rosalind lutece

[butwearetogether-blog]

“Ah, but the citizens of Columbia favour you over me, dear Rosa.” Robert slid his hand over the tabletop, directing a small smile over to Rosa’s direction before filling her glass back up. It was true, though. She was the one that had enabled the city to float, not him- never mind that they were the same person; Columbia did not need to know about that. “It would be terribly hard to explain what we were to… ah, onlookers.” Though the public had no knowledge of the feelings he had harbored for his counterpart, the term ‘incest’ would undoubtedly pop up in their minds if they had somehow caught wind of it; something he would be definitely against. He was not ashamed of… loving himself, one could say, but Rosalind had spent so much time ensuring that she would be taken seriously by others because of her sex- who was he to ruin his— her efforts on this aspect? “Be comforted in the fact that you would be the only one who would be able to see me this way, my love. I’d hate it if you were jealous of the ladies that chase after me.” A cheeky grin played upon his lips, the physicist closed in the distance between him and his counterpart, taking her hand in his before pressing a playful kiss to her knuckles.

Mirroring her actions and raising an eyebrow of his own, Robert let out a small chuckle as he pondered about what his beloved counterpart had been like when they were much younger. He wouldn’t be surprised if her tolerance for alcohol were as strong as his, even though she had not drank anything of the sort for quite a while. “I’d certainly be more than willing to help you gain that tolerance back,” he mentioned casually, “I’d hate if some dimwit suitor of yours managed to got you drunk. He’d be in the hospital for months when I track him down and give him a quick lesson of how high up in the sky Columbia was, thanks to you.” He was joking, of course, but it did not mean that his words did not have any truth in them. Rosalind was his alone, and Robert would do anything to ensure that that fact stayed true, regardless of whatever Comstock had in mind for the both of them here on after. He was the possessive sort, but he was certain that Rosalind would understand his purpose if her suitors had all managed to end up in the hospital.

[andiwillmendyou]

"Do they?" Rosalind tilted her head in genuine curiosity then, wondering who the public did indeed favour more. True it was her that had made the city "float"--or suspend, as she liked to call it before going on a rant about the difference between levitation and suspension--and true, it was also her who they had erected a statue of, but she was less... warm than her male counterpart. Less... willing to open up, though of course it was for good reason. She suspected that, if she were to ever open fully up in public, people would take her less seriously, and she had spent far too long building up a respected image for herself to have it shattered by one slip of emotion. "Yes, it would be hard for people to understand what we have, but I don't care about that." She patted his cheek again, undoubtedly a habit she was gaining, then quirked her other eyebrow. "How do you know I'm not jealous? You are chased quite frequently, brother, especially when we take strolls..."

Rosalind knew of her brother's possessiveness, and thought it flattering, if unneeded. There would never be another man she would give her time to--practically give her entire life to--and she hoped he understood this. Perhaps though, he was paranoid, just as she was with losing him, and that she did understand. "Don't you worry about that," she said with a wry smile. "None of my 'dimwit suitors' were, well, dimwitted enough to follow me here. I'm sure they've moved onto some more eligible, air-headed women." She could not help spite from lining her voice, thinking of the type of woman her--their--mother wanted her to be, but following the spite came pride, knowing that they would probably never feel as loved as she felt with Robert.

[butwearetogether-blog]

“Why yes, yes it does, my dear Rosalind. Nothing more attractive than seeing the great Rosalind Lutece in her most natural state, all messed up with oil as she sprawls over her machine trying to fix something that wasn’t even wrong in the first place.” He laughed half-heartedly. The sight he’d just mentioned wasn’t an unfamiliar one, seeing how much effort she’d kept into ensuring that the machine stayed in top conditions at all times. He admired her dedication, though he’d wish that she could loosen up a bit sometimes. Of course, there were his own tries to lighten up her workload by aiding in her research and taking care of her at the same time. Surely it was an improvement from when he wasn’t around?

