~~"so... Pluto is in there as well as the others. Even Abyss?"


“Yup, he is laughing, a lot about the situation. He says it’s like Sisyphus getting the stone on top of the hill ”


~~"Love is like war; easy to begin but hard to stop."

“oh.” And by oh he meant Ouch, he wondered momentarily how a man that would throw a tantrum like that had warranted her love where he had merited a shovel…Venus had some quick answers that made him want smother the duplicate. Or had he simply merited more caution perhaps they didn’t need to be in love…she certainly didn’t seem too comfortable in love.

"And if this happened because you went into Jacen's uh--area of effect, then Abyss would need to go next time so then he will be the main squeeze again. Good luck keeping certain others away..."

“Yeah, Jupiter and Pluto seem to think this would be fun, they would want to give the reigns back in minutes as well, I guarantee it


"Bleeding is down to a minimum." "You'll figure it out."

He resisted rubbing the back of his head even though he wanted to see if he was bleed blue or red. he also managed not to take too much advantage of the fine little thing on his lap.one hand wrapped around and rest on a thight while another set on one of her itty bitty ankles.

“thank you, and I am sure I will, perhaps I could just kick them all out and not worry about it. In fact that may be for the best, it would definitely keep Jacen a bit more out of harms way if you don’t tell us how to find him.” he tilted his head looking at her face, “I like your freckles.”
"All those guys in there... they can tell what's going on out here?" "I mean, until you figure out how to open the void, that's like a captive audience, right?"

“Mhmmm, they are. I would say they are an audience that has my mind captive, but yes, I can relay as much or as little as I like to them, with out actual sense experience. Think of it as being on a phone with someone and having them describe the situation, why, what’d you have in mind?”

"He says it’s like Sisyphus getting the stone on top of the hill ”

Lori frowned. Rolling the rock up the hill, watching it roll down again and being forced to repeat the process for eternity? Yeah. That about summed up how she failed at life. "Very astute, ass-face. Him, of course, not you, dear." She pat Mar's cheek again with a simper. "I am disappointed not to be awarded Nemesis, but I guess he'd have to admit to hubris for that. Well, if we're doling out mythological equivalents, I'd like to assign Pluto Apate from Pandora's box."

She wrinkled her nose at the freckle comment and they only stood out all the more prominently for her dislike of them. And of course an "on the phone" equivalent of transferral of information was not nearly as good for what she was thinking. Lori wrinkled her nose again when he asked what she was thinking along those lines. "Nothing good." Because when was she ever thinking something good really?

Lori snuggled up to Plu-no Mars' chest. Gah. She didn't like all of them in there. It was too much to consider. Too many people to juggle all at once and all she wanted was a little cuddle. And so cuddle she did. The smell of old oil and grease mingled with a bit of Mars and faintly beyond that the cleaning products. It was comfortable here in the safe circle of someone else's arms. After a stretch of silence Lori finally got the gumption to ask. "Why do you do that." Statement not question.

She only realized after she'd asked that without all that previous thought, the question was moot. Forced to elaborate, she went on. "Why do you... share? You said to take his side and so I did. Most wouldn't have even thought to offer..." She was glad to be pressed up against his chest and not looking into his eyes. Because honesty was never a very comfortable thing to experience.

"Very astute, ass-face. Him, of course, not you, dear."


“Thanks. And he stopped laughing…for a moment. heh”

"I am disappointed not to be awarded Nemesis, but I guess he'd have to admit to hubris for that. Well, if we're doling out mythological equivalents, I'd like to assign Pluto Apate from Pandora's box."


Assface said he was Sisyphus and the void was the rock, he managed to toss the boulder on my shoulders, just to clarify. And as far as Pluto goes, I think we could find worse for him, perhaps Jason, post circe, pre saving? And Pluto says a lot of things that will never reach the world around us because they aren’t worth hearing.” He waited a moment and looked satisfied with the conversation in his head.



"Nothing good."


“Sounds fun.”


"Why do you do that."



"Why do you... share? You said to take his side and so I did. Most wouldn't have even thought to offer..."


