Mische, Mister, Missus
Andy and I fell into this one during a chat and it required very little work to make it a full-fledged RP. But that's how it is sometimes. Thanks, Andy!--Maer
Sunday, 08 Aug 2523
Durance class, Exeter
En route to Georgia
1535 hrs, ship's time
I walked into our quarters to get my databook from desk drawer and found the desk already in use. Joshua had arranged an odd collection of items on the desk and hefting them. He didn't turn as I closed the door and came up behind him but addressed the air.
"I'm sending Mish a care package once we arrive in Georgia system."
Mish, the girl on Grasshopper Station, the street kid and rogue Reader who staved in my rib. Knowing he was serious about the package, I simply nodded and said as I turned for the door, "Right. I'll get soap and a wash cloth and a bucket." She'd need something to carry the water in, I reasoned, and a bucket would be useful for any number of things afterward. Joshua's reply stayed me in my tracks.
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"No, you will not. We're not going to condescend to her."
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"Joshua, it's not condescending if it's true. But okay ...." That's torn it. I had to be deaf not to catch the rebuke in his tone, no matter how gently delivered. I held up my hands and backed away. "I'll go find something else to do."
I crossed my arms, reluctant to leave on a sour note, and tried to ignore the stab from my rib and my conscience.
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"She's certainly smarter and cannier than I am," Joshua said, turning around to talk to Rina. "I don't want to send her something that suggests I'm her parent. I want to send something that reflects how much I owe her."
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Send her money. I thought but didn't say. Hell, he probably heard me anyway...
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"I have to put something together that is both small and unlikely to be stolen if it is intercepted."
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"A conceal?" I couldn't help it. I smiled at the thought of making something sneaky to get past the Feds. "How unlikely? How small?"
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"I don't know." Joshua shook his head, wondering again what he could use. He poked at the items on the desk: a small metal biscuit tin, a cardboard tube that had once held flour, a few padded envelopes, a cigar box. "I'm less worried about interception on the way there as I am interception once it arrives at Grasshopper Station."
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"Got that right. So ... no disguising it as a case of liquor, huh?" I wagged my hand to indicate I was joking. I frowned at the desk, thinking on it. "More to the point, if they're opening the mail for contraband, then maybe it needs to be disguised as something not-mail, not-post, so they won't be looking at it in the first place. And regardless of how you're delivering it, how will she know it's there and to pick it up?"
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"I'll have to think of something clever." Joshua said, gathering the loose items and nesting them, smaller inside the larger, to make them easier to carry. He paused and considered how the pieces fit together. Was there a solution in that? "I know that's asking a lot from me."
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"Not a lot at all," I said and wrapped my arms around him. "I think you're astoundingly clever."
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"Glad someone does." He smiled. "You know I love you, right?"
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"I do." I stood on my toes and gave him a light kiss and smiled, my voice deeping. "But I never get tired of you saying it."
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"Occasionally, you frustrate me to no end and I never feel like I understand you completely, but I always come out the other side in love with you." Joshua pushed the nested boxes aside and hitched up to sit on the desk, pulling Rina with him. "Crazy, isn't it?"
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"Bezumnyi, yes." I caressed his cheek. "You know if I do that, you can always ask to take a peek inside. I'll let you in."
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He grew a little serious. "You know I don't like to do that. Your privacy is important. If I don't pay attention, I'll end up like Mish, where there is no line between what you see and you Read."
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"Would you do it if I asked?" I stroked the corner of his mouth with my thumb. "Because as much as I drive you crazy sometimes, it's partly because I can't get the words out, no matter how hard I try. If you could just see what I'm trying to say, it would be less ... crazy-making." I bit my lip and searched his face for comprehension. God knew, this was fast becoming one of those times.
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"If you ask, I will, but I think you're going to be disappointed in what I can get." Much as she felt frustrated in not getting the words out, Joshua got frustrated in not being able to explain what Reading was like. Everyone wanted to make it so exact, but human minds...human emotions were too damn complex to parse through like reading a data table index.
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"Fair enough," I said and snuggled closer, listening to his heartbeat. Why are you always pushing him? Just let it go. It was, I suspected, an aspect of the tool freak in me. My built-in radar that homed in on the perfect tool for the task wasn't restricted to wrenches and ratchets. It pretty much applied to everything. Even people. But Joshua's not just people. He's your husband, fool. He deserves better than that. It's why he escaped Blue Sun in the first place. And that made me go still. Was I ... ?
"Did they ask you all the time?"
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He shrugged. "Honestly, who knows? I've given up trying to figure out what parts of that life were real and which were just contrived memories." He caressed her face. "But don't worry, if you ask me too much, I'll speak up. After all, when have you known me to shut my mouth?"
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"I could ask you the same of me," I laughed, deep and low. "We're made for each other, apparently."
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"I would hope so, since you agreed to marry me and all."
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"And I'd do it again if you asked me to." I walked my fingers up his chest and around to stroke his neck. "And again. And again ... and again. Bez chisla..."
I kissed him on each again, following the path my fingers took and on the Russian, met his lips with mine.
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The kiss was long and soft and sweet and when he finally came up for air, he said, "That's a lot of times. Do you think I have the stamina for that?"
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"Oh," I smiled up at him, "I think you might. There's only one way to find out."
HOW TO SPEAK RUSSIAN[edit]
bezumnyi = безумный = beh-zoom-nee = mad, insane, crazy Sound clip
bez chisla = без числа = beess chee-slah = without number Sound clip
Go to Joshua's Crew Page or Rina's Crew Page
Go back to: Season Seven, May 2523 --
Go to EPISODES or TIMELINE
