Don't tell me what to do.

[It's automatic - said almost out of habit than anything else, and even then more yawned than said.

Baren normally doesn't have a lot on his mind. These moods strike when he thinks about things that matter to him and that list is very short. The well-being of the people that he regards closely (other people would call them friends) and anything regarding his sister. But they aren't frequent. It's why so many people who have bare minimum interaction with him are willing to call him an idiot.

He doesn't like to be thoughtful, though that's the only word that could be used to describe his silence as he sits down and rests his chin in his hand, watching Zoro with eyes that aren't completely seeing him.

When he speaks, he sets up a new line of conversation. One that's on his terms.]

You know, I'm finally reconsidering that whole thing about 'any press is good press'.

[For the first time since Baren's entered, Zoro's pace is disrupted. The bottle pauses at his lips and he glances at Baren as if seeing him for the first time. Maybe because he is. Time will tell.]

About time. [His pace resumed, Zoro takes a short swig that turns into a long gulp. Turns out the stuff is pretty damn good. Money gets you everything.] Did one of those guys really track you down? I never did end up giving a bounty.

[An apology as mired as Baren's olive branch. He really hadn't thought people would take him seriously. Still kind of weirded out that they did.]

One million dollars. Any less and I'm offended. [At least that manages to get the corner of his mouth to quirk up into a grin. He continues on - ] But nah, if they tried then I didn't notice. Never stood a chance.

[Baren's had more than his fair share of experience running from the cops, after all....

But he just shakes his head. It weighs on him a little bit. Normally he doesn't care about anyone's opinion of him, but it.... reminded him of something. So as he digs out a pack of cigarettes, he asks:]

You get any of those fucked memories yet?

Kind of. Lady Luck's on my side. None of them were really fucked up. Just confusing.

[A memory of a crazed fan with a weird face and a bounty that was more than he made in a year. Neither disturbed him so much as piqued his interest.]

Why are you asking? Is that why you're acting so gloomy?

[Here he thought Baren was just mad about some assholes hunting him down.]

It's not being gloomy, I'm just thinking. Not surprised you don't know what that looks like.

[He probably could've been nicer about that... but also - it's true. He actually doesn't take a second to think much around Zoro. He doesn't... take a second to think much around other people.

Anyway:]

You didn't answer the question.

And you dodged mine.

[thinking, gloomy, it all looks the same on Baren. It's not an expression he's fond of seeing on his face.]

You know what type of criminal the marines here would put a bounty on?


[It's an honest question. Maybe an easy one to answer but right now Zoro's hoping for an alternative.]

You know that one quote? Where some guy that looks like a mop died on his head is all, "You're the shittiest pirate I've ever heard of." And the other guy who hasn't bathed in at least 5 weeks says, "But you have heard of me."

[He cracks a grin.]

[It doesn't seem like the joke hits. There's no reaction other than another long sip.]

320 million.

[And there it is. He doesn't grin at Baren. He full on smiles the cockiest smile any man's ever seen.]

An amount like that I bet the whole world's heard of me.

For what? Racing ships poorly?

[... just kidding.

He eases into an answering grin. He can't deny it. That actually sounds kinda fun. He would've called it bullshit a while ago but....]

Hey.

I need something.

[He gets a shove for that. It's nowhere near as violent as it could be.]

Name it.

[Just guys being dudes.

Regardless, Baren snorts and goes with the motion before wobbling right back. Then he turns to Zoro and - his words are serious, his eyes are serious, even though his mouth is still in the shape of a grin.]

Promise you'll never lie to me.

And promise me that I'll never have to retaliate if you ever do.

[A way to say that he will - he will do so harshly, and he doesn't want to. Baren doesn't trust easily. When he does, it's on terms like this where he'll end up reaching for these concrete words like it'll keep his head above water.]

If you can't do it, I respect that - but if you say yes, you can't go back.

Careful. Saying stuff like that'll make me excited.

["Retailiate". Just what exactly can Baren do? What is his worst? He wants to know. Part of him is even tempted to lure it out. It's small. Easily quieted.

