Sympathy for a Devil [M] (Cheesi!)

[Lion]

"All right then. Let's get the hell out of here. Sister will understand," he said with a chuckle and stood, helping her out of her seat and leading the way out the door. They didn't need the Strider to head out to the circuit that was located not more than a few blocks away. Thade shoved his hands in his pocket along the walk and gestured to Reva.

"You just watch the races, or do you prefer to participate?" he asked casually. Some amateur races made a name for themselves on Decker's Delight 1000. It was already bustling with hot riles bodies drunk off gambling, blood, and adrenaline.  He smiled and looked her over. "I mean you have a lot of rides. I'm not not all of them go about collecting dust."

Once they were inside, Thade paid the admission and moved out toward the circuit proper where screens along the side were already displaying images of fast moving vessels that roared with speed and power. "Ah, I love the smell of blood and fusion burns in the air," he chuckled and moved out to the stands. He moved out into an open spot where the circuit expanded far out at least  a mile and a half in diameter.

And two small nimble fusion cars roared by them in a straight drag, fire spewing from all engines, tearing across the track and spewing dust up into the air with the force of their motion.  The roar of the race was as thrilling as it was fast and even as Thade watched with glee, it was over way too fast.

The red racer wiped the floor with it's opposing yellow vessel and Thade cursed, pressing his fleshy hand into his metal one.  Watching was always nice, but being in the action was better. "Hey, you wanna race?  Let's go to the other side of the circuit! There's a place where they'll let us go for a drive.  I know you want to...you've got that look in your eye."

[Cheesigator]

Reva had a difficult time of hiding her relief when Thade agreed for them to leave. Anything to do with mechanical engineering she was perfectly fine with. Brawling and fights? Fantastic. Girly things, like going to clubs or dancing or singing or knitting?

Hell no.

So perhaps she was a little quick to get up from their table when Thade announced his intention of leaving.

The walk there was appreciated; somehow it felt much more open and comfortable of an atmosphere, as opposed to the vessel they had taken to reach the club. It was easier to hold decent conversation. She clasped her hands loosely together behind her back as they walked and talked, a small smile on her face as Thade asked a question.

"You'd be right in your assumption. I prefer being behind the wheel... But this past year has been good for business. I haven't had the time to get into a race in a good long while."

She admitted it almost a bit shyly, as if she were a bit ashamed of the fact that she hadn't gotten to do something she claimed to be so interested in for such a long time. A lot of people would've called bullshit on her on that, or made her prove it. Because she was a girl--especially because she was such a small and... ""Cute"" girl like herself.

But as they reached the circuit she seemed to lose a bit of her coy attitude in favor of drinking in all the sights, sounds, and smells around her, soaking it all up like a sponge. As they moved through the building, it seemed quite a few of the regulars who happened to look and spot her recognized  her, calling her name and waving a greeting here and there, though it was all mostly casual.

Her magenta hues were bright and shining with intrigue as they reached the track and she found herself leaning dangerously on the rail of the stands as the two racers neared the finish line. And as they crossed the checkered line, flag waving in declaration of the finish she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as she settled both feet firmly back on the ground, perhaps disappointed that it was over... Or that she wasn't the winner.

Thade spoke up however and she blinked in surprise, looking up at him and narrowing her eyes for a moment; was he serious?

She eyed him carefully before she gave him a cocky grin, knowing exactly where he was thinking of.

"I never back down from that kind of a challenge. You sure you can handle it? Because I can almost guarantee you're going to lose."

She said it so light-hearted and playfully one almost might think Reva had been swapped with a clone who looked exactly like her but had a completely different personality. Reva? Having fun? The very idea might have seemed impossible.

Reva led the way to the other side of the circuit, knowing full well where she was going as the workers recognized her with grins on their faces as they let her and Thade onto the track for free, watching Thade and shaking their heads, as if they knew something he didn't.

Reva stepped out with Thade onto the asphalt, waving her left hand as a small holographic screen appeared in front of her and a few buttons were pressed. Seconds later, two small racing cars materialized before her and Thade, ones he might recognize from her level of the parking garage. One was a sleek sports car, black with neon purple LED pinstriping and glowing rims, the other a shining metallic rose gold. She gave another wave of her hand and the doors unlocked and opened, sliding vertically upwards and revealing the chic leather interiors inside.

She smirked at Thade as she got into the driver's side of the rose gold car. "Don't worry, I'll wait for you after the finish line.~"

Once both of them had rolled up to the starting line, a small crowd had already gathered around, curious and pointing to Reva and Thade's cars as the lights went down from red to yellow to green and Reva's car bolted with the roar of the massive engine locked under its hood that made the road quiver.

[Lion]

The thought of racing to win hadn't crossed his mind until Thade started noticing all the greetings and waves Reva was getting once they crossed to the other side of the racing circuit. Oh, that's right. She built shit like this for a living and he realized then with a flush to his cheeks that this wasn't at all new for her. But, he decided to think it more within his favor than the other way around.

