what they were talking about as well.
Frankly, yes. He would've liked Noriko's help. But the more he'd thought about it, the more he suspected that only asking eighteen year-olds (well, and special cases), would result in less skepticism. Besides, even if Scott was of the opinion that some of the "underage" kids here weren't really kids anymore, that didn't necessarily mean he shouldn't at least try to help them get some of the last pieces of their childhood. "Wish I could say yes. I'd want you at my back any day, Noriko."
Well, the way he was saying it made it clear what was coming. Noriko's face closed down, before she prompted, "But."
"But I need the headmasters' backing. I need their resources, their expertise. I'm not sure I'll get it if I recruit people under eighteen." Scott admitted, feeling a twinge somewhere in his stomach at the look on her face. He squelched it, though, hard. It needed to be this way, for now.
"Right," Noriko flatly answered, as she was busy trying to digest that new development. Kids couldn't be any use, right? She could see his point, of course, and most kids weren't in any fit state to join that kind of a team. Most kids still knew how to be kids. It didn't make it any easier to accept that she couldn't help. "You do what you gotta do." She meant that, too. It wouldn't stop her from doing what she did with street kids. It wouldn't stop her from wanting to help. It didn't stop her from feeling rejected, right then.
Scott didn't react much, but the corners of his lips did turn down in frustration. "I will. But...shit, Noriko, you know I want you there. You're one of the most competent people I know."
"Sure," Noriko replied, for now unable to really hear that. It would come, but the rejection was still right there, way too recent for her to. She took in a deep breath. "But you do that. It's what matters." She couldn't feel it yet, but she knew it - she didn't matter, in the grand scheme of things. To be fair, she didn't even matter in the small scheme of things. Getting a proper team off the ground was all that mattered. Something better than that Canadian governmental bullshit. "Seriously."
He felt like an asshole, but there wasn't really anything to do about it. It was iffy enough, bending or outright breaking the self-imposed rules for Laura and Benjamin. Noriko would be a step beyond that, and he shouldn't take it, no matter the temptation. So he didn't, and he just nodded. "Yeah. Okay."
"Yeah," Noriko echoed, trying to make her voice less tight than her throat felt. "But if you ever need me, screw the rules, yeah?" She had to say it, at least once. That like fuck she would care about rules, and breaking them. If Scott needed her, for whatever, she would be there.
"Yeah." He offered her a hand to clasp. "Promise."
It was an oddly formal thing, to Noriko. Even out of this specific context, it would have thrown her. As it was, she took a few seconds before she reached out to shake on it, gauntlet and all. "Okay." She pulled her hand back, shoulders hunched slightly. "You wanna talk it over anyway?" She wouldn't enjoy it, but anything she could do to help. She hooked her fingers back in her pocket, feeling weird and off for that handshake. "Who're you gonna reach out to?"
He really needed to find a new way to deal with...people? Feelings? Probably all of the above. "Sorry," he muttered. Scott busied himself with polishing again, "And unsurprising suspects. The Braddocks, Lil. Maybe Curtis and that Simon guy. The Beaubiers."
Some of those were surprising suspects, but Noriko forced herself not to let that phase her. She stepped over to the bike, crouched on the other side of her so she could meet Scott's gaze. "You don't have to apologize." She might feel like shit right now, but she would get over it. Only one more year before she could get shit done? Or something.
"Yes, I do." He hated apologizing, but when he was in the wrong, Scott figured he should be man enough to accept responsibility for it. "I got your hopes up, and that's a dick move."
"It's just a delay," Noriko replied, although she could feel her disappointment, thick in her throat. "You turn me down in a year, I'll fry your ass."
At that, Scott couldn't help but smile. "I know you will."
"Count on it," she stated bluntly.
Noriko would have made a face at the thought of anybody saying she had a spring in her step and she was, in fact, still a long way from that. But she felt as if she might have a spring in her step, for how well things with Philip were going. So she was headed over to the garage for some more motorcycle maintenance time with Scott in a decidedly good mood, whatever that meant for her.
