#johnny G.U.N AU verse tba.

[drrobctnik]

@maaskuline

he was new to the whole G.U.N business; not exactly a greenhorn, but a little wet behind the ears. still, julius had just turned 24, and was slowly trying to make his way up the ranks of G.U.N's frankly bizarre 'status' system. it was infuriatingly annoying trying to navigate what exactly he was supposed to do or say in order to impress enough to be risen up a rank.

julius stood at 6'3", trying not to slouch as much nowdays but couldn't help it. he also struggled with eye contact, primarily because everybody here always looked so serious. did his best to emulate them, not wanting to tarnish G.U.N's name or reputation while out and about in the field or while on missions. though, lately, julius had been noting that G.U.N's methods were... er, different than what he had expected of a military's to be.

his thought was that their job was to protect the people of earth first and foremost, and then the planet itself. G.U.N's higher ups, however, felt it was more important to keep the shareholders & those that helped fund the military happy and pleased. which meant following government orders & working so closely together with them. julius hadn't enjoyed that.

he also hadn't enjoyed his own work being passed over or looked down upon. what was so wrong with building machines with the intent to help people? to help enrich the planet; to shield nature and revitalize it? didn't these people realize that earth's resources and it's nature were finite if they weren't careful with it??

a sigh huffed from julius, as he pushed his hair back and his bangs fell against his eyes again. he should probably look into cutting his bangs, that or slicking his hair back somehow. wouldn't do him any good to be caught unawares by something just because he couldn't see past his own bangs.

"maybe i should just quit..." it's muttered, mostly to himself, turning to head into the break room that G.U.N used for it's lower-ranked soldiers. the higher ups had their own wing/unit and quarters. julius'd even heard talk of some high ranking G.U.N members having their own bedrooms / mini-apartments around certain bases--

not paying attention, julius nearly slams into someone that was leaving, "sorry," he starts, then glances up and stills. he's looking down at probably one of the most muscular men he's seen in a while, since he'd quit the gay club. jesus, those arms. no focus julius.

"....are you new here?"

[drrobctnik]

johnny: exists

julius: INTERNAL GAY PANICK CAUSE OHNO HE'S HOT???

julius externally: must be polite, he has value because he's a person first and foremost & i want to get to know my fellow soldiers

also julius internally:

[drrobctnik]

julius had zero idea who either of those men that johnny mentioned were. he decided to save himself the embarrassment of admitting as such though. made a mental note to go digging later to see if he could figure out some info. maybe learn about pompadours in the process. silently watches as johnny tries to comb a hand through his hair but can't, and hums a touch at that. he really had enjoyed his previous hairstyle, hadn't he?

he starts to want to smile, mostly to try and reassure johnny. but it stops short when johnny mispronounces his last name horridly. if he had any sense of pride in his family, he'd feel offended. he could care less though. at least from those terms. mostly it was not wanting other soldiers to hear: that'd catch on, in an annoying way. he'd probably be called ro-butt-nik for the rest of his deployment here if that happened.

"....agreed. robbie would be for the best," he certainly hoped that johnny could at least pronounce the name julius without fumbling. though he's still walking, mentally julius does pause: why is he already thinking of johnny calling him by his first name? that feels, sudden. well. he supposes, for what it's worth, he's enjoyed johnny's company thus far. and, if he's allowed to be so bold, it would be.... nice to be able to see johnny more than just the once.

"er, well, let's see," julius begins to point out the usual areas: the barracks where the lower level soldiers slept, and then mentioning the higher tiers and how they all got their own separate quarters, increasing in size until getting to the basically apartment like rooms of the superiors. mentions how a lot of the corridors here are long on purpose, in order to deter would-be assailants or thieves from trying to break into this particular G.U.N base.

"that's why our basic training focused on physical fitness: they're expecting us to be able to run through these halls within a moment's notice during alarms or in case of an attack."

"Well, y' know... a pompadour! Think, uh... Elvis Presley. Or James Dean! Grease. Y' know, that type o' thing." He runs a hand through his hai—oh... It's not there anymore. Right. Johnny awkwardly cleared his throat.

He follows by Julius's side. Even though the buzzing of his head had gotten him down, at this rate he was just happy enough to have somebody nice and around his own age to talk to (or so he assumed, anyway, based on the look of him). He looked confused as Julius brought up the fact that he had... apparently called him different names—honestly, he hadn't even noticed. Names were hard.

"Huh. Did I? Shoot, I didn't even realize. What'd you say it was again—Ro-butt-nik? Ahhh, I'll just call ya Robbie." It always had been easy for him to mix up names; ultimately, nicknames were much easier to remember.

[drrobctnik]

he thought that johnny looked far better than just 'fine enough' now, but julius didn't think saying that would be best at the moment. maybe another time. though at what johnny says about pompadours, julius' eyebrows lift in slight surprise, "really? er, sorry. i don't actually know what a pompadour is, hair style, wise," he wasn't exactly into the latest hairdos, never had been. mostly into fashion, but he guessed if he tried he could learn. nothing a quick read couldn't remedy.

"but i'll take your word for it."

then johnny's mentioning that he can show him around, nothing better to do. at being told he seemed like he made better company, julius' feels a blush warm at his face. at being told to lead the way - johnny was calling him by another name again. that confused him.

