fandomhighdorms | Fourth Floor Common Room, Friday afternoon

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Fourth Floor Common Room, Friday afternoon

Joker sat on the couch with his foot propped up. Stress fractures like the ones he'd given himself yesterday weren't so big of a deal -- he had pills for that -- but it still hurt, dammit.

He was playing a match 3 game -- in other words, swiping with one hand at glowing objects floating in the air above his other wrist -- and he had the TV on in the background, for company. It was tuned to The Weather Channel, and he was starting to get a little sick of the Winter Storm Orion coverage. "You know what I hate?" he remarked, to no one in particular. "Weather. We don't really get that, where I'm from."

[Open like a common room!]

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"That's true, but it still sucks," Joker told her. "What we need is to build a planet that only HAS an equator, so it's nice and pleasant year-round.'

Edited 2014-02-08 05:40 (UTC)

You were breaking her heart, here, Joker.

Which totally explained the way she was trying to keep from laughing.

"I suppose that would be one way to go about it. Though the cold doesn't bother me quite so much. I suspect I might be a little more used to it than most."

And it was far easier to hide her powers in the wintertime.

"Well, you said you were from someplace up north, didn't you? I'm guessing it's not climate-controlled, there. You've had time to get used to it."

"I've had my whole life," Elsa agreed. "Winter cold is another one of those things they don't have in space, then?"

Space was still one of those concepts that she was working hard at wrapping her mind around.

"Well, space is way colder than any winter," Joker answered. "They figured out how to keep us warm and alive in a tiny metal box; they're not going to change the temperature to simulate seasons. At least they dim the lights a little at 'night'." He shrugged. "And snow is right out. I've seen some on vacations, though."

"And now here," Elsa mused, nodding. "I suppose I can see where the adversity to months of cold weather would come from. I grew up with shifting seasons. You would have had to chase after them if you wanted to see them for yourself."

Space seemed like such an odd place.

"Basically, it's like living indoors all the time -- that's all," Joker explained. "I mean, we had a park in the middle, with trees and things, but... Yeah. I had to fly to a different solar system in order to land somewhere with actual weather. It's got its advantages, though."

"Oh?" Elsa offered joker a faint smile. "I do at least know a thing or two about spending all of my time indoors, I suppose. What are the advantages?"

"Well, aside from it always being a pleasant temperature and never having to shovel snow, there's also the fact that conversations are ever so slightly more interesting, since you can't really use 'nice weather we're having' as a topic."

"I suppose you'd have to expand your horizons to start conversations with 'How about those stars?' instead." Elsa's faint smile turned into a slightly more cheeky one. "Or... other celestial bodies. Asteroids?"

Seriously, she was going to need to start studying space more thoroughly, here.

"Believe it or not, we don't get a lot of stars, either," Joker told her. As adorable as her reaction would be, he decided to spare her from him jumping on the "celestial bodies" theme.

"Where there's not, you know, just a ceiling like this one" -- he gestured upward -- "there's sunlight coming in through filtered, translucent glass. I mean, there are plenty of rooms you can go to, to see the stars, and they're more beautiful than you can possibly imagine... but they're not a normal daily thing like they are here."

Well, there went every single thing Elsa had assumed she actually knew about space. She tilted her head slightly as she attempted to puzzle out what that might be like, and realized that she really had no idea where to start.

"I can't picture it," she admitted, looking thoughtful. "Sunlight, but no stars. Or... occasional stars. At least I had a balcony, back in my room in Arendelle."

Which had been pretty much her only gateway to the rest of the world, granted.

Joker shrugged. "Well, it's... Here." He pulled up an image of the interior on his omnitool, so that it floated in the air between them. "It may seem strange to you, but it's home to me."

[The station is a Stanford torus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_torus) design; it's similar to the game's Citadel Presidium (http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090206231930/masseffect/images/3/3e/Citadel-Presidium-View_From_Ambasador_Lounge_3.png), but wider edge-to-edge and not as futuristic-looking.]

