fandomtownies | Trooper Station, Friday

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Trooper Station, Friday

Do you know what was super helpful when you were fighting off a lingering migraine?

Carol of the Bells playing nearly goddamn everywhere, that's what.

The Troopers had decided to combat this by singing any other Christmas carol that involved the word "bell" or "bells".

"I hate all of this," Liam decided with a sigh.

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"I don't do dates," Octavia repeated, shrugging. That wasn't really an actual answer to his question, though, except perhaps between the lines. "That wasn't a thing where I came from."

"Neither were pumpkin spice lattes," Liam pointed out. "Yet you still do those when the season comes around."

Octavia snorted. Quietly. "How's that comparable?"

"Because it's something from here you tried out, found you enjoyed, so kept seeking out," Liam pointed out. "Yes, it's on a smaller scale, but it's the same principle."

"I don't think the principle's enough for this one, Liam," Octavia replied mildly. "One's a drink, the other's... not."

"Okay," Liam shrugged. "Then how about: if it's okay for me, then why not for you?"

It was an argument he was pretty familiar with, although he was usually the one being asked that question.

"It doesn't fit me," Octavia pointed out, with the slightest frown. It wasn't a part of this time's culture that she wanted to adapt to. "Doesn't have anything to do with whatever words you choose to use about anything you do."

“Okay, well, that’s different from ‘It wasn’t a thing where I came from’,” Liam pointed out.

"Doesn't fit me because it wasn't a thing there," Octavia replied very, very dryly.

With a hint of sounding annoyed, under the surface, yes.

“Okay,” Liam said again. He thought about pointing out how she’d told him she felt like she hadn’t belonged to the cultures that existed where she’d been from either, but he wasn’t actually trying to be annoying here. “But people who are familiar with the concept of dating are probably going to keep assuming stuff like that is a date. That’s all.”

Octavia and her various cultures were a very messy thing, he wasn't wrong about that.

"Yeah, and I wish they'd keep their thoughts to themselves."

“Well, message received, in my case, at least,” Liam told her. “Can’t do anything about anyone else, though.”

"I don't think that many people need to know what I'm doing, anyway."

She did not listen to the radio very ofen, no.

“Need to? Probably not. Don’t think the squirrels care overmuch about that part, though.”

"The squirrels don't count," Octavia drawled. "I meant anyone I would actually tell what I'm doing."

It was a very limited bunch.

Which kind of had him circling back to their first topic of conversation (or technically second, if you counted the complaints about the weird Christmas stuff.)

“Speaking of telling people what one’s doing... sorry I just took off the way I did, the other week.” Maybe his behavior at the party hadn’t worried her, exactly, but he’d heard the relief in her voice when she’d greeted him.

Edited 2019-12-20 22:45 (UTC)

"It's fine," Octavia replied in a mild tone, almost reflexively.

It was fine now that he was back. It had been slightly less so when it had happened.

“Still,” Liam said. “If you’d rather I let you know, next time, I can do that.”

He was still getting used to having people who cared about what he did beyond how it affected their particular goals.

Octavia was quiet for a good long moment.

Then, she admitted, "Yeah, I'd like that."

“Then that’s what I’ll do,” he promised. “Which, actually. Verity and I are planning to go to her family’s place over the break.”

"Good to know."

She said it mildly, but that didn't make it any less genuine or grateful. He was in the same category with Rey as people who routinely went away but also routinely, dependably came back - but that didn't mean that any vanishing on their part wouldn't make Octavia uncomfortable.

He also didn’t have any place else to go; the reality he’d come from wasn’t really home anymore, and Verity’s wasn’t home yet.

“Would you mind if I got you a Christmas present?” he asked. He’d kind of already done so, and arranged to have it delivered on the appropriate day. But given their conversation about her and not wanting to participate in things from this culture, he figured he’d ask, since there was still time to cancel and all.

"You really don't have to." Octavia was a little weird about getting presents. It wasn't bad, it was just... stll really unfamiliar to her. "But it's fine if you do. Though I think technically it might be a Candlenights present."

Since she was taking Magnus's holiday for a spin, this year.

(Though she was also probably going to end up doing a Christmas thing on the Cape Rouge, too.)