Women. Bleh.
You'd think when you're in a place with a name like 'The Sanctuary', you wouldn't have to worry about every single word you say and whether or not someone would overhear you. Good grief...it's not like I openly started describing sort of secret organization, or anything. Even if...you know what...is mostly a secret to the average student.
I give up.
For what it's worth, apparently Noren thinks joining a team with Drake and some of the other students is a "vigilante" effort. Whatever. I think I just need to talk to her longer, and in private. Not that I minded talking in front of Rogue, the young woman I officially met tonight...it's just that if I talked to Noren at the school, where I didn't have to worry about what I said in public about certain confidential topics, I could understand better what she meant.
Of course, I didn't get that chance tonight. Had to help out Professor McCoy with some preparatory stuff for his introductory chemistry class for next year's junior Chemistry class. Just making sure the lab's all set up, and things are going well. But, I promised I'd help, so a promise is a promise.
Just like I promised Noren I'd take her on another date tomorrow or in the next few days. I will, too, and don't you worry about it, girl. ;-)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Sanctuary
Accessible through one of the nondescript doorways from the filthy, unpopulated alleyway outside, those who find their way to The Sanctuary usually have been pointed in the right direction. The single room of the coffee joint is deceptively large, despite the only natural lighting being from a pair of windows almost too grimy to see through. The remaining dimness is cured effectively, however, by a series of well-placed wall sconces amidst bookshelves and abstract paintings by little-known local artists. The main counter with its impressive menu of caffeinated goodness dominates most of one wall, but arranged in the still plentiful leftover space are any number of seating arrangements from small, iron-wrought tables and chairs to a battered old couch and stained table as well as patched and repatched beanbag furniture.
But the focus of The Sanctuary is not so much its comfortable atmosphere as the eccentric crowd it runs with. A crowd so eccentric, in fact, that it's no secret to the patrons of this joint that the majority of them are mutants. No doubt the owners and operators of the shop are mutants themselves, and in this easygoing crowd it's not uncommon to have your double espresso served to you by a fellow with three eyes and a tail.
As the day draws into evenings, those who linger in the shop at this hour may begin to detect a rhythmic pulse of music from underfoot. Not loud or obtrusive, per say, but present nonetheless, and wanting of investigation.
[Exits : [D]ownstairs, and [B]ack [O]utside ]
[Players : Norenvalei, and Rogue ]
[Things : Cork Messageboard ]
A table in a back corner, with plastic/rubber cups. One tall cup of cocoa, and the other, whatever the woman's companion is drinking. So Noren sits idly pondering as she turns the question back at Rogue, "You /really/ thought about doing that with Star-chan?"
Seated across from Noren is one auburn haired woman, who's chuckling between sips of mocha, yum. "Oh, just hush..." she states with a roll of her eyes.
Quark walks into The Sanctuary with a slightly hesitant expression on his face, as if he's not sure if this is the place he's looking for. He scans the room for a sight of Noren, and when he finally spots her, grins roguishly. (And no, that's not a play on the other girl sitting next to her. ^.^) Walking over to the counter, he orders a nice, hot green tea. Mmm. After paying, he smiles again and sets down at the table with Noren, offering a wave to his girlfriend and the person he's seen before but has yet to officially meet. To Noren, he offers a pleased "I thought you'd be here! How are things going? I haven't seen you lately." And to Rogue, he arches an eyebrow just slightly and asks politely, "I'm sorry, have we met? You look familiar, somehow." And just to make sure he's not butting in, he adds, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything...?" Still, he eyes Noren up and down once and raises his eyebrow further, although saying nothing else.
(Norenvalei
She would stand roughly 4 ft. 11 inches tall, Her eyes seeming to sparkle even a little. Her waspish figure and carefree gait allows her to move with a grace that would make a professional model green with envy. Her small wellshaped bosom only compliments her figure, not drawing too much attention, but not remaining unnoticed either. Her vibrant long black hair stretches down past her shoulders to midway down her back. Her long slender legs are shapely, yet seem to hold a hidden, concealed strength. She is well toned and her body and face seem to have virtually no fat on them whatsoever save that light tinge of baby fat that gives her a feminine softness and tenderness. Her gills are visible, save when her hair is in the way, and on her back what isn't covered by her hair, light scarring can be seen just barely to anyone that pays attention enough to notice.
