"Yes. I am very good."

Mirror blinks once, and takes Slate's hand in hers. The hand is warm. The fur is rough. She runs her thumb along the back of it to feel the bristles that have been formed over long years of work on machines both great and small. The pair of them lock eyes, and Mirror lets hers close completely.

"...But I cannot see the future, Selin."

"B-B-Boss!! [i]Please[/i] don't call mmMMrph?!?"

Mirror keeps her eyes closed as she brushes her fingertip against Slate's lips. A single finger was not, of course, enough to shut anybody up. But Slate was uniquely respectful of symbols and gestures, and that made her a very valuable (and fun) companion. 

"You told me not in front of the crew, if I recall."

"Mmmmmm."

"Right. And we are alone, just now."

"Mmmmm?"

"You called me Mira. That is a signal. We are being [i]intimate[/i], Selin."

The heat of her hand is pleasant. The heat of her lips even more so. Mira rolls over on the couch until she is straddling Selin's waist. Their bodies, pressed close together. Their heartbeats, their breathing, shared. Breast pressing insistently, softly into breast and forehead very gently touched to forehead. Mira does not move, except to breathe. Selin's stiff trembling underneath her is all that she needs from this exchange. 

The heat of their bodies builds together, until it starts spreading into other parts of them. Everything warming, stiffening, sweating, until it crosses over into their brains and begs for relief. Their clothes are stifling them. The desire to strip them off is overwhelming. To drink in each other's unique and beautiful bodies, and bathe together until soft fur matches stiff mats, until...

Mira feels hands touch the small of her back. She sighs, and climbs off the couch entirely. 

"It isn't fair, what I do to you. You are right to point it out. But do not accuse me of plotting out my manipulation to this degree, if you please. I could not see Matty coming. She slipped under my guard quite unexpectedly, I assure you. But I did not ask her to join us with a thought toward how much extra work it would be for you. If you must know, I asked her to present herself to you as soon as she could, as an apology for everything else."

Mira's fingers find the zipper on her mesh suit. She pulls it all the way down and shrugs her shoulders free of the confining garment. She is businesslike in her demeanor as she slips the tight-fitting garment down off of her and steps out of it completely, baring herself completely with none of the passion of just a minute earlier. 

"No secrets, Selin. Agreed?"

"...Yeah, Bo-- yeah, Mira."

She blinks her eyes slowly while Selin begins the much more complicated process of stripping herself nude. Shoes, socks, the heavy jacket that's meant to keep grease out of body fur, the long sleeve shirt worn under that, belts, pants. When she gets to the fashionable, girly underwear hidden underneath it all, Mira looks away.

"You are still furious with me."

"'Course I am. You're a jerk. And you're hurting yourself [i]and[/i] our dream because you think it's gonna help you fuck an even bigger jerk."

"...Yes."

"[i]Hate[/i] it when you don't deny it. Drives me up a wall, hope you know that."

"Why?"

"Because it!" Selin's bra joins the rest of the pile of her clothes, "It makes it so damn hard to [i]stay[/i] mad at you! You're annoyingly honest, Mira. With me. Just with me. How'm I supposed to protect myself from that?"

"You aren't. It's a directed attack to make you realize that I need you. And even if I had her and everything I could possibly want from her, I would still need you. You complete pieces of me that she does not. She completes pieces of me that you do not. And there are pieces of her that I cannot touch no matter how hard for them I reach. The asymmetry of the arrangement is why I can't let her go. I will not. Even as a phantom she is part of me."

"...And Matty? Are you already claiming her as one of your special pieces, too?"

"For as long as it lasts, yes."

"Fuck you Mira, is that what 'no secrets' looks like to you? If you're taking advantage of this girl then I'm--"

The finger on her lips is a thousand times more intimate now that neither of them is wearing anything. Mira's movements are more than a little slurred and drunken as she wraps herself around Selin.

"The kitten is the one who will leave us, in the end. Grow up, if you prefer. But if she surprises me and stays, or even if she waits behind for us to return. I will. Love her. With every part of my heart. I am allowed."

Selin is silent even after the finger leaves her lips. She pulls Mira close and rests her head on her shoulder with a sigh.

"All right, all right. I get it. Then, it's like I already said. We gotta keep the special ones. We'll make her stay. We'll... [i]I'll[/i] make her family. And then it won't matter how many Jumps wind up between us, will it?"

"You are. So much better than I deserve."

"You couldn't afford me from the very start, Boss. And while it's honesty o'clock, I'll tell you another thing that pisses me off, Mira. You went out and did this and that and this other thing and you fffff! You went to a restaurant and drank booze instead of eating food! What is the [i]matter[/i] with you?"

"Heh."

"You suck at taking care of yourself, Boss. You're useless without me. That's the only reason I don't ditch your cute ass."

"But you admit at any rate it [i]is[/i] cute."

"When the food I order gets here, you're picking it up. Dressed exactly like this, you jerk."

"That's more than fair." says Mira through an unrepentant grin.