Shenanigans!

[phaselocknroll]

Comments

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He waves a hand -- well, in reality, it's more of a flop, what with the way his entire body feels so boneless. ]

Meh. I've had worse.

[ He feels along her hips, though, a little concerned. ] What about you? You okay?

[phaselocknroll]

A little tender, but I'll be fine.

Turnabout is fair play, after all.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He smirks. ]

Matching battle scars, I guess?

[phaselocknroll]

I guess so. [ she laughs a little, snuggling close to him ]

I also guess this is what happens when you buy me books.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He gives her a slightly startled look. ]

So I buy you books, and you hold me down against the bed and have your wicked way with me?

And you didn't inform me of this sooner, because...?

[phaselocknroll]

I had no idea that would happen any more than you did, okay?

[nostalgiabomb]

I should've bought you a stack of books sooner. All I'm sayin' is, we have a lot of lost time to make up for.

[phaselocknroll]

[ she gives an amused little chuckle ]

Well, read that book I gave you and maybe you'll be similarly rewarded.

[nostalgiabomb]

... Wait, seriously? Don't tease.

[phaselocknroll]

I'm not teasing at all.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He makes a face, somewhere between annoyed and resigned. ]

I'll try. Can I at least get something for trying?

[phaselocknroll]

I guuuuuess.

[ she says it rather playfully, and leans over to plant a few kisses along his neck ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He murmurs approvingly, a hand running lightly along her back, then he tries for a frown. ]

You're gonna turn me into a nerd. I've got an image to maintain, you know.

[phaselocknroll]

Hey, I happen to think reading is sexy, thank you very much.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He smirks and holds up a hand to count on his fingers-- ]

Oh, so that makes, like, you, that librarian on Xandar -- the lumpy one, not the hot one, -- and, like, my second grade teacher.

[phaselocknroll]

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that everyone else's opinions were worth more than mine.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ -- oh shit. ]

Well, I mean, they aren't. Of course they're not. But it's like, I have a reputation for being a badass who saved a planet and a galaxy, once, and badasses don't-- well, I mean, you do, because you're awesome, and--

[ He swallows. ]

I'm gonna just. Stop.

[phaselocknroll]

Yeah, this one's gonna come back to bite you.

And not the good kind of bite, either.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ In a small voice, ] I love you and think you're seriously awesome and please don't hit me?

[phaselocknroll]

[ She props herself up on an elbow and gives him a very long, very severe, appraising sort of look.

Aaand then she just laughs ]

God, you're acting like I'm asking you to cut your own arm off or something.

[nostalgiabomb]

No, I'm not!

[ Yes, he is.

But one of the side effects of being taken away from Earth as a child and being subsequently raised by adults whose idea of a well-rounded education was "Piloting 101," "Emotional, Digital, and Physical Manipulation," and "Advanced Marksmanship" meant that his reading skills weren't great. Good enough to get him through easy stuff (and his translation chip helped a lot), but things like novels and poetry went way over his head. ]

[phaselocknroll]

Yes you are.

Honestly and truly, what's the big deal?

[nostalgiabomb]

I'm just, you know, not big on reading, unless it starts with, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," and it's scrolling across a screen.

[phaselocknroll]

You'll really like Ready Player One. I promise. It's got lots of action and cool technology and tons of 1980's Earth pop culture references.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ ... Alright, that pretty much hits all his pings, and he sighs, almost as if in defeat.

If you asked him a year ago if he thought he'd be talking about books while lying naked in bed with the most gorgeous woman in the galaxy, he would've snorted his drink out of his nose [because you probably found him in a dive bar] and laughed in your face.

But here he is, and here they are, and now he has to struggle through a book, and she's gonna find out that he's a dumbass (well, moreso than she already thinks), and that's gonna be a total turn off for her, probably, because Maya's smart as hell; so she'll probably be seriously unimpressed when he doesn't recognize symbolism or "deeper themes" or whatever--

What he says instead is, ]

Yeah, that sounds pretty awesome.