save_the_souls | driftfleet ♪ IC Contact: Year Two

[It's a big order that he's taking that requires him to take the Vanquish out for a while, thankfully without his crewmates on board. Not because it's big, with about four large crates in the cargo bay with the other gumball crates, but because it was said to be dangerous. It's in the seedy underbelly of the station, where crime is common and gangs can be seen on the streets like they own the place. And let's face it, the cargo he's carrying probably has weapons of some kind, and while Clay doesn't agree with it, he's also not about to impart his beliefs on a completely foreign station. Plus, it'd pay lots of money. That part's important.

And since it's dangerous, he's not comfortable going alone. And that's why he's brought some protection along in the form of the powerhouse of his boyfriend. He's kind of hoping that his own looks alone will stave off any danger, but well. It's probably not likely.

So as he starts to land the ship, Clay looks back at Allen with a somewhat helpless smile.]

Okay, this is the dangerous part. I've got to take the crates inside, and apparently even stepping out of the ship is asking for trouble.

[If Clay is hoping that Allen keeps threats away from LOOKS alone, then he'll probably be shit out of luck since Allen wasn't exactly the intimidating figure sort. But he knew full well he'd be able to keep Clay safe anyway, so of course he agreed. Besides, he would rather be helping him out than relying on someone else to protect him on a dangerous run.]

[When Clay gives him a helpless smile, Allen just gives him a reassuring calm smile. He's wearing a pretty usual outfit of a jacket and tie, and other than a gun on his belt (unloaded)- there were no visible weapons]

We'll be fine.

[Allen's looks, no, but maybe Clay's looks? He can do the rough and tough bouncer look if he tries hard enough! You know, as long as nothing startles or interests him too much. But at least he's certainly got the muscle for it!

Those seem to be the right words, though, because the helpless - and nervous - smile turns a bit more confident, and he turns back ahead to land properly.]

Yeah. We'll be fine!

[And soon enough, they've landed. He does have a couple of dollies to help with the crates, but he still needs Allen to take one while he takes the other. At the cargo door, Clay pauses at the control panel, then lets out a long, steadying sigh, doing his best to look calm about this.]

We'll be fiiiine.

[Aaaand time to get that door open.]

[He meanwhile follows Clay, trying to be encouraging and calming so Clay doesn't get too nervous. You never want to show your nerves in a place like this when you're carrying something valuable- it's just asking to end up dead.]

Right. Let's just get this over with and go about our day.

[He'll take one of the crates with ease, and waits for Clay to be ready before he starts heading out the door, carrying a level of calmness that one only gets when they are more than used to these sorts of conditions.]

[And you know, has the sense of security that comes with superpowers. But hey]

[Clay's dealt with serious, dangerous situations before, so it's not like he's completely out of his element. He frowns as he pushes the dolly, keeping his sight on their destination and trusting Allen to be more aware of their surroundings than he is at the moment. He keeps himself calm, though Allen might tell that he's doing those very same breathing exercises that he taught him months earlier.

Their destination is an old, abandoned office building, where a middle-aged man with bushy, gray side-burns awaits with his hands folded in front of him. It's obvious this isn't where the man lives, but a temporary meeting place so as not to give away where his real place of interest was (office, home, hideout, whatever, Clay doesn't know). The man eyes the crates, as if making sure there wasn't any sort of damage done to them.

Once they're near enough, Clay gets to work on setting the crates down and pulling the dolly out from under them carefully.]

Here they are, sir. Four crates of these things, as you requested.

Good, good. [The recipient runs his hands over the crates, eager to get at what's inside.] I trust you had no trouble?

No, sir. [Now that the crates are out of his hands, Clay stands with his back straight and his hands crossed at the small of his back, the state of attention he'd give to his own captain back at home.] Everything went just fine.

[Allen meanwhile remains silent as he puts down his crate and listens to them talk, observing the situation. The abandoned office building is a tip off alone, along with the fact the man seems intentionally alone- in such a rough neighborhood. All in all, something doesn't seem right.]

[But he still makes no action. No reason to do anything quite yet.]

