Our Wonderful Space RP, Home-Life <3

[chellemrys]

Cas giggled, mocking Adrian's response to him having a hangover. "I have a remedy for that." He pushed himself to a sitting position, and hung his legs off the edge of the bed. "It's called, not drinking." Walking over to the blinds, he shut them- repeating how Adrian took care of him when he was ill. He snatched the cup he had given him, still sitting on the bedside, and filled it in the bathroom sink, before placing it down again in Adrian's reach.


Cas made a sound of contemplation, not sure what Adrian would want. He didn't know how to make Earth breakfasts. He padded out into the kitchen, only wearing boxers, enjoying the warm air of the home on his skin.


He returned about twenty minutes later, a hot cup of coffee he successfully created after wrestling with the coffee machine for most of the time he was out there. He also came back with scrambled eggs. He had scoured the fridge for something he even remotely recognized, and found eggs. He didn''t know what kind of eggs, since there were hundreds of varieties from his time, but he knew how to cook them. He also had thrown thin slices of a zucchini-like vegetable in the mix, with onion he had found in the fridge. They were really soft and juicy, fried with the egg mixture. He brought Adrian a fork and his coffee, and held it out to him with a proud smile, "I cooked human food.. Except for the palataneenni."

 

[Laine]

“Thank you.” He mumbled, reaching for the glass and taking a large gulp, before burying himself back into his pillow and blanket. He smiled gently as he caught the slight scent of Cassidy on them, and began to doze back off to sleep as he thought of his olive-skinned partner, merrily making breakfast for him in nothing but his underwear. He couldn’t help but bite his lip as he thought how lucky he was, sighing deeply and closing his eyes.


He heard Cas coming back sometime later, and lazily turned over, propping himself to sit up with his pillow. He took the coffee and the eggs in each hand, putting the plate on his lap as he took a long sip of the bitter black drink. “Ahh. That’s much better. Thank you, dear.” He leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, noticing his proud smile at his culinary success. “This looks pretty good, too,” he added, looking down at his place. He daren’t ask what the palateneenni was, and he simply dug in to it, too tired to protest about eating the alien vegetable. He finished it up quickly, taking sips of coffee inbetween. When he was done, he put the plate and drained coffee cup on the bedside table, and sat on the edge of the bed, stretching his arms and groaning. His headache was slowly receding, but he still felt a little rough from the night before. “You’re getting better at cooking.” He remarked, looking over at Cas and rubbing his neck. “What’ve you had for breakfast?”

 

[chellemrys]

Cas plopped himself down next to Adrian, laying back with a sigh and a grin, "And you are getting less discriminatory." He addressed his consumption of the alien vegetable, quite happy he was finally eating his foods without a scene or protest. Cas shrugged at the question, only curling into the blankets again, "I haven't eaten anything."


The Lieutenant closed his eyes, laying on his back against the soft and warm bed with a content expression, "Where are we going first?" He asked, excited particularly for seeing the aquatic lifeforms. "What kind of sea creatures do you have here on Earth? I know you guys have these amazing things called whales. I wanna see a whale. I heard they are huge. Some of them grow the size of cargo transports. And that they are friendlly and glow colors like purple and green, and bluue~" At that moment, the very dangerous and highly trained soldier, who had experienced such hardship and cruelty at the hands of countless others, seemed like a child who dreamed ridiculous visions. Cas lifted his hands into the air, making a half circle with his hands as he flourished them in the air, "And then there are the infamous crocodiles, descended from dinosaurs. You have those here?"

 

[Laine]

Ade grinned at Cas, shaking his head in amusement at his boyfriend’s childish wonder. “Well, yeah, we do have wales, but…the thing is, they’re so big, you can’t really keep them in an aquarium. There’s a life-size model of one in the lobby, though, I think. But they do have crocodiles ~” He cast his mind back, trying to remember what else there was at the aquarium, since he hadn’t been since he was about ten. “They have...those jellyfish that glow in the dark…and octopuses, oh, and that fish that blows up when it gets scared...uh…seahorses…otters…” He listed of a few more, and shrugged “I take it you want to go to the aquarium first, then? You’re so short, we might be able to get you in on a child’s ticket.” He joked, ruffling Cas’ hair with a devious smile.

