36Post Script Thingy: Guy/Bug
(A bonus, just for making it to the end…or is it really a bonus? O.o)
Guy:
"Remind me how we got here?" Bug's voice mutters from behind me as I kick open the door and duck into the dark, dirty little room.
"Just remember: black sand beaches, warm sun, cool water on your toes, clothin' optional…" I remind her, turnin' 'round and givin' her a little smile.
She don't smile back. "We were supposed to be there weeks ago. How come we're still doing jobs?"
"The last one didn't pay out as much as we thought," I admit.
"I know—and I almost lost a hand too." She flops down on the end of the bed, sendin' up a whole cloud of dust and stuff into the air.
I cough and wave a hand in front of my face. "Yeah, well I did lose a kidney," I reply, turnin' my back to her and liftin' my shirt to show her the puckered scar. It's still kinda pink and sore. Bullet wounds'll do that to a person.
She reaches out all absent-like and starts tracin' the scar with her finger. Her other fingers hook me by the belt and drag me backward onto the bed with her.
"All I'm saying—" she tells me as she scootches up close to me, "—is I think that these jobs are getting a little too dangerous. We need a break."
"That's what the beaches are for, once we can afford to go," I answer, noticin' the way she starts lookin' at me, almost like I'm dinner and she's wonderin' where to start.
We been together a while now, but that look of hers still sorta creeps me out.
"Why don't we go somewhere we can afford now?" she responds real soft, runnin' a hand up my front and pushin' me on my back.
I notice a spider's nest on the ceilin' 'bove our bed. "'Cause this here is the nicest place we got the money for right now," I tell her dryly.
She glances up over her shoulder and jumps a little when she notices the nest. For a girl with the name Bug, she sure don't like bugs. Turnin' her gaze back on me, she retorts, "I'd rather be on the ship. Why does Jin get to stay on the ship?"
"Jin's gotta be on the ship to make sure we got a quick getaway if somethin' goes wrong," I explain, addin', "Besides, we almost got this job finished, and once it's over, we're on our way to Bolin and them black sand beaches." I reach up and tug gently on a loose piece of her hair. "Clothin' optional," I remind her again.
She leans over me and smiles a little, bitin' her bottom lip in that cute little way she's used to doin'. "Yeah? What makes you think I'm going to want to sit around naked on some black sand beach on Bolin?"
"'Cause I'm gonna be just as nekked as you…greasin' you up with that smelly lotion…whisperin' sweet nothin's in your ear…kickin' sand on the other tourists so we can have that beach all to ourselves…"
"And get kicked off the planet," she retorts with a laugh.
Despite the criticizin', I notice she don't complain much when I start pullin' her close to me, movin' my hands down her back and hoistin' her on top of me. She just sorta straddles me and bends over, kissin' me real light on the lips.
"I know one thing we can do right now to pass the time," I suggest, pushin' her hair back outta her face.
"Yeah?" she asks real soft.
Mm, that voice of hers sure gets me hot, 'specially when I'm feelin' her hands slidin' down to my belt and unbucklin' it. "Sure." I sit up, my face real close to hers, and ask, "You wanna help me clean my guns?"
Bug lets out an offended exclamation and shoves me down onto my back again kinda hard. "Ha! I don't think so," she replies in a growl, unbuttonin' my trousers real fast and reachin' into my skivvies, her grip just rough enough to make me cringe a little.
"Ooh, gentle there, darlin'," I hiss through gritted teeth.
She eases up, but just barely. Guess that's the kinda girl she is.
I gotta say, I'm real happy with our quick little tousle, 'specially afterward, when she's all hot and sweaty and so goddamn pretty. I let my hand slide down her curves and give her bottom a good slap.
"Feelin' better now?" I ask.
She nods and flicks her hair outta her face. "Lots. You?"
"Yep. Ready to get back to work?"
"Yeah. Let's go." And with that, she just picks herself back up and slips into her clothes like nothin' happened. 'Course she shoots me a coy little smile after a minute, right as I'm followin' her out the door. "Get rid of that spider's nest, and this'll just be a preview of tonight."
I glance back at the nest on the ceilin'. Sorry spiders. I know you gotta live somewhere, but I ain't turnin' down an offer like that. Black sand beaches or not, I'm doin' some ploughin' tonight.
It sure is great havin' a girl like Bug around.
Wonder what she'd say if she knew most of our Bolin fund is sittin' in my pocket right now. 'Course I plan on givin' it back to her, soon as I figure out how to do it just right. I'm feelin' kinda nervous, 'cause I ain't sure she's gonna like the surprise.
Do mercs like sparkly things? Or should I have gotten her a shiny new gun instead? Guess I'll find out tonight, when I work up the courage to ask her.
