Truth and Consequence

[Hitomi Lawson]

When her eyes opened, she realized she had been dreaming. It would have taken her awhile to remember what, but she did know that she had been dreaming about something from when she had been a child. Maybe something to do with the little boyfriend she had had when she had still lived on Coruscant.

Either way, Hitomi's brain was overworked from the images it had worked so hard to provoke only to have her barely remember it when she had awoken.

"Oh..." she groaned as she sat up on the uncomfortable mattress. This ship had never seemed very comfortable to her, but then again, she was a fussy sleeper, and had to have things a certain way before she could really sleep. And the boy who owned this ship just didn't understand that.

Hitomi chuckled as she leaned up and stood off of the bed, glancing at the pictures she had hung up above her bed. Most of the consisted of her and her best friend, the boy who owned this ship. She had known him since she had moved in with her adopted parents at age five, and he had beat up a little boy that had been hassling her. Ever since she had glued her head to him, and not let go. She wondered sometimes if he didn't hate her guts for the hard time she always gave him. But he hadn't thrown her out yet, so she figured he had his own way of tolerating her.

Hitomi showered before dressing in a pair of jeans she had stolen from her friend, and a blue spaghetti strap shirt she knew she would freeze in. Pushing her feet into clunky work boots she clipped her hair up and grabbed her hand held info pad, beginning to flip through the jobs she had been sent over night. Well, over her sleep session, since there was no night in space. She had several job listings she could pull off on her way to her big kill. Jesimae Phoenix. Hitomi had been stalking her for months, never really able to get a good idea of where she was going to be next. She was slippery, but Hitomi had been doing this for years, and she felt confident she would find the woman eventually.

Hitomi left her room, still looking at her pad, and got into the lift, hearing it whir as it took her up to the first level and the cockpit and control room. She glanced at her watch wondering if her flying mate would be up yet. She left the lift with a sniff, the cold already causing her nose to run a little, and clunked down the hall towards the cockpit, her eyes still glued to her hand held.

"Dove?" she called loudly. "You up yet, Sleeping Beauty?"

[Dove Goldman]

"Of course. Your music would wake the dead and kill them again." He looked over his shoulder at the girl who walked in, her boots clunking loudly. How come she always wore those damn things? Did she have any idea how unattractive they made her? Dove looked away back to his control panel. Was that even possible? The little asian was always attractive and it urked every part of his body to have even allowed his mind to think such a thing. He groaned and looked back over at her, her soft eyes glancing up at him in a way that of course was meant to set him ablaze. He was wanting to smile, but as he always did, he kept it stifled. Smiling always making his face ache.

"Don't give me that look, lady. I will throw you off of this ship in a matter of seconds. Just because you are my best friend doesn't mean I won't do it." He clenched his jaw when he again wanted to smile. He sighed out and stood up straight, stretching by arching his back, his blue shirt riding up on his stomach slightly, his happy trail barely poking out of his low riding black cargo pants. He sighed out with happiness and grabbed the large bowl that steamed in the cold cockpit. He grabbed the silver fork and jabbed it into the mass of orange goo, the scent of cheese sending a chill down his spine.

"Want some mac 'n cheese?" He raised his eyebrows and looked over at her, her eyes back on her little electronic datapad. He chewed happily on the food, glancing at the pad to her face that glowed, back to the pad, then her face. She looked determined. "Anything?" He questioned probably knowing that it was about her long lost family or the woman they had aimlessly been searching for.

"Hey," He said again snapping his fingers, hating it more than anything to have her not respond in a timely fashion. For some reason he could never be patient with her for she was always the one to talk promptly and quickly. He enjoyed it more than anything. But...she'd never know that.

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi waved a hand at him, pushing his arm away from him and sticking out her tongue at him as she shouldered past him and shook her head.

"Don't snap at me, mouth boy," she said, flopping down in the seat he had vacated. Then she pointed a finger at him. "And don't talk about my music. You're the one who keeps it two below in here. How else am I supposed to relaliate?" she asked, turning the pad off and tossing it to the floor. It clattered loudly as it landed at her feet. She sighed out heavily then leaned her head back and grinned at Dove as he ate his beloved macaroni and cheese. She had never met anyone with such and obsession as he with that food. But she appreciated food as much as he did, and it was one thing she didn't pick on him about. Actually...the only thing. Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on her knees and chewed her lip a moment.

"I didn't get anything on the files," she said with a half hearted shrug. "Didn't have anything else on Phoenix. At least nothing we don't already know..." she said, sighing out again and staning, stamping her foot slightly to push the boot back onto her foot. Hitomi put her hands on her hips and looked out of the window a moment, taking a deep breath and smelling Dove's cologne. She sniffed a few times, the scent was familiar but still very good. She grinned and turned back to him.

"You smell good," she said, walking over and peering down into the bowl he was eating from. "It almost makes up for how ugly you are." Hitomi smiled then seemed to remember something. "I'm gonna get some food," she said, and walked past him. Then she paused at the door, looking back at him and looking at his bowl of food then back at him. "Oh, by the way? I read that those types of forks can give you this tongue fungus," she said matter of factly, waving a hand at his mouth. "It's supposed to eat away the taste buds." She sighed and shrugged. "Oh well. I'll be in the kitchen! See you!" She winked and began down the hallway, snickering under her breath.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove made a grumble in response to her jokes about brushing his teeth. So what? He liked cleanliness of the mouth! Who else would want to make out with a man who had a stench of cigarettes, cavities, tartar, gingivitas, cancer....things that were disgusting, deadly, and just plain sickening. He glanced at her as she tossed her precious item on the floor, carelessly. How he hated that! But yet at the same time knew how she felt when one got no new information. She stomped then stood, smelling his cologne, complimenting him, only to take it back by glaring at his food. One of these days...he was gonna get her good! He watched her with sharp eyes, glaring at her as if he were burning a hole in her. She smiled and then walked away informing him of her sudden need for food. Thank god they had THAT in common. He nodded in response and licked his fork clean. Suddenly she said something he wasn't really happy to hear. The fork caused fungus? He stood up and tossed his fork on the floor after making a sound that was meant for a girl.

"What!?" He screamed at her, glancing over his shoulder to hear her laughing hysterically. Suddenly he wanted to kick himself in the head. How many times was he going to keep falling for that? "One of these days, Hitomi! One of these days!" He screamed at her loudly, angered that he tossed a fairly good fork onto the floor. He sighed out and knew that the fork had to be destroyed immediately. It was untelling what kind of diseases he could get by picking that fork up and reusing it. He wasn't about to take that chance.

"Fungus." He groaned shaking his head as he looked around trying to find another utensil. "You are the fungus!" He yelled again, hearing her laugh again. Yes, he thought, one of these days he was definitely going to get her back.

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi was still laughing when she went into the kitchen and began hunting for food. She heard Dove tell her she was the fungus and she couldn't help but laugh even louder. She looked at the doorway to the kitchen and shook her head.

Dove would never know how much she cared about him. Because she would never tell him. She picked on him, and whined to him, and bothered him, but it was her defense mechanism. He didn't know that sometimes she would cry thinking about what she would do without him. And she was always scared to have him go on jobs without her. Because if Dove didn't come back...Hitomi shook her head. She didn't want to think about what she would do without him.