"i'll do that...." he motions for johnny to follow, and starts walking down the hall. speaks to johnny as they go, "i'm wondering, er, why do you keep calling me by different 'r' names? is robotnik difficult for you to pronounce?"

Awww, man. Of course this place expects him to be all formal-like about everything, too. Johnny was far from the formal type—he could hardly pull it together even if he tried. He felt like a fish out of water around here.

He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. "Ah, right... Just Bravo, then. Heh... But I'm tellin' you, man—if you saw my hair then, you'd probably think I look a whole lot better than just fine enough. I had a big ol' pompadour that could make any lady swoon in two seconds flat!"

Okay, yeah, that was a major exaggeration, but Robotnik didn't need to know that. Nonetheless, the mention of receiving a tour of the base piqued his interest, at least a little. After all, if he's going to be staying here for a while, he might as well get familiar with it, he reckons.

"Sure, yeah! I ain't got nothin' better to do right now, anyway—n' you seem like you make better company than all them big boss guys who've been screamin' in my face all day, heh. Lead the way, Robertson!"

[drrobctnik]

he blinks, noting the firmness of johnny's grasp, but also the quickened enthuse with which he shook julius' hand. at that, his gaze narrowed, a soft smile crossing his expression. especially at how casually johnny spoke with him. "actually, it's customary to only give your last name when speaking to others. part of G.U.N's protocols. wouldn't want you getting in trouble with the higher ups if they overhear you." or having another soldier ratting johnny out.

then, though, johnny calls him roberto and julius can't hide the skewed expression of light surprise and confusion at that- wait, roberto? not to mention, johnny was speaking far too informally, it'd get him in plenty of trouble. julius chews at the tip of his tongue as he considers how in the heck he's supposed to respond to all of that.

...the way that johnny's speaking, talking, going on, it's so bizarre it's oddly refreshing, in it's own right.

"i'm.... sorry about your hair. it's required and mandatory, a lot of things are around this place. but uhm, if it's any relief, i think the style you have now looks fine enough." he trails, thinking about the things johnny asked about how julius kept any sanity here.

"....well," he, didn't know how to answer that, "i just do as i'm told. and i try to keep my head down. i'd be perfectly fine as a rank-and-file soldier, boots on the ground," so then why was he so desperate in trying to gain more ranking here? his father. julius keeps any bitterness deep within, not letting that flint of possible fire any air to grow, "but... it would be nice to have a bit more, ah, leeway?"

"i'm sure you'll adjust in time, bravo." he clears his throat, and steps back, giving a small smile, "did you want to walk around the base? i can give you a mini tour of sorts. i know it took me a few weeks to really remember where every hallway led to, or where to rush to when an alarm went off."

Sheesh. Even just one year in this place sounded so overwhelming at the moment, it was hard to believe anyone would want to stick around for that long. But Johnny supposed that he'd already signed himself up for this, so there was no backing out now...

Johnny looked down at the other man's hand for a brief moment, then took it in his own to give him a shake—Robotnik would notice that he had a rather firm grip, and shook with a hasty enthusiasm.

"Well, I'm Johnny! Johnny Bravo!" Alas, he wasn't quite as familiar with the last-name basis around here yet, so he didn't give much thought to it. Then, he grew serious for a moment. "Alright, Roberto, so you've been here for a lil' while, right? So, lemme ask ya... How do ya do it? I've barely been here a day, n' I feel like I'm already losin' my marbles, man. They took my hair from me! My precious 'do! That's like... like a cat without claws! An angel without wings! How's a guy supposed to stay sane 'round here?"

[drrobctnik]

don't stare at his arms, don't stare at his chest, don't stare at his arms, look at his face,

"oh, er, ha, no. no, i've been stationed here for...." how long had it been again? it takes him a second - the days here blur, so easily. day after day, the same exact routine. he liked the consistency of it, the order, but it always felt like he could be doing more. "nearly a year, i believe."

he straightens his posture ( is he wanting to make a good first impression on the shorter, buffer male? ), flashing a little fleeting, awkward smile, "i'm," he was about to say julius but catches himself. G.U.N was a stickler for last names only, never first names. something about 'it sounding better' and 'being the principle of the tradition', or whatever. never liked that, felt too distancing, to julius. he hadn't heard his first name spoken since he'd been recruited.

"robotnik." he holds a hand out, for the other to shake. usually they didn't do this either, but julius' old polite habits died hard. it didn't even register to julius that they were currently stood in the middle of the door into the room, thus blocking anyone from trying to enter or exit the breakroom.

Johnny was not having a good time right now.

When he was first recruited at G.U.N, he had expected it to be more fun than this. Perhaps he would meet some like-minded guys that he could bond with—and hey, chicks dig the military-type guys, right? So he'd thought joining would fulfill him in some way...

That is, until he'd had to get his head buzzed. His beloved hair, his pride and glory, was now gone... All that remained was the sorry excuse of length he'd been left with. He certainly had the army man look now, but at what cost?

The man had been pouting ever since, moping about the break room. He was so miserable that he hadn't even brought himself to talk to anybody yet, aside from the occasional higher-up barking various demands at him. He'd decided he may as well sleep the grief of his lost hair away, and had stood up to walk to the sleep quarters—until he nearly ran straight into somebody, promptly taking a step back.

"Oh! Uh... Yeah. Yeah, sure am." He gave an awkward chuckle. "...You?"