delicious bubbly

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth is glad that Milliways likes her, because she likes it. Jacob at her side and a glass of this nice golden stuff in her hand (she's tried the other synthetics; they're nice for an occasional change, but only humans care about dietary variety that much and this one is her favorite) and hubbub from a hundred worlds around her: lovely. A lovely break from work that keeps no one waiting, that doesn't even throw off her sleep cycle because her sleep cycle cares about the sun. (It throws off Jake's, a little, but his is more flexible than hers.)

Comments

[luminous_regnant]

One of Nathan's hands is already on the shirt, on the Joker's upper arm. He slides a finger across the fabric (carefully, carefully). "Nice," he says. "And colorful."

[manofmyword]

"Mmhm," he says proudly.

[her_imperial_radiance]

Nathan starts strolling idly down the beach when both he and the Joker get a message from Elspeth:

Found it. And I sent Jake in first and he spotted Stella. It's in the conference room in the liason offices.

"Ready to go negotiate your release with Her Stellar Majesty, babe?" murmurs Nathan.

[manofmyword]

"Sure!" he chirps. "Gonna carry me there? I like you carrying me. It's cuddly."

Mm. Cuddly.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Can do," says Nathan. "My arms aren't gonna get tired of the weight and I'm not gonna get tired of you."

They go back inside, and meet Elspeth and Golden (and Golden's retinue, though they're going to stay in Aurum) at the door, and they go through.

Nathan's arms tighten - just a little, careful bit - around his mate.

[self_composed]

"What's all this then?" Stella inquires, when she and Jacob have been joined by the group.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"My fault," says Elspeth. "I was here, I met the Joker, I could say all he can do is talk to Jake so I thought it'd be harmless to have him over for a bit, and then Nathan walked in and now he's mated."

[luminous_regnant]

"Nathan is magically important," says Golden, "as well as having been a friend of the family for going on two decades now, and he will be - at best - miserable for the rest of eternity if the Joker can't - at minimum - make routine visits." She glances at how cozy he and Nathan have gotten. "Which doesn't seem to be a problem of willingness on his end, at any rate."

[manofmyword]

"I like him," the Joker says contentedly, leaning his head on Nathan's shoulder. "He's a sweetie. I wanna move worlds."

[self_composed]

"Is Golden going to have a terrorism problem if you do?" Stella asks.

[luminous_regnant]

"If something like that does come up, he's just a human," says Golden. "He doesn't even want to turn. So I'll have a depressed-imperial-minister-of-temporal-affairs problem in fifty or sixty years, but." She shrugs.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Unless you do want to do the 'work-release' idea," says Elspeth. "In the manner traditional for Bells and Whistles."

[luminous_regnant]

"Elsie," says Golden, "the manner traditional for Bells and Whistles is very much not an option."

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Unless he did the minting himself and just turned in coins to you," says Elsie. "Stella has extra mints now, she doesn't help them as well as Alice."

[self_composed]

"I do," says Stella, "but handing him mint power would be - eegh." Pause. "Perhaps I should go get Alice."

[manofmyword]

"Ooh," says the Joker. "Yeah, do that."

[self_composed]

"Nathan, you should probably be aware that your mate's template doesn't come in monogamous," says Stella, rising out of her chair and heading for the door.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"The template doesn't..?" says Nathan blankly. "Huh?"

[manofmyword]

"I'm a huge slut," the Joker translates, patting Nathan fondly on the shoulder. "And so are my alts."

[luminous_regnant]

"...Oh," says Nathan, unbalanced.

"You're the one whose timer picked him out," says Golden.

[self_composed]

[Hey Alice. One of Golden's staff met the Joker and mated to him and now they're talking about maybe having me remand him to Aurum. Want in on the conference?]

[edgeofyourseat]

He teleports directly in front of her.

"Yeah!"

[self_composed]

In they go. "Golden, Elspeth, Jacob, you remember Alice. Nathan, Alice; Alice, Nathan."

[luminous_regnant]

"Hello again," says Golden.

"Hi," says Nathan. "So can someone explain to me this coins thing, do I just not have the need-to-know...?"

"Your power functions quite well on limited information, so you haven't, previously, had the need-to-know," says Golden. "But now you're personally involved. Elspeth, you may as well, it's faster."

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth sends a summary.

"Oh, yikes," says Nathan, looking down at the Joker in his arms and then at Alice and then back at the Joker.