driftfleet | Twin Roses Mingle (visitors welcome)

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Twin Roses Mingle (visitors welcome)

Who: Twin Roses’ crew, friends, and lookieloos
Broadcast: Unlikely
Action: Twin Roses
When: March 2019

[Not much has changed on the Twin Roses since their stay on the Marsiva. No crew changes. No promotions or downgrades, although Vash is no longer co-captain, but rather first mate, in case anyone missed it and Krolia is still somewhat new among their ranks.

There aren’t even any stale donuts lying around which also means the plants in the garden and pets are thriving and their food stocks are still going strong. Yep, just totally normal stuff after being gone over a month! And probably no weird things to talk about after seeing each other’s memories. Business as usual here!

Also, there was the part where they attacked the Marsiva afterward for a hot minute. Just another normal day in the life of the fleet.]

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Or just...a thank you for being in my life and dealing with my baggage present. [You could have just said yes, Pryde.]

[That would be a 'yes', but that's ok, Remy can read between the lines.

During their talk he had become distracted with her, having forgotten about the laser, and seeming to understand play time was over the other two cats moved to join them on the bed, one deciding Kitty was also fair game and flopping over her lap as Remy thought.] Ya know, there be that sayin' that to a man's heart be through his stomach, 'nd we all know Vash's greatest love, no offense petite, be donuts. I think we could manage to make some rather nice lookin' ones, even make them pink 'nd heart shape if ya wanna do the belated Valentine's thing. Or maybe spellin' out 'thank ya' if ya rather that. He'd be over the moon with those.

[Her hand brushes over the cat's fur. Surprised and a little flattered to have been chosen.] He does love donuts, but he can make better ones than I can. [It might be something with Remy's help, but...] I think I want it to be something more...tangible. Something he could keep if he wanted to. I had a few ideas. I'm just not sure if any of them are any good.

[Remy barely registers his own movements as he moved a hand to touch the bracelet he wore on his left wrist, one that had appeared after the last planet stop, and one that some might notice Jim wore a copy of.

He can get that, something more lasting.] I see. What were ya thinkin'?

Well, one of my ideas was a friendship bracelet. [Starting there seems natural enough. She might have subconsciously noticed Remy touching his.] Which probably sounds kind of cheap and childish and maybe the wrong message to send someone you just agreed you were in a real relationship with, but... I don't know. I've always considered friendship important. Precious. I thought maybe a red one. I've never seen him wear any jewelry except the one earring though. I was kind of thinking maybe I could find another earring for him too. I guess a lot of this depends on what I can commission in the fleet or at our next stop wherever that is. But I was thinking maybe a metal feather. [There were feathers falling from the sky in Vash's calibrations, but were they something positive or not? She's not sure. That's not all of her thoughts, but she pauses there to see if he needs to laugh or something.]

Yeah, that feather idea sounds good, [Unlike her Remy can't put his finger on why he agrees with that... but he does.] Though maybe not an earrin', may get in the way with hangin' down, ya know? Could work as a feature on the bracket? [Seeming caught up in the idea, not really looking at her but with an unfocused gaze, Remy shifted suddenly in his seat. Reaching across the bed to the bedside he grabbed a note pad and pen he had there, quickly drawing down an idea that came to mind. He wasn't a great artist, he couldn't do a portrait or landscape, but he could do the basic shapes for buildings and jewelry. It just came with the territory.

It took a few moments before Remy turned the pad around for her to see two different ideas on it.] Something like one of these?

Those are nice ideas. Still a little nervous about getting him a piece of jewelry he doesn't normally wear. It might mean he doesn't like bracelets. [But she doesn't feel too strongly about it. They are nice designs.]

Do we have any metalsmiths left? I know Sokka was, but he's been gone for awhile.

...good point. Maybe ya can put the 'mage 'nto something else? Something he doesn't have to wear but can keep in his room? Ornament or something. [Not that Remy really goes peeking in Vash's room, he has no clue how the other man has his space set up.]

Honestly, I wouldn't have the first clue, I never got stuff made on the Fleet, only when we stopped off at places. 'nd then that depends on what skills the folks there got 'nd what materials they use to workin' with.

I guess I could always put a filtered request out to everyone. Or there's my cactus idea. Actually, that might be harder. I kind of liked the idea of getting him a plant. [Which is an inside joke as far as she knows. It's not a part of himself Vash seems that eager to share with others. Also, would he think she was making fun of him?]

