Miss Queen B: Hello all you wonderful Readers, I hope everyone is doing well. I came up with this crazy story out of the blue and had to write it down. What makes this story a little extra special is that this will be my 60th fanfic work since I started in 2004. Yay! Anyway, keep an open mind, relax and enjoy.
Rated M: for Adult and Sexual humor, strong Adult language, Fighting, mild violence and sexual situations.
Cross the T and Dot the I
Chapter One
Heartbreak and Coffee
~Do you think of me?
Of what we used to be?
Is it better now
That I'm not around?
My friends are acting Strange
They don't bring up your name
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?~
Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
When it comes to fighting with Terry, Korvo can always predict the outcome no matter what the topic or situation they were bickering about. Even down to how many insults Terry would throw, to the body language and hand gestures he would sway and the number of useless shit they would add in just to be petty or to prove a point. Yet, this time…something was off. Nine out of ten, fighting with Terry was just pure entertainment to the "Pupa Expert." His way to see how many buttons he can push on him till he explodes or be left drained because as the humans would put it "You can't fight Stupid." This time though, that dreadful One out of Ten decided to show its ugly face and throw Korvo completely off balance. The times when Terry wanted to be serious about something and fuck, he wasn't ready for the line of questioning that came out of his Mission Partner's mouth….
"Soooo, what exactly happened at the Bachelor's Party?"
He should've realized something was up on their way home from the Wedding Chapel. While Terry put on a bright smile in front of the Replicants so they wouldn't ask questions, he felt a sudden eerie vibe coming from him and the constant disappointing staring. The ride home was quiet with the Replicants talking/confessing about them cheating at the school or something, he didn't know, he wasn't paying attention because he was distracted by Terry's silence. Once they were home and the Brats were asleep, they were in the privacy of their bedroom to get ready for bed themselves. Terry sat on the edge of his bed and waited for him to change out of that ridiculous tux and into something comfortable. When he exited the bathroom, Terry calmly blurted out the infamous question, stopping him in place with his Partner looking at him with narrow eyes.
He shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing, "What's there to tell? It was pretty much like the Hangover movie." He said, standing in front of Terry. Waiting for him to move over to his side of the bed so he can lie down. He was tired, hungover and still coming down from the rush from all the cocaine he snorted at Vegas and just wanted to sleep. Terry apparently had other plans.
Terry tapped his fingers on the mattress before whispering, "I don't recalled any of the guys on the movie fucking the groom, Korvo."
He flinched from the low remark because it didn't come out as a joke, Terry was actually insulting him. "Who knows maybe one of them did in the uncut version, what does it matter if they did or not, it was popular enough to make two more mov-"
"Korvo!" Terry interrupted, giving him a look.
He rolled his eyes and scoffed at Terry's behavior. "Do you really want to fight knowing all the wild "Sex Stuff' you did over the years. Even right here in our bed while I was trying to sleep."
"That was in the past and what you did happened yesterday." Terry said, staying unusually calm which was a bad sign. A calm Terry means he was deeply offended or hurt by something he did. What he didn't understand was Why? Terry let out a dry chuckle, "I mean, for Fuck sake, Korvo, you were suppose to distract the Red Goobler enough for me to turn his Basic Bitch bride back to human…not fuck around with him and causing them to break-up."
"Hey, if you didn't use the wrong Ray Gun, she wouldn't be a rat in the first place." He snapped.
Terry stood up, upset, but still kept his cool. "So what? Was that my punishment for making a mistake or did you really develop some sick feelings for that Thing, who was trying to kill you?"
"Punishment? What the fuck are you talking about? And also, gross. Like I would ever feel something for that Red Gunk." He started before looking away to avoid the embarrassing look forming on his face and the warm blush on his cheeks. Maybe it's best not to tell Terry that he almost eloped with the Red Goobler in order to save some pride and respect. Honestly, what the hell was he thinking? Probably his wake up call that he needed to stop drinking.
He heard Terry sigh in defeat. "Fine, I'm going to bed."
Now he was pissed. After all that, Terry was going to sleep as if insulting him never happened. He whipped around, fisting his hands tight that he could feel his nails digging hard into his skin. "Why is this bothering you?! You would always brag about being the City's Slut around here to just rub it in my face, so what? I can't get a little action myself!"
Terry crossed his arms, "A little action? Wow, he was that bad? Did I really set the bar that low, Korvo?"
He growled and rubbed his temple, "Enough with these-these Mind Tricks, Terry, just spit it out so I can go to sleep!" He shouted. Hoping him screaming would get Terry going with his own high pitched yells then it will go back to their normal fighting.
Still the green alien remained calm as his line mouth slowly went down to a hurtful frown. "Was I just another notch in your belt, Korvo? I mean, talk about downgrading after the night we shared."
