March Mingle Madness (aka SURPRISE it's another mingle)

[bryces_pup]

Who: Crew members and visitors of the SS Blue Fish
Broadcast: nope
Action: On the Blue Fish, naturally.
When: Throughout March!

[Another month, another mingle. Once again, any visitors on the ship should bear in mind that there are locks installed all over the ship, so someone on board's gotta let you in. Or you can just stand there. And stare. And hope someone takes pity on you.]

Comments

[dancingmd]

It's painful.

[No point in downplaying it with him.]

But I'll live. [Tiniest of crooked smiles - it hurts too much to give him a full one.] I've had worse than a black eye before.

[theroadwarrior]

[He doesn't meet her smile with anything but a glance away.]

Mmn.

[A small affirmation. It's true, black eyes are hardly that bad. He's had them before; he's had a lot of things before. It's not a big deal until you're tied to bake out in the sun by cannibals. Among other things.]

I... misread myself.

[He says it slowly. Trying to set things right.]

Won't happen again. Too risky.

[dancingmd]

[She shakes her head. He's her patient, she's not giving up on him.]

We'll know next time, we'll be better prepared...

[theroadwarrior]

[And he shakes his head right back solemnly.]

No next time. I'll handle things from here on.

[A 'sorry' is on the tip of his tongue, but his jaw throbs and he hopes the credits were enough to make up for his lackluster ability to actually say it aloud. Instead, now that he's told her his piece, he turns to leave the room.]

[dancingmd]

No.

[There it is again, the Commander voice, the one that refuses to leave room for argument (though of course... There probably will be one anyway, won't there?) She takes a few striding steps towards Max, as if to block him from leaving.]

That is not how this is going to work. You don't get to come in here and hand me a bag of money and think that's it, that we're going to be done with each other. I'm a doctor, you're my patient, and whether you believe it or not, I actually give a damn about your well-being.

[theroadwarrior]

[He whips his head around to look at her, stubborn heat in his eyes.]

I said there'll be no next time. Learn how to stop giving a damn.

[Ridiculous. The people in this fleet are absolutely ridiculous. Caring so much, giving without taking, confusing such easy principals from home -- turning them into kindnesses and generosity that'll get them hurt or killed... and around him, no less! He's frustrated as hell by it. Drives him up a wall.

He's not going to give this up. He's not going to feel like this again.

Instead he jabs a finger at the air towards her, clearly exasperated.]

I can do these things myself.

[dancingmd]

[You're funny Max, you really are, if you think you can get Beverly to not care about people anymore. And the finger? Only serves to piss her off so uh... She might say some not so smart things.]

Obviously you can't.

[theroadwarrior]

[He glowers -- offended, annoyed. Pissy.]

You don't know what I'm capable of.

[AKA: Watch me. He's handled himself for two decades on the road alone. Just because he's began to accept company and work more like a team, it doesn't change what he's handled on his own. He doesn't care if she doesn't see that; he just wants her to leave him alone and let him lick his wounds in privacy.

So he turns to leave again, this time not at all humored at the thought of stopping should she try to ask him to. He's given payment, he's left, it's done. Nobody else will be hurt, and he can carry on with his existence, stuffed with a bunch of other people.]

[dancingmd]

[There's no asking about it - she's going to bodily put herself in the way and she glowers right back, hands on her hips.]

Neither do you. This is not over.

[If he wants her to leave him alone, he's going about it all the wrong way. But for now, she'll step aside, recognizing that she's too upset to have a reasonable conversation about this. But rest assured, he'll be hearing from her, whether he likes it or not.]

[theroadwarrior]

[He scoffs in a way that says it entirely is as far as he's concerned, and doesn't give her another glance. So much for apologizing. Her nosiness doesn't particularly make him feel that guilty for how it ended, though -- he tried, and as far as he's concerned, that's all there is to it.

He's not letting another doctor near again like that.

It's not worth this horrible feeling.]

Ice your eye.

[He vanishes out the door, doesn't stop.]