[KO-FI REWARD] BATCH 1 // SLOT 2: Dave makes Roxy's acquaintance. Wait a second, did he mean to stop time? Fuck. Maybe he should just roll with it.
She's pretty hot. Pretty. Nice to look at. Interesting specimen, with ass for days— uh. The widest smile he's ever seen on a human person. Rose is excited to meet her, and who wouldn't be when she's got a body that— mmm.
Fucking shit. He needs to get his head out of the gutter, his eyes off her tits. At least Dirk isn't lurking nearby, ready to call his fully uncool conduct out. Instead, it's just them. Two broads, one dude, standing at the edge of a fuckoff huge lilypad, peddling introductions. "Roxy," she says, putting her hand out for a shake and a boisterous bounce of her curls, so he puts his out too.
"Dave." Surprisingly, his voice doesn't crack. It absolutely should, given the circumstances, but he ain't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Ugh. He's barely met Dirk and ARquius, yet the infectious equine obsession is already underneigh. Fuck, man.
Her handshake is aggressive, something he's completely unprepared for, adrift in the wake of several conflicting thoughts. Such as: Christ, it makes her chest bounce so fucking much. Losing seconds, losing blinks, trying to look her in the face like a goddamn gentleman.
It starts small— subtle. Like a tune shifted a half-step lower, just this side of uneasy. Roxy's excited chatter, a full review of his attributes in full cheer, is directly competing with Rose's furrowed countenance. Slow, slower, slowest confusion. By the time Dave realizes it, crimson gears spin off the edges of the lilypad congregation. Frozen in place, unnaturally paused, mid-gesture.
Watching interactions go molasses-thick, perfectly still, is par for the course. Time conducts its Players; a constant metronome thrumming in Dave's skull. Minutes pass in exact rhythm, though nothing ever syncs perfectly, least of all people or his fucked up body-copies.
A crow of wonder, equal parts congratulatory and awed, pulls him from that thoughtful stupor. Roxy leans around her fellow Lalonde as though admiring a statue, waving chipped pink fingertips in front of the unmoving Seer's face. There's no reaction. "See, Rosie was telling me aaaall about your spooky-ooky time powers but this is so cool! Look at you, displacing your temporal continuity for the fuck of it."
Then she's turning to Dave, taking stock of his open stare over slipped-down shades. When did he start sweating? Eyes dart to her rack again, noticeable, and Roxy blinks. He braces for her admonishment, is pleasantly surprised when she grins. One step forward is two is three, her arms looping around his waist.
"Guess you get that stoic nervous bit from my Strider, huh?" Maybe, if her face wasn't so close, if her fingers weren't interlacing behind his back, if her skin didn't smell so sweet. Maybe he'd have the presence of mind to discount that, refute that, set the gal straight on the sheer complexities of a Strider's bits. Roxy slots their hips together, and he's—
"What else did you get from him, baby?"
Knuckles white, gripping the tail of her God Tier hood, Dave croaks out: "Plenty."
Her croon is— mischievous. Right against his ear, cheek to cheek, honey-sweet, "Yeah. Plenty of time to get a little more acquainted. Quickie?"












