Oh he’s handsome, in a rugged way…
Who: Boromir, Sigrun, and Shepard What: a Military charity event When: Last Week Where: Around Status: complete Rating: PG-13 for Shepard
Boromir hated this part. Well he loved it. He did like to look so good in his uniform after all. Snappy and polished. And he enjoyed rubbing elbows with the elite. Okay he didn’t hate it at all!
And it was a charity thing so there was bonus to his public image.
Sigrun hated these. Even as a retired NCO she was still required to show up and say hi and do her bit. So she dragged her dress uniform out of the closet, shined everything up perfectly, and pulled her hair back into a severe bun (that, she liked), and headed to the charity event.
It was charity. She was ‘ok’ with it. Still she couldn’t wait until they let her off the hook for these things. She ran into a dozen people she knew who were all upset at her for retiring, and she bore under this with the best stoicism she could muster. Until she found her way to get a drink. Or food. Something so she’d stop having to talk. “Apologies.” she offered as another person bumped her into a gentleman.
Boromir managed to save his precious drink and even more precious medal, and turned to glower at the woman. Right. Polite. He could do polite. “Accepted. It’s too crowded in here. They must have invited everyone with brass in the state.”
“Oh don’t glower.” she returned the stare, blue eyes crystal clear and sharp as a razor. “I think they invited everyone who they thought was useful enough to their cause. Although there is an over abundance of brass here tonight.” her lips quirked into a slight smirk, as she found herself a drink to stave off too many more people.
Boromir shrugged his shoulders, looking around at the crowd. Really, if someone wanted to make a statement this would be the perfect place to do it, and he felt suddenly a little paranoid. He much preferred more open spaces. “Those who have the money and those who know those who do.” Boromir was cynical about the idea. It was better to teach people to help themselves.
“Neither of which appeal to me.” she had money. but she hated it and didn’t depend on it to get by. She liked working, and busting butt to get somewhere. “These events are always packed with those kind of people.” her free hand came out. “Sigrun Gard, nice to meet a fellow cynic.” she grinned.
“Boromir,” he replied, taking her hand in a strong grip. “Soon to be Congressman if things go my way.” Maybe he could get an ally, a donation, or a vote. Even a friend would help. Especially an attractive one. He could hook her up with his brother (Boromir having no time for relationships and not wanting to risk scandal, no matter how hot a woman was.)
Her grip was strong and firm. "Is that so?" She took a sip of her drink and have him an appraising once over. "I can see that I think." Sigrun smiled. "How is that plan coming along then?".she asked genuinely curious. Military people could get her vote, if she found herself on the same train of thought anyways.
“Up and down, things are close enough that it might be a squeaker. In my favor.” He grinned at her, boldly, as though such pronouncements were mandatory. “I’ll thread the needle in my district.”
"I look forward to seeing you succeed then, Boromir. Always nice to have such confident folk in the government." A light grin curled her lips. "Enjoying politics? Honest answer, sir."
“I love it. Sometimes it’s tough,” Boromir replied, puffing out his chest. “But I love it. I feel like it’s where I belong now. There’s more work than most people realize, but I’m happiest when I’m up to my eyeballs in it.”
She nodded. "As long as you've found your place in this world then it works. Is good to hear of a politician enjoying the hard work." Inflating egos was part of her old job, it came naturally.
"It's where I belong. Leaves me little time for a social life but I try to make time for my brother." Other than politics and the army, his brother is the most important thing in his life.
"I have often been told family is important. I have none myself so I don't know first-hand, but it is admirable to make time when you must be busy." Sigrun tested the water, trying to see what fate had in store for him but it wasn't working, which was probably a good thing.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, honestly. Family was important to him as dysfunctional as his was.
And it was probably a good thing considering he had pincushion in his future dreams.
"It is no fault of yours, they are spread far and wide but I was that weird solitary kid. The marines became my family until I retired." She was being honest, she was not sure how she'd handle family now, more that her dreams made her realize she was more or less on her own anyways.
