Drown Out the Sorrows

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Poor Reuben just stared up at him, covering his mouth. Thankfully for Cepheid, and unfortunately for Andy, the teenager was able to take a deep breath and fight back the feelings of nausea. Phew, he hadn't thrown up, even if he was still trying to figure out what the hell the Star Man was doing there in Andromeda's ship.

"I-I'll keep that in mind."

Of course when Andy came out, Reuben shifted away a little bit. Sorry, 'pops', even if he didn't remember calling you that, but good god, you tended to get physical with him before. At least Nerys was there now, so he wasn't alone with a person he didn't really know too well and his... well, parent.

"...Erm... that's right, but um... how did you know?" He stared at Andy and the Star Man, really uncomfortably, and inched a bit closer to Nerys.

"...Nerys, how did I end up here last night and what happened? I'm almost afraid to find out." Of course she fangirled and he wanted to hit his head. Maybe it would get rid of his headache.

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<sub>Andromeda watched as Reuben shifted away from him a bit and his heart kind of ached. What about Sine's kid? Would he react the same way? It was a shameful business he took in, plus he had tried to get on Reuben before. he shouldn't be surprised but at the same time it made him feel horrible. His thoughts were interrupted when Ceph spoke up.

Damnit, he won't puke on him. Bleh, he'll think of something different. of course he just gave a hot glare to Ceph when he mentioned that about his son.

"Oh be quiet. I don't want THAT rumor flying about." He's supposed to be a dangerous criminal! of course, then Reuben asked what happened.

Daniela and I ran into you. I was going to direct you to your airship but apparently you forgot where you landed." He folded his arms. "So I had to bring you back here because..." He paused. No he wasn't going to spit it out. His lip was already cracked and scabbed from...

Damnit it was bleeding again. "Didn't want you falling in the ocean, drowning or waking up in a gutter. Or some other more embarassing place. Hell if I knew I'd be getting into THIS kind of situation anyway!" Nerys looked over to Reuben, the girl still hanging pretty close to Ceph. Oddly enough, Nerys was usually a cuddlebug to people she knew well enough, which really made Andy wonder if she really liked Cepheid. Hm. Better annoy her about it later.

"You told me about..." Nerys trailed off and looked away sadly. Yeah she got a little depressed again, and now she was gripping Ceph's cape.</sub>

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Before he could explain how he knew, Andy stepped in and silenced him. "An honest question, Andromeda. I promise you I will neither speak nor write, or communicate such a thing to anyone outside of this ship." He vowed with a bow.

He listened curiously as Andy explained to their guest what had happened, glancing back at Nerys as she began clinging to his cape. Great, he'd have to detach her soon.

He noticed almost immediately that Andy was about to say one thing, but quickly changed it to something else, to make it seem like he had a different motive. Oh hoh? Wait... He seemed a bit young, but...could this kid be Sine's? It had to be! Unless there was someone else... Not impossible, but...

Suddenly noticing that his twin was bleeding, he casually reached into his pocket and withdrew one of a few kerchiefs he kept folded in there as he stepped up to Andy. He needed spares for rather obvious reasons. "Here. You're bleeding." He said in a level voice as he handed the dark cloth to him. "Anyway, I'll be heading out now. I shall return to the Super arrow upon sundown. Send one of the girls if you desire to depart from this place."

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It was technically your fault, Andy. It would probably take Reuben a while to genuinely trust you with physical contact as he was nervous, which he had no idea that he'd confessed to during his drunken stupor last night. But Reuben wasn't dumb; he knew that Andy hadn't done anything to him last night physically, outside of maybe hugging him (which was weird enough - why would he do that), so that was the only reason that Andy wasn't dead right now.

Reuben listened quietly as Andy explained about finding him completely drunk and bringing him back here. Wait, what was he going to say? Had the knowledge that they were related really affected him so much? He didn't remember much of last night, but he had a few vague recollections he wasn't sure he could trust. Someone steadying him, guiding him, and letting him cry on them. Someone that definitely hadn't been Nerys; they had been too tall and flat.

