commanderforehead | continued from bakerstreet due to captcha

That would definitely be a new record I'd rather not share with Doctor Urvidian or Nurse Johns.

[So, you know, if the worst happens please do not tell them.

He figures, okay, Akmazian will definitely let him go now, except... uh... then he doesn't. It isn't like Ryan's still going for the camera, or they're hitting a lot more turbulence. Just two dudes, holding each other really close.

That 'More than 50% but less than 100%' certainty Ryan had that Akmazian's flirting was just teasing ticks down a little closer to 50%. He lets it go for another breath, then another, before he speaks up about it.]

... I think I've got my footing now, so...

[ akmazian is always way, way less subtle than he gives himself credit for being. sometimes it's a marvel that he managed to cut it as a spy for any given amount of time at all. ]

Yeah?

[ he does, finally, release him, however, before moving to drop back down into the pilot's chair. he kicks his feet up onto the console, moving to check the photo from before on the camera's view screen. ]

Pity.

[Only Dr Dalias being a favored punching bag for these kind of jokes has kept him from figuring out Akmazian by now, and the night is still young. Well, night being arbitrary in space. It's too obvious, too upfront, while still being antagonistic from time to time. It has to just be more teasing to rile him up.

Right?

He's still getting his own feelings sorted and that's bad enough without trying to figure anyone else's out.

He waits for Akmazian to take a seat before he makes his way back to the copilot chair, crossing his arms against his chest as he looks out to the stars around them.

Ryan glances over at Akmazian.]

At least tell me I'm not making a stupid face in the picture.

[ the fact that ryan seems to just roll with the punches only ever encourages him, honestly. he rolls his shoulders back, settling in to get comfortable, before he finally turns the camera so that the snapshot preview is pointed his way.

personally? akmazian is pretty fond of the little smile on his face. ]

You really gonna make me delete it, doc?

[Ryan judges the picture critically. Well, it's well taken all things considered. If the subject of it was anyone but him he'd even think it was flattering. Seeing himself there, it's just a little too much open vulnerability in that fond smile for him to not feel a spike of self-consciousness about it.

Which, he is aware, is also pretty stupid to feel. For fuck's sake, the first time he met Akmazian was when he had the alien roofie in his system and he showed Akmazian and all of Akmazian's retinue his penis.]

At least I'm not cross-eyed in it. Just keep it to yourself, alright?

[ honestly, akmazian doesn't see anything like vulnerability in the picture. maybe he sees a little more emotional honesty than he's used to seeing out of ryan. he won't ever forget the sort of flat way that ryan had spoken to him at his father's wake, and how much that had worried him.

and then he feels an abrupt stab of guilt when he remembers that. his father would be alive if ryan hadn't stepped up and testified in his defense, and never once had the good doctor brought that up, held it against him. akmazian thinks it might be a little easier to stomach if he did.

he sobers visibly then, before giving the photo one last, long look - memorizing it, maybe - before he deletes it from the camera. maybe he should treat this trip a little more seriously. ]

There. No one else will ever know you once smiled in my general direction.

[Ryan notices the change in Akmazian's disposition, watching out of the corner of his eye. He's not sure what caused it. Some long-buried memory from before the whole spy-framed-for-terrorism thing? Ryan knows very little about Akmazian - almost nothing, in fact, except what he just picked up on that scan that's probably completed by now. He doesn't even know what his real name is, if Akmazian is it or if it's something else.

He knows Akmazian likes to verbally tussle, to unnerve him, and that in spite of Ryan feeling like he didn't really give Akmazian the benefit of the doubt, Akmazian has been nothing but kind past that and shown to be a person with a good heart.

It confuses him, twists him up inside. He's ruined so many relationships because of who he is, he's not even sure how to start something beyond a one night stand and make it last without fucking it up royally. He doesn't want to make any sudden movements and fuck things up again.

He can give Akmazian another smile at least, a bit more wry but still sincere.]

You'll get better photos down on the planet anyway. It's supposed to have a lot of authentic historical sites.

[He gets back up, a little restless and wanting to check if his scan he took earlier has been completed to make sure Akmazian doesn't have any pressing health issues - and that it was successfully fudged enough that no one aside from the two in the ship (and Interface) know that it's for Akmazian.]

Mmhmm. What happened to this being a strictly business call?

