Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She'd been sitting in the cell for what felt like hours now, watching Yondu and Rocket try and get Groot to retrieve some sort of “fin” they kept talking about. That was, until Taserface decided to actually install some security for the prisoners.

She had seen this guard earlier before they got locked up- when they had been tied to chairs to be humiliated and taunted about their impending deaths -dancing around like a jackass and sending Ravagers that had “betrayed” Taserface out into the deep vacuum of space.

She had never caught his name, not that she cared. After all, everyone here seemed to have stupid names. He looked rather bored, simply standing around and occasionally glancing at the imprisoned aliens.

For now, Yondu and Rocket were waiting for Groot to find the fin, which was now taking longer with the raised threat of security. Lla Lla didn't have much stake in their escape, anyway, other than leaving with them… However, something else would catch her attention.

She'd notice the guard glance at her for a couple seconds longer than normal, before looking away once she turned her head. She was already stuck in a situation with no control, and with her tendency to lash out, she just wanted to dig herself into a deeper hole. “What are you looking at?” She'd sit a bit closer to the bars of the cell, her tail starting to flick in annoyance.

Now, the guard was becoming less shy about his staring, as he had just found a way to occupy himself. He'd push himself off from against the wall he'd been leaning on, before beaming down at Lla Lla with a mischievous grin. “What? Am I not allowed t’ stare no more? Not like you've got any say in it, or yer little traitor pals back there.”

Lla Lla would look back to Yondu and Rocket. “Pals" wasn't the most accurate description for the two of them, mostly because she had just met the both of them recently, and she was only here because she went to check out the traps set with Rocket and Groot. She had made a mental note since her imprisonment to stay far away from the Guardians if she made it out of here, and to never accept hiring requests from them. This was a drama she was not a part of, nor aware of.

“They're not my pals… I work for that mammal's team.”

She'd point to a rather defeated and pissed looking Rocket, who seemed to only light up once Lla Lla called him a mammal. “We've been over this, my name's Rocket! You don't need to call me a mammal, I know my species, you purple fuck!” Lla Lla would barely listen, simply rolling her eyes and turning back to the bars to find the guard was practically up against them, the grin still apparent on his face.

“So… why the guardians hire someone like you? ‘Ccording to yer very few documents, you ain't very well known, little missy.”

Lla Lla would let out a low growl of frustration, clearly still pissed about her predicament. “I would say I don't care why, but they're the reason I'm in this estupida… ehh… cárcel…?”

All while Lla Lla tried to remember the english word for cell, the guard would tease her. “C'mon! You were doin’ so well speakin’ English earlier! What's stoppin’ you now?” Lla Lla would let out a frustrated groan, throwing her hands up as she gave up trying to remember. Despite being fluent in both languages, she got them mixed up rather easily. “You know what I mean! This… room! Eh, but still… I don't know why they hired me, so don't bother asking.”

The guard would roll his eyes, his attention slowly fleeting as he got bored of the small talk the two of them were having. Of course, he wasn't just going to leave her alone.

“You know, you ain't very fun t’ talk to… but ya sure are nice t’ look at…” His eyes would narrow as he playfully eyed her up and down, much to her discontent. He had to make it worse, however. “If these bars wasn't in the way, I'd sure love t’ git my hands on yew…”

Lla Lla couldn't tell if this guard was joking or not, but with the way he was biting his lip subtly and damn near grinding against the cell bars, it didn't take a genius to guess his intentions. Even if she was a prisoner, she wasn't going to let herself be disrespected, no matter the company or situation she was in.

She'd stand up, not caring that he was taller than her by almost a whole foot, approaching the bars as her feathered tail still flicked angrily. “If these bars weren't here, I’d slit your throat.”

The guard would pull back from the bars slightly, but his teasing wasn't done just yet. He’d point a gloved finger at her in a slightly accusatory manner. “Hey now, girlie. You watch what yer sayin’. After all, you gonna end up dead anyway! Taserface said he gon’ execute y'all nex’ mornin’!” He'd then proceed to laugh right in her face.

What a morale booster for everyone.

“Course… I do got a special little offer fer a special little lady…” The guard would come up closer to the bars, flashing his crooked teeth once more. Lla Lla wouldn't back down, mostly because she wasn't scared of this wretched man, but also because she was already sick of his antics.

He'd wrap his hands around the bars, pressing right up close to the point that it felt like the bars were protecting her rather than keeping her captive. “You wanna leave? Well… jus’ spend a night wit’ me and I'll take ya right back home…”

Lla Lla would sneer. A night with anyone already didn't sound interesting to her, a night with this creature before her sounded like torture. Besides, who knows what this freak’s into.

“I'd rather die in my sleep than sleep with you.”

She'd press her face against the bars and spit right on his face. He'd pull back suddenly, disgusted with being spat on, as well as disappointed that he'd been turned down. He wasn't too surprised by it, this woman looked like a bundle of tension and silent rage. She'd probably never even slept with someone in a literal sense. He had to change the deal, preferably into something she might agree to.

He'd wipe the saliva off his face, and then off his glove and onto his jacket, before stepping forward again. This time, there was a noticeable distance between him and the bars, likely to keep himself safe from any spit that could come flying toward him. “Fine. You ain't gonna fuck me? Fight me. If you was able to git yerself hired by the Guardians, I wanna see just how good them fightin’ skills are. You win, I'll help ya out. Deal?”

That… actually didn't sound like too bad of an idea. Lla Lla was pretty confident in her fighting skills, considering she'd survived one of the harshest illegal fighting circles as a 5’4 woman against hulking men. She could easily take down this scrawny guard.

“Where would we fight? In here? It's a bit…” She'd take a moment to remember the word. “... crumpled.”

Close enough.

The guard would laugh, looking over the cramped and dirty cell that was already holding two other prisoners. “Nah, I'll take you down t’ the gym. Tha's where everyone goes t’ git a little sprawlin’ in. It ain't too far from here, and ain't no one else awake but us… So, ya still up fer grabs?”

Lla Lla would wrinkle her nose up at his last sentence. Something about how he phrased it sounded off to her. However, her freedom was tempting, and he didn't seem like a very threatening foe. Eventually, she decided it would be for the best.

Besides, she could always kill him if he tried to betray her. She didn't care how she got her freedom.

“Fine. If it means leaving free, I'll fight you. But no weapons. I want this to be fair.” The guard would put his hands up in a non-threatening manner. “Hey, tha's fine wit me. Just wanna see what this little unheard of bounty hunter’s got t’ offer…”

With that, he'd start to fumble with the pockets of his jack and pat around his belt, trying to find where he had put the keys he'd been given to her cell. Meanwhile, Rocket and Yondu would be watching this whole ordeal, with Rocket once again getting pissed seeing Lla Lla was being granted freedom on a silver platter.

“C'mon! You're just letting her out because you think she's pretty?! Don't we get a fair chance at leaving?!”

The guard would scoff, making his intentions rather clear as he finally found the keys and started fumbling with the lock. “Yeah, I'm lettin’ her win her freedom cuz she's pretty. I ain't gonna let you free, cuz I ain't attracted t’ squirrels…”

The cell door would open, and Lla Lla would walk out, before the guard would quickly slam the cell door closed as Rocket tried to leap out at him, locking it behind him.

Ignoring the insults shouted at him, he'd turn his attention back to Lla Lla, who was now looking between him and Rocket with the slightest hint of amusement on her cold expression.

“C'mon, I'll lead ya t’ the gym, girlie”

Chapter Text

To be safe, Lla Lla would follow alongside him rather than directly behind him. She wasn't one to follow people, and she especially wasn't going to follow behind this low life Ravager scum.

Wanting to try and break the strange tension between him and the silent alien, the guard would drop his bored and stoic look, glancing over at her with a cheeky grin before starting to run through the corridors of the ship.

A sense of panic would flood through Lla Lla. Great, the guard she barely trusted was already running to rat her out. She'd commence chase, catching up to him quickly before kicking him in the back of the legs.

He'd let out a gasp as he stumbled, and Lla Lla would pounce onto him, getting him on his back as she wrapped her fingers around his throat. Her teeth were bared in unbridled fury wrapped up as a snarl, and she'd lean down close to his face. “Why were you running, huh? Where were you going?!”

Clearly, the guard should probably stop trying to tease her, now that his life was on the line. He'd claw at her hands, trying to pull them off as he choked out a plea. “I-I was jus’... tryna race you! I wasn't… ghck… tryna pull nothin’!”

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Lla Lla would let her hands linger a moment longer, wanting to be sure he was telling the truth. Eventually, she'd take a leap of faith, and let him go, helping him up.

“Don't run again.” Was all she commanded to the guard as he swallowed hard, trying to soothe the dull ache in his throat. There was a sheepish air about him as he nodded, going back to leading her to the gym as he massaged his throat. Gone was the teasing demeanor.

“I jus’ wanted t’ race ya…” He'd have a dejected look on his face the rest of the way to the gym.

While trying to ease the tension once more, he tried a more palatable approach, trying to make some very brief and awkward small talk.

“So… wha’s yer name, girlie…?”

Lla Lla, looking a little confused, would turn her head to him, her brow furrowed. “Didn’t you say you already read my files? My name’s probably on there.”

“Right, right… Llavende…”

A brief silence.

“So, what’s your name then?”

“My name? Well, uh…” He’d grimace at his name. It wasn't something he could control, it was quite literally, and unfortunately, his birth name.

“It’s, uh… It’s Halfnut…”

Lla Lla couldn't help the way her eyebrows raised in confusion and curiosity. Halfnut? Out of any name in the galaxy, that was what he was stuck with?

She wouldn't respond with anything other than a simple hum, otherwise she might start making fun of him.

Once the two arrived, he'd try to shake off the past demeanors. He'd pull out some kind of ID attached to the front of his jacket, placing it in front of a rather primitive looking reader that would unlock and open the gym doors.

The inside reminded Lla Lla of the old fight club she used to be in before she became a full time mercenary. Weapons lined the walls, dummies were shoved in a corner for target practice, and a giant mat lay in the center of the room, perfect for sprawling.

Halfnut would walk off to the side, wanting to get ready to take her down and imprison her again. Maybe even arrange something with the other Ravagers so she could join them, like they'd done with Groot because he was “cute”.

“So, you gonna git ready? Got any warm ups ya like t’ do?” He'd grin at her, having a much more genuine excitement behind his smile. She'd shake her head. Despite having always been told to warm up before she fought, she never had time for that. “No. It's better to just get this out of the way.”

