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Jesus Christ, You're so Darn Good Cold

Summary:

Robin Page is being dragged across the land to a resort beach by her loving girlfriend Amanda Jensen. This wouldn't be such a problem if a hyperactive Malik and Evelyn didn't have to tag along! Nothing but trouble is going to happen now, and the girl's just can't wait!

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Robin looks around the place she’s in. Sand, wind, chill, and the crashing of the waves are pattering at her sandals. Chill! A chill! She steps back, away from the annoying sounds and the supposed jellyfish that might sting her! Huff! Out of all the places her girlfriend wanted to stay at it had to be here with other…people and angry stinging blobs of jelly! Too many people and not enough cozy fire. Robin kicks at the sand before waltzing to the group of girls.

Malik throws down some dry wood on the sand, she looks up to see Robin with her arms crossed over her chest and glaring at the pile that her friend just collected. Good news for Malik then is the cold stone face of Robin’s glare can start the fire start! Laughing to herself, she walks over to the Versalife CEO and gives her a comforting pat on the shoulder. She needs to relax! This is supposed to be a vacation for them all to enjoy! Not worry about getting sand in anyone’s precious hair that costs $100 a week at the salon to keep it shoulder length and with a straight crisp.

Evelyn comes back with a handful of stones to place around the bonfire they’re going to make. She sees that Malik is trying to talk some sense into their friend. Sighs. Where’s Amanda when they need her? She had to go back to the beach resort to get the stuff for s’mores and leave them with this…angry little woman who refuses to wear something that’s not business attire. Robin notices the stare and now gives her the death glare. What’s she looking at? At least there’s going to be a bonfire to keep herself warm! She huffs again and sits down on the beach spread, waiting for Amanda to come back and take her away from this awful and fake happy place!

“I’m back.” Oh thank Heavens! Robin turns to her savior to see she’s brought the fridge, literally the fridge with her. Stupid augmented woman! Why did she have to upgrade her strength? How did she even make it across the sand? She grabs her girlfriend’s ponytail, giving it sharp tugs, making sure each tug rubs sand in her hair! She will give her the sandiest bad hair day ever!

Amanda quirks an eyebrow at Robin. “Relax a bit, Robin. You’ve been really stressed out at your job, and I thought we could get together with some of our friends to sit out here and talk and shop.”

Robin stops her tugging. True, she has been working a lot. She needs to get a break and have a well-earned rest. She doesn’t argue with the logic going around in her head. If worse comes to worse, she’ll just fire someone when she returns to work next week. That always does the trick! Sitting back down, she takes one of the pokers Amanda brought with her and sticks a marshmallow on the end of it, holding it over the open fire that the other two ladies finally got to light up. Sadly, no one’s hair caught on fire during the duration of this ridiculous fridge run. Otherwise, running in to the ocean in this dreaded weather didn’t seem like a good idea, so dying by being burned alive is the only next best option to hypothermia.

Malik bites into her graham cracker. “Oh! This is heavenly. I’ve missed chocolate so much.” She splits off half of her piece and hands it to Evelyn.

Evelyn takes it, pops it into her mouth, and makes Mmmmm-delicious sounds, which get on Robin’s nerves even more! Robin can’t believe this happy couple is slurping away at their fingertips, praising Amanda for being the angel she is for bringing these monstrosities to this camp! She gets up, pulling away from her girlfriend’s grasp, and goes to stand off in the distance, ignoring everyone’s questioning glaze. She hears more laughter, glaring, she turns to see other happy couples are walking along the ocean side, holding hands, and chatting away about God knows what. She couldn’t make out everyone’s mumble jumble. The only thing going through her head is how many calories she’ll need to burn off in the next hour, and when is she allowed to leave?

“Robin?” Amanda stands next to her girlfriend in worry, taking her hand into hers. Nuzzling the side of her high-rise cheekbones. She’s worried about her stress levels. What has Robin acting like this? Everyone’s enjoying their vacation. What does Amanda need to do to help Robin enjoy hers?

Robin stares at the augmented hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s eating me.”

Amanda makes a bad joke, “Time of the month?”

Robin gives her a flat look and knocks the taller girl on the head. She’s not on her period! She snubs away from Amanda. Servers her right! Here Robin is, being all moody and alone, and Amanda must come in and ruin EVERYTHING with jokes about her bodily functions! Rude! Even the laughter is…Robin peaks open an eye, Evelyn and Malik are awfully close now. Noses are touching and giving each other soft kisses. Robin tenses. This is something she wants, but she’s uncomfortable with displaying these things in front of other people. She tried it once, and it didn’t end well for either of them. Both falling into the heated pool, with all their clothes on, and Amanda just…laughs.

