The Magpie Emporium, Thursday (9/8)

[drumsticksandd20s]

It was technically fall now even though it didn't feel like it, and Steph wasn't yet consciously aware of what was creeping up in a few weeks. It would hit her eventually, but if last year was anything to go by -- when the anniversary of the storm came and went before she even realized it -- she might not feel it as badly as she used to.

But that was a question for future Steph, anyway. Present Steph was too busy tidying up the comic shelves, moving a couple of months' worth of titles out of the new releases section because oops, she maybe kind of forgot to maintain the comics section of the store on a regular basis.

Saffron was curled up asleep atop a shipping box of brand new miniatures that were waiting to be unpacked and put into inventory; she had her back very pointedly turned to Steph, but Steph would swear that the cat was judging her for her oversight anyway.

[OOC: Open, though the week's major SP theme continues!]

Comments

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi had been told in class to go out an feel sexy in her new outfit, so really it wasn't like she was going to head anywhere else. "Hey."

[drumsticksandd20s]

The new releases section was going to remain out of date for today, at least.

"...special occasion?" Steph managed after a few seconds, fully convinced she'd actually uttered a complete sentence and not just the end of one.

(Somewhere, Kennedy was approving of this wardrobe choice.)

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi smirked at Steph's reaction, just a little. "We had to come up with suitable outfits for Sexy Crime class." she explained.

As far as she was concerned, she'd just aced that assignment.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Given that Steph was still staring, her mouth halfway open? Totally aced it.

"You look amazing," she said, a slightly breathless laugh in her voice. "What crime are you here to commit?"

[giveittoyoursister]

"I'm not sure yet," Vi said, coming over to lean near Steph. "But I think they're supposed to be sexy ones."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"With you in that outfit? Automatically," Steph said, reaching out to run a finger along the edge of one of the suspenders. "You can steal from me any day, babe."

As if Vi hadn't literally been doing that since the day they met.

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi was pretty sure she'd heard something once about starting as you meant to go on.

"That's very convenient for me then," Vi said, leaning in to steal a kiss.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Did Steph try and hook her fingers into both suspenders to try and keep her close as she drew out that kiss as long as possible? Absolutely.

"I don't know, I think it works out pretty damn sweet for both of us."

[giveittoyoursister]

Oh, no, trapped by her own fashion choices. "Yeah, you might be right," Vi said, resting her hands on Steph's hips and pressing their foreheads together.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Damn right I am," Steph said, reaching up to run one hand through her hair. "Hi. You just improved my day by two hundred percent."

Don't mind the muffled thump and crinkling in the background as Saffron knocked over a whole tray of blind bag fancy dice.

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi tried for a seductive grin, but hit something more like dorky beaming. "I'm sure I could figure out a way to make it even better."

The dice having been disposed of, Saffron flipped very dramatically into the tray.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph was just goofily grinning right back at her anyway.

"You always do, so I believe in you."

Robotic arms waving excitedly, Little Bot immediately zipped over to start picking up the dice bags as Saffron lay there looking like she was trying to recreate some portrait of Marat dead in the bath.

Steph snickered. "He's so glad to have things to do now that he isn't picking up pine cones all the time any more."

[giveittoyoursister]

"Well, I definitely have to live up to that belief," Vi said, leaning in to steal another kiss.

"It's really thoughtful of her to do that for him."

No, Vi, you were supposed to feel guilty about this!

[drumsticksandd20s]

"You don't even have to try," retorted Steph, still running her fingers lazily through Vi's hair, back and forth. She snuck a quick glance at Saffron and snickered again. "Awwww, but I mean she's been wasting away without constant cuddles from you. I can't blame her for throwing a fit about it."

Did she sound guilty either? Not even a little bit.

[giveittoyoursister]

"I have plenty of cuddles to go around," Vi said, even if she didn't seem interested in giving any to the poor, neglected kitty yet.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Saffron's life was literally the hardest.

"Try and tell her that," said Steph as Saffron made a despairing little noise that sounded just like a long, drawn-out 'woooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeee.' "She's like, been watching for you all day, just pining away."

Should she have made some kind of connection there, given her word choice? Probably, but she didn't.

[giveittoyoursister]

When you spend long enough repressing...

"I guess I'd better make sure she doesn't waste away to nothing," Vi said with a overly dramatic sigh, pulling, not particularly quickly, away from Steph.

[drumsticksandd20s]

That sigh was just as dramatic as Saffron's posing, really. They went so well together!

"Actually," Steph said with a sigh of her own as she let go of Vi, "that part's technically my job."

Her thankless, unsung job.

[giveittoyoursister]

"Which I know you're great at, no matter what she claims," Vi said, scooping up an amazingly perkier Saffron, who was very smugly purring right now.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I appreciate the vote of confidence." Steph gave an amused, long-suffering sigh as she started reorganizing the blind dice bags into the tray now that Saffron had vacated it. "Now can you get her to accept that you can actually cuddle her and me at the same time?"

Probably not.

[giveittoyoursister]

"Only one way to find out," Vi said cheerfully, reaching across for a one armed hug.

Saffron made a most displeased noise. How dare?

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph, needing very little prompting at all, cuddled up against Vi and put an arm around her.

Saffron, on the other hand, yowled like she'd just had her favorite toy taken away from her while she was playing with it.

Which was more or less what had happened.

[giveittoyoursister]

How could Food Human do this to her?

"Oh, hush," Vi said softly, bending her head to nuzzle Saffron's. "It doesn't hurt you to share."

[drumsticksandd20s]

Didn't it, though? Because from the way Saffron started to squirm like she was taking area of effect damage from Steph's presence, she sure seemed to think it would hurt her.

How dare Food Human presume the familiarity to remain in her personal space (that included Vi)?

"I think she disagrees," Steph said, reaching a hand out toward Saffron and getting lightly clawed for her trouble.

[giveittoyoursister]

"Hey, be nice," Vi gently chided Saffron, stepping the tiniest bit away from Steph. "Steph doesn't deserve that."

Saffron would disagree there.