Responsibility

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

It did amuse her.

A tiny snort of laughter escaped her mouth, her eyes bright as she caught the rather wry confession. Now that made more sense. Asmus seemed to be the sort to enjoy the finer things. Pretty things. Shiny things. All of that which was sparkly and bright. He drew pleasure in that.

Kaile was the same when it came to baubles and trinkets. Smaller things that she could collect along her travels. Most were more valuable in sentiment than any true monetary sense. Slowly, Kaile set down her palm upon the bed. The shift of fabric went sliding down with a whisper, a half uplift of her torso as the Lorrdian rose to a sitting position.

Humor filled orbs watched him a bit longer, seeing the pull of his fingers against the skin, drawing it taut for the next rasp of the straight razor.

“You don’t soak your face with a hot towel?” she asked, her question prompting a half turn of his head, the dark forelocks falling forward at the movement. Another wash of the blade and another strip of freshly shaved skin lay in a neat peach patch over his adam’s apple.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

As the stroke of the blade came to the end of its journey, he gave it a subtle flick outwards. Once more it was plunged into the water and given a quick shake. He gave another small shrug.

"I only tend to bother when I've left it a week or so," he said, turning to face her for a moment. It was likely she'd catch the brief drift of his eyes. "Takes a while to actually do much." If he was being fully honest, his stubble just wasn't bristly enough to require it.

Nothing for it now, he had to gurn into the mirror as he contorted his features into an odd shape. The blade came up to the very corner of his jaw, carefully running over that angle. Please don't let me cut myself like a moron on front of her... Despite worrying about it, he managed to finish the stroke cleanly. Now to move onto the other side of his jaw.

"I think someone was after your attention," he added jovially, noticing a small face emerge above her.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

He was right.

The soft stirrings of tiny scratches caught the Lorrdian female’s attention. Bobo would poke his head out of the threshold, staring out with his little beady black eyes and a cant of his head as if to say -- Now are you going to pay attention to me?

What was it that regardless of species, males had an affinity of demanding attention one way or another. A ysalamir was no exception.

“Hey there,” Kaile coo’d out, offering an outstretch of her hand so that the tiny lizard would be able to pluck his way on over. One could see the briefest of a harrumph motion of his head, as if to play hard to get and that he would not be placated by the attention offered now. However, a beckoning crook of her finger and the dribble that followed after changed his mind. With a scurrying of tiny claws, he climbed his way onto Kaile’s palm and up her arm. Once again, he was the king of his perch upon her shoulder.

Amused, Kaile could only give a loving stroke to the miniature Ysalamir along the wattle under his jaw. “Silly Bobo,” she murmured, dipping her head down to plant a tiny kiss right on the top of his head.

 

[Asmus Janes]

By the time Bobo had taken his perch Asmus had finished the underside of his jaw. He paused for a moment to give the blade a good wipe on the flannel hung on the side of the sink. “He’s a pretty expressive and intelligent little things isn’t he? And possessive,” Asmus said. He pursed his lips at that comment again. Bobo wasn’t the only one acting possessively towards Kaile. This morning had been a sudden, spontaneous act. Altogether satisfying to ride those waves together whilst their position offered a clear view of their act of passion. Yet the night before would stick in his mind. My kaile, he had whispered as they began their first union.

“Right, now the tricky bit,” he commented. He mostly said those words to remind himself to focus on his angular chin instead of Kaile. Turning his head to one side, he made short motions with the blade to remove the stubble along the rounding of his jawline.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

There was a small chuckle as Bobo shot a side glance at Asmus with his black, beady eye. Kaile scooped him up in her palms, shifting in the bed to get into a proper sitting up position. Curves swayed as the bedsheet settled around her hips, folding over on top of her knees as they drew up and she sat in a butterfly position.

Brown orbs flicked up to watch Asmus ever so carefully stretch the skin taunt and slide the straight razor over the curve and dip of his chin.

“I’m the only he knows.” she told him, her half smile fading. “I”m all he has. Makes a bit of sense in that I suppose.” she brought Bobo up, giving the tiny lizard a slight nuzzle against the softness of her cheek, the mass of hair falling forward a bit to veil her face.

“He is smart as a whip!” she added, folding her eyelids back to study the scoundrel as he washed the remaining sludge off the blade. She wondered what scent he used or if it was all unscented? It was a bit hard to tell from this angle, but her question was soon answered with the tickle upon her nose.

Asmus wasn’t the sort to not use a scent after all. The middle drawer full of what she could only figure to be a collection of essential oils and the pricey shaving set told her that.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Concentration was stretched as she shifted position. Part of him would have liked to be nuzzling against her. Odd that he was so aware of her state of undress and entirely nonchalant to his own. Bobo deserved a break and some attention anyway. As distracted as he had been, Asmus had caught sight of the lizard slinking back into his tube when the pair of them had ignored him for their own indulgences.