She was used to this, he wasn't. She could show him things he didn't know. Now that they were going to go neck and neck, she was at least guaranteed to have a good time, without having to take a gamble on it.  Which this whole night had started out with.

"You talk a mean talk, Reva," he chuckled as they were guided out onto the racing strip. A circular track, with deep meanderings beneath a tunneled outlook, turned roughly left then rounded out in a sharp right, and shot straight forward toward a nearly 90 degree turn. Thade had seen races on it before and although he hadn't been in one, he felt it mapped out in his mind.

"I'm not going to just let you win," he said and stuck his tongue out at her. A mean gesture for any other time they might have known each other, but for now he was smirking in a playful light, and let his eyes soak her in as she sauntered over to her own vehicle.

Gods, there was no end to the amount of tricks she had up her proverbial sleeves. Or lack thereof in that dress of hers.  Thade made a noise sounded like an animal's growl as she settled into her car. No more talk, just driving.

And as the engine spurred abruptly to life, Thade waiting on green, holding his breath, he kicked the black car into gear and the smoke of burning rubber filled the air. Both cars tore down the asphalt in a furiously burning steel.  Frankly her reflexes had been quicker than his had at the start and Thade gripped the steering wheel with a determined grip.

He was right on her ass, and brought his car wide at the first left turn, maintaining speed and when there was an opening, he floored it, fire sputtering out from the tailpipe.

[Cheesigator]

Thade was quick but apparently not quick enough as Reva jumped into the lead, a wicked grin on her face as the two of them sped towards the first turn in the track.

It had been Belliel's idea for Reva to try racing for the first time--she had to know what it was like to drive these kinds of vehicles first before she built them. It had quickly become something she enjoyed, because it was just her and the roaring of the engines. It was so easy to let herself get emersed in the sights of other cars going up in flames in a crash, the smell of hot asphalt and rubber, the sounds of thrusters igniting with a gear shift. It was so much more comfortable for her, much more so than people ever would be.

As they made the first turn she kicked off her heels, barefoot as she maneuvered the pedals and let Thade overtake her, but not for long. She wasn't one to play around on the track and wait till the final stretch to bust some moves--she took the entire stretch seriously.

So as his car started to pass in front of her she floored it, aiming to clip his rear bumper and send him into a tailspin that she could fly past and use to gain some distance between the two of them. She never said anything about being a nice racer, after all. 

[Lion]

Past experience prepared him for the fact that she wasn't going to play fair. And that really she wasn't here to play at all. This wasn't a game to her, this was something she did on a daily basis. But that experience alone was what drove Thade to want to do better. If he was going to lose, it was because her fight out fought his.

Thade felt that tap of metal to metal and anticipated going into a spin. He took his foot off the gas, pressed into the clutch and kicked the gear shift into reverse as he gassed it and the car leaned into the curve.  Seeing her speed off in his rear view mirror made him growl and his eyes narrow.

Thade looked at the dials and switches, honing in his focus and while​ he couldn't exactly tell what did what. A small icon at the base of his steering wheel depicted three vertical lines and what looked to be the trunk of the car just beside it.

Well, what the hell did he have to lose?

"FUUUUUUUUCK!" was what followed after pressing it as air thrusters launched the vehicle from the asphalt and aent him whirling into the air. He pressed another set of switches that thrusted the car back forward and his foot hit the gas the moment his car slammed in front of Reva's.

He cackled and kicked it back into high gear, dust rolling off the car.. The cars shook the ground with fury, and he looked to another switch with what looked like an flame icon.  Fire was good right?

[Cheesigator]

Perhaps it had been a bit of an unfair advantage for Reva to offer Thade one of her cars; after all, what kind of an engineer would she be if she didn't know her own vehicles front to back? She knew all the buttons to press, what tricks they had built into them for different scenarios.

She was laughing as she rocketed past him into the next turn on the track, but her moment of winning yet again wouldn't last for long.

She heard the sounds of the thrusters kicking into a higher gear behind her and she turned just in time to see Thade soaring through the air above her, hitting the pavement, leaving skid marks and making her swerve to make sure he didn't clip her car on his way down.

Well. He was definitely having fun exploring while they played, wasn't he?

As he tore up the asphalt in front of her, she noticed sparks from the undercarriage of his car and she grinned and swore. "Cheeky bastard!" She punched one button of several built into the steering wheel, a set of jacks suddenly descending with enough force and speed underneath her car to push it up off of the track, making it airborne and flip it to the wider side of Thade's car, Reva's riding right up along the edge of the track as it slanted upward following the dynamics of the curve.

She shifted gears and stepped on the gas, flooring it as the track straightened out. Let him burn up his fuel, she'd catch up with him on the 90 degree turn that was coming up way too fast.

