𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖆 𝖇𝖚𝖙𝖙𝖔𝖓.

The Expanse Intros x Colors

"I ... have a confession to make? I'm kind of a huge coffee snob, so I ... will happily follow you wherever I can get a cup of what's in there," Hannah admitted, with a slightly bemused, slightly chagrined smile. "I got really spoiled on Luna with the good stuff, and there hasn't been anything here which has been even palatable and I know -- I know how that makes me sound, and I promise, I'm really -- I"m really not one of those people. Unless it's coffee."

the more she speaks the wider his smile gets and it's not just the infatuation with coffee that has him hooked. although, honestly, he couldn't put a finger on it right then, just that he could keep hearing her talk for the rest of the night if the situation allowed.

" i've been called similar things, " the grin widens. holden holds up the mcrn mug before taking another blessed sip. " ranging from junkie to snob. not everyone gets the obsession coffee or just how wide a range there is between great and fucking terrible. " that didn't even start to cover the brew or the water. too hot and it tasted like char. some water accentuated the acidity of the coffee, making it even more bitter than it needed to be. ade had been the first person to really explain that part to him and his life had been forever changed.

" oh...oh... " call it the weirdness of the current political sphere but holden hadn't even considered the fact he was inviting a stranger onto the roci. amos's face would have a lot to say about that if he ever found out. then again, holden deserved a pass considering the whole clarissa thing. either way, he could also understand how it might come across to invite her onto a ship for the first time. " i'm so sorry. i haven't had a decent night sleep in who knows how long and my manners are shot. "

for a heartbeat he looks at the offered hand, smiles, and gently takes it for a shake. " james. most friends call me jim. " as he says his name he wonders if he simply assumed people would know who he was, that he extended the offer. at the same time, not being recognized was incredibly refreshing. a few years ago not a damn person knew him, his face, or his name. overnight he became the face of something bigger than he could imagine and since then people had counted on him to do the right thing.

She's lost track of how long she's been sitting there -- it doesn't really matter much, it isn't like she has anything to do, or anywhere she needs to be. Na-- Desi was dealing with something at the gallery, and Amos was ... she wasn't actually sure where, but she'd still not quite worked up the nerve to be anywhere without her brother to act as a sort of buffer between them. She was trying, she was, but he made her nervous.

So, after a quick breakfast, she'd refilled her thermos with tea from the hotel lobby -- their coffee had been too sickly for her to even brave, and wandered around the main sections of the station for a while. Eventually, she'd come to rest outside of the docking ring, finding herself drawn to the walkway that looked down over the ship that her brother and Amos had arrived on. She'd queued up one of the local's podcasts, about the adventures of the ship and crew, and even taking the stories with a grain of salt, she found they made her slightly nauseous at the thought of her brother being involved with any part of them, even if he had said he usually stayed on station.

desi had been combative for a few days. not that there was anything new on that front. the only time that seemed to change was for a few days after they'd slept together then right back to business as usual. only, business as usual was how accompanied by the occasional stutter and or blush. better than a full blown shouting match, he supposed.

life was easier back on the canterbury in that regard. well, even before that. his younger days were a little promiscuous to say the least. holden enjoyed his body and what it could do. space allowed him to explore ways to amplify that. no gravity was terrible for certain help problems but sexual escapes? amazing. zero g allowed him to do things he never would've considered down on earth.

stress and trauma took care of that, though. he didn't mind being alone. the crew of the rocinante filled a hole in his heart he never realized was there. they were more family to him than anything else he'd known and he wouldn't trade it for the world. but sometimes, just sometimes, watching desi and amos together made him yearn for something more. a different kind of family, so to speak.

shaking his head, holden shakes the thoughts free. no need to take those back on the roci, where he tended to sleep despite the rooms offered by fred johnson. too much tied into those. without drummer there being in them just felt plain weird.

The Expanse Intros x Colors