Who: Zari Tarazi and Gideon What: Two Gals Gabbing Over Fruity Drinks When: Recently Where: Facility Kitchen Warning/Status: None Status: Completed via Gdoc
Gideon was still adjusting to being human, but the longer she went in this form, the more she adapted to it - at least, she thought she was. Of course, there were still times when she’d answer questions too exactly or give too much information or react wrongly to a situation, and Gideon would instantly feel others’ ire and ridicule in their words and looks, and it sometimes hurt her feelings in a way she wasn’t used to. Her crew, co-workers, and friends here - and Poe - never made her feel that way of course, but they weren’t always with her, and sometimes the loneliness would creep in and she’d leave the facility to look for others to meet.
She’d just spent an hour at the park and had been caught up talking to someone about dog breeds and had once again given far more information than any “normal” person might, and they’d begun to act as if she made them uncomfortable and had ultimately told her to leave them and their dog alone. A little sad now, she made her way back to the Facility with a bag of the fruit she’d bough before that park trip, idly eating an apple she’d pulled out while staring down at the ground while walking in.
After her weird sleep-posting, Zari finally had caved and gone to Medical. Of course, they found nothing, because that was just the story of her life. Her normal vibrancy and verve for life in general had taken a serious hit in the last month and a half. She was tired of not feeling like herself.
The recent memory dump didn't help.
What did help, however, was familiar faces, which is just what she ran into as she was headed back to her and Ray's place in New Asgard. "Gidget!" There was nothing forced to her bright smile when she saw her timeshipmate. "Hey, girlfriend! Are you—" She may have been a little (a lot) self-centered, but she noticed people's moods very well, thanks. "Hey, are you okay? What's up? What's going on? Who do I need to wind-blast?"
If Zari hadn’t spoken, it was entirely possible that Gideon would’ve walked right past her. The former AI was startled by the familiar voice, which would have once annoyed her a little and now it was entirely welcome, because after so long, Zari (any version of her) was completely a part of her family. Automatically, she offered a smile and just barely kept herself from answering as formerly as she would have on the ship months ago.
“Ms - Zari, nothing is up aside from the clouds in the sky,” she replied, because Gideon always put her own welfare below that of the crew’s even if they weren’t on a ship. “I hope you’re well?”
As certifiable evasion royalty, Zari recognized it when she encountered it. But calling it out felt like hypocrisy, especially when she merely shrugged with a light, "I'm… me." That could have been it, however, Z made a split second decision. "And as me, I've decided to kidnap you, with your full permission of course. I'm thinking virgin mai tais and some grown up girl bonding time, yes? Do you have plans, babes?"
“No one would ever want to see you otherwise,” Gideon assured her, fully sincere. She dearly loved the Legends just as each of them were, and even more so when they grew and changed the way Zari had from the first time she’d stepped foot on the Waverider. Blinking at the sudden shift in conversation, she thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.
“I don’t have any plans right now. I’d be happy to spend time with you.” Offering the canvas bag from her arm, she smiled. “Would you like a peach? Or perhaps a plum?”
"Oooh, organic!" Zari plucked a peach from the selection and nodded toward the kitchen. "Of course, this is just making me want a smoothie. I should go and see if Behrad w—" Sadly, this wasn't the first time she'd slipped and just forgotten. She fell silent, all so she could take a moment to get her head back together again. First the whole sleep posting, and now this.
Z attempted a smile, but it was definitely one of the Dragon Girl Publicity variety. "Sorry, yeah. Mai tais or smoothies. What sounds better to you?"
Gideon followed Zari to the kitchen and once in there, set her bag down on the counter. She began to pull things out, but stopped and tilted her head as she studied Zari thoughtfully. “I’ve never had a mai tai. I think I’d like to.” She had, of course, noticed the slip and while it wasn’t quite her place to question, she decided that perhaps she should after all.
“Are you sure you’re alright? You can tell me if not. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”
The normally very talkative Z was quiet while she snagged some of the fruits from her friend's bag, and managed to distract herself by deciding the best way to tackle this drink situation. "One virgin mai tai for me, one regular strength for you. See if you can find some rum and Curaçao. It's probably locked away somewhere close."
A deep sigh stopped her dead, and the bright smile slid right off her face. Zari pressed her hands into the counter until the sides turned white. "It's just been… difficult. Getting a data dump of memories, and then coming back here. I know what happens to everyone. I know my boyfriend is in love with another woman and married her, and I love—I loved that for him. I was Team NoRay, 100%. I got to see my brother again, watch him grow into himself in ways I never would have predicted. Same for you, if you don't mind spoilers. Gave my heart away and got it broken for my trouble."
She shook her head and gave a wry little chuckle. "I take it back. It hasn't been difficult, it's been hard."
Gideon gently reached out and took the fruit away, then rested her hands on Zari’s as she studied her with concern, waiting until she finished. “Learning what happens to you can’t be easy. I’m sorry that you went through so much like that. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from you and all the rest of the Legends, it’s that those other lives don’t matter. What matters is what’s happening right now to you.”
So many times, she’d seen the Legends get forced into living other lives or personas where they weren’t themselves - and when Zari had been split into two different versions of herself, well…that had also been unusual. But they’d always made it through by focusing on the here and now and the people they loved. “You and Ray are here and you love one another - and while your feelings may be more complicated because of those memories, I sincerely doubt they’ll override everything you’ve gone through together here.”
