i start it up, turn it over like a general MINGLE

[deshabille]

Who: Crew of the Caprine and party crashers!!
Broadcast: None.
Action: Caprine unless otherwise noted!
When: All of January!

[IT'S A NEW YEAR. Which means that your captain is ready to drag you into more hideous shenanigans. Strap the fuck in, Capriners . . .]

[. . . it's a mingle. DUN DUN DUNNNN.]

Comments

[ragazzina]

[She's relieved things have continued right along. Keeping her smile in place would be difficult, she thinks, but the distraction will make that easier. And...for a second, she almost wants to gently deflect the request, find some excuse to stay where she is, but in the end she reminds herself that fought-over or not, these boys still mean more than anything to her, and being petty about it...

Well. If she stubbornly nurses hurt feelings, then she'll miss out. So there's no sense in clinging to that, is there.]

Over here?

[So she gets up and makes her way carefully over, watching the thermos to ensure that she doesn't accidentally kick it as she approaches.]

[nextlineis]

No, no. [He grins.] Over here.

[Well, at least one of them is being careful because Joseph sure as heck isn't when he hooks her by the waist with an arm to pull her into his lap. He only keeps his arm there (therefore holding her) long enough to lean forward and switch off the autopilot.]

It's a little hard to learn how to pilot if you can't even reach the controls.

[ragazzina]

Hu— oomp!

[WELL, THIS IS HAPPENING. And after that obligatory little shriek of surprise, she's tempted to squirm while his arm stays around her waist, but then it occurs to her that maybe squirming wouldn't be the brightest of ideas while she's actively in someone's lap, so she goes the opposite direction and tries to hold very still, instead.

LIKE A LADY.]

P-Pilot? Jojo! I-I'm not a pilot, I'm an engineer, I can't just— w-what are you doing, who's flying the ship now?!

[SAVE HER]

[nextlineis]

[Joseph shouldn't laugh at her panic, but he can't help it.]

Sure you can! I've been teaching Caesar a little bit here and there, and I offer to teach anybody in my crew just in case. It's much easier than flying a plane, so I bet you'd pick up on it fast.

[Joseph reaches around her to the controls.]

Besides, since you're an engineer, you should get a feel for it on this end of things, too!

[ragazzina]

I don't know how to fly a plane eitheeeeeeeeeeeeeer!

[Look, this is her cue to just huddle down and make herself small and let Jojo fly this ship because evidently Suzie is envisioning an eventuality where, like.

She touches a lever and the entirety of space explodes, probably.]

Don't let us crash don't let us crash!

[nextlineis]

Hey c'mon, [Joseph leans down and around her a little to catch her eyes.] I didn't let you fall on the ice, did I?

[Joseph look back out the window and glances at the radar as he starts moving the Caprine away from the rest of the ships.]

Look, I'll get us a little ways out of the way from the rest of the Fleet, so you'll have plenty of space to practice in. You won't have anything to worry about.

[ragazzina]

Falling on the ice is different than crashing in space...!

[But she does relax a little as he takes a confident hand in piloting the Caprine, because watching him work is actually pretty entertaining, it's just the prospect of being in control of an entire ship that actual living people are on is...nervewracking.

Which, consequently, leads to her snuggling against him and shifting to fit her head under his chin or against the crook of his shoulder, whichever is neater and more convenient.]

[nextlineis]

[What? Oh. That's a thing we're doing now? Okay. Well. He probably should have seen that one coming since he's the one who pulled her into his lap. It's fine though! There will be zero complaints filed by Joseph about this turn of events. He'll happily rest his chin on her head.]

Okay, that's a fair point. But I did still promise I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you and that includes crashing my ship. All you gotta do is trust me.

[ragazzina]

[BEING SHORT PREVAILS AGAIN. Maybe it's a little selfish, considering, but — well. It's what she'd be doing if they hadn't talked, too, so either way it's what she's doing now. Consequences be damned.]

...Mmm. Okay...mmhmm, yeah, I can do that. I can definitely do that.

[nextlineis]

[Joseph grins. That's more like it.]

Alright, the left controls your speed. Pull it towards you to accelerate and push it away from you to decelerate. Don't adjust the speed too fast or you're going to have some unhappy passengers. [Speaking from experience? Nah...] Right's your direction. Push to move down and pull to move up, left for left and right for right. Don't worry about watching the screens for now, I'll keep an eye on those for you. Just worry about get a feel for moving her.

[ragazzina]

Wait, wait, slow down! Not so much so fast!

[She looks to the left, seeking out the control in question and miming the directions to herself.]

Toward...is faster, and away...slower...

[She mimes it one more time, then settles her hand over it, taking care to keep it steady as she turns her attention to the right.]

But over here, pushing forward is...down? Was that right?

[nextlineis]

See? [He laughs a little. She has nothing to worry about being that quick to pick up on things.] You're a natural at this! Just like I thought you would be. You're missing oooone thing though.

[ragazzina]

Up, left and right...

[Just to round herself out, she finishes up the directions of the controls on her right hand, then casts an uncertain look back at him.

Which proves comical to the highest degree, considering how they're sitting.]

One thing? Is it... [...] I don't know what it is...

[nextlineis]

[While Suzie is distracted with remembering the correct way to operate the Caprine, Joseph is secretly grabbing the aviator hat Caesar gave him for his birthday off the back of his chair. He lets her try to take a guess at what she's missing before putting it on her.]

That's better! Now you look like a pilot!

[ragazzina]

[And quite predictably, the sensation of the hat plunking down on her head elicits two little shrieks in rapid succession, the first from surprise — ]

Jojo!

[ — and the second from delight.]

Ah! For me, really? This is your special hat, isn't it? I get to wear it? Mm, it's so warm and snug, haha!

[nextlineis]

[How is Suzie real? Joseph wants answers to this question. He know he won't get any, but he wants to know. Still, he satisfies himself by holding her a little closer and giving her a small squeeze.]

I think it looks even better on you than it does on me! If that hadn't been a gift, I'd let you take it!

[ragazzina]

If it hadn't been a gift, maybe I would've stolen it!

[But she squeaks when he squeezes her, letting him hold her snugly while she focuses in on the control panel, and after mumbling the directions to herself another time or two, she gets brave and carefully pushes at the controls one by one — first turning the ship a little to the right, and then accelerating just a touch to start moving them forward more deliberately.]

Look! Look look look, we're really going!

[nextlineis]

[Chuckling, Joseph kisses Suzie on the cheek. He knew she'd get brave enough to really start flying it eventually and, of course, her enthusiasm is everything he'd expected and could have wanted.]

That'll teach you to doubt yourself, Suzie Q.