#RedrockAgency – January 5, 2017

Cynthia glances at the TV as one of the Tayseri players pirouettes into the air and launches the ball right past several defenders and into the basket. She exclaims a muted "Fuck yeah." followed by a small fistpump before turning her gaze back to her friend. "No shit! Hurts my feelings, man. I would have done a kickass job and you know it." she says with an accusatory look and a nudge with her fist. She shakes her

Vasquez lets out an exasperated sigh, rubbing her temples briefly only to wince as her hand brushes against a spot on the right eyebrow covered in a small patch of medigel. "I know what happens when you host a party, Cyn." Despite her tone a small grin creeps up as she speaks. "Besides, I didn't really ask her... it's more like she insisted..."

Jason steps into the rec room on the prowl for food and drink after spending the last couple of hours in his office. Dressed in his typical attire- black pants, boots, and a long-sleeved white shirt- he cocks an eyebrow as he picks up the tail end of the conversation. "Someone say party?" he asks, giving an 'unce unce unce' as he walks past the couch, only briefly looking to the screen as he heads towards the fridge. "We throwing

Vasquez sighs, looking over the back of the couch at Jason as he heads off to the kitchenette. "Just... Leah practically insisted on throwing a bachelorette party. I... think I told you?" she says, furrowing her eyebrows.

Cynthia gives Jason a wave as a he enters. "Hey Jace." She takes another look at the screen as Vasquez speaks, but then butts in: "Should've been me, Chief! You know it would've been awesome."

Jason frowns as it's clarified that there is not, in fact, a party about to happen. "Ah, right. Yeah..." he says as he approaches the fridge and pulls the door open, "What does she have planned, anyway? Are there gonna be strippers? Because I feel like I should know if there are gonna be strippers....... There's gonna be strippers, isn't there?" With his head in the fridge, he raises a hand in greeting to Cynthia. "Beer?" he calls

Vasquez ' frown deepens and she shakes her head. "Wh-... no! There are not going to be any-... no."

Cynthia nods and raises her hand only to realize Jason can't see her. "Yeah, I'll take one." she says, but when she hears Vasquez she looks practically outraged. "What?! Fuck that! I'm gonna personally make sure there are."

Jason snorts loudly. "Laaaaame." he calls back to Vasquez and pulls another beer from the fridge. Using just his thumb, he pops the top off of each of the chilled beers and delivers one to Cynthia, giving her a stern nod. "If you let her-..." he gestures to Vasquez with his own beer, "...run the show, then it's gonna be like three hours of training maneuvers or some shit." he teases before retreating back towards the kitchenette

Cynthia accepts the beer big grin. She lifts the bottle, briefly putting on a somber look. "I swear, I will do everything in my power to make sure your wife-to-be has a wild party!" she nods sharply and takes a long swig of her beer.

Vasquez grunts, sinking back into the couch and partly propping her head up against her right hand. "This is not how-... urgh." she mutters as her attention turns to the screen, despite not really having followed the game so far at all.

Jason snickers at Vasquez' frustration as his head returns to the fridge. "You're gonna be tied to me for the rest of your life... or my life..." he shrugs, "Whichever comes first. Gotta get one last hurrah in before I put the shackles on you." He straightens up with a styrofoam takeout container in his hands and opens it up. It's some sort of rice dish from a few days ago. He sniffs it and pokes at a piece of meat inside of the

Cynthia seems equally amused, snickering between sips of her beer. "Good thing somebody knows what's what." she says with a nudge at the annoyed Vasquez before turning back to the screen just in time to catch the Aeromancers evening the score, prompting a quiet "Shit..."

Vasquez opts to ignore both of them as she watches the screen with feigned interest, doing her best to hide her embarassment. She remains quiet until a thought occurs to her, and she glances over to Jason. "Are... you having a party?"

Jason rotates back around as the microwave's ding sounds out and he collects his few-day-old food. "Of course I am." he says. He grabs a fork and stabs it into his food before collecting his beer from the counter and moving over to the couch. "Some of my old Alliance buddies should be arriving this week. They'd never let me hear the end of it if I didn't go big with the bachelor party, so we are going to get trashed." he says,

Cynthia scoots aside slightly to give Jason room, her eyes still on the screen. "Hell yeah... no party like a marine party..." she says, flashing a brief grin while still keeping her attention on the match. "Get-... yes!" she blurts out as a Tayseri player steals the ball.

Vasquez ' attention is drawn to Jason as her legs are suddenly scooped up and relocated. She readjusts herself to lean back against the armrest, eyeing the food briefly as she listens, before looking up at his face. "Hm. Just wondering." she says before looking over to the screen.

