A Deadly Game - Part 2: The Toy

[Baros Sal-Soren]

Baros glanced up with a start when he heard Teyla's voice. So much for being in control. Damn it! "Ah yeah," he said, eyes giving her a quick 'checking out', "you know...you could really make a good living in the fashion industry..."

The eggs were flipped quickly as he pointed to the other side of the kitchen. "Looks like there is some Almakian juice in the cooler."

Seasoning came to hand, as Baros sprinkled the eggs with a little something. "I mean...you have the legs for it...you know that right?"

Sliding the eggs onto two separate plates, Baros turned around and smirked, holding his hands up to stop the protest before it happened. "I am not hitting on you Teyla...my job is to recognize beauty when I see it...and it is only fair that beauty is recognized for what it is, just wanted to make that clear."

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Did he just say what I think I heard?

The statement caught her off guard, and when she looked up at him with lightly colored cheeks, she was glad Baros was turned around. Teyla opened her mouth to protest, of course, then closed it again when he further explained the comment about her legs, turning around with his hands up. She laughed a little, smiling sincerely. Baros' disarming smile and charm made her pause to consider the option for a half second, almost making her believe that it was an option. Like it was something within reach.

It was the first crack in the wall she had built to keep everyone else out...

But then Teyla remembered that she was only here because of the Thisstlebark Killer, and grounded herself back to that reality. The mission.

Normal...Teyla wasn't even sure if she knew what that meant anymore.

"While I am...flattered," Teyla explained, brushing back some hair and taking out a couple of glasses. "That's just not the person that I am." she walked across to the cooler and grabbed the juice, setting it on the table.

She sat down then and smiled, picking up her fork, "Thank you for breakfast, by the way. It looks delicious."

[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

Baros smiled, pulling his chair back and sliding onto his seat. A fork pulled up his first mouthful and he simply looked at Teyla with a grin as he chewed. She was a real piece of work. Surely she knew how attractive she was? Surely she had used it to get what she wanted on at least one occassion? If she had done so, then she was more than capable of making a living as a model or spokesperson for some product. It would keep her out of the line of fire at least.

Fire...Baros shuddered, thinking of the explosion from a ear ago. His smile disappeared as he looked down upon his food. "Even a gruff exteriored officer of the law needs to get some protien in the morning," Baros said trying to break away from the image of the explosion.

He ate another bite.

This conversation could turn to the reality of their situation very quickly, and he was not wanting to live in the real world just now. "So, what have you been doing for the last year Teyla?" He asked. They really did not know each other well, and had not even gotten along to well through their encounters last year. It was clear that he had not given her her properly due respect. She was more impressive, and resolute and individual than he had given her credit for a year ago. "New hobbies? New job? New boyfriend? Hell...you could have gotten married...or divorced...I really know nothing about you other than I generally tend to bug the hell out of you."

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Gruff? Inwardly she laughed, but was unable to keep herself from at least smiling. Baros had not met her partner, Jan. He'd softened up, or so she'd heard, from the others that had worked with the man previously. Generally he was a cold-blooded, shoot-first-ask-questions-later, kind of guy. Teyla didn't mention it, continuing to work at her food.

At his next question, Teyla paused, finishing her bite and wiping her mouth with a napkin. The way he talked was making it easy for her to feel comfortable, it was a first. "Well, you did. But to be fair, I didn't exactly give you a chance. As for the Married? Divorced? No," she answered, feeling the conversation start to flow with a little more ease. "None of those things. I did have a boyfriend for a few months, but it didn't end well and when that ended I just focused on work. Then life took kind of a detour from the CSF after my department tried to cover up a scandal. Now, I'm employed for the GRIM."

She took another bite, chewed and swallowed.

"What about you, Baros?"

[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

"Didn't end well?" Baros said, lips curling into a mischievious smile as he took another bite, "oh there has to be a story there."

