[She doesn't waste time in heading the right direction. Her feet know the way by now, automatic, which doesn't mean she's turned entirely in. She didn't know how not to pay attention anymore, so she follows anyone she passes with her eyes. Notices new marks on the walls (moose), the different atmosphere of the ship (new roomates, the rovers, limited supplies. The captain's message), the scents (few, none cinnamon). The sound of her own boots on the stretching metal floor of the corridor until she gets to the right lift, rides it to the right floor. Uses the tracking function on her cuff just long enough to pinpoint which room Nic is in.
It doesn't take long at all. And she doesn't knock before letting herself in.]
[ not that knocking would have done much good, and not that he would have stopped even if she had managed to get his attention before entering. she'll find him making use of the training room, stripped down to a familiar pair of cargo pants and a simple black tank as he hefts his chin up over the metal bar he hangs on, eighty-four, eight-five, eight-six, eight-seven—
his eyes gaze the movement of her as she approaches, and it's testament to how serious he's taking her right now that he stops what he's doing and hops back down on surprisingly light feet. he's covered in a light sheen of sweat, something he doesn't bother to even wipe up as he looks her over. ]
[She's very serious. Serious enough she doesn't even take the time to give him a once-over, no raised eyebrow, no mocking smile. Just the same set expression, corners of her mouth turned serious. Ignoring him long enough to prowl around the exterior of the room, pointless but thorough search. No one was there and she wasn't likely to spot whatever it was that might be in here capable of hearing what she was going to say. If they kept an eye on them- and they did, she knew they did, it's just as likely they kept an ear on them. But why bother with bugs when you had them tethered by the wrist?
She knows it. It's more about the act than the assurance she won't get. Some bit of control, at least. Knowing she'd done her due diligence. It's something. But she's got to stop eventually, and she does, circling back around in front of him, eyes flicking over to meet his.]
[ it's readable in every inch of tess, which is interesting enough on its own. but coupled with the movement from the rest of the crew (rovers being built, roommates being assigned, a general air of anxiety lingering in the halls), it's safe to say she's got his full attention by now.
the name that falls from her lips gets nothing more than a brief pause from him, but his expression remains carefully blank. ]
[The short sound she makes- approval or agreement, doesn't matter. Not nearly as much as the way she watches him. Looking for a sign he's guessing at what she's got to say. Expecting the worst. But he's blank enough and she doesn't think-
She blinks once, looks away long enough to compose herself into something more certain before she turns to face him again, back straight.]
That's the one.
[And there's no normal way to bring this up. No sensible course of action here because this isn't a sensible place and half of the time she's scrambling to keep her feet under herself. She was managing. Getting better. But it could still throw her for a loop.]
That a yes, then? [She can't recall if he reads the files. Probably, he liked to read, and he didn't have John Crichton's sense of decency. But he hadn't said no.]
[ he likes to read, sure, but the recruiters don't really have much on shakespeare (or even meyer, which is definitely saying something), so he reads them as sparingly as he can. he's definitely read havoc's file, though; it would have been foolish not to, considering he'd been left in charge of training her. ]
tHAt's a YEs.
[ reflexively, his eyes dart off towards the side. he already knows where his sword is resting, propped up against a nearby chair, but it seems more of a comfort for him to check in every now and then. ]
[Follows his eyes until they settle on the weapon, never all that far away. Kept it close to him no matter where he was. And that's a comfort, in a way. He doesn't have an off switch.]
Maybe.
[And that's the unfortunate truth. She doesn't know. She can't say with any certainty and she can't act until she has that. Not easy like it had been with Six. Not easy like it had been with Robert. Personal distaste aside the woman hadn't done anything that Tess could honestly take as a move. Not with Hinata pushing it forward as his deal. Doubted it was originally his idea but it was something like fair and something like even. For now.
There's not that much distance separating them as it is, but she narrows it anyway. Isn't keen to be talking loud right now. If the thick smell of sweat bothers her at all it doesn't show. When she speaks again her voice is low, in a way that's familiar to her. He might have to lean in, if he weren't him.]
You know she's got some powers? [For whatever that means, Tess wasn't sure she understood exactly what they were outside of worth the cost.] After she uses them she's got to pay a price, apparently all of her kind do.
[Her kind. Contractors. She'd double checked the files. Not a clue what November 11's payment was (stupid name), and Amber's didn't seem much like a payment at all. Aging backwards. Whatever that meant. But they were clearly linked.
