The Magpie Emporium, Monday [03/02]

[giveittoyoursister]

On the one hand, Saffron had finally abandoned her high perch and was back to twining around Vi's ankles.

On the other, that was because the heater had broken, and the shop was far too warm for Saffron to be in her high hidey holes.

So once she'd made sure Saffron's water bowls were refilled, had stripped down to her undershirt and was standing in front of the heater with the repair manual and a toolbox.

Comments

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Is it warm in here?" Steph asked as she showed up after her morning class with coffees that just happened to be iced because the Perk had gotten her order wrong but she'd just rolled with it.

She was not actually being a smartass about it, for the record, because she hadn't actually noticed Vi yet.

"Oh, it is."

And that time she had noticed, and was being (partially) a smartass about it.

[giveittoyoursister]

"Yeah, heat's broken," Vi said as she took the opportunity to stretch, wiping her hand across her forehead to get at the sweat.

Was she doing it to get a reaction? For once, no.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"No kidding." You could tell it was uncomfortably warm in here by the fact that Steph A) didn't even take the opportunity to follow up with an even more obnoxiously flirty remark and B) took her beanie off, tossing it onto the counter as she came over to look at the heater (and hold the drink tray out to Vi).

"Something fixable, or are we gonna have to call for repairs?"

[giveittoyoursister]

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Vi said, taking one of the coffees and tipping her head back to half-drain the cup. "Thanks."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Have both of them," Steph said immediately, "and I'm gonna go get you a bottle of cold water too."

And if she was checking out her girlfriend right now, what of it? Sure, this situation blew, but it was unreasonable to think she wouldn't at least enjoy the sight.

[giveittoyoursister]

Especially when the thing Vi was most likely to do with a bottle of water right now was pour it over herself.

"You don't need to give up your own drink," Vi protested with another, more reasonable sip, head still tilted back.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"You need it more than I do right now," Steph argued, trying not to stare too hard at the line of Vi's throat. "Hell, if you really feel bad about it, you can run back out to the Perk and get me a replacement, take it as an excuse to get out of here and cool down a little bit."

Don't think she wasn't imagining that particular bottle of water scenario right now.

[giveittoyoursister]

Like Vi ever minded Steph staring at her, especially when she was hot and sweaty.

"I'll have to get you two as well then," she conceded. "Because you'll need it too."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I have to go back out for my other class later anyway," Steph pointed out. "I'll be fine. Didn't realize you were such a handywoman."

She was keeping her toolbelt jokes to herself, because she was considerate like that.

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi took another long sip before replying with a shrug "I mean I'm not as good as Powder." That was because your sister was a once in a generation genius, Vi. "I can follow a set of instructions though."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"And I just so happen to have a set of hands to hold that manual with, and free yours for working," Steph told her.

[giveittoyoursister]

It was a sign of how uncomfortably warn it was that Vi didn't suggest any number of things Steph could be doing with her hands as well as her own, though she certainly thought them.

"You're so good to me," she said instead, passing Steph the manual.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Also a sign? Steph hadn't even thought of any of the double entendres until after the fact.

"I have to take care of my girl, remember?" she asked, smiling affectionately at Vi as she held the manual up for her. "I can even free up one hand to pass you things. Ooooh."

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi leaned in to steal a quick kiss before picking up a wrench again. "My girl's multitalented too."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I'm full of surprises," Steph replied, grinning like a goof at the kiss because she could never help it. "Damn. I should've had this thing looked at when I thought I heard it making noises last week but I thought it was just the gremlins getting rowdy."

[giveittoyoursister]

"Could've been both," Vi pointed out, looking between the manual and the heater. "I mean, this is old enough that I can try fixing it, or at least get it off."

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph absolutely couldn't help snickering that time.

"You have a point there," she said, still snickering. "It'll suck if there's no heat at all in here, so... see if we can get it fixed first before we resort to, uh, more drastic measures?"

[giveittoyoursister]

"You saying you don't appreciate how good I am at getting things off," Vi asked, oh so innocently, as she tried loosening a bolt that made a noise that had Saffon's ears going back.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Oh, I damn well do app--" Steph jumped back a step in alarm before finishing that sentence. "Uh. That was supposed to do that, right?"

[giveittoyoursister]

"It's not ideal," Vi said, the bolt making the same screeching sound as she kept moving the wrench. "But it's just stiff."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I think there's a little bottle of machine oil in the office somewhere," Steph said, grimacing as she started in that direction. "I'm just gonna..."

She hurried into the office and came back out holding a small, rather beat-up old bottle of 3-in-One oil and fiddled with the cap.

"Maybe a couple of drops..."

[giveittoyoursister]

"Can't hurt," Vi said, taking the bottle and applying the oil. She smiled at Steph as the bolt moved easier and without the noise. "See, lube fixes everything."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"You're terrible," Steph informed her with a fond eyeroll and shake of her head. "But look at that, I helped."

[giveittoyoursister]

"You always do," Vi told her sincerely, then looked at the manual again. "So according to this, now that that's loose if I turn this the thermostat should start working properly again."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Time to find out if the manual lied to us," Steph said, stopping herself from leaning against Vi just in time, because it was still too gross in here for that.

This was what it took to keep her humans off each other, universe? Really? Saffron's own suffering?