Jesus, I didn't realize you were wasting away, I'm sorry I'll work harder to meet your needs
Have I mentioned recently how insanely smart you are? Kind of envious of how easily you've made friends with the entire scientific population in a matter of days
Okay, okay, okay I'm likable and charismatic and also good looking, which really helps things along. It's the face and also the hair, it sells the entire theme I'm going for.
He spends minutes trying to think of the right way to respond to that. He knows, because he's not a complete fucking moron, that k is never the right thing to say. Smiley face feels like he's making light of the whole thing. He's already said be careful.
Eventually he gives up altogether, and puts his comm away. Instead, he grabs a drink on his way to the engineering depot to duplicate himself a pad and a pencil, and he sprawls out in a hammock in the section they've been taking.
Loses track of time, but he's got a floor plan down anyway. )
[ Nate shouldn't have taken a walk and put distance between what already feels like a bunch of weird distance, but Hell, what else is he supposed to do? Pretend it doesn't trouble him that sincerity makes Ian buckle and fold like a house of cards? The jokes are for hiding and he knows that, would be able to feel around them in another world to understand the intent, but Nate doesn't know anymore.
The walk is unproductive for anything other than overthinking things before shoving them into a box and he knows, he knows he can't pressure this man. It would be so unbelievably unfair.
He finds him in the bunks area after dinner, deep in thought in the way that makes his forehead crinkle. Nate doesn't greet him properly until he's close, touching the edge of the hammock and then Ian's shoulder. ]
( Congrats on your rare feat, Nate. That hand comes down on his shoulder and Ian's body immediately jolts, shoulders lifting a couple inches like he's about to roll out of this hammock through sheer reflex. As soon as he realizes who it is, he eases back down. )
Hey. I'm cool.
( A little wry, self-deprecating humor to kick things off, apparently.
He thinks about talking about it. Maybe something along the lines of 'hey man, I feel like we had a weird, tense little moment back there, what's up?' He second guesses and talks himself out of it in about 1.5 seconds. Is he seriously about to make a big fucking deal out of two texts and Nate taking a walk? Jesus Christ, Fowler, can you just chill out?
Instead, he goes with: )
Check out my genius idea.
( He rolls out of the hammock properly to reach over to the hammock next door a couple feet away. Matter-bends it off its anchor, and moves it right up next to his. Knits the two of them together with a glow.
His gesture reads: ehh? )
I call it 'two hammocks'.
( What he means is, 'it's no bed but hey look we can fit side by side in this thing lying down and probably not feel like a mesh bag of oranges, please lie down with me'. )
[ It takes Ian a couple of seconds to catch on and Nate takes an equivalent amount of time to realize he probably should have given the heads-up from further away, because he gets in the same headspace while working, but they're here now. He's fine, save for the weird tension they haven't yet addressed.
Nate considers bringing it up just to start things off but he almost immediately gets waylaid with a new proposal, stepping back to give Ian the space he needs to do...whatever he's doing. ]
Uh-
[ He doesn't entirely know how he momentarily forgot that Ian could do that with something so simple as opposed to something considerably more complex and science-oriented, but he sure as Hell isn't going to complain when he's prepared to reap the benefits and perhaps fend off the frustration of an external party witnessing any of it. The bunks are fairly desolate at the moment, though, so there's that.
A short laugh escapes him - it's almost comically large compared to all the other nearby hammocks - but it looks a lot more comfortable for two fully-grown men. ]
You should get the Nobel.
[ He remarks wryly, working his way onto it on the other side and hanging a leg over to keep it steady while Ian does his own best attempt at getting in. ]
( To be fair, Ian also forgets he can just do simple things as opposed to stupid complex science stuff. Talking to Alex a couple of days ago, the subject of electron microscopes came up. His brain went immediately to making one, and Alex kindly pointed out: you could maybe just ask the scientists from the highly advanced spaceship. It's an easy theme with him.
Feels good getting a real laugh. Helps soothe a little of the anxiety still stubbornly hanging out in his sternum.
He settles onto his side of the Frankenstein's monster of a hammock with grace that's approximately eh. Good call on the support leg, man. )
I should. I was thinking about calling it 'The Inherent Folly of Michelangelo: A Redux', but 'Two Hammocks' rolled off the tongue better.
( When Nate settles in, it's-- well, it's still not perfect. It's still not a bed. Gravity still shifts them into one another, which is fine for their purpose now, but for anything requiring more movement than just lying there... good luck. )
[ He remarks, because it is fairly ballsy to compare oneself to one of the finest artists of the age, if not one of the most well-regarded in history, next to his elder contemporary. Nate always kind of liked da Vinci a little more, because he was eccentric and excitable based on his marginalia. The kind of weird passion you like to see in an inventor. Not altogether unlike Ian when he gets that look in his eye, actually.
Nate settles and rolls slightly inward, shoulder and bicep pressing into Ian's, and tips his temple into the fabric of the hammock, watching him. With his curls falling all around his forehead and cheeks, the softness in his expression, he doesn't look all that dissimilar from any other Renaissance man. The sort of countenance expected in a painting at the Uffizi.
