⁽ᵃᵖ⁾ pathfinder

HE  ALMOST  KNOWS  WHAT  DARBY’S  ABOUT  TO  ASK  FOR   before  he’s  even  started  to  ask  ;   the  moment  that  he’s  climbed  atop  his  lap,   straddled  him.   and noah hums something content,  meets darby’s hips with his own,  and he manages to steal languid kisses down his neck before darby’s got a firm grasp of his chin,  and the way he  looks  at him sends shivers down his spine.

he bites down on his lower lip,  drags back,  and even though he’s fully prepared for darby’s command there is no denying the way his face warms from his ears to his neck when he  does  give said command.

say  it.

for the amount of shit he gives the rest of his family for being a bunch of  weirdos,  he’d never really anticipated that he’d be  just  like  them,  that darby would just  pull  it out of him like that.   they absolutely  can’t  know that he’s a hypocrite.

luckily,  he trusts darby keep a secret.

and there’s something undeniably  sexy  about having their own dirty little secret.

his hands slide beneath the hem of darby’s shirt,  fingertips roam across the expanse of his chest first.   “  you’re always so  pushy  about it.  ”   he’s teasing,  maybe trying to compensate for how  flustered  he’s trying  not  to be.   nobody said he’d make it  too  easy.   “  you just like  rubbing  it  in,  don’t you  ?   lucky for you,  i  like  it when you’re pushy.   it’s  hot  on you.  ”

hands then slide back down,  settle upon his hips.   when he does say  it,  it’s in a low whisper,  eyes twinkling with mischief of his own.   and then he reaches further downward to cup his groin.

well,   the  good  news  is  that  he  doesn’t  sound  judgmental.   The  bad  news   (   she  supposes   )   is  that  Noah  never  sounds  judgmental.   (   He  really  isn’t  that  type  of  person.   Their  father  raised  the  both  of  them  to  be  better  than  that,   but  it’s  never  really  stopped  her  from  doing  it  anyway.   Maybe  it  isn’t  going  to  stop  him  now.   )

If  he  knows  her  as  well  as  he  thinks,   then  he  knows  that  she’s  never  been  weak  in  her  entire  life,   and  she  certainly  isn’t  about  to  start  now   —   not  for  anyone,   and  especially  not  for  any  boy   (   —   even  if  that  boy  is  Briar  Espinosa,   and  even  if  he  does  make  her  feel  like  Midas.   )

This  is  to  say  that  when  she  speaks  again,   she  no  longer  sounds  weak.    It’s  almost  like  she  never  did. 

❝   Oh,   come  on!   It’s  not  like  you  can  tell  just  by  looking  at  him!   I  don’t  think  he  looks  a  day  over  twenty-five   ———   and,   no,   I’m  not  saying  that  like  how  Dad  says  it  when  Kaidan  starts  to  flip  about  his  gray  hairs.   ‘sides,   I  think  it’s  cool;   makes  me  feel  like  a  debutante  in  a  Lifetime  movie  or  somethin’.   ❞

She  laughs  again  at  Noah’s  approval  of  her  plan,   nudges  him  back  with  her  elbow.

❝   Shut  up!   I  didn’t  even  think  about  that.   Do  you  think  he’s  Florida  Man?   Have  I  found  him?   What  “four  or  five”  things?   That’s  a  lot  of  things.   ❞   She  counts  them  on  her  fingers:   ❝   —   not  from  Boston,   plays  for  the  Sox-slash-Yankees   —   both  are  viable  for  different  reasons   —   is  hella  old   ———   That’s  only  three  things,   Noah.   ❞

When  are  you  planning  on  this  big  reveal?

———   so  much  for  never  being  weak.    She  exhales  a  chest-deflating  sigh,   blinks  up  at  her  brother   —   small  and  sincere.