[ it's light, but there's still definitely some of that aloofness from before hanging out. he very much knows that it wasn't his fault - danger was expected in that profession, full stop - and it wasn't like he had been the one to directly attack the archives. still.

it had become less about clearing his own name and more about uncovering what was clearly a dangerous conspiracy within the alliance.

the results of the scan are pretty standard: he has a mild allergy to penicillin, but everything seems to be normal. not too shabby for a guy who lives in a cold-ass lonely cargo bay, ok. ]

Edited 2016-08-08 20:28 (UTC)

[Ryan resists the urge to scoff that he knew it. Well, this is why he browbeat Akmazian into the scan in the first place.

Still, Ryan's mildly impressed with the state of his health, all things considered. Clearly any concern he had about Akmazian's residence was misplaced.

The cold front doesn't really move away, so Ryan draws back as well. Whatever easy camaraderie they started to have has ended for the time being. Ryan's not sure if he's relieved or upset by that. He returns to the copilot seat to look over his materials that he gathered on the three sites that look like potential places for information.

Business, right. His tone doesn't so much go cold as it loses the warmth from before, back to the business tone he's used to conducting.]

Several of the authentic historical sites are where the business calls are taking place.

... One isn't exactly open to the public, on that note.

So that's why you gave me a call.

[ akmazian chuckles under his breath as he spins in his chair, reaching his hand out to beckon for the materials that ryan has. multiple sites to investigate. they weren't going to have a whole lot of time to do this and stay beneath the radar, were they. ]

I'll find a way inside that one. You worry about the others.

I had many reasons for giving you a call, that being among them.

[He hands over the materials just the same. It's sparse, a backwater planet mostly trying to drum up some tourism. They've got a long history though for how small they are, and on a recent cave diving expedition some explorers found some hidden temples that had gotten covered thanks to earthquakes and sinkholes ages ago. Two of the three have small areas opened for the public during certain hours now - and opened right around the time the Orchid stopped by on its way to EOS 10. The third is still closed due to delicacy and danger of the area its in but they hope to open it in a rotation or two.

If there's a real conspiracy going on and this has something to do with it, they don't have that kind of time.]

Like I said, it could be nothing - a coincidence that the Orchid stopped by there - but all the photos they have of the architecture have enough similarities that I can't write it off entirely and would like to check. At least. If it's nothing, great. If it's something, we can figure out a - a plan of attack or whatever back on the station when we have more than a weekend to work with.

Aren't you just a detective in the making.

[ and it really is meant to be a compliment. as akmazian begins thumbing through the materials, it's clear that he actually is pretty impressed: between his "employment" buying and selling in the black market and the efforts he's making to get his name cleared, he's spent a hell of a lot of time doing similar research.

he hums under his breath, before nodding. ]

Well, we'll be there soon, and this is as good a place to start as any. It'd be pretty great if we could actually manage to get the jump on them for once.

Wonder what it feels like, being ahead. Might be nice to try it out. And who knows? Maybe we won't even need to check the third site.

[Except of course now that Ryan's said it, they will absolutely have to break in and check it out. If that wasn't true before the universe will warp itself in the direction towards irony whenever possible. Large galaxy-sized conspiracies can't be dismantled in a day, but Ryan's still anxious to get ahead of this, to keep any more innocent lives from being lost in the process.

He doesn't blame Akmazian for his father. He blames whoever is behind all this.]

Also, you do have a mild penicillin allergy.

I know. You think I didn't get a full workup before they let me start spyin' for the Alliance?

[ he casts a sidelong glance ryan's way, but there's a half-smile easing onto his face now. the closer they get to the planet, the more he's trying to force himself into relaxing. there's no point in making this entire weekend unnecessarily strained, is there. ]

Makes me itchy. Nothin' life threatening. You find out any other fun facts about me from that little workup?

[Less and less Ryan is trusting anything to do with the Alliance regarding Akmazian that he didn't handle himself, personally. His lips quirk I to a sardonic smile and he turns the medical scanner so Akmazian can see. Clean bill of health there. And the generic name, and the fudged data. Ryan has set it to not upload to the main Eos 10 server, but if it does it won't connect to Akmazian.]