“I am not most, and I think circles around the Most, you speak of. I did it for you, of course. I never asked you to be mine and only mine, I might if I thought you’d bite.SO that in mind, If I care about you, and I do, why would I want to take my happiness over yours, you obviously care for him, the expression on your face when he was disappointed with you, well, it left me little choice on what I needed to do, for you. I’ll care about you, whether a boy walks up throwing a tantrum, and if you hit me with a shovel and much more still, Don’t confuse this with me being a pushover, It is more an absolute value, yours happiness provides quite a bit of mine. Logic says you must nurture, to see fruits bared. So I will release you, if I must and wait for you to fly back.”

“Besides, I take being your favorite book, quite seriously.” He gave her a peck on the fore head. He had closed the boys off from all of this.

“I am not most, and I think circles around the Most, you speak of."

Heh. That was an understatement. Lori listened to the thick thud, thud that sounded through the wall of his chest. It was a soft echo to the pattern of his words.

"I did it for you, of course. I never asked you to be mine and only mine, I might if I thought you’d bite. SO that in mind, If I care about you, and I do, why would I want to take my happiness over yours? you obviously care for him, the expression on your face when he was disappointed with you, well, it left me little choice on what I needed to do, for you."

It didn't surprise her that he had been able to read her expression, after all she knew him as well as he did her. She didn't have to like it though. Disappointing people wasn't something she liked to do either. She liked to shock people and exceed their expectations. If that was no longer an option then leaving on a high note before the proverbial crap hit the fan was the obvious answer.

"I’ll care about you, whether a boy walks up throwing a tantrum, and if you hit me with a shovel and much more still, Don’t confuse this with me being a pushover, It is more an absolute value, yours happiness provides quite a bit of mine. Logic says you must nurture, to see fruits bared. So I will release you, if I must and wait for you to fly back.”

Lori was forced to remember her first boy friend. It was a 6th grade pool party and he was her friend's brother, even better than that, her twin. He had let her push him and pull him and within a week she was bored. She had broken up with him by telling him to get a spine. He cried. She hadn't.

Somehow this time it was Lori's eyes that were pooling with excess moisture. No, she could tell Mars wasn't spineless. She'd rather expected to be sitting alone in this chair tonight. And was somehow glad to not have it so. It was just that... arrangements like this didn't happen. Especially if she somehow convinced Jacen of it, which unfortunately was about as likely as Lori actually falling in love with Mars the way he wanted her to. 'Cause these things never ever worked out how they should.

“Besides, I take being your favorite book, quite seriously.”

She suddenly wished there were a way to be even closer. Lori put her forehead up against Mars' trapezoid changing her position to be more in his lap with her legs curled up on top of his. She could still hear his pulse there. In fact, she could feel like like a little jumping cricket inside of Mars' neck. "That's from a song you know." If she were a singer, she would have sung it. Instead she just said the lyrics that always came to mind when she thought of Mars and viceaversa. So what if the words were a bit more sing-songy in cadence following the pattern of the song? She still wasn't gonna sing. Not even for Mars.

"and to this day when everything breaks
you are the anchor that holds me

how i know your face
all the ways you move
you come in
i can read you, you're my favorite book
all the things you say
the way you shift your eyes
i never knew there was someone to make me come alive

when the days are long and the thunder with the storm can always get me crying
well you can make my bed, i'll fall into it
shattered but not lonely
cause i never knew a home
until i found your hands and when i'm weathered you come to me..." you're my best friend were the lyrics that went next... But she wasn't sure. She'd also omitted the part about knowing they'd always make it. Because for all the perfect words of that song, she didn't quite believe all of it. She was never sure. Never would she be sure.

She shrugged against the man. "I always seem to catch that song when I'm out, around town." Of course she had one that related to Jacen too so that wasn't as special as it my have sounded. It just didn't to be playing on the radio as often as it used to.

Mars listened in stunned silence and let her speak the song, poetry off of her electric lips. He wrapped his arms around her and simply hugged her ignoring the rowdy riffraff in his head.

After holding her a long peaceful while, he spoke softl into her ear.