“Well, you could be charming too, if you were willing to leave this wretched machine for even a few hours, I’m sure. We’re both the same, I suppose. Drop the condescending personality the both of us have and we’d be social butterflies.” He winked playfully, watching Rosalind take a sip of what she had in her hand. It wasn’t surprising to hear her say that, really, thinking back to how he behaved in his own university days. She was probably much more studious than he back then, seeing as he had spent so much of his time wooing the ladies. “Drank all the boys under the table, did you?”

[andiwillmendyou]

"I could say the same about you, my dear Robert," Rosalind simply responded, recollecting how he himself appeared when he was truly invested in their work. When his sleeves were rolled up and his blouse was equally stained with oil and grease and his otherwise perfectly-coiffed hair was mussed, and he had taken to muttering under his breath cusses in response to, oh, a piece of the machine momentarily hissing at him—things he usually wouldn't say in front of her, far too much of a gentleman. He was not naturally as involved as she was and never chose to work all the time, but when he got into their work, he was as bad as her, perhaps even more invested at times.

At the mention of her university days, however, she just tapped her nose and raised an eyebrow to him smugly. "What happened in university, stays in university," she teased him, though no doubt theirs wouldn't have differed that much. Back then, Rosalind had actually been quite the party animal, but purely because of boredom and curiosity, and she had still worked meticulously all day and far into the night even with a hangover or even when she was still slightly tipsy. "I tease. But yes, I suppose you could say that. No one matched young Rosalind Lutece's ability to drink ten pints within an hour and not even stumble. Though, my resistance to alcohol has probably lowered by now. It has been years..."

[butwearetogether-blog]

The corners of his lips curving into a smile as he felt Rosalind’s fingers rubbing against his, he relocated his hands to her waist as she turned to face him. The idea of Rosalind being all oil-stained with heavy tools in her hands weren’t a rarity to his mind, having seen her work all too many times, but it did nevertheless bring up the affection he felt for her. “Well, you don’t necessarily have to be delicate to tinker with flowers but… I get what you mean. I’m too used to seeing you oil-stained as well.” He joked, letting out a small chuckle as he tried to imagine Rosalind with a gardener’s apron. Alas, he supposed that he was just used to watching her fiddle around with the machine as he took care of her, helping to take notes at times when she was too tired or when she was simply busy doing other research for the field. “Though I have to admit, seeing you oil-stained brings a certain kind of… Beauty to your disposition. Very attractive.” He added cheekily, his smile widening to a grin as he held her tighter.

“Me as a distraction would be fairly boring in comparison to alcohol, dear Rosalind. Would you like another shot of scotch instead? I made friends with the shopkeeper that sold me this bottle. He seemed like a nice bloke.” Robert shrugged, jerking his head towards the glasses as a signal. “I quite like this brand myself.” He confessed, pouring her a glass before bringing it to her lips. “A bit too strong for you?”

[andiwillmendyou]

She laughed quietly for a moment then at his--she supposed--compliment, briefly patting his shoulder. "Does it now?" she asked with a lift of her eyebrows in rather the same, cheeky manner. "Perhaps I shall have to cover myself in oil more often." Rosalind had spent many a night in all awkward angles around the machine, under it, leaning over it, and never came out very clean in the end. Her dresses were always splotched or stained, her hair was always mussed, and she once had foolishly thought that she ought to feel embarrassed at looking such a state, before she had realised it was Robert. He was her and she was him and she doubted she'd ever feel embarrassed before him.

"You make friends with almost everyone, you charmer," she joked herself, glancing to the shot before her. She took it in her own hand and sipped from it. If she were any other woman she would have probably winced and asked for something lighter, but she wasn't any other woman, she was Rosalind Lutece. "I've had stronger than this, brother, trust me. Ah, I'm just... brought back to my university days. I never drank as frequently as you probably did, I'm sure, but the strength of what I drank outweighed the times I got drunk, I believe."

