I believe you.

Orion's shoulders slump under the weight of relief. He's so tired of being defensive, angry. He just wants to feel human.

"Trust," he mumbles. "Been hard to trust, after Rocket. Always thought the League had my back."

Perhaps they simply couldn't find where Rocket were keeping him, but cynicism tilts Orion's view toward darker alternatives. They hadn't cared enough to look for him, not before it was too late.

"I don't mean the Rangers," he adds, divorcing them from the League with a shake of his head. "You guys have always been solid. Just don't have much faith elsewhere." He can't help but blame them for the loss of his arm. Chu-e Choi had mutilated him under the twisted impression that the League had failed him, but what had Orion done except his job? "I don't think I want to get dragged back into all their politics. Had enough of that for a lifetime."

notes

It surprises him to hear that Tam, too, is slow to trust... a brief spark of warmth kindles in his chest. It meant all the more, then, that the captain had taken a chance on him. Even if Orion had immediately proved why that was a bad idea.

Warmth is replaced by guilt, strangling his lungs.

Blessedly, Tam offers a subject on which he can focus his anxious energy.

"Ugh. Worse." Finished with his beer, he offers a tight quirk of his lips when the bartender catches his eye. "Shochu. Thanks." His attention diverts back to Tam. "I only ran to make sure my brother didn't get the seat. Jiro?" That Orion was a member of the Sakurai clan was not known to the public, yet he doesn't hesitate to share it now. He takes a large swallow of his drink when it's handed to him. "He's still all about his Lilycove expansion project."

Jiro Sakurai, and in fact the entire Sakurai family, were well known in Lilycove. Respected. Perhaps a little feared. They were everything he wasn't.

"Anyway, it was a lot of red tape and business meetings. I hated it."

He'd only stayed because he wanted to help people. He feels too shy to admit that idealistic part of himself aloud.

notes

"Sure do." A scoff scrapes rough in Orion's throat. He wanted nothing to do with his family. "Changed my name for a reason."

Downing the glass of harder liquor with more fervour than he had the beer, Orion's starting to feel its effects. He doesn't drink much, has always been a bit of a lightweight, and the lack of food in his stomach certainly doesn't help.

"Give people like Jiro power and you get Rocket." He doesn't realise how accurate that is; it's a wry statement, meant to be humorous, with no actual knowledge of his family ties to the criminal syndicate. "Don't miss it, don't want it. Never again." A pause, and then with a morbid smirk, "Unless they could give my arm back. Maybe I'd consider it."

He snickers into his glass, waving for another.

notes

"Yeah," he affirms. "Might not have bothered if they weren't so... ugh." He gestures vaguely with his metal hand, the movement too sharp and nearly tipping his glass. Startled, he steadies it with his right and flushes from the embarrassment. It was hard enough to deal with a lack of coordination thanks to the alcohol, let alone when your limbs weren't your own.

"Can't imagine you being anyone but 'Tam'."

Perhaps another might've been oh-so-careful about Orion's prosthetic, especially considering how touchy he'd proven himself to be, but it's Tam's lack of hesitation to address the elephant at the table that leaves Orion feeling more relaxed. Well, that and the buzz he was steadily developing. That helped, too.

"Bit too mean of a punch," he admits. "Still working out the difference between 'playful nudge' and 'broken nose'." He does smile in spite of the joke at his own expense; Tam's not wrong, and he'd said it as a joke rather than a scolding. That made all the difference. "Guess I should learn to fight a bit better if I want to break anything that isn't mine."

notes

Orion's eyes narrow with amused suspicion, as if he's not sure whether or not Tam is pulling his leg.

"Well now you've got to tell me," he protests.

He's not wholly serious, however; if Tam were to express discomfort with the thought of sharing, he'd immediately back down. Alcohol makes him bold, but it doesn't render him utterly devoid of tact.

It does make his smiles come easier, cheeks flushed with a laugh as Tam continues to needle him.

"That was one time!" He's so sorry, Calliope Marks. "I think I'd like that. I'm supposed to take it easy with the arm, but I think some basic training couldn't hurt." Plus, it'd let him spend more time with Tam outside of a strictly work setting. Win/win.

notes

Valentine.

It's not what he expects, and a burst of laughter bubbles in his throat. Tam looks annoyed, but Orion can't resist teasing him with the insistence, "That's kinda cute." After a beat, he relaxes his smirk and admits, "I don't have a middle name. Or, didn't." He still doesn't, but he'd never had one to begin with. "But. My name is Seiji. Now we're even."

He goes to down a sip of liquor to find his glass empty once more. That explains why his head is starting to swim.

"Pickin' on the guy with one arm? C'mon."

He doesn't actually seem to mind.

notes

Orion looks stunned. "Really? Never?"

He can't fathom it. Sure, Tam's resting apathy works against him, but anyone with eyes could see that he was cute. Right? Well, maybe most people haven't had the balls to tell him. He does intimidate a lot of people.

Orion, halfway to drunk, isn't feeling intimidated.

Not even when Tam's sky-blue eyes lock with his green gaze, which would normally set off all of his alarms. Now, the flush of alcohol disguises the blush on his cheeks when the captain continues to tease him.

"Well now I know your secret, too, Valentine."

Alcohol wasn't the finest idea.