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#Spaceport – September 23, 2018
Jason draws in a deep breath, his gaze turning to Elena as Lucy steps away. Shifting the bag of WHISKEY to keep a handle on it, he bends over and sets it down on the floor beside Elena. As much as he tries to hide it, it's not hard to see that even this small movement seems to bring him a bit of pain. "Should-... uhh-... Probably leave these with you." he says softly, leaving the implication left unsaid. Still, he maintains a hold on
Shane keeps his comments to himself. Though, once Jason has set aside the bag of booze, he speaks up. "We should catch up later when you're done here." he says, "Get a bite. A drink. Something. I heard-... Gage said-... You didn't exactly-..." he stammers, trailing off as Jason suddenly cuts him off.
Jason forces a lopsided smirk as Shane begins to speak, nodding to the initial suggestion as he starts towards the bridge. His smirk falters briefly when Shane begins to nudge towards things he'd rather not discuss, but he's quick to prop it right back up and cut in dismissively. "I'm fine." he insists casually, rotating to face Shane and Elena as he continues to backpedal towards the door. "Still breathing, so I'm walking on
sunshine." he says, silencing that voice in the back of his mind that adds 'Which is more than some people can say.' "But yeah. We'll catch up." he agrees before using the bottle to gesture between the two on the couch. "You two stay out of trouble."
Shane does a poor job of hiding the concern that creeps into his expression as Jason deflects. He's known the man long enough to be well aquainted with his routine. But he doesn't voice his concern. Instead, he gives a weak snicker, putting on a look of mock offense at Jason's final comment. "Trouble? Me? Shiiiiit."
Elena watches Lucy, and then Jason, leave with a concerned frown. She chews silently on her lips, spirits deflated by the sudden reminder of what's been lost. She opens her mouth to say something to Shane, but she doesn't have it in her. So, uncomfortable silence takes over.
Lucy waits in the doorway to the bridge, holding onto the top of the frame with one hand as she watches him with glassy eyes.
Jason rotates back around after a couple more steps towards the bridge. With only Lucy left to judge, he lets his smirk-shaped-armor slip away and continues towards her.
Shane watches as his friend exits the galley, letting out a low sigh once he's out of earshot and looking Elena's way. "...You good?" he asks, already well aware of the obvious answer.
Lucy heads over to her chair, which is already spun to face the door, and lets herself drop into the worn, padded seat. "What do ya want?" she asks after looking up at Jason, a tilt to her head as she studies him.
Elena sighs, looking down at her coffee for a moment before flashing an empty smirk. "Y'know, I'm not that hungry."
Jason gives a small, amused snort at Lucy's bluntness. "A stack of credit chits filled to the brim would be a nice start if you're granting wishes." he says as he meanders over to a nearby open seat. "Front row seats to the Asajura finals would be a good backup, though." Wih a pained grunt, he lowers into the seat and scoots closer to Lucy. "Otherwise I thought I'd just-..." he shrugs dismissively, "...swing by and see how you're
holding up." Turning the bottle of WHISKEY in his hand, he grips it by the neck and extends it towards Lucy. "Also-... I know my people probably did a number on your reserves. Figured the least I could do was help replenish them a bit. Left a few more bottles in the galley for you." he adds, gesturing back the way he came from with a nod of his head. Her condition tells the story of someone who probably doesn't need anymore
booze brought onto the ship. But fuck it. He's certainly in no position to tell someone when they've had enough. There's no high ground to take in that discussion.
Shane's mood seems to dampen a bit as he sinks into his seat, gaze moving to the door the pair exited through. He gives a few distant nods to Elena's comment. "Yeah... I feel you." he says.
Lucy lets out a muffled snort at Jason's initial reply, remaining sunken into her seat as she listens. She leans forward to grab the bottle, giving it a look over as Jason continues to speak. "Get the feelin' this ain't Earth-made." she concludes. "My stash was from back home, ya know? Was always savin' it for... for special occasions." A shrug follows before she starts to open the bottle.
Elena sucks in her lips again, returning to silence. After a bit she takes a sip of her coffee, her movements stiff and uncomfortable. "I-... I gotta get to work." she says before getting up. "You wanna wait for him, or grab some food, that's fine." she says without looking Shane's way before heading back towards her cabin to change.
Jason keeps his gaze fixed on the bottle. "Yeah well, not exactly a whole lot of Earth-made booze floating around out here, but it'll get you drunk just as well." he says, forcing a lopsided smirk into place as he looks to her face again. "Just go easy on it. Has a hell of a kick." After a moment's consideration, he winces slightly, "...Just-... maybe slow down if you notice any-... uhh-... any changes to your eyesight or anything."
he advises before quickly assuring: "But it's good stuff!" He turns quiet momentarily, his lack of whiskey (Or WHISKEY) knowledge bullying him into silence. A few moments pass before he shrugs dismissively, ".......Probably. Hell, I don't know. Look, it'll fuck you up and it was expensive, so-... you know, it's the thought that counts, right?" he settles on.
