Deep in the City, the Horned and the Pink.

[Zatten Black]

I looked at Kadrak blankly, still smiling. Couples therapy, huh? That almost sounded entertaining.

"I remember us being stuck on an island for most of a day and a half... Gotta admit I was probably drunk while you were with the therapist, though."

I grinned wider, and had a thought...

"You trying to say you want another guy to talk about what's wrong with us both, while we drink ourselves into oblivion?"

I stretched my lower lip and chin up, and nodded.

"Sounds fun. Maybe we should get ourselves lost on that island again..."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

(As soon as the room stops spinning, I'll be posting threads on almost all my alts )

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

So it was the little vacation she'd had in mind when he first brought it up. It had been an interesting trip, and now he wanted to go on it again. Kadrak definitely couldn't object, all things considered. It would be quite the days to remember, if either of them stayed sober enough to do so. Which, at least in his case, was highly unlikely. "As long as no one gets hurt too badly, I can't say no to another trip to that island. It was quite the, hmm, adventure the last time, if I remember correctly, or remember anything at all. That was one of the few times you actually managed to get me drunk, I think."
The idea of the both of them in a therapist's office only earned another grin from her. "He seemed interested in the idea, too. Even after I assured him that no matter if he thought he'd seen everything, you would still manage to surprise him. So, in my defense, no matter what might happen, I did warn him. Now all that's left to do is set up a time that works for the both of us. Which reminds me, he did bring up that your name had been mentioned among a few of his other female patients. Not that it surprised me."

[member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I smiled again, and then realized that the elevator was actually stopped. Oh well.

"I wouldn't say it was much of an adventure... We just ate small animals and slept on a beach."

Raising an eyebrow, I hit the button on the elevator again, so that it kept going up.

"I wonder if that's true. I might frighten the sh*t out of the poor guy, or he might be totally calm through the whole meeting. I also wonder what context he's heard my name in. Awe? Envy? Hatred? A combination of the three?"

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

"Nothing new for us, then. I was never much of a hunter before then, though, unless you count scavenging for spare parts should I need them. In which case, yes, quite the hunter." Kadrak smiled and shrugged. "It wouldn't have been the same without you there, I don't think. And nobody got hurt too badly, from what I recall. So all in all, not a bad few days for us."

All she could do was laugh quietly at his last comment. "All three and more, I'm sure. But all I had were words of praise, don't worry. However, he did seem concerned about substance abuse in our relationship once I mentioned the fact that you were probably at the nearest bar somewhere in our talk. And then he got into the scenarios that we may have gotten into, which I assured him were as much my doing as yours. Unfortunately, I don't think he was quite convinced. He'll have his work cut out for him, I think."

With another smile she thought for a moment. "He also said something about being interested in seeing how you'd behave in a therapy environment. Which I'm still not quite sure about myself."

[member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I raised both my eyebrows jokingly, and tilted my head as if deep in thought.

"Substance abuse? But... but I'm never mean to my drinks. They have perfectly good lives before I consume them. And then they have friends in my belly. My substances are not abused at all."

Now I looked at Kadrak seriously, and hugged her again.

"If you really wanted me to stop drinking, you could ask. I probably would if you did. But then, I don't think I'd be as much fun."

I replaced the now-falling blanket back around us, and the elevator dinged to tell me that we were up at the floor with the kitchen. I looked at Kadrak, and smiled.

"You mean, the good doctor would like to watch me sit there and stare at him like some kind of weird animal? Sounds fun."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

A laugh bubbled past her lips at his first comment, however sarcastic it might have been. His sense of humor was one of the many things she enjoyed about him, beyond just his company as a whole. "I know perfectly well how kind and careful you are with each and every one of your drinks, don't worry. I'm present for most all of them, whenever we go out together. And I'm sure they enjoy their time with their friends. Since they never seem to succeed in giving you a hangover or anything of the sort, they have to settle for that."

