The Vacation You Didn't Ask For

[doubled_speed]

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, OTA for everyone, come spend time.
WHERE: Risa, pleasure planet to the Starfleet
WHAT: Tommy enjoying time around, eating his fill, all that
WHEN: During Risa Adventures, prior to second contact in their rooms.
WARNINGS: None

The Feedening

Advantage to being on a world that isn't Agrii whatever the fuck was the most simple and important thing. Food. All of it. All of the food and amazing and Tommy spends the morning at a table in a sidewalk cafe, enjoying hot and cold breakfast foods. And at a deli in the early afternoon enjoying a number of sandwiches and side. Then a few other shops where he had other small meals.

But mostly there's the restaurants at night. Where Tommy tries literally everything. Sea food, steaks, soups and stews. The guy even enjoys a Klingon restaurant, because why wouldn't he? And every time, everywhere Tommy goes, he's at a table covered with food with eyes of other patrons staring, shocked by how much food the young man is putting away. And, of course, if someone familiar comes by he grins and waves them over.

"Hey, I can spare a dish or two. Wanna join?"


Pool Side Drinks

Not that speedsters have much use for bodies of water when they can just run over the wet stuff, but Tommy finds a good bit of his early evening at the side of the pool. Clubs are nice and all, but he can just sit and watch people in skimpy clothes, and do it with a fancy little drink and it even had umbrellas in it. They had given him THREE, at his insistence. And a nice cut of fruit that he's never seen before but it is sweet AND spicy and he loves it.

Probably too young to be drinking, but like Tommy cares. Instead he smiles as he watches people, and when he sees someone he recognizes he raises his drink to them.

"Hey there. You should get one of these. The fruit is killer good. Wish we could take a plant of it back."


Secret Nerd in His Element

The one thing Tommy will NEVER admit is to his specific area of nerddom. The one, old, totally fucking horrible show that he totally never should have watched. But it had been a vulnerable time in his life, getting away from the Super Juvie. And the Young Avengers hideout had, apparently, the full boxed set of Star Trek. All of it. Even the terrible movies. And Tommy, in the course of living alone over the years and only needing, like, four hours of sleep a day, had watched them all. Multiple times. To the point of being able to quote favorite scenes, but not whole shows. So really, once they had ended up on Risa, he'd known where he was and been so eager to enjoy the place.

Which included interacting with the local culture, in this case, arguing with a Ferengi. Mostly because he had some serious qualms with their culture.

"Yes," he was saying, voice perfectly even as the Ferengi at the bar with him looked to be seething. "I do think women should be in business. In fact, I've met a few women who not only managed a business, but started it. Right from the ground up. And made themselves wealthy in a world that, like you, might not appreciate them. And the clothes. Damn, a lady in a nicely cut dress is sexier than woman without clothes."

The Ferengi has had enough, and momentarily lunges at Tommy, teeth bared. Looks like there might soon be a fight.

Comments

@ pool side

[geomagnetically]

Lorna is not about to ask for his ID on that drink. For one, like she didn't ever have a drink younger than he is. Two, as if alcohol stays in him long at all.

"You say that like I haven't already had three." She replies with a smile. Her empty hands indicate she hasn't gone for number four yet. "Are you collecting umbrellas like mardi gras beads?"

[doubled_speed]

Well now you’ve inspired him, Lorna. The umbrellas are liberated, the wooden stakes licked clean, and they are tucked in around his ears. Soon they will decorate his goggles too. Thanks.

“Seems like I am,” Tommy grins. He’s definitely managed through five already, and she’s not wrong to think that the alcohol is pretty useless against his body. The closest he’s ever been to drunk is a faint tipsy he got from downing a whole glass of moonshine in a second that Eli had given him during the storm. “And this way no one has to objectify themselves for the decoration.”

[geomagnetically]

She's a helper, yep.

She lets out a small laugh. "Now we just need to find you a Hawaiian print t-shirt and tacky boardshorts for the full aesthetic. Then you'll really start to get questions." Is this another example of why no one should listen to her a lot of the time? Perhaps.

[doubled_speed]

"Don't you dare. I'm the fucking fashionable twin. Wanda got to be it last generation, I'm it now."

Because Tommy SO doesn't buy that Pietro has ANY sense of fashion. Ever. The guy is horrid.

The Feedening...

[out_of_order]

What does one do when suddenly you have choices? There's just so many places to eat and even more things to decide on food that Cal more or less finds himself at a loss. He's stuck to smaller, simpler establishments at first, but tonight, he'd decided to go out on a limb and actually try a restaurant.

Even BD-1 seems more eager to go than he does, and the little droid doesn't even eat! But it's a small comfort, and Cal figures it's silly to be intimidated by food, so with his buddy riding on his back, the padawan steps into a random place.

