2021-01-08: A Little Relationship Advice
- Log: A Little Relationship Advice
- Cast: Citan Uzuki, Eleanor Klein
- Where: The Thames - Mess Hall
- Date: January 08, 2021
- Summary: Eleanor, with much on her mind with her impending wedding, asks Citan Uzuki -- a married man -- for a little advice on how to work in her relationship with her fiance.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"...Hmm, you certainly do like to make these sorts of things difficult."
So says Citan Uzuki, to his Gear. He's currently standing outside it.
There comes a time when in that terrible struggle between man and machine where the man in question needs to take five and step back from the problem. This is the situation in which the doctor finds himself: he withdraws from Heimdall's cockpit and wipes at his forehead with a rag. It's one thing to build something yourself, and it's another thing to unpack what someone else was thinking.
Particularly if the someone in question is long-dead, by a few centuries at least. And this Gear is... troublesome in many of its particulars.
He could have asked someone else to do the installation, certainly. But he's always found it relaxing to work with machinery himself. Even if a part of that occasionally means thinking rather unkind things about the engineers responsible for this particular mechanism.
Still, in his own perhaps warped way, Citan is enjoying himself.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
It's not so unusual to talk to a Gear. At least, Eleanor Klein doesn't think so, given that she's spoken to hers often enough. She doesn't so much work on it though; she entirely lacks the expertise, though she can appreciate those who have it. Nevertheless, she has an enthusiasm for the work, and so she happens to be passing by the maintenance bays to check in on her own Three of Hearts, and in the process spots a familiar Gear and a familiar man to go with it.
"Oh, Dr. Uzuki," Eleanor greets as she comes to a stop, turning around to face him and walking that way instead of past onto the next bay. "How nice to see you. ...It looks like you're working here? If I'm interrupting, by all means tell me so."
She smiles regardless, looking over the large machine.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
He turns her way. "Ah, Miss Klein!" He adjusts his glasses, then off-handedly toss the dirty rag aside. "My apologies, I did not see you there. Might I assist you in some way? --Oh, no, as it happens I was just taking a break from my work here!"
Citan shakes his head and smiles wryly. "Older machines like this can, ah... have their quirks. . I had hoped to have this installation completed by now but..."
Indeed, if one were to look into the cockpit... perhaps the word 'chaos' might come to mind. There is a reason why his wife had long since quietly given up on keeping any sort of order in the back of their old home: there are some fights in which she can win, and others in which she just won't. He has his own order to things.
He shakes his head again. "It cannot be helped, I suppose. Well then. What brings you here, Miss Klein? Are you having your Gear seen to?"
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"I've only been here a moment," Eleanor replies, as if it's really no trouble. Quite the opposite, it ends up convenient. Especially as Eleanor looks into the machine's cockpit and...
"My!" she says. "What a charming setup!" Yes, she can find something nice to say about chaos. This is not exactly strange or difficult for her. "What are you instaling?" she wonders. "Not that I'd probably know what it is," she admits. "I have enthusiasm but not much expertise when it comes to these machines."
But it cannot be helped, it would seem. Maybe not!
"That's right," she answers, "I was having it looked at again since I've been away rather a long time. ARMS's mechanics are very good but the Three of Hearts was originally salvaged from the Thames."
"...But actually," she says, "I had hoped to run into you eventually," she says, and a perceptive man like Citan might notice the shift of her left hand as she rubs against the inside of her engagement ring. "I wanted to ask... a bit of advice, if you have the time."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Ah-- ...well," Citan utters, taken aback for the moment when Eleanor comments on the mess inside. "It is not... normally like that," he says, because while he might be inclined towards the sort of 'order out of chaos' particularly when in the middle of working on something (which is often), he has learned over the years that others perceive differently and has at least learned a little shame.
(Another of Yui's victories. She might not have won where it comes to the backyard shed but...)
But the doctor pauses when she asks what he was working on. "A spell converter, to start. I suppose also a little of this and that," he says, waving a hand absently. "I believe this machine dates to about the era of the Day of Collapse, so it has many little surprises. And your own? I thought the Three of Hearts might be similar." He takes a look about, as if to try and scope it out, wherever it might lie.
'But actually, I had hoped to run into you eventually,' she says. His attention returns to her in time for her to fidget in a particular way, with a particular ring on a particular finger. His expression eases: aha, in other words.
"...I do, I was not hoping to 'return to the fight', as it were, straightaway. What is it that you wished to ask?"
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
She may not be entirely on her game. But she smiles anyway as he says it's not normally like that. "Of course. I just like to see how people organize, a bit." Eleanor... well. Eleanor is a wizard, and knows all about order out of chaos. She may even be being sincere.
