trans_9 | A break from the break

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A break from the break

Tim had returned to the ship for a time, wanting to get away from 'Happy Happy Fun World,' at least for a while. He might still return later, to make sure there was no trouble, but for the time being? He'd much rather be back on the ship.

After getting some rest (and probably sleeping longer than he had in a long time), he had, of course, returned to work. There was something nice about the opportunity to get some work done in relative silence, anyway.

First, as Red Robin, he had spent a bit of time in each of his departments, checking up on individual projects, seeing if there were loose ends he could tie up, or else new things he could work on, in the meantime. Even if it was supposed to be an extended break, he didn't really feel at ease if he thought there were things that could use working on.

And, eventually, he shed the costume in his room, and headed to Hydroponics. The closest thing to fresh air on the ship might be nice for the lingering headache he still had, if nothing else. He settled himself under a tree, a terminal in hand with a novel on it-- to switch to in case someone came to investigate what the shifty teen was looking at. Otherwise, he would be working on some work from programming, seeing if he could pick apart anything useful.

((ooc: Feel free to bother him as either Tim or as Red Robin-- he can basically be found anywhere as either, though he's prioritising his workplaces.))

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Tim really tried not to show the worry on his face when Zouichi approached him. This would be the first out-of-costume direct interaction, after all. Zouichi was smart enough to figure things out-- and, while it was pretty foggy in his memory, he was fairly sure he had slipped at some point during their last interaction.

He coughed slightly, trying to show it as surprise, and he flashed a winning smile. "Kind of," he said, making the effort to put his voice somewhere between Tim Drake and Tim Wayne-- private school educated, smooth talking socialite. "If we're going to have a break, I thought I'd rather spend it reading." He cast a glance up at the bird, but paid it no mind for now.

Zouichi blinked for a moment. Something about the voice...

And the build...

And the posture...

Oh, of course. It was Red Robin.

"What happened to your costume? Did you fall into a puddle on your way back?" Zouichi honestly thought this, or something like this, must have been exactly what had happened. Because Tim seemed really into wearing that suit, and so OBVIOUSLY.

Damnit.

Tim's posture stiffened slightly at the question, and the smile dropped just slightly. Obviously it was pointless to pretend to not know what Zouichi was talking about. And lying would get him nowhere, all things considered.

Maybe he should have used one of his sleazier voices after all.

"No," he said, dropping the friendly socialite voice completely, and edging towards Red Robin's voice. "Let's call it a break."

Zouichi took a seat nearby, although he still seemed a little puzzled. "I see. Well, I suppose everyone needs one sometime."

He raised his arm and on cue, Alan came fluttering down to perch on Zouichi's wrist. Good bird.

"So you're spending your vacation doing work?"

"Hn." Tim wasn't honestly a big fan of breaks, so he didn't reply to Zouichi beyond that.

He watched the bird for a moment, leaning back slightly as he did so. To the question, though, he frowned. This was an... odd situation, for him.

"I had some stuff I wanted to work on, yes," he said, glancing down at his terminal for a moment. He fidgeted with it for a moment, then asked, "So why are you back on the ship?"

"I had to make sure the fish were all right," Zouichi said, blinking. "Goldfish are pretty hardy, but even they need time to adjust to a new environment. I bought some fish food for them, too; they seem to like it."

Zouichi. Could not wait until they grew up.

"I'm still trying to come up with names for them."

"Fair enough," Tim said, nodding to that. "I guess if you're keeping pets you'd have to check up on them a bit." Tim had honestly never had a pet, so it was mostly a logic thing for him.

He hesitated, but when he spoke again, he'd dropped some of the edge off of his voice. "I'd offer to help, but you've already had a taste of my naming skills." Red Bird was just about the only thing he had ever named. Besides secret identities.

"Are you sure? I still have a couple left without names. I'm calling the biggest one Admiral Cartwright." Zouichi seemed uncharacteristically happy about the idea, as if he were trying to keep himself from smiling the entire time.

"I guess Howard might insist on naming one."

Edited 2011-10-17 21:48 (UTC)

Honestly, Zouichi's enthusiasm about that name (and one that meant something to Tim), made him actually smile. Not much of one, but it actually a bit more real than he was generally prone to. "Nice name," he said, a bit of amusement in his tone.

