Marc Russo (bluelined) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2017-01-11 07:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2020 [01] january, leo russo, marc russo |
Who: Marc and Leo Russo
Where: Their temporary housing in the Greenbelt
When: Backdated to 1/2/20
What: Talking about getting jobs
"There's a couple of things posted on the Freenet already," Marc said, sitting down at the kitchen table with two cups of coffee. "I was thinking about something close by." Marc pushed one of the cups across the table to Leo, then glanced out the window at the blue sky outside. The last time they'd been in Austin, they'd barely seen the sun; now they were sitting in housing, temporary or not, that was far beyond what they'd ever experienced, even in the Capitol. "Maybe the tattoo place that person told me about on my Freenet post." “What would you do in a tattoo place?” Leo asked curiously as he took the coffee mug that Marc slid over to him, lifting it to his lips to take a drink before he set it back down on the table. “And by close by are you thinking of staying in the Greenbelt?” In all honesty it felt strange taking on a job under an assumed name, not only that, but the last time Leo had been in Austin he hadn’t exactly been a contributing member of society. "Office stuff, I think. Paperwork, keeping track of everything, organizing." It was a far cry from the last official job he'd held so many years ago; Marc had never held a job that wasn't PD, actually, but that wasn't an option anymore. "It's in the neighborhood, yeah." Leo eyed his brother for a long moment before he said. “You hate desk duty,” he paused to take another sip of his coffee. “And I mean correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that basically what this is?” Leo wasn’t trying to talk Marc out of it, in truth he just couldn’t picture his older brother happily sitting behind a desk. “But, I guess jobs in the neighborhood aren’t many.” "They sure aren't." Marc paused for a moment, thinking, before he added: "I think a bunch of the Hellhounds work construction. That's what I hear on the streets, anyway. Could be another options, but I dunno if I want to get that close to them." That would be a risk working at the tattoo shop -- or anywhere in Austin, probably. But a better risk. This all felt kind of surreal, not just being back in Austin. But living in a house and talking about jobs like they might have before the outbreak -- had they been close back then. “Why don’t we leave that option for a last resort,” Leo replied. Marc laughed, nodding as he reached for his coffee again. "Sounds like a good plan." “You know I worked as a waiter back during college, when I wasn’t working at the gym, I thought I might check out that burger place and see if they’re hiring.” Leo continued. He had his reservations of course, the main one being they served alcohol and while he was sober now, it always lingered in the back of his mind how easy it could be for him to slip and fall into old ways. Marc took a sip of his coffee, then nodded as he set it back down. "That's also close by." It wasn't a requirement that they stay near, of course, but considering the circumstances of their current life, they'd both settled on the fact that it was likely easier to not overcomplicate things too much. "I can't even remember the last time I had an honest to God burger." “Yeah, like I said, there aren’t that many available jobs in in the Greenbelt,” Leo replied with a shrug. He hadn’t exactly enjoyed being a waiter and in truth he would have liked to get a job at Get Jacked, the gym in the LBJ district. The waiter job would be closer though, that was, if Leo managed to snag it. Leo almost had a wistful look on his face as talk turned to burgers. “God, I can,” he started. “It was the day before my last shift at the firehouse, back before things went to hell,” Leo looked across the table at Marc. “Maybe we should try the place out sometime? See if their burgers compare to that place that was down the road from Mom and Dad’s.” Leo had only ever been there a couple of times with Marc, and even then it had been because of family and not necessarily because the two had actively decided to grab a bite to eat together. "Yeah, that'd be nice." Marc aimed a reassuring grin in his brother's direction. The food had been good in Johnson City -- a hell of a lot better than living underground in the tunnels, that was for sure -- but a real restaurant and a real burger would be something else altogether. "We just gotta get these jobs first, then we'll have enough money. You want to go out this afternoon and go job hunting with me?" His mouth curved up in a smile and he nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that, especially if securing a job means money to have that aforementioned burger,” Leo chuckled. “I hear they make milkshakes also.” For so long Leo had thought they had had it pretty good in Johnson City, if someone had told him that Austin would have any of this he would have called that person a liar, and yet here they were talking about burgers and milkshakes that things were normal. “What do you think any of that even costs?” Leo continued, his curiosity piqued. The concept of money changing hands for anything had become so foreign to him that he couldn’t even begin to guess what anything costs now. Would prices have skyrocketed due to demand or would they be low because of the recovering economy in Austin? "God, who knows. Ten dollars? Fifteen?" Marc got up to retrieve the coffee pot and refill their cups, then took a seat. "We can take a look at the menu when we're over there. Maybe pick up a few things with our food stamps at that grocery store once we're done and try not to get too much sticker shock at either place." A quick ‘thanks’ was offered in response to the refill and then Leo pulled a face. “It’s insane but I think at this point I’d pay fifteen dollars for a burger,” In the grand scheme of things he had done in his life, paying an insane amount for a burger would probably fall close to the bottom of the list after all. “We’ll be there anyway so we might as well. I’ll go with you to Walker’s but I swear if that cashier starts flirting with you again I’m out of there, I still don’t get how I’m practically invisible in her eyes and yet I swear to fucking god the woman get’s heart eyes when she talks to you.” Said like a true little brother who couldn’t grasp why his older brother was getting all the attention. Marc laughed, shrugging good-naturedly. He'd always had good luck with women, and he figured that the current situation of his life was no reason to let that stop -- even if his heart wasn't really in it. "I'm much better looking, that's why." “Uh huh, you just keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night,” Leo fired back with a smirk plastered on his face. Good natured ribbing like this almost made everything else seem less charged surrounding their return to Austin. Marc took another sip of his coffee as his eyes drifted past Leo's shoulder and over to and through their kitchen window. The sun was shining, and it almost looked as though the trees outside their apartment were starting to sprout a healthy amount of leaves. The ground outside wasn't scorched and brown, either; the city looked better than he'd ever known it to be. It was hard to not recall the way things had been the last time they were in this city, and for the first time since they'd returned, Marc couldn't help but feel nervous about going back out into it. "It's gonna be good," he said then, unsure if he was reassuring himself or Leo. "We're going to make this work as best as we can." Leo stared down into his cup of coffee for a moment as he considered Marc’s words. They had come back here from Johnson City not truly knowing what sort of city they were coming back to. In truth he had half expected a place that still seemed as if death clung to every nook and cranny, and yet, that wasn’t Austin anymore. The city was being reborn daily and Leo still wasn’t certain how he felt about that. “Wouldn’t have followed you back here if I didn’t think we’d make it work,” he finally replied. “We’re Russo’s so of course we’re going to make it work, might feel a few growing pains, but we’ll get through it.” "Exactly." Marc put on a smile and aimed it across the table at his brother. "Besides, I think we know a trick or two by now." “Or twelve,” Leo added with a chuckle as he peered back at his brother. They had definitely learned how to survive, there was no argument there. |