Yoü and I

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

A notable snort would follow, amused at the last.

“You are a flatter, Alric Kuhn,” Danger would quip in bantor, crossing her arms under her breasts. She would lean back against the counter, crossing her right ankle over her left as she studied the Old Tetan.

“I reckon she can take care of herself just fine,” she’d add, brows arching with notable amusement. He flashed her that rakish grin, and she could only shake her head.

“So all ready have everything settled and done then?” A glance would flicker over to the espresso machine as it sputtered out the last few drops. “What will you reckon you’ll do then?” the man had always been active, one way or another.

Granted, she was just taking into account what she knew about him two decades prior and the past year of being with him. Carefully, she uncrossed her ankles and moved to withdraw the Javacarian Espresso cup. Her easy gait brought her to him where she set down the dark frothy brew in front of him.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He kissed her neck, softly nuzzling into her. "I approved my last project yesterday."

It was something that he had little to no involvement in, something that had actually been all Nel's design. The ships were brilliant little things, fast response vehicles that would work in conjunction with Vanir's new defense doctrine. He rather liked the design of the ships, and he intended on nabbing one for himself and Danger, though that would be a surprise for later. He softly squeezed her, and then slowly pulled a random datapad from one of the drawers.

"They're ships." He explained. "Fast response vehicles. Nice little things."

An image scrolled up on the datapad, showing the Slith Class Frigate just as he answered her other question. "I don't know. I think...I think I want to get a pet."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Her shoulder automatically curled inward at the ticklish sensation of the bristles of Alric's beard by her neck.

"Oh? For what?" she asked, wondering just what the fast response ships were for --" Stop that!" she said in exclamation, laughing lightly as she would attempt to block his subsequent attack for the delectable curve of her neck.

"A pet?" now that was an odd statement coming from the Tetan. He rarely, if ever, showed any interest to animals what-so-ever. Back on Tatooine he distinctly had a dislike of the Banthas.. and well, really anything that crawled or moved in the desert. Granted, this was on Tatooine.

Or did he... Her eyes narrowed further.

Mean a pet?

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He smiled. "In case Vanir facilities get attacked."

Alric shrugged, as if he doubted that would happen.

"The company decided it was less costly to evacuate, secure, and then neutralize facilities instead of...well saving them." He had not been involved with that decision either, he hadn't wanted to be. "Rather than fighting to keep the facilities Vanir will simply build new ones and ensure that its people are safe. Better places and things then people."

Even soldiers were people, and as he continued to kiss and nip at her neck he could only smile. "Like a dog, or maybe a wild Nexu."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger raised her eyebrows at that. Well that was one way to consider things. Her brow furrowed, only to distract her as the insistent man managed to brush his lips along the inside of her neck.

"You cad!" she joked, but found herself sinking against his embrace anyways. "A Nexu?" now that perked her interest, and she gave him a notable expression of doubt.

"You've never been the sort to enjoy having smaller, living, furred critters around." again, things could have very well changed. "You certainly don't seem like the Nexu sort."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He smiled slightly. "No, I haven't."

That was true. He'd never really liked the thought of having a pet, but he would need something to keep himself busy, something to keep himself active. Vanir had been that for a while, but with the approval of the ship he was out of the business permanently, or at least that was the way that he intended it. He smiled slightly, kissing her on the neck one more time before slowly shifting his grip and backing away just slightly. He made sure to hang onto her just a tad.

"I need something to keep me entertained while you work. The girls aren't really around, and I can only have so many pet projects." He explained himself. "I was thinking about taking one of those ships too, the ones that I approved."

He began to muse outloud to her. "Make it something...for us."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

The soft nuzzle of his jaw gave her tiny shivers, both of pleasure and content, as did the warmth of his body. As he drew back, her hand found its way weaving through the length of his peppered hair, a light cafune as the silk of glinted silver and black ran across the slender digits. Grooming, a small token act of affection, the steady almost mesmerizing continual stroke of the pads of her fingers along his temple to the crown of his head.

"Mmm... entertained." the thought of a pet clearly still amused her, but she would follow up with a few questions. "Sure you want something Nexu sized?" Not that there wasn't enough space in their apartment. The suite with its two floors and several rooms spanned a comfortable amount of meters. Having an additional body in the mix wouldn't encumber them at all.

"And with as many teeth?" that was said with notable humor and emphasis, her free hand sliding up and down the small of his back as he half hung on her. The aroma of the Javacarian espresso would waft over to them in a twisting cloud of steam, enough caf in there for a pick-me-up just by smell alone.