Yeah, if you ever decide to have kids you should make sure your spouse isn't a carrier for the recessive gene for xeroderma pigmentosum as well, there's a chance one of your kids could have it in its active form and it's particularly nasty.

[ akmazian leans forward to look at the screen, skimming over the results as if they make any sort of sense to him at all. he cuts his eyes up to ryan's face after that, eyebrows lifted, and chuckles a little under his breath.

he's pretty sure 'kids' won't ever be a problem for him, but the warning is nice. ]

What the hell is a xeroderma pigpen, anyway?

[Ryan doesn't look away when Akmazian looks up and meets his eyes. Looking away just makes you look guilty, like he was staring or doing something shady.]

Xeroderma pigmentosum. in layman's terms? Sunlight allergy. It's when your body can't naturally repair the damage caused by UV rays. It’s pretty rare to even be a carrier of the recessive gene though it's found in all humanoid species we've been able to genetically map so far. Both parents need to be carriers for a child to have the condition show, and even then it's only a one in four chance. It's just as likely for the child to not even be a carrier of the recessive gene.

[... you asked, buddy.]

You can read the entry on it in the scanner if you want, but there are pictures of some pretty heavy burn damage.

[ his eyebrows flash up, but he's clearly impressed. it's hard not to be around the good doctor, okay, and he just shakes his head as he indicates for ryan to take the scanner back. ]

Think I'm good without those nightmares tonight. Thanks for the offer, regardless.

[ and then, because he just can't help himself, he smirks to himself as he turns his eyes back to the dash. ]

And how's li'l Morpheus doing, by the way? Cute as ever, I hope.

[Ryan has a brief bit of worry about going too much into talking about Morpheus before he starts, but.

Even Akmazian should know what he's in for if you ask a pet owner about their pet, okay.

Again, Ryan can't help but smile when talking about his kitten. That cat did a lot to help him through his depression, to give him a reason to get out of bed in the morning if only to take care of it.]

Yeah, cute as ever. He's gotten especially cuddly lately. If I sleep on my stomach he curls up on my back, if I sleep on my back I find him curled up on my stomach when I wake up. Makes it really hard to actually physically get out of bed in the morning - I think he can sense when I'm trying and he just starts purring. There's been a couple days where I had to skip breakfast and just grab something quick on my way out to my shift because I spent too long in bed thanks to him.

[Not that Ryan minds at all, there are much worse reasons to not get out of bed than 'can't move, kitten is comfy'.]

Jane's checking in on him while we're gone. I have an automatic feeder for him, but I don't want him to get lonely. He gets along well with her dog, weirdly enough. I think her dog thinks Morpheus is just an especially small puppy.

... I have a feeling I'm going to regret asking this, but what exactly did Jane and Levi pay for him?

[ smuggling a cat isn't the most difficult thing in the world to do, but still: it had been inconvenient. at the same time, it had been - allegedly - for ryan, so he hadn't really minded. it was hard to be too fussed when levi and jane were both insisting that this was something that he needed, something that'd be good for him.

akmazian had been pretty worried about ryan, himself. so if sneaking a cat onto the station was the most he could do, then so be it.

and then hearing ryan actually talk about the cat? listening to the way he was going Full-On Pet Owner and gushing about snuggling in bed with the furry little thing? oh, it made it so, so worth it. akmazian has to struggle to bite down a pleased grin of his own at the surge of warmth and - okay, maybe pride that he was the guy who facilitated all of that. ]

Sounds like you're pretty smitten. [ there's a laugh in his voice, but it's fond, full of warmth and affection. ] And they didn't pay me anything. Well - Jane did me a tiny little favor, but that was it. Consider it a thank-you gift from me to you.

As long as it wasn't anything illegal...

[You didn't see how trigger happy Jane got with a gun, Akmazian. Ryan's a little worried about things she could do if asked. Not to mention her 'There's no way I'M going to prison' when stating everyone had secrets, even her.

It's hard to be properly admonishing about that kind of thing though when the result of which let him have the little furry bundle of joy, the bright spot he's got to look forward to every day. That kitten might have very well saved him from a relapse.]

Well, thank you. I've been meaning to say that actually. He ... really makes getting up in the morning worth it. Even if the getting out of bed part is harder in some ways now.

... Want to see a video I took of him playing?

Nothing illegal.

