Vasquez ' eyebrows furrow a little in displeasure, and she shoots him an unamused look, but the way the corner of her mouth tugs upward betrays the fondness underneath and telegraphs what comes next. She swings a leg over Jason, straddling him in one smooth move. Well, mostly smooth - the half-eaten MRE rests precariously with one corner off the coffee table after being nudged by one of her boots. Her hands lock behind his neck as
#RedrockAgency – February 26, 2025
Jason watches Vasquez expectantly with a small lift of his brow, a silent challenge of his own. When she finally makes her move, he's far from caught off guard, his arms quickly wrapping around her waist to better support her as he meets her lips.
Vasquez presses closer, lifting a little as one hand shifts to the back of the couch while the other cradles Jason's neck. Without her ponytail, the angle leaves black hair curtaining both their faces. There's the slightest scrape of her teeth against his lips before she pulls back enough to meet his eyes with a mumbled "Missed you, jackass." The grin that follows is light and unburdened, and eyes so often full of pain show
Jason's grip on Vasquez loosens as she pulls back, hands resting against the back of her hips. He draws in a breath as his eyes open, flicking between her eyes and her lips, grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah?" he teases, briefly lifting his head to press another small kiss against her lips. "Missed you, too." he admits softly before giving a small tilt of his head and qualifying it with her own words. "A little."
Vasquez lets out a quiet scoff, her thumb tracing slowly along Jason's jaw, eyes remaining fixed on his. "Just a little, huh?" The question is followed by another kiss, her right hand leaving his neck to trace the anchor points of his implants through his shirt, and down to his side. "Maybe I should just head out again, then?" she suggests in a quiet mumble, breaking the kiss. Despite her words, her lips start to follow the path
of her hand, planting kisses along his jaw and down to his neck. Her left hand, meanwhile, finds its way to the back of his head, fingertips running through newly trimmed hair.
Jason snickers softly, his left hand finding its way under the back of Vasquez' shirt, drawing small shapes against bare skin. "You're not going anywhere any time soon." he insists, perhaps giving away that he may have missed her just a bit more than a little. He tilts his head against hers as her lips plot out a trail down his neck. His hand starts to climb higher up her back, bringing her shirt with it as-....
Fergus' voice suddenly cuts through the room. "Apologies for the interruption, milord, but I believe our new guest requires your attention. The announcement causes Jason's whole body to stiffen sharply.
Vasquez ' chuckle at Jason's words is felt more than heard, mouth still tracing a path down to the crook of his neck, where the collar of his shirt blocks her path. Her hand too has just started finding its way under his shirt when Fergus interrupts. She pulls back with a frustrated sigh, her weight shifting as she sits back against Jason's thighs and looks out to an arbitrary point in space. "Who's the guest, Fergus?"
Jason gains a look of discomfort, jumping out ahead of Vasquez' question before Fergus has a chance to answer, his attention lifting upwards as he addresses the formless voice. "No-... uhh-... Don't-... I'll-..." he stammers, blue eyes tilting Vasquez' way. "...I've got this, Fergus." he finally spits out, giving away that there's prooobably more to this than a sudden visitor. He gives a small, apologetic shrug of his shoulders,
before attempting to calm her concerns before they have a chance to catch up to her. "It's not a fire!" he assures.
Vasquez seems a little caught off-guard by Jason's reaction, attention back on him with a questioning look. She climbs off of him, narrowly avoiding sending Jason's meal to the floor as she stands. "Then what is it?" she asks, crossing her arms. "Since you apparently already know."
Jason opens his mouth to speak, but all that escapes is a heavy sigh. "Probably better if I just-... show you." he mutters as he adjusts his shirt and reluctantly climbs to his feet and waits for her to join him.
Vasquez lets out a displeased grunt at his vagueness, but starts moving towards the door regardless, fixing her shirt as she goes. "Let's go then." She grabs her gray Redrock jacket from the hanger, slipping it on over her tee for a slightly more professional look, and she fishes a hairtie out of one of the pockets, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Despite Jason's assurance, she slips her pistol from her winter coat to the
Vasquez lets out a displeased grunt at his vagueness. "'Show' me? What-... okay, fine. Go ahead," she says, confusion and a bit of curiosity mixing with frustration at the interruption.
Jason nods towards the door and begins to lead the way out into the hall. "Wasn't expecting you to just suddenly burst through the door like you did." he explains as they make their way down the hall. "We were gonna pick you up from the spaceport. Surprise you there." he explains, conjuring up a smirk that he shoots her way, though there's clear apprehension, both in his expression and his voice, unsure of how she's going to
react. As they near the rec room a sound can be heard from inside, muffled by the door. A rather distinct sound. A bark. Jason winces as he takes a spot beside the door and gives the panel a quick tap, watching Vasquez to try and gauge just how much trouble he's in. "Surprise." he says, though it comes out as more of a question than an exclamation.