❝   I  dunno.   Maybe  I’ll  just  text  him  and  tell  him  I’m  eloping  with  a  Yankees  player  and  then  never  come  home  again.   You’ll  have  to  record  him  reading  it  so  I  can  still  watch  him  explode,   though.   ❞

“  GIVE  IT  TWO  YEARS.  ”   with how cheeky his grin is,  he might as well have instead said  look  out,  ‘tarah:   you’re  about  to  get  dragged.   except he’s not  only  coming for atarah  ;   he’s coming for his own father,  too,  and the man isn’t even in the room to defend himself.   “  and you’ll be sayin’ it like dad does,  since you’re the ones putting those grays there in the first place.  ”

(  he’s one to talk.  )

“  i  don’t know,  have you done a  background  check  on him yet  ?   i can go investigate if you want.   undercover and all.  ”   he’ll take darby with him,  whether he’s met with complaints or not.   “  and,  four  ------  ”   and his voice raises just slightly in pitch to make it  most  apparent that he’s imitating her:   “  i  couldn’t  date  someone  older  than  dad  and  listen  to  his  voice  more  than  i  already  do  ;   and,  five,  suck  it,  brady.   the old man’d have a heart attack before he’s your boyfriend’s age.  ”

he places his smart remarks on hold while he awaits his sister’s next answer,  watches again the way her entire body language changes at the answer  ------  and then he can’t stop himself from laughing.

“  first  of all,  you’re talking like he’s gonna even  believe  you when you just drop that on him outta nowhere.   i mean,  i’ll definitely record him,  for you,  but he’s probably just gonna laugh it off and mumble something about how funny you are.   you know,  the way he says it to kaidan when he makes a bad pun.  ”   believe it or not,  that wasn’t supposed to be a drag.

❝   ———   mm-hmm.   ❞  

She  presses  her  mouth  into  a  line,   a  futile  dam  against  the  fit  of  giggles  that  crashes  out,   playfully  slaps  a  hand  against  his  chest  before  shifting  to  lie  on  her  back   (   —   as  though  their  couch  were  suddenly  a  therapist’s  chaise  and  she  were  paying  Noah  two  hundred  dollars  an  hour  to  air  her  dirty  laundry.   )

❝   I  thought  you’d  never  ask.   His  name  is  Briar.   He’s  a  baseball  player   —   which  is  where  the  plot  against  Dad  comes  in.   We  met  at  the  store  a  few  weeks  ago  when  I  bumped  into  him  because  he  was  right  at  the  end  of  the  candy  aisle  where  the  gum  is,   and  Mama  needed  some  more  gum;   turns  out  he’s  blind  in  his  left  eye  from  a  stupid  accident  a  few  years  back  and  didn’t  see  me  coming.   It  was  very  romantic.   ❞

Enthusiasm  peters  into  unease;   she  doesn’t  distrust  her  brother,   by  any  means,   but  there’s  no  easy  way  to  tell  anyone  that  you’re  dating  a  man  older  than  your  own  father.   (   In  ten  years,   no  one  will  care   —   but,   everything’s  weird  when  you’re  twenty.   )

❝   H—He’s,   uh   ———   older   ———   than   …   all  of  us   —   well,   except  for  Kaidan.   RIP.   He’s  thirty-three.   I’m  kinda  hoping  Dad  won’t  notice  that  part  after  he  finds  out  he  plays  for  the  Sox.   I  mean,   I  was  gonna  tell  him  he  plays  for  the  Yanks  first,   to  piss  him  off.   That  was   …   the  plot.   He’s  also  not  from  here,   thank  God.   I  couldn’t  date  someone  older  than  Dad  and  listen  to  his  voice  even  more  than  I  already  do.   He’s  from  Florida,   and  just  got   …   “signed”  to  the  Sox  or  whatever  after  his  accident.   I  don’t  know  how  baseball  works,   dude   —   but  he’s,   like,   an  insanely  good  catcher.   I  told  him  he  should’ve  played  football  instead  and  he  laughed  for,   like,   ten  minutes  straight.   Suck  on  that,   Tom  Brady.   ❞

BRIAR  IS  A  BASEBALL  PLAYER   ------   and  the  wheels  in  noah’s  head  are  already  turning   (  he’s  atarah’s  brother   ---   and  danny’s  son   ---   he’s  confident  that  he  can  make  an  educated  guess  on  her  evil  plot,   on  what  would  really  make  their  father  tick  ).