Without thinking about it, without asking, Nate reaches out and pushes a curl behind one of Ian's ears. ]
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nonscriptum) wrote2021-05-14 10:11 am
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I'll work harder to meet your needs
Have I mentioned recently how insanely smart you are? Kind of envious of how easily you've made friends with the entire scientific population in a matter of days
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Says the man who walked in knowing the guards by first name on day 2
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because I mean that, you're really popular with everybody
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Thank you, I'm incredibly popular
It turns out all you have to do is smoke weed. Not much has changed since sophomore year.
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I'm likable and charismatic and also good looking, which really helps things along. It's the face and also the hair, it sells the entire theme I'm going for.
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I took the compliment! That was me taking the compliment, and then complimenting myself even more.
You know what might be easier? If we do this in sign language, in the dark. I think I'll be a lot more receptive to that.
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you're amazing and I wanted you to take that more seriously, I guess
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Less about me being popular and more about you thinking I'm popular and being super into it, that's the part that matters
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that's not really it, but
close enough
ish
I guess
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I believe in us, we can overcome our compliment communications issues
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I don't know
like a 4? maybe 5
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I don't know, Ian
I might just need to take a walk, staying at basecamp for too long makes me feel kind of shut in
Cabin fever, you know?
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Time to reread this conversation and identify the places it went wrong, try to analyze them. Figure out what he should have said.
Fuck.
Not even sure what he should say now. Is this an offer to go with thing or a give space thing?
Seems like a space thing. )
Okay, man.
Don't go alone please.
We still don't know what's out there.
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It's not fine. ]
I'll be careful.
See you after dinner.
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Cool cool cool.
He spends minutes trying to think of the right way to respond to that. He knows, because he's not a complete fucking moron, that k is never the right thing to say. Smiley face feels like he's making light of the whole thing. He's already said be careful.
Eventually he gives up altogether, and puts his comm away. Instead, he grabs a drink on his way to the engineering depot to duplicate himself a pad and a pencil, and he sprawls out in a hammock in the section they've been taking.
Loses track of time, but he's got a floor plan down anyway. )
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The walk is unproductive for anything other than overthinking things before shoving them into a box and he knows, he knows he can't pressure this man. It would be so unbelievably unfair.
He finds him in the bunks area after dinner, deep in thought in the way that makes his forehead crinkle. Nate doesn't greet him properly until he's close, touching the edge of the hammock and then Ian's shoulder. ]
Hey.
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( Congrats on your rare feat, Nate. That hand comes down on his shoulder and Ian's body immediately jolts, shoulders lifting a couple inches like he's about to roll out of this hammock through sheer reflex. As soon as he realizes who it is, he eases back down. )
Hey. I'm cool.
( A little wry, self-deprecating humor to kick things off, apparently.
He thinks about talking about it. Maybe something along the lines of 'hey man, I feel like we had a weird, tense little moment back there, what's up?' He second guesses and talks himself out of it in about 1.5 seconds. Is he seriously about to make a big fucking deal out of two texts and Nate taking a walk? Jesus Christ, Fowler, can you just chill out?
Instead, he goes with: )
Check out my genius idea.
( He rolls out of the hammock properly to reach over to the hammock next door a couple feet away. Matter-bends it off its anchor, and moves it right up next to his. Knits the two of them together with a glow.
His gesture reads: ehh? )
I call it 'two hammocks'.
( What he means is, 'it's no bed but hey look we can fit side by side in this thing lying down and probably not feel like a mesh bag of oranges, please lie down with me'. )
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Nate considers bringing it up just to start things off but he almost immediately gets waylaid with a new proposal, stepping back to give Ian the space he needs to do...whatever he's doing. ]
Uh-
[ He doesn't entirely know how he momentarily forgot that Ian could do that with something so simple as opposed to something considerably more complex and science-oriented, but he sure as Hell isn't going to complain when he's prepared to reap the benefits and perhaps fend off the frustration of an external party witnessing any of it. The bunks are fairly desolate at the moment, though, so there's that.
A short laugh escapes him - it's almost comically large compared to all the other nearby hammocks - but it looks a lot more comfortable for two fully-grown men. ]
You should get the Nobel.
[ He remarks wryly, working his way onto it on the other side and hanging a leg over to keep it steady while Ian does his own best attempt at getting in. ]
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Feels good getting a real laugh. Helps soothe a little of the anxiety still stubbornly hanging out in his sternum.
He settles onto his side of the Frankenstein's monster of a hammock with grace that's approximately eh. Good call on the support leg, man. )
I should. I was thinking about calling it 'The Inherent Folly of Michelangelo: A Redux', but 'Two Hammocks' rolled off the tongue better.
( When Nate settles in, it's-- well, it's still not perfect. It's still not a bed. Gravity still shifts them into one another, which is fine for their purpose now, but for anything requiring more movement than just lying there... good luck. )
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[ He remarks, because it is fairly ballsy to compare oneself to one of the finest artists of the age, if not one of the most well-regarded in history, next to his elder contemporary. Nate always kind of liked da Vinci a little more, because he was eccentric and excitable based on his marginalia. The kind of weird passion you like to see in an inventor. Not altogether unlike Ian when he gets that look in his eye, actually.
Nate settles and rolls slightly inward, shoulder and bicep pressing into Ian's, and tips his temple into the fabric of the hammock, watching him. With his curls falling all around his forehead and cheeks, the softness in his expression, he doesn't look all that dissimilar from any other Renaissance man. The sort of countenance expected in a painting at the Uffizi.
Without thinking about it, without asking, Nate reaches out and pushes a curl behind one of Ian's ears. ]
Hey.
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