Zoro swirls the bottle, watching the liquid slosh about.]

If this was what you were gonna ask you should have brought sake.

[Three sips and then he hands it over to Baren. He holds up three fingers, a sign that Baren should follow suit.] Don't you dare drink more than that. This is to seal it. That's it.

[Stay honest? Never lie? As if he needed to promise that.]

A guy like you needs all the truth he can get.

Edited 2017-06-08 02:05 am (UTC)

[Gross. Baren's lips quirk up a the edges. He doesn't say that he knows that he can ruin Zoro's life in more roundabout ways. Make it harder to get work, see to it that his dreams become impossible, picking apart the twisted systems of the world in order to leave Zoro without dreams or aspirations. It takes him less than two minutes to come up with the plan and he's not exactly proud - but he's sure he could do it.

He doesn't say any of that.

Instead, he takes the bottle and does as told with a small, short grumble. 3 sips.

He'll do what Zoro asks but also when he speaks, it's straightforward and direct - in a way that Baren normally isn't when he wans something.]

Say it, Z. Swear it.

[It's demanding, but Baren's not very good at letting important things slide when they aren't on his terms.]

[Zoro sighs and changes his position, full body facing Baren. If it was this serious he'd give a proper promise. Face to face, eye to eye, nothing hidden or obscured.]

I promise I will never lie to you. I swear it on my life. You'll never have to worry about retaliating. I'll kill myself if I go back on my word.

[Every word is so unwavering, so certain, all unspoken until now. Baren's request is annoying not because it's unreasonable but because it's redundant. The promise had been sealed since the first time Zoro called Baren a friend. It was inherent within the word.]

I swear on my right eye I will always be here and I will always give you the truth.

[He takes back the drink.] That good enough for you? Idiot.

[It's not like Baren doesn't know a thing or two about the unspoken - he loves to dance in the grey area, taking misconceptions and half-truths and playing with them until they explode like fireworks. It's just—

It's just that even his poker face can't stay in place after that. Baren asked for honesty, but this sort of automatic extreme - Zoro putting his life on the line and promising to be here - that sounds more like... loyalty?

His expression grows uncomfortable because no one's ever said that shit to him.

Not once.

21 years, millions of people that he's crossed paths with, and maybe those promises were whispered drunkenly into his ear or give out frivolously and jokingly from people who didn't matter but.

But.

His expression eventually relaxes when he sighs and he finds his eyes wandering skyward. He knows that in theory, Zoro's not special. There's other people like him that could be found... probably on an island somewhere? Someplace warm, tropical. In theory, determined and loyal and honest idiots can be found anywhere.

Baren doesn't want to admit that he's pretty attached to the one in front of him.]

... I guess if it's like that....

[It's not just good enough for him - it's too good for him.

He knows that.

He can't promise the same, not in so many words, maybe just not out loud, and Baren knows that he does not deserve this.]

[ .... and so he doesn't address it. Instead, he shakes his head.]

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me"... or something like that, right?

[A beat.]

Right. Well, what I saw being hurled were more like - sticks, stones, dead animals, dung, words, insults, curses, death threats...

[ . . . and despite everything, he can't help but snort.] So I guess it just sounds like another Friday night for me, you know?

Either way, makes me think the shit that gets shoved into our minds and what we do are connected, since this came up not too long after your little witch hunt. Like a trigger or a switch.

[And it's automatic - how he gives away the barest minimum of his memory before trying to move on to the technical aspects. He's not even sure if he's done talking about it - what he saw - but figures that he's just really rusty at talking about himself.]

Makes sense. That'd explain why I got that bounty and some weird rooster obsessed with me. Or... past me. Whatever it is.

[The specifics are still confusing. A lot of theories get thrown about by smarter people with more time on their hands. Digital manipulation, kidnapping, alternate selves–the list was eternal and the explanations increasingly ridiculous. Zoro saw it as something much simpler.]

I think it's reincarnation. Like thinking that, at least. I haven't seen much but it feels like I wasn't much different. It's like we've got a legacy. Even if it's a shitty one at least we're making some impact.