Dove and Hitomi had pretty much been together for a little more than fourteen years. Hitomi still didn't understand why they liked each other so much. He hated her music, she got annoyed with some of his odd habits. She talked all the time, he never did. He was messy, she was clean. Hitomi didn't know what she saw in him or vice versa. If anything, she figured she would get on his nerves more often than she didn't. He was so subdued and laid back, and she got up in arms about nothing.

But there was something about Dove that gave Hitomi comfort. Just knowing he was around always made her feel better. She imagined it was why she would call him at ridiculous hours just to hear his voice when she was on a job he had not accompanied her on. Even just the sound of his voice made her feel better. Sometimes it scared her a little to think about how much of an attachment she had to him. She could imagine what he would say if she ever let him know how much she cared about him.

It was why she had never told him.

"Damn you, Dove!" she yelled towards the door. "Is macaroni and cheese the only thing you have around this place?!" she called tossing yet another box of it onto the table in front of her. The fourth box. She shook her head and hopped up onto the table, swinging her legs as she picked up one of the boxes to read the back. "You're gonna turn into one of these things on of these days!" She said with a smile, peering down into the box.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove laughed when he heard her show her disapproval of his favorite food. What? He had an unhealthy attachment to macaroni and cheese! It was quick, cheap, easy, and good as hell. Plus it was his ship! He grinned, painfully so and nodded as if she could see.

"Oh my darling," He said jokingly. "Did I not provide enough for you? Allow me to go out and find you something in the middle of the galaxy!" He sighed out with happiness after he found a fork that had been in plastic. Something he had done to all his utensils that were outside of the kitchen. Space germs were the worst and he knew that he and Hitomi brought in so many germs that everything that went into his mouth was to be protected.

"Shut up and eat it. You know you like it!" He began to chomp on his food and he growled. He stood up with a sigh of agitation and walked into the kitchen to find many boxes of his beloved Mac and Cheese strewn on the table. He looked at her as if she had just insulted his Mother, which he considered throwing his favorite food around like a prostitute just as bad.

"See you freaked me out and now my food is cold." He walked over the his nuking machine and quickly hit a few buttons and heard it kick on. He glanced over at her and grabbed his boxes and put them back. He was a messy guy, but when it came to his food he kept it clean and neat.

"Hitomi..." He said after he closed the drawers and walked over to her, his palms pressed together and his fingertips at his mouth. "I respect you, I may not like you, but I respect you. But...as deep as my respect goes...I want to chop your head off when you throw my macaroni around." He blinked a few times as if this were very painful to him, knowing it was meant to annoy her.

"You see...tossing my macaroni leaves it open for infectious diseases to get into the box. Now, you know that I love my macaroni. If anything disgusting were to get in it then to my mouth. Well...my precious friend, whom I confide in, and trust wholly....I would have to kill you without thinking twice." He looked at her and sighed out.

"Okay! Glad we got that out of the way. Stop complaining, eat food, be happy." He heard the timer go off on his machine and he let out a little sound of joy. He walked over and opened the door and heard the macaroni sizzle.

"Ah, don't you just want to make love to it all night long?" He grinned and jabbed his fork into it and took a bite and walked by Hitomi. "Not that you would know anything about making love!"

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi filled her cheeks with air and jumped off of the counter. She ran up behind Dove and reached around him, grabbing the bowl from his hands and turning to run around the table.

"As a matter of fact!" she exclaimed, getting her own fork and holding it up. "I know plenty about making love, Mr. Goldman," she said, raising one eyebrow. She opened her mouth and ran her tongue all over the fork, getting it sufficiently wet, then stuck the fork down into the macaroni, and took a big bite. "Mmmm!" she said exaggeratedly, knowing he wouldn't touch it again now that her saliva was in it. She pointed at him with her fork. "You remember Abe? He and I made love. And he thought it was pretty good," she said, wrinkling her nose and looking down at the bowl of food. "And anyway. If I weren't on this ship with you, I'd have a lot of guys breaking down the door to get to me." She sighed and leaned on the table, taking another bite of his food.

"But everyone seems to think you're my boyfriend," she said. She smiled and looked over her shoulder, waving a hand in front of her face, the idea that he wasn't striking her poorly right then, giving her a tiny bit of disappointment that she didn't know was there. "Anyway..." she said, shaking her head and looking back up at her friend. "I won't bother your food again, Dove-chan. I know how much the little boy loves his food, right?" she said in a baby voice inching towards him and then reaching up and pinching one of his cheeks.

"Mommy won't hurt his feelings again," she said, leaning back and laughing, then hoisting herself back up on the table to sit in front of him. Sighing heavily she shivered and looked back over. "You know how cold it id in here, right?"

[Dove Goldman]

Dove clenched his jaw fighting the urge to run over to her and choke her. Not only did she insult his food, insult his intelligence, and lick his fork in such a manner that made him cringe...she was pinching his cheeks, dishing out information on her sex life, and speaking to him in a voice that made him want to stick his head in the trash compactor and die.

"For that, I think I will go lower the temperature a bit more!" He looked at her and clenched his jaw. Of course he knew how cold it was....as perverted as it was going to sound he always could tell for a simple "thing" always gave him the pleasure of knowing she was in misery.

"And as long as I live I don't want to hear that guys name again." He walked over to the cabinet and opened another box of macaroni, somehow surprised he wasn't freaking out like normal. He was too hungry to do anything at the moment, perhaps later. "He was ugly, smelled bad, had bad teeth, and didn't deserve you. Plus I don't want to imagine you naked. It's repugnant."

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi sighed and watched him, shaking her head and hopping off the counter feeling a slight tinge of hurt from his comment. She knew that they teased like this all the time, but no matter how many times he said she would look awful naked, it still bothered her a little. She didn't know why. She smiled a little.

"Well, I've always thought you would look rather nice in a pair of boxers," she said, putting a hand on her hip. "You've always had nice abs, and hips too, in case no one's ever told you," she informed him matter-of-factly. She had never been bothered to express to him on occassion how cute he actually was, as long as she got to call him ugly all the rest of the time. She grinned and crossed her arms over her chest, deciding to go get a hoodie to keep herself a little warmer. Or at least to get her body back to normal temprature for a human being. She shook her head.

"As a matter of fact," she said as she began to make her way to the door. Then she shook her head. "Nevermind. I'm gonna go get a jacket to warm up a little. I'll be in my room if you need me, Dove-chan."

Hitomi hesitated a moment before leaving the room and clunking down the hall towards the lifts. She punched in the second level and hopped in, feeling it whir and stop. The door slid open and she made her way back to her room that was actually a normal temprature. Dove was right, Abe had been a dick. She had known it when she had dated him. But it made her feel protected when Dove said he had deserved her. Only Dove could say the things he said to her. Any other boy and she would have popped them a good one.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove sat down at the table and began to eat his mac and cheese. Hitomi had left in a hurry and suddenly he wondered if he had done something to hurt her feelings. Surely she knew he was joking. They did it alll the time! If only he got one credit for all the time she told him he was ugly he'd be richer than God. He coughed lightly as he ate quickly as if it were going somewhere. He glanced at the bowl she had been eating his food out of. He sighed out through his nose and sat his bowl down and grabbed the other bowl. He looked at it as if it had all the answers to the world deep inside. He grabbed the fork she had been eating off of and wiped the macaroni off on the side glaring at the utensil. He moved it towards his mouth, and was about to eat off of it but shuddered and tossed it back into the bowl. Why couldn't he do it! Why! Just...one...little....tiny...small...touch...with the tongue! Again he shuddered.