She wears a black leather corset trimmed with hunter green and white colored lace, accentuating her breasts. After a short gap beneath the bottom of her corset comes the top of her incredibly low rising skintight leather pants that accentuate her pert young curves to the upmost. On her feet are a pair of black leather stiletto ankle boots.)
Norenvalei shrugs at Chris, "Nope not at all. I've been at Staren-chan's the last few days... hrmmm. I guess more like a week. Though. That's why you haven't seen me."
Rogue loks up and offers a polite nod to Quark as she sips at her mocha. "Don't ask me if we've met, we might have," is given with a half chuckle.
Rogue (OOC) grins, and will need to idle for half an hourish in half an hour.... will probably log off, need to drop something off at my friends work
Quark chuckles a little himself, extending a polite hand to the auburn-haired woman and offering, "Well, let's do it officially, then. My name is Chris Parker, or you can just call me Quark if you like." Or The Quarkster, or Q-Man, or Q-Bert. Drake came up with that one just the other day...hrmm. But, yeah, back to the story. "If you don't mind my asking, what is yours?" Of course, he blinks just once in surprise at the mention of Noren spending an entire week at Staren's as her reason for him not seeing her. He looks at her once, manages a nod and a smile, and simply replies, "...Oh."
Norenvalei sips on her cocoa again, then frowns a little at the more salty sedentary texture. "Could you taste this for me and just let me know if it's still warm or if it's cold or something that would play with the taste?" She offers the cup to Rogue with a smile at Chris. "What have you been up to? I haven't been able to check the livejournal thingy for a while. Chris, this is my best friend, almost a sister to me. My best friend, almost sister, this is Chris, my other other other best friend, boyfriend."
Norenvalei turns back to Rogue, "Well, whatever. She's /really/ talented in any case."
Rogue nods a bit towards Noren and takes a slight sip of the drink before handing it back. "It's still warm Noren, don't worry," she gives with a chuckle, then another chuckle at Noren's comment. "Rogue, please don't call me 'Noren's best friend, almost sister," she laughs at this.
What has Chris been up to...hmm. Good question. Biting his lip in thought as he tries to summarize his week, he finally responds to Noren, deadpan, "Well...I had a debate with both Jean and Jubilee over my LJ about me joining the X-Men team. Drake invited me to be a part of his own X-Factor group, and then subsequently gave my mother another month to live by almost killing himself." Turning back to Rogue with a smile, he waves and replies, "Well, Rogue, it's a pleasure to officially meet you." What did she do at Staren's for a whole -week-? Sheesh...
Norenvalei hisses out, "Chris. You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut about certain things." Her tone lightens a little, "That aside, why would you want to join that vigilante group anyhow? I'm almost certain the police are after them, nevermind other organizations." A moment for him to ponder that before, "How's Professor Summers doing? I haven't seen him in some time.
Rogue nods. "That could have been a stupid mistake, fortunatly for you, I know all about that and them and yada yada," she states, not actually saying anything about her being a mutant. "I heard that he'd left the mansion, not sure though...."
Norenvalei noddles, "And what would Jean know about them anyway? I mean really. She's too careful and knows the legal system too well to fall into that sort of trap. Nevermind that she's pretty much in the public scene almost as much as the Professor. Speaking of which. Has anyone seen the Professor of late? I'm starting to get worried about him. I haven't heard anything. No one at school tells me anything anymore."
