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Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - Printable Version

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Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - Tindome - 08-09-2015




Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - Tindome - 08-09-2015

☠» golf is so laaaaaaaaame
⚖» Who told you?
☠» nova obv
☠» who else is gonna watch onion
⚖» Our dates are none of your business.
☠» u take everyone to golf
☠» no one likes golf
☠» why golf
⚖» How would you even know? You've never been golfing.
☠» never done a lot of things that suck
⚖» I do not need advice about my love life from you, of all people.
⚖» Nova is very excited, and that's all that matters.
☠» lol
☠» … what?
☠» have u done any sporty gamey winner loser stuff w her yet
⚖» I don't know what that has to do with anything.
☠» lol
☠» u'll seeeeeeee


    Ixaaliot swiped the conversation off his glasses and muted his notifications as the car pulled up to Upper Northern's low-gravity mini-golf course. He'd been here often, but never with Nova. It was one of many places that he tended to take dates eventually, because he had a limited repertoire of date ideas. Sadly, while he usually liked to use golf early and work his way up, with Nova his dates seemed to get worse with time.

    He tried not to wonder what Kreska might have noticed that he hadn't.

    They'd discovered that meeting at their date location was the best way to avoid getting sidetracked. Showing up at her house, having her at his house, even meeting her at work… they had a tendency to end up losing their clothes. Somehow. And not going out. And then his reservations got cancelled and he was charged a fee. Which was absolutely worth it, of course, but didn't seem like a sustainable way to maintain a relationship. Probably. They needed to use their mouths to talk at least some of the time, it seemed to him.

    Stepping inside the sealed enclosure felt strange, not least because it shouldn't have. The gravity was much closer to what he was built for, but he was used to gravity settings that suited Terrans. It was still always a little tempting to jump onto the higher platforms instead of taking the stairs. He'd arrived a little early so that he could get things arranged before Nova arrived, collecting putters and balls near the entrance. Purple for him, and yellow for her. There was a small diner built into the course, with droids that could deliver drinks and snacks to patrons willing to overpay for convenience.

    Ix was almost always willing to overpay for even the slightest convenience. And he liked the french fries.

    He waited in view of the entrance, not bothering to sit when the gravity made standing so much more comfortable. It was very tempting to bounce on his heels, but he refrained. While he wore no tie, and was slightly more unbuttoned than when he was working, he was still wearing a suit. He owned too many of the damn things to bother wearing anything else, unless Nova asked him to. He lit up a cigarette, and watched the way the smoke moved around it.

    Nova was probably going to wear something practical, but that wouldn't stop him from imagining how she'd look trying to golf in a miniskirt.



Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - megs - 08-10-2015

Kreska had only needed to reassure Nova five times that she totally had babysitting Onion under control. Even still, Nova continued to text random instructions to increasingly bizarre scenarios as the car took her to meet Ixaaliot.

It was not that Nova did not trust Kreska to watch Onion. So far, the Jobari was the only one who could watch Onion without him spending the evening howling as soon as Nova walked out the door.

Nova's main concern was that Kreska was... small. And Onion was not. The canine's head rested in line with the other woman's waist and he easily weighed twice as much as she did. To top it off, Onion had a penchant for rowdiness.

Tentacles curled and shifted across collarbones left exposed by the cut of her shirt. She chewed at her thumbnail nervously as she stared down at her phone, brow knitted. It was a new habit that had come with the ownership of a rapidly growing mutt that was ruining all of her manicures.

Kreska messaged her another affirmation of understanding, Nova returned with her millionth 'thank you." She turned off her phone as she car came to a stop, and her worried frown was quickly replaced by a smile as she opened the door and saw Ixaaliot waiting for her near the entrance. Foremost tendrils curled against her jaw. She stepped out of the car and pushed the phone into the back pocket of tight black jeans. After much debate she had worn flats instead of heels. Without them she was very short, compared to Ixaaliot, but mini-golfing in bordellos seemed like a terrible idea. And she'd long ago stopped feeling under-dressed when he wore a suit. Which was most of the time.

