[ THISAVROU: INBOX ] MID messages & IC mail

[forwardmomentum]

I N B O X

IC Voice Mail "Personnel Officer Miles here. If this is a personal matter, leave a message; if it's ship business-related, may I direct you to the Personnel Office's suggestion box. Sending me a barrage of texts will not make me respond to you any faster, so don't, Ivan." Mun Contact PLURK:   runawayballista

Comments

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[Oh. She really didn't expect to get reply so fast from him.]

yeah. i plan to sleep. something i'd recommend for you too.

[forwardmomentum]

[ yeah he's going to ignore that one. ]

Sleep some other time. Any other time that isn't your shift. I need someone at the bar, J.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

don't be like that grumpy. snow white will come back to love you. until then, i know you can find someone to help.

[forwardmomentum]

[ miles could about scream with frustration u g h ]

Don't get cute with me, J. You're the one who wanted to work for the bar -- if you've changed your mind, I'll find someone else.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[She wants to reply "good luck with that" but she knows that this job would have takers.]

look

[and she pauses for a minute or two before sending rest of the message.]

i cant come ok. or i could. but itd be difficult

[forwardmomentum]

Do you have any excuses prepared besides "I can't"? Because that one's just a tad vague.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

lets say that doing business took more than i thought. so ill be taking a sickness leave or something.

use your imagination for the rest.

[forwardmomentum]

What business? What are you talking about? If you want sick leave, get a doctor's note. I'm sure Doc Yewll would be delighted to provide one.

[ insofar as meh yewll is delighted to do anything, anyway. ]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

id really rather not. and i told you to use your imagination.

[forwardmomentum]

What the hell is going on with you?

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

the usual.

are you really going to get rid off me just because of two days?? ill ask sans do my shift if its about that.

1/2

[forwardmomentum]

[ something isn't right. miles kicks himself -- he's so damn tired, he should've noticed it earlier -- J's vagueness isn't flippancy, it's avoidance. she's hiding something, and miles is suddenly uneasy. ]

No, it's not about that.

2/2

[forwardmomentum]

[ a few minutes later: ]

Are you alright?

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[He's not the only one who's tired. J's too exhausted to fight or argue with him. Best to be honest here.]

i will be. just need a day or two to gather myself back up.

1/2

[forwardmomentum]

[ yeah okay now he's worried ]

J, what happened?

2/2

[forwardmomentum]

Can I help?

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

like i said: i did business and it took more than i first had thought [a beat.] with mercenaries.

yeah. let me take a break from work.

[forwardmomentum]

[ that solidifies the worst of miles's suspicions, his stomach twisting into knots, and miles, he doesn't even bother with a reply until he's ran all the way from his room to J's, a stitch burning in his side, but he doesn't regret it too much. he's breathing a little hard when he texts her, just outside her door. ]

I'm outside.

[ she didn't ask him to come, he knows. but he decided he needed to. ]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[At first she thinks that he dropped the conversation and went to sleep or something. Well, at least he's now aware that she won't be showing up for a while. Liked he it or not. J, too, closes her eyes and at least tries to get some sleep-- even though she has the feeling it will not come.

But then the MID flashes and there's a sign about unread message. She opens it and--

Fuck! she swears out loud and darts to sit up, she glances quickly at the door before starting to type him the answer.]

you have any idea what time it is?????

[forwardmomentum]

[ miles hears her curse from outside the door and he smiles nervously in the empty hall despite himself. ]

Yes. Can I come in, please?

[ it is an exceptionally polite request, because miles, on some level, knows he is intruding -- but he can't let this alone, dammit. he can't. ]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[She really wants to tell him to fuck off. This night has been long and exhausting enough, both physically and emotionally. She already had way too many encounters with people who tried to tell how bad and unsafe her plans were, asking her not to do it. The last thing she now wanted and needed was to hear yet another lecture.

But then again, what else did she expect to get for contacting him? She takes a deep breath and turns her night light on, bracing herself for the coming as she types a reply to him:]

sure.

[He'll find J sitting on her bed, completely nude and skin almost as pale as the blanket she's hugging. Right now she really regrets for leaving shower for the morning. Her blonde curly hair is tangled and eyes smeared with the remaining make up, almost as if she had cried. On top of everything, there's still a faint smell of dried sweat mixed together with a musky and 'fishy' odor coming off from her. She's thrown her dress from the earlier on the chair next to her bed along with all her underwear.]

[forwardmomentum]

[ it's probably good that it's dark, that miles can't see everything, but he can see enough. he bites the inside of his cheek, sucking in a breath. his stomach only twists into tighter knots. he edges into the room, makes his way over to her bed, and he almost reaches out to touch her shoulder -- but he doesn't, his good hand dropping back to his side. the other arm is in a cast, supported by a sling. if he had any mind to lecture her before he got here, it's gone now. now he's just...scared. his voice is hushed, cracked with exhaustion. ]

What... [ no, what happened seems like the wrong question. he swallows, concerned gaze fixing on her face. ] Did they hurt you?

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

No. [J says, voice quiet and raspy, not wanting to risk waking up any of her roommates. There's no trace of a smile on her lips, she's far too weary and exhausted even try to pretend to have any energy or that she is feeling okay.]

It was nothing like that. It was my own idea.

[forwardmomentum]

[ there's no judgment on miles's face, just dire concern. it makes his chest ache to see her like this. ]

Why? [ it's nothing but a whisper. ] What was it for?

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[At first there's no answer. J doesn't want to tell him, or anyone, why she did it and what she had hoped to gain from it. The guilt that has been eating her from the inside hasn't gone anywhere and now there was only more self-loath and disgust added to the mix.

She bends her legs, presses her body forward and rests her head against knees.]

What does it matter? What's done is done.