[butwearetogether-blog]

He could see the doubt settling onto his sister’s face as he responded, hesitation crossing her features as her expression clouded. Was she questioning his intention to stay, once more? Probably, seeing as he would have done the same in her position. What were the advantages and disadvantages of him staying with her? He had realised that the bad had probably outweighed the good a long time ago, but even he himself could not answer the question of why he had decided to stay. The company of an equally, if not more brilliant physicist with a mindset almost identical to his? No, he had his own mind to play with. Simply the attraction he felt towards her? He does not know why, but he’s willing to suffer all this, all the headaches and the bleeding and the pain — yes, the gut-wrenching pain for his dear Rosalind, and he had proved that, didn’t he? He’d stayed for an entire year?

“I’m not going anywhere.” He decides to whisper into her ear.

Resting his head on hers as he continued working her shoulders, Robert smiled as she agreed with him. “I understand. The Lutece field isn’t going anywhere, Rosalind. It’s staying, and its own advancements would not deteriorate due to any form of neglect. You don’t have to take care of it so much. I can do it for you, if you insist that it has to be taken note of every hour.” He suggested, stopping the massage to wrap his hands around her shoulders. “You could always pick up the study of.. Graphology? Geography? Something with flowers? Chemistry? If science pleases you, there are plenty of other scientific things than physics, dear Rosalind. Or I could be your distraction, if you want.”

[andiwillmendyou]

It was remarkable how he was able to understand what she was thinking without a single word escaping her lips--not a snarky or sarcastic thought but a true and rather elating one. Since they were, always technically, the same person--despite the aforementioned minor differences in personality--they always did seem to have a silent language between them. Either he would look at her or she would look at him and instantly they would know what the other was thinking, and Rosalind enjoyed it, the feeling of having another person understanding her completely, even when she didn't speak.

She was comforted by his words against her ear, putting the glass on the counter so she could put her own hands over his, glancing down and tracing the creases in his fingers. Rosalind smiled to herself and chuckled briefly again. "The study of flowers," she repeated with a slight grin, even though he couldn't see it. "I think that is too delicate for me, don't you? I'm far too used to heavy tools and oil-stained skirts from working on the machine." Eventually she turned around gently in his grip and looked up to him. "Physics is the only science I believe I'll ever fully enjoy. I think I'll settle for you as my distraction." She grinned once more, and patted his cheek. "Or alcohol."

[butwearetogether-blog]

“Too fast, indeed.” Has it really been a year since he last stepped into the confines of his house? Robert barely tried to remember anything that was of no use to him and his research, but he did try to remember the list of things he wrote on the blackboard, but those were a haze by now, too. The findings of his version of the Lutece field that were engraved with chalk barely registered in his mind, though he did remember some concepts… That were Rosalind’s. It was hard to differentiate whose research was whose, after a while. The side effects of staying too long with his twin, he supposed. And what was the problem with that? The only thing he could recall longing for was the collection of suits and ties he had in his closet back then in New York, but his sister had helped him tailor several new ones when he had first arrived in Columbia. Who was he to complain? He had decided to stay with his counterpart for as long as she wanted him around, and he had might as well contribute something to her life, seeing as she had rescued him from his own. The both of them were one and the same, so why not aid her in her experiments, even if the glory was going to Rosalind alone? She was him, after all, and he was her.

Snapping out of his thoughts as he heard Rosalind speak up once more, the physicist smiled at the thought that he was the one that brought along the hiatus to her never-ending work schedule. “Relaxing doesn’t hurt, Rosa. You’re too self-conscious about this, relax. You’ve already built a city that floats in the sky, what more recognition do you want from them? Why care about them when… Their opinions wouldn’t matter in a few years?” Robert moved to the vacant space behind her, pressing his hands into her shoulders as he massaged the sore muscles. “Endless work would exhaust you in the end. Go and experiment with something else, if you’d want. Something that does not involve the Lutece field, perhaps.”

