InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm going to London!"

Hans Ernst Varner (heil_hans) wrote in la_vie_rpg,
@ 2008-07-06 20:49:00

Current mood:

discontent

Having Lunch
Who: Hans ot anyone
Where: a small cafe
When: Lunchtime , July 07 1941

Hans sat at the cafe nearest to headquarters, having a bit of lunch before he had to return to work. He'd been back at his job a week now, and while the paperwork was by no means physically strenuous, the hours were exhausting. Since the shooting, he tired easily and needed this afternoon break to get his bearings. He tried not to think of the Occitan Cafe, and how he'd enjoyed so many evenings there. It would do him no good to think of such things now.

Since Marie-Pierre left, the primary focus of his life had returned to work. He signed orders and requisitioned supplies as he was expected to. He did his job efficiently and without question. When he saw the strange fuel was coming in more frequently now, and the transports of deportees had likewise increase - he shoved any correlations to the back of his mind. It was not his place to trouble with the why - it was his duty as an officer to obey orders without question. He lost himself in this mindless activity, and was glad of the respite from the pain.

But at times like this, when he sat alone with his glass of water and small sandwich, the hurt came back full force.

He nibbled cautiously on his sandwich, as if he might choke on the feeling.

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bonjour_benoit
2008-07-07 11:45 pm UTC (link)

Michel walked into the cafe, intending to sip a small coffee at the bar before heading back to work early, when he spotted him.

He sat alone, with only a small sandwich and some water in front of him, and a look of quiet pain on his face. His coat may have been that of an SS officer, but, Michel reasoned, even the SS are human sometimes.

He picked up his coffee and made his way to the table.

"Excusez-moi, mon Herr. May I join you? The other tables are full."

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heil_hans
2008-07-07 11:51 pm UTC (link)

Hans glanced up from his sandwich at the man who asked to sit with him. A Frenchman, from the looks of things. He immediately wondered what the man wanted - to curry some favor perhaps, or maybe he was an informant.

He sighed a bit, hoping this was not the case. He had no desire to do work on his lunch break. "Suit yourself," he said, moving his plate and glass closer to himself.

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	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-07 11:56 pm UTC (link)
	He nodded, and sat down, draping his overcoat on the back of the chair. He slid the cup and saucer in front of him and opened the newspaper he bought earlier. Turning to the page he wanted, he folded it to the first article he wanted to read, and rested his hand on the handle of the cup. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

heil_hans
2008-07-08 12:01 am UTC (link)

Hans bristled slightly at the man's manners. To invite himself to sit at the table, and then to raise a paper and patently ignore his dining companion? These French people had no sense of propriety, he thought, and immediately felt guilty after for falling into such a mindset. Since the shooting, so many of his thoughts seemed cynical. It annoyed him that this was the first conclusion to which he had come.

Well, he certainly wouldn't be the one to break the silence- the man had, after all, invited himself to sit. If he wanted to be quiet and non-conversational, so be it. Hans busied himself with eating the sandwich, taking slow exaggerated bites and occasionally staring over at the annoyingly non-attentive Frenchman.

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bonjour_benoit
2008-07-08 12:11 am UTC (link)

The edge of Michel's lips quirked upwards as the German ate slow and exaggerated bites and shot annoyed glances at him. Why was he so offended that Michel did not speak? The man had sighed when Michel asked to sit, and Michel thought that he might enjoy a bit of companionable silence after days of people clamoring for the attention of the SS with complaints of rations and informants with little to no actual information.

If the man wanted to speak, he would have to speak.

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heil_hans
2008-07-08 12:15 am UTC (link)

Hans rattled the ice in his water glass, and took a loud SLURK from the drink. He cleared his throat as if a bit of ice had become stuck in it.

Maybe the man was afraid to speak with him. Or perhaps, this was his subtle means of resistance - the man might have nothing better to do than to go to cafes and sit at tables and annoy Germans over lunch. The silence was maddening to the point that Hans finally had to say something, anything.