In fact, that’s the first time she’s ever seen Amanda laugh like that. They’ve both been tide up with work for so long, that they forgot how to live. Robin has bad years of upbringing to blame, but what does Amanda Jensen have? Loving adoptive parents that helped her throughout her entire life, and Robin Page? A father that treated her like a “daughter”, or what his version of a daughter is. Studying non-stop and not going out being a kid. Learning how the world works in the cruelest ways possible, and then…then Amanda stepped into her life. The one-time Danielle Sarif makes her staff attend one of her charity events she had to run into this handsome-curved beauty. Does she regret it? No. Robin gets to keep the beauty all to herself.

Robin takes Amanda’s hand into her own. “Let’s go back to the girls. I want to eat some chocolate before they hog it all.”

Amanda nods. The two return to the blanket to see the women really did almost eat all the chocolate. Robin snatches the candy bars away from them. She wants her fill too! Quickly she breaks apart as many pieces as she could and stuffs them all into her mouth. Malik and Evelyn each poke one side of her cheek. She looks like a chipmunk! Maybe she’s chirps like one too! Malik leans back and pats her own cheeks and makes the most horrendous squirrel sounds she can muster. Evelyn had to cover Malik’s mouth, so that the woman gets the hint to be quiet!

Malik pouts. “I just want to have fun! Robin is starting to lighten up to us, and we need to bow to our new world leader!” Malik bows over the sand.

Robin wants to…facepalm or run away. Facepalm while running away? Yes, yes, that’s a better idea. She quickly gets up. “I need to breathe!”

Amanda stops her, again. Pulls the aggravated CEO into her lap and wraps a blanket around her. Robin looks over her shoulder and glares. This lap is nice, warm, comfortable, and she really doesn’t want to move anymore. Just lay…the head back against the augmented shoulder and rest the eyes. Things should be better by morning. The chin on top of her head is nuzzling her, kisses are soon to follow, and the sky above them is shining brightly. Maybe tonight won’t be so bad. They’re in good company, and the two across from them seem to be resting, holding onto each other. It’s a nice sight to see.

By morning the fire has gone out, and there’s a…ceiling? Hm, Amanda must’ve carried her back to the hotel. Did the fridge make it back too? She turns to see that there is no one lying next to her. She gets up, calls for Amanda, gets no answer. Instead, Malik comes in the room, towel wrapped around her frame, and she’s dying her hair. Why is she standing here like this in her room?! Robin doesn’t like this. She covers her eyes and pretends that everything is right in the world. Evelyn comes out of the shower with the same attire. They really do need to get dressed!

“Will you two please use your own shower!” Robin points an accusing finger at them.  

Malik laughs. “Sorry, Robin! Our shower doesn’t have any hot water! Plus, you need to hurry up and get dressed! Amanda is cooking!”

Cooking!? Amanda knows how to cook!? All Robin ever sees Amanda eat is sugar and oranges! When did she learn to cook!? She squints when she thinks about the one time that Sarif made her go take a cooking course, so she could spy in one of their competitor’s kitchen, really to learn how to make the Sarif charity dinners better. Of course! That’s where she learned all her cooking skills from! Getting up, she gets dressed, and walks downstairs to see Amanda has laid out a spread of some delicious looking chocolate chip pancakes, smoked sausage patties, and Honey flavored fluffy biscuits. Oh, these looks like they’re to die for! Orange juice-of course orange juice is also on the table in wine glasses out of all things! The only thing the woman knows how to pour outside of milk in a bowl!

Amanda hugs Robin from behind. “Morning, beautiful. Sit. Enjoy.” She places a kiss on the other’s lips, ushering her to a chair afterwards, even goes as far as pulling it out for her.

“How very lady like of you.” Robin muttered, laughing to herself. This really isn’t so bad! Maybe? Looks can be deceiving, but she gets a home cooked meal and sit down next to her favorite girlfriend!

Malik bursts in, all dressed, and ready for the day! Thanks to Robin’s eyes. “What a spread, Jensen! You really outdid yourself this time.”

Evelyn comes in behind her. “I expected cereal. Glad I am disappointed.”

Amanda knows the joke. “Har, har. Dig in before I take everyone’s plate away.”

They all eat with talks and laughter. Each describing how they’re going to spend the day! Malik wants to explore the cliffs, Evelyn wants to fly over them while cheering Malik’s hike on, Amanda wants to explore the shops in town, and Robin? Well, she just wants to stay and work. She checked her emails before coming to the table, and she’s received so many! She can’t be on vacation like this for another hour much less another day! Amanda takes advantage of this. Taking the phone out of Robin’s hands is a good start! She reaches for it! Damnit! Why does she have to be taller?! She stomps on her foot. Amanda doesn’t feel any pain, just a light pressure.

