Two lesbians and a straight girl walk into a bar; now that's a joke I can get behind! Apollyon chuckled in her head as Morrigan stepped into Pandora’s Box.
Morrigan snorted as she lit her thin cigar and took a deep inhale of the strawberry, watermelon menthol infused tobacco leaf. The place Emily had shown her had a great selection and Morrigan soon discovered she had a love of menthol. The icy, minty taste reminded her of Nora every time she took a puff.
Seeing Nora and Emily laughing at the bar made her smile as she weaved in between the tables and approached the barstool left available right next to Nora.
“Oh my god, my arena is going to be epic! These trainees have no idea what they're in for! Oh! You should try going through it too!” Nora cackled excitedly like a mad woman as Emily grimaced shaking her head.
Morrigan was happy to see that Nora and Emily got along though her jealousy over Nora’s faint interest in the red head always stung a bit.
“No, no that's okay. I think I'll stick to paperwork,” Emily countered nervously.
“Bah! That's soooo boring… precious!” Nora turned and exclaimed as she threw her arms around Morrigan when she took her seat. Inhaling Morrigan’s scent deeply as she buried her face into the nape of Morrigan’s neck.
“Mmmm, why do you smell like an electrical fire?”
Morrigan snorted as she gently smacked her temple against Nora’s ear in comfort, “Because I came across the first class I didn't pass with flying colors.”
Nora leaned back and inspected her closely, “Well you still look beautiful so it wasn’t a bomb diffusing gone bad,” she randomly observed.
Nora’s logic made Morrigan smile because it made very little sense, instead of feeding into her craziness though, Morrigan just leaned forward and gently kissed Nora on the lips.
Emily squeaked as she giggled, drawing both women's attention.
“What's the matter, Giggles? Looking for a lesbian to get your tongue?” Nora antagonized. Morrigan pursed her lips at the awkwardness of Nora’s social skills. Granted, she did her best not to judge Nora, but she could not deny that her blunt openness hurt her.
Emily blushed and shook her head, “No! I just… I just like seeing you two together. Romance is very rare these days, especially here. Most people are to busy to even consider going on a date… much less invest in romance,” she said glumly.
Nora furrowed her brows, “Romance?” she turned to Morrigan quickly who was still wrapped in her arms, “Is this romance? Do we romance? What do?” Nora sputtered off. Whether she was truly confused Emily nor Morrigan could begin to guess.
Morrigan turned red as she considered the question, “I um, I’m not…oh! Hey, Dora!”
Dora sauntered around the circular bar strutting around in a open-chested, exceedingly high collar coat that was very, very hot pink. His glittery attire always highlighting the bright white smile he flashed her, “There’s my favorite little initiate! Girl, you look like you had a rough day… oh, you smell like it too.”
Morrigan smirked and silently thanked Dora for the distraction from the inquiry placed upon her.
“Yeahhh, I met Instructor Dezinaria today… turns out I won’t get to pass all my classes on the first go,” Morrigan said aloofly.
Dora grimaced at the mention of the old woman’s name, “I can imagine, that old woman is feisty enough to put a Dorian woodland badger to shame!”
“What’s that?” Morrigan asked.
Dora leaned over the counter smiling as he expertly snatched a bottle of beer from underneath the counter and set it in front of Morrigan in one fluid motion.
“Think of it as your Earthly honey badger except the size of a car and five times as angry,” Dora said conspiratorially.
Morrigan laughed and nodded before Nora cut her off with a confused look.
“Peacock, Emily says me and Mori are romance, what's your opinion?” Nora asked blatantly.
Dora snorted and started laughing, “Oh, honey, Mori is definitely. You however, have as much luck being a romantic as you have getting into her pants,” he said nodding to Emily, who laughed behind her hand.
Nora scoffed and turned to Emily, “Besides, how do you not have every cock in this place eating out of the palm of your hand? Do any of these assholes look busy?” she asked gesturing around the bar. Nora’s overly brazen demeanor had Emily’s face on fire with embarrassment.
“You have such a way with words, dove. Come here and I'll tell you a secret,” Dora said smiling as he gestured to Nora.
She unwrapped herself from Morrigan to lean across the bar top to let Dora whisper in her ear.
When Nora pulled back she looked side to side between Emily and Morrigan with a surprised look before grinning, “So Red, which one of these meat sticks do you find attractive?” Nora inquired forcefully.