"God!" He said standing up and shaking his body as if he had bugs all over him. He couldn't even eat off the same fork his best friend ate off of! He knew she was clean, knew that she wasn't diseased, but there was just that tiny little thought. He sighed out and shook his head and grabbed his bowl and moved onto the cockpit where he felt the cold wrap around him and touch his body. He sighed out with joy and took a seat, feeling the chair wrap around him perfectly.

Where was her family? Where was Phoenix? When was something good going to happen? They had been at it for what seemed like years. No girl could hide that good, nobody. Hitomi and he were good at finding people and they were both determined to find her and with their brains working as one they would do so.

He heard the little datapad beep lively. He almost jumped out of his skin at the thought but he reached over and pushed a button on the wall.

"Hey girl," He said with a mouthful. "You got a new message on your datapad. Get your skinny butt in here and see what it says. That is if you can stand being cold for two seconds!"

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi sighed through her nose as she heard the com beep off. She stood up and went to the door going to the lift and beginning up.

"Keep your shorts on," she muttered as the lift door opened and she went out. Hitomi clunked down the hall towards the cockpit where she saw Dove eating out of a new bowl of food. She ignored him and picked up her pad, looking down at it and pushing it on. The Japanese characters met her eyes in a blur and she shook her head, trying to make sense of it. It was her contact on Corsucant. She smiled as she read it.

"Dove!" she exclaimed, pointing to the pad. Then she moved over and plopped down on his lap, leaning back to give him a better view of the screen. She translated it into basic and then ran her finger over the words. "It says that Phoenix is on Coruscant, and just got married to an unknown Japanese man," she said, turning to him and smiling at him, moving to get a little more comfortable on his knees. "It's from Yosuke in Hwang District. Says he talked to a kid who used to work with the unknown Japanese man..." she said. "He says that he went to the reception. Something odd happened there; one the of the brothers found out about thier kid. Kept Phoenix and the guy from going on a honeymoon, which means," she sighed and smiled. "She's still on Coruscant and ready for the taking."

Hitomi smiled at her friend, glad that they finally had a lead, and somewhere to go. Then she nodded.

"Which is even better because apparently that's where my long lost brothers have made residence," she said with another sigh. Hitomi knew that Dove was a little more averse to touch than most, but she didn't care. Pulling her knees up and resting them across his lap, she layed her head down on his shoulder and shut off her pad, letting it fall against her stomach, and rest there.

"Maybe I ought to take this one alone, you know?" she said, looking up at him. "Take the pod and go to Coruscant. I'll pop her off, find my brothers and meet up with you somewhere. I mean...I did drag you all the way out here. And Coruscant is out of the way for every other job we have..."

[Dove Goldman]

Dove wanted to cry and tell her to get off, but he resisted. He hated being touched, hated getting close, and definitely hated how much he was enjoying her being this close to him. He sighed out as she spoke to him, moving a few times and giving him quite a sensation that let him know that this couldn't happen again for he liked it too much.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He frowned and gave her a slight push so he could stand. Relief flowing through his body when she stood up and was no longer touching him. "I didn't come out here to miss all the action, babe." He pointed his finger at her and shook his head.

"Plus I am not going to be here when you cry when you find your brothers! If there is anything in the world i hate it is seeing my best friend cry. Someone has to be there to console you...you know." He felt stupid for saying that for he never was the one to go soft, but it was Hitomi! He was protective of her. To think of her crying with joy or sadness was something he was not going to miss. He had always been there to wipe the tears away and he wasn't about to miss another opportunity.

"Plus I want to see you kick some girls butt. Perhaps you two could get a little frisky and rip off clothes. Think you could do that for me?" He grinned and pushed her playfully. "It has been a while since I have seen a good cat fight!"

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi couldn't help but to burst out laughing. She pushed his shoulder away from her and gasped for breath.

"You would never make out with another guy for me! Why should I do it for you!" she laughed, the thought that Dove actually had sexual thoughts coming as funny to her right at that moment. It was probably he would never think of telling her what he considered a turn on, and she probably wouldn't tell him hers either. She shook her head and stood straight, putting her pad on the console and then leaning on it. "Besides, I don't know if her husband would appreciate her making out with a girl who is trying to murder her," she said with another chuckle. Then she looked down at her feet and chewed her lip looking back up at him.

"And anyway...who says I'm gonna cry?" she asked. If there was one thing Dove had always been, it had been being there for her. Thick and thin, up and down, happy and sad. Dove had always sat back and barely smirked when she was happy about something and he had always been there to tell her how everything was going to be okay when she was crying. It was true, he didn't like to touch and be touched. But somehow, even though he didn't hug her and hold her and tell her it was okay, just standing there and being quiet and listening when she bitched made her feel okay.

"Besides, you'll probably just make fun of me," she said, putting her hands in the big pocket on the front of her jacket. She shrugged. "I'm sorry I dragged you along on this stupid mission to find my brothers..." she said. She knew that if she hadn't, she would be alone right now, and she would have been the one to get the call about Phoenix and she would have no one to pick on, or to have pick on her. But it didn't make her any less sorry. "It's been mostly pointless, huh?"

Hitomi laughed and turned around, looking out the window at the stars that looked like they were inching past the cockpit window.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove sat down and continued to eat thinking about Hitomi and how they had first met when he had kicked a boys butt. He had hated seeing her cry then and he had vowed to protect and be there for her. That was how it had played out and how he was always wanting it to play out. He loved Hitomi with every fiber of his being and if anything were to happen to her he might as well be considered a ball of raging fury for whoever hurt her would be dead quicker than anything. She was his best friend and althoug hit was odd for a guy to be so close to a girl, he could have cared less. He was an odd person anyway and she had seemed to be the only one who understood him. He loved it, too.

He grabbed his bowl and began to eat again, thinking about how he was going to be right behind her and listen to any orders she gave him. If there was one thing they were good at it was helping each other in certain missions and how good they obeyed each other.

"Nope." He finally answered after a long pause. "It has been good. Got me away from my brothers. Gave me time to pick on you. Lets get that girl and get your brothers. I get to see you kill someone, which always makes me happy, and you get to be reunited with family, which will also make me happy. Hey! This is acutally a win-win situation, girl."

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi laughed, biting her lip and looking down at the console before turning again and leaning on it. She crossed her arms and watched Dove eat. He didn't ever beat around the bush. Dove always said what he meant, and Hitomi couldn't help but like it. He was blunt and funny, even if he didn't mean to be.

Dove wouldn't ever know it, but Hitomi would have done anything for him. Die, kill, maim, anything as long as it meant he would be there. She couldn't ever remember caring this much, she just always had. She hadn't ever told him how scared she got when he got hurt. Even if it was a little scratch, it still scared her. Hell, her arm could get chopped off and she would be fine, but if Dove got a paper cut, Hitomi was mortified.

