Around noon, Nepeta dragged her army-grade duffel bag to the hummer, trying to open the door before realizing it was locked. She hopped and knocked impatiently on the window until either Equius or Aradia; she was uncertain of which, unlocked the door. She threw her bag in first before jumping up as well.
"Why were the doors locked?" Nepeta whined.
"Such is the expectation one must have when getting into a car already ignited." Equius looked back over his shoulder.
Aradia turned in her seat, grinning at Nepeta, "Have fun staying with Terezi?"
Nepeta nodded and pulled hand-sewn plush green dragon from her duffel and pressed it to Aradia's nose, "Beep! She's teaching me to make these! Look! Not bad for a novice, right?"
"This feels entirely too similar to retrieving a child from pre-school. Complete with obligatory art project," Equius said as he reversed the car from the parking space and began to drive, smirking quietly to himself.
Nepeta rolled her eyes and passed Aradia a cobalt blue dragon. "Bop him with this when we get to a stoplight. Oh! And here's yours!" she said, passing up a black dragon with a cranberry red belly.
Aradia squealed and accepted both, "How cute! Talk about a productive sleepover...how many did you guys make?"
"Just the three, but I'm gonna make one for Tavros and send it to him. Terezi gave me the pattern."
"Can you put wings on his?" Aradia asked, settling in her seat, flipping the vanity mirror so she could look at Nepeta in the back. She squished the blue dragon against Equius's shoulder as they reached a stop sign.
"Heck yeah!" Nepeta grinned, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.
Equius growled and batted the plush back with his right hand and knocked it back to Nepeta by accident.
"Hey!" Aradia exclaimed, but Nepeta just laughed and passed it back up over Aradia's shoulder. Aradia kissed the dragon's blue nose and hugged both to her chest, only half-listening as Nepeta chittered on in the back seat.
"...and I told her about the superhero party-you both are coming to that, by the way-and we worked on her hero alias and mine, and it's going to be so cool! I mean, we have, what? Four and a half months? That's plenty of time to make some really awesome costumes for all of us!"
Equius continued to drive, having no input or apparent interest, and so Nepeta continued, settling back as she continued to chitter, "And I was thinking I would dress you both up as large stuffed dragons and make you do battle on the fields of Albion and I don't think you are listening at all, so I am going to sit here and talk about fight club for a minute. I know you're not supposed to talk about fight club, but I'm a rebel. And five, very important, five: don't let me eat pears, I hate pears. John Smith is a character I made up, but I won't know that. I'll think I am him, and he might do something stupid like eat a pear. In three months, I don't want to wake up from being human and taste that. And six, I think I will probably go with a cat theme for my own costume but I might go with lions instead, what do you think?"
Equius rolled his eyes, arching a thick brow, "Nepeta, there is a difference between not listening and not having any proper input to give you on your extracurricular hobbies. Imagine if I attempted to have you extrapolate the inner workings of my laptop, do you think you would have insight upon that action?"
Aradia perked up, trying to seem like she had paid attention the whole time.
"Oh, you were listening! Yay!" Nepeta grinned, ignoring the question. "Anyway, I thought you might be a little distracted, what with Aradia in the front seat and all." She leaned forward, putting her head between their shoulders and grinning like a jack-o-lantern, "Speaking of which, does anyone want to explain why Aradia is in the truck right now?"
"As two consenting adults, we made use of my apartment while you made use of your friend's residence." Equius explained simply, tugging slightly at his collar.
Aradia cast him a giddy, satisfied glance, and Nepeta sat back, giggling madly. "That has got to be the most round-about way of putting it! Hee hee hee! Congratulations!"
"Roundabout way of what?" Equius snapped.
"Oh, only that I wasn't the ooonly one who had a slumber party!" Nepeta cooed, and Aradia turned to wink at her. Nepeta idly played with her green dragon, "Yep, nothing like sleep to make you feel relaxed! A nice, long, hard, sleep. Did you sleep well? You look like you slept really well."
Equius remained calm for the most part, simply tugging at his collar once again in a manner that he deemed subtle.
"I slept really well," Aradia agreed, giving Equius a flirty little grin.
Nepeta watched Aradia's eyes in the vanity mirror and made a pleased little noise, almost a purr. "Are you going to tuck him in tonight too?"
Equius hit the brakes a little too sharply in front of their dorm, clearing his throat with a flushed face.
Aradia mused quietly, "I don't think I can tonight." She looked over to Equius, a twinkle in her eye, "Would you like a tucking-in tomorrow night?"