The stroke of her fingers would slow in piqued interest, "For us?" a perk of her brow and then the slight trace of her thumb would run along the line of his jaw, lightly caressing the bristles of his beard there, where tuffs of silver blended into black.

"Just what do you have in mind, Mistah Kuhn?"

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

His thumb would give a gentle caress to the skin beneath her robe.

"We have the Sliver, the transports, but..." He stopped for a moment, thinking. "I want something more."

"Something that mirrors this place, that's nice." Retirement would come quickly, and although he was sure Danger would always work, he was also confident that eventually she would begin to spend more and more time with him. That had already happened in a way, she was at home more and working from the office. He liked that, and in the future he knew it would happen more often than it did even now. Of course, if they got a ship, he could facilitate that.

"Something we can take trips with." He continued to explain. "Long trips. Where you can still work but we can see and do things."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"You planning on whisking me away to places, Kuhn?" it was funny how in the past she had utilized his surname as a weapon, as a wall to keep him in his place and to relay the level of disdain she had for him once long ago. Now there was no venom in her tone, and in its place only amused affection. Leaning forward, the redhead planted a kiss along his temple, drawing him back closer into her embrace, his thumb idly tracing the surface of her skin.

"Hmm..." he was right. They never really thought on a ship for their own combined use. A slight furrow would mar her brow as she wondered, then found herself smiling at the thought. I like that idea.

It was something they could do together.

"It would need one of the most advanced holonet suites," a first suggestion, thinking about work as much as keeping tabs on the events of the 'Verse. "You planning on us taking a crew or making it automated?" she teased, giving him a slight squeeze. In the back of her mind, she mused about what sort of pet would suit the old Tetan.

And idea had struck her, and the more she mulled about it, the more internally excited she became.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He nodded.

She would want to keep working, even when they were on their way to places. That was simply who she was and very likely would always be. "If only we knew someone that owned a telecommunications company."

His words were flat, though it was an obvious tease.

The ship he had envisioned would become another home, something more mobile that would allow them to have those little vacations that the both of them had so enjoyed in the past. It was something that he liked the idea of, and in retirement...well finding those places that the two of them could go would be an interesting hobby to keep him busy.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

“Oh.. if only” came the persiflage, a slight roll of her eyes and a subsequent squeeze of his torso, her fingers interlocking behind the small of his back.

“Well, it will already be fast from the way you’ve spoken about the base model.” she would mull aloud, leaning against the counter, her eyes drifting towards the ceiling as she would comb through her thoughts. “Anything special you would desire?”

At the same time, Danger would go through her mental list of known domesticated pets. There was the bloodhound, a Ropo, a Dire-cat… Bha’lairs would be too large and would need to be a mated pair. While she enjoyed animals, starting off with two that would grow the length of two meters was not the best idea. It all depended on how having a pet took to the Old Tetan.

Then there were allergies to consider; although she’d never known Alric to have any.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He smiled.

What would he want on the ship? He didn't really know. There was quite a bit he would like to add, but he imagined something...nice. He didn't want the interior of a starship, he didn't want bare metal plating and hallways lit with florescent bulbs. Alric wanted a home, something that Danger and he could use to travel and not feel like they were traveling. Perhaps that notion was a bit silly, even naive, but he could afford to be, old as he was.

"I want." He motioned. "This."

"I want to feel at home." He smiled. Would that be hard to do? Probably not, but it would require Danger's decorating skills.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

It was a sentiment Danger could relate with.

"Mmm... That so?" she said, leaning forward to rest her cheek against his bare chest. The small whorls of hair would tickle her nose, but that was alright. Snuggling closer, she made herself comfortable while his Javacarian Espresso grew colder by the minute.

"Well I reckon I could have a hand in that," she had after all, helped him decorate the place the first time he moved in. Under her cheek, she felt the steady beat of his heart, the slight rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took. When he spoke, she could feel the rumble of his voice, and it made her smile.

"Maybe we can even bring that couch of yours." she teased, referencing the piece of furniture that started it all.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He chuckled.

"I thought you threw it out?" Maybe she had, honestly he'd rather forgotten about it.

The couch had at one point been his bed and main office chair. That might have seemed odd, but after losing his last wife Alric's life had gone to ruin quite quickly. It had been Danger that picked him up again, Danger that had forced him to move on. It was a good thing of course, better than he could have done on his own truth be told. He supposed that eventually things would have returned to normal for him...but what changes might have occurred to him during that time was something he did not want to think about.

