| Closing the Personal Gap |
| Summary: | Bannik and Rose finally hook up. But not for the same reasons. |
| Date: | 14 August 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | None |
| Players: |
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| The Roe F. LaCapta Wing - Lampridis Academy — Gemenon |
| The Roe F. LaCapta wing of Lampridis Academy is the last truly livable area on campus. Large and spacious, this dormitory once housed over a thousand high school students four to a room. Many of those rooms remain intact, supplied with two bunk beds, four desks (with built-in shelves), wooden seats, and a pair of large bureaus.
Though the wing's long been stripped of useable items, plenty of personal effects remain: posters, textbooks, photographs, calendars, souvenirs from home. And even though marks of the Cylon bombardment remain — the pockmarked walls, the broken windows, the bloodstains on white walls and hardwood floors — all of them together can't quite seem to overcome the sense of a place frozen in time, just waiting for its students to return from a vacation that, now, will never end. |
| Condition Level: 3 - All Clear |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #534 |
As the summary would suggest, this is a mushy personal scene.
For those Cerberus personnel that don't return to the ship every evening, many have taken over the dorms at the Lampridis Academy for housing. Bannik is among them, choosing to work down on the surface every day rather than up on the Deck where he usually dwells. The nice thing about the place being abandoned — sort of — is that he has a room to himself. Not that he has much by way of sheets or other bedding, but it's a bed down on the surface. For Tyr, he's coming through the common area, either heading from or to his room. It's not sure which.
Inbetween her responsibilities as the Hydroponics Lead, as well as being a go-to mediator for the various social groups that have emerged aboard the Elpis, Rose spends most of her time ashore as well. Currently, she can be found sweeping, apparently helping some folk straighten out one of the least war-damaged rooms for habitation. Dressed in clothes uncharacteristic for her: a pair of cutoff shorts,a faded Lampridis Academy tee-shirt, and an apron acquired from the kitchens, she's properly attired for cleaning. And, it seems, the girls have managed to scrounge up some creature comforts that haven't been scavenged and boxed up for use aboard Cerberus and Elpis: some mismatched sheets and pillows, candles, and other necessities that allow for civilized living - as it is on Gemenon, anyway.
At the sight of Tyr coming down the hall, she pauses in her sweeping, putting on a bright smile. "Hello, Tyr," she says, cheerfully.
"Rose! Hey." Bannik's eyes light up at the presence of the researcher, even in her crumby work clothes. He tries to push down the excitement. Play it cool, Tyr. He leans up against the wall near her sweeping, propping his elbow up against it. "How are you doing? Trying to get things a little cleaned up, huh?" He really has no better small-talk.
Rose, fortunately, is completely oblivious to Tyr trying to be smooth. She's too sunny a person. "Yes, well, it's good exercise! It's about as much as I can manage with my constitution, but I like to help." She plants the broom down in front of her, clinging to it like some kind of shield. It's in between her and him, so it must be. Giving a nervous smile and glancing around at the hallway, she offers, "This place is great. Reminds me of my alma mater."
"Yeah? Well, I never went to college, or …" Bannik's voice trails off, self-consciously. Despite being the Wunderkin of the Deck, it seems to weigh on him that he doesn't have a "B.S." next to his name like the fancy-pants officers do. "I guess I wouldn't know. Just a two-room school house for me." He shrugs. But then his eyes drift down towards the box of mismatched things she has nearby — "What are those? Is that bedding?" It doesn't take much to make Tyr excited.
Rose glances down to the box. "Yes, some. Sheets, pillowcases, some blankets that were sewn together from odds and ends… it's what we have to work with, so we make do," she says optimistically. "And we found a few candles in case the electricity blinks out." Which it does, often. "And we can probably steal one or two for prayer circles." Back to Tyr, she blinks owlishly. "You're welcome to sit in, of course. I'm sure the girls will be thrilled to have you participating. It's a small group of folks I know from the ship." Her group. The one that began aboard Cerberus when she was still blind. Small, but dedicated.
"Oh. Cool. Yeah. I mean, I nabbed a pillow, but otherwise I'm just making due with the mattress. I guess my sheets from the ship would fit, but I didn't want to have to waste the time to make a trip up to get them. Too much work to do down here." And if we know anything about Tyr, it's that work is his passion, his penance. For living when others didn't. He looks longingly at one of the blankets.
"But oh. I'd love to. It'd be good to share the Word with your group. If they are even half the people of Faith as you are …"
"I'm sure we can get you at least a sheet to sleep on. Those mattresses must be coarse to sleep on," she says, setting her broom aside against the wall and leaning into a door jamb to keep it from falling. Then, Rose crouches down and begins rummaging through the box. "Hmm. These sheets are kind of girly. I don't think you'd appreciate frilly things," she says, continuing to search. "I might have one or two sets we found inside." And she lifts the box as she stands back up, which is not all that heavy from the looks of it - just containing folded cloth, essentially. "Let me go look!" And she steps inside the room she was just sweeping out of.
Inside, it appears Rose has set up shop, so to speak. The windows are wide open but covered by time-and-sun-yellowed curtains, which casts a pale glow throughout the room. There's a battered leather satchel that seems to be stuffed with a variety of things, such as papers and notebooks; and on the chair by the desk at the foot of her bed, a pile of folded clothing, including her lab coat draped on the back. She plops the box unceremoniously on one of the other beds (not hers) and glances around the room, tapping her chin. "Now where did I put those…"
Ka-klick. Tyr closes the door behind them. Out of habit? Something else? Who knows. His eyes flick around the room, taking in all the Artifacts of Rose found here. Whatever, exactly, his conclusion is, he inhales deeply, as if to brace himself, confirm whatever it is he's about to do. And then he steps forward towards her, getting closer, closer, closer, almost inside her personal space, and then he just abruptly stops without saying a word, like he just hit a forcefield. It's almost comical, really, if it weren't for the fact that Rose can probably almost hear his heart beating out of his chest, even at this much distance.