Halfnut would mutter something to himself quietly as he started to take off his rather complex looking jacket covered in buckles, revealing a stained, plain, white T-shirt. He'd also take off his shoes and socks for better grip on the mat, while Lla Lla began to follow.

She'd set down her bomber jacket more carefully, with it being her prized possession. Halfnut had been wondering just why her shoes were so wide, but he was about to get his answer, as she revealed that her feet were a far cry from being normal.

It seemed the feathers on her tail and beak-like nose weren't the only bird-like thing about her, as she revealed the sharp talons that belonged to her four toed eagle feet. It was… a bit strange to look at, considering how humanoid she looked on the surface. However, he'd seen weirder looking aliens.

Now left in her bloodstained beige button up and brown cargo pants, she'd watch him approach the mat while she fixed her pig tails. She too would join once she secured her hair, her talons digging into the mat and tearing it slightly.

Halfnut would look his opponent up and down, taking notice of the various light blue scars littering her lean yet muscular lavender arms. He wasn't going to bring it up, however. He too had scars he preferred not to talk about.

“Y'know, if we ain't gonna be usin’ weapons, that means no claws. You keep those damn thangs to yerself.”

Lla Lla would nod in agreement while she pulled her aviator goggles down over her eyes, and the fight would seemingly start as the two circled each other and waited for one to strike. First round, Halfnut would try to charge first, but Lla Lla was swift.

In the blink of an eye, he'd go from charging at her to tapping out as she pinned him to the mat. The round was already over, and she had won. That wasn't supposed to go so quickly. He wanted her to stay longer.

“The hell was that?! I-I wasn’ ready, I wanna rematch!”

He was a bit flustered about losing so quickly, and as much as Lla Lla just wanted to get out right away, she figured one more round couldn't hurt.

The same thing happened yet again, and Halfnut demanded another rematch. Then another. And another.

Now Lla Lla was starting to get a bit frustrated with how long this was taking. Why couldn't he just accept she won already and help her leave?

Now 14 rounds deep, things would take a turn, as Halfnut had finally won the high ground. He'd catch her off guard as she tried to strike, dodging her punch and grabbing her arm. He'd yank her arm forward, and sweep her legs out from underneath her. She'd hit the mat with a thud, and before she could get up, Halfnut would pin her down on her front, holding her arms behind her back. Lla Lla had been caught off guard, but as she finally made sense of what happened, she wasn't upset or demanding a rematch. She was… pleasantly surprised.

After being on such a long losing streak, he had finally managed to win a round. The two were both panting heavily, since these last 14 rounds they had taken no breaks between them. Finally, she'd tap out.

“... I yield.”

Halfnut would let her go and help her up, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. “Finally gotchu, girlie!” Lla Lla would dust herself off, stretching a bit, before turning to Halfnut.

“I feel like I’ve proved myself plenty to be able to warrant you helping me leave this ship.”

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that simple. Halfnut still wanted to keep sprawling, mostly because he enjoyed trying different techniques on her, even if he lost.

“C’mon! Lets do a couple more rounds, then I’ll help ya out.”

Lla Lla would sigh. They were already 14 rounds deep, and she didn't want to waste any time. However, since it'd be easier to keep him alive so he could help her find her confiscated stuff, she gave in…

At the end of their 20 rounds of sprawling, Lla Lla was obviously victorious, with the score being 17-3. She still had Halfnut pinned to the mat as she tried to catch her breath. “This… was so unnecessary…”

The sweat on her forehead made her skin glisten, and with the way she was panting, he could ever so slightly see her blue tongue sticking out. She looked exhausted…

Halfnut would freeze up underneath her as he tried to look away, helpless to the boner he'd popped. It was always the worst timing with him.

Lla Lla would finally stand up, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her fingerless leather glove, before reaching a hand down to help Halfnut up. He'd take her hand, trying to adjust his pants once he stood while Lla Lla eyed him suspiciously. She'd notice the bulge straining against the front of his pants, and she'd only get more suspicious.

“What's that in your pocket…?”

Halfnut would turn to her, his cheeks flushing as he tried to decide whether to tell the truth or not.

“Well, uh… that… that ain't somethin’ in my pocket, girl…” Lla Lla would furrow her brow I'm confusion, trying to get a better look at the outline. To her, it kinda looked like a weapon, and she wasn't going to stop bothering him until she knew what it was and that it wouldn't be used against her.

“Then what is it? It's not some kinda weapon, right? I thought we agreed no weapons.” Her fists and body would clench up, preparing herself for a possible fight. Halfnut would bite his tongue, now getting way more embarrassed about the fact that Lla Lla was thinking he had a weapon in his pants…

Well, some ladies thought of it that way, but he wasn't in the mood to make a joke.

“It, uhm… It ain't a weapon… Is a part of me…” Lla Lla would try and use what Halfnut gave her to figure out just what was in his pants. After some reasonable thinking, which she should've tried a little earlier, Lla Lla would realize what he was hiding in his pants, and a bit of a disgusted and uncomfortable look would arise from her.

She'd look him up and down, her nose wrinkled, before saying something that showed she clearly didn't know much about human anatomy. “Well, can you put it down? Make it go back down, this is uncomfortable.”

Seeing her cringe amused Halfnut slightly, and he'd let out a quiet chuckle. At least he wasn't so embarrassed now, since this was starting to be kinda funny. “I can't jus’… magically make it go down, y'know. It’ll go down by itself inna little bit.”

Lla Lla would nod in approval, not knowing what else to say, though she'd occasionally steal glances of the bulge that was bothering her so much for all the wrong reasons. She'd shake her head, trying to keep herself focused on what was important, not her lingering question on human anatomy.

“Will you be taking me to go retrieve my stuff and leave now?”

Halfnut would snap his focus back to the current issue of her wanting to leave. He didn't really want her to go, even if she'd been so cold while the two of them had been interacting. He kinda enjoyed her presence, even if he wasn't able to sleep with her. However, he couldn't just distract her with more fighting, and a promise is a promise…

“Yeah… I'll show you the way, jus’ grab yer stuff, I'll wait.”

Lla Lla would get herself situated, collecting her jacket, socks, and shoes, lifting her goggles back up so they rested on top of her head. With that, the two would head off to the small storage unit used for holding confiscated items from prisoners and members alike, both of them trying to ignore Halfnut’s hard on for their own separate reasons.

Chapter Text

The storage unit wasn't very far away, thankfully, being near the cell area. A convenient placement for confiscated goods.

Once again, Halfnut would use the ID attached to his jacket, and the lock interface would light up, following a click and a slide of the door. Inside there were tubs lining shelves, some named, some simply numbered.

Lla Lla would recognize her name on one of the tubs and dig through it, recognizing her belongings. With a sigh of relief, she'd start to pull some of the items out.

The first one was a rather decked out looking brown utility belt, strapped with tools for repair, two holsters on the sides for rechargeable Lightblasters, a pocket filled with first aid-adjacent items- if a sewing needle, thread, and numbing patches counted as first aid -and plenty of other hand held weapons and even brass knuckles. There would also be some more personal items attached, like a Walkman CD player with headphones connected, a wallet, a picture of an old Hispanic man- whom one could guess she knew personally -and a pack of nicotine gum.

She'd hold it out to Halfnut with one hand. “You mind holding this for me for a sec?” Halfnut would oblige, and once handed the belt, he'd be surprised by the sheer weight of it.

It had to be at least 10-12 lbs, and while he didn't struggle to carry it, he was a bit surprised it was so heavy. He'd use both hands to hold it while she retrieved the rest of her stuff, watching her pull out a strange, small metal box with no indication for what it could be used for, and an old, alien assault rifle she’d sling across her shoulder.

She'd take back her belt from him and fasten it around her waist. “I was wondering why I felt so much lighter…”

Now armed and ready to leave, all she needed to do now was head to the docks and find a ship to steal so she could fly to where her own ship was parked. “Alright, I've got my stuff. You can walk me to the docks, or just give me directions, and I'll be on my way.”

Once again, Halfnut was struck with his dilemma of not wanting her to leave. There was no ethical way to keep her here, especially now that she was armed to the teeth. If he couldn't convince her to stay, he wanted to go with her.

“Take me witchu, and I'll show you where the docks're at.”

Lla Lla was very hesitant. She already never trusted anyone, and now someone who was meant to imprison her and had earlier been harassing her was asking to come home with her.

“What? No, you're not coming on my ship, I'm just trying to get home. I'm not looking to add cabin members to my ship, just tell me where the docks are!”

Halfnut would sigh. He knew that was coming, he could tell the woman was a recluse, but that didn't mean he didn't want to keep trying. “Look ‘ere, you really wanna leave, right? Well, I wanna go off on my own, too. I don’ get t’ do that round here, wit missions and what not. I jus’ wanna have sum freedom, y'know? I won’ bother ya, if tha's what yer worried ‘bout!”

His reasoning was bordering on pleading, and from the sound of it, he wasn't gonna take no for an answer. Lla Lla would sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

She didn't have much time to decide before everyone else on the Eclector woke up, and while passing by what used to be her cell, she had spotted another Ravager conversing with Yondu and Rocket, holding what looked to be a “fin” like they'd been talking about earlier. She knew something was about to go down, and she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

A quiet growl of frustration would leave her throat, as she finally finished weighing the decision in her mind before she shouted in a hushed whisper, “Fine! Just show me where the docks are, I wanna get outta here!”

Halfnut’s eyes would light up with excitement, and with a cheery grin, he'd grab her hand and start leading her to the docks.

Though, his excitement was ruined as Lla Lla aggressively pulled her hand away from his. “Don't grab me.” Halfnut would shove his hands in his pockets, that dejected look making its way onto his face again. “Sorry, sorry… C'mon, I'll take ya t’ the docks. They ain't very far.”

His expression would become more neutral, but he couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes. This girl was intriguing to him. How much she hid her intentions from everyone, how he couldn't read her expressions most of the time, and how she just seemed to hate everyone made him want to know more.

With a bit of a hurried rush- and Lla Lla ruthlessly taking out a couple patrolling Ravagers in cold blood -the two would make it to the docks as they started to hear the song Come A Little Bit Closer by Jay & The Americans start playing over the loud speaker.

Something was definitely off, and the two wanted out. It wasn't uncommon for the Guardians to get their way out of a sticky situation eventually- they'd become very well known for it -so it was likely a blood bath was about to wash through the Eclector.