 

[chellemrys]

Cas squirmed in excitement on his back, listening to all the names he listed. He didn't recognize any of the others, but it didn't matter. Aquariums sounded wonderful. "My favorite sea animal is a monaati. It is a fungal fish. It looks like a flat glowing disk, with a long long tail."


He swatted Adrian at the height comment, "We have gone over this- you are just obnoxiously tall. You tower over everyone you meet. I have never known someone so tall." With a smile he got off the bed, and scooped up his orange shirt and cargo pants, beginning to pull them on. Once dressed he ran his fingers through his messy black mop of hair, and then felt his chin, "Helmi, I'm gonna have to shave sometime." Stubble was beginning to appear around his chin and jaw, and he rubbed at it, "No one will be able to mistake me for a lady if I don't." He teased Adrian, walking into the bathroom, "What do Earthlings use to shave?"

 

[Laine]

Ade grinned. “You should meet the rest of my family – some of them are the same height, if not a wee bit taller than me. Maybe it’s a past thing – I didn’t see any humans taller than me when we were in your time. Wonder why...”


Adrian sniggered as he followed Cas into the bathroom. “Did you just call me…an Earthling?! Is that a legitimate term?” He reached into the bathroom cabinet and unwrapped a spare razor. “You can have this one, m’lady.” He grabbed the can of shaving foam and handed it to Cas, motioning by rubbing his hands on his face to show him what to do. “I don’t know how space folk do it – I actually thought facial hair would’ve died out by then – but you just wet your face, spray that stuff into your hands, and rub it on your face. And then when you’re done, just wash the rest of it off.” He sniggered, realising how patronising it sounded. “-And try not to cut yourself, babe.”


He left Cas to it, feeling his own chin and frowning at the speckling of hairs that had sprouted overnight. He reached into the closet and spent a few moments trying to decide what to wear, before pulling out a plain pair of jeans and blue shirt. He threw them onto his body, before pacing back to the bathroom to see how Cassidy was getting on. His face was furrowed in slight confusion,“By the way…I know you probably wouldn’t, but…we aren’t going to mention the future or anything when you meet Gus tonight, are we? I’m not really sure he’d buy it, but also…What are we going to tell him about how we met?”

 

[chellemrys]

"Eh, humans were really tiny in the past, and then in the future shrink a bit? Not sure why there was an abnormal growth spurt in the populace around this millennium." Cas paused, "Oh wait, maybe it's just your obnoxiously tall family. And not a huge size difference in humans."


Listening to the instructions, he examined the razor, "From my time, you go into the shower and select laser hair removal. It takes seconds; the technology just maps your face, scans for hair follicles, and zaps them all off at the same time. I haven't shaven for three weeks. They stay off for a long time with our way." With a tut he took the cream and spurted some into his palm, staring at the goo in a confused manner. Spreading it all over his face he stared at himself in the mirror, holding up the razor. "Primitive tools."


Upon commencing the actual shaving part of the process, he pressed too hard immediately, going against the natural flow of hair. This resulted in a tiny 'oi' from Cas, and the rubbing of his face as a tiny razor sliced nick appeared on his jawline, blood flowing down his chin and neck. He stared at the razor, a bit confused. I'm sure they wouldn't use these if that is what was common. He pressed lighter, and felt resistance. He kept switching up the use until it felt better, and he got the hang of using it. Going with the flow, and with a gentle pressure.


He continued shaving, now able to go faster as he answered Adrian, "Oh, Helmi, he would never believe that. I don't know, where do people generally meet here on Earth? We could have met at that pizza place."

 

[Laine]

Ade smirked at the rivulet of blood running down his chin. “Awh, Caaas, you cut yourself.” He gathered up some tissue and gently dabbed at it, and then tore off a small piece and pressed it against his jawline until it stuck.


He frowned, examining the rest of Cas’ face as he spoke. “Mmm. Yeah, that could work. I was thinking saying we met at the hospital, since I spend all my time there. With me being Dr. Charming and you being the damsel in distress, of course, with your head stuck in a saucepan or something.” He joked, poking Cas’ cheek “You missed a bit, babe.”

 

[chellemrys]

Cas winced at the pressure on his cut, and peered at Adrian from the corner of his eyes, "Oops." He said, before calling the razor a primitive form of a hygiene care instrument.