Quark frowns and blinks a few times, trying to remember what he said that would bring about such a reaction. Thinking...thinking...ah. Whoops, X-Men. Big no-no. Paling slightly, he bites his lip and lowers his head a little like a sad puppy, apologizing in an only slightly excuse way, "But...I scoped the place out when I came in...there's just a few ladies over by the door...and most of the -students- haven't even heard the name or something..." He stops mumbling and, sighing, finishes it with, "Sorry..." Leaning back and taking a nice loooong sip of tea, he finally frowns and replies, "I heard Drake saying something about it on his LJ. I guess Professor Summers just sort of...left. For some girl or something." Sip, sip.
Norenvalei ohs and nods, "Well, just remember this /is/ a common hang out and some people hear better than others. Anyhow. How do you know of this group?" She giggles a little. "I figured Professor Summers was into some kind of kink when he showed up in that skintight rubber outfit of his that one time. So who's the unlucky madame? Or do you know at all?" She sips again, then shakes her head, "This doesn't taste right. Chalkier than usual." and reaches for a spoon or something to stir it.
Quark shrugs and nods again at Noren, still with that guilty puppy dog look on his face. *Sniff, whimper* "Umm...I've talked to Jean about it, that's all. I'll admit I don't know for a -fact- what kind of thing they do, but I have a pretty good idea," he comments vaguely, trying to hint that he knows more than the average student. Hint, hint. For crying out loud, she showed him the uniforms and everything months ago...! Apparently he doesn't understand why it's such a secret, if what they're working for is such a good thing. "And for what it's worth, Drake isn't forming a -vigilante- club. And as for Scott...well, it must not be a good thing that he's gone. Something doesn't seem right about that woman, because -everyone's- talking about it."
Rogue sits quietly, sipping at her mocha. "Quark, keep that on the hush. Some here know exactly what goes on in there, but not all," she states simply.
Norenvalei blinks at Rogue, then ohs and sips her cocoa. "Oh yes, I might get 'adopted' sooner or later. And when are we going out again, Chris? It's been some time."
Quark blinks and rolls his eyes, his mood a tangy mix of sarcasm and annoyance. Taking another sip of his tea, he responds quietly in a bland tone, "Mmm. Good tea. I like this place. Maybe I'll come over more often. How are you, Noren? How is Staren?" There, that can't possibly have -anything- hush-hush in it, right? He feels like Frodo, trying to keep the knowledge that he's carrying the One Ring in his pocket a secret. He takes another long sip of tea, almost too long--the hot steam is bugging his eyes and his contacts, and the tea itself is still hot enough to almost burn his taste buds off. Fun. He flickers his eyes towards Noren's direction and pauses, his new trademark 'Are you serious?' expression on his face. "I would -LOVE- to take you out. Seriously. I wanted to the other day, or have you come with Drake yesterday to visit Mom, or something. But I haven't been able to -find- you. I tried, though. I had to ask around home," he says instead of "Xavier's", wondering if that's taboo also, "just to find you." Shrugging, he tastes another welcoming sip of scalding tea, muttering defensively and mostly to himself, "Besides...it hasn't been -that- long..." Women. There's no pleasing them!
Norenvalei frowns, "Chris! You're almost /always/ off doing something or other. Be it studying or working or what have you. And then I spend the week at a friend's apartment just for kicks to get some space out of the mansion so I don't go nuts. You /know/ I can't stand feeling couped up. It... gets dangerous when I do."
Rogue is still sippin her mocha, what else do yah want?
Norenvalei (OOC) says, "*giggles and hugs Rogue."
Quark also frowns back. "But I don't get a choice about working in the summer. You know that...with Mom sick and all, I have to make money if I want to keep paying the bills to go to our school. I know Jean and Professor Xavier himself wouldn't be too keen if I just sat around the mansion and didn't manage to pay for -any- of it. I can't take advantage of these people." Gently placing his hand on top of Noren's, he looks into her eyes and adds, "I'm sorry about studying all the time and working on improving my God-given talents," hint hint--powers ;-), "but if it makes you feel any better, I don't always want to be. I think of you all the time, and I still feel bad that I can't be spending as much time with you as I wish I could. You mean the world to me. Honestly."
