Dante "Inferno" Zaragoza - Death'll find you... (xolotl) wrote in repose, @ 2019-12-30 18:50:00 |
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Okay so? Looking at her phone. Staring at it really. Wasn’t going to make this go any faster or any easier. Her dad was a wonderful, beautiful man with a deep, rich and generous soul but… Learning his baby girl had bought a shop and was planning on sticking partway across the country for a little while? That. That probably wasn’t going to go so well. There was a heavy sigh as she turned her phone over on the table to face down, away from her. It didn’t actually help anything. Dante could still feel the electric currents carrying signals and data and information all across everything. All this was doing was delaying a conversation she needed to have. Fuck she hated those “need to have” talks. Especially, when they involved her dad. Anything that would hurt or upset him she’d always tried her best to not do. That was why he didn’t know about her vigilantism and she hadn’t consulted him before having her leg replaced. Sure, the mess that happened when he finally saw her walking around like nothing had ever happened at all had been… a thing… but everything had worked out then and clearly, if they could work things out then they should be able to work them out now. That thought helped steel her and the phone was reached for. Hector loved her. Possibly more than anything else in this world and she loved him at least that much in return. There was a reason why every year he ended up with some new piece of #1 Dad merch before the year was through. Dante sighed as eyes roamed over the phone, a hand hovering above it for a moment before the appendage would fall palm down on the table. A slow steadying inhale was taken. It would be simple. There weren’t a lot of shops on Brooklyn. The job in The Capital - as she’d told her father - was a step to owning her own shop and now she owned a shop. He should be expecting this. Everyone had always seemed to think it was going to happen eventually anyway and…. There was a surge of her body forward as the phone was snatched up and flipped over. Fingers rapidly flew over the screen and before she could have a second thought about all of this the line of her father’s phone was ringing. Here was hoping he was actually available to talk. Maybe I should get a cat...The stray though pranced through Hector’s mind as he looked around the house. It was empty, so very empty. Sounds echoed more loudly between the rooms than they did when there were other people living there. Even when his daughter was going through the worst time of her life (and admittedly the worst time of his as he tried everything he could to help her), there was still a feeling, a presence, of life that was no longer there. Now the only life that filled it was his own, and at 49, it wasn’t quite as full of vitality as it could be. He missed his daughter, now more than ever. At least before, she could show up at any time with minimal difficulties. Hell, he could have, and did, visit her randomly after she had originally moved out. Days he just so happened to be on her side of town, days when he had nothing else to do, even days when he had to go out of his way to find a reason to show up at her doorstep. These days, it would be much more difficult, considering Capital City wasn’t that close to Brooklyn. Because of this, the place felt even emptier. He tried figuring out a way to make visits easier and less expensive through various means, but he couldn’t. Unfortunately, that left him in a bit of a predicament when it all came down to going home for the night or day. The house was always empty and quiet when he returned. Once or twice he tried leaving a radio on, but inevitably he forgot he had done so and freaked out upon arrival, thinking that someone had broken in. He would immediately get into a fight stance each time, prowling around the house with newly created sword in hand. Thankfully he learned after the first couple times that this was not a good idea, else he may have ended up with far more weapons than he knew what to do with. Hence his contemplation of getting a cat. Or a rabbit. Maybe a lizard. Something to bring some life into the house that wasn't a plant. He couldn't grow plants. They always died. Yet part of him was rejecting the idea because of his incredibly long hours away from home. If he were just working, maybe taking a couple of extra shifts on the weekend, or perhaps only going out at night every once in a while instead of every night that he wasn't working a double or a night shift, then it would be different. Leaving an animal at home for 16 hours a day just seemed cruel and unfair to it. Maybe he wouldn't get a pet, then, and just have to deal with having this house to himself. It was hard living alone. No wife, no daughter, just Hector and his own mind. At least he had learned to cook, though mostly out of necessity due to his abilities. Maybe he should pick up a hobby… His thoughts were interrupted by the song, "Lullabye" by Billy Joel. I think you know what I've been trying to say I promised I would never leave you And you should always know Wherever you may go No matter where you are I never will be far away Before the call disconnected, Hector answered the phone, knowing exactly who it was because no one else had that ringtone in his phone, and no one ever would. "¡Hola! Como estas, mija?" His voice was bright and cheerful, broken from the echoes of being alone like he was all the time these days. He loved hearing from his daughter any time, and would always start the phone call asking how she was doing. “¡Hola papá! Bien y tú?” Hearing his voice always brought a sort of relief Dante would never be able to put into words. The smile across her face was