-she doesn't think about the choice of words. Doesn't think about who she's talking to. She doesn't think about Nic as anything but Nic-]
Her file says she drinks human blood [weird already, but there were other vampires here and there was probably blood for them, not like the CDC didn't know about them] What it doesn't say is it's only kids.
[From where she's standing there's no question of the way she's watching him, close enough she'd be able to see him flinch if he did. Close enough he'd be able to see the faint dark circles under her eyes. New roommates. Bad night's sleep.]
[ he never had to be this close to know she's on edge. he'd seen the circles under her eyes, the tension around her shoulders. he'd even seen the way she seems to forget who or what or how he is, stepping close where she doesn't need to, speaking where mouthed words could have done just fine.
if she expects any reaction from her words at all, she doesn't get much. a heavy pause, a slow and steady blink. but then again, he's been perfecting the blank expression for quite a while now. it doesn't take much to crack through it, and all her pretense had helped prepare him for something pretty bad anyway.
he'd always suspected it had to have been something along those lines. a catch to her catch, that is, given the way havoc keeps such information so tightly under wraps. even in confessing to him, she'd always taken care never to confess too much. ]
sHE aTtaCK sOMeboDy?
[ he thinks of ellie again. moreover of tess' attachment to her. he thinks of hinata, next, of their time spent shared in that black box. ]
[There's a short moment where her expression stays fixed before it folds lips turning up into something that might be a smile if it weren't so twisted, head tilting, just so. And it says it all, of course. If she'd attacked somebody- somebody Tess cared about, which would be the only reason she gave a damn about this at all, she wouldn't be here standing in front of him now with only hushed words and a sour look on her face.
Not this time, at least. Six dealt with himself, went missing straight off, but it had been a hard thing not to pull the trigger on him when she'd had the chance and she hadn't been on ground nearly as solid then.
Not that she says anything like that.]
Not quite. Hinata's got some kind of deal with her. His blood in exchange for her protection.
[Her protection. Tess doesn't chew her lip, but she does shift back slightly, smile slipping off her face.]
He says it ain't much but- [but he doesn't know anything] that could change. I just want to make sure she's not got something else on her mind.
[Which is as good as admitting her own guilt. Because what she doesn't say is she made him stop. She didn't even ask him to.]
Can't exactly go up to her and bring it up, either, since it's meant to be a secret. Figured you could keep tabs on the situation.
[She doesn't think he'd let Hinata get hurt. Babysat him well enough. Worried about him, even if he'd done it in the most backwards way he could. And Tess could keep as many eyes as she wanted but at the end of the day there's no guarantee she could stop someone with skills like that. Try as she might. The dirty little truth of this place.]
[ tess would be right about that much, at least — nic wouldn't let the kid get hurt, foolish as he might be enough to go out and look for trouble, but doing something and admitting to it are two very different things. ]
hEre i ThoUGht i Was OFf BAbySiTtiNG duTY.
[ but it's not a no. neither is his turning away from her to grab up a previously discarded t-shirt, using that to wipe off the sweat on his face and hair in lieu of a towel. his hair is still long, uncut from the last time they'd spoken, so that when he runs the shirt down his face, the long fringe sticks to his cheeks. ]
if IT's sUPposEd TO be a SeCRET, hOW dId You FInD OuT?
[Bullshit. Because he's telling her there's things she can do to help these kids. Because she's practically chasing trouble down by not turning Hinata away. Both of them even dumber than they looked. Hard to do.
She doesn't chase him down when he turns, holds her ground as he puts himself back together again. Breaks the tension like a twig and-
It hadn't been a yes but it sure as hell wasn't a no. She was getting used to it. It didn't matter if he didn't seem excited about it, as long as he did it. And he had to, there's no one else she can ask, not to watch some kid who's not Ellie. She knows better than to think that was alright to do.
Hair too long and he doesn't exactly look worn out but she can't help but wonder if he won't regret not taking advantage of whatever time they have left before things go all to hell again. Probably not.]
Apparently I look trustworthy.
[Said with a flat expression to match the tone, raises her hands in half a shrug. But it's not like Nic can't already tell how stupid she's being.]
He's got me trying to teach him how to read people.
[ oh that gets him pausing. gets him turning back towards her to face her fully, just so she can see the full force of that shit-eating grin on his face. ]
bET He tWIsTEd YouR aRM ReAl bAD, TOo.
