Little Talks

[Danger Arceneau]

​

O R B I T A L S P A C E S T A T I O N
E L Y S I U M

The space station Elysium was an architectural marvel. With all the state of the art technology and resources at its disposal, it created a clean, streamlined, and efficient residential and commercial self sustaining space station the Galaxy above par of counterparts of its size.

With hydrophonic gardens, chic stores, with portions of it teraformed to create parks and gardens similar to those in any habitable planet. It was the best of both worlds, providing a luxury living experience to all of its residents.

Perhaps that was the reason why [member="Alric Kuhn"] and Danger Arceneau now wandered the residential suites of Elysium. Each suite had ample space, a testimony to the open area concept. At the far end of the room, the polarized solarium glasteel would provide not only an observation deck view, but also could be program to project any skyline image the resident may desire. In this instance, a cityscape had been programmed to be on display, giving it the illusion that the Elysium resident was actually on one of the coreworld planets. A simple press of the button would reveal the true visual of space and the Terra below.

They were both led by a representative of Elysium, who was giving them the entire tour. Walking into the suite, Danger would consider the large apartment suite, both brows arching as the informative chatter of Miz Olis continued to float around them both.

It had taken her a little bit longer to have a full clean bill of health, but for the most part, her half of the 'deal' they had made was done. To her relief, it was situation normal through all of it. She had even begun to believe that perhaps this was all salvageable. Alric would get his apartment, he would continue his path of grieving, and then perhaps find peace. Even with everything, she still wanted the best for him. Maybe with acceptance, he would finally move on, and in that, she too would gather what manner of pride she had left and leave it at that. He had once helped her with her grief, she could do the same for him.

At least, this was her method of trying to make sense of things. Explain matters. Justify actions. Protect herself.

She wore a simple off white dress, the modest collar keeping the new Aspha scars over her shoulder hidden from view. Anyone that would see her now, with the soft waves of auburn hair sweeping over her shoulders and back, with a faint cordial smile on her face at Mister Olis, wouldn't believe that she'd been bedridden. But for those who would know her, watch her with a critical eye, they'd note she was a shade paler, and every now and then, she would flex her right hand, where her formally broken fingers still gave ghost pains from time to time.

Coming to a slow halt in the middle of the living room, Danger would quietly appraise the suite...

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric stood beside the odd window, his hand reaching over and tapping the small button.

The false image quickly dropped away, becoming something entirely different. It was a scene of space, of the skyhook's view of the planet below. Startling really, though in the distance one could see the systems Sun, brightly shinning into the room. Alric blinked a few times, then once again tapped the button in order to replace the image that had been there before.

This place would do. It was close enough to Byblos, but far enough to be an escape. He doubted that he would be here much, or at least that he would need to be, but at least it would be somewhere safe to return to if something got to him. He frowned slightly then turned back towards the center of the room where the realtor stood.

"I'll take it." Alric said quietly.

"Oh Good. This unit is-"

Alric interrupted her, his voice warm. "No. I mean the entire thing."

Alric was rich, probably one of the richest men in the galaxy. His company was growing and he was always looking for a way to expand it. This skyhook was located in a place that would make a neat little communications hub for Vanir. He might as well push his own agenda if he were going to get a home.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger would immediately swivel her upper torso towards Alric, both brows arching high at the sudden decision to buy the entire skyhook. Then again... This is Alric.

The Trade Queen would shine a ghost of a smile over to the realtor, who had this rather baffled expression on her face as if the offer made was perhaps in jest. Or did she simply hear wrong.

"I beg your pardon, Mister Kuhn," she began carefully - one didn't want to insult a prospective buyer. "But did you say... all of it?" Elysium wasn't just one suite. It held over thousands of suites, some of them as luxurious as this penthouse model, others a bit more modest. This wasn't even including the gardens, the retail stores, hangars, commercial property...even the amphitheatre. Elysium was created to be a utopian residence for those who could afford it.

Not to mention, the investors may not even consider the offer valid..

Danger knew Alric would have his way one way or another, so she left him to discuss the details with the realtor. Likely he would state exactly what he was willing to offer for the orbital skyhook station, and she was sure that Miz Olis would then promptly excuse herself while she went up to relay the former Titan's message.

Her heels would echo lightly across the highly polished floor, moving towards the den. It even had a library, with floor to wall bodywood bookshelves stained a dark mahogany hue. There was a small console by the wall. Touching it brought up the control panel. Gently tapping the commands, she would amuse herself as the bookshelves would smoothly side back and then rotate around to reveal in its stead, an expansive holographic screen with a 360° view.

"...will you look at that.."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Yes." He said calmly. "The entire Skyhook."

That would likely become costly, but Alric saw it as an investment more than anything else. Really it was quite simple, Alric wanted this, and so he would have it. His personal wealth not withstanding he could more than easily tap into the funds represented by Vanir Technologies, and since this skyhook would eventually turn into something for the company, such a thing was more than worthwhile.