She maneuvered her car right up next to his and as they hit the curve she jumped again, her vehicle arcing in the air over his to his other side, and as her car spun over top of his she hit another button, a hook extending from the bottom of the rose gold racer that caught itself around the front right tire of Thade's car as she landed on his right side, preventing him from turning as they hit the sharp turn. She waited until the last second before letting him go, keeping both of them going in a straight line as she threw Thade's car forward to try and run him into the wall while she hit the brakes on her own vehicle, wrenching the steering wheel and almost pulling a doughnut as she shot off down the track in a billowing cloud of smoke and the stench of burning rubber.

[Lion]

"Fucking hell, Reevs!" he growled harshly.

Every motion could have made a less seasoned pilot sick to the stomach. The thrill and power of the engine made Thade delirious with adrenaline. The rush of it made Thade grip the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. Or one set of knuckles on his right hand.

The metal hand gripped the left side just as that grappling hook yanked him and released him toward the far wall.  He made a sharp left with a hard brake to avoid crashing into the wall. But that only gave her more distance between them as they both sped off the straight away.

The finish line was closing in and he could feel his heart as if it were about to burst.  Thade smacked the fire switch and the car jerked forward, flames busting out from the tailpipes and the suspension lowering as it hugged the ground.

His fuel was indeed burning. And he was determined to turn her to ash. Thade pressed another switch that shot out another cord that extended far before the rose gold car, and abruptly spread out in a massive steel corded net, encasing the hood and front end of Reva's vehicle.

Thade braked hard and turned right to throw her backwards, the tension in the cord stiffening out and as he spun the wheel, shifting back and tearing down the track, the cord released and he forced the car back into action. The engine would soon be overheating, but he only cackled like a madman, wanting to leave her in the dust.

The finish line was so close he could almost taste victory.

[Cheesigator]

Her trick had been successful, she got the jump ahead in the race that she had been after, and a glance in her rearview mirror proved that Thade was more than just a selfish dickbag of a smuggler: he was a pretty damn good driver, too.

She saw the eruption of flames from his tailpipes and he was suddenly catching up to her real quick, and right as she'd been about to punch her own thrusters and gun it for the final stretch in a fight for who was the speediest, Thade decided to make use of one more trick.

She heard the shrieking of metal as the steel net wrapped around the front end of her car and she was slung back while he released the cord and darted forward. Her heart was in her throat, a mad grin on her face as the adrenaline made the blood rush and pound so hard in her ears she could hear nothing else but her own heart beat.

She reacted within a fraction of a second; using the momentum of the pull that was throwing her car in loops she hit the jacks again and tossed her car into the air where it spun in a full 360 degrees, the force of the air and velocity pushing enough of the steel net off that when the car hit the track on all fours again she was able to burn rubber and launch herself off and leave the net in her dust.

She flipped a switch and punched a button on the gear shift and the back end of the car shifted as sheets of metal opened and an extra set of thrusters unfolded, sparking before a sudden powerful burst of blue-and-white-hot flames erupted and sent her shooting forward with enough speed to make a jet jealous.

As she passed Thade's car there was a brief moment where she looked over at him and blew him a kiss saying "Sayonara.~" before she shot ahead and crossed the finish line first, the breaks skidding and screeching as clouds of smoke billowed up around her car, obscuring it as she stepped out and perched on the hood, heels back on as she brushed some of her hair from her face, the smoke and dust settling as she watched Thade cross the finish line after her with a triumphant smirk on her face.

[Lion]

Thade had a few options as he saw her pass him by and blow him that kiss. Did it frustrate him to see she passed him up and drove over the finish line like a bullet piercing its target in slow motion? Yes, but something about the way she won, made him grin instead. He frowned outwardly though when she passed him​.

"No I will not capture that kiss, butthead," he said to himself as he hit the brakes and the car stopped and smoked to a halt.  He had been right behind her and he hadn't realized it until he got out of the vehicle that he was sweating a little from the adrenaline.

"You drive a good race, woman," he said and stode over to her. "I almost had you. Just by a hair.". He kicked a piece of loose asphalt and sighed, looking at the smoke that billowed up from underneath the engine.

"You've got beasts in your collection, Reva.  I'm​ jealous," he sighed and stepped into her personal space just a little bit. "But for now, a kiss for the victor." And he pressed his lips firmly but briefly to her left cheek.

[Cheesigator]

Reva crossed her arms over her chest to hide the fact that she was shaking a little bit from the adrenaline. She always felt a little bit like a chihuahua when she got out of the vehicle after the raise--tiny, trembling, wide-eyed and obviously so energetic she might just explode. Maybe. But the rush was worth looking like a fucking fool in the end, or at least she thought it was. That was all that mattered.

She raised her eyebrows at Thade, a grin spreading across her face as he complimented her. "Ah, just by a hair, well. Maybe next time you might not be so lucky."