He took his mind back away from that train of thought. Asmus knew that whilst Kairon was surprisingly polite about him sleeping in, that veneer would slip if he was late for duty a second time. Asmus finished the angles on one side of his face and turned his attention to the other.

“Coming up with us for breakfast Bobo?” he asked. Perhaps he could curry some favour with Kaile’s pet again.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

He said the key word. Breakfast!

The sudden shift of awareness, shock, and growing embarrassment went sweeping across her face as her eyes grew wide.

“Ohmystars! Breakfast!” she yelped out, remembering that she had offered to cook breakfast for the Captain and the crew. A bright red flush went sweeping up her chest and settled hotly over her face, and she was already half scrambling with the bedsheets in her rush to stand up. Bobo seemed to half sail back onto the shelf, surprised and a bit startled at suddenly being dropped back by his tube.

She was a flurry of activity - and in her rush she half got caught in the sheets, becoming even more tangled as a smattering of zeltron and huttese curses fell from her mouth. Oh stars! She was late! Embarrassment made her clumsy, and one might say, despite being in her birthday suit, adorable.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus managed to get the blade away from his face before he chucked. He turned on the spot and raised both hands up for calm. “Kaile, Kaile, it's okay. The others have eaten, we just need to worry about ourselves.”

His eyes flicked to the blade he was holding in his right. Perhaps the gesture wasn't all that reassuring with a cutthroat razor being held out towards you. Oh she was adorable. And very naked. If it hadn't been for the blade and foam over his hands he would have wrapped her up in his arms. Also, wow, did she know all the good swear words. There was a good deal of respect mixed into the look he gave her.

“My fault,” he admitted - and it was. “Kairon just needs us up front in thirty minutes. So take a breath, give Bobo a tickle. And then kiss me as soon as I've finished.” Asmus had tacked on the last request without a thought.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

“Wh.. wait what?” standing with the blanket half wrapped about her body, Kaile stared at Asmus with wide eyes. Her face was still flushed with embarrassment, and confusion reigned as his assurance that the Captain and everyone else had their breakfast registered. A wave of mortification darkened her cheeks, as she flopped back down on the bed with a half bounce.

“They already ate?” she repeated with a slight squeak of her voice. It wasn’t to say she didn’t hear the rest of his recommendations, or the rather comical demand. It was just that Kaile prided herself on her word and her offer of help. She already felt that she was straining the good graces of the Captain already.

And to be truthsome, it was just as much a fault of hers as well.

“I’ma have to apologize to the Captain,” she said, nibbling her lower lip. She looked right sheepish as can be, but was just as distracting considering the state of disheveled Kaile she was in. Turning towards the half shaven scoundrel, the corner of her mouth gave a slight quirk.

“Reckon I can make it up with lunch…”

 

[Asmus Janes]

“Ow fuck,” Asmus swore. Looking in the mirror he realised he'd barely even cut himself on the corner of his jawline below his ear. “You'd think I'd be bright enough not to try and look at you and smile at the same time as holding a razor to my skin.”

The blade was once again shaken just beneath the surface of the water, cleaned of white foam tinged pink. “But yes, I'm sure it'll be fine. I might complain about him, but Kairon is a fair man. Don't get me wrong, he has a temper alright. He's not going to get wound up over us sleeping in a little and missing breakfast.”

Asmus at least had the good graces to look a tad sheepish as he appraised his work so far in the mirror. It was hard to focus on such a mundane task with her on his bed all curvy and distracting…stop it. What was more distracting was the hit of emotions that percolated up when he caught sight of her.

“No laughing, this is the worst face I have to make!” he said before starting on his top lip.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]s

“Oh are you okay?!”

Before Asmus knew it, Kaile had risen from the bed. Her footsteps left the flutter of fabric half on the bed and half on the floor, and soon, Asmus would catch the tanned and lightly freckled image of one Kaileann reflected on his mirror. It joined the contorted visage of the scoundrel as he shaved his upper lip, the straight razor lightly scraping away the last remnants of the stubble.

He reminded her of a monkey, all gums and no teeth with the way he was shaving himself. The attempt to not laugh outright was there, but it was hard to not contain the twitch of her lips. At least until she caught the line of red trail from the shallow cut right below his ear.

Glancing at the tiny vanity, Kaile searched for the singular item that would help in such situations. A stypic pencil. Moving beside him, her arm went reaching out. Plucking the stick, she uncapped it from its fancy container.

“Shiny,” she said, half admiring the decoration case before turning the bottom. The white stick was basically a solid pencil of minerals that when wet, would be blotted on tiny cuts to allow quick clotting of blood. A dip of the tip and a small rub of the damp pen at the pad of her forefinger prepped it.

