see the vegetable man in the vegetable van ( closed )

[fraud]

CHARACTERS: mike ross + donna paulsen
LOCATION: donna's room
WARNINGS: (maybe) talk of pot use and the special type of candid self-esteem crushing that can only come with mike and donna interacting, tbh
SUMMARY: it's getting closer to the jump and mike is fretting. so, he goes find familiar stability. aw, ain't that sweet.

[ see, denial was a very big thing for mike. back home, he could deny that the things he did were wrong with a very thin layer of disbelief. he wasn't really a fraud, he was just... cutting corners. he'll do it later, fix it later, become legitimate later. maybe. if he chose to do it or if it fit in the plan or if harvey told him to. it wasn't really something he gave much thought to.

but on the tranquility, it was a very different thing. for one, there was only so much denial a person had stored up in them till things started... chipping. cracking somewhere in the center and letting the fractures carry on the rest until you're damaged and there's no putting anything back together. sort of. it was a complicated metaphor but it's not like he had time to double check it these days. (or energy.)

it was around the jump that things got worse for mike, the fractures spreading and making him become a bit more jumpy. he knew they were due soon because he had kept count because he always kept count like some sort of god damn ticker in the back of his brain letting him know exactly how much time had passed since he showed up in this god forsaken place. one more jump meant one more month (or something of the sort. not that he knew exactly). he couldn't remind himself or he would snap and that just isn't a fucking option, eidetic memory or not.

he remembers everything so in a way, here, on the tranquility, he remembers nothing. they weren't lying when they said space was boring. they just forgot to include the fact that when you remember everything, it's also maddening.

anyway.

he found a pack of cards. somewhere. whatever, he doesn't remember (ha ha) and as his mind ran through the million and one (not an exact number) card games he knew in his head, his feet took him elsewhere. to donna's room to be exact. he had seen her and had recently spent his time divided between her and harvey and whoever and whatever he thought would like it. (a lot of time hiding in the oxygen gardens smoking behind a cluster of trees, actually.) how things were going and how he was feeling (a bit like a puppet with it's strings cut, if he was honest with himself. he's not though.) he felt that donna was the exact person to be around.

so, he knocked. ]

Hey, Donna! It's Mike. You in?

[ and then he sniffed his hoodie. okay, not that bad today. he's glad he chose to wash his clothes yesterday (and only smoke a few puffs today (probably because he was running low and the thought of dealing with jenna again scared him. hah)). he ends up just shuffling the cards in his hands as he waited. ]

Comments

[executiveassistant]

[Donna has been dealing. Somehow, some way, despite how utterly wrong the entire situation is, she's doing okay. A few close calls for breakdowns, but none as of yet, and she is pretty damn proud of that. She is Donna Paulsen and she is taking creepy space hell in stride.

She keeps herself fastidious and as close to normal as she possibly can; her own body is her area of total control and it will be pristine.

But when she's alone in her room like this, she defaults to her casual clothing, hair in a ponytail, and is altogether much more casual than when she's wandering around the ship.

Little things, but the little things are what make the difference. Still, she's doing nothing but lamenting the lack of work/makeup/anything to keep her attention when Mike knocks. Interesting, but not unusual. He's been sticking close, and she can't exactly complain about that; familiar company is...nice.

So she just hums and sits up.]

It's open--come in.

[fraud]

[ oh thank god. he feels a little relieved at her letting him in even if it's kind of simple. just, things to do, keep active, keep his mind from going nuts. so he slides the door open and gives her a grin, moving in and jumping a bit as the door closes behind him. ]

Right, hey!

[ doot doot he goes sit on the spare bed, fussing with the cards in his hands, one of his legs tapping up and down. he didn't really ask if he could but whatever, mike's rude. ]

So, what are you up to?

[executiveassistant]

[Mike you are so rude. but since it's the spare bed and it's not like she's got the furniture she'd like to have in here, she lets it slide. Just an arch of an eyebrow at that.]

Weighing the possibility of being sold into sexual slavery.

[okay no that's a lie.]

What's up, Mike?

[fraud]

[ he jerks back, blinking owlishly at her and going for the first thought that comes to mind. ]

-- Space slaves? Sex space slaves. Space sex slaves?

[ mike shut up ]

Er. Nevermind. Nothing though. I was just... around.

[ . . . ]

If it helps, I don't think you'd make a great sex slave. You're more like a ... madam.

[executiveassistant]

[She just leans back and points at him.]

Good answer, but I wasn't factoring myself in as one of the slaves.

[which means that yeah, she'd be doing the selling.

but anyway.]

Just...around? Playing solitaire? I'm having trouble thinking of any other card games for one.

[fraud]

[ immediately in his head the many different versions of solitaire pop up, running through his mind without hesitation. klondike, pyramid, canfield, yukon-- but. that isn't what donna asked so he just sort of grins sheepishly and grips the cards a bit harder. ]

... Yeah, well. I sort of found them and I thought I would... come see if you wanted to play cards? I kind of cheat, accidentally, but we can figure out a way around it.

[ . . . ]

I'm pretty bored, sorry.

[executiveassistant]

[sorry, she's just going to consider that for a moment. mike really is the cutest puppy, warning her that he cheats (and she thinks she could probably still beat him at poker, but anything involving less luck and bluffing maybe not so much).

So she just shrugs.]

Teach me how to cheat.

[yeah that's right.]

[fraud]

[ he's just going to. blink in surprise and frowns and consider this and frown some more and -- ]

This feels like giving you an unfair advantage over Harvey. He might disown me if I do it.

[ but he's kind of pulling out the cards to shuffle them properly, slipping off the bed to sit on the floor between them and gesturing for her to come sit in front of him. crossing his legs indian style now! ]

If I'm disowned, it's on your head.

[executiveassistant]

[Yeah, she can do that. She just sits easily on the floor, legs tucked together off to one side, and arches an eyebrow at Mike.]

Who do you think manages Harvey's possessions and will?

[seriously, the only people getting disowned are the people she thinks deserve to get disowned.]

[fraud]

Ah. [ he gives a tilt of his head and grins. ] Of course.

[ and then he starts dealing evenly to them. it's not really with any set set up but he gives ten cards to them both and then sets it to the side. ]

Right, I'm not actually sure how to teach you the cheat but I can show you what usually happens to me.

[executiveassistant]

[She just shifts her cards idly, automatically shuffling them into order.]

Alright. Demonstrate away, master card counter. I will observe.

[fraud]

Uhm.

[ okay right, he looks down at the cards and frowns because he can sort of already tell which cards are where and that sort of defeats the point, doesn't it? ]

... Maybe you should have dealt, actually.

[ ........... oops ]

[executiveassistant]

[...okay she's smiling at that, making an amused face. She reaches over, scoops all of the cards together, and shuffles them nimbly. Have an arched eyebrow as she starts to pass out cards.]

Tell me what's going through your head.