His car wasn't the only one smoking after their little bout, but his was definitely worse off she noted. It was alright, she didn't mind. It was meant to race, and that was he did with it. She wouldn't hate on him for using it for what it was intended.

She hadn't noticed at first that he'd moved closer, invading her personal space, as she'd had her eyes locked with his, that cocky grin on her face (which, though well-earned, might have looked a bit too cute on her for her own good.) So it caught her by surprise when he suddenly leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and for a moment her heart paused in its furious beating, skipping a note and making her still for a moment.

He--uh. Ah.

Well. Was there any doubting now on what his intentions were when he'd asked her out like this? Not really, now, Reva. What could she hide behind now when it was so blatant and clear?

She had no idea how to react.

A becoming blush tinged her cheeks as she looked away, that grin gone and replaced with a somewhat shy and nervous smile.

"I--well. N-Nothing in my collection wasn't earned or built from the ground up by myself. These two were personal projects of mine." Just finished this last year since she couldn't race, she'd used whatever few spare moments she'd had here and there to work on these instead. It was a valid substitute.

Clearly her method of dealing with things that she didn't understand or know how to handle was by ignoring them--but she didn't outright deny him. Or push him away, either.

"It'd be rude of me not to acknowledge your skills, as well. It was a fun race; I'd definitely like to try it again in the future. Pretty sure I'll just beat you again, but it could still be fun." She teased, that wicked little grin on her face again as she waved her hand and sent Thade's car off back to her garage, leaving the rose gold one where it was as she leaned against it, nodding to it behind her.

"Wanna go for a drive? Maybe a bit less fast this time."

[Lion]

Truthfully it didn't matter what you looked like, only that you won. And even if she did look a little bit like a chihuahua, she was still fine in that dress of hers. Thade kept his hands to himself, held firmly behind his back as he took a moment to admire her.  It helped that she was intelligent, and being good looking certainly didn't hurt her either.

She was...adorable.  There really wasn't any other way to put it. And even that was a word he didn't use too often.  Simply because he had so little to apply it to. 

So he stood there, giving a smug curl of his lips when she tried to find her words.  He'd have plenty of time to make her feel awkward later. And vice versa.

"I just want you to know, you only beat me because I don't know these cars inside out like you do. But yeah, we can definitely race again. I'd like that." Thade tilted his head, face flush from the race. Yeah that's why. Because his adrenaline was wearing off.

His car vanished and he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Yes, I'd love to. Let's go cruising, yeah. This machine is too beautiful to be kept in a garage.  You drive, yeah?". He got into the passenger seat and strapped in.

"Do you do this with all your dates? Beat them to a pulp in a race, then soothe their wounded egos with a space station drive?" he asked with a playful smirk.

[Cheesigator]

Reva smirked; sure, he didn't know the cars like she did, but she'd also been holding back on him. Not because she thought he couldn't handle her at her full potential, but because she didn't want to wreck his (her) car. It had been so difficult not just outright destroying it to win her place in first outright.

But he agreed to her proposal, and she got in on the driver's side with a nod to answer his question.

She guided them out of the racing circuit and into the streets. The light was at an all-time low, city lights turning on and casting rainbows of colors on the asphalt, the buildings, and glinting off the hood of the car.

She leaned back in her seat as she took them in a direction leading to the outward edges of the space station, and she snorted, raising her eyebrows as she glanced over at Thade, that blush still tinting her cheeks.

"That implies you think that I do this kind of thing regularly. Or even semi-annually." She turned her attention back to the road, smile fading a bit but still there. "Though even if I did, I'm sure this would be a special circumstance just for you. There. Better?"

She smirked, speeding up a little as they cruised through the streets and finally she got them up onto a ramp that took them onto a clear skyway lit up by bright lights that let one look out their car window and see the city of Cancer down below, in all of its random ramshackle goodness.

Slowing down a little, she let them both take in the view of the fading light washing over the rooftops of all the different buildings, the streets below bustling and full of people. The bridge itself wasn't empty, but she pulled them into slow lane so they could enjoy the scenery without hassle.

The skyway eventually dipped back down into the city and she took them back to Galley La, pulling the car into its spot in the garage, right on the edge of the platform, where she shut off the engine and leaned forward, watching the nightlife of the neighborhood around them from where they both sat in the front seats. She let her arms cross and rest on the steering wheel, resting her chin on them as her magenta eyes surveyed the scene around them before she looked over at Thade.

"Do you normally take dates to drag queen clubs and 'let them win in a race?'" She teased with a slight grin.

[Lion]

Semi-annually?  She didn't seem the type to date much at all. Part of that statement, Thade had no idea whether or not that was a compliment. Thinking it wasn't was certainly going to sour the mood that seemed to be forming between them. He liked the color on her cheeks, it made his own seem much less embarrassing.

There was much he wasn't used to, and blushing constantly was definitely one of them. When it came down to it, it just didn't happen. Sure he was an idiot sometimes...well, more recently than usual. In general he was good at keeping his cool, going with the flow until it was time to not be nice.