Shane remains seated at first, a little caught off guard by Elena's sudden departure. As she starts towards the door he rises to his feet, caught somewhere between trying to come up with a reason to stop her and knowing his boundaries. Despite it being obvious she's not in a good place, he's little more than a stranger to her. "Yeah-... I'll just-..." he glances about, a breath escaping him as his gaze settles on the back of Elena's
Lucy shrugs as she listens to Jason's rambling. "I ain't feelin' picky..." she mutters, sniffing the contents of the bottle before taking a swig.
Elena stops by the hatch to her cabin, glancing Shane's way. "Yeah... see you around." she says with a couple of nods before starting to climb down.
The WHISKEY smells... strong. Strong enough to make your nose hairs curl. The taste is even stronger. It might not be actual whiskey, but it's certainly alcoholic. It doesn't leave a burn behind when it goes down, it leaves an inferno.
Jason gives a small, hollow snicker. Been there. Bought a timeshare. "Yeah..." he says softly, gaze turning to the side. "Just be careful." he says sincerely, doing his best to keep from getting too preachy.
Shane remains in place as Elena abandons him in the galley. That sudden feeling of discomfort settles in once again. A stranger in a strange place where he doesn't belong. An intruder. He takes another long sip from the coffee cup before placing it on the counter. As good as the food smells, he's not about to stick around on his own eating someone else's food. The atmosphere has gotten a little heavy and a tactical retreat is in
order, so he begins the confusing process of trying to retrace his drunken steps from the night before to get off this hunk of metal.
Lucy seems a little caught off-guard by the strength of the WHISKEY espite the eye-watering smell, and she brings the back of the hand holding the bottle to her mouth as she starts to cough repeatedly, her body heaving with each cough. When it settles down, and she lowers her hand, there are tears rolling down her cheeks, whether from the coughing, the sting of the drink, or her emotional turmoil is unclear. "That-..." Cough.
Jason gives a couple of snickers, raising a hand to point at the bottle as he leans forward in his seat a bit. "Told you it was good shit!" he's quick to spout, his own value system regarding alcohol seeming to factor in little more than how quickly it can get him shitfaced. But the laughter doesn't last for long and, soon enough, he settles back into the seat quietly as he glances about the bridge, unsure of what to say. He hadn't
exactly planned anything out. Just a nagging feeling that he should check on her. Make sure she's alright. And maybe, just maybe, she'd want to talk. Given their shared misery, he could be the ear that she needed to get whatever might be eating at her off her chest... But he also knows how he was when he lost Mina. It was a bad spot. All nighters with nothing more than a bottle for company. He'd fly off the handle at even
those closest to him at the drop of a hat and their sympathy and hollow assurances only made it worse. A reminder of everything he had lost. And now he finds himself on the other side of that predicament and can't help but realize just how hard it must have been for those around him.
Lucy doesn't comment on the quality of the bottle's contents, her gaze falling from Jason to the plain label as silence takes over. After a while she glances back up at him. "M-... must be nice to be home." she says before her gaze falls away with a slow shake of her head, a sluggish unsteadiness in all her motion. "See your wife?" She seems to consider another sip from the questionable alcohol, but doesn't just yet.
Jason allows a small smile to cross his lips as Lucy speaks, but it quickly fades at the mention of Vasquez, guilt immediately settling in. "Yeah..." he gives a few small nods. "She-... uhh... She was pretty worried. Everything happened so fast that-..." he shakes his head as he draws in a long breath, resting his unnatural, grey forearms against his chair's armrest. "I mean, we weren't even married twenty-four hours before I took
Lucy scoffs quietly at the final question, turning the bottle in her hand just to have something to keep her occupied. Her gaze inevitably lands on the ring on her finger, and she swallows hard. "Hell of a way..." she agrees in a quiet mumble.
As Shane (eventually) finds his way out of the Jack, he'd find Wrench sitting on a crate near the bottom of the ramp, eating from one of the bowls of food Senya brought. She's drumming the heels of her clunky boots against the crate as she eats, and she looks Shane's way curiously when he comes into view. The doctor and Niklos are stood further away, talking to each other.
Jason follows Lucy's gaze down to her finger as he gives a few small nods, each growing a tad more distant than the last as he studies the ring. That silence takes hold once more as he finds himself suddenly second guessing his decision to come out here. Questioning whether or not his presence is merely another reminder of everything she just endured. Everything she lost. Not much to be done about it now. "My old squad leader is in
town for the wedding." he says after a few moments. It's not exactly his strong suit, but if she's not gonna talk, then he will. It seemed to help a bit before and he left feeling a little lighter. Hell, maybe somewhere deep down that's why he came. Not just to listen, but to talk. It hadn't even occurred to him until now that it might be the case. Shared misery- it's a hell of conversation starter. "I guess things aren't
going so well with him and his wife. He's never home. Always working. Kids miss him. Putting his career before his family." he lists off with a slight roll of his eyes and a small shake of his head, "Just-... typical shit, you know?" He swallows, his attention traveling to the bottle in Lucy's hand as he recalls his chat with Gage.
