"Especially since ten years ago for you is like, what, twenty-five or something?" Miguel said. He was a little fuzzy on how far back Dwight was from. "So what's the difference between the army and the navy? I mean, one's land and one's water, I know that," he hurried to add, "but what made you go with one over the other?"
He got a plate and plopped a couple pieces of pizza on it before starting in on one.
"Damn, you're right. I still keep forgetting just how much of a jump there was. I left Haven and it was 2010. Arrive in Fandom and find out it was 2021? Yeah losing eleven years like that is a bit of a shock. Guess my mind is still trying to come to terms with that." Dwight shook his head a bit and snickered a bit. "My brain has a hard enough time with things as it is."
"As far as the enlisting went, it really was more of a selfish reason than anything else that made me go with the Army," Dwight said a somewhat sad smile spreading across his face for a moment. "Tuck, my best friend from college wanted to enlist too and he ended up going with the Army. I mean there were other things I considered of course, but yeah... knowing Tuck was going Army was kind of the deciding factor for me in the end." Dwight looked at Miguel and smirked as he added, "And the fact it turned out I get seasick ridiculously easily also helped with the decision!"
Miguel laughed loud enough to make the other people glance over. "Wait, didn't you grow up on the coast? How did you not know you got seasick?"
He would get to Tuck in a second; right now he was definitely going with this one.
"Grew up in Maine and yeah, a lot of it was on the coast. But evidently there's a bit of difference between a fishing boat in a calm harbor or bay and a huge ship in the middle of the ocean" Dwight said defensively. "One of the guys in Haven, Duke, he lives on his boat. Tried to go out with him and few others once to do some fishing way out off the coast. Did okay till we got out a ways and the waves got really bad. Figured it was just a fluke since I had never had that much trouble before..."
"Oh shut up," he said, giving Miguel a playful punch in the arm. "I'm sure you got your little embarrassing weakness you discovered in an inconvenient way. Afraid of heights? Fear of falling?"
"I jumped out of skyscrapers a lot back home," Miguel said wryly, fending him off. "Wouldn't get far if I was afraid of heights. Like I said, not fond of swimming, but I've been to underseas installations and such, not had much of a problem." He shrugged. "I had a lot of awkward discoveries when all of this," he gestured at his glasses, "happened, if that counts. Shredding all my clothes, learning just how much of an ass I'd been."
He cocked his head at Dwight. "This the same Duke as in Fandom? My boss Duke?"
"Yeah, wannabe pirate Duke," Dwight snorted. "At least... kinda the same Duke? I mean he was still around when I left Haven to come to Fandom, so I'm not really sure how far past that time this Duke is from and..." Dwight rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I always get a headache when I think about these timeline jumps and all. But yeah same Duke - doubt he changed all that much between when I knew him and when he came to Fandom."
Because honestly, what could have happened in a year or so in Haven, right?
Really, how bad could it be? "He seems decent," Miguel said. "You both seem pretty good considering the shocking mess your hometown is. That why you joined the army - to get out?"
"To get away from everything really," Dwight said simply, "I never found out about Haven until my Trouble activated. But even before that yeah life was a bit of a bitch. Marriage was on the rocks, and even though we had Lizzie who was like four at the time, my ex was determined to make life hell. We had sort of unofficially separated, to ya know 'give us time to figure things out' and all that. It was only because she threatened to ask for full custody if I actually left that I agreed to not ask for a divorce right away."
Dwight sighed. "Anyways, yeah joined the Army, figuring a couple years' tour overseas would give her time to figure out what she wanted, give us time away, let me show her I was willing to do whatever it took to make things right...And well that kinda blew up in my face in a spectacular way," he said with a dark chuckle. "But yeah, like many crazy young men, tried to use the military to figure things out."
"Never quite got that," Miguel admitted. "But then, I knew from about nine that I'd be a scientist at Alchemax." Whether he wanted to be or not. "So you and your friend...Tuck?...you decided to join up together?"
Dwight gave a slight smile as he thought about his old friend. "Yeah we enlisted and went through boot camp together. Got shipped out on our first mission together too. He was such a great dude, you would have liked him I think," he said flashing a grin at Miguel. "Tuck had a sarcastic side a mile long and could always be counted on to crack a joke - often at the most inopportune time." Dwight fell silent for a moment as the memories played out for a moment. "Yeah, Tuck was an awesome guy. One of the best friends I ever had."
"Sounds like my kinda guy, yeah," Miguel agreed. "Guessing he was in your squad?" He heard that past tense. He didn't want to press too much, but it felt like not addressing it would be sort of dishonest.
"Yeah," Dwight said simply. "We had several missions together and our unit got deployed to Afghanistan. Tuck... he was one of the many that didn't come back home." Dwight went silent for a moment then shook his head slightly, clearing away the memories and gave a soft smile. "He left his mark on a lot of us though, so he's still around in that regard. But yeah, miss his sarcastic ass at times," he added with a slight chuckle.