Never know, next place may have a feather plant, get two in with one. [A bit of a smirk with that poor joke before he continued.] Part of me says go with ya gut on this, Kitty. If ya believe he would like it, go for it. Sometimes it is 'bout risks, even with gifts, 'specially if they might feel a bit close to home.

[Remy then took a moment to consider if to tell her, since it was a little personal, then deciding to. They were friends, and Kitty had came here for help, only fair he would share.] I got something special made up for Jim on his last birthday. It could had gone real bad, 'nd I knew that when I got it done. Both what it was 'nd what it referred to for him back home. He ended up likin' it, but also knew how it meant from me, that it wasn't 'nything more than just a birthday gift, 'nd that I had done it because I knew he would like it, even if it may be bitter sweet at times since he's here 'nd not home.

Definitely holding out hope for a feather plant. [She smiles back. Before listening to the rest of what he has to say about Jim.]

Would it have been a problem if it had been more than just a birthday gift? [She doesn't know a ton about the nature of their relationship. Other than it seems open, something she couldn't quite manage in any real way even when that's what she called her relationship to Vash.]

Considerin' it was a ring, oui, in that case it would had been. [Though Remy was able to smile about it now, even if at the time he had been nervous as hell that Jim would take it the wrong way.] I would say I can't see Jim Kirk as a marryin' type, but then again, the other him is 'ngaged to Victor, so...

A ring? Wow.

[She nods, pausing. She's not so sure she should ask the next question, but she presses onward anyway.] Do you want him to be the marrying type?

[Remy raised a brow at her question and her hesitation, holding it a few moments before he decided to answer rather than keep those thoughts to himself. She came to him for help, it was only fair to try and be open with her. They were friends after all.] I donno, donno if I can go through that again. Plus, hard to serve divorce papers from here.

'nd even then... I donno. I was raised that marriage be between two people, 'nd Jim ain't like that. I wouldn't want to tie him down to me 'nd make him miserable, that ain't what marriage suppose to be 'bout.

[She nods.] I don't know if I could do it. The openness. I mean, I have technically, but both times I don't think either of us acted on it. It was more like monogamy with a clearly marked escape door. I think it was more my way of trying to tell myself the relationship didn't mean as much as maybe it did. [She looks up at him.] Not that yours means less because it's open. That's just my hang up.

[Sighing.] It all just...feels so hard sometimes.

[Opening his mouth to continue along what he was saying, Remy looked to her quietly before closing it again, feeling it had shifted away from him and Jim and back to her. And that she needed him more than the other way around.] Thing be, relations are, they take a lot of work. May not always seem like it, when it's goin' good 'nd feel like time just flyin' by, but they do.

Is that what ya 'nd Vash tryin' out? [Then a bit more hesitant but still willing to ask.] Is that what ya want with ya two?

We're...trying out monogamy kind of, not that we really ever tried to be open like I said we were before. We decided to use words like boyfriend on Valentine's Day, but during the calibrations... [She hesitates, not knowing what to say exactly.]

I don't know. I saw how much he cared about this girl back home who I already knew about, but there's knowing and then there's knowing. And he knows what Winn is to me. And I always made it clear if Winn came back that I'm going to be with him. Only him. That hasn't changed, but he was telling me he wants both of us in his life if Meryl came here. And I don't know what to do with that. Mostly just trying not to think about it I guess. You can see how well that's working.

[Whoo boy, yeah, ok, this was tough. And Remy really isn't the best one to give advice on it, not with how his love life has been.

Also, this felt like a hug needed moment; scooting his way over carefully so he could sit beside her and wrap an arm around her shoulder to do just that.] It may not be the healthiest way to do it, but maybe is the case of just thinkin' more short term, to not worry or plan too much. We donno what's goin' to happen in this place, who may come 'nd go, so it's hard to focus on future plans 'nd 'what ifs' here. Sometimes it's just doin' what make ya happy without thinkin' too much 'bout it.

[Though it was teamed up with a sigh.] But as I said, ain't the healthy way to go 'bout it, just the easy way.

[She doesn't stiffen when he puts an arm around her, but she is hesitant for a moment before leaning into it. She's come a long way, but she's still not always good at accepting comfort even when she wants or needs it.]

