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Michael B. Gustavson (bonjour_benoit) wrote in la_vie_rpg,
@ 2008-07-16 14:55:00

A Café in the summer
Who: Michel OT Hans
When: Current
What: A Café, and a sense of déjà vu.

This particular café is a bit out of Michel's way, but he comes for the superior coffee. Sometimes he wonders how the owners manages to get such good coffee during wartime, but then he thinks better of it, and simply enjoys the coffee.

Today, he managed to get a window seat, and sat with his back to the wall and his legs on the window sill, crossed at the ankles. He alternated between reading his paper and people-watching while sipping his coffee.

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heil_hans
2008-07-16 05:19 pm UTC (link)

Hans made his way to the cafe for lunch, in a particularly foul mood. The shipments that demanded his attention were ridiculous- he could not believe the increase in supplies that was needed, and where the outgoing shipments were bound for...

It disturbed him, frankly, the jigsaw of logic his brain was trying to piece together. He wasn't sure he wanted to see the whole picture.

He glanced around the crowded cafe, and was beginning to think he might have to go all Nazi and commandeer a seat when he spotted Benoit, reading the newspaper, of course. His annoyance softened into amusement. How fitting that he'd be sitting there like this.

"Excuse, please - but may I join you?" Hans couldn't help but echo the words Benoit had spoke to him at their first meeting. "The other tables are full."

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	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-16 05:26 pm UTC (link)
	Michel glanced up, and upon seeing who it was, smiled. "Suit yourself," he said, gesturing to the open seat, and echoing Varner's words from their first meeting. He folded the paper, and put it beside him on the window sill. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-16 06:43 pm UTC (link)
	Hans settled at the table, and glanced across at Benoit. "Any good news?" he asked, indicating the paper that the Frenchman had just put away. "Gott in Himmel I could use some," he muttered. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-16 07:57 pm UTC (link)
	He sipped his coffee and glanced sideways at the paper. "Death, destruction, rationing... more of the same, I'm afraid." He put his cup down. "Life under the guise of war has become somewhat predictable." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-16 08:48 pm UTC (link)
	"So it has," Hans said, a weary sigh escaping his lips at the thought. He considered lunch, but he didn't really feel up to eating so much as he did for conversation. He rested his head on his hand and stared across at Benoit. "You should write me a story," he said, as if this had been the subject of conversation. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-16 08:52 pm UTC (link)
	Michel looked over the rim of his coffee cup at Varner as he took a sip and raised his eyebrows. He put the cup down again. "I should, should I? As you do not believe in happy fictions, should I aim for something merely less droll than reality?" He resisted a smile as he spoke, trying to maintain a look of sincerity. He wasn't sure he was succeeding. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-16 09:06 pm UTC (link)
	Hans shrugged. "I am not a storyteller, Herr Benoit. I cannot tell you how this should go." He tapped his chin in thought. "Though perhaps something with an elephant. I quite like them." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-16 09:08 pm UTC (link)
	Michel bit his lip to keep from laughing. "An elephant?" He thought very seriously (not at all) for a few moments. "I believe I can work with that." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

heil_hans
2008-07-16 09:18 pm UTC (link)

"An elephant," Hans said. "African or Asian, it matters not."

The corner of his mouth twitched in just a bit of amusement. Perhaps there was some sort of in-joke with his like of elephants, or maybe he just chose the most outrageous thing that came to mind at the moment.

"Ah good then- I will be interested to see what you come up with. Now tell me- how have you been? How is the theater?"

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	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-16 09:23 pm UTC (link)
	"It is doing well. Our shows this weekend are near capacity, which is always good. Makes for a fun performance." He shifted in his seat, drawing one knee up and resting one arm on it. "Now, about your French education - how much of the city have you actually seen?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-16 09:30 pm UTC (link)
	Hans straightened, withdrawing visibly from the question. "I had an... unusual tour or two," he said, trying to keep the edge from his voice. Marie-Pierre, the metro pig.. .the singing in the streets... "But not much, recently." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-16 09:33 pm UTC (link)
	Ah... I seem to have touched on a sensitive issue... perhaps the mysterious heartbreaker? He pressed on. "Unusual, as in you didn't see the usual tourist spots? The Eiffel Tower? Notre Dame? The Louvre?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-16 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	"I have never seen these," Hans admitted. It was all back alleys and nothing usual at all. "Should I?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-16 10:23 pm UTC (link)
	Michel barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "Mon Dieu, should you see them, they're quintessential Paris! Some of the very best things French culture has to offer. When is your next day off? We shall go to Notre Dame." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-16 11:49 pm UTC (link)
	"Saturday," Hans said, giving a faint trace of a smile. "Notre Dame though..a church..." He wondered if it was appropriate. He hadn't been inside a church in so long. He half felt that God would reject him even setting foot inside one. He frowned. "Perhaps the Tower?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-16 11:53 pm UTC (link)
	Michel shook his head. "Don't look at it as a church - look at it as a giant work of art." He looked at Varner. "If you have something against churches, however, it can wait, I suppose." He paused. "But you will leave your motorcycle at home. We shall take the Metro." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-16 11:58 pm UTC (link)
	"Ah, no... nothing against it I suppose. It will be fine," Hans said, more to himself than Benoit. He agreed readily enough with the idea of leaving the motorcycle behind. "The Metro, yes... provided there are no pigs, it will be a splendid trip." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bonjour_benoit
2008-07-17 12:21 am UTC (link)

