Baby Got Back

[Joza Perl]

It was only natural.

Zeltrons were partial to physical affection as a species. While some traits didn’t quite penetrate the half blood—Joza was anxious and almost as paranoid as Elly—she’d been raised in their society and brought up with the cultural belief that it was alright to satisfy her desires. Of course, this raised a number of problems when she started interacting offworld. Monogamy was always a concept that she grasped, though not completely as she betrayed her first and only love’s trust as a teenager. That and trying to be a docile Jedi that restrained her more festive urges proved to be nearly impossible…perhaps if she’d been raised at the temple, it would be a different story.

But she supposed that she had found a comfortable medium, and Joza was content with herself. Compromise, understanding and control were key in learning how to lift herself up and stand on her own.

Still, it was only natural for the Zeltron to rest her head against his chest and breathe in his scent. She liked Elliot, growing a bit more comfortable around him each time they met. There was always that little inkling at the corner of her mind that she acknowledged but ultimately ignored. Too soon.

“Fantastically sleep deprived.” Though she mused, it was true. “Kid could be one hell of an interrogator.” At this point she wished that there was a cigarette in her hands, not just to pull at but to play with. No smoking in the house was a strict rule she abided by.

“Everything alright with the neighborhood?” She took a sip of cap, voice tensing a bit at the edge there but she didn’t bother to hide her wariness. “Took me ages to get out of Indigo. Would hate to have to go looking for another decent place.” The neighborhood she lived in now was far safer than Indigo District where she grew up—homes were actually spaced out, more private, more open with the beach nearby. Costly? Yes, but it was for Alan. In truth she felt a little strange about having this much space.

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Locke took a sip of his own, before pulling her in closer with his free arm.

It curled around her in a mild embrace.

His mind went briefly to the assignment: a terrorist had been hitting infrastructure in Alliance space in the past few months, eventually they managed to track his movements. Managed to get away before they could apprehend him on Fondor, but Elly was like a bloodhound once he got the scent.

So, eventually he got him on Zeltros. It wasn't a surprise that this was the planet he decided to hide on. World was choked to the brink with pheromones and endless partying, so it was difficult to hold any reasonable measure of investigation.

But the Zeltrosi hadn't ever met Elly.

"Yeah, wasn't around here. I took the airspeeder after the job's done." It was clear Locke wasn't interested or at liberty to discuss it at much length. "Terrorist, she won't be an issue anymore."

He added briefly, before considering the matter done.

"Don't worry, you two are safe as far as I could tell." That implied things.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza’s gaze maintained her worry for a few moments, almost out of hesitation before exhaustion won out and she decided that it wasn’t that big of a deal. Especially If Elliot didn’t seem too worried, and she couldn’t read any outright lie on him. Which didn’t say much—he was a good actor, that much she figured out. Knew how to keep your body from giving off those subtle, subconscious clues that could betray you. You had to be good at reading people to be able to do that.

Joza was good at reading people too. Part of it came with the territory of being a Zeltron, part of it was Force training that amplified her own natural abilities. Another part was her penchant for unobtrusive observation and tucking away what cards she held out of sight.

But right now she was too damn tired for mind games. Not that she played any of those with Elliot—the woman didn’t want anything from him, other than what she already had. A calm presence, casual banter and great sex.

“You know, I’m jealous.” She flicked his shoulder, perhaps thinking that in her sleep deprived state it would seem cute or quirky. “You do the voices to that story better than me. I can only assume that you read a lot of children’s books.”

Leaning into his embrace, she shifted so that her head rested against his chest, eyes fluttering closed for a few moments.

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

She was a sleepy little baby.

But that was a statement that Locke kept to himself. After all, he had already experienced her left-hook once and it hadn't been all too pleasant in that situation. It wouldn't surprise him if she beat the every living frak out of him this time around, especially while she was already within his defenses.

"Oh, yeah." He mumbled softly, while brushing her hair a bit. "You caught me, it's my day job."

A smirk that was pressed against her hair revealed itself, before Elly closed his eyes. He opened them. But they fell closed again, this was repeated a number of times.

Until they simply grew too heavy to open again.

It wasn't sleep yet, but his breath was steadying out in the soft rhythm and cadence of her heartbeat.