I spent most of my life thinking in the short term. When I was a child, before everything was gone it was different. I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd do with my future as the first prima ballerina with a nobel prize. And then it was just living through the day and trying to keep the people around me alive too. I didn't even realize I'd stopped believing in the future until I got to the prison. I fell in love there too. I started thinking about what it would be like to get married again to him or have kids. They weren't really things that made sense in a prison, but it still got me thinking about it and then that all end badly and I was definitely never going to fall in love in one of these places again. It's a very stupid thing to do. [She smiles, because no spoiler alert needed, she fell so hard and everyone already knows.]

And I definitely thought about my future with Winn. We talked about what our home would be like and how we felt about kids and what we wanted to do. All the things that were always more fantasy than reality because our lives are controlled by the Atroma here. But I couldn't stop thinking about it when I was with him. I wanted more. [And then it turned out like it did. Like these things always do because you only get now.]

Here I am worrying about a future that will probably end up way more screwed up than I can even imagine it. Stupid, right? I know better.

Be it? [He asks, letting it linger for a moment.] Is it really that stupid to not hope a bit? After all, carin' for someone, ya do have hope in there. That stuff will stay good, that nothin' bad will happen, kinda goes 'long with it all.

It easy, real easy, to just live day by day, to try 'nd 'gnore 'nything else or gettin' too attached, 'cause never know when someone will leave or betray ya. But... [A pause, needing it with how close this was striking to home.] When ya on the other side of it, when ya are happy, 'nd trustin', 'nd 'njoyin' every moment ya got with them... it doesn't seem to matter.

Thing be with this place, we ain't just survivin' here, but we're also not 'n control, we're in a limbo between the two, which means we gotta find a balance between the two. 'nd it be so easy to just go back to not carin' 'bout 'nyone but yaself, so don't get hurt again. But with everything 've been through here 'nd Luceti before, thinkin' back to who 've lost, I would rather hang onto those memories, as painful as they be, than not havin' had them happen in the first place.

[She listens quietly while he talks. And when he gets to his final point about the memories being better than nothing at all, she applies it to her memories. There are so many that she doesn't know how to feel about anymore. Things ended as bad as things can end with Piotr. And with Reid it was a mess. Did they scar her more than anything? And even if they did, is she better because of it or not? She's not sure the answer is clear there, but with Winn...] I never want to forget Winn. I'm glad it happened. [There's a part of her that worries if given enough time things would have ended badly. She had very little proof that there are other endings to have. But she wants to believe they were just right for each other and got torn apart.]

I'm definitely better at surviving than any of the alternatives. I could have a boy scout badge for it if they made boy scout badges for that. And if you ignore the part where I died back home. [That is the least survive-y thing to do. But she's not dead. She's sitting here on his bed with a pulse and everything.]

So, you're saying I should give it a real try with Vash?

'm sayin' the heart be real good at healin', 'specially when ya think it can't. 'nd that it don't mean what ya had before, who ya had before, be 'ny less 'mportant. [For better or worse.]

Vash seems like a good guy, even if I don't feel I really know him, but merde, not like 'm an open book either. If he makes ya happy, I think it worth a shot at least. [Turning to press a kiss to Kitty's hair.] Think ya may regret it more if ya don't at least try.

[She knows her heart has been healing all this time. It feels so slow and non-existent day-to-day, but from that moment she realized he was gone until now the change is huge. It still feels like there's so far to go though. So much further than she an imagine going. But she puts one foot in front of the other and keeps walking in that direction even if the goal feels unachievable. It's what she's always done.]

He is a good guy. He's more than he let's on. [She doesn't want to tell his secrets, but she figures someone like Remy has figured out that much himself. He as much as said so.] He's good to me. I'd like to be better for him. [Thus the gifts. She doesn't have the words yet, and physical affection can only say so much. She's branching out even if it's more into Winn's love language.]

Well, at least you know how to always win brownie points with him. Or donut points I guess. [A bit of a grin at the silliness of that.]

It's a good step, Kitty, 'nd think he will really appreciate it. [He better at least, not that Remy thinks Vash would dismiss a gift from her or anything like that. He just... doesn't always think before he talks, and since this was so important to Kitty, Remy hopes Vash will instantly like it so his brain doesn't have to make up for anything his mouth might say.]

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Twin Roses Mingle (visitors welcome)

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