singillatim | open-ish | the... sailor fight....

[ I don't know if I'd classify it as wonderful, is what she was going to say before he keeps going and she blinks at him. ]

Edward?

[ There are like eight Edwards running around Milton, but the only one that she knows knows Tommy is – ]

–Little??

[ What the fuck is that weird swoop in her stomach. ]

He's been staying here with you?

Edited 2024-03-06 21:37 (UTC)

[He seems a little surprised at the reaction.]

Yes. He - well, we both learned early on that we were so used to being with the others, with the crew, that it made little sense to be alone. I go on his nightly patrols sometimes, but I provide a place he can stay.

[ They're both just surprised at each other for a second, before she blinks, gives herself a shake like a dog coming in out of the rain. ]

Are you, like...

[ Her mouth opens again, but it takes a second before she can figure out what to ask. How to ask? ]

Are these, like, the fun kind of sleepovers, or...? I don't mean braiding each others' hair, I mean are you guys...

[ It's her turn to offer a mute appeal. Please, Tommy, help her out. ]

[Something in him breaks at that question, some last wall he had been keeping upright.

And Thomas laughs. He laughs so hard his nose hurts. He laughs so much hosnsides hurt. He has to take another drink of the terrible alcohol and when he speaks again, she might hear a different Thomas Jopson. Subtle changes in his inflections, in his pronunciations, and he's with his actual friends at home in the back alley, not sitting at the Officer's table.]

Good christ, no. There is a history that - we'll, I shan't burden you with. But - no. Not in this lifetime or another.

We are new friends and that is as much as I-

Wynonna, was that something you worried about? Do you -

Say another word and I'll break your nose again, friend or not.

[ She points at him, warning, even as something loosens and tightens in her gut. Obliquely, she notes that it's nice to hear him laugh, even nicer to hear the way his words relax, like she's through some secret passageway and finally found the real Thomas Jopson, one who's more likely to tease her than to call her miss.

Leaning across the table, she swipes the flask out of his hands and takes a swallow, then wipes her mouth with the back of her hand as she scrunches up her face at him. ]

No. No.

[ Her no doesn't seem to have quite the same ring of authenticity as his had, and that only annoys her more, as does the flush of warmth on her face that's not going anywhere and which the alcohol definitely isn't helping. She scowls, more at herself than at him laughing at her. ]

It's not like that.

[ She's pretty sure it's not like that. ]

[He holds his hands up, pours the tea and brings over the fruit he had previously neglected, and grins.]

It isn't like that.

Would you like it to be?

...God, I wish I didn't love that you have a mean streak.

[ It's not even really mean, he's just tenacious. It's not his fault she feels like she's been sucker-punched.

Wynonna eyes him over her tea before taking a sip and reaching for some of the salted fish. Chewing, she throws her hand up in the air, wide-eyed and exasperated. ]

Maybe? I don't know.

[ She crosses her arms onto the table and leans forward, narrow-eyed and assessing. You should always negotiate from a position of power – which she doesn't have – and she's morosely aware that even trying to negotiate is probably just going to dig her in even deeper, but: ]

What's it gonna take for me to get out of this with my dignity reasonably intact?

[He shakes his head and rejoins her at the table.]

I believe you've told me enough. [This sort of reaction is exactly the information he's looking for.

He spreads out his hands.]

You can ask anything you like, then.

Pretty sure I've told you way too much.

[ It lacks heat, despite her grumbling, and her lips are twitching toward a crooked curve of a smile. ]

Please tell me there's somebody here that's caught your eye, so I can return the favor. Come on, there are lots of good looking guys here.

Indeed there are, but - as I said, there is much more than a pretty face to fit the shape of someone I would make - [And he points to her.] - that face for.

[But he does glance to the window over her shoulder. The one that leads to a ruined igloo that once housed Francis Crozier.]

[ She scrunches up her nose and sticks her tongue out at him – this face, Tommy? – before following his glance out the window.

There's nothing there but a half-wrecked igloo, and she turns back to him. ]

Okay, but there are a few grizzled DILF-types around. I mean, have you seen Joel Miller?

[ Wynonna lifts her eyebrows at him, her expression eloquent once again; this time it says oh hell yes. ]

He's gotta be, like, sixty. [ Sorry for aging you up, Joel. ] But he's got that whole... competent mountain man thing going.

[He tucks his hair behind his ear with a laugh.]

I haven't seen him.

What is a DILF?

[ The grin she shoots his way as she leans onto the table is pure wickedness. ]

Dad I'd like to fu –

[ Stop her, Thomas! Or don't. Sailors have heard (and said) worse. ]

[He doesn't stop her. He raises his eyebrows at her instead, laughing once she's finished.]

That - that cannot be real.

[ Wynonna leans back, snagging a piece of fruit and popping it into her mouth as she slouches against the chair, lifts her hands in a shrug before she laughs, too. ]

The future is a weird and wonderful place, Tommy. What can I say, we like our acronyms. And our weirdly hot older men.

Hot?

[He laughs, ducking his head. He also plucks fruit from the jar, marveling at how bright the cherry is.]

Is that attractive?

Pretty much. Kind of a catchall term for 'that's someone I'd like to knock boots with.'

[ That probably doesn't help, but she's pretty sure he can pick it up from context. ]

But like you said, it's not just about the face. It's...

[ She gestures expansively, lifting a hand and moving it in a curve. ]

... the whole package. Whatever it is that makes you like somebody. Like... if they're good with their hands. Have a nice laugh. That kind of thing. You know?

There is a man. [He lets out a breath.]

He is wise. Too clever, with a scientific mind that is keen to learn. He is the bravest man I have ever met.

Sounds dreamy.

[ It could be sardonic, especially with the way she leans forward and props her chin on her hand, her elbow on the table, gazing at him, but it's not, even though there's a gleam of curiosity in her eyes.

He said is. Not was. Interesting. ]

Have any idea what he thinks about you?

Nothing. I - simply exist for him. He has other loves, other worries, and I am a presence in his life.

[It's hard, even now, to think of himself as anything more to Crozier. When he stayed by him near the end, it was lovely. But when he wasn't there - that still stings. Even if Jopson knows now that it wasn't Crozier's fault.]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's physically impossible for someone to think nothing about you, bud.

[ He'd stood out even when he was just sitting in a corner in the Community Center, fixing torn clothing and minding his own business. And there's so much to him once you look even a little closely: smart and sweet and sharp, stubborn and generous. Anybody who got the option to have him in their life ought to take it, shut up, and be grateful. ]

He's here?

[He raises his head and looks at her, unable to tell her the truth and unwilling to tell her a lie. He chooses to look away instead.]

You're a friend, Wynonna. But my life has been in the corners of cabins, supporting officers and people of worth.

I think that's bullshit, but I get it – different time. Steward stuff. Roles and ranks and everything else.

[ Little's been having some kind of crisis about it all, but that's neither here nor there right now. Wynonna shakes her head, still propping her chin on her hand, watching him. ]

You wanna stay in the corner?

[ Maybe he does, and that's– fine, if he does. It's not what she would do, but they're different people. At least he knows what gives him purpose. ]

I just think whoever it is should recognize you're a fucking catch and do something about it.

No.

[He knows that now. Now that he has a choice to, after all.]

But that is where I am comfortable. That's where I can do the most good for people who need it.

[ She lifts her eyebrows at him, mischievous. ]

Yeah, but if you stay in the corner, you probably won't get to punch Hickey again. And it's not like any of the others will do it... you think Little even knows how to throw a punch?

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