She wondered if he knew. She had never spoken it, but surely he wasn't dumb enough to see how frightened she got when he went on a job alone. Then again, she was thinking about Dove Goldman. He wasn't stupid, but she didn't think he caught hints as well as other boys his age. Her friend used to be head over heals for him, and Hitomi didn't know if Dove had ever gotten those hints. Hitomi couldn't help but laugh again, then nod.

"Win-win, right," she said, hopping up on the console and leaning down to type in Coruscant's cooridance, and she felt the ship rumble and tweak its direction. She got her balance again and watched as Dove finished off his food. "Good?"

[Dove Goldman]

Dove nodded in response and sat it on the floor glancing up at her and letting out a large and repulsive burp he sighed out and laughed in a low chuckle.

"Isn't it always. Damn," He said with a frown. "That smells." He waved his hand in front of his face and looked over at Hitomi. "Come take a nice whiff!" He chuckled again and lifted his butt up to grab his pack of smokes in his pocket.

"Man. That smells, holy hell." He shook his head almost shocked by it tasting so good going down but tasted horribly coming back up. He grabbed a cigarette and lit it up and blew out a line.

"Hey after you kill Phoenix and reunite with your brothers we can go eat. It's been a while since I've eaten on Coruscant. Man I'd love to head down to the Hwang District and get some good ol eggrolls. So good." He sighed and rubbed his temple and glanced at her. Damn, she looked good. She always did. She wondered if she knew how good she looked, how attractive she was, even in the most unappealing clothes like those boots. How he would kill to see her in some heels.

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi scrunched up her nose and smacked her forehead. She shook her head and laughed.

"God, Dove, it's no wonder no girl but me gives you a second look," she said, hopping off the console and giving him a wide birth. She moved around behind him and plucked a cigarette from his pack. "And for a guy who can't stand mouth diseases, do you know what smoking could do to you?" she asked, lighting the cigarette with her own lighter and taking a puff. "And anyway, no girl's gonna wanna make out with a guy who tastes like a big cigarette," she laughed. Then she leaned forward and gave him the sexiest look she could muster. "Of course, I don't mind," she said. Then she laughed and stood straight again.

She walked back around him, using her sexiest walk. And bit her bottom lip, looking at him over her shoulder.

"I bet you go for the nice Jewish girls, huh?" she said with a laugh. "The kind that never show skin?" she said, pulling her jacket and shirt up just a little to give him a look at her stomach, before she pushed it back down. "Oops, I forgot. You think I'm repugnant!" she laughed out loud and hopped back onto the console. "Anyway, you're disgusting and no girl would ever...ever look at you twice. Unless you stop burping like that," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. But she couldn't hide the fact that she thought it was funny when he did that.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove looked at her trying his damdest not to tell her that she was the only girl that ever turned him on, it actually hurt to even think like that. He had been in love with her since the day he met her and it killed him everyday to see her and never say anything. Hell, if she ever knew he got thrown in the slammer because he beat the pulp out of some guy she was rumored to be with she'd leave him for good.

"Hey you just said you gave me a second look. I am sure that if you look, others do." He sighed out and puffed away on his cigarette. "Besides, you're too scrawny. Plump up a little....I might give you a second glance!" He looked away for a moment. How he hated having to joke like that. He liked her the way she was, the way she smelled, talked, laughed, everything was good with her and he just wanted to tell her that in one fell swoop by ripping her clothes off and having his way with her.

"Even if I did like you like that, which I don't, you'd never have me. You think I'm ugly. So...ah...no sexy Dove for you." He lifted his shirt and scrunched his stomach showing her his stomach muscles. "Oh, yeah...look at those babies. Who needs a woman when I got boobies like these?" He flexed his pec muscles and chuckled. "Damn, I am sexy."

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi covered her mouth as she burst into laughter, tears immediately forming in her eyes as she watched Dove flex his muscles. How badly she wanted to touch them! She could never tell him how sexy he actually was, because that would be admitting to him and to herself that she thought he was sexy. Which she did. But he didn't know, and he probably would never get those signals.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "You're such a freak!" she said, then shook her head, regaining her breath. "And wait a minute! Wasn't it I who said you'd look nice in a pair of boxer shorts earlier, hm? And right after the repugnant comment too," she said and gave him a pouty look. Then she smiled. "And you need a woman to touch those muscles and tell you how sexy they are, and how hot they make her. Boost your pride a little," she said with a grin. "What we do best. Make you men feel needed."

I wish you knew how much I need you, Hitomi thought to herself. She almost said it, but she laughed instead, watching him with a look of fondness and affection. She shook her head, then looked down and pulled her shirt up a little revealing a tiny litte bit of fat that gathered when she sat. It was her most embarrassing part of her body. She reached down and poked it.

"Besides, what do you call that? I already have fat on me!" she exclaimed, pointing to it. "When that thing goes away, then you can tell me to plump up a little."

[Dove Goldman]

Dove chuckled and let his shirt fall into place. He sighed and shook his head. He always had fun around her. He loved how she laughed and how adorable she was and how she always picked on him and dropped him compliments. He just didn't know how he could do it when he wasn't even wanting to willingly admit he was in love with her now.

"Hey who needs a woman to tell me I look good when I do it everyday. There are three things in my life I love...cigarettes, food, and myself." He chuckled and leaned his head back. And Hitomi Lawson. He blew out a line of smoke and frowned wondering what they were going to do when they got to Coruscant.

"So, how are you going to kill that little fox Phoenix? I must know for you always had the best ways of ending someones life. I think you should sell your ideas for money." He coughed lightly and looked at her with all seriousness. "I think you should torture her, get her for all its worth."

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi shook her head and looked away from Dove. She bit her lip a moment before looking back at him.

"She just got married..." Hitomi felt a shiver go down her spine. "I can't...that doesn't feel right..." she said. She didn't know where that had come from. She usually wasn't so feeling when it came to her prey. But for some reason, she was thinking of herself in that place. If someone had to kill Dove, she couldn't imagine having to watch him be tortured. It would be unbearable. She shook her head. "I'll just do a lure and pop. She won't feel a thing...well, she will, but not much." Hitomi looked away from Dove, feeling her cheeks redden. Was she getting soft? Maybe she would feel different later. Maybe it was just because of all the fuzzy things she had thought that day. Hitomi shrugged and looked down at her hands clasped in her lap.

"Anyway, I am sure we will have a couple other jobs to pull before we leave. Coruscant's always crawling with thugs needed to be down away with. We can take a rain check on torture till we find someone who doesn't matter so much," she said. Then she smiled and looked up at him. She kicked her leg out and bumped his knee with her foot. "Hey, this will give you a chance to visit that strip club you're friend is always talking about. Raoul's or something."

[Dove Goldman]

Dove sighed out and shook his head.

"No strip clubs for me. Why should I settle for t hat when I can pay you to do it?" He chuckled. That was as good as he could get when throwing her a compliment. It might not have been the best one ever, but it was at least something good enough to give er some feeling of goodness, right?

"Besides they have male strippers and I ain't wanting to see that. Although I know you'd love to see me enjoy that and make out with it." He shuddered and shook his head. "Men are nasty. We are hairy, we smell, we're repulsive, we burp, fart, everything that would turn me off. Thank God for women. Otherwise I'd die a virgin."

