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[toabsolution]

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[dog_eat_dog]

[She settles in, cozying up a little closer.]

They wouldn't even know what hit 'em. Arthur's damn near the only one here who can keep up with me, and even then, I kept him off my trail for a while.

[toabsolution]

What were you doin' that needed him off your trail?

[He knows he won't be able to stay up much longer, but he can stay up this long. He can hear her out.]

[dog_eat_dog]

In my first month here I found out there was an alcohol supply problem for inmates, so I decided to fix that. Set up a whole bootlegging chain.

[A little grin.]

Figured he wouldn't be too pleased.

[toabsolution]

That just don't make sense. That you have to set all that up just to get your hands on alcohol.

[Annoyed sigh.]

Did it work? Sill workin'?

[dog_eat_dog]

I didn't have to. I could have just gone to the lounge like half the ship. But I didn't want to.

[She's still pretty proud of that, actually.]

My guys are still keeping it going. I just retired.

[toabsolution]

[He laughs, soft and deep in his chest. It turns into a cough that he buries into the pillow.]

You did good work, then. What'd Arthur say about it?

[dog_eat_dog]

[She just idly runs a hand across his chest. Easy there, cowboy. Don’t cough up a lung.]

He was pissed.

[toabsolution]

Yeah, well, he's a more moral man than me.

[He's not sure what Arthur's argument against it would be, which is a worrying thought that he should probably never revisit.]

[dog_eat_dog]

He's got more morals than most men.

[And he may have done worse than a lot of people, but Tess knows morals don't mean shit if they're not thoroughly tested.]

First time in a long time I've had someone hold me to a higher standard than... [Is there even a word for it? She just waves a hand, idly, before returning it to his chest.] I don't know. Wherever I was when I got here.

[toabsolution]

He thinks the world of you you.

[He recalls their first meeting and settles into the pillow, feeling himself slipping into sleep, despite his efforts to stay awake.]

When we first met, he called you tough. Said you were...all over the place.

[dog_eat_dog]

[She murmurs:]

Is that so?

[It's not that she doubts him –– not wholly, anyway –– but it doesn't really matter what she says, with Jake drifting off. She just presses a kiss to his shoulder and settles in for a nap, fit right to his side.]