Halfnut would point out a smaller ship that was rather inconspicuous but fast, making it perfect for what Lla Lla needed it for. He'd unlock it with his ID, and the two would hop aboard, making their way to the cockpit. While the ship was newer than what Lla Lla was used to, she'd easily warmed up to the controls in the cockpit since they seemed to be from the same company that made her ship, or at least some sort of subdivision of it.

Lla Lla would strap herself into her seat, but Halfnut would hesitate as he looked out the cockpit's windshield.

The airlock needed to be opened, and it wouldn't open unless someone was at the main dock control room.

He'd sprint out of the ship, trying to get to the control room as an announcement ran over the loud speaker, orders from Taserface to the crew to take out Yondu, Rocket, Groot, and Llavende.

For once, he was fine with ignoring orders.

He'd get to the control room and set the airlock to open on a timer, giving himself 2 ½ minutes to get back onto the ship. With the command in order, screams and shouts would start to echo through the metal enclosure as he raced back to the ship.

Lla Lla would be powering the ship on, getting it ready to take flight, and once Halfnut returned to the ship, she’d shut down the doors and let him get strapped in.

An alarm would go off throughout the docks as the timer reached the last 5 seconds, and the airlock would open up. With the ship fired up and hovering, Lla Lla would book it out of the Eclector without a second thought, setting her destination on the built in GPS to a destination Halfnut didn't recognize…

Chapter Text

Halfnut was holding onto his armrests for dear life as Lla Lla flew rather recklessly.

He'd gone on a couple joy rides in his life, but nothing about this was fun. The loops, the break-neck speed, and some of the jumps she made sent his stomach absolutely whirling.

As the two began to reach their destination, she'd slow slightly as a quaint little blue and grey planet came into view, the planet she had left her ship on when the Guardians hired her. They had offered a ride for her, since they said it would be easier that way with less ships to worry about.

The ship would touch down in a large field of grey grass, where a much larger, much older ship model was waiting for them nearby. Lla Lla would unbuckle her seatbelt and stand up, looking rather unbothered, while Halfnut struggled to stand.

His head was still spinning as he stumbled out of the ship to try and catch up with Lla Lla, wrapping his arms around her midsection and holding onto her once he caught up to keep himself steady.

Lla Lla would purse her lips in discomfort, but wouldn't push him away since he'd probably just fall right over. While she let him regain the ability to walk, she'd point to the bigger ship.

“That's where you'll be staying. There will be rules for you that I'll explain to you later. Let's just get off this planet for now, and we'll talk more once we're back up in space.”

She'd pry his arms off of her once she knew full well he could stand on his own, and she'd fumble with her utility belt, trying to find where she put the remote to her ship.

Halfnut would take a better look at the ship while she did so, and he noticed just how old it was. It had to be older than her, and she looked to be in her early twenties.

Why was she flying a rust bucket?

“Y'know, you're in real need of an upgrade there, girlie. Why haven't you sold that thing for parts yet?”

Lla Lla would pull out the remote, before stopping and turning to look at him. She had a dead serious look on her face, and a simple yet firm reply.

“It was my dad's. I can't sell it.”

It sounded to him like this ship had a sentimental value to her, and while that could sometimes be nice, it wasn't usually a great idea to live in a ship so old that might be prone to breaking down somewhere that would kill you instantly if something goes wrong. She didn't seem like she was going to listen to a rant about common sense, so he simply said nothing in return, watching as she unlocked the ship and had the ramp eject so the two of them could climb into her ship.

Once inside, it was clear from the interior that this ship was as old as it looked. The floors had a mismatched pattern of solid metal and grates where the cabin beneath was visible from.

In the main “living area” was a beaten up brown leather couch with two side tables on rather end that were all bolted to the ground, facing a giant window that allowed for view of the void when travelling.

Walking past the living area and toward the cockpit, there would be a kitchenette wedged between the two areas, consisting of some cabinets and drawers, an oven with a stove top, a very dusty looking microwave and coffee pot, and a fridge.

She'd stroll by the two “rooms”- as there were little to no distinguishing walls -without a word of explanation.

It seemed she was saving all the talking for when they got into space.

Once again, Halfnut would have to endure her whirlwind flying, but he'd get a bit more time to simply settle in and look around the cockpit, as the ship took longer to power on and hover.

While Lla Lla seemed to busy herself with flipping all the right switches that had been fashioned worn off labels written on pieces of tape, Halfnut would become a little curious. Where were they going now?

“D'you… got a destination in mind? Where're we goin’?” Lla Lla would shake her head, starting to power on the bottom jets to lift off the ground.

“We're not going anywhere in particular. I'm just trying to get the ship a good distance away from everything so it can float safely.”

From the brief glimpses at the ship's interior, he had a feeling she didn't just stay in the ship occasionally while moving around jobs. She probably lived on this ship, which wasn't too uncommon for many people that took up jobs all around the galaxy.

As the ship began to lift up, Lla Lla would tilt the ship upward with the steering wheel, before slamming her hand down on a button that would propel them up into the air and soon out of the atmosphere. She'd shut off the underbelly jets, letting the main boosters shoot them up into the air.

Once again, Halfnut was left holding onto the armrests for dear life from the sheer jump in speed, feeling the ship rattle as they started to break through the atmosphere. Lla Lla would grit her teeth and narrow her eyes in focus, as if she knew this ship was being held together by hopes and prayers. The two would soon relax as they made it back into the void, the ship no longer feeling like it might fall apart on them.

She'd fly a bit farther away, before finally slowing as she found a nice patch of space where she wouldn't hit anything. After a moment, she'd shut the boosters off completely, turning on the autopilot and unbuckling her seatbelt while she looked out the windshield peacefully.

Halfnut, on the other hand, had been shaken up far too much this time. He'd unbuckle his seatbelt and let out a quiet groan, clutching his stomach as he tried to get used to the complete motion stop.

Lla Lla, having heard his little noise, would look over to her passenger that now seemed to be a bit under the weather with no empathy in her eyes.

In fact, she seemed a bit disgusted by the simple fact that he didn't feel too good.

“Don't throw up in my cockpit. If you need to, I can show you where the bathrooms are. Otherwise, you'll be cleaning up your own puke.”

How compassionate of her.

He'd sigh softly, cradling his head in his free hand while he tried to recuperate. “N-Nah, nah, I-I'll be fine… You should stop flyin’ so damn crazy, though. Tha's what's makin’ me sick in the first place…”

Halfnut would try and focus on the distant stars visible through the windshield, wanting to drown out his nausea.

Once he finally felt better, and the two had been sitting in silence for a good while, he'd break the silence with a question.

“What're we doin’? Are we gonna do anythin’ t'day? Or are we jus’ gonna stare out the window all day?”

Lla Lla wouldn't respond at first, simply standing up and rubbing at a sore spot on her neck. Though, he hadn't gone unacknowledged.

“I can show you around my ship and give you the ground rules, but other than that, we won't be doing much today. I wanna take time to rest.”

Halfnut would stare at her silently, a little confused. Nothing to do today?

Sure, they just escaped a ship that got absolutely demolished, but they weren't going to do anything at all? Would she even talk to him outside of telling him what's necessary? Why couldn't they do something even remotely fun?

Of course, he wasn't going to bring it up for now. He was a guest on her ship, and she was not the type to have fun, from what he'd learned.

That didn't mean he was content with it.

Chapter Text

Lla Lla would be looking back at him expectantly, like she was waiting for him to stand up and follow her. He'd get up out of his seat once he got the cue, and she'd lead him through each room.

Some rooms were self explanatory, like the kitchenette which had a surprising lack of food other than raw meat with literal bites taken out of some chunks- which revealed her rather concerning diet choices -and the living room with a couch and a desk bolted to the ground near the window that had a holoputer set up on top of it.

Other rooms were more interesting, like Lla Lla's bedroom. The walls were a different color, having been sloppily painted over with chipping dandelion yellow paint that definitely wasn't meant to be used for metal. They were also covered in posters for different bands that Halfnut had never heard of, such as Catfish and the Bottlemen and Car Seat Headrest. They sounded very much like they were from Earth, if the names weren't enough evidence.

Now that he looked around, the entire room seemed to be filled with things from earth, such as a lava lamp, a pretty traditional looking twin size bed, a dresser with a bunch of assorted books and CDs on top of it, and a locked chest nearby the bed.

More noticeably, there was an incense burner meant to hold cone incense, but was instead being used to hold a half burnt cigarette. Either she didn't know a cigarette wasn't incense, or she just had weird taste.

Immediately when they stepped inside, Lla Lla would start laying down rules.

“This is my room. You won't be seeing it often, you won't have any reason to go in here, really. That chest? Don't open it. It's got my dad’s personal stuff in it.”

All this mention of her dad but not seeing him had already led Halfnut to believe that he had passed, but he was too curious to not get confirmation. “Yer dad… Is he gone?”

For a moment, Lla Lla would open her mouth to answer, but quickly stopped herself. Even after losing him so long ago, she wasn't used to saying it out loud.

“... Yeah.”

An awkward silence would linger for a moment, before the tour would continue on unannounced as Lla Lla quickly left the room. Halfnut would follow, wondering if maybe he had said something wrong and upset her. However, she still carried that cold expression on her face, as if she didn't care about what he'd said.

He almost would've believed it if her eyes didn't betray a bit of hurt behind them.

The new room they'd entered was a rather plain looking room, with a soft pink dresser on one side of the room and a twin size bed set right in the center. The entire room was covered in a blanket of dust, including the pink and white checkered comforter that lay on the bed.

This was clearly a little girl's room, one that hadn't been used in years. Perhaps it was her old bedroom, and the one she currently slept in used to be her father's…

“This will be your room until further notice. I need to wash the blanket and sheets, and I don't know when that's getting done, so you can always sleep on the couch.”

She'd move over to the small bed, hesitantly stripping the bed sheets from it.

Dust wasn't the only thing she was disturbing in the room, anyone could sense the memories that were being stripped away to make room for the stranger.

She'd set the bundle of fabric in the corner, as a little reminder to come back to it later. With that, the tour was abruptly over.

“Well, that's pretty much everything in the ship. You won't need to go down to the bottom cabin, it's mostly just storage.”

She'd then walk out of the room without another word, sitting herself down on the leather couch to face the empty space outside the window.

All this did was leave Halfnut confused. He hadn't really known what to expect, hopping onto someone's ship that he'd just met, but he hadn't expected the two of them to do absolutely nothing.

