Suicide's pupils dilated as Jenni pressed into a knot below the ball of his thumb, working through the pain and smoothing the muscle into place. His whole arm tensed for a moment, reacting automatically to foreign pressure, but as Jenni worked her magic the hand relaxed and the fingers spread. The Greeks might've created Western civilization, but between the hands and the laugh, Suicide's urges were rapidly tending very uncivilized.
Nume had said wiles. Suicide mentally marked the kid down for another point. Then he subtracted that point, because Nume had made those wiles sound like a bad thing.
Jenni was closer than ever, the two of them sitting facing each other while she worked her magic on his one remaining original hand. The left hand, regrown skin over a steel and carbon-fiber skeleton, dropped onto his knee--no, onto her knee, and slid upwards almost independent of thought. The denim fabric of her jeans felt rough: the new skin hadn't quite gained the protective coating of scars and calluses that the old layer had had.
The hand stopped at midthigh--barely. It took him about that time to remember that, hello, that wasn't the way people did things any more. Or was it? He couldn't remember, not with her turning his muscles to jelly with the skill of a Bacchan whore. Jenni's smile seemed mischievous.
"The only thing that separates us from animals," he said. His grin had an edge to it. "That's what the scholars say, isn't it?"
(( Continued from the original thread on the main Board . )) The smoking comment got a raised eyebrow that very clearly translated to "over my dead body," but she was distracted from saying so by him ... more
((Cont'd from below to prevent comment trees) Suicide had, out of long habit, stolen most of the blankets. When Jenni put her leg over his, he belatedly realized that she didn't have anything on or... more
Jenni grinned back. "Sorry to disappoint, but I didn't have to lower my standards to sleep with you. I just plain like you. Dock yourself a point." She shifted herself upward enough to plant a kiss... more
Was she questioning his manhood? Eh, probably not, but she had definitely twigged to some part of what was going on with him. Living as long as Suicide technically had (barring a death or two) came... more
Ooh, touchy. She was onto something, and between the nabbing, the kissing, and what sounded almost like a challenge, he was trying to throw her off. He was putting forth a respectable effort, too.... more
Oh, she had his attention, all right. Suicide tensed as she pressed her thumb into the hard knot of muscle: a momentary stab of pain shot through it, but as she gently twisted her fingers, the muscle ... more
That sound was music to her ears, and it brought a beatific smile to her face. She'd got it right. It was a relief, and she found herself relaxing. She hadn't realized how much she'd tensed up,... more
The words sounded strange in Suicide's ears; awkward, maybe, like he wasn't quite sure the world fit into place around them. It didn't surprise him, somehow. She seemed to have momentarily dropped... more
It wasn't as though she hadn't known to a degree; it wasn't a big secret with his name and history being what they were, so the sting of hearing him say it wasn't as much as it could have... more
Suicide considered responding to that--maybe by pointing out that she'd picked a brain-damaged, 11% artificial man who had just mentioned his plan to follow up the pleasantry of the last twelve hours ... more
Good grief. From her kneeling crouch over his hips, Jenni shook her head, glad that he couldn't see the part amused, part disgusted expression on her face. Typical fighting man. She did appreciate... more
Yep, he'd said something wrong. In a way, though, he'd almost expected it; there was a mental gap there, citizen to helot in its manner (there was no other way he could think of it, when a few years... more
Jenni yelped as she went over and reflexively put up her arms in defense, but of course that meant nothing to a big warrior like Suicide. His weight pushed her hands right down, and by that time... more
"That's not what I always heard," Suicide said, because honestly, if there was ever a phrase that cried out for an innuendo and an eyebrow raise that was it. And frankly, he remembered a few times... more
"What . . . ?" she started as he sat her down. She kept finding herself playing catch-up with this man. This was the quickest realization so far—once he took the elastic tie from her it was... more
Suicide shrugged a little, unsure of how to respond. He knew only that it had seemed like the right thing to do at the time: it was a sign of partial trust, at any rate, and a good thing to do for... more
Jenni got up after him, smiling a little uncertainly. She felt like she'd put a foot wrong, but somehow landed the right way up anyway, and without being able to explain any of it. He seemed almost... more
Now that was something he was on better terms with. Suicide paused when she touched his arm, running a hand through his shaggy gray hair (doing absolutely nothing for it; the man seemed to generate... more
It might not have been great rhetoric, or even good English, but it got the job done. With each word, Jenni felt her lingering uncertainty fade and optimism take its place. Not explicitly, but... more
Jenni seemed to have figured out what he meant, and expressed her good mood in a manner that Suicide decided he could definitely become accustomed to. He was still wearing a grin when the door slid... more
Jenni was happy to go along with the general order of "Let's go counter-harass your co-workers!" She wasn't sure she could pull off the damsel in distress thing he seemed to intend, though. She was... more
Nobody could ever accuse Suicide of being charismatic, but in the true sense of the stat, he was actually quite good at making a lasting impression on people. If anything he had, to use the Discworld ... more
That got a reaction. The hand was met with a flat stare—nobody in that room was going to take such an abrupt reversal at face-value, and Elms was no exception—but any comment she might... more
The handshake was rebuffed, to Suicide's complete lack of surprise, so he shrugged one shoulder and tucked the hand into a trouser pocket instead. He was hardly insulted or disappointed, not when... more
It got a laugh from both Jenni and Elms. The others variously smiled quietly, giggled, or pretended not to have heard. Elms nodded in approval—it seemed Suicide had earned himself some points.... more
Elms was nineteen, eh? Suicide mentally resorted her into the "kid" category, but like Nume, she was a kid who had shown some excellent backbone. Still--ai Na'an, he was being condescended to by... more
The moment of relaxation was followed by one of nervous anticipation. Even Parwill looked up from his—her— Parwill's breakfast to watch Jenni for an indication of how seriously they... more
Jenni was indeed the mother of a two-year-old, so she was likely familiar with some version of the expression that briefly flitted across Suicide's face. It was similar to the one any small boy got... more
Amused at the stream of talk, Jenni raised an eyebrow at the words "professionals" and "degree," but she suspected the fact that FicPsych was just like the rest of the organization in that the... more
"War's war," Suicide said, "and it's rare it doesn't get to you." His own expression conveyed, equally clearly, that he didn't believe she hadn't been affected and furthermore, that the curative... more
(( I'm back! This runs long, and I hope it's okay that I pushed through to the end of the tale without allowing chances for Su to respond. I figured he'd go along with just letting her get it over... more
She held it together remarkably well, considering the yarn she was telling. Sure, a story of a victory ought to be good for the one telling it, but even victory could get bloody damned quickly. As... more
Jenni wasn't the bragging sort, and even if she had been, as a healer her perspective on war was exclusively grim, whether her side won or not. Not that it wasn't necessary, not that she wasn't... more
"Not necessarily," Suicide said, his lips quirking a little at the corner. "But the nowhere-to-go-but-through-us strategy loses its appeal when it's not something you chose to do." Three hundred... more
Okay, so running her mouth about tight situations with ridiculous odds had been a stupid error. She should have known better; she knew enough about him to know better. Not something she would allow... more
She was trying to . . . comfort him? A strange idea, not so much wrong or irritating as just plain weird. Suicide couldn't think of the years he spent as a squire without some emotion, but he'd never ... more
It did get a laugh, because she'd been there (metaphorically speaking; she'd never actually been to ancient Greece) and knew it for fact. "Yeah, you make due with what you've got and hope for the... more
If her smile tended mischievous, it might have been because she was enjoying watching him melt in front of her like this. No, scratch that. It definitely did, and she definitely was. These were not... more
Jenni was in trouble in one respect: unless no clothes were involved at all, Suicide was not a believer in delayed gratification. He was right-handed, and Medical or not, the limb had been battered... more
Well, so much for plan A, then. That was all right. Plan B had been a possibility in her mind from the start, despite her decision not to actively nudge things in any particular direction—which ... more
Some asshole with a snarky sense of humor had put "A Whole New World" on the bar's jukebox. What kind of jukebox even had "A Whole New World" on there, anyway? Suicide did his best to tune it out,... more
Mostly, Jenni was just confused, though not at all displeased at being kissed again, whistler or no whistler. She smiled even as she tilted her head in the universal gesture of not having a clue.... more
Suicide mentally cursed again as Jenni's words cut through his newfound good mood. For a moment, he contemplated distracting her from the question; he figured he had a 55% chance of managing it, with ... more
Jenni nodded in sympathy. She personally had a terrible history of complications when it came to getting close, and—she blinked, checking herself. Son of a bitch, she'd just about let it get... more
So much for doubts. Suicide got the idea, and while most of his thoughts that followed were generally incoherent, part of him definitely decided that the height difference was going to be a pain in... more
Jenni experienced a little thrill at how easily he plucked her up, like the effort was nothing. The voice of caution pointed out that he could probably do anything he wanted to her without breaking a ... more
So this was it: the lair of the beast, the place that would've given Nume an aneurysm if he'd known Suicide was in it. It even had a dragon . . . albeit a plush brown one, which somehow didn't quite... more
Jenni wasn't that worried about it. True, she was a woman who liked a certain level of order, and she generally maintained it for the purpose of letting her visitors know that she had everything... more
As usual, Suicide's awakening was accompanied by pain. He vaguely registered the shrilling of an alarm, but that took a distant second to the litany of other standard complaints--mainly joints that... more
While she was at it, Jenni flicked on the bedside lamp before—retreating? No no. Making some tactical readjustments. Lying half across a chest the size of the former squire's wouldn't stay... more
Mmmmm. The aches were still there, but with Jenni's soft curves molded against him, they were hardly worth dwelling on. She'd pinioned his left arm quite neatly, especially since the feeling of her... more
At the hiss she paused her wandering and propped herself up on her right elbow to scope out what she'd touched. She hadn't been thinking about wounds and charts, but when she saw the extensive scar... more