He sighed and looked at the panel in front of him. He nodded and blew out a line of smoke.

"Hey, we're almost to Coruscant. Where is the girl at? Any specific district? The sooner we get there the better. I want some food."

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi shook her head and sighed, looking down at the monitor and did some calculations in her head. She looked back up at Dove.

"Still got a couple hours. My contact said somewhere in the Nighongo District. When we get there, I want to lay low for a little bit. Find her, plan some stuff. I'm gonna book a hotel room for a couple nights when we get there. No way I'm not having a base of operations. And the Enigma just isn't doing it for me," she said with a smile. Then hopped off of the console and waved a hand at him. She moved to the door and leaned her hip on it, looking back at him and smiling. "You want macaroni and cheese? I'm headed that way, I'll make some for. Promise to wear gloves and a face mask. No cooties coming from this girl," she said, holding up her right hand as if making a pledge.

She didn't wait for an answer just began down the hall and smiled to herself. She called over her shoulder.

"You're still gonna die a virgin unless you either go to a strip club, or do me!" she said with a grin. "If the first ain't happening, what's left?" she laughed loudly, loving to pick on him, even though she knew it probably got on his nerves more than she thought it did.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove wanted to bash his ead into the console. That thought turned him on more than anything for she knew he would never go into a strip club due to germs and due to the fact nasty men entereted there. If there was something admirable about his character it was treating women well. His mother didn't raise him to be a fool or a jerk. He would never pay for a woman to strip, he could just get a girl to do it for free. Hell, he was a looker no matter what that little too hot to trot girl thought.

He grinned barely and looked ahead. They had a few hours till they got to Coruscant and he was actually excited. He wanted to see what this Phoenix girl looked like. He wanted to know how she eluded capture for so long. She must've been clever to have done that. But he knew she wasn't nearly as clever, or beautiful, as Hitomi.

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi worked happily on making food for Dove, the task feeling so fulfilling for no reason. She had made him food plenty of times before. Maybe it was just because she was excited that the kill was coming so soon. Maybe it was just because she was in a better mood than usual. Either way, she didn't care. She was having a lot of fun.

She peered into the cheesy concoction as she carried the hot bowl back down the hall to where Dove sat still, and she got the idea suddenly to send a messege to a boy she had left on Tattooine who had wanted to be her boyfriend so bad she had almost had him accompany them on the trip. But she didn't know how Dove would adjust to another man on the ship. At least not without another girl to balance out the testosterone. She walked around his chair and sat the bowl down in his lap, sticking a fork down into it and grinning down at him.

"At least we know that whoever I marry won't totally starve. I can make him macaroni and cheese our whole married life!" she laughed, picking up her pad and beginning to send a messege to the boy.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove looked at her and gave her a wry grin, watching her grab her pad and begin to type. He picked up his fork and quickly began to eat it with more joy. If he never got married he could at least say Macaroni and cheese was his life long partner. He slurped and frowned.

"Who are you talking to?" He questioned as he looked away to the bowl of the cheesy goodness that called out to him. He lowered his head and ate it quickly as if this were not going to last forever. He sometimes wished he didn't eat so fast so he could enjoy it much more.

"I guess I am not entertaining to you anymore so your revert to talking to your little buddies back home?"

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi smiled as she continued typing. She looked up at him and waited a moment while he ate. Then she flashed the screen at him. She tapped the screen.

"Its that boy back on Tattooine. You remember? Calan? He's been sending me messeges, I figured I ought to return them sometime," she said, looking back down to the messege and continuing to type. "He even left me a voice code on my com link. You ought to listen to it. It's so damn sappy," she said with a smile. "He's like I miss you, Hitomi and I wish I was there with you and tell me when you stop, I'll come see you," she said with a smile. She knew Dove would probably laugh himself out of his chair. Touchy feely things like that weren't really Dove's cup of tea, even though Hitomi thought they were nice every once in awhile.

"And you are entertaining me plenty," she said, looking back up at him. "But it's nice to hear that a boy misses me once in awhile," she said with a shrug.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove coughed as he swallowed and looked at her.

"I think he is gay." He sat back and crossed his leg and began to eat. He didn't want to hear stupid stuff like that. Sure girls liked it, but did they have to do it in such a way that was implying he had nothing better to do than to think of a girl all day? That boy had no testoterone. No style. He was a geek. He probably wouldn't know what to do with a girl if she told him and gave him a map. He'd probably cry after having sex. That was gay.

Dove looked out the window. How he hated when Hitomi talked about boys she found attractive. It wasn't as if he had low self esteem, she could like who she wanted, but when he had such feelings for her it killed him to think he'd never have such a chance. He went silent and kept eating. He had nothing to really say on the matter and as a matter of fact didn't want to have anything to say. If he was quiet she could talk away, he'd listen of course, but he would not give any input on the matter.

"I say I miss you sometimes..." His silence couldn't be stifled. He was now pouting. Mad. Ticked that a guy was suddenly trying to steal her away from him. Perhaps he needed to be a little more soft? But how hard it was for him. He looked at his bowl and suddenly he didn't want to eat anymore.

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi's brpw furrowed. Dove was pouting. How adorable he was when he did that! He would never know how much Hitomi just wanted to sit in his lap and kiss his pout away when he did so. How much she wanted to just...kiss him in general. Everywhere, anywhere her mouth would reach.

She sighed and put her pad on the console next to her and hopped off of it. She went over and stood in the way that Dove had looked. Crouching she leaned over and smiled in his line of vision, forcing him to look at her. She nodded.

"And I prefer it when you tell me you miss me. Not Calan," she said sincerely, for once not picking on him, but telling him what she truly thought. Then she stood and leaned against his chair, looking down at his abandoned bowl. She picked it up and looked down at it, then at him, then at the bowl, then back at him. She smiled and moved around the few noodles he hadn't consumed. Then she turned and began to walk back down the hall.

"You know I spit in this right?"

[Dove Goldman]

Dove fought the urge to smile when she walked out. How damn cute she was! See, he knew how to give compliments...as odd as a way it was, he did.

"You know I spit in this right?" Dove's urge suddenly went away to only be replaced by another. He stood up and ran down the hall, pushing Hitomi out of the way as he ran down the steps onto the second level and into his room. he quickly fell to his knees and began to puke up every single drop of macaroni he ate. The smell sickening, the feeling horrible, and the urge to go puke all over Hitomi very evident. He felt his stomach cringe as he puked harder and harder, coughing when he was able to get a breath. He leaned back on the wall and flushed the commode.

"I am going to kill you, Hitomi!" He kicked the toilet and stood up after a moment grabbing his toothbrush and began brushing his teeth so quickly that his gums were probably going to bleed. Why did she like doing that to him? Did she have any idea how bad it was for his health? For his mouth!? He scrubbed and spit it out and grabbed his mouthwash and flushed his mouth out two times. He spit it out and breathed heavily, his mouth inflamed and his eyes watering from the burn. He was going to go into her room and smother her with a pillow. He knew it. He felt it. He was planning it.

"I am going to kill you, Hitomi!" He yelled out of anger, yet enjoyment.