Jason scoops another bite of food into his mouth before giving a muffled 'Mmhmm' in response to Cynthia and raising his beer briefly. He slugs back a portion of it to wash down his food and glances over to Vasquez, smirk still plastered across his face. "Don't worry, I'll be good." he assures her before his gaze is drawn to the medigel on her eyebrow. He furrows his brow and leans a bit closer to get a better look at the spot.

Vasquez seems confused for a moment before she realizes what he's referring to. She looks back at him and lightly presses a finger against the small medigel patch. "Oh. That? It's nothing, Cyn and I was sparring and I took a hit."

Cynthia leans forward a bit to glance at Vasquez past Jason. "Sorry Chief! I would've gone easy on ya if I knew you'd gotten all soft!" she says with a grin before leaning back again and sipping her beer.

Jason gains a slightly concerned look. "Sparr-... Are you sure that's a good idea, Linda? I'm no doctor, but you probably shouldn't be sparring in your condition..." he says, scooting slightly closer and reaching his free hand out to Vasquez' chin to keep her head still so he can try and get a better angle to look at the wound. "Are you alright? We can have Halisi check it out..." he continues, his concern obviously ramped up

Vasquez raises an eyebrow, and when he starts to study her wound she swats his hand away with an annoyed grunt. "Wha-... I'm fine, Jason! I'm not even a month pregnant! Just because I'm not doing fieldwork doesn't mean I'm not gonna try to stay sharp. It's perfectly safe..."

Cynthia opts not to interfere, shooting a quick glance their way before sipping her beer again.

Jason frowns, but quickly realizes he probably is overreacting and, more importantly, he's not going to win an argument with Vasquez. "...Right..." he mutters and brings his hand back to his spoon. He gives a sigh as he shoots Vasquez a sidelong look. "Just-... be careful, yeah? Or, better yet? Next time just... win." he teases, the smirk returning to his face. "She is going soft, isn't she?" he asks with a brief glance

Vasquez looks uncomfortable for a brief moment before propping up a small smirk. "If you keep talking like that I'm sure I could find her..." she says, giving his thigh a light kick. Her gaze falls away briefly before going back to Jason as her right hand moves to her belly. "A lot has changed..." she says, her expression turning into a more genuine smile.

Cynthia is still focused on the game, although it seems she's listening judging by the mid-drink laugh and subsequent muffled cough from Jason's question.

Jason gives Vasquez a wink. "Hey, don't threaten me with a good time." he teases, reaching out to place a hand on her leg to try and protect himself from any potential follow-up kicks. His gaze follows her hand to her belly and he stares for a moment before looking back to her face. "...Yeah..." he agrees, sucking in a deep breath, "...It has, hasn't it? For the better." His gaze briefly travels to his own hands and his smile

Vasquez snickers, her smile growing at first, but his look doesn't go unnoticed. Her smile wavers as her gaze follows Jason's to his hands, her guilt coming back to the surface as she goes quiet, expression turning distant.

Cynthia looks over, interjecting as they turn quiet. "Look, I think-... I think I'm gonna catch the rest of the game in the bar, alright?" she says, hopping out of the couch with an exaggerated grunt of exertion. She takes a long swig of her beer as she rounds the back of it and then leans in, between them, propping her elbows up against the backrest. "Chief... Linda, I've-... I've known you for years. Jace, not so

Jason's smile turns more genuine as Cynthia speaks and he gives a short nod. "Couldn't be happier." he responds softly and, despite all of the shit surrounding them, sincerely. His gaze returns to Vasquez and he gives her leg a squeeze. "Take care, Cynthia." he says.

Vasquez ' attention snaps back as Cynthia speaks. Despite the direction her thoughts were taking a small smile returns and she nods faintly. "Thanks, Cyn. We'll... talk later."

Cynthia gives a mock salute with her free hand while backing away from them, and then spins around to head out the door, taking another swig from her beer as she disappears into the corridor.

Jason's lopsided smirk returns to his face as he glances over his shoulder towards the door briefly. "I like her." he says, as if having just decided it. "But this rice is shit." He frowns as he closes up his styrofoam container and tosses it onto the spot Cynthia previously occupied.

Vasquez ' smile remains as she turns from the door to Jason, another snicker following. "It's... been nice to have her around." she says, glancing at the food container with a roll of her eyes before continuing. "She's still the same... like it's yesterday we were fighting together." Her smile wavers as she turns her gaze to the screen. "It was stupid... pushing everyone away when I left the Alliance." she says with sigh.