"I assure you my offer is entirely serious. Contact the owners, I'll pay any fair price that they offer, above market value of course." He wasn't insane enough to over pay, but he'd pay enough that not selling would be a very foolish thing to do. The woman stuttered slightly, then nodded and walked away.

She assumed that the owners would need to be contacted. This place was a new, but he doubted that anyone was expecting the whole place to be purchased on a whim. Alric simply had a flare for the dramatic, and although he could have gone through the proper channels, that would have been far less fun.

With another smile, he trailed off and away from the center of the apartment, wandering to find Danger.

The offer would take some time to go through, though Alric already knew this place was his. It was time for something else.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

A bit more investigation would reveal that the holographic screen was solid state technology. Danger went ambling in a slow walk to the middle of the large circular library. One would be able to simply tap and direct the customization of the holographic screen. One could pull up the holonet, holo communications, various documents, music, film -- the sky was the limit and with as many screens as one would like. It even had the capability to switch to any environment screen much like the observation viewport in the living room.

Extending her hand out towards the holographic screen, Danger began to tap out commands, sliding screens with the touch of her finger, adjusting them as she'd desire. A small search would allow her to change the screen, and just as Alric would find the wayward woman, the entire 360° view changed to reveal the image of a setting sun against desert cliffs.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He stayed silent for a moment. The past week or so with Danger had been easy, it had been simple. They had mostly ignored what they both knew, had mostly completely disregarded the Krayt Dragon in the room. It had been a conscious decision for Alric, and act of contrition in order to help Danger recover.

A part of him wanted to keep going with that.

It would have been easier. It would have been far more simple, but he knew that it would be a lie.

He was old. Some might have said he had many years left, and they were probably right, but a piece of him knew that his age had begun to grind down on him. His body was beginning to hurt, his bones began to ache, and the old scars that ravaged his body itched a whole lot more than they used to. Alric knew that he was too old for regrets, too old to ignore things that he could directly address.

"Beautiful." He finally said as he came up behind Danger, his eyes falling on her alone.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Mmm," Danger would say in agreement, her eyes focusing on the image. "It's Damina, this is Neteri lake with Mvnera Canyons flanking it to the north and west." she would explain, assuming he meant the image.

"Reckon anyone can upload live images, or holovideos on loop." she gave a slight frown, giving a light tap of the screen to investigate further. That's when the sound file that came with that respective image filled the room with its surround sound. The corner of her mouth would quirk in mild amazement, amused as the experience would rival the most state of the art holographic venue.

"...They went all out with this." she'd comment, not quite turning back towards him. Her sliding finger went running lightly across the screen, getting mild enjoyment at discovering what else was available. It wasn't to say she didn't feel him come up behind her. She did, but it was about keeping things light between them. Casual conversation. She had done it for years and had perfected it. It allowed them to keep a precious balance.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He didn't say anything.

Sure the apartment was nice, heck the entire skyhook was pristine. That was part of why Alric wanted it. He would very likely gut it, remove half of the residential pieces and add on things that Vanir Technologies would need, but it would stay for the same purpose. The Skyhook would still be a representation of paradise, nothing less.

"I'm sure the new owner will be pleased." Alric finally answered. He was, in a way, though that was unfortunately about to change.

Slowly the Tetan moved through the room, glancing at the screens but really only paying half attention to them. Instead he maneuvered his way to stand beside Danger. He lingered there for a moment.

How was he going to start this? What was he going to say? It was odd. The two of them had never had a problem talking, but this...this was new even for them. It was a revelation that Danger would rather have kept secret, and it was a revelation that perhaps Alric should never have known about. Yet now he did, and he knew that he could not leave it untouched.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]


"Mmm... I'm sure," she'd say dryly, seeing him come to stand beside her through her peripheral. Another tap of the screen and hold would allow Danger to actually move the image perspective and pan out and in. Now that was nifty. Granted, the interest on the screen was really to keep her focus off of Alric. Yet even then, she could not miss the slight tension in his body, the edge of hesitation. Alric was a being that would speak with his entire body, even if not a single word was left unsaid. The depth of his emotional state, what he thought. Truth be told, were it not for his ability to rein himself in at critical moments, a Lorrdian would likely have a field day with the former Titan's body language.

So the way that he would lightly rock on his feet made her stomach begin to flutter in growing apprehension. So she went for the next best thing.

More redirecting.

"The agreement was for an apartment," she'd remind him wryly, drawing a focus to the fact that Alric had just shocked the realtor by offering to buy Elysium as a whole.

"Not the entire station." she'd continue, finally casting her verdant gaze up at the bearded man. She gave a half turn clockwise, intending to take the few steps past him to continue her tour.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

For a moment he stood still, then he reached out and grasped her.