All she could do was shrug at his more serious statement. "It really doesn't bother me. If it did, you'd have known a long time ago, and this probably wouldn't have progressed as far as it had. But I could and can tell that it doesn't cause any problems, and I can't see it doing so in the future. But he still told me to keep an eye out. And supervising you I definitely don't mind, especially since the view is so stunning." Kadrak flashed a grin and winked, looking him up and down with a coy smile.

"Well, apparently he's heard enough of you to pique his interest. Which only makes me wonder what it is he finds so very enrapturing. Despite your ever so obvious good looks, of course." She nudged him playfully and pressed a kiss to his jaw, which was all she could reach without having to stand up on her tiptoes. "I think it would be amusing, if not worthwhile, myself. But it's really up to you."

[member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I laughed, and bent a bit to kiss Kadrak on the nose. Returning the smile, I squeezed her hand.

"You never have to be without your 'stunning view' as you put it. You can, um, supervise me whenever you want."

Winking, I pulled her with me into the hall, towards the kitchen.

"My looks, however good they are, are probably not enough reason for the doctor. He may have heard something really bad, depending on who he talked to."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Another shrug. "It just sounds like it was an ex here and there, but he did assure me that he's heard plenty about you. What exactly he didn't say, something about patient confidentiality and all that. If you really wanted to know, and if I was decent at all when it comes to slicing, we might be able to figure out if your Falleen high school fling that came in." She grinned. "He was also careful to warn me about any potential 'uncomfortable situations' that you might have been forcing me into, but I did tell him that the only situations similar to that were just making everyone else uncomfortable, not us."

Kadrak smiled and scrunched her nose up at his kiss, doing her best to return it but only ending up kissing his cheek. "You'd better be careful what you promise me, because I intend to take advantage of each and every one. Maybe not all at once, and probably when you least expect it, but it'll get done, that I can promise you." With a wink she sidled closer to him as they walked, pausing thoughtfully as if she really had to think about things. "In fact, we might have to see about another blanket fort before we land on Coruscant."

[member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I looked at Kadrak in mock horror, and squeezed her hand again.

"Oh no! You're gonna take advantage of opportunities for snuggling. How horrible of you."

I raised her hand to my cheek, and kissed it.

"Kadrak, Princess of the Blanket Forts."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

"I'm going to take that as meaning you're okay with the couple's therapy." At the feeling of his lips on her hand she laughed quietly and let her lips graze along his neck, making the action seem almost accidental. "I'll have to let the good doctor know that you've agreed to things. I'm sure he'll be absolutely enthusiastic about it. Besides, it gives us an excuse to see exactly what might be wrong with us, and probably is, while having some fun in the process. I did fail to warn him about the more specific facets of our relationship that might surprise him." Kadrak winked.

"I try to take advantage of every situation I can that allows me to be in any way close to you without causing harm to us or others. If it just so happens to be on our way to Coruscant for some most likely later unmentionable illegal activities, then so be it. But I didn't think you'd be so against the fact. If you'd like, I could rethink things..." The chances of her actually doing so, however, were slim to none. Her tenacity was something she prided herself on, and it wasn't something that ever really relented. "On second thought, I take that back. I don't think I will."

She mused over the title he'd given her for a moment. "I don't mind that, I don't think. But only on the one condition that you agree to be my prince. Otherwise, it's all out of the question."

[member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Doctor Zendu]

Suddenly, there was a pinging on Kadrak's Datapad, and when the Zabrak glanced down at it she would see that she was receiving an automated Holo message. The name of the sender flashed up on the screen, Doctor Zendu, Xenopsychiatrist. The doctor liked to leave his patients personal messages, so this one would be tailored to Kadrak.

When she answered the call, a tiny blue Holo of the doctor, a tall, thin man, with slightly hunched posture and horn-rimmed glasses, flickered to life before the two of them. The blue Holo looked at them with his tight-lipped concerned smile, clutching her patient file to his chest.