"Damsel in distress?" He snorted, "Yeah- okay. And stuck in a saucepan? How about something less embarrassing, like I sprained my wrist or something, and when I was waiting in the emergency room or something to see if it was broken, I met you." He was good at improvising stories; it was an essential skill for a time agent who constantly had to talk his way out of situations. "You were on break, I decided to get some fresh air, and we hit it off." He went over the spot he missed, examining his face in the mirror before splashing water over it.


He finished up his shaving, and turned back to Adrian, "How is that?" He asked, before picking off the paper covering his cut, "Better?"

 

[Laine]

“Oh, yeah…that sounds good. I’ll try to remember that tonight.” Adrian said, turning to meet Cas’ eyes. He smoothed his hands over his chin, and pulled him into a gentle, spontaneous kiss. He pulled away, pursing his lips into a smile. “Looks alright to me. But you’re going to have to get used to my primitive tools unless you wanna ruin your pretty face.” He raised his eyebrows at the little nick on Cas’ jaw.


He then playfully knocked Cassidy out of the way of the mirror with a swing of his hips. “My turn.” He said, running the tap and splashing water on his face. “You nervous about meeting Gus? I mean, he is my brother, my closest family. That means if he doesn’t approve of my alien boyfriend, I might have to kick you out.” He joked, peering at his own stubble in the mirror.

 

[chellemrys]

Cas snickered, "Don't worry, all it takes is a nano med bot and I'm fixed completely." He yelped in surprise as he was knocked out from in front of the mirror, and he smirked at the comment, "Not really nervous about Gus; I think we'll get along."


With a slight shove he giggled, "Kick me out? I am the best option you got, Adrian." He crossed his arms, "Gus and I will get on fine- we'll have a ball tinkering with your sanity." He tickled Adrian, ducking to avoid a flail to get him away. Bounding into the bed room he went to the window, opening it with a bit of examination of the way it worked, and leaned out to look down the three stories. With a grin he watched the bustling street below, and let the wind whip through his hair.

 

[Laine]

Adrian reflexively slapped out at Cas as he tickled him, almost slipping over on the bathroom tile as he did so. He chuckled and shook his head, finishing his shave quickly and attending to the rest of his daily cleanliness routine. He came out of the bathroom, cocking an eyebrow at Cas’ head, which was stuck out of the window. Left for the kitchen, reappearing a few moments later with another coffee, and he stood beside his lover, smiling as he sipped.


He patted Cassidy on the back, “You wanna get going, then? Now you can finally get to sit in a 21st century car.” He walked off towards the door to wash up his coffee cup, but shot a serious look at Cas before he did so, “-But only as a passenger. There’s no way you’re driving my car.”

 

[chellemrys]

Cassidy drew his head back out of the window, pointing out of it, "Wonderful view you have here.." He had enjoyed the wind of the Earth, and looking at the view of the street, "Is there any nature around here, in the city? I hardly see any trees or hills or anything."


He nodded to the request, and agreed they should get going now. Bouncing a little he followed Adrian, "I am a good driver, Adrian. Take me somewhere without a lot of people sometime, please. I wanna drive." Begging for the chance was what he was doing- he knew it wouldn't be hard, "I've driven on land vehicles that resemble cars before. Military vehicles. I've gone over 100 mph on a wheeled vehicle, driving someone to a medical center..." He paused at the reference, looking down at his feet, lamenting his friend Vireen. She was only 19, and the first of his friends to die. They had been working on one of those tropical exploration planets, and she stepped on a land mine. Immediately he had scooped her up and loaded her into the passenger seat of a medical vehicle, panicked and frantically, but they didn't make it to the med-center before the blood loss killed her, from her lost leg and mangled body.

 

[Laine]

Adrian chuckled. “Even if you can drive a car, that’s not the problem. You don’t have a driving permit, or insurance. And you can’t get either of those without a passport or birth certificate. Something tells me they wouldn’t take you seriously if you showed them your real ones, either.” He shrugged, wondering if the time agency provided fakes for their agents working-long term.


As he turned to shut the door behind them, he caught sight of Cas’ darkened expression. He put an arm around him as they walked to the elevator. “Alright, I’ll let you drive around an empty parking lot sometime if it means so much to you. Cheer up, we’ve finally got some time to spend together.” He said, oblivious to the root of Cas’ sadness.