Oh fuck, Terry had to go there. That drunken one night stand they had after that whole Dinner Party calamity. Too much wine and sloppy conversations that night and the next thing he knew, he woke up with a massive headache, swollen lips and naked. Terry was snoring right next to him with his back turn, revealing all the bites and scratches all over his neck and shoulder blades. It didn't take him long to realize what they had done and ran right into the bathroom to wash away the embarrassment and evidence. Afterwards, everything went on like normal with neither of them bringing it up. He just assumed Terry thought it was a mistake just like he did and wanted to pretend it never happened. Though he did see a change in him, Terry was happier and a little more affectionate than before. Starbucks coffee with hearts around his name, surprised hugs and kisses on the cheek before he could protest and he caught him a few times trying to cuddle up to him, but he didn't want to say anything about it. Bringing it up would mean they would have to bring up other things that were lingering between them. Wait…"Notch on my Belt?" What the hell does that mean?
"Why are you comparing yourself to a belt?" He asked.
Terry sighed, "It's a figure of speech, Korvo, something humans use to count the number of people they've slept with." Terry said, trying to sound smart. "I just thought after that night we had…after everything you said to me…why did you…shit…if you wanted sex…" Terry was stammering over his own words at this point. It looked like he was trying so hard to finish his sentence without choking or crying. "I thought you and I were-"
"Were what?" He asked, crossing his arms. "Together? Some sort of Lifemates or whatever humans call it here? You can't be serious, you and I both know that night was an accident. We had too much to drink and weren't thinking straight. Is this why you're in a crappy mood? You thought I cheated?" He asked, clenching his teeth hard. When Terry nodded, not even looking at him, he shook his head at his Partner's stupidity. "How can I cheat on you if we're not together!" He screamed, while throwing his arms into the air. "It was a mistake. It didn't mean anything"
"Do you really believe that?" Terry asked, looking at him with hurtful eyes. "You confessed some pretty deep feeling to me that night that says otherwise…"
He blushed big time because he wasn't sure what he said that night. Everything was such a blur that the only things he could recall were the warm bed sheets, tangled limbs and how soft Terry's skin felt. He was about to say something, almost close to throwing something at Terry to shut him up, but Terry raised his hands up to stop him.
"Look, I don't want to fight. If you want, we can forget about the party and everything else that happened before this Wedding incident, Korvo, but can you please answer this one thing for me?" He asked.
Did he really want to? It felt like he was already back into a corner. Terry didn't even wait for him to say anything before asking.
"Where does that leave Us?"
Something in his head broke. Did Terry really think there was still an "Us?" "What Us? There is no "Us" There never was and never will be an "US" He said, harshly, probably a little more spiteful than he intended, but it felt like the only way he could be taken seriously was to be mean. "We're here on a Mission. Our partnership only includes getting the ship fixed, looking after the Pupa and to make sure those Brats don't die on our watch, that's it!" He said, waving his hand down to make his point clear and final.
Terry just stood there with this blank look on his eyes. As if trying to download every hurtful word deep inside his brain. The only thing moving was a small twitch at the corner of his mouth. He didn't even blink. After what seems like an eternity, Terry exhales before walking over to their bathroom's door while undoing his bowtie from his suit. Strange, he thought Terry would put up more of a fight after shooting him down the way he did, not sigh in defeat. Terry turned around and placed his hand on the edge of the door and looked at him. "I know you don't think so highly of me and only see me as a screw-up, but I know how I feel and how I feel about you…I love you, Korvo…"
He stared at him, speechless for once in his tired, miserable life. Terry has feelings and he loves him? Part of him felt a small little thrill and relief, but his screwed up head didn't want to hear it. Bullshit, plain bullshit, he thought. Despite that Lifemate Terry was forced to leave behind on homeworld, Terry's longest relationship would only last a few days, a week tops and then he would move on to the next Flavor of the Week. Whatever feelings or love Terry has towards him would most likely die just like the ones before him and why would he want to put himself through that mess. Besides he didn't have time for a "Us" relationship, he had more important things to do. "Why would you say something so ridiculous, Terry. We both know you don't feel that way."
"I know I do…I know how you really feel about me…they always say drunk people speak the truth, you might not remember, but I do. Don't you want to give "Us" a try? You deserve to be happy, Korvo, let me make you happy."
His head was pounding at this point and didn't know how to calculate Terry's confession. So many things were going through his head he didn't know what to think. He never dealt with feelings and relationships. He never had someone tell him they love him. He never had a Lifemate. Terry was annoying, lazy and careless with everything in his path yet he was so likable. It seems like every person he interacts with would make their day brighter and happier. He was Wild as well. The Prick had the nerve to get upset with his sex life knowing all the random strangers he crawled into bed with. It won't work, Terry wasn't strong enough to give up that lifestyle just for him. He doesn't have it in him to try it only to be disappointed in the end. And if it doesn't work out? What then? Why risk it.