Emily’s eyes widened before she awkwardly pointed to a table in the far back corner that sat two guys chatting with each other, “The one with dark hair is pretty cute, I guess?”
Nora looked and grinned even wider before wrapping her arm around Emily’s neck, “Great! Let’s go!”
Nora dragged the poor girl off the stool and across the bar as Emily sputtered and protested adamantly as they made their way towards the targeted table.
Morrigan eyed Dora suspiciously, who just laughed loudly before wiping his eyes.
“What in the world did you say to her?” Morrigan asked as she watched Nora kick the second guy out of the booth with the brandish of an icy blade that she coalesced from thin air.
“All I did was tell her that Emily was twice as romantic and shy as you are, ha!” Dora laughed while Morrigan face palmed before trying to regain her composure, “I gotta hand it to you honey, you picked one hell of a wild child with that one.”
Morrigan took a drag off her cigar as she eyed the table from afar, “It’s not like we're dating… we just, took care of each other in the prison, ya know? Looked after one another, made sure no one killed the other… I mean, I don't know.”
“Mhmmm,” Dora hummed with an incredible amount of sass, “You can try lying to yourself but sweetie, I’m a bartender, you can't lie to me,” Dora stated with a cheeky smile and hand on his hip.
“What the fuck does that even mean?” Morrigan asked after sipping her beer while Apollyon snickered in the back of her mind, saying nothing.
Dora grinned as he grabbed her hand that held the bottle, his glossy nails glinting from the slowly changing lights.
“Okay, I'm going to lay down some hard truth hun and you can take it however you like. The truth is you love that girl. It’s written on your face every single time you look at her, in your eyes any time you two touch. As shy as you are, Mori, I know deep down that you want to stand at the highest point of the Void Star and scream how much you love that crazy ass of her’s. Emily wasn’t wrong, you may not realize it but you two dance a truly unique romantic dance around each other,” Dora stated factually before smirking triumphantly as Morrigan stared at him with wide, contemplating eyes.
As Dora pulled away to serve another customer, Morrigan glanced at the table to see that Nora talked animatedly to the guy as Emily sat in between the two, terrified out of her mind.
So many questions hammered through her mind as she watched as Nora gestured to Emily then to the man who awkwardly listened to her go on and on.
“Do I love her?” she finally asked herself as all her memories between her and Nora flashed through her mind, all the feelings that encompassed their time together.
Safety, joy, calm, desire…home… the emotions that stirred within her every time she was close to Nora flashed through her body as she stared at the silver eyed blonde.
I’m no expert, I mean if you wanna talk about murdering people then I’m your guy, but if I had to guess, I’d say that you do, given the smell in here… Apollyon said with a hint of disgust.
“But I love Taylor…” her eyes widened with shock when it dawned on her that over the past month or so, she had not even thought of her boyfriend. Anxiety had her heart rate spike as she contemplated the cruelty of her own attention.
“I’m such a shitty person…” she murmured under her breath as a wave of disappointment and sadness overcame her. She could not comprehend how she could have dismissed the love that spent years being there for her.
To be fair kid, it’s been two years. Whose to say he’s even still alive?
Anger and terror collided as in her heart as she gripped her head and hunched over. She fought the anxiety fueled woe that coursed through her as her mind began to fragment once again. Tears did not fall as her teeth ground painfully within her jaw.
No, no! That was my bad, little goddess, just a very poor choice of words! Apollyon panicked.
A bump again her elbow cause Morrigan to flinch back with a gasp to see the familiar wide eyes and yellow and black frill twitching of Yekku nestling against her.
Her frantic emotions simmered down as she curled an arm around underneath his head and pulled him against her in a hug, resting her temple against the crest of his eye.
“Hey buddy…did you have a good day at work?” she asked blandly.
Yekku chirped and bobbed his head softly before pulling back and flicking his tongue against her cheek.
She smiled and brushed her hand over his short frill, “I’m okay, Yekku, it’s just been a long day,” she said with a sigh.
She didn't want to lie to Yekku, but it was not like she and him could talk things out anyways even if she wanted to.
Dora came back around the bar with a grand gesture, “Yekku! Xol! How are you, loves?”
Morrigan snapped her head around with a startled look to see Xol standing directly behind her.
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“I am so putting a bell on you!” Morrigan growled before leaning back against the massive Kêzi’kân for comfort.
