"Twenty-two." He offers in return. So, not that much older in terms of years but when it comes to other things... Sheehan probably has a step up on him in a lot of ways.
Then he shrugs a bit.
"But that depends on your preference. I like the smaller ones. Maybe you'd like the battleships though."
He pauses to sip the tea, belatedly realising that statement carries more weight in its meaning than he intended it to. A faint frown pinches between his brows.
"Don't worry about it. Ask what you want. I'll tell you if I don't want to answer."
Cain's expressions shift through a few clearly visible emotions one after the other. First he looks a little annoyed, then his brow furrows, and then it shifts to looking briefly perturbed before he sits back in his seat.
"Not looking for a shrink. Just to make that clear."
"Don't worry," he assures him. "I'm not looking for a new patient. I see several people here and I don't sit and have tea casually with them. Or talk about star ships. I'm a professional, thank you very much. I keep my lives separate."
He studies Sheehan closely for a few moments, as if he's trying to catch the man in a lie. There are any number of reasons a shrink might decide to approach him in a public place after all and not all of them are so innocuous as just seeing someone sitting by themselves.
But it isn't as if the fact was kept hidden. Cain hadn't asked.
"'kay." He seems to relent, letting the issue go. "Like I said, I'll tell you if you cross a line."
He holds up a hand. "I got it," he assures him with an apologetic nod. "So you said you grew up on Mars. What was that like? What sort of - infrastructure was there?"
He rubs a hand over his face for a moment and shifts to get more comfortable.
"What was it like compared to what? It just was. It was cold, wasn't much to do, especially for kids. Most work is labour jobs if you don't join the Alliance. My sister got married and got out of there, and I don't fucking blame her."
"Sounds like a rough place to grow up in. But I also was wondering about what it looked like? Did you live on the ground, how did you get around...that sort of thing," he explains. He doesn't want to dive too deeply into that right now. Just nice and simple. Easy.
"Wasn't rough. Just fuckin' boring. Most of the time."
To the more pampered people of Earth and even those better off in the more developed colonies, it might have seemed a hard place to live. Cain wouldn't say it was easy, but he'd been all right. Happy, even. Until he wasn't.
"But yeah, we lived on the ground. Most vehicles were terrestrial, unless you'd managed to find something to fix up. The houses were... grey, kinda semi-prefab shit, you know? Like they'd set up intending to move somewhere else and then never did." Shrug. He lifts his cup to take a sip and lets the rim rest against his lower lip for a moment.
"But I went to school, hung out with my friends, my mom's great. It wasn't bad."
He nods. "I lived a pretty privileged life. So - sometimes it shows."
Sheehan's family had lived in New York. He had an apartment, a nanny, and his father was an absolute asshole. He had money to go to school, to date, to give away as much as he wanted. He could have dodged the draft if he really wanted to, but there was no way he wouldn't give his life for his country.
He regretted it when he came back, but not for the reasons he thought he might.
"Do you still see your mom?" he wonders idly. Sheehan hasn't seen his own in years.
There's a subtle pinch in his expression when Sheehan asks him that.
"Not for a while, but it's hardly been my choice."
A year in the Alliance plus the years in prison? Maybe she'd tried to come and see him, he's not sure. He doesn't know if he would have wanted her to if she had.
He smiles as he looks down to his cup, realizing that it's empty. He stands up, talking over his shoulder as he walks to the kitchen. "I bet she'll be happy to see you. What's she like?" he wonders, rinsing out his cup and bringing back a glass of water for himself.
Maybe she would. He likes to hope she would. Cain was far from the first and only teenager to be put away for jumped up charges just to get some riffraff off the streets. He finishes his own tea and puts the cup down but continues to fiddle with it, rubbing his thumb along the handle.
"She's-- fuck, I dunno. She's a mom, you know? Got a sharp sense of humour though."
"My mother wasn't - well, she wasn't the nurturing type," he explains. "I don't think she's ever missed me. So - I guess it's just nice to hear how that isn't the truth all over."
He holds the cup out for Sheehan to take, studying him quietly as he speaks. Just goes to show that sometimes it doesn't matter how good or bad your parent is - you're going to turn out how you do regardless. Cain isn't sure how his mother feels about him right now, but he's sure she'd still love him.
"Why'd she have kids if she didn't want them?" A blunt question, but given what he was just told... "I mean. You're supposed to love your kids, right."
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2024-09-22 03:16 pm (UTC)He thinks the Reliant is insanely cool, but that's a special one. Aside from being top of the range in Alliance tech, it's his and Abel's ship.
