Remnants of the Earth
Ships => Ships => Sassy Juice => Topic started by: Katie on July 29, 2012, 06:57:15 pm
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The thing about instant coffee was that, while it was crap, it was fast crap. And cheap crap. And it had just as much caffeine as the good stuff, and it kept for longer. Which was why Alia put up with it. That and her paycheck. Sure, it was good--the wonders of a steady job--but the thing about living on a space station was that real coffee beans tended to set you back...a lot. Even with the hydroponics system, on account of the public one being for essential things. Stuff like coffee or sugar grown on-Cancer was all grown on private 'ponics, and given the cost of maintaining those was through the theoretical atmosphere, the problem was pretty clear.
It was a specialized market, and pirate pilots weren't exactly the target demographic, yeah?
So Alia drank instant coffee, and didn't bitch about it. Much. She stirred it til the powder mixed with the water completely, then stirred it again for good measure, then took a sip. Carefully. She'd already scratched two cups (always such fun to explain). She heard a noise in the door and turned, one hand going to her hip out of habit even though it was early enough that the Sassy was still locked up. But it was just Ari.
"Morning," she said, raising the cup in his general direction. "For a given definition of the word."
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Trudging groggily into the kitchen, Ari paused at the sound of Alia's voice and raised his head, blinked a couple times as he peered at her through messy bed-hair. He was always slow to wake, never one of those people that hopped out of bed all sunshine and perkiness. The perkiness came after caffeine and a shower, generally in that order. Clothes followed. But since he'd had neither, Alia was greeted with the full force of his sluggishness and current state of undress, which involved boxers and nothing else.
"Mm. Mornin', sweetheart," he said with a floppy wave, and shuffled the rest of the way in, squinting in the artificial light. He took a seat at the table, sank his head into his hand for a moment and pondered passing out again, but finally forced himself to sit upright, face the light, and take it like a bloody man.
"That coffee?" he said, making a vague motion at her cup. "Wanna be a doll and grab me some, there?"
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[Oops guess who just saw this.]
"Normally I'd say get your own, but since you can't manage pants yet I'm not trusting you with anything hot." She'd gotten used to this kind of thing a long time ago--being stuck on a ship together meant you saw most of your fellow crew members in various states of undress eventually, and she'd been on a lot of ships. She'd also gotten used to the pet names. Sort of.
Alia made another cup (and wished for a coffeemaker, but the stuff that went through those was more expensive than the powder kind) and handed to Ari. "Drink up and become people again. You know what they say you're supposed to do about zombies."
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[Aww! xD It's all good! <333]
Ari grinned, pressed fingers to his temple, and mimed shooting himself in the head. "Right? Heh, no worries, darlin'. I ain't the brain-eatin' type. I like nibblin' the bits ya can reach with a little clothes shufflin' and no skull crackin'."
With a wink her way, he accepted the coffee, took one long sip, and winced as he burned his tongue. "Ow, shit."
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Alia rolled her eyes. She was used to that, too--not that it made it any funnier.
"Careful," she said mildly, trying and failing to repress a smile. "It's still hot."
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[xD I love how the gifs have taken over.]
Ari shot her a bland stare, one eyebrow raised. "Naaaaw! Ya think? I only just seared my tongue off." It was way too early to use good judgment.
He set his coffee aside to let it cool and then stuck his tongue out at Alia. "Wanna kiss it better?"
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[It's an epidemic!]
Alia held up a hand. "Fun as your offer sounds, nope. Go elsewhere."
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[>8D *INFECTS ALL THE THINGS!*]
Ari affected a kicked puppy look, which hardly looked convincing on his face. "Aw, baby, why so frigid? You're gonna give me frostbite here."
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Alia snorted. "Like nobody else on this ship will bang you."
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"Alia!" Ari pressed a hand to his heart, eyes wide. "Sweetheart! Ya wound me! What am I, some sex-starved neanderthal to ya? Ya think all I'm interested in is sex? Is that all ya see? Lemme tell ya, darlin', I am a person, with feelin's, and I'm just as deservin' of love as anyone! And those feelin's, ya just hurt them."