Norenvalei says, "Quark! You know that I can easily pay your bills. Really. You don't have to work if you don't want to." She ponders getting a job herself. At the rate she's spending money of late, she may need to soon. But may want to wait on that one, at least until she has the stuff to prove she can legally work in this country.
Quark blinks and replies as if what he's saying is one of the most simple things to understand, "Noren, I know you're rich and all...but I can't let you do that. Just as easily as I know you wouldn't let me be the one to protect you and tell you to go run for help when put into a dangerous situation. I appreciate the offer, but...chivalry is just something I do. It'd be just as wrong as asking you out to dinner and not having enough money to pay for it, and making you pay instead."
Norenvalei shrugs, "What if I wanted to pay for it? Would I have to ask you out instead?" She sips on her cocoa then, blecks and pushes it away, "Yeck. I need something else to drink."
Quark grins and admits without sarcasm, "You'd probably have to club me in the head and steal my wallet. Or be really, really convincing." He winks once and wiggles his eyebrows playfully, squeezing Noren's hand, which is still next to his. Sighing, he adds, "I know, I know. I'm stubborn. But it's a nice thing to do. Think of me working as trying to get enough money to take you out on lots of nice, expensive dates. Because for the money that I'm not using for school bills, I'm saving in a special, rainy-day Noren fund." And that's not a joke either. Leaning over, and not really caring at this point if Rogue is forced to watch their playful romantic banter, he kisses Noren gently on the lips, moving the hand on hers up and into a hug around her shoulders. What a playa'. ^.^ Standing up with a small cough and a lame, sheepish smile on his face, he adds apologetically, "Umm...I know this is going to sound really, -really- lame, but I promised Professor McCoy that I'd help him in his lab tonight with a bit of chemistry stuff, to prepare a bit for his class in a few weeks. Sorry..." Shrugging, he finishes off the rest of his now not-so-scalding tea and reiterates, "Sorry! I PROMISE we'll do something together tomorrow or in the next few days at the latest. On me," he winks. With that, he waves goodbye to Rogue and walks out the door, already running late.
Norenvalei smiles and waves, "Just gotta trap him into keeping that promise." *sagenod*
Rogue stands, having finished her coffee. "I gotta go, cya Noren."
I give up.
For what it's worth, apparently Noren thinks joining a team with Drake and some of the other students is a "vigilante" effort. Whatever. I think I just need to talk to her longer, and in private. Not that I minded talking in front of Rogue, the young woman I officially met tonight...it's just that if I talked to Noren at the school, where I didn't have to worry about what I said in public about certain confidential topics, I could understand better what she meant.
Of course, I didn't get that chance tonight. Had to help out Professor McCoy with some preparatory stuff for his introductory chemistry class for next year's junior Chemistry class. Just making sure the lab's all set up, and things are going well. But, I promised I'd help, so a promise is a promise.
Just like I promised Noren I'd take her on another date tomorrow or in the next few days. I will, too, and don't you worry about it, girl. ;-)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Sanctuary
Accessible through one of the nondescript doorways from the filthy, unpopulated alleyway outside, those who find their way to The Sanctuary usually have been pointed in the right direction. The single room of the coffee joint is deceptively large, despite the only natural lighting being from a pair of windows almost too grimy to see through. The remaining dimness is cured effectively, however, by a series of well-placed wall sconces amidst bookshelves and abstract paintings by little-known local artists. The main counter with its impressive menu of caffeinated goodness dominates most of one wall, but arranged in the still plentiful leftover space are any number of seating arrangements from small, iron-wrought tables and chairs to a battered old couch and stained table as well as patched and repatched beanbag furniture.
But the focus of The Sanctuary is not so much its comfortable atmosphere as the eccentric crowd it runs with. A crowd so eccentric, in fact, that it's no secret to the patrons of this joint that the majority of them are mutants. No doubt the owners and operators of the shop are mutants themselves, and in this easygoing crowd it's not uncommon to have your double espresso served to you by a fellow with three eyes and a tail.