He picked up his glass of juice and swished it about a little. The scent of the exotic fruit was pleasant, distracting, really in this situation, perfect. "GRIM? Not familair with it..."

With a shrug, Baros took the first sip of his beverage. Yes, it was as good as he hoped, possibly better. "When the planet you call home splits in half in tends to change things no matter who you are...or where you are." He was sure Teyla had some horror stories given her line of work.

Another bite of food, Baros continued to talk this time with his mouth full. "Half of my stores were completely destroyed....just gone...the other half were either off world...or severely damaged. Honestly, the business is almost going under...I am fighting to keep my head above water. I am trying diversify...spread my fashionista wings, if you will."

He sighed, pushing away the rest of his food. He was not really hungry any more. His mind was on serious things again, and that meant that he was thinking about the Thistlebark Killer again. "What do we do, Teyla?"

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

*Double Post*

 

[Amz]

"Ah, heh." Teyla broke eye contact and shifted. The relationship she'd had with her ex was complicated, and the bits of happiness she remembered, were now marred by the fact that he had betrayed her. "I mean...sure, there is. But I think 'double-crossing-nerf-hearding-cheater', kind of covers the whole gist of it." The response came out more prickly than intended, Teyla realizing for the first time that she really hadn't talked about her failed relationship with anyone before. Obviously she was still harboring a little bit of resentment over the incident, but wasn't exactly keen on going further down that path, dwelling on bad memories.

There was enough to worry about already.

At that thought, Teyla frowned, and continued to eat her breakfast. "As far as GRIM goes, it's Intelligence work, basically." She didn't have a very high clearance level yet, so there was nothing wrong with a little bit of honesty.

Along a similar line, it almost seemed like Baros had started to open up a little bit, and she watched him intently as he told her about Corellia and his sinking business after the rift. She didn't know what to do or say, so she listened quietly. What do you tell someone who's planet was almost destroyed? 'It's going to be ok.' Seemed inappropriate, and cheapened the loss.

From there, the conversation continued to spiral.

"What do we do, Teyla?"

Teyla pressed her lips together, then smiled with a reassurance that she wasn't even convinced about herself.

"We'll figure it out." she took a sip of her drink, "Has anyone gotten back to you about that photographer?"

[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

"GRIM sounds so...grim..."

Oh the puns.

Baros tapped his datapad in reply to her query. He noted that there were a couple of new messages that had come through. Scrolling through the messages, he noted that none of them were of any particular interest to the discussion.

"Nothing...should get something soon though..."

Elbows went to table and forehead was rubbed as Baros looked clearly in distress. "What the hell do you think this guy wants?"

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

"I'm not sure," Teyla answered, trying to think of something she could offer that would help Baros deal with what was happening and ease him.

"Sometimes there isn't a reason," Teyla said softly, gathering up the empty dishes and cleaning up. "Sometimes, people are just monsters."

Really? Going with an analogy Teyla? It felt like the most useless thing she'd ever said, but for some reason she kept blathering on anyway; though she probably should have kept her mouth closed.

"And it's okay to be afraid of them," She winced inwardly, wishing she could rectify that sentence in some way. She wasn't trying to be condescending, or make him feel like a child. Teyla just wanted him to feel like he could take control of the situation, not let it control him. "But monsters don't win."

Just...be quiet.

In truth, she still felt responsible for the current predicament. If she'd not brought him onto the case a year ago, then he probably wouldn't have become a target. Most likely he would be safe, and out of harms way.

[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

Following Teyla into the kitchen again, Baros started up the cleaning cycle of the autowasher. Taking the dishes from her hands, he put them into the machine. Leaning against the counter, he watched and listened. She meant well, and he appreciated that much. It was becoming a little more clear that she was slightly out of her depth with all of this.

"Well...I feel more comfortable with you around," he said, trying to make her feel more empowered. It was the truth though. She was the first person he had thought to reach out to when everything turned sour.