"Aha! They're…" Pointing out a hidden cardboard box tucked behind one of the desks, Rose falters, realizing how close Tyr is. She spins quickly, eyes going wide and blinking in surprise. Her cheeks are quick to color, and her expression melts from shocked to shy. "Something the m-matter?" She manages to squeak, her words catching in her throat. She leans back slightly, feet apparently rooted to the ground, peering at him over the tops of her glasses, which slip down to the tip of her nose. Neither permission to continue with his boldness, nor taking offense at it, either, she's probably as uncertain as he is.
"R-rose, I — ever since you came to me when I was in the brig, and — I mean, I liked you even before that, but when you came to the brig that day, I knew —" It all comes tumbling out, the normally clear-spoken Prophet of Cerberus unable to quite express himself. Tyr takes a deep breath, trying to regroup. "Rose, I love you. I love you so incredibly much and I know there's Damon and you're waiting for him and all of that, but I love you and I would take so much better care of you than he would or does, and with everything that might be happening here, I had to just tell you that." Well, it's not quite 'grab her and kiss her,' but Tyr has always been a man of words. "I'm sorry if it ruins our friendship." Right, Bannik. Because she's totally going to shoot you down. (Or so he figures).
There's an audible gulp and gasp, not because she's so utterly shocked at his oration, but because she's forcing herself to breathe again. "Tyr, I… don't know what to… t-to say," she stammers, cheeks flashing hotly now. "I mean, I'd be a liar, if I said I didn't think of it. You. Us?" She squeaks. "Andreas came to me when I needed someone the most. The gods gave him to me. He helped me through a very difficult time. And I will be eternally grateful for his love, even if he's… strayed. Gone off. Become lost, himself. If he won't come to me, I can't force him to. B-but that doesn't mean I abandon him!" She reaches up to touch the side of Tyr's face, fingertips tracing past his jaw to catch the ends of his hair between fingertips. She has simultaneously shut Tyr down as well as given him the green light. Mixed signals, for sure.
Utter confusion flashes in Bannik's eyes. Is that a 'yes'? Or a 'no'? Finally, he just decides to go for it. How does the song go? It's in her kiss? He decides to try the hypothesis out; after all, they are scientists, aren't they? He wraps his arms around her waist and closes the last bit of personal space between them, hugging her to him. And then he leans down and kisses her the best he knows how, eyes shut tight behind his glasses. Please don't let this suck.
"I…" Rose is cut off as Tyr commits ot the experiment. And it goes poorly. She doesn't resist being gathered close to him, but when the kiss happens, she makes a muffled sound and then pulls back. "Tyr Bannik!" She declares, pushing him in the shoulder with an open palm. "I did not give you permission to kiss me! Didn't you hear what I said?" Yeah, and it made no sense. And she gives him two more whaps on the shoulder for good measure. It seems her own doubts are getting the better of her,
Bad Tyr! Bad Tyr! Bannik's eyes grow very wide behind his glasses, like a deer just about to get run down by the pickup truck. "Uh. Yeah. I heard you, Rose. I thought. I. I'm sorry. I shouldn't — this was all stupid. Yeah. I should go." But in his own bout of mixed messages, he doesn't, just standing there, staring down at her.
"You're right you shouldn't have!" Rose declares sharply, frowning at him across the top of her glasses, planting her hands on her hips in a huff. "Just because you say you love a woman doesn't mean that she's yours to do whatever you want with. It has to be mutual! After all, I threw myself at Andreas, not the other way around." She shakes her head, pulling completely away from him and stalking across the room. To the door. And throws the dead bolt. And she remains standing there, facing away, hand still on the door handle, as if she's trying to gather her courage, or justify what she just did.
Then, she turns, looking back at Tyr. Gone is the sudden upwelling of anger. She takes one step away from the door, and then another, and then quite literally rushes back to throw her arms around Tyr's shoulders and attack him with a vicious and passionate kiss. Confusion? Thy name is Rose Ibbhanas.
What? Who? Huh? Now Tyr is really confused. She didn't like it. And then she does. And — it just goes to show that poor Bannik hasn't dated someone in a while. He's not adverse to the kiss, mind you. Just confused. He kisses back with the fervor he had before, but there is still confusion reigning in his eyes.
Finally, when the kiss breaks, he keeps his arms around her waist loosely, blinking a few times. "So — you. Do feel the same way? Or?" Just to clarify.
A small, coy smile appears on Rose's face. She takes a small step back in order to reach down and pull her shirt over her shoulders and head to get flung somewhere off to the side, leaving her in a supportive tank. "Just… stop talking," Rose half-demands, half-asks of Tyr, and pushes him gently so that the backs of his legs presses up against the edge of one of the narrow beds.
"O. Okay. Uhm. Sure." Bannik just stammers out his compliance, reaching his own hands down to his green overshirt, so that he can take that and let it drop as well, leaving him in a tank, too. He then wraps his arms around Rose's shoulders and falls back onto the bed, pulling her down on top of him onto it. Two can play at this game.