Not one meaningful conversation, no plans to do anything, absolutely nothing. She was just sitting there, staring at nothing. Was that just how she lived most of the days she had time to take a break from work?

Halfnut would go over to the couch, sitting on the opposite end of her. He wanted to at least get a better view into her life, as all he had seen so far was so… bleak.

“I know you said that t'day yer takin’ it slow after everythin’, but is there anythin’ you'd wanna really do? Y'know, like… Whaddya do fer fun?”

For fun? When did she ever do anything for fun? She tried to remember the last time she did anything for her own amusement, and nothing popped up in her head.

“I dunno. I don't really do anything for fun.”

Halfnut couldn't contain his shock, his eyebrows raising slightly. He had only ever heard of people like this in action media that made the main character an unfeeling killer, not once had he ever met someone that didn't do anything for fun.

Maybe she just couldn't come up with anything on the spot. Maybe she needed examples.

“You don’ do anythin’ fer fun? Not even, like, drinkin’? You don’ like startin’ a good fight, or hookin’ up wit people?” Lla Lla would grimace, a rather exaggerated reaction to his suggestions. She felt his idea of fun sounded like some of the most mind numbing activities ever.

“That doesn't sound fun in the slightest. I'm not very fun to be around when I'm drunk, so that's already off the table, and I don't wanna start fights or have sex with strangers. Hell, I don't wanna have sex with anyone!”

Halfnut had seen quite a few times that Lla Lla was very averse to sex, and he had been wondering why for a while. Lots of women with a job like hers were usually a little raunchy, but she was the complete opposite, and he was curious why.

“Why don't you like sex, anyway? Is perfectly natural, unless your kind don’ do that t’ have babies or whatever…”

Lla Lla would cross her arms, her tail starting to flick against the couch in slight annoyance. Just talking with him seemed to annoy her, yet she didn't tell him to shut up.

“I don't wanna be vulnerable like that. Too many bad things could happen if I let my guard down.”

Unable to control his teasing nature, Halfnut's mouth would already be moving before he could think twice.

“So, you jus’ don’ got someone t’ trust, huh? Well, maybe the two of us jus’ need t’ get t’ know each other a bit better…”

Lla Lla would growl at him, warning him to back down now. He'd been doing so good at not saying anything sexual to her in a while, and he just had to ruin it.

“Will you stop saying shit like that? I'm not gonna have sex with you, so drop it!”

Halfnut would back down pretty easily. Sometimes, he could be pretty spineless, especially when getting yelled at.

He was only starting to become more and more discontent with Lla Lla's hatred toward him. The two had only just met, yet she was acting like she'd had a gripe with him for years. They were already out of their original setting on the Eclector, and she wasn't being held captive. Maybe she just hated people in general.

Still, he didn't enjoy just sitting around on the ship doing absolutely nothing. He needed to strike up a conversation about something…

Then he remembered the picture he had seen in one of the pockets on her utility belt. An older looking Hispanic guy, probably in his 40’s at the time of the picture, wearing the same bomber jacket and goggles Lla Lla had been wearing, his hair greying at the roots with a short beard and mustache.

That had to be a picture of her dad, right? That's certainly a conversation starter.

“Y'know, I saw a picture on yer belt, some guy wit’ yer jacket. Was that yer dad?”

Lla Lla was a little surprised by the conversation change, but nothing other than a slight raise of the brow would indicate that. She'd reach a hand down to one of the pockets on her belt, unbuttoning it and pulling out the small, worn picture of the man. She'd carefully hold it out for Halfnut to take and look at.

While she gave a rather brief answer, there was a slight change in her usual monotone, something that showed she didn't hate all people. “Yeah, that's him…”

She'd watch him carefully, making sure he didn't soil her photo. After noticing her staring, he'd give the photo back, assuming she wanted it.

“You two look nothin’ alike. You interspecies or somethin’?”

Lla Lla would take a moment to look at the photo. Her and her dad truly looked nothing alike, especially since he was human.

She'd put the photo away, not wanting to linger too long on it. She didn't want to bring up those memories…
“That's what my dad told me. I wouldn’t be able to know for sure, since I never met my mom. She abandoned me and my dad after I was born, and he didn't keep any pictures of her, so…”

Halfnut would give a quiet hum of acknowledgement, unsure of what to say. Although he didn't want to admit it, he too knew what that was like.

He hadn't even noticed it until now, but he could see out of the corner of his eye that one of her legs was bouncing rapidly. Despite her unfeeling facade, she couldn't hide that she didn't want to get into this topic.

Lla Lla would dig into another pocket on her utility belt, pulling out the pack of nicotine gum that he had seen earlier and popping one into her mouth.

“You tryna quit…?”

Lla Lla would turn to Halfnut, a bit confused by his question.

“Quit what?”

“Y’know, smokin’? I saw the cig you had in yer room…”

Lla Lla would shake her head, her bouncing leg now starting to calm. “I've never smoked. I light those occasionally because they smell nice.”

That had to be one of the strangest reasons to own cigarettes. She really was lighting up whole sticks as incense, and got herself so addicted she kept nicotine gum on her. Even weirder was how she thought they smelled nice. He could maybe understand bonfire smoke, but cigarette smoke…? Not to mention that it's just not good for you.

As Halfnut kept his eye on Lla Lla, he'd start to notice little odd things. She couldn't seem to keep her head for long, occasionally shaking her head and straining her neck to try and keep from letting it fall against the back cushion of the couch. She'd also keep rubbing her eyes, and she held an expression of unease and exhaustion.

She was tired, but she wasn't letting herself rest.

He thought back to her comment about not wanting sex because she didn't want to be vulnerable. She didn't want to fall asleep and be vulnerable around him. He didn't blame her too much, seeing as he was still a stranger to her, but he did want to build some trust with her.

Maybe he just needed to be vulnerable with her first.

He'd reach his arms up to stretch, letting out a rather obvious fake yawn. That would get her attention, and she'd look over to him with a puzzled expression. What was he doing now?

He wasn't very good at hiding his intentions, especially not with that big, telling grin on his face.

“Y'know, if we ain't gonna talk 'bout anythin’ else interestin’, I'm jus’ gonna lay down and take a nap.”

Now came the rather strangely thought out part of his plan.

With how tall and lanky he was, there wasn't exactly a good way for him to lay on the couch without taking up a lot of space, so he instead wasn't shy about taking up all the space.

He'd start to lay down, sprawling out on the couch, and resting his head in Lla Lla's lap, using her thighs like a pillow. Lla Lla would tense up, utterly bewildered by how casual Halfnut was about literally laying on her. She'd try to push his head away.

“Get off me, I'm not a pillow. If you wanna lay down, go use the bed!”

Halfnut was unrelenting. He was determined to get her to accept the fact that he was here and she couldn't just ignore him, as well as that he wasn't going to be leaving her alone, either.

Instead, he'd wrap his arms around her waist, his cheek now pressed against her stomach slightly as he tried to keep his spot.

“I don’ wanna jus’ leave you by yer lonesome! You clearly haven’ had any company in a while, lemme stay!”

He'd bat his lashes dramatically as Lla Lla continued to try and separate his arms from her, his teasing now returning full force.

Eventually, Lla Lla would give up as Halfnut stubbornly stuck to her, sitting in her own discomfort from him simply touching her.

While Lla Lla tried to adjust to her predicament, Halfnut would be enjoying himself thoroughly.

Not only had he successfully made her acknowledge his company fully, he was also using this whole experiment as an excuse to hold her. He was still a man at heart, and he wanted to hold this beautiful woman who just so happened to hate being touched.

However, his experiment had somewhat failed. There was no way she was going to fall asleep now with him attached to her, that only seemed to keep her awake more as she stayed tense and vigilant.

On the bright side, he could still snuggle her, much to her disapproval…

Chapter Text

Of course, all good things must come to an end. Lla Lla wasn't going to sit here all day with this now ex-Ravager cuddled up to her, especially when he smelled like every alien’s horrid body odor combined.

She'd finally pull Halfnut's arms off of her, standing up from her spot on the couch. “I still have stuff to do. I have to clean your new sheets and room… and you need a shower, because I'm not letting my ship become a smelly mess because of your poor hygiene.”

She could tell very easily just by looking at him. Ravagers weren't exactly known for their cleanliness.

Halfnut would go to sniff his pits, wanting to prove her wrong, but with the slight wince on his face, it was clear even he couldn't defend himself.

“Fine, fine… but only if I git t’ shower witchu…” He'd give Lla Lla a sly grin, only for it to be shot down with a threatening glare back.

Halfnut would raise his hands in a passive manner, now trying to backtrack, but Lla Lla would already be turning away from the conversation, going back to the spare bedroom to grab the dusty bedding. Curious, Halfnut would follow behind her.

He hadn't seen a washer or dryer during the tour, so he was curious as to how she would wash the sheets.

Lla Lla would collect the bundle of sheets from off the floor in the spare bedroom, holding her breath so she wouldn't breathe in the dust collected on their surfaces. She'd drop off the bundle in the center of the living room, before heading into a supply closet to grab a large bucket, laundry sanitizer, detergent, and what looked to be a washboard.

Just what person lives on a space ship, works as a mercenary, and mostly uses current time technology, washes their stuff by hand? Halfnut would have to stifle a snicker, which Lla Lla would catch, nonetheless.

“What's so funny?”

He was unable to contain his laughter as he tried to explain, his sides starting to hurt from suppressing it. “Yer usin’ a fuckin’ washboard?! What is this, the 1700’s?!”

He'd be howling with laughter now, similar to when he'd- not too long ago -been tormenting Her, Yondu, Rocket, and Groot. However, once he noticed the unimpressed and blank stare from Lla Lla, he'd start to quiet down, his cheeks flushing bright red. Halfnut knew she was a serious person, but it seemed like she was constantly judging him for just about everything.

“I don't have the room for a washer and dryer, that's why I wash my stuff by hand.”

Her straightforward explanation only seemed to make the moment more embarrassing.

While Lla Lla was heading over to the sink in the kitchenette to fill the bucket she had pulled out, Halfnut would follow behind her, which was getting on her nerves. What couldn't annoy her? Thankfully, he just wanted to ask her a simple question.

“Soo… Where's yer shower at?”

Without turning to look at him, Lla Lla would reply, “In my bedroom, you'll see a door to your right. It's behind that door. You can use my soap, but you are not using my washcloth. There's clean ones under the sink.”

With a simple shrug, Halfnut would shove his hands in his pockets and head to her bedroom in hopes of finding the bathroom. Luckily, despite the ship seeming big, the bulk of it definitely wasn't the rooms.

