33 Apocalypse Ave., Thursday Morning

[not_in_the_book]

Waking up early, Ronan slipped out of bed -- being careful not to wake the other occupants -- slipped on some pyjama pants and a t-shirt, and opened and closed the door as quietly as possible as he left the room.

Coffee first, he thought, and then he might as well get started on breakfast.

[For the housemates! Or anyone else who wants to call/drop by/whatever.]

Comments

[not_a_whiner]

Well, Kaidan's head was pounding - he was really hoping that whatever the others had been up to last night hadn't triggered another migraine attack. And... that was as far as he wanted to go with that train of thought. What they did was their, uh, business.

Though he was kind of wondering if maybe he was intruding by having moved in in the first place.

None of which were things he said out loud as he came downstairs that morning, eyed Ronan, considered starting a conversation in about three different ways, and settled on...

"Coffee?"

[not_in_the_book]

Ronan nodded. "Coffee," he said, pouring Kaidan a mug from the French press.

After a beat, he added, "... Sorry?"

[not_a_whiner]

"Yeah," Kaidan started.

Then he reached for the mug.

"I... should probably buy some earplugs."

They were going to make him feel old.

[not_in_the_book]

Ronan winced slightly. "I, uh. If it happens again, I'll make sure to soundproof the room first. I should have thought of it last night."

[not_a_whiner]

"No, it's fine, it's your house," Kaidan said. He took a sip of his coffee. "Sorry. Haven't had my caffeine shot yet."

[not_in_the_book]

"Your house, too," Ronan pointed out. He considered the French press for a moment before moving to the espresso machine.

He was pretty sure today called for the strong stuff. And anyway the press was going to be drained pretty soon.

"Scrambled, fried, or boiled?"

[not_a_whiner]

"Just fried will be fine," Kaidan said, leaning back against the counter. "So... end of the semester's coming up."

See that subtle segue there.

[not_in_the_book]

"I can't believe how quickly it went by," Ronan said, dropping some bacon into a pan and setting it sizzling.

Mmm, bacon.

"So what do you think of the place now?"

[not_a_whiner]

"It's nice," Kaidan said, and he was honest about that. "Bewildering, but nice. Quiet, though."

[icecoldfrost]

"We weren't that loud, make Ronan shield your room if he hasn't already, and don't be a moron. If we minded having you here, someone would say so, and it's not like we hold regular orgies."

Sorry, Kaidan, but Emma's blunter-than-usual - and less willing to try and block out basic narrative - before her fifth (or sixth) cup of coffee. Hazard of living with her.

[not_a_whiner]

One of these days, Kaidan was going to stop doing the mental equivalent of jumping when she did that.

One of these days.

Today was not that day.

"...Morning, Emma. Uh... sorry about the static."

Yes. Stellar, Kaidan.

[icecoldfrost]

Emma waved one hand negligently as she headed to the fridge to root for leftovers to take to work for lunch. "Thank you, darling, but I don't expect people to be completely alert and static-less in the mornings. Not before food."

"Just not loud. Loud bad. Idle musings fine."

[not_a_whiner]

"I'll try and keep that in mind."

Going to try and do it, too. Not just because of her, but because he liked the challenge of the discipline required.

"You want another cup of coffee?"

It seemed like the go-to thing this morning.

[icecoldfrost]

"Mmm...I'm only around another few weeks before going back to school, but between some lessons from me and a few from Ronan, I'm sure we could give your mental discipline a work-out routine that will make anyone trying to mess with your mind wish they'd picked an easier target," Emma offered. "Please, darling. Coffee is always the way to woo me."

[not_a_whiner]

"I'll remember that, too," Kaidan promised her, his mouth quirking up a little.

Then he turned around to go and pour another mug. "What are you studying anyway?"

[icecoldfrost]

"What I'm not studying might make a shorter list," she offered dryly. "I've actually finished a number of courses online this summer, but as it stands my majors are business, psychology, and human development, with a minor in biology. Genetics, to be exact, but they don't have a specialized track for that."

"Psych is almost completely done, and luckily overlaps with many of my optional credits for human development. And they actually let me fill my student-teaching credit here, with the class you came to."

Suckers.

[not_a_whiner]

"Did you put that on the form with the actual title of your class?" Kaidan asked. "...Either way, I'm impressed. But now I'm curious."

[bitten_notshy]

"Hi," Jack said, a bit sheepish. He honestly disliked dragging anyone he wasn't sleeping with into his sex life, but he supposed if he felt that way about it he should avoid threesomes in occupied buildings from now on.

None of which was what he said.

"Do you need cream?"

[not_a_whiner]

... Jack, that was terrible.

Which made Kaidan chuckle briefly in an awkward sort of way. "No, thanks. I'll stick with plain coffee," he said. "And morning, by the way."

[bitten_notshy]

It was a thing. That followed logically and did not involve discussing the particulars of what anyone did in bed.

It could have been much, much worse.

"Morning," Jack seconded, a bit dryly. "Do you have plans for the day?"

[not_a_whiner]

"Take a run around the island, finish up some reports," Kaidan said with an idle shrug.

He didn't voice his relief that they weren't going to talk about that, but it was kind of visible in his stance. "Nothing really exciting. How about you?"

[bitten_notshy]

"About the same," Jack said. "Eric's got me booking some travel, and I need to call the college and see if they're letting me back in. But besides that ... pretty lazy kind of day."

[not_a_whiner]

"You going back to college next month?" Kaidan asked him with actual interest in his voice. "What are you majoring in anyway?"

[bitten_notshy]

"I will if all the damned paperwork goes through," Jack sighed.

International, interdimensional transfers were never exactly going to run smoothly, especially when you factored in certain ... irregularities in the student's identification. But Jack's was almost there. Mostly.

"And history, actually. But only because I want to be a lawyer and I'm told that's a common path to law school. And I like it." He raised his eyebrows. "Did you go?"

[not_a_whiner]

"No," Kaidan admitted. He took a sip of his coffee. "I attended a biotics training program called BAaT when I was a teenager. It was... heavy. Thought I'd do some soul-searching afterwards, then I signed on with the Alliance and I never looked back."

The tech nerd in him sometimes kind of regretted that. But only a little.

"Still, history. That ought to give you a good foundation for whatever comes next."