"Hello, Kadrak, this is Doctor Zendu your therapist." At his introduction, he gave a big toothy grin. "This is merely a courtesy call to remind you of our next session here at my skytower on Belasco. I hope that you've given more thought to our discussion about bringing along Zatten Black for a session of couples therapy. As we discussed before, I feel that it might be interesting to talk about how you both can avoid power struggles and communication problems." Here he cleared his throat before he continued. "In addition, other topics we could explore are bedroom satisfaction and even infidelity. I'd like you to note, that I have a success rate of about fifty percent when it comes to treating couples in my care. If you're a glass-half full type, that's actually quite good. I hope to see you soon, Kadrak. Please be punctual."

Then the message ended.

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I looked at the little holo-man, and almost laughed. Actually, I did laugh. Hard.

"That guy is tiny. Not even short-tiny... Like, I've seen twigs that looked better built than him. Poor doctor. That grin made me twitch, though."

My grin widened when I turned back to Kadrak, and rubbed my fingers over her hand.

"Anyway, you thought I'd let this little stick-bug of a doctor be the prince? Or maybe little ol' Cryax? Hell no. I'm your prince in this castle, love."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Although Kadrak hadn't expected much of a different reaction from Zatten once he got a mere glimpse of the doctor, she was thankful it had occurred outside of the off the office, if only to free the man from his probable embarrassment at the Zeltrochiss' reaction. Their hour spent in the office would certainly be an interesting one, if not a learning experience for the psychiatrist. She just hoped that he knew exactly what a session with Zatten and her together would entail.

Stretching up on her toes she kissed his cheek with a smile. "And I wouldn't want it any other way. Unfortunately for them, I only want you as my prince. They'll have to figure things out for themselves." Studying their surroundings for a moment, she noticed that they'd finally arrived at their intended destination, the kitchen, and she squeezed Zatten's hand gently. "Believe it or not, I think we've finally managed to make it to the kitchen. Shocking, I know. Would you rather I make you something, or did you want to try your hand at things?"

With another smile she squeezed his hand again. "I'll have to see about setting up that session with him, then. Since you seem so interested."

[member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

At Kadrak's statement, I smiled gently and kissed her on the nose again, letting go of her hand as I did. I waved a hand at a cabinet, looking for a pan, or at least the pancake batter, so I could make waffles or something. Finally, I found the batter, and managed to warm up my waffle iron, so in a couple of minutes we'd have something to eat. The machine would stop itself, so all I did was steal my lovely mechanic off her chair and onto my lap again.

"Well, that's me trying my hand at things. Should taste alright."

I leaned down to kiss Kadrak's neck, and grinned wolfishly.

"If I don't eat you up first, my blanket princess."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Zatten Black]

((Just figured I should do this, since I had to go back a whole bunch of pages to find this one [member='Kadrak Jalaan']))

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Only grinning in response to the feeling of his lips on her neck, Kadrak returned the favor, though on his lips instead. "Hmm, that doesn't sound like a bad idea either. We're awfully far from any blankets, so I don't know about that idea. You might have to persuade me a bit." She smiled and kissed him again, sliding her fingers through his and giving his hand a gentle squeeze. It was nice, when they were able to just spend time together, instead of having to worry about their next move. Wandering the galaxy was an activity she didn't mind, with this kind of company to occupy her.

"You know, my blanket prince, we might have to postpone the breakfast if you keep this up. It's a bit hard to eat when you're preoccupied with other activities." Her grin was almost a mimic of his own, and she rested her head on his chest, content to let time pass unchallenged.

"Do you have more friends on Coruscant that we'll have to worry about? Don't want you to have to go through alcohol poisoning again, after all."

[member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I smiled more gently as Kadrak leaned her head onto my chest. Having my arms around her felt good, and I squeezed her hand as our fingers interlocked. She was so much smaller than me, but that didn't discount the strength she needed just to deal with me... And the fact that my orange skinned lover was so relaxed about it made me happy. But at the suggestion of postponing breakfast, I grinned again.

"I love you, Kadrak, but I'm hungry. I can persuade you as much as you like afterwards... But, you're wrong. I can eat waffles while you're hugging me."

I grimaced at the memory of that little incident in the Dragon Palace.

"Don't worry, the only thing that'll want to kill us here are the legions of Sith that live here. No big deal."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]