What Do You Do With A Drunken Marine

Posted on Mon May 17th, 2021 @ 6:54pm by Passenger Emma Yonkers & Comm Tech Wulf Edevane

Mission: Stories From The Expanse
Location: Rhea, Saturnian Confederacy Freeport
Timeline: Just after "A line under it all"

With her Duffel over one shoulder and her bottle in that hand, Emma pulled Wulf out of the bar and started walking a little. "Sorry I had to clear my head and well... I figured you didn't want me to do this in front of the crew." She leaned in and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Crowds of people moved past them in the passageways that made up the station, with the every day noise of a loud market place.

"I think we need to spend some of my money before we ship off then." Emma Yonkers winked.

Wulf blushed crimson from his chin to his forehead, extra heavy on his cheeks, and he grinned a coy, downward facing smile. As he looked back up into those bright hazel green eyes, his own gleamed with a renewed love of life. Soto's final goodbye was done and dusted, the captain's place in immortality secured, and there was just enough whiskey in the comm tech's system and just enough Martian Marine up real close and personal. He didn't even mind a shopping trip, if that was what Emma wanted.

"Sure thing," nodded Wulf, leaning in and stretching upwards to kiss Emma smartly on the mouth. "Whatever you want," he added, magnanimously as he squeezed her hand. "But," he grinned, dark eyes holding an impish joy. "I really don't mind you kissing me in public, or in front of the crew. Or, y'know, anywhere else you want."

Blushing and pulling away a little, Emma had some locations he could kiss rush through her drink addled mind. She tried to start explaining she meant she wasn't sure if they were allowed to fraternize now that they were crew, but her mind was still reeling from the images that were still rolling through her head. "Well... we can go get you something cool. plus I might need parts for my new armored vac suit... it isn't new..."

It warmed Wulf's heart to see Emma blush. He'd never in his wildest dreams (well that was a stupid phrase and a blatant lie - he'd often dreamt about it) expected to actually be standing next to one who really liked him and who'd look so damn amazing doing so. He gently pulled Emma's arm back towards him and reached up to gently touch her face in a gesture of caring comfort. "Let's go look at stuff for your suit first then," he suggested. "I'm not sure hitting the tech stalls is gonna be that much fun for you," he admitted, then ventured optimistically. "But... we could get a room maybe? Later?"

"Of course, We need a place to put my stuff until we ship out." She grinned then winked, "Thought you said you didn't mind kissing me in public." Emma laughed as she stepped out of the corridor to pull her vac suit out of her duffel. It was a slightly older Martian armored suit with armored plates, but the O2 system was burnt out and needing work, and it needed a refit of the comms.

"There's some other stuff I'm thinking of," Wulf whispered in her ear. "Probably better not done in public..." His lopsided smirk suggested an inventive mind that had spent far too long on a ship without female company of this kind, but he looked briefly to Emma's suit as she exposed it. "Comms fried?" He asked, with a professional interest and then beamed a broad grin. "Maybe we could do a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Emma held the suit up for a moment turning it about before setting it back into the duffel. "Do you know if there might be a used martian parts place? Or do you think we can fix it?"

"Favors for favors," noted Wulf, happily. "I can fix the comms for you, no worries." He watched Emma put the suit away and frowned lightly at the shift in pace. He wanted some alone time, but he could also understand Emma's needs with regards her armour. The sooner they had that concern sorted... "I think we can find some parts, sure," Wulf answered. "I doubt there'll be a Martian place as such, but I have a couple of places we can try." He grabbed her hand, gave her arm a tug and grinned. "C'mon, this way."

The taller ex-marine allowed herself to be tugged along. She kept her free hand tight on the strap of her duffel so no-one would try to take off with it. "We get the comm parts, then we find a hotel. right?" She asked as sweetly as it was slurred from her drink. Giggling like a fool she continued to tease him. "you promised to kiss me in all kinds of places."

"A hotel?" Wulf's big dumb grin returned in force and his hold on Emma's hand tightened as if someone might steal her from him. Her words were blurred by booze and that sent a pang of concern through the comm tech for a moment. But kissing wasn't going to get him any trouble, right? "I did," he confirmed happily enough. "I meant it too." Never had he wanted to find spare tech bits faster than he did right now. "Here, this place looks alright," he said, pulling her towards a vendor with an open plan shelving space. "Won't take a minute."

"Wait!" She held out her credit chit and smiled. "Don't worry about the cost, I should have plenty." She grinned before leaning and kissing him on the lips. "Also yes a hotel... unless you want to go back to the ship?"

This was new, thought Wulf as Emma offered him money and kissed him. He still couldn't stop the blush colouring his cheeks or the bright-eyed happiness shining from his gaze as they came up for air. Usually he and Ken were cruising the concourse of any port location, looking for paid love or a shared conversation over alcohol... and while that thought sent the tech's mind wandering briefly in the engineer's direction, Emma was far too big of an emotional distraction to let Wulf linger elsewhere for long. "Hotel!" He chimed, with the excitement of a kid headed to an indoor play.

"Then hotel it is." She grinned and then pointed to the vendor. "But first the parts, we'll need them later." She slurred it out but she did seem to still keep her mind on topic. "Maybe a hotel with a bath..." she grinned imagining herself in a bath with Wulf kissing her all over. Her Martian complexion started to turn bright red as she thought about it all.