The bathroom was small, with the glass shower taking up the majority of the room. Halfnut would be able to find the washcloths she'd been talking about, and would grab a plain grey one for himself. He'd be getting ready to undress when he noticed something peculiar.

The shower had knobs.

He wasn't exactly used to older showers, especially ones made with humans in mind. He grew up using more advanced ones with interfaces, or ones with buttons that allowed you to power the shower off and on and adjust a temperature, sometimes with a display that showed the current temp, water pressure, etc.

There was no temperature indication, water pressure adjustment, nothing. Just two knobs labeled “hot” and “cold”.

How primitive.

Halfnut would sigh, knowing he'd have to go bother Lla Lla again… Before he realized he got to go bother Lla Lla again.

Again came that mischievous grin as he put his shirt back on, leaving his washcloth on the sink as he began his search for the purple alien. He'd find her on the floor in the kitchenette, parts of her clothes damp from the comforter she was scrubbing against the metal washboard.

He still found it silly that she didn't even take the bedding to a laundromat, or somewhere with a washer and dryer.

Lla Lla would flinch for a moment when she heard his footsteps, having forgotten about the man currently on board with her. Halfnut would stop right in front of her where she could see his boots, and after a few seconds of silence, Lla Lla would ask curtly, “What do you want?”

“How's yer shower work, girlie?”

Lla Lla would turn to Halfnut with a look only classified as dumbfoundedness. “What, do you not know how to turn knobs? What kinda showers have you been using?”

“Aw, cut me sum slack! I ain't never used a shower wit knobs, plain an’ simple. I just wan’ you t’ teach me, then I'll be outta yer hair fer a whole half an hour!”

Despite Lla Lla wanting to just get the laundry done, it seemed that her help was required elsewhere.

“Fine, just let me finish washing the comforter, at least.”

Lla Lla would finish her scrubbing, and after a very surface level rinse of the comforter in the sink, she'd bundle up the sopping wet blanket and take it to the spare bedroom, opening a door to the left of the entrance to reveal a whole other bathroom.

The entire room was also coated in a layer of dust, with items such as a child's toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as shampoo and conditioner in the shower looking as though they hadn't moved in years.

In the shower was a metal drying rack, where Lla Lla would hang up the blanket to dry. While he wanted to ask why he couldn't just use the shower in what was about to be his room, he had a feeling that if he tried to turn on the water in there, it would spit out dust.

Finally, he would be able to take a shower, with the help of Lla Lla.

Halfnut was starting to realize that this little getaway from being a Ravager so far had been… really boring. Extremely boring. Maybe they will get to do something tomorrow? He'd have to talk with her about it, if she wasn't pissed at him for being on her ship.

Back in Lla Lla's bathroom, she'd demonstrate how to turn on the shower, turning both knobs to allow for an equal amount of hot and cold water to spray from the shower, from there, she'd show him how to adjust the temperature, though he was having a bit of trouble adapting.

“Ugh, really wish I could actually read the damn temperature ‘fore I step in. What if is too hot!?”

Lla Lla would roll her eyes, finding it ridiculous that he required a visual temperature reading of the water.

“Just put your hand under the water. If it's too hot, add some cold water. If it's too cold, add some hot water. Trial and error.”

With the water now running, Halfnut would let out an annoyed sigh, taking off his jacket and gloves to test the water. After a little, he'd finally get the perfect temperature, and Lla Lla was no longer needed…

She wasn't leaving, however. In fact, she was starting to take her pigtails out.

“What're you doin?”

“I'm gonna take a shower as well. It's better to just get both of us through the shower rather than run the water purifier twice. Just don't get any idea, or the last thing you'll see will be the cold vacuum of space.”

Turns out, Halfnut was getting what he wanted after all.

As Lla Lla pulled out the final rubber band that kept up her pigtails, Halfnut would get to see what her hair looked like down. It was… interesting.

It looked like a mix between a botched mullet and a jellyfish haircut, probably because the layers were usually meant to stay separate.

Seeing as there was a whole cup full of rubber bands on the sink, it was likely she might've cut her hair while it was still up. The loose curls saved most of the hair, he couldn't imagine it straightened.

“You need a major haircut, girlie.”

Lla Lla would turn to Halfnut, a rather annoyed look on her face as she combed her fingers through her hair. “I cut it myself. I don't wanna go to a barber, those cost money. Besides, no one sees me with my hair down.”

“Ya still needa haircut…” Halfnut muttered to himself.

His attention, however, would be pulled away from her hair as she started to get undressed, first taking off her jacket, then her beige button up to reveal a plain black sports bra… and many scars.

Halfnut couldn't even count them all if he tried. Thick and thin, big and small, but there were a few especially that caught his eye.

A very long, thick light blue scar that ran along the power half of her stomach, a couple small burn scars on her shoulders and arms, and then the one that really grabbed his attention for all the worst reasons was the one on her back. It almost looked as though she'd had a bite taken out of her, as there lay a divot nearly the size of his head on the side of her lower back. It was a burn scar, and not only was it massive, it ran deep, deep enough that if he looked closely enough, he'd be able to see a part of her vertebrae sticking out.

“Jeezus!!”

He couldn't help his reaction, especially when she was so casual about showing this to him.

“Oh, toughen up. I'm sure you've seen plenty of scars, considering you've got that giant one on your head.”

While Halfnut wanted to tell Lla Lla not to mention the scar on his head, he was more focused on the light blue stripes and blotches she bore. Were these all from work? How long had she been working to get this many scars?

“Girlie, yer more scar tissue than flesh! The hell happened t’ you? How've ya got so many?”

“You're asking too many questions. I thought we were showering.”

At least they shared something in common. They both had a similar stance on their scars, they didn't want to talk about them.

Knowing how that feels, Halfnut would drop it with a quiet sigh, starting to get himself undressed. He'd been hoping to shower with a hot alien chick, but instead, he was getting a bleak glimpse into the nitty gritty of her life.

Finally out of his dirty clothes, Halfnut would test the water one final time, making sure it was warm and comfortable, before stepping in. Lla Lla, having very little discomfort with being naked in front of a man, would watch him get in, wanting to be sure the water wasn't too cold.

She was already hugging herself, her skin pricked with goosebumps as she shivered. It wasn't that cold in the bathroom, why did she look like she was stranded in a tundra?

The sound of her talons scraping against the tile were nearly drowned out as she walked into the shower with him.

The moment the warm water hit her skin, she'd let out a girlish squeal, jumping back before quickly turning the hot water knob up to increase the heat. The water wasn't even cold, why was she freaking out?!

As the water became near scalding hot, steam would fill the room, and Halfnut would have to step away from the shower's hot blast and into a corner.

“Llavende! Turn the water down, is too hot!!”

Begrudgingly, Lla Lla would turn the heat down, just enough so that the both of them won't be uncomfortable. The water was still pretty hot, but Halfnut was able to adjust as he began to rinse himself off first. Lla Lla would stand off to the side, averting her gaze to be polite.

Once he stepped aside to shampoo his hair, Lla Lla would step under the water to rinse.

Halfnut would not be averting his gaze.

As he lathered the long and short halves of his hair, he'd occasionally steal glances at her torn up body. Halfnut wasn't one to find scars unattractive, but he did find them concerning as his eyes raked over every one, his mind coming up with stories to explain how she could've gotten so many.

His attention would also be grabbed by other things, like how her lean and slender muscles contrasted with her flat, somewhat soft stomach, and how the water would run over her curves, and how her dark copper red hair looked slicked back and wet, and her soft, emerald green, square irises with two vertical, circular pupils, the soft, downy, pink feathers she had a little happy trail of, and her perky-

Time to switch.

Halfnut would rinse the shampoo out of his hair while Lla Lla began to lather some into her own.

This was nothing she wasn't used to already.

With how unregulated the old fight club she used to work in was, the locker rooms and showers were a complete joke, and despite being 15-16, she'd shower beside mostly grown men and women.

Nothing really phased her anymore.

As the two went back and forth in the shower, swapping places to clean themselves, Halfnut couldn't help but mention what he had noticed earlier, about her being so cold.

“I've bin wonderin’... Why was you shiverin’ so much earlier? And why was the water so cold t’ you?”

“It's because I'm not warm blooded like you. I'm not cold blooded, either, though. I'm kinda somewhere in between, because I don't rely on the sun for heat. Usually, I grow feathers on my arms and legs that keep me warm, but I usually just pluck them because I don't really have many short sleeve shirts or shorts, and wearing long sleeves with feathers is uncomfortable.”

What Halfnut was gathering was that Lla Lla couldn't retain body heat the way he could, and that because she plucks her feathers, she had absolutely no way of staying warm other than her clothes.

It would make more sense for him to question why she doesn't just buy different clothes, but he was more focused on teasing her as his thoughts diverged.

“Heh, yer like a bird lady. Ya got the nose, the feathers, the talons, the terrible body temp control… You sure you ain't a bird?”

Lla Lla would cross her arms in disapproval. She didn't like being thought of as a bird, especially because she didn't actually know what her species was or where it evolved from, but it wasn't as if she hadn't heard that before.

As the two finished getting cleaned up, Lla Lla would run her fingers through her hair one last time as she rinsed out some leftover conditioner, and Halfnut just could not help himself. The small mercenary was too enticing to not look at.

He was starting to really wish that she was a bit easier to open up so that he could find out what she was like past that moody and spiteful exterior, he knew there was more to her than meets than eye…

God, since when did he ever like a woman for their personality? Halfnut couldn't believe what he was thinking about.

He was so used to hookers, and he couldn't remember the first or last time he was ever in an actual relationship, now he wanted to get to know this woman because she wasn't throwing herself at him?

That was when Halfnut stopped arguing with himself and daydreaming as he saw Lla Lla glaring him down, hands on her hips and in a rather defensive stance.

“What're you smiling like that for? Stop staring before I kick you out.”

He hadn't even realized it until he noticed his cheeks starting to ache and burn, but he'd been showing off a rather silly grin that entire time.

He'd drop his smile, grumbling to himself and looking away as he rubbed one of his now sore cheeks. He couldn't believe how ridiculously he was acting.

Lla Lla would shut off the shower now that the two of them were done showering, and as soon as she switched the water off, she'd quickly leap out of the shower to grab her towel and get dried off as quickly as possible before she was too cold to move. She’d frantically dry off her body and hair before bolting out of the bathroom.

