ataraxion | [ text and voice ] ✉ first transmission in which there are complaints and headaches.

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[ text and voice ] ✉ first transmission in which there are complaints and headaches.

[ the first thing dundee feels like doing is throwing up, which in and of itself is a bit of a feeling he tries to avoid. sure, he's felt like this before, but usually it was after a hard night of partying and to be perfectly honest, he hasn't done that in years. the second thing, the far more important thing for dundee, is that he realizes he's on spaceship of sorts and unlike the worrisome desire to throw up, this revelation causes him to pause.

logically, he doesn't think he should be here, but he is and he doesn't necessarily know how, though the weird pod is a definite possibility to him. he has to force himself to try to stop feeling so disoriented before he gets up to go find something to contact another human being with. (except, perhaps he's alone and- dundee doesn't want to think about that possibility.)

it takes him a bit to find his device, but once he does, he reads everything he can. he figures that there are probably locked bits that he can't see, but unlike some people he knows, he can respect a person's privacy. besides, looking at the locks and the differences between this tech and tech back at home, he thinks even aberdeen or cambridge might have problems with it. (speaking of, he notices a woman with the...name cambridge; it's confusing to him and he's pretty sure that it's just the residual disorientation talking. he makes a not to ask about that, perhaps later.) he notices oxford there and makes a face, not the best company, but it'll do in a pinch. though, dundee doesn't technically count this as necessarily being in a pinch, since in addition to oxford, there's what looks like aberdeen (oh he can recognize her texts anywhere) and durham. potentially five out of a number usually much larger than that. how enjoyable.

after a bit of a wait, dundee finds himself typing away, sending a very simple message that will make no sense to certain people, but will make enough sense to the people he wants it to. ]

if the city dundee means anything to any of you, i believe that we might want to talk. just for the sake of talking, perhaps.

[ he then flips it to voice. he's hardly vain, but he'd prefer not to show off how he might look right now to everyone else. not yet at least. ]

Out of curiosity, whose brilliant idea was it to make this transfer, I believe you'd call it, here, come with the feeling of being hungover. Had I have known, I would have packed pain medication in my bag so that I could take something when I got here. I would just honestly like to point out that hangovers are not a way to endear yourself to people. Odd, I know, but it's the truth.

Speaking of, does anyone have anything on hand in the realm of pain medication or should I just burrow into some form of a bed and come out once I feel better?

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Hallah. do i need to actually stand in the same room as you and watch you put one on to make sure you're actually dressed in something more than that?

[ pause while he thinks about something and then another text. ]

i have my scarf, by the way.

[ hint: he's going to make her wear it somehow. ]

[ She reads his text (of course she does) since he's Dundee and she's meant to be mindful of the things he says. Being mindful of them, hearing them, and then actually obeying and responding to them are completely different things, however. Aberdeen takes his proposal as something of a hypothetical, choosing instead to send back simply: ]

say it.

[ She means 'Hallah'. She means her name. Aberdeen doesn't need to hear it in order to know where Dundee is, but maybe she wants to just because she knows that she can. ]

Hallah, you know me well enough to know that I'll follow through on that threat.

[ it's simple and it's more than just her name, but it's him saying it so he's assuming she'll take it. ]

good enough or did i guess wrong?

[ And on the lift between here and there, where no one else can see, Aberdeen's mouth twitches. Doesn't smile or grin or anything of the sort. Just unrepentantly twitches like maybe she wants to smile but can't remember how. ]

we'll see.

you're incorrigible, for the record.

[ it's then that dundee looks up and sees her coming in. it occurs to him that she'll read the text, but talking to her works a little better in his mind. ]

As I just said, you're incorrigible. And I believe it's my job to lecture you on a lack of clothing right now.

[ Talking does work a little more to Dundee's advantage. Tech and text was Aberdeen's purview; the voice and the way it could demand attention was most certainly his. When the lift doors open, they open to reveal Aberdeen — barefoot and very much unclothed in the same manner that the video feed over the Network had posed her to be. She has her trusty satchel slung over her shoulder and when she steps forward out into the corridor, she lets it fall to the floor just outside the mouth of the lift.