Nova had been to this particular course once before with Reyr and Sol. So, the change in gravity wasn't a surprise, but it still took a minute for her to get used to. "Hey, you," she said, affectionately, when she was within earshot. All smiles, and curling tentacles. Shifting on her feet to get situated with the atmosphere. "You haven't been waiting long have you?" she asked, letting her gaze trail over him, before darting back to his face. She had to tilt her own a touch to do so. "Dropping off Onion took longer than I thought it would."


Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - Tindome - 08-17-2015

    Ix smiled when he saw her coming, though not enough of a smile for her to see it until she was close. Close enough to lean down and press a quick kiss to her cheek, dropping his cigarette to crush it beneath his heel. "You're beautiful," he said, as if she'd been wearing an evening gown instead of jeans. "I haven't been waiting at all," he assured her. "You're right on time." This was only slightly inaccurate; he had been waiting, but only because he'd been early. It hadn't been long, anyway.

    "I'm sure Onion will be fine," he said, which was also not entirely true. Kreska and Onion sounded like a nightmare waiting to happen, but Onion would probably be fine. It was bystanders he was more worried about. Giving Nova more things to worry about was never his goal, so he kept it to himself. He accidentally gave her more information than she needed all the time. No reason to add this to the list. "I'm sorry again that he got so big."

    "I picked out. Uh." He juggled items between his arms until he had the ones he wanted to hand to her altogether, a ball and a putter, both aglow. "Yellow for you, and purple for me? Or you can get a different color. If you want. I'm not attached to this."

    He pulled out his phone to bring up the locally accessibly site with his account information. "Did you want a drink, or anything? I get reward credits, so you might as well. Not that I come here so often that I… I mean. I'm not a minigolf enthusiast. The game is sort of secondary." He keyed in his own order as he considered ways to probe subtly. "I don't think we've ever really played a game against each other before," he decided on finally.



Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - megs - 08-17-2015

She offered her cheek to accept the kiss, beaming at the compliment; small tendrils curled, clearly pleased. She couldn't resist the perk of a skeptical eyebrow, that implied she didn’t believe him. It wasn't as if she hadn't noticed his penchant for earliness by now, but she felt no need to call him out on it.

"You don't have to apologize," she said, as she always did. Even though it did nothing to stop him. Tentacles flared, and curled around her shoulders. Appearing as if they had mind enough of their own to frolic in the change of gravity. "He's perfect and I love him, and I love that you got him for me."

She held out both of her hands for her share of equipment. Her eagerness evident in the way she wiggled her fingers. "Yellow's always my color," she explained with a quick shake of her head that indicated wouldn't be trading it out. Even if it had not been her favorite color, she would have kept it because he picked it for her.

Another shake of her head declined his offer for refreshments. "It's okay," she said, tone lilting in a familiar teasing manner. Gaze lifted upwards to look at him. "I could tell right away that you're just really passionate about mini-golf. First thing I noticed about you."

She didn't immediately respond to his observation. But something about the way pale eyes shifted and a smile turned mischievous probably said more than it should have. "This is true," she said, slowly. Holding the putter in the crook of her elbow as she tossed the colorful ball between her hands. "And we might not. Ever again." She chuckled, almost nervously.


Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - Tindome - 08-18-2015

    "I bet you'd love him more if you could pick him up without hurting yourself," he teased, even though he would probably lose that bet. The fact that her dog was a goddamn monstrosity only seemed to make her love him more.

    Loved the dog. Loved all his gifts. Loved his date ideas. Love love love. They still hadn't said it, yet. He didn't want to be the first this time. Wanted to wait for her so he wouldn't feel like he was rushing her.

    He was starting to think he'd be waiting a while.

    "You sure?" he asked. "I can get you a green one. An olive green, maybe." It was the ugliest color he could think of, but then again, she could probably make it work. She could make a lot of things work. Like low gravity. It was making a lot of her curves more… curvy. Tentacularly speaking. Also other things. He wasn't staring. "I'm a very passionate man," he said dryly. He meant it as a joke, and it didn't occur to him that it was probably actually true.

