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Who: The fine crew of the SS Red Fish!
Broadcast: Probably not so much...
Action: You betcha.
When: Barely forward-dated to Halloween!

---

[welcome to the Red Fish, the ship that always looks ready for Halloween anyway.

while today is a popular Earth holiday, it's also Zhas' birthday, and he has probably mentioned it to everyone on board in an unsubtle way over the last few weeks. there are a hilarious number of jack-o-lanterns around the ship, showing off skull-face carvings of... varying quality. thanks, Syeira!

what's in store on this spooky night? HILARITY, probably.]

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[the reasons behind to odd look he glances toward her with are twofold (or three, if you count the two seconds it takes to figure out why she's in a costume. it's easy to forget about the rest of this holiday while in space). firstly, he's a little caught off guard that she's approaching and talking to him of her own volition. and secondly, he's a little surprised at the suggestion of 'fun.' is that what he's supposed to be doing here?

'are you?' he signs, looking a little skeptical.]

I asked you first.

[Seriously? She'd have sort of assumed that he'd be a little more spirited about the whole deal, considering how close he is to Zhas. Asuka half-shrugs, idly running her finger around the rim of her cup.]

Are you dressed up like each other, or what?

[her fidgeting draws part of his attention to the cup she's holding, and some part of his mind busies on wondering if she's drinking the same stuff that Zhas has been doling out and setting up for everyone who crosses his path. he's never been a fan of alcohol or what it does to people... but one of the longest conversations he'd ever had with her had been while she was drinking. he's just wondering.

and he just ends up shrugging to the first part. he wouldn't know how to answer even if she had answered first. part of this is maybe kind of fun, but the rest is just stressful. and weird. and all for reasons that he doesn't feel tipsy enough to explain.

but then there's that second question, and he stalls for time by forcing down a sip of his own drink.

it's awkward. he's awkward.

'...he's dressed as a person. I'm not. it's Halloween.']

You're always dressed like a person. [He is a person, like it or not. Zhas, too. Whatever oddness of their bond and their life before can't eliminate that. The skull makeup can't get rid of their existence as people. Asuka watches him take that reluctant sip and then takes one of her own. It burns slightly going down, but luckily she doesn't cough. That would be a humiliating way to start their first real conversation in awhile. She leans more heavily against the wall, pressing a foot against it.]

Do you two always do that? [A ritual, or at least a tradition. Asuka fiddles with the ribbons holding the red hooded cape in place. She almost envies them, if that's the case. Something familiar in a weird world. Something like family.]

[he doesn't say anything to the first point, because he agrees with her--if maybe for the wrong reasons. he always dresses like a person, though he considers himself to be far outside of that class. normally, he dresses like a person and Zhas dresses like a monster. on Halloween, they twist that around. it's their only day "off."

and to the second point, he nods. it is a tradition, something that formed when he was first grafted into Zhas' life, and the normally-skull-faced man is bound and determined to keep it going. and really, that's part of the reason that Coil is feeling more like sulking than celebrating right now. sure, babysitting while the older man loses his restraint for a night is taxing... but the real disappointment comes from having to share the tradition with a crowd of other people.

after that, he shrugs a little and admits, 'it's dumb, but it makes him happy.']

You don't mind?

[Asuka swallows down another gulp of alcohol. Costumes. Someone on the network had said she should dress like who she wanted to be. Something like that. It would've had more appeal if she knew who that was. She's never bothered trying to be anyone but herself-- but that's the cop-out answer, the weak answer, and it's a lie on top of that.]

[She sets the drink down.]

What did you get him?

[the first thing he does is shake his head without hesitation, because of course he doesn't mind--he'd do anything to make Zhas happy. in Coil's mind, that's one of the primary reasons he's still breathing. it's just a simple matter of fact.

the second question isn't so easily answered, however. he frowns a little, and spends a minute inspecting whatever is left in his glass.

Zhas has never said anything about it, but he still feels strangely guilty when he finally signs, 'nothing.']

Seriously?

[Asuka blinks, frown deepening. As long as the date's acknowledged, it's common courtesy to give gifts. Even she's not so hopelessly stunted and rude as not to know that. She even gave Coil a gift for his birthday, while she was still too mad to really talk to him. But the way Coil looks down into his glass tells her that, at least, he must be ashamed at his lack.]

Why not? He would've been happy with whatever you got him, you know.

[her statement gets him to pick up his gaze again, at least, glancing at her with a look that borders on the edge of questioning. he almost seems skeptical, like he'd like to believe that's true, but can't convince himself of it.

'I never have,' he signs with his free hand, while shrugging up his shoulders.]

How long have you been together again?

[God, men are stupid. She'd almost bet her life that Zhas didn't give him anything for his birthday, either, assuming that announcing it to the crew was present enough. How aggravating. Asuka takes another swallow, one that stings her throat.]

It's what you do, stupid. You think he'd be picky? Come on.

[he probably would have just shrugged again if it hadn't been for the fact that part of this tradition of theirs involved Zhas badgering him until he joined in on the drinking. he comes out of his defensive, hunched shape enough to gesture out helplessly with his half-empty cup, before starting to sign with actual words.

'I never--' he starts, before a short sigh and starting over with different signs. 'birthdays were new.']

[At first, Asuka's not inclined to be so charitable at his explanation. He ought to know how customs work; they're pretty much universal. And yet something about the way he signs it makes her sort of want to cut him a marginal amount of slack. Up until recently, real food was new to her. Blue oceans were new. And the alcohol is softening her up to some tiny extent, so instead of snapping back, she shrugs.]

Whatever. He won't mind if you're late about it as long as you do it.

[She points to his drink.]

You don't like that, either, but you're doing it.

[he looks down at his drink. letting his partner push alcohol on him, turning a blind eye when the skull paint came off, keeping watch while one night a year was spent forgetting about the job they had to do--he'd maybe sort of assumed that had been his gift. obediently going along with whatever Zhas had wanted, whether the evening consisted of spending time with each other or watching in anguish while his friend disappeared into the company of a stranger, had been the sacrifice he'd made every year.

but maybe he had been thinking wrong about it.

he never would have looked to her opinion if the alcohol hadn't been helping, and if the topic had been any less important to him.

looking a little hesitant about it, he finally asks, '...not enough?']

I don't think so.

[Time can be a gift, sure. She's given it to Shinji enough that it doesn't rattle her, that she doesn't think it's trivial. But Coil... he's known this guy for years. Asuka's prone to thinking harshly about families, but Zhas seems like the closest he's got.]

What're you so worried about, anyway?

['not worried,' he answers, before spending a minute thinking about what the problem might actually be... which, to Asuka's credit, is more than most people ever get him to do. sure, the booze helps, but he still wouldn't be listening at all if he didn't think she must know what she's talking about.

he eventually strings together a few short signs that seem to fit. 'don't know how. maybe.']

What do you mean, you don't know how? You just pick something out. It's not something weird.

['like what?' he signs with another wide, aimless gesture. because he's thought about it before... or, he did once, back when the concept had first been introduced to him, before he'd been excused from it through lack of follow-through.

it's not hypothetical when he asks, 'what would be good?']

God. [Asuka raises a hand irritably, and then her shoulders follow along like an afterthought.] How would I know? You're the one that's been with him for years.

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