The rumble and bouncing of his stomach told her he was quietly laughing. She smirked and looked above her to see him leering down at her with an amused fanged grin.
“Uh huh, keep it up and I’ll make you sleep outside,” she said rolling her eyes. Xol just scoffed at her with a click of his jaw and planted his large hand on top of her head condescendingly.
“Come on you, bring it in!” Dora exclaimed as he and Yekku leaned towards each other for Yekku to flick his tongue against each of Dora’s cheeks.
“Good boy! Now, what would you like?”
Yekku squawked and pointed to a clear bottle of hard liquor on the shelf right behind Dora.
Dora turned and pointed, “Vodka, really? You know it tastes like rubbing alcohol, right?”
Yekku bobbed his head vigorously as his claws tapped on the bar top anxiously. Dora shrugged and grabbed the bottle while pulling out a shot glass.
Morrigan snorted loudly, “Are you seriously training Yekku with booze like a dog?”
Dora grinned and shrugged, “It works, doesn’t it?” he mused as he slid the glass over to Yekku.
The S’randin dipped his head and flicked his tongue into the shot glass. Yekku's maw opened up in what could only be described as a lizard’s grimace as Yekku hissed as he leaned back and nudged the glass over the edge of the bar with the tips of his fingers like a cat.
His reaction was priceless as Morrigan and Dora both laughed hysterically at the display of rejection.
“Oh my god, he’s way too cute! I can’t even be mad at him for breaking one of my glasses!” Dora roared in hearty feminine laughter.
“Something sweet!” Morrigan tried to explain through her laughter but forced herself to wait until she relaxed.
“The S’randin like sweet and savory things. So, you’ll get a better result with something sweet, Dora.”
Dora thought for a moment before grabbing a martini glass, dropping a spherical ice cube into the glass and poured simple syrup, rum, and lime juice into a shaker with crushed strawberries.
Dora swiftly shook the mixture together and poured it over the ball of ice and slide the glass over to Yekku who watched the process with intense focus and caution.
“Is that a… make-shift strawberry daiquiri?” Morrigan asked.
Dora shrugged with a smile, “I don’t have a blender on this side and I’m eager to see what he thinks.”
Yekku looked to Dora, then to Morrigan and then to the drink before him as he approached it cautiously. His eyes widened in surprise as his tongue slide back into his mouth. Before anyone could move, Yekku scooped the drink up as he tipped his head back to dump the entire contents of the glass into his wide mouth, crunching down on the large ice cube.
Yekku chirped and warbled excitedly as he stamped his feet and pointed to the glass in his hand, waving it in Dora’s face. Morrigan couldn’t contain her laughter at the ridiculousness.
“Great, Yekku is going to be an alcoholic…” Morrigan said dripping with hysteric sarcasm.
ΩΩΩ
Rosaline tapped the toe of her heel on the metal plate floor as she waited impatiently for Havoc squad to assemble.
“Where is Stephanie?” she scowled as everyone came together, looking over each member of the death squad.
“She said she was not feeling well and is in her room,” Jackson said factually yet sheepishly to his superior.
Rosaline ground her teeth and shook her head, “Fine, whatever. One of you will relay this information to her later.”
“As you may have heard, there has been a recall order for a large majority of the Federation fleet however, since this is an exploration vessel, we will continue to sail. There also has been a change in our orders by the Lord Commander…”
“Lord Commander?” Aleksei bellowed out incredulously.
The look on Rosa’s face told everyone she was not happy with the interruption, “Yes. It appears there has been a regime change of the upper echelon. Lord Commander Amaranthe has full control of our forces now.”
Taylor let out a groan before catching himself though it was not soon enough as Rosaline’s eyes narrowed on him, “Problem, Taylor?”
Taylor cleared his throat and shook his head, “No ma’am. Amaranthe is just the asshole who drafted me in the first place…”
Rosaline cocked her head and leaned forward condescendingly, “Well, that’s just ironic, now, isn’t it?” she asked rhetorically with hostile sarcasm.
It was very apparent that she was in a bad mood, “Now, everyone shut up so I can finish.”
She cleared her throat and continued, “While the survey teams do their thing as we travel, we are also to be on the look out for the “Rose”. The Lord Commander has put a high priority mark on this target and we, being a vessel still in extended space, have been charged with hunting them down and bringing them in dead or alive. So, you all need to be ready to disembark at a moments notice, I don’t care how you prepare but be prepared. Now, get out of my face,” she snapped before turning and storming away.