[andiwillmendyou]

At ofttimes Rosalind wondered whether her brother missed his home universe or not. If he had regretted being pulled through the instant the nosebleeds had started, so severe that they were, along with the never-ending shroud of cognitive dissonance, and endless confusion, or if he simply regretted ever leaving a familiar world for one that would be no doubt nothing but foreign to him. She sincerely hoped he didn't, but then she felt it was perhaps simply silly to doubt him in such a way. If he had wanted to return, he would have just left, wouldn't he have? She wished that she would be able to feel less possessive of him, less clingy, but truly she'd never had such an equal person to her, such a person that was on the exact same wavelength at all times and didn't treat her as inferior because of her gender, and she never wished to let him go easily.

She sighed quietly and leant back into his touch. It was nice to take a break for once, she had to agree, as hard as it was neglecting work. Though, was it really neglect? She never left the machine alone, endlessly checking up on it not once or twice but over and over until she would glance at the clock and see it was already seven o'clock in the morning the next day. Briefly she shrugged once more in her brother's grip. "I don't know what I want, brother. I want... the Lutece field to be more stabilised, I..." She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead for a moment. "You're right. I'm far too involved with the project. But it's hard to find a worthy distraction. Well, apart from you." Rosalind chuckled lightly then, lowering her hand.

[butwearetogether-blog]

“Yes, you do indeed.” He shifted his weight to the right, watching his sister’s face light up quietly at his words. “It has. Time goes amazingly fast, doesn’t it? I hadn’t realized until I read the newspaper today and noticed the date.” Robert admitted, tilting his head to Rosa as he faced her with a smile. “And of course, I realized that you probably wouldn’t have noticed it either.” Could he blame her? Probably not, since he would have probably neglected the date as well, only realizing it when he had to refer to it for the sake of the Lutece field. 

“You do drink from time to time, don’t you?” He asked after a comfortable silence settled between the both of them, admiring her simple presence beside him. He didn’t see Rosalind drinking save for formal occasions, and even then did she drink more than the required amount to be polite. “I’ve never even see you take a day off before.” The same, again, could probably be said of him. Though he did refrain from spending ungodly hours tinkering with devices, deciding to use the opportunity to drag Rosalind back to bed.

[andiwillmendyou]

"Perhaps too fast," she muttered and nodded absently as she listened to him, sipping somewhat contently now. It really wasn't all that bad stopping for a moment, but the devotion was so far rooted within in her that she felt rather uncomfortable not doing work. "I... never have the time to check such things."

It was quite harsh, perhaps, to state that work was her priority, and she wasn't sure if it was even true. Every moment she spent awake was either working on the Lutece field or coming up with ways to improve its efficiency, yes, but then again, when he had first came through and had that awful... haemorrhaging situation, another person had been a priority ahead of work for the first time in her life, and she felt that her brother had taken the lead in that now. "I do drink, dear brother, just not often. And... No, I have never taken a day off," Rosalind admitted, shrugging gently. "I just don't... feel I need to."

[butwearetogether-blog]

“I see your point.” Robert smiled, nodding once to affirm his words. He supposed it was just… part of their differences that came with the gender. “Though you’d have to agree that working incessantly may lead to a deterioration in performance. I don’t want you prioritizing science over your health,” he leaned into her, ignoring the irony in his sentences. Caring for her health and persuading her to drink alcohol. The inconsistency.

Surprised that he didn’t get told off by Rosalind, his finger latched onto one stray lock of her hair and played with it for a short while, balancing himself with one hand on the table opposite her. “Nothing, really. Just wanted to remind you that a year has passed since the day we met each other.” He moved his glass to clink to hers, finishing yet another shot. “Or would you rather have had that vodka?”

[andiwillmendyou]

"Ah, you've gotten me beat there. I am inclined to agree on that point, yes. I suppose I do... let myself get carried away at times." Rosalind took one more sip, for a moment curiously watching him play with her hair, then her face immediately softened upon mention of their... well, anniversary, she supposed it would be called.