“  sounds almost as  romantic  as me meeting darby in an uber,  ”  he says,  and he’s  eagerly  awaiting the part where it’s bound to get more  juicy,  until he sees the way she starts to become nervous,  and he  knows  atarah,  and if it’s enough to make her nervous then it’s enough to send up  ...   maybe an  orange  flag.

and he’s about to  comment  on it,  until atarah keeps talking.

“  ------------  he’s  thirty - three  ?  ”   and maybe his jaw is dropping a  little,  but he’s  a  little  bit surprised.   not necessarily  opposed,  although a part of him thinks he might have been better off left  guessing  her new boyfriend’s age   (  but at the same time,  it’s probably better off that she’s warning him  now  ).   “  haha,  ohmygod.   i’m pretty positive dad will  notice.   but,  you know,  i don’t think he’ll be mad.   i think he’ll just  pass  out.  ”   he’s grinning again now,  at least.

oh,   it’s  very  juicy,   the  sirloin  steak  of  secrets   —   and,   normally,   she’s  just  fine  with  keeping  things  like  this  all  to  herself.   She  loves  knowing  something  that  nobody  else  does,   loves  the  power  of  it   (   selfish  girl  who’s  never  wanted  to  share   )   but  this  secret  is  crawling  under  her  skin  with  the  want  to  be  told.   (   She’s  always  been  a  firecracker,   always  been  something  volatile  and  dangerous,   Do  Not  Touch   —   but,   maybe  that’s  finally  changing   —   or,   maybe  somebody  finally  just  stopped  caring.   )

She  spares  a  glance  toward  the  back  of  the  house,   like  this  were  a  video  game  where  her  character  has  the  inexplicable  ability  to  spot  enemy  movement  through  walls.   (   She  gets  that  it’s  a  game  mechanic.   It’d  just  be  nice  if  it  made  sense  sometimes.   )

❝   ———   nah,   you’re  prob’ly  right.   We’re  safe  if  he’s  in  Art  Mode.   Are  we  out  of  Reese’s  Puffs,   though?   That’s  a  DEFCON  One  security  threat.   ❞   She  has  no  idea  what  DEFCON  is.   She  just  knows  that’s  what  people  in  spy  movies  say  when  shit  is  going  down.   She  blinks  back  toward  Noah,   and  her  mouth  splits  wide   —   genuine  and  girlish.   ❝   I  have  a  boyfriend.   ❞

ATARAH  LIKES  TO  KEEP  JUICY  SECRETS  IN   ------   and  noah   loves   to  talk.   to the right people,  anyway  ;   he knows when to keep something from somebody,  knows when he can’t trust someone to  keep  his own secrets.   and that’s why he  knows  he can tell atarah  anything,  why he loves to tell darby  everything.

they’re safe enough to not need to send danny away,  but noah can see from the way she’s scanning around the house regardless that this secret is still a  big  one.   “  we aren’t,  ”   he assures her,   “  dad bought it yesterday.   but i was  ready  for us to run out if we had to.  ”   and their father buys  two  boxes at a time.   it’s a family favorite.   that wouldn’t have stopped noah.

i  have  a  boyfriend.

❝   ———   noie!   I  have  goss   —   ❞   Her  demeanor  and  tone  are  a  disconcerting  combination  of  the  three-mouth  emoji  and  a  corporate  executive  walking  into  a  business  meeting  as  she  crosses  the  living  room  to  flop,   dead  weight,   onto  the  couch  beside  her  brother   —   sprawls  across  his  lap  and  braces  herself  with  an  elbow  atop  the  sofa  arm  nearest  him.   ❝   —   but,   before  I  tell  you,   you  have  to  tell  me  where  Dad  is,   because  I  cannot  risk  him  finding  out  before  I’ve  laid  my  devious  trap.   This  matter  is  top-secret  government  sensitive.   ❞   @bioticechoes!