    He started toward the first hole, but her behavior did not instill him with confidence. "Do you not like this kind of thing?" he asked slowly, almost hopefully. Maybe she just preferred teamwork. That would be a manageable problem. He could handle that.



Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - megs - 08-18-2015

"Big, fluffy dogs," she reminded him in a singsong tone, tentacles flaring again. They seemed to have differing opinions regarding at which point Onion had surpassed big. Big was becoming an understatement. Fluffy was also misleading, but there were fewer words to describe the state of his fur. "And to be fair, I can still pick him up."

She didn't, because he got very excited about it. And excitement meant wiggling. Onion and wiggling usually ended very poorly for those involved. Especially anything in the vicinity of his tail.

"Ew, no," she said, giggling at the same time. Features crinkled in exaggerated disgust as she held the yellow ball closer to her chest, defensively. "The only color I would trade it for is yours. Then I would be using your favorite color and I'm pretty sure there's something lucky about that, too."

Nova followed closely. Curled tendrils bounced in time with her steps. "I like it," she replied, before falling silent for a moment; it didn't seem like she was going to elaborate. She opened her mouth once, then closed it, then scoffed quietly before trying again. "I've been informed that I can be competitive," she said with a huff. Like she didn't agree with the observation. "I've been here once before with Reyr and Sol and they said they wouldn't bring me back." The corners of her mouth curved downwards. Not quite a frown - an expression that attempted to portray a sense of innocence. As if she was being wrongly accused of something.


Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - Tindome - 08-20-2015

    "I wish you wouldn't," he said with a frown, unaware that this was her usual policy. "That seems dangerous." This was probably patronizing on his part, when they had already established on numerous occasions that his girlfriend was much stronger than he was. Not that this was difficult. The only person he was aware of weaker than him was Kreska, and she made up for it by fighting dirty. Even Xotll could probably kick his ass, if doing so wouldn't make her cry.

    One of these days Onion was going to try to jump on him and break a rib.

    He looked at where she held the ball against her chest a little too long before looking to their destination instead. "Is it lucky?" he asked. "I was just trying to be cute." Said in the same deep monotone as ever, it was unclear if this was intended to be a joke.

    She was very bouncy in lower gravity. So was he, for that matter, but it wasn't quite as noticeable when he had so much… less. In terms of bouncy anatomy.

    "… oh." That was a worrying prospect. The fact that she was trying to look innocent did not reassure him. They'd been dating long enough for him to have figured that out, at least. "I'm sure it's not that bad," he assured her, lying to himself. "I'm not really competitive at all," he added. "I don't really care about winning." He frowned, because that was generally not a good trait in a lawyer, retired or not. "In this context. That is. I'm not actually very good. So. There isn't really anything to be competitive about. Even if you were."



Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - megs - 08-21-2015

She only smiled in response, and paired it with a flippant shrug that seemed to suggest that she couldn't make any promises. Onion was indeed rowdy, but only because Nova may or may not have a tendency to wrestle with him. The canine was smart, but not smart enough (or alternatively, too smart) to listen, and sometimes Nova made impulsive physical displays of dominance.

"Well, I don't know, actually." She stopped clutching at the ball to raise it to eye level. Calrathiions had no concept of luck, and it was really only a phrase she had picked up during her stay on Osiris. That was not to say she didn't know what it meant, she just maybe wasn't entirely sure how it worked. The idea of an outside force having anything to do with what she did or accomplished was entirely foreign. She narrowed her eyes in scrutiny of the ball, for a heartbeat, before looking past it and at him. At the way he was watching her.

"You are very cute," she agreed. She was getting better at being able to tell when he was joking, but she wasn't always correct in her assumptions. "Your secret is safe with me however. I won't ruin your grumpy reputation." Foremost tendrils looped against her cheeks, as her signature smirk made an appearance.

Her innocent look faded at his response, larger tentacles pin-wheeling towards the back of her neck. Perhaps she shouldn't have said anything, she didn't want to ruin the game before it started. "I didn't get competitive with them, necessarily," she said, as if it really made her situation better. It was also untrue, because she had gotten competitive with Sol, because he had creeped up on beating her in the last few holes and that was unacceptable. Reyr on the other had mostly been interested in the snacks. "You know how if you keep your score below a certain number you win a prize?" She figured he would since he'd mentioned having been here more than once. "Well, I was really, really, really close to doing that, but that awful windmill near the end ruined everything."


Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - Tindome - 09-07-2015

    "I'm sure it can be lucky," he said, "if you want it to be." His expression was indecipherable, insofar as it could ever be said not to be. Ix, personally, did not believe in luck; but Siladen, as a general rule, did. That was a generalization, of course, but superstition had been heavy where he was from. Another fact writ across his face that she couldn't read. "I'm pretty sure that's how luck works."

    He was doing better at keeping his eyes above her collarbones.

    "Do I have a grumpy reputation?" he asked, deadpan, as if he didn't know. "I thought I was adorable. Have I been doing adorable wrong this whole time? Why didn't anyone tell me?" At least she wasn't calling him 'surly' anymore. Grumpy could still be attractive, he was pretty sure. He supposed it didn't really matter, as long as she continued to say it with affection.

    "Aaah," he said, as if that made all the sense in the world. Unfortunately for her, he knew exactly the prize she was talking about. Its ilk could be purchased for all of ten credits, if someone knew where to look. Which meant that, really, it had been the principle of the thing. The principle could be a very dangerous thing. "I always sort of liked that windmill," he said mildly. Though he could not recall why that was, now, when he had first thought to himself that it was a cute feature rather than an inconvenience. "But I like you more," he added, "so if we're taking sides in this, I'm on yours."

    Ix decided to take the lead as they made it to the first hole, though he couldn't say why. He dropped the ball carelessly, letting it fall wherever it wanted behind the line rather than setting up any kind of a careful shot. Then he made a vague effort in the general direction of hitting it towards the hole, which was not quite lazy enough that he could be said to not be trying. It landed on entirely the wrong platform, two levels below the one with the hole on it, which was about what he'd expected. What he had not expected was the force with which it bounced, hitting a passing drone and then a rail before coming to a stop near the hole.

    It did not, thankfully, fall in.

    "Uh. That was. Lucky." He squinted suspiciously at his putter.



Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - megs - 09-24-2015

"Well, the problem is you're grumpy and adorable," she began to explain, almost matter-of-factly. Like it was something she had put thought into once upon a time. "Adorable because you are grumpy, but grumpy because you are so adorable. It's impossible to resist, honestly." She smiled up at him, foremost tentacles still looped against her jaw.

It was most certainly the principle of the thing. She wanted the toy because she won it. Or she should have won it. "That windmill is rigged," she said suddenly, not quite interrupting his statement of preference. She blushed bright purple when she realized he had not been defending the source of her predicament. "Oh. Okay, good," tentacles shifted against her back, twisting with what could have been secondhand embarrassment. "I like you too, so, yeah…"

She hoped that he could no longer hear her trail off pathetically, as he walked ahead to lead her along.

Brows climbed her forehead as she watched the haphazard path of the lavender ball, which was remarkable in comparison to the lack of effort he had put into the gesture. But as it bounced, and rolled, and then continue to roll, her brow furrowed. Eyes narrowing slightly, before she remembered that this was a game. A game that had just started, and she certainly did not need to make mini-golf with her boyfriend a competition. She willed her expression into something less challenging, and she pulled the writhing mess of tentacles over her shoulder.

"Ixaaliot," she said, faintly accusatory as she moved closer to him. The telltale smirk at the left corner of her mouth was the only thing alluding to her amusement. She stood closer than necessary as she dropped her yellow ball on to the little patch of faux teeing ground, moving it to where she wanted with her foot. "I hope you're not trying to hustle me." She cocked a brow, before turning her back to him, leaning forward slightly as if to examine her shot. As if she had any room to speak, being so deliberately distracting.

She hit her ball with noticeably more intent than he, and it skated down the course bouncing off the appropriate walls, and avoiding the appropriate hazards. It rolled to a gradual stop near his, but further from the hole. Just like she had wanted it to. She tried not to look proud about it. It was, after all, only the first hole. And she was, of course, not competitive.


