Log: All The Small Things

[notyourrookie]

Who: Wash (OU) and you!
What: Wash has completed his first job as a mercenary and is out to celebrate it
Where: Out and about in town, picking up some better equipment, and then to the Eagle and Asp for a drink
When: Afternoon to night 29/11
Warnings: None so far



It hadn't been the most glamorous of jobs, but any notion of glamour had been beaten out of him practically the day he'd enlisted. The important thing was that his first job as a registered mercenary had gone well and that was the first step to being able to take care of himself without having to rely on other people. Sure, it would take a few more jobs before he felt comfortable, but it was a start.

That was cause enough for celebration, right?

His first step is to head out to a supplier to stock up on equipment. Nothing fancy for now, but enough to get him started. A good gun or two, and a solid combat knife.

There's other things that he needs, an almost overwhelming amount, he realises now that he has the money to start thinking about it. Clothes that aren't fatigues or armour, and there's so many different kinds that it takes him far longer than it should to pick out what he needs.

And once that's done, he heads to the Eagle and Asp for a drink. It feels appropriate somehow.

Comments

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

Knives.

This has been bothering Abby for some time now. First Big Red was supposed to get her one to defend herself with. Then Blue Lady was supposed to help. Then Necklace was going to train her and he couldn't. And THEN Jammy had shown up and given her some vague advice. So, with no one to ACTUALLY help her, Abby just decided she was gonna do it herself.

And so here she is, leaning over a display case in her favorite green and pink sun dress to look at knives, throwing and otherwise. Because fuck it, a girl has to look good, and if the shop keeper is a bit nervous about a teenager in a pretty dress buying knives, then when she pulls one on someone they are TOTALLY going to underestimate her. Even when she's not in a dress.

"What about this one?" she asks, pointing at a knife through the glass. The guy is SO not helpful with knives.

[notyourrookie]

He hears a familiar voice as he's picking up one of his purchases. A decent side-arm and a solid knife are enough to keep him going for now. Anything bigger than that, like a battle rifle, he's probably going to want to pick up somewhere a little less... public. Yeah, let's go for public. It sounds better.

He glances over his shoulder when he hears Abby's voice, and watches for a moment as she tries to get the man behind the counter to show her knives. Of course, he's trying to fob her off.

He shouldn't get involved. He has his purchases. He can leave and no-one will be the wise.

"You don't want that one," he says instead, walking up behind Abby. "It's pretty but that blade looks pretty brittle. It's for hanging up on a wall somewhere."

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

That's a familiar voice. The lack of fond teasing and cheerfulness replaced with a harder voice offering a practical suggestion means only one thing.

"Jammy!" she grins, twirling away from the counter and bounding forward to hug him. "I know. I don't WANT a pretty one. I want something to throw at people. And something to stab them with. But only in self defense. Come here. Hurry up. Help me pick. You know what you're doing!"

And now there is a girl attached to his arm, pulling him closer to the counter.

[notyourrookie]

He tenses up, taking a step back when she calls out and all but launches herself at him. It's awkward being hugged generally, and he barely knows her, but he manages a brief pat on the back at least. And then she's grabbed onto him like a limpet and is dragging him over to the counter. Sure he could pull away, but there's something nice about someone being happy to see him.

"You don't want anything expensive for throwing knives," he says when they get there, peering over the choices. "Not until you're proficient. Because no matter what, at some point you're going to throw a knife and it will hit a wall and break."

[quicksmiles_nimblefingers]

"Or you won't be able to retrieve it," Abby agrees. That much she gets. "I want to start with easy knives. Good balance. Because you said so. But I also need a new knife. I'm used to the ones that flip open. They're easy to hide."

That being said, she's more than happy to take another kind of knife because what the point here is having a weapon other than her little taser in her bag.

[baruthumos]

All Omega wants is a purple t-shirt. Why is it so hard to find one that both fits him and can't be used to strain oatmeal? Desperate to avoid vandalism charges, he asks the closest person, "Do they have one in purple?"

[notyourrookie]

He's not sure why he's being asked this. He looks around for a moment in case someone else is there, but it's just him. He shrugs. "Haven't seen any. But I've not been looking for anything bright."

[baruthumos]

"Well, that's a bummer," Omega says. "What about black?"

He'll have an easier time explaining to Delta what happened if...okay, there's no explaining that to Delta. But maybe if he sneaks a replacement in so the number stays the same, Delta won't notice.

[notyourrookie]

"They should always have black," Wash says, and he glances around for a moment. "There," he adds, pointing out a table with more shirts on them. "Will those do?" He doesn't know if there's a particular style that he wants.

[protective_logic]

Winter is coming and there is a chill in the air, even in Gulch. Delta has always been too prone to colds and other illnesses, mostly due to taking care of sick children, but that means he's always more attentive to keeping properly warm in the winter. And with the scarf his ex-boyfriend made him cast aside, his previous scarf ruined by blood, and his own attempts at knitting getting nowhere reasonable for the season, the only answer is to shop.

And maybe, just maybe, some of that shopping is because of his interactions with TC the night before. And this morning. And...

