Owner	Pose
Ava Starr	In the days that followed her recovery from the craziness that was the fight against the giant intergalactic slime planet, Ava became remarkably industrious. There were long hours spent with her tablet and a web browser, occasