geonomy | Drift Fleet Inbox/Appointments

[Oh he just beams at Clay immediately getting the reference] Yes, exactly! He was always one of my favourite stories. [Much to the chagrin of every other legendary person he's known. And he laughs at that, imagining it] It'd at least be entertaining.

[And wow. He was pretty sure Clay would like it since it was about space but uh...he wasn't expecting him to react this strongly. But it's good! A huge relief!]

Ah- I believe it was Adsum? There were three colonised moons that orbited a dead planet, in the system. Each one with a very...distinct culture from one another. [To put it lightly] Uh, I'm glad you like it!

Adsum, Adsum... [One can just see the gears accelerating in his head. A dead planet, three moons, one called Adsum, all of them with distinct cultures and oh man, Clay only wishes he was brought to the fleet sooner.

But. But. He can think about this later. Right now, he's on a date. This, admittedly, is one of the reasons why his first relationship in the past didn't work out so well; so lost in his head when it came to space that he didn't pay as much attention to his date as he should have.

Let's not make that same mistake. With one last, long look at the chart, Clay starts to carefully roll it up again, unable to help the big, grateful smile on his face.]

This is so amazing! I love it, thank you! [AND HE LEANS IN - only to pause, pull back, and ask:] Uh - Is it okay? If I... [He taps his own cheek for reference and raises his eyebrows in question. Some people don't like such affection, so he might as well ask for permission first.]

[He watches Clay, a bit in awe in seeing his reaction. The guy was just so open about what he was feeling, so alive and unrestrained about his joy. It wasn't like his ex in the slightest, Arthur was always reserved- always constantly on watch about how he said or acted. It took a lot to get his walls down just a little- while Clay just didn't seem to have walls. At least not about this stuff.]

[It exhilarating to watch. And a little infectious. He only has to consider a moment at Clay's question before he decides to lean in himself and plant a quick kiss on his cheek. There's a slight laugh in his voice as he speaks]

Yes, it's okay.

[......... o-oh he was

NOT

expecting to be kissed on the cheek before he got to do it. So he blinks, widens his eyes in surprise, and then he just. Blushes, full force, and dissolves into some laughter himself as he runs a hand through his hair, pushing down the wild mess that it is before it just springs back up again.]

Uh - Wow, I mean - That's fine! That's - It's better than fine! You totally beat me to it, but, um.

[Before he gets into a ramble about some random space fact to calm his nerves, Clay decides to do what he set out to do in the first place: He leans in to return that kiss on the cheek, and when he pulls back, he can't help the slight bounce on the heels of his feet.]

There! Now we're even.

[That was some mighty blush that Clay did there. For a second he wonders what he did wrong, if he was too forward or misinterpreted the signs, before Clay insists otherwise. He didn't realize that it was a competition of who would kiss who first- but he does feel himself turning a bit red when he feels Clay kiss him. Yep. That was definitely a kiss.]

Ah- y-yeah! Even!

[He almost squeaks a little before pulling back. It's taking some getting used to, having these things reciprocated so easily and all. And they aren't even off the ship left-]

[Oh wait.]

Um- I should put Robin in my room, and then we can head off? Okay?

[He holds up his index finger to indicate just a moment, and he quickly moves to do just that- though not before bumping into a cargo box he didn't notice along the way. Yikes! That gets a yelp, but he recovers and moves to get Robin into that room]

Y-Yeah, okay! Oh -

[He reaches out a bit when Allen hits that box, but when he's sure he's recovered, Clay just lets out a fond little laugh before he turns around, both hands holding the chart again if only to give them something to hold on to, and looks down at the floor as he waits.

You know, when he was first thinking about going on this date, he was thinking he'd be cool about it. All suave, all confident and forward. And man, he is so going against all of his visions here, and he kind of feels like a teenager again.

Focus, Clay! It's a casual date! That's all there is to it!

By the time Allen comes back, he'll probably find Clay swaying to some kind of invisible music while he spouts off some facts to himself.]

- referred to as the "dog star" since it's part of the Canis Major constellation. Sirius is the brightest and closest star, as it's only 8.6 light years away. Because Sirius is gradually moving closer to our solar system, it'll only increase in brightness for the next sixty thousand years, and after that, it'll -

[ Allen meanwhile heads for his room, Fish Robin now in hand. Sliding down his ladder, he heads over to the aquarium he had already set up in his room with a few other glow fish of varying colors (except red). He puts the bag that Robin in in the tank, but not opening up yet so it'll have a chance to acclimate, all while telling the other fish that this is Robin, and he'll be living with them too. There's an added note for Timcanpy (whose lounging on a pillow on Allen's bed) not to eat Robin either! Fish are friends, not food. ]

[With that done, he...takes a moment to steel his nerves and calm down. That kiss had been forward of him. Much more forward than he usually was, considering the date hasn't really started yet. What was with that? Was it because he more lonely than he'd thought? Was Ino's vague advice getting to him? Or maybe he should blame his body still physically being stuck at 16? Nngh, this was confusing.]

