Shay had decided on the Space Station as a meeting place between her and Sean once SPACEcon was over with. The little cafe, tucked into a corner in the less popular section of the station, wasn't alien anything. By comparison, it was boring to all other places up here. That was exactly why Shay chose it.
She had already ordered herself a cup of coffee. Shay hadn't drunk any yet, but she held it with the lid off, so the steam wafted up against her face. A brief comfort. Her leg tapped, as it often did when she was in thought or stressed.
Shay wished the two of them could forgo any niceties. Sometimes, skipping to the middle was the nicest thing. No how are you's? No good days. Just being real.
Sean approved of the girl, even found himself warming up to her, but was still calculating. Trying to figure out how she fit into the group, the plans, even just as a friend. Although she'd said she was staying out of group business, she'd still be a factor of some sort. He'd never liked surprises. And Shay had gotten a lot more out of him in a short time than most people would have. Sean lied and kept up appearances as easily as a fish swam, probably couldn't stop scheming if he tried, and rarely gave away more than he got in return.
He watched her out of the corner of his eye, with a half-smile, while pretending to contemplate his own drink. Black coffee. Actually, he couldn't stand the stuff, but it seemed the safest option. He still regretted stealing those alien drinks earlier. It seemed like the thing to do though, put away his notebook and buy a drink. Set her at ease a little, though she might still see through him a bit. Thinking of acts, Sean found himself wondering how much of Shay's own weirdness, caffeine-induced or otherwise, was just that.
"'s a funny thing. 'Ow'd we end up 'ere?" Sean was aware that question could be interpreted in many different ways, and that was just what he intended. He was more interested in how she chose to interpret it than her actual answer anyway.
There was that practiced smile, the polite little laughter and a question that could be taken more than one way. That was part of a game. Shay knew this, not because she knew what Sean was playing at, but because she knew this game. All powerful people played that same game. Testing, searching, prodding.
Shay wouldn't deem herself a powerful being, but she was a unique one. She took on Regis advice to not play a human, not play whatever someone else was. She'd play the game like a Reaper, or different. That was to say; her game was different from others.
Where others looked for weaknesses or sought answers in how people might respond to a question or under pressure, Shay sought to know how someone treated those under their thumb. She searched for answers where others thought of only weakness.
"You wanted to know what happened between Fitz and I, right? That thing I mentioned, about limbo and death? And me, well, I just like talking to you."
And so, without further question, Shay launched into it as if they did this weekly and were used to the routine.
"Last year around Valentine's day, I had been murdered and revived. Was a new experience for me. Didn't know I could do that. Got some fancy new tattoos and powers to go along with the new life.
Anyway, I went to Fitz place -- we were friends back then. I guess I didn't know where else to go. I was afraid, you see. It was not pleasant, reviving. Either way, something strange happened. I can't explain it even now, at least not well. But I have this soul ability. It lets me connect to another person and gives... memories? Feelings? Everything to both me and whoever.
That happened. He saw death, and I saw... Fitz things. It fucked him up for awhile, I think."
She rose her hands lazily and gave him a smile that hid the severity of the story. "Your turn."
In the end, even he couldn't plan for everything, though he realy, really hated that. Well he'd gotten his answer though he wasn't sure what to do with it yet. "I never did enjoy death." He wasn't going to probe about her murder - death was personal and that was her business. He was happy that she liked talking to him, because in spite of her seemingly uncanny ability to partially read him, he enjoyed this too. He may have been prodding and playing, but he viewed himself as a piece just as much as he did anyone else - it was just how he related to the world.
"So ye saw things. Ye saw each other. Well then - s'pose 'e's lucky yer such a special girl. I'm sure y'already know 'e's a great guy." His accent had thickened with his level of comfort, not because he was actively trying to fool anyone, but because it was the closest thing to a natural accent he had. This entire time he'd kept up a neutral half-smile never quite looking directly at her.
It all made the brief dropping of his act very clear, as he looked straight at her and said in flawless English, "If I had thought you were taking advantage of Fitz, I would have made your life a living hell." It wasn't exactly a threat, and Sean knew that Fitz could take of himself, but he cared about any friends he did manage to make. Mostly he was letting Shay know the kind of person he was without openly admitting to anything. And yet again poking for a reaction.
