OT3-nanigans!

[phaselocknroll]

Comments

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Without his mask to conceal it, they're privy to the narrowing of Peter's eyes at that little barb. When she continues, though, he kind of. Wrinkles his nose. ]

I was gonna ask who could possibly say crap like that, but you know what? Different strokes, I guess.

We'd better head back to the ship before Rocket blows the facility up. How 'bout Goto picks the bar and I'll get the first round, huh?

[phaselocknroll]

I'm trying to think of an instance where "calibrating" could be even mildly seductive. So far, I've got nothing.

[ she gives a little nod ] Sounds good to me.

[stealwithit]

Trust me, I've mulled over that word and how it could possibly be seductive, myself. But when it comes to Shep and Garrus' relationship, you just kind of learn not to ask.

[ she still does, though. ]

And I've got a place. It's probably the closest thing Nos Astra has to anything remotely seedy. I'll send you the coordinates and meet you there?

[ using the Milano's private channel that she still mysteriously has access to, of course. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

Gotcha.

[ He tilts his head, gesturing to Maya that they ought to go. He was only partially joking about Rocket blowing the place up. ]

Try not to pilfer the entire lab in the meantime, Goto -- you take too long, and we're findin' our own seedy, gross bar. We've got some serious drinkin' to do.

[phaselocknroll]

[ She'll give Kasumi a little wave and head on out then! Though as they're walking, she glances at Peter over her shoulder ] So, what did you two chat about in the elevator?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ UH. Uh.

Peter, you know. Like, shrugs. Totally nonchalant. ]

Nothin' worth mentioning. Thief stuff.

[phaselocknroll]

Why do I get the feeling she was teasing you?

[nostalgiabomb]

'Cause she's Kasumi Goto and teasing is her default setting?

[phaselocknroll]

Pretty much.

Still, it's been nice working with her. It's a shame this is how it had to happen.

[nostalgiabomb]

Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure the doc would've learned his lesson.

Maybe next time we can rope her into another job without randomly running into her.

[phaselocknroll]

Ooh, that would be fun. I might mention it to her later to see if she'd be willing.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He sighs. ]

As long as you guys don't get distracted and talk about girl stuff on the job. Time and place, y'known?

[phaselocknroll]

Come on, Peter. We're professionals. Have some faith.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ That just. Gets a flat look as they board the ship. ]

Yeah, alright, whatever you say, dude.

[ A few moments later, Peter heads up to the flight deck to explain what happened. He blithely sidesteps the issue of keeping the doc alive (he knows he'd get flak for it) in favor of telling them they've got their money and are going for celebratory drinks, whenever Kasumi gets them coordinates. ]

[phaselocknroll]

[ It's really not long until said coordinates arrive, though the way they do catches Maya's attention ]

Why does she have the private comm frequency?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter huffs out an exasperated sigh. ]

Dude, if I knew, I wouldn't have to keep changing it.

And she still figures it out anyway.

[phaselocknroll]

So she's either way too good at her job or you're way too predictable.

Or possibly both.

[nostalgiabomb]

For the sake of my ego, I'm gonna say the first one. But if you want, you can pick it next time.

We got coordinates?

[phaselocknroll]

We do. Shall we head out?

[nostalgiabomb]

I'm pretty sure I was ready to start drinking about an hour ago.

[ Buuut he plugs in the coordinates, and the little ship roars to life; it's not too long before they're at the bar in question, and true to her word, it's about the seediest place Nos Astra has to offer. (He's not entirely sure how it is that he and his crew were synonymous with "seedy bars," but it's true enough that they definitely feel more at home in a shitty watering hole than a nice place with fancy lighting and customers without rap sheets as long as Peter's forearm.

Basically a second home at this point.)

The others usher out before them, Groot carrying Rocket on his shoulder to avoid losing the guy in the crowd (and also to ensure he has backup in case he causes trouble, which he most assuredly will). Maya and Peter bring up the end of their tiny procession, and Peter plugs in the codes to lock the ship up nice and tight. ]

[phaselocknroll]

[ Maya likes seedy bars. They remind her of Pandora, in a way. True, she and her fellow Vault Hunters spent most of their time in Moxxi's establishment, which was probably the most respectable and clean place on the entire planet, but they did hit up their fair share of dives outside of Sanctuary as well.

It's nice to know that the Guardians don't differ from the Vault Hunters all that much.

As they walk, she reaches for Peter's hand. Because clearly holding hands on the way into a seedy ass bar is totally romantic. (Theirs is an odd relationship.) ]

I wonder if it's just standard that every place has one incredibly shady bar to offer.

[stealwithit]

[ Unlike meeting at the base, when they arrive at the bar, they'll find that Kasumi has not beaten them there. The doctor's lab was chock-full of amazing tech, after all, and in the first place she couldn't leave his terminal without snooping through a few other files, first. That, combined with having to hack through security protocols to physically take some of the tech away from their stations, and then having to serve up another good dose of Overload at the merc captain as he comes back to and finds her in the labs on his way out.

But she gets away, like she always does, and she's really glad that her apartment is just a hop and a skip away, because she stops by to deposit the booty before heading on over to the bar.

Which is why she was not anywhere to be found for the next few minutes when Peter and Maya arrive, but soon enough, she's there, and she spots them by the bar holding hands. Adorable. It's crowded enough that she's able to slink up next to them like she came out of nowhere without even using her cloak after weaving through spaces between people and briefly hiding behind an elcor. ]

Hey there. Sorry I'm late.

[ A brief beat. ]

So where's Drax?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Like always, Peter decidedly does not jump out of his skin. He doesn't. Seriously. He never would. Of course not.

He does-- okay, he flinches, admittedly, bumping into Maya a bit. ]

Holy fucking hell, Goto. Please start wearing a bell.

[phaselocknroll]

[ For her own part... Maya is kind of used to it. Who would have known that hanging out with Zer0 would act as a primer for hanging out with Kasumi?

She puts her free hand on Peter's shoulder to steady him ]

Aw, you don't want to hang out with us? I'm hurt.

[stealwithit]

Okay, first?

[ She turns to Peter. ]

That's a cute idea, but no.

[ And then to Maya: ]

What? I'm just trying to give you two some quality time together.

[ She's half-serious, half-joking. Although her eyes are definitely still wandering for that big guy... ]