[As usual when Allen is confronted with a confusing thing about himself he couldn't understand (because surprise, self-reflection was not a strong point)- he eventually just tells himself "ngh, whatever" and gave up trying to work it out. He didn't get it, but it was fine, right? This was just a casual date after all! Like Ino said, as long as both are comfortable with it, it's fine! No deeper meanings, just two people having a good time! Yeah! They're both adults who've dated before, so it's fine! And Clay hadn't given off a single creep vibe, so he was fine. Very fine, in fact.]

[With this worry "resolved", he felt better enough to actually leave his room and head back to the cargo bay. He opts to leave the visor on after a moment of debate since hey, it was a gift from his date. So when he returns to the cargo bay- his blush seems to have gone down enough and he'll approach Clay with a smile as he hears the guy spouting off...star facts? Was that what he did when he was nervous? Huh...]

It'll what?

Edited 2015-08-18 17:43 (UTC)

[OH CRAP. CAUGHT DOING THE NERVOUS RAMBLING.

Granted, other people have seen him do it before, and it's never been an issue to him. But this is a date! He's supposed to look cool, presentable, and second-dateable! So he stops, blush dusting his cheeks again, then lets out a sheepish laugh while playing with the edge of his visor.]

Ah, sorry. I kind of do this when I'm... you know.

[But hey, since Allen actually asked about more... As he talks, he seems to relax into it, feeling less nervous and more just raring to go.]

Well... after that time, it'll start to move away, but it'll still be Earth's closest and brightest star for two-hundred ten-thousand years. Which, when you think about it, isn't a surprise at all! It's been recorded as the brightest star in the earliest astronomical records; even the ancient Egyptians knew about it and wrote down hieroglyphics with it! Back then, they called it "Sopdet", and even based their calendar structure on it! [ASTRONOMY HISTORY IS COOL OKAY]

Nervous?

[He'll smile emphatically at him. He gets it. And as Clay starts going on about Sirius, Allen will non-verbally gesture him towards the shuttle, so they can start getting on with their date]

Really? I suppose that shouldn't surprise me...Egypt has some incredible views of the sky- and there's not much else to look at out there, really.

[Just lots and lots of sand and rock.]

[Clay follows behind him, nodding sheepishly to that question, and just - gosh. It's not every day someone actually seems interested in all his ramblings. His team back at home, yes, and Apollo too, but everyone else just kind of tuned him out. Here, he's actually met people who like to listen and respond by expanding on it further. It's always amazing, meeting someone like that!]

They probably had other things to do, but I didn't study much about what they did when they were bored. [Astronomical history and everything that had to do with it? Sure. Any other kind of history? Eh.] The sky definitely wasn't as polluted back then as it is today, too. You're right; they had - and have - incredible views of the sky. [He lets out a small sigh, one hand in his pocket and the other still holding the chart.] Definitely one of my places to go when I get back home.

[Well space stuff is pretty relevant out here. Though for Allen, it's more a combination of hearing about Earth, and listening to brand new information he's never heard before. The people of his past weren't much for looking at the stars beyond navigation and the occasional story, so it was a little fascinating to watch someone so passionate about it.]

It's a good place to visit. [He was only there for a few weeks when he was a kid so his own knowledge was limited, but hey- he remembered it had some cool stuff] Where on Earth are you from exactly? America?

[It's the accent really.]

Edited 2015-08-21 21:12 (UTC)

Got it in one. Born and raised. [He raises an eyebrow, a playful little grin coming up.] Okay, smart guy, wanna guess where from America I'm from? I've only ever lived in one state, if that helps.

Uh....

[Yep. Now that's a hard one for Allen. He knows an American accent, but it's not like he can tell the different american accents apart. Hell he wasn't even sure how many states America had. 40? 50??? There was New York, California that had Los Angeles...the North American branch for the Order was in Nevada....but was that a state or a territory? All Allen remembered was that it was out in the middle of nowhere, like half that damn country. Crap. He had no clue about the rest. How you do even tell apart the different Americans??? Weren't they mostly just immigrants anyway??]

[But crap. Clay needs a guess. THINK THINK THINK-]

...N-New York?