"My turn?" The smile had returned to his face and was mostly genuine. "What did ya want ta know? I'm not sure which of my stories would be of any interest. But how about - what I do tell ya won't be a lie."
While Sean might have been not looking directly at Shay, she was doing the exact opposite. Her stare was piercing, not unkind, but certainly, could be construed as too intense.
She grinned when Sean told her he'd have made her life hell if she were using Fitz. "That just makes you a good friend. I would expect no less and know Theo would have done the same for me... Has done the same for me," she added the last bit with a discomforted glance to her right.
Clearing her throat, Shay went back to smiling, much in the same way Sean was. She noted that, if he were playing any game with her, Shay couldn't see it. He wasn't trying to intimidate her or get the better of her. It was too people just talking and trying to figure each other out.
"I'd like that," she told him. "I know most people don't like to open up. You don't need to open up to me the way I might to you. But I'd still like to know something about you. So long as it's true, I don't even care if it's your favorite type of drink or dinner."
And the crew was entertaining. Boredom and loneliness were still a problem for a god. His smile at Shay's comment was a little more genuine, though it hadn't been completely faked anyway. "I spose I never made many friends t'know that. 'Ad to travel too much."
For a god of language, he didn't think he was that great at this kind of friendly discussion either. He could do small talk or general chatter, but he was generally a background kind of guy. Sean wasn't bold and he wasn't honest, and this conversation was a little more impromptu than he was used to. Some things were easier when he was a little drugged, not that he'd ever admit that.
He laughed a bit. "Thought ya'd be more interested in stories about the boss than 'earing about me. But I did promise something true so... I like Twinkies and candy - all that stuff ya 'ear people saying ye shouldn't eat too much of. Fortunately I don't need to eat 'ealthy. Unfortunately, 'ave to watch out for 'oney or... well ye've seen it." Definitely still embarrassed by that.
"About Fitz?" Shay laughed a little. "I can hear all the stories about him anytime. I think you'd give those easily. Besides, I talk to him all the time; I know a lot about him." She steepled her hands and grinned at him."Oh, yeah," she laughed when he brought up the honey. "Don't worry; I won't tell anyone about that. That sucks, though. I love those little honey candy chews, but I think they have like a drop of honey and more starch and sugar. Sounds about right."
While Sean was quiet, Shay was talkative. She hadn't always been, but sometime throughout her life, she had learned to use it as a defense mechanism. If you were always talking, people didn't think to look at you too hard. They thought they knew you and things were easy.
She sighed somewhat dreamily and looked out into the view of space they had from where they sat. She let a comfortable silence befall them. Fitz's friends were odd but nice. She fit in with them better than she thought she would. Shay had been afraid, and she was less so now. Maybe she could handle all this after all.
Never one to take things at face value, perhaps because he'd spent his whole life hiding behind people's assumptions, Sean just watched the girl, or woman rather, as she talked. He wasn't exactly pleased with the topic of his little weakness, though he'd been the one to bring it up. But as embarrassing as it was, it was both a truth about himself and something she already mostly knew. A safe truth, if there was such a thing. And he was fine with telling the truth as needed - lying just to lie would be foolish.
Still he didn't offer more when Shay let the silence stretch. Instead trying to organize his thoughts as best as he could without his notebook handy. This one seemed special. As much as the scheming god did not like surprises, he could adjust to them remarkably well, and at least Fitz had fallen for someone perceptive and intelligent. For a moment Sean considered telling her this, but he didn't think it was necessary. She either knew or she didn't and his compliments probably wouldn't matter much.
Instead he settled for murmuring, "I approve," loud enough for her to hear, but quiet enough that it could be interpreted as something he'd said to himself.
"I am that type of person," Shay laughed with him, face heating a little at the teasing. Shay wouldn't have called this growing silence between them particularly uncomfortable, but it was awkward. Two people who weren't sure what to say to one and other. Two people lost in their thoughts. Everything was odd and changing.
Last time Shay had been at the space station, her heart had been breaking, but now she felt lightheaded and all flustered. She'd entirely gotten over Toby. She hadn't ever loved him, but she'd felt understood by him.
When Sean spoke about approval, Shay paused and looked at him genuine confusion on her face. She'd barely heard him she was so far from this place.
She wanted to ask what he'd said, but figured he was talking to himself. He'd been speaking quietly enough to do so. She scratched a little at her cheek, looking down at her hands and smiling nervously.
"We're both awkward."