ATARAH’S  BEEN  IN  THE  ROOM  FOR  ONLY  A  MINUTE   and  noah  knows  he’s  about  to  hear  something   real   juicy.   and he’s  immediately  preparing for it  ------  television volume muted,  sits up a bit straighter,  a promise to darby that he’ll call back,  my  sister  has  some  hot  goss  that  needs  my   undivided   attention,   babe,  and made himself comfortable just in time for atarah to plop right down,  partially on top of him.   he knows how this goes.

of course,  there  are  some seafood options on the menu,  but given that his father seemed to have actually given nathen a scare the other night,  he’s opting for a nice chicken and pasta dish instead.   he wants to spare nathen the anxiety of wondering if he’ll be coming home to telling danny that his child put himself in the hospital again for having another allergic reaction.

and,  at any rate,  atarah is the only one who knows that his allergy has gotten  worse.   and he’s got an epipen on him just in case.   and atarah’s gone out of her way to make sure their waitress is absolutely clear on the fact that noah’s got an allergy.

it used to be more fun.

“  so,  ”   he says once drinks have been ordered   (  a white moscato and a glass of water,  for noah  )   and they can finally have a conversation.   “  congrats on bein’  legally  dad  now.   you missed our dad off to the side cryin’ about it.  ”

and maybe  he  got a little emotional,  too.   for taylor  and  for nathen.   because he’s never seen that side of nathen before   (  not that he had seen  much  ------  he tried to give the two of them the  space  they would need for this conversation,  shifted his focus to himself and atarah quietly catching up with their own father,  even though he knew that danny was  definitely  trying to listen  ).

and maybe it reaffirmed his desire to have this dinner,  in the first place.   he  does  want to better get to know nathen,  and not just because he knows it will make danny happy   (  although it certainly is an important part of it  ).   this man is going to stay in his life and noah’s realizing that he might actually be okay with that.   maybe even  happy.

it  doesn’t  set  his  mind  at  ease,   noah.   As  a  matter  of  fact,   it  just  sets  his  heart  rate  skyrocketing.   How  many  different  things  can  one  person  possibly  be  allergic  to?   How  do  you  live  like  that?   (   He  can  physically  feel  that  he  has  begun  to  sweat.   His  mouth  is  dry.   Is  it  possible  to  be  allergic  to  your  own  family’s  inexplicable  tendency  to  put  themselves  in  danger?   )

❝   Okay,   is  there  anything  that  lives  in  the  sea  that  you  aren’t  allergic  to?   Somebody  remind  me  to  cancel  all  of  the  clam  bakes  and  lobster  boils  that  I  had  planned.   ❞

He’s  still  holding  Noah’s  wrist,   by  the  way.   (   He’s  also  pretty  sure  that  he  has  an  extra  wrist  harness  on  him  for  Dash   —   which  he  will  use,   if  his  hand  is  forced.   )

This,   of  course,   is  before  Noah  spills  the  beans  on  his  father.   Now,   Kaidan’s  all  but  forgotten  the  fact  that  Noah  is  probably  going  to  die  tonight  in  favor  of  glaring  daggers  at  Danny  across  the  table.

❝   I’m  sorry,   you  did  what  this  morning?   Is  that  why  you  were  in  such  a  hurry  to  leave?   I’m  going  to  faint.   My  blood  pressure  right  now  would  probably  make  a  doctor  faint.   Are  you  all  right?   ❞   

He  doesn’t  wait  for  an  answer,   finally  releases  Noah’s  wrist  to  settle  his  nervous  hands  within  his  lap,   takes  an  indulgent  sip  of  lemon  water  to  soothe  his  parched  throat.

