event } ya gotta be a dolphin

[seeingyou]

WHO: All the little fishies!
WHAT: An underwater adventure
WHERE: Kupra City, or you can stay on Navi if ya want
WHEN: Dec. 20-Jan. 2 16
WARNINGS: Use ‘em in your threads if needed! And if you end up taking an extended dip in the big drink, please report it on the death page.

[Hello, passengers! Hope you're all ready for an announcement, 'cause Navi's voice is getting beamed into your head right about ... now.]

Attention, passengers.
We'll be landing soon on the planet Umora, at Kupra City.
We'll be docked for two weeks, local time.
Please stand by for atmospheric entry.

[Is it just your imagination, or does Navi sound more tired than normal? Either way, it's now time to BUCKLE IN, CHAPS. It's not a particularly rough landing, just your standard amount of turbulence, though it may seem a little jarring to those who aren't used to space travel.

Upon docking underwater and disembarking, passengers will find a bank counter just past the terminal, where your new windfall of Navigems can be exchanged for credits (the universal currency).

Have fun! And do try not to drown … ]

Comments

[11calls]

"I mean, I've been living your life in a way for two years. It's not like I can kick myself out of it, you know? Besides, it's not your fault." Alex just picks up the bottle and takes a sip of it, already feeling more than a little bit drunk. But she doesn't want to fight with him anymore, and drinking is a fairly good way of doing it. "You tried to kick me out though, more than a few times." Alex just laughs softly, because she can't help it.

"I mean, you disappeared on me three different times now, and there's six months where you just ignored every single time I tried to get in touch with you. You were basically living in your office."

[imarealistnotacynic]

She missed him. You ignored me every time I tried to get in touch with you. It's so disconcerting. The last person who cared remotely this much was-

Coralee.

Who apparently was alive.

He wiped a hand over his face, "...You know-"

Fuck.

"...Come here. I can at least...give you a hug. Maybe. You look like you need a hug and I am really, really drunk."

[11calls]

For a moment, what Richard said really doesn't compute. She'd never even thought about hugging him before, not even the night Coralee had come back. She'd always thought of Strand as someone who shunned touch in every form, so hearing him say it, asking for one actually makes Alex wonder if he'd said something entirely different from what he'd really said. But he said it not once but twice, and maybe it was just a side effect of him being really really drunk.

Besides, it's not like Alex has ever refused to give someone a hug when they needed it.

More than that, she needs one too. This is a lot even if like he's got this much harder than she does. Easiness isn't something that Alex had ever expected when it came to Richard Strand, and she's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, while it's slow to give Richard time to pull away from her if he decided that was what he wanted, Alex does wrap her arms around him and gives him a tight hug.

[imarealistnotacynic]

One thing to say, another thing to do. Tomorrow he may deny this but when she wraps her arms around him he gently, ever so gently, moves an arm around her shoulder and clings there for just a moment, a single moment.

His grip tightens. It could be an eternity or a minute. This woman has been dragged into the tangled mess of his life - no - she tore her way in. But he's not some kind of monster. He is capable of comforting. Just ask Coralee-

The hand pulls away slowly.

"...Let go of me now please." His voice is tight, "...I think I should find some water. Or some food so I don't wake up with a massive hangover tomorrow."

[11calls]

Immediately, Alex lets him go, and she just steps back entirely out of his space as she looks around. "I'll go grab something from the fridge. There's water here I grabbed before. Just chill out as long as you want, okay?" Because Alex is planning on taking a while while he does it, and before she leaves her room, she grabs the bottle of advil that she'd had in her bag when she'd been taken and leaves it for him.

Something tells her that the worst traits of Richard Strand's personality are entirely on display when he's hungover, and that's before everything with Coralee and all of the stuff around him hugging her and you know that whole thing about being abducted to a space ship where he's got someone else inside his head too.

[imarealistnotacynic]

Lying back with a groan he tugs any blanket, anything warm around him. Happily lost in his head for a good few moments he blinks. Alex has always been a good person - he's not stupid - but she apparently cares. There are memories in her head of how he reacted and suddenly Coralee is in their lives? They are close enough that she'd feel comfortable hugging him? And he'd hugged her - but only because he felt bad.

After a moment he sat up - struggling with his suit coat like a cat caught in a blanket. It's all too much, all too constricting, take the jacket off, the tie off, the shirt off, it's all too much.

[11calls]

Alex comes back in with some bread (because of course she's not going to cook, especially when she's drunk and exhausted) and some cheese and of course a coffee because she's not planning on sleeping any time soon. Not wanting to bother Jon, or anyone else considering the hour, Alex returns to her room and sees Richard fighting like a cat to take off his clothing.

Setting down her coffee and the plate, Alex just sighs before she goes over and lightly touches his shoulder, her voice soft. "Hey. It's okay. I've got you. You're safe."

[imarealistnotacynic]

Making a strangled noise he stops wrestling, "My arms have stopped working."

He doesn't flop back, instead trying to pull himself into a sitting position, "I've ended up in space with nothing but the clothes on my back. My childhood self would be furious."

Settling for tugging off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt he just sort of curls over trying to get his head on straight.

"...You got me drunk Ms. Reagan."

[11calls]

“Nope, Dr. Strand, you wanted to get drunk and you got yourself drunk. You can blame me for a lot of things but you can’t blame me for that.” Not that Alex wasn’t drunk because she most certainly is. No, instead it’s that he was the one who wanted to drink more and more and definitely had.

Grabbing the bread and stuffing some cheese in it, Alex just hands it to him along with the bottle of water that she filled for him earlier. “Here. Eat this and it’ll help. At least a little bit anyway. Maybe you won’t be such a bear of being hungover tomorrow if you do.”