| Mum's the Word |
| Summary: | Evan and Quinn, in the library. Talk of family. |
| Date: | 02/04/41 |
| Related Logs: | None |
| Players: |
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Quinn has still not been exactly the most active, social, public person as of late. Whatever shut Maggie down, while it has been fading, still is lingering in the shadows. She's just not really herself. She's settled in the far corner of the library in a chair she's stolen from somewhere, curled up, an old mystery open in her lap.
Evandreus has, for his part, been endeavoring to absorb a new language. In an effort to help himself retain more of it, he's positioned himself upside-down on a sofa, knees up over the back, head over the edge, getting a good blood flow to his brain while he licks his lower lip and eyes the weird squiggles that comprise the alphabet. He's fairly content to remain in peace this way, Gregor looking on from the couch cusions, until he comes upon a little practice section, and, slowly, quietly, he gives an effort at voicing some of it aloud. "Ta. Va. Daaaa. So. Ham. tava DA soham."
Quinn had been reading silently, hidden, shadowed, in peace… but then she hears that speaking. She does her best to ignore it, frowning a touch, but it's disturbing to her reading. And also… well, it's her friend. HEr crewmate. Practically like a younger brother. She's been putting him off too long. So, eventually, she gets up, abandoning her book and heading in his direction…"Hey, Bun… need some help?"
"Juggles," Bunny looks down… or… up, rather, sounding surprised to see her. "Where've you been?" he wonders. "-How've- you been?" he goes on to ask, closing his textbook and resting it on his chest, looking to the spot next to him in an indication that she should sit.
Quinn does indeed come over to settle in next to him, wrapping her arm across his stomach almost immediatley so they can cuddle, despite the somewhat awkward angle. She's more than happy to cuddle. "I'm… alright. Not… not the best. But… who is?" She admits, finally at least fessing up to the fact that she's not been herself or well. But acknowledging there is a problem is the first step to fixing it, right?
Evandreus gives a little squeak at the first contact of Captain and Tummy, his tummy being unbearably ticklish at those light touches. But when cuddling commences, he's all sorts of digging it, wriggling about to draw his torso around and up onto Quinn's lap. "None of us," he admits. "You wanna talk about anything, Jugglies?" he wonders, resting an arm over her hip and around her back.
Quinn leans a bit, assisting him in actually getting into her lap. Once he's settled and -not- squirming, she reaches her free hand up to just lazily begin to comb through his hair. It's been too long since they did this… too long since she was the den mama she's used to being. So she falls back into it almost too naturally, even if she feels a bit thinner, a bit more… fragile to the touch than she used to. "…Not… not certain. And you, anything on your mind, hun?"
Mama Quinn knows just how to get Evan at his most docile, the fingers in his hair slackening his limbs and jaw, making his eyelids waver toward shut before they open again. "Oh. Y'know. End of the world type stuff. We all have our own people to say good-bye to, our own… issues to deal with. I think I have fewer than most people, though." Something almost like sadness lingering there in the observation, before his eyes clear up and he looks to Quinn's eyes again. "There was… one thing… that I kind of wanted to ask you about."
Quinn nods in understanding, slowly… especially as he mentions saying good bye. He's touched on something there. The question of something to ask her about, though, earns a slight lofting of her brow. "Oh? What is it, Bunny?" She murmurs gently, without hesitance… He has carte blanche to ask anything. Her fingertips never leave his hair, though. It's as comforting for her as it is for him.
The fingertips do kind of make it hard to think straight, but Evan wouldn't have them out of his hair for all the eloquence in the world, right now. "I don't know how this all works with regs and stuff?" he simply begins to blather, "And if I'm overstepping a line, y'know, I really don't mean to. And it's nothing you have to decide about right off the bat, anyhow, but… I mean… given everything that's gone on in the last month, I was wondering… if…" Fingers. Scalp. "Hmmm." Did he just lose his train of thought, after all that?
"…If… what? Damn regs… this conversation is off the record. Just ask, dear…" She stills her hand in his hair for a moment, letting him think a bit clearer as he can hopefully reopen his eyes and look back up to her. She's now staring down at him with true concern and curiosity, wondering what in the world he might be thinking of..
<Air-Wing> "Money Shot" Tisiphone survives having her shoulder turned into a medium-rare roast.
It takes a few moments for the newfound clarity to reach Evan's eyes and unlid them to look up into Quinn's. "I was wondering how you would feel about making this… between us… official," is finally dredged up from the Bunny's thinkmeats.
Quinn blinks, her hand going dead still as she stares down at him. "…What… between us? I mean… regs… we couldn't be… Be together. Like that. Like…lovers. I'm your direct commanding officer. That flaunts every reg in the book." And he's like a brother! She couldn't dream of it! Not that she'd say that but he's clearly managed to take her completely off guard.
