(no subject)

[adifferentpath]

By all accounts, Lee has no cause for complaint. Even rough days in Darrow, ones where he's spent an entire afternoon trying to get a handle on a specific bit of court case precedence that's been eluding him for weeks, are better than his worst days on Galactica. He's not fighting for his life here, running and watching his back at every turn. He can makes mistakes in Darrow and not worry about some metal motherfrakker— as Starbuck so eloquently put it once— blowing him away.

In a lot of ways, Darrow is what he'd spent so long fighting for.

In a lot of other ways, it's the worst parts of what they'd hoped to leave behind.

By the time Lee reaches High Gate Terrance, he's frakking exhausted. Not in his bones, like after a dogfight, but mentally. He doesn't think he can even look at another book tonight without losing his mind. Reaching into his pocket for the key to the front door of the building, Lee yawns, even though he knows he's not going to be able to fall asleep once he gets inside for hours yet.

Comments

[losttheright]

"You're very welcome," Molly says brightly, shooting him a grin as she steps inside. "Anytime, really." Once the door's closed behind them, she heads over to the couch just long enough to set her bag down beside it. Chances are good that, provided she doesn't drink too much while Lee's here, she'll wind up trying to get some work done later, but for now, she just doesn't want it to get in the way. "So, drinks? What would you like?"

[adifferentpath]

There's an awkward moment where Lee stands in the entranceway, not sure whether or not he should head in the direction of the couch or the kitchen or offer to help. He opts for taking a few steps toward the kitchen, his bag still slung over his shoulder.

"I'm really not picky," he admits, "But if it wasn't made using repurposed pipes from planes, then I can guarantee it won't be the worst I've had."

[losttheright]

"I can't say I've ever had repurposed pipe booze, but I think this should be at least a step up from that," Molly replies, brow arched, opening the refrigerator and taking out a couple bottles. "The finest alcohol that my incredibly generous government salary will pay for." She doesn't bother trying to hide her sarcasm, but it's clearly not something that really bothers her. These days, she does alright for herself, and she's never been in it for the money anyway, her line of work not exactly where the big bucks are. Reaching into a cabinet for a couple of glasses, she says, "Well, I'm having a gin and tonic, but there should be a bottle of scotch in there, too."

[adifferentpath]

"If anyone ever tries to convince you that it doesn't taste anything like engine grease, then they're a liar," Lee tells her. He was lucky that he was usually able to drink something a little better than what Galactica's deck crew came up with, really. There was a limited amount of the good stuff in the Fleet, and after awhile, ambrosia became one of the perks of being an office. He finally sets his bag down on the floor, making his way to the kitchen.

"Scotch is good, though. I don't think me and gin really get along too well."

[losttheright]

"Scotch it is," Molly replies, taking the bottle out of the refrigerator before letting the door swing shut. "Ice?" As she asks, she opens the freezer to get a tray of ice cubes, putting a few in her own glass. It's been kind of a while, she realizes, since she actually had company. More often, she goes out, either to a bar or to one of her friends' apartments, making her kind of relieved that she still keeps this place pretty well stocked. It's habit, though, as much as anything else.

"And I'll have to keep that in mind. I mean, if anyone ever tries to offer me something they made using part of an old pipe."

[adifferentpath]

"Uh, two cubes, thanks," he replies, and maybe it's been a while since she's had someone over to her apartment, but he can barely remember the last time he went to anyone else's. Ilithyia, maybe, though Lee tries not to think about that too much. It's not something that's been common for him in Darrow, and it still hurts, even though he ought to be used to losing people by now.

He pushes the thought out of his mind, focusing on the moment.

"Also, I think that here, someone offering you something like that is probably a sign to get the frak away from them."

[losttheright]

"Probably," Molly agrees, biting back a laugh. She's not exactly in the habit of accepting drinks from strangers, and can't imagine why anyone she knows would be offering her something like that. On the other hand, she thinks it would be crazy to rule anything out here. This city has done some fucked up things, and while it might seem for now like everything is steady, some semblance of normal, she wouldn't want to take what they have here for granted, either.

It's not really a possibility that matters much now, though, unlikely enough that it doesn't seem worth dwelling on. Putting two ice cubes into his glass, she opens the bottle of scotch first, holding the glass out to him once she's poured. "For you. And this definitely doesn't taste like engine grease."

[adifferentpath]

"Good to know," he says, and take the glass from her and takes a sip, nodding. It's not exactly like the booze they have in the Fleet, but he's found that scotch probably comes the closest of anything he's had in Darrow. It would make more sense for him to prefer something else now, after so long with such a limited selection, but the familiarity is almost comforting.

"I really like what you've done with the place," Lee adds, mostly for something to say.