 

[Joza Perl]

“Mnm…”

Her eyes stayed closed for a little longer than a few seconds, the murmur of a response shorter and less informative than what she’d intended but in the end she didn’t mind. Elliot didn’t seem to mind either, and she hadn’t entirely noticed that he’d gone quiet.

That they’d gone quiet, that the room was quiet. The house was quiet, and all she knew was that she was resting against Elly, idly listening to the gentle thud of his heart as she began to drift off.

Joza felt safe. She found some measure of comfort in the SIS agent, evident as her breathing shallowed and she remained still, eyes closed as she eventually wavered over into sleep.

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

The scent of baked eggs and bacon would presumably wake [member="Joza Perl"] from her slumber.

The spot next to her was empty and even the warmth of the body was already gone, which suggested that Elliot had been awake for a while now and busying about while she was sleeping. In the kitchen the SIS agent was quite busy making breakfast for them all - not that she had anything remotely acceptable in terms of food, so he had to go out and buy it.

But that was alright.

Locke loved to cook and get the ingredients together himself.

If she entered the kitchen, she would notice he was facing the counter and wasn't aware of her yet. Not that she knew anyway. Locke was busy humming a song to himself, while cooking.

na na na... naaaaa naaaaaaaaaa.

 

[Joza Perl]

After Elliot had moved from his spot on the couch, Joza had gradually slid down from her upright position so that she practically face planted in the cushion beside her. She did not stir as [member="Elliot Locke"] went about his business, gathering fresh ingredients and putting it all together.

Luckily, Perl could sleep through an orbital bombardment.

The rich scent of bacon and eggs stirred her from her slumber however, playing on an empty stomach. As she slowly woke, Joza’s body slid further off the couch until she outright fell—luckily, the surprise was enough to jolt her awake so she could brace herself with both hands. Her head didn’t hit the floor, but the sudden movement was hell on her sleepy limbs. Not to mention she’d slept in an awkward position leaving certain muscles sore.

She stayed like that for a few moments, sleep evaporating from her mind as she recalled the events from last night before sinking to the ground. She and Alan had only just made it to the house that evening after a week or so of being away, hence the lack of food. Joza herself hadn’t eaten that day, too busy with travel and fielding a squirmy toddler. Of course, she saw to the fact the Alan would be fed, but a small container of leftover peas and a few remaining scraps of meat were hardly breakfast food.

He seemed to be enjoying himself.

Stumbling upwards, the Zeltron righted herself and headed over to Alan’s room before acknowledging Elliot in the kitchen. Baby was priority after all, and she was pleased to find that he was still sleeping. Probably all tuckered out from throwing a fit every hour on the hour last night, so she’d leave him be for now and wake him later if he didn’t on his own. Couldn’t go messing up a baby’s sleep cycle, and she figured he’d probably nap more in the afternoon anyhow.

Making her way back to the kitchen, she approached from his front so he’d see her coming. Not that she was particularly stealthy and graceful with her slow, lumbering movements. Still shaking off the sleep, she smiled. “You didn’t have to.”

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Locke could hear her moving about in the apartment.

That was that SIS-trained reflexes and senses at work for ya, but he didn't comment on it as she went to check on the baby. He had checked himself right after he went to bed - not out of any sense of emotional connection, mind, clearly that wasn't at play here. No, it was the simple protectiveness he extended towards... people.

Yeah.

That was it.

Eventually Joza did show herself and immediately made sure that he saw her coming. That was appreciated, she knew how he could get when he didn't see something coming.

"Of course I did, I am hungry after all." Amused smile tugged closely. "Oh, you thought this was for you?"

It was clear he was just messing with her though as he started to dispense the food on two plates.

 

[Joza Perl]

Perhaps childishly, Joza stuck her tongue out at him for a moment.

“Hey, I graciously granted you use of my kitchen.”

Still, the eggs and bacon smelled so good and played on her growling stomach.

“That nanny and housekeeper offer still stands, by the way.” Grinning tiredly, she practically collapsed into a chair at the table. Both hands went up to rub at her eyes and she yawned, still fatigued from the night before. She knew that she shouldn’t let Alan sleep for this long, but damn if she wasn’t enjoying the peace and quiet and fresh food she didn’t have to make.