Right Thade, he said to himself. Don't overthink things. Just enjoy it. You're both having a good time.

"I'll accept it.  And yes I do feel so much better," he chuckled and enjoyed the city skyline as they made their way up and over the bridge. It was nice to finally get a view of the Cancer without having to soak up it's sluggish underbelly and seedy culture. Of course most of the people here were like him, and many were not. With a spectacular view like this, Thade got a taste of what he'd been missing all these years.  And why he kept coming back to Cancer even aside from business.

It's brilliant hues and exotic highlights danced over them once again as they cruised back down from the streets.  Thade reached across to turn the music cast up and he stayed quiet until they returned to Galley La.

Thade had been leaning back, almost too comfortable in those ergonomic seats, and he sat up a little more when she did, tilting his head to look at her with a soft grin.  It was almost sickeningly idyllic.  But to think anything negative about the moment would break it's magic, it's gleam. 

"No," he answered honestly. "I don't really get to date much. But that was for Sister. I always go just to see him perform. He's my best friend, saved my life when I first came to Cancer. And a bunch more times after that."  He made a soft hum and turned back to her.

"I don't get to talk to people as people much either, y'know. So it's nice to finally have some time off and do something with somebody.  Of course, by that I mean you.  It's crazy. Do you seriously not get asked out that often?  You're wild you know that? I love it.  I mean that genuinely.  How anyone could not want to get to know you is nuts."

He buries his face into the coolness of his metal hand, his cheeks burning flush. It was now or never. "Would it be crazy if I asked if I could kiss you?" he said, turning to her at last and leaning halfway over the stick shift. "Or...if you wanted to kiss me?  Have you thought about it?"

[Cheesigator]

Reva's​ eyebrows shot up as he explained his relationship with Sister. "Ah, I was wondering how you two knew each other. He seems.. Like an interesting character." She admitted with a slight smile.

The fact that Thade admitted he didn't do this often either had her wonder if that was true or not; he seemed like the schmoozing type, and yet... At the same time, he didn't. Perhaps he was the type to indulge in people in a more physical sense rather than any kind of mental one. That made sense.

But then he started talking about how... Interesting she was or whatever, and she sat up straight, putting her hands in her lap as she suddenly grew more self conscious, unsure of what to do with herself.

"Well, I... Thade, to put it frankly, I'm kind of a bitch. I'm well aware of that. From what my coworkers tell me, I can be a bit off-putting." She did her best to shrug it off, but the fact that Thade said he loved it concerned her a little. Loved it? Why? Because she was wild? She wasn't sure how to react to that, not that he would give her the time to sit and think on it. (And no amount of thinking would have ever helped her find an answer anyways.)

He leaned in closer and asked if he could kiss her; her first reaction was to immediately say hell no because she suddenly felt defenseless in the small, confined space of the car. But... He at least asked first. He hadn't asked before touching her prior to this, and it was appreciated and all that but.. Why??

Had she ever thought about it?

"W-Well yes--" She started to blurt out before she looked away, one of her hands raising to obscure her face as her face only grew more heated. "Yes, I mean, I've thought about it--" N-Not that it MEANT anything, right? That was a natural thing, to randomly think that about strangers or people you met, right?!

Definitely not.

"I don't really know if um, if that's weird or not, Thade, I don't really have much experience with this--this kind of... Of thing."

She was referring to the prospect of a date, or dating or romance in general. Sure, she went into heat, and when that happened she either locked herself up in her room for two weeks or stumbled across some poor sod who ended up with the best two week vacation of sex they'd potentially ever had but she never went anywhere with it. How could she? She had too much to do, too little time to spend on other people that wasn't business related.

Of course, Belliel had lectured her on this many a time but Reva had convinced herself she was perfectly happy living life by herself, wrapped up in her work. She didn't need other people to be happy. Or to love herself. Definitely not.

So of course she was unfamiliar with this kind of thing--though to Thade it was entirely possible she'd just given him the impression she was a virgin in the sense of willingly giving it to someone. Which, though untrue, was definitely something that could have been feasible if it weren't for her... Nature.

She risked looking at him, her hand falling to rest by her collarbone as her eyes moved from his eyes to his lips. He was a very good-looking guy, she had to admit it. An odd pair they certainly made, yet despite that she found herself leaning a bit closer towards him anyways.

"I have to admit, you can be very... Charming. Sometimes." She said with a slight smirk, voice low yet sounding so loud in the small space of the car and how closely they were leaning together.

[Lion]

So she thought about it. Which was fine. He thought about it. Definitely thought about it. Maybe...had a dream about it.  Not that he would tell her that. She'd tell him if she could read his thoughts right? Because...there'd have been some doozies if she could. But thankfully, at least he was ignorant if she could. What she could do with her mind was terrifying enough without thought invasion.