[losttheright]

"Oh, thank you," Molly says with a half-teasing grin. She is actually fairly pleased with her apartment and the way she's settled into it over the past two and a half years, making it a home, the only one she knows she'll ever have. She has a feeling, though, that it's meant more as small talk, and it's hard not to find that a little amusing. Maybe this sort of thing ought to be awkward, at least while they're just standing in the kitchen while she fixes them drinks, not quite sure what to talk about, but it's rare that she really feels anything like that. Besides, she doubts it will last for long.

Her own drink poured, she lifts it in a little mock toast, then starts for the doorway, nodding for him to follow. "Come on, let's go sit down. Better than standing around here."

[adifferentpath]

"Not afraid I'm going to fall asleep on the couch?" Lee asks, following, though the lethargy he'd been feeling back at the front door of the building is mostly gone now. Both the journey upstairs and the circumstances of evening so far have done a lot to leave him more alert.

[losttheright]

"No, I'm not worried," Molly says, smiling at him over her shoulder as she makes her way to the living room. "I won't let that happen." If there's just the slightest trace of something a little more than teasing in her voice, she isn't thinking much of it at all, the response coming easily, except to be vaguely aware that it's been a while since that was the case. That's one of the things she likes about spending time with Lee, though. She feels like herself -- not like the girl who dated a serial killer and almost died, but the person she was before that, the one she hasn't been sure if she would ever be again. It's kind of a goddamn relief, except she really doesn't want to dwell too much on that part of it.

[adifferentpath]

If there's a hint of something more than teasing in her voice, Lee doesn't immediately notice. Even after having been in Darrow as long as he has, he hasn't made much of an effort at making friends, and it's good to have someone to tease at all. It reminds him of the few good times there were on Galactica, in a way.

"That almost sounds ominous," he replies.

[losttheright]

"I'm just saying," Molly says, deliberately innocent, her shoulders lifting in a shrug. At least he wouldn't have far to go to get back to his own place if he did start to crash, but she hasn't seen him yawn again since they got inside, so that's probably a good sign.

Taking a seat by an arm of the couch, legs tucked up beside her, she nods for him to join her, then sips her drink. "Besides, it wouldn't say very much about my company if you just fell asleep on me."

[adifferentpath]

"Some people are just boring, I guess," Lee says, and takes the seat next to her, leaving a cushion between them, mostly without thinking about it, "You'll come to terms with it eventually."

His drink still in his hand, he doesn't sip again yet, instead swirling it just a little as he waits for Molly's response. It's good scotch, and it seems a shame to just down it like it's bottom of the barrel swill.

[losttheright]

"Are you calling me boring?" Molly asks, brow shooting up. "Wow. Wow. And after I invited you over and gave you a drink." Her life might not be all that exciting these days, many of her evenings and weekends spent doing work in her apartment — the opposite of what she'd always intended to be the case — but there's still no way she's going to let him call her boring and get away with it. "I'm sorry, but who was the one who was about to call it a night when I found them?"

[adifferentpath]

"Hey, I said some people," Lee laughs, playing dumb, "You're the one who assumed I was talking about you in particular."

He does take a sip then, trying to suppress a grin all the while. Though it's all meant in teasing, there's really nothing wrong with boring from his perspective. After nearly two years of a life that was anything but, having a relatively boring existence is more than a bit of a relief. And mostly it means that he can get a full night's sleep if he wants to, instead of worrying that any minute the cylons are going to turn up.

Darrow's not home, he knows, but it feels safe.

[losttheright]

"Well, yeah, because you said I'd come to terms with it," Molly points out, though she doesn't even bother trying to hold back a laugh of her own. Truthfully, if this is boring, for all that it might not be what she'd intended, she can't say she minds it. With some of the shit that's happened to her here, she's learned to appreciate having a quiet, uneventful existence. It's a hell of a lot better than nearly dying, or a fixture of news stories. "Even if I am, I don't think it's that bad."

[adifferentpath]

"No. It's not, actually," Lee finally agrees, once he's swallowed. His smile fades then, replaced by an expression that's a bit more thoughtful, "I've had enough excitement to last a lifetime, I think."

He's aware that Darrow isn't without its own eccentricities, and he's not entirely sure what it says about him that those mostly seem to pale in comparison. Its last trick, making him think Kara had come back to the city, is excluded from that, of course.

[losttheright]

"Yeah, tell me about it," Molly says, her own expression growing a little more serious, though there's still a wry edge to the slant of her mouth as she raises her glass. "I'll drink to that." She knows just enough about what Lee did before showing up here to know that it really isn't the same at all, that a couple of near-death experiences can't really compare to what things were like back where he came from, but she's still more than had her fill of that shit. She's too fucking attached to the life she has here, the only one she'll ever have, to want to take a chance on what luck she's had running out. The thought makes it tempting to down her drink too quickly, but she just sips from it instead, determined not to go too far down that path now. She didn't invite him here to ramble about depressing incidents in her past.

