[26] - [Video]

[sharpememory]

[Barron: hit by the honesty bomb. He's sitting on his bed, writing in his diary journal.]

So, guys. I basically disappeared off the barge. [He pauses to scribble something out in the journal.] Which isn't that abnormal, but it was weird. I spent a while at home not remembering being here at all. My brother turned out to be a total asshole who was willing to turn us over to the Feds, so he got taken out by my other brother. Who then got all into my business and made the hot high school girl I was really into break up with me.

[Barron sighs, making a face.] It's not like I'm that much older than her, but whatever. It's a little ridiculous. I mean, even my Mom is getting together with a guy. Who's totally the head of a mob family, but what are you gonna do? [Barron shrugs.] It's not like the connections would do us any harm.

[He stops scribbling in his journal.] Then I was back here, remembering being here from before and the new stuff that I'd done at home. I guess I asked the Admiral if I could go home the right amount of times or something. [A pause.] It was better than being here, even with all the drama going down.

Comments

[buywithme]

[Prefect doesn't remember many of the shenanigans of last night. Mainly he remembers being mashed right up against Barron, and making out in a bed for very long periods of time. In retrospect, it seems like the kind of thing that would get boring after a while. Maybe that's why they swapped clothes?]

You said... He turned you over to the feds, and Cassel killed him? [That is... quite a thing, for Cassel.] What kind of work were you doing with the Feds?

[sharpememory]

Yeah, that's what I think happened. Cassel didn't deny it or anything. [Barron shrugs, not looking that surprised.] I guess it is what it is. I shouldn't be surprised, it's not like Philip and me didn't prepare him for it.

[Barron picks up another empty bottle from the floor.] I was training to be part of their worker division.

[buywithme]

I'm sorry about your brother. [Prefect spots another not quite empty bottle on the floor, and rolls it towards himself with one of his feet.] How do you feel about all of it? That is... a lot of quite intense changes in a relatively short period of time.

[Bottle attained! He unscrews it slowly.] What did that involve? I mean, was it something you wanted to be doing, Comrade?

[sharpememory]

I don't know how I feel. It was bad enough at the time, let alone with the ducking back to the barge and then back home. [Barron tosses the empty bottles he's holding onto his bed.]

The Feds thing was a pretty sweet deal, but it was never gonna last. [Barron sits down on his bed next to the bottles, looking decidedly gloomy.]

[buywithme]

Would you mind talking me through it, Comrade? [Prefect has a lot of questions, but he kind of doesn't want to direct Barron to parts of this that will upset him, there have to be things that are eating at his inmate, and he's kind of hoping they'll come out without too much prodding...]

Why don't you think it could have lasted, Comrade? I mean, if you were enjoying it, why couldn't you have stuck with it? [Prefect takes a swig of the gin, and offers the last mouthful to Barron. Like a good warden.]

[sharpememory]

I was just being trained, so it was a lot of basic stuff. Following people, things like that. [Barron looks a bit amused. Just a little.] You know, nothing I haven't done before.

[Barron takes the bottle and finishes it up. Ah, good warden-inmate dynamics. But since he doesn't want to answer Prefect's second question, he changes the topic.] Hey. I'm pretty sure that was just an indirect kiss we just did.

[Cue big old smile. How awkward is this morning, Prefect? Apparently even more awkward than it was a few seconds ago!]

[buywithme]

It sounds as if you were naturally good at it, so why couldn't it have--

[Then Barron makes everything worse, and Prefect just sort of stares at him in conflicted dismay for a moment. Because indirect kissing takes his mind to kissing, which takes his mind to making out, which no longer takes his mind to a flood where everything he did was the fault of a nice commodore who was relatively different to him. And now he's blushing. Way to go, Barron, way to go.]

Well... [cough.] ...I guess, we're probably at the point where we shouldn't be worrying so much about what we do indirectly. [by that logic, they've been indirectly kissing regularly for months, HAD THAT BEEN A FORM OF GATEWAY KISSING, WHICH LED TO THEIR FLOOD INDUCED MAKING OUT?]