"I'm going to bed." Was the only thing he could muster out before crawling into the bed and covering himself with the sheets. If he hides, that would be the end of this stupid conversation. Next thing he heard was a small sniffle and Terry whispering, "So be it." before closing the bathroom door. A minute later, he could hear the shower going before closing his eyes for much needed sleep. Hoping all of this was just a dream.
00000000000
Normally after a fight, like some kind of sick reward for all his troubles, Korvo would get at least a day of silence from his Mission Partner. Terry's stupid silent treatment tactic to punish him for being an Asshole. Fine, whatever, let him believe that, it was a nice way to enjoy time to himself without interruptions for him to poke holes in Terry's dumb idea. One day of silence then Terry will be back up on the ship trying to get him to take a break and spend time with him or the replicants. Then something happened, a blessing in disguise, perhaps, because the Silence Treatment went on for a second day. He was so distracted typing in codes and formulas in the computer to realize he spent the whole day and night up in the ship. Terry didn't even bother to come up to force him to go to bed. By the third day, after Terry failed to come up to tell him breakfast was ready, he decided to take a much needed break and head downstairs to the living room. When he entered the kitchen, the Replicants were already putting up dishes and throwing away the last few bits of pancakes into the trash.
"You guys had breakfast without me?" He asked, feeling his neglected stomach growl.
"I was going to go get you, but Terry said you didn't want to be bothered." Jesse said, shrugging her shoulders.
"What's up with you two anyway? We haven't seen you in three days and Terry's been acting weird." Yumyulack asked, crossing his arms. "Normally you guys fight, the aftermath isn't like this."
He raised a brow "Acting weird? Like how?"
The brats stared at each other before Jesse spoke up. "He's just really quiet."
Odd, the Silence Treatment was usually for him, why would Terry spread it to the Replicants? "Where is he now?"
"He said he needed some air so he took the Pupa out for a walk. He said he'll be back in an hour." Yumyulack said while putting the last plate up in the cabin.
He huffed, of course Terry would just leave the Replicants unsupervised, but he had a bigger problem, "Why didn't you guys save me a plate?"
After a long quiet week, Terry finally came up to the ship to speak to him and deep down, he was glad to hear some sort of sound coming out of the Pupa Expert's mouth. A day of silence was nice, but a week? He felt like he was going to crack. Even in bed, Terry would either be asleep or refuse to acknowledge him. Just lying there playing with his phone like there was no tension in the air. Part of him wanted to say something, but would just keep his mouth shut. If Terry was still mad at him, there's no reason to add fuel to the fire.
He was rewiring and replacing some wires in one of the control panels when he heard footsteps coming towards him. He was already on edge over how damaged the wires were. So many of them were torn and nibbled on thanks to Terry bringing dozens of rats into the ship and letting some of them escape. That led to them barreling inside the panels and breeding like crazy. He already killed a couple of them and their babies, but the damage was already done. Nothing, but damaged wires, urine and shit that will take weeks to inspect, clean and repair. Fucking great, just another thing to add to his already long list. He sighed, hating himself for trusting Terry with the task of turning the Rat Bride back to human while he distracted the Goobler. God knows, he wouldn't have let her escape or turn dozens of stray rats into dumb Brides. (No doubt, Terry would make a sly remark about that complaint. At least he wouldn't sleep with the Tomato Paste Groom)
"Hey….um…are you thirsty?"
Terry's voice made him jump, cutting the tips of his fingers with a piece of exposed wire. He turned around to see Terry standing five feet away with this expressionless look on his face instead of his goofy, happy self. Even his clothes were a bit off, while he wore the same black shorts and graphic t-shirt, the shirt was a little depressing. It was dark gray with the phrase "If you think I look bad, you should see the other guy" written in bold black letters. What's worse, the way he asked if he was thirsty sounded forceful.
"What?" He asked, while wrapping a small rag around his hand to stop the bleeding.
Terry slightly rolled his eyes, "I said if you were thirsty. I was going to Starbucks and Jesse thought it would be a "Nice" idea to ask if you wanted something."
So Jesse was the one who put Terry up to this. Most likely trying to break the ice and distance she's been seeing between him and her DNA Donor. Clever girl, her attention to detail is quite frightening. He cleared his throat, "You know what I like…" He said, coldly.
He didn't know why he felt so upset, probably leftover spat he still had from their last fight. Or the silence between them. Or maybe it was the way Terry was acting after he rejected him. Who knows. Looking at Terry's empty eyes just made him feel upset. Terry nodded, "Yeah, I know, but is there any way you can get something a little more simple? I tend to get a lot of people pissed off at me for requesting your difficult drink order."
