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[victormakesart]

The doctor-- a proper doctor, not the Doctor-doctor-- just called Victor on the phone with the results and she told him not to say another word because she has to get Jack and so she cradles the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she texts Jack on her PINpoint: GET OVER HERE.

Comments

[victormakesart]

"Really? Wow, that's pretty incredible. Are you just, like, crazy about ice cream? I am." She can't imagine eating ice cream for the first time again, but if she did it would blow her mind.

[fractured_agent]

"I wouldn't say I'm crazy about it, but it's good."

[victormakesart]

"I'm kind of a little too into sweets," Victor says, placing her tub of frozen awesome on the scale, indicating for the good Captain to do the same, then she reaches in her pocket for her money, folded into a small square.

[fractured_agent]

He's not used to weighing food before you pay it, but he's excellent at copying local customs and blending in, so he plonks his container right next to hers. "Right, cavities are still a problem," he says, as if just remembering this bit of ancient trivia.

[victormakesart]

She slips the cashier a creased five dollar bill and three creased ones, and says, "Thank you," and grins at Jack. "Yeah. I've never had one, but I'm fastidious about dental hygiene. And, really, all hygiene. Though I'm down to only one or two showers a day, so."

[fractured_agent]

"I've been a soldier before so I can deal without if I have to," Jack says with a shrug, picking up his container once it's been weighed properly, "but I much prefer to keep myself looking good. It's my best asset."

[victormakesart]

"You'd look amazing even if you were covered in grime," Victor says, and from her it's high praise.

[fractured_agent]

"Hey, in some places mud can be very restorative," he says with a grin. "Keeps you looking young."

[victormakesart]

"Ha! I've never tried it. Always seemed kinda counterintuitive to me." She leads the way to a table by the window, facing the door so she can keep an eye on the entrance. Old habits.

[fractured_agent]

"I have. There's a special spa on Delvos that offers a couples discount on it, so me and my partner paid them a visit on leave once." He sits down, preferring to face the door himself but letting her have it. It means he'll be between her and any threats coming through the door, anyway.

[victormakesart]

"That sounds real nice. What was your favorite treatment there?" she asks, spooning up a small bite of frozen yogurt. All the better to savor. All the better to remind herself not to inhale her food, which is something she has to constantly remind herself.

[fractured_agent]

"Full immersion in a big communal tub. Lots of neighbors to share the wealth with," he says, waggling his eyebrows over a spoonful of his own froyo. Nothing actually happened, of course, the risk of getting mud in inconvenient places was guaranteed, but he doesn't need to actually do the deed to enjoy someone else's company.

[victormakesart]

She flushes, rubbing at her cheek as it gets all tingly and warm. "Gosh, I think I'd probably just die if I were naked in public. Or in front of anyone but my husbands."

[fractured_agent]

Jack just shakes his head like she's just said something outdated and quaint, which she has, but he's so very lenient of that with his 21st century friends, and the taboos are sometimes amusing. "Technically you're not naked when you're totally covered in it."

[victormakesart]

"I'd like to maybe, one day be less shy," she says, though her face is just getting pinker and pinker, steadily heating. "Not, um, not like naked all the time, but maybe-- I dunno. Maybe being comfortable enough to, I'm not sure, I really don't know."

[fractured_agent]

He laughs a little and taps his foot against hers, under the table. "Hey, even in my century, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do, and no one will judge you for it."

[victormakesart]

She taps right back, grinning sheepishly. "Yeah, I know. But I'd like to, y' know, feel really confident in myself."

[fractured_agent]

"There are plenty of ways to feel confident without needing to strip down to nothing," he says, resisting the urge to lick his spoon suggestively.

[victormakesart]

"Yeah. But I mean, I'd like to be able to feel like I could without dying of shame."

[fractured_agent]

"You can work your way up there in stages. You can't throw someone in the ocean and expect them to know how to swim."

[victormakesart]

"Yeah. Um." She leans in closer, because this is hard for her to talk about, but that's what's great about talking to Jack. She doesn't have to worry about judgment. "Cole bodypainted me once. When I was in guy-body. I had shorts on," she assures him. "But, when he painted me, I felt so pretty."

[fractured_agent]

Jack leans in too, because he loves personal chitchat like this, and for someone like him it's always great to be close to someone else. "I bet you were gorgeous."

[victormakesart]

She flushes even more, and then leans in and gives him a gentle-as-a-breath kiss on his cheek. She's smiling. "Thank you. That's really nice."

[fractured_agent]

"I don't say it just to be nice," he says with a grin.

[victormakesart]

"I know," she says, pulling back, looking down at her hands, a small proud smile on her face. "That's what makes it nice. You really, really mean it."