<div align="center"><strong>-=Vincent - in the cockpit with Mei Mei - en route to Persephone=-</strong></div><br/>Vincent felt his stomach do a somersault in his abdomen as his flirtatious remark caused MeiMei's hand to slip slightly, causing the lamed ship to accelerate a little too quick to be within the margins of safety.  His eyes snapped to his terminal where another yellow light had appeared as though the ship itself was voicing it's protest to the timing of his remark.  After a few moments, the light flicked off and the copilot's posture became a little more lax in his chair.  Though he suddenly found his chair's restraints more of a risk to his well being at the moment.  Something like that was bound to provoke Hayes at least marginally and possibly to the point where she would pay them a 'visit'.  In such a situation, being bond to his chair would only make him that much more of an easy target for a wrench turned projectile or bludgeoning instrument.  Vincent promptly freed himself from the extra belts save for the single strap around his waist and listened carefully for any heavy footsteps approaching the helm or the dimming of lights as something purely malevolent approached.<br/><br/>It was that attention to sound that made Mae's reply to Griff ring all the more clearly in his mind.  His left eye twitched only slightly as she referred to the captain as 'daddy', as was the standard tick that came with a reminder that there were other suitors.  That was assuming that Vincent was regarded as such, though he could not be sure whether or not that was the case.  The helm became silent as MeiMei focused upon her job and Vincent focused upon pushing those disheartening thoughts from his mind.  As a result, they redirected to more pressing matters at hand; namely the planet where they'll be docking.  His home planet was not so much that anymore as a particular group held some personal grudges for the former courier after he had taken a few shadowy assignments that goaded the displeasure of a few individuals with plenty of power and subordinates.  They wouldn't go as far as to expend the necessary resources to hunt him down, but should he provide them with a convenient moment of opportunity, they would not hesitate to abduct him and make the remaining few hours of his life as miserable as possible.  Which is why he had intended upon remaining on the ship during their stay.<br/><br/><em>“Wo Bu Shin Wo Dah Yan Jing! Ain’t it a sight! I don’t know about you but I plan on finding the nearest bar for a drink, and if there is a dance or two going I won’t be planin’ on turnin’ em down.”</em><br/><br/>With those words, MeiMei deftly executed those very intensions.<em>Fuck'em.  I'll be damned if I sit idle and allow the opportunity for further competition.</em>As long as he remained in public areas, out of alleys, and off the streets after dark, he felt marginally confident that he wouldn't be putting himself in any real danger.  Plus, those particular individuals viewed themselves as being far more civilized than those involved in unorganized crime and made it a point to all but eliminate collateral damage.  Since he would be traveling with Mae, they would wait until he was separated from her before making their move.  It would take a hell of a lot more than that to deter Vincent from the chance to feel Mae's lithe body press against his on the dance floor after a few inhibition reducing drinks.  "Fresh air devoid of the pungent animal musk of the ship sounds like a<em>fantastic</em>thing, along with alcohol to help forget the smell."  His face had regained its playful demeanor as he shot her a suggestive grin.  "Mind if I tag along with you?  If nothing else, I'll dutifully fill the role of designated dancer and help fend off any creepers that may be in the clubs."<em>And should we get a little frisky with one another in the process, things would be all the better for it.</em><br/><br/>Vince tried to contain his laughter as Mae incorporated comical visuals to the pilot-traffic controller speak that was not only unnecessarily enigmatic to just about everybody who wasn't in those two groups, but also extremely long winded.  Though, he supposed that it was the very purpose of tradition to turn an otherwise simple procedure into a ciphered word problem; which was all the more reason that the two of them made it a point to display their contemptuous humor regarding the matter.  Of course when it came to matters of takeoff and landing, they knew better than to let themselves get too carried away.  More often than not, it was during those times that pilot error cost lives and any person worthy of the title knew that.<br/><br/><em>“You take that shower MeiMei and then be sure to get that sweet ass of yours over here. You still owe me from the last time you dropped by.”</em><br/><br/>The co-pilot suddenly found himself thankful that The Gamble was not equipped with target guided missiles as the traffic controller made that comment.  Some things could easily be dismissed with an 'Oops, my finger slipped.'  Vince had a distant suspicion that blowing the control tower sky high was not a scenario that would fall under that category.  Of course, the temptation to do an empirical test on that theory was predominant in his mind even as Mae shut them down.  Fortunately, Vincent's expression of gleeful malice towards the control tower was easily interpreted as deviously amused and Mae wouldn't have been able to follow his line of thought.  All of that went away the moment he saw Mae stretch her supple body and his mind was overtaken by the desire to embrace her from behind so he could feel her tense muscles for himself.<br/><br/><em>“I do need to shower before we go, if you find yourself in the vicinity I’ll leave the door unlocked, let yourself in.”</em><br/><br/>Vincent's eyes widened, his jaw went slack, and his heart raced with that comment as he felt his gaze lock on the enticing sway of her hips as she left the room.  His hands fumbled clumsily with the buckle as he unfastened his seatbelt as he felt the sudden need for a shower even though he had taken one only a few hours prior.  Just as he was about to stand, he got the impression that the past few moments had somehow caused his pants to shrink by several sizes and felt it best to remain seated for a few more moments.  He could ill afford the displeasure of the captain should he trip and put a noticeable dent in the metal decking from where his pelvis impacted.<br/><br/><hr/><div align="center"><strong>-=Vincent - Leaving the helm - Currently landed upon Persephone =-</strong></div><br/>A short while later, Vincent had managed to get himself under control and stepped out of the helm.  He knocked lightly upon Mae's cabin door and got no response, indicating that she was already in the shower.  Probably for the best considering that he had no idea what he would have said had she been there to answer his knocks.  His eyes drifted in the direction of the ship's shower; his pulse once again began to race.  Suppressing his nerves with an anxious swallow, Vincent made his way to it until he stood outside of the door.  The sound of the water running caused his mind to picture Mae's naked form glistening wet and his nerves and excitement redoubled.<em>She invited you, she wanted you to join her.</em>His hands shook as he reached out for the door and tested it; just as she said, it had been left unlocked and the realization caused a fresh spike of nervousness and desire to rush through him.<em>See?!  She was serious.  She wants <em>you</em> in <em>there</em> with <em>her</em>.  If she was joking, she wouldn't have left the door unlocked...  Unless she forgot...  And if that were the case...</em>Vincent winced at the potential fallout if he walked in on her without a genuine invitation.  It could potentially cost him his job, but worst of all, it could cost him his chances with Mae.  He clenched his teeth with frustration as he released his grip on the door handle as his gathered courage to join her in the shower eroded.  His head lowered with defeat as he cursed under his breath.  "Ta ma de...  Tai-kong suo-yo duh shing-chiou sai-jin wuh duh pee-goo. Vincent, you are pathetic."  In the moment of disappointment with himself, he forgot what was before him as he knocked his head against the door.  The thud that was made when he did so instantly reminded him of the door and who was on the other side, surely able to have heard it despite the running water.<br/><br/>A quick surge of adrenaline pulsed through him as MeiMei reacted to the knock, but his panic already had him turned around and moving quickly towards the front of the ship.  Away from the woman of his desires and the utter embarrassment of his cowardice.<br/><br/><hr/>Dammit - Ta ma de<br/>Tai-kong suo-yo duh shing-chiou sai-jin wuh duh pee-goo - Shove all the planets in the universe up my ass.