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[volitaunt]

"Hey, try again later."

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[volitaunt]

Nngh. Probably. [ He takes a second to wrestle with a stubborn bolt before he adds: ] Why?

[deploy]

Oh. Uh. No reason.

[The hiss of a can as John cracks open a beer. He's not working.]

There's just a thing going on. Caves. Crystals. Sounded kinda neat.

[volitaunt]

Yeah?

[ Rolling wheels, a droid's inquisitive boop. ]

It's John. What caves and crystals? Haven't really been... I've been busy.

[deploy]

It's me. Hi BB-8.

Yeah, I know. I thought maybe you could use a break.

[It's been days since he's really seen you.]

We could check it out. Grab something to eat. Whatever.

[volitaunt]

[ Poe hesitates. It would be really easy to say no. Lose himself to working on engines that don't really need the attention. BB-8 whistling a why not is what tips the scale in the other direction. ]

Yeah. That might be good. That could be good.

[deploy]

Really? Great! I mean, good.

[Dial it down a notch, Sheppard.]

Who doesn't love caves? And crystals? Best case scenario, it's awesome.

Worst case scenario, we ask the tour guide stupid questions until we get kicked out, and grab some pizza.

[volitaunt]

[ That actually gets a low chuckle out of Poe. It does lift his spirits a little—both scenarios do. ]

Real pizza. Finn likes broccoli on his.

[deploy]

Wow. I know you said the Empire was evil, but broccoli on pizza?

I hope that kid recovers.

[Yes, it's an off-colour joke, you don't survive two wars without at least a slightly warped sense of humour.]

[volitaunt]

[ Okay, that gets an actual real laugh. ]

I think he's on his way to being reformed. I spilled extra-hot barbecue sauce on the last broccoli nightmare.

[ Which Finn still ate as far as Poe knows. RIP Finn's tastebuds. ]

[deploy]

[There it is. The laugh. Totally worth embarrassing himself over the phone for.]

He can be rebuilt. Maybe not faster, or stronger, but at least with better taste.

It's too bad they don't have Chicago deep dish here. That stuff will change a man's life. Or end it. Y'know, due to heart failure.

So when should I swing by to pick you up?

[volitaunt]

[ ‘Whenever’ is not a helpful response. ]

Six? Six works.

[deploy]

Six. Sounds good.

You should definitely wear that jacket. It's going to be chilly. And it looks great on you.

[volitaunt]

[ One of these comments is not like the others??? Poe brushes it aside, assuming John's teasing. He does know which jacket John means, though. ]

I'll bundle up, don't worry.

[deploy]

[ Freshly showered and shaved, wearing a maroonish button-down (rumpled) over dark jeans (also rumpled) beneath a black motorcycle jacket (already worn in at the elbows), John’s cutting a different figure than usual as he walks up the steps to Poe’s building.

So maybe he tried a little.

They’re going out, after all. It’s an excuse to wear something other than his uniform. John’s not the type of guy who wears cologne on a day to day basis, but there’s a spritz of something orangey-woody-leathery-smoky against his skin. Rodney complained about it on his way out. It’s not John’s fault if he smells good enough to kill.

John runs a hand back through his hair (still messy) and knocks on Poe’s door. Clears his throat, and tries not to feel nervous, because they’re just two friends, who sometimes kiss, and sometimes do a lot more than kiss, hitting the town.

They fly shuttles and shoot things for a living. Sightseeing and dinner is nothing to get stressed out about.]

Yo.

[ Nailed it.]

[volitaunt]

[ Poe comes out of the little apartment he and Finn found wearing... what he mostly wears when he's not on duty. Pullover shirt, this one red with an actual collar. Jeans, combat boots, brown leather jacket--the one Poe specifically had altered to include the Resistance insignia on one shoulder. ]

Hey. [ John looks... good. Okay, Poe thinks he often looks good, but a uniform can do nearly any man some favors. Seeing John out of uniform and not in a t-shirt and jeans is unusual enough to be notable. ]

I like the shirt.

[ He does okay. ]

[deploy]

Uh, thanks. [ It’s already half untucked and unbuttoned to the chest, his jacket slouching down over one shoulder. John doesn’t know how it happens. He makes an attempt to put himself together, and everything comes apart within the hour. The hair he gave up on a long time ago. Teachers tried to varnish it to his head in boarding school, but the cowlicks won in the end. They always do.

Poe looks amazing. As he always does. Impossibly handsome, in that granite-jawed wavy-haired ‘I woke up like this’ European fashion ad kinda way, but better. If John didn’t enjoy looking at him so much, and wasn’t reaping the benefits of that handsomeness, he might get jealous. As it is, he just grins.]

You look great. That jacket. [He should stop, before he drools on himself, because that would be embarrassing.] The thing opens in an hour, do you wanna hoof it, or call a cab?

[volitaunt]

[ It's part of John's undeniable charm.

(Somewhere, Chyler sits up straight and yells NO IT'S NOT and doesn't know why.)

