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Mermaids IN SPACE -- ficlethings
More kinda spoilery, might-never-happen ficlethings.
9. Drive
Lìadan's huge monstrosity of a wheelchair comes to a screeching stop at Arun's feet, only missing his toes because by now he knows to dodge. She chuckles at him when he mock-glares.
"One of these days, you'll crash," he says. He says it everyday. It's another of their games.
Today she doesn't play. She smiles, deftly spins the wheelchair around, and revs the engine. "Get on."
Arun's feet are barely on the bar that doubles as a foothold when her wheelchair jumps forward, and he grabs for the backrest madly. She laughs at his protests, as the wheelchair races down the road. The wind whips her braids into his face; he almost loses his briefcase over a bump.
"Where are we going?" he yells; she might generally drive fast, but she drives well. This... is more hurried than usual.
"I told you!"
"No you didn't -- oh. Comm?" Well, that's what he gets for not emptying his pockets properly. "Would you believe a squid ate it?"
"I would. They're evil."
"It was crawling all over the ceiling, it was the damnedest thing -- really?"
"They are! Can we eat calamari tonight?"
Arun bursts out laughing, and leans forward until his chin rests on his wife's shoulder. "Mm, evil has never tasted so yummy. Sure!" He leans to the left cautiously, feeling inside the pockets, and emerges with her own comm.
"Get enough for three," she says as he selects the number.
She's smiling, that tiny, mysterious, serene smile he sees so rarely.
So when they screech to a halt by the train station, and there's a tall, lean, pasty-white guy with a black three-days beard and a blue ponytail waiting, Arun isn't too surprised. He gives the other man a wry smirk, plops a marine bag and his own briefcase across Lìadan's lap, and moves over on the foothold. "It's a good thing strays don't eat much. We might be able to squeeze you in with the luggage."
Blue rolls his eyes, even as his hand brushes Lìadan's on the armrest. "It's a miracle there's enough space for you. You're as large as you're tall."
Blue climbs just as she starts, again, and Arun swears at him as the taller man grabs for his elbow, almost throwing both of them down.
"Hey!" Arun doesn't know who to glare at. Lìadan is laughing, not sorry at all; and when Blue finds his balance, he wraps his arm around Arun to catch a hold over his back.
Arun didn't miss him at all. And as soon as the wheelchair stops, Blue will be shouldered off with great haste. He's Lìadan's boyfriend, not his own.
Besides, he's holding on too tight, his ribs dig into Arun's shoulder, and his heavy spacer boot pinches the side of Arun's tennis shoe.
"...Hey, Lìadan, you're driving way too fast. Slow down a little, will ya?"
19. Gray
"Their natural hair, seriously? I thought no green-blue-purple colors could be spliced in. Not and be passed down, anyway."
"They can't, technically. This -- it's genius." Arun shakes his head. "Such subtle work... To give them prettier hair."
"Hm?"
"Basically... their hair's been modified so that the minerals floating around in the water will settle on it. This one guy's got green with orange streaks because it's corroded copper."
"... Huh. And hers? What is it, silver? Iron?"
Arun chuckles. "No, actually. See, hair color is produced by a stem cell at the base of the hair that's -- anyway, when it dies, the hair goes gray. And the more subtle the gene tweaking, the more likely it'll mess up. I suspect most people in her family go gray very, very early."
"So really, she's a young grandma." Blue smirks. "...I feel cheated. I planned on clipping her braids to sell them as souvenirs."
Arun blinks placidly. "Eh, you can still do that. Most tourists won't know the difference between a melanocyte and a gold nugget."
They dodge hurriedly to let Lìadan's comb sail past their heads.
61. Fairy Tale
Arun's been in a funk for the last two days. With fishgirl gone, and them stuck dead in the water in that sunken escape pod, sure, it's unpleasant. That doesn't excuse the defeatist attitude, with the 'woe' and the 'she's never coming back because she's DEAD' and the 'there's nothing we can do, so let's not do anything'. And pretending to sleep so he doesn't have to acknowledge Blue gets annoying.
Blue doesn't mind giving Arun space to breathe. It's a tiny ship, and, short of spending hours in the bathroom, there's really nowhere to go that gets them out of each other's face. So he'll pretend that Arun's asleep as long as Arun's pretending to be asleep. But he needs a hand to fix that motor, even a hand that knows jack shit about mechanics.
So when Arun doesn't answer his first call, or his second, Blue narrows his eyes, swoops in, and plants a wet kiss right on his lips.
"Wakey wakey, princess."
For a useless whiner, Arun is alright in a brawl.
Nrrgh. I want to write and I don't know what. I still have the ficlets I promised, but none is really talking at the moment. *flops*
9. Drive
Lìadan's huge monstrosity of a wheelchair comes to a screeching stop at Arun's feet, only missing his toes because by now he knows to dodge. She chuckles at him when he mock-glares.