Ebony’s blood ran cold at the mention of the Rose. Though she knew she erased all the evidence she could find of who the Rose was, she knew someone somewhere knew who she really was and eventually that information would be leaked.
Her eyes shifted to Taylor who was busy talking to Jackson, contemplating whether or not she should tell him. She even considered of bringing up the situation to Rosaline though not at the moment. She was pretty sure Rosa’s mood would only backfire.
Nervously, Ebony stalked off to think as well as put as much distance between her and Taylor for the time being.
“So, you didn’t force her to let you examine her?” Taylor inquired.
Jackson chuckled, “Even I am not that dumb to try and force her to do anything. She is more pliable in the field but when we’re home, she despises more attention than necessary. She did not show any symptoms though, so perhaps just a migraine?”
Taylor nodded and patted the combat medic on the shoulder before stepping away. He had a pretty good idea how to help Stephanie feel better but first, he would do the prep work Rosa demanded so the hawk of a woman would leave him alone. The last thing he needed was to earn more ire from his handler.
After about an hour to set up, Taylor went to one of the few mess halls and brewed peppermint tea. Taylor's mother often used peppermint to help with the headaches she got from the loud noises of their garage over the years, so Taylor knew the trick.
Taylor made his way through the ship to Stephanie’s room gripping a thermos and two cups in one hand, knocking on her door. There was no answer though.
His mouth twitched in concern before he reached over and entered the code she had showed him, unlocking and opening the door.
Peering inside, the room was dark save for the low blue glow of the lamps hanging above Stephanie’s plants. Sitting curled up in the back corner of her bed was Stephanie.
Taylor took a step inside, his boot clanging against the metal flooring and jolting her head up from the book she held in her hands.
Even in the low light, he could see that her cheeks were red and raw, her eyes puffy from crying as she watched him from underneath the hood of the oversized jacket she wore.
“Hey, what's wrong?” he asked with concern as he cautiously stepped farther into the room. The look of confusion on his face as he absorbed the unseen side of Stephanie.
“Nothing. I'm fine,” she signed with a sniff, setting the book down.
Taylor shook his head subtly as the door behind him automatically closed, leaving only the minute amount of his features to be highlighted by the glow of the lamps.
“I’m not buying that… something is up,” he said firmly in a soft tone as he sat down on the edge of the bed while putting down the things he was carrying.
Stephanie scoffed and looked away to stare at her plants knowing full well Taylor was watching her, holding the book close to her chest.
“You can talk to me, you know? Believe it or not, some people do actually give a damn about you, especially me,” he said softly though she could hear the pitch change as he smiled.
Her eyes shifted towards him as the blue light glinted off her own blue eyes. She looked towards the edge of the bed, “What’s that?” She signed, indicating what he had brought.
“Oh, um, Jackson said you may have had a migraine so I scrounged up some tea and added peppermint to it… my ma used to use peppermint for all the headaches she got from the machinery in our shop,” he said as he bent down to pick up the thermos and cups.
Stephanie snorted and rolled her eyes with a twitch of her lips. “That man does not understand a single thing about a woman’s hint,” she stated.
It was Taylor’s turn to snort and smile, “Apparently neither do I, would you like some?”
She studied him for a moment before the bed bounced with her silent laughter, an amused smile on her face, “Sure.”
Taylor set the empty cups down and opened the thermos, filling one of the cups and handing it to her before he started pouring the second cup.
She curled back into the corner with the cup cradled in her hands, both of them enjoying the silence of each other’s company as they drank the tea.
Taylor eyed her as he drank, “So, do you wanna talk about it?”
Stephanie gave him a steely look as she peered over the hot cup, with a heavy breath through her nose she reached and set the cup down on the bookshelf.
She reached down and grabbed the book she kept close, tapping her fingers along the edge of it with a tight-lipped expression before hesitantly handing it over.
Taylor’s eyebrows furrowed as he grabbed the book finding no title or anything on it.
As he cracked the cover open he read with a chuckle, “From Classical to Quantum Theory? Yeah, I can see how that could bring someone to tears.”
He heard her snort and look up to see her crack a small smile which only made him smile more.
There was a separation in the middle of the book that caught his attention, as if something was wedged in between the pages and as he flipped the book open, he found an old style photo tucked in between two pages.