❝   All  right.   I  guess  that  I  can’t  stop  any  of  you.   Just   …   promise  me  that  you’ll  try  to  stay  alive  through  my  birthday  next  month.   ❞

“  REGULAR  FISH  !  ”

he’s not  bullshitting  you,  kaidan,  he promises.   “  cod,  haddock,  salmon,  the works.   s’long as they don’t fit under the  shellfish  category.   didja know that octopus and squids also count as shellfish  ?   ‘cause they’re mollusks.   dad and i didn’t.  ”   a beat.   “  i don’t like either of those anyway,  though,  so that was fine.  ”

he’s got a glass of riesling in front of him that he takes a sip of  ------  with his free wrist,  since kaidan’s still got a vice grip on his other one   (  he thinks that will make dinner  especially  difficult,  if he has to choose between his wine and his shrimp  ).

“  aw,  no,  don’t cancel your  lobstah  pahties  ‘cause of me.   dad doesn’t.  ”

‘  oh,  come  on.  ’   his father might as well  stay  beneath the bus.   ‘  you  don’t  even  like  lobster.  ’

to that,  he says:   “  maybe so.  ”   and he steals another sip of his wine while kaidan’s temporarily preoccupied with telling off his father  ------  and then while danny’s immediately preoccupied with   no,  babe,  i  was  in  a  hurry  because  i  had  an  appointment  i  was  late  for,   i  grabbed  the  wrong  jam,   i'm  fine  ------  and  finally  noah’s wrist is freed,  and he’ll be able to eat his shrimp with a small amount of peace once it finally arrives.

in the meantime,  he fills kaidan’s glass of water with his  own  untouched glass of water once kaidan’s own is set back down upon the table.

hide  her  face,   she  does.   It’s  an  odd  sight,   arms  raised  to  allow  for  Noah  to  hook  his  thumbs  beneath  and  eyes  downcast   —   until  she’s  comfortably  settled  atop  his  hip,   tucks  into  the  crook  of  his  neck,   covers  whatever  remains  exposed  of  her  head  with  her  beloved  elephant  blanket.   The  nickname  earns  him  a  tiny  smile   (   that  he  isn’t  allowed  to  see  just  yet,   not  until  he  closes  the  door  to  a  spare  room  and  sits  down.   ) 

Only  then  does  she  pull  the  blanket  down,   blinks  up  at  him  from  where  she’s  pillowed  atop  his  shoulder,   one  corner  of  her  mouth  dimpled  into  a  smile  that  it’s  obvious  she  doesn’t  wear  often.

❝   ———   mm-hmm.   ❞   

HE  CAN’T  HELP  BUT  SMILE  RIGHT  BACK.   he knows that her smile is reserved for so few people,  and it makes him undeniably  pleased  to know that he is among them.   he sets the bag he’s had over his other shoulder down beside them,  lays back a bit more upon the couch,  shifts the both of them so that they’re more comfortably settled.

“  how’s your easter been,  hm  ?   your uncle danny said you got to paint some eggs with him,  ”   he says soon after,   “  didja have fun  ?   i know dad did.   and your eggs looked real pretty.  ”

tiny  fingers  furl  within  the  thick  fabric  of  her  cousin’s  pant  leg   ———   or,   they  try  to.   There  isn’t  really  a  whole  lot  of  give  with  the  form-fitting  pants  that  he  wears,   so  she  opts  for  looping  her  arms  around  the  entirety  of  his  calf,   angles  her  face  away  from  anyone  who  might  hope  to  catch  a  peek  of  the  elusive  Kateryna.

She  doesn’t  say  anything   (   not  with  so  many  people  around  to  hear  her!   )   but  she  hopes  that  what  she  wants  is  evident:   pick  her  up.   /   @bioticechoes!

HE  DOESN’T  EVEN  NEED  TO  LOOK  DOWN   for  him  to  know  just  who  is  around  his  leg.   and there’s a smile that pulls at his lips,  something soft and fond as he stoops down to do exactly as she wants,  lifting her up carefully and hoisting her up to his waist to give her space to hide her head if she needs.