"I promise to do my best to make sure you get your daily dose of sarcasm," Miguel said solemnly. "Sorry about your friend, though. I guess that was pretty hard." He'd never really had close friends himself, except for maybe Xina and Gabriel, but he thought about Morph, and...yeah.
He'd been working his way through the chicken wings as they talked, and off to one side, he saw a little kid gaping at his extensive pile of bones. He rolled his eyes. Then he gave them a wide grin and watched them run back to their family, eyes wide. Screw gawkers at any age.
"You're doing a bang up job of it so far," Dwight quipped as he gave Miguel an appreciative smile.
He turned his attention back to the bucket of wings, adding to his own growing pile of bones as he watched Miguel and the kid interact. Dwight about choked on the wing he had been working on as he tried, and epically failed, to hold back a laugh as the kid ran away like he had seen a vampire or something.
"Not too fond of kids huh?" Dwight said, still half laughing half choking as he reached for his drink.
"Not too fond of being stared at like that," Miguel said. "Or of kids, yeah. The ones back on the island are fine - they're nearly adults, you can talk to them at least. Little ones? No," he said firmly. "Didn't like them when I was one, my opinion hasn't improved as I got older."
He finished the wings and switched back to pizza. Then belatedly realized Dwight probably liked at least one of them and missed her. "Sorry."
"It's all right," he said simply as he finished the last wing and dropped the bone into the pile. "Not everyone likes kids, simple fact. Though... I think Lizzie might have been able to change your stance, at least a little," Dwight said with a soft smile. "She was a good kid...."
"Anyways... I'm going to go get a refill for the next leg of the drive. You want one too?" Dwight simply stated as he stood and picked up his cup from the table.
"Yeah, thanks," Miguel said, handing Dwight his cup. "Hey, I'm sure if any kid could, it'd be yours," he added, dubious but hopeful. Even his own AU kid hadn't really won him over, even if she had been kind of cool.
"I've got this," he said, standing himself and gathering up the garbage. He stuck another piece of pizza in his mouth and headed to the cans. He had to pass by that kid's table, and could hear their mother patiently explaining that look, he was out in the sun, so he clearly wasn't a vampire...
Dwight got the refills and started back. Seeing Miguel waiting for him, he headed over to him, passing by the same family's table. He gave Miguel a look as he handed over the drink.
"Earning a reputation already around here," he said jokingly. "Come on, let's head out. You know, before someone calls in a sighting of a vampire and a sasquatch."
Miguel took his drink with a nod of thanks. "Sasquatch? That's you, I take it?" He pretended to look Dwight over. "Yeah, I can see it. Not sure if you're hairy enough, though."
He climbed back in the truck, keeping the last of the pizza with him. "You need me to drive at all? I don't have a modern license, but I won't crash us."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2021-11-20 02:27 am (UTC)He got a plate and plopped a couple pieces of pizza on it before starting in on one.
"Damn, you're right. I still keep forgetting just how much of a jump there was. I left Haven and it was 2010. Arrive in Fandom and find out it was 2021? Yeah losing eleven years like that is a bit of a shock. Guess my mind is still trying to come to terms with that." Dwight shook his head a bit and snickered a bit. "My brain has a hard enough time with things as it is."
"As far as the enlisting went, it really was more of a selfish reason than anything else that made me go with the Army," Dwight said a somewhat sad smile spreading across his face for a moment. "Tuck, my best friend from college wanted to enlist too and he ended up going with the Army. I mean there were other things I considered of course, but yeah... knowing Tuck was going Army was kind of the deciding factor for me in the end." Dwight looked at Miguel and smirked as he added, "And the fact it turned out I get seasick ridiculously easily also helped with the decision!"
Miguel laughed loud enough to make the other people glance over. "Wait, didn't you grow up on the coast? How did you not know you got seasick?"
He would get to Tuck in a second; right now he was definitely going with this one.
"Grew up in Maine and yeah, a lot of it was on the coast. But evidently there's a bit of difference between a fishing boat in a calm harbor or bay and a huge ship in the middle of the ocean" Dwight said defensively. "One of the guys in Haven, Duke, he lives on his boat. Tried to go out with him and few others once to do some fishing way out off the coast. Did okay till we got out a ways and the waves got really bad. Figured it was just a fluke since I had never had that much trouble before..."
"Oh shut up," he said, giving Miguel a playful punch in the arm. "I'm sure you got your little embarrassing weakness you discovered in an inconvenient way. Afraid of heights? Fear of falling?"
"I jumped out of skyscrapers a lot back home," Miguel said wryly, fending him off. "Wouldn't get far if I was afraid of heights. Like I said, not fond of swimming, but I've been to underseas installations and such, not had much of a problem." He shrugged. "I had a lot of awkward discoveries when all of this," he gestured at his glasses, "happened, if that counts. Shredding all my clothes, learning just how much of an ass I'd been."
He cocked his head at Dwight. "This the same Duke as in Fandom? My boss Duke?"
"Yeah, wannabe pirate Duke," Dwight snorted. "At least... kinda the same Duke? I mean he was still around when I left Haven to come to Fandom, so I'm not really sure how far past that time this Duke is from and..." Dwight rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I always get a headache when I think about these timeline jumps and all. But yeah same Duke - doubt he changed all that much between when I knew him and when he came to Fandom."