“I find it interesting that you make me want you even more, still. I think I can’t yearn for you more and I do. We are a magnet and metal,
we are the moon and the tide, we are too right and yet so wrong, perfection and disaster. I would have it no other way, so long as we mean you and me.”

It wasn’t as polished as the song of hers but neither had it existed before this moment.

His body closed around her, his shoulders hunched and his knees rose, his arms enveloped the rest and he breathed her in he sought the closeness that the both wanted. His lips found her cheek and hovered there and finally put a delicate touch there. He wanted to keep her with him there,he wanted to keep her always yet she was a flame, the tighter you held her and the more you might burn and even worse the less she burned altogether. His body receded from around her except for his still comforting arms. He sighed happily and leaned back as he held her there.

“I find it interesting that you make me want you even more, still. I think I can’t yearn for you more and I do."

One corner of her lips twitched up even through her intense frown. That was kind of scary if sweet. It didn't change the fact that she just wanted to hold him and be held in return. Mars seemed to have similar ideas and didn't push anything too sexual beyond his breath on her ear.

"We are a magnet and metal, we are the moon and the tide, we are too right and yet so wrong, perfection and disaster. I would have it no other way, so long as we mean you and me.”

She snorted. They weren't really a 'we.' Not unless they were touching. Like now... "You should pull away as soon as the tide is low and the pull is weakest. It'd be the best for all involved, but for now you ain't goin' no where."

He clammed up around her and she liked it. He was warm and while not so soft, he was alive and so very present. Whereas Jacen had walked away. Jerkface. She'd get him back. And she didn't even mean it in a mean way... She knew just what to do. Something he'd never think to ask for. Just like she'd never think to ask Mars for his understanding.

And then he let her go. Not entirely, but the closeness was done and gone. "Don't go getting too attached. I'd hate to have you and 7 others coming after me in a tizzy too." She stuck her tongue out at him and begrudgingly swung her legs over the edge of her very comforting seat. She had to at least get the grease off her hands. And what else could she say to him? Good job. Good job falling for a chick who's unsure about all of this. Unsure to the point that she doesn't even know if she's playing or not.

Lori slid away from Mars and went to the sink to wash her hands. This was always a bit tricky. she felt her level of charge to be sufficient so she went for the fasts hand wash ever. Soap first scrubbing hard and fast until her hands were almost as red as Mars' the soap was no longer a slightly orange color, but was grayish black by the time she turned on the water. It was dirty. She didn't like to be dirty. There were too many other things in her life that couldn't be cleaned up. She was toweling her hands off before she bothered to turn off the water.

Sigh. She gripped the counter top through her towel.

"If I needed to change... if things should be different... would you push me?" Would he ask her to change? Did she need to? It was hard to see from this close.

"You should pull away as soon as the tide is low and the pull is weakest. It'd be the best for all involved, but for now you ain't goin' no where."



“Either you weren’t listening or you are unbelieving, I understand.” He sighed lightly. “I really do.” It was his opinion that this little bird would fly off into the night and return one day thinking it would be too late.


"Don't go getting too attached. I'd hate to have you and 7 others coming after me in a tizzy too."


He laughed shaking his head," I am afraid that it is to late, but I am quite content that it is. However if ever talk to you that way hit me with a shovel again, or undress me in the front yard and have your way with me, whatever would mke you feel better...”



"If I needed to change... if things should be different... would you push me?"


“Would you want me to? I certainly wouldn’t stop you from pushing yourself. Change, is an interesting thing indeed. Change for the sake of its self is folly, a bit of self improvement is never bad,”

He paused.

“I suppose I would want to know the context of such a hypothetical.”

He walked over and turned off the water for her.

“Do you want to change? What defines the need to change? Who is to say things should be different.”

He stopped himself again and motioned for her to turn around.

“I would have you be who you want to be, who you are regardless.”

He made eye contact.

“If you are changing for the better, or changing for the worse, If you require me to spur you on to greater heights, or reign you in from forgetting who you are. I’d be happy to, but quite honestly I see nothing wrong with who you are.”

“What seems to be the problem?” If she could read him like a book, there was one word etched on this particular page, illustrated and illuminated in calligraphy, Concerned.

