Bonjour, Corsair

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A little bit after breakfast, Tia decided she would go talk to D'jok. After Mei had stormed out, the rest of the Snowkids had eaten their breakfast in silence until D'jok, too, had left the room. The boy was obviously bothered by his interaction with Mei.

Now Tia was sitting on the bed next to a disheartened looking D'jok, who was staring at his hands.

"I…I just don't know anymore," he muttered. "Everything I say seems to annoy her one way or the other."

Tia pulled a sympathetic face. "I know you don't mean to bug her D'jok. I think she's just very emotional right now, what with the stress from her modelling combining with her need to be at training everyday-"

"But that's the thing!" D'jok turned to look at his team mate, more earnest now. "She's a footballer. That's the path she picked! Despite all the urges from her mother to pick modelling as her main goal, she picked football. So why now is she letting football fall behind?"

Tia watched D'jok for a moment before replying. "So is this all just about football to you? Do you think that's the issue?"

She could tell from the look in D'jok's eyes that he knew there was more to it than that. Mei not attending certain training sessions, or turning up late…that wasn't the only reason their relationship was becoming strained. He lied though, looking up at the blonde before him.

"Yes," he stated. "If she'd just turn up more often and took it more seriously, I wouldn't have to scold her. I am the captain after all." He looked sad.

Tia got to her feet. "D'jok, if you need to talk about anything to do with Mei, you know where I am."

"…sure." The red-head replied, looking once again at his hands.

Tia gave him a long look and then headed to the door. The midfielder was sure D'jok and Mei could sort their relationship out. Sometimes relationships became difficult- Tia knew this more than anyone. Her friends just needed to sit down and talk it out. Argue if that was what was needed, but argue properly. They needed to face their issues. Part of Tia wondered why this hadn't happened already; D'jok and Mei were usually both such confrontational, aggressive people, willing to hand out truths, no matter how hard-hitting. Tia's mind went back to the bags on Mei's bed and the reaction the girl had had to them. A pit of unease settled in the blonde's stomach.

Stevens and Mei were sitting in a cosy little bistro café. There were a few people in there besides them, and a low drone of chatter hung in the air. There was a scent of delicious food wafting from the kitchen behind Stevens and Mei felt at peace. The man opposite her smiled as he re-seated himself, handing her a drink he'd just paid for at the bar.

"Thank you." Mei murmured.

"No worries," Stevens replied breezily and then he leant back in his chair. "So Mei, tell me about yourself."

"Hm?" Mei sipped on her straw in what she hoped was a beguiling way, her eyes on the Pirate before her.

"Well I do not actually know much about you, save for what you read in magazines,"

At that moment a fan came rushing up to Mei, holding a magazine with the Snowkid's smiling face on the front. Mei signed the cover with a charming smile and then looked back to Stevens. The pair of them laughed.

"What do you want to know?" Mei enquired.

Stevens twirled the straw in his drink around with one finger, his eyes on her face still. "Well had you always wanted to play football? For example."

"Always," Mei nodded her head determinedly. "Despite other people's…opinions on the sport, I've always adored it."

Stevens nodded, seemingly pleased with this answer. However as he nodded, Mei felt a cold feeling come over her. She put her hand on her bare forearms, glancing to the side.

"But…sometimes I wonder…" She muttered.

Stevens' brow creased momentarily and he cocked his head. "Wonder what?"

Mei looked up at him, her lips pressed together and words suddenly came tumbling out of them, almost tripping over themselves in their eagerness to reach the outside world.

"Whether I've made the right choice. I mean, football is my one true passion, but I do love fashion and modelling too. It'll never take over football for me, but…sometimes certain people make me feel like I already allow that to happen."

Stevens' was watching her as she spoke, taking her words in. "I can tell football is your passion, you play with much vigour. Do not ever doubt your own passions, even when others doubt them for you- that is what I always tell myself anyway,"

Mei looked down and nodded. When she looked back up, Stevens was still looking at her, a grin on his face now.

"You are a good player," he shrugged and then he looked to the side. "Though maybe not as good as me."

Mei stopped chewing on her bottom lip immediately, her eyes widening. "…what?" She questioned a little outstanded.

Stevens shrugged modestly and then looked back to her, an eyebrow raised and a naughty smirk on his lips. "I distinctly remember you cowering as I ran towards you."

Mei's mouth dropped open and it took a moment for her to formulate a response. "I don't cower." She shot back.

