He hasn't heard Ripley ever sound like this before, but he still knows her voice almost instantly. It prompts a smile before he even realizes it, and he's telling himself its the fault of her cat but, really, how can he not smile when she sounds damn near giddy over the 'line'.
I knew it was you, Rip, don't worry. Got some hot news for me? I'll get my boots on. Where am I meeting ya?
The floorboards creak beneath her bare feet. Step, step, step, step. She must look like a madwoman, pacing like this. Stupid smile plastered on her face to match. Wigglesworth, her feline companion, seems to think so too.
How's the Oak and Iron in... say... twenty minutes?
Even through the sending stone, her excitement is infectious. I'll be there with my bells on! Can't wait to hear it.
He really, really can't wait, so he straps into his boots, throws on a fresh shirt, and rushes out the door lickety-split. He'll be waiting outside the Oak & Iron, fidgeting in his impatience. Good news (or so he assumes) is so rare in his life. That makes it all the more exciting.
Ripley jumps into a pair of overalls, kicks on her boots and gives Tig a scratch behind the ears like she's determined to place first in the most mundane triathlon— then is out the door.
And in the spirit of races, her walk to the Oak & Iron is just as fast. She spots Crichton meandering outside and greets him with the same ridiculous smile that had curled her voice. A breathy "hi," as she leads him by the shoulder to an empty table.
"Okay, so— um, are you hungry?" Obviously. That's why we're here. "Like I said, I'll pay for it— I seriously owe you one so, eat whatever you want, I don't care. Get drinks, go crazy."
A pause.
And an embarrassed groan. She scrubs a hand over her face.
"God, I don't know where to start. —You remember how you told me CT is always sleeping at her desk?"
There's no doubt in his mind now that the news is good. Just look at her face! He's hungry, yes, for the gossip! Food is the furthest thing from his mind. Thank god she doesn't keep him waiting long.
"Uh huh," he answers, perking up with a new suspicion that already has his cupid bow lips curling. Did they? Are they?? He can already hear an entire stadium of cheers in his mind, the crowd goes wild! "I take it that hot tip turned out to be right on the money?"
Okay, enough stalling. Any longer and poor Crichton might explode.
"I ended my shift late, so I decided to see if she'd be at the office. At first I didn't think anyone would answer when I knocked— I thought maybe she'd already crashed or someone left the lights on— I don't know. But she was there. Doing paperwork, a lot of it, just like you said.
"And I know what it's like to work late. It sucks. I know it sucks and I figured if anyone might be able to convince her to take the rest of the night off... It'd be... me."
An agonized groan.
"And don't even ask me why! Because I've got no goddamn clue. I thought for sure she'd brush me off— which would have been fine! Her work is important, and she needs the space—"
God, listen to her. The word twitterpated comes to mind. His cheeks are starting to hurt from how big he's smiling but nothing could get him to stop as she rambles on.
"I hope to hell this story ends with you two knocking boots," he says after she stops to take a breath, leaning over to nudge her with his elbow, shamelessly enjoying how flustered she is.
She's silent for a long... long and telling amount of time. The grin on her face goes wily and she returns the jab. "Now you're jumping ahead. But— yeah. Yeah."
A wave of her hands. "Not that I'd meant for that to happen— I wasn't there just to get in her pants. I wanted to be helpful. You know, a friend? Someone to tell you when to pack your shit up and sleep? Even on the way to her place— I would have been happy to say goodbye at the door."
Well, not exactly. She'd wanted to stay the night and couldn't seem to find the right words.
"Ripley," he wheezes, trying so hard not to laugh just for her sake. Oh, she's got it bad. "It's okay. I believe you. I'm happy for you."
He manages to sober a bit, just so she'll know he really does mean this. "I really am. I had a feeling about the two of you. Why do you think I told you to go find her in the first place?" Just call him the love doctor.
"I know how much you care about her. And, besides, just because you were fine with taking no for an answer doesn't mean you can't be over the moon that she said yes. So what are we calling it? You two going steady?"
Her brows crease, lips turned up into a sincere and, more importantly, grateful smile. Five long months ago she couldn't imagine anyone having her back in such a way. Felt herself swimming in water too deep, too cold to escape. Brave faces only go so far when you've got a swirling abyss beneath your feet.
Ripley's never felt particularly well-trained in the sentimental. She pats Crichton's hand in hope that it translates.
"I have no clue. We didn't get into it. Part of me is scared that if I mention it, she'll go running. I don't want to make things stressful for her when she's already got work and— everything going on with Carolina." That piece of work.
"Getting into a relationship is probably the last thing she wants on her plate right now."
That smile on her face puts a warm fuzzy feeling in the center of his chest. It feels good to be the one to remind someone else, for a change, that not every person she meets is holding a dagger waiting to strike when she turns her back. Her pat on the hand reads loud an clear to him. He tips his chin to make sure she sees that he understands it.
"CT might try to bolt, I won't lie. But we're on an island, how far could she get?" He's teasing. The joker smile he's wearing says he's teasing. But... he's also not wrong.
And now he really gets to pull out his wisdom cap, because if there's one thing he might be uniquely qualified to talk about, it's finding connection amid chaos. Ripley may, if she's paying attention, notice his eye twitch a little at that name drop. Talk about chaos...
"Ripley, I hear you, but I think if you wait around for the opportune moment, it's never gonna come. If there's one thing my time out in space taught me, it's that these things find a way. That... and sometimes a relationship is exactly what you need at a time like this. You need someone you can come home to, talk to about the horrors you've seen. She needs someone to hold her, and remind her that she can't take care of anyone if she doesn't take care of herself. If you're doing it right, you become pillars for each other to make the work easier, not harder."
This goes as an unspoken worry. A worry within itself; that if she were to ever speak it aloud, risks it becoming real. These things do happen, don't they? People get so used to closing themselves off from others, that when confronted with the opportunity to do so, they flee. If she prompts the idea of anything extending beyond casual more-than-friends— whatever that means— the trust she's hard-earned might as well be chucked straight into the sea.
The idea makes her stomach sink.
These things find a way.
Ripley nods, listening intensely.
"You're right. I won't jump into anything, not without thinking about what I want to say first..." She gnaws her lower lip, as if already throwing herself head-first into the schematics of it all. "I could...set something up. Something nice. At my place."
"From one over-thinker to another," he says with a lightly teasing poke at her temple, "keep it simple and honest." Yes, yes, he knows he's making that sound easy. Same way he did in the cockpit. Not the first time he's made doing simple everyday life things sound somehow harder than defusing an alien bomb, and it won't be the last.
"So, if you do set something up, try to keep it closer to the casual side at first. I know she's gotta be a big ol' romantic softie in her marshmallow core, but she might need a little time to warm up to the idea that she deserves it. If you take her by the hand and slowly show her what it looks like to be with you, I reckon that's a good start."
"Casual," said like she's rehearsing what she's learned before a final exam; building her confidence through the reiteration of knowing. Casual. You can do casual. In what situation is she anything other? During which circumstances would she throw herself carelessly into any given situation? Be what you've been for the last thirty years; straightforward.
Well, more like bi-forward.
"If I manage not to fumble this, Crichton, I'll seriously owe you one."
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Re: Early-afternoon, middle May.
Date: 2025-05-19 07:46 pm (UTC)I knew it was you, Rip, don't worry. Got some hot news for me? I'll get my boots on. Where am I meeting ya?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-19 10:51 pm (UTC)The floorboards creak beneath her bare feet. Step, step, step, step. She must look like a madwoman, pacing like this. Stupid smile plastered on her face to match. Wigglesworth, her feline companion, seems to think so too.
How's the Oak and Iron in... say... twenty minutes?
And— yes. Very hot. You won't believe it.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-20 03:32 pm (UTC)He really, really can't wait, so he straps into his boots, throws on a fresh shirt, and rushes out the door lickety-split. He'll be waiting outside the Oak & Iron, fidgeting in his impatience. Good news (or so he assumes) is so rare in his life. That makes it all the more exciting.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-21 01:40 pm (UTC)Ripley jumps into a pair of overalls, kicks on her boots and gives Tig a scratch behind the ears like she's determined to place first in the most mundane triathlon— then is out the door.
And in the spirit of races, her walk to the Oak & Iron is just as fast. She spots Crichton meandering outside and greets him with the same ridiculous smile that had curled her voice. A breathy "hi," as she leads him by the shoulder to an empty table.
"Okay, so— um, are you hungry?" Obviously. That's why we're here. "Like I said, I'll pay for it— I seriously owe you one so, eat whatever you want, I don't care. Get drinks, go crazy."
A pause.
And an embarrassed groan. She scrubs a hand over her face.
"God, I don't know where to start. —You remember how you told me CT is always sleeping at her desk?"
no subject
Date: 2025-05-21 02:02 pm (UTC)"Uh huh," he answers, perking up with a new suspicion that already has his cupid bow lips curling. Did they? Are they?? He can already hear an entire stadium of cheers in his mind, the crowd goes wild! "I take it that hot tip turned out to be right on the money?"
no subject
Date: 2025-05-21 02:18 pm (UTC)"Bingo."
Okay, enough stalling. Any longer and poor Crichton might explode.
"I ended my shift late, so I decided to see if she'd be at the office. At first I didn't think anyone would answer when I knocked— I thought maybe she'd already crashed or someone left the lights on— I don't know. But she was there. Doing paperwork, a lot of it, just like you said.