Would she want him to push her to change if she needed it? Yes. Would she tell him that? No. Would she push herself? Not unless she could figure out what was "wrong." Would she ever be able to tell what was wrong on her own? Probably not.

Change, is an interesting thing indeed. Change for the sake of its self is folly, a bit of self improvement is never bad.”

She didn't know. Augh this was stupid anyway. She used the damp towel to rub off the other black smudges on her arms. Mars got the water.

“I suppose I would want to know the context of such a hypothetical.”

"There is no context. I'm just thinking out loud. It's stupid."

She tossed the towel against the wall and turned around right to see Mars standing closer than she'd expected. Lori swallowed.

“Do you want to change? What defines the need to change? Who is to say things should be different.”

"I don't know what needs to change, but I just... sometimes... Look. I don't know. No one is changing yet so you can keep your panties on as long as you unbunch them."

“I would have you be who you want to be, who you are regardless... quite honestly I see nothing wrong with who you are.”

She frowned at him. Yeah. He wouldn't. The problem was that she didn't know what she wanted. She didn't even know what was wrong or if something was wrong. It was just that when she was with Jacen... She was somehow wrong. Not that he had said anything... but...

“What seems to be the problem?”[/color]

Lori leaned back against the counter to get a smidgen of breathing room. How he was even standing in this metal box was beyond her, but he certainly had enough presence to fill a trailer.

"The problem seems to be that you cannot yet open the void to give your brothers the boot, remember?" She wasn't going to offer herself up for an off the cuff psycho-analyzation session. Not this time.

~~"The problem seems to be that you cannot yet open the void to give your brothers the boot, remember?"

“Well we seem to have a pair of problems neither of us knows how to fix, or even if they need fixing, lets go work on the car? That is strait forward and a simple thing to make work.”

He then looked at her hands that were now clean…”Or we can not get dirty, again.”

He wasn’t sure what she needed but she didn’t want to talk about it and he was just as ready to go ouside and do something functional. He wanted something tactile to do.

Sitting idly in the kitchen didn’t quite appeal to him at the moment.

“Or we could go look for a book or vintage manual on the beast out there. Jupiter says it looks like fun, and the rest appreciate the mobsterness of it.”

He looked at her, “ Hell, lets just go have some fun, you’d think that’d be easy in this city.”

She sighed. Leave it to Mars to know when to take the appropriate out. "Fun...? We should... do that." Lori looked down to her hands and was surprised that the towel was no longer there. Had she put it aside? She looked around and saw it crumpled on the counter. Geez. Emotional turmoil was scarier than being inebriated. She lost track of time more in the turmoil.

"I really do want to get that car functional. But I'm not quite sure where to start beyond the obvious. I could care less if get dirty." Her eyes flashed with the dark light of knowledge. She was of course talking about the grease and rust of the car.

"Or~ I have a better idea." Because he deserved better than calling him up to have him work on the car. Even if they would both enjoy that, it wasn't "fun" per se. Fun meant going out. If Jacen got a date, was Mars not also entitled to such a thing? "China town is having a tasting tour. They got all kinds of wacky sh*t. Octopi. Preserved eggs. Turtle soup. Haven't been there yet, but you can smell it from here."

Lori went for the bedroom, pulling off her shirt as she walked. She hadn't touched the bed there with a ten foot pole and never planned on it. Part of the reason why the shenanigans had taken place in the great outdoors. She grabbed a new, clean shirt sporting the slogan "40 watt club." What it really meant, she had no idea, but it was funny for her on several levels. She grabbed some fresh socks and opened the door to shoo Mars back out into the yard.

A sudden thought occurred to her. She'd meant to ask earlier, but in all the unpleasantness it was temporarily lost in the flood. "Do you have a middle name Mars?" She was hoping the answer was no. No meant he was the ultimate safe bet. No middle name to find out. No sense in knowing his favorite color or his favorite food. No worries. No strings.

She sat in the open door of the trailer to pull off her shoes and change out her socks. After that he could whisk her away to the moon for all she cared.

"Fun...? We should... do that."