               ❛  Come on, Ryder,  ❜  Gil ushers.  ❛  You can’t tell me she wouldn’t recognise the bad-assery of your accomplishments so far.  ❜  To him, they’re monumental in significance. Maybe that’s partially to blame on having been stuck on the Nexus all that time, but even so he remains rather in awe of what the Pathfinder’s capable of pulling off.  ❛  I don’t know her at all, but I think she’ll be impressed with you –––– especially in the wake of all the crap we’ve faced. She ought to be.  ❜

YOU  WORK  TOO  MUCH,   Noah  says   —   and,   maybe  he  does.   Maybe  there’s  no  such  thing.   Maybe  he  doesn’t  work  enough.   (   He  has  to  be  worth  all  of  this!   worth  all  of  the  sacrifices  of  his  parents,   worthy  of  this  position  that  anybody  else  might  have  done  anything  for.   He’s  only  here  because  he  worked  hard  for  it.   There’s  no  reason  to  start  getting  comfortable.   )

❝   That  sounds  a  lot  like  you  bought  them  for  no  reason,   and  were  sort  of  just  hoping  that  someone  who  likes  coconut  would  fall  into  your  lap.   ❞

Is  the  phrasing  deliberate?   He’d  never  tell.

You  really  wanna  put  me  through  this?

Absolutely.

To  his  credit,   Noah  leans  forward,   all  elbows  on  the  table  and  Cheshire  grin,   teeth  breaking  the  bar  in  half  and  leaving  small  flakes  of  coconut  stuck  to  both  of  their  mouths.   (   All  of  his  saliva  and  hot  breath  has  started  to  melt  his  own  half  of  the  bar.   He  can  feel  chocolate  pooling  into  the  corners  of  his  lips,   is  poised  to  lick  it  away  when  Noah  takes  it  upon  himself  with  the  soft  pad  of  a  thumb.   )

Does  it  make  Darby’s  stomach  flip  cartwheels?   He’d  never  tell.

❝   If  it  does,   then  why  do  I  put  up  with  you?   ❞

His  teeth  down  to  the  first  knuckle,   sucks  that  thumb  clean.

❝   If  you  think  that  I  work  too  much,   then  give  me  something  better  to  do.   ❞

NOAH  LIKES  TO  THINK  DARBY’S  PHRASING  MIGHT  BE  DELIBERATE  ------------  if  only  because  he’s  not   wrong.   and noah seems to think it’s working quite  well.   (  whether that someone falls into his lap,  or he falls into  theirs,  however,  remains to be seen.  )

he hums,  still  smug,  leans over the table just  that  much more.   “  sounds  almost  right.  ”   a beat,  before he elaborates.   “  guess i bought ‘em ‘cause i  knew  you’d eat ‘em.  ”   and,  well,  noah doesn’t see why darby isn’t allowed a few  indulgences  every once in a while.

“  well,  that just sounds to me like you’re a glutton for punishment.  ”   he bites down on his own lower lip,  drags it back,  but there’s no use in trying to suppress the smug grin on his face any more than that.   “  ‘cause you  like  it,  ”   he continues,  matter - of - fact.   “  ‘bout as much as  i  like that you put up with me.  ”

and then it’s  his  turn for his stomach to tie up in knots,  because then he’s taken his thumb into his mouth and noah’s throat starts drying up,  makes it harder to swallow,  because hell if that wasn’t up there in the list of hottest things that could have possibly happened to him.   darby really doesn’t even need to prompt him further  ------  he’s over the table,  if only to settle himself upon darby’s lap,  cupping his face and stealing a lingering kiss from his lips.