"How useful!" Eleanor remarks. "Yes, I believe you're right about mine." She gestures to a nearby bay, where the tall, sunset-colored Gear looms, currently hooked up to a number of machines with technicians roaming around. Broad shoulders, broad limbs generally--it's a very sturdy Gear.
"Though I lack a spell converter myself, I have enchanted a few sets of missiles for if it really becomes necessary now and then. For the most part though, the ARMs installed are sufficient."
"Oh! Good." So there is time. Eleanor considers, opening her mouth and closing it, and then returns her attention to Citan directly. "Well!" She says. "It's a bit of a delicate matter," she admits.
"...I'm getting married soon," she explains, "And I wondered if, as a man who is married himself, you might have any... advice, for me. I remember you've mentioned a wife, at least."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"I recall that it seemed rather sturdy. Comparatively, my own is rather middle-of-the-road, perhaps slightly on the slower side, but it can be an advantage at times to be 'average'. Now, if it were only less puzzingly engineered... at times I wonder what whoever had built it had been thinking..."
She remarks that she lacks one herself, a comment that prompts Citan to nod. "Hmm, yes. You are a... Crest Sorceress, if I recall correctly. I assume that you create the enchantments yourself? That would make it far simpler to do without. In my case it is merely... necessity, I suppose you might say. I do not have your talents."
Indeed, that is one of the deficiencies of Ether -- while infused weaponry and ARMs with Ether effect are possible, they are...
...largely the domain of Solaris and the Veruni for a reason.
It's a delicate matter, she says, on the topic of the question she had.
...Because, as he had deduced, she's due to marry.
And she wonders if he has any advice on the matter.
Citan Uzuki regards her in silence for a long moment.
"Well, er... you are correct, I am married. I..." He trails out again, then reaches up to fidget with his glasses. "Forgive me, Miss Klein. I must have a moment to gather my thoughts."
It occurs to him then -- and hardly for the first time -- that his relationship with his wife is probably... more unusual than it is for many others between their spouses.
"If I may ask... what sort of advice were you hoping to receive? I believe I am, shall we say... more qualified to give advice on certain particulars than others..." He manages to keep a completely straight face at least -- this is a serious matter.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Yes, clearly," Eleanor answers at the advantages. But, "Is that so? I guess that must be a good set of questions, if you know the workings of the machines better."
"But that's correct--with the proper equipment and reagents, I can simply pre-prepare a few enchantments, which isn't quite as flexible as some approaches but is sufficient for my purposes. The power of a few good ARMs is good enough for me otherwise." A beat, "I've been exposed to all sorts of interesting magical approaches since joining ARMS--it really is true that there's no substitute for experience."
It only occurs to Eleanor what it might sound like she's asking about a few moments later. He does keep a straight face, but she after a moment says, "Oh dear. That was a little vague, wasn't it?" She laughs faintly, mostly at herself. "Ah, no, I meant, more... Maintaining a marriage over time, or perhaps a masculine perspective on what's... good to keep in mind. I'm certain our situations aren't exactly the same, but I thought there might be some things experience might have taught you."
"Even just hearing a little more of an example might help. It's.... Well, mine is an arranged match, but I'm still rather hoping to make it work, so to speak. He's a bit of the stoic type, so I thought an outside perspective might be useful."
"If it helps I think you'd get along."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Well, rather, I wonder more why they opted for such... cryptic design descisions when there are clearly more efficient means to accomplish their aims," Citan says with a sigh. "I do not think I can attribute it to merely 'incompetence' on their part!"
He nods, though, when she explains the matter of the ARMs she uses. "Indeed, if a tool is sufficient to accomplish your goals, then it is enough." He does not elaborate further -- at least not unprompted -- on whatever his practice might be.
To his straightfaced response, she laughs, and then he can't keep a straight face either. "Well, that is a relief! I am not suited for... such discussions." She moves along then towards what she was hoping to hear from him and moreover, provides the context. "Ah... yes, you are from the noble class. ...Something similar is practiced in my homeland, though a 'love match' is not uncommon, either."
Particularly if you, like an old friend of his, end up rushing into a marriage due to a little 'accident'.
"Hmm... do you think so?" he muses, on the matter of her and her fiance being similar. "But let me think... I must confess that circumstances are... yes, indeed, quite different than between you and your fiance. I have been traveling with others and far from her side for a time, now..."