[adifferentpath]

He nods, and raises his drink for a moment before taking another sip. He wonders what there is in Molly's past that makes her agree so wholeheartedly— or if it's just what's happened in Darrow— but keeps the question to himself. It doesn't really matter, in the end, and if she ever wants to bring it up, she will.

"This is really good," he comments, looking at the brown liquor left in his glass for a moment after he's swallowed, "There's something like it, where I come from, but it's not exactly the same."

[losttheright]

"Yeah?" Molly asks, clear interest in her voice. It's not the sort of thing she'd have stopped to consider at all, that even what they had to drink might be different, but then, she supposes that probably makes more sense than the alternative. Even after years here, knowing various people from worlds other than her own, it's a difficult thing to wrap her head around, or at least anticipate. That makes her want all the more to learn more about it, though. She'd been curious already, but even a minor detail like what they had to drink just heightens her interest. "Well, I'm glad you like it. I never really thought about it — you know, that you might have had different drinks there. Aside from what was made with a repurposed pipe." She pauses a moment, then asks, "Is there a lot of stuff that's like that?"

[adifferentpath]

Lee lets out a punctuated laugh at her mentioning Galactica-brewed booze again, grin returning. "It's all mostly familiar here," he tells her, because it's uncanny, really. Maybe this isn't exactly Earth, but someone's constructed version of it, but he'd always imagined that if they ever did find the Thirteenth Colony, there'd be similarities. Parts of Darrow are so similar, it's almost eerie.

"It's the little things, I guess. Getting used to networked technology again, when we'd had to go in the opposite direction to protect ourselves. A government that only has to account for one city instead of twelve planets," he says, "And I don't think Ambrosia exists here. Green, stronger than it tastes. Definitely more dangerous than scotch."

[losttheright]

"No, I don't think it does," Molly agrees, leaning forward just a little as he speaks, head in her free hand, elbow resting against the back of the couch. "Though we do have something green and more dangerous than scotch." In some ways, she thinks, it's got to be easier under circumstances like his than if he'd come from somewhere wildly different, the kind of place or at least time that leaves people unable to make sense of any of this. Then again, the differences primarily being in more minor details might make it even weirder. She's been pretty lucky, she thinks, that it's so much like home for her. Some important things aren't the same, but a lot of it is about what she'd have expected, too, and that isn't the case for everyone. "God, the government's still weird to me, and ours was only for one country."

[adifferentpath]

"You'd think that'd make it simpler here," Lee says, because he's found that it's exactly the opposite. But mostly that's because he's noticed that Darrow's current government has so far neglected to even acknowledge the existence of people who have been brought to the city involuntarily. There are at least one hundred people going completely unrepresented. And maybe, in comparison to the city's population, it's a small number, but there should be a proper census, government services... something so that everyone doesn't feel like they're being left out in the cold.

But Lee's found that Darrow isn't the most logical of cities, and even cities with governments that make frakking sense don't get it right.

"I don't think anyone's acknowledging that there need to be significant changes now. Maybe the current system worked two years ago, but it won't forever. Not with more people like you and me turning up every day."

[losttheright]

"No, it won't," Molly agrees, a little more serious than she'd been a moment ago, but no less interested. It's something she's been painfully aware of for a long time, after all, being part of that system herself, and pretty sure she can count on one hand the number of other people who work in that building who came from places other than Darrow. None of them hold any higher office. She wouldn't want to, that hasn't been the career for her since she was a little kid who didn't really know any better, but that's not the point. There should still be someone speaking for the people like them. Maybe there haven't been any serious problems yet, but that doesn't mean there won't be, and it won't do anyone much good if they wait until there are to do something about it.

She wonders sometimes if it's naïve to hope that someone in her position might be able to affect real change. The people who would have some say over that sort of thing, they know her, they like her, but trying to convince them of a structural change like that is easier said than done. If nothing else, there's no way it's something she can do on her own. She almost misses the way things were when the city was all but empty, the few of them who'd arrived here building something from the ground up. That's what she'd signed on for originally, the thing that made her get back into politics in the first place. She loves this, too, flawed system or not, but that was a hell of an opportunity.

If nothing else, it helps to hear someone else saying all of this. It feels pretty damn good, actually, though she thinks a little of that has to do with it coming from him, too, and not just the words themselves.

"You know, I think a lot of people, they show up here, and either it's too overwhelming or things seem okay so they don't stop to think about it. And the ones who've been here, well, what they have works for them, so they don't stop to change what they already have in place. But there's no way it's sustainable, and it's certainly not fucking right."