"If they followed the steps correctly, it wouldn't be a difficult order."
"Just get something easy so I don't have to hear you complaining about finding spit in it." Terry asked, getting impatient
He grumbled, "Fine, a small black coffee with sugar! There! Is that easy enough for you?"
"Yes, Thank you. I'll be back in 20 minutes." Terry said, turning around to exit the ship.
"No, don't go to the one you normally go to, try a different Starbucks. One where they will get my name right on the cup and won't leave Human Body fluids in it."
Terry halted, "Are you serious? Korvo, I'm not going to drive around looking for another Starbucks because you're afraid of a little spit in your drink. Who knows how long that will take."
"Well, you better get moving then, right?" He demanded.
Terry rolled his eyes, "Ugh, fine, but you better not complain about your coffee being cold when I get back."
Terry didn't bother to give him his warm smile, or a thumbs up or even an attempted hug. Although they were only five feet apart from each other, it felt like miles between them, very cold, empty miles. Part of him told him not to worry, at least his Mission Partner was talking to him again so that's a start. Yet, there was still some weird vibe in the air he couldn't figure out while watching Terry leave. Before he could stop himself, his mouth opened. "Hey…"
Terry stopped and looked at him, "What, changed your mind on your drink?"
He swallowed, not liking the coldness in Terry's voice. "No…um…now that you're talking to me again, I'm guessing…um…everything's Ok, now?"
Terry blinked, confused by his words, "Ok?"
He sighed, of course Terry would make things difficult. Playing stupid just to annoy him. "Yeah, you know about Vegas and between us…"
Terry's right eye twitched before putting on a very forceful smile. "Of course, Korvo, you don't have to explain it to me again. There is no "Us" and as for Vegas…just a thing in the past. A gross notch in your belt…"
For some reason he didn't like the way he answered that. The tone of voice was eerie and dripping with hatful sarcasm. Part of him wanted to grab his ray gun that was strap to his belt because it felt like Terry might go after him with a knife again. "Sooo…you're not bothered by it anymore."
Terry's fingers begin to wiggle a bit before tightening them into firm fists. Despite the shaky hands, Terry remained calm, "Why would it bother me? I'm just seeing the bright side of it. At least everything is out in the open and I know where I stand. It's not like I felt my inside getting torn to shreds and left on the floor to bleed out, I feel great." Terry said, before turning his back on him. "Coffee coming right up."
Little did he know how much he would regret sending Terry to a different Starbucks….
After an hour of waiting for coffee, he decided to take a break and head down to the kitchen to make his own beverage since it was obvious Terry got lost or distracted to be this late. He was half way down the stairs when he overheard Terry and Jesse talking in the kitchen. Odd, if Terry was home all this time, why didn't he bring him his simple coffee drink.
-I just froze! It's so hard to explain. She just look so familiar and then I saw her name badge and-and-and Oh my god, I think I told her my name was Gerry or something stupid."
"Aww, Terry. I'm sure it wasn't that bad?" Jesse said, in a comforting voice.
Terry groaned, "I made a complete fool of myself. I just handed her the money and bolted out of there."
There was a moment of silence before hearing Jesse speak, "Is that you didn't come home with the drinks and our Cake Pops?"
"Oh shit! I left the stuff over there!" Terry shouted.
He took a few steps back up the stairs to hide as Terry ran across the living room and over to the front door. Jesse was following, trying to catch up. "Wait! I want to go!"
"Aww, Jesse, thanks for the support." Terry shouted, before patting her head.
"That and to make sure you get the Cake Pops unless you want to deal with a grumpy Yumyulack." She said as the two exited the house.
Korvo slowly walked down the stairs and peeked outside the window to see the car backing out of the driveway and taking off rather quickly. What the hell was that all about?
The next day pretty much went the same way as yesterday. He was still working on the wiring in the ship, which seemed like a lost cause at this point since after fixing one part of the ship's wires, he would only discover another part full of bite marks and some yanked. Only for Terry to come up and coldly ask if he wanted another Starbucks drink. An hour or two later, he would go down stairs to find his cold coffee abandoned in the living room while overhearing Terry and Jesse talking again.
"Did you at least say something this time or did you run away again.?" Jesse asked.
He heard a small sigh coming from Terry, "No…I had the drinks and snacks in my head then she said "have a nice day, Gerry," then I ended up crashing into the guy behind me. Next thing I knew I was on my back and she among the other humans there were hovering over me, wondering if I was Ok"
"Yikes…did they laugh at you?"
"No, but I'm sure I'll end up on someone's social media page because there were phones out recording me." Terry groaned, "I left without saying anything."
