buywithme | 110 - VIDEO. YAY MURDER

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110 - VIDEO. YAY MURDER

[Prefect is looking... STRANGELY CONTENT, Maybe even KIND OF HAPPY in a very carefully contained way. He smiles at the camera.]

So... Comrades, I know sometimes it seems like things only ever go wrong here, but... I suppose there are high points. I mean, we... have access to the plants again, I believe? Comrade Persephone? So, you understand, Comrades, that despite all the difficulties, and all the murders-- [AT THE WORD 'MURDERS' HE SORT OF BURSTS INTO A MASSIVE GRIN. Then he immediately tries to control it and clears his throat.] So, yes, despite all... all of that [ACCIDENTALLY SMILING AGAIN.] there are occasionally silver linings to being stuck here.

[He clears his throat, and leans forward.]

So, uh, could we discuss what hours the garden will be open from now on?

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Smiling and stunned silence were two of Pavi's very favourite responses to his presence. He grinned and spread his arms theatrically.

"You are speechless, fratello? Obviously the Pavi did not lose his touch."

Pavi spreading his arms like that was just inviting Prefect to practice his new ability to touch other human beings without having a nervous breakdown, and sure enough, Prefect darted forward to wrap his arms around the other man and just hug him.

He pressed his cheek lightly against the pale synthetic skin on his friends face, "Comrade-- Brother. I missed you so much."

Pavi was - surprised, and pleased, by the unexpected willingness to make physical contact. He wrapped an arm around Prefect and returned the hug, making no attempt to cop a feel although the thought lingered briefly.

"Si. I...missed you, also." That was true, and still a feeling that was unfamiliar to him.

Prefect eased back slightly, turning his head to take a second look at the man who'd shown up on his doorstep, just checking to make absolutely sure that The Pavi was definitely and without exception, still The Pavi. He let his hands trace down the other mans arms, not quite wanting to break the contact yet. If his mind had been a little more focused on anything other than his friends return, then he would have made a mental note of how little anxiety he felt at doing so. Or perhaps if he'd been more able to note it, then his anxiety would have been greater. For the time being though, he was almost entirely focused on Pavi, and any worry that came with touching him was lost in the exhilaration of his return.

"Is this-- is it a flood?"

There was a carefulness in his voice, like he was afraid that speaking too loud would break the magic of the situation. Like it didn't matter so much whether or not this was a flood or reality, as long as it didn't end. Not just yet.

"I...do not think so. The Pavi is very much the person that he always was." Not that he didn't have a certain amount of affection for the idea that his appearance was so incredible that Prefect thought it had to be illusory. "I made the agreement with the Admiral, to return, si?"

"You're a warden?"

The carefulness is suddenly gone from his voice, replaced by a sudden wave of warmth. His hands on Pavi's arms tighten, as he gives the other man an affectionate squeeze, "Congratulations, brother! I-- I'm sorry, I'm being rude, come in. Please."

He finally releases Pavi's arms, backing up enough to let him pass.

"Grazie." He moved smoothly past Prefect. His room was much as he remembered it - the boxes, the obsessive sense of organisation, the...

...rosebush?

No, that was new.

He frowned faintly at the plant, then turned to Prefect. "You have taken up gardening, fratello?"

Prefect gave a slightly confused, "Hm?" at the mention of gardening, before he remembered the rosebush, "Oh, that..." It came out a little more dismissively than he'd intended, but since the flood when he'd met Iago (in other words since Prefect had begun to expand his social circle a little more once again), he had to admit that his infatuation with Akio had begun to... well, to wane, slightly.

"That was for a man on board, who wanted a number of roses growing for some... theatrical displays." He paused, considering for a moment, "You'd probably like him, Brother. He's... very..." Prefect frowned, searching for the right word, "...he has a very strong presence."

Pavi nodded, wondering what 'strong presence' meant in this context. Did he have a strong presence? Probably. He touched a rose petal, wondering a little at the fact that the plant had thorns. What few flowers existed at home had been restructured to lose such undesirable traits.

"Then I shall look forward to meeting him - and the many others who have arrived here, while I was gone." He tapped a thoughtful finger against his lip. "But the others that the Pavi left behind - the doctor, my brother...? They are still here?"

As he watched Pavi examine the rose bush, Prefect wondered if he would have ever been quite so taken with Akio if Pavi had never left. The mans mannerisms, his confidence, his sensuality... it was hard not to see a link there to his friend. Besides, wasn't that why he'd so quickly found himself at ease with Pavi? Because even in a completely shallow way, his scars had reminded him of Harvey? One person projected onto the next, projected onto the next. Prefect was going to have to start watching himself for that.

"Doctor McCoy left a little after you did. He returned briefly after that, but not for long." Prefect replied, "Your brother was gone before long as well." He gestured to the roses, "Do you want some?"

He flashed a grin. "Si, I think that I would. They are very beautiful - I did not think you would have the green thumb, fratello."

Prefect smiled back, reaching up to begin breaking off a few of the stems, trying to keep them long enough to hold, "I didn't really plan on it, Comrade. Sam made me work in the gardens though, and since I had to grow roses anyway... I just tried to do it well." He broke off a few more blossoms, counting them off in his head as he did so.

Eight, nine...

"You... you hurt your face again, Comrade?"

...Ten, eleven, twelve.

Prefect eased the roses out of the bush, and turned to Pavi, awaiting an answer as he extended the makeshift bouquet to him.

A dozen red roses. Pavi wondered if Prefect was aware of how such a gesture might be interpreted. But he just smiled.

"Si. A new procedure, an artificial face...the Pavi was assured that it would work, but...it did not."

Prefect frowned, knitting his brows in concern at the explanation, "Does it hurt you?"

He ran his fingertips over a synthetic cheek, barely feeling the ridges of his scars underneath.

"At this moment? A very little bit, to touch. At the time it happened, perhaps it would have hurt much more - but I was taking Z for the pain, so...I felt nothing, si?"

"Oh." Prefect studied Pavi. He was a little surprised that Pavi had gone directly back to a life of sex, drugs and surgery, but it didn't bother him. "So, does that mean that your face-- uh... the mask? Is it...?" Did you take it off a hot lady, Pavi?

"It was taken from the moulding of one of GeneCo's most beautiful Genterns. I did not...collect it," he clarified, after a pause. "The Pavi does not think he would be here as a Warden if this was the case."

Prefect nodded, and admittedly looked a little relieved at the revelation, "That's good, Comrade. I don't really trust the barge any more than I did last time you were here, but I'm very glad that... that at least what changes here doesn't just go away."

"It would be a waste of a very long time if they did, no?" He perched on the edge of Prefect's desk. "So, the Barge - has a lot changed? The Pavi has noticed many new people, but this is to be expected?"

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110 - VIDEO. YAY MURDER

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