[OPEN & CLOSED] May Catch-All

[liesdontfindyou]

Who: CT (liesdontfindyou), Daisy Tonner (hadnoright), Melanie King (ghostbullet), Margaret Houlihan (soldierslikeus), Gwen Stacy (thismaskismybadge) & you!
What: Catch-All for Blue's characters
When: May onwards (until I make another)
Where: All over, see character prompt headers
Warnings: In specific headers where relevant.

Catch-all for various plans, primarily closed TLs on demand but I'm open to wildcards and might do opens situationally. Alice is available over at her canon-update open and Ruby is available only on request.

Comments

[2onostromo]

"If you're feeling honest, sure." Ripley teases, kneading the tight band of muscle across the base of her neck. "Or you could tell me the opposite and get a big laugh. Seriously, you don't get shoulders like these without working for it." And we all know how you like to work. That much goes unsaid.

Her thumb crawls against shoulder's edge, working away at knots slow, slow, sinking beneath loose hemline. That's it, lull her straight out of her work-groove. Then she's bound to go home.

"Go on," She plays perfectly coy. "Get that work done. Don't let me stop you."

(Ripley does, indeed, have every intention of stopping her.)

[liesdontfindyou]

"I feel like your—" a slow exhale, "—words and actions are rather at odds right now, Ellen Ripley."

Something's certainly working, and so far it's not CT. It is rather difficult to pull her attention back to the pile of notes in front of her when those thumbs are unspooling her muscles like thread. Fuck that's nice.

She succeeds in half-releasing the mug, but doesn't make it as far as her pen.

[2onostromo]

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Pressure along the trapezius muscle. Weeks worth of filing, list-making and desk-bound-logistics begin to creep away beneath Ripley's finger pads. She rocks ever so slightly forward to follow through with the motion. A dire case that will take more than one five-minute massage, if she can help it.

Coffee down. One foot in the door. Keep ignoring that pen, she tells herself, and we'll get you out of here in no time.

Her breath is warm beside CT's cheek.

"An office is no place to relax, now is it? I'll walk you home."

[liesdontfindyou]

"I'm not meant to be relaxing. Isn't that—" another exhale, almost edging on a moan, "—our whole point of contention, here? So much for not letting you stop me, huh?"

Her resolve is melting as steadily as the tension in her muscles, much as she tries to resist. The relief blooms along her frayed nerves, pleasurable enough that it's a conscious effort not to allow noises that dance on the line of obscenity to slip past her lips. They're still in the middle of her office, after all, much as she's starting to take Ripley's cue to wish she wasn't.

It is late. Her head sags back.

[2onostromo]

Ripley nods along to a workaholic's faulty reasoning, an 'aha' on her lips. (And on CT's, clear evidence she's overdue for some tentative care.)

"Mhm, you caught me."

Connecticut's head falls back, heavy where it presses against her knuckles. And almost yielding. So nearly there Ripley can feel the night atmosphere breathe against her skin. Hear the office door close and lock behind them. She levels a look at CT's upturned face; your paperwork won't grow legs and run away, I promise.

[liesdontfindyou]

"And I thought I was the sneaky one."

Goddammit. She should keep at it (no, she shouldn't) she really should (there's nothing here that can't be done tomorrow by the light of day) but it's not as if she's going to be able to focus with Ripley here being a very persistent distraction, is it? And it's not like she wants to kick Ripley out, or even really tell her to stop, either.

Her face cracks with a smile and the breath of a laugh, eyes opening fully where they'd started threatening to close to look up at Ripley instead. "...fine. You win. For now."