As the day draws into evenings, those who linger in the shop at this hour may begin to detect a rhythmic pulse of music from underfoot. Not loud or obtrusive, per say, but present nonetheless, and wanting of investigation.
[Exits : [D]ownstairs, and [B]ack [O]utside ]
[Players : Norenvalei, and Rogue ]
[Things : Cork Messageboard ]
A table in a back corner, with plastic/rubber cups. One tall cup of cocoa, and the other, whatever the woman's companion is drinking. So Noren sits idly pondering as she turns the question back at Rogue, "You /really/ thought about doing that with Star-chan?"
Seated across from Noren is one auburn haired woman, who's chuckling between sips of mocha, yum. "Oh, just hush..." she states with a roll of her eyes.
Quark walks into The Sanctuary with a slightly hesitant expression on his face, as if he's not sure if this is the place he's looking for. He scans the room for a sight of Noren, and when he finally spots her, grins roguishly. (And no, that's not a play on the other girl sitting next to her. ^.^) Walking over to the counter, he orders a nice, hot green tea. Mmm. After paying, he smiles again and sets down at the table with Noren, offering a wave to his girlfriend and the person he's seen before but has yet to officially meet. To Noren, he offers a pleased "I thought you'd be here! How are things going? I haven't seen you lately." And to Rogue, he arches an eyebrow just slightly and asks politely, "I'm sorry, have we met? You look familiar, somehow." And just to make sure he's not butting in, he adds, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything...?" Still, he eyes Noren up and down once and raises his eyebrow further, although saying nothing else.
(Norenvalei
She would stand roughly 4 ft. 11 inches tall, Her eyes seeming to sparkle even a little. Her waspish figure and carefree gait allows her to move with a grace that would make a professional model green with envy. Her small wellshaped bosom only compliments her figure, not drawing too much attention, but not remaining unnoticed either. Her vibrant long black hair stretches down past her shoulders to midway down her back. Her long slender legs are shapely, yet seem to hold a hidden, concealed strength. She is well toned and her body and face seem to have virtually no fat on them whatsoever save that light tinge of baby fat that gives her a feminine softness and tenderness. Her gills are visible, save when her hair is in the way, and on her back what isn't covered by her hair, light scarring can be seen just barely to anyone that pays attention enough to notice.
She wears a black leather corset trimmed with hunter green and white colored lace, accentuating her breasts. After a short gap beneath the bottom of her corset comes the top of her incredibly low rising skintight leather pants that accentuate her pert young curves to the upmost. On her feet are a pair of black leather stiletto ankle boots.)
Norenvalei shrugs at Chris, "Nope not at all. I've been at Staren-chan's the last few days... hrmmm. I guess more like a week. Though. That's why you haven't seen me."
Rogue loks up and offers a polite nod to Quark as she sips at her mocha. "Don't ask me if we've met, we might have," is given with a half chuckle.
Rogue (OOC) grins, and will need to idle for half an hourish in half an hour.... will probably log off, need to drop something off at my friends work
Quark chuckles a little himself, extending a polite hand to the auburn-haired woman and offering, "Well, let's do it officially, then. My name is Chris Parker, or you can just call me Quark if you like." Or The Quarkster, or Q-Man, or Q-Bert. Drake came up with that one just the other day...hrmm. But, yeah, back to the story. "If you don't mind my asking, what is yours?" Of course, he blinks just once in surprise at the mention of Noren spending an entire week at Staren's as her reason for him not seeing her. He looks at her once, manages a nod and a smile, and simply replies, "...Oh."
Norenvalei sips on her cocoa again, then frowns a little at the more salty sedentary texture. "Could you taste this for me and just let me know if it's still warm or if it's cold or something that would play with the taste?" She offers the cup to Rogue with a smile at Chris. "What have you been up to? I haven't been able to check the livejournal thingy for a while. Chris, this is my best friend, almost a sister to me. My best friend, almost sister, this is Chris, my other other other best friend, boyfriend."
Norenvalei turns back to Rogue, "Well, whatever. She's /really/ talented in any case."