He gently plucked the picture out and held it up, using the low glowing light to see. It was a picture of two girls, a dark blonde with long hair holding onto another blonde girl with shorter hair from behind, one obviously older than the other; both of them were smiling. The girls’ surroundings were dreary and dirty, rusted metal and small crates of various mechanical components in the background that matched their dirty clothes. Studying the face of the older girl, it clicked in his mind that it was a photograph of Stephanie when she was younger.
“This was you,” he said factually before glancing at her, indicating the photo.
She nodded sullenly, “and my sister,” she signed as she pursed her lips with a sniff.
Taylor nodded his understanding as he took a closer look at the photo despite the low light in the room.
“I get it, you miss your sister,” he stated aloud not realizing she started crying again.
“But wasn’t she the one who did… you know?” he said gesturing to the width of his neck as he turned his attention back to her, surprised by the glowing lines running down her cheeks.
She nodded as she bit her lip, “Yeah. Same one.”
Taylor cocked his head to the side, “But why though? If she did something that horrible to you?”
“She’s my baby sister… I may hate what she did but I still love her,” she signed to him before burying her face into her arms as she curled up even tighter. Her sniffling became harsher as her shoulders shook with silent sobs.
The familial notion dawned on him, feeling like an idiot for not recognizing it sooner, “Which means you still miss her… I understand…” Taylor stood up from the bed and leaned over, “It’s okay Steph, come on,” he said softly as he touched her ankle and held out his other hand.
She looked up to see him nodding as he gestured for her to take his hand. Her faced twisted in sadness before she wiped her sleeve across it, reaching up and taking his hands.
Taylor gently pulled her up from the bed ignoring the fact she had no pants and gently pulled her against his chest.
“I’ve got you Steph, you be who you need to be right now,” he whispered against her head as he rested his chin onto her hooded head.
Stephanie wrapped her arms around his back and pulled tightly as she buried her face in his chest, coming emotionally unglued.
Taylor held her close even as her knees gave out, holding her up as she silently bawled her eyes out against him. He did not care how long he had to hold her up. She let herself be in such a rare, vulnerable position with him that he would do whatever it took to uphold the level of trust between them.
Eventually, the shaking of her body settles as did her grip on him, telling him the worst of her breakdown was over as he shifted his cheek to the top of her head, feeling the woman’s dreads press against his cheek.
Stephanie shifted just far enough away from his chest to move her arms in between them to wipe her eyes and face with an intense sniffle.
Taylor looked down at her as she looked up at him, her blue eyes barely visible in the low light, with only the tiniest speck of light reflecting off her pupils.
He didn't say anything as her face remained the blank slate he was accustomed to seeing as she gently ran her fingers through the edge of his beard.
Without warning, her hand slipped behind his head and pulled him down into a hard, fervent kiss.
His surprise was brief as he pushed back hard against her lips, returning her amatory gesture in kind. She shoved out every sense of logic or reason out of his mind as she pressed herself against him, digging her fingers through his hair and hoisting herself up onto his waist with wrapped legs.
Taylor held tight to her covered ass to support her shift as she continued to kiss him feverishly. Taylor brushed one hand across her desk across from her bed, knocking what ever contents there had been onto the floor before setting her on the desk.
Her new focus became the shirt he wore as she pawed at the hem, yanking it up over his head with his assistance. Stephanie bit her lip with wide eyes as her calloused hands glided over his physique, hardened and gently riddled with small scars from combat as her hands trailed up his chest and around his neck to pull her back to her waiting lips.
Taylor wasted no time sliding his hands underneath her oversized hoodie and lifting it over her head. His split-second shock fueled the enamored haze coursing through his body as he realized she wore nothing underneath the jacket, leaving her body naked and exposed to him.
He wrapped his hands around her waist and back, scooting her closer and leaning her back as he planted his lips between her breasts, his tongue tasting the saltiness of her flesh as he trailed up her chest to her neck.
Stephanie let out small breathy moans as she fought with his belt, freeing his pants and fluidly kicking him free of the last of his clothing with her toes. She grabbed him firmly in her hand and enticed a moan against the tender spot just underneath her jaw before wrapping around his waist and forcibly guiding him into her with her legs.
Both of their breaths hitched at the force as she let out a sharp breath, Taylor rising just enough to face her. Her hands gently grasped his cheeks and pulled him into a tender kiss, inciting him to slide deeper into her as they both lost themselves to one another in heated desire and passion.