"O-Oh..." He fidgeted. Man this was awkward. Now he'd feel horribly guilty if he punched Andy or something. "...Th-Thanks."

Don't laugh it off! It took him awhile to get that out! Especially with him still being upset about his parents' deaths and suffering from a hangover. Speaking of hangover, he was about to say something in response to Nerys when he felt the nausea come back. Quickly covering his mouth with his hand, he ran off to the bathroom that Andy had pointed him to so that he could throw up.

"Ugh..."

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<sub>Nerys went quiet, still clinging to Cepheid's cape as Andromeda put his hands in his pocket awkwardly. At least Ceph won't speak out it outside of this ship. He was in a bit of an awkward stupor, before Ceph handed him a kerchief and he used it to stop the flow of blood on his lip. He needed to get that taken care of.

Andy took the chance to hide an embarrassed blush as Reuben thanked him and then ran off to upchuck. Which would be a good thing. The kid'll feel better. Nerys finally took the chance to hang a lampshade on the entire situation.

"Andy, why do you always bring drunk people to our ship? First it was Loki, now Reuben..." She stared at him. Andy then defended his own situation.

"... Ceph wasn't drunk when I brought him in." He awkwardly stared at the both of them.

"True..."</sub>

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Taking a nimble side-step, Ceph managed to avoid being bowled over as Reuben ran to eject his stomach contents. "My, how much did the lad drink last night?" He asked to no one in particular.

Seeing as the fellow in question wasn't there to make things immensely awkward, he decided to ask, though Nerys beat him to speaking.

"Are you so sure about that?" He asked, teasing Andy about his sobriety upon their reunion. "Seriously though. Andromeda, was that boy your, and thusly our, kin?" He knew it made sense, but he never really thought about the fact that he may be an uncle, even after that revelation all those nights ago.

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Reuben didn't notice that embarrassed blush that Andy gave him, thankfully for the man's sanity, as he beelined for the bathroom to throw up the contents of his stomach into the sink. He vaguely heard Cepheid's question, throwing back a "More than I normally would!" that the other three could hear, before he shut the door of the bathroom.

What the hell was going on? Reuben threw up into the sink, then leaned against it, shakily. His nerves had been shot after waking up on top of Andromeda, no less, whom he still tried (keyword: 'tried') to deny was his biological father, and somehow, the Star Man that Caden was a fan of had gotten involved in all of this.

He heaved once more, running the water to wash it all away. Andy had said that there was water and bread across from the bathroom. Some food and water really sounded good right now. It might help the pounding headache.

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<sub>Reuben, my mom and I would go insane if you puked in the sink, it's not good to do that! Andy glanced over to Ceph, testing his lip and noticing the blood mostly clotted. Of course he looked to Nerys, who shuffled a bit as he asked that question. Reuben answered that question though, thankfully.

"No I'm sure you weren't drunk when I found you." Andy crossed his arms. Then Ceph asked the important question. Was that their kin? He took a deep breath and then spoke up.

"Yeah, bro. He's our kin. He's your nephew." He spoke quietly. "He isn't Sine's son though..."</sub>

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Ceph laughed lightly in reply. Don't worry Andy, the only thing he might have been intoxicated on at the time was adrenaline from the fight or flight response in reaction to meeting your crew.

Once the topic shifted and the mood grew more serious, he lifted an eyebrow from behind his mask. "And you were planning on telling me this, when?" He asked curiously. He wasn't mad, as far as he could know, Andy might have only just fund out.

Wait...Not Sine's? "Well, he certainly seems to be too young. Whoever his sibling is would be in his twenties, about." He mused. Then his expression darkened behind the stars upon his 'face'. "I take it the mother was......less than willing; if the rumors are to be believed?" This time, there was a slight edge of disapproval in his voice, though this wouldn't be the first time Ceph brought up his dislike of his twin's behavior and crimes. Especially towards women. He'd never outright chastise him for it though; he loved Andy too much to risk damaging their relationship by starting a fight.