[ tell him again, tess. tell him again how you don't have time or care to waste on teaching these kids your skills. ]
[She just raises a single eyebrow in response. He could be as smug about it as he wanted, but he'd called on her after Hinata had gotten out of blackbox (better hope she never finds out why you fought that door pal), he had no room to talk.]
It was a trade.
[And then, because she's her, with a tilt of her head and a shallow grin] Why, what did he do to you?
[She doesn't believe that at all. Ordered? Maybe to watch him, back when things had gone all sideways- although Tess hadn't been kidding, Hinata was observant and she hadn't been all that comfortable with the idea of Nic running around without a set of ears during all of that- but she doubted it stretched to finding out how he was after his training. Nah, skeptical doesn't begin to cover it, and it shows.]
First hand experience with Blackbox. And information.
[Like that little gem about Havoc. That hadn't been part of the deal, but it had been a handier side-effect than she'd imagined. As open as he was, it seemed to pay off. Nothing she could fake as well as he could do honestly.]
sO Go IN YOursELf. didN't THInk YOu WeRe ThaT ScARed.
[ one more swipe of the shirt through his hair, pushing it back off his face. all hard lines and sunken eyes, but sharper than they usually are, adding an edge to the twist of his lips.
when he turns back to her, his brows are raised. it's almost innocent, that curiosity. if it weren't, you know. him. ]
sHOUlD i wATch ALl the PEopLe TakINg adVAntAgE oF liTtLE kIdS who DoN'T knOW BeTtER?
[She couldn't remember a time she wasn't scared. Not really. She moved and she worked and she fought and she survived but that fear was always there. Because she didn't want to die. So no, she wasn't fearless. She just knew how to use it.]
Besides, I know what I'm capable of. I don't need to prove it to them.
[She'd wondered what the black box would show her. Considered the possibilities, how it could hurt her. And it would, but in the end she'd been hurt before. And it was real then. No faked images. No fake family.
She just stands there and watches him go sharp, all edges and corners. More focused than she's used to seeing him. Outside of a fight, at least. Then again- She turns up her chin, and if he's expecting her angry, he doesn't get it. Matches his grin with one of her own, two steps forward again, shoulders back but lose. No fight, but a lot of challenge.]
[ there's a moment's pause on his end — not quite hesitation, but not quite not hesitation either. a second later, he's back to that wide, lazy grin, all teeth and no mirth.
he'd argue he never thought he knew her, but that would be a horrible lie. she'd see through it all too easily, and frankly she's been looking through him with too much ease lately. not good. ]
[All of a sudden, just like that. It's an easy break. Her smile might not be any more genuine but it's a little less sharp as she brings her hand up, intending to tap his shoulder with the back of her fingers, lazy flick of the wrist.]
That's the spirit.
[And every part of her knows this is a bad idea. It'll come back to haunt her, coming to him like this. Someone's going to fuck up somewhere, and it'll be messy. But she doesn't really have a choice. Not one she's willing to make right now. And she should be standing on her own two feet but she couldn't do it with the extra weight of people she wasn't meant to be dragging behind her.
He's not exactly a solution so much as part of the problem, but that's nobody's fault but her own.
He hadn't said yes, but she's pretty sure that doesn't matter. Got what she came here for, even if in the end all it was putting words to problems she couldn't solve. Takes a step back, hands at her side again and looks away for a second, grin falling somewhere along the line.]
Thank you.
[And they're words that never come naturally to her but she's put a lot on him, regardless of what he'd offered her months ago. In the end it's more than he has to.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Day 86 47:00
You got a minute?
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You're asking
?
Not usually your style to be that considerate
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I ain't keen on having to hunt you down. I don't think we got a lot of time left to fuck around.
FROM: tess@cdc.org
Where are you?
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Training room
no subject
There were plenty of training rooms.
Still, it's enough to make her response nearly as short as his.]
FROM: tess@cdc.org
Alone?
no subject
FROM: brown.nicolas@cdc.org
Yeah
no subject
Good. Stay.
[She doesn't waste time in heading the right direction. Her feet know the way by now, automatic, which doesn't mean she's turned entirely in. She didn't know how not to pay attention anymore, so she follows anyone she passes with her eyes. Notices new marks on the walls (moose), the different atmosphere of the ship (new roomates, the rovers, limited supplies. The captain's message), the scents (few, none cinnamon). The sound of her own boots on the stretching metal floor of the corridor until she gets to the right lift, rides it to the right floor. Uses the tracking function on her cuff just long enough to pinpoint which room Nic is in.