“You should use a hot towel when you can,” she advised, glancing up as she caught him watching her.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Feeling the just the brief touch of her skin was enough to start him leaning towards her. He consciously stopped himself so as not to leave her covered in shaving foam.

Instead he pulled an even more ridiculous face into the mirror and Kaile as he wiped down the blade. “I probably should. I should also concentrate when shaving!”

Bending down he pulled the plug on the sink, turning the tap back on so he could splash cold water over his face. He wiped down with a flannel. The water making the cut seem worse as the drop of blood mingled with water.

“Hard to, mind,” he admitted in an offhand manner. “Busy wondering how I convinced such a kind, funny and beautiful girl for fall for me,” he added. He even managed not to cringe at how that must have sounded. Because he meant it.

Now dry, he turned his head aside so she could use the pencil.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

A half twinkle shone in Kaileann’s eyes at that. When Asmus gave an incline of his jaw towards her, the Lorrdian took a step forward. Smooth shaven, with the tips of his hair damp from the brief splash of water. For a moment, her breath caught. His eyes were such a vibrant green just from this distance.

Under his scrutiny, Kaile felt heat rush over her face again. A lick of her lips and her attention fell upon the nick at his jaw. Reaching over, her thumb first wiped away the scarlet stain. “Well I reckon I do take to bribery with stories of constellations and such,” she would say in a joking quip, leaning forward to lightly dab at the nick with the styptic pencil. It bled a bit, but a dab of a finger smoothed it over.

Would be an odd sight perhaps, both of them bare as mynocks, standing in front of his little vanity while she blotted a small cut along the edge of his jaw. “Strawberries help out too.” she’d add in a half whisper, pulling the stick away from his face to turn and wash off the tip of the pencil. It was all an attempt to keep things lighthearted, despite the fact that her heart was starting to thump in her chest.

It was the tousled half grin he tossed her way, along with the brief darkening of dilated eyes. Yeah, sparks seemed to fly whenever he smiled, and that flutter came in her belly again.

“Reckon that takes care of it now,” she murmured, setting the protective cap upon the pencil to set it back on the vanity. A rock of her toes, a half bounce, and Kaile acted on impulse. She was a blur of movement, one that set a soft press of her lips upon his, her hands cupping the smooth, cool hollows of his cheeks. It was intended to be a quick peck, a half bump of noses and prompted a giggle.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kaile beat him to it. A moment later and he would have descended upon her. Instead she bounced up to meet him. Nothing had ever made his heart flutter quite like she did. A quick kiss, just the slightest brush of lips to send his heart racing.

His hands clasped together behind her back and his hair cascaded down to surround her head again. Here in the intimate shadows he playfully rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. It was almost painful, the low ache as he held her tight. As if no matter how close he held her to him, it wouldn't be enough. Light that cut through his hair reflected off her eyes and Asmus was taken back to last night. Her hot breath against him, every inch of her pressed close as she called out his name.

A wide smile on his face, he leaned back so he could look at her. She felt so small in his arms, held tight around her narrow waist, her chest still pressed close but enough room that he could watch her.

“I meant what I said,” he said. His voice didn't match the lighthearted expression on his face. “I've never felt this way. Never.” He sighed. Oh if there was time he'd lie her back and make love to her again just to find that moment of perfection again.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Her heart gave a flutter. Them butterflies were going crazy. A half step of her foot and their embrace swung them a half turn so that the vanity was at Kaile's back, the mirror reflecting the smooth expanse of her spine and the brief definition of her ribs. There, at the small of her back, lay the contrast of Asmus' hands and arms against her skin. Just a token shade paler, Kaile far more well used to the kiss of the sun than the pilot.

I've never felt this way, he said. Never.

Why did that make her belly tie in knots? Why did it send a warm rushing tingle from her head to her toes? He didn't need to emphasize it, Kaile read the truth of it within his expression, in the way he let his hand sail over her back, smoothing down and then back up. It made her nervous. It made her anxious. It also made her realize that she had no clue what it all meant. But she knew where she would eventually go.

He'd barely said the words before Kaile's fingers came to rest against his lips, catching the words and distracting the scoundrel with the gentle trace of her forefinger along the outline of his lips.

"I know." she told him, her voice a low rasp thick with emotion, caught up in the moment and his smile. This time around, it wasn't a bouncy rush. Nor was it full of impulse. It was a deliberate cup of his cheeks, a rise of tippy toes, and the slow flutter of lashes. Where she had given him but a playful quick peck she now replaced with another inlaid with a far deeper sentiment than one Kaile could ever put to words.

