~ Andrew sat down on the couch and Takyle scooted over and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"How's your stomach?" she asked.
"Mmh, not too bad. The meds helped. Couldn't exactly take a normal shower with this bandage on though." He lifted his arm and put it around her shoulders, holding her close. She sighed quietly. "That sounded downright feminine, Ta. You sure you're feeling alright?" She could hear the smile in his voice.
"I can just be a girl sometimes you know."
"Well yeah, theoretically. I mean you have the equipment and all, but..."
"The equipment?" Takyle laughed. "What's the matter? Don't you like the technical term: Girly Bits?"
"I'm ok with that phrasing, I just blush very easily is all and I didn't want to lose that machismo that swathes my very being," Andrew told her. She laughed again.
"Oh yeah, sure, machismo, totally." Takyle felt him kiss her damp hair, and she closed her eyes, listening to his heart beat.
"Andrew?" she whispered.
"Yes?"
"I panicked back there in the tunnel."
"Well that's understandable."
"You didn't," she said.
"Well that's because I didn't get a proper chance to. If I'm going to panic, I need to do it right. It's a matter of pride for me," he told her.
"You don't need to try to make me feel better. I just wanted to tell you thank you for keeping me going. I... I would have tried to go back otherwise. I know I would have."
"I wouldn't bank on that. We surprise ourselves sometimes," Andrew said. Takyle began to open her mouth to answer when Jaden came back out of the bathroom. Takyle sat up, pulling away from Andrew.
"Well that was fantastic," Jaden proclaimed, sitting sideways on the dressing table's chair to put his shoes back on.
"Was it as good for you as it was for me?" asked Andrew.
"Oh yeah, I think so. I hope so." Jaden turned around to look at himself in the mirror, raking his fingers back through his hair to give it some semblance of order, and for the most part failing. He leaned close and gingerly touched the angry red bite that was swelling his left eye half closed, wincing as his fingers brushed it. "So I take it the guy hasn't come back yet?"
"No, not ye-" Andrew began to answer, when, as if on cue, the door burst open for the second time and the blonde man came waltzing in again, this time with three other people in tow.
"Oh, now don't the lot of you look so much better!" he proclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet and looking inordinately pleased that Team 6 were slightly cleaner now. "Karen, take these dirty clothes and have them laundered, chop chop now." He clapped his hands at a pale redhead that looked nothing like a "Karen".
When no one else in Team 6 said anything, Andrew stood up to address the man.
"Hello there. I'm Andrew, and you are...?" He extended a hand politely over the coffee table. The blonde man grasped it with the tips of his fingers.
"Joel Hampton, pleasure. Now who wants to get their make-up first?" Joel looked around excitedly, as if he was expecting one or more of them to jump up and down and beg to please, please, please let them go first. Andrew reclaimed his hand, and Jaden saw him immediately wipe it on the seat of his pants, as if he'd just been holding a wet fish or something.
"About that make-up, care to tell us exactly why we would need such a thing?" Andrew pressed. "And while you're at it can you give us some sort of assurance that Karen will have our clothes back by the time we're ready to move on?" Joel took a deep breath and then used it to sigh noisily.
"You don't have to have make-up. If you want to go on stage looking like you do, then fine, but you'll look awful under the lights, just trust me. And of course you'll have your uniforms back, honey, what kind of place do you think this is?"
"Ok, so we're going on stage. To do what?"
"It's some sort of game show, I don't know, I just have to have you ready, so if you don't mind..." Joel seemed to be losing his bounce and pizazz along with his patience. Andrew looked at Takyle.
"Boss?" She shook her head and shrugged.
"This seems to be the next task. Let's not hold it up." She turned to Joel. "Where would you like me for make-up?"
"Over there," he said, pointing to the vanity. "Sarah! Kevin! Let's go, people!"
Sarah and Keven jumped to do Joel's bidding, one attacking Takyle's face with various liquids and powders and the other pouncing on her hair. Joel hovered, tsk-ing, and giving advice, and sticking a hand in wherever possible.
"No, her hair's too flat for that style, try something more "up"," he commanded Kevin.
In eight minutes Takyle was expelled from the chair and Joel gestured for either Jaden or Andrew to step up. Andrew moved hesitantly forward and took a seat.
"I love your hair color!" Joel gushed, as Kevin and Sarah worked away. "Tell me it's natural!"
"It's natural," Andrew told him, obligingly.
"It's fantastic is what it is," Joel informed him. Jaden thought that Joel seemed to have a thing for hair. After another few minutes, Jaden was in the chair, taking his turn under the brushes. Joel grimaced at the reflection in the mirror, gesturing impatiently at the bite under Jaden's eye.
"Can't you do something about that, Sarah?" he demanded. "It's awful!" Sarah didn't reply, but began painting it with some kind of skin tone liquid. Jaden winced away from her fingers.
"Ouch! Please be careful, it hurts."
"No doubt, but you'll feel so much better about yourself once we all can't see as much of it," Joel told him. Jaden glared back at him.
"I'll feel much better about myself once I can't see as much of you," he thought bitterly. ~
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