"One of these days, you'll crash," he says. He says it everyday. It's another of their games.
Today she doesn't play. She smiles, deftly spins the wheelchair around, and revs the engine. "Get on."
Arun's feet are barely on the bar that doubles as a foothold when her wheelchair jumps forward, and he grabs for the backrest madly. She laughs at his protests, as the wheelchair races down the road. The wind whips her braids into his face; he almost loses his briefcase over a bump.
"Where are we going?" he yells; she might generally drive fast, but she drives well. This... is more hurried than usual.
"I told you!"
"No you didn't -- oh. Comm?" Well, that's what he gets for not emptying his pockets properly. "Would you believe a squid ate it?"
"I would. They're evil."
"It was crawling all over the ceiling, it was the damnedest thing -- really?"
"They are! Can we eat calamari tonight?"
Arun bursts out laughing, and leans forward until his chin rests on his wife's shoulder. "Mm, evil has never tasted so yummy. Sure!" He leans to the left cautiously, feeling inside the pockets, and emerges with her own comm.
"Get enough for three," she says as he selects the number.
She's smiling, that tiny, mysterious, serene smile he sees so rarely.
So when they screech to a halt by the train station, and there's a tall, lean, pasty-white guy with a black three-days beard and a blue ponytail waiting, Arun isn't too surprised. He gives the other man a wry smirk, plops a marine bag and his own briefcase across Lìadan's lap, and moves over on the foothold. "It's a good thing strays don't eat much. We might be able to squeeze you in with the luggage."
Blue rolls his eyes, even as his hand brushes Lìadan's on the armrest. "It's a miracle there's enough space for you. You're as large as you're tall."
Blue climbs just as she starts, again, and Arun swears at him as the taller man grabs for his elbow, almost throwing both of them down.
"Hey!" Arun doesn't know who to glare at. Lìadan is laughing, not sorry at all; and when Blue finds his balance, he wraps his arm around Arun to catch a hold over his back.
Arun didn't miss him at all. And as soon as the wheelchair stops, Blue will be shouldered off with great haste. He's Lìadan's boyfriend, not his own.
Besides, he's holding on too tight, his ribs dig into Arun's shoulder, and his heavy spacer boot pinches the side of Arun's tennis shoe.
"...Hey, Lìadan, you're driving way too fast. Slow down a little, will ya?"
19. Gray
"Their natural hair, seriously? I thought no green-blue-purple colors could be spliced in. Not and be passed down, anyway."
"They can't, technically. This -- it's genius." Arun shakes his head. "Such subtle work... To give them prettier hair."
"Hm?"
"Basically... their hair's been modified so that the minerals floating around in the water will settle on it. This one guy's got green with orange streaks because it's corroded copper."
"... Huh. And hers? What is it, silver? Iron?"
Arun chuckles. "No, actually. See, hair color is produced by a stem cell at the base of the hair that's -- anyway, when it dies, the hair goes gray. And the more subtle the gene tweaking, the more likely it'll mess up. I suspect most people in her family go gray very, very early."
"So really, she's a young grandma." Blue smirks. "...I feel cheated. I planned on clipping her braids to sell them as souvenirs."
Arun blinks placidly. "Eh, you can still do that. Most tourists won't know the difference between a melanocyte and a gold nugget."
They dodge hurriedly to let Lìadan's comb sail past their heads.
61. Fairy Tale
Arun's been in a funk for the last two days. With fishgirl gone, and them stuck dead in the water in that sunken escape pod, sure, it's unpleasant. That doesn't excuse the defeatist attitude, with the 'woe' and the 'she's never coming back because she's DEAD' and the 'there's nothing we can do, so let's not do anything'. And pretending to sleep so he doesn't have to acknowledge Blue gets annoying.
Blue doesn't mind giving Arun space to breathe. It's a tiny ship, and, short of spending hours in the bathroom, there's really nowhere to go that gets them out of each other's face. So he'll pretend that Arun's asleep as long as Arun's pretending to be asleep. But he needs a hand to fix that motor, even a hand that knows jack shit about mechanics.
So when Arun doesn't answer his first call, or his second, Blue narrows his eyes, swoops in, and plants a wet kiss right on his lips.
"Wakey wakey, princess."
For a useless whiner, Arun is alright in a brawl.
Nrrgh. I want to write and I don't know what. I still have the ficlets I promised, but none is really talking at the moment. *flops*
no subject
(Anonymous) 2007-04-30 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
I still need to work on the plot. Nnh, too lazy. x___x;;;;;
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Admittedly the best way to wake up since ever.
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... the idea of her on the road is terrifying. I need to write more about it. XD
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XD Yes, you do, you totally do!
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"oops. :3"