Michel stopped, cup halfway to his mouth.

"Pigs? Oh, you will have to tell me that story sometime," he smiled, slowly raising the cup the rest of the way and taking a sip.

"So," he said, setting his cup down, "we shall meet at the theater, say, around 10:00, and go to Saint-Lazare from there. We will have to transfer at Réaumur—Sébastopol, line 4 is the only one that goes to Île de la Cité."

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	heil_hans 2008-07-17 12:24 am UTC (link)
	Hans chuckled. "It is not much of a story," he said. "Just that ... someone told me that he saw a pig struck by the Metro. Twice." He listened to the scheduling, and it made his head swim. "Ah, how about I meet you at the theater and then trust to your superior navigation skills?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-17 12:26 am UTC (link)
	"I've heard of dogs, but not pigs. And yes, we will trust my native Parisian skills to get us there. They have served us well in the past." Michel smiled and chuckled a bit. "They need to teach you how to read maps in the military." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-17 10:04 pm UTC (link)
	"I can read a map," Hans insisted, a bit indignantly. "Your city is just confusing in the layout." He flagged down a waiter to order a glass of wine. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-18 12:24 am UTC (link)
	He sighed, and then decided to concede the point. "I suppose I would be almost as lost in Berlin as you are here." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-18 08:47 pm UTC (link)
	Hans nodded. "There are many - Plattenbauten, forgive- I do not know the word in French - similar looking buildings, in some areas. I was lost when I first arrived there, but I was raised in the country so it was little wonder," Hans said, a somewhat wistful expression on his face as the thought of the grand city and his time there before the war. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-18 08:51 pm UTC (link)
	"Raised in the country? Really? The city must have been a shock for you." He snorted softly as he took a sip of coffee. "As a city rat myself, the country would be a shock for me." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

heil_hans
2008-07-18 08:57 pm UTC (link)

"My family is old aristocracy," Hans explained. "The title has been long lost, but we still have a palatial estate just outside of Weisbaden. The primary portion of the land around the house is cleared, but we have some woods - even a small pond."

He felt slightly self-conscious explaining this, and sipped his wine when the waiter brought it, glad of the distraction.

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	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-18 09:02 pm UTC (link)
	"How interesting. I wouldn't have pegged you for upper-crust." You're a lot nicer than most of the upper class Germans I've met. "So, you've done the country-to-city transition, and now the Germany-to-France transition. Which was more of a shock?" (Reply to this) (Parent)

heil_hans
2008-07-18 09:06 pm UTC (link)

"There is much that is not readily apparent," Hans assured him. "And... it was not like that."

He closed his eyes a moment, sipping from the wine glass. It wouldn't hurt to tell Benoit the story.

"First, after the Great War- the crust was not so 'upper'. Yes, we children had private tutors - but at times, we did not even have proper coats. You understand? They sold furnishings, heirlooms - my father, a too proud man. He lost his leg in the war and with it a lot of his good-nature...."

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	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-18 09:13 pm UTC (link)
	He nodded. "Seems your parents valued that a good education over material things. Not all upper-crust families would. There is, Herr Varner, a reason I was raised by a convent rather than family after my parents died." He paused, took the last sip of coffee, and set down his cup. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-18 09:16 pm UTC (link)
	"What reason is that?" Hans asked, curious. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bonjour_benoit
2008-07-18 09:23 pm UTC (link)

He shrugged.

"My father simply did not trust his siblings. You see, my grandfather built that theater from nothing, and he swore that his children would not go without as he did. My father, being the oldest by a number of years, was the only child to experience life before the theater was a great success. He had a work ethic... his siblings did not." He sighed and leaned back.

"Best thing he ever did was place the nuns in charge of my trust."

