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Three Gates in a Ring

Chapter 4: Three for the Earth Trio

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Prompt: The Expanse, Any, What would Naomi do?

Gonna Get Yourself Broke One Day

“What do you usually do, when you’re not sure what the right thing is?” Peaches asks, looking down at the mess they’ve made that used to be a person, and he knows she’s asking instead of answering cause she’s worried she might be too much like him to know the answers.

“Usually I ask myself what Naomi’d do, if it were her. But she’d never be here - she couldn’t be on a planet - so I don’t know what she’d do,” he says, shrugging, glancing up at the paler spot in the sky that might be the moon, where Naomi could be - would be even, maybe, if he ever makes it back up there - and that’s a nice thought, so he adds, “but I do know she wouldn’t give up on getting back to her people, so let’s keep moving.”

 

Prompt: The Expanse, Peaches, Erich, Amos, this exchange [gifset of Clarissa and Erich discussing the nature of tribes; Erich mockingly asks where Amos found Clarissa. She replies that she was in prison for multiple homicides.]

It’s Lonely at the Top

“Hey,” Erich says, kinda low and quiet, cause it’s not like everyone needs to know this information on the off chance it isn’t a massive load of bullshit, “your girlfriend claims she was in prison for multiple murders - that true?”

Timmy just stares back at him like he’s wondering why the fuck he’s been asked that question for a second before he says, “She’s not my girlfriend, and yeah, she’s probably killed more people with her bare hands than you have.”

It takes Erich a second to digest this, cause Timmy might be many things, but he’s never been a liar (well, other than in the matter of his identity, and really, that fake is so damn good it’s barely a lie), before Timmy opens his mouth again, says, “Not as many as me though, probably,” and gives Erich that weird little grin before he walks off - Christ, Erich thinks, I’ve actually missed that fucker.

 

Prompt: The Expanse, Erich & Amos, baffled

Leave My Friends Where I Found Them

The Rocinante?” Erich asks, letting the disbelief in his voice show, cause sometimes, just making it obvious you think a person’s lying will get them to back down. “The same Rocinante that was involved with Eros, and the ring gates, and went on some do-good UN mission on that bullshit colony planet-” (“Ilus,” Timmy says, nodding along, but Erich never lets anyone interrupt him if he can help it), “and managed to what, save a whole Belter crew along the way - that Rocinante?”

“Yeah, Holden gets us in a lot of messes,” Timmy says, shrugging, “but he always manages to get us back out again too, so I figure it ain’t so bad in the end - Ilus really fucking sucked though,” he finishes, shaking his head, looking Erich in the eye, “so you go out through the rings, don’t go to that one, okay?” and Erich can’t really think of anything to say to that other than a strangled, “Yeah, okay.”

 

Prompt: The Expanse, Erich, Amos, Clarissa (any, all), one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor

Nothing Holding Me Down

“Look at her,” Erich hisses, “and tell me you can’t outdrink her - she weighs about as much as one of your arms.”

“Less, maybe,” Amos says, and knocks back his shot with a straight face, never taking his eyes off Clarissa’s face, not for one second.

All forty kilos of her don’t look the least bit intimidated though; she just pours again, raises one eyebrow (and her glass), and says, “Gentlemen?” leaving Erich no choice really but to follow, even as he answers, “I know this is a bad idea, but fuck me if it doesn’t look too good to pass up,” and let both of them make whatever they want out of that.

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