Thade just grinned, small and even a little sweet. He placed and elbow on his knee and propped his hand underneath his chin as he kept his eyes on her face. He'd already looked elsewhere earlier in the evening, so it was easy to keep his attention locked on her eyes, her lips, her hair, her skin. 

Oh, he almost wanted to laugh at her explanation of being a bitch, but he thankfully managed to keep that inside. He kind of got the idea of that when she dumped beer and whiskey and wine all over his head back in Tynova.  Even if he had been pretty obnoxious before that. It really needed no exposition more than what she demonstrated.  But it didn't seem to have the negative impact she'd been hoping for.

In case he hadn't made it obvious enough, he kind of dug it. 

"Only kinda charming?" he smirked. "When I'm not fling crab cakes at your face, you mean. Sorry about that by the way. I was wrong to do that."  He chuckled a little and adjusted himself just a little closer, looking down at her lips and feeling his pulse race.  He kept himself in check, and feeling her aura. Or trying to. The nerve and uncertainty confused him, but something else drew him another inch, and he smiled still.

"I don't mind your, erm, boldness. I like that in a person. They don't take shit, I can respect it. And I like you.  And I'm perfectly aware of what you're capable of."  He bit his bottom lip a little, eyes flicking back to hers and locking gaze for a few long seconds.

"It's okay. I mean...if you don't go out like this much. You're in an important woman. You've got things to do. And it's okay to let yourself go once in a while. Experience things you never really indulged in before. No judgments, no expectations."  Thade relaxed with a gentle breath. "People tend to regret the things they didn't do, than the ones they did."

 He was so close he could feel her breath, and his heart began to beat faster, thumping loudly in his ears. Slowly he closed the distance between them and sealed her lips to his. Inside his blood was boiling with eagerness, and as perfect as the night had been, it was getting almost impossible to resist the desire for contact. Her essence seemed particularly strong now, and any further trepidation was futile.

The pairing of their lips was hot and hungered, and he slid his tongue a little to taste hers, inhaling her smell, relishing the sheer languidity of that moment. His tongue slid along her lips, and he pressed his face in a tilt against hers, nose to her cheek and vise versa, his teething finding her bottom lip and giving it a firm but playful bite.

Thade's blood was practically on fire. She was probably going to kill him after this, but they both knew he went it knowing full well what she was capable of.

It was totally worth it.

[Cheesigator]

The more he talked, it gave her more to focus on that wasn't her own inherent awkwardness that came naturally with anything like this, with... Romance, in general. It helped her relax a little, ease up and enjoy their conversation. She showed a slight grin, raising her eyebrows a little when he apologized for the crab cake incident.

"Well, I won't say that it's alright, because it wasn't, but if you keep up the good behavior I might just forgive you."

She let out a short laugh when he called it her 'boldness.' "Ah yes, that's a word for it. Sure." She said with a snort, looking away for a moment as she dropped her gaze, bringing her attention back to him when he said that it was okay. That caught her attention.

It was okay to avoid things that most adults partook in on a regular basis? It was okay to be strange, to avoid people and spend more of her time with machines, by herself. This was something she'd always kind of known, but it felt a little oddly reassuring to hear it from someone else--even if it was this guy. This guy she didn't really know if she hated, liked or... Felt indifferent towards. She'd likely never know, because he'd never leave her alone long enough to figure it out. If it kept up like this, she might not mind that. Maybe.

As Thade took a soft breath to say that people regretted the things they didn't do, she found her pink eyes drawn to his lips as he leaned in even closer, she could feel his breath, the little tingling sensations you only noticed if you were really paying attention when someone else was so close to you, skin practically touching. If there was ever a time to say no, this would be her last chance.

He pressed forward and she felt his lips warm against hers, the feeling electrical and exciting, sending a small shiver down her spine as it stole her breath. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she reached up to slide her fingertips along his jawline, behind his ears to thread through his hair. She felt his tongue and the playful bite; she parted her lips for him willingly and slid her tongue against his. He might notice her sharp canines, either by exploring her mouth or when she decided to flirt a little back and snag his tongue in her teeth, gentle enough not to hurt him but firm enough he'd know she was intentionally playing back.

She never experienced this kind of contact often; she couldn't remember the last time she'd done this with someone for any reason other than her usual two weeks of fun. It made her skin tingle, her blood run a little hotter as her heartbeat picked up pace. She wanted him closer, wanted their skin to touch, to share heat between them, and flashes of what they could potentially get themselves into here in this car flitted through her mind, made her blush a little at the thought as she slid an arm around his neck and pulled him closer, the distance between the two of them shrinking by the moment.

He'd said it himself, people regretted the things they didn't do the most. She wasn't gonna fall victim to that.

[Lion]

He probably would have had to douse himself in jet fuel and light a match to burn any hotter than he was already. The very facet of her touch against his face, sent shivers coursing down his back and raised the hackles along his neck. The tingles of that touch was making his heart beat loudly in his ears.  And a soft moan escaped him. Even if by the end of it, she clawed his heart out, he'd take that chance.

