Disclaimer: Still don't own anyone but Susana

Disclaimer: Still don't own anyone but Susana. Don't sue me, please. Night Fever is from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and is one of my "guilty pleasure" songs. Febreze is a great invention, which I also don't own. Why am I not surprised?


Notes:

sound
*thought*
} telepathic conversation {

Setting: Susana's loft, the next day. About 11:00 AM.

Susana opened her eyes to a brightly lit, blandly colored apartment wall. Blinking at the light reflecting from the shiny white paint, she resolved that before the month was out, she'd do something about the boring walls of the studio. After climbing carefully out of bed so as not to wake Jono, she tugged on an ancient pair of pajamas and passed through the Asian-influenced privacy screens, which separated what the realtor had called a "sleeping nook" from the apartment's living room and open kitchen.

Crossing the sparsely furnished living room, she looked around. *Not too bad, for a 23 year old in New York. I've got the old couch from Massachusetts, a couple of chairs, and even a coffee table.* She eyed the scarred slab top of the table doubtfully. *Maybe I shouldn't include that in the 'things that aren't too bad' category around here.*

She passed the floor lamp positioned to supplement the natural light from the windows, and stopped directly in front of her favorite feature of the apartment, a wired-into-the-walls stereo system that had been set up by a previous occupant. All she'd had to do was hook up a system to the existing wires to get sound in every room. She pushed a button on the wall-mounted console, then turned and considered the CD case she'd brought with her. Pursing her lips in annoyance, she crouched and pulled a box from one of the low cabinets along the wall. As she looked through it, a devilish grin split her face. Pulling a case out, she opened it and slipped the CD into the wall slot. She tapped her toe as the volume of the synthesized notes grew progressively louder, then laughed out loud. *He's going to kill me for this. Waking him up before noon on a Saturday is bad enough. Waking him by playing "Night Fever" from the London Saturday Night Fever soundtrack is horrible. Probably a mortal sin or something.*

She bounded across the room and into the kitchen, singing as she went.

"Listen to the ground,

There is movement all around

There is something going down,

And I can feel it."

She trailed off, grimacing at the contents of the near empty fridge. *a beer, a bottle of sangria, a water pitcher, age-indeterminate tortillas, and some...* she held up a bottle and shook it, making a face when the contents didn't budge. *Some solidified balsamic vinaigrette. How yummy.*

"And that sweet city woman,

She moves through the light,

Controlling my mind and my soul.

When you reach out for me, girl,

And the moment is right,

I get that night fever, night fever.

*Surprised he's not up yet. Maybe I should go help him along...or make sure the music's not sent him into a catatonic trance...or a seizure, that'd be bad too. I'm starved, but nothing we have here looks like any good.* She left the kitchen, passing through the bathroom and into the bedroom, where she paused and looked down at him affectionately. He was sleeping on his stomach, like he always did when he had the bed to himself, and one arm was flung across the bed. The other was under his forehead, which usually meant that he was conscious but resisting wakefulness. She leaned over the bed and tugged on the sheet, causing him to roll over and give her a baleful glare.

}Yer a damn sadist, you know that?{

"Whay, whatevah do yah mean, suh?" She drawled, exaggerating her accent nearly to the point of incomprehensibility. Reverting back to a normal voice, she continued. "I'm just energetic, that's all." She leaned across the bed and rubbed his shoulder lightly,

}I meant the waking a bloke up with disco, and you know it. It's...well, alarming. And then you come in here and pull on the sheets...yer insufferable.{

"You knew that already." She pressed a kiss to his hand, simultaneously sending him the feelings of hunger twisting around in her stomach. "Pleeease get out of bed so we can go to breakfast? Pleasepleaseplease? I'm really hungry, seriously. There's nothing in the fridge here."

}Suppose I did know that. Yes, we can go to breakfast, on one condition.{

"What's that?" She tilted her head inquiringly.

}Two conditions, actually. One, that you take the first shower. Two, that you turn this music off.{

"well, while we're negotiating, I think I get to propose something else, since you added a condition there."

}Oh, God...what is it?{

"Do we have to get takeout? I know I picked where we ate last night, but I'd like to go to one of the markets and get stuff that I can have here for next time."