 

[chellemrys]

Cas made a tiny 'hmm' sound, and sighed, "I can easily fake them." He let Adrian lead the way to the elevator, never lifting his head. "Thanks, Ade..."


Once inside the elevator, he leaned against Adrian's shoulder, head feeling heavy suddenly as he began to tremble as vibrant memories of the day he lost one of his closest friends flowed back into his head. Everything has been fine. The troops were walking, their group of friends were all privates still and jovial as ever. They had never imagined they would lose one of the group, the pact they had, until it happened.


Vireen was walking with a young man far ahead, through the brush in the field. She had been talking to him, and fancied him after many conversations during these exploration missions. All six of the privates were in the same unit, and went everywhere together. Today, however, she decided to talk to her new comrade.


Far ahead of Cas, Lydia, and the other three, walked her and the man- whose name had been Jekkyl. He was half human, half poolishian. He was very tall, and had a light blue skin, and dark purple hair. Otherwise he looked human- he was missing the tail and the claws. As the group was joking, a loud boom shook the sounded, and they scrambled to the ground as it shook, screaming in shock as debris from a motor vehicle sent shrapnel flying through the air. Getting to his feet, Cas remembered seeing a black screen of smoke, and just screaming. A young woman was sobbing and screaming ahead in the distance.


Immediately he began running, Lydia had followed, and as he got closer the woman began screaming, louder and saying 'Oh Helmi, help me, someone! Help, please!' And as she spoke he recognized it as Vireen's voice, as did Lydia. They sped up their run, frantically running towards Vireen in a panic. The smoke was beginning to clear, and both privates ran into it, coughing from the fumes as it burned their throat and eyes, searching for her. It only took a few moments, since the smoke cleared also completely, and Vireen was revealed- laying on the ground in a pool of her own blood- the blood of her new comrade was splattered all over the ground and her face, from where he had been directly over the mine.


Cas kneeled next to her, Lydia falling to her knees, grabbing her hand and just yelling orders for a med-vehicle to get over to her. It was coming quickly enough, and Cas had been looking over her stump of a leg, and her mangled arm, filled with holes and gashes like her waist, from the shrapnel.


In a split second decision he scooped her up, the jostling making her just screech in agony, as he ran with Lydia for any vehicle he could find. He luckily found a med-vehicle first, and pulled the driver out of it, loading Vireen into the passenger seat, he jumping into the driver's seat as Lydia climbed in and began to bind her wounds between both Vireen's cries and sobs, and her own panicked breathing and shaking hands.


Cassidy remembered vividly the sting of smoke, choking shock of dealing with his injured friend, and the rapidness at which it all happened. Within minutes he had driven the vehicle, never cautioning at the speed he took, and had frantically peeled back for the camp and the med-center. He kept looking over at his comrade, hands shaking so badly as he suffocated on his own panic and worry, and eventually vomited on his shirt as he drove, sobbing at his inability to get her to the camp faster.


Peeling into the camp he swerved to a halt, and looked over again, to find Lydia with Vireen's hand in hers, foreheads pressed together as she sobbed uncontrollably into Vireen's face, just croaking, "Cas- she's dead, oh Helmi, she's dead, she's dead, she's dead, Cas-" Before leaning out to the side of the vehicle and vomiting so violently that she began dry heaving after food stopped spurting out. Cas was frozen, unable to respond as he sat in shock, features twitching.


Cas got out of the vehicle, and sat on the ground next to the front wheel as the camp officers came running out to assess the situation. He sat next to the tire for the rest of the night, fingers entangled in his hair, face in the knees that were drew up to his face, as he occasionally sobbed violently, or sat in silent for extended periods of time, head hurting so horribly that he couldn't function.


******


Back in present time, after recalling it all, he realized he had begun to cry, and had squeezed Adrian's arm so tightly in the meantime that Adrian had begun to protest. He only pushed his hands into his hair, in a similar fashion to that tragic day, and stomped his foot, shaking his head and whispering, "Ade, I need a voffy. What do guys have here in this forsaken place? I need one. Right. Now."

