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.