[Clay meanwhile has no idea about any of those tip offs. He just stays at attention, though there's a long stretch of silence where nothing happens, save for an awkward little movement from Clay before he speaks up.]

Uh, sir? We'd like to request payment.

Oh. [The man digs into his suit and pulls out several rows of credits, all wrapped up to keep them together.] Well, regarding that... there's been a change of plans. [And back in his suit those credits go, and he keeps his hand there, leaving Clay to start to move out of his posture. Okay, now this doesn't seem right.]

The contract has been changed as of now. I keep the money...

[But now, from the suit, he pulls a gun. Or, at least, a gun from this station, so it doesn't quite look like anything they've seen before, but it's still obvious what it is. It's loaded, and it points right at Clay, who's obviously the leader of the two of them and the stronger one - at least, that's what it looks like to the man. Clay, having never had a gun pointed at him before, freezes, eyes wide, hands automatically raised just slightly as if to try to persuade the guy not to shoot by that gesture alone. His first instinct is to run and hide, but he fights it, knowing that that would just get him shot right then and there.]

And you leave quietly, and maybe I won't -

- Shoot?

[It was a little known fact, that Exorcists could move fast when need be. Allen didn't have the high speeds of Lenalee, but his reflexes served him well enough for short bursts. By the time the man finishes the sentence, Allen is already at his side- calmly wrapping his fingers around the man's wrist and twisting until the gun falls out of his hand - not at all wincing at the cry he makes as he grabs the gun with his other hand.]

I suggest you go back to the previous plan of paying, sir. Or else.

[Okay, so the big guy wasn't the threat.

It was the little guy.

Clay does wince at the cry, but he relaxes just a bit now that the gun is out of the guy's hand. The man himself arches to try to ease the pain in his wrist, twists to try to get out of the hold, but - ugh, Allen's hold is too strong. It's like there's an iron grip on his wrist. He grits his teeth and looks back at Allen - but that just makes it hurt more. And while he does care about his money, he'd rather get out of this without a broken arm.

So he glares, then reaches into his suit again - which makes Clay tense - to pull out the packet of credits again.]

Here.

[He tosses it to Clay, who just about misses catching it and only does so at the last second.]

Take it and get out of my sight.

[He'll watch Clay catch the packet before his eyes go back to the man]

Thank you.

[He'll let go of the man's arm, while still holding onto the gun.]

Now don't forget, it's wrong not to treat people with decency, especially if they've done work for you. And if I hear of you trying to cheat or kill anyone else whose done work for you....

[He'll move the gun into his left hand, fingers wrapping around the gun. He then squeezes it, hard, until the metal gets crushed and then shatters in his hand. He opens his hand, letting the fragments of the once gun fall onto the crates. He gives him one last smile before speaking to Clay]

Let's go.

[The man stares at this with wide eyes, fear showing for an instant, and then he snarls as he straightens up again and rubs his hand. Should've taken care of them while he had the chance.

Clay, meanwhile, also stares, but for a completely different reason. His jaw slacks a bit, caught up in the way the gun was easily crushed just by Allen squeezing a bit hard. There's no fear in his eyes, but... something else.

Hoooooly shit, that was -

But then Allen's talking to him, and Clay blinks and gets his eyes on his boyfriend's again. Right, right, going.]

Uh, yeah.

[He is so tempted to throw a rude gesture back at the man, but he'd rather not put them into more hot water. So he just pockets the money and follows Allen out, still... stunned? No.]

Man, it's a good thing you were there. [He says it as they step outside, and man, he can feel his cheeks start to heat up at that feeling in his gut. But not here, not right now, better to actually be safe on the ship before he does anything.]

[Allen will follow Clay out, giving a glance to make sure the man doesn't intend to try anything else before they make their exit. Once they are safely outside and on their way to the ship, he'll step closer and wrap his arm around Clay's shoulder]

Yeah, that got a bit close.

[Sure, Allen's experienced stuff like that before. But not with Clay there. So that's cause for concern]

Are you alright?

Edited 2016-01-28 05:14 (UTC)

Y-Yeah, yeah, I'm fine! I mean, I'm...

