Space Criminal and Chillboi

The space walk was someone only offered to those with higher privileges, which meant Jay was thrown first on the list when he sent the request in. He knew Nova would like it, and at this point his major goal was to see the glitter in her eyes when she got excited. Besides hookup fun, he liked being around her. He had dated around, but no one ever liked to have fun. Usually they were after his name and money. Nova knew he had nothing to offer, so it felt different.

She could hardly stand still as the crew member gave them safety instructions and set them up with suits and helmets. Jay poked her with his elbow and whispered to her as they were being hooked up to the oxygen.

"Did you pay attention to any of that?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, don't be reckless and don't take off your helmet," she said, rolling her eyes. "I can handle it."

The suits were lightweight and flexible so they could move properly, and the helmets were lightweight enough that they wouldn't feel too clumsy. They were guided into a room and the gravity was turned off, sending them floating. Then the doors opened to reveal the vast universe outside.

Jay had a hard time with space sickness at first and was struggling to keep his nausea at bay while trying not to flip upside down. Then he looked at Nova and saw how she was practically sparkling against the dark background.

They were allowed out for only ten minutes before they were pulled back inside for their safety, but those ten minutes were enough to make an impact. Jay changed out of the suit and leaned back against the wall, trying to ease his nausea. Nova scooted up to him with an amused grin.

"You look green," she noted.

"No I don't," he said. "You look green."

"If you have space sickness, why did you come," she laughed.

"Because I knew you would like it."

"You did it for me?" she asked, turning a little pink.

"You act like I like you or something," Jay said sarcastically.

She giggled and took his face in her hands to kiss him. He should have been ashamed, on his way to a wedding, but he liked Nova more than he could ever like Adelia. They sprang apart when the crew member returned to the dressing room to take the space suits back, and they thanked him before excusing themselves.

Jay was still a little dizzy and nauseous, which is likely why he didn't notice Taylor approaching them until Nova tugged on his sleeve. Taylor had already seen them and it was too late to run, and unfortunately he was walking with Mr. and Mrs. Clayton, who had also seen Jay. He quickly put on his shiny business smile and greeted them politely.

"James, it's so good to see you," Mrs. Clayton said. "It seems we've been missing you at dinner."

"Yes, my hours have been a little... off," he said. "I've been a little busy."

"Of course," she said. "With wedding planning, I'm sure."

"Yes, lot's of planning."

"And who is your friend?" Mrs. Clayton asked, offering Nova a smile.

Nova was trying to hide behind Jay, and he sort of nudged her forward. Taylor eyed her like she was a bug.

"Yes, James," Taylor said. "Do tell us about your friend."

"Taylor," Jay chuckled. "Don't act like you don't remember Nova."

"Remember Nova?" he questioned.

"My mentee," he said, turning to Mr and Mrs. Clayton. "She's taken an interest in the droid business, so her family entrusted me to mentor her before she takes on internships."

Nova nodded, plastering a polite smile on her face. "Yes, it's a great honor to learn under Mr. Whitley. He's a great teacher."

"Oh, how wonderful," Mrs. Clayton gushed. "Even in this busy time of his life, he still finds time to help his family business."

"Of course," Taylor said, glaring daggers at Jay. "I wasn't aware that your mentee would be joining us on this voyage. I thought you would take some time off."

"Well I could, but I thought Nova would like to attend the wedding," Jay said. "Besides, most of the droids on this ship are Whitley manufactured. It would be too good of a learning opportunity."

"You work so hard," Mrs. Clayton said with a smile. "We'll leave you two be, then. Lovely meeting you, Miss Nova. Best of luck on your future."

Jay and Nova both smiled and nodded politely, but Jay could feel Taylor's eyes boring holes into his back as they walked away. Once they were out of earshot, Nova spoke up again.

"Was that your plan?" she asked.

"It was," he said. "Lucky for us, Mrs. Clayton was there. The woman gossips like it's her job. Soon everyone will know that you're just my mentee, and we're exploring the ship to learn about the droids."

"What about Taylor and Michael?" she asked.

"What are they going to do?" he scoffed. "Insist to everyone that I'm lying? The reason they're here is to make sure my image is safe."

Nova seemed impressed. They still had to be a little careful about being seen entering and leaving Jay's room, but the suite was so isolated that it wasn't too much of an issue. And the droids certainly wouldn't tell anyone.

They just spent some time fooling around and having fun for a little while, then laid in bed and chatted while Jay played with Nova's hair. She seemed content, despite everything going on around them. She looked up at Jay with a curious look on her face.

"Can I see her?" she asked.

"See who?"

"Adelia Harrod."

He grimaced.

"Why do you want to see her?"

"I'm just wondering," she said. "Do you have a picture?"

He reluctantly rolled over to a drawer beside his bed, taking out a small notebook that contained his supposed "to do" list before the wedding. He flipped to the back and took out the photo of Adelia he had been given.

Adelia Harrod wasn't an ugly girl. In fact, she had a nice face and pretty ringlets of jet black hair. It was her personality that made her terrible. Her flamboyant and expensive sense of style was apparent in her clothes and gaudy jewelry.

"She looks like a poodle," Nova said, making Jay chuckle. "She's pretty, though. Are you sure you don't like her?"

"I'm sure," he said. "You're pretty, too. And you don't criticize how I look or act. If I had to choose, I wouldn't choose her."

"Not even for money?"

"I haven't had money for six years and I've gotten along just fine."

She looked at the picture a little longer, then gave it back to him to tuck back in the drawer.

"So what do you do as a mechanic?" she asked.

"I work in a hovercar factory," he said. "The droids do the building and everything, but the mechanics have to be around to make sure the droids are always calibrated and doing their job properly. You'd be surprised how often they break down. Usually they put me in charge of troubleshooting when they can't find out what the problem is, since I have a little extra experience around the droids. I've spent hours at a time with a wrench under those massive factory droids, tightening bolts and pushing buttons to figure out why the hell the droid stopped working. I swear they just get tired sometimes."

"That sounds exhausting," she said. "Do you like it?"

"Honestly, I do," he shrugged. "It's exhausting, but it's a valuable skill to have. I mean, I could take it anywhere. Droids are everywhere, and those droids are never going to stop breaking down."

"If we work hard enough, we could probably find a nice little place to live in," she said.

"We?"

Nova turned bright red and buried her face in his shoulder to hide the blush.

"Sorry, that sounded presumptuous," she said quickly. "I mean we... as in separately. We can work hard individually and find individual nice places to live."

"I know what you meant," he teased, flicking her nose.

"We'll still be friends, right?" she asked. "Wherever we end up?"

"Of course," he promised. "I can't drop you that easily."

She smiled and snuggled up to him again. They stayed cozy like that until they drifted off to sleep.