#Miner'sRespite – July 2, 2017

Va'ynna enters the bar from the back room, in the middle of putting on her navy blue coat. She was wearing black jeans and a green t-shirt underneath that has a handful of flour stains on it, as that's much more practical for kitchen work than a dress. While Victoria won't be here yet, Va'ynna didn't want to lose a single minute of potential sleep by not being prepared to leave in an instant.

Jason has remained at the Respite for the past few hours, long after Vasili departed. After Vas' exit, he boothed with a group of Respite regulars- three humans and a turian who work down at the mines- and they've spent the night rotating buying rounds. There was plenty of laughter and some drunken singing. At some point, Jason wound up with one of their sports caps which prominently

Va'ynna raises an eyebrow, but she does approach him nontheless. Drunk or not, he was still Jason. Most regulars here would know that they're friends anyway, and that this is not Va'ynna condoning being addressed this way. She studies his new headwear with a tilt of her head, not recognizing the logo; she knows what Asajura is but that's where her knowledge of it ends. "Um, nothing right now," she says with a

Jason gives a number of nods as he plops onto the barstool and sets his glass down. "Right, right.... You-..." he glances back over his shoulder, cocking a thumb back towards the door before looking back to the asari, "...taking off? Shift all done and shit?"

Va'ynna nods. "Mhm," she says followed by a yawn which she covers with a hand, "but I've got... time to talk while I wait for Victoria, because I... forgot to notify her until after I closed to kitchen."

Jason gives a lopsided smirk at the mention of Victoria. He slides his empty glass across the counter, "Mind hitting me with a refill before you take off...?" he asks, swaying slightly on his stool.

Va'ynna narrows her eyes a bit as she takes the glass. "Are you... sure that's a good idea?" she asks, but she does walk over to the shelves where the ingredients are. "You've been here all night," she adds with a glance over her shoulder.

Jason waves her concern off dismissively. "It's fiiiine. I'm fine. Just-... one more and then I'll head home." he assures. Not wanting her to dwell on it for too long, lest he lose the chance for another drink, he returns to her previous comment. "So Vicky is coming to walk you home...?" he asks, "Are you sure. Cuz-... Cuz I can just make a quick call and have Jasper pick you up.

Va'ynna sighs deeply and grabs the rum and coke and returns to the counter. "That wouldn't be nice... after I already asked her to come," she says, "but... thank you for the offer." She fills a glass with ice and begins mixing the drink while dwelling on his second question, frowning deeply as she's made to think about 'all of that bullshit'. "No, and... I haven't seen anything suspicious either," she says. "They

Jason nods along as she refuses the offer. When Va'ynna comments about letting her guard down, a deep frown crosses his face. "Don't talk like that, V!" he says- perhaps slightly louder than intended- with genuine concern in his voice. He swallows hard as he looks her over. "I'm not going to let that happen, okay? I-... I'm working on it...." he adds, slightly quieter. Perhaps embarassed

Va'ynna looks down after passing him the drink. "That's... how it happened the last time," she says. "I was finally walking to work on my own, and... they were ready for me. I..." She takes a deep breath while she holds back tears. "I... trust you, Jason, but... once I'm on my own the only way to know I'm in danger is when I'm not showing up for work on time."

Jason shakes his head, his attention firmly pulled away from the booze for the time being. "No." he says sternly, refusing to accept that answer. "I almost lost you once. I almost-... I almost lost Linda..." he continues, his gaze moving down to the counter. He gives a few more shakes of his head. "I'm tired of losing people. I've got a baby on the way, V. I can't lose anymore

Va'ynna winces at his immediate answer. She wanted to take his word for it, but she couldn't. "I... I... it's... it's...." She shakes her head and takes another deep breth. "I know that," she says, not looking up, "but... I'm scared of their attempt. The hours it'll take... for your rescue to come. Being... in the hands of people like... her."

Jason falls silent. It's undeniable that he means what he's saying, drunk or not. But intentions count for little if you can't follow through on them. "I'm working on it, V... I'm making progress." he lies. Certainly not due to a lack of intent. There's just little he can do without a lead to act on. "I give you my word. I am going to find her and I am going to ki-..." he censors himself, as if only suddenly

Va'ynna frowns deeply at what he's saying, knowing full and well that there's likely no peaceful solution to this. There has always been death of serious injury in any conflict she has been witness to. "It's... times like this I regret leaving Thessia," she says, a hint of bitterness showing through in her tone. "I'm glad I met people like you,... like Victoria, but... the problems back home were normal. They...

Jason lowers his gaze once more as the asari speaks. Unfortunately, this has been how his life has gone for far longer than he cared to admit. Fighting. Killing. Dying. And this is the life he's bringing a child into. He bites down hard and quickly slugs back the rest of his drink to try and wash the thought away. "This is our home, V. Freedom Falls is our home." he says, looking

Va'ynna looks a bit nervous, realizing she might have been taken wrongly judging by Jason's immediate reaction. "I... I... I do appreciate what you do for me, it... means a lot," she says, "it's... just sad that it has to be done." She walks out of the bar as she catches the sight of someone waving her down, and takes a seat next to Jason; making it clear that her shift is over.

Jason finally sets his glass down and glances to his side as Va'ynna takes a seat beside him. He places a synthetic hand on her shoulder, which his own gaze is immediately redirected to. Yet another reminder of the shitstorm that is his life. He gives her a few pats on the shoulder before withdrawing his hand and laying it across his other atop the bar counter. A small attempt at

Va'ynna considers leaning on him when her shoulder is patted, but the hand is withdrawn before she could make up her mind about it. The synthetic hand didn't bother her, she remembers the reasons behind it. "Why... did you return to the it?" she asks. "Didn't you and Vasquez have... a normal life on your homeworld... Earth?"

Jason snorts loudly, giving a shake of his head. "Right. 'Normal life'." he repeats, "Only reason we were even on Earth was because a job we were on went sideways. Damn near killed Linda." He gives a small shrug of his shoulders as he recalls their time on Earth. "This is all we know, V. This is who we are. Soon as she was back on her feet, we got back to work..." He sucks in a deep

Va'ynna looks down at the counter, feeling very guilty that she's indirectly contributing to his troubles. "Is there... nothing you can do about it?" she asks. "Leave... fighting to others so you can be a... good father?"

Jason gives a slow shake of his head. "I don't know, V... Maybe? And then-... what? Ask these people who work for me-.... who trust me to go and do shit that I won't? Because it's too dangerous?" It's a sobering conundrum. And sober is the last thing he wants to be right now. He brings his hand up to his forehead, rubbing at it for a moment and causing his borrowed cap to move out

Va'ynna frowns. "You... should think about this," she says. "Maybe not... now, but... your child will need you." She sighs, wiping away a tear from under her eyes. While she's had training in remaining composed despite fatigue and sleep deprivation, there were limits to that.

Jason gives the briefest of nods, struggling to keep a smile on his face for Va'ynna's sake. "I'm gonna do the best I can, V." he says. Even through his drunken state and his downplaying, it's pretty obvious that this whole fatherhood thing terrifies the hell out of him. He sucks a deep breath in and straightens his posture as he gives a goofy little tip of the brim of his borrowed

Va'ynna nods at his first statement, though she doesn't want to dwell on it. She lets out a smile at his joke, finding it absurd despite the description Jason once gave her about the woman. "I'll see you," she says. "I hope D'Inea... gets better before the wedding so I can get time off.... I'm starting to worry about that."

Jason gives a firm shake of his head. "I will talk to her personally if I have to. There's no wedding if you're not there!" he exaggerates, "And if you can't come then, fuck it-..." he exclaims drunkenly, "...We'll have the wedding here if we have to." Stepping closer, he tosses an arm around Va'ynna's shoulder in a drunken side-hug. "Don't you go anywhere until Vicky gets here,

Va'ynna leans against him, though his shouting does cause her to blush as it draws attention of patrons still about. "Thank you," she mutters. "I... would be heartbroken if I had to miss it." She glances towards the exit. "I wasn't even thinking of leaving without her," she says. "Going to bed five minutes earlier isn't... worth that risk."

Jason gives Va'ynna's shoulder a brief squeeze before releasing the hug and stepping back. "Alright, V. Be safe." he says, his smile growing the slightest bit more genuine as he backs away a couple steps before turning on his heels and starting, somewhat unevenly, towards the exit with a stolen sports cap on his head.

Va'ynna watches him leave, looking a little concerned at his unevenness. It probably wasn't the first time he found the way home in this state, and what could she do? Once he's outside, she retreats to the bathroom to clean the tears from her face, Victoria doesn't need to see her like this.