[video]

[im_a_leg]

[LOOK WHO'S OUT OF THE CLINIC AT LONG LAST]

Hey, so guys? I totally do not recommend eating wild berries. Tasty though they look, gentle on your stomach they are not. Oh, man. It was like being on the test team program all over again. Ship going backward sand forwards, up and down, side to si--

[He goes a little green and cups his mouth. When he speaks again he sounds strained.] Alright, okay, cool. So enough of that. That is officially all of that that's gonna happen.

So, yeah. No berries. Bad plan. Don't do it.

Comments

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I told Shiro not to tell anyone about my birthday!!

[pidge_out]

Why would you think Shiro told me? For all you know, I could've read it in one of your diaries.

1/2

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Because Shiro is the only person I told and of course he would tell you because yo--

2/2

[forgeabettertomorrow]

--ooOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUU DID WHAT?!?!

[pidge_out]

[She doesn't even react. She looks completely and entirely nonplussed.]

Yeah, I was trying to find your notes on the Ingress. It was a long time ago.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Oh...

Oh you just wanted my Ingress notes...?

You should have just asked. I would have gladly given you everything I had...

[Oh man. Oh man he may have just dodged a bullet there.]

[pidge_out]

[Did he, though? Did he?]

It was faster to just go through your stuff.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Concerned. This is his concerned face. Because Darin has put every random midnight thought into those journals.]

[He needs to find out how recently Pidge went through them.]

Okay so...while I applaud your initiative, my organizational skills are...well, lacking. Especially when it comes to stream of conscious note taking.

Did you...go through all of the journals...? Or just a few...? Ballpark it for me...?

[pidge_out]

[She has to think on that. It's been a while.]

Probably a dozen or so. Maybe a few more.

1/2

[forgeabettertomorrow]

A DOZEN?! WHAT, WERE YOU WRITING A BOOK REPORT OR SOMETHING?!

2/2

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[DRAGS HANDS DOWN FACE.]

You know what? This is fine. It's fine. It's all just research stuff anyway.

I mean, it's not like there was anything personal in there that you don't already know.

[pidge_out]

[Still as calm as ever~]

Dude, I didn't know which one would have the notes on the Ingress.

[And does it look like there's something Pidge isn't telling you, Darin?]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[In fact, it does look like there's more that she's not saying.]

[Okay. This is something Darin can handle. Darin used to barter and talk business with the best of them. His negotiating skills were top notch. What could a Pidge bring to the table that no one else has before?]

[He takes another fee breath and squares up.]

Yeah...those notes were from awhile ago. I hardly remember everything I had discovered around that time.

You ah...you come across anything else interesting? Anything useful?

[pidge_out]

[She nods a little, calm and sage as ever.]

Some interesting stuff, sure. Not a lot of useful things I didn't already know. Kind of hard to remember right now.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Oh yeah? I don't know, I find it a little hard to believe that a mind as sharp as yours would fail to remember anything you found interesting.

We gotta work together, right? As a team? Maybe if you tell me what caught your attention we can make some sense out of it. Maybe it'll be useful.

[He knows he's taking a risk here but he has to know what Pidge saw.]

[pidge_out]

[Well, Darin. Now you get a little bit of that mischievousness shining through in the little smile she gives him.]

I guess. I've made sense out of most of it, though.

And by the way, I only remember what I need.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin grinds his teeth briefly as he continues to press her.]

Okay...then. Was any of the information particularly helpful?

To help you understand the Ingress?

Or was there...y'know...things you found unrelated to the ingress that piqued your interest...?

[pidge_out]

[Oh Darin. You are so not good at this.]

Little of both, actually.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[HE'S TRYING, DAMMIT.]

Yeah?

Like what?

[pidge_out]

Like your birthday.

[Duh.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Aha! Now I've got you!

Why would I put my own birthday in my own journals! That's just stupid!

Which means you learned that from Shiro because I wouldn't dare write such personal, sensitive information down!!

[pidge_out]

[For someone who just got busted, she doesn't look terribly concerned. She's still smiling a little, head tilted ever so slightly.]

Let's pretend you're right and I didn't learn it from your journals. I also could've done a biometric scan that carbon dated your body to the exact moment it emerged from the womb. Or I could've hacked into the machinery here and found your personal data file.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Okay but...

... ... ...

All of those things sound like a tremendous pain in the ass to just find out when my birthday is...

They also sound terrifying.

[pidge_out]

Who says I would do those things just to find out about a birthday?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

...I know you're doing this to put me off.

I want you to know that it is working.

Pidge. I need you to be honest with me.

Do you secretly want to experiment on me?