Rogue nods a bit towards Noren and takes a slight sip of the drink before handing it back. "It's still warm Noren, don't worry," she gives with a chuckle, then another chuckle at Noren's comment. "Rogue, please don't call me 'Noren's best friend, almost sister," she laughs at this.
What has Chris been up to...hmm. Good question. Biting his lip in thought as he tries to summarize his week, he finally responds to Noren, deadpan, "Well...I had a debate with both Jean and Jubilee over my LJ about me joining the X-Men team. Drake invited me to be a part of his own X-Factor group, and then subsequently gave my mother another month to live by almost killing himself." Turning back to Rogue with a smile, he waves and replies, "Well, Rogue, it's a pleasure to officially meet you." What did she do at Staren's for a whole -week-? Sheesh...
Norenvalei hisses out, "Chris. You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut about certain things." Her tone lightens a little, "That aside, why would you want to join that vigilante group anyhow? I'm almost certain the police are after them, nevermind other organizations." A moment for him to ponder that before, "How's Professor Summers doing? I haven't seen him in some time.
Rogue nods. "That could have been a stupid mistake, fortunatly for you, I know all about that and them and yada yada," she states, not actually saying anything about her being a mutant. "I heard that he'd left the mansion, not sure though...."
Norenvalei noddles, "And what would Jean know about them anyway? I mean really. She's too careful and knows the legal system too well to fall into that sort of trap. Nevermind that she's pretty much in the public scene almost as much as the Professor. Speaking of which. Has anyone seen the Professor of late? I'm starting to get worried about him. I haven't heard anything. No one at school tells me anything anymore."
Quark frowns and blinks a few times, trying to remember what he said that would bring about such a reaction. Thinking...thinking...ah. Whoops, X-Men. Big no-no. Paling slightly, he bites his lip and lowers his head a little like a sad puppy, apologizing in an only slightly excuse way, "But...I scoped the place out when I came in...there's just a few ladies over by the door...and most of the -students- haven't even heard the name or something..." He stops mumbling and, sighing, finishes it with, "Sorry..." Leaning back and taking a nice loooong sip of tea, he finally frowns and replies, "I heard Drake saying something about it on his LJ. I guess Professor Summers just sort of...left. For some girl or something." Sip, sip.
Norenvalei ohs and nods, "Well, just remember this /is/ a common hang out and some people hear better than others. Anyhow. How do you know of this group?" She giggles a little. "I figured Professor Summers was into some kind of kink when he showed up in that skintight rubber outfit of his that one time. So who's the unlucky madame? Or do you know at all?" She sips again, then shakes her head, "This doesn't taste right. Chalkier than usual." and reaches for a spoon or something to stir it.
Quark shrugs and nods again at Noren, still with that guilty puppy dog look on his face. *Sniff, whimper* "Umm...I've talked to Jean about it, that's all. I'll admit I don't know for a -fact- what kind of thing they do, but I have a pretty good idea," he comments vaguely, trying to hint that he knows more than the average student. Hint, hint. For crying out loud, she showed him the uniforms and everything months ago...! Apparently he doesn't understand why it's such a secret, if what they're working for is such a good thing. "And for what it's worth, Drake isn't forming a -vigilante- club. And as for Scott...well, it must not be a good thing that he's gone. Something doesn't seem right about that woman, because -everyone's- talking about it."
Rogue sits quietly, sipping at her mocha. "Quark, keep that on the hush. Some here know exactly what goes on in there, but not all," she states simply.
Norenvalei blinks at Rogue, then ohs and sips her cocoa. "Oh yes, I might get 'adopted' sooner or later. And when are we going out again, Chris? It's been some time."
