Retreat? Hell I just got here [Open]

[gabrielmonroe]

Gabe stood along the outskirts of the soccer field. He was dressed to run, in shorts, running shoes, and a tight black tank top, his already tan skin seeming brighter in the warm afternoon sun. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and things were quiet. He was off duty, and had originally planned to be home, relaxing his sore muscles in the bath, but at the last minute, he'd been asked to do a split shift. He could have easily said no, he didn't need the extra hours or money, but he took his job seriously, and they needed a guard around constantly, otherwise the little hellions would have the run of the place.

So he agreed, and instead of heading home, he was looking for ways to relax here in between shifts. Since he wasn't about to ask any of the teachers to borrow their rooms for a bath, he decided a run followed by a hot shower would do nicely as well. He'd found the track to busy, far too many students ambling around it. So instead, he opted for the soccer field. It was harder to run through the grass anyway, added more resistance, while the grass itself was better for his back than the pavement.

He stretched out his legs, and retied his shoes before he started running around the field. The first lap was slow, but by the second he was into a groove, and making good time. Gabe had been running as part of his training for years, he could keep this steady pace for hours. His breath came easily as he tuned out all distractions, concentrating only on the sound of his feet hitting the ground and his steady breath. After his sixth loop around the goalposts, his back began to protest. Gabriel's face crumpled for a second in pain before he forced it back to it's normal impassive look. He'd just started. Like hell he was letting some stupid injury dictate when he stopped and started his training routine. With so many things, he ignored the pain, running through it until he was hardly noticing it was there anymore.[/size]

[frank]

Frank wasn't a man of many vices. Good food, and good cigars, and he was happy. Unfortunately, working at a school meant he couldn't smoke as freely as he'd like. He had to hide it, and be creative about it. That was what had led him out here, to the soccer field. Leaning against a tree that was just beyond the field, he grumbled as he lit a cigar, and took a long puff.

Working here was never boring, was it? With all these crazy, rotten kids, it could be fun sometimes too. Of course, that was just because he was only cooking for them. He had to imagine the teachers and guards and med staff weren't so enthusiastic about the shenanigans they could get into. But, the way Frank saw it, they were kids. Kids would be kids, and they would do stupid things. It was part of being a kid, wasn't it? Though, he thought of a lot of the staff as kids too. Most of them were young enough to be his kids. Hell, the students were young enough to be his grandkids! But that was fun for him. Being the old man that he was, he liked having age over these kids, and being able to best them in at least that.

As he smoked, he watched a man run around the field. Frank thought he had to be just a kid, younger than his own. Watching him, a frown came over his face. What would motivate someone to run as he did, with single minded motivation? It was like watching a soldier. The frown deepened as pain flashed over the man's face. He didn't stop running, though, his face appearing normal just as quickly as pain had contorted it. Sighing, Frank started walking towards the kid, cigar held tight between his teeth. Stupid kids, pushing themselves even when it was clear they shouldn't. Pain was a sign to stop, not to keep doing whatever had caused it. Taking his cigar from his mouth, and staring down the kid, he raised an eyebrow. "Training for a marathon, kid?"

[gabrielmonroe]

Gabe's single minded thoughts were interrupted when someone called out. He didn't stop running, though slowed down, turning his head to see who had spoken. The only other person around was a gruff looking older man with a cigar in his hand. Gabe frowned slightly, there was no doubt that he was talking to him, but it had been a very long time since anyone had called Gabe a kid, so his first reaction was to assume that the man was talking to someone else. He was 34 years old for goodness sake, he was far from a kid.

Gabriel wasn't ready to stop running, but couldn't justify being outright rude to the man. He slowed to a walk and headed towards the man. Now that he was wasn't running the ache in his back had come back full force, and he was having a hard time ignoring it. He resisted the urge to brace his hands on his back, and kept it straight, too proud to succumb to what he saw as any kind of weakness.