"The military oft does that," he said. It was an odd turn of phrase but he'd had weird dreams lately. He didn't think much of it.
"Even if I ended up in the section no one loves." She laughed softly, although it came out a touch icy. She was enjoying normal conversation for once. She'd have to harass Shepard and Hela to get her head out of this normal place soon. It was weird for her.
Boromir nodded, and didn't pry. Even if he had the clearance (and he might) the ice was obvious. He knew enough to avoid certain landmines and pissing off a woman was never a good landmine. At least she wasn't saying or doing anything that might piss him off. But he was probably one accidentally sexist comment away from trouble. "At least it gave you a place."
She grinned lightly at him. “It did.” he could ask if he wanted. She’d even tell him. The ice was because she knew everyone hated her position. Oh well? Right. Right. “Mm not many people enjoy the company of a MP, especially one who has no qualms tracking someone’s ass around Africa to catch them.” she figured he’d wanted to ask but not pry. Ah military life. “Pretty sure the Marines threw a party when I retired the first time, played taps for themselves when I came back then threw another party when I left again.” she laughed softly.
Boromir snorted. “That’s all? From your tone I thought you were involved in wet works.” Boromir was a proponent of law and justice and even the military wasn’t exempt from that. He actually liked MPs. “More than once I’ve had the MPs bring in men who stayed too long at drink.”
“Sometimes it certainly felt that way. I got all the tough cases. You know, the ones who fled off base and went AWOL in some foreign country. I started like everyone else, bringing in the drunks, but they liked me and sent me after the actual idiots.” she laughed a bit. “Favorite was tracking someone halfway across a desert because they didn’t know how to use their stupid compass or the stars to get to civilization and had taken off in the wrong direction.”
“I would have paid to see that,” Boromir said, truthfully. “And been the one to give him the reprimand of his lifetime.” He suffered fools not at all!
"He got an earful on the way back. Making me trek all the way across a desert. He was not a happy camper when I was done." She grinned at him.
“Good! When I get started with a good reprimanding it can last a long time. And when they start to slouch or look bored, then I really let them have it!” The highlights of his career. At least the ones that didn’t involve artillary.
"I don't know what they teach them these days but I swear they went soft on them. I remember respecting my job and my superiors, not being a punk." She laughed softly.
“It’s a bad thing, for our military readiness. We need more people like you. You said you’re retired? What did you retire to?” Obviously not politics.
She nodded lightly, she agreed. "A nice quiet life in the hills. Haven't truly decided in what I want to do next, but I've earned a little downtime. Injury forced the second retirement, so there's that." A lie easily told because it was more half truth than full lie but you don't tell politicians you're basically a mercenary, that's just bad form. "Hopefully the ones I trained will stay the course. They were good people. So there is hope for our military yet."
“There had better be,” Boromir grumped. Sometimes he wondered if they ought to instate mandatory service. It would be good for the youth of the nation to learn sacrifice and duty - and boot camp could do wonders for the obese.
She smirked at the grump. “Now now, politicians don’t grump.” she teased gently before smiling a bit. “I genuinely hope so. Youths these days don’t understand how good they have it. A little service wouldn’t hurt them.”
She was right, politicians don’t grump, but that just made him want to grump even more. “Try to get mandatory service time out of committee with your career intact.”
Sigrun smiled. "Of course, no one wants to be forced into it. But Greece has mandatory service, so do many others and it works ok for them, we're spoiled here in America." Grumpy bad.
“I’ll have to run it past my advisors.” And his brother, and see what Faramir had to say about that. Faramir was his ‘go to hippy liberal’ after all. For needle threading!
“It’ll never fly - the spoiled rich kids parents’ would freak out about their precious little babies being forced into service.” she said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. “It’s a nice dream, though, I would enjoy seeing it happen, I’d rejoin again to help whip people back into shape.”
“And then find a way to get them out.” Boromir wrinkled his nose. He was a spoiled rich kid but at least he put his life where his (very loud) mouth was. It was a constant source of irritation on him. More than once he’d had some one yelling in his face about war and soldiers and rich people. So he’d yelled right back.
