The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Tuesday evening

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had spent most of the day yesterday -- most of his time since seeing Nathan off on Sunday, in fact -- out at sea. He'd probably still be out there if he hadn't made plans for today, both the now-usual yoga with Rey in the morning and his dinner date-thing with Jack.

Not a date-date. Jack didn't think it'd be a date-date, did she? He was pretty sure she didn't see it as a date -- she wasn't really the romance type. Not that he'd object if she did. He and Nathan weren't exactly exclusive, and Nathan was a thousand miles away, and Duke was definitely overthinking this. He wasn't sixteen anymore.

This was a casual dinner between friends. Or, alternately, an intervention. Apparently it was his life's mission to fix people with no taste for the finer things in life.

He stirred his red sauce and checked the eel on the grill. Everything was just about ready.

He propped the door open so he could keep an eye on the galley and headed out onto the deck with some beer to wait for Jack.

And kick another of those damn porg things off his ship.

[for the one mentioned in the narrative. And thus ends my mini-spam]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

"Haven't been here that long yet," Duke said. "Give it time."

It didn't help his rep that people around here were generally nice. And he tended to just give back whatever was thrown at him.

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack smirked, "Time will tell, but when it comes to instinct I always bet on mine."

[betterthanaplan]

"Mmhm." Duke finished his wine and reached for the bottle. "You know, you're not that high on the asshole scale either, from what I can tell. Abrasive, sure, but that's not actually the same thing."

[biotic_psychotic]

"It's this whole new fuckin' thing I'm trying," she acknowledged, "Being a person. It keeps my family off my goddamn back."

[betterthanaplan]

"So family can actually be a good influence?" Duke rocked his head back, surprised. "Huh. Who knew."

[biotic_psychotic]

"Don't know how other families are," Jack shrugged, "I chose mine. Whether or not they're a good fuckin' influence, jury's still real goddamn out but they sure as hell try."

She was still baffled. Shook her head and took a long drink of wine, "And that's still real fucking weird." Jack tilted him a look, "You don't have family or they the kind that suck? Not tryin' to pry, just seems to be a common theme for most people here, too. Hernando's the only person I met here who had like, a happy childhood. Kaidan's the only person I know still got an actual parent still alive."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shrugged. "My mom might still be out there somewhere. Not in any rush to find out. Got a bunch of brothers, pretty much all of them useless. Haven't had much use for any of them in . . . a long-ass time."

[biotic_psychotic]

"That blows," Jack noted, "At least mine got that goin' for 'em. They ain't useless, any of 'em." She snorted, "Nah, that's my job."

[betterthanaplan]

"Useless," Duke said. "You." He shook his head. "Lies work better if they're believable, Jack."

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack looked at him for a moment, head tilted slightly to one side. "Ain't one," she noted with a shrug, "I meant it as another fuckin' weird thing. My whole fuckin' life, I've been good at one thing. None of 'em got a use for it. And they're still fuckin' here. I don't get it. Ain't used to people like that."

She huffed a laugh, "But now they're stuck with me so I guess that's some fuckin' payback."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke hummed a little, thoughtfully. "Guess you'll have to find something else to be good at, then."

[biotic_psychotic]

"Been tryin' the teaching thing," she agreed, "I don't suck at it. Grissom keeps throwing new kids at me and this place lets me teach whatever the fuck I want." Another drink of wine and then it was her turn to reach for the bottle. "Surprised the shit outta me, that first year at Grissom. I hadn't even been around kids since I fuckin' was one, suddenly I got a bunch of teenagers in my life and a goddamn war brewed up."

[betterthanaplan]

"Damn. And here I thought just getting teenagers thrown at me was weird enough. I sure as hell wouldn't want a war on top of that."

[biotic_psychotic]

"Nobody sane ever would," Jack said dryly. "Wasn't like I didn't know it was coming. One of the reasons I took the fucking job."

[Just got to cop Duke episode and Nathan talking to him oh my god.]

[betterthanaplan]

"Wow," Duke said with a smirk. "What an asshole thing to do."

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack snorted. "Happened after exposure to the hero squad and surviving a suicide mission. I plead insanity."

[betterthanaplan]

"Or maybe," Duke said. "You just needed someone to believe in you."

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack made a loud and long retching noise. "What, and then my fucking heart grew three sizes? Fuuuck that noise."

[betterthanaplan]

"Hey, I didn't say you learned the true meaning of Christmas or anything. Just, you know, goldfish only get as big as the bowl they're in."

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack snorted. "You've known me five minutes and now you're handing me the fortune cookie shit too?"

She was amused. "You really fucking do sound like Kanan."

[betterthanaplan]

"Damn. I was going for sounding like an asshole."

[biotic_psychotic]

"You really don't," Jack drawled.

[betterthanaplan]

"No? Damn. Usually the smarmy philosophical shit drives people right up the wall. Maybe I should have thrown in some 'Buddha says'."

[biotic_psychotic]

"You gotta up your game, buddy," Jack laughed, "Buddha ain't got shit on the Asari." She nodded at the empty plates, "You said you learned to cook as a kid?"

[betterthanaplan]

“Started to,” Duke said. “Made dinner for me and my dad most nights before he died, but that was usually just heating up soup. After . . . wasn’t anyone else around who was going to feed me, and I got pretty sick of soup. So I learned.”