Aberdeen comes close, then closer, then closest; so close that she practically has to strain her neck back in order to still look Dundee in the eye, the open zip of her jacket brushing agains the front of that ridiculous uniform. Her expression is as unreadable as it normally is, though there is something focused and intent in her eyes. Maybe she's got something to prove or maybe she's just glad to see him or maybe she thinks the lecture isn't really necessary. ]

Ian, [ Aberdeen says. ] Say hello.

[ the nice thing about being taller than aberdeen is that he just has to look down whens she's like this. a very simple motion and one that he can mostly live with. his lips quirk up despite his headache before he speaks. ]

Hallah, I believe I already did. [ he moves to wrap his arms around her because he can and it's feels right to a degree. ] Unless you want a different hello.

[ She says nothing for a long moment, does nothing — just continues to stare up at him, settled in that place between his arms and his chest, a cale that she's certainly been in before. Still, despite their closeness to one another, there is still something distant about the way Aberdeen holds herself. It's almost as if nearness doesn't imply intimacy, that there's something straightforward and far from tender or gentle about it and maybe that's symptomatic of them but really it's just the way Aberdeen is. Not even her interactions with Dundee, the closest thing Aberdeen has to genuine human investment in her life, is plagued by it.

Eventually, she reaches up with both hands, pulls his glasses from the bridge of his nose and swings them down beneath his chin, wedging them to one side so that they somehow manage to say pressed there even after her fingers have pulled away again. Then Aberdeen takes Dundee by the face and slides her hands up his cheeks until her thumbs are pressed against each of his temples. She presses, applying pressure that looks to relieve his headache, however temporarily. ]

You know what I want, [ she says matter-of-factly.

This apparently never changes. Not even in space. ]

[ it's something he's used to. an integral part of who aberdeen is and something that while perhaps not necessarily his cup of metaphorical tea, is still something he is used to. he absentmindedly wishes he had his coat with him. he knows it would swallow her but he's almost certain that it'd be warmer than the one she has on and would most definitely cover more.

there's a loud exhale on his end when her thumbs apply just that right amount of pressure on his temples. it feels wonderful, even if he knows it's not going to be incredibly effective in the long run. he contemplates telling her that she's ruining his glasses and that they'll be smudged because of what she did, but he knows that's a lie. besides, he already knows that in his bag there is another pair clean as can be. ]

The fact that you know that lends credence to my statement about you being incorrigible, [ he replies in an almost deadpan tone.

but he does give her what she wants (or something close to it) by giving her a small kiss before pulling away. ]

Hello, Hallah.

[ It's the story of their interaction, really: there are plenty of things that Dundee can tell Aberdeen at any given time (commentary on how she's dressed, how she's working too much, how she hasn't eaten nearly enough in such a long time) but there's only so much that Aberdeen will acknowledge in response. Hearing it all wasn't an issue — there isn't much that she can't hear at any given time — but it's more a matter of whether or not she'll listen.

With most people she doesn't. With Dundee, she listens some of the time. But with Aberdeen, it's never 100 percent.

The kiss doesn't do much to placate her. In fact, if anything, it makes her more insistent. Pushing herself up onto her tiptoe, she grasps his face and then pulls him down with her as she falls back to flatfooted. Her kiss is drawn-out and demanding in comparison, the metal bar through her tongue clacking against his teeth when she finally pulls away to stare at him again, her eyes not large but unblinking.

Plainly: ] I am incorrigible.

Edited 2012-01-16 09:40 (UTC)

[ dundee likes to think he can make her listen, regardless. that if he wants her to hear what he's saying, he can count on her to be listening (put on clothes for god sakes, you need to eat, come to bed with me). getting aberdeen to do what you want was near impossible, but dundee does like a challenge and it's almost as fun as it is frustrating.

he should have expected that was going to happen, but a part of him had hoped that it wouldn't if only because of the fact that they were in space which might not be the best place for aberdeen and he knows it. there's an internal wince when he feels the bar in her tongue hit his teeth. when she pulls away he stares at her for a moment before whispering: ]

That bar in your tongue is going to break my teeth one of these days. [ he pauses and stares at her lips for a moment before moving to kiss her again, this time, pulling on her lip just slightly when he pulls back. ]

Thank you for admitting it. The jumpsuit could be worse.