sad, knowing the news she had to deliver was practically breaking her own heart never mind what she knew it was going to do to his. Fingers wrapped a bit tighter around the cords of the hoodie she wore. It was one she’d lifted from Hector’s closet before leaving the house but since moving out of Brooklyn it’d become an even greater staple of her life. This wasn’t easy and she hadn’t been expecting it to be but…. The further away she chased Spider, the safer her father was. Hector always loved hearing from his favorite person in the world. It didn’t matter what the conversation was about, as long as it wasn’t a bad situation, like her being sick or hurt or lonely. His day, without fail, brightened considerably each time. Though, he would never admit that having her on the other side of the country was a less than ideal situation. “Bien, gracias! Que pasó? ¿Como está el clima?” Some may say that Hector has the gift of gab if they heard him talking to his daughter on the phone because of how long he could spend talking to her about nothing of any sort of importance. If any actually asked, he would tell them it was because he missed the sound of his daughter’s voice. He spent so much time talking with and listening to her while she was growing up that it almost became a sound that he expected to hear daily. Which is probably part of why the house felt so empty. Unless she spent time and money traveling, something he would never ask her to do for worry of leaving her without funds, there was no chance that the house would ever soak in that sound again. Speakerphone didn’t quite cut it, either. “Es bueno.” She’d answer how the weather was first even if it was honestly not her bag. Dante missed New York winter’s in all their slushie cold and snow-ridden awfulness. If she was in New York that would mean she’d be able to spend the holidays with her dad and… ‘Do you have plans for revolution day?’ was what she wanted to ask but… With the paperwork from the shop being finalized…. And her having handed over the money to Edward to purchase the shell of the shop…. “¿Y tu clima?” How she missed his voice. The drawstring of his hoodie was twirled around one of Dante’s fingers as she spoke. Damn it self. “Bueno,” he stated, falling into the comfortable rhythm of talking on the phone with Dante. Hector was happy that weather where she was was good. He hoped that she was happy where she was. “It’s been warm and cold here. I wish the weather would pick one.” There was no bitter tone, or even a hint of annoyance. It was simply stated as a matter of fact. Hector liked all of the weather types, but constantly switching between seasonal clothing was less than fun. “It never does in New York, just like the people.” There was a giggle with the words. “You’re asking for miracles again, papa.” Dante wasn’t even religious, not really, not in a traditional way, but god did she miss her father. It was hard talking to him even because it reminded her about places she’d rather be, things she’d rather be doing, a life she’d rather be living that she’d never have. “Work going okay?” It wasn’t meant to be a lead in, it was meant to just be a general question to ask about Hector, about his day, about his life, about all the minutes and days and weeks and months she was missing being so very far away. She was going to have to miss more too… At least a year, probably two... Technopathy was used to mute the phone while she cleared her throat and reached for a glass of water to take a long sip from. She didn’t need to start crying before their talk was even over and damn it she was going to do everything she could to make sure she didn’t. Only after letting Hector speak and taking a moment to make sure tears weren’t threatening anymore would she unmute her side of the phone again. She was right, and he knew it. Multiple decades in the city taught him that there would never be a time when the weather would make up its mind, nor would there be a time when the people would all act the same way. One person could be complimenting someone while another is simultaneously cursing them out. “I know,” he said. “Work is fine. Got a new person that the guys are training. Had to replace Shawn after he retired, so they brought in someone young and impressionable.” Although unspoken, Hector wondered if the new person would end up taking Hector’s position one day, much like he had all those years ago. “How’s work for you?” His admittance earned a somewhat sad smile. Hector needed a vacation, deserved a vacation. That was what she’d do once all of this was done. Dante would take her father on a vacation. When Spider was dead and she wasn’t madly obsessed with her ultimate outcome Dante would come home, she’d heal, and then she’d take Hector on a month long vacation. They’d go all the places he’d ever wanted to go, she’d find a way to foot the bill. They’d go, they’d travel. She’d figure out how to work airport scanners with her leg later but… “Aww, not Shawn.” A beat. “But I’m glad he’s finally getting to relax some.” Another pause as she listened and…. Oh. There was the question that made her stomach drop. “Kinda messy actually, I quit working for Mike.” There was a long consideration - but not too long, she knew Hector would start the third degree in seconds with his journalism degree - before she’d speak again. “So…. Good news, bad news.” A pause. “Which do you want first?” Dante’s heartbeat picked up and a biometric scanner signaled her before it was tossed a dirty look. Yeah, yeah, this sucked. She didn’t need machines telling her this sucked too. "Yeah, he could have had a slightly less physical job if I wasn't there and had my position, but he wouldn't have wanted that. He liked getting his hands dirty more than any of us." There was an unspoken continuation to that thought