Paisley mingle

[reek]

Who: The SS Paisley & visitors
Broadcast: None
Action: Paisley
When: February

[ Step up, step up. Survive the Paisley and win a prize! ]

Comments

[stefanged]

[Whenever Stefan appears in the kitchen, it's for a brief moment while he brews his usual cup of tea - or a whole thermos! - and vanishes back to his room. No baked goods (cookies, ma'amoul, baklava) or dinner from him for a while. Sorry, crew: he'll be back to business as usual later.

Very rarely, he's in the med bay, mostly to re-arrange things to accommodate their second lab support. But even that's brief, because otherwise, he's holed up in his room (or Alex's, should you catch him coming out of hers). Nights are sleepless too; if you're up late, you may catch him on the bridge with a diary and pen in hand. His entire mood is melancholy, like he's struggling to hold the weight of the world. Sometimes, he thinks he actually is.]

[tobeajedi]

[Vima feels that something is wrong as soon as she steps onto the Paisley--it's not a sense of danger, but of sadness. She hasn't experienced that before. And she also knows that it's Stefan's.

She heads to the kitchen with quick steps, in time to catch him in mid-brew and see the thermos.]

Careful. You don't want to overdo it on that stuff.

[stefanged]

[He pauses, glancing up from his nearly-full thermos. Huh. He hadn't even noticed. Reaching for another teacup, he rushes to fix her a cup too. Stefan's gonna be a good host, because in the end, his mood shouldn't determine his hospitality.]

Thanks. I guess I've been out of it lately.

[tobeajedi]

I can see that. [Without waiting for an invitation--she hardly needs one at this point--Vima takes a seat at the table.] What's wrong?

[stefanged]

[Had anyone else asked, he might've changed the subject or lied through his teeth. Since it's Vima, he slides the tea cup over.]

Elena went home.

[tobeajedi]

[Elena... the girl from the memory she saw, the one Vima said he should keep.]

...Oh. [She considers what to say. Trying to look on the bright side by saying she's back where she's supposed to be isn't it.] That's pretty rough. She was the only one from your homeworld, right?

[stefanged]

Right. [He nods, blowing on his thermos before he takes a sip out of it.] I don't think our world's actually destroyed. The world I was in before here... it lied to all of us.

So I know she's alive. I mean, I hope she's alive. Atroma wouldn't... [Another quick sip.] We're entertainment, not chew toys.

[tobeajedi]

[The 'world' lied to them? Strange way to put it, although Vima wonders if she's maybe taking it too literally.]

If that's what you think, you should believe it.It would take a lot to destroy a world. [It's not impossible, she knows that from Ossus, but it tends to require warlords with superweapons.] And I think you're right, Atroma wouldn't go so far as to break us. [She scowls.] It'll make you sad, but it'd want you to recover in time for more humorous hijinks.

[stefanged]

A world, yeah. They told us that dozens of worlds collapsed or burned out or... you know, ceased existing. It's why we were pulled to that Earth.

[Now, it's sounding more like that Earth pulled them, regardless of their world's status.]

Sorry, I know I'm not making much sense, but I was told... that my world didn't exist anymore, and if Elena was going back to that...

[Nope, not gonna go there. Not going there.] Then she's gonna be just fine, and maybe some day, I'll join her too.

[sandhate]

[ Stefan appears to be the only one awake or on the ship at the same time as him lately. Both of them sleepless and weighing matters in their own heads. He doesn't usually bother him, knowing the need for solitude. But he is itching to do something.

Anakin taps him in the shoulder as a greeting and push a cup of tea. It's probably not Stefan's usual brand, it's Obi-Wan's and he just happen to have some - he never gave it to his master when he had the chance. ]

Looked like you needed it.

[stefanged]

[Tea is tea, regardless of what kind it is. Stefan blinks back surprise at the gift, but he accepts it with the warmest smile he's given anyone all week. Which is still pretty weak, as far as smiles go, but it beats a brooding stare.]

Thanks. I guess it [my sour mood] was pretty obvious, huh?

[sandhate]

[ He shrugs, playing with odd hinged mechanical pieces before sitting down opposite of Stefan. Joking: ]

You could pick it up from one end of the ship if you're quiet enough.

[ A faint smile. ]

Everything okay?

[stefanged]

Not really. [Honesty's the best policy, right? Stefan blows on the tea, out of habit rather than any need for it to cool down.]

My... [ex-girlfriend, soulmate,] best friend from home? She left the Fleet a couple of days ago, and I don't... I don't get why that happens.

[sandhate]

[ His brow knots together. Of course, he knew they leave, eventually but to hear that Stefan doesn't know. ]

Guess she won a ticket off the ship. She's probably back home now. It's not that bad of a thing, is it?

[stefanged]

Now that, I'm not so sure. Home wasn't exactly the safest place around.

[He laughs, albeit a little hollowly, at the thought. Mystic Falls was a legit death town. Compared to that, the Fleet was a five-star vacation club.]

[sandhate]

[ His brow furrows and he drops a hand on Stefan's shoulder, giving him a light pat with a cold metal hand. Sorry, that's just his dominate hand. ]

I'm sorry to hear that. The galaxy- the world is a dangerous place.

[ A beat ]

Do you trust her?

[stefanged]

[It's still a kind gesture, and one that Stefan needs more than anything.]

I trusted her with my life. I don't doubt that she's safe. She has my brother, after all.

[He takes a sip of the tea] It's just weird, you know? One day they're here and one day they're... not.

[delincuente]

[Alex tiptoes over to Stef's door before dinner, after hearing he'd been holed up in there this afternoon. It has to be something serious if he's picked his room over the med bay, so she's come armed with her little monster pillow and some completely genuine, non-prickly hugs.

Tap. Tap.]

You in there?

[stefanged]

Yeah, hang on.

[He opens the door for her, stepping aside to let her in. His hair isn't even gelled like usual - sure, he's put gel in it, but bits of his hair flop over, rather than staying up like usual. Between that and his general ragged posture, it's more than obvious something happened.

Stefan does, however, manage a smile at her pillow.] I see we've got company tonight.

[delincuente]

[She reaches up to pass a hand over his floppy hair, gentle and concerned.]

He told me you were looking pretty gloomy. Thought maybe I'd follow that lead.

[stefanged]

[He lets out a hollow laugh, leaning forward so he can whisper in the pillow's ear (or where they would be one).] Tattletale.

[Stefan tugs a little on the pillow's arms, before pulling Alex closer to him]

He wasn't wrong. [...] Elena went home a couple of days ago.

[delincuente]

[Oh, no. She may only know the basics about him and Elena, but it's enough to realize how serious this is. She reaches for his hand, rubbing a thumb over it gently.]

I'm so sorry, Stef...

[stefanged]

[The more he talks about this, the more it hits him like a ton of bricks. She's gone.]

I never told her about us. [He stares down at her hand, before deciding to intertwine his fingers in hers.] I should be the one apologizing, Alex. You wanted me to say something, and I could've and I... didn't.

[delincuente]

[She shakes her head.] No, it's fine. It was your choice. You're the one who knows her, not me.

[stefanged]

It was a stupid choice. [He's self-aware enough to acknowledge this, at least?] I knew that we could've gone home at any time, and I knew that we may never get tomorrow...

I just thought that maybe, she'd be the exception to the rule.