“Did you sleep well?”

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

A shrug of the shoulders as the plates were put on the table and he half-collapsed into the chair opposite of hers.

"I have had worse." The expression was neutral as he started to cut up the pieces of bacon, but the glint of the eye as Elly looked over his plate towards her, suggested that he was pulling her leg in a non-literal sense this time. In truth it had definitely not been too bad - warm press of a soft body, no worries on the mind about being assassinated or beaten to crap, you had to take it all in strides.

It might not have been very comfortable, but her presence had made up for it... somewhat.

"How was your sleep? Like I said yesterday, you couldn't afford me."

The smirk was there now, but it was also the truth.

The amount of money he was making as a senior agent within the SIS wasn't anything to joke about. One of the perks, the other that unlike most law enforcement agencies, agents weren't expected to hand-in dirty money and other crap they confiscated on the job. It was no wonder that Locke had assembled safehouses, stashes of guns and money and documents all across the Galaxy.

Connections were everything in this game of his.

Assets helped with it though.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza hummed softly, still in the throes of exhaustion but no longer deaf to the world. She was a bit more awake and alert already just from the prospect of a good breakfast. And it certainly was good—one mouthful of eggs and she’d already rolled her eyes into the back of her head with an exaggerated moan around the fork.

She stopped that pretty quickly, cheeky smile curving around the implement before she dug back in. A few seconds passed before she swallowed heavily.

“You’d figure.”

Assets did help, no doubt about that. Joza wasn’t so concerned with making money as she was with expansion—but the money didn’t hurt to have, either. She was careful in ensuring that the profit and nonprofit areas of her business were firmly separated, incased her company morality was called into question and vetted. Paper trails were good to have, paper trails that showed her humanitarian efforts ran off of donations and subsidies from herself when necessary, and that the money made from clinics and the like went back into those same enterprises and not into her pocket. She made her money from the clubs and beauty industry, but perhaps she could have made more.

Compromising her intentions that way was a no-no, and she was exceedingly comfortable in that department. Living well beneath her means gave her a sense of normalcy, but there were times when she wanted to sell the company, fire the babysitters and raise her son in peace. A large financial cushion was a good thing to have in any life.

“Slept pretty well all things considered. Alan and I agree that you make a nice pillow.” Another forkful of eggs and she seemed to perk up a bit more.

“This is actually really good. Does SIS have mandatory cooking classes alongside learning how to seduce? Because it’s totally working.”

If anything, she seemed to be at peace for the moment. A hot mess, but a calm one.

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Locke snorted, before thinking back to the little weight holding itself firmly against his shirt and jacket. The baby was a cute one and firmly in control whenever he wanted to be, that much was clear to him. It definitely amused him how both of them had used him as a cushion that night, but couldn't argue with comfort.

"Glad both of you got something out of it then." He quipped, before taking another bite and letting himself taste the dish.

It wasn't as good as it could be. But that was the perfectionist talking inside of him - if it wasn't perfect, then it wasn't worth talking about, but that was something he was still working on.

Maybe one day Locke would be able to simply enjoy himself without worry.

"Oh, not at all, I just enjoy cooking." A shrug of the shoulders, before he took another bite and munched on it a bit. "Job like mine, you need to have something to take your mind off of things in your downtime."

For him that was cooking, karking, drinking and sometimes one of the many violent sports frequenting in the underworld of the more seedy city-plants.

"What do you like to do outside of the baby or work?"

 

[Joza Perl]

Yes, Alan could be in control sometimes. But he was at that age where Joza had to start disciplining him. Little babies, infants couldn’t help but cry and make a fuss when something was wrong. But toddlers needed to be taught how to behave and stick to a schedule. Joza tended to ignore the baby’s temper tantrums over not getting his way, difficult as it was. Eventually he’d tire himself out and hopefully realize that throwing a fit wouldn’t help his situation.

“Really.” She seemed a little surprised, not bothering to look properly quizzical through a mouthful of eggs and bacon. At this point her hunger was in full force, majority of her focus on the meal as she digested his words. “It’s a good hobby.” She affirmed, pointing towards him with her fork briefly before digging back in. “Useful, too.” Cooking wasn’t too difficult once you got the hang of the basics, but it was the effort that tended to turn people off from going at it themselves. Fast food was much more appealing when you had a hard and fast lifestyle, but the Zeltron wasn’t about to start feeding her kid greasy bantha burgers. When she couldn’t cook for him herself, she opted to buy high end ready-made food made especially for little ones—not the sort of thing she’d ever dreamed of buying, but sometimes it was the best option for her busy lifestyle.