“ No sir, just going for a run.” he replied, deciding since he had an excuse and had already stopped anyways, he could take a bit of a water break. He walked towards where he'd left his things, and popped the cap off his water bottle, taking a long swig before lifting the hem of his shirt to wipe off the few beads of sweat that had gathered on his forehead.[/size]

[frank]

Still moving forward, Frank scowled a bit. Damn crazy kid, running around the field. What would possess him to do that? It's not like he was playing a sport, or even just kicking a ball on his own. Hr was just running. Of course, it could just be a generational thing. After all, he didn't understand half the stupid stuff his daughter did, what with her organic vegan substitutions in the kitchen. Maybe the running was like that. Some stupid health thing that kids these days were all for. Jesus, was he that old? That he was griping about the way they exercised? Someone should just give him a walker and send him to a home already.

Frank looked at the kid, eyes narrowed a bit. He didn't seem to be in pain, but he knew that appearances could be deceiving. Still, he looked him over, looking for any kind of injury. Well, if he wasn't in too much pain, then he could go to the kitchen. With how he was running, he'd need some water, and food if his stomach could handle it. Maybe some stromboli, there'd been a batch cooling when Frank had come out. And whatever was wrong with this kid, good food would make it better.

Raising an eyebrow, Frank came to a stop near the kid. "Really? Do you usually run like that? It seems a little mental, don't you think?" Taking a puff from his cigar, he gave the kid his surliest look, the one that had always worked to get his kids to confess to whatever they'd done. "I saw you looking like you were in pain for a moment. Is that part of a normal run, kid?"

[gabrielmonroe]

Gabriel wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to respond to this man, or, more importantly, who he even was. Gabe may just be a security guard in this school, but he was used to commanding respect, years as a sergeant in the Marine Corps had him accustomed to getting certain treatment from people, regardless of if they were older than him or not. This strange little man barking at him, calling him kid, was far out of his comfort zone. He was torn, one part of him was still that sergeant, still a man who expected to be treated a certain way. The other part was his father's son, who was taught that his elders, no matter who they were, were his betters, and he damn well better treat them with respect.

He eyed the noxious smelling cigar clenched in the man's fingers, and resisted pulling a face, instead he stepped to the side and out of the thin line of smoke that was trailing from it's ends. He regarded the older man again for a second, before coming to his conclusion. Years in the army couldn't erase how he was raised. “ Yes sir, I normally run like this, and meaning no disrespect, but no, I don't find it 'mental' in the least.” he said with a little curt nod.

He was a little taken aback with the bluntness in which the man spoke of seeing him in pain. In general, he found that people tended to ignore it, opting not to mention it, as it generally made things awkward. Gabriel was annoyed, not with the man bringing it up, if anything, he tended to respect when people just spoke their minds clearly. No, he was annoyed with himself, that he showed any outward sign that his back was bothering him. He worked hard to conceal it. Clearly not hard enough. He would have to make sure do this more often, he'd been slacking as of late. It was unacceptable.

“ Pain? No, I'm not sure what you're talking about. I was fine. Could have gone for hours in fact. It was nothing but a small stitch in my side.” he said, ignoring the shooting cramping that was seizing his lower back as he spoke. So he downplayed the injury, he didn't think it was all that big of a deal. Just people making an unnecessary fuss. It was nothing that a hot soak wouldn't ease out.[/size]

[frank]

Frank knew that he was probably pissing off the kid. He just didn't care. He was old, he'd done his time being nice, and now he'd damn well speak his mind. Besides, these damn kids didn't know how to take care of themselves. Being as he'd done the whole 'parent' deal for a while now, he was pretty used to it. Some of them needed to be told to eat, others needed to be told to stop doing things that would hurt them. He thought that it'd be common sense, doing these things, but kids today seemed to be lacking in that. And since he had so much, he'd just have to share it with them. Taking care of these kids did make him feel useful, after all. It was almost like he wasn't just a cranky old man, and he had some sort of purpose. Not that he'd ever admit that out loud. He wasn't some kind of sissy, was he?