 

[Laine]

“Ow. Ow. Cas, that hur-ow! Cassidy- let go!” Ade sloughed his arm from Cas’ shoulder and scowled at him as the elevator door opened. They both entered together and he pressed the basement button, rubbing the sore spot on his arm where Cas had squeezed him. “What the hell, Cas?” He snapped. It was only in the brighter light of the elevator he could now see tears running down his loves face. As the elevator began to rumble downwards, Adrian leaned down to his level, suddenly concerned. “Woah-hey, are you okay?” He wore a worried expression on his face as he gently moved a hand to his cheek, wiping a tear off before he suddenly shook his head.


“A voffy? I thought you were off those…? Hey, Cas, what’s wrong?” He mumbled, confused by Cas’ misery and irritation. “I mean- the closest thing we got here is cigarettes, but I don’t see why you need them-“ He abruptly stopped and stepped out of the elevator as they reached their level- a dark, poorly lit carpark underneath the apartment complex. He pulled Cassidy out with him, as he realised the other was staring at the ground and not moving. When he was out and the door shut behind him, Ade grabbed him by his shoulders and looked into watery eyes “Cassidy, what’s wrong? Please don’t be upset. I’m sorry.”

 

[chellemrys]

Cassidy almost shoved Adrian away in unprovoked anger, before biting his lip and forcing his irritation down again. "I just need whatever Earth's equivalent of a voffy is, immediately- Ade." He swallowed harshly, "Please, Adrian, anything like a voffy. Cigarettes, sure, anything. Quick, please, please..."


After a few moments he pinched the bridge of his nose, swallowing again with a shake of his head, "Don't worry- nothing you did. Just get me something, like m-meds or something, p-please." Walking towards the car he pulled at his hair, images of the event flashing through his mind, "I-I just remember my darn friends sometimes, a- an-" He ran a hand through his hair, his breathing speeding up in to a rapid pace, almost like he was hyperventilating. It didn't seem like he was remembering his friends, but rather was reliving the event very vividly in his mind.


He began walking in a circle, hanging his head, "I- I was driving the d-damn vehicle, b-b-because Vireen-" He choked on her name, halting his frantic pacing in a circle and kicking the nearest car with a frustrated scream, "I s-should have drove ff-aster, or- or bothered to- to stop the f*cking bleeding, Ade- but I-I panicked and d-drove a-and SO much f-f*cking blood, A-Ade- I c-couldn't, I froze u-up too l-long it's m-my fault, a-zaa-" Choking on his words again he sunk to the ground, rocking back and forth slightly, "It-it should have been m-me that s-stepped on i-it, I'm-so f-f*cking w-worthless, c-couldn't e-even save h-her, and- and- and- and- and-" Suddenly he couldn't stop, and sounded like a broken record just ripping and repeating. The anxiety became overwhelming, and he just tangled his fingers into his hair, pulling at it harshly. He shoved his face into his knees, repeating over and over again, "And-"

 

[Laine]

10 minutes later, Adrian returned to the underground parking lot to find Cas in the exact same position he’d left him in, with trembling fingers pulling at his hair and crouching against a car. His love’s quick, violent breathing could be heard all over the lot, and Ade rushed over to him, forcing his own panic down to deal with his partner’s post-traumatic attack. He snapped open the carton of cigarettes he’d bought, pulled Cas’ head up and reluctantly planted one in his mouth, lighting it with shaking hands. He’d seen plenty of anxiety attacks when he’d been working A&E and pre-op patients, but to see his lover trembling and blabbering like a stuck record, tears gushing from his face was a different matter entirely. Not the most conventional solution, but it might work, he thought, crouching down next to the lieutenant.


Not sure if he should touch him for fear of getting shoved away, he instead gently spoke in his ear, talking over his frightened whimpers. “Cassidy, there, you’ve got a voffy now. Just try and breathe deeply for-“ He paused as Cas began to cough and splutter on it, clearly not used to the vastly different Earth drug. He pulled the cigarette from his lips and gave him a few moments to regain his breath, before sticking it back in again. He reached around and patted his back, continuing to talk. “Shh. It’s not real, it’s not real. Try to calm down for me. Take in your voffy. It’s okay, I’m here, Cassidy. Let me take your hand out of your hair.” He reached with his hand and gently took the other’s hand in his, pulling it out from his tangled dark mop and squeezing it tightly and kissing it. He noticed that Cas’ body had rapidly began to calm by the effects of the simulated voffy. As his trembling weakened he pulled Cassidy close into a sideways embrace. “That’s it. Shh. Just relax…Try to focus on where you are. You’re here, on Earth, sat with me…I’ve got you. We’re in the parking lot of my apartment complex, and we’re about to go to the harbour, together. Don’t think of anything else. Just sit here for a little while and breathe for me.” He nuzzled the lieutenant, wrinkling his nose at the smell of tobacco and still squeezing his hand.