“Yep, pretty much. They probably would get the most out of the service, too.” she knew rich, she had money, but she didn’t consider herself spoiled. There was always a difference. Rich didn’t mean spoiled. Spoiled didn’t mean rich. But spoiled and rich always made her cranky. “They get away with a lot, anyways, they could use some discipline.”
“A fantasy for another time, perhaps,” Boromir said. He’d had a really vivid dream recently. Medieval, where every man served. He liked that that. He liked bellowing orders, and goddamn he liked swords.
“Indeed. Shame, but it’s how things work right now.” she said softly and looked out over the crowd for a moment. Then sighed softly. She’d had some vivid dreams, she loved them though. Magic, fighting, and all that fun stuff made her life so much more thrilling.
“We should take this conversation to a quieter place,” Boromir decided, looking around. “Or at least one less crowded.” The way that could be taken hadn’t occurred to him. His brother wasn’t here to keep his mouth shut.
Sigrun however took it like a lady, which is to say, not on the wrong way. "Fair enough." Sigrun hadn't hung around Shepard enough yet to get her mind stuck in the gutter..
Yet. Shepard was around here somewhere and if she saw Siggy leaving with a man? Oh ho!
Boromir nodded his head and gestured for Sigrun to follow him. He was a broad shouldered man and the crowd parted before him as though he were a plow and they snow.
Sigrun used her best tactics to avoid her new boss. Yep. She had no desire to hear that one all week.
She moved effortlessly behind him, where add he was broad she was tall and all but commanded people to stay out of her way which all but promised that her boss would see her. Oh lordy.
Shepard, in fact, intercepted her at the door after Boromir passed through, but before Sigrun could. “Oh he’s handsome, in a rugged way…” She patted Sigrun and slipped her a condom.
Sigrun rolled her eyes. "Thanks but no." She slipped it right back. "He's married to politics which, for the record are what we're talking about." Internally she was head desking, she shoulda known.
“Yeah? So? Doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fling. Unless he’s married, than that’s a no-no.” She clapped sigrun on the back. “Come on, let him pack your basket.”
She just stared, sighed and shook her head. "Oh good Lord" she heaved a sigh and headed after Boromir, lord have mercy. Her cheeks were a little red when she caught up with him.
He looked at her as she caught up. “Old friend? She seemed pretty eager to talk to you.” And the woman looked familiar, for reasons he couldn’t place. He must have met her before.
“Not so much old friend as newer friend.” and woman who’s gonna drive Sigrun to drink. “Don’t ask, you don’t want to know.” she said laughing softly, head tilted to the side a bit.
Well he wanted to know and he looked like he would press the matter but the look on her face stopped him. “She certainly seemed eager to talk.”
“That’s friends for you, isn’t it?” she kept the ice in her eyes, oh he could press the issue if he wanted. He’d meet the solid ice wall that could be Sigrun. She offered him a bitter smile.
“You’re right.” Still she’d seemed like an eager beaver and had the air of someone that Boromir would rather punch than talk to.
Somedays Sigrun figured she’d rather punch Shep than talk to her. If only because the woman had really taken it on herself to find Sigrun a place to find people. It felt awkward. But she liked her boss one way or another. “Often why I keep myself free of them.” she laughed, a touch less icily.
“I prefer to work rather than surround myself with friends. They’re a distraction, though having one or two is not a bad thing.”
“You certainly seem the type.” she said evenly, then shrugged gently. “Sometimes a distraction is necessary. And, having friends makes you more relatable to people.” a tiny smile.
Now that was advice he could consider, even if he looked for a moment like he's swallowed a lemon. Boromir? Relatable? Hardly. "I suppose that is important." Like he was just allowing it.
She laughed softly at his look. “A bit, if you want the votes.” she grinned. Sigrun sometimes had good advice.
“Yes…That’s very much true.” She was right, and he knew it and he could appreciate that even if it grated on his nerves. He briefly considered trying to hook her up with his brother, and was trying to decide just how to bring up the idea. Maybe some other time.