Because honestly, what could have happened in a year or so in Haven, right?
Really, how bad could it be? "He seems decent," Miguel said. "You both seem pretty good considering the shocking mess your hometown is. That why you joined the army - to get out?"
"To get away from everything really," Dwight said simply, "I never found out about Haven until my Trouble activated. But even before that yeah life was a bit of a bitch. Marriage was on the rocks, and even though we had Lizzie who was like four at the time, my ex was determined to make life hell. We had sort of unofficially separated, to ya know 'give us time to figure things out' and all that. It was only because she threatened to ask for full custody if I actually left that I agreed to not ask for a divorce right away."
Dwight sighed. "Anyways, yeah joined the Army, figuring a couple years' tour overseas would give her time to figure out what she wanted, give us time away, let me show her I was willing to do whatever it took to make things right...And well that kinda blew up in my face in a spectacular way," he said with a dark chuckle. "But yeah, like many crazy young men, tried to use the military to figure things out."
"Never quite got that," Miguel admitted. "But then, I knew from about nine that I'd be a scientist at Alchemax." Whether he wanted to be or not. "So you and your friend...Tuck?...you decided to join up together?"
Dwight gave a slight smile as he thought about his old friend. "Yeah we enlisted and went through boot camp together. Got shipped out on our first mission together too. He was such a great dude, you would have liked him I think," he said flashing a grin at Miguel. "Tuck had a sarcastic side a mile long and could always be counted on to crack a joke - often at the most inopportune time." Dwight fell silent for a moment as the memories played out for a moment. "Yeah, Tuck was an awesome guy. One of the best friends I ever had."
"Sounds like my kinda guy, yeah," Miguel agreed. "Guessing he was in your squad?" He heard that past tense. He didn't want to press too much, but it felt like not addressing it would be sort of dishonest.
"Yeah," Dwight said simply. "We had several missions together and our unit got deployed to Afghanistan. Tuck... he was one of the many that didn't come back home." Dwight went silent for a moment then shook his head slightly, clearing away the memories and gave a soft smile. "He left his mark on a lot of us though, so he's still around in that regard. But yeah, miss his sarcastic ass at times," he added with a slight chuckle.
"I promise to do my best to make sure you get your daily dose of sarcasm," Miguel said solemnly. "Sorry about your friend, though. I guess that was pretty hard." He'd never really had close friends himself, except for maybe Xina and Gabriel, but he thought about Morph, and...yeah.
He'd been working his way through the chicken wings as they talked, and off to one side, he saw a little kid gaping at his extensive pile of bones. He rolled his eyes. Then he gave them a wide grin and watched them run back to their family, eyes wide. Screw gawkers at any age.
"You're doing a bang up job of it so far," Dwight quipped as he gave Miguel an appreciative smile.
He turned his attention back to the bucket of wings, adding to his own growing pile of bones as he watched Miguel and the kid interact. Dwight about choked on the wing he had been working on as he tried, and epically failed, to hold back a laugh as the kid ran away like he had seen a vampire or something.
"Not too fond of kids huh?" Dwight said, still half laughing half choking as he reached for his drink.
"Not too fond of being stared at like that," Miguel said. "Or of kids, yeah. The ones back on the island are fine - they're nearly adults, you can talk to them at least. Little ones? No," he said firmly. "Didn't like them when I was one, my opinion hasn't improved as I got older."
He finished the wings and switched back to pizza. Then belatedly realized Dwight probably liked at least one of them and missed her. "Sorry."
"It's all right," he said simply as he finished the last wing and dropped the bone into the pile. "Not everyone likes kids, simple fact. Though... I think Lizzie might have been able to change your stance, at least a little," Dwight said with a soft smile. "She was a good kid...."
"Anyways... I'm going to go get a refill for the next leg of the drive. You want one too?" Dwight simply stated as he stood and picked up his cup from the table.
"Yeah, thanks," Miguel said, handing Dwight his cup. "Hey, I'm sure if any kid could, it'd be yours," he added, dubious but hopeful. Even his own AU kid hadn't really won him over, even if she had been kind of cool.
"I've got this," he said, standing himself and gathering up the garbage. He stuck another piece of pizza in his mouth and headed to the cans. He had to pass by that kid's table, and could hear their mother patiently explaining that look, he was out in the sun, so he clearly wasn't a vampire...
Dwight got the refills and started back. Seeing Miguel waiting for him, he headed over to him, passing by the same family's table. He gave Miguel a look as he handed over the drink.
"Earning a reputation already around here," he said jokingly. "Come on, let's head out. You know, before someone calls in a sighting of a vampire and a sasquatch."
Miguel took his drink with a nod of thanks. "Sasquatch? That's you, I take it?" He pretended to look Dwight over. "Yeah, I can see it. Not sure if you're hairy enough, though."
He climbed back in the truck, keeping the last of the pizza with him. "You need me to drive at all? I don't have a modern license, but I won't crash us."