His prying in was quickly interrupted by Yumyulack running past him without a second thought and into the kitchen. "It's about time you came back. Where are the Cake Pops?
"Sorry buddy, I forgot them again." Terry said, trying not to sound too sad.
"Again?! I waited two hours for cake pops and you forgot them again?!"
"Stop being a Dick, Yummers, Terry had an embarrassing moment in front of the Coffee Girl."
"What? Did you tell her you were from out of space or something?" Yumyulack joked, but no one was laughing. "Seriously, can you go back to get the cake pops."
"I'm covered in Frappuccino and those fruity Refresher drinks, I'm not going back over there. Not after what happened."
"Fine, I'll ask Korvo, he's just standing in the living room overhearing us talk anyway." Yumyulack said, only to get a "What?" from Terry and Jesse.
As soon as Yumyulack entered the living room, he gave his clone a good hit on his head.
0000000000000
It didn't take him long to realize Terry was already on another quest to bed some random human since for the last two weeks, he's been taking trips to Starbucks every single day. Being gone for nearly hours at a time and returning with his coffee cold and the Mochas melted and watered down. He couldn't help, but feel a little insulted by the whole thing. While it was his choice to only be Mission Partners, he didn't think Terry would move on so quickly to fill the void. Perhaps Terry was only doing this to "Ruffle up his Feathers'' as humans would put it. It wouldn't be the first time Pupa Expert did this. Terry was never ashamed to be used by humans to get back at Exs, spouses or to make someone jealous. It was all fun and games to the green alien and great entertainment to watch humans destroy each other in the name of love.
Of course that was only a Theory since they hardly talk anymore…
Which was strange to say since Terry would always come to him to talk about the latest annoying trend, stuff he saw on YouTube or Instagram or magazine quizzes he did to see whether his spiritual animal would be or if he was a likable person. Either way, he would tell him things while he tinker and fix the latest broken thing on the ship. It was stupid and annoying, but it was white noise to him and now it seem like Terry replaced him with his replicant and acting like a teen girl himself with all the secretive "Girl Talk." Even when they were alone in bed, Terry would barely say a word to him. Keeping himself distracted with games on his phone or on his Switch while he buried himself in a book or manual. Once in a while he would look over at Terry to see if he could figure out what was going on in the other alien's head only for Terry to turn his back on him and search things on his phone without a word. It seems like he no longer existed in Terry's world ever since the mysterious Coffee Girl grabbed his attention. It must be a difficult challenge since already three weeks in and from the looks of it, Terry was still having a hard time getting laid. Strange indeed, normally the females on this planet were easier to get than the males. It wasn't till Jesse joined in to help him when things really took a turn for the worst.
At this point, he could be in the same room with Jesse and Terry and they would still act like he didn't exist. He was watching T.V. during his lunch break when they came down stairs with shit-filled grins. He couldn't help, but listen in as Jesse explained her plan to Terry.
"I read it in a magazine, Women dig the "Single Dad" kind of guys. It shows how mature and responsible they are. Which happens to be a great quality to them." Jesse giggled while Terry stared at her unsure.
"Ok, odd, but what does that have anything to do with you going with me." Terry asked.
Jesse sighed in frustration. "Think about it. You've been striking out…like really, really bad. Which is odd because you were never this clumsy when it comes to talking to someone, so let me go with you to ease the tension. She'll see me, make a nice remark about how cute I look in my dress and I'll say something nice about you and bingo, she'll ask something about you beside your drink order. What do you think?"
"I don't know Jesse, I really don't want to lead her on thinking we're father and daughter. I mean I guess you are in a way…" He chuckled, "I mean when they say "You're a chip off the old block" that's not a metaphor on Shlorp." Terry joked before letting out a happy hum. "Hmmm, how can I forget that day when I fainted after they cut off my fingers to plant in the Garden. Oh, good times, good times. They told me, you and two other replicants popped out of that batch. I always wondered how the other two turned out."
"I…don't think that matters since they're dead and all, but back to the main topic. You need me, Terry and you know it." She said firmly.
He was so lost in listening in, he didn't realize how intensely he was staring at Terry only to flinch when Terry happened to look up and made eye contact. He quickly looked away, going back to the television he completely forgot he was watching. Even though he wasn't staring anymore, he could actually feel the burning, emotionless glare coming from his Mission Partner. He couldn't help, but let his eyes trail back only to see Terry still staring at him with this weird, void look. Terry blinked before looking back at Jesse. "Fine, and if you put on a good show, I'll buy you all the cake pops they have in the shop." He said, holding out his hand.
"Deal." Jesse said, shaking his hand. "Now remember don't slouch and eye contact is the key when it comes to grabbing her attention." She said, as they both walked out the door.
"Hey, I'm supposed to be the "Parent" here." Terry joked.