Geez his head is such a fuzz. Delta glares at the display of scarves for a minute, trying to will a reasonable green, gray, black or brown one into sight. Wait... is that one? He reaches in between the folds of fabric, finds a dark gray, and starts to tug. Wait... Why isn't it coming away? He pulls a bit harder and...

The scarf comes free and he stumbles back a step into someone. God, why does this happen when he shops?

[notyourrookie]

He has one scarf at least, but getting another is probably a good idea. York's reaction to the neural port had been enough to tell him that it wasn't something he wanted to be displaying openly, and without armour, a scarf was the best way to do that. Plus it's getting cold and he'd forgotten what it was like without the protection of the undersuit and climate control.

He heads over to the scarves, just in time for the dark-haired man ahead of him to stumble backwards. Wash grabs for his shoulders to stop him falling. "Are you okay?"

[protective_logic]

"I'm so sorry," Delta mumbles as the hand on his shoulders helps him balance himself. "It didn't want to come out."

It's a bit pathetic, and Delta shakes his head before turning to look at them man. He looks... vaguely familiar, not that Delta can place his finger on it. Then again, the last time he saw Wash in person was quite a long time ago, and at that book club meeting his attention was more on his new boyfriend than on anyone or anything. So not fully recognizing this face is bothersome, but he tries to shrug it off.

"Have we met before?"

Okay, so maybe he doesn't succeed.

[notyourrookie]

"It's okay," Wash says. "No harm done."

He's got better balance and he hadn't been bumped that hard. He releases his grip on the man's shoulder and pulls his hand back, then give the guy a cursory look over. That voice, there's something familiar about it, but it's a bit off and he can't quite place it.

"No. We haven't," he says bluntly.

[shipitsupersonic]

TC is nursing a drink at the bar, trying to not check his phone every ten seconds. Why did he think a man writing any sort of femmeslash was going to get read? Like as not, he's going to get nothing but reamed up the ass because he didn't research enough.

In a desperate bid for distraction, he looks around. Is that? He picks up his drinks and moves to the seat next to Wash. "How's the helmet working out?" he asks.

[notyourrookie]

There's a wariness that comes over him when someone approaches, bracing for a fight despite the lack of overt aggression. He'd been at the helmet shop when Wash had been looking around hadn't he? The military guy.

He relaxes a little and nods. "Decently enough. Did you end up getting your mods?"

[shipitsupersonic]

TC shakes his head. "A friend of mine does helmet work," he says. "He's going to hook me up when he has the time. He says he can make it so I can start coffee on my way home."

And won't that be amazing. "How's civilian life treating you?"

[notyourrookie]

Wash gives him a faintly bemused look at that. "You really need your coffee, huh?" York would love something like that, he was sure.

He shrugs in response. "Fair enough, I suppose. I'm still alive. You?"

[alphawho]

"Pick your poison, tough guy." And in this moment of hello, Church assesses this Wash to see if he can get a sense of which one it is, before he uses an unfortunate and inappropriate nickname.

[notyourrookie]

"Something sweet," Wash replies, grinning, "with an umbrella." Because he's not drinking purely to get smashed right now, and also it's entertaining to fuck with Church.

[alphawho]

"No problemo." ??? WHICH ONE IS IT??? He totally doesn't show any signs of...not recognition! He totally knows which one! Totally!!! This Wash will get himself something sweet and fruity with an um--

"You're an asshole, I know Ranger Rick doesn't have to order any umbrellas." SEE HE HAD YOU PEGGED THE WHOLE TIME

[notyourrookie]

"Maybe I just worry about the state of your memory," Wash replies with an easy shrug. Church's reaction is worth it, honestly.

[depthlesslock]

York and Wash are chatting happily as they enter the Eagle and Asp. It's just that random, casual banter that they've perfected over the almost three years. So it's not until they're well inside the bar that York notices his friend's double already at the counter.

Well. This is suddenly going to be a lot more interesting. He assumes Wash hasn't seen him yet because he's still talking, and every time they've spoken about the guy before, Was hasn't exactly made out to be his fan. Maybe he can try and ease that. Okay, mission for the evening, officially set.

[searchandrecovery]

Nope, Wash hasn't seen his other self yet. He's very invested in making the case that the sixth Star Wars movie was the best, dammit. What a thrilling conclusion. He cried at the end, but there is no way that he's gonna tell York that.

Wash notices his double when they're closer at the counter. "Uh, York. We gotta go. Let's go to Errera or something, huh? Just. Not here." He is not dealing with this today. No sir.

[notyourrookie]

There's chatter from the doorway. Wash glances over with idle curiosity to see the people who've arrived. His expression sours immediately when he sees York and the other Wash, his body language tensing. He finishes his drink quickly, and straightens up, turning to leave. Manages to hear his double's words.

"Don't worry. I'm leaving."

[depthlesslock]

That's a good start. And by good, he means terrible. Seriously? You think a guy would be able to get on with himself. Thought granted, if York met the him from Other Wash's world, he'd punch him for leaving that Wash. Hopefully after that, they'd be cool. Still.

'Nope.' He grabs Wash's wrist and drags him over to the bar next to Other Wash who he pushes back down with his free hand. 'Both of you, sit.'