"And I don't know, Lester, that sounds like a you problem. You dont look that old."
C'mon gramps, get hip with the kids.
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Date: 2024-09-22 05:22 pm (UTC)But he leans back, drinking his tea happily. "Which ones are the cool ones?"
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Date: 2024-09-22 05:26 pm (UTC)Then he shrugs a bit.
"But that depends on your preference. I like the smaller ones. Maybe you'd like the battleships though."
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Date: 2024-09-22 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-22 06:01 pm (UTC)He just shakes his head with a faint smile. Cain is definitely not used to casually talking about his own interests like this.
"Blyat, you weren't kidding when you said you had questions."
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Date: 2024-09-22 06:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-22 06:10 pm (UTC)"Not too much. Just not something I'm used to."
He pauses to sip the tea, belatedly realising that statement carries more weight in its meaning than he intended it to. A faint frown pinches between his brows.
"Don't worry about it. Ask what you want. I'll tell you if I don't want to answer."
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Date: 2024-09-23 01:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-23 01:07 am (UTC)"What are you, some kind of shrink?"
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Date: 2024-09-23 01:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-23 02:14 am (UTC)"Not looking for a shrink. Just to make that clear."
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Date: 2024-09-23 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-23 03:45 am (UTC)But it isn't as if the fact was kept hidden. Cain hadn't asked.
"'kay." He seems to relent, letting the issue go. "Like I said, I'll tell you if you cross a line."
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Date: 2024-09-24 01:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-24 07:57 am (UTC)"If you cross a line, I'll tell you."
Guy seems decent, but like hell Cain is supplying anyone with a laundry list of topics that will set him off. That's just asking for trouble.
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Date: 2024-09-25 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-25 08:52 pm (UTC)He rubs a hand over his face for a moment and shifts to get more comfortable.
"What was it like compared to what? It just was. It was cold, wasn't much to do, especially for kids. Most work is labour jobs if you don't join the Alliance. My sister got married and got out of there, and I don't fucking blame her."
no subject
Date: 2024-09-25 11:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-26 10:56 am (UTC)To the more pampered people of Earth and even those better off in the more developed colonies, it might have seemed a hard place to live. Cain wouldn't say it was easy, but he'd been all right. Happy, even. Until he wasn't.
"But yeah, we lived on the ground. Most vehicles were terrestrial, unless you'd managed to find something to fix up. The houses were... grey, kinda semi-prefab shit, you know? Like they'd set up intending to move somewhere else and then never did." Shrug. He lifts his cup to take a sip and lets the rim rest against his lower lip for a moment.
"But I went to school, hung out with my friends, my mom's great. It wasn't bad."
no subject
Date: 2024-09-26 06:45 pm (UTC)Sheehan's family had lived in New York. He had an apartment, a nanny, and his father was an absolute asshole. He had money to go to school, to date, to give away as much as he wanted. He could have dodged the draft if he really wanted to, but there was no way he wouldn't give his life for his country.
He regretted it when he came back, but not for the reasons he thought he might.
"Do you still see your mom?" he wonders idly. Sheehan hasn't seen his own in years.
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Date: 2024-09-26 06:48 pm (UTC)"Not for a while, but it's hardly been my choice."
A year in the Alliance plus the years in prison? Maybe she'd tried to come and see him, he's not sure. He doesn't know if he would have wanted her to if she had.
"But I'll be seeing her soon. Can bet on that."
no subject
Date: 2024-09-27 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-28 09:43 pm (UTC)Maybe she would. He likes to hope she would. Cain was far from the first and only teenager to be put away for jumped up charges just to get some riffraff off the streets. He finishes his own tea and puts the cup down but continues to fiddle with it, rubbing his thumb along the handle.
"She's-- fuck, I dunno. She's a mom, you know? Got a sharp sense of humour though."
no subject
Date: 2024-09-29 02:57 am (UTC)"My mother wasn't - well, she wasn't the nurturing type," he explains. "I don't think she's ever missed me. So - I guess it's just nice to hear how that isn't the truth all over."
no subject
Date: 2024-10-06 02:16 pm (UTC)He holds the cup out for Sheehan to take, studying him quietly as he speaks. Just goes to show that sometimes it doesn't matter how good or bad your parent is - you're going to turn out how you do regardless. Cain isn't sure how his mother feels about him right now, but he's sure she'd still love him.
"Why'd she have kids if she didn't want them?" A blunt question, but given what he was just told... "I mean. You're supposed to love your kids, right."
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