[Hitomi Lawson]

"Oops..." Hitomi laughed as she threw the bowl into the sink and listened on the intercom as he puked and brushed his teeth, washing his mouth out and spitting it out, brushing and washing again.

I am going to kill you, Hitomi! she heard him yell and she turned off the intercom, laughing so hard she thought she might puke. She hardly ever made him puke, she could only think of two other time where something she had said relating to mouths had made him barf like that. It had been funny then and it was funnier now. She wondered breifly if he would puke if a girl tried to make out with him. Considering they would be swapping a good bit of salive. Hitomi would try it, except she didn't want him barfing all over her. She leaned back over and pressed the intercom again, leaning closer to it, so he could hear her.

"You know, you're gonna have a real issue putting your tongue into a girl's mouth, you know that right?" she laughed, chewing her lip. "As odd as it sounds, you might actually like a girl romantically one day. Are you just not gonna kiss her? Are you gonna put a mask on when you have sex so you don't get her cooties in your mouth?" she laughed, suddenly extremely interested in whether or not he had actually thought about it. "I mean, I would kiss you if I didn't think you would barf in my mouth!"

[Dove Goldman]

"Just looking at you makes me want to puke!" He slammed the intercom off and sighed out. She was going to kill him! He was beginning to think if that was her master plan. He wouldn't be surprised. But still being mad at her for that wasn't something he could do. He sighed out and shook his head. He'd kissed plenty of girls for it was much different than anything else. Diseases could be told before making out, it was a controlled environment, whereas anything else was just a guess.

"Death is coming to you." He said in a sigh as his stomach suddenly began to settle. He needed to breathe and he needed to find a way to get back at Hitomi for all the mean things she had been doing to him lately. He wondered if he could barf in her shoes, or her bed. Something that in turn would cause her as much stress as she caused him.

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi shook her head and moved out of the kitchen and back up the lifts, tiptoeing past his room so he wouldn't hear her and into her own. She locked the door behind her and went to her bed, grabbed a book and curling onto the big bed, flipping on her music and inserting her head phones. She figured after doing that to Dove, she owed him silence, since he couldn't stand her music.

Her eyes wouldn't stay on the book however. They kept straying to the pictures above her bed. Finally, she abandoned the music and book, getting up and standing on her bed to look at the pictures. Almost all of them were of she and Dove at different points together. One was of her when she was about thirteen and he fifteen. Her hair was in pig tails and he was holding something dead over her head. She looked petrified, but even though he really was smiling he looked like he was the most amused boy in the universe. Hitomi could count the pictures she had of Dove. She had one of her adopted family, a few of her and Dove, but most of the pictures in her room were of Dove. Most of them unwilling on his part. Her favorite was the one right in the center of the pictures. It was of Dove dozing in his cockpit chair. She had taken it about a year before. She didn't know why she loved it so much, but whenever she was going to be away from him for any amount of time, she took that picture with her. It had been well loved, bent, ripped edges.

She shook her head and fell back on her bed, staring up at the pictures. Anytime they would be at Coruscant and she would find her brothers. And through it all, she knew that Dove would be there for her. She wished she could thank him in advance, but every time she tried, it felt awkward and came out wrong.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove sat in his cockpit wondering if he had upset her by being so harsh, but she had made him puke afterall! He sighed and scratched his head as he felt them enter Coruscant. The city was bright and blinding to him after being in his dark ship for a few days. He figured now would be a better time than never to tell her they had made it and to have a truce.

"Hey, Satan, we are in Coruscant. Wanna come boss me around for a while and tell me what to do? I promise I won't puke on you...much." He grinned and let the com button go as she smoked a cigarette. His stomach flipped upside down. Thinking of Hitomi nearby always made him nervous which was why he hated having time to think about it. He liked her so much and it was killing him to not tell her, but he knew that he couldn't. Although he felt she was better than him and deserved better, there wasn't anyone who was good enough for her. Nobody.

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi heard Dove and smiled. She jumped up and stripped, getting into her dull black leather pants, that were the only ones she would carry weapons on. She unzipped the front on the calf so they flared and she laced her boots up underneath. She she pulled on her black manderin collar shirt and trench coat, hiding her blasters in them and digging out the suitcase she kept her equipment in. Quickly as she ran to the lifts, she put her hair back in two black chopsticks.

She waited impatiently for the lift to open and then she walked down the hall towards the cockpit, pushing her sunglasses on her face. She looked like a business woman, which was what she wanted to look like. It wouldn't make people think she was up to no good. The less suspision the better. She entered the cockpit and walked up next to where Dove was sitting. She sat her suitcase down next to her and leaned over the screen to identify where they were docking. She nodded and turned to Dove.

"Alrighty. We're two shakes of a lambs tail from the Hwang District which means we're about eight from the Nihongo district. I'm gonna go book us a room and rent a snazzy car," she said, snatching up her suitcase and began towards the door before pausing and turning back to him. "Here's an order. Put on something snappy. Black leather, match me as best you can. The more we look like authority figures the better," she said with a smile. Then she held out her arms, she show him the whole outfit. "How do I look?"

[Dove Goldman]

Dove looked at her his left eyebrow raised high. This was that moment when he could do something that would make her feel good, that would let her know that he didn't find her half as repulsive as he said.

"Drop dead gorgeous." He gelt stupid and he quickly stood up and punched her on the shoulder. "Your wish is my command!" He said to her jogging down the hall towards his room. He didn't know if he could do the leather bit, but the black pants, shirt, coat, glasses, boots...he could look good in anything. He changed his shirt to a black button up, gelled his hair a bit, found his best black sunglasses, grabbed his combat boots, strapped himself down with guns and blasters, and topped it off with some cologne and a coat. He walked down the corridor to where Hitomi was.

"Let me park this sucker and you and I can go on a man hunt. God, I don't know about you but this gives me a woody!" He grinned and sat down on the chair and directed the ship ot a safe haven to hide.

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi couldn't help but feel her face redden when he told her that she looked gorgeous. How come she only felt a shiver down her spine when Dove told her that? He was her best friend! She had known him most of her life! Yet for some reason, it made her feel prettier when he said she was than when anyone else did. She shook her head and glanced back over when he came in.

Hell yes. That was what Hitomi was talking about. Black from head to toe, sunglasses, gelled hair, weighted down with guns. She chewed her lip and chuckled at his comment. Well, she didn't know what it felt like to get one of those, but him in that get up certainly wasn't hard on her eyes...or other parts of her body. She shook her head and felt him slowly guide the ship down and land it, the sound of it powering down like music to her ears. She couldn't wait to get off, stretch her legs, do what she was good at.

The ship jolted as it finished powering down and got locked into it's dock. She smiled.

"Alright then, Mr. Goldman," she said brushing a bit of hair from her face. "Shall we?"

[Dove Goldman]

He grinned and looked down at her and offered his arm.

"Look, I know I am drop dead sexy, but I must tell you...any unnceccesary grabbing of the butt, boob, or crotch will terminate this task for a quickie in an alley, understood? This is a mission!" He looked down at her and nodded walking down the ramp out into the street of the Hwang District. He was getting vamped, excited, absolutely ready to see some death! It had been so long since he had been able to pop someone off, if he couldn't do it at least he'd get to see his favorite perosn in the world do it.

