plotting to unnerve her

[self_composed]

Bella finds Milliways in the moon palace instead of one of her balconies.

"Huh," she says aloud.

Then, to Alice, Libby, Elena, and Mary, and Lazarus except he autoreplies with a busy message, [Hey folks, Moonstone Palace grew a bar that I don't remember putting in, come check it out.]

Comments

[manofmyword]

"You're a tough audience," he says, gently teasing. "I never had a friend like you when I was that age. I'm glad your guy does."

[self_composed]

"I'm glad he does, too."

[manofmyword]

He lets the silence rest a moment, then says softly,

"I really don't wanna be stuck on an asteroid."

[self_composed]

"Well," says Bella. "Then if I ever find myself on your world, prepared to make you my problem, you'd better convince me you're harmless, or be dead before I finish putting the turf down on a pretty little space rock."

[manofmyword]

"Sweetie." He shivers. "You are cold."

[self_composed]

"When my problems include sources of death? Yes. Who wept for the malarial parasites?"

[manofmyword]

"'Course, if that's what you're after, why not just kill me yourself? Or do you not like me like that?"

[self_composed]

Bella considers.

"Would you rather be killed outright than stranded on an asteroid?" she asks slowly.

[manofmyword]

"The way you put it, I'm surprised you don't think so," he says, which isn't precisely an answer.

"If I knew there wouldn't be Milliways there, it'd be yes for sure."

That is.

[self_composed]

"But you don't know that," Bella says.

[manofmyword]

"I don't know that," he agrees. "But if it takes long enough to show up, I might not care. And I really don't wanna die all alone on an asteroid in the middle'a nowhere, either way."

[self_composed]

"Once you were safely stranded on the asteroid," Bella says, "perhaps I could wait a couple days and see what you say about the presence or absence of Milliways when you wake up. I don't anticipate being in a hurry on that time scale."

[manofmyword]

He smiles.

"Be sweet of you."

[self_composed]

"I actually don't know if I have the stomach to kill someone when there's another option," she says conversationally. "I'm quite sure I could do it if there wasn't, by the way, so cornering me won't yield any interesting facts... But I could check. And even if I didn't I could arrange for you not to be alone."

[manofmyword]

"I'd like that," he murmurs.

[self_composed]

Bella nods.

[manofmyword]

With the same bizarrely innocent curiosity from before: "Would you care?"

[self_composed]

"Some."

[manofmyword]

"Aww."

[self_composed]

"You could've been like my Alice," she says softly.

[manofmyword]

"What's the difference, to you?"

[self_composed]

"Alice has never killed anyone," she says, "for one thing. And he's about whimsy - not mayhem - and he's mine."

[manofmyword]

"The hell he is," the Joker says amicably.

[self_composed]

"He's not my slave or my appendage or my trained ferret, but he's mine."

[manofmyword]

"How d'you figure?"