 

[chellemrys]

Cas was lost in a world of watching the incident play out over and over again in his mind, unable to pull him thoughts away and back to reality. When the 'voffy' was given to him, and Adrian's worlds began to push at his illusion, he made a conscious effort to catch his breath, so he could take a drag on the cigarette. The first drag made him cough and sputter, and only worsened his breathing, but after a minute of taking the drag his body began to relax, and he stopped repeating 'and' over and over again. Instead he took a desperate long drag of the cigarette, fighting the protests of his airways. His hand was taken and he didn't protest, and eventually he ended up laying limp in Adrian's arms, leaning to the side as he was supported by Adrian.


He finished the cigarette, and he showed significant positive changes in the status of his attack. He seemed able to function again, but was choosing to lay in Adrian's arms, tears streaming down his face, like he was just burnt out. After ten minutes of laying there, listening to Adrian's comforting voice, he shifted his weight and sat up slowly, leaning against the foreign car tire behind him. He hung his head, tears streaming down his face, "A-Ade, I'm sorry.. Sometimes I s-start getting tense, and I would a-always just use a voffy and i-it would go away. I-I don't know what's w-wrong with me."

 

[Laine]

Ade loosened his grip around the other as he shifted, breathing a sigh of relief as he seemed to come out if it. He kept his arm perched around his shoulder, however, and patted him lightly. “Hey-hey, don’t apologize. It’s not your fault, Cas.” He used the soft sleeve of his jacket to dab at Cas’ ashen face, looking into his eyes with a weak smile.


“I see this in the hospital a lot. It’s a natural response to a stressful experience. And I know you've probably had more than your fair share of those.” He kissed him on the forehead, “Don’t worry about it. We know how to deal with it now, don’t we?" Ade held up the carton of cigarettes, crumpled in his hand from his own anxiety of the situation. "Next time you feel it coming on, just tell me and I can give you one.” He said, trying to diffuse the situation by giving him a simple solution to make it stop. In reality he wasn’t comfortable with supplying Cas with the cigarettes at all, but his love's emotional turmoil made a higher priority than his anti-smoking agenda. He figured at some point he’d wnat to try and get psychological help for his traumatized love, but now was not the time to talk about it. He continued sitting there with him, tightening his grip around him momentarily as a car sped out from the other side of the parking lot. He watched it disappear out of the exit, checking Cassidy's features carefully for an indicator that he was falling victim to another attack.


After a while, he helped Cassidy to his feet, holding him close as support. He looked over to his car with guilt, realizing he mentioning driving it was probably the trigger for the event, and started walking him back over to the elevator. “How’re you feeling now, Cas? We’re gonna go back to the apartment so you can rest for a little while. We can go to the harbor another day.”

 

[chellemrys]

Cassidy nodded at the cigarettes, disgusted at the taste they left in his mouth- but agreeing until he hopped into the future again that they would have to do. What were you thinking Cas, you knew you should have bought some last time- you knew this would happen eventually again. It always comes back.





Cas ony felt a little shaky, and shook his head, "No- I want to go today. Can't sit around doing nothing, that's no good." He held out his hand for another cigarette, "Just give me another, and... and something quick to eat, and I'll be okay." His hands were still shaking, but when this happened he would just smoke a second voffy, and it would all go away. He'd forget about it completely. "I don't want much to eat, just a something small. I don't want to go back to the apartment-" Worry came over his features- he didn't want to miss out on today over this. Why'd you have to let this happen, you've ruined today. Now he's going to make you go home and rest or something. No harbor or fun today, good job Cas. His face darkened at the thoughts, annoyed with himself suddenly, "Please can we still go?"