He nodded to the conclusion of the question.

"I really do want to get that car functional. But I'm not quite sure where to start beyond the obvious. I could care less if get dirty."

“ A slight smirk hit his lips. “ I’m sure there is a bit of innuendo there, only if I could find it.”

“I like a challenge, I know the general idea behind the engine in theory…but theory to reality is another thing completely. Though with Jupiter in my head I could probably manage

"Or~ I have a better idea." "China town is having a tasting tour. They got all kinds of wacky sh*t. Octopi. Preserved eggs. Turtle soup. Haven't been there yet, but you can smell it from here."

“I like it, sounds interesting, in a might eat something deadly today kind of way. I’ll eat anything you will. And maybe some you won’t.” Challenge!

"Do you have a middle name Mars?"

“Legally no.” he smirked. “Technically, I only have a nick name, awarded to me mostly on the fact that we needed something that was.” Air quotes. “ Cool" end quotes " and recognizable as a set.”

“Have I given my self a middle and last name since then, yes.”

Before she could set to the task of re clothing her feet, he decided to take over. his fingers brushed hers away as his other took her left ankle, He untied her shoe and took it off of her, he moved up and freed her little pale peachy foot. He then did so with the other, holing out his hands for the socks he put the fresh ones on her and then the shoes tying small efficient loops on both.


He smiled at her not waning to admit his eccentrics. He sighed and then said it.

“Mars T. Intempestivus”

“Legally no.”[/color] He seemed amused at the idea even as she was sighing in relief. Success. It was impossible to complicate this now. "Recognizable as a set, hmm?" The idea was amusing. If she suddenly sprouted 6 sisters, would she want them all to have a matching set of names? Probably. It was interesting to know that they had essentially named themselves, though.

“Have I given my self a middle and last name since then, yes.”

She couldn't stop herself from groaning. "No joke huh?" He took control of her feet and begrudgingly she passed him the socks. He was probably going to tell her his middle name now that she'd inquired. There really was no such thing as an uncomplicated relationship was there? With just a handful of words he'd shattered a life-long goal that she finally thought that she might be attaining.

She looked up at him ready for the worst and he just smiled back. So... what? He was just going to tease her about the whole giving himself a name thing now that he had quashed her dreams and at the same time piqued her interest? Her eyes relayed her lack of enthusiasm at being teased no matter the fact that she, herself, was the embodiment of a tease.

He finally sighed and said it.

“Mars T. Intempestivus”

Pffft! Lori slapped her hands over her mouth, glued to the stoop and unwilling to budge until she cleared things up. "Intempa-wha? Really? That's the name you want to saddle yourself with?" She only let up her fingers long enough to talk, though in all honesty she should have kept them latched tight. She was teasing, blue eyes glinting with some secret delight. "And what kind of "tea" is that for your middle name? Black tea? Green? Or maybe red..."

"Intempa-wha? Really? That's the name you want to saddle yourself with?"


“In temp est I vus, english would have you believe intempestive means unseasonable, but latin would inform you that Intempestivus means quick witted and strikingly intelligent.” He said as his arms scooped the laughing girl up under her arms and twirled her around to stand in front of him.


"And what kind of "tea" is that for your middle name? Black tea? Green? Or maybe red..."


“T is an initial, I thought I’d ease you into it. but if I had to pick it would be green Tea. What about you miss Faust, any middle names bogging you down? Something sassy?”

She was cute, she was smart, humorous not quite loyal, but then all of the pictures in the house were facing down… it made him wonder about the home life…he’d just have to remain the man that he was and see if he couldn’t be a bit of a solid fixture in her life. Who the hell was tryng to change her, if it was that punk with a truck fetish he might actually have a bone to pick even if it was just himself or he had to do it as a human.

“You want to drive? Or you want me to?”

He tossed the keys up in the air and caught them again as they rounded on the jeep.

“China town is great this time of year, but it makes me feel even bigger than usual.”

He picked his Yankees cap up off the ground and put it on back wards only wincing slightly as it moved the cut slightly.