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"Well...yeah." She grabbed a seat across from Ari. "I'd say I was sorry about that, but my mama taught me it's bad form to lie to your boss."
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"Smart woman," Ari said, and took a sip of his coffee. "Though she missed the lesson where a little ass-kissin' here and there never hurt no one."
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"My teeth're too sharp to kiss ass," Alia said. "It'd be a shame if yours ended up ruined, yeah?"
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"Well, I do like my ass," Ari agreed. "But I also like teeth. Such a conundrum."
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"Here's an idea," said Alia, "Find somebody who doesn't have fangs. Then you can have all the kinky monkey sex you want and you won't have to get stitched up. What d'you think?"
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Ari blinked, grinned, and rubbed his side where the stab wound had finally gone from a wound to a scar. "Oh, babe. If I don't gotta get patched up, how do I know the sex was good?"
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"Orgasm might be a clue." She took a swig of coffee. "Some folks don't even try." By folks she meant men; she'd slept with women and other people who were bad at getting her off, but none who didn't at least give it a try.
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"Details, details." Ari waved his hand. "But I will have ya know I ain't one of the slackers."
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"'course not," Alia said. "You're the kind of guy who has skill." Then she realized the combination of what she'd said and who she'd said it to, and added, "Don't you go taking that the wrong way."
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"Tch, I'm takin' it the right way," Ari said with a wide grin, and steepled his fingers beneath his chin as he peered at her. "It was only a matter of time before the ice cracked beneath the masculine charm and hot, sexy vibes."
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She rolled her eyes. "What ice? Just 'cause I won't sleep with you doesn't mean I don't get any."
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Ari arched an eyebrow. "Ykan?"
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Alia had taken a drink of her coffee right before he said that, and she almost choked on it laughing. "No," she said, when she'd managed to get a measure of her dignity back. "Renna Mae's, when we're docked here." That was a brothel--a clean one, as much on the level as those ever got, but a brothel anyway. She went for Hyacinth, mostly. Nice girl, funny as hell, and she had magic hands. "Why do you care who I screw anyway?"
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Ari managed to hold the expression until Alia nearly choked, drawing out a laugh of his own.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, darlin'. I don't care who ya screw or how many or when or what. It's the fact that ya screw at all that's relevant to my interests." He gave a little nod and a smile. "Renna Mae's, huh? Been meanin' to check that place out."
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"Don't know why you keep trying, cause you're never getting a yes," said Alia. "Yeah. Nice place. Price'll get marked down if you tell Kittie I sent you."
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"Kittie, huh? Mrowr," Ari said with an eyebrow waggle. "I'll be sure to hit her up. As for you, m'dear..."
He leaned his elbows on the table and leaned toward her. "Maybe I just like the thrill of the chase. Or maybe it's 'cause I'm a masochist and the rejection hurts so good."
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"She's the secretary, not one of the girls." Alia raised her eyebrows. "Really, now? Real convenient for you, cause I don't intend to be caught. And if it's pain you like, ask for Leena. Just not before we have a business run, cause you'll be stiff for a day or so." Alia'd tried her once, asked her to be gentle. It'd been good, but the bruising on her thighs had been real inconvenient.
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"Leena...ah, I like the sound of her. Anyhow!" Ari gave Alia a light punch in the shoulder. "Sounds like we got a great workin' relationship goin' on here, you and me. You run, I chase, and on and on we go, one big uroboros minus the bitin'. Works for me if it works for ya, sweetheart."
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"Hate to see what you call unprofessional if this is working." (Not that he was wrong, though Alia wouldn't exactly class what she was doing as running.) She nudged him back and smiled just wide enough to show a little tooth. "But it's not too bad, I'll give you that."
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Ari grinned. "Glad it ain't terrible, 'cause if it was, well, tough shit. You're stuck here 'til the next port in fuckall knows when."