Ah, yes. The problem of having mutual-- what were they? Friends?-- somethings with someone. When one knew one identity, and the other a different identity. He'd have to deal with that sooner, rather than later.

"Asking friends is probably a good idea, yes."

Well, of course it was a nice name. Also, Admiral Cartwright was going to grow up and be a beautiful goldfish, so clearly he needed a name that was almost as magnificent. To grow into.

"You know, you have a pretty nice smile." Too bad Tim was so... well, Tim. And this was coming from someone was often told he needed to relax.

~~But Zouichi was relaxed~~

Tim's smile switched something considerably more embarrassed, at that. "Um, thanks," he muttered, shifting a little where he sat. He paused then, looking Zouichi over. After a moment, he began to speak again, voice careful, "It's Tim, by the way. When I'm like this only."

"Tim." He nodded in acknowledgment, giving Alan a little scratch behind the head. A surprisingly normal name, considering his other one.

Well, if he wanted to stick to two different personas, that was his business.

"So, how long do you think we'll be planetside for?"

Tim nodded back, before he frowned at the question slightly, thoughtful. "Hard to say," he admitted, with a shrug. "Probably a few more days, at least. Most of the crew could probably use a few more anyway."

"Hmm. Plenty of time for someone to get themselves in trouble. Are you sure you should be lounging around in Hydroponics?"

Was Zouichi... teasing Tim?

...yeah, basically.

Tim looked embarrassed again for a split second, before he gave Zouichi his best incredulous look. "What, don't you trust the crew to stay out of trouble for just a little bit longer, if I'm not around?" Zouichi, he is surprised at you.

Besides, he really is working on his 'break' anyway.

Zouichi smiled ever so slightly. "Okay, let's make a bet. I bet someone on this crew will do something to get themselves banned from the amusement park before this leave is over."

"With our rowdy bunch?" Tim rose an eyebrow at that. "Some points for clarification, first: do temporary bans count? Is this only for the remainder or the trip, or do bans that have already happened count? And what are the stakes?" There's a certain emphasis on that last one.

Zouichi waved a hand at all the qualifications -- jeez, Tim. "I will wager that sometime by the time this leave has ended, someone will have gotten themselves banned. And of course temporary bans count; if we're only going to be here a few days, it might as well be forever."

"Can't take it then, sorry," Tim said, shaking his head in an exaggerated regretful fashion. "Megan's already been banned for a few days, albeit for something innocuous. So I'd have already lost." Besides, Tim wouldn't trust himself to not pull strings or cheat, were he in Zouichi's position.

~~Why were you less trustworthy than the guy you didn't trust, Tim?~~

"Really? What'd she do?" Zouichi is half-surprised, half-amused. He'd expected maybe Lash or one of the less well-behaved crew members to be the first to cross that particular finish line.

"Oh, that's right. I owe you one answer from before. Did you want to collect on that?"

Edited 2011-10-20 18:56 (UTC)

~~Because it's in his nature to be sneaky okay~~

"It may or may not have involved the smuggling of kittens," Tim said casually, with a shrug.

Frowning, he let out a thoughtful noise. "Not yet," he said. "Provided there's no expiration date-- which I certainly don't recall you implying-- I think I'll hold onto it for now."

~~By the way Tim you look like Phoenix Wright in that picture~~

Zouichi tilted his head a little in an are you serious? gesture. "And now Security will have to bust the ship's first nefarious kitten-smuggling ring."

He tried to keep himself from rolling his eyes at Tim. "You know, if there isn't some fantastic dirt you can get on me now, I don't think there ever will be. But fine. Just try to use it before I forget."

~~can never unsee~~

"I guess so," Tim smirked. "Though Park Security seems to be more or less on top of that."

"Hn." He narrowed his eyes on Zouichi faintly. "Let's call it insurance, for now. I'm sure I'll use it soon enough."

"Insurance for what?" was Zouichi's natural question, though he doubted Tim was going to give him a straight answer.

Does Tim ever give a straight answer? "You never know what could come in handy, right?" he said, and his serious expression softened to a more coy smile. "But it's a bad habit of mine, I guess."

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