He folds his arms over his chest, bowing his head a moment as if to think it over. "It may be cliche to say," he speaks at last, "but 'communication' is key. The longer you are apart, after all, the more room arises for doubts and questions to slip in. I must admit that I am... not immune to this. Indeed, Yui says that it is one of my flaws." He smiles at that thought, though, and shakes his head. "It is therefore important to speak and be open -- within reason! -- with one another from the first."
He pauses a moment, as if to regard her. "This man that you will marry... how well do you know him?"
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"I suppose not, given that it does seem to function," Eleanor admits of the Gear issues. But then, there's often higher priorities than efficiency... like someone's favorite approach. In other fields, at least.
Eleanor has seen a few things Citan does, and they're interesting, but they may or may not be magic per se. Maybe eventually she can put some more together, but... at the moment this is sufficient.
"Ahahah," Eleanor continues, and thinks about making a joke about it, but decides to spare him the subject entirely. Besides, there is a bit more serious a matter. "Ah, yes?" Eleanor asks. "They aren't completely unheard of in my circles either, but for my family this is the tradition. It worked all right for my parents, at least."
Luckily that is not the reason for the accelerated timetable on Eleanor's marriage. Her habit of disappearing for months at a time, on the other hand...
"He has a similar intellectual bent, though his talents are better suited to business and negotiation than engineering or medicine." She nods along--the circumstances are rather different. "I thought so," she says, "And I am sorry to hear that. I hope you can see her again sooner than later."
"...It's nice, that you can talk about her thoughts that way," Eleanor reflects. "But I see... That is something I've heard, and something I'm endeavoring to improve at. I confess I'm the type to keep secrets, in general. Though I am getting better there, some aren't mine to tell."
"I certainly have had a lot of doubts and questions," she admits. "You see, I know a great deal about him--we've been engaged for nearly four years, now. But traditionally I have a difficult time understanding him. I think we're reaching a breakthrough on this, and starting to understand each other better, but..."
"Well. I would say I think I know him fairly well. But as you say there has been a lot of travelling for me, too. I'm... Well, what I'm doing right now is I'm trying to arrange to spend more time with him between missions. I'm hoping that that makes a difference."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
On one hand he had been a country doctor for three years before Lahan's destruction and as such was well-used to all sorts of questions and doesn't embarrass too easily in that arena. On the other hand, it's a very different matter coming from a young woman who he hardly knows as well as some of the villagers.
"A businessman, I see," he says, as she tells him some about her fiance. "Yes," is his answer, coupled with a nod as she remarks on his circumstances. "The situation is... a complicated one, and does not only involve myself. I do not mean to keep secrets, but at times, for the greater good...?" He smiles kindly. "But I thank you, Miss Klein. I hope for that as well."
He tells her what he does know -- what he's worked out, worked at in his own complicated (by circumstance and distance) relationship with his wife. Eleanor expresses that she's given to keeping secrets, though, which is the complication in her own relationship with her fiance.
"Aha... on that, you and I are not that dissimilar. I am a private person at heart," Citan explains, "and there are many things that..." He pauses a moment and smiles wanly. "...let us say that 'trust' did not come easily to me, shall we? Nevertheless, to become trusted, one must trust. ...And if nothing else, I am a stubborn man, too, and I was determined in the matter." Of changing this aspect of himself, does he mean? And given the topic at hand, perhaps there was just cause for that change.
He nods as she continues -- as she provides more context for the situation, their relationship. "I see... so you intend to spend more time with him, as a means of making up for what has yet been out of reach."
It is not, as such, terribly dissimilar to his own courtship at all.
"And what has he indicated to you?"
He had direct from the start about his intent--
Well, nearly from the start. Give or take a swordfight or two, first.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Very, very different.
"Yes," she agrees--at times, for the greater good, it's necessary. "I understand." She smiles back, at the hope. It's nice, at least, to hear a little bit about a more positive relationship. But then, the fact that he doesn't know her that well is perhaps part of the draw for her here, too--he doesn't have certain... biases, that some of the people who works with more closely might.
"I see," Eleanor replies. "Yes. I suppose a little stubbornness can go a long way." And determination, for that matter. But it's encouraging; Eleanor seems to take it as such anyway, considering that she can be fairly stubborn herself if she likes. Maybe...
"Yes," she answers. "We've spent a lot of time apart ourselves, with my duties in ARMS and with... Well." She pauses. "Disappearing to Spira twice. No one could really have counted on that, but there it is."
"For what he's indicated to me..." Eleanor considers. "When you put it so directly..."
"He's quite serious about our relationship. I mean, he's quite serious about most things, but he's indicated a willingness to be more open with me. He's..." She trails off, trying to put her thoughts together. "Ah, that is..."
