make a wish and i'll count to three [ota]

[resleeves]

» WHO? kovacs + you
» WHEN? mid june
» WHERE? various
» WHAT? backpack discovery, drinking, nostalgia, introspection
» WARNINGS? language, for sure. anything else, i'll update.

001. mess hall

[ hello unicorn.

it's the first thing that kovacs sees when he walks into the mess hall to get something to drink. hello unicorn emblazoned on a pink, dirty backpack. for a second, kovacs is taken right back to bay city, right back to that shitty dealer and his need to buy the whole fucking stash of drugs.

he can feel the harsh lights of the various establishments and smell the stench of booze and blood and death. for a second, kovacs just stares at the backpack, thinking it some kind of trick. when he realizes what the fuck he's doing, he steps closer and grabs the backpack.

it's light which means it's empty but it's still his and he doesn't waste any goddamn time in hefting it on one shoulder and then sitting down to eat.

hello unicorn. ]

002. bar

[ he's still wearing the backpack. in fact, he hasn't really taken it off since it showed up and he doesn't plan on it either. it doesn't matter that the fucker's empty, it matters that it's hit, it's from bay city and that's enough for a signal for him to tell him that he'll get back there one day.

but, today is not that day so today, he's drinking. while he drinks, he settles the backpack on the bar and goes through it again. there's still nothing but he wants to make sure he hasn't missed anything.

and then he decides to slide a bottle inside of the backpack and zip it up.

now, it's not empty. ]

003. observation area

[ that stupid fucking backpack's made him think of quell. he doesn't know why since she'd never seen it before, not even when she decided to pop up and fuck him up even more. but, he's desperate enough that he doesn't even mind when she appears to him and only him.

he misses her. that's the bottom line. he misses quell but it's a fucking stupid thing to be experiencing because she's dead and she's not coming back. not this time. her stack's probably in little pieces over harlan's world.

why hadn't he stopped to try and find it?

waste of time. ]

Fuck you.

[ and then he punches the observation window, doing absolutely no damage to the thick glass but cracking his knuckles a bit.

good. ]

Comments

003!

[marineris]

[Bobbie has fallen into a routine of doing rounds of the station twice a day, partially because it's habit and partially because, most of the time, there's absolutely nothing to do here. They're trapped, and until they get more than the shreds of information they're working with now, that isn't going to change soon.

Stations and ships in space tend to all fall into the same monochromatic color scheme, and pink certainly isn't a part of it, so when she catches her backpack out of the corner of her eye, it pulls her up short. She's heading towards Kovacs, about to ask him what the hell that thing even is, when he punches the window and she slows. That looked like it hurt.]

Everything alright?

Re: 003!

[resleeves]

Yep.

[ nope. ]

Just thought my hand could use some red to go with the ever present pale.

[ he shifts the backpack from one shoulder to the other and then looks back at her, expressionless. ]

Pretty, isn't it?

[marineris]

[Bobbie isn't entirely sure if he's talking about the blood, his backpack, or the view outside. She frowns a bit, but nods, crossing the room to join him.]

Let me see your hand.

[resleeves]

[ kovacs holds his hand up, waves it at her and then drops it back to his side, ignoring that stab of pain that slides through his fingers and up into his wrist. ]

There, you saw it.

[ he was adorable. and in a shitty mood so buyer beware. or buyer come closer and poke the bear if that's your thing. he's got a little something for everyone. ]

[marineris]

[Bobbie rolls her eyes.]

Adorable. I want to make sure you didn't break anything.

[resleeves]

I didn't.

[ he doesn't offer her his hand. ]

Don't you think I'd be doing a lot of screaming and crying and snotting all over the fucking place if I had broken bones?

[ totally his thing! ]

[marineris]

You do strike me as the type.

[She couldn't sound more sarcastic if she tried.]

What did the window do to you?

[resleeves]

Liar.

[ he wasn't that much of a prima donna, bobbie. ]

Nothing. It just happened to be there and I felt like punching something.

[ seemed like a good enough excuse. his hand doesn't think so but fuck his hand. fuck this whole situation. ]

Don't tell me you're gonna protect the window.

[ he huffed irritably and took the backpack off, dropping it on the floor before he took a seat beside it, back to the stars. ]

[marineris]

I'm not worried about the window, I'm worried about you.

[God, he's so pissy!]

[resleeves]

Why?

[ who the fuck worried about him? the only two people who did that were either fucking dead or they were ghosts who popped up to toy with him.

not that he's bitter or anything even though he sounds it. ]

[marineris]

Most people don't punch a window that thick unless something's gone sideways.

[resleeves]

Oh, I was fragged before I even fucking got here.

[ seeing ghosts didn't exactly make him all good in the head, did it? good thing no one knew that. ]

But, you really don't need to worry. I won't endanger anyone.

[ he smiles thinly. ]

That doesn't deserve it.

[marineris]

I'm not worried about you endangering anyone, either. You don't have to talk to me about whatever's going on, but bottling it up isn't going to do you any good.

[resleeves]

You're right.

[ treasure those words, they were a rare thing. ]

Sign me up for the first fucking appointment for this station's psychologist. We have one of those, right? Let's have her crack my head open and play with all the bits inside of it.

[ okay maybe don't treasure it. ]

I'm not bottling anything up. You can pat yourself on the back for doing your good deed for the day.

[marineris]

[She rolls her eyes.]

So you're going for hardened asshole? I should've guessed.

[resleeves]

Why do you care?

[ you shouldn't. no one should. ]

I'm not your fucking concern. I'm not your charity case.

[ lashing out was easy, it was normal. it was what he did. ]

Besides, I punched a window. That's me coping.

[ even if it had hurt. ]

[marineris]

I don't do charity cases, and I care because there are about a hundred of us on this bucket. We need to stick together, whether that makes you chafe or not.

[resleeves]

[ he makes a face up at her, a clear illustration of what he thinks of that. even though he's just gotten comfortable, he pushes himself up to his feet again because she's tall and he wants to be taller.

because he's a child sometimes. ]

And what if I don't wanna stick together?

[ that sounded a little too kumbaya for him. ]

What if I decide I wanna fuck things up just because I can?

[ would he actually do that? hard to tell but it was a possibility. ]

[marineris]

[She looks unaffected when he stands, though it's obvious what he's doing.]

Then I'll do a lot worse than break your hand.

[She says it as a statement of fact, not a boast or a threat.]

I'd rather it not come to that.

[resleeves]

You could try.

[ but if he wanted to cause destruction, he would. even if that included destroying himself.

it was a bad day, sorry bobbie. he'd be back to regular asshole in...a little while. ]

Wouldn't work.

[marineris]

I've heard that before.

[But she's really not trying to start some sort of argument over who would win in a fight, so she pivots a bit.]

Look, you're a dick, but I like you. [Mostly!] That's the reason I'm asking. I'm not pitying you.

[resleeves]

Are you often a fan of dicks?

[ phrasing! ]

You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine.

[ mostly! ]

Punching that window got it aaaaall out of me.

[ nay but it sounded good. ]

Find me some booze and a doll and I'll rid myself of the rest.

[ this is what you liked (mostly), bobbie. ]

[marineris]

I'm not going to help you with that.

[Duh, Kovacs! But then she smiles.]

But if you really think you're so much stronger than me, you can prove it.

[resleeves]

Can I now?

[ he tilts his head and waits expectantly for this proof he can apparently provide. ]

How so?

[ fine, he'd prompt if he had to. ]

[marineris]

[She jerks a thumb over her shoulder.]

There's a whole gym on this station, you know. Come spar with me.