(no subject)

[aimedforthemoon]

from here:

Esfir leads Cal into to her room and shuts the door behind them. Her room has changed from the last time he was here - she's been building bookcases, and even though one is incomplete with tools and pieces of wood on the floor, the room looks more homey.

On the wall is pin-up board, complete with both black-and-white and colour photographs of her old life, but the model aircraft are gone from her desk.

"Um, mind the mess."

Comments

[aimedforthemoon]

That gets a choked laugh.

"Thank you."

[isaysimplewords]

Cal puts an arm around her shoulders and gives her a gentle squeeze.

"You're welcome."

It's not even a come-on.

[aimedforthemoon]

She sighs and presses a hand to her eye.

"Well, at least I know. I have time to come up with something witty to say."

[isaysimplewords]

Cal grins. "That's right. Now you get to come up with just the right thing to say to knock him on his ass. Not a lot of people get to do that." He is glad he could help.

[aimedforthemoon]

"Brilliant! Except I am...so bad at that."

[isaysimplewords]

"You'll figure something out," Cal says. "You've got a way with words when you want to."

[aimedforthemoon]

"Comforting."

Beat.

"There are also aliens that are like wlaking fish."

[isaysimplewords]

Cal nods. "Yeah, they've got some interesting ones," he says. Especially when you're high.

[aimedforthemoon]

"Yes. I...managed to keep a straight face until I got here."

She is very much not joking, either.

[isaysimplewords]

Cal laughs. "It must have been a hell of a surprise. That's a lot better than I would have managed."

[aimedforthemoon]

"I'm from Soviet Union. If you can't cope with odd things, you don't last very long."

She's smiling as she says it, though.

[isaysimplewords]

Cal laughs. "Yeah? When do they cover the fish aliens? Third grade or so?"

[aimedforthemoon]

"Other odd things. Beside, I did not go to school."

[isaysimplewords]

"How'd you learn what you need to know to be an astronaut, then?" Cal asks. You have to start at the beginning to understand all that stuff, right?

[aimedforthemoon]

"When I was selected, they taught me. Before that, was flight school, and before that...mostly, my aunt taught me. Then she called in a favour with a professor."

[isaysimplewords]

"How'd they pick you?" Cal asks.

[aimedforthemoon]

"They said they were looking for volunteers for something. I was at a loose end, had a feeling it was something to do with the space race, so I...stepped forward and apparently met all the criteria."

[isaysimplewords]

Cal smiles. "That's cool. Good for you."

[aimedforthemoon]

She smiles back.

"And then to show how grateful they were, we were packed off to a secret site where we had to hitchhike. But it...it was very good time."

[isaysimplewords]

"Hitchhike?" Cal asks. "Like, to get back?"

[aimedforthemoon]

Now it's a grin.

"Oh, no. Everywhere. Star City is a little town, so it takes time to walk or run across it. Quicker to hitchhike."

[isaysimplewords]

"Oh. Wow," Cal says brilliantly. "What'd you do there?"

[aimedforthemoon]

"Classified."

[isaysimplewords]

Cal just snorts. He does it while laughing, though, so it's an even more elegant sound than usual.

[aimedforthemoon]

"It is. I'd be shot if I were caught with you," she informs him, grin still there. "Certainly if I told you that we studied rocket theory and spacecraft engineering and such things."