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Daisuke heard about Pony Express throughout his life. He heard about Captain Curly for not quite as long, but his mother was a friend of a friend of someone who’d bumped into him once, literally, and so that was like, super cool.
He had only known Curly’s friend Jimmy for as long as he’d been forced onto this ship, and it was always so hard to get a read on the guy. He called Daisuke annoying, a waste of space on the ship. But at the same time Jimmy dragged him to medical over the smallest of scratches, pushed him out of the way to ‘show him the right way’ and even offered up an extra sweetener package to him once.
So when Daisuke had noticed Jimmy outside Anya's room two nights ago, he’d just assumed Jimmy was also up for a quick break or something like he was. Jimmy had never given him a reason to worry before.
Yet, Jimmy paced there. Jimmy didn't see him, Daisuke had tucked himself back around the corner. It was like in an instant that wasn't his possible friend and instead a wild animal he had to back away from slowly. Daisuke hadn't moved until Jimmy had growled to himself and left back for his own room.
It was hard to decide what to think. Maybe Jimmy and Anya had planned something but Anya backed out at the last minute (Anya probably could do better but there really wasn't many options on this ship), or he’d just wanted to ask her a question. That late. In just his pajama bottoms. With that look in his eyes.
So last night, Daisuke had feigned having a nightmare. He thought it sounded pretty scary and worth cuddling over, although wasn't sure why any of the specific ideas had come to him. Sleeping in Anya's room would calm his nerves about what he thought he saw. It would just be them sharing a bed for the night and Daisuke laughing it off in the morning. It would prove that…weird behavior by Jimmy was just a one off thing.
Instead not only had Jimmy come to Anya's room just like the night before, he'd entered.
Grabbing Anya like a lover (Daisuke had only gotten as far as sloppy makeouts with other girls, but he’d seen movies!) was on impulse but it had worked. Maybe it would have still worked if anyone else had bothered to find out he was a girl, but he knew it was that much more effective in Jimmy's eyes to perceive another man in Anya's bed. Jimmy had left quickly, yet he shouldn't have fucking been in there in the first place.
It was breakfast now, and Daisuke was clutching his mug of coffee -lacking any sweetener for once. The idea of anything sweet had made him sick- so hard he wondered if he would crack it. Anya was beside him, playing with her food and not really eating it. Jimmy was acting like normal, talking, ranting really, to Curly about something Daisuke couldn't give a shit about.
Curly looked like a printer that had gotten jammed but someone kept trying to use it and soon ink would be everywhere. Don’t ask him how he knew that. He wondered faintly, as a bubble popping in his coffee focused his attention to it, if he was still banned from that library.
It really was a mess. And he couldn't even put any direct accusations to Jimmy at the table. Like, what if this was just a further misunderstanding… Jimmy could have just been… ‘Jimmy’ about something. Sneaking into the room of the (known) woman on the ship was incredibly sus, but maybe he was going to wake her up for anything but the worst?
Daisuke had a feeling this was some form of denial, but easier to believe Jimmy didn't have horrible intentions last night then accept someone he’d been alone with before was capable of…
Out of nowhere, Anya rested her hand under the table on Daisuke’s own, and Daisuke was snapped back into reality by Jimmy's gaze towards them.
“What are you two up to, today?” Jimmy asked, accusatory tone betraying last night as real.
“Oh, uh, I think the boss was going to review my knowledge of…screwdrivers?” Daisuke scratched the back of his neck, giving a sheepish grin. Swansea barely grunted at this suggestion. Probably thought he did need a refresher on screw types.
“Maybe he'll have you fix something in Medical today.” Jimmy shot back. “Leave you alone with the nurse all day.”
Fucking bastard, at least try to deny it, Jimmy! The coffee cup wobbled slightly from his renewed grip.
“Anya's great but I’m sure we got things around the ship. I’ll be sure to check in with her if I get injured.”
That got a quiet chuckle from Swansea, not picking up on the underlying conversation. “That's almost a guarantee with you, boy.”
Jimmy frowned, moving slightly closer to Curly who did not look fit to fly despite being next on shift. Maybe Daisuke should ask Swansea if they could check around the Captain’s room for any sort of white noise or high pitched sound or something of anything to cause the man lack of sleep and such deep eye bags.
“You're just wasting Anya's time.” Jimmy grumbled.
And Daisuke could only wish he’d thought to smuggle his baseball bat on board.