( 01 ) video ♧ and if we don’t live to be old and faint

[became]

[ oh hello, giant creepy spaceship. have a shiny, shiny smile directed your way. said shiny smile is attached to a freakishly put together looking gentleman. dapper, one might call him. ]

So... space, huh? [ neal adjusts his cuffs-- he's wearing a suit (a real suit: classic, 50's style devore, for any suit buffs) because fuck that jumpsuit crap right in the ear-- fussily, smile dropping wattage just a tiny bit. ] Does anyone want to catch me up a little more on that, out of curiosity? Because I have to admit, other than the bits and pieces I caught wandering around the first day I have no idea what's going on.

Anyway, come on. Help a new guy out, anybody? [ smile ratcheting up another few notches. aaaaaand HOLY CHARM BATMAN. doesn't everyone watching just want to drop everything and help? (yes. your answer is yes.) ] I'll owe you one.

Comments

[became]

[ if neal were a litttttttle bit better at being a good guy, he might turn off the charm a little here, because he caught that hint. but he's wearing a goddamn devore and he's tired and frustrated and feeling trapped, so: instead, he runs an affectionately gentle hand over one sleeve. ]

It's a Devore. A friend's husband won it off Sy himself. [ NOT THAT NEAL WOULD EVER BRAG oh right. yes. yes he would. he takes a second look at ianto and cocks his head, some of the arrogance draining away to reveal someone a little too observant for his own good. ] But you already knew about it being a Devore, didn't you?

[ video ] /gazes at neal's navel for a while

[became]

[ oh hello there, gorgeous bossy woman with amazing taste in shoes. neal will gladly forget the purpose of the post-- and let's face it, information gathering was roughly only a quarter of his intent in the first place-- in favor of obeying that particular order request. ]

It's a Devore. Classic-- a friend's husband won it from Sy during a poker game. [ there's a little bit of fanboy glee that can't quite hide behind the charming, urbane mask at that. so sue him, he's a stan for the good old days of crime, the wiseguys in their custom suits and their women in diamonds. crime has got depressingly dirty since then, it's kind of a downer. any moron can hit someone in the face or shoot a gun-- it takes an artist to pull off an elegant job, and neal loves elegant. he wasn't always like that, but his past before he met mozzie isn't up for discussion. ever. ]

[became]

[ DID SOMEONE SAY CHARM-OFF. ]

The suit does all the work, really. I just put it on. [ lies, filthy lies. ] As for what kind-- thanks to the terse Good Samaritan earlier, I have something to look through. But people can tell me what text can't, so-- at the risk of being too broad, I need catching up on everything.

[coffeeking]

[...Oh. Oh. Fuck you, Neal. How dare you be both sexy and perceptive. You are intruding on all of Ianto's territory, and you're being a twat about it to boot. If you make good coffee too, God help you.]

Yes, I did. Bit of luck getting your hands on it like that. Your friend must be quite the generous lady.

[Not that he's implying anything.]

voice;

[became]

[ SCORE FOR THE CAFFREY CHARM. he will proceed to feel a little smug on a meta-level, then. ]

You have a point there. I'm Neal.

( video )

[became]

[ give him a second to scroll through things, the hyper charming smile dropping away in favor of intense focus for a few moments. then he looks up and it's like that serious man never existed. ]

That's... a lot of information. An impressive amount, actually. [ he looks down again, skimming the words. ] Well, I know what I'm doing tonight.

text;

[wiretap]

[ She sees you there, Neal Caffrey. If only for a moment. But says nothing. ]

the network is flush if you know where to look.

( video )

[became]

And I'd guess you know exactly where to look.

[ operation: flirt with aberdeen is a go. ]

[became]

Do we have pie?

video;

[became]

[ this is the beginning of a rad bromance, clearly. ]

Poor soul. Zero-three-one, really? [ he's teasing a little, but it's gentle. ] ...Wait, wait. Where are you from?

[became]

[ he makes awesome coffee. and brought some beans with him, actually. but he prefers wine, so ianto's place as coffee god is secure. ]

June's... June. She's great.

[ and this is as genuine and sweet as neal's smile gets, minus the addition of being heavily sedated. he's ignoring potential barbs, because there's being a smug ass and then there's making enemies your first day out. ]

text;

[wiretap]

[ DO YOUR WORST. ]

logic follows.

( video )

[became]

[ challenge: accepted. ]

Do I get a name? I can't thank you properly for helping me out without your name.

[ come oooooooon aberdeen, look at this cute little face. ]

text;

[wiretap]

[ For the record: her propositioning you for sex doesn't count as a win, Neal. ]

define 'properly'.

[coffeeking]

[Ianto softens just a bit. He can't be a complete dick to someone who demonstrates genuine affection, so he drops the subject of June immediately. She goes into his mental "off limits" category.]

Right. So what did you want to know about the ship?

( video )

[became]

In this case? Thanking the person who gave me a hand by name.

text; 1/2

[wiretap]

conveniently circular argument.

[ And it seems as though she's going to leave it at that, but— ]

text;

[wiretap]

aberdeen.

[became]

[ june is one of neal's soft spots. she's a lady, in the throwback style neal loves best. there might not be anything romantic between them-- although if she had been interested at the start, neal would have said yes; age is kind of a ridiculous reason not to sleep with a beautiful woman-- but she's one of his tiny, tiny list of people he would stick around and take consequences for no matter what, if it meant her life would be easier. that brings the list total to... four. and a half, possibly.

neal is emotionally stunted, news at eleven. ]

I'll start simple, now that I have more to work with. How does food work around here?

( video )

[became]

[ A WINNAR IS NEAL tiger blood, charlie sheen, etc etc etc. ]

Thank you, Aberdeen. [ SEE SOMETIMES HE KNOWS WHEN TO TAKE A VICTORY AND BE GRACIOUS. ]

text;

[wiretap]

[ Ugh, Neal, your face is so not okay. Which is actually just another way to say it's so attractive it hurts.

But Aberdeen's a brain's kind of girl. By his own admission: ]

you owe me one.

voice;

[goingsilent]

Kasumi Goto. Welcome to the Tranquility, Neal. Fortunately, people around here don't seem too bad. If you do end up owing any favours.

[coffeeking]

We have kitchens. We restock whenever we get to a spaceport and the captain takes requests. Theoretically.

video; wait, moon landing was 69. ..pretend she say 'haven't even managed' ahhaha

[darkholme]

[rah rah ah ah ah.]

Where? New York. Mm, Westchester. [A second later she realizes that doesn't really answer his question at all.] But it's 1962, where I'm from. [Hence the groovy hair and the groovy mini dress and the groovy go-go boots. Not that he can see her boots.]

[lovesfaygo]

I have pie. It's delicious and shit.