“Really?” Amanda hands Robin back her phone. “Spend one day with us. That’s what you’re here for.”

True. She needs to remind herself. She reluctantly agrees. Helping with the dishes once everyone is done, so they can get this day trip over with. Only takes an hour to do, because Evelyn and Malik wouldn’t stop spraying each other with the water nozzle and flicking soap bubbles! Therefore she wants to stay in bed! Please be cute on someone else’s dime! Ugh! She’s soaking wet from head to toe thanks to their nuisance! She ends up changing into a more casual summer dress, big hat, and shades to match. She doesn’t want to get stopped by any press when she Rodeo’s her butt out on the walkway of cheap stores!

Amanda looks at Robin like she’s lost her mind. “We’re not in Los Angeles, you know.”

“I don’t care! You never know who's watching this building!” Robin fixes her hat. Maybe some curls will give this trip some volume? Less noticeable. She’ll even style up Amanda’s hair.

Amanda shakes her head. “You look good as you are.”

“I know…” She does know. She just likes curls. She’s always wanted them! Sighing, she goes outside with the Amanda to see Malik and Evelyn are bouncing way ahead of them! Hey! They need to wait up! Amanda and Robin chase after them.

In to town they are! Shops are just now opening, and the sea can be heard all around them! Great! Robin thinks she’ll never get away from this beach! Grumbling, they walk into a computer store where they see…Pritchard?! What’s she doing here! Amanda goes over to Francine and gives her a tap on the shoulder. No, really, why is she here? How did she know they’ll be here? Is Sarif sending out spies? Amanda will need to have a talk with her boss when she gets back to work.

Francine turns around. “Jensen! Malik! Fancy seeing you two here. Vacation?”

Robin walks up to the new girl, chest puffed out. She doesn’t like being stalked by Sarif employees! That company is her worse enemy, and if Sarif thinks she can send out spies, then she has another thing coming! She will double her spies! Get all the spies from…somewhere! Put in a call to the government! Interpol! That’s it! She will sick Interpol on the company and get all corporate blackmail secrets! Yes! Then this will show Sarif not to mess with her!

Malik nudges Amanda. “Is she going to be ok? I swear I can see a backdrop of lightning behind her.”

Amanda rubs her head. This is turning out to be a weird morning. So what that Francine Pritchard is here? Not like they can stop her, as she has every right to be in this store as the rest of them! It’s best to let her be, but no, Evelyn had to open her mouth. Asking her to join them! Great! Amanda doesn’t want another headache to deal with though! Pritchard can be a lot of work when she wants to be! Nevertheless, she tags along, and gives out tips to Robin how to make his account safer. Robin doesn’t take too kindly to the fact that Pritchard knows her mainframe better than she does!

Amanda grabs Robin by her arm and tugs her away from Pritchard. “I hear there’s some hackable software downstairs. Let’s interrogate an employee to see if they’ll open the secret door for us.”

What? A shop with a secret entrance that Robin’s never heard of?! Count her in! They both go to a disgruntled worker that’s giving them both the shifty eyes. Sweat is dripping down his nape when Pritchard comes over, flinging that long pony tails of hers behind her. Her hands on her hips and she’s strutting her stuff, ready for that illegal software! Her data friends will love buying whatever good stuff there is when she sees it! That is, if Amanda here doesn’t confiscate it first!

Malik and Evelyn don’t understand their friends. They’re here just looking at new laptops to help with their navigation when flying around on the V-TOL’s. Sure, they both have the neuro implants, but they may need a way out of Hengsha if they’re ever cornered by Harvester’s or Belltower. Both know oh so well from their previous experiences with ex-boyfriends and girlfriends. Hengsha isn’t the place to pick up anyone for the night! Thank God they both got out when they did. Working for Sarif is the best thing that’s ever happened to these two.

Speaking of Sarif….Danielle is ringing Pritchard’s phone right now, she picks up. “What do you want Sarif?”

I’m checking in on my favorite girls! How is everyone doing? Enjoying the vacation? Find out anything from my favorite enemy? Did she finally grow taller than me? I need to know! Spy on them for me! Spy on them HARD!

Pritchard loosens her ponytail, allowing her hair to fall straight over her shoulders. She feels a headache coming on, and the only way to get rid of it quicker is to make sure her jacket and hair is not on too tight. Why does Danielle have to act like this? They’re not here to use corporate secrets against them! She closes her phone and goes over to the group. Holding her outstretched hand in the air in hopes to ignore anymore phone calls or just throw the phone on the ground.