❝   ———   OF  COURSE  YOU  DON’T.   ❞   

Don’t  take  it  personally  if  he  sounds  like  he’s  talking  to  a  grimy  piece  of  gum  stuck  to  the  bottom  of  his  shoe.   That’s  just  his  way.   (   The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  Noah’s  company  is  one  of  a  whopping  three  that  he  genuinely  enjoys  to  be  in,   not  counting  his  parents  or  Kaidan.   They’re  an  entirely  different  peer  group.   )

❝   Why’d  you  buy  them  if  you  don’t  know  what  to  do  with  them?   Sounds  like  a  bad  investment  on  your  part.   ❞

He  really  wants  to  eat  one.    Damn  Noah  for  being  so  smug  about  it.

❝   I’m  working.   You  should  try  it  sometime.   ❞   

He  deftly  ignores  the  comment  about  his  “social  circle”,   trades  the  datapad  pen  in  his  hand  for  one  of  the  little  bars,   crinkles  the  wrapping  as  he  turns  it  over,   seemingly  inspecting  it.

❝   Have  you  ever  even  tried  one  before?   ❞

Fingertips  tear  the  wrapper  down  the  seam,   remove  the  chocolate  piece,   settle  exactly  half  of  it  between  his  teeth.   The  other  half  sits  exposed,   wiggles  with  his  tongue,   waits  to  be  bitten  right  out  of  his  mouth.   

Darby  winks,   triumphant  and  expectant.

HE’S  NOT  AT  ALL  BOTHERED  BY  THE  WAY  DARBY  SPEAKS  TO  HIM.   he’s  used  to it,  by now,  and it’s part of what makes bothering him in return  fun   (  it’s that he  gets  away  with it,  and that’s how he knows darby likes him  ).

“  jeez,  i didn’t just buy them for no  reason.   i just got  nobody  else  to give them to  ------  mostly because nobody else  likes  ‘em  ------  so you got lucky.  ”   a beat,  during which he can’t help but roll his eyes.   “  i work  plenty.   you,  though,  work too much.  ”

then,  finally,  darby picks one of the small candy bars up  ------  and noah counts that as a victory,  and he’s  absolutely  going to continue to be smug about it.

“  mounds always went into the  trash  if they somehow appeared in my vicinity.   i don’t like coconut,  so why am i gonna bother  ?   chocolate only works so many wonders.  ”

he’s waiting,  expectantly,  for darby to just take the whole thing out in one or two shots  ------  except instead the piece of chocolate dangles between his teeth,  and noah immediately realizes what he’s waiting for.   he scoffs.

“  you  really  wanna put me through this  ?  ”   but he’s not  refusing   (  the things he’ll do in the name of  seduction,  honestly  ).   rather,  he’ll get right in there,  never  one to back down from what he considers to be a challenge,  just close enough that they’re only just touching lips after biting down,  and he’ll pull back just enough to be able to shield a grimace behind a hand as he chews.

“  ----------------------  NAH.  ”   spoken bluntly.   he seats himself across the table from darby,  flips his chair backwards so he can rest his arms across the chair’s back.   “  the hell else am i supposed to do with all these  ?   i dunno  anybody  else that likes these,  you  heathen.  ”   on the other hand,  he  did  buy them.   (  and he obviously bought them for a reason.  )

             ❛  …  ❜  Ryder’s first remark earns him nothing but SILENCE, but one that’s telling enough thanks to the deadpan stretching across his features. Ryder’s hopefully familiar enough with Gil’s particular brand of sarcasm to be able to discern his bullshitting from sincerity –––– mostly because the latter’s not something he often openly expresses.  ❛  Pfft,  ❜  he scoffs then,  ❛  you’re too integral to this whole operation to just be the queer cousin. Besides, I thought we’d all reached a general consensus that you’re pretty cool already?  ❜

           That all sounds infuriatingly fair –––––– until that final point made. Gil’s features scrunch up in an overblown frown, albeit mostly for comedic effect.  ❛  HIS baby?  ❜  With his hands promptly akimbo and lips pursed, he contemplates his next reaction. He could go for severity … or toss that all into the wind in favour of something safer, namely sarcasm.  ❛  He might’ve birthed this stellar ship, Ryder, but I’ve nurtured her. I think that makes her my baby.  ❜