Poe stretches, considering. ] Cab. BB-8 was mad I told him to stay home. He'll be even madder if he finds out he could have kept up with me.

[deploy]

Aw. He can come next time?

[John honestly likes BB-8. The droid's kind of like a dog, minus the need for pee breaks and brushing. John's kind of pet.

He dials them a cab, fixes his jacket, only for it to slide right back out of place, looking sidelong at Poe.]

It's good you're getting out. Any longer in that engine room and you're bound to blow a gasket.

[Yes, that was a lame mechanic joke. Just for you, Poe.]

[volitaunt]

That was terrible.

[ And Poe is clearly delighted by it, because it's the first time he's outright grinned in two weeks. It's enough to lift his spirits in general and makes him think that maybe this was a good idea after all. He doesn't do well away from people for too long, and god knows he's been avoiding them.

Speaking of avoiding people. ]

How's Jim?

[deploy]

You're welcome.

[John smirks, eyes crinkling. Poe's smile is contagious. John's glad to see him looking bright again. The past few days, he's been a shadow of his usual self. Elbow deep in a machine, or rushing from one mission to another. Between keeping an eye on Jim, and his own missions, John's barely had a chance to say hi.

Going from a week of non-stop sex and conversation to nods in the hallway hurt John more than it should've. He doesn't have any right to Poe's time, and it's none of John's business how he chooses to spend it.]

He's doing better. It's been a rough week, but he'll make it through. Mostly we've been eating a lot of pizza, and playing a lot of video games. I think he'll be back to work soon... He can't stay away for too long, that shuttle's his baby.

[The cab rolls up, and John opens the door for Poe. He's just being polite.]

After you.

[volitaunt]

[ Poe doesn't climb into the cab so much as he kind of... sprawls sideways into it and then drags himself into the far seat, because he's genteel and mannerly like that.

He's actually starting to look forward to this, to the caves. The wildlife in this place is fascinating, even if so much of it wants to eat them. Yavin 4 isn't exactly a peaceful paradise as far as the creatures are concerned. He still loves every one of them.

Except for piranha beetles. Fuck those things.

Anyway, he's as excited for the crystal flora as he was to see the Riverview zoo the first time he went, and it's starting to filter through. ]

They just discovered these caves?

[deploy]

Yeah, they're brand new. Just opened to the public. I tried looking online, but there aren't even any photos yet.

[John slides in beside him with only slightly more grace, slamming the door behind him.

He prefers to drive, but he's also comfortable being driven. For most of his childhood a stern man in a sharp suit drove him to school and back, until he was old enough to be sent to boarding school and live on campus.

John used to remember the names of his many drivers, nannies, and maids, but now it's as if his entire life pre-Atlantis is just a blurry home video on VHS.]

I've heard the crystals glow, and there's nothing like it. Thought it sounded up your alley. I know you're into naturey-type stuff.

[volitaunt]

Photos wouldn't do them justice. They never seem to.

[ Even holos never come close to showing what it's like to see a whole flight of whisper birds banking in silent unison. There are some things a person just has to be present for. Like the prisma storms on Yavin, or the first snowfall on Hosnian Prime.

Poe blinks, turning away from the window to look at John in surprise. He does like naturey-type stuff. He hasn't exactly hidden it. He just didn't think anyone else had noticed. ]

Oh. [ It always strikes him oddly when people say something that means they've been thinking of him. He never expects it, outside of ships, maneuvers, mission objectives. He's Commander Poe Dameron--

Captain. Captain Poe Dameron. He might not remember the demotion, but it doesn't make it any less real. He's Captain Poe Dameron, and that's all he's had time to be for years now. ] That's... thanks.

[deploy]

[John thinks about Poe. He thinks about him a lot. Really, he's all John's been thinking about, other than Jim's well-being, his job, and Atlantis.

He thinks about him as a pilot. A captain. A comrade. Mostly, when he's lying awake at night, on sheets that still smell like Poe, he thinks about him as a man.

It reminds John he's a man, too. That there's more to living than just leading, surviving, and fighting tooth and nail. For years, that's all he's been doing. Everything else on the back-burner. In a lot of ways, it was easier. Simpler.

Now, there's so much more to think about than the next battle.

John doesn't know what to say to the look on Poe's face, but he thinks he understands.

So he smiles at Poe, and leans across the backseat to graze his lips against the corner of Poe's mouth. Not quite a kiss, but close. The closest they've ever been outside of the privacy of John's housing, in daylight.]

[volitaunt]

[ Poe stays very still. He can't help remembering the way he thought about kissing Karen almost a month ago now, the way they did kiss later. This is dangerous ground, it's foreign territory, it's something he wants and he doesn't know what to do with it in either case.

But he doesn't want John to think he did something wrong. Not when the man so rarely seems to show this part of himself. Poe's never seen it outside of the bedroom. The change in context means more than it should.

So Poe reaches out and brushes John's leg with his fingertips, another silent thank you.

The driver interrupts the moment. "We're coming up to the walkway to the caves. That's as far as I can take you."

Poe drags in a breath and looks to the front of the cab. ] That's fine.