Hope she says yes.
Bug:
Guy's nice enough to take care of the spider's nest like I ask as soon as we get back to the room. The only problem is, he just sort of pokes it with the handle of a broom he found in a maintenance closet in the hallway. At least ten spiders come crawling out of there, dropping on anything directly below them—which is mostly Guy.
If I weren't so grossed out by all the spiders, I'd think it was pretty funny the way he dances around the room, shouting and gesturing wildly. I don't dare step in to help because I'd either get trampled by him or be bitten by a rogue spider.
Finally, when he finishes with the spiders, he goes after the rest of the nest with a vengeance, probably due to the multiple bite wounds he now has on the back of his neck shoulders and arms. I'm pretty sure one of the spiders must have even gotten down his pants somehow by the way he keeps holding his backside with a hand and wincing.
I don't think he'll be feeling very frisky tonight. It's kind of a shame. I was going to wear that ridiculously flimsy outfit that he likes so much. I'm not sure he even knows I still have it. I've been saving it for special occasions.
Something on the floor suddenly catches my eye. It's one of the rags Guy keeps tucked in his pocket sometimes for cleaning his guns, his knives, his hands, or even wiping his nose. It must have fallen out during his little dance. I reach for it with the intention of handing it back to him, but he's already in the bathroom, chasing down a trail of fleeing spiders.
Picking the rag up, I feel something hard through the layers of cloth. There's something wrapped in it. That obviously means that I should unwrap it and find out what it is.
It's a ring. Even in this dim light the gold glimmers and the diamond sparkles. Where the hell did Guy get this? What does he plan on doing with it? Is this why all our money for Bolin disappeared? He told me he had to use it for ship maintenance.
I hear him banging around in the bathroom and remember just how close he is. He could step through that door at any minute. I don't want to confront him right now about the ring. Even I know that it would be cruel to do so right after watching him be attacked by multiple spiders at once. Instead I just wrap the ring back up and stash it in my pocket. I'll figure out a way to get it back into his pocket later, before he realizes that it's missing.
I'm not surprised when—once he's through chasing down every last spider—he turns to me and growls, "I ain't spendin' one more night in this hellhole."
"Back to the ship?" I reply with a slight smile.
He nods. "Back to the ship."
It's a pretty long walk back to the ship, so I radio ahead and have Jin prep the infirmary for treating spider bites. I'll get Guy into a cold shower once we get on the ship and then have AVI take a look at his wounds. In the meantime, I reach into my pocket, then slip my arm through his while we walk and carefully slide the rag and the ring into his pocket. He's too preoccupied to notice a thing.
"Thanks for taking care of the spiders," I whisper.
He grunts, but I notice him glance at me after a moment. "No problem."
Guy:
I go 'bout my normal nightly rounds, makin' sure everythin's workin' right on the ship 'fore I head to my bunk. I'm still kinda sore from all those spider bites I got a couple days ago, which is why I'm lookin' forward to a break. I ain't tired, just hurtin', so I think I might spend some time polishin' my guns or sharpenin' my knives or somethin'. Anythin' to keep my mind offa the itchin'.
First thing I notice as I walk through the door is Bug lyin' draped on the bed like a limp towel, starin' up at the ceilin' with one foot danglin' off the side of the bed, her hand kinda twistin' thoughtfully in her hair. I'm kinda surprised. Didn't expect to see her in here so soon. She was supposed to go over the ship with AVI today and start makin' a list for maintenance.
"Whatcha doin' there, darlin'?" I ask, pullin' off my jacket and my belt and all my holsters and settin' them on the table.
"Thinking," is her dazed reply. She don't even glance my way.
"You thinkin' on anythin' in particular?"
"Mm," she replies with a shake of her head.
I stand and stare at her for a moment, noticin' how pretty she looks, stretched out on that bunk the way she is. I start to empty out my pockets, askin' her, "Any way I could be of service?"
She laughs softly. "You offering to help me think?"
I don't respond, panickin' a little when I don't feel the ring in my pocket, where it should be. I check my other pockets real quick. I would sure feel dumb if I lost that ring. Then my hand closes around the rag with the telltale rock in it and I breathe a real long sigh of relief. Guess I just put it in the other pocket and forgot.
"Sorry, what?" I turn my attention back to Bug, settin' the rest of my stuff out on the table, hidin' the ring with everythin' else.
"Nothing. I just don't think you'll be of much help," she replies. "You're more of a doer than a thinker."
Ha. She's got that right. Some folk might take offense to that. I'm kinda proud of it. In my opinion, we need more doers and less thinkers.
Movin' closer, I set one knee down next to her and throw my other leg over her, straddlin' her. Those blue eyes of hers finally settle on me.