[sharpememory]

[Barron almost feels bad about how embarrassed Prefect is looking. Almost. If not for the fact that he finds Prefect blushing kind of endearing. But then Prefect mentions the non-indirect business. And then it's Barron who's looking embarrassed, at anywhere but Prefect's face.]

Well, I suppose not. But they were floods. They don't really count. [The bottles on the bed don't seem to agree with that, but Barron decides that now is the perfect time to ignore them.]

[buywithme]

And this counts? [He frowns, now peering at Barron, because if they have been indirectly kissing on and off for months, then they might need to set up some ground rules for it.] Because, Comrade, as your warden, I am concerned that any kind of kissing could be detrimental to your rehabilitation.

[He frowns, and glances morosely towards the pile of bottles. No kissing. That's right. No kissing allowed, at all, ever.] Apart from maybe, like, platonic kissing, but we don't do that anyway. [Maybe they could start? No!] Are you sure the drinking thing counts?

[sharpememory]

[Barron laughs, running his hands through his admittedly rather messy hair.] Detrimental to my rehabilitation? Prefect, we're probably the most functional warden and inmate here. We're doing awesome. You don't have to worry about setbacks.

[Barron considers the platonic kissing. It's not really his thing.] Yeah, I can't see the platonic kissing working out. And the drinking thing probably doesn't count. I was just joking.

[The truth! Gasp.]

[buywithme]

[Okay, the laughing puts him at ease. Prefect smiles a little ruefully, as Barron runs his hands through his hair.] I know, Comrade, I know things are going well between us. I just really don't want to mess it up, because... it's about your future, you know? It's important.

No, I don't even really like non-platonic kissing, most of the time, so I don't know how this keeps happening. [It's kind of slimy and gross. Which is clearly why the floods are to blame.]

Uh, anyway, I think we should go back to talking about what you did while you were at home...

[sharpememory]

It is important. Going home really put that in focus. [More or less. As soon as Barron had gotten on the barge, he'd been quite distracted from everything that had happened.]

It's the Admiral, man. The Admiral does it because he's into it. It's the only logical conclusion. [Barron looks to the ceiling.] We kissed! Admiral, are you happy?

[The ceiling doesn't reply, so Barron looks back to Prefect.] Home, yeah. I guess we should talk about that.

[buywithme]

Yeah, I guess it must have done. [Prefect paused, very briefly, before deciding to set aside talk of their kissing, and go straight to talking about Barron's home.] All right, Comrade... If you could control the world, and everything in it, what would you want things to be like back at home right now? What would everyone else be doing, and what would you be doing?

[sharpememory]

[Having picked up the last of the bottles on the floor, Barron decided that it was high time to find some new ones. This conversation had gotten really serious really fast.]

Well, that's not gonna happen. So I don't know how much good talking about it would do. [Barron paused, for drama.] I suppose that it's the kind of thing I might talk about after a drink though.

[buywithme]

[It's serious Warden business or thinking about kissing. Prefect chooses serious Warden business.]

Perhaps you could tell me over breakfast? [He suggests, as an alternative] And we'll get a drink a little bit later, so that neither of us are sick?

[sharpememory]

[Barron considers breakfast. Since it's a precursor to drinking, he's fairly okay with it.]

Alright. You sir, have got yourself a deal. [He pauses, looking down at himself.] We're presentable enough for the dining hall, aren't we?

[buywithme]

[Prefect shoots Barron a grand and happy smile!]

I think we are! Shall we go? [He shifts up to his feet, casts an eye around briefly before deciding that he can not be bothered trying to track down his ever escaping shoes, and goes to hold open the door for Barron.]

[sharpememory]

[Barron looks at Prefect's bare feet and then his own. Does he care? Nope. It's still too early in the morning and he's still too hung over.]

Let's go. [Barron cruises out the door, not even bothering to smooth down his hair.] I need coffee and some form of meat.

[Time to start reassuring himself of his masculinity!]