Her tongue slid along his with ease, and to feel the points of her teeth along his tongue made him lean into he face, seeking more heat, licking the skin just at the base of her lips. She was an excellent kisser, but for some reason he wasn't at all surprised by this. It only made him wonder what more was she good at in addendum.

Thade lurched forward in that pull and he moaned again, pressing his face against hers because he just couldn't get enough. Her arm hooked around him encouraged him to slide forward and cross the gap between the driver​ and passenger seat, pressing a knee against the leather of her seat just at her left side. 

"Reva, you taste so fucking good. I want you so bad it hurts," he practically begged, biting harder at her bottom lip, strands of saliva broken between them. Catching his breath, Thade tilted his head and kissed her back.

Despite the fact that the car was small inside, her stature made it easier to nearly straddle her seat and he reached to feel her breast. The point of her nipple nearly poking through the fabric of that dress. His fleshed hand gripped and squeezed it rolling his thumb over the hardened point, his metal one reaching down to let the coolness of it touch the scorching flesh between her thighs, pushing her dress up as he went.

[Cheesigator]

He followed her lead, reading well into her responses as he let out a little moan into her mouth as he moved closer. She felt the heat radiating from him even through the fabric of his clothes, and surprisingly (to herself, anyways) she wanted them off likely as bad as he did. Something in her, perhaps the more human part, craved his touch and wanted him inside her, to feel his physical presence in the most real and raw ways possible.

She supposed it was a natural thing, to want and need that. She'd considered indulging in this kind of thing more often, and it was during moments like these where she wondered: why didn't she?

The sounds he made were music to her ears; it was so satisfying to hear him moan, hear his desperate breaths and feel the eagerness in his tongue and the warm touch of his hand on her breast. She let her own soft moan escape, arching her back to press up against his touch as she let her hands slide down to work their way under his shirt to grab at his hips, squeezing as she whined into their kiss. One hand moved to cup him through his pants, before flicking open the button and pulling down the zipper--

--And then all of a sudden an invisible force pulled him away, kept his back pressed against the roof of the car and windshield, while Reva's seat slid back just far enough that the distance combined with his new inability to really move kept her completely out of his reach... But ohhh still so close.

The smile on her face was absolutely wicked, and gods did it look good on her, as she crossed her legs at the knee, letting one leg brush against his thigh, a hair away from his groin.

"Begging is far more fitting of you than I'd have thought. It sounds wonderful coming from those lips of yours--but, Thade, what fun would it be if I gave you what you wanted right away?"

It hurt her likely as much as it hurt him to suddenly put a stop to this--she was still throbbing, hungry, and too warm for her own liking, but if she teased and tortured him like this it'd be far more worth it in the end.

She tilted her head, and watched him as she moved him with her mind until he was back in his own seat, and the seat belt seemingly came alive to strap him back in. After that the force of her telekinesis left him--mostly. It still kept his hands right where they were on the sides of the seat.

"You seem like the kind of guy who likes a challenge, so let me give you one. Keep being a good boy like you have been the past week and you'll be rewarded.~" She purred as her seat readjusted and she pulled the car out of the lot. "Sister's home is where you're staying, isn't it? Or would you prefer me drop you off somewhere else?"

[Lion]

Thade didn't know if his plan was to have a good fuck in her car. It was such a nice car, and he'd hate to stain the seats unduly. But right now the thought of having her, touching her, being inside her, had him nearly sweating out of his clothes. The leather jacket on his shoulders wasn't helping anybody, and it was another layer to seal in all the heat radiating off of him.

And her too. Their forms were like sponges, absorbing what emanated from the other. Her breath and her touch was intoxicating, and he blindly reached down to grip at the heat between her thighs. Her essence tinged on that side of him that so rarely interacted with others of his kind. In hindsight, his father was right: he did have a demon inside of him.  And he could feel his hunger to tear into her nearly overwhelm him.

He responded to her fire, breathing heavily, panting, moaning to where she grabbed his crotch, and when it seemed it was too good to be true, it was.  "Whoaaaaaaaugh!" was an odd sound to make when she shoved him away, his ass planted against the windshield of her car and his back to the roof.

Thade felt the heat burning his body, a slow and languid fire that would have to be remedied when he got home. In the meantime, the only cold thing making contact with his body was the coolness of the metal and glass.  He sniffed and gave her a smirk. "I....I knew it," he said chuckled and rolling his eyes internally. More at himself than anything. "I'll be good to you, I promise. I'm a man of my word." And he sucked in air sharply when her leg rose up to gently tease at his hip.  So close. And yet so far away.

Then his ass was planted into the passenger seat again.  Right, he had to go home.   Thade slumped his head back and the seatbelt strapped securely around him, he raised his hands to try and zip himself back up and growled when he found he couldn't move. "Um, Reva. My pants.  Could you please just...zip me back up?  Since you won't let me do it myself," he said clearing his threat and looking down at the open zipper and button.