[ He'd kissed her the first time and that had been a statistical likelihood, one that Aberdeen had known was probably going to happen irregardless of whatever reservations Dundee had (and at any given moment, Dundee was the type to have plenty). Then she'd kissed him, which had been an inevitability, especially given how reluctant he tended to be and how recalcitrant she was in turn.

But then Dundee had kissed her a second time, which hadn't been something she'd been expecting. Aberdeen's fingers curl against the collar of Dundee's uniform, the pads of those fingers pressing down and releasing again in an inexplicable rhythm and it's obvious — at least to Dundee — that she's typing again. When he pulls back, mouth tugging at her lip, just there where her piercing itches and has been ever since being spat up by the gravity couch, her eyes grow large and oddly daunted, like a fight or flight instinct is about to kick in (though the expression lasts only for a moment). ]

Stop fighting me— [ she says, licking her lips before pulling away completely, heading back towards the lift. To make her point, she clicks her tongue piercing against the insides of her front teeth. ] —and it won't.

[ Not that Dundee was fighting her now; but it would come eventually, it always did: his hesitation when it came to these sorts of things with her. She pads back to the elevator on barefeet, not even stopping once to glance over her shoulder at him as she stoops to pick up her bag. ] Get in. [ Aberdeen tics her head towards the elevator and then, because even though she may be crap at relationships or bedside manner she's still a very good operative: ] I'll debrief you.

Edited 2012-01-16 14:34 (UTC)

[ it was technically a sure bet, if only because dundee was going to kiss her just to do what she wanted him to do. they may be trapped (or something close to it) here, but it didn't mean that things had to change. and making aberdeen pleased to a degree was somewhat important.

the second kiss was to shot her up, but also to double check that she was real. a test of sorts that he'll never tell her about; after all, it's best to let her assume what she wants with the reasoning be. if he has to, he'll correct her later. when she presses down and releases her fingers on her fingers he realizes it's typing and for some unknown reason it bothers him. there's no way there's enough going on to make it so she needs to constantly type. her eyes make him pause and briefly it occurs to him that something is wrong (but what he's not too sure). ]

Does it look like I'm fighting? [ he asks simply before following her, managing to find himself walking in time with her after a stride. ] And it might, my teeth are older than yours.

[ it's a joke, pretending that he won't fight with her on this, if anything being on the tranquility is making him bothered enough to where it's a definite possibility that something will happen. he walks into the elevator before looking back at her. ] Take your ring out before you do.

You always fight, [ she says as she leans to press the button to the doors and Aberdeen knows it's a lie, but that may be the point. Over the year they've known each other, it's perhaps become apparent to Dundee: Aberdeen seems to glean just as much satisfaction from when they disagree as from when they get on. And regardless of how well or how poorly things are for the both of them at any given time, there's something of an unspoken status quo that Aberdeen liked to hover around with both word and action.

It's as near to expectation that he's able to wring from her, but that it's expectation at all should mean something to him. (Anyone else, and she'd just slip away entirely in the hopes of shaking her shoulders free of the burden.)

Leaning against the back of the lift, she stares at him for a good minute, maybe two. The intra-ship transport is fairly straightforward here so there's no minding of buttons or floors just Medbay to passengers' quarters, passenger's quarters to Medbay. The distance is long enough that they'll be here for a while (Aberdeen knows) and so there's no rush for her answer, which when it finally comes, proves itself to be a: ]

No.

It's how we work, Aberdeen, you should remember this by now. [ he replies knowing it's a lie. they can work without fighting, but not in the way he necessarily feels comfortable with. truth be told, like everything about them, it's complicated. besides, he notices how she likes it when they fight or when they're as thick as thieves. it is what it is, and if dundee tried to explain it to himself, he's...not sure he could.

the expectation (he'll call it that if he likes) is something he relishes in. it's something that not many other people get from her. so he'll take it and enjoy it.

he frowns, watching her. the answer he gets isn't the one he wants and he knows that she has to be aware of it. (hopefully.) he stares at her for a moment before he speaks, hardly amused in the slightest. ]

Hallah. It's not healthy to leave that ring in. I'm not asking you to take it out for very long, just to clean the thing.

