Crash Course (non-JA)

*It also brought a well-muscled back and a broad pair of shoulders to my immediate attention.*

THUD!

Um, excuse me I fell. I'm okay now, just the thought...

THUD!

 

I'm still here Lilith. (In body if not in mind. I feel awful! Flu, I think.)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed he's going to do this all the way through the story...mmmmm...

 

"For a swoop rider, my host was an awful prude." Love it! Qui-Gon blushing! Hah! The more I think about it, the more I have to laugh.

No mistakes visible in this post yet!

 

I haven't replied because I felt badly that I'm not even pretending to proofread... I'm reading it for the sheer joy of it....

And it IS sheer joy!

 

Bringing this up in the hope Lilith will write more!

PLEEEEEAAAASE?

 

My brother's been hogging the computer for the past week, so this is the first time I've checked the thread in a while. Still, I didn't catch any mistakes except for that sentence about Shael a few posts back: I think you meant "dimple," but typed "simple."

I hate to say this, but I prefer Crash being attracted to Mason, but choosing an alive-and-well Shael in the end. It's just me.

 

Oh sith! I thought Lilith had posted. (Keeps fingers crossed...)

 

I thought Lilith had posted but it was only Calam. I can hear what she has to say any day of the week!

Please post more, Lilith!

 

Wonderful story, Lilith. I loved the post about Qui-Gon being embarrassed.

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Hm, that's a nice view to wake up to...

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That scenario is so believeable! *lol* Post more, please! I hoppe you have time soon!

 

Mmm...I'd be one of those women cursing Crash. (If anybody would like to see that man without a shirt on, or no shirt and a kilt, I recommend parts of Rob Roy. ::drools:

It's great, Lil! Somebody already beat me to the simple/dimple correction, though. The problem with a story as good as this is that it's hard to proofread. The story's so danged good that you tend to get involved in the plot and miss the mistakes!

Frosty, back from a very long sabbatical from the forum

 

Sorry about the long delay, folks. Last week was the first week of classes and I had to make sure I had the right books, the right classes, the right binders, etc.

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?Sleep hard I?ve seen, play hard I have a good idea of from your little stunt yesterday, but I haven?t seen you work,? Mason hinted, making it a question, as he began pulling a few things out of cupboards and the fridge.

?Few people have,? I told him, moving over to prop myself against a counter and watch him work. Few men that I?d met were any good at domestic skills and I was curious to see if my host was. Not that I?m any great shakes myself. I mean, I can wipe dust off my terminal monitor and I can drop an insta-meal in the heater, but that?s pretty much the extent of it. The Horsemen certainly don?t revere me for my cooking or cleaning skills.

?So does that mean you don?t work, or just that nobody sees you??

I grinned at him when he looked up from his preparations. ?That depends entirely on who you ask. Speaking of asking,? I continued in as bored a tone as I could manage, ?What did you do, you know, before??

?This and that.? He was bent over the meal?s components and I wished that he would look at me when he spoke. He had too much control over his body, but his face, especially his eyes, were much easier for me to read. ?I traveled from job to job, never staying anywhere for long, rarely doing the same thing twice.?


Mason glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, giving me a brief glimpse of his profile. ?I decided I was unhappy. I did not like what I was doing, so I decided to take a chance.?

//Liar.// I thought, amused. //Oh, parts of your story are true enough, but others . . . I?ll have you figured out soon.//

Mason had hinted the night before that he was worried about money for food and housing. For lunch he had paid in exact change, counting his money out down to the last deci-credit as if each one was precious, and for most of us on the streets they are. But I?d seen what he had in his fridge and cupboards. Food was not a problem. And it was only the fifth of the month. I happen to know every building in the sector that rents rooms by the week or day, and this was not one of them, so Mason wasn?t in danger of being homeless for another three weeks. He?d told a partial truth. He was worried about something, but it wasn?t food or living accommodations.

All I needed was something to tie all the bits and pieces together with and I?d have him figured out. I didn?t figure his secret was a bad thing by any means, there were shiftier types in the gang already, but I was going to discover what it was. I?ve been told in the past that I?m cat-like with my sometimes insatiable curiosity, and that like the cat, I should be careful to reign it in, lest it destroy me. Unfortunately, no one ever told me that it could make life so dang blasted complicated.

When Mason stood to clear the breakfast dishes from the table, I made no effort whatsoever to help him. I simply leaned back in my chair to watch him at the chore. The man moved with a supple grace, with near perfect balance, like a dancer almost. It was a pleasure to watch, so I gazed at him in open admiration and enjoyed every second of it. He knew I was staring. I wasn?t making any secret of it. I?d bet he could feel my eyes taking in every detail of muscle and movement, as evidenced by the slightest of blushes that tinged his ears and cheeks and the way he faced me as little as possible. Not that I minded. The view from the back wasn?t bad either.

?Have you not got anything better to do?? Mason finally asked me in exasperation.