“What in the hell-”

Halfnut would watch this all go down, a little confused. Should he have helped her somehow?

He'd go about drying himself off before wrapping the towel around his waist, walking out of the bathroom to see Lla Lla huddled under the covers of her bed and trembling terribly.

She seemed pretty embarrassed by the whole ordeal, avoiding looking anywhere near him as she tried to warm herself up.

“D’ you… need sum help? Warmin’ up, I mean.”

Lla Lla would shake her head, trying to sound stern. “I-If you mean g-getting i-in my b-bed, I-I'm n-not letting you d-do that…”

Cuddling was off the table, which was rather unsurprising. Still, he wanted to help her, he kinda felt… bad about her being cold.

First he was developing genuine feelings for a woman, now he was having empathy? What a crazy day.

“I mean, I could, like, git you sum clothes or sumthin’.”

Lla Lla was a bit surprised he was still trying to help her, despite the fact he wasn't really going to get much out of it.

“Y-Yeah, if you c-can…” Halfnut would dig through her drawers, which gave him a bit of an excuse to “raid” some of her clothes.

Almost every shirt she had was stained with some type of blood, in almost every color imaginable. Plenty of them looked stitched back together and had patches to hide giant tears and such. Seems that she didn't go shopping very often, or possibly at all since going anywhere in public covered in blood might raise some concerns.

He'd grab a random beige button up shirt, a random pair of brown cargo pants, a random pair of brown socks…

God, just how much did this woman like brown? Who even likes brown as a color?

Finally, when he got around to giving her a pair of undergarments, he was a bit disappointed to see she only had plain black boxers. Nonetheless, he'd grab a pair and set everything on the bed for her to get dressed into.

Slowly but surely, Lla Lla would piece her outfit back together, by dragging articles of clothing under the sheets to get dressed into.

Eventually, she'd emerge from her bed, victorious over her debilitating and frigid ship, even though the temperature was around 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

She'd return to her bathroom, stopping in front of her mirror to comb out her bangs so they would dry in the right spot, as Halfnut thought about getting himself dressed.

Until he realized he couldn't.

With how sudden his arrival on her ship had been, there had been no time for him to pack any of his belongings, other than what he had on him.

Currently, his clothes were in a disgusting heap on the bathroom floor, covered in sweat and God knows what.

It seems there would be more to do today than just showering and preparing a room for Halfnut.

Chapter Text

“Heyyy… jus’ got a little problem, girlie…”

Lla Lla was currently combing out her bangs and fluffing up her roots, trying to dry her hair quicker.

“What's up?” She wouldn't bother turning to look at him, since she could see him in the slightly foggy mirror.

“What am I s'posed t’ wear? The only clothes I brought're dirty…”

Lla Lla would pause what she was doing, before resting her face in one of her hands. He was right, what was he supposed to wear? He definitely wasn't borrowing her clothes, so some shopping was in order, something she really didn't want to do today.

Of course, he would need clothes to get into the store, so she would have to wash his current ones first. She'd finish touching up her wet hair, her loose curls now starting to coil as they were no longer weighed down by water.

Lla Lla would grab Halfnut's pile of dirty clothes, which smelled absolutely horrendous, taking them to the living room. Halfnut would follow, and watch as she grabbed an unmarked spray bottle from out of the supply closet.

It was going to be a quick clean for these clothes, she didn't have time to scrub them.

First, Lla Lla would lay his jacket flat on the ground, spraying the surface area of the front and grabbing some paper towels. Some brown, foamy solution would begin to rise out of the clothes, revealing just how filthy they were.

Halfnut was rightfully embarrassed.

“I uh… I usually wash ‘em more…”

Lla Lla would roll her eyes rather dramatically, almost like out of a cartoon. “Yeah, right.”

Lla Lla would take the paper towel and wipe off the dirty, soapy foam from the jacket, before turning it over to spray the backside. She'd wipe the nasty bubbles away, before moving to his shirt, pants, and socks.

She'd leave his boxers for him to clean and would turn away from him. She didn't want to see what kind of grime would arise from that fabric, lest she compulsively give him a sanitizer bath.

Once everything was cleaned up and dried off, Halfnut would hesitantly pick up his shirt, still trying to keep his towel wrapped around his waist.

“What was that soap stuff that you sprayed on my clothes? It ain't gonna hurt my skin or sumn, right?”

“It won't hurt you, it's just a quicker way to clean your clothes so you don't have to wait. Now come on, get dressed, I don't wanna wait on you.”

Lla Lla would leave to the kitchenette, grabbing the bucket of soapy water left in there and pouring it down the drain. She'd have to finish the laundry another time, this was more important. She couldn't keep making him wear the same pair of clothes every day, and that quick cleaning solution was expensive.

Once Halfnut was dressed again, Lla Lla would lead him back to the cockpit. She'd sit down in the pilot seat, opening a holographic GPS on the dash to set a destination.

“Where do you usually shop for clothes?”

Halfnut would shrug his shoulders. He didn't really shop anywhere specific, so long as the department store had clothes for his species.

“I dunno. Jus’ about anywhere, I guess.”

Lla Lla would sigh, fidgeting with her fingers. That didn't really help, nor narrow down her options. She figured she might as well just take him where her and her dad used to go clothes shopping. They'd probably have something for him there, since he seemed pretty humanoid, physically. She couldn't really tell his species, not when so many of them looked all too similar to humans.

She'd set the course, but then get up from her seat.

“I'm gonna go fix my hair. Don't touch anything.”

Lla Lla would walk out of the cockpit, leaving Halfnut in front of an array of buttons. While he wasn't stupid enough to press any, he was stupid enough to snoop while Lla Lla fixed her hair into pigtails again. Despite claiming he only liked women to have sex with them, he was curious about this woman's life.

He'd check out the console and the faded labels for each button, lever, and switch. He'd snoop about the kitchenette, discovering canned food that was somehow way out of date and a rather barren fridge with a couple slabs of raw meat with bites taken out of them.

He'd check out the side tables in the living room, finding a collection of DVDs from earth as well as a button on one of the side tables labeled “TV”. Adhering to her rules, Halfnut wouldn't touch it, but he'd log away in his mind that there was at least some entertainment on this ship.

Once Lla Lla stepped out of her bedroom to see Halfnut checking out what movies she had, she'd roll her eyes dramatically. It was the only way she really knew how to roll her eyes, anyway, after never grasping the concept of not literally rolling your eyes.

“Just put those back when you're done.”

Surprised to hear her voice, Halfnut would turn around quickly, a little startled to see her standing right behind him. She had her hands on her hips, her hair now up in her two signature pigtails, but still slightly damp.

Halfnut would already start putting some of the movies away, not in the mood to be scolded for being curious.

“Yeah, yeah, ‘course…”

“C'mon, let's go.”

With the DVDs tidied away, the two would make their way back to the cockpit, sitting down in their respective seats and buckling in. Halfnut was rather anxious about flying again, mostly because of the breakneck speeds Lla Lla would reach. However, this wasn't his ship, and she probably wasn't going to let him fly her ship just yet.

“Can you, like, keep the flyin’ tame this time? Yer gonna fling me outta my seat if ya keep flyin’ the way you are.”

Lla Lla would continue to start up the ship, flipping several switches to prepare the engine while she responded. “I'll do my best, but no guarantees. I fly fast to get places faster.”

Lla Lla barely even tried.

By the time they landed, Halfnut was once again shaken up and struggling to gain his footing as he unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up. He’d just have to get used to it, since Lla Lla wasn't planning on going easy on him anytime soon. In fact, she was scolding him for being dizzy.

“Oh, toughen up. You can't act like that everytime we fly.”

At this point, it just felt like she was trying to give him a headache, maybe so that he would stop bothering her.

The planet they had landed on was bright and sunny, with futuristic architecture surrounding the port they had parked in. It looked similar to what humans had imagined the future to look like in the 2000’s, with plenty of native wildlife and a perfect balance of sleek, modern cities with bright, crisp colors. “Aero”, as humans would call it.

Halfnut would finally clamber out of the ship, as if in a drunken haze, to join up with Lla Lla, who had already left the ship to try and remember where the store she was looking for was. She'd signal for Halfnut to follow her with a wave of the hand, but when he didn't catch up immediately, she'd turn around to check on him.

She'd find him struggling to regain his balance, even though she felt she had gone ever so slightly easier on him that time. While she did find Halfnut annoying, the alien woman did possess sympathy and empathy. Her normally cold and uncaring features softened a hint, and she'd backtrack to where he was standing.

“C'mon, the store's to the left of the port.”

Lla Lla would take Halfnut's hand and start walking, making sure he was following along easily enough. As Halfnut focused his attention and started to regain his balance, he wouldn't tell her to let go.

For a moment, he'd just look at her intently, especially when she turned her head to check on him again. The slight softness of her expression, the hint of concern in her eyes, the gentle grasp of her hand on his…

He was falling in love with tiny details of her, and he hated it, but he just couldn't seem to let go.

Did he really hate it? Or was that what he wanted himself to believe?

He hadn't even noticed the two had arrived at the store Lla Lla had been looking for until she nudged him with her elbow, letting go of his hand. Halfnut's hand would curl into a fist, as if trying to grasp the feeling of her touch.

“We're here. Hopefully they still sell what I think they sell, I haven't been here in a while.”

The two would walk into the store, which had a very nice theming of the outdoors. The lighting above was cool, but not overwhelmingly white and bright, with warm lit graphics of greenery and bubbles decorating the walls. Other than the unique interior design, it looked just about like any other department store.

Lla Lla would grab something out of her utility belt, being that same metal box Halfnut had remembered seeing while helping her escape. She'd press a metal engraving on top of the box, and it would start to unfold into a mask.

With the mask on, she looked rather intimidating, with the worn copper and gold trim contrasting the dark lenses. With the mask powered on, Lla Lla would be able to translate some of the signs in the store, which would be helpful since she only knew English and Spanish.

“What's that…?”

Now Halfnut was puzzled, as she'd given him no explanation as to why she pulled a mask out of nowhere.

“It helps me read the signs.”

Lla Lla would eventually be able to point out the men's section, and the two would head over to check out the clothes they offered. Surprisingly, the clothes bore a very clear resemblance to ones modern humans would wear.

An assortment of shirts, pants, socks, and plenty other clothes that were less geared toward humanoids would be displayed on tables with green, see through tops.

