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 Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 5:03 pm
Oh, that was just delightful. Von really didn't want to be touched, not even by a cutie like Harley, and Zeke watched the uncomfortable display before him with a widening, satisfied grin. "I think he's just being modest, Harley. I think he actually yearns for the positive human contact." Zeke smirked, pale eyes lingering on Lexington's face as he extracted himself from Harley's grip, watching or any reaction to the taunts, subtle or otherwise. Alas, things circled back around to him much too quickly. He should have known Harley wasn't going to allow herself to be distracted for very long, not when she was on a personal mission. Resistance was futile. "Alright, alright. I'm coming." His coffee was finished anyways, so he wasn't exactly keen on sticking around the cafeteria. Maybe he could convince the redhead to stay with him. She seemed exasperatingly wide awake, but she wasn't the only one good at persuasion. He'd acquired a new movie he knew she'd wanted to see, and he could set it up on his laptop for her to watch. It was definitely worth the effort. Harley had gathered up his things, so Zeke only had to worry about taking care of his tray. With a long yawn, he tossed the cup in the nearest bin, then wandered over to tip the dishes into a bus bin before depositing the tray on the stack beside the condiments counter. With his hands empty, he was free to hook his fingers around the tall girl's hip to drag her closer, head tipping to lay the ghost of a kiss against her cheek. "Whatever would I do without you, hmm Angelfish?" He didn't doubt Von would follow along behind them, not so long as he was craving nicotine and had limited means to obtain it.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 6:38 pm
'Torments' is right. Why do people even think to touch me. It's weird. It's weird. It's the same as hugging a ******** cactus. Von kept his opinion of the matter to himself; drawing furhter mention to it only seemed to goad people like Zeke, and Hattie might be the same. He could not resist, however, responding dryly to Zeke's comment. "Yes, of course, I'm ******** desperate for human contact. It's why I wear all ze black and sit away from everyone at every opportunity. It's all a ******** ruse." He then proceeded to stare holes into Zeke's head.
Unfortunately, Zeke proved very thickheaded, and no holes came of his efforts.
Von saw the opportunity of their departure as a reason to abandon the rest of his breakfast; if faced with a choice between eating and cigarettes, he often sided with cigarettes. He then mimicked Zeke's motions of disposal; uneaten food went into the trash, the tray stacked atop another tray, and he took his mediocre tea with him to add some nutritionally-deficient caffeine to his questionable eating regimen.
Since Zeke and Hattie knew each other so well, he took the opportunity to hang back for observation purposes. Plus, he wanted to avoid talk of shark boy and angelfish as long as he could; pet names had a habit of upsetting even the strongest stomachs. He mumbled into his drink while he watched them. "Vampire squid is more likely." He hadn't yet decided to which of them the new nickname referred. Perhaps both.
"You should be proud of yourself! You almost made a new friend." The rich laughter filled the back of his mind and Lex glosed his eyes slowly in derision of it. "If only you weren't so jumpy, though. You could've gotten rid of that virginity you always complain about."
Damn am I glad that no one else can hear your s**t.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:51 am
"Don't worry friend, I gottcha." Hattie grinned at her new friend Lexington, allowing for the momentary distraction. She had only known him for roughly ten minutes now, but she had already pegged him as the type of person she actually adored to hang around with: the standoffish, and the easy to fluster. He would prove to be a lot of fun, she was sure of it.
Thankfully, she left it at that for now, as her mission was actually making a breakthrough. Harley watched Zeke carefully as he got up and moved about, on the off chance he tried to bolt. While she didn't suspect him to be that type of person, she was that kind of person, and that somehow meant she needed to keep a close eye on him. When he hooked his fingers around her hip, she put up a stubborn resistance at first, but then too easily slid against him, bumping her hip lightly against his.
"Lead a quiet, sleepless life?" She suggested with a giggle, as he kissed her cheek. After glancing back to make sure her half-hearted assistant was following, she returned her attention to Zeke. "Okay, here's the plan. You go to bed, and get some actual sleep. If you don't think you can, I have sleep aids and I am not afraid to use them." She frowned at him for a whole second, before she perked up again and looked around the familiar walls and doors as they passed by. "While you snooze, I'm gonna hang around with Lexington here, because new friends are important." She looked back at him again, apologetically this time. "I've got to swing by the cafeteria again though, I'm starving. I promise I'll eat fast! Then maybe a run?"
"I have pod duty later today though, and our group has the good room reserved for testing, so I'll be pretty late. I can text when I'm done?" Her attention was back on Zeke now, but it could have also been for Lexington. Most of her offers were open; she loved hanging around with any and all people.
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 5:39 am
"Edgy fashion statement," he shot back to Von without missing a beat, half glancing back at him over a broad should as they all left the infirmary. "Or hell, maybe blacks in again. We are a bit cut off here from current trends." Unless they went really out of their way to keep in the know. "How long were you in that pod, anyway?" He probably should have known, having been there when the shorter man had woken up, but... ""We had one guy wake up after four years. I'm surprised he survived." Zeke hwas myself had been in the pod for around six months. He turned that now curious look on Harley, ready to ask her the same question, but didn't get a chance to, and by the time she had finished laying out the plan, his interest in time spent podded had waned. "You forgot dull and boring." Which wasn't true on the whole, but had been since Ever had been transferred to another base. "And falling asleep isn't the problem." He'd actually opened his mouth to protest the arrangement, but had decided better of it. As much as he would have preferred her staying with him, if she stuck with Von instead, no doubt she'd be her usual bubbly self, and that would probably be a little slice of hell for the other man, and Von was proving far too reactionary not to talk advantage of the situation. Even if Zeke wouldn't be there to enjoy it first hand. Three hours of sleep, then he had watch in the ocean observation pod for a couple of hours. "I'll be out before you," he spoke around a yawn, a ham coming up to half heartedly stifle it. "Probably try to catch up on more sleep while you play in the lab. I'll leave the door unlocked for you so you can come find me if you want."