It certainly didn't make her greeting extra cheerful when she saw him by his bike. A simple "Hey," as usual, did the trick perfectly. "How're you doing?"
Scott glanced up from where he was crouched as she came in. "Hey. I'm alright." He stood up and wiped his hands off on a rag. "How're you?"
"Good," Noriko agreed, stepping closer to look at where he was at with the bike. "What's the plan for today?"
"Was gonna see if you wanted to take her out." He said, shrugging. "On the grounds, of course. I'm a bad enough influence without getting people arrested."
"Terrible influence," Noriko wryly agreed (although her wry was possibly slightly less wry than usual). She was always very aware of what it meant for Scott to let her ride his bike, and she reached out to touch gauntleted fingertips to her saddle. "You riding pillion?" she asked, lips quirked into a tiny smile.
It drove him nuts to ride second seat like that, but he nodded. It'd be easier to take control if something went wrong. "Sure. Just let me wash up so I don't cover you with grime." Scott made his way over to the small sink in the garage, turned the water on, and began to soap up his hands and forearms.
"You seem like you're in a good mood," he commented.
"It happens, once in a blue moon," she assured him in her usual dry manner. "Besides, I'm taking you for a spin." Definitely teasing, even if it didn't much sound like it.
Scott snorted. "Yeah, that must be it." Cleaned up a bit, he toweled off and then reached for his leather jacket.
Noriko just buttoned up her denim jacket (she didn't have any leather), by now used to doing it with the gauntlets - and it was a lot easier with those than with the mark ones. She moved over to the bike and grabbed her before pushing the kickstand up, wheeling her out of the garage before straddling her. "Are you gonna insist about the helmet again?"
"Absolutely, yes." He handed her his helmet, and then picked up his spare one for himself. She wasn't bad, but he wasn't confident enough in her skills to risk head-injuries.
Noriko rolled her eyes and put the helmet on, then turned on the engine and waited for Scott to settle in behind her, vizor raised in case there was anything he wanted to tell her.
Carefully, Scott straddled the bike behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Okay. Take her out easy, and then take the trail by the lake towards the back of the property."
"Aye aye," Noriko acknowledged wryly, closed her vizor, and got going.
"Well, you didn't kill us," Scott offered as he let go of Noriko's waist and climbed off the seat.
"It's all about positive reinforcement with you, isn't it," Noriko replied, sounding slightly more amused than she usually would've let show. She got off the bike and pushed her back inside the garage, kicking out her stand before taking off her helmet.
"You want a star chart or something?" Scott asked with a smirk. He carefully took off the spare helmet and set it nearby. Fixing his hair into anything not resembling 'baby chicken' probably wouldn't work, but he attempted to pat it down anyway. There was minimal success on that front, though. "Mockery is how I express my approval."
"Well now I've gotta ask you express your disapproval," Noriko pointed out as she put her helmet away.
"Depends on the person and what it is I disapprove of," he replied.
"Here's to hoping I never have to find out," Noriko simply replied, unbuttoning her jacket. "Thanks," she added, for the ride.
He shrugged awkwardly. "No need. There's a lot going on right now. And if it means I have to do a fuck-ton most of the time, and that I can't let up, it also means I want to get out on the bike that much more, you know?"
"Not necessarily behind me," Noriko pointed out, but she wasn't arguing. Scott was a big boy, and she was a big girl. She'd thanked him, and what he did with her thanks was up to him. "What have you been up to?"
"A lot of thinking, a lot of preparation," Scott admitting. He tugged his jacket off and tossed it on the work bench. "I've been working on what we talked about. Trying to figure out how to make it work."
"What are your thoughts?" Noriko asked, hooking her thumbs in her pockets. If she could help by being a sounding board...