She laughed even more as he spun her around. What a ham! "Ooooh so you think you're smarter than everyone else by giving yourself a trixy name?" She nudged his ribs after he had set her down.

“T is an initial, I thought I’d ease you into it."[/color]

"And well you should ease me into it. If I have to sit through another long explanation about what your middle name means, my head might burst from all the learning you're forcing on me!"

"but if I had to pick it would be green Tea."[/i]

She waved his comment off. "I don't mess with the pansy stuff. Black tea for me if we have to pick them. Red tea kind of tastes like mold to me and that powder green tea stuff is like chalk." But Lori wasn't really a big tea drinker anyway. Funny how one moment she's speechless and the next she could blabber away at practically nothing. Pah! It was much easier to talk about food rather than ridiculous emotions.

"What about you miss Faust, any middle names bogging you down? Something sassy?”[/i]

"You wish." She shrugged. "No middle name here. Maybe I'll adopt your practice and make up words that only I will know and secretly insult the rest of the piddly beings on this planet." In all actuality, she did have a middle name; but she'd expunged it from every place she could. No doubt the only records of it were her official birth certificates still in Virginia. One day she might even make it all the way out there to kill that bit of information too. No middle name. She'd be the perfect no-strings relationship for someone else then.

Lori swaggered a few steps out of the lane before he asked if she wanted to drive. That actually surprised her. It wasn't all that far of a walk, but if he wanted to drive... "I haven't driven a car since I was..." She had to stop and tabulate the years, "20. Heh. Didn't work out too well after my power manifested. Try not to get too crazy and maybe your Jeep'll even make it there." So it'd been almost 6 years since she'd driven, but it was supposed to be like a bicycle right?

"That's why I thought to modify this junker." She kicked at the loose back bumper as she walked around to the passenger side of the Jeep. It wasn't like Lori to take a back seat on anything that she could be driving, but when it came to cars, she just didn't trust herself not to flare up and cook things that didn't need to be cooked. "Shield the wires for sure and your alternator idea was a good one too."

“China town is great this time of year, but it makes me feel even bigger than usual.”

"You get size envy?" She bit her lower lip. Oh, but she just couldn't help herself sometimes.

He fought saying ‘pretty much.’ and continued walking.

"And well you should ease me into it. If I have to sit through another long explanation about what your middle name means, my head might burst from all the learning you're forcing on me!"

“Oh, I dunno it’s fairly common, I am sure you’v heard it, it is a stamp of greatness, plenty of legends across time have it.”

"I don't mess with the pansy stuff. Black tea for me if we have to pick them. Red tea kind of tastes like mold to me and that powder green tea stuff is like chalk."
“Pansy stuff? I suppose you drink your tea cold too? Iced tea is rubbish.”


"You wish." "No middle name here. Maybe I'll adopt your practice and make up words that only I will know and secretly insult the rest of the piddly beings on this planet."

His eyes narrowed on her face, he wasn’t quite sure if he believed that…a try to public data.com might be in store for miss Faust, though once he knew could he keep his face strait?

“Hmmm, would you be mad if I found out you were bluffing right now? Perhaps something as simple as Anne, Lori anne. But if we are going to give you something from my made up language of latin. Pallax or Vulpes would due. ”

"I haven't driven a car since I was..." "20. Heh. Didn't work out too well after my power manifested. Try not to get too crazy and maybe your Jeep'll even make it there."

He shrugged. “ I couldn’t care less about it, it’s a company car. And as you can imagine we are sure to get natural disaster coverage.”

"That's why I thought to modify this junker." "Shield the wires for sure and your alternator idea was a good one too."

“ I like it, Maybe a bit of grounding to the steering wheel if can manage it.”

“China town is great this time of year, but it makes me feel even bigger than usual.”

"You get size envy?"

“should I? no, I think not.” First answering her unspoken jest, Second he elaborated honestly.

“I’m not too worried about admiting that I do feel bulky sometimes, its just the doorways are so tiny, and I have turn sideways and duck and bend, it isn’t convenient and also any buffet owners get nervous at the sight of me. Half the time I offer to pay for two up front. Though if we are going to a festival I imagine I might be safe.”