Robin looks over to Pritchard. “You done with your boss?”

“You heard that?” Pritchard’s suspicions of Page having a super hearing device in that neural implant of hers might be right after all. Oh God! She’s going to have to tell Sarif!

“Don’t panic. Sarif’s voice just travels.” Robin waves Pritchard off. She has no reason to be jealous over her competitor. These things happen on a daily basis with fish much bigger than that of the loud mouth woman. She just loves to get under the skin of people she doesn’t like. A grin grips on her face. Speaking of which, she can have so much fun with this! Get Amanda in on this and never let Francine Pritchard hear the end of this madness! Oh yes! Most definitely!

Amanda walks up behind Robin. “What are you plotting over here?”

Robin tenses up and sweetly faces Amanda. “Plotting about all the yummy ice cream we’re going to be eating!”

Amanda quirks an eyebrow. “You don’t like ice cream.”

True. She doesn’t care that much for sweets. However, an excuse is more plausible during a situation like this! She quickly takes Amanda’s hand into hers, opens her eyes, and stare up at those yellow-green irises with the puppy look. Oh no! Amanda turns away. Whatever she wants her to do she will not! Robin puffs out her cheeks and makes a growling sound. Amanda opens her eyes and turns to look back at that squirrel face. Should she just let the cheek bones pop? After whatever she plans on doing couldn’t be worse than her holding her breath till she passes out.

“What is it, Robin?” Amanda rubs her forehead. She can’t wait to see what trouble they’re going to get into!

Robin claps her hands in glee. “Yes! Sarif sent Pritchard here to spy on us. I want you to do something to get herout of here.”

“The only way I can do that is find her a boyfriend or another tech savvy employee.” That’s it? Nothing weird or even remotely cruel? Well, pulling the tech guru away from what she loves might be considered cruel?

“And then get her to a make over bar.” Robin’s rubbing her hands at this point with all the evil ideas.

“You know she’s not into the latest anything, right?” Amanda almost feels pity for the younger woman.

Robin shrugs. “It’s that or I exploit her bosses telephone call.”

Cruel but Amanda agree, and she adds a sigh to the mix, wishing that she could disappear into the dust, and goes to talk or confront to Pritchard about the devilish plan. This isn’t going to turn out good for either of them! Maybe she can…no. She won’t resort going to get a makeover herself. Her eyebrows and long hair are already sharp enough. What else can the workers do to her? Make her look like an Anime character? Would that be so bad? She looks cute and looks like a badbutt already but at the same time? Ok! Let’s do this!

“I’m going to go with her.” Amanda excuses herself and talks to Pritchard about getting beautified. She didn’t take the request too kindly, nor the fact that either do this or get blackmailed by the world’s richest person. Pritchard wants to make a bad Amazon joke, but Amanda’s finger pushed against the lips stops the thought from acting out.

Robin flails her arms around. “You’re leaving right now?!”

“Yes. You’re coming, right?” Amanda ushers over Malik and Evelyn. God knows that they’re going to love this. Maybe even get them ready for a party tonight.

They did make it to shop, in one piece. Good for them, because no one wanted to explain to the police why Robin’s body is salamifide in the middle of the street where the steam roller is. God, she can talk anyone to death. No wonder everyone runs away when she tries to wiggle out of things. Amanda is a saint with all that patience that she has! Now, to drag Robin to one of the chair’s and make her sit still…will dangling money on a stick work? Pritchard wants her to also get a makeover if she has to!

A worker comes over to examine Robin’s beauty. “Oh my GOD! You have such beautiful eyes! Come! I must majestic them with blue eyeshadow!”

“Wait. I am not here for the makeup!” She’s shoved down in a chair. “You can’t treat me like this! Do you have any idea who I am?”

The makeup expert looms over her with a big face with matching eyes to boot. “Yes, I do Robin Page, and you will sit there and let me do this, or so help me God, I will make you walk out of here with pink eyeshadow!”

“Is that supposed to make me feel threatened?!” What the bloody heck is this woman on? It’s just makeup! Walking out of here with non-matching eyeshadow with this summer dress will not hurt her reputation!

No answer. She shrinks back to normal and gallops over to the pallet. Robin uses this time to get out of the chair and run for the front door. She’s not going to be turned into a fool here! If anyone else wants to stay here, then that’s on them! She slams open the door…right into the face of a poor woman. She clutches her nose and starts to cry. Robin takes a step back and places her hands right in front of her, trying to calm her down before anyone notices she’s leaving. She’s not doing a very good job as her voice is steadily rising, making the woman cry even harder. Pritchard heard the familiar cry, and had to intervene to comfort her-wait…Amanda? Not Jensen. The other one with the band over her head.  

