Whatever Gets You Through the Night [Semi-Private]

[gabriel]

Fin sat up immediately when he heard the first knock, his head poking over the side of the top bunk. He didn't like the bottom one, it felt too closed in, like a cage. He'd tried sleeping in the room they'd gave him but he'd had the same problem. So he picked the top bunk and he tried to sleep. It never really worked though.

He stared down at Suji, his eyes wide, his breathing shallow. He felt like his heart was racing a mile a minute. How come he hadn't heard her? She'd gotten too close and he hadn't heard her.

He just stared for about three seconds and then he blinked. "Um, yeah, Suji, yeah," he began stammering, his head disappearing back over the edge of the bunk. "I'm, yeah, I'm," he poked his head back over to look down at the faction leader he hadn't seen since he'd dragged her here half dead. It had only been a couple of days ago. Really? So long?

"What's...uh, yeah what's that," he finally got out, trying to regain some of his usual composure. He didn't want her to see him this out of sorts but even as he climbed down from the bunk he kept looking around to see if there was anything or anyone else hiding in the shadows. He tried out his usual smart ass grin but it came out a little weak. His bare feet touched the floor and only then did he think about the hour. He was up but he was always up. Why was she here and why was she coming to find him now.

"Oh," he said starting to look around again, "is there...are we being attacked," the last word fell flat and dead on his own ears. He just couldn't manage to find an emotion to fit it so it had just come out...blah. God he hoped they weren't being attacked.

[Suji]

Fin looked twitchy. Beyond twitchy. But she couldn't blame him. If she wasn't so beyond caring what happened to her, she might be the same. She doubted Fin would ever be beyond caring what happened to him, though. He climbed out of bed without much prompting, and Suji instinctively stepped back a little to give him space.

The truth was, she had no idea how she was supposed to act around Fin. They had both been each others savior, in a way. But it didn't feel like it made them even. Suji had never really had to be "saved" before -- even the day Luce found her, she'd never been as lost and vulnerable as she had when Fin had brought her the rest of the way to Vegas. That it had been Fin to be the first to save her, when he hadn't seemed to ever really save anyone else, didn't sit easily. It didn't feel like they were "even" -- it felt like there was some sort of strange unfinished business that hung between them, some invisible chains that bound them together. And there was no way to foresee the consequences of that.

"No." Suji answered definitively, and was actually a little surprised that he was the only one to ask her that in the past couple of days when she woke them up at night. "Nothing like that." She held up the cupcake at almost eye level, waving it back and forth a little. "Baking treats for the Vegas faction, since they're letting us crash here with them. Like to come help out?"

She held out the cupcake to him. "Here, try it. I can't even remember the last time I ate a homemade cupcake."

[gabriel]

Fin looked at the cupcake as if it was a poison apple for a moment. It was the last thing he had ever expected to Suji to say and his eyes just followed the cupcake as she waved it in front of him, waiting for something vile and evil to pop out. But nothing did, it just maintained its normal cupcakeness.

Fin reached out slowly and took the cupcake from Suji's hand, still watching it. It just sat there in his hand, looking delicious and completely out of place. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen anything that looked like dessert that had been shrink wrapped and abandoned on some gas station shelf. And thinking of that reminded him of the gas station, of the many gas stations. He started smelling yoohoo and burned rubber and dust.

"I don't want it," Fin said quietly, holding it out for Suji to take back. "You can have it if you want," he added as an awkward afterthought. He appreciated that the cupcake was some type of friendly gesture he just...it made him feel sick to think about eating it. "I'll help though," he added, his tone subdued. "Vegas has been pretty...you know, they helped us out when we needed it so I'll help make cupcakes. And uh, thank you, for the cupcake I mean...it, yeah thanks."

[Suji]

Suji didn't say much, but she did nod and take the cupcake back. The truth was, she hadn't even really thought about eating one herself. She'd tasted the batter to make sure it was okay, but her appetite hadn't really been existent lately. The food she did eat she made sure was loaded with fat and calories, at least at first, to make her feel a little less weak and frail. Now though, it seemed futile to bother. She did it to have the energy to carry herself through her last days (or hours), and not much more.

But she knew that the others would appreciate the sweets. Suji had a found memory of spending a rainy day in Dallas camped out in an abandoned movie store eating candy with Drake while they watched... what had it been?

The Lion King. That was it. A simple cartoon, a Disney version of Hamlet. Suji thought about that -- the lion part in particular -- and quickly moved her mind past it. The animal reminded her distantly of Dallas.

"I'll probably pass, too. There's going to be chocolate and strawberry and whatever, if either of those flavors sound better." They probably wouldn't, but Suji felt obligated to tell him. "If you'd rather not, it's no problem." And she meant it. Maybe the spongy, refined-sugar texture gave him the creeps now or something. He had eaten Twinkies for a couple days straight, last she remembered. "But I figure it probably beats trying to fall asleep, or the dreams..."