Shane finishes zipping his jacket up to fight off the cold Aite air as he makes his way down the ramp. The previous night's events return to him as he spots Wrench and passes a small smile in greeting her way, an appreciative bow of his head accompanying it for her assistance on his approach.
Lucy listens in silence as Jason talks about Gage. She doesn't object to his sharing, just... listens. It's better than a lecture, or useless words of sympathy. As he goes on her lips turn into a thin line as she inevitably relates Jason's words to her own circumstances. Her and James had been in this together. That had been one of the best things about this life. They were doing something they loved, and they were doing it
together. Travelling the galaxy, beholden to no one but each other. A faint, sad smile is followed by a bitter snort that turns into a choked up sniffle partway through before she takes a sip from the bottle.
Wrench returns Shane's nod, her mouth far too stuffed with food to say anything even if she wanted to.
Senya , however, approaches Shane after her conversation with Niklos is over, although she might just be heading for the ship. "Changed your mind about lunch, I take it?"
Jason's gaze shifts to Lucy briefly as her sniffle slips out, but it doesn't linger before he continues on with his story. "So-... that's it" he says with a shrug. "She served him papers." He gives a few distant nods as he considers Gage's situation. "Blew my mind. I mean-... They love each other. I've seen them together. But he doesn't even seem to think it's worth fighting for. Said he thought some time apart might do them good.
Might be what they need." The sting in his delivery gives it away that those words struck a nerve with him. He falls silent as his thoughts inevitably drift to his own 'time apart' from Vasquez. The time stolen from them by Cerberus. "I-..." he trails off as he realizes the honesty in the words that are about to leave his mouth, causing a sincere snicker to escape him as he looks Lucy's way, "...I kind of wanted to knock him
Shane tucks his hands into his pockets, giving a brief glance about the 'work site' before settling his attention on the approaching asari. A polite smile returns to his face. "Nah-... the food looked great!" he's quick to qualify, "Just-..." he trails off, breaking eye contact briefly before giving a small raise of his eyebrows. "...Things seem a bit heavy around here." he says, his tone almost apologetic for even mentioning it.
"Figured it's probably best I don't overstay my welcome. You've all got enough to worry about without someone freeloading some breakfast from you." he chuckles, keeping things light.
Lucy muffles another cough after the small sip, but continues to listen to Jason. The final comment elicits a quiet snort and the briefest tug at the corner of her mouth. A slight shake of her head follows, still not looking Jason's way, but she seems to be paying attention. The idea of someone just... giving up like that seems almost offensive to her given what she'd do for more time with James.
Senya 's expression shifts slightly and she offers an understanding nod. "There have been losses. It's a challenging time for this crew." she explains matter-of-factly.
Jason lets out a frustrated sigh as he shifts against the seat. "He's a good guy." he relents, "Damn good leader. Would march through hell with the guy. Fuck, what am I saying? I have." he chuckles briefly. "Alwyas looked up to him. But listening to him the other night-..." he shakes his head, "...I just felt..." he trails off, his gaze turning low as he seems to search for the right word. To figure out exactly what it was he felt
while listening to Gage talk about his marital problems. "Sorry for him." he decides on as he looks back to Lucy, brow furrowed. "Sorry for both of them. Because they don't see it. How quickly it can all just-... Poof. Go away..." His gaze turns away from Lucy once again and he swallows at the lump in his throat. It takes him a moment before he continues. "I mean, Gage has experienced loss. People we served with. People who
served under him. But it's not the same. It's sad. It hurts. But it's not the same." He bites at his lip for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Yet here he was. Talking like this was just gonna be a break. They'd take some time. Some space. Get a little perspective. Then, when they were in a little bit better place. A little older. A little wiser. They'd just-... patch shit up." The lopsided smirk returns to
Shane pulls a hand from his pocket, waving Senya off. "You certainly don't owe me an explanation." he says, friendly smile remaining. "Besides, Elena-..." he shrugs, tucking his hand back into the pocket of his warm jacket, "...talked a bit about-... uhh-..." he trails off, simply nodding. "But I appreciate the hospitality. And hopefully I'll get another chance to take you up on it."
Senya raises an eyebrow. "Should I be expecting to see you around here again?" she asks, perhaps curious if there's been a change in Elena's MO.
Lucy head lowers further as she listens, and she sinks into her seat gradually. She continues to study the bottle in her hand, turning it slowly by her grip on the neck. A faint nod is her only acknowledgement of Jason's words. She doesn't have the energy or the will to speak up. But what Jason shared about Mina on their way back to Aite compels her to listen. To not dismiss his words.