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	heil_hans 2008-07-18 09:26 pm UTC (link)
	"Ah, I see," Hans said, understanding that. "Your father did well by you." After a pause, he gave a wry smile. "My father, on the other hand - his major contribution to my future success was to use his status as a 'war hero' to secure me a good position in the Nazi party." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-18 09:29 pm UTC (link)
	Michel tilted his head. "He still did well by you, regardless. He gave you a good education, and a chance to use it. Besides, he may have gotten the opportunity, but it was still your choice to take it." He smiled. "Though if you had not, where would we be? We would not have met. Quelle horreur." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

heil_hans
2008-07-18 09:36 pm UTC (link)

Hans nodded. "There is that."

He did not want to get into the particulars of his relationship with his father, or why he had run away to Berlin and what had transpired when the returned. But he did want to clarify one other point.

"I did not come directly to France," he said. "First, to Poland. I fought, if you would believe this. I was promoted for this, to a position here, some eight months ago. Then promoted again once here..."

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	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-18 09:40 pm UTC (link)
	"Even so, you would not be here if not for your father's effort." He flagged down a waiter and ordered a glass of water. "I imagine that your current position is more comfortable than fighting on the front, even if it does lack the excitement of battle." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

heil_hans
2008-07-18 09:48 pm UTC (link)

Hans flashed Benoit an annoyed look - there again with the father's effort. "My father's effort," he repeated. "Hah. If you knew my father at all you would know it was as much for his sake as anything else. He certainly had no desire to have his only surviving son be anything but a strong representative of his legacy."

He grumbled, more to himself than anything, and took a sip of wine. "I disappointed him once, when I ran away to Berlin at 15. After I returned, he beat that disobedience out of me and assured that I would be a dutiful son and soldier."

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bonjour_benoit
2008-07-18 09:56 pm UTC (link)

"Even it was for himself rather than you, the point remains - you wouldn't be in Paris, at this very moment, without that."

He sipped his water and watched Varner for a moment.

"When you were 15, your father had a reasonable expectation that you would obey him. That doesn't excuse his actions - there is no excuse, ever, for beating a child - but it perhaps explains them." He sighed, propping his head on his hand and gesturing with the other. "But now... now, you're a grown man, your father be damned. If you don't want to be in the military anymore, don't be. Resign. It's your life, and your father has no claim to it anymore."

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heil_hans
2008-07-18 10:00 pm UTC (link)

Hans laughed, a bitter sound that had not much to do with humor. "Resign? Are you crazy? Do you really believe such things as resignation are possible in my position?"

He shook his head. "This is not one of your stories, where there is a happy end and we are all better off in the end. Resignation is at the end of a bullet, behind bars, or in a box, Herr Benoit. And I have no desire to go out any of those ways..."

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	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-18 10:03 pm UTC (link)
	"There is honestly no way out of the German military without dying or committing treason?" Michel didn't want to believe it, but these days, who knew? And he certainly was no expert on German culture. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

heil_hans
2008-07-18 10:08 pm UTC (link)

"Not that I am aware of," Hans said.

He lowered his voice. "This is war, and they are in it to win. This is the way of things, Michel, the danger of living in a time such as we do."

That he had addressed Benoit in a familiar fashion didn't register until the words were already out- and he made no effort to take them back. "This is our sad, sad world. And you wonder why I do not believe in the happy ending."

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bonjour_benoit
2008-07-18 10:13 pm UTC (link)

He smiled sadly. What a life he led.

"Our sad, sad world is all the more reason to believe in happy endings, Hans. If we cannot believe in them, and hope for them, what is the point of it all? What are we working for, if not a happy ending? Existence? A chance to stave off oblivion for another day?" He shook his head. "That is simply not enough. That is not life."

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	heil_hans 2008-07-18 10:24 pm UTC (link)
	Hans rose to his feet, not wanting to continue the conversation further. Not here, not now. "We will tour your city," he said, his voice thick with the emotions he was struggling to repress. "I will see you then. But for now, I must return to my existence." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-18 10:27 pm UTC (link)
	Michel blinked, confused, as Hans stood. There was something odd about his voice, Michel couldn't place it. "Perhaps.... perhaps someday, it will be life again." He tried for a smile, but couldn't quite make it. "Until Saturday." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-07-18 10:32 pm UTC (link)
	Hans nodded, curtly, saying nothing more as he paid for his wine and hastily departed the restaurant for the fresh air and the street. Only one he was outside and away did he feel he could breathe again. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonjour_benoit 2008-07-18 10:36 pm UTC (link)
	Michel watched him go. He gathered his things, left few coins for the waiter, and left for the theater, thinking about the conversation the entire walk. (Reply to this) (Parent)