( OPEN ) don't let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy

[bayarm]

WHO: shiro & various
WHERE: around bajikan
WHEN: spread over the duration of the fleet's stay in orbit
WHAT: shiro has a series of Good Days™
WARNINGS: naps happen. and an awkward boner, too.

Comments

[juniberries]

[For what it is, and despite all that's going on with the Eluvio, the Castle, and the disappearances and...murders (which admittedly, seem foggy and distant and perhaps it has something to do with the atmosphere), a bit of normalcy is perhaps what they need--

Even in a bar patron walks by with an incredibly lowcut shirt, and strange bondage-like apparel around her neck.

But she clears her throat, meeting the gaze of the server who had brought her the pot of complimentary tea, and upon approach, Allura places her order. The look the server (a tall, tentacled alien of an indeterminate gender) gives Shiro, eyeing him up and down, and the wink Allura gets from them in turn, does not go unnoticed, and she feels herself flushing despite knowing it was utterly ridiculous.

Still, even as she sets the menu down, she remains sitting close to Shiro, nursing the cup of tea between her hands.]

Indeed. I think it is natural for all intelligent species to have a designated age where this sort of...atmosphere is deemed appropriate.

It is-- rather provocative, but this bar appears to be fine, and some of the jewelry shops I had looked at were...decent.

[Barring a few which sold necklaces that had removable, bullet-shaped vibrating pendants.]

This tea is certainly calming. [She leans forward, to lift the top of the teapot up. The leafy green bush, tipped in cute shades of pink, is visibly floating.] And Fairymoss is a particularly nice name for such a plant. I wonder if I can find it for sale somewhere.

[bayarm]

[ shiro notices the once-over he gets and the wink in allura's direction as well, and it drives heat into his cheeks even as part of him is pleased—at the attention, at the recognition that it implies. he doesn't even know why that kind of recognition should matter, but right now, it does. ]

I guess as long as everyone's a consenting adult, there isn't really a problem with provocative. People like different things. [ being too forward, open or provocative has never been shiro's style and it isn't his preference in others, but that doesn't mean it isn't all right if other people like it, does it? he figures live and let live applies well enough here.

he wouldn't want to see allura uncomfortable, though. ] Does it bother you?

[ at her comment about fairymoss, he smiles a little. ] You probably can. And maybe it grows somewhere around here. We could go for a Fairymoss hunt later, if you want.

[juniberries]

N-no! It is more that I am simply not used to this sort of atmosphere. I am not bothered.

[Her voice does crack a little despite her assurance that she's not bothered. Are her ears red? They certainly must be. She can feel them burning and she looks away, instead seemingly fascinated by the fairymoss in the teapot, until finally closing its lid and settling back. That small flair of an anxious, almost defensive outburst is countered by (unbeknownst to her) the effects of the tea.

A change of subject is in order. So she'll stick to the fairymoss.]

But I would enjoy looking for such a plant. If we can bring it back, we can brew our own tea back on the Castle-ship. I have been meaning to ask of the flowers in this District, actually.

[The drinks and appetizers arrive simultaneously, both looking as pictured, the flowers garnishing the meat looking cuter in person. The paper umbrellas in the drink are white and almost resemble lace, and Allura's attention turns from the tea. She first takes a sip of the drink, eyes widening and lips puckering a bit. She pulls back, letting out a light noise.]

Ah, it's tart. [She was hoping for something sweeter.] But not in a bad way.

[bayarm]

[ she seems a little bothered, or at least flustered, and shiro thinks about pressing the point, but she changes the subject and he decides it's probably better just to accept that. especially when their drinks arrive and she tries it. the noise she makes goes straight to his groin, leaving him to imagine her sounding like that in a very different context.

this place is getting to him, and he reaches for his own drink, taking a large sip of it to help with his suddenly dry throat. ]

Sounds like a plan. We'll go flower-hunting after dinner.

[juniberries]

Good. Perhaps, once repairs are done to all the ships, we can even bring some back to grow in the Eluvio's atrium.

[At least, now that she knows how the drink will taste, she's less surprised when taking another sip, idly playing with the lace umbrella for a moment. She seems to be mulling over something, thinking, but she shakes her head lightly, reaching for the skewer of meat instead.

The small flowers on it appear to be intended for consumption, and she wonders how they taste. However, as she takes a bite, bringing her hand up to her mouth as she chews, she realizes that the gravy-like glaze and the meat make up most of the flavour so she isn't certain how it tastes, or even if it should taste like anything. But the saltiness of the meat does help with the tartness of her drink.]

These flowers as well. [She glances at the menu again at what they ordered, to see what they're called.] Frosted Sugar?

[Again...a cute name.]