A full year since she had pulled him through the tear; it was so hard to believe, yet there it was. "Has it been?" she asked quietly, looking up at him again with a slight bit of surprise on her face. "Ah, scotch is fine for now, brother. But a year, really..." She tilted her head to the side and lifted her brows in realisation. "It hardly feels like two months has passed, not even that..."

[butwearetogether-blog]

Pursing his lips into a pout as she replied rather snarkily, Robert chuckled sheepishly before shrugging. “Well, like I previously said. Taking a break wouldn’t hurt.” Especially when there wasn’t any… efficiency to speak of when they were merely experimenting with the Lutece field. What was the rush, anyway? He could understand Rosa’s drive, but he didn’t see the point of it, convinced that she was already a more-than-competent physicist to begin with. 

“Yes, scotch. You’d grow used to it, as I had done in the past. Maybe you’d start to like it.” Robert suggested, finishing what was left of it in his glass in one take before refilling. “Nothing too strong, darling. If I’d wanted you drunk, I’d have had you downing vodka already.” He chuckled, showing her a large grin in response to her rather accusing question. “Why, yes, my love. Any objections to that?” 

[andiwillmendyou]

"Taking breaks just slows down progress, brother," Rosalind sighed, though she knew he just meant well. She herself was more devoted than him, perhaps startlingly more devoted considering she never did take time for a proper break, forever wandering into bed at five in the morning then getting up exactly two hours later just to start work all over again.

It was just one variable in their personalities, such a devotion. A quite clear one, probably. But unfortunately their differences in childhood, what with her being discriminated against so much throughout her life, made her a more stoic and stubborn person, and one that hardly knew when to switch off. She took another sip and shook her head with a shrug then, chuckling to herself. "No, no. Just wondering if there was any special reason we are indulging ourselves tonight?"

[butwearetogether-blog]

Humming a tune as he walked towards their laboratory with a bottle of scotch in hand, the physicist took another shot before smiling at Rosalind as her face emerged in his sight. “Working on something, darling?” Robert leaned against the counter, setting the two other shot glasses down. Maybe it was a little too soon for him to have resumed drinking after all the hemorrhaging, but well, who could give up a good scotch? 

Pouring some into the empty glass, he walked over to his counterpart and lifted it into her line of sight, a cheeky smile on his lips. Clearly his dear Rosalind needed to loosen up a little. “A little break wouldn’t hurt.”

[andiwillmendyou]

"Working more than you, I see." Rosalind simply blinked at him for a second before raising a slim eyebrow, looking over the glass he held before her. Wordlessly, she put her notepad onto the counter and took the glass from him, though she scrutinised it for a bit before actually taking a slow, calculating sip.

The whiskey seemed to burn her throat slightly. "Scotch, brother?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrow again, glancing up at him. "It's rather strong, don't you think? Ah, don't tell me you spent all of that time gone simply purchasing alcohol?"

[andiwillmendyou]

Rosalind put her pencil absently behind her ear as she looked over sloppy tests results she had quickly jotted down in her own notepad, humming to herself and trying to work out how to fix the anomaly she had spotted on the blackboard of the living room. A perfectionist in many ways, she always tried to straighten the anomalies, and trying to make tears sustain themselves for longer and in a safer way was no easy task. She wondered briefly where her brother had went off to for the last half-hour. As much as she knew he would be back soon, the fear of her losing him had been going strong in her since the day he'd came into her reality and had that awful week with the nosebleeds, and so she could not help pausing for the moment to look to the doorway.

[eldrfar]

“You have been transfused, brother, into a new reality, but your body rejects the cognitive dissonance through confusion and hemorrhage. But we are together, and I will mend you. For what separates us now, but a single chromosome?”

- Rosalind Lutece

[andiwillmendyou]

WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?

“An intriguing question, though I’m inclined to say that locations are simply variables. It would matter little to me; as long as my brother and I would be together, I would be forever content, just as I am now.”