"Sister's is fine if it wouldn't be too much trouble," he chuckled and he dropped his head. "Gods...you would torture me. But...I think I'm looking forward to it.  I like you, Reva."  He chuckled and just watched the city lights pass by him.

Once he was back at Sister's he climbed up the stairs to the upper apartment.  And before he could even open the door, it was yanked apart and Sister snatched him by the collar and pulled him inside.  And gave him a proper slap across the face. Thade growled and pulled himself away, fixing his collar and holding his face.  "What the hell, Sister!?"

"Just in case." Sister said, curlers crowning his head as he sauntered away from him.

"I didn't do anything you wouldn't do," Thade muttered, following after him and dropping the keys into the bowl on the side table.   And that only garnered another hard slap from Sister's other hand that Thade was pretty sure would give him whiplash the next day.  "Stop it! Or I'll beat your beautiful ass."

"Even more reason to slap you.  Now tell me...how was it?" Sister said, sobering and turning over to the sofa and patting down on a cushion beside him. A bottle of red wine was open and he leaned across to pluck his glass, cradling it in large fingers, his red nails nearly matching the crimson swimming inside of it. "You kissed her didn't you?  Then my slaps were perfectly justified."

Thade sat with a huff and ran his fingers roughly through his hair. "She plastered me to the roof of her car," he forcing a frown. "I was perfect gentleman.  I kissed her because....I just couldn't fucking help myself.  She looked so damn hot in that neon lighting, and we started talking about her cars, and one thing led to another...  Look she made it pretty clear she didn't wanna fuck."

Sister tilted his head, pursing his lips. "So you didn't seal the deal?  Oh you poor baby!  Lay your head in my lap! You'll feel better."  Sister set the glass down after a few sips and closed the distance between them and wrapped muscular arms around Thade's frazzled form. "She shut ya down huh?  I knew she was a lady. She got good taste.  But don't worry, darling. Sister's here for you."

Sister sniffed and pulled his head back.  "You're burning up!  You need a cold shower stat!  Come on now!"  And dragged Thade to the bathroom, shoving him inside and went about pulling off his clothes. "Now, don't fight me. It'll be a lot easier if you just let me help you Thade."

Thade growled and shoved Sister away from him. "Why are you getting naked!? Sister! NO! I can shower alone just fine.  Out!"

Sister cackled and moved out of the way of the door in time to have it knock his ass forward. "Fine! But that's what you get for lying to me Thade. I know she got you all worked up!"

Thade turned the water on and pressed himself against the cold tile.  Worked up all right. "I didn't lie," Thade called through the sound of the shower. "We made out okay!  I'm just...a little hot right now."

And all that followed was the rush of Sister's footsteps toward the shower and Thade howling. "SISTER! STOP!  GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"  The other man just laughing aloud like a mad man.

[Cheesigator]

Reva glanced over at Thade's pants when he brought the subject back up and she couldn't hold back her snicker as she redid the zipper with a flick of one of her nimble fingers.

"Wouldn't have pegged you for a masochist, but it doesn't surprise me." Well, not on first looks anyways. Their first day together had kind of given that away.

The rest of the ride was a little tense; every now and then she caught herself glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, questioning her own decision to hold off on anything more than passionate kisses and explorative hands. She ached for it, and once she had thanked Thade for a good evening spent in good company and he was out of the car, she checked a calendar and was surprised to discover that time wasn't coming up any time soon.

She was eventually able to force most inappropriate thoughts out of her mind by the end of the night, yet as she slipped into her comfy bed in a sheer little nightgown she couldn't help but wonder just what it was about him that had gotten her so physically worked up. Maybe it was something in his DNA, or maybe she was just that... Well, desperate sounded like a horrible way of putting it but it wasn't exactly false, either.

The following days after didn't see much of the two of them in the same room together for more than brief moments at a time; another client with more money than they knew what to do with meant more projects to work on and keep Reva busy in the owner's stead, who continued to remain elusive to Thade even now that it was several weeks into the project of his ship, which was coming along rather nicely one fine afternoon when Tenai brought Thade over to Hangar 2 to check on the Vegas's progress.

As they arrived, sunlight filtering in through large windows open in the roof, the shop team was currently working on part of the hull, and surprise surprise, if it wasn't Reva herself sitting on top of one of the bulkheads, welding some of the metal together in a form-fitting black catsuit decked out with belts holding numerous tools slung around her slender hips and thighs.

"The projected completion date is still a few weeks away unfortunately due to waiting times for certain parts," Tenai was explaining, "But as you can see Mr. Olyphant it's coming along quite nicely."

Reva paused after a moment, sparks settling as she took off her welding helmet, hair a bit messy as she looked down and saw Thade and gave him a slight smile and a wave.