Lla Lla would hang around as Halfnut picked out a couple different pairs of clothes to last him longer than a single day, ending up with a basket filled with plain white and black t-shirts/tank tops, a couple pairs of heavy cargo pants, two packs of socks, and a couple packs of plain black boxers. He had also bought some other necessities like a hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, and anti nausea medication to try and lessen the terrible flying he'd been subjected to.

Obviously, he wasn't one to dress for looking nice, and that was one thing the both of them could agree on, style wise.

With the help of a self checkout, Halfnut would pay for his clothes and the two would walk out bags in hand.

Of course, he couldn't be satisfied with just that.

Seeing another store across the street, he’d get his eye caught by the people walking out with drinks in their hands. It wasn't too often he fancied a sweet treat, usually he’d settle for alcohol and whatnot, but he felt like checking out what the store had to offer.

“Hey, what's that sign o’er there say, girlie?”

He’d point out the sign, and Lla Lla would use her mask to translate it for him.

“It just says ‘Lucky Day’. Why?”

“Cuz I wanna go check it out!”

Lla Lla wasn't really in the mood to be running around, and she also had no idea what the store was selling.

“C’mon, we just went shopping for clothes, you don't need more stuff, do you?”

“‘M jus’ curious, girlie! Saw some kiddies walkin’ out with drinks, and I’m kinda thirsty.”

Despite her apprehension, Lla Lla couldn't deny that the idea of a drink sounded pretty good.

“Alright, but we're not going anywhere else after this.”

Halfnut would hold a quiet celebration in his head as they crossed the street and entered the establishment.

The white walls were decorated with a thick stripe of see through orange glass with backlighting that made it pop. The floor itself was also orange, as were the cushions on the big white seats scattered around the store. The lighting was a bit softer in what would've otherwise been an overwhelming store, giving a sense of comfort that blue lighting couldn't bring. There was a mixture of fruity smells in the air, the most prominent being orange.

Lla Lla would look up at the overhead menu, and soon realized the store they had walked into specialized in drinks.

Slushies, smoothies, milkshakes, any alcohol free beverage one could think of was listed.

Halfnut was having difficulty with deciding what he wanted, mostly because he couldn't read the menu in its foreign language. Lla Lla would take off her mask and hand it to him so he could hopefully pick what he wanted quickly.

While she had planned to simply grab another straw and try a sip of whatever Halfnut might get, she was starting to think about the drinks. She hadn't really eaten anything sweet in years, save the occasional fruit, and the strawberry banana smoothie seemed rather alluring.

“Alrighty, I know what I want.”

Lla Lla would step aside to allow Halfnut to order, but rather than stepping up to the register, he'd simply hang back, looking at Lla Lla expectantly.

“What, you want me to order? It's your drink.”

“Yeah, but- I don’ wanna mess up yer translator thingy in yer mask. Can you order fer me?”

Lla Lla would pinch the bridge of her nose. He was perfectly capable of ordering, and yet he, a grown man, was asking her to order for him like a child.

She'd take the mask back, letting the mechanisms adjust and attach to her face, before ordering his drink for him. With a hand wave, she’d motion for Halfnut to pay for his drink, while she’d order her own drink and pull out her wallet. Seeing this, Halfnut would stop her.

“You don' gotta do that. Let it be my treat.”

While she felt a tinge of guilt for having him pay for both of their drinks after buying clothes, she was also really tight on money, per usual for her. She’d close her wallet, putting it back in her pocket and letting Halfnut pay for the drink.

The sound of a blender would fill the air, as well as the aroma of strawberries, bananas, orange juice, and an unidentifiable yet sweet fourth smell. Probably whatever Halfnut wanted in his drink.

The two would be served their drinks, and the worker who made their drinks would bid them farewell… in a rather awkward sense.

“Enjoy, lovers!” Was the loose translation her mask would present to her.

Lla Lla would shake her head rather vigorously, trying to clear the accusation away as quickly as possible.

“No no, just colleagues!”

Hearing the translated message, the worker would correct themself.

“Friends, then!”

Lla Lla would settle for that, nodding her head and walking out with Halfnut. Having had a lack of translation, Halfnut was confused as to what took place, and what the worker and Lla Lla had said to each other.

“What was they sayin’ back there?”

Lla Lla would take off her mask, pressing two buttons on the sides so it would fold and collapse into itself to become a pocket sized box once again.

“They thought we were a couple.”

Halfnut would let out a nasally laugh, eyeing the purple drink he was carrying. “Tha's ridiculous! We ain't datin’, why'd they think that?”

“Dunno.”

The laughter would fade back into silence as Lla Lla admired the scenery while they walked, and Halfnut would admire her. She was starting to soften, or at least treat him with more respect and kindness than she had previously.

Spotting a nice bench, Halfnut would call Lla Lla over, insisting that they take a break to enjoy their drinks. Lla Lla hadn't tried her drink just yet, and as she sat by Halfnut and took her first sip, she was blown away. She had forgotten food can actually taste… good.

When he looked to his side, Halfnut would see Lla Lla looking actually happy about something for once. Her tail would be wagging, the pink feathers at the tip swaying in the generated breeze, and she had an actual smile on her face.

It was the first time he'd seen her smile since they met, and her smile was something to behold.

He'd be able to see her slightly elongated, sharp canines poking out from her blue-indigo lips, something usually seen as dangerous or unattractive now seemed like a cute little detail in her features.

The genuine excitement from something so simple… it made his heart flutter.

His cheeks would heat up, and as a smile threatened to cross his lips, he swallowed it back down, averting his gaze and sipping on his smoothie, trying to ignore his genuine affection.

That's not what women are for.

They're not for prissy feelings to share, or actual people to confide in, they're either for sex or slightly mutual friendship. Nothing more. That was what his father taught him, anyway, and what he'd been living by for the longest time…

Why was she so pretty? He was starting to realize he barely even referred to her in his mind as “sexy” or “hot”. She was beautiful.

Having angrily sucked down all of his smoothie, as well as his own feelings, Halfnut would stand up from the bench, catching Lla Lla's attention.

“You're done already?”

Trying to play it cool, Halfnut would toss his cup in the nearby trash, not letting his tenseness affect his tone.

“Yeah, I'm ready t’ git outta here. My new room still ain't clean, and I figured I could help ya.”

Damn it, why did he say that? Even if he didn't intend to make the promise, he wasn't just going to go back on it. Not this time, to this woman.

“Thanks, I appreciate it. C'mon, let's get back to the ship.”

The two would make their way back to the port, board their ship, and soar out the atmosphere back into space, clothes and smoothie in tow, and Halfnut would struggle not to look at her face the entire ride.

Chapter Text

As the ship evened out, Lla Lla would unbuckle her seatbelt and grab her smoothie from her cup holder, excited to finish it. Her stoic expression would disappear once more to be replaced by the content and upbeat look.

She didn't even notice that Halfnut was staring at her with conflicting glances,or that she even looked so joyous to begin with. Her tail would begin to wag once more as she drank the rest of her smoothie, setting the empty cup back in the cup holder for now.

She’d gaze out the windshield to view the empty yet somehow welcoming void she considered home, realizing just how silent everything was.

God, where were her manners? She'd been given a treat as a gift, and hadn't even said thank you yet. Hell, she couldn't even remember the last time she said that. Her dad would've been disappointed.

Her lips would contort in an uncomfortable fashion as she tried to force herself to speak, physically tensing up as she finally choked out. “... Uhm… Thank you…”

Halfnut would glance at Lla Lla and look away for a moment, before finally comprehending what she said as he stumbled over a response.

“Oh, uh, y-yeah, yer welcome…”

He’d bite at the skin around his nails a bit aggressively out of nervous habit, trying not to focus on how cute Lla Lla had looked enjoying her smoothie. After some more awkward silence, Lla Lla would stand up from her seat, stretching her scarred shoulders to the best of her ability.

“You said you wanted to help me clean up your room, right? I can show you how you can help.”

She now wore her stoic look again, but it somehow seemed softer and more neutral than before when she looked inherently pissed off.

“Alrighty, you lead the way, girl.”

The two would leave the cockpit, traversing back to the familiar supply closet. Lla Lla would grab a couple items, such as different sprays and rags as well as some kind of mop with a spray attached to it and a broom.

They'd both head back into the spare bedroom, taking a look at what all needed to be cleaned. The floor needed to be swept and mopped, and some of the surfaces like the dresser needed to get wiped down and cleared out.

Other than that, there wasn't too much work, other than the sheets she would wash later. She could always give him a fresh pair for a while.

With tasks lined out and jobs assigned, the two would get to work. Halfnut would be tasked with wiping down the surface areas, which wasn't much, just a side table and a dresser. The room was very baren, even for one that hadn't been used in a while. Lla Lla would be wiping down the walls first with some kind of spray that seemed to almost make the dust melt away.

Halfnut would steal occasional glances yet again as he watched her work, doing her best to reach as high as she could on the wall, and then as low as possible while on her hands and knees.

He tried to focus on the sexual aspects, how pretty she’d look on her knees for him, and how her pants seemed to cup her ass perfectly.

Instead, he was focusing on the up and down motion she was cleaning the wall with, and just how dedicated she was to making the room clean just for him.

Now that he was truly interested in her, he just couldn't force himself to sexualize her so much. Now he wanted to get to know her, her life, what she was like when she wasn't on edge.

He wanted to see her smile again.

Having not been paying attention, he’d be pulled from his daydream by the voice of the woman he’d been thinking about, who had now stopped cleaning and was facing him with her hands on her hips.

“You gonna keep cleaning that same dresser?”

Halfnut would stop what he was doing, giving a sheepish grin as he realized just how ridiculous he probably looked.

“I-I wasn’ payin’ attention, m'bad.”

With the walls and surfaces clear of dust, Halfnut would be handed a broom. It was going to be his job to sweep, and Lla Lla would take over and mop. She'd watch over him, making sure he was doing a good job…

Which he wasn't.

He was trying his best, she could tell, so she wouldn't critique him too much this time. Next time, she'd definitely show him how to use the broom property.

Eventually, the dust would be collected in a pan, and thrown into the incinerator, and Lla Lla would mop the metal floors for a finishing touch. With new sheets on his bed, clean room, and a place to put all the stuff he got, Halfnut officially had a room for himself.

Lla Lla had cleared the dresser of her childhood clothes so Halfnut could put his new clothes away, but they still lay in bags on the floor, which peeved her slightly.

“Alright, uhm…”

Lla Lla would look around the clean room, the one she hadn't really taken a good look at since she was still sleeping in there. It looked so much different now, and it would only look more alien with her guest sleeping in her old bed.