[ She's not trying to be cute or coy or amuse Dundee in the slightest with her answer. When Aberdeen said no, she invariably meant no — not no, convince me or no, maybe later. In order to move her from her stance the terms had to change or the pieces around her rearranged and only then would she reassess (or not, depending on her mood). In all honestly, her piercings have begun to bother her and there's not just the ones on her face, but elsewhere on her body as well. They itch a way that they've never really itched before and Aberdeen's beginning to wonder if there was something in the stasis fluid that her biology is reacting poorly to. (If that's the case, this may not end well.)

Still, a no is still a no, and Aberdeen knows the ins and outs of her body better than Dundee ever will. So she stares and stares some more, before finally saying (simply): ]

I need to speak to one of the doctors.

[ there's a difference between knowing that fact and acknowledging it. if dundee was being honest, he doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that when she says know, even he can't change her mind about it. it's something he should be used to by now, and for the most part, he is, but at the same time, there are moments like this where it frustrates him to no end.

his eyes never leave her person while the silence stretches out between them. when she finally speaks, he can't help but bite the inside of his cheek lightly before he answers back in a very calm tone. ]

Why?

[ there's several reasons, and he honestly just wants to know. ]

[ The tip of Aberdeen's tongue appears at the corner of her mouth again. And, again, it nudges at her piercing, making the hoop jostle slightly, that itch subsiding for the moment as long as she continues to wiggle away at it. She stares at him while she does it and, as expected, Dundee stares back. Aberdeen doesn't expect any less at him and, in that way, she's somewhat acknowledging his concern but also acknowledging that she will — as Aberdeen is wont to do — take care of it in her own way. Not his this time. ]

They feel strange. [ Aberdeen is tempted to simply leave it at that, but after a moment, she adds: ] I've fought infection before.

This is different.

[ his eyes follow her tongue, partially out of worry and partially because of another reason that he won't touch upon. it itches but she has no idea why, nor does he. it's bothersome to say the least, but he knows when he's been beat. this is one of those times. ]

That's what I wanted to hear. [ he allows another silence to form between them before he continues. ] I'm trusting you to get it checked out or dealt with.

[ His eyes follow her tongue and maybe that pleases Aberdeen, because despite whatever Dundee will do (or in this case fail to do), there will always be that initial impulse, the little hook that caught Aberdeen's attention in the first place (or was it Dundee who was caught first; they may never know). She doesn't know what will happen if someone were to come around and hold his attention the way that she does, carrying his gaze away from her and her alone. Aberdeen doesn't like to think about it and so she doesn't, just goads and goads and goads some more.

She does it again, her tongue appearing at the corner of her mouth, that metal hoop catching the light. Aberdeen abandons her part of the lift for his again, pressing up against him a second time like she's daring him to stop looking. ]

What else would you like to hear? [ New topic. Or rather, a sharp turn at the last set of lights. ]

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[ text and voice ] ✉ first transmission in which there are complaints and headaches.

text; SINCE SHE'S NOT GOING TO LOCK, HE'S...going to attempt a lock of sorts

text; dundee quick trying to lock things it's lame

action + text; you know what he's allowed, screw you aberdeen.

text; TOTALLY NOT LOCKED BRO

text + action; IS HE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOUR LOCKS? IS HE?

action; DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GO THERE? DO YOU?

action; YES I WANT TO GO THERE. SO MUCH.

action; OPPORTUNISTIC ABERDEEN FUCKER <3

action; IT WAS TWO TIMES. HE'S NOT EVEN FUCKING HER. <3

action; not yet. NOT Y E T . mO__Om

action; E V E N T U A L L Y .

action; the classiest work dynamic EVER.

action; also potentially the most horrifying work dynamic EVER.

action; back off the piercings, dundee :|

action; it's going to get infected, aberdeen. :|

action; it's the nanites, okay, theyr'e trying to heal it PURELL WON'T HELP :|

action; :| MAYBE IT WILL. MAYBE IT WILL. only no it won't.

action; sob can't we just have space hugs

action; no because that requires normalcy. 8|

action; kajdf ugh i love them so much D: