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."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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."