[bayarm]

Let's hope the team they sent gets whatever is needed to make those repairs without any issue. [ shiro is not entirely inclined to be hopeful about it, but right now, he's not too worried, either. there are other things taking up more of his mental image, like the curve of allura's wrist when she lifts a hand to her mouth to hide her chewing, or the way she enjoys all the flowers.

it's—charming. maybe charming isn't entirely the word he's looking for, but it's something, and shiro feels increasingly drawn to her the longer they sit and talk. it's with some effort that he pulls his gaze away to try the meat and the flowers, too. ]

[juniberries]

[She is still admittedly bothered by the fact that she had not been selected for that very mission, so she does look down at her drink when he mentions the team.]

I certainly hope so as well. It is certainly worrisome...I am glad we are able to escape whatever horrors had been happening aboard the Eluvio, and perhaps with repairs we will find those responsible for the murders and hold them accountable.

[She does return to eating, finishing up her skewer and setting it aside, still ignoring the flush of heat and strange...pulse that's beginning to stir deep in her core. Taking another sip of her drink, she does find herself inclined to sit even closer to him, crossing her legs as though to sooth...some sensation.

There is a desire stirring. She doesn't quite understand it, but she also feel as though she cannot help herself and says the first thing that comes to mind, after mulling it over for a bit.]

I know I have said this before, countless times, in fact, but...I truly am grateful that you are here, Shiro. [She brings one hand to rest at his thigh, looking at him, a strange intensity in her gaze as she feels the urge to continue speaking.] You are a good man, and it helps to know that I am truly not alone in this strange galaxy.

[bayarm]

[ she would have been good for the mission, and shiro would have felt better about it knowing that she is part of it, instead of relying on people he doesn't know at all. as it is, they can only hope that the four actually selected will do a good job of it.

for a moment, he drops his hands onto allura's, intending only to squeeze hers briefly in an offer of comfort. he doesn't expect the touch of skin to skin to have any impact on him, but he'd be lying if he said that it doesn't still send a thrill through him that isn't in proportion to the chasteness of the touch. this district is definitely impacting him, he's beginning to see that, but—it's not so bad, and he'll just have to keep himself in check.

to distract himself, he removes his hand and tastes everything on the table again, one thing after the other: the skewer, the flowers, the drink. it doesn't really distract him from the tightness of his pants, the low thrum of arousal that's settled in his stomach.

her words and the hand on his thigh don't help, either, and he clears his throat before looking at allura again. his smile is entirely genuine, though. ] I'm not glad any of us are here, but if anyone has to be? I'm glad we're together, too.

[ he still regrets that she was here all alone that first month before he'd arrived. ]

[juniberries]

[A small shiver rolls down her spine, beyond means of control, when she feels the warmth of his hand press atop hers. And when he removes it, the sensation of skin against skin still lingers, like a shadow, and she feels her pulse quicken, her cheeks beginning to glow slightly with a blush.

Is she...embarrassed? Flustered? It's difficult to think, so she moves her hand away from his leg despite longing to touch him more for no reason why beyond simply wanting that contact, instead balling her hands in her lap, shifting slightly to try to calm an embarrassing urge, to ignore the twine of tension pressing against her core.

It feels like she's an adolescent again in the midst of dealing with confusing feelings, so she reaches for her drink, taking a longer sip to clear her dry throat, and taking another skewer of meat decked with flowers as means of distraction.

But the way he smiles at her-- She smiles back, cheeks still flushed a dull pink. And her hand may have moved from him for the moment, but her thigh is still pressing flush against his, for the sake of contact.]

As loathe as I am to be here, I...am glad. Fate seems to continuously bring us together--

But it is for a reason, don't you think? We make a good partnership, you and I, even in the wake of chaos.

[bayarm]

[ she moves her hand, and while her thigh remains pressed against his, shiro feels the absence of her touch, the sudden lack of warmth where her hand had been. he wants her hand back; he wants it higher up his thigh or between his legs where his cock is swelling at the thought of allura touching him.

shiro drags in a deep breath. keeping himself in check, right. it's not that he's unaware of the fact that allura is a beautiful woman, but until now, he hadn't really thought of her in that light, thought of her as anything but an ally, a commanding officer maybe, a fellow fighter in the war against the galra. he doesn't even remember the last time when he'd really thought of sex with anyone specific, and now he can't stop imagining it with her.

it's enough to leave his mouth dry, and so he takes another sip of her drink and then another, and forces his voice to remain even. ]

I'm not sure there's a reason for these things, or if there is, I doubt fate has anything to do with it. [ a malfunction, or the crew deliberately abducting them to the eluvio and lying about it. one of the two — after everything, shiro isn't so sure he believes in fate at all. ]

We do.