"A nice day," he offered, the annoyance at having to be the first to speak making his voice a bit sharp. "Lovely weather."

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	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-08 12:20 am UTC (link)
	Michel looked up over the edge of his paper and the German sitting across from him, then glanced toward the window, and then back to the other man. "Indeed it is," he replied, folding his paper in half and setting it next to his coffee. He took a sip, and continued, "Summer is a lovely time of year in Paris." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-08 12:23 am UTC (link)
	"It seems so," Hans agreed, glad to be making conversation however awkward. He didn't speak to many people outside of work, and it showed. He sipped from his water, and wracked his brain for something to follow up with. What was it that strangers said to each other over lunch? An introduction, perhaps. Safe enough. "I am Sturmbannfuhrer Varner, and you are?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-08 12:26 am UTC (link)
	Michel raised an eyebrow. The man had absolutely zero social skills. "Michel Benoit," he replied. "Does the Strumbannfurher have a given name, or did his parents have uncanny foresight?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-08 12:33 am UTC (link)
	"Hans Ernst Varner, if you must..." He bristled at the edgy feeling he felt speaking his full name to a stranger. "And did you parents teach you manners?" he retorted, sitting up a bit straighter in his chair to stare across at the rude Frenchman. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-08 12:37 am UTC (link)
	"No, and neither did the Good Sisters of Our Lady," he said, smiling over his coffee cup. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-08 12:41 am UTC (link)
	Hans shook his head, somewhere between amused and annoyed at that. "I see," he said, and looked back down at his plate. The sandwich was finished save for the crust, which he did not care to eat, so no distraction there. "In Germany, we consider it impolite to ask personal questions of a stranger," Hans offered. "Especially upon first meeting." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-08 12:45 am UTC (link)
	"In France, one's given name is not considered personal information, and it is polite to give one's complete name upon introduction." He drained the cup, and flagged a waiter to ask for another. He could spare the expense today. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-08 12:51 am UTC (link)
	"Ah, that would explain it..." Hans had never learned this cultural difference, and he took the Frenchman's word for it. "And what is it that you do?" Hans asked, another typically German question. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-08 12:57 am UTC (link)
	"I manage a theater in the ninth arrondissement, and I write, when I have the time." He nodded thanks at the waiter as the coffee arrived, and slipped the required fancs into the man's hand. "And you, Herr Varner?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-08 01:02 am UTC (link)
	"Paperwork, primarily," Hans said, a low chuckle escaping his throat. "Theater - plays? Or other entertainments?" Hans signaled the waiter to refill his water while he was around. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-08 01:06 am UTC (link)
	"Plays, mostly, though it's becoming harder to keep the seats filled and my actors employed. I pay them regardless of the numbers, however, they've earned that much from me," he sighed. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

heil_hans
2008-07-08 01:10 am UTC (link)

"I enjoy plays," Hans said. "Though I have not seen one for quite some time..."

He sipped his water, expression distant as he thought about just how long it had been. What would it hurt to go see another? Certainly nothing- and it would give him something to do in the evening after work other than sit alone in his apartment and drink as was his habit of late.

"What are you showing now?"