It doesn't take long at all. And she doesn't knock before letting herself in.]
no subject
his eyes gaze the movement of her as she approaches, and it's testament to how serious he's taking her right now that he stops what he's doing and hops back down on surprisingly light feet. he's covered in a light sheen of sweat, something he doesn't bother to even wipe up as he looks her over. ]
WhAT's bothErINg You thIS TimE?
no subject
She knows it. It's more about the act than the assurance she won't get. Some bit of control, at least. Knowing she'd done her due diligence. It's something. But she's got to stop eventually, and she does, circling back around in front of him, eyes flicking over to meet his.]
You know a woman named Havoc?
no subject
the name that falls from her lips gets nothing more than a brief pause from him, but his expression remains carefully blank. ]
rEd hAIR, Red tEAm?
no subject
She blinks once, looks away long enough to compose herself into something more certain before she turns to face him again, back straight.]
That's the one.
[And there's no normal way to bring this up. No sensible course of action here because this isn't a sensible place and half of the time she's scrambling to keep her feet under herself. She was managing. Getting better. But it could still throw her for a loop.]
That a yes, then? [She can't recall if he reads the files. Probably, he liked to read, and he didn't have John Crichton's sense of decency. But he hadn't said no.]
no subject
tHAt's a YEs.
[ reflexively, his eyes dart off towards the side. he already knows where his sword is resting, propped up against a nearby chair, but it seems more of a comfort for him to check in every now and then. ]
proBLEm?
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Maybe.
[And that's the unfortunate truth. She doesn't know. She can't say with any certainty and she can't act until she has that. Not easy like it had been with Six. Not easy like it had been with Robert. Personal distaste aside the woman hadn't done anything that Tess could honestly take as a move. Not with Hinata pushing it forward as his deal. Doubted it was originally his idea but it was something like fair and something like even. For now.
There's not that much distance separating them as it is, but she narrows it anyway. Isn't keen to be talking loud right now. If the thick smell of sweat bothers her at all it doesn't show. When she speaks again her voice is low, in a way that's familiar to her. He might have to lean in, if he weren't him.]
You know she's got some powers? [For whatever that means, Tess wasn't sure she understood exactly what they were outside of worth the cost.] After she uses them she's got to pay a price, apparently all of her kind do.
[Her kind. Contractors. She'd double checked the files. Not a clue what November 11's payment was (stupid name), and Amber's didn't seem much like a payment at all. Aging backwards. Whatever that meant. But they were clearly linked.
-she doesn't think about the choice of words. Doesn't think about who she's talking to. She doesn't think about Nic as anything but Nic-]
Her file says she drinks human blood [weird already, but there were other vampires here and there was probably blood for them, not like the CDC didn't know about them] What it doesn't say is it's only kids.
[From where she's standing there's no question of the way she's watching him, close enough she'd be able to see him flinch if he did. Close enough he'd be able to see the faint dark circles under her eyes. New roommates. Bad night's sleep.]
no subject
if she expects any reaction from her words at all, she doesn't get much. a heavy pause, a slow and steady blink. but then again, he's been perfecting the blank expression for quite a while now. it doesn't take much to crack through it, and all her pretense had helped prepare him for something pretty bad anyway.
he'd always suspected it had to have been something along those lines. a catch to her catch, that is, given the way havoc keeps such information so tightly under wraps. even in confessing to him, she'd always taken care never to confess too much. ]
sHE aTtaCK sOMeboDy?
[ he thinks of ellie again. moreover of tess' attachment to her. he thinks of hinata, next, of their time spent shared in that black box. ]
no subject
Not this time, at least. Six dealt with himself, went missing straight off, but it had been a hard thing not to pull the trigger on him when she'd had the chance and she hadn't been on ground nearly as solid then.
Not that she says anything like that.]
Not quite. Hinata's got some kind of deal with her. His blood in exchange for her protection.
[Her protection. Tess doesn't chew her lip, but she does shift back slightly, smile slipping off her face.]
He says it ain't much but- [but he doesn't know anything] that could change. I just want to make sure she's not got something else on her mind.
[Which is as good as admitting her own guilt. Because what she doesn't say is she made him stop. She didn't even ask him to.]
Can't exactly go up to her and bring it up, either, since it's meant to be a secret. Figured you could keep tabs on the situation.