A scowl came over Frank's face, as he realized his cigar was almost gone. Damn it, and this was one of his last ones. He'd have to call Junior later, and have him send another box. And maybe another bottle of that scotch he liked. His son would have to send them to him. He'd tried figuring out how to use the internet to order them but it was just beyond him. He was too much of an old dog to be learning new tricks. Looking at the young man, he chuckled a bit. "If you say so, kid. It seems mental to me, but then again, I haven't ran in almost twenty years. So what do I know about how kids these day run?"

Now, if Frank was one thing, it was blunt. He didn't beat around the bush. Didn't see much point to it. It was easier, and faster, to just get whatever the hell it was that you wanted to say out. And it was just how he was. He could be brutally honest, at times, as he spoke his mind without thought. Come to think of it, that was probably what got him in trouble back when he was a kid. Now that he was an old man, though, people expected it. If he said something insulting, something completely out of line, it was accepted. He grew up in another time, they'd say. It was different when he was young, he'd hear. And, of course, he'd take advantage of that. He'd be an idiot not to, wouldn't he?

"Kid, I'm not new to this. I've got three kids and ten grandkids. Hell, I have a great grandkid now too. I know a lie when I hear one. Now, you're going to come inside with me, and sit down. You can have some lasagna, maybe something sweet after you finish that. Hell, I might even give you some wine. That is, if you don't throw a fit about it." Staring him down, it was clear that the old man wouldn't give up without a fight. Someone had to take care of these kids, didn't they?

[gabrielmonroe]

Gabe stood there, a little lost for words, he had no clue how to take this man, his gruff and demanding manner was so far out of Gabe’s comfort zone, it may as well have been another universe. For starters, the man was speaking to him as though he was a teenager. If being honest, people hadn’t even treated him like a teen when he was one, let alone when he was an adult. Gabe was a not a man who navigated social interactions well. He was strict, regimented, and had very set in stone ideas on how people and situations should be. He could find his way through things when they were within his realm of thinking. Put him outside of that narrow mindset, and he was at loss. When dealing with, for example, Andy, it was easy. The man wanted to fight with him, Gabe understood that, he could fight. Or when dealing with the students, they universally hated or feared him, another concept he could figure out. Or even the pretty social teachers peppy indifference, it made sense to him. This however, simply did not compute. It seemed odd, that a man who could be dropped behind enemy territory, in the line of fire and not blink an eye would freeze up when encountering one old codger. But this strange cigar wielding man, had done just that.

He fleetingly looked out back towards the field, half wishing he’d just ignored when the old man spoke to him. It would be far less complicated to be running right now. He could almost hear the steady pounding of his feet on the glass and the quick even breaths. He turned his dark eyes back to the old man, who’s own were narrowed in a sea of wrinkles, looking at him expectantly. Gabe recognized the stubbornness in the gaze. It was something he saw in the mirror every time he looked in one. He was not going to get out of this easily, if he was even able to formulate an argument against it.

The traitor part of his brain was working against him, casually tossing in that he was hungry after all, and a plate of lasagna would hit the spot. His turncoat stomach agreed, and Gabe was starting to think it would just be easier for everyone if he consented to the man. It wouldn’t be like he was giving up on the run because his back hurt, he was stopping because this guy was demanding it. It’s not the same, and Gabe could convince himself that it wouldn’t count as letting his injury defeat him.

That being said, he had to put a stop to this ‘kid’ thing. He may be willing to admit that blunt commands made by this individual made him abandon his exercise, but he was not willing to consent to being treated like a child. The man may be a great grandfather, but he wasn’t Gabe’s . He ran a hand through his hair and let out the smallest of sighs. “ I suppose some Lasagna would be nice, a man has to eat.” He fixed the man with his steely gaze “ The name is Gabriel though. Not ‘kid’.”[/size]