"Hell yeah. I am ready to go. Lets find that guy and go for a little fox hunting."

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi kept her face straight, even though the thought of a quickie in an alleyway with the sexy beast on her arm was much more appealing than she was letting on. She glanced around and saw a worker in the ship yard. She made a motion to Dove and then one to the man. He came over and looked at her and Dove with suspicion.

"Nihonjin?" she asked. The man looked at her a moment before nodding. She grinned over her shoulder at Dove and then pulled up a picture of Jesimae on her pad. She pointed to it. "Kanojo no namae ha Jesimae fenikkusu dearu. Kanojo wo shitte iruka?" she asked. The man studied the picture a moment.

"Iie. Shikashi watashi ha dareka wo shitte iru. Kano namae ha Ren Wilcox dearu. Kareha kokokara 2 tsuno basho wo hataraka seru," he said. Hitomi glanced to where the man indicated. She smiled back at him.

"Arigatou. Hountouni arigatou," she said with a small bow. She put her pad away and looked at Dove, as they began walking again. She glanced at Dove. "He says a guy named Ren Wilcox knows her, and that he works two stations away from here. Your opinion; talk to him now or later?"

[Dove Goldman]

"Now." He looked at her and nodded. "I am a minute man what can I say?" He chuckled at his own joke and joabbed his head in the direction of where the man was going. "I suppose these people are popular around here? How come all these people seem to know who and where Jesimae is, but yet we don't?" He found it odd. But either way they were going to find her, take her down, have a smoke, some food, find her brothers, and eat some more to celebrate. He was loving this idea.

"The quicker she is dead," He said lowly to her as she bent down close to her ear. "The quicker we get to eat. I'm starving."

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi smiled as they approached a very attractive young man working on a ship near to where they had docked. She smiled at him as he noticed them and stood. She cocked her head.

"Nihonjin?" she asked, unsure of what he might speak. He smiled at her and then glanced at Dove. He gave a shrug.

"Uh, Basic," he said, tossing his tool down and smiling. Hitomi smiled back at him. She put a hand on her hip and put her sunglasses up, giving him the most convincing smile she could. She shook her head.

"Okay...we're looking for Jesimae, and you know her?" she said shaking her head. "I'm one of her friends from Naboo, I knew her brother. I wanted to be here for the wedding, but my husband's ship doesn't go very fast," she said, giving Dove a nudge with her elbow, using the cuteness she had mastered to make the man laugh and trust her. Which she easily did. "Can you tell me where she lives? Her directions say the Nighongo District, but we've only been to Coruscant a couple of times so we're lost."

The man looked at her and smiled a moment before shrugging and laughing. He leaned towards them.

"It's about eight minutes that. They live in an apartment building. Ask anybody where Lawson lives and you'll find Jesimae," the man said with a smiled. Hitomi's stomach seized but she forgot about it for a moment. She bowed once.

"Thanks a lot!" she turned and pulled Dove with him. "See, honey, I told you we were in the wrong district!" she said loudly as they moved out of ear shot of the other man. She glanced over her shoulder as they began out of the docking area. Then she looked at Dove.

"Did you hear what he said?!" she hissed. "Lawson? Do you think she could know my brothers? Or do you think it a stupid cooincidence?"

[Dove Goldman]

Dove wasn't sure wht to think. He was still in shock with the whole comment on him being her husband. He sighed and shook his head and nodded after he realized she was talking to him about the last name.

"I am going with the latter. I doubt that the one woman we've been searching for married your brother. That is too weird, too coincidental, and too weird. I am sure you aren't the only Lawson out there!" He grinned. "Sorry to say." He walked around the corner and saw many Japanese people wandering about. He figured that was where they were needing to head.

"You aren't gonna pop off the husband too are you? Cause...I'll do it....just for fun!"

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi smacked his arm.

"Only if he's a problem. Remember that ship of yours could catch a pretty penny and get you in jail if anybody knows about it. I'm not gonna pop you off for that. If he gets to be an issue then be my guest. But please, not until," she said with a smile. Then she dropped her hand and laced thier fingers together, holding his hand. "We need to blend in. You can hold my hand for a few minutes can't you? I'll get you a germ wipe when we get to the hotel," she said with a laugh.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove sighed out at her request to hold his hand.

"The things I have to do for you." He said letting out a growl. He looked down at her and gave her a wry grin that was more painful to give than it actually was. He nodded and looked in front of him. Did she they were going to get a hotel together? That was something he wasn't really sure if that was a good idea, but he wasn't going to object for his own secret perverse reasons. He stifled another grin.

"I don't think a germ wipe will rid me of the nasty things you just gave me." He looked at her and bumped her plafully. "You are a fungus remember? Besides I think I can handle it. Having you on my arm is making me look more beautiful." He chuckled at her. How they made fun of each other so bad.

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi smiled and shook her head. She was under the opinion that Dove just needed to get his own bubble and live inside of it so he would never have to touch anyone, or get anyone's diseases, or even have to look at anyone if he didn't want to.

She had never understood his obsession with being clean and free of germs. Of course, she wasn't a dirty person, she understood being clean--she couldn't not be clean. But Dove was obsessed. She shook her head as they walked. She didn't understand why she put up with him, or why he put up with her. Actually, Hitomi knew why she stayed hanging around him. Without Dove, Hitomi couldn't survive. Without Dove picking on her, and complaining to her, and simply being around her, Hitomi wouldn't have a purpose in life.

"I don't think anything could make you look more beautiful in that get-up, Dove," she said with a stifled laugh, looking over at him. Then she got a cross look on her face and pulled her hand away from his. "Fine then, if I'm such a fungus, I vow I will never hold your hand again as long as I live!" she said angrily, even though she was trying to keep back a laugh.

[Dove Goldman]

Dove chukled and lifted his hands and popped his collar on the black coat that fit him perfectly, cinched perfectly at the hips, flaring out at his legs, he knew he looked good, Hitomi knew he looked good, but he also knew that she looked good as well. He raised an eyebrow and glanced over at her through his black sunglasses at her look.

"Shut up. If there is one thing that you can't do is act. You know you can't be mad at me." He grabbed her around the neck with his arm and pulled her into him and he gave her a kiss on the head. That was as far as he had ever gone, the two kissed one another in a friendly manner, but it had never gone past the cheek or the head. Matter of fact they had only done it a few times and it was always when playing around or when Hitomi had something disgusting on her mouth and wanted to share it with him. He chuckled deep inside and released her as the reminiscing brought a little pang to his heart. He loved Hitomi more than his brothers and that was saying something. Without Hitomi to make fun of him, keep his ego down, and keep him grounded he didn't think he would have any purpose in life.

He had a solid job, but he never liked going at it alone. He always wanted to invite Hitomi so she could keep him company, so she could keep him on his toes, so she could give him the best options when hunting someone and killing them. Having her ask him to go with her for this special task that had no time line...it was a dream come true. Not only would he have something to do and be around the one person he could stand, he also knew that she wasn't getting into trouble and wasn't needing protection for he was there behind her all the time.