Terry didn't even bother to ask if he wanted a black coffee. His eye started to twitch from this unknown sickening feeling and the next thing he knew, he grabbed the remote and threw it as hard as he could. Watching it smash against the living room wall. What the hell is going on?!
An hour later, while repairing the remote on the coffee table, the duo returned with Terry staring down at his drink cup with a big smile on his face and Jesse holding a giant bag full of cake pops. "Oh my God, I don't know how to thank you enough, Jesse." Terry said, literally hugging the Starbucks cup close to his chest.
"Buying all these cake pops is a start. I need to hide these before Yummers finds them."
"Alright, you do that, I need to update my phone." Terry said, setting his drink down on the table before plopping himself on the couch. Jesse giggled while running upstairs with her treats.
He couldn't help, but look at the drink that was only a foot away from him to see the name "Terry-Berry" written in bold black letters. Underneath his name was a set of numbers and the words "Call Me." Complete with a tiny red heart.
"What happened to the remote?"
He snapped out of his disturbed thoughts and didn't bother to look at Terry. Too fearful that he might see his upset face and beads of sweat. "It broke." He said, barely above a whisper.
"Aww what happened? Did you sit on it, is that why you're all sweating and upset?" Terry joked, before propping his feet up on the table. Knocking a few pieces of the remote to the floor.
"Hey, watch it, you dipshit." He growled, holding himself back from calling Terry something worse. Also to keep himself from destroying that drink with the number on it.
"Sorry. Here let me help you." Terry said, leaning down to grab the pieces, but he swatted him away.
"No, no, I got it. Just sit there with the phone glued to your face like you always do." He said before looking at the remote again. Feeling his anger and hurt growing and growing by the second. He didn't know why he felt so hurt about Terry getting that Coffee Human's number. It just came out of nowhere and it felt like someone stabbed him really hard in the belly.
Terry scoffed and got up. "Fine, forget I was even here." He said, before going up the stairs.
A second later, he heard a small digital chime followed by Terry giggling to himself. It turned out the chime was coming from Terry's phone every time he would receive a message. For the next couple of days after getting that phone number, that annoying chime was everywhere and Terry acting like a love-sick Teenager wasn't helping. Fuck, it was worse than nails scratching on a chalkboard and couldn't understand how the Replicants could be so immune to the awful sound. It was worse at night, because Terry would stay up late to text and wouldn't put the damn thing on silence mode. It finally got to the point, he had to tell Terry to leave their bedroom and text and talk in the living room so he can get some decent sleep. Terry didn't bother to fight him. He just stood up and walked out their bedroom without taking his eyes off the phone's screen. Leaving him alone in the dark with his increasingly grim thoughts and confused feelings. It felt like the Universe was fucking with him because even with Terry texting downstairs, he could still hear that annoying chime notification going off over and over and over and over and over again.
He grumbled before shoving a pillow in his face to stop the sound while hoping he had the guts to suffocate himself to death….
000000000000
He woke up on a rather cool morning and headed downstairs to make some eggs when he noticed some off things in the kitchen. One, it was empty. Normally, Terry would be in here with the Brats cooking breakfast and making a mess. Two, the kitchen counter was littered with about a dozen empty Starbucks cups. Each one with the name "Terry-Berry" spelled differently on it. And Three, next to all the empty cups laid a single yellow sunflower with a pink ribbon tied around it. He picked it up to inspect it only to hear crunching sounds coming from the dining room. He looked in to see Yumyulack sitting at the table, eating cereal. His young clone looked up at him and swallowed. "Morning."
Holding the flower, he took a few steps forward to the Brat. "Why are there Starbucks cups all over the place? We have trash cans for a reason."
"Those aren't mine. Terry's been going to Starbucks non-stop for the past three days." He then pointed his spoon at him. "Careful with that flower. Jesse spent all day at the flower shop trying to find the "Perfect One." Letting out a small grumble. "I wasted a whole Saturday because she couldn't go there alone."
He stared at the flower in disgust. "Why? She knows I don't like these things in the house." What an awful way for Humans to treat plants and trees. Growing them only to have them pluck or cut out of soil and use as a useless display.
"It's not for her. She got it for Terry to give to that female at the Starbucks place. Apparently, girls like dead plants as gifts."
He nearly dropped the flower. "Say what now?"
Yumyulack snorted, nearly choking on his cereal. "Dude, I know you haven't been around because of your problems with Terry, but even you can't be that self-centered."
"I am not Self-centered and-" He blinked, dumbfounded by Yumyulack's words, "Problems…who said there's been problems with Terry."
"Do you keep forgetting we can hear you two when you guys fight and the fact the house has been awfully quiet without you blowing up on him daily."