RE: Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - Tindome - 11-07-2015

    "Irresistible doesn't sound like a problem," he pointed out. "Not that I want to be irresistible. To anyone. Except you. Not that you can't. Resist. In which case I would respect your wishes."

    Why did he say words.

    She felt very strongly about the windmill. He probably should not have been amused by her obvious embarrassment, but it was a rare instance where he was not the one feeling like an awkward asshole. He thought he was allowed to enjoy it a little, at least.

    And she did look very cute when she blushed like that.

    "I'm not even sure what a hustle would entail," he informed her. While he generally quite liked it when she was close, something in her attitude had him leaning away. Even with their height difference, she could be very intimidating. Then again, Ix could be very easy to intimidate, under the right circumstances.

    His backward lean went a little sideways as she bent at the waist, before he recalled that he was a gentleman. He put a little more distance between them, putting his eyes on her ball rather than her. Gentleman-like. She played with a great deal more intent than he had, which he'd anticipated. A rock would play with more intent than he did. Her's was a much more controlled ricochet, and he was pleased that she came as close to the hole as she did.

    He stepped on the platform that would carry them to their hole, waiting for her to join him before pressing the button. "I hope any ass-kickings will be purely metaphorical, on your part," he teased. Ix had actually tested, once, the theory that he could travel perfectly well between the floating platforms unassisted. He was not drunk enough to do it again, but he had a hunch that it would amuse Nova greatly to see him do it.

    When he stepped off the platform to take his turn, he considered deliberately botching the shot. But aside from being unsporting, Nova would probably see right through it and take offense. Better to let her win honestly, if winning was what he wanted. He nudged his ball, and it fell obediently into the hole, which lit up and played a little victory jingle. With a roll of his eyes, he collected it before standing well out of Nova's way. The display embedded in the ball displayed a jaunty '2'.



RE: Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - megs - 11-14-2015

Nova giggled, tentacles twisting as she listened to him carry on. She almost wished she could have seen him being all lawyer-y one time so she could have something to compare it to. All serious and articulate, versus all serious and not-quite. "I don't imagine I will be doing any resisting anytime soon," she replied. The subtle changes to the way her smirk twisted the corner of her mouth were generally subtle, but there was a nuance to it, presently, that hinted at a possible implication of a double meaning to her words.

Her blush faded as quickly as it came, and she pretended not to notice the distance he initiated. She kept her attention on the course, and her brow furrowed but she did not frown. She felt a sort of dread that she had ruined the game, and other possible potential games in the future. "That sounds like something a con man would say," she joked lightly, watching the ball as it moved while trying to think of a way to salvage the situation.

The assumed situation.

She could very possibly not care about winning? That was totally an option, and she could totally do that thing. However, she did not know if it would help. Alternatively, she could probably just use her words like a rational being, but that was...hard. Which was childish, and not a very good basis for a relationship if she could not talk to him. She joined him, tentacles falling over her shoulders, and pooling against her chest, though they had difficulty staying put. "I only kick asses in mini-golf and racing games," she said, playfully (also incorrectly) as she shifted the putter back in forth between her hands.

She stepped off the platform as waited as Ix completed his turn. Nova wiggled her fingers in time with the lights in noise, brows lifting, in what was probably a universal sign of congratulations.

When it was her chance, Nova didn't take as long to consider this shot, but she cast a side-ways glance at Ixaaliot before tapping it in and receiving a jovial ring of her own. "Sooo," she began, drawing out the vowel as a way to think of what she was going to say as she reached to retrieve her ball. "I probably should not have mentioned my competitiveness, huh?" She glanced away from her ball and up at him, looking almost sheepish about the prospect. They had been dating for some time now, and if it had not come up now it would have eventually if they'd continued to do so. She didn't know why she felt so awkward about it, however.


RE: Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - Tindome - 11-25-2015

    Ix's one saving grace was that he did not have any of the obvious tells that plagued Nova, no curling tentacles or blushing cheeks.

    Well. Sort of. In a way. But she couldn't see in ultraviolet, so. It was not, for the most part, terribly relevant. It hadn't come up yet, anyway.