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	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-08 01:18 am UTC (link)
	He leaned back in his chair, bringing his coffee cup with him. "Currently, we're staging A Midsummer Night's Dream, and I'm pondering staging Salomé next, but I do not know how well that would be received." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-08 01:54 am UTC (link)
	Hans smiled at that, an expression that lightened the lines of worry that frequently creased his brow. He took a moment to formulate the words in French, but when he spoke his tone was light. "The lunatic, the lover, and the poet are of imagination all compact," he quoted. "An excellent choice. I have never seen this performed, but I have read many times." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-08 02:04 am UTC (link)
	Michel smiled in returned as Varner quoted Shakespeare. "Perhaps you should come see it, then. We're performing it in the original English, however, I believe such plays lose a certain... je ne sais quoi in the translation. Wouldn't you agree, Herr Varner?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-08 02:13 am UTC (link)
	Hans frowned again- English being a language he did not speak. He'd learned the plays in German, and while he had also been trained in French and Latin, English was not among his studies. "I am afraid I know very little of that language," he said. "But I remember enough of the play that I will be able to understand contextually, yes?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-08 02:16 am UTC (link)
	"If you've read it a few times, yes, you should. Shakespeare is beautiful in any language, but I have a fondness for the original. We usually stage in French, but we always do Shakespeare in English." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-08 02:22 am UTC (link)
	"Someday I will learn," Hans promised. He had recently picked up Occitan from Marie-Pierre, after all - at least passably. Thinking of the memories of learning the kase's native tongue, of the evenings spent speaking to each other in their secret place clouded his eyes. His grip tightened on the water glass and he looked away lost in his thoughts. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bonjour_benoit
2008-07-08 02:28 am UTC (link)

Michel furrowed his brow and sipped his coffee as he waited for his companion to finish his thoughts. He understood the need to occasionally be lost in thought, and he did not begrudge the man these few moments.

The coffee was getting cold. Ah, well, such is life. He sipped it again.

He looked up at Verner as he looked back.

"I enjoy language, it's part of why I write. I speak French, naturally, English, German, Italian, and I am currently endeavoring to learn Spanish. It's a very lyrical language." The man deserved some privacy; Michel would not ask.

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	heil_hans 2008-07-08 02:46 am UTC (link)
	"I recently learned to speak Occitan," Hans offered, his voice distant. He trailed a finger down the condensation of his glass absently. "Tell me, Herr Benoit, when you write - do your stories have happy endings? Or are they more true-to-living?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bonjour_benoit
2008-07-08 02:50 am UTC (link)

He shrugged, sipping his coffee.

"Depends, I suppose, on my mood that particular day. I try to write happy endings nowadays, because I believe the people need them, even if they are only fictional."

He tilted his head and looked at the other man. Occitan obviously meant something to the man, and his eyes weren't exactly seeing the glass he was fingering.

"Tell me, Herr Varner, are you in need of a happy ending today? I am sure I could find one among my stories."

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	heil_hans 2008-07-08 03:16 am UTC (link)
	"I am no longer in need of such fictions, Herr Benoit," Hans said, a trace of bitterness in his tone. He had deceived himself into believing a happy life was possible twice now - he be damned to make the same mistake again. "In life there are no happy endings, only temporary respites from the tragedy. Some far more temporary than others..." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-08 04:59 am UTC (link)
	Michel shook his head as he drank the last dregs of his coffee. He smiled ruefully at Varner as he set the cup down carefully. "I do not know what happenstances have bittered you to life's joys so, Herr Varner, but sometimes, happy fictions are better salves for the soul than mediocre truths. I think you would do well to remember that." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

heil_hans
2008-07-08 05:03 am UTC (link)

The words caused an uncomfortable flutter in his stomach that he tried to blame on the sandwich. He stared over the table at the Frenchman a long moment, waring over whether or not he should reply to that - and if so, with what. Despite all the water, his throat felt dry.

"I would do better," he managed finally, "to remember the time. I should return to work before my absence becomes a problem."

He didn't get up.

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bonjour_benoit
2008-07-08 05:09 am UTC (link)

He smiled slightly as the moment stretched out and Varner did not move. If he'd known Nazis were so easy to fluster, he would have done this a long time ago.

"Perhaps." He rested his hand on his newspaper and slowly drew it off the table. He stood slowly, picked up his overcoat and draped it over his arm.

He bowed slightly towards the German, touching his fingers to his forehead in a mock salute.

"Adieu, mon Herr. Until we meet again." He turned to leave.

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	heil_hans 2008-07-08 05:20 am UTC (link)
	"Adieu," Hans repeated, turning his head slightly to watch the disturbing man go. Only then did he rise from the table, having the distinct unhappy knowledge that he would be late getting back to work troubling his mind along with everything else he was now contemplating. (Reply to this) (Parent)