It was a soft touch, barely a hold, not much more than an act to keep her from moving away really. He didn't think he needed to explain himself, he didn't think she'd even wonder why he stopped her. Danger would know. She would know what was on his mind, why he stopped her and why he had the look on his face that he now did.

They had time. The realtor would take time to negotiate the purchase of the station, probably at least an hour or two, maybe more. She would have to contact all the owners of the station and make sure the price was agreed on by all of them. Idiotic really, but he knew very well how much time and effort it would all take.

That meant they had plenty of time.

"Danger." Alric said her name with little to no apprehension. "I'm not going to avoid it for the rest of our lives."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

And with those words, her stomach sank.

He caught her by the wrist, his grasp just enough to catch her attention, to keep her in place. At this distance, with her in his grasp, there was no avoiding the deep blue of his eyes, the somber but determined expression that told a tale that Danger was not inclined to linger for.

Her heart would flutter on her throat, and just by the hike of her breath, he'd know that the first stirrings of panic were rising in her. The tip of her tongue went to wet her lips, but her mouth still felt dry. What thoughts lay behind her green eyes were impossible to discern, so when she gave him a weak smile, it would certainly be disconcerting.

Misleading.

"It is water under the bridge, Alric..."

Please leave it there, is what went unsaid.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Is it?" He said quietly.

Alric's lips thinned, his expression telling that he was far from done with this.

He had given her a week. More than that actually, time to let her recover, to get better. Now it was time to talk. It was time to break open that shell that she had wrapped around herself. He was angry, he was mad, there wasn't any other word for it. He was mad at himself, at her, at everything. The past was the past, but it was never really forgotten, it couldn't be.

She might have ignored it, but for the past week this had been all that he thought about.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

His stare was unyielding, the muscle of his jaw flexing.

Danger couldn't help but take a step back under his scrutiny. Not when he was like this. For once, his gaze was penetrating, and in the ocean of his eyes she could see the growing tempest brewing.

He wasn't going to avoid it any longer.

That scared her. It chilled her to the bone. It made her feel exposed. Raw. Naked. Her fears and secrets at his feet for his regard, intimate details that she had kept hidden from him for so long. The wearying and often times exhausting energy it took to be all smiles and simply a best friend. To play her role.

The years had matured Alric Kuhn; he was no longer self absorbed. He was no longer driven by selfishness. He had loved and lost, he had lived a life and raised a family. He had grieved. He had searched for answers, found them and now, with eyes that had their filters removed, could not ignore that which was in front of him.

It frightened her.

There was the subtlest of trembles that ran down her hand, her traitorous fingers revealing the slight shake that she had to curl them into a fist.

The weak smile would vanish, and in its place her lips drew thin.

"It won't make any difference now, Alric," came her low rasp, a hush as she attempted to pull her gaze from his own.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He only looked at her. His stare was flat, his gaze was even. It was as if he was trying to look through her expression, through her emotions, dig into the very core of her. He had not often looked at her this way, had not often looked at anyone this way. It was something that came with age, experience. It was a scrutinizing look that one gave when they were unsure, when they were searching.

Alric was searching hard.

He wanted to know, he needed to know. "Why?"

It was a single word, but it was so strong. It dug to the core of the reasoning behind Danger, of her thoughts and her motives.

A part of him already knew, a part of him already understood. He had known Danger for so long, been so close to her. He knew her past, what had happened, he knew everything, everything but the thing that had mattered the most.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

No one would ever see the the Queen of Trade like this.

She had made such careful preparations, ensured every action and interaction was played perfectly, used her experience throughout the years to portray the image of a confident, intelligent, and ambitious woman. Her seemingly innate sensuality, her looks, her mannerisms of the perfect hostess were mere traits she'd learned from the Companions and from her mother.

What lay deeper than that was a different image all together, and having Alric chip through to the core of her was revealing the self conscious woman who was terrified of being cast aside, of rejection. Of losing what little she had left that she held dear. And Alric had managed to slip past her defenses and settle himself down first as her friend. Then, before she knew it, had turned into the man she'd loved. A man she knew the most intimate of secrets, his fears, his torments, as well as the same need for family as she had.

It was a status quo that could not be broken. A delicate balance each had their roles to play.

She found her lower lip trembling and her teeth bit down on it to halt its shake. Slowly her vision began to blur, but she was struggling to gather her bearings. It was just so hard to do so when she could feel his scrutiny upon her.

So she fought back, asking a question for a question.

"Why does it matter so much to you now?"

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

His eyes dropped, as though he were half disappointed in the question.

Alric had already answered that. It had been in the heat of the moment, it had been screamed, yelled in her face. She knew the answer, and it was one that brought him untold amounts of shame. Perhaps it was right to, perhaps he should have felt that way, but it wasn't a good feeling. Slowly he cast his gaze towards her won again, meeting her stare for stare, bright blue clashing with verdant green.

