JULY PLANET MINGLE

[save_the_souls]

Who: YOU. ME. EVERYONE.
Broadcast: IF YOU WANT
Action: YEAH!!!!!
When: July!

[Congratulations to the crews that did not get themselves blown up! Welcome to the Blue Planet, a planet full of charming islands and even less charming weather patterns! Are you going to take the time to enjoy the beach? Help out with the local Nunnilis population? Get caught in a storm with another person and have a rating boosting sexual tension moment? The world's your oyster!]

[Yeah in other words: ITS A MINGLE GET IN HERE]

[July Planet Info!]

Comments

[tothefly]

[She logs the change in attitude the way she tracks the rest. Curious, not thrown off by it, as she sips her drink.]

I mostly meant Atroma. Seems like the kind of thing they'd take.

[redactions]

That was a good trap.

[ He makes a soft, amused noise, resignation and tolerance mixed into it in generous amounts. ]

Guess I got lucky. They did take the shield.

[tothefly]

Unintentional. I promise.

[Whether or not he believes her is up to him. The words are as much part of the game as anything else.]

Guess it counts as a prosthetic, more than a weapon. Hopefully the lab support on your ship has the tools to handle any maintenance you need.

[redactions]

[ He smiles crookedly. Intentional, unintentional, it wouldn't really have mattered. ]

Yeah, and I'm an engineer at least. Anyway. I haven't had that much problem with it.

[ Though it seems like you do. He leaves the question unspoken. ]

[tothefly]

It looks better when you leave the sleeve off.

[The statement is as impulsive as the urge to touch. An answer to his unspoken question. It's less of a problem when he doesn't try to hide it. At least then it's clear enough what it is, who he is. She doesn't like the implications of hiding. Like she can't handle it. Like he might mean something more by it.]

[redactions]

[ It shouldn't surprise him, not after Nat herself has said those same words. He tries not to look for Nat in Natasha; if there's overlap, well and good, he prefers familiarity. But even so, the expression she gets is a mixture of shock, a flicker of pain, and some bashfulness, before he says, quietly, ]

You think so?

[tothefly]

[That look on his face is complicated. Complicated with capital letters, and she knows she isn't the first Natasha to say that to him. For a moment, she considers taking the words back. She isn't that other woman, and any similarities he points out with words or looks or actions make her defensive of her sense of self. But the words are still true, and taking them back would be a sign of weakness. So she simply shifts, almost shrugs.]

I do.

Why hide it?

[The question could be rhetorical, or it could be genuine. She leaves the choice to him.]

[redactions]

​​​​[ Wryly, ]

For starters? Its existence is classified.

[tothefly]

Doesn't mean anything to the folks here.

Guess old habits die hard, though.

[redactions]

​​​​[ He tips his glass towards her. ]

I'll drink to that.

[tothefly]

[She lifts her own glass, tapping his. Worse things to drink to, anyway.]