}Sure, that sounds great. Now go, if you're so hungry.{ He shooed her into the bathroom, then rolled back onto his stomach to sleep until she was out. Ten minutes later, he rose with a disgusted mental sigh. *You're losin' it, Starsmore. Four years ago, you wouldn't have gotten outta this bed even if Claudia Schiffer was in the shower.* Heaving another sigh, which was surprisingly effective even without lungs or a mouth, he walked to the door connecting the bedroom and bathroom.

taptaptap

"Yes?" Came the over-casual response from within.

}C'n I come in?{ he leaned against the door, resting his forehead on his forearm.

"Depends. Are you thinking bad things out there?"

}Yer delicate ears'd be burning if you knew.{

"Well, then...I suppose you can come in after all." She swung the door open and pulled him into the humid, completely tiled room, shutting the door with a bang to keep the steam in.

Duly showered, Susana stood and peered into the mirror, patting strands of hair into their proper place. Pulling a rubber band from the pile by the sink, she looped it around her hair, then swished her hair back and forth, giggling as it tickled the backs of her shoulder blades. Separating a little piece of the ponytail, she wrapped it around the base, hiding the elastic. Satisfied, she bounced into the bedroom and began pawing through the clothes she kept there. She pulled out a pair of pale green shorts, then picked up her top from the night before. Sniffing it, she smiled. *Thank God for Febreze. I thought this'd reek of smoke, but no. Yay!* She slipped on the shorts, then the top. After pulling her ponytail out of the turtleneck, she stepped into her sandals, smudged on a dab of eyeliner, and stood back from the mirror. Nodding in approval, she wove her way between the screens and into the living room, where Jono was waiting on the couch and watching PBS on the small TV.

"Ok, I'm ready to go...are you all set?"

}Absolutely. Let's go.{

With a brief stop to set the alarm and pick up the metrocards she'd dropped on the kitchen counter the last time they'd been there, they headed down the stairs and to the subway station. Wrinkling her nose at the smell, Susana entered the station and swiped her card through the turnstile, then stopped to look at a map and wait for Jono. When he got through, he joined her, and she pointed out the route they needed to take. "If we go here, on the M train," she pointed to a spot on the map, "we can get off at the Essex station and be right where we need to be."

}Lead on, oh fearless navigator.{ He crinkled at her and squeezed her hand gently. }So which way do we go to catch that?{

She looked up at the direction signs mounted on the station ceiling. "We go...this way," she said, dragging him towards the down escalator. They got to the platform right as the train was arriving, and joined the throng of people entering the train. Since it was about the time most people were returning to work, there were very few seats free. Susana stopped in front of a seat, and Jono pushed her to sit down in it. Shaking her head, she pushed him backwards into the seat, then settled herself lightly on his lap, clutching a bar to support herself better. }How's this, dear?{ She spoke telepathically, reluctant to break the unspoken 'no talking on the subway' rule. He followed suit.

}'Ats quite nice, actually. I think the guy on my right is jealous.{

}Oh, really? Shall we give him somethin' to be jealous about?{ She managed to give her telepathic speech a pronounced drawl, and he shook his head disapprovingly at the speculative look in her eyes.

}Don't, gel. Let's just get through our ride and we'll shop. No harassing the other passengers.{ His image inducer kept pace with the speech, making him look like he was speaking normally. The man in question stifled a laugh at his comment.

She turned and pouted at him. "You're no fun." Lifting her purse onto her lap, she pulled out a Silly Putty egg and began rolling the silvery putty into a long rope.

}Wot the hell?{

"Silver Silly Putty. I'm accessorized." She lifted a hand to show her two silver rings and her silver watch. "See?" she pinched the end of the putty into a ball, and began to curl the length of the rope around the ball. Placing the spiral on her palm, she smoothed it so that the lines of the coils were no longer big enough to be felt. Holding her palm up, she admired the iridescent patterns left by the rope. Jono watched disinterestedly, then spoke up.

}Think our stop's next.{ He shifted, and she slid off his lap onto her feet. Steadying herself by gripping his hand, she straightened and looked up at the map on the wall.

"Yeah, we're next. Ready for some chaos?" She held his hand as the train slowed, then pulled him through the door and up the stairs from the platform. Emerging into the bright light and swirling noise of the market, she blinked for a moment before heading into the fray, dragging an overwhelmed Jono behind her.