[He lifts up his hands to show that they're shaking a bit there, and his voice does so a little too. So yeah, fine, but also full of nervous energy and adrenaline and some fear, but not at what Allen did. Far from what Allen did.]

I've never had, uh... one of those pointed at me before.

[He makes a sympathetic sound]

Ah- no wonder you're all shaken up. [He gets it, it's scary. As they reach the ship, he'll hit the button for the door to open up] I know I didn't like seeing it pointed at you either.

[A gun pointed at his boyfriend? How about no]

Ha, no kidding! I think you crushed that guy's soul too.

[The door opens, and Clay gets the hell on. SF Starlight has been like LA in a lot of ways, or like a big city in general, and this is no different. It's the seedy area that he avoids in his own city, and for good reason.

Once Allen's on with him, he pushes the button to shut the door behind them, and he lets out a shaky mix between a laugh and a sigh.]

I knew you could bend ice picks with your arm, but somehow I didn't think you could crush guns with it. [The thought makes him turn back to look at him] Your hand's okay, right?

Ha- I just hope I deterred him from acting like that again. Even a crimelord should pay his employees.

[Since killing anyone you please is no way to run anything- even organized crime. But he can't help but feel relief when they are both inside. And he'll wave his left hand in front of Clay to show it's okay]

Mm, it's fine! Both ice picks and guns are metal, after all.

[He lets out a little sigh of relief at that]

That's good.

[And while Allen's got his hand lifted up, Clay catches it with both his own, then pulls it towards him enough to press a kiss against the palm, then maneuvers it to rest his cheek against it. Yeah, he knows Allen can't really feel those sensations, but the affection he feels for him is still there, and it wouldn't have mattered if it was the right or left arm.

... Well, affection and something else. And with that thought, he'll take that hand and hold it as he moves towards the pilot's station.]

Heeey, I'm gonna put the ship in auto-pilot, okay? It should get us back fine.

[Even if the feeling is limited in that hand, he can still feel the warmth coming from Clay and still feel the love that those gestures are supposed to mean. It makes him smiled, relived that they'd managed to get through this alright.]

[Though...he's a bit confused when Clay says that.]

Um...alright. Do you feel too shaky to fly?

Uh... kind of? Actually...

[He stops and turns in the hallway until his back is to the wall, and he takes both of Allen's hands now - god, just being like this is a turn on, though he's a little unsure about admitting - ]

It might be because you crushing that gun was the hottest thing I've ever seen.

[That. And he blushes upon admitting it, because man, he never knew he'd find it hot as hell and yet he did.]

[He laughs, mostly in surprise because what]

Excuse me? It's what?

Really hot? And, I mean, if you want...

[Since wow does he know how weird this sounds, but he'll let go of Allen's hands to rest his own against Allen's cheeks, not making any further move until he knows his boyfriend's okay with it.]

I really, really want you.

Ah- wow.

[He laughs again, feeling his cheeks flush a little. Since honestly, he was not expecting this sort of reaction from his actions. He was just trying to keep them safe. ]

Well...we don't have to meet anyone anywhere soon, do we?

Mm, nope.

[He grins, taking that as permission, and moves one hand down to Allen's hip while the other slides down to cup the back of his neck.]

And auto-pilot's pretty slow. We've got time. Oh, and...

[He leans in to whisper near Allen's ear:]

You're getting half of the payment. [He sways his hip a bit, indicating the rolls of credits in his pocket.]

[He makes a "hmmmm" sound followed by a chuckle]

You know, I would've said yes even without the payment.

[But then again, money sure is nice. He gives Clay a coy smile as he pulls away]

But alright. Get everything ready to go, and then meet me in your quarters.

And I would've paid you even if you said no. For protecting me.

[Allen didn't have to take time out of his day to come along, after all, and he did save him. That definitely counts for something.

Once Allen pulls away though, Clay gives a big grin and an enthusiastic double thumbs up, then leans in to give him a quick kiss on the lips before he heads off towards the pilot's station.]

Be there soon!

driftfleet ♪ IC Contact: Year Two

action; sometime while they're on sf starlight idk

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