?Nope.?

His answer to my complacent reply was an artificially deep sigh. He was amused again, and trying not to show it. And, of course, it was at that moment that the communit decided to interrupt is with it?s calculatedly pleasant beeping.

 

The right binders? Huh? Did they insist on fur-lined, or could you get by with plain steel?

"the communit decided to interrupt us with its calculatedly pleasant beeping."

Us and its.

Otherwise, very good! I liked the way Crash just leaned back and watched Mason work, and the way he blushed ever so slightly. I also liked the way the signs are adding up, showing her that there's more to him than he's telling. More soon, please!

 

Mmmm...do we get to see Mason without a shirt on again? <evil grin> Just kidding. Great stuff, though I didn't really look for mistakes...::blushes::

Frosty

 

::sulking:: Hey, no post?

 

I think you've got us too busy drooling to watch out for mistakes, Lilith. =)

Great post! Have fun finding your fur-covered binders! =P

 

Fur covered binders? ::shudders at the image::

 

UP!

Now hopefully Lilith will bless us with another post! PLEASE!!!!!!!!
Yes, I know shamless begging. Let me know if it works!

 

Have no fear. It is working. I hope to have another post for you guys some time this evening.

 

Okay, I have a bit of time, so you're getting it earlier than 'this evening'.

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I watched Mason stride across the room, wiping his hands on a towel. There was a muted beep as he accepted the call, and with a shake of his head he waved me over. ?It?s for you.? I raised my eyebrows at him, but I didn?t need him to tell me who it was. The only people who knew that I was there were Horsemen.

?Death.? I greeted the face on the screen, habitually glancing around to check that the near vicinity was clear of possible eavesdroppers.

?Crash, get your fledgling to bring you home. I?m willing to risk it now and we?ll have an escort for you at the border. We don?t dare cross the lines right now, but I don?t want you trapped out there if the bottom drops on this thing.?

I spotted a familiar tousle of dark blond hair lurking near the edges of the pickup on the other end and fought to suppress a grin. ?I hear ya, man. We?re outta here as soon as he gets dressed.? The lurking hair and the dimpled smile that was attached to it disappeared.

Now I did grin.

?Don?t tease him, Crash.? Roble shook his head at me. ?He?s jealous enough as it is.?

?Good. Keeps him from straying.?

?Like any man with a pulse and working eyes would stray from you,? the face on the screen was grinning right along with me now. ?Come home, soon. We miss you and your talents.?

?See ya when I see ya, Death.?

?See ya when I see ya, Crash.?

And the comm went blank.

?Is it all clear for me to take you back?? Mason asked.

?Yeah. They?ll be waiting for us as soon as we hit Horsemen territory.?

?I?ll change.?

Mason left and I checked my chrono. The raid would happen before long. There would be plenty of food by the time we got back to Armageddon. In fact, there would probably be a party in full swing. Just as well. I as in the mood for a party.
~~~~~~~

As soon as we crossed south of Kensing the escort Death had sent formed up around us. Each and everyone of them was wearing their gang jackets and with the imposing, faceless helmets, they were even more intimidating than usual. There was no doubt in anyone?s mind just who we were and most vehicles went out of their way to get out of ours. Among the jackets I saw two with names emblazoned beneath the scarlet knight and shook my head. War and Plague were both in the crowd, and I spotted Trapper?s patched elbow and Bulldog?s oil-stained shoulder. Why is it men are so blasted protective at the wrong times?

I immediately turned on my helmet comm.

?I hope you boys have been behaving yourselves while I was gone.?

A chorus of gruff ?yes, mommy?s echoed back to me over the open channel and I grinned, bouncing lightly on the seat behind Mason. Home. I might have only been gone from it for a single night, but everyone I loved was there and it would be good to see them again.

?Can -he- hear us?? Yeesh, Sheal sounded suspicious when he was jealous.

?Not unless I missed you slipping him a helmet comm,? I shot back sarcastically.

?He clean?? Bulldog?s low growl was impossible to miss and it was seconded by several others.

?He?s no cop and he?s no punk, either. I think he?d make a good Horseman, but that?s not for me to decide.?

?Channel 3, Crash.? I rolled my eyes. Shael was now going to tell me that he didn?t like seeing me snuggled up so close to another man. Not that he would ever say it in so many words, but that was always the meat and potatoes of it. I chinned the switch over to the third channel.

?Glad to have me back, Love??

?Do you feel safe with him driving? You want to pause and switch rides??

?Why waste the time? We?re almost there. And besides, he?s actually a remarkably good rider for a fledgling. Did Bulldog tell you what happened?? War?s grated, hissing yes could almost have been mistaken for a burst of static. ?Well, I landed kinda wrong and sent us into a spiraling dive. He pulled us out just fine. Enough about the new boy, how?d the gro

 

Lilith, I get so caught up in your posts that I forget to edit. Another excellent post, and I am again begging for more.

 

Me too, mouse2!