Without answering the question asked, Equius got out of the parked car and opened the passenger door behind him to pull out Nepeta's bag, stalling to regain his composure. He cleared his throat once more and answered her question with as much restraint as he could muster, "Perhaps. Only if you are not tardy to your Monday classes as a result." He then walked towards the door to their dorm building.
Aradia bounded out and took his free hand, leaning against him as they walked, with Nepeta trailing behind making a barely-audible squeal.
As usual, Equius was allowed without any issue into the girls' dorm, escorting them back to their room, although Nepeta complained about his having to leave his ID despite having come over so many times before.
When they reached the girls' hallway, Nepeta bounded forward and unlocked the door, and Aradia pulled Equius down for a kiss. "Call me after class."
He returned the kiss briefly, made slightly uncomfortable with Nepeta nearby. As well as potentially several dozen girls on the floor of her dorm, any of whom might open their doors at any moment. Plus the dozens more on the other floors; potentially dozens of women who could be curious at the man in their midst! He pulled back stiffly and nodded, "I shall."
Nepeta pried her bag from his hand and dragged it into the room, and Aradia purred, "Think of me while you sleep alone tonight. I know I will be thinking of you."
The deliciously lewd thought made him grin Cheshire-wide and sweat anew from his forehead, "Good day to you, lamb."
She backed up towards her door, blowing him a kiss, before turning prettily on her heel and going inside.
Aradia leaned back against the closed bedroom door and sighed dreamily, as Nepeta sat on her bed and kicked her legs, grinning madly. When Aradia didn't come out of her little lovey-trance, Nepeta began to sing.
"Aradia and Equius, sittin' in a tree, consummating by missionary!"
Aradia stared dumbfounded at Nepeta before choking on her own laughter. "Nepeta!"
"Whaaaat?" the catgirl grinned, pulling her duffel onto her lap. She began to pull sewing materials out and spread them on the bed.
Aradia sat on her own bed and slipped off her coat, "You know what, and it wasn't missionary. Anyway, 'Eff Yew See Kay Eye Enn Gee' scans perfectly easily."
Nepeta shrugged as she pulled out a plastic bag of wadded-up scrap cloth. "I'm a rebel! Anyway, it's pretty obvious that's the same black sweater you wore yesterday."
"Yes, yes, I'll change," Aradia chuckled, walking to the dresser and pulling out some fresh clothes. "Obvious, huh?"
"Wellll," Nepeta started, spreading out cloth over her bed, "You're not just wearing the same clothes, you're also wearing the same makeup, which means whatever was left in your purse overnight, and you kind of smell like his deodorant instead of your body spray, plus your hair is a little damp still, which makes sense because he doesn't have a hair dryer-he doesn't believe in them, he's too afraid that adding heat will make his sweating worse…Plus you're walking like you're a little sore, kind of like you're sore. Like, not just like your legs are sore, but-"
"Okay, okay!" Aradia laughed, walking to the bathroom to change, suddenly aware of her posture and gait. She left the door ajar, wide enough to hear and be heard clearly, "I didn't realize you were such a detective!"
"Blame Terezi. We had a CSI Miami marathon while we were sewing these little guys, but she kept standing up and shouting 'OBJECTION' and feeding me jellybeans."
Aradia popped her head out of the bathroom, shoulders bare, bra in one hand and quizzical look on her face, and Nepeta explained further. "You know a drinking game? Like when this guy does this thing in the movie, you have to take a shot? We did that but with jelly beans. Detectives use cops instead of forensic examiners? OBJECTION and a jellybean. Forensics results come back in less than 24 hours? OBJECTION and bean. Technology gets used in ways that don't actually exist? OBJECTIONBEAN! Someone goes easy on a perp? OBJECTIONBEAN! Official polite protocol gets ignored basically? OBJECTIONBEAN! I have justice-laden diabetes now!" Nepeta mock-whined as she folded up and put some of the cloth away, "Hey, I've narrowed it down to these three for Tavros."
Aradia came out of the bathroom, pulling the towel hamper behind her, and looked over, "The caramel-tan one. Can you do the wings in orange?"
Nepeta snapped off a quick salute and put the other cloth away, beginning to jibber again, "And she has ALL the Ace Attorney series, though she likes Perfect Prosecutor best, and-"
Aradia held up a hand, "I want to hear this, I honestly do, but I have to get laundry started before work." She gestured to Nepeta's hamper, "You want me to throw your stuff in, too?"
Nepeta nodded in agreement and Aradia pulled her hamper along, nudging out of the door, "Keep the conversation warm for me, though, I'll be right back!"
A few moments passed in relative quiet, with Nepeta humming to herself as she pinned paper patterns to cloth, interrupted only by a gaudy chime coming from Aradia's purse. Nepeta jumped up and helped herself to Aradia's phone, scrolling through a lengthy text conversation.
hi! y0u d0nt kn0w me but i am a friend 0f s0llux and i am l00king f0r a ph0t0grapher
feferi sh0wed me s0me 0f y0ur w0rk and y0u are very g00d!
an here i thought that snaggletoothed misanthrope wwas makin it all up wwhen he made the scurrilous claim he had some fuckin friends
so id wwager youre either ara or some manner a hallucination in wwhich case i got to congratulate you on bein so damned convvincin
yes!
aradia megid0 at y0ur service!
wwords like that can cause a lot a trouble swweetheart
givvin a man dangerous ideas
so wwhat can i help you wwith
Nepeta didn't bother to look up when the door opened. "Oh, did Sollux respond?" Aradia asked, flopping down on her bed with a bounce, not the slightest bit angry about her privacy being invaded. After a point, adorable yet intrusive catgirls just become a part of life.
"Nah," Nepeta said, not looking up, "Who's Eridan?"
"Sollux's roommate bathroom sharing guy thing, but I'm pretty sure there's more going on than just a roommate situation." Nepeta's grinned brightly, and Aradia continued, pulling out her laptop, "And apparently he's a good photographer, so I'm going to check him out on two counts. Hey, tell me if Sollux messages, okay? We had a deal that when one of us got laid for the first time, there would be pancakes and gloating, and it's about time to cash in."
Nepeta shot a thumbs-up, resuming her reading.
i am l00king f0r a ph0t0grapher t0 take s0me p0rtraits f0r my b0yfriend
his birthday is t0wards the end 0f n0vember but i w0uld like t0 have this d0ne as s00n as p0ssible
for the sake a clarity are wwe discussin boudoir photography or something a little more fit for exhibition because thats goin to affect the terms a compensation
plain please i just want s0mething he can keep in his wallet and s0mething either t0 hang 0n a wall 0r set 0n a desk 0r p0ssibly b0th i havent decided yet
depending 0n what I can aff0rd y0u understand
if cost is the problem maybe wwe can wwork somethin out insofar as the aforementioned compensation is concerned
hear sol tell youre some manner a vvip down at reddings coffee
any chance you can make my favorite a part a the regular menu
call it the ampora
itll fuckin sell itself
s0rry n0 that is n0t within my p0wer but i can get y0u s0me baked g00ds 0n me
its a start
actually i got some ideas a my owwn includin a fresh hot latte wwhen you showw up for your shoot
also if youre wwillin to do a bit a extra modelin for an assignment a mine i think i can manage all the prints you wwant
thats all?
it s0unds t00 g00d t0 be true
d0 i have t0 sign in bl00d s0mewhere f0r this?
i aint about to go chargin wwhat you aint up for payin
just showw up in wwhatevver you wwant your beau seein you in that wwont get you arrested on the wway an i wwill take care a the rest
in fact i can evven manage your make up for you if you send me a headshot or somethin ahead a time so i can see wwhat im wworkin wwith
w00!
deal although i can handle my own makeup
when can we d0 this?
like I said his birthday is in a c0uple 0f weeks but the s00ner it is d0ne the s00ner i can st0p w0rrying
im busy this wweek but i can see if i can movve some things around an fit you in sometime friday
specially for a dame a such discernment an taste
though that makes your invvolvvement wwith sol just that much more suspect
i can manage friday at five 0r later
d0 i meet y0u at s0lluxs d0rm 0r what
nah i got a studio i use on harper street
i wwill email you the details wwhen i get back to my comp
"Did he send you these details?" Nepeta asked, tossing the phone back to Aradia, who clambered to catch it.
"Not yet. That whole conversation took like two days," Aradia pointed toward the phone, "I hope I get the details soon or he'll probably put me off again."
"He must be really busy!" Nepeta shrugged, as the text chime went off. She looked down and sang out, "Sollux! Do you want me to read it to you?"
"I wouldn't dream of making you halt your dragon progress any further," Aradia smirked, and made a small yelp as her phone came flying towards her bed, chucked by Nepeta.
She scrambled to catch it, and paraphrased, "Sollux can't make it today, or even the rest of the week. Friday looks good for him, though…looks like I'll be having a busy day!"
Nepeta snickered, snipping through cloth, "And I'm suuuuure that by then, you'll be able to manage the walk of shame a couple more times."
"Shame?" Aradia grinned, as she typed out a confirmation to Sollux, "That was no walk of shame, Nepeta, that was a strut."
A strut she hoped she would continue to make many, many more times.