[She doesn't think he'd let Hinata get hurt. Babysat him well enough. Worried about him, even if he'd done it in the most backwards way he could. And Tess could keep as many eyes as she wanted but at the end of the day there's no guarantee she could stop someone with skills like that. Try as she might. The dirty little truth of this place.]
no subject
hEre i ThoUGht i Was OFf BAbySiTtiNG duTY.
[ but it's not a no. neither is his turning away from her to grab up a previously discarded t-shirt, using that to wipe off the sweat on his face and hair in lieu of a towel. his hair is still long, uncut from the last time they'd spoken, so that when he runs the shirt down his face, the long fringe sticks to his cheeks. ]
if IT's sUPposEd TO be a SeCRET, hOW dId You FInD OuT?
no subject
[Bullshit. Because he's telling her there's things she can do to help these kids. Because she's practically chasing trouble down by not turning Hinata away. Both of them even dumber than they looked. Hard to do.
She doesn't chase him down when he turns, holds her ground as he puts himself back together again. Breaks the tension like a twig and-
It hadn't been a yes but it sure as hell wasn't a no. She was getting used to it. It didn't matter if he didn't seem excited about it, as long as he did it. And he had to, there's no one else she can ask, not to watch some kid who's not Ellie. She knows better than to think that was alright to do.
Hair too long and he doesn't exactly look worn out but she can't help but wonder if he won't regret not taking advantage of whatever time they have left before things go all to hell again. Probably not.]
Apparently I look trustworthy.
[Said with a flat expression to match the tone, raises her hands in half a shrug. But it's not like Nic can't already tell how stupid she's being.]
He's got me trying to teach him how to read people.
no subject
bET He tWIsTEd YouR aRM ReAl bAD, TOo.
[ tell him again, tess. tell him again how you don't have time or care to waste on teaching these kids your skills. ]
no subject
It was a trade.
[And then, because she's her, with a tilt of her head and a shallow grin] Why, what did he do to you?
no subject
i wAS OrDERed.
[ you weren't. ]
whAt'Re You GeTTIng out OF iT?
no subject
First hand experience with Blackbox. And information.
[Like that little gem about Havoc. That hadn't been part of the deal, but it had been a handier side-effect than she'd imagined. As open as he was, it seemed to pay off. Nothing she could fake as well as he could do honestly.]
no subject
[ one more swipe of the shirt through his hair, pushing it back off his face. all hard lines and sunken eyes, but sharper than they usually are, adding an edge to the twist of his lips.
when he turns back to her, his brows are raised. it's almost innocent, that curiosity. if it weren't, you know. him. ]
sHOUlD i wATch ALl the PEopLe TakINg adVAntAgE oF liTtLE kIdS who DoN'T knOW BeTtER?
no subject
I guess you don't know me all that well.
[She couldn't remember a time she wasn't scared. Not really. She moved and she worked and she fought and she survived but that fear was always there. Because she didn't want to die. So no, she wasn't fearless. She just knew how to use it.]
Besides, I know what I'm capable of. I don't need to prove it to them.
[She'd wondered what the black box would show her. Considered the possibilities, how it could hurt her. And it would, but in the end she'd been hurt before. And it was real then. No faked images. No fake family.
She just stands there and watches him go sharp, all edges and corners. More focused than she's used to seeing him. Outside of a fight, at least. Then again- She turns up her chin, and if he's expecting her angry, he doesn't get it. Matches his grin with one of her own, two steps forward again, shoulders back but lose. No fight, but a lot of challenge.]
Maybe you better.
[As if he didn't already.]
no subject
he'd argue he never thought he knew her, but that would be a horrible lie. she'd see through it all too easily, and frankly she's been looking through him with too much ease lately. not good. ]
whY NOt? nOtHINg bEtTer To DO.
no subject
That's the spirit.
[And every part of her knows this is a bad idea. It'll come back to haunt her, coming to him like this. Someone's going to fuck up somewhere, and it'll be messy. But she doesn't really have a choice. Not one she's willing to make right now. And she should be standing on her own two feet but she couldn't do it with the extra weight of people she wasn't meant to be dragging behind her.
He's not exactly a solution so much as part of the problem, but that's nobody's fault but her own.
He hadn't said yes, but she's pretty sure that doesn't matter. Got what she came here for, even if in the end all it was putting words to problems she couldn't solve. Takes a step back, hands at her side again and looks away for a second, grin falling somewhere along the line.]
Thank you.
[And they're words that never come naturally to her but she's put a lot on him, regardless of what he'd offered her months ago. In the end it's more than he has to.]
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I hate it when you leave but I love watching you go