of, Almost cost him his hands a few times, too. Hector waited a few moments after Dante said she quit. He was ready to probe for information in a moment, but his patience bore fruit. "Rip the bandaid off to tell me the good news." It was a convoluted way of telling her to explain why she quit, which he assumed led to some form of the good news. He wasn't upset, and his tone was carefully controlled to make that clear. He was interested, intrigued, and potentially a bit hopeful. Belief that his daughter never did anything without a good reason, as she was raised, prevented any sort of negative response. “He always was the first one with his hands in things.” The factual comment was made wiIth a sort of fondness. His willingness to jump into understanding the work and getting things up and running again was part of why Dante had liked Shawn and had kept up with his many adventures - and sometimes misadventures - through tales from her dad. Silence would fall between them at the question for a moment. “I bought a shop.” The sentence was abrupt and now she could feel her body tense, her breathing stopping, her gut dropping to the floor with the admission. He was the first person she’d told and there was some strange sort of cold dread that came with that. "Thankfully he was good at it." People less devoted and talented than Shawn had lost digits before. But the man wasn't without his faults, of course. A propensity for yelling at machines when frustrated or tossing tools on the ground and walking away. Shawn never hurt anyone, though. A small part inside had hoped the good news had been she was coming home. That part may have crumbled a bit, but it was entirely overwhelmed by his joy that Dante had gotten her own shop. "That's amazing, mija! I'm so proud of you!" “That’s why you kept him around.” There was a little bit of cheekiness behind the words too, she knew full well Shawn could nearly give her dad a heart attack at times but the guy was good, real good. Dante had taken more than a little inspiration on how to approach things from him if she were honest. If you knew what you were doing then you went and did it. End of story. “Thanks dad.” It was clear by her tone the victory was - at least a little - pyrrhic for her. “I probably can’t make it home for Thanksgiving, Revolution day, or Christmas this year. We’ve just finalized the paperwork and there’s a lot of work to be done.” Quickly. “That’s the bad news.” And it was obvious that she wasn’t happy about any of that, the thought had gotten her down before she’d even called him but… She owned a business now. Even if it felt like the strangest fucking thing ever. This hadn’t been part of the plan. It was true. Flaws aside,Shawn was one of the best workers that he had. He worked hard, was rarely late, and called out even less than that. If there was anyone who could be described as dedicated to the job, if not more, as Hector, it would have been Shawn. There were plenty of other workers who pulled their weight, but Shawn was different. “It was. I hope his replacement will do even half as well.” There was an odd inflection on the word “replacement”. No one could truly replace Shawn, but it was the term used in business. As far as Hector could recall, no one else in the family had owned their own business. While Hector and his siblings had been the first generation to go to college, the other three worked for corporations, much like he did. “It’s okay that you won’t be able to come home. Maybe I’ll be able to come out after the new year and we can do our own belated celebration.” He was a little saddened that Dante would be able to come out for the holidays, but it was just one time. It wouldn’t be the end of the world. “Same.” Dante would offer in agreement to her father’s assessment of who would come after Shawn. Whoever it was, they didn’t have small shoes to fill, that was fucking sure. “I’m staying at the motel in town right now while getting things checked out but I’ll totally have a house with a guest room for you to stay in by New Years if you wanna come out.” Another short term goal she’d need to work towards and quickly. New Years was less than two months out now and Dante barely felt like she knew what she was trying to do day to day… The whole thing was added to the ever-growing list of crap she needed to finish in her own head. But! If Hector was willing to come out around then that meant she wouldn’t have to wait another six months before seeing him and! Oh. That was hope. Hope was dangerous right now. “It’d be great if you could come out.” She’d finally settle on instead of any of the other things streaking through her brain. If he could visit maybe it’d make this whole small town thing bearable at least. While a motel wasn’t necessarily the kind of place that Hector wanted his daughter to be living in, at least it was a reliable, if potentially expensive, roof over her head. He was glad to hear that she was working on finding a different place to stay, regardless of whether or not he wanted to stay with her if he ever visited. He could always stay in the same motel if it came down to it. But what he really wanted for his daughter was some sort of normalcy, of regularity, as opposed to constant flux. If she could find a place to settle down at, that would make him happy. “We’ll see if I can make it out there in time. You know how it is with the holidays and the factory.” Always an increase in output demand, which inevitably led to machines needing more work. An idea began to percolate in his mind, however. One which made it much more likely that he’d be out there in time for the holidays. “I’ll do my best to get out there by New Years, but it may be a couple days after that.” If Hector had his way, it wouldn’t just be Shawn who needed a replacement trained. |