“Outside of it, huh?” Took her a few legitimately thoughtful moments to figure out what it was she did in her spare time. Joza was high energy, always had to be occupied with something. She thrived in the business world in that regard, but every now and then it was important to take a break, get your mind into a different gear so you could come back fresh the next day. “I guess…I dunno, I read.” She pushed around a few pieced of egg before spearing them with her fork. “Mostly medical stuff. Nothing too heavy, but I employ a lot of nurses and physicians so I like to know what goes into it, stay informed and all that.”

It wasn’t the answer she was expecting, but it sort of just happened. She’d never finished grade school, never really cared much for education beyond the basics. But when she found something that was interesting and relevant to her, Joza went after it like a pitbull.

“Started getting into late night tv, too. Thanks to the little one, of course. Used to watch Galactic Predators all the time until he started sleeping through the night.” Snorting at the thought of the played up nature show, she shoved another forkful into her mouth.

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

It was definitely a surprise to him.

Oh, he never thought Joza was stupid or anything, Locke wouldn't have gotten it this far if he had. One roll around the bed is one thing, but if you couldn't have a proper conversation than what was the point of continued... interaction. But she didn't seem the sort to be interested in dry-reading or anything like that, then again, Jozie seemed equally surprised that a man like him could be interested in cooking. That thought made him slightly sombre, subconsciously he rubbed at his finger with his free hand, trying to get something out.

His skin seemed clean, but it never felt like it.

"Mmhm, I feel ya, got hooked on this campy late-night series about an intergalactic detective solving crimes with his trusty sidekick." He snickered at the thought of that old show... Wherlock? The fourth season had been pretty crappy, but overal it was a good time. "Was surveilling a place, so had all the time in the world."

Another bite, Elly chewed thoughtfully, before shrugging.

"So, got any plans for today?"

 

[Joza Perl]

Even coming from a society that was seen as lazy and hedonistic, Joza took her work seriously. Maybe her Zeltron blood was thinned just enough, but it wasn’t as if every pink person you’d meet was obsessed with pleasure and had a hedonistic touch. They were just more open to it as a species.

Still, she made it a point to learn as much as she could about her business. Dancing and entertainment were easier considering she’d had experience in the industry, but medicine was a different beast. Had to be sure that she could address the proper areas, pursue the right ventures and hire the right people.

It was good to know that she wasn’t the only one here who found some sense of a guilty pleasure in crappy late night shows. The sort of shows you wouldn’t take time out of your day to watch, but found yourself sedentary on the couch watching anyway.

Plans, plans…what did she have to do today again? Joza was still in that pleasant morning fog, not really wanting to break out of it and start her day. “I have a meeting at…” Green eyes drifted to the chronometer on the wall, widened slightly then lidded in instant defeat. “…three hours ago.” Sighing, she sat back in her chair, scanning the room before she spotted her datapad on the living room table where she’d left it last night. Extending her hand towards it without much thought, the device levitated smoothly towards her.

Already there was an unread message from Haj, her main liquor supplier. The two were friendly, and as she read it seemed more out of concern for her than irritation at her skipping their meeting. Typically the Zeltron was more punctual. “Wasn’t anything too big, will just push it up a day or two.” Haj had two kids of his own, so she imagined he would understand.

“What about you?”

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

It still made him uncomfortable seeing her use the Force.

More often than not Locke could forget that she was a Forcer, because she simply didn't use it as often as most of those fethers did. Made it more easy to ignore or accept, he guessed, but it still made him blink his eyes every once in a while. At least she wasn't a Jedi and Elly had never seen her act morally superior to others simply because she was basically a demi-goddess who could lift stuff up with her mind.

"Couple of days off, before heading out of my next assignment." A shrug of the shoulders, before he chuckled. "Wanna take Alan to some kind of park? Hologram Fun World is like forty minutes away with an airspeeder."

Locke wasn't sure where that suggestion came from.