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 4:13 pm
"I don't know why you're trying not to drug him," Lex interjected. "You might as well load him up and make him get half a day's wors'. He obviously seems to haf' a problem wis' sleeping." Maybe, if I'm lucky, his heart will stop and I'll never have to deal with his a** again. Oh, but that's wishful thinking - and knowing my luck, she'd just choose me as her next torture victim. I don't go along with it quite so smoothly.
Lexington only tuned back into the conversation at the mention of his name, and soon frowned at the implications. She wanted to spend time with him. And if she wanted to spend time with him throughout Zeke's entire napping session, then he was looking at up to half a day of unmitigated human interaction if Hattie decided to go for his idea. s**t. At that moment, he hoped desperately for orders to come down from on high that would deliver him from such a fate. Let them send him on a particularly dangerous mission, or order him to go babysit the pods, or clean the shitters, or wax all the tables in the lunch room, or be the lunch lady for the week, or —
Oh good, he thought, She has an assignment. She can't glue herself to me forever. Small victories, he supposed.
To Zeke, he offered an equally dry explanation for his out-of-style choice of dress. "Oh, didn't you know? I'f been asleep since ze nineties. Marlyn Manson was still hitting it big before I agreed to Deus ex. Beats ze s**t out of an undercut and nerd glasses…" Briefly he wondered how far they had to walk before Hattie put Zeke to bed. He never visited the other man's room, and never wanted to, either; the only reason he would need to know the room number was to avoid it indefinitely. Fingers wrung in his pockets while anticipating more witty repartees from Hattie's favorite lover.
"While you're bos' having cuddle times, I'll just take ze cigarettes and step outside for a while. Don't worry about having to keep me company; I'f been getting great at talking to myself. I mean, my weapon." Lex still wasn't entirely convinced about the validity of this entire experience.
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 6:35 pm
The pod conversation was an interesting listen to, but she never supplied how long she was in and, considering the change in subject, never had to in the end. Though she did have to wonder if it were possible to have been around since the nineties. She didn't believe him in any way of course, but it was a curious thing to consider. What was the longest anyone had been podded?
Zeke added onto the list of things he'd be without her, and Harley laughed.
"Gosh, you're right, you better keep me around." They went about planning the rest of their day, and Harley nodded. "Sounds good. Please actually sleep." Then she looked over her shoulder at Lexington, and chuckled. "I don't need to drug him, since I'm getting my way. But trust me friend, I would not be above using a little chemical force." As ominous as she sounded, it was an empty threat. She was annoying enough to get her way without it, usually.
"And hey, don't worry about it! I'm not gonna cuddle with him until much later today." She assured Lexington, winking at him. "You've got my attention today." But, first:
"Alright you, bed time." She stopped walking when they reached Zeke's room, and pointed at it for him to get the hint and go inside. "Goodnight, I'll see you later." Though she had to turn a bit to face him, she leaned in for a kiss, still holding his books tight against her. Despite forcing him into his room, she did not seem willing to relinquish his things. They were being held hostage for the foreseeable future.
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 9:29 am
Zeke gave a quiet snort as they reached his door, eyes rolling. He had very little doubt in his mind that his lovely companion would sink to diabolical levels to get her way, in the need arose, but she didn't have to resort to such methods in their usual dealings. Either Zeke simply went with whatever Harley wanted, or he was able to distract her away from the need. In the end, what mattered was everyone was happy. The arrangement worked quite nicely. Von didn't know this, not yet, but he was going to learn it very soon, because now that Harley had met him, she wasn't going to leave him alone. He leaned against the open door, shoulder on the door frame, as Harley leaned in to bid him a good nap, and he'd happily return the kiss, fighting back an instantaneous urge to deepen it, which would have been both enjoyable and uncomfortable to Von to witness, but he respected the redhead far too much to use her like that. To the other Mist's claim of being prodded in the nineties, Zeke would give a small shake of his head, cheek coming to rest against Harley's temple in an idle motion, arm slinking around her waist. "Prolonged stasis can seriously effect congnitive brain functions." There was a pause in which a thoughtful express crossed the man's features, followed by an unfriendly smile. "Although, that would certainly explain things..."
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 11:23 am
Unwanted attention is such a pain in my a**. Lex internally groaned and continued to watch the lovers bat to and fro in their verbal escapades. They even kissed. He swore he could taste vomit. Briefly he considered making inappropriate motions with his hands, but that would probably encourage bad behavior.
"Wouldn't it now? At least we'd know why I hear voices in my head half ze ******** time." Lex ground his teeth. "Now go ze ******** to bed so I can get some cigarettes and stop wanting to kill everyone in my line of sight for sirty ******** seconds." That most certainly included Zeke, and the jury was still out on Hailey. She still had time to make herself a nuisance. Lex expected she would resume nuisance status shortly after Zeke ducked back into his quarters and slept for a while. Or, perhaps, she might induct him as one of her many, many lovers.
"I'm sorry I ever thought you were anything different than a typical teenage boil."
Oh, but that's where you're wrong - I'm not a teenager. For all his vehemence against normalcy, however, he could not deny that he only managed a facsimile of uniqueness. An area like Deus ex brought together such a mix of people that he couldn't hope to stand out regardless; any interest or attempts to do so were wastes of energy.
"If you're ready to continue bugging me, Hattie, be sure you'f got some bribery tools on hand. Oh, and can we smoke in ze cafeteria? On second sought, I'm going to do it anyway." Here I thought I'd escape all these rules and restrictions by being here. What a choice.
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