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Reuben quite honestly doesn't care at the moment, even if his RPer agrees! Reuben took a deep breath as the nausea finally started to pass, feeling a hell of a lot better. He wasn't going to complain, though water and food really sounded good at the moment. So he headed out of the room in an attempt to find whichever room it was.

Upon noticing them talking, but not hearing what their conversation was about (which was probably good for Andy, he would've flipped out at the direct reminder of what happened to his mom to result in him), he gave a curious glance and searched for that room - oh, there it was! Water! He gulped it down from whatever source it was in in quite a relieved fashion.

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<sub>Cepheid didn't look amused, and neither was Nerys. Andromeda folde dhis arms in defense as the two of them put their focus on him and his face remained motionless when Ceph spoke up. Nerys shifted her weight and then looked up at Ceph.

"I was going to tell you..." Andromeda spoke up, and then nearly got set off the edge. Of course Nerys and Ceph would disapprove of the way he ran things, especially the young girl! He growled under his breath and then spoke up.

"... Yes. I have no regrets." He spoke coldly. I JUST WANTED A SON. Either way, he was glad Reuben was out of earshot of them. "You and Sine were gone by that point."</sub>

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Cepheid accepted Andy's words when he was informed that he would have been told at some point. Appeased in that regard, he let the topic change to the other half of the parentage. Cepheid held no fear of his brother, though he still didn't want to cause a fight.

Thankfully, the mask hid his expression which saddened immensely at Andromeda's reply. Really? None at all? Not even one tiny shred of your self was saying that what you were doing was wrong?

"...I know." He answered. He knew full well that his brother's time spent alone was a very wayward era, filled with brutality and other unmentionables. He only hoped he'd be able to salvage what humanity he could from Andromeda before he would up getting himself killed.

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After drinking quite a bit of water to compensate for the alcohol (and how dehydrated it made him, not that he would really realize that), Reuben grabbed a good amount of bread, and some other necessities. It wasn't technically stealing, was it? If it came from his biological father's ship, and if it was payback for the two times Andy robbed him blind, and stepped out of the area.

Reuben glanced over at where the Star Man and Andy were staring at each other, and tilted his head a bit. What on Earth were they up to now? He cast a questioning glance over at Nerys, though he didn't let Andy out of his line of sight.

Plus it was obvious that he was taking things from the ship.

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<sub>Andromeda stayed completely silent when the air went sour. No, Andromeda didn't regret anything that he did. They all deserved it. Every last one of them. If HIS life was ruined, then everybody's else should. His cold demeanor had to change though, considering Reuben came back with an armful of bread.

"... Are you even capable of eating that much?" It took him ages to find a good baker to steal from buy! And yes, Andy actually does buy his food. Especially if it's fresh and delicious enough. They deserve to live another day of sanity.

"... You look much better, Reuben." She told the kid. Might as well change the subject now. Of course, then she finally let go of Cepheid to play with the kid's hair and straighten his clothing. Yes, Reuben, Nerys is fussing over you.</sub>

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If only you knew, Andromeda, that you were no better than your parents or the men who destroyed you. Ceph saw this, but he would never speak it. Not unless there was no other choice.

When Reuben returned with a fair percentage of the ship's bread supply, he couldn't help but smirk as he began picking out features that the boy had from his father. Now that he looked, there was little doubt who the boy's father was.

He flexed idly as he was finally released, and watched as Nerys began fussing over the bread burdened boy. "You need a basket there, lad?" He asked jovially.

While Reuben and Nerys were distracted with each other, he quickly tugged on his twin's sleeve to get his attention, and spoke quietly enough no one but the intended target could hear. "What are you planning on doing, now?" He asked. "Also, should I be introducing myself to my nephew or remaining silent for the time present?"