~~(Guys Only)~~

[Luke Martin]

Luke had noticed that the girls on the ship had been getting to have a lot of fun of late, they were all fairly friendly with one another, but the guys on the other hand... seemed to avoid each other. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he was going to try and change it. He got a feeling they all needed male friends about as much as he did, otherwise all the testosterone on the ship was going the vanish and it was going to be girl heaven.

So, he'd got in a crate or so of beer, and put it in the mess hall, which was off-limits to the ladies for the evening. He'd managed to dig out music from his computer and put it on a drive so it could be plugged into the computer/screen on the wall in the mess hall, and rearranged the chairs and tables so it was a little more welcoming and communal. There were films as well, typically manly ones, if people felt inclined. If this didn't work, then... it'd be someone else's turn to think of something.

Peeking around for Alex the chef, Luke ducked into the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboards for potato chips and anything else unhealthy that he could find, tossing them onto the table with the beer. Taking a breath, he shoved his hands in his pockets and waited for someone to turn up.

[karen2]

The announcement of a "guys' night" had been unexpected, but it had also made Ben realize that he hadn't actually spent time with any of the guys on the ship. Actually, aside from Anna, he'd rarely had contact with anyone on the ship. Deciding that a night with the guys would be good for him, he made his way down to the mess.

When he stepped inside, the only other there was Luke. He'd passed him a couple times in the halls, and he knew that he was with Alliana, as the said woman was Anna's best-friend. Offering him a brief nod of acknowledgment, Ben meandered over to the table where a small snack-station had been thrown together and grabbed a couple of beers before wandering back over to where the other man was standing, looking awkward.

"So who all's coming?" ha asked idly, passing Luke one of the beers before twisting the lid off his own and taking a swig. "D'you know?"

[William Blake]

Will had been idly scrolling through the notice board messages when the one about the guy's night caught his eye. He was surprised none of them had thought to do something like that sooner, but then, they were guys after all, and Will wasn't exactly the most social person. He certainly didn't go out of his way to make friends. Friendships happened, everyone else could do whatever, so long as they didn't get in his way.

Nevertheless, Will had decided to stop by and see who was there, maybe think about sticking around. It wouldn't do him any harm to get to know some of the guys on the ship, even if he was perfectly content to just spend time with Natalie, and occasionally Anna. It would help to have some guy friends to unwind with from time to time. And, Luke, the guy who had arranged it, wasn't a bad guy, Will knew that already from when he helped out with Ally's sticky situation.

He entered and his eyes immediately fell on the other two men in the room, Luke and Ben. Ben, well, they hadn't exactly got off to the best of starts last time they'd come face to face. Or more, Ben's fist to Will's face. This was going to be... interesting. "Hey," he said, walking over to pick up a beer for himself, twisting the cap off. "Well, you can count me as one." He decided to stick around, he assumed Ben wouldn't try anything. "Don't know about anyone else, but I'm sure there'll be more."

[somerandomhippie2]

Ollie had been quite happy at the prospect of a party. He hadn't been to a party in ages. First, he had been too busy in his lab back home to go to those sorts of parties, and so far, they hadn't had those sorts of parties on-board the Venia. Despite not drinking, he tended to have a good time at parties-- things would break, people would laugh, weird stuff would happen. Considering the amount of geniuses on this ship, this was going to be one heck of a party.

When he got there, only Luke, Will and Ben were perched on a table, drinking beer. "Dude, what happened to the party?" he asked amiably. "Or is it going to be that kind of party?" Popping through the kitchen, he grabbed his preferred beer- root beer- and sat on the table with the others. "Though, I must say, I think I prefer these kinds of parties. Less insurance needed."

He took a quick swig. "Yes, repeating this dude's question," he popped in, nodding at Ben. "How many of us are there, anyways? Four?"