Jason gives a couple of shallow nods, his gaze lingering on Vasquez for a short while before looking to the screen. Biotiball isn't really his thing. It's alright, but it's no asajura. "Yeah... I didn't do too good of a job keeping in touch when I left either..." he admits with a sigh. "Messages here and there but-..." he shrugs his shoulders, "...To go from being willing to die for the people at your sides to-... what? A message

Vasquez nods, lifting her legs off of Jason's lap and sitting up. She leans forward, placing her elbows on her knees. "Yeah... we do." she agrees, watching the game but not really paying attention to it. She brushes away some hair as it falls in her face, not having gotten around to fixing up her ponytail yet. "Things have been so chaotic, it almost feels like the wedding might get lost in all of it. I... I don't want

Jason gives a shrug of his shoulders, turning his attention away from the screen and back to Vasquez. "Forgotten." he says simply through his smirk. "The business is stable. We've got our legs back under us. Time for you and me to just take a step back and focus on us for a little while. Ilyna already said she had no problem taking on some more work for a bit while we focus on wedding preparations." he says. "So... Consider this

Vasquez sits back, looking at Jason. "Not sure I'm willing to go that far. And Ilyna has a lot to worry about as well..." she says before looking back at the screen. "I..." she trails off almost immediately, letting out a sigh. "Seems like Li enjoyed the Halloween party. It was a good idea." she says, placing her hand on Jason's knee and glancing at him as she flashes a brief smile.

Jason nods. "Yeah... Seemed like it." he agrees, taking another quick swig of his drink. "I appreciate you going along with it. I know it was stupid, but I just-..." he sighs and shrugs his shoulders, "Li lost a lot when we stepped into her life." he continues, not mentioning the obvious: they all lost a lot that day, "They may have been a bunch of psychopaths, but they were her family, right? It's just nice to give a little

Vasquez ' gaze travels to Jason's hand as he drinks, and she nods. "I-... yeah. Yeah... it is." she says, another sigh following in the same breath. She falls quiet as her gaze turns back to the screen, and she leans slightly against him, her hand still on his leg. Her expression turns contemplative as she stares through the screen.

Jason puts his free arm around Vasquez and glances to her. "I know that look..." he says, giving her a slight nudge with his body, "...What's going on in that head?"

Vasquez turns her head as she's nudged, shrugging slightly but giving him a look that seems to say 'You know what'. A failed attempt at a smile is follwed by a quiet sigh and a shake of her head as she turns back to the screen.

Jason returns Vasquez' look with a frown. As she looks back to the screen, he pulls her into a sidelong hug that's more of a headlock and presses a kiss against the top of her head. "Hey, don't be an asshole. New start and all that crap, right?" he says, using her own words to remind her not to dwell on the past. He furrows his brow as he looks down at her, "So what colors do you see this new start taking place in? Jasper is still

Vasquez grunts and swats at Jason as he kisses the top of her head, but her smile returns, if dampened. Her eyebrows furrow lightly at the question, and she gives a shrug. "I-... I don't know. I guess I..." she leans her head against his shoulder as she trails off, pondering the question for a moment. "When I was young, I always pictured an outdoor wedding... somewhere lush and green. You got pretty sick of red dust and

Jason listens in silence until Vasquez finishes. "Lush, green, outdoors...." he repeats with a nod. "Might've been something worth mentioning before we set it in the middle of winter." he says with a snicker, followed by a long, deep breath as he shifts a bit in place to get comfortable. "Alright, alright... Green we can do. Can have Jasper toss some green tableclothes over the tables.... Hang some-... some... you know. Green

Vasquez lifts her head with another sigh. "Yeah... but it doesn't really matter, right?" she says in response to the talk about outdoors, even though her almost wistful expression says otherwise. "I'm sure as hell not waiting until summer..." she adds. His final comment causes her to furrow her eyebrows. "No, I... guess we haven't..."

Jason gives a nod in agreement. "Definitely not waiting until summer... We'll work with what we have. If you want the ceremony outside, we'll figure out a way to make it happen." he says, as if it's just that easy. "So when you were young, what did that picture in your head tell you about our attire?" he asks.

Vasquez gives a small shrug. "I'm not going to tell you what to wear..." she says with a smirk. "As for me, I'm... I'm gonna figure that out. Don't worry." Her gaze goes briefly to the screen as the announcer gives a cheer, promting her to shake her head and mumble: "I don't know why Cyn likes this game so much..."

Jason glances briefly to the screen, clearly not interested in discussing the game. "Eh. Asajura is better." he says before furrowing his brow, "......I think." he adds with a shrug. His gaze quickly moves back to Vasquez, "And you're not telling me. We're deciding. I mean, we have to match or something, right? What if you show up wearing green and I show up wearing red and we look like a Christmas special or some shit?" He

Vasquez lets out a frustrated grunt and sits up properly, turning slightly towards Jason. "If you have to know, I've been looking at dresses, alright? Something red, maybe... but I don't-... I was thinking about asking someone for help choosing." Her annoyance at having to divulge this is obvious, even if the reason why isn't. There's a hint of embarassment as her gaze turns to the coffee table.