"Honestly?" He shrugged and grabbed something, anything to polish and a rag. "I think we need to do something. Something more than reacting and PR. But I think I'll have to make some concessions to get it."
"Want help?" she asked, with a nod that meant with the polishing, but truth be told, she meant it about what they were talking about as well.
Frankly, yes. He would've liked Noriko's help. But the more he'd thought about it, the more he suspected that only asking eighteen year-olds (well, and special cases), would result in less skepticism. Besides, even if Scott was of the opinion that some of the "underage" kids here weren't really kids anymore, that didn't necessarily mean he shouldn't at least try to help them get some of the last pieces of their childhood. "Wish I could say yes. I'd want you at my back any day, Noriko."
Well, the way he was saying it made it clear what was coming. Noriko's face closed down, before she prompted, "But."
"But I need the headmasters' backing. I need their resources, their expertise. I'm not sure I'll get it if I recruit people under eighteen." Scott admitted, feeling a twinge somewhere in his stomach at the look on her face. He squelched it, though, hard. It needed to be this way, for now.
"Right," Noriko flatly answered, as she was busy trying to digest that new development. Kids couldn't be any use, right? She could see his point, of course, and most kids weren't in any fit state to join that kind of a team. Most kids still knew how to be kids. It didn't make it any easier to accept that she couldn't help. "You do what you gotta do." She meant that, too. It wouldn't stop her from doing what she did with street kids. It wouldn't stop her from wanting to help. It didn't stop her from feeling rejected, right then.
Scott didn't react much, but the corners of his lips did turn down in frustration. "I will. But...shit, Noriko, you know I want you there. You're one of the most competent people I know."
"Sure," Noriko replied, for now unable to really hear that. It would come, but the rejection was still right there, way too recent for her to. She took in a deep breath. "But you do that. It's what matters." She couldn't feel it yet, but she knew it - she didn't matter, in the grand scheme of things. To be fair, she didn't even matter in the small scheme of things. Getting a proper team off the ground was all that mattered. Something better than that Canadian governmental bullshit. "Seriously."
He felt like an asshole, but there wasn't really anything to do about it. It was iffy enough, bending or outright breaking the self-imposed rules for Laura and Benjamin. Noriko would be a step beyond that, and he shouldn't take it, no matter the temptation. So he didn't, and he just nodded. "Yeah. Okay."
"Yeah," Noriko echoed, trying to make her voice less tight than her throat felt. "But if you ever need me, screw the rules, yeah?" She had to say it, at least once. That like fuck she would care about rules, and breaking them. If Scott needed her, for whatever, she would be there.
"Yeah." He offered her a hand to clasp. "Promise."
It was an oddly formal thing, to Noriko. Even out of this specific context, it would have thrown her. As it was, she took a few seconds before she reached out to shake on it, gauntlet and all. "Okay." She pulled her hand back, shoulders hunched slightly. "You wanna talk it over anyway?" She wouldn't enjoy it, but anything she could do to help. She hooked her fingers back in her pocket, feeling weird and off for that handshake. "Who're you gonna reach out to?"
He really needed to find a new way to deal with...people? Feelings? Probably all of the above. "Sorry," he muttered. Scott busied himself with polishing again, "And unsurprising suspects. The Braddocks, Lil. Maybe Curtis and that Simon guy. The Beaubiers."
Some of those were surprising suspects, but Noriko forced herself not to let that phase her. She stepped over to the bike, crouched on the other side of her so she could meet Scott's gaze. "You don't have to apologize." She might feel like shit right now, but she would get over it. Only one more year before she could get shit done? Or something.
"Yes, I do." He hated apologizing, but when he was in the wrong, Scott figured he should be man enough to accept responsibility for it. "I got your hopes up, and that's a dick move."
"It's just a delay," Noriko replied, although she could feel her disappointment, thick in her throat. "You turn me down in a year, I'll fry your ass."
At that, Scott couldn't help but smile. "I know you will."
"Count on it," she stated bluntly.