 

[Laine]

Ade dug another cigarette out of the packet, and handed Cas along with the lighter, flicking it to show him how to use it. “Here.” He paused, looking Cas up and down – his hands were still shaking, his face was still pale, and his eyes were furrowed with irritation. He bit his lip in confusion - although he did want Cas to go back and rest up, he also didn’t want to waste one of the rare days off they had together if he was feeling better already.


“…If you think you’re up to it, Cassidy, then of course we can still go. We’ll just take it nice and easy, okay?” he murmured, “I’ll run to the apartment and grab you a snack, and you can wait here- or, in the lobby, perhaps.” He pressed the button to call the elevator, smiling weakly at Cas. “And we- we don’t have to take the car if you don’t want to. There’s a subway service and buses we can take instead. It might take a wee bit longer, but at least it’s uh- it’s cheaper, I guess.” He shrugged, hoping it would save him a tense car journey. He looked fondly into his love’s eyes, but felt a little uneasy, unsure of what he could say to him, frightened that even with the cigarettes, if he said the wrong thing Cassidy would have another attack.

 

[chellemrys]

Cas took a long drag on the cigarette, seeming instantly calmer. He fought his disgust with the taste, and kept using the cigarette, "No- I am fine. We can do what we were going to do originally." Noticing Adrian's skittishness he sighed, cursing himself for screwing up the day, but irritated with Adrian's sudden caution, "Don't cater the day to me, or our lives- please." He walked off towards the car, continually sucking on the cigarette. He got used to the new drug very quickly, and how to take care of the ashes on the end. The first time he had smoked and burnt the filter, but this time he knew not to.


Cas leaned against Adrian's car, meditating as he smoked, which he usually did by staring at the beautiful universe through his ships windshield, or the command center dome. Today he only had a parking garage, that smelled like wet dog and trash. But he focused like he usually did, just closing his eyes instead and imagining he was doing what he usually did.


By the time Adrian returned, Cas seemed normal again. He wasn't so pale, and he wasn't shaking. He just wanted to forget about what happened. He stood by the car, smiling and waiting. He thanked Adrian for the snack, and asked him what it was.

 

[Laine]

As Ade stepped back into the elevator, he glanced behind him, picking up the annoyance again in Cas’ voice. He leaned against the wall of the moving box as it began it’s ascent, shaking his head and irritated with himself. Don’t make a big deal out of it next time, he told himself angrily, he’s probably just as embarrassed by your fussing as he is about the panic attack.


He had to hold back exclamations of “Hey, you look much better!” and “Are you sure you wanna take the car?” as he exited the elevator minutes later, and instead smiled back at his lover as he trailed off towards his vehicle. He tossed him the dark-coloured bar and unlocked the car, saying to him as he got in, “Oh, it’s chocolate. Now you gotta have that in space, right?” He unwrapped his own bar and stuffed it in his mouth as he strapped himself in, making sure that Cas was strapped in fine too before turning the key and slowly pulling out of the parking lot. “We’re not that far the habour, actually, we’ll get there in about half an hour.” He muttered. As they got back above ground, he flicked the radio on, knowing Cas would appreciate the upbeat tunes during the short drive there. As “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” came on, Ade smirked, muttering the words vaguely as he tapped the steering wheel.

 

[chellemrys]

Cas nodded, "Of course we have it- just didn't recognize the brand... Her-shee.." With a 'hm' he opened the bar, taking a nibble out of it, savoring the velvety sweetness by letting it melt on his tongue. He was glad Adrian stopped acting so worried, and got into the car with a cheery smile, still excited for the harbor trip.


As they drove, Cas watched the city go by with a small grin, watching the Earth city life. Occasionally he asked what something was that he saw out on the street, and was content with the answer- trying to memorize the various types of stores and services, jobs, and such. He finished off his snack, bobbing his head to the catchy beat and beginning to sing along after a short amount of time. Earth music was pretty good most of the time, he decided.


****


Cas knew when they reached the harbor. The large expanse of water appeared on the horizon, and he watched out the windshield with excitement, looking at the waves splashing against the shore, the trees whipping in the wind. Cas pointed at the water, "Last time I went to a beach was on the planet Xelesnamm, in the south. The beach had pink sand because of tiny micro-organisms that washed up on shore that had pink shells. The water was green, like.. your eyes, and there was a giant volcano that towered over it all. Those are the best places in the universe, anywhere tropical..."