She was glad for the hand on hers. Otherwise, she'd be thoughtlessly ruining her manicure by picking at her nails. That particular nervous tic hadn't plagued Zari in years. Well, apparently this confluence of conflicting events had brought it back to the fore. Not right at that moment, though. Z smiled weakly at Gideon, at once reminded of the woman she became after gaining a body and traveled with her shipmates and the one she'd become under the influence of this hodgepodge of dimensional refugees. Put in that context, she supposed things weren't actually all that different for her friend.
But the differences weren't so easy to separate as Gidget made it sound.
So she hummed a vague assent that turned sharper after the mention of RayRay. Well, that was effective in getting her thoughts onto happier subjects. Sure, her feelings were still raw over what happened with John-bloody-Constantine, but they were anything but when it came to her boyfriend—the only one who mattered. Zari cut her gaze to the insightful AI, and nudged her shoulder lightly with her own. "When did you get so wise, hm? I know your observational skills are par excellence, but this is next level."
Shaking her head, she scoffed quietly and then smiled. This time it wasn't forced. "Okay, for real. Enough about me. What about you? What've you been up to? How've you been since your trip through the proverbial Looking Glass?"
Gideon stayed where she was as she watched Zari process her words, and didn’t let go of her hands until she finally spoke and nudged her shoulder, but gave them one last squeeze before she did. “I’ve always been wise, the rest of you just didn’t notice,” she pointed out with a small grin.
Picking up the fruit once again, she held them out to Zari. “Well, Poe and I are still spending quite a bit of time together. I like him very much. And I’ve enjoyed working with the Science team at the facility. I have my own laboratory.”
After leaning in and giving Gidget's cheek a little pop of a kiss in appreciation, Zari took the proffered fruit and turned to wash them. When she came back, it was with a knife, which she used with what was probably surprising speed and accuracy. One didn't throw the sheer number of parties she had not to know her way around a knife for garnishes. "The pilot? Oh, he's hot." Z hip checked her friend lightly. "Good job, Gidget. And I love that you're getting your STEM on."
She got the last of the fruit cut and put into a blender, and then retrieved a cup of ice, which was more than enough time to mull over her own contributions to this enterprise. Much like the Waverider. Z sighed, but most of it was drowned out by the whir of the blades and motor. When she stopped it a few moments later, the thought was still lodged in her head. "I know I'm asking the former AI of a time ship, so this question is probably incredibly insensitive, but do you ever feel like you should be doing more, except you don't have the right tools to be helpful?"
Gideon smiled at the kiss on her cheek. It was unexpected, but nice - and she was glad to have received it. She watched as Zari wielded the knife with expertise and wasn’t surprised, but the look on her face did say she was a little impressed. “Indeed, the pilot. We spent time in Wonderland together, and we get on rather well.”
Fetching two glasses as Zari began blending the fruit and ice, she set them both in front of her friend, then tilted her head at the question. It was indeed insensitive and she felt a pang of disappointment in herself and regret, but tried to put those aside so she could answer the question.
“All the time,” she said honestly, at last. Smiling a little sadly, Gideon shook her head as she turned away to put the rest of the fruit in baskets or the refrigerator. “You have no idea how often I felt helpless, even as part of the Waverider, as I executed various commands and orders I’d been given, unable to do more. There were times that I wanted very much to intervene, to help the crew in some way, but either they weren’t on the ship, or I had been deactivated and was unable to act.” When she finally turned back to Zari, her face was serious, her eyes steady.
“And when things happen here, I often feel helpless yet again. Honestly, I’m not sure how humans get by half the time, without having knowledge of the timeline or of other methods for handling things, but now I know that even if they did, they can’t necessarily act, since they are, after all, only human.” She tried very much to be helpful to others when she could, but there were times that she often felt like nothing more than a glorified version of Siri.
The tears stinging her eyes weren't really a shock. It struck Zari that she'd never really stopped to consider all the silly and dangerous adventures through time (and occasionally space) through the lens of the ship's AI, and she instantly regretted bringing it up. Ugh, this was just another opportunity to be disgustingly self-involved. She was quiet for a little while as she poured out the fruity goodness, but then presented one to her friend with a dazzling smile. "Well, babes, I'll let you in on my secret: I fake it until I make it, and if I don't make it, then it was just a passing hobby and I've already moved on to the next thing."
Zari stopped short and gave her newly-human friend a look of dawning horror. "Is it—I don't think I've ever asked—is it okay if I call you Gidget? It's never really occurred to me that you might not like it, and that's pretty horrible of me. If you say no, I'll stop in heartbeat. Z-girl's honor."
Gideon herself hadn’t often thought about it, in all honesty, probably because no one had ever asked her that question. But yes, there had been times she’d wished there was more she could do - especially when Rip had died. If she’d been human back then, she was certain her heart would have broken. Returning her attention to Zari, she blinked at the smile, but returned it slowly and took the drink.
At her next question, the former AI arched an eyebrow as she sipped from her glass - and maybe to make her squirm just a little longer - but then she shook her head as her smile warmed. “No - I learned early on that nicknames were used by most of you as terms of endearment. I came to like it, eventually.”
Game recognized game, and Zari appreciated that level of teasing once Gideon took pity. She laughed and gave her friend a one armed hug. "Well, I love ya, girlfriend, and I promise the nickname comes from the bottom of my heart. Now, let's go find some booze to zhoosh up your glass and gossip about hot pilots and professors for a couple of hours."