He finds himself saved the trouble of asking for a table when he hears a familiar voice call out. Turning, Cal looks towards the other teenager, his smile faltering for a moment as he blinks at the spread before the speedster.

"...wow. Is this a special occasion or...?"

[doubled_speed]

Special occasion? Tommy looks at the man curiously, then smirks and shakes his head.

“Nah, man. Just dinner. You wanna plate? I suggest the kalamari. Didn’t know they could make kalamari here. If it is kalamari.”

Does he even want to know if it’s kalamari or not?

[out_of_order]

That just makes Cal arch an eyebrow at him, but he's certain he'd heard right. "Uh...sure?" He steps over, pausing. "Although I think I'll pass on the...calamari?" It sounds much too close to a known sentient species for his liking.

He takes a seat, looking at everything with some amazement. "You must have quite the appetite," he observes. His little droid hops off of his shoulder and onto the edge of the table, his movements birdlike as he peered at the plates both empty and yet full, beeping curiously.

[doubled_speed]

"Not a squid guy? Okay, that's fair," Tommy shrugs. More for him. He takes a ring and dips it in sauce and pops it into his mouth. Lovely.

But it's just like that. He grabs something that looks like a burger and starts working into that before setting it aside.

"I'm a speedster. My metabolism is insane. I'm in a weird situation on the planet. Always starving."

[out_of_order]

"A speedster?" It's not a term he's heard of, and certainly not a species he knows. The metabolism problem makes a little more sense when taking in all the empty plates, however. With Tommy saying he's prone to starving, Cal's hesitant to try a dish, but then Tommy had offered.

He looks at the food nearest him, edging one that looks like a thin piece of steak closer. BD-1 navigates between the plates like they're a maze, pausing closer to Tommy's end of the table before helpfully nudging another yet-full plate over towards the speedster.

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah. A mutant who goes really fast."

Tommy grins at BD-1. He reaches out to pat the droid on his head. This little one is cute.

"Hey little one. What's your name? I wanna call you something proper. And thanks for the plate. I should really try this one."

[out_of_order]

A mutant? The way Tommy says it makes it sound like that itself is a species, and the rest of the explanation is simple enough. "Oh yeah? The metabolism problem makes more sense now," Cal says.

The droid wiggles like a pleased puppy, beep-trilling a greeting. Cal laughs. "That's BeeDee-One. He says he thought the colors looked interesting." Not sure how that would dictate how good the food would actually be, but he can't argue that it looks interesting.

[doubled_speed]

Well, in a way they are their own species. Though they can interbreed with the humans they came from.

"Colors call to me too," Tommy answers, looking directly at BD-1. The guy doesn't mind talking to droids. In fact, he's more pro droid than pro people he guesses. "You cool with me calling you Beedy? And can you say Tommy or whatever you wanna call me ten times and different speeds? That way I can know when you mean me."

He loves droids and finally looks back to Cal, smiling.

"I can probably eat my bodyweight in a day. or more than that. The planet hasn't been good for that. Especially meat. And NO ONE wants me to eat the Glownies."

[out_of_order]

BD-1 borbles an affirmative, then tilts his head before giving his best binary approximation of Tommy's name, which...isn't exactly Tommy's name so much as a nickname. He obliges in repeating it as many times as requested, both normal and fast.

Cal laughs. "Names can be tricky. I guess he's decided Speedy's close enough."

The droid boops, looking between Cal and Tommy before hopping a little with another sound of confirmation.

Picking at the plate he'd chosen, Cal chews thoughtfully, finding himself unintentionally comparing with Greez's cooking. His brows arch at Tommy then. "Wow. Yeah, I can see how that'd be a problem. Glownies..? Which ones are those?"

[doubled_speed]

Tommy laughs, shaking his head.

"Speed's my name when I'm in a costume. I'll take it, Beedy. You're a smart little guy."

Tommy's trying to respect the whole 'people that live with droids are probably respecting them' process. He starts into the plate BD-1 offered and before most people could blink it's all gone. The droid, though, might manage it.

"A little fruity for my taste, but it was good.

[out_of_order]

The droid almost sounds smug, being called smart. And then as both he and Cal watch food as good as vanish in front of Tommy, the two exchange a look.

"...whoa." Okay, that was impressive.

BD-1 looks at Cal's plate, that he'd barely dug into, beeping inquisitively. The padawan snorts. "No, I don't think I can compete with that," he chuckles.

The droid gives something of a shrug and then hops around plates before nudging another towards Tommy with a foot.

neeeeeeeeeerd!

[seeingscarlet]

She's not following him. Wanda had only come here for a snack and another one of those absolutely delightful mocktails but she can't just ignore what's happening on the other end of the bar. Logically she knows that no one here is fast enough to really pose any threat to Tommy. It doesn't matter. He's family, and it's just not in her nature to stand back and let him handle it alone.

Scarlet light surrounds the Ferengi, holding him in place before he can take more than a step. "Enough. Leave. Him. Alone."

[doubled_speed]

Tommy rolls his eyes at the save.

"Oh come on, Aunt Wanda, I had it," Tommy sighs as the Ferengi watches Wanda in shock.

"Release me, Hooman woman!" the Ferengi growls.

"Dude, you threaten her, I take your lobes. How are you ever gonna get a woman then?" Tommy growls. He sighs. "Come on, Wanda, release him. He's gonna run. They're really cowardly when faced directly."

[seeingscarlet]

"You expect me to do nothing?" she calls, raising an eyebrow. Please. She knows that he's unused to having parental figures who care (and she's still not sure she's qualified to stand in) but in what world would any Wanda just turn away? Surely he knows her better than that.

She is not happy about it, but after a long moment she lets the Ferengi go with a light shove. She's made her point, but he better run.

[doubled_speed]

She's more than qualified, but Tommy won't tell her that. But really, she's maybe more parent-like than most people. Because she's fussing at his fun. But the alien does run off and Tommy sighs.

"Thanks for helping. Really. I just.... it was fun, actually. Being that close to a dangerous situation I could control."

The storms had fucked his head up a lot, thanks.

[seeingscarlet]

Wanda says nothing at first, just hugs him tighter than the situation calls for. Her hands are shaking slightly.

He's just...so like Pietro. She has no doubt that if he'd lived longer they would have found themselves in this exact situation. Maybe in a better world Wanda wouldn't have felt like she needed to protect him so fiercely but losing Pietro has given her a tendency to overreact and losing Vision and now Natasha has made her feel like everything's crumbling under her feet. Like she'll lose everything else if she doesn't hold on to it with everything she has.

"I'm sorry, I just..." she trails off, sighs, and releases him. "I knew you could handle it but I didn't want you to be alone."

[doubled_speed]

Oh dear. Those arms around him, so shaky. They might not be noticeable to someone else, but to him? When his skin and body notice things as fast as his mind? Yeah, it's scarily obvious. But the hug. God those hugs are so... comforting. Tommy's own arms wrap around her for just a moment to enjoy the feeling. The way she cares and welcomes him.

Best mother he's ever had, and she's not even that. When she releases him he does so as well and takes a step back.

"It's okay. I'm used to being alone. With Teddy here, it's more common anyway."

He means to be saying that he's cool, he's strong enough to handle it.

[seeingscarlet]

Wanda frowns. "I'm not. It doesn't feel very good." And it's very lucky for her that this is a vacation planet and she's not being bombarded by a sea of negative emotions without someone to act as her anchor. She still wasn't planning to stay by the bar for long once she got what she wants, but it could be a lot worse.

"What happened?" She glances around. Maybe not the place, people are definitely still giving her wary looks. "Come on, let's get something to go and find a place to talk."

[doubled_speed]

Fuck no. Talking sucks. Emotions suck. It's bad enough that both Teddy and Billy know that Tommy's felt abandoned by them. But... he can't deny Wanda company. So he grabs up his glass (don't judge him for his drinking so much more than a human can normally tolerate, he isn't even buzzed).

"What happened when? There's been a ton of time, for me, since we last saw each other. Gonna have to narrow it down."

[seeingscarlet]

She's used being around people with absurdly high alcohol tolerances and doesn't comment, though she'll be ordering something non-alcoholic, thanks. The last thing anyone needs is for her to have a power-related accident and since the Agrii had kidnapped her, she simply doesn't feel safe enough to not have her full faculties at all times. She can't risk not being ready to save Vision and Natasha and Kitty and the others at a moment's notice.

She's also ordered a large cup of fried cheese balls - she can't eat them all, but she's sure Tommy can help her.

"I thought you were living with Billy. Did you move?"

[doubled_speed]

Fair enough, more than fair enough. But the cheese balls are a good touch. Tommy and dairy are definitely friends.

"It's... complicated. You meet Teddy yet? The fiance? He's here, he's from our future, and of course, the two are totally tied up in each other. Always are. It's fair, love and fate and all that. Just what you get when an Emperor-to-be and a Godling meet and fall wildly in love. Anyway, I moved out of the hotel once we got back from the snow planet. Because, you know, couples and the getting it on thing."

More because he wanted to get out before they could kick him out. Since then... Since then Teddy had insisted that they were family, and Billy had apologized for the space and they were both making motions toward Tommy still being important to them but.

But words were only worth so much. Even when your brother altered reality using those words.

"When we get back, we're supposed to find an old abandoned shop or something. All of us stay together. With them having room for couple stuff. But, like, third-wheel much?"