"And I know what it's like to work late. It sucks. I know it sucks and I figured if anyone might be able to convince her to take the rest of the night off... It'd be... me."
An agonized groan.
"And don't even ask me why! Because I've got no goddamn clue. I thought for sure she'd brush me off— which would have been fine! Her work is important, and she needs the space—"
no subject
Date: 2025-05-21 02:26 pm (UTC)"I hope to hell this story ends with you two knocking boots," he says after she stops to take a breath, leaning over to nudge her with his elbow, shamelessly enjoying how flustered she is.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-21 02:43 pm (UTC)She's silent for a long... long and telling amount of time. The grin on her face goes wily and she returns the jab. "Now you're jumping ahead. But— yeah. Yeah."
A wave of her hands. "Not that I'd meant for that to happen— I wasn't there just to get in her pants. I wanted to be helpful. You know, a friend? Someone to tell you when to pack your shit up and sleep? Even on the way to her place— I would have been happy to say goodbye at the door."
Well, not exactly. She'd wanted to stay the night and couldn't seem to find the right words.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-21 03:00 pm (UTC)"Ripley," he wheezes, trying so hard not to laugh just for her sake. Oh, she's got it bad. "It's okay. I believe you. I'm happy for you."
He manages to sober a bit, just so she'll know he really does mean this. "I really am. I had a feeling about the two of you. Why do you think I told you to go find her in the first place?" Just call him the love doctor.
"I know how much you care about her. And, besides, just because you were fine with taking no for an answer doesn't mean you can't be over the moon that she said yes. So what are we calling it? You two going steady?"
no subject
Date: 2025-05-21 04:16 pm (UTC)Her brows crease, lips turned up into a sincere and, more importantly, grateful smile. Five long months ago she couldn't imagine anyone having her back in such a way. Felt herself swimming in water too deep, too cold to escape. Brave faces only go so far when you've got a swirling abyss beneath your feet.
Ripley's never felt particularly well-trained in the sentimental. She pats Crichton's hand in hope that it translates.
"I have no clue. We didn't get into it. Part of me is scared that if I mention it, she'll go running. I don't want to make things stressful for her when she's already got work and— everything going on with Carolina." That piece of work.
"Getting into a relationship is probably the last thing she wants on her plate right now."
no subject
Date: 2025-05-21 05:03 pm (UTC)"CT might try to bolt, I won't lie. But we're on an island, how far could she get?" He's teasing. The joker smile he's wearing says he's teasing. But... he's also not wrong.
And now he really gets to pull out his wisdom cap, because if there's one thing he might be uniquely qualified to talk about, it's finding connection amid chaos. Ripley may, if she's paying attention, notice his eye twitch a little at that name drop. Talk about chaos...
"Ripley, I hear you, but I think if you wait around for the opportune moment, it's never gonna come. If there's one thing my time out in space taught me, it's that these things find a way. That... and sometimes a relationship is exactly what you need at a time like this. You need someone you can come home to, talk to about the horrors you've seen. She needs someone to hold her, and remind her that she can't take care of anyone if she doesn't take care of herself. If you're doing it right, you become pillars for each other to make the work easier, not harder."
no subject
Date: 2025-05-21 07:41 pm (UTC)I've got a feeling she might.
This goes as an unspoken worry. A worry within itself; that if she were to ever speak it aloud, risks it becoming real. These things do happen, don't they? People get so used to closing themselves off from others, that when confronted with the opportunity to do so, they flee. If she prompts the idea of anything extending beyond casual more-than-friends— whatever that means— the trust she's hard-earned might as well be chucked straight into the sea.
The idea makes her stomach sink.
These things find a way.
Ripley nods, listening intensely.
"You're right. I won't jump into anything, not without thinking about what I want to say first..." She gnaws her lower lip, as if already throwing herself head-first into the schematics of it all. "I could...set something up. Something nice. At my place."
no subject
Date: 2025-05-28 07:56 pm (UTC)"So, if you do set something up, try to keep it closer to the casual side at first. I know she's gotta be a big ol' romantic softie in her marshmallow core, but she might need a little time to warm up to the idea that she deserves it. If you take her by the hand and slowly show her what it looks like to be with you, I reckon that's a good start."
Wrap?
Date: 2025-06-05 03:23 pm (UTC)"Casual," said like she's rehearsing what she's learned before a final exam; building her confidence through the reiteration of knowing. Casual. You can do casual. In what situation is she anything other? During which circumstances would she throw herself carelessly into any given situation? Be what you've been for the last thirty years; straightforward.
Well, more like bi-forward.
"If I manage not to fumble this, Crichton, I'll seriously owe you one."
yeah! End~
Date: 2025-06-13 01:49 am (UTC)"I'll cash it in for a night of babysitting, so you bet! Go get it, Tiger."