Evandreus looks disappointed but alright with the decision from his Cap'n, corners of his mouth turning downward with a faintly wobbling nod as if to say, 'well, fair enough, then.' Then, toward the end of all that, his brows kind of knit together and he does something like a double take, just a brief, confused flinch of shoulders and neck, and, as he tries to get his head together, again, he shakes it, just a little. "Uh. N-no, not. Not like that. Not—!" he begins again, quickly, "That you're not a very attractive woman, Juggles," he adds, lest she think herself undesirable. "I meant… adoption. I haven't had a proper mother since I left home. And even before that, my mom was no mother to me. You're… seriously the closest I've ever had to one. And I'd… I dunno, it'd be nice to have one, proper, before the end."
Quinn releases a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding, as he clarifies his question and suddenly she's not picturing herself having relations with someone who is, indeed, like a son to her. She gives a faint laugh in relief, even if her cheeks are now beginning to pinken beneath her freckles. "Oh!…Gods… that… yes, Evan… that makes infinitely more sense. Yes…" She smiles a bit more now, not insultedi n the least. Warmed… happy. A bit surprised…"We… we'd have to ask the CO…or the XO, at least. It might be pushing regs but… hell, I feel that way already. We might as well make it official indeed, right? I… I'd be honoured. More than honoured."
Evandreus gives a light laugh, himself, snugging on Gregor with one arm and around Quinn's back with the other. "She was always so distant, y'know? She was on the committees of three of the most important sanctuaries in the area, she always had to be at this thing or that thing. Sometimes months would pass and I'd see her… once? Twice?" A little huff of a laugh, "But at least she never called me names, like dad did." He rolls his eyes, then, pushing the thoughts out of mind, he just grins at her. "You don't have a very high standard to beat, let's just say. But it could be weird with regs, right? We'd have to make sure it's all kosher."
Quinn frowns a bit as he mentions the months passing and him barely seeing his mother. She knows she herself hasn't been that much better lately. She finally allows her fingertips to go back to that quiet stroking through his dark hair. "I'm…sorry if I haven't been much of a friend…or surrogate mother… lately. I'm trying to get better, Bunny… I promise. I won't go away…"
"I understand, Juggles. I really do. Some people just need a little bit of space to deal with all of this. But— hmm—" there are fingers in his hair, sapping the will of words to escape his lips in anything but a mumble. "When you want someone all up in your space, you know who to come to. Or. One person you can come to, at least. I'm sure there are lots of others."
Quinn chuckles faintly, considering that, "Alright… I will remember that. And… I will come here. But…" She shrugs, her fingertips momentarily shifting out of his hair to trace over the curve of his ear and down his neck before moving back into his hair…"But it's passed. There is little we can do but find new family and survive. Talking to the CO about this… getting it cleared… I think that'd be a good idea. I'd love it…if you're sure."
Evandreus takes a long moment, as if considering the last question, before he nods. "Even back on Victory, ya know? I was… I felt so much like I was home. With you. And Boots. And if this is… if this is all there is. We'd better make it home, for real, right?" A little twitch of a smile. "You'll have to come up with an outlandish story about how you got knocked up when you were twelve, of course."
Quinn smirks a bit more. "Adoptive son. But…. my… son. Closest to a son I'll ever get, probably." She's definitely getting too old to ever have her own. she leans over to kiss his forehead, resting her cheek against his hair for a few heartbeats and just breathing in deep and slow. "…who should we talk to first?"
Evandreus curls up a little into the forehead kiss, just huddling there against his Captain. Mother. Person, closing his eyes and nuzzling up against her cheek. "Um. We could probably go see the JAG. He'd… she'd… have the skinny on how to do it all, legal-wise, and might have an opinion on whether it's to regs or not, or who we'd have to talk to to get permissions."
Quinn considers that a few moments, her first instinct of going to Tillman or his boss, well… Evan's probably right. She nods. "When is the next time you're off CAP? We can go tomorrow, if we have time off together. That'd be nice. You've got me all excited and curious now."
"I have a by shift in three days," Evan lets her know. "So if we can't find any time before then, grab me anytime you're free, and we can go chat up JAGperson," he offers her. "If you can wait that long," he adds with a chuckle, then, in a testing sort of tone, feeling the word in his mouth, "Mum."
Quinn winces, teasingly rolling her eyes as she considers that. "Gods… mum. I feel old now. YOu're just turning me into an old woman." SHe ruffles his hair, laughing a bit more warmly now. Some of the ease has come back into her eyes.
"Don't go feeling all elderly yet, mum," Evan comments, the word coming more casually, this time, less like an egg laid from the mouth, with more of that nasality found in his brisk Leontinian. "At least not until you let me know your views on grandkids."
Quinn laughs a moment…"As long as you tell me your views on siblings.." Even if it's a long shot and a distant dream. But a part of her wishes. She kisse shis hair again and then settles down with him in the couch…"BUt, for tonight, we'll relax… be young as we can be, and dream about tomorrow…"