Suji's voice trailed off, and she looked away. "Anyway, we're in the kitchen. You wanna change clothes? I can wait and we can walk together, or you can meet us in there. I've rounded up-" she stopped herself from saying 'the rest of Dallas' and smoothly inserted "-Aubrey and Drake."

[gabriel]

Fin blinked at her confused and then looked down at his clothing. He was wearing one of his two morphing outfits, a white t-shirt that Drake had given him when he'd gotten here and a pair of bicycle shorts though, since he hadn't seen a bike in over a year, he supposed they could be called morphing shorts now. All of his other clothing had been left in Dallas and all he had now was this shirt and shorts that Drake had given to him and his original morphing suit that was much the same except in slightly different colors.

He hadn't really thought about acquiring real clothing, he didn't see the point. Whenever he took a shower he just walked in with this clothes on, washed them in there, and put on the second set before hanging the first up to dry. In Vegas things dried in about an hour, especially the thin material of the morphing suits, and he'd never had a problem taking a shower whenever he'd wanted one and having something to change into.

"Uh," he looked up to the bunk and the other set of clothes that hung on the head board. Now that he thought about it Drake had probably given this stuff as some sort of pajamas that first night and he had just completely misunderstood the gesture. "I don't have any other clothing," he finished, looking back at Suji. "So, I mean, is this ok," he said pulling at the shirt. "I don't bake much," he finished weakly.

((If you want to have them go to the kitchen after this its fine.))

[Suji]

"It's fine," Suji answered. She didn't wear a morphing outfit at all any more. Hers had... well, she'd shed it when she'd shed the body that was wearing it, and refusing to morph kind of negated any need to replace it. Even the thought of the skin-tight fabric make her feel a little nauseas.

She led the way back to the kitchen, holding the door for Fin when they came to it. Inside it smelled warm and sweet, and she carefully placed the uneaten cupcake down with the other ones of its kind that Aubrey had frosted. It looked like she'd mostly finished with these.

"All right," Suji said, and realized that she was about to give them all assignments. She quickly back-pedalled, stopping herself. Who was she to give orders? The fact that it was so second nature make her shift uncomfortably. "What does everyone want to do? If you guys just want to decorate you can, I don't mind baking. There are a lot of different things you can use."

She pointed out the dyes, colored sugar, sprinkles, and so on.

"I figured we would just make enough that no one will ever want to see a cupcake again," she said with a slow smile.

[Drake]

"I voumeer t be da mff ompher!" crumbs sprayed everywhere as Drake tried to talk with a mouthful of cupcake. He had snuck another one when he got to the kitchen and hadn't finished eating it yet. He swallowed hard, feeling the semidry snack work its way down his esophagus. "Ahem. I volunteer to be the taste tester."

Since he figured that wasn't a valid choice, he quickly picked out a different job as a backup choice. "Either that or I can pour the batter. I'll try not to eat it all before it gets a chance to bake." Drake had a huge grin on his face. This was going to be so much fun! He had never been part of a late-night baking party before. Or a baking party at all, for that matter.

[gabriel]

"Way to take my job," Fin said as he walked in behind Suji. He was trying to make a joke but it came out sounding tired and flat to his own ears and it caused a moment of awkward silence. He really hated those awkward silences and he'd been encountering a lot of them lately. It was like no one knew exactly what to say to him or any of the survivors of Dallas. He had hoped that being among the other survivors would change things, that they would understand or at least Suji would. But even if they'd shared the same things he and Suji were obviously not the best of friends and there were awkward silences between them too.

Fin tried to cover up the awkward moment by picking up an apron and tying it around his waist. It said, "Kiss the Cook." He walked over to the baking supplies. "Since Drake took the best batter job I'll take the second. I'll stir." He began to look for the electric stirrers and for a moment he couldn't find them and he had reason to regret his choice. Stirring by hand would be hard work.

But as he walked past bowls of batter and smelled the sweet cupcakes that were already made or were baking he had to smile. It had been a long time since he'd baked anything but he didn't have a bad memory of baking. For once there was nothing to remind him about the war or about Dallas or about the Hive or the Cave (as he'd come to think of the cave they'd sheltered in). There was nothing here but normalcy. "Let's bake."

[Aubrey]

"Hey guys!" Aubrey called out, smiling brightly as Drake and Fin entered the room along with Suji. She'd been busy at work frosting the cupcakes, and had already managed to mess up a couple times. One of the vats had fallen over, splattering an arc of frosting that Aubrey had briefly mopped up--the residue still lingering on the cold ground--and a couple cupcakes had accidentally found their way, upside-down, on the table.

Once everyone got settled into what they were going to do, Aubrey--still humming--continued on with her job. She'd done a couple batches by now, and was working on the last remaining cupcakes in her latest batch. "Do you guys want one of the ones I've frosted?" There would probably be enough cupcakes for the entire Vegas faction, including the people from Dallas. It wouldn't hurt to taste a few.