Stevens' expression became one of faux confusion and he leant forward slightly. "Then why were you cowering in the match against us?"

Briefly Mei wondered why all the male star players in the world of Galactik Football felt the need to boast about their skills, but when she looked at Stevens she could tell he was joking, poking fun at both her and himself. He wasn't like D'jok, or Sinedd or even people like Warren, he didn't have anything to prove to anyone. Mei sat up properly, rising to the challenge.

"I'm pretty sure you've never beaten the Snowkids actually." She hit back.

Stevens rolled his eyes cheekily. "Details, details." He responded, waving his hand in an offhand way.

Mei held back a laugh, keeping up with her mock anger. "And I actually remember getting a great tackle against you!"

Stevens pulled a sceptical look. "Are you sure that was me? I cannot recall anything like that ever happening."

Mei was just about to reply when their food arrived. Stevens smiled at the waitress, who blushed in response, and then he looked back at Mei.

"Shall we leave the football talk till after 'brunch' then?"

"Fine," Mei replied. "But you are so in denial."

Stevens chuckled and then raised his eyebrows.

A few hours later and Stevens and Mei had eventually left the restaurant. They'd chatted and laughed all through brunch and then stayed at the café for hours after, the conversation never dying, never losing steam. Now they were walking through the Pirate tunnels, still chatting and laughing. Stevens was regaling Mei with a story about the time he and his fellow Pirates had hid out in an 'abandoned' house to escape Technoid drones, only to find out it was very much occupied.

"This woman would just not stop hitting my friend on the head," Stevens laughed, recalling the memory. "At one point one of my other friends, Saya, she grabbed the woman's hand, forcing her to drop the pillow she'd been smacking Taglo with and then the woman just grabbed a book and smacked Saya as hard as she could. It was hilarious."

Mei giggled as they walked along, invigorated by the Pirates' charm and the easy conversation. "Did that not hurt Saya though?"

Stevens smiled, shaking his head slightly. "She has dealt with worse. If you are a Pirate and the worst injury you've suffered is a book to the head, then you are a lucky pirate indeed. But enough about me. I have never enjoyed talking about me much. Tell me some stories of your past."

Mei looked thoughtful as they continued along at a slow pace. "I don't know what you'd want to hear." She muttered.

Stevens was watching her, the expression on his face implying he was in no rush. Mei could take as long as she wanted. This made for a nice change. Mei liked that she didn't have to be on. She was just Mei when she was with Stevens. Not Mei the Galactik football star. The feeling she had when she was with Stevens was comparable to the feeling she had when she was with her team, just chilling out.

"Well, it's usually Micro-Ice we rely on for the funny antics," Mei began. "I remember this one time, we were all just hanging out on Akillian, sometime after the second Galactik cup and we heard an ice cream hover car. Mice about bust a lung yelling in delight and then he rushed off to go see it…ended up falling down every single stair leading down from the Planet Akillian bar," Mei laughed and went to brush her hair back. As she brought her hand up, it touched Stevens'. She paused in her story as a white hot heat flushed through her.

She turned to look at Stevens, he was looking down at his hand and then he looked up at Mei. Something flashed in the Pirates' eyes and then he pinned the girl against the metal wall, his lips meeting hers. A bolt of happiness and elation flittered up Mei's spine as Stevens' soft lips melted against her own. He brought his hands up to be either side of her head and Mei was just pressing in harder when the blonde man fell away. Breathing heavily, back against the wall, Mei looked at him, confused. Stevens too was breathing heavily and Mei couldn't help but think he looked even more beautiful than usual with his lips swollen from kissing. His hat had fallen off and his messy blonde spikes were falling about everywhere. Mei wanted to kiss him again.

"I…I am sorry," Stevens muttered and his eyes looked slightly larger than usual, as if he was stunned with his own actions. "I don't know why I did that. You have D'jok, I know that. I…"

"I liked it." Mei interrupted.

Stevens looked at her, the look of alarm on his face seemingly increasing. "I am sorry," he repeated. He grabbed his hat and then gave her an anxious grin. "I…I will see you around Mei-"

"Stevens-" Mei uttered, but the Pirate turned around.

"You should not have trouble from here, getting out." He murmured and then he began to walk off.

Mei watched his retreating back and then looked down the corridor to her destination. She bit at her bottom lip, she could still feel his lips pressed upon hers.