"Oh..." Floating images were one more thing on a list of things that Elsa was going to need to get used to, it seemed. Still, she found herself drawn to the image, leaning in for a better look with wide eyes. "Oh, my. It's like nothing I've ever seen, but it's lovely. We don't have much of a concession to nature in our courtyard back home. It's cobblestones and fountains, mostly, and I haven't spent much time out beyond that, at least until I came here."

She straightened up a little so that she could smile at Joker over the image.

"I think I can understand why a person might not miss the weather, now."

Joker smiled back. "Well, the trees aren't just for show," he pointed out. "They help keep the air breathable. But... yeah." He shrugged. "We don't have much room for courtyards, and getting cobblestones would be crazy expensive. I imagine your home's a lot more beautiful."

"I wish it was half as easy for me to show you my home," Elsa admitted, ducking her head slightly as if that was somehow going to hide her smile. "I don't have anything anywhere near as fancy as your... er..."

If she waved a hand at his omnitool, he'd probably know what she was referring to, she figured.

"I did have one of the best views of the kingdom from my bedroom window, though. Out beyond the gate, there are mountains and forests. And the way the mountains reflect off of the water in the fjord is breathtaking. I never did get tired of looking at it."

All of it. Out there. Where she wasn't.

"It sounds beautiful," Joker told her. "I... don't actually know what a fjord looks like to be honest. This is called an omnitool, and I know you don't have one, but... are you from before photographs? Do you have any paintings?"

"We have paintings," Elsa replied. "But I don't have any here. The ones back home are massive, some are taller than I am. The frames alone are too heavy to lift."

She was from a little before photographs were a thing, unfortunately.

"I... I wasn't asking if you had paintings. I mean, they've been around since the dawn of time. I just didn't know if you... I don't know. Brought a painting of home so you didn't miss it so much? They can't ALL be too heavy to lift."

The paintings that Elsa's family had?

Yep. All too heavy to lift.

"That's what I meant," she assured him. "Our family has an entire gallery of paintings, but... well, we're not really the sort to do anything small, I suppose. There's a gorgeous painting of Arendelle just outside of the dining hall, but I couldn't possibly bring it with me."

Elsa's wealth was showing. Oops.

Gallery of paintings? Dining hall? ...Yeah. Joker was beginning to get that impression. "Just... out of random curiosity," he asked, because he had to. He couldn't not. "Is there... like, a gigantic portrait of your father over the mantelpiece?"

"Is... there..." Oh. Elsa drew in a sharp little breath, trying not to let show just how much that question stung, however unintentionally. "There is."

It was a painting of his coronation ceremony. She swallowed at a lump in her throat, and then barrelled onwards, forcing a smile.

"And another one of him and my mother, down one of the halls. There will be one of me in a few years, too, but I'm... not in any hurry for that to happen."

She had little choice, but she really wasn't rushing it.

"Hey... Hey," Joker said, trying to be comforting. "Being rich isn't something to be ashamed of. I was just curious. I promise not to ask you to buy me a car or anything?"

You were just lucky Elsa knew what a car was by now, Joker. Honestly.

"Oh... no, it's not that." She pulled in a deep breath, exhaled, and then attempted a little smile. "I just miss them, that's all. They died suddenly, just a few weeks before I came here."

A pause.

"Why? Did you want a car?"

She was attempting some half-hearted teasing, now. Because now seemed like a very good time for it.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry!" Joker replied. He reached out a comforting hand for her shoulder, jerked it back before it got halfway, and ended up with his arm flopping around in the air awkwardly. "I didn't know. Are you...?" Except she obviously didn't want to talk about it, and he wasn't sure if he should press.

"Trust me," he told her, going with the other line of conversation. "Every teenage boy wants a car. And just about everybody likes getting attractive people to buy them expensive things."

Fourth Floor Common Room, Friday afternoon

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