Quark blinks and rolls his eyes, his mood a tangy mix of sarcasm and annoyance. Taking another sip of his tea, he responds quietly in a bland tone, "Mmm. Good tea. I like this place. Maybe I'll come over more often. How are you, Noren? How is Staren?" There, that can't possibly have -anything- hush-hush in it, right? He feels like Frodo, trying to keep the knowledge that he's carrying the One Ring in his pocket a secret. He takes another long sip of tea, almost too long--the hot steam is bugging his eyes and his contacts, and the tea itself is still hot enough to almost burn his taste buds off. Fun. He flickers his eyes towards Noren's direction and pauses, his new trademark 'Are you serious?' expression on his face. "I would -LOVE- to take you out. Seriously. I wanted to the other day, or have you come with Drake yesterday to visit Mom, or something. But I haven't been able to -find- you. I tried, though. I had to ask around home," he says instead of "Xavier's", wondering if that's taboo also, "just to find you." Shrugging, he tastes another welcoming sip of scalding tea, muttering defensively and mostly to himself, "Besides...it hasn't been -that- long..." Women. There's no pleasing them!
Norenvalei frowns, "Chris! You're almost /always/ off doing something or other. Be it studying or working or what have you. And then I spend the week at a friend's apartment just for kicks to get some space out of the mansion so I don't go nuts. You /know/ I can't stand feeling couped up. It... gets dangerous when I do."
Rogue is still sippin her mocha, what else do yah want?
Norenvalei (OOC) says, "*giggles and hugs Rogue."
Quark also frowns back. "But I don't get a choice about working in the summer. You know that...with Mom sick and all, I have to make money if I want to keep paying the bills to go to our school. I know Jean and Professor Xavier himself wouldn't be too keen if I just sat around the mansion and didn't manage to pay for -any- of it. I can't take advantage of these people." Gently placing his hand on top of Noren's, he looks into her eyes and adds, "I'm sorry about studying all the time and working on improving my God-given talents," hint hint--powers ;-), "but if it makes you feel any better, I don't always want to be. I think of you all the time, and I still feel bad that I can't be spending as much time with you as I wish I could. You mean the world to me. Honestly."
Norenvalei says, "Quark! You know that I can easily pay your bills. Really. You don't have to work if you don't want to." She ponders getting a job herself. At the rate she's spending money of late, she may need to soon. But may want to wait on that one, at least until she has the stuff to prove she can legally work in this country.
Quark blinks and replies as if what he's saying is one of the most simple things to understand, "Noren, I know you're rich and all...but I can't let you do that. Just as easily as I know you wouldn't let me be the one to protect you and tell you to go run for help when put into a dangerous situation. I appreciate the offer, but...chivalry is just something I do. It'd be just as wrong as asking you out to dinner and not having enough money to pay for it, and making you pay instead."
Norenvalei shrugs, "What if I wanted to pay for it? Would I have to ask you out instead?" She sips on her cocoa then, blecks and pushes it away, "Yeck. I need something else to drink."
Quark grins and admits without sarcasm, "You'd probably have to club me in the head and steal my wallet. Or be really, really convincing." He winks once and wiggles his eyebrows playfully, squeezing Noren's hand, which is still next to his. Sighing, he adds, "I know, I know. I'm stubborn. But it's a nice thing to do. Think of me working as trying to get enough money to take you out on lots of nice, expensive dates. Because for the money that I'm not using for school bills, I'm saving in a special, rainy-day Noren fund." And that's not a joke either. Leaning over, and not really caring at this point if Rogue is forced to watch their playful romantic banter, he kisses Noren gently on the lips, moving the hand on hers up and into a hug around her shoulders. What a playa'. ^.^ Standing up with a small cough and a lame, sheepish smile on his face, he adds apologetically, "Umm...I know this is going to sound really, -really- lame, but I promised Professor McCoy that I'd help him in his lab tonight with a bit of chemistry stuff, to prepare a bit for his class in a few weeks. Sorry..." Shrugging, he finishes off the rest of his now not-so-scalding tea and reiterates, "Sorry! I PROMISE we'll do something together tomorrow or in the next few days at the latest. On me," he winks. With that, he waves goodbye to Rogue and walks out the door, already running late.
Norenvalei smiles and waves, "Just gotta trap him into keeping that promise." *sagenod*
Rogue stands, having finished her coffee. "I gotta go, cya Noren."