Finishing off his coffee in a long gulp, Ari slid his chair back and rocked a little, balancing it on its back legs so he could prop his sock-clad feet up on the table. "Speakin' of which, what do you do to keep from goin' batshit crazy on long hauls like this?"
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"Lots of stuff." Alia shrugged. "I read a bunch of shitty Aedolian web serials. Comics, too. Mostly the indie ones about singularities and stuff. Plus there's upkeep to do. These muscles don't make themselves." She took another swig of her coffee. "What about you? I know you can't spend all your free time banging Ykan."
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"Nah, not all of it. Guys need a little recovery time between rounds, y'know." Ari shrugged. "Aside from bangin' and super important captainly duties, I happen to be workin' on the next great Edani novel. It's gonna be a classic, lemme tell ya."
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...well, that was unexpected. Ari as an author? Not something she'd have thought of. Then again, most people wouldn't peg her as a comics reader. Layers and all that.
"Okay, I'll bite," Alia said. "What's it about?"
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"Ah, darlin', I thought you'd never ask!"
Ari slid his feet off the table, let his chair drop back to all fours, and leaned forward with his arms on the table. "Alright! So I don't wanna give too much away but suffice to say it's a pulpy space opera about this group that goes where no man's gone before. Action! Adventure! Explosions! Aliens! Oh, and y'know steamy romance of the whip and leather variety, but it's got a relevant plot purpose. It's a big character development moment, see. It's touchin', really, and not at all gratuitous."
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"Yeah, sure it is," Alia said. "Plot sounds interesting, though." She wasn't going to admit she wanted to know more, much less that she might want to read the thing. (If he ever finished it, anyway.) It was a pride thing, which was why it made almost no sense.
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"Yeah, it's gonna be pretty epic. Might make a series of it, dependin' on how the first does." If he ever finished it. He'd scrapped so many first drafts already. "Then disappoint the shit outta all my adorin' fans when I die young and leave the entire thing forever unresolved. It's the perfect plot for immortality. The characters'll live on in speculation and fanfic, and I'll live on through 'em."
Ari feigned wiping a tear from his eye. "It's all beautifully tragic, don'tcha think? I've really thought this out. So! What kinda comics ya read, anyway?"
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"Hey," Alia said, "Don't go jumping the gun. I don't want to take orders from Ykan." That was a joke. Mostly. "Besides, I get my way, we all die old and rich." She probably wouldn't, of course--the most likely way for her to die was some kind of systems failure that blew out the cockpit--but it was nice to think about.
"Like I said, indie stuff. About zombies and mad scientists and shit like that."
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Ari let out a laugh at that one. "Good point. I'm just cringin' at the thought of Sassy in anyone else's hands, to be honest. The things they could do to my baby..." He shuddered visibly. "Oh, yeah, and riches are good, too. The old and wrinkly part, not so much, but the riches, sure!"
Tilting his head, he then gave Alia an odd look. "Zombies and mad scientists, huh?" He raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Never saw that comin'."
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"Right?" Alia didn't have the same relationship with the Sassy as Ari did, but she handled beautifully for her and even the paint job had sort of grown on her. It was still ugly, though. She finished off her coffee and winced. Cold. And grainy. "I'll take double my share of wrinkles if I end up with the money for real coffee."
She looked sidelong at him. "Yeah, and you look like an author. It was my ex got me into them--she was way back. I was what, twenty? Younger than you, anyway."
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"Hey! What're ya implyin'? Ya sayin' I'm old"?" Ari said, and laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, well, the author bit, that's our secret. Can't be lettin' others know, it might ruin my hardass pirate rep. You keep that to yourself, I won't tell folks ya still read picture books."
He added a wink to the end, showing he was just kidding. Honestly, he didn't care who knew--most people just didn't ask.
"On the condition, of course, that ya stop bein' so stingy and gimme the names of some of these titles."