"You and Jesse need to stop prying in our business." He snapped, pointing his finger at the Brat. "And for your information, I know about the Coffee Girl! So shoved that down your fucking throat!"
Yumyulack gave him a smug look before taking another bite of his food. On the table, a few happy pink gooblers begin to appear on the table, singing and dancing and he quickly covered the top of his head to prevent himself from creating more. Yumyulack laughed, "I was right, it does bother you that Terry is paying attention to someone else. Jesse owes me twenty dollars now."
"What in the world gives you that idea? I'm not bothered by Terry's latest Fling. Once he gets what he wants, she'll be leftover trash just like the rest." He said, tossing the flower on the table in disgust. The nerve of his little Clone. He can't recall ever being this demeaning.
"Ha, you just called yourself Leftover Trash." Yumyulack pointed out only to flinch when he approached him with a tight fist. Readying himself to smack that smirk off the younger Shlorpian's face. "Hey, Hey, wait, don't get mad at me because you're so clueless."
He lowered his fist before raising a brow, "Clueless?"
Yumyulack rolled his eyes, "He's been talking and having lunch with this girl for weeks now. Constantly going over there every single day just to get a glimpse of her. Among other things only Jesse would know since she goes there with Terry and watches them interact. According to her, there's a lot of flirty and mushy PDA stuff."
His mouth twitched. "PDA stuff?"
"Oh yeah, and Jesse actually sent me a picture of her. You're totally fucked, man. There's no way Terry would give up a "Smokeshow'' like that for an Asshole like you." Yumyulack said, while flicking some of the Gooblers off the table for the Pupa to eat.
The Pupa crawled over to him with a big smile. "Smokeshow!" It shouted before grabbing another goobler.
He crossed his arms, offended, but didn't want to give his clone the satisfaction, and looked around to make sure Terry or Jesse weren't coming by any time soon. He can't believe he was about to stoop so low to get information out of Yumyulack. "Where is Jesse and Terry anyway?"
"In our room, Terry wants to ask the Coffee Girl out on a real date, you know like in those Rom-Com movies and Jesse is helping him get ready. It was getting a little too "Girly" so I came down here to eat."
"I see." He said, feeling that sharp pang in his chest again. His eyes shifted from the table to the Pupa on the floor to Yumyulack, who was waiting for him to say something else. "So…you have a picture of this…human?" He asked.
Yumyulack smirked before holding out his hand. "Fifty bucks and I'll send it to you. A hundred, if you want the One of her giving Terry a small kiss on the cheek."
He gritted his teeth, of course he would try to get money out of it. "You little piece of shit…" He growled and was about to steal the young one's phone when he heard footsteps coming towards them. Oh shit, he needed to put the dead plant back in the kitchen before Terry or Jesse figure out he touched it. He picked it up and couldn't help, but look at it. Did humans really see something so simple like this as a gift?
"So about that money?" Yumyulack asked, while pushing his empty cereal bowl away from him.
He suddenly heard Jesse, "I don't know why you're scared, just be yourself, and for crying out loud, try not to run into things at the shop. The other Coffee people are getting tired of cleaning up after you."
"I'm fine and I'm not nervous…ok, maybe a little…what if she thinks all the texting and coffee lunch breaks at her work are just friends hanging out. I mean, I do the same shit with my other human friends!"
Now they were in the kitchen, hearing their shoes click on the tile floor. From the sound of it, Terry was pacing back and forth and could now see gooblers dancing their way into the dining room. Damn, Terry was never this nervous when it came to picking up humans…that right there filled his head with confusing dread. The Pupa was already rushing over to the kitchen to feast on them with glee. He heard Jesse speak. "Oh Terry, pull yourself together and breathe. It's easy, just go over there, give her the flower and ask her to dinner or a movie or wherever, just somewhere different than Starbucks."
"You're right…simple…so simple even someone like me can-ah fuck! Where's the flower, I left it right here in the kitchen!"
"Korvo has it! He's hiding in the dining room like a nosey little bitch!" Yumyulack shouted.
He shoved Yumyulack off the chair causing his clone's head to hit the table's leg before crashing to the floor. At that moment, Terry and Jesse peeked in to see him glaring down at Yumyulack while holding the dead plant in his hand. He paused when he saw Terry, dressed in a blue button shirt with black slacks and dressy shoes. The room was suddenly filled with a light scent of human's perfume Jesse would put on, but it was coming from Terry instead. A nice scent of cinnamon and apples. It's been so long since he's seen Terry clean and…mature looking.
"Yummers, what are you doing on the floor?" Jesse asked, squatting down to look under the table to make sure her brother was ok.
Before he could explain himself, Terry plucked the plant out of his hand, feeling the end of their fingertips touch for a second, before watching him running out of the room. "No time to ask why you were holding the flower, Korvo, I gotta go, bye!"