Then that’s when Pritchard recognized her, for real. “Amanda? What are you doing here?”

Amanda rubs her eyes. “Danielle sent me here to check up on you. I didn’t know you were going to be here Francine! Honestly!”

Pritchard gently picks the girl off the ground and excuses themselves out of the building. Saying they’ll have to talk later when Robin isn’t beating people up. Malik walks over to Francine, even prettier than before, and does twirl with her other half, the just as beautiful: Evelyn! Pritchard gives them a thumbs up, and then leads the Amanda he likes out the door, giving her comforting circle pats on her back. Amanda Jensen stands next to Robin with her arms crossed. She looks disappointed in her other half.

Robin glares at the taller woman. “Don’t look at me like that! I didn’t do anything! She shouldn’t have been trying to walk in as I did!”

“You’re a real trip, you know that?” Amanda drags Robin out of the store. Not even waiting up for the other two girls, who are talking about going dress shopping to show off their faces for tonight! Throw on some nightly party dress and a new pair of heels, and they’ll be the light of the town!

Amanda didn’t feel like partying tonight. She felt like going back to the hotel, pack her bags, and just leave. Clearly Robin didn’t want to be here, and the mood she’s setting off is killing almost everyone’s vibe. Not a good thing when trying to stop thinking about the awful things and just concentrate on the good that’s going to come out of this. If there’s anything that’s going to come out of it. At least there’s not two Amanda’s in the vicinity anymore. Things could get pretty confusing when trying to talk to one another but funny. Maybe it’ll make Robin’s head explode with all this teenage name drama going on.

Robin on the other hand really has nothing to say. She’s sitting on the guest bed watching TV. An old movie is on. She has no interest in the plot and is just enjoying the quiet, away from the annoying wonder girlfriends. That is till the two girls come busting in with their skimpy dresses and shoes. Ugh! How barbaric and pretty they both look! She wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anything that! Something like that would give herself away! Just continue glaring at the TV…or the two girls blocking the TV-wait…what are they holding up? A dark blue dress with matching heels? For her? Oh heck no! She scoots herself up to the headboard, away from the crazy ladies! It’s no use. She’s trapped, and they’re on her like rats!

“No! Stop this! Don’t touch me with those monstrosities! Gah! Move your hands!” Robin flails around in a dusty cloud smoke. Almost comical with the way things are going.

A few seconds later Malik and Evelyn retract themselves to see their work. Robin looks amazing! All the ladies will look at her with gleam and jealousy! Robin glares at the two, arms crossed over her chest. She doesn’t want to go out looking like this! She snubs away from them. Yep, she’s definitely not going out like this. That is the final straw! Tell that to Amanda as she walks in the room wearing a black dress with matching heels. Her hair no longer in a ponytail but hanging neatly over her shoulders with her fringe swept to the sides. Typical that she couldn’t loosen up the gelled front part, but she looks really beautiful. Robin gets up and instantly hugs Amanda.

Evelyn whispers to Malik, “You think she’ll come with us now that her doll is dolled up?”

Malik whispers back, “Hope so. Getting Amanda to agree to wearing this dress? I rather fight a dragon over gold, and I owe her 100 credits!”

Bribery to go out looking good like this does work. Amanda is a klepto for credits! Just when she thinks her clever raccoon stealing skills are in the clear, she gets caught by Malik for stealing five credits from one of the offices desks. Really? Five credits are all it takes now to get arrested in Detroit! People are living too much on the edge and the police are arresting happy when it comes to Amanda! Apparently, breaking into the morgue to steal someone’s wet drive for a brain leaves a bad taste in mouth of the law. Luckily, she never got caught, but Danielle had her ear for days for shoving the weapons guard in the vent, so she could get her hands on the new P.E.P.S model. She never made it out with the model.

Amanda stretches her hand outwards for Robin to take. “Take it or I go fill myself with cereal instead of your sweet kisses.”

Robin rolls her eyes. “How romantically corny of you.”

Amanda shrugs. She’s not having a very good night here. Once she has Robin’s hand into hers, she drags the poor woman out the door. Malik and Evelyn are finishing up their touches with earrings and necklaces on the way out. Amanda nearly mauled their heads off when Evelyn mentioned to Amanda to wear one piece of jewelry, even an ankle bracelet with a border collie as the charm! Amanda loves that dog of hers after all! Sadly, they couldn’t bring Kubrick with them, and Megan is doing the babysitting. Amanda is worried when she returns to her dog that it will be fat, and demand treats every five minutes. Megan is a great animal watcher, but she spoils the furbaby to no end.