"It's always mattered." His words had a bite to them, but he wasn't yelling. "It would have mattered back then, it matters now, and It'll matter in any future that we have together."

As friends, as more, as less.

It would always matter.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]


"And then what, Alric?" she took a shuddering breath, watching him through the thin film on her eyes. Fine, if he wanted this all out. Fine.

"What would have happened? Tell me." she was getting her bearings back; anger had a way of doing that. Blinking away the shimmer across her eyes, she would lift her chin, as if daring him to answer.

"What would you have done, knowin' what we had back then?" she was now the one searching his expression, knowing just how far his fear of commitment, of being tied to another scared him in the wake of his sisters deaths. They had no commitments. No expectations. Perhaps, at the base of it, the innate desire to connect with another person.

There was a reason they had clung to each other, because they had been all each other had.

"Don't you see? " she gave a half choked laugh, because she knew back then in his eyes, all she had been was his best friend. Confidant. Yes, she loved him, but to push that further when he didn't feel the same... "We wouldn't have survived it." the irony being that he had found someone to love thereafter. For all her trepidation, he had managed to break through his fears and fall wholeheartedly into it.

Her hand would tug at his grasp to pull away from him, because what came next was just too heartbreaking for her to admit standing so close to him. It choked her, made her painfully aware that the wound had not quite healed. He was ripping that scab and salting the wound.

"Gorram it, Alric... you were all I had. I couldn't risk losing you."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He stopped, his eyes bored into her.

"You were scared." That was all he said. It wasn't a question. It wasn't a poke or a jab at her, it was just a statement of fact, something that they both know.

Alric understood that fear, he had felt it, known it. Perhaps it a different way, but he still understood it. The fear of loss. Ironically it had happened anyway, Danger had lost him for a time, because of his own stupid actions. He frowned slightly. It was fear that had kept them apart, then it had been Alric himself. Danger was to blame in part, but more and more it was clear that it all fell on him.

There should have been something else to say.

He tried to dig, he tried to think, but instead all he could think of were memories. Memories of them together, of Fiona, of despair and rage, of brief happiness and the apprehension that had grown between them now. He wanted to say something, put into words what he was thinking, what he wanted to tell her.

In the end, all that came to him was a single question. "And now?"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

And now?

Danger found herself swallowing hard, unable to turn away from the penetrating look in his eyes, the active search they would make as they attempted to read her. Did he just have to wring everything from her? After everything? After trying to move on and find some semblance of peace.

She thought she could forget him. That the distance and the time, and her just simply cutting him off of her life would work. But it didn't. And it would be so evident in her eyes.

She still loved him. Always had. Always will.

"Damnit Alric," Her lids fell shut, as if that could block him from studying her further. From peering deeper still. But it was useless. The confession he'd relayed on the truth of what had happened to his wife, why he had finally appeared in the lounge of her ship after two decades came rearing in her mind again.

And that pain, that knowledge would wash a vulnerable wounded expression, the scattering of freckles a stark contrast over her pale visage. Her eyes snapped open, and she began to shake her head.

"I can't do this." she shook her head harder, her hair falling forward to cover her face.

"Twenty gorram years and the only reason you showed up at my door was after your life fell apart and you had no where else to go... I won't be your safety net because I'm all that is left. I can't."

She took another step back. This was well into territory that dealt with her fears, her self confidence issues, and her misconception that the only reason Alric was with her is because there was no one else. And that thought killed her.


"...I won't survive that."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He was stunned, shocked, hurt.

"You think that's why I came back?" His words were barely a whisper. "You think that's why I came to see you? Why you found me your ship?"

Anger now bit into his tone, outrage, his tongue darted out to lick his lips. "I fucked up. I betrayed you, I hurt you, but I never stopped being your friend. I never walked away from you. I never left you. Twenty years. Every Year that went by, I was there, I was waiting. You don't think I wanted to reach out? You don't think I wanted my friend back all that time?"

"It's not about you. It wasn't about you." His tone grew stronger, almost to the point of yelling. "It was about me."

His hands grew into fists at his side. "Her death. Her leaving me was a spark, a flare that showed me all the mistakes I made, every time that I screwed up."

"I didn't come back to lean on you. I didn't come back for your support. I came back to fix what I broke. I came back to make things rights. To be the father I should have been, to be the friend that I should have been. I didn't come to you on that ship to cry about the death of my wife. I came to apologize for everything I did to you." It had never been about him, it had never been supposed to be about him.

"I need you in my life, Danger." His voice was strong, the admission was stronger. "But I don't need you to hold my weight. I don't need you to prop me up. I need you to be my friend, I need you to let me in, to let me hold you, talk to you, love you. Not because I need it, but because you do."