And just like that, Terry was gone before he could spit out one word to him. Jesse was too busy clapping her hands and cheering, "Good luck, Terry! We're rooting for you."
Yumyulack sat back into his chair, "I really don't care, so I'm not."
"Ok, well me and Korvo are rooting for him." Jesse smiled.
"Nope, Korvo is about to crack and might do something crazy. You owe me twenty dollars, Jesse." Her Brother snitched and Yumyulack wonders why nobody likes being around him.
Before he could defend himself, Jesse turned around with this flabbergasted look. "Oh crap, Korvo, I thought you didn't like Terry that way?"
"What the hell are you talking about? Why are you even listening to a pathological liar like Yumyulack anyway?" He asked, getting annoyed.
"You do know we can hear you two when you guys fight, right and Terry told me about you turning him down a month ago."
"Why the hell is he telling you our business, you're too young for that type of stuff." He argued.
"Well, where else is he going to vent? You're not exactly an easy guy to talk to. You were too busy fixing in the ship to notice Terry moping around the house for days. I couldn't get him to do anything, not even eat or bathe. I'm just glad he finally snapped out of it and went to Starbucks or else he would have never-"
"Yeah, Yeah, yeah, the mysterious Coffee Girl, I'm hearing about. Who cares?"
"He was asking about her, Jesse, even going as far as bribing me for her pictures." Yumyulack teased.
"Oh man, Yummers, Terry will be mad if he finds out you're selling her pictures to people for money, especially to Korvo."
That struck a nerve. "What? What do you mean, "Especially me?"
Jesse smiled nervously. "Well, Terry had a bad feeling so he made us promise not to tell you about her till he's ready."
"Bad feeling? I'm a "bad feeling," what the fuck does that even mean! Why would I care who he's seeing?" He lied because he was curious and that ugly feeling of being replaced was upsetting him.
"He really, really likes this human and knows you're going to have a strong…opinion about it." Jesse said, trying to word her sentence as gently as she can.
"Plus, you tend to act crazy whenever Terry is not paying attention to you, duh." Yummers said, deadpan. "Remember when you and I banned dinner parties because you didn't like him spending more time with those stuck-up snobs?"
"Also that time you got offended when he told you he was going to move to San Francisco and open up a Taco Stand." Jesse added.
"And-" Yumyulack pointed out only to get interrupted.
"Both of you, shut up!" He shouted, while covering his hearing and so desperately wanted to go back to the ship for some peace and quiet. "He doesn't want me to see this female, he really thinks I'm going to go though some jealous rage and ruin things for him, well, fuck him, I'm the Team's Leader so I have the right to see what Bag of Flesh Terry is trying to get with, so Jesse let me see your phone. Yumyulack told me you have a picture of her" He demanded.
Jesse frowned, "Don't do this, Korvo. You made it clear you don't love Terry so why are you upset that he's seeing someone else. That's selfish."
"I can be selfish if I want. God knows Terry has done it so many times to me." He argued, though most of Terry's selfishness came from doing nothing instead of helping him with the ship repairs, looking after the replicants and dividing household chores. He lost count how many injuries he got because Terry couldn't stay on task due to boredom.
Jesse sighed and pulled out her phone. "So much for Terry's happiness and I really like "Terry" too, she thinks I'm cute and gives me free Cake Pops." She said, handing him her phone.
He tilted his head from Jesse's statement. "Terry gives you free Cake Pops? Is he stealing them from that coffee place?"
Jesse shook her head. "Not our Terry, the one Terry's been seeing."
He suddenly heard a record scratch loud in his head and dropped the phone to the floor "Wait…the human is also named Terry?"
Jesse nodded, "It's just spelled differently."
Like some eerie scene from those "Twilight Zone" episodes Terry would make him watch, he felt cold. "With an I?"
Jesse's eyes grew big and she smiled, "Wow, good guess. In fact that was the main reason he was so drawn to her in the first place"
Yumyulack cringed, "Terry is going out with a human name Terri…does anyone else find that fucking creepy?"
Jesse chuckled, "Wait, he never told you two her name? That's funny."
Funny maybe…disturbing would be a better word to use, he thought. Terry found someone that shared the same stupid name like his former Lifemate from Homeworld? He never told the replicants about that powdery pink Shlorpian, so it's no wonder Jesse was left in the dark about the creepy name. Was that the reason Terry didn't want to talk about her to him among other things? "Sooo…the first time he saw her, that was the reason he freaked out because of the name?"
Jesse nodded, "That and when we were talking he looked away and whispered "She looks so much like her." to himself."...
MQB: That's all for now Dear Readers. Stay Tune for chapter two. Till then feel free to leave a review, you know I love feedback. Peace.