Jason cocks an eyebrow, clearly not having expected that. "Wha-... A dress!?" he asks, bringing his hand up and rubbing at his ear as if to say 'did I hear that right?' His smirk widens and he shakes his head. "Have you ever worn a dress? Or heels?" he asks, half-serious half-teasing. "What if you just tip over or something?" he continues to tease, a snicker accompanying. "Ah fuck. You said red? I guess this means I need to

Vasquez jabs an elbow into his side with an annoyed grunt before standing up and grabbing the styrofoam container, mumbling "Fuck off..." before walking over towards the kitchenette and opening it to take a quick look at the food before throwing it in the trash. "This is why I wasn't going to tell you..." she says from across the room.

Jason winces, leaning to the side and putting a hand over the spot where he was elbowed, though her attack doesn't seem to have dampened his mood. "What was that for!?" he asks through a stupid grin. "I think it's great! Seriously! I-..." he seems to get sidetracked as a frown crosses his face, "...I was gonna eat that..." he mutters.

Vasquez rolls her eyes as she opens the fridge door. "No, you weren't..." she says while looking through the shelves. She stops looking as her shoulders drop, still holding onto the door. "We'll... we'll see. Maybe I'll just... wear something else." After a moment passes in silence she adds, still facing away from Jason. "It was white. When I was little. When I was... imagining... just... an ordinary, stupid, white wedding

Jason frowns, suddenly feeling guilty about teasing her so much and climbs to his feet to follow her over to the fridge. (And he was totally gonna eat that) "Hey... Come on. You know I was just fucking around, Linda." he says, snaking his arms around her waist as he comes up behind her. "Really." he continues, pressing a kiss against the back of her neck, "I mean, you're gonna look hot no matter what you wear. But if there was

Vasquez leans back against Jason as he comes up behind her, taking a deep breath to collect herself before turning her head to the side and pressing it back against him. His repeated insistence that she's going to look great prompts a subdued chuckle. She closes the fridge and brings her hand up to brush against his cheek, still turned away. "This is-... I could never have imagined the life I have now. It's-... I know it's

Jason gives her a small squeeze. "I get it, Linda." he says. "I just want you to be happy, alright? Whatever that takes. Red dress in the snow?" he smirks, "Works for me... Whatever you want." After a moment, his smirk begins to fade away, "You know I-... I meant what I said before, right Linda? About-... If you want her here...." he says, leaving it at that with the assumption that she knows what he means. "I'm not-..." he sighs,

Vasquez tenses up at the suggestion, and quickly shakes her head as she brings her hands down, placing her arms over the synthetic limbs wrapped around her midsection. "You... you think I would want that? Would want her there? After what she made me do?" It's clear that the very notion is offensive to her as she speaks. Her gaze has fallen, looking down at Jason's arms now. "That monster should be dead." she says, her

Jason winces at the reaction, despite it being expected given their recent conversation on the topic. Still, it hurt to hear her so spiteful at someone who was obviously so important to her. Maybe it was just his own feelings seeping through, causing him so much trouble accepting that she really feels so coldly towards her mother. "Sorry... I just-..." he sighs, "You were talking about family before and I thought-..." He falls

Vasquez ' hands clench into fists for a brief moment before she exhales, her body relaxing as she takes on a more resigned expression. "Yeah..." she agrees quietly, giving a small nod, although it's clear her attention is still dwelling on her mother. She walks over to the counter, grabbing a glass and looking at it before immediately putting it back down again and walking back to the fridge, her movement restless but

Jason smile fades away once again as it becomes obvious that he has soured Vasquez' mood. He steps over to the counter and leans against it, folding his arms across his chest as he falls silent. As he realizes what she's looking at, a smirk tugs at his lips. "Good likeness." he jokes, hoping to lighten the mood slightly.

Vasquez actually gains a faint smile as she lets out a quiet "Hm." She nods slightly. "Definitely my favorite picture of us." she says as she turns towards him, the smile still lingering in one corner of her mouth. As it fades she lets out a sigh, shaking her head to herself. "I'm sorry about-... it's just-... I'm just... still processing, alright? Our wedding's going to be great. And nothing's changed. Not really."

Jason shifts in place, leaning his weight back against the counter as he gives a shrug of his shoulders. "Nothing to apologize for, Linda. It's-... it's a lot to digest. I'm not sure how I'd be handling it if I was in your shoes..." he says. "I shouldn't have brought it up. Forget I ever said anything and let's just rewind back to red dresses and high heels." he smirks. He gives her a quick look over before adding: "You know I

Vasquez rolls her eyes at Jason's final comment, but her mood seems at least partly restored. "Red or white." she reminds as she walks past him, grabbing the water boiler and filling it up before turning it on. "Haven't decided yet." she says. She leans closer to the device as she adjusts the settings, doing her best not to let her mind drift back to her mother.