chocolate, pistachio and flavour of the day with malt and sprinkles
Story: Timeless { backstory | index }
Title: Swings and Roundabouts
Rating: G
Challenge: Chocolate #30: joy, Pistachio #15: a kiss, FOTD: concupiscible
Toppings/Extras: malt, sprinkles
Wordcount: 682
Summary: Victor Blackledge appreciates Robyn Walshe’s help.
Notes: Malt credit for Mistletoe Match-ups! In The Moonquartz Mystery, a rather enamoured young lady, er, attacks Victor and Robyn thinks: “Huh! Eight years of knowing the boy and all I ever got was one measly kiss on the cheek!” Well, here’s that kiss. Concupiscible: Worthy of being desired.
It wasn’t a particularly nice hotel, but it would do. Newson wouldn’t find them there-he probably wouldn’t get on their trail until long after he’d sorted out the mess with the Ashdowns-so they had a couple of days to come up with a plan. Vaguely, Robyn was already starting to form one in her head. A shuttle to Satellite 2 and then a quick hop to the Moon was bound to throw him off for a while. She’d always liked the sound of Valetta-
She startled and stood up from where she’d been sitting on her bed as there was a polite knock on the door and Victor walked in. He didn’t look as pale as he had after Newson had used the Device on him, although he still looked pained. Robyn smiled.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hi,” he responded and returned her smile a little. His gaze travelled all around the dingy hotel room: the off-white walls, the same colour for the wardrobes, the plywood box of a bedside table. The hard white corners of the rectangular bed. The whole place was oppressively impersonal with not a single comforting touch.
“Sorry about this place,” Robyn sighed, knowing that Victor’s room would be no better. “We just need to keep our heads down for a bit.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “Thank you. For stopping Newson with the... for... for helping me out.”
“Like I’d let that asshole hurt a hair on your head,” Robyn said, keeping her ‘I’m-the-big-ol’-boss-of-the-black-ops-team’ persona up but wondering if it really could last. They’d been fired, only that was putting it lightly because it was possible Newson intended to kill Victor. She wasn’t Victor’s superior in any professional capacity any more-not that she’d ever really seen herself as his superior-and putting them on even footing just made her feel like even more of a blithering idiot in front of him.
That was the last thing she needed.
“I am sorry though,” she added. “If I hadn’t told you to help out Ashdown with the helicopter flight you’d still have a job, a home-your things...”
“Brad and Taisy said they’d get it to us,” Victor smiled. “It’s OK. I’m... I’m kind of relieved. Nobody works for Newson because they want to.”
That was a fact that was all too true. Robyn had never asked Victor how he ended up being press-ganged into the black ops team, but she was certain that it was not a pretty story. Neither was her own. Newson picked people that were desperate for employment, people nobody else would hire, people that had done bad things. Made mistakes.
“Yeah, well... I’m still sorry,” she said.
“Robyn,” Victor replied steadily. “We did the right thing. And I have you to thank for that.”
The room felt very small suddenly. Hell, it was small. His blazing grey eyes were all the starker for actually looking at her, right in the eye, which he didn’t often do. She felt the pit of her stomach fall away into some otherworld as he edged forwards, tipped his head slightly and pressed his lips against the skin of her cheek. As much as it made her feel like a fool, she couldn’t do a single thing as he drew away again, quite quickly, a momentary breath leaving a warm trail on her skin before he did so.
“So... thank you,” he said, gaze dropping instantly to the floor. He moved away from her. “I’ll-see you in the morning.”
Robyn would have said something had she not lost all capacity to speak. Or think, for that matter. He left the room and closed the door softly behind him. Her heart fell out of her body and started flopping around on the floor like a dying fish.
Finally working up the courage to breathe out, Robyn shambled back to her bed, sat herself down and rested her head against the wall, chewing on her lip. Losing my job, home and reputation in exchange for one short, extremely chaste kiss on the cheek? she thought ponderously.
