tell me if you've heard this one before

[spanning]

Passengers: Aki, Alice, and William
Location: Warden Command
Date: Evening of 02/02, Alice's first day in space! (after this)
Summary: So three wardens walk into a minibar and create a fire hazard in space...
Warnings: An impending explosion, wine, probably some other very casual bad choices.



[Aki gets to warden command quick—quicker than expected, maybe, if only because he's learned it's better to react sooner than later when his stress levels start to climb. Yes, he looks a little frazzled, though that might be because his hair is down instead of tied up.

He is also not a guy who wastes time with pleasantries. Instead, he just stands in the doorway a second, hoping he can spot Alice immediately; he doesn't really want to hunt for her in the different sections of the lounge, since she's already jumped between the storage locker and the theater area and he doesn't even want to know where else.

But once he knows where she is, he marches over, marker in hand. Just in case she changes her mind about this series of very bad decisions.]

Head's up.

[He tosses the sharpie to her.]

Comments

[omniavincit]

[ William's been in warden command all of twice (Destroy-It! 4000 had been a highlight), and takes a moment to orient himself—sweeping a glance up the staircase, listening for any sounds of...merriment? Distress? Was it all the same thing? He calls Alice's name once, louder than intended, and heads for the coffee bar before remembering the booze is in the theater.

Maybe he finds her there, maybe he wanders a while. Maybe a marker comes hurling at him out of nowhere. ]

now in the right place

[helenite]

[ In the end, she's not too hard to find.

Alice lies on the floor, legs kicked up onto the wall of the storage locker, reading a magazine (Celestial Bodies: XXX-Type Civilizations). An unopened bottle of champagne rests between three paper coffee cups — one holding a pistol. ]

Huh?

[ She's slow to react, a fumble that knocks cups and gun aside. The Sharpie pings off the doorway, improbably snatched back into her waiting hand. Alice sits up, throws a glance between William and Aki; some concern re-entering her expression.

It looks, for a second, as though she's had those second thoughts. ]

Hi, [ The tip of the marker twitches against air. She reaches for a cup. ] So did you want your usernames on these or -

[ It trails off. A beat of silence, another.

Apparently, that's where that sentence ends. ]

hdu while we were sleeping

[spanning]

[He winces when she knocks aside the gun. It turns into a blink of something (wrong to really call it surprise) when she catches the marker on rebound.]

Hi.

[He responds out of reflex, crouching to pick up the cup that had come skittering towards his feet. His eyes land worried on the bottle—at least she didn't break it???—before glancing between her and William.]

I don't think this is a good idea.

[Just putting that out there.]

[omniavincit]

[ William, too, has eyes on the gun—but his surprise is more pronounced than Aki's, his recovery gradual. He wasn't expecting someone this young, this slight; wasn't expecting to find her exactly as described. Champagne, pistol, and porn: check.

It's all momentarily forgotten at the sight of the marker suspended in mid-air. William breathes out shakily—not a laugh, but close—and cuts a glance to Aki. He does not step forward, doesn't reach for the marker, but the effort to resist the impulse quivers at the edge of the visible. A kind of marvelous tension.

He tears his gaze away, forces himself to look at her. ] I changed my mind. [ He says—a sliver of regret in it. Smiles crookedly. ] It's kind of fucked-up.

[helenite]

[ Ye, Josh is pronouncing, somewhere far away. Of little faith. ]

I don't think that'll fit on the cup, [ Alice blinks owlish between the pair. All of this is kind of fucked up. ] Have either of you used it before?

[ The gun. The - Destroy-it 4000. ]

[spanning]

No. Haven't had any reason to.

[He means the Destroy-It! 4000, but it also applies to the biolocked guns. His eyes drift towards the pistol left askew on the floor; starts to reach for it, before he thinks better of it. Instead, he changes directions halfway to stick his cup on the wine bottle, so he can move it one-handed.]

I don't think any of us came in with much. [He directs that towards William, for confirmation.]

[omniavincit]

[ A shake of his head. ] The porn was already here. [ He says, wry but not wry enough to pull off the joke.

He takes a few steps in while Aki's moving, watching him from the corner of his eye. ] I tested out the gun. The stun [ an absent, useless twitch of his fingers ] setting shorts out electronics.

[ A quick glance in her direction, his attention off Aki. ] Had you ever killed someone before?

[helenite]

[ She's halfway to some quip – curling off her lip just a little too slow to catch — when William turns. The breath goes out of her, only for a second. It's a second too long. ]

No.

[ Alice stands, peers into the closet. It saves eye contact. She bobs on her feet, as though she can mechanically push them onward, ]

It seems like we shouldn't be? Using that on people? How much electrical current interferes with brain function —

[ Trailed off. (She'll look it up later.) ]

We can, [ She decides. ] Put the porn in it first.

[spanning]

[He shoots William a look—talk about an icebreaker—but otherwise silently watches the exchange, bottle set on the nearest table.

His head tilts, appraising.]

Fine. [It's brusque, an agreement made against better judgment; slippery slopes and all that. But at least this way, he can check if he has enough time to look into the future. He sets about rummaging in the cabinet for the instruction manual.]

We should move it away from the locker. [Read: anything else dangerous.]

[omniavincit]

[ William's gaze twitches over her, her face and limbs. As if her restlessness is contagious. ] Mmm. [ He says at Aki's suggestion, assenting but preoccupied.

Now he does move forward and stretch a hand out for the marker—slowly at first, fingers slightly parted. Snatching it out of the air—trying to—at the last second. ]