"Plus," He looked back at her after such a long period as his mind began to settle back into the reality they were in. "You can't not touch me. You know you want my sexy body. I see the way you look at me, the way you break out into a sweat..." He grinned at her and looked away. How much he loved to tease her even if none of it was real for in his mind....it was.

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi moved closer to him, and stuck out her tongue leaning up into his face.

"I will lick you, Dove Goldman," she said as if it were some horrible punishment. "I'll do it, don't think I won't!" she grinned and pushed his shoulder. Her smile melted as the continued to walk. She was never able to be mad at Dove. She had stopped trying a long time ago.

She had only been truly angry at him once, and that had been about four years ago. She had called him, frightened because a man had recognized her and was following her. She had asked him to come help her, just stay with her until he went away. Something had happened, had kept him from coming to her. She understood at the time, and still did, and had only been mad for the few moments when she hadn't understood why he hadn't been there. Before and after that, Hitomi couldn't remember ever being truly mad at him. She couldn't be because without Dove there, she wasn't complete, and it was impossible for her to be angry or upset with him.

But the nights she had cried terrified what would happen if something happened to him. It was the one--and almost only thing--she cried about anymore. Dove didn't know, of course, he never would. But Hitomi had spent sleepless nights crying, afraid of a life without him, afraid of having to go on day by day without his face, voice, endless nagging. It was a thought Hitomi could not bear.

She shook her head to rid herself of the discouraging thoughts. She waved her hand towards a tall grey building near to them.

"That's the hotel my contact said was real good for computer connections and satellite connections," she said, glancing at Dove. "I figured it was as good as any."

[Dove Goldman]

Dove nodded in response to her pointing out the hotel. It looked nice, quaint, low key. He was getting anxious and excited for both reasons of having Hitomi kill that Phoenix character and for finding her family. It brought him another shiver when he remembered their conversation a few minutes ago. It would be an awkward coincidence if they were to kill her sister-in-law, but he knew that would be very hard to come by. There were a lot of Lawsons running around, he was sure, and if this was by some wild chance her brother's wife it would be a very hard thing to do when it came down to killing her. Then again that was why Dove was there. If she couldn't do it, by hell he sure would he couldn't let her get soft on him, not even if it was a long lost brother's girl.

"Great!" He finally voiced after he allowed his mind to wander off the real subject into other things. Sad how in his old age it was happening more often. He grinned and looked down at her. "So do we get to sleep together?" He shoved her playfully. That was a nice thought. "I do have to warn you though, I kick and grab." He chuckled and let out a heavy sigh.

"What is the plan, my dear? We going Fox hunting tonight?"

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi shook her head and began towards the hotel, running a hand down the front of her jacket, glancing over her shoulder as a young boy on a hover board swung past them, giving them a friendly nod and pausing once.

"No, I wanna set up camp first, get a good idea of what she's been up to," she glanced over at Dove. "You know?"

[Dove Goldman]

Dove stuck out his bottome lip and nodded at her directions. He was getting ancy, anxious, and ready for some excitement! Their trip had been long and repetitive, routine, nothing changed. The only excitement he got was from staring at Hitomi and although that never got old, he was going to get caught redhanded soon. He sighed out and looked around aimessly and let his thoughts be known.

"Sounds like a plan. Don't mean to rush you or anything, but you know how I get when it comes down to the wire. I like death and destruction a little too much, don't you think?"

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi laughed as they entered the nice hotel and she produced the credits they would need for a room. She nodded a little.

"Yeah," she said, giving him a sidelong glance. "You do. But I love you anyway," she said with a grin as they approached the desk and the alien man looked up at them and gave them a smile.

"Can I help you?" he rumbled good-naturedly. Hitomi gave him a smile.

"Yes, can we have one of your best suites?" she asked, glancing down at her credits. The man looked down at the screen floating in front of him. He tapped a few laser keys on his desk and smiled, looking up at her and taking her credits.

"Yes, luckily we have just the thing for you!" he said and got her name--which she lied about--and then the fake ID that she handed over. He typed everything in and after a moment, transferred all the information into thier files. He handed over two keycards. "There you are! If you need anything further Madam, and sir--" he gave Dove a polite nod, "--be sure to let us know!"

Hitomi smiled and turned towards the lifts at the back of the room. She didn't say anything to Dove until they were safely on the lift. She looked at him and smiled.

"A suite," she said, raising her eyebrows. "We'll have great connection up there, and privacy. Which means no one will wonder what we are doing, so we can track Phoenix as long as is necessary." She gave him a wink. "Good?"

[Dove Goldman]

Ah, his heartstrings were being pulled, he barely mustered a grin at her comment of loving him for it was a grand thought that meant more to him that she probably realized. He wasn't sure how long he Himself had known, but it was surprising that the girl hadn't figured it out yet. Either he was good at keeping secrets or she was unable to observe some of the certain things he did. Then again, he thought, he wasn't one to drop hints very well. He figured it was for the best. Their friendship meant a lot to him and he definitely did not want it to be soured just because of a little feeling he felt towards her.

He turned his bleak grin into a serious face as they both walked over to the counter so she could speak to the hotel clerk. Hitomi worked her wonders with money and Identification cards adn the two were off! They both walked to the lifts that were to take them to their suite, which he found quite a surprise for he figured they'd be sleeping in a lower key room. He loved the thought anyone for he was a man of expensive tastes.

The doors closed and immediately the lift was surrounded in Hitomi's blissful scent, something Dove had always been very fond of! He glanced over at her through his dark sunglasses. he grinned after she spoke and he was quick to grab her around the waist and pull her close to him.

"Privacy!" He said laughing lightly playing the pervert was always one of his best qualities. "With me in the room, you're gonna need it!"

[Hitomi Lawson]

Hitomi laughed as she got dragged into her friends arms, thier bodies pressing together. For a second, it was awkward, because Hitomi knew that if she wasn't careful she could seriously love Dove, and not just as a friend. But then after a moment, it wasn't awkward anymore because they had known each other far too long for it to be.

"You're an animal!" she laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck to give her leverage to hop up and give him a kiss on the cheek. Then she put her hands on Dove's shoulder and smiled up at him. "Anyway, I'm afraid this is the only outfit I brought, so you'll have to excuse me if I walk around the room naked." She pushed him away as the lift door opened and winked at him over her shoulder.

"Come on, ugly."

[Dove Goldman]

Dove chuckled deep within his chest at that comment and even more at that thought. Having Hitomi walk around naked was the most pleasing thing he had ever heard in his entire life, aside from the Phoenix death and the possible canidate...her husband.

He sighed out when the lifts opened and she called him out with the words she most commonly used and how he followed like a dog. If there was any person in the galaxy he'd call his master, it'd be Hitomi. They walked side-by-side like two agents on the path of destruction, which in this case half was truth, and they were going to be having a good time tonight while preparing for tomorrow's plan. At this time, it not really being clear to either one of them.

"You said naked, right?" He looked down at Hitomi once they reached the door where she was quick to receal the key card. He grinned at her after a very spiteful look. They walked in and immediately he was floored at the beauty of the place and even better, the view. Windows everywhere allowing them to see over the entire Nihongo District. It was very appealing and very exciting.

"Wonder if we can see their house now?" He said as he strode in, his long coat flapping in the resistance. "They don't know what is even coming, do they?"