The cinnamon roll of a dog will have to wait, Amanda is currently being shoved into a limo by Robin. Well, if they’re going to party, they’re going to party in style! Malik unhooks the upper hatch and sticks her head out. The night air rushing on by! She throws her arms up and screams into the wind! Evelyn joins her, a bottle of champagne going off in her hand. Robin can’t wait till she gets back to the hotel! The champagne is dripping all over her head! This is too early into the night to get drunk! She growls and goes to grab Malik’s ankle. Wanting to bite it off! Amanda stops her and kisses those angry badger lips.

Robin instantly melts away. “You can’t do that. Now I have no one to set my bad mood on.”

Amanda rests her forehead against the other. “That’s the point. I promise when we get back to the hotel, I will give you the best foot massage my alloyed fingers can muster.”

Amanda moves her fingers around Robin’s face, causing the woman to let out a git of giggles. Yeah! Amanda knows what her lover likes! “I love you, Robin.”

“I love you too, Amanda.” Robin moves her head to rest against Amanda’s chest, closing her eyes in content…about to fall asleep when…another round of champagne falls on her head! Amanda didn’t stop Robin from biting Malik’s ankles this time. She needs to keep her girl in check!

At the club, Malik is limping to the front door, rubbing the scratch mark that Robin put there. How rude of her! No time to claw the other’s face right now, because there’s a party to catch, and Malik didn’t want to be late! She hops over to the bouncer, shows her ID, and enters. Evelyn is next, winking at the man, when he checks out her nicely dyed hair. She really does have some fresh sea green hair going on! She had it done when she went dress shopping. Robin follows…or so she thinks. She feels around in her purse to find her ID….she remembers she left it on the nightstand counter. She threw her purse earlier in frustration, and all the contents had fallen out, including her identification. Crap again! She stares at the bouncer who is starting to grow impatient.

Desperate times for desperate measures. “My name is Robin Page, CEO of Versalife, and I demand entry into this fine establishment!”

A time when self-dignity has to be thrown out the window. However, the bouncer doesn’t look like he cares. He’s moving his finger over his watch, making motions that her time is up, and needs to leave; or she’ll be escorted away by police. She tenses up and takes a step back, whispering to Amanda to threaten the man with an armblade or a Typhoon Blast! Amanda strictly lets her know that she’s not going to blow up the establishment with innocent drunk people inside. Robin tells her that’s the point! They’re all drunk and will think someone farted or something! Amanda just gives her a funny look.

“What? This way Malik won’t bite my face off when she finally gets ahold of me!” Robin quickly leaves the area when the bouncer makes louder noises on his watch.

Amanda follows behind her. “We can go back to the beach and have a dance there.”

“How romantic. We go tap dance in the ocean and die of mild hypothermia that will build up over a steady course of the night?” Robin slips off her high heels and pulls out her phone. She’s calling for a cab to come take them back to the hotel.

Amanda swoops her up into her arms. “I can carry you the whole way.”

“I can walk on my own two feet!” Robin moves her feet around, wanting to kick Amanda in the face to get the point across that she doesn’t need help here! She’ll walk on this hard cobblestone all on her own! Panty hose be ripped and darned!

If Amanda could be Superwoman right now, she would. Just take off in the air, carrying her Batwoman all across the world! Or just to the hotel. Robin really didn’t look like she’s in the mood to continue partying. She looks like she wants to fall asleep. Amanda respect that. She ends up carrying her a few blocks before a cab does come and pick them up. Robin feels bad for letting Amanda carry her that far, that she insisted on calling a cab for the rest of the way, and by the time they get there, they’re both passed out on the bed. They didn’t even let the girls know they couldn’t make it to the party! Oh well, they’re probably drunk out of their minds right now to even care who's around them.

By morning, Malik and Evelyn have ice bags against their heads, supporting their hangovers. They didn’t get too drunk out of their minds, only drunk enough to dance till their feet grew callouses in a short period of time. In fact, they went home after about three hours of heel problems. They’re not going to tell the others this. It would be a shame for them, and Robin will just have some loose bait to use against them next time. Probably would tell Sarif, and she’ll never pilot a V-TOL during the night life again! Not that she does anyways when she has even one drink. No flying and driving allowed!

Malik moves the ice bag to the table, and she lies her head upon it. “Ugh, I don’t even feel like eating right now! What time is it?”

Evelyn looks up at the clock. “11 AM.”

“What?! We slept THAT long?” Malik pulls at her hair when she screamed that out. Not one of her brightest moments.

Evelyn pats the other’s back. “Amanda and Robin are still asleep too. They must have been pretty tired from whatever they were doing.”