As the door slides open, sure enough, a dog is just on the other side. It stands at about waist height, appearing to be fully grown. It's light brown in color with a large patch of black that covers most of its back and tail with more black patches encompassing its face and ears which stand up. It dips the front half of its body down and then springs back up, hopping around in a full circle excitedly before letting out another bark.
Vasquez ' furrows her eyebrows at the 'we', her confusion only growing - at least until they near the rec room door and she hears the bark. She doesn't seem quite sure how to react as Jason opens the door, baffled more than anything. Her eyebrows shoot up as her gaze falls on the unfamiliar canine guest, but the excited display elicits a quiet chuckle, most of the tension leaving her. "Who's this...?" she asks through a slightly
Jason's tension seems to slip away as a smile touches Vasquez' face. "This-..." he begins, stepping into the rec room and dropping to a knee to scratch the excited pooch under the chin, "...is Justice." The name causes him to shoot a glance Vasquez' way, a sheepish smile crossing his lips. "We-... uhh-... went for a jog earlier. Must've tired him out because he klonked out as soon as we got back. Didn't you, buddy?!" Justice
nudges against Jason, eager for more scritches and Jason complies. "Didn't have the heart to wake him so I figured I'd let him sleep until it was time for us to come pick you up. When you showed up out of the blue, guess I got a little distracted." He furrows his brow, lopsided grin returning as his attention shifts back to Vasquez, "You can be very distracting, you know that?"
Vasquez lets out a started laugh as she absorbs Jason's words, but her smile only grows as she watches him with the dog. The last comment elicits a quiet snort and a brief flash of heat in her eyes as her gaze meets Jason's, but her attention is quickly drawn back to the energetic and unexpected guest, and she kneels next to Jason, approach gentle as she tries to introduce herself to Justice.
Justice immediately shifts towards Vasquez, curiosity piqued as she approaches. He gives her hand a few sniffs, wet nose searching across her palm, before rendering his judgement of her with a frenzy of hand-licks.
Jason watches, a chuckle of his own slipping out as Justice begins licking Vasquez' hand. "Seems to be friendly enough." he says, rustling the dog's fur. "He's been fine with everyone coming and going the past couple days. And the guy at the market said he's good with kids." he continues, shooting another glance Vasquez' way.
Everything seems to be in order in the rec room. No signs of any fires. Though there is a distinct smell. No, not dog. Is it... roasted chicken and potatoes? Sure enough, a small, blue dog bowl off to the side of the door is filled with a helping of Jason's favorite MRE. The only other thing of note in the room is a small bouquet laying on the rec room table, comprised of a few colorful flowers and held together with matching ribbons.
Vasquez grins wide as Justice licks her hand, the laugh that follows warm and delighted. "Hello, boy! You are a friendly one, aren't you?" The question is accompanied neck-scratches that match the dog's enthusiasm, and the tone of her voice is one that's never before been heard in the years that Jason's known her. Light, airy and joyful. It's... uncanny, really. "Yes you are, aren't you?" Justice has her too distracted to even
Justice is certainly loving all of the attention, tail wagging joyfully behind him as he nuzzles up to Vasquez.
Jason blinks, a little caught off guard by the sudden... softness on display, drawing more laughter from him. Jason scoots in closer, to join Vasquez in showering Justice in attention. "I know it's a big responsibility." he says, splitting his attention between the dog and Vasquez. "With the baby on the way and everything? Wasn't sure how you'd react." The admission comes with a quick glance towards the flowers out of the corner
of his eye that were supposed to pull double-duty as either a 'welcome home' or an 'I'm sorry' gesture depending on Vasquez' response. "But it just felt... right, ya know?" His expression softens with the allusion to their growing family. "Regardless, I don't want you thinking I went over your head and made some life altering decision without letting you have a say in it. The guy's ship isn't leaving port for a few more
Vasquez smile lingers, similarly splitting her attention between Jason and Justice. "Jason, I-... it's perfect," she says, eyes bright. It's a younger woman that meets his gaze. Someone without a decade's worth of hardship and scars. A girl who's dad owned Mars' only pet store. Who grew up surrounded by animals, and had to leave that behind when she enlisted. The remnants of her concert apparel still on her only adds to the
impression that it's the girl in those old pictures looking back at him. She leans over for a quick kiss - all she can get away with before she's back to showering Justice with attention. "I can't believe you found this handsome guy all the way out here! You're not going anywhere! No you're not, are you, boy?!"
Jason feels a weight fall from his shoulders knowing that Vasquez is onboard. Despite having only been around Justice for the last few days, its already set in that giving him up wouldn't be easy, so seeing her react so positively towards their new companion is a tremendous relief. And infectious, plastering a big, goofy grin all over his face. When Vasquez leans in, he's quick to meet her for a kiss. "To be honest? He kinda found
me." he snickers. "How about I-... uhh-..." he stammers, glancing around for something. Spotting the leash draped over the armrest of the couch, he gives Justice one last pat and rises to his feet, "...tell you about it while we take him on a walk?"
Justice's tail flaps about, slapping against Vasquez' side without a care in the world. He seems to be picking up on the general positivity and bounces around in another circle before hurriedly moving back in for more attention.