"Speakin' of—got anythin' needs doin'?" I ask, givin' her a crooked little grin.
She smiles too. "You must be feeling better," she notes.
"Well I was just rememberin' that promise you made…what was it? Three days ago now? Said if I got rid of the spiders…" I lean down, start puttin' soft, suggestive kisses on her skin. She likes 'em right there on her throat.
"I know," she replies, her voice kinda whispery now, like a sigh. "I just didn't think you'd feel up to it so soon after what happened."
I take a good long look at her. "You tryin' to back outta our deal?"
"No. Just making sure you're feeling all right." Her arms slide 'round my neck and pull me closer.
I wince a little. There's some bites there on my neck, still feel kinda sensitive. "I'm fine," I assure her.
"Sure?" she asks, kissin' me right on the corner of my mouth. "There isn't anything you're not telling me?"
Somehow, I don't think this is about spider bites anymore.
"What're you talkin' about?" I ask kinda nervously. She's actin' like she knows somethin', and I ain't sure I wanna know what she knows.
Her hand slides down my front. "I was just talking to Jin today about the ship," she comments. "He says you haven't put anything in the maintenance logs for four months."
Damn. I didn't think she'd check that. I try to come up with a good explanation, but it's hard when she's got her hands all over me, doin' things to me that don't make it real easy to think.
"Well I—uh… Did you—did you ask 'bout…?"
"What did you do with the money, Guy?" she asks real soft, kissin' on my neck in a real pleasin' way.
"I can't… I don't wanna ruin nothin'—"
"Shh," she whispers, pressin' her finger 'gainst my mouth. She stares at me for a moment, her blue eyes regardin' me kinda wary-like. "We're going to put this conversation on hold for a while. I'm going to keep my end of the deal we made. And then," she adds, bitin' on my earlobe a little, "you're going to tell me exactly what you did with the money for Bolin."
I don't even stand a chance.
Bug:
Guy pulls away, rolling over and sitting up on the edge of the bed as soon as I ask him about the money.
"I can't do it," he admits, refusing to look at me. "I ain't gonna hide it no more. Look, you gotta right to know that I took some of that coin and used it on somethin' else."
"Why?" I ask.
He opens his mouth to answer, then suddenly furrows his brow and glances back at me over his shoulder. "You ain't gonna ask what it was?"
"I'm not the one on trial here," I retort. "You do realize that we could have been on Bolin by now, don't you? What's so important that you had to spend most of our fund to get it? Why did you lie to me?"
"Bug…" He reaches for my hand. "I was gonna tell you, I swear. I was just waitin' for the right time."
I pull my hand away suspiciously.
He sighs, stands up, and walks over to the table, picking something up. I can't see it—it's too small to be seen in his hands—but I'm pretty sure what it is. I sit up as he approaches, curious as he sits beside me and holds out his hand.
There it is, delicately pinched between his thumb and forefinger, that diamond ring that fell out of his pocket earlier.
"I got it for you," he murmurs sort of sullenly.
"Guy, what makes you think I would want something like this?" I ask softly, trying not to sound too disappointed. Sure, it's pretty, but it's also expensive, impractical, and worthless to me. Why didn't he just get me a gun if he wanted to give me a present? At least then it would be useful.
"So you don't like it?"
"I've never cared for jewelry," I explain to him honestly.
He makes an odd face and looks at me with confusion. "Not even the idea of it?"
"What idea?"
"Well I…I was gonna ask you to marry me."
"Oh." I let out a preliminary exclamation, then another when I realize the full intent of what he's saying. "Oh. …Guy—"
A wedding? It's an engagement ring? What the hell?
"Don't—" he interrupts. "Don't say it. I don't wanna hear it. Just promise me you'll think on it, all right?"
I look at him, see the hope in his expression. I have to admit, he has a way of somehow penetrating all my defenses and wringing my heart. "All right," I reassure him, despite the shock. "I'll think about it. But this—" I take the ring from his hand and hold it up in front of his face. "Take it back."
He seems a little reluctant.
I rest my hand on his shoulder, explaining a little more gently, "Look, I don't need a fancy ring. Why don't we just go to Bolin like we planned? We can talk more about this idea of yours while we're there. Maybe there's something you can do to convince me…on the beach…completely naked…" I add with a suggestive smile.
He ponders the idea for a moment before snatching the ring back. "Deal." He takes it back to the table, where he carefully wraps it in the rag again. "I'll take it back in the mornin'." Turning to me, he adds, "So…you got any ideas on what to do 'til then?"
We both consider each other for a few moments before I suggest, "Clean the weapons in the armory?"
Guy grins. "Race you there."