    His mouth softened in a not-quite-smile, an admirable pokerface. "You say that now," he said, "but what if I start trying to do something really terrible?" That sounded more suggestive than he'd intended. Or maybe more horrifying. "Like punning. Aggressively punning." Or maybe she liked puns. Maybe that would be the true harbinger of doom in their relationship. Disparate opinions on puns.

    Opunions.

    He immediately misinterpreted her furrowed brow. Was she not enjoying herself? Should he have gone with his first instinct, and lost deliberately? He really wished Kreska hadn't said anything. He was probably imagining problems where there weren't any.

    "If I was trying to con you," he said, "we'd need to have some kind of bet going. For instance: 'if I win, then you have to'..." He frowned as he trailed off. "I can't actually think of anything. There isn't anything I want you to do that would require a bet. I don't think. Generally if I want something I just. Tell you. Usually. Hm."

    "Racing games?" he repeated, with some surprise. "Kreska likes those. I stopped playing with her because she always wins." In part thanks to her uncanny ability to use glitches in her favor.

    Oh. Ooooh.

    His gaze went briefly distant as things fell into place.

    "Nova," he said gently, one hand gently stroking her cheek as another took her hand, pulled her back onto the platform. "Don't worry about it, okay? I completely understand." He kissed her forehead, as reassuring as he could be as the platform moved them to the next hole. After all, he'd seen some of the most patient people he'd ever met lose their cool in the face of Kreska's 'not cheating'. Of course Kreska would assume that the problem was with the other player, rather than her.

    Yes. This was fine. Everything was fine.

    Despite this certainty, his next lazy swing aimed deliberately wide of the hole. Just to be safe. Unfortunately, this put it directly in the path of the dragon-shaped automated drone that was intended to make hitting the mark more difficult.

    It hit the tiny dragon in the face.

    The tiny dragon took a nosedive.

    The ball bounced straight toward the hole.

    He stared.

    "What the fuck?" he demanded finally. He leaned over the edge of the rail to see toward the ground near where they were floating, where the robotic dragon had fallen. "What the fuck?" he asked again.



RE: Bluegrass and Clover [Closed] - megs - 12-14-2015

That was almost a smile. Almost.

She was getting better at noticing those smile and something about them still made at least one of her hearts do some sort of strange backflip. Her tentacles all bunched up at once. Not in the way that they formed a tight bob when she was annoyed, the loops were rounder and closer to her shoulders than the back of her neck.

"Oh, are you particularly good at puns?" she inquired, the corners of her own mouth curving more obviously than his. "Just when I thought you couldn't get more attractive, you go and bring up puns."

She laced her fingers behind her back, glancing up at him from beneath dark blue lashes. "I suppose that's true," she mused, It was a wonder how she made devious seem adorable. "If you think of something you want just let me know."

The smirk suddenly made adorable the wrong word.

"I can't stop playing her until I win."

She didn't bother to resist the urge to nuzzle her face into his palm, careful of how she moved against his hand in a way that was obviously learned. She stepped back onto the platform, probably closer than he had expected, but she liked being close to him, and she certainly liked the way he kissed her forehead.

He understood. That was sweet of him.

Oh, she liked him.

She liked him, liked him.

She should tell him, maybe? Was this a good time, was this a good place? Did that matter?

Okay, at this point she was taking too long and the moment was probably passing. The platform was stopping and they were going to get back to the game, and…

"Ixaaliot," she said softly, rolling her eyes up to look at him when he pulled back. Her eyes traced the design of his scars, and the more severe line of his mouth. "I l-" she paused, all but physically biting her tongue as the consonant got caught at the end of it. "Thank you," she said, instead of that dangerous thing she could have said instead. "For being so understanding." She smiled, tentacles looping they stepped off the platform.

Yes, that was better. Totally better.

They watched together, Nova's tentacles flaring around her waist, as his ball did whatever the hell that was. "You hit the dragon," she teased, like it was some great misdeed he had not noticed himself. She was laughing again when she joined him, looking over the railing to the dismal scene below.

"Okay. I really can't tell anymore. Are you good at this game or bad at this game?"