[ he says it with a little puff of laughter, but he's swinging around, leaning in closer to ryan now. it's a silent indicator of 'yes, he absolutely wants to see a video of ryan's cat,' if only because he's more interested in watching the doctor gush about his pet some more. ]

Just had her put in a good word for me with someone. About as benign and harmless as you can possibly get, yeah?

[Ryan pulls out whatever passes for a smartphone in the distant future, though he pauses for a moment while bringing up saved videos when Akmazian explains what he had Jane do.

Her parting comment after passing Morpheus over to Ryan, about Akmazian not being such a bad guy. It had seemed a little out of place in retrospect, but at the time he was too fascinated with having a cat to think too much on it. Now...

... Oh.]

Yeah. That - that sounds pretty harmless. She's... good at that kind of thing too, so. Good choice there.

[Hahaha this is not awkward at all. No conflicted feelings of the surge of a thrill and terror mixed together that come with realizing something you're starting to think that you want is actually something obtainable.

CAT VIDEO, CAT VIDEO. Look at the cat video!]

Ah, um. Here, this was just yesterday actually-

[Ryan leans in as well so they can both easily watch the video on the small screen. Morpheus is baffling over his own tail in what is obviously the middle of Ryan's quarters when Ryan's hand just barely comes into frame, gently lobbing a balled up sock towards the kitten.

Mayhem!!

Morpheus flails and trips over himself several times as he bats at the balled up sock, euphoric over the hunt of it. When he notices that Ryan is filming him he leaves the sock alone, though, to turn his attention towards the camera. Wiggling his butt a little, Morpheus pounces! and does a little scamper close to the camera which obligingly lowers to investigatory height.

There's a small close up of a kitten nose and the sound of heavy kitten breathing as Morpheus sniff sniff sniffs, only to pull back again and open his mouth like he's going to let out the biggest meow he can muster.

What comes out is the smallest little barely audible 'Beep beep' meow. And the mic on that camera must have been sensitive, because Ryan's 'Aw!' and soft laughter then mimic back of the sound was also caught very clearly. Ryan closes the video when it's over with.]

Balled up socks are his favorite toy, I think.

Easily impressed. That's good to know.

[ okay, look. akmazian is trying to be as subtle as he possibly can, and really, he's mostly keeping his eyes on the vidfeed - but his gaze does keep tracking up to ryan's profile. closer than he's usually allowed to get, and he's silently enjoying that.

ryan has clearly gone into crazy cat owner mode, and it's simultaneously hilarious and the most utterly endearing thing in the world.

he bursts into soft and genuine laughter at the sound of ryan mimicking the kitten's mewing back at it, before leaning back and dragging his fingers through his hair. they're close to landing and he's actually pretty sad about that; he's been enjoying this downtime. there's going to be too many things to worry about getting done when they're actually planetside, but traveling there? all they could do was find a way to pass the time. ]

Hey.

[ he reaches over, then, grabbing ryan's knee and giving it a friendly, warm little shake. ]

I'm glad the puffball found a good home.

[It's fine. This is fine. Ryan swears he can feel Akmazian's eyes on him, though he doesn't ever look up to try and catch him in the act. Mainly because he has no idea what he'd even say if he did.

Video over and the spell is broken, he leans away when Akmazian does, back to the relative safety of personal space. Yes they'll have a lot to worry about planetside, but Ryan's still a mix of mild concern and something like excitement. On the station there's work, all the time there's work. He doesn't really see Akmazian unless the world is falling out from under them, but even with the shenanagins that await them there's a whole two days of just the two of them. And hell, if it turns out the ruins are nothing more than interesting ruins with no connection to the greater conspiracy that's effectively two days of weekend vacation and sight seeing.

And if they do have a connection then Ryan might have to patch up bullet holes.

The point is Ryan's not sure they've spent this much time in close proximity to one another since they began to move away from the antagonistic space they started in. Or that Ryan started in, in any case.

Aaaaaand now Akmazian is touching his knee. Ryan glances down, but he's pretty sure he keeps his expression under control.]

I... think he's happy with me. I hope so. He seems happy, all the purring he does.

Hey, uh. You could come over sometime. And see him. I think he'd like that, he likes most people. I'm assuming since you managed to sneak out of your cargo bay and into my quarters without even me knowing it that means you can do it again.

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