For a moment, he looked at the tall Marine with concern, trying to judge how much of that slur was something to worry about. "Be right back," Wulf promised, ducking into the aisles to grab more than a few spare parts for everything that was likely to be (or to go in the future) wrong. He used his own terminal to pay, figuring Emma wouldn't check hers until later anyway - victimless crime - and then got temporarily distracted with a bargain bin of secondhand components.

Standing a bit back from the vendor, Emma pulled out her terminal and started working on a letter to her family back on Mars. It wasn't going easily, she had erased it a few times before she decided instead of trying to explain things she would just send a message that she is alive and mostly healthy. She also included that she signed up on a transport ship. She left out the name for now but she did take a picture of herself so her family knew it was her.

Prize possessions coming thick and fast, Wulf filled a plastic box with an eclectic mix of bits and pieces and enjoyed every second of those little wins. Someone else's trash was definitely his treasure as he scooped up some antique signal processors, a filter casing and a box of random connectors, a few more minutes of digging and he even found a patch cable for that circuit board on the crew deck that fizzed a little when it overloaded.

Sending her message to her family Emma looked up and saw Wulf was still digging about in old odds and ends of computer components and the like. With a smirk she wondered if he had forgotten her with all the bobbles he was collecting. She steeped up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey... you still with me?"

He managed to save the box of trinkets by grabbing it tight against his chest, then looked up into that freckled, heart-shaped face with a look of serious guilt. "Heh," Wulf skipped uncomfortably forwards past the obvious fumble in his attention. "Uh, yeah, course! Sorry... I just..." He looked to his boots then back up to Emma with dark brown eyes full of apology.

"You're cute." She kissed him again before offering her duffel, "Want to put your new treasures in here?" Emma really loved the almost boy like glee in his face when he was digging through the components. "Did you find anything really interesting?"

This was a great new experience, Wulf considered, a smile not far from his face since they'd left the bar. A Marine who thought he was cute (there were other words he'd have preferred, but hell, he wasn't about to complain considering he was already punching way above his weight here), warm kisses that tasted faintly of whiskey and promised more to come, and... comm tech treasure. Perfection pretty much. "Sure," he agreed, feeling a bit odd having someone else carry his stuff, but not complaining. "Thanks!"

Wulf's eyes widened with happiness as he nodded enthusiastically. "All sorts of cool little bits," he answered. "I'll show ya later. S'good to have a rummage about." He stood forward on his toes and stole a lingering kiss that he didn't want to give up, then settled back on his heels grinning like a fool. "Anything else you need?" He asked, with a sense of friendly encouragement.

"Hmmm." Emma let out as she took time to ponder. "A few different things..." she giggled and pulled him along. "Food and a private room."

"A private room..." said Wulf on a happy exhale. "Sounds awesome!" He didn't resist Emma's forthright manner of taking his stuff and his hand and deciding where they went. "You lead and I'll follow," he promised faithfully.

After a few moments of travel through the crowds she found what she was looking for, a Martian BBQ Noodle shop. Pulling Wulf along she bellied up to the counter and dropped her duffel next to the stool. "You like noodles right? I'm not sure if they make it the same out here but a Smoked habanero chicken noodle is amazing!"

There was something about the way other folks looked at you when you were being happily 'dragged' along in the wake of a six foot four warrior woman with red dust in her veins. Wulf loved every second of those double-takes and momentary sympathetic glances. "I like noodles," he answered, enthusiastically nodding in case that wasn't clear enough in simple words. "Habanero?" He made a face. "Spicy gooood. You choose, and I'll have the same." Best way - second best way - to get to know someone new was food.

"O KAY!" She blurted as they found seats in a booth and she ordered the super spicy chicken soup. A true mix of the Oriental and American southwest culture clash on Mars. A Oriental noodle soup base with a chicken that was bbqed with super spicy smoked hot pepper sauce.

While they waited for the food to arrive, Emma slid over to the side of the booth with Wulf and leaned over to kiss him. "It is strange, this is the first time I'm out in the wilds on my own..."

"You're not on your own," Wulf pointed out, but he knew what she really meant was 'disconnected from the MMC' and he needed to avoid making that feel any more awkward than Emma already considered her exodus. "I'll look after you," he added, with a dumb grin that suggested he knew exactly how unnecessary his help and assistance would be in that regard. "But seriously..." He paused in the talking, unable to resist stealing a second kiss where Emma allowed. "Civilian life can be fun too, right?" He asked, with a hope in those dark brown eyes that also brightly coloured his tone. He had no idea how long this would last, but for the moment, his entire focus was right here and right now and enjoying every second.

"It can be." She winked at him before kissing him. this time she didn't let go and continued kissing until the food arrived. "Just don't break my heart, being stuck on a ship with an ex... that blows."

"Thought... never even... crossed... my mind..." Wulf said in breaths stolen between their public display of affection. Then those hungry eyes shifted to the newly arrived hot bowls of noodles placed before them both. "Here's to shared time and snuggling out there between the stars," he added, clinking a bottle of soda against Emma's and grabbing a forkful of messy food.