[Luke Martin]

The guys were coming in thick and fast considering Luke hadn't set a time - he'd only just realised. It must have been when most of them had got off their shifts, a fantastic coincidence. No doubt people would wander in and out. Ben was the first, and offered Luke a beer. He hadn't really talked to the guy before, strange considering their girlfriends were practically attached at the hip. "Thanks," he said, taking the beer from him, before addressing the guys.

"Looks like it could just be us four," he nodded, "not bad considering I thought no one was going to show up." Now that they all had their beers, he raised his bottle, "cheers." Surveying the group, he noticed how this might end up a little awkward for Ben with the people that turned up, but he would try his best to distract people and ease any tension. Emphasis being on the word try.

"All right, everyone's already got drinks so there's music, if you feel like making conversation, or we can stick a movie on, see what happens."

[karen2]

As if Ben's words had been some sort cue, it was then that Will and Oliver wandered in. He only just repressed a groan. Great, the guy he'd clocked in the face and the guy he'd more or less stolen Anna from. Wouldn't this be a lovely evening. At least Luke was there--he was uninvolved, which meant that the three of them would probably manage to keep themselves in check. He certainly was going to behave himself, anyway.

So far they seemed amicable enough, greeting the others nonchalantly and getting drinks for themselves. Oliver seemed pretty relaxed, and Ben was fairly sure that he had nothing to worry about there. Glancing at Will, he saw that the chief engineer looked relatively calm as well, though not exactly comfortable. So long as Ben didn't prod him too much, hopefully the two of them would be all right as well.

It was then that Luke explained their options, and Ben couldn't help but snort. "Man, we are such ninnies. Standing around awkwardly discussing how we should spend out evening..." He shook his head a little, but then added, "On that note, I vote for a movie. I think conversation will come easier after we've downed a couple more drinks."

[somerandomhippie1]

Penn hadn't really been up for the idea of a party. He'd been stuck in enough college parties to know things got wild, fast, and he wasn't much of a wild guy. Still, this was a ship full of working people. Maybe it'd be a little better. As if.

After shift, he'd grabbed his soccer ball and made his way down to the galley. He usually brought it to parties-- he wasn't the only one who liked staying sober, and besides, drunk soccer, he had to admit, was rather funny. He let the ball precede him through the door, then walked in himself, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He stuffed the ball into a corner with a neat kick, then grabbed himself a beer.

He wasn't that much of an idiot to spot that the company was a little odd. Luke was fine, he was a nice guy. It was the other clump of people that raised his brow-- Ben, Will, and Ollie. As far as he knew, and what he had seen at that gala a while back, things could get tense if enough alcohol was consumed. He prayed, for their sake, that Luke hadn't planned on bringing that much beer.

He just caught Luke's comment about things to do, and Ben's comment on their ninniness. Penn chuckled. "Well, half of us are sitting," he pointed out, "But other than that, yes, we do seem to be quite ninnie-ish at the moment." As Luke called cheers, he raised his glass, and took a swig. "I don't really care, as long as we don't get too drunk," he pointed out. "The ship might be in a bad spot if half the crew is hung-over the next day, and in bed."

[William Blake]

They were joined by two more, Ollie and Penn. Ollie was an interesting addition to the party, Ben probably wasn't feeling very lucky right now. Between him and the science officer he was in for a terrific evening. Penn was a nice enough guy, or that was he had heard anyway. Will was fine with it being just the five of them. It wouldn't be a large party, but then it wouldn't get completely out of control either. "Yeah, cheers."

Will actually let out a laugh when Ben said that they were ninnies. They really were. It was this ship and the women here, they were all going soft. "Ninnies is definitely how I'd describe it," he agreed, "I could go for a film too. We can talk over it anyway." More beer was good also, but like Penn said, in moderation. "Yeah, we might just be missed," he said. He could count two chiefs of staff, the pilot, and two deputy officers. Things would pretty much grind to a halt if they were all reeling in bed from the beer. The only person who was safe was Ollie. Smart man.

"Just put whatever on, everything else will sort itself out." They were clever men. Once things relaxed a little, they'd be fine.