Where a fire had blazed earlier, sparks flying from his tongue, Kaile instead captured Asmus' lips with a slow, sweet press of her lips. An echo of the night with just a lingering kiss. Just a touch of that fire burning so bright.

 

[Asmus Janes]

As he broke away from her kiss he gave a small, content sigh. Shoulders sagged, muscles relaxed, it almost seemed as if he released some tension and deflated against her. It took a moment to return to the present, his eyes focusing back on her. So easy to lose all sense of self, indulgent perhaps, but not selfish. A shared experience, to put everything else aside and just be together.

Of course trying to express what he felt with words was going to come hopelessly short. His eyes turned from her now moist lips to hazel rings. His look showed what he was thinking, a slight tip of the head followed to acknowledge that she was correct, a kiss was a better way of explaining.

His arms slid up her back, one hand coming to the base of her neck to pull her into his chest, where she'd be able to hear his heartbeat again. Asmus kissed the top of her head, indulging in drawing in a deep breath through his nose. If only he could stay here, the length of her body pressed against him, the scent of her drawn in with each breath.

“Can't promise we've got any strawberries left. I can manage a slice of chocolate cake, a coffee and the best view in the house of the stars for a while?” he offered quietly. It would involve getting dressed again, but that issue seemed secondary to letting go.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

There came the skip of a heartbeat, the half dizzy kiss drunk sensation that made Kaile a bit woozy and lightheaded. His voice was low and weighty in the dim room. With her head by his chest, Kaile watched a ghost of a smile appear on his profile, and it looked different from that angle. It no longer sported the scruffy, unshaven stubble, of which several places on her body boasted the slightly chafed evidence of its existence.

Under her cheek, Kaileann absorbed the measured thump-thump of his heart. A half smile drew over her lips, a bit of the old Kaile reflecting upon her golden face. “That sounds perfectly shiny.” she told him, a shift of her head to glance up at the scoundrel. She stared at the dark hair grazing his shoulders, the way the flexed muscles of his arm shifted when he held her. A half inch up, and she met the verdant circlets of his eyes.

“But I reckon another go at the sonic should be done first.” she said with a half chuckle. Internally, there was a line Kaile was drawing. A timeline. She had only so much, she knew this. What time she had, she would cherish it.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

A curious quirk of his lips. "And for a moment there I thought you were going to suggest something else," he said before leaning in for a gentle kiss. He grumbled from the back of his throat as he relinquished his grip on her. Yet one hand snuck out on its own and found hers, reluctant to go without a tether to Kaile.

He padded across the room towards his bunk and reached down for his clock, still lying face up on the bed. Didn't have a great deal of time until his uncle was expecting him on the deck above.

"Hey little man," he said to Bobo reaching out to give him a scratch. It was accepted, but he got the sense he wasn't the ysalmiri's favourite right now. Asmus gave Kaile's hand a squeeze before retrieving the loose sweat pants from the floor.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

"He's a bit fuzzy this morning," she told him, amused. Bobo did not appreciate the term used to describe him, and he gave a little huff. With a flick of his tail, he bounded back into his home.

"I'm going to need to make him a new one," she murmured to herself, taking the first item of clothing she could find to tug over her head. Asmus' scent engulfed her anew, as the soft flannel of his shirt slipped over her torso and curves, falling down to mid thigh. A flush of pink darkened her cheeks, a bit of pleasure in that. She took a deep breath, held in it. A hug of her belly and then a courtesy glance at the cabin.

It was a bit of a mess. Their clothing strewn everywhere. The blankets half on and off the bed and the floor. A few personal items along the wall of his bunk had tumbled; likely due to the chaos that had ensued when they were both too enthralled with one another.

The blush deepened.

"I think I left everything in the refresher..." yeah.... she did. The only thing that she even had on at the time was her shirt and her underwear. Which quickly had been tossed to the side. Brown eyes caught her plain jane slip of fabric hanging off to the side. She bent down to pick them up.

Maybe straightening the place up real quick would do them some good.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

His hand missed the feel of hers, those soft callouses against his smooth palms. Asmus chuckled nervously when she blushed. He felt...raw, exposed. As if just having her near subjected him to a greater effect of his own emotions even if she wasn't the cause.

Thinking on the state of the room, he followed her lead. It wasn't too bad, though it didn't smell so fresh in here any more. Yet it undeniably smelt of her as well. He turned away as she picked up her clothes from earlier that morning, his mind going back to a slow tug down with the fingers and a lingering gaze.

It didn't take long to put the small cabin in order. "Wed best get everything back from the 'fresher," he said. Desperate for it back, he took her hand in his again. He refused to let go this time. Not as he led her out the door, not as they walked down the corridor. Not as he opened one sonic's door and tried to encourage her in after him.