“Probably just sleeping.” Malik raises her head up to glare at the clock. Evelyn is right! It really is 11 AM! She lays it back down, not liking the way the ice cubes feel right now…

Amanda comes down the stairs and witnesses the scene. Shaking her head, she goes to pout herself a bowl of cereal. “You two look like you need some more sleep.”

Malik flicks her off. “Go back to your banshee!”

Smirking, Amanda sits down across from the ladies, purposely making loud noises with her spoon in the bowl. “Now, why would I want to do that? I have two very beautiful women sitting like tired raccoons in front of me. That’s something I dare not miss!”

Malik takes her bag and throws it at Amanda, missing. “God darn it! Just go back upstairs!”

Robin pokes her head out from the top. “What’s going on here? I thought I heard something break? Did we just get robbed this early in the morning? Tell the robbers I am not in the mood for any of their shenanigans right now! Maybe at 3 PM. Will 3PM do for everyone?”

Malik looks up at Robin like she’s a moron. “Are you serious right now? Go away, ankle biter!”

Robin comes down the stairs, hands on her hips, and ready to fight if she has to! Amanda looks between the two ladies, and wonders if she needs to intervene. She is strong enough too, but like Robin said, it’s too early in the morning for something like this; so intervening it is! Amanda stands in between the two, spoon in hand, going back and forth with it. Malik’s and Robin’s attention go from each other to Amanda, wondering why she decides to be an idiot now of all times!

Amanda will not let this go! A peace offering must be made here, or someone will get wounded on the battlefield. She is armed with a spoon! One that can do no harm to a physical body, but nothing is said about whacking someone lightly against the cheek with it! Hopefully she doesn’t have to use it! Please, God, let there be peace, goodwill, and fortune for everyone in this room. Mostly just Amanda, because she’s the real trooper of this nightmare of a story.

Robin smacks the spoon out of Amanda’s hands. “I am not going to be beaten up by cutlery!”

Malik snorts. “Is it because it’s not the ‘fine dining’ kind that you’re use to?”

“Excuse you! I don’t use those expensive forks! They’re a waste of money and some lunatic will put them in the dishwasher. That’ll ruin them!” Robin knows a lot about cleaning here. Gives her more of an advantage to find reasons to fire people, and if Malik were one of her employees? Well, she wouldn’t even last a millisecond. She is too busy fighting with her boss over how much adrenaline can she get out of a V-TOL run to the convenient store! Assuming Robin drinks stuff from there!

Evelyn gently takes Malik by the elbow. “Let’s go lay down, Faridah. These hangovers of ours is getting the best of us.”

Good old Evelyn came to save the day! How gross! Robin snorts and scoots her butt back in a chair, staring at the tablecloth hoping that an omelet appears before her. A few minutes late, one does! She blinks, looks up at Amanda to see her expression has changed from frustration to amused. In her hands is a bowl of the disgusting sugary cereal, ugh! She ignores Amanda’s disgusting sweet habits and digs into her eggs, and they’re DELICIOUS! Robin’s eyes light up, she digs into the tasty breakfast at full speed, like she’s never eaten a day in her life. Amanda signals this as a compliment. Sometimes pleasing Robin can be hard, but it’s not all impossible.

“If I knew eggs filled with vegetables would get you to smile more than I would’ve cooked this for you more often.” Amanda hears the coffee pot ding. Yes, some good coffee to make this morning start off right again. She gets up, grabs two cups, and makes hers the way she loves it: two creams and sugar. For all the sugar she eats in the world, she makes sure that her coffee is as bland as ever. She’s not like Evelyn, who loves those Frappuccinos. Too sweet even for her taste buds! Dare if Robin finds out then she’ll never let Amanda hear the end of it!

Robin looks down at the coffee placed in front of her. Just the way she likes it: no sugar or cream. Just bland darkness. “Thank you. I am glad you remember how I take my coffee.”

“You only complained about it three times a day for six months.” Amanda gets slapped in the arm for that comment. She smirks to herself, loves the way she can get under Robin’s skin.

Afterwards the two place their dishes in the sink, they’ll wash them later. Right now, they just want to lie back down on their bed and sleep the day away. Or at least try too. The sound of the ocean just right outside is keeping Amanda awake. She can’t help but think about the fight from earlier, and wonder if this is how it’s going to be for the rest of the trip? Malik and Robin shouldn’t end up as enemies! Amanda has faith in the two that they’ll be the greatest of friends! Now should be the time to ask them to make up.

“Robin? Are you awake?” Amanda turns on her side and faces Robin’s back.

“I am now.” Robin turns and faces Amanda. Something’s troubling her if she has to wake her up.

Amanda rubs her hand across Robin’s cheek. “I want you to make up with Malik. I’ll be the moderator between the two. Make sure her other ankle doesn’t get scratched up as badly.”