It probably was too fast, too awkward for the both of them and wasn't suitable to what they had between the two of them. But he had liked spending time with her and the kid, so maybe they could do it again? Didn't have to be now, if she didn't have the time, of course. Locke would understand and find something else to do with himself in the meantime.

Maybe read a book or something.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza wasn’t sure where that suggestion had come from either.

In the end though, she did find it a little odd that he’d suggest that. But not off-putting. Out of place? Out of character for what she knew him to be? Probably, but then again she was reminded that she didn’t know a whole lot about Elly in the first place. It was atypical for a hookup to read her son to sleep, make her breakfast and then offer to take the kid to the park—without getting her in bed, too.

Joza swallowed her last bite before her jaw dropped in mock surprise. “Are you telling me that you, Elliot Locke, actually have time off?” She couldn’t help but finish was a smile, leaning back in her chair as she thought for a few moments. “He might be a little young for Hologram Fun World.” Then again, she didn’t remember it well. She’d always wanted to go as a child, but her mother couldn’t afford it—her first taste of the theme park was when she’d snuck in as a teenager and promptly thrown out a few hours later for smoking deathsticks with a few other kids behind a ride terminal.

So yeah, she didn’t remember much. But she’d liked to see it again, and it would be good to introduce Alan to the world of holograms early on.

“Ah, what the hell. It'll be educational.” Rising, she picked up her plate and would reach for Elliot’s as well if he was finished. “Would you mind watching him as I take a shower? Don’t wake him up though, if we’re going to a theme park I want him to sleep for as long as possible before we leave.”

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Locke blinked and his thoughts went to what they could do in that shower of hers.

But then the mention of the baby made all those possibilities evaporate into thin air. Not that the SIS agent minded too much, not when he was still hurting from the previous night of being played as a cushion and the mission he had been on prior to that, probably wouldn't have been a pleasant time on account of all that anyway.

"Yeah, why not, if you are gonna do the dishes anyway." He stretched in the chair, letting the bones crack just a little bit and the tension rise in his body.

He still felt exhausted, still felt like he could probably sleep for another two weeks.

But that was the entire thing about exhaustion - too much sleep wasn't gonna solve it either. All there really was to do was power through it and hope that there would be a few more days of regular sleep for him later. Otherwise it would probably be another crash and a week out of commission.

"Gonna make some coffee first though."

That would probably be both of their salvation.

 

[Joza Perl]

“Thanks,” She responded briskly, pausing in her journey towards the sink just long enough to brush her lips against his cheek. “I won’t be long.” Rinsing the two plates, she gave him a cursory smile before heading towards the bathroom.

Of the many things Joza had discovered about parenthood, she quickly found out that she was no longer in control of her life. For the last two years she’d eaten, slept and showered around the baby’s schedule. Granted he was on a routine now that made things more predictable, but in the first few months? Absolute hell. It would be nice to take a shower without having to immobilize the child in one of his many toys designed to do so.

Would she manage to relax? It would likely be a quick shower, just long enough to wash up not really allow for the steam to penetrate. Long hot showers were a luxury now, though some small part of her still enjoyed them when she was away on business. The thought of Elliot potentially having to deal with her fussy child on his own lingered in the back of her mind. She’d make this one quick.

A minute or so after she’d started the water, Alan woke up and started wailing. The source? An uncomfortably full diaper.

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

It was about an hour later that the threesome left the apartment.

Locke had been forced to take a shower as well, after Jozie remarked that he smelled from his altercation with the full diaper courtesy of little Alan. Once upon a time the SIS agent had crawled through a long, long, long pipe filled with shite to freedom and as such crap didn't actually do much in the way of distaste to him. His smelling sensations had been killed off a long time ago, it seemed. But the shower had done him some good.

After all he hadn't had a shower since yesterday morning.

Since that time he had killed a man, recycled him, had a baby in his arms, tucked him in, had a pretty pink lady sleep on him and then the pooping incident.

"You owe me a salary for the diaper clean-up by the way." He mumbled, before opening the door to the taxi and letting her step inside with the baby. "But if you get creative, I am sure you can repay me in a different way."

A smirk tugged now, before he settled himself down next to her and gave the driver directions.

[member="Joza Perl"]