commanderforehead | continued from bakerstreet due to captcha

[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.

[ it's dangerous. akmazian knows that much: he doesn't need to be moving about on the station if he wants to stay undetected. hell, considering that ryan was testifying in his defense, there's a non-zero chance that he's being monitored at least occasionally, just to see if he's keeping in touch with said alleged terrorist.

it's times like that that he's really, really thankful to have a sapient AI on their side.

well.

ryan's side. ]

Welllll... I could probably swing it. Bring some snacks. We can do our homework together, y'know. Share answers.

[ and he absolutely shouldn't, but hell: everything he does these days is dangerous beyond belief. he might as well enjoy himself a little, too. who knew when the alliance would find a way to have him murdered, too, after all.

reluctantly, he stands up, stretching. ]

Gonna head below deck, pack up a couple of my things - probably best not to be livin' out of the ship if we're trying to be inconspicuous, right?

[Ryan holds back a 'like back at the academy' comment.

He wonders if Akmazian was at the academy. If he was an Alliance spy, he had to be, right? They don't look so far apart in age, either.

Ryan wonders if they ever passed each other in a hall, shared a class, never knowing. Ryan was certainly too self-absorbed during certain parts to ever take notice of much during the worst years of his life.]

Ah, yeah. There's a few small hotels, bed and breakfasts, that kind of thing. I didn't make any reservations but I checked and at least two had some vacancies as of a few hours before I called you.

Hell. Danger aside, probably the closest thing I've had to a real vacation in ages.

[ and then he hesitates, just before he heads below deck. ]

Gonna need to get you outfitted with a real weapon, though. You actually know how to use anything?

[For all his thinking ahead regarding scanning Akmazian and preparing for the aftermath of a fight, he didn't actually consider handling the fight itself.]

I've had standard Academy combat training, but only the basics. [So, minor hand to hand, decently competent with a blaster, that deal.] Not much cause to use any of it until very recently as well, but I won't be dead weight.

I'll see if I've got anything you can use, then.

[ he's thoughtful, sort of rubbing the side of his neck as he squints at ryan, as if that'll help him determine what, exactly, he wants to try to outfit him with. ]

You're gonna have to carry mine, too.

[ spoken as if this only makes sense. ]

[Ryan attempts to project an aura of competence as Akmazian looks him over.

Look, so what if he passed with a C, he passed, that's what matters. He had other things going on that year and he's had to help break up enough brawls on Eos 10 while waiting for security to arrive that he feels he made up for where his grades might have been lacking. Ryan is determined to pull his own weight here even if this is more Akmazian's area of expertise.]

In case we get caught, because I can provide ID that gives me clearance? I can do that. That means sticking close to me though.

Huh? Oh, no. I mean - that's a pretty good idea, yeah, but not really what I meant.

[ though, uh. objectively, he has very few qualms with the idea of keeping near ryan. ]

You said that - thing. The artifact. It did some weird mind-control shit, right? To everyone else?

[And here Ryan was thinking about him holding the weapons in a sense of keeping Akmazian out of trouble, not because... Akmazian was worried about possibly hurting Ryan?]

It did. Held them in some kind of... thrall. I suppose. It was glowing when we - Jane and I - got there. I don't know if it was naturally doing that or if it had to be activated but that's a good point too. I don't suppose you have handcuffs in case I have to subdue you?

[It's mostly a joke. Please ignore that it kind of has an edge of what could be considered flirtation maybe.]

[ look, objectively, ryan is akmazian's best bet at ever actually getting his name cleared. at being a free man again. that's an excuse he's able to give himself, at least, when it comes to ensuring ryan's safety - because he typically wouldn't be caught dead without some sort of weapon to defend himself with. ]

-- heh. Nah. Just try not to shoot me in the face if you need to take me out, alright? If it comes to that, don't waste time trying to tie me up. [ he pauses, just before descending below deck, though: ] But I'll check into cuffs for later. You know. Just in case.

[They both have a perfectly logical list of enlightened self interest reasons to want to look out for each other.

That it also extends beyond those reasons, well.

There's a reason social network sites started listing 'it's complicated' as a relationship status.

Ryan gives a little breathless laugh, a mix of embarrassed and awkward, crossing his arms over his chest. He doesn't fire back a retort, either a positive or negative.

He kind of wishes he knew which direction that implied by not saying either.]

Make sure it's got a decent stun setting, I need a full med bay to grow your face back for you.

[ honestly?

akmazian figures that he doesn't actually have a snowball's chance in hell, here. he and ryan live two entirely different existences, no matter how many intersecting points they seem to have these days.

ryan is, fundamentally, a good man who does good things, consequences be damned. akmazian, on the other hand, does whatever it takes to survive. the good doctor will inevitably end up with someone just as good as he himself is, he's sure.

that doesn't mean he's not allowed to appreciate time in his company, though, right?

he re-emerges from below deck not long after, a black duffel bag flung over one shoulder. he flashes a smile ryan's way as he moves to drop himself back down into the pilot's seat, leaning in to check weather conditions, to prepare to descend to the surface of the planet and land. ]

We'll go over what I scrounged up when we're at the hotel. We got a story, by the way? Just a couple of buddies out sight-seeing?

[Ryan uses the meantime to re-pack the medical scanner, the information he'd pulled from his own bag. He takes the copilot chair once Akmazian is seated again as well, not fancying another embarrassing almost fall.]

I didn't give any real information when I checked before, in case you were busy and I had to come on my own. So a couple buddies out sight-seeing, I suppose, unless you have a better idea. Cloak and dagger isn't really my area even if I'm having to learn.

Probably better for you to stick to the doctorin', anyway. You're not gonna be sneakin' by anyone in those pants.

[ THIS IS ALL SAID SO INCREDIBLY CASUALLY, even as he starts the landing procedures. ]

[W O W. Who knew Ryan Dalias' face could turn that red?? Actually probably Akmazian considering how embarrassing their whole first meeting was even if Ryan was in angry and mostly desensitized at that stage. But hey, look, it's made a return trip!

And here he thought Akmazian didn't notice.

He's still torn on whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.

God, Ryan Dalias a mess.]

They're comfortable. Nice shirt by the way, was it cheaper without half the buttons?

[... Please ignore that he noticed the shirt.]

What? You like the shirt?

[ yeah, don't worry. akmazian is 100% aware of how red ryan's face is, and it's taking pretty much everything he has not to laugh out loud. "snappy zinger" ryan is always way more fun to deal with than "huffy offended" ryan, okay.

he glances over at him, eyebrows up, his expression the perfect picture of fake innocence. ]

Maybe we could go shoppin' together. Get some matching outfits, you know.

[Of course Akmazian would consider it a compliment. Ryan glares at him. You aren't fooling anyone, Alliance spy. Ryan might not know you but he knows you.]

What, like 'I went to Thetis Prime and all I got was this lousy t-shirt', or 'I'm with stupid'?

[ he just sort of shrugs one shoulder, affecting an air of uncertainty. ]

Not a clue. Guess we'll just have to see what they got.

[ but he falls briefly silent while he navigates the actual landing, finally beginning the shut-down procedure for the ship when things are settled. ]

Should be pretty close to one of the sites. Drop our stuff off and check it out?

Yeah.

[Now QUITE SELF-CONSCIOUS about his pants, Ryan stands once they've safely landed and fetches his bags, slinging them over his shoulder and checking the directions. If this is the worst it gets, he'll be thankful.]

One of the hotels is right on the way, we can see if they still have any availability.

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