He stepped over to Teyla, taking her shoulder, and gently lay a kiss on her cheek. As he pulled away, he made and retained eye contact from rather an intimate proximity.

"Thank you for believing me."

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Teyla stammered, "I-" she took a breath, feeling color rush to her cheeks and feeling utterly ridiculous in her fumbling. His actions made her feel an odd mixture of relief and confusion. Guarded, but comfortable and perhaps a little safe. Not the safe as in, 'I have a weapon strapped to my person' safe, but a comfortable safe that she'd not expereinced in a long time.

It was odd and she didn't exactly know where to place the rolling emotions, so Teyla defaulted to what she did know.

"It's -" a hand reached for the one on her shoulder, gently removing his and giving it a light squeeze before releasing it. "--That's my job,"

It seemed like the Ice Queen Teyla, was back in action.

[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

"For gods sake, Teyla," Baros said, their proximity having not lessened even with the ice cold demenour.

He let out a 'hurrumph' and just looked her in the eyes. "It is not an uncommon way to say thanks," he said with a little grin, "I mean...cold shoulder for sure if I did this..."

Baros leaned forwarded and attempted a kiss on the lips rather quickly. The intended function of said kiss was to linger for a time, see how well it was accepted, and take it from there...if the kiss were rejected, he was prepared to flippantly shrug his shoulders and walk away.

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Teyla looked up at his abrasive tone and was about to attempt a response, but for some reason, the girl who had escaped from near death experiences, and apprehended elusive killers, seemed incapable of stopping a kiss from taking place.

Yes. Baros Sal-Soren had just kissed her.

Teyla didn't react right away, her eyes partially wide from shock, still taking a moment for her mind to catch up with her racing heart.

Thoughts like, 'What the hell is he thinking?!' and 'I wonder what would happen if...' both crossed her mind.

Teyla though, knew she needed to put an end to this before anything else happened. She was a professional, she needed to act like one.

Both hands came to rest on his chest and she pushed Baros away, rather forcefully. "Baros! STOP!"

[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

"See...now I can understand you being upset," he said with a gin.

That was better than expected...

He backed off, giving her a moment space, but not very far. He kept his eyes locked on Teyla, knowing the power of eye contact from many an encounter.

"Purely experimental...meant nothing by it..."

He tilted his head to the side a little.

"...unless..."

Pausing, he let the moment linger. Her awkwardness was hilarious, but he realized that he could easily push this moment to far.

"I should probably go put a shirt on," he said with a slight nod of his head.

He turned and walked towards the bedroom, turning at the last second. "You know, if it were you walking away from me...I would be hoping for another chance..."

And with that the door closed behind him.

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

---- Four Months Later ----​

Teyla stood in front of the bathroom mirror, finishing to make herself look presentable. Her busted lip from a recent mission she'd been on was almost healed, but she couldn't cover it completely and it was obvious she'd taken one to the mouth. She didn't understand why (though, if she were honest with herself, she would know), but she wanted to look good before holoing Baros without over doing it and making it obvious that she'd tried.

When the Thisstle Bark Killer had reappeared again, Teyla had proposed the idea, and both agreed that it would be best to remain in contact. She'd said it was to ensure Baros' safety, while also opening up other avenues to help her track the ever elusive TBK. At first, it had started out as any other business venture/mission she took on. Professional, lack of emotional entanglement. But as time went on, she'd began to call for less important matters, still claiming it to be 'business'.

Teyla knew better, though, because she had started to look forward to the times when she could talk with him, and, if at all possible, bring him along on a mission so they could work together.

Getting ready to leave the bathroom, Teyla smoothed her jacket, and ran nimble fingers through her hair real quick, adjusting one last time before making the call. The information she'd readied was pressed to her bosom, and Teyla walked to the living room area, leaning down to the table where she pressed a button to holo him.

It wasn't long after, and a small blue image of Baros appeared.

"Baros...I have him this time. Are you ready to do one last mission with me?"

[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]