“Get comfortable, I guess. If you need anything, I'll be in my bedroom.”

Lla Lla would disappear to her room soon after, leaving Halfnut to settle into his new room. He'd take the tags off his new clothes and haphazardly shove them in his new dresser, deciding which drawers would be for what garments.

He'd set up his bathroom utilities in the bathroom connected to his bedroom, but he wouldn't set any shower supplies in there. That shower was saved specifically for hanging clothes to dry, because Lla Lla apparently didn't have the room for a washer and dryer.

Everything was set up the way he wanted it, now he could go lay down on his new bed, which was definitely too short for him. It was already small, with it being a twin size bed, but with how he had to curl up to keep his feet on the mattress, he wasn't going to be able to sleep here.

The problem now was telling Lla Lla. He wasn't sure just how she would react to a justified complaint, with how irritable she had been just earlier. However, he couldn't just suffer in silence, he was at risk of falling off his bed. He’d have to go tell her.

Hopping off the bed, he'd leave the room to enter Lla Lla's from across the hall. Currently, she was doing an inventory check, how many bullets she had, how her guns and knives and whatnot were looking and if any of them needed to be cleaned/sharpened.

Lla Lla would be startled for a moment by Halfnut’s footsteps, flinching like a frightened cat, only to calm once more.

“Heyy… How ya doin, girlie?”

“Fine, why?”

“No reason…”

After a long pause, Halfnut would get his question out of the way.

“Can I sleep wit’ you, girlie? Not like, have sex wit’ you, as fun as that would be, but like… in yer bed? My bed's too small.”

Lla Lla would look at her twin size bed, the one that was not meant to be shared among two people, but was definitely longer than the one in his room.

“If you want to sleep somewhere more comfortable, there's always the couch.”

“C'mon, not the couch! I wanna have some dignity, y'know! Sleepin’ on the couch makes me feel like a bum.”

Lla Lla would groan in annoyance. She simply didn't have any room in her bed, how was he supposed to sleep in hers?

“Well, that's where you'll have to sleep. I don't have any room in my bed for you. You're a grown ass man, get over it.”

Halfnut would cross his arms in annoyance, clearly upset he wasn't getting his way.

“Why don't you give me one night, you let me sleep in yer bed, I won't be a pain in the ass. Sound good?”

She couldn't believe it. Once again, he was arguing until she gave up and in, just like how he had convinced her to let him on the ship. She just couldn't seem to put her foot down.

“Fine! Just one night. That's all you're getting to prove if your idea is good or not.”

With a little satisfactory smile, Halfnut would give a mocking bow of the head before leaving her room. He didn't want to hang out in his new room if he couldn't really lay in bed, so he'd instead head into the living room again and sit by the side table with the remote built into the top.

Seeing the “TV” button, Halfnut would decide to finally give into his curiosity and press it. Down from the ceiling, a flat screen TV would descend from a hole in the ceiling until it was near eye level for Halfnut.

It was surprising she even had any kind of entertainment, though from the dust coating her DVD collection and TV, he could tell she didn't use it often. Halfnut would go back to the little cabinet inside the side table, wanting to pick out something to watch. Eventually, he'd decide on a show, and only needed to figure out where to put it.

Halfnut wasn't used to this ancient-feeling technology, mostly because he hadn't grown up on Earth and was used to the futurism established on most societal planets.

He'd open the DVD case to be met with a disc inside. He'd look around the TV, trying to see if he could find an entry point for said disc. Nothing. Then he noticed another button on the built-in remote. “DVD Player”. He figured it was worth pressing, since the case he was holding did say DVD.

The top of the side table would open up, revealing a black box that would be lifted out of its compartment in the side table. Pressing the “Eject” button on it would push out a little platform for the disc to be placed on.

Halfnut would lay the disc on the platform, before pushing it back into the black box, and then turning the TV on.

Finally, Halfnut could watch his show.

Meanwhile, Lla Lla had now moved on to placing a food order on her holoputer. She'd order what she needed, being meat, since the slabs in her fridge didn't have much longer, and milk.

However, she needed to consider the fact that Halfnut might have different dietary needs. After all, she had noticed most people don't eat raw meat.

She decided she would put what she needed on the list, and then ask Halfnut what he would need.

“Hey, I was just wondering what you might want to have here to-...”

Lla Lla would trail off once she noticed that the TV she hadn't seen in literal years had been lowered down and switched on, and Halfnut was watching the entire first season of Dexter with a rather intense focus on whatever was happening at the moment. She had no idea what Dexter was about, that was her dad's show, not hers.

She'd clear her throat loudly to get Halfnut's attention, to which he responded accordingly and pulled his attention away from the TV by pausing it. Lla Lla would reiterate her question now that he was focused on her.

“What do you want to have here on the ship to eat? I don't think just meat and milk will be enough for you.”

It was hardly enough for herself, she only managed because the food she bought was dirt cheap and her job was full of uncertainty about when her next paycheck would come.

Halfnut would try to think of what he might want to have on the ship to eat, but he could only think of stuff to make sandwiches. He hadn't really made himself a meal in a while, since he was used to eating in the mess hall of the Eclector. What did he usually eat there?

His mind was drawing a blank on what to get. Maybe he just needed to look at his options.

“‘Ere, gimme yer computer.”

Lla Lla would hand Halfnut the little projection box that projected her browser, and Halfnut would take a look at what the store she was ordering from had to offer.

He was surprised to see all the food on the website was from Earth, which was interesting since Lla Lla herself clearly wasn't in a typical sense.

“Why you gettin’ Earth food, girlie? Jus’ a preference or somethin’?”

“It's what I grew up eating. My dad was from Earth, so we both typically ate mostly Earth food. Sometimes I eat food from other places, though.”

Halfnut would nod his head in acknowledgement, before going ahead and adding stuff for sandwiches to the order. Lunch meat, sliced cheese, sliced bread, a couple condiments, whatever else is on sandwiches. He'd also add butter to his purchase, which confused Lla Lla.

“Butter? Why would you put butter on a sandwich?”

“No, no, I'm gonna put it on toast. You got a toaster over there, right?”

“It's broke.”

Halfnut would sigh.

“Of course it is…”

Halfnut would remove his order of butter and replace it with peanut butter and jelly.

He'd also buy a couple miscellaneous fruits and vegetables to have as sides or snacks, but he was very picky about what he added. No blueberries or raspberries, no celery or brussel sprouts, either.

As he finished ordering, the total came out to… way more than what Lla Lla could afford.

She'd look inside her wallet that digitally displayed her current balance on a little screen, and knew she was fucked.

“Can we maybe… take a couple items off? I can't buy all that.”

“I'll jus’ pay for it if ya can't afford it.”

Damnit, now he was paying for her stuff again. She really didn't like when he did that, mostly because she felt guilty about how much money he was spending on her.

Then again, not everyone lives paycheck to paycheck, and living in a space pirate clan is much more fruitful than she could imagine.

Halfnut would send her some money, and Lla Lla would use the money to buy the groceries through her account. The coordinates were set for their delivery flyer, now all they had to do was wait for a message from the intercom. Halfnut would go back to watching Dexter, and Lla Lla would put in her headphones to listen to some music on her CD player.

Once again, Halfnut was struggling with boredom. He and Lla Lla weren't interacting at all, and even if she wasn't going to sleep with him, even something as simple as sitting together should feel more interesting.

Halfnut would pat the seat beside him to get Lla Lla's attention. She’d turn to Halfnut with a curious look, wondering if he wanted something.

He'd get distracted by the cute look on her face for a moment before patting the seat again. Now she was confused, and her brows would furrow as she gave him a questioning look, taking one earbud out.

Halfnut would roll his eyes, patting the seat once more as he playfully called to her.

“Come sit by me, girlie.”

“Why?”

Halfnut would give Lla Lla an unimpressed look, not really wanting her to ask questions.

“Jus’ git over here, Llavende!”

Lla Lla would hesitantly scoot next to Halfnut, wondering why he was being so insistent about her sitting next to him. She'd sit so there was at least a 4-5 inch distance between them, but Halfnut would simply pull her closer to him.

Lla Lla wasn't used to being so close to him, or anyone for that matter, and she felt a bit awkward being pulled against him.

“... What are you doing?”

“Enjoyin’ yer company.”

“... Right.”

Some silence would pass by as Halfnut watched his show unbothered.

“Can I go back to my side of the couch?”

“Why?”

“Because you're hugging my side and being weird.”

“I ain't bein’ weird! I jus’ wanna git cozy, no sex involved!”

“Do we really need to be right next to each other?”

“I'm considerin’ this a thank you fer payin’ fer all that stuff we bought, so if you don't ‘ppreciate my help, you can go right back t’ yer side of the couch.”

Lla Lla would roll her eyes, before noticing a little alarm light on the ship ceiling go off.

An intermission was coming in, so she had to get up anyway. Halfnut would be a bit surprised to see her get up, but he'd notice she was going to the cockpit and would cut her some slack. At least he got a chance to watch her hips sway as she walked away…

Lla Lla would answer through the intercom and allow the delivery to come through, and the parcel would connect to their ship's airlock. She would then travel all the way back through the ship to the airlock to collect the groceries and bring them back to the kitchen.

Seeing Lla Lla dragging groceries through the ship, Halfnut would discard his show for now and go to help Lla Lla put their stuff away.

There wasn't much to clean out of the fridge to make room, with there being a few testy looking pieces of meat and a jug of milk that only had a day left.

Putting away the foods, Lla Lla would recognize some of the stuff Halfnut had bought. She hadn't eaten fruits and vegetables in years, save that smoothie she had today, so seeing things like strawberries and apples was a pleasant surprise.

Then she saw the loaf of bread he got, and an instinctive shiver would run down her spine. She hoped he would be able to eat it all himself, since she couldn't have it. She had learned the hard way when she was little that she couldn't eat grains at all, so he could have that bread for himself.

She'd make the mistake of trying to put peanut butter in the fridge- not that putting peanut butter in the fridge is bad, just that it's not necessary -and the two would have a short and mutual argument about whether or not putting peanut butter in the fridge was better for it or not.

Then they were back on the couch, sitting next to each other while Halfnut watched Dexter and Lla Lla listened to some music and struggled to stay awake. She wouldn't dare fall asleep until he was asleep, he was still a stranger to her currently.

“Y'know… I do appreciate you spending your money for that stuff, and for buying me that smoothie.”

“You ain't gotta thank me, jus’ sit wit’ me a while.”