She actually looks a little embarrassed to be talking more personally about the matter than in general terms, but that's part of why she brought it up to begin with. "He has indicated... that he wants to help me, of course--we're meant to help one another, it's why we have complementary skillsets. But also..." Pause. "Ah, he's quite..."
Eleanor flushes. "That is, I have every indication that he wants to make this work as well. But I learned more recently that part of why he played so much the stoic is that he was worried about me. Which... is fair, as you know the danger of my chosen life at the moment."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Admittedly, his situation had been different in a great many ways from her own, and some of these differences would on examination be fairly important in the scheme of things. But the biggest difference that he can see from his own situation to hers is this one:
He'd fallen in deeply in love. Which, frankly, on reflection had made the fact that it had worked out (so far) even more impressive. The ardor of that sort of love tends to fade, he's learned, but a more lasting love is formed with time and connection, of a different, deeper sort than passion.
...Is that something that you can 'just build' by willing it, though?
"Is he aware of that? ...I am of course not suggesting that you should tell him if he does not know. Rather..." He trails off, as if to suggest she pick up the trail he's laying out and fill in the blanks.
Aha.
"I see," Citan says, folding his arms over his chest again. "I believe I may understand how he may feel. It is... hmm... often difficult for men to speak directly about such things," in fact isn't he himself doing a form of that now? "Perhaps that is a result of the spheres in which we often travel. Or perhaps -- well, I should not get sidetracked," he corrects himself, shaking his head.
"I suppose he played the 'stoic' to seem like someone on which you could rely. A 'sturdy rock', if you would?" He smiles, if wryly. "I admit, I am not so gifted. She has often said that I also worry too much. But, never mind that. If he has expressed as such and is willing to open himself to you, then my advice to you would be to do similarly."
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Eleanor only has some idea of the differences. If she knew more, well... She'd certainly be asking more questions rather than less. It's an interesting story!!
...But the one she has so far is 'interesting' enough. Whether or not her own situation will work as well as it seems she is hoping.
"A fair question," she admits. "I believe so, but..." But maybe she ought to be sure, one way or another. But there's a lot that they mutually don't know, she thinks--and that's part of what she wants to work on. "But I have told him a lot of the... details."
Citan's perspective seems to help; Eleanor inclines her head, thinking about it now. Directly, or indirectly. "It's all right," she says of sidetracking, but does listen when he corrects himself. She actually smiles back faintly, and sighs a little. "I think you're right," she admits. "And to a point I expect some of that--he's a couple of years older than I am, and I am aware that I have a somewhat... eccentric, reputation. A certain amount of that comes with a sorcerous profession. But if I just wanted an assistant, I could hire one."
"I think I have a feeling that I would like your wife," Eleanor reflects. "I hope that I can meet her one day, if only to put a face to someone who's indirectly helping me in this way."
"...Yes," she says. "I suppose that is the most sensible, difficult as it may be. ...But it's not an unwelcome difficulty, if that makes sense."
"Thank you, doctor. It's rather reassuring to hear it from someone with a bit of success in the matter. And I can't exactly ask Mother since figuring this out is part of the work..."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Hmm, that is good, then. You had said that you were the secretive sort, but it sounds already that you and he are more in alignment than when I had first met Yui," Citan remarks, after considering her for a moment. "Perhaps you will have less ground to cover in that case!"
After all, considering where their starting point had been, between him and the woman he would marry...
"Yes, and he would be of a similar class to you, would he not? I suppose that is all the more reason for him to be reticent. I have often noted that those of the noble classes have more 'resting on their shoulders' when it comes to expectations. After a time when we wear a particular mask, it becomes habit..."
He smiles when she calls herself eccentric. "I find it rather charming, myself; I am not even so much as a... fellow traveler in the sorcerous artes as such, but I have at times crossed paths with those who are. Your approach is... more refreshing. To be quite honest, some practitioners I have met have seemed downright--" He pauses, then readjusts his glasses as if out of nervous habit. "Oh dear, I may be saying too much," the doctor laments with a sigh.
"Do you, now?" This, as she remarks regarding his wife; he's given to smile slightly. "I believe she might take a shine to you, as well. Perhaps you might both meet, in time."
Eventually, he'll see Yui again. It's just the matter of getting to the place where he knows she must have gone.
"Indeed, it does. What is worth doing is rarely easy," Citan remarks. "And what is easy is rarely worth doing! ...Such as my engineering problem here," he adds, gesturing towards the Gear. "But like all things... I believe you will make something good out of this."
He shakes his head at her thanks, but says, all the same. "You are quite welcome, Miss Klein."