So worth it.
Title: Swings and Roundabouts
Rating: G
Challenge: Chocolate #30: joy, Pistachio #15: a kiss, FOTD: concupiscible
Toppings/Extras: malt, sprinkles
Wordcount: 682
Summary: Victor Blackledge appreciates Robyn Walshe’s help.
Notes: Malt credit for Mistletoe Match-ups! In The Moonquartz Mystery, a rather enamoured young lady, er, attacks Victor and Robyn thinks: “Huh! Eight years of knowing the boy and all I ever got was one measly kiss on the cheek!” Well, here’s that kiss. Concupiscible: Worthy of being desired.
It wasn’t a particularly nice hotel, but it would do. Newson wouldn’t find them there-he probably wouldn’t get on their trail until long after he’d sorted out the mess with the Ashdowns-so they had a couple of days to come up with a plan. Vaguely, Robyn was already starting to form one in her head. A shuttle to Satellite 2 and then a quick hop to the Moon was bound to throw him off for a while. She’d always liked the sound of Valetta-
She startled and stood up from where she’d been sitting on her bed as there was a polite knock on the door and Victor walked in. He didn’t look as pale as he had after Newson had used the Device on him, although he still looked pained. Robyn smiled.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hi,” he responded and returned her smile a little. His gaze travelled all around the dingy hotel room: the off-white walls, the same colour for the wardrobes, the plywood box of a bedside table. The hard white corners of the rectangular bed. The whole place was oppressively impersonal with not a single comforting touch.
“Sorry about this place,” Robyn sighed, knowing that Victor’s room would be no better. “We just need to keep our heads down for a bit.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “Thank you. For stopping Newson with the... for... for helping me out.”
“Like I’d let that asshole hurt a hair on your head,” Robyn said, keeping her ‘I’m-the-big-ol’-boss-of-the-black-ops-team’ persona up but wondering if it really could last. They’d been fired, only that was putting it lightly because it was possible Newson intended to kill Victor. She wasn’t Victor’s superior in any professional capacity any more-not that she’d ever really seen herself as his superior-and putting them on even footing just made her feel like even more of a blithering idiot in front of him.
That was the last thing she needed.
“I am sorry though,” she added. “If I hadn’t told you to help out Ashdown with the helicopter flight you’d still have a job, a home-your things...”
“Brad and Taisy said they’d get it to us,” Victor smiled. “It’s OK. I’m... I’m kind of relieved. Nobody works for Newson because they want to.”
That was a fact that was all too true. Robyn had never asked Victor how he ended up being press-ganged into the black ops team, but she was certain that it was not a pretty story. Neither was her own. Newson picked people that were desperate for employment, people nobody else would hire, people that had done bad things. Made mistakes.
“Yeah, well... I’m still sorry,” she said.
“Robyn,” Victor replied steadily. “We did the right thing. And I have you to thank for that.”
The room felt very small suddenly. Hell, it was small. His blazing grey eyes were all the starker for actually looking at her, right in the eye, which he didn’t often do. She felt the pit of her stomach fall away into some otherworld as he edged forwards, tipped his head slightly and pressed his lips against the skin of her cheek. As much as it made her feel like a fool, she couldn’t do a single thing as he drew away again, quite quickly, a momentary breath leaving a warm trail on her skin before he did so.
“So... thank you,” he said, gaze dropping instantly to the floor. He moved away from her. “I’ll-see you in the morning.”
Robyn would have said something had she not lost all capacity to speak. Or think, for that matter. He left the room and closed the door softly behind him. Her heart fell out of her body and started flopping around on the floor like a dying fish.
Finally working up the courage to breathe out, Robyn shambled back to her bed, sat herself down and rested her head against the wall, chewing on her lip. Losing my job, home and reputation in exchange for one short, extremely chaste kiss on the cheek? she thought ponderously.
So worth it.