[It's the first real comfort he's had since the accident. That maybe he'll live on, get another chance to leave a mark on the world. Achieve the things that society's keeping from him now.

Just a wayward indulgent thought.]

Do people really do that stuff to you here?

[All he needs are names.]

Optimism. You really must be drunk.

[But it's said with a wry grin as Baren fishes out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter, just one of his many vices. He'd come to terms with the fact that he doesn't think that his life will mean anything to anyone - he could have a statue of himself made and think that it's all for naught. That's a mentality born out of years of not letting anyone know your truth.

He doesn't see that changing - but reincarnation isn't a bad thought.]

Could be that. Red strings, nirvana, cycles of life and death - I don't really care about the details. Just that it's fucking with me in a way I didn't invite.

[And he lights his cigarette and it probably sounds like he didn't even hear Zoro's last question or he didn't plan on answering it, but. He ends up looking over with a smirk.]

Are you worried about me? That's cute. [he takes a drag of it before blowing a smoke ring out at Zoro's face] And really fucking stupid.

[He reaches through the ring and flicks Baren's forehead.]

My choice to be that way.

[He leans back and knocks the rest of the smoke away with the bottle, taking a sip.] I won't help if you don't ask. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

[Insults and death threats are one thing. Those are what Baren invites, consequences that Zoro will let him deal with. But violence–stones, rocks, whatever–he's not at a point where he trusts Baren to leave that unharmed.]

You need to stop pissing people off.

[There's a noise of irritation at the flick and Baren doesn't hesitate to swat Zoro's hand away in retaliation, nose wrinkling.]

And you need to stop telling me what to do.

[A shake of his head, the ring of his hair bells, and he takes another drag of his cigarette, this time releasing the smoke up into the air in his exhale.]

I do what I want when I want to. That's it. What people think, what people say... that's their baggage. If it's just me being me, then why should I change for them?

[He'd spent years of his life - years that he hasn't told anyone - crafting a personality that suited what people wanted from him. Charm, elegance, politeness, humility, and what did he get for it? A fucked up personality and a dead mom.]

Shit would be easier if people just laughed more.

That's more like it.

[The right words for every occasion. Is that what that modeling punk meant by charisma? Zoro doesn't think so. There's a different Baren in his house. One that's slightly more truthful than usual. Or that's how it feels.

Who knows?

Zoro sure likes that answer. Freedom's one of the few excuses that works for everything.]

People are too serious here. [A bit messed up when he's the one to say that.] Too many of them hold back.

[Zoro is the definition of an enabler.

Baren wonders if he should keep going with this - wouldn't that just lead to the same result where he's hated by a whole town for things that aren't his fault?

Except he remembers not being surprised by it. Maybe it's okay if he anticipates it, really does harden his heart to the idea of being so thoroughly hated.

It's a thought.]

Pretty sure they do it to be liked. It's not polite to say someone's dress makes them look fat, but what if it just does? Especially if they ask?

[god dammit]

Fuck politeness. 'm sick of it. [He might be a bit more aggressive with his cigarette in the next moment.] What's the point of being liked if it's not you?

[though maybe that's the celebrity talking]

"I don't care" works for that. Pretty truthful to how I feel about it too.

[He scoots forward, dangling his feet so that his toes dip below the water and kicking his feet.] Everyone here is gonna die before they do anything they want to. [He snorts.] Hell, they'll probably die before they say anything they want.

Feels like we're the only ones living sometimes. Don't mind being hated if I can feel like that.

[As if to punctuate his stance, he splashes Baren with water. Heh. Nice.]

[what the fuck - Baren's just barely able to raise a hand to keep the water from smacking him right in the face, flicking the droplets right back at Zoro before they can fall off his fingertips.]

I didn't know that rum made you five years old.

[He says, running his hand through his hair to fix it while also simultaneously sticking out his tongue. Uh-huh.

Though admittedly - the idea of being the "only ones" manages to make Baren feel a bit odd. He's never been the only one of anything, because - ]

My sister would like you.

I guess the three of us being adrenaline junkies wouldn't be so bad.