[Lots of the people in the fleet seem to be from there, so????]

Edited 2015-08-22 14:37 (UTC)

[... ... ... You know, Clay can't even say "close but no cigar", because that wasn't even close. He laughs as a result and wraps an arm around Allen's shoulders, as a sort of... consolation prize.]

Ha! Try the other side of the country. Born in California, never left that place until now. [And while he wanted to go to space so badly it ran in his blood, and while he'd love to visit places that were important to astronomical history or had an amazing view of the sky, California will always be his home.]

[The bridge of his nose turns a bit pink in embarrassment at how wrong he was. Though at least Clay doesn't seem mad about it? Especially if the physical contact says anything. So, he'll laugh with it]

Ah- right, sorry. America's just so big- [But he perks up at the mention of California. Hey! He knows that state!] But really? California? Did you live in Los Angeles- I've been there!

[You know what, every time he hears that someone from here has been in Los Angeles, it's always absolutely mind-blowing to him, and kind of... gives him a sense of kinship in a way, even if they don't come from his version of Earth? So that gets a surprised look before it turns into something happy and excited, like he heard Christmas is just around the corner.]

You've been there? I mean - You're not the first person to say that, but - really, you have? Well - What did you think of it, where did you go?

[He gives a little nod. Sure, technically it was a Paradisa version of Los Angeles- but it still counted, right? ]

Yes, I have! Ino too- it's a bit of a long story. We sort of got...dropped there magically for a few weeks?

[yeah, close enough answer]

It's...massive, much bigger than what I'm used to. But the food's amazing. I stayed at the University campus- er, the Westwood neighborhood? But I remembering traveling all over the city.

The University at Westwood? No way, that's the one I went to for my astronomy degree!

[HOLY SHIT THAT'S AMAZING, Clay has to step back to look at him better, and also he's practically vibrating from excitement and that might be weird. Not only did Allen go to Los Angeles, but he stayed at Clay's university? GOSH.]

That's - You pretty much stayed in my home area for a while! Until I moved to another apartment, but - Still! And the food! There's so much of it - There's so much of everything, and you were there!

Really?! [Now that surprises him. Since holy shit small world] Wow...that's incredible! Maybe we walked past each other and didn't know it!

[Unlikely, but hey, it's a cool idea to think about. Especially when Clay seems so jazzed by the idea]

Hey, maybe we did!

[Unlikely, sure, but hey, considering how people look in AA's canon, Allen would probably fit right in.]

Wouldn't that be amazing? If our timelines and universes somehow merged enough for you to be in my world for a little while? [The very idea blows his mind.] Maybe our meeting here is like the stars aligning for us!

[aka it's destiny for us to meet aka flirting]

[Especially in LA! One thing Allen did like about that town is that his strange looks barely got any notice beyond the occasional old man muttering about punk teenagers]

[But at Clay's line, Allen can't help but laugh at that. It's a ridiculous flirt, and so cheesy. But even as he laughs at it, he'll move close again to Clay and wrap his arm around the back of Clay's waist]

Ah...shouldn't you wait until we get through the first date before you start claiming this is destiny?

[And with that, Clay's very hyper-aware of the fact that he and Allen are pretty much the same height here, maybe with Allen just the slightest bit taller. Huh.]

Hey now, I'm the astronaut here! [To return the gesture, he lifts up his own arm to let his palm rest against Allen's shoulder blade.] I know in my soul when stars align.

[Yep. How about that coincidence.]

[Allen laughs again as they reach the door to the shuttle (finally, talk about getting sidetracked)]

In your soul? [Wow Clay] Are you saying you're the sort of astronaut that looks at stars for fortune telling?

Fortune telling? No. That's not what stars are for! [HUFF HUFF but he'll still hold the door open for Allen. It's Blue Fish's shuttle, so Allen's probably more comfortable driving it here.] All the star charts the fortune tellers use are so outdated, anyway. How can any of their predictions be correct? Not knocking on fortune tellers, but the ones that try to use the stars as a guide? I'm not believing it for a second.

[The fact that Apollo is so into astrology and horoscopes makes him so mad. BRUH...]

Ha- sorry! I was just teasing. I didn't actually think you did.

[So much indignation. He'll let go of Clay so he can go into the shuttle, giving a "thank you" at Clay holding the door open. The shuttle's roomier than the Vanquish ones, with a couple extra seats- they've been around long enough to afford a shuttle upgrade. He moves to sit in the pilot seat]

I don't take any stock in those sorts of things either. They're just silly little things that are sometimes fun to listen to.

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