Robin gives her a look. “What if I scratch your ankle?”

“You know I Wouldn’t feel it.” Amanda lets out a snarky laugh. Oh no, she wouldn’t feel it, and poor Robin here might wear out her delicate fingernails.

Robin glares at Amanda. “Fine, but you owe dinner for two at a very nice restaurant after this!”

“Deal.” Amanda gets off the bed and goes to get Malik. She’s hoping this will definitely end on a happy note.

Robin moves the cover up to her chin, she hears the door open, she moves the cover over her face, there are footsteps, closes her eyes, and then…the cover is removed from her face and Malik topples herself on top! No! Malik’s going to hug Robin to death! Someone save Robin! She’s losing air! Gasp! The cackling of laughter isn’t helping the situation at all! Amanda! Where are you!? Come save her from this madness and don’t let anyone drown here! Only the important one, Malik can drown her body on the pillows, since they’re hard as rocks anyways.

Malik doesn’t relent her hug! “Come on, Robin! Say you love me, and all of this will be over!”

“NEVER!” Robin throws her arms up and forcefully places them on Malik’s shoulders, moving the girl off of her.

“Oh! No you just did not!” Malik ends up falling off the bed after her final scream of NOT! This is not how she envisioned for their friendship.

Amanda comes in the room with a plate of brownies, and Evelyn has a bottle of apple juice and champagne glasses. They’re hoping to drink their hangover and angry feelings away. Instantly Amanda is at Malik’s side, helping her stand up. Evelyn sets the things down on the bed, shakes her head, and rubs her forehead with a tired hand. When will these two learn? Robin has her arms crossed in her usual fashion and glaring down at the apple juice. What is she? Five? Whose bright ideas is it to allow Evelyn to keep supplying the drinks?

Amanda looks between the two. “I thought there would be an olive branch extension by now?”

Malik picks up a glass. “There is! I just wanted to smother her.”

“And she did!” Robin throws a pillow at Malik, which Amanda catches. No one’s going to let anyone else get hit this morning! No pillow damage from rocks is worth a trip to the emergency room! Then someone’s going to have to explain to Sarif why she has a letter explaining a lawsuit on her desk. No one wants that. He ear piercing screams will make all of them go deaf!

Amanda pops open the orange juice. “No worries. I secured the actual champagne in the orange juice container.”

A switch up. Robin wondered why some fine wine company would produce watered down orange juice. Doesn’t suit them at all! This feels like one of those Californian moments where they can buy boxed water. That just sounds wrong on so many levels. Grimacing, she watches Amanda pour the juice into one of the finer glasses and hands it to Robin. Robin takes it, blowing bubbles into the cup when Amanda adds a straw just to be funny. Where’s the ice at? Then it can really be a kid’s drink!

Evelyn finds this precious! “Aw! How adorable! Amanda is really thinking about your mental health!”

Is she? Amanda is doing an excellent job getting on Robin’s nerves, so maybe stressing the mental health to goodness is a bit too thin. Either way, these people are stuck here, sitting on this king size bed, drinking juice, and doing a very good job getting inside of Robin’s head. They need to do this more often! But…the situation may not be so bad. She’s in good company, watching some show on TV, and no one is killing each other, yet. Amanda thinks there’s a strong chance that someone is going to end up with a lump on their head in the next hour.

Or she could be wrong. Malik and Evelyn take their leave, with empty glasses in tow. Saying something about going down to the beach to explore some of the caves. Good riddance! Now, Robin can get some sleep, while snuggling up to Amanda. To her that’s the best kind of therapy treatment when friends fight. Not that she knew how to act as a friend towards anyone. She’s used to being so alone and not relying on anyone or anything to keep her propped up…till Amanda came along. She’s not her only prop.

Amanda lies down next to her. She has something sparkling in her hand and gives it to her love. “I know you don’t want to go to the cave, so I went for you.”

“Why did you get this?” Robin looks at the beautiful purple-blue crystal in her hand. It’s…taking her breath away with how memorizing it is.

“To remind me of you when I am away doing something for Sarif or helping someone out.” Amanda pulls out her own same colored crystal. She then pulls Robin into her arms and kisses her lightly on the lips. “I love you, and I thank you for putting up with my friends…they mean a lot to me, and…they do like you.”

Robin doesn’t know if she wants to smile or call this lovey dovey situation corny. Amanda’s really not subtle on these types of things. Always wanting to do something like this to please her partner…it’s not a bad thing. Robin cherishes the way Amanda takes care of her, and let’s her do things. She loves it. They all love it.

“I love you too! You’re my big sweetie!”

And that’s the end of it for this happy couple.