"I'll talk to Nel." Alric said quietly, a small smile on his lips. "Maybe I have enough pull get something built."

That was a joke of course, he still owned sixty percent of the company and still had status as CEO for another few weeks.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"And lose the one thing I can hold over your head?" she said in a repartee, perking her eyebrows in notable wry jest. Her arms slid back, and she brushed off imaginary lint from the brawn of his shoulders, and her lips would twist in the continued ribbing, "Mhm... reckon you'd go off back to your office and hole yourself back up again!"


Unlikely, but it relayed a more lighthearted Danger than the one a year back. That had been Alric's goal all along. His grip would tighten on her, hands sailing up to draw her closer. She instead would give him a slight nudge back with the tips of her fingers. She saw the spark of devilry in his eyes. Oh no you don't!

"You know, Mistah Kuhn. It is quite rude to let the hard work of a lady grow cold," a slight cant was directed at the direction of his espresso. She was joking of course, but it was fun to foil him every now and then when he was keen on the girls.

"C'mon, we've things to do and an appointment for you to get you too soon enough," maybe during his session in the bacta dip she'll go round and investigate a potential pet to surprise him with.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Truth be told, he had forgotten about the drink. It wasn't that he didn't want it, he had just gotten caught up in the moment. The thought of something like a ship that they could use to travel the galaxy had been stuck in his mind for a while now, actually planning it out? Well it was rather exciting. He smiled slightly and slipped his arms around her, grasping the cup and bringing it to his lips.

An ache in his thigh began, though he ignored it.

"Maybe we should skip it." A hand slowly moved from the cup and tucked itself beneath her robe.

His finger began to draw looping whirls on her skin, gently caressing. "There's other things we could do you know."

It's not like they couldn't reschedule, he quite literally paid the doctors salary, at least for another few days anyway.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Is that a fact?!" Danger would chuckle out, feeling the invitation as the heat transfer from the espresso cup would settle upon her skin. Her arms would wrap tighter within the bands of his embrace. One cheek would gently rub in a caress against the brushlike softness of his beard. It was nice.

This was nice.

Oh there were other matters to attend to. Currently Arceneau Trade was working along with Browncoat and Pharma tech to push on their agenda to break through the market. Pharma Tech was moving towards botanical medicines and Browncoat continuing the green energy campaign it started long ago. There were so many new developments, a few that would require Danger's attention, but not as much as it used to. It was for that reason that each sector of the galaxy now had a designated Arceneau Trade Representative. With good fortune, that would continue to spread and move to a positive and profitable experience.

"Mmm, well we can't have you over-strainin' yourself Mistah Kuhn," she would smile against the corner of his lips, giving him a light affectionate peck.

"Wouldn't do right by my reputation if it is said I ain't lookin' after you well." she teased.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Well." Alric started, his beard brushing against her cheek as his lips moved closer to her ear. "Who said I would be the one doing the straining?"

There was always another time for Bacta appointments.

He really was doing much better, at least compared to how bad he had been only a few days ago. Briefly the thought of using Aspha had crossed his mind, though it had quickly disappeared when he remembered the side effects that the cocktail brought. Perhaps he would have been more open to it under different circumstances, but the truth was, he was too old. The Hallucinations that would have come with the drug likely would've knocked him over for longer than the injuries would take to heal normally. The mental pain, the anguish.

It wasn't worth it.

He would rather spend time with Danger, even if it meant hobbling around for a bit. "Come on, Arceneau. Live a little."

The words were said with a wide smirk.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

A throaty chuckle, and then a knowing twinkle drew within the depths of her eyes. Honestly, whatever manner of bliss they found in each other went beyond the physical. Right now, it was all about simply being and enjoying life. Enjoying the years that they had left together. Things would certainly never be perfect, but where they were now?

Well, reckon they were as perfect as they would ever be.

Drinking in that little boy smile, as familiar to her as two decades back, Danger felt herself drawn into his delightful web. That was alright though. If anything, Danger had come to learn that to live, one had to let go a bit. Both had come far, both had their fair share of mistakes and now, were living a second chance.

Alric and she were two of a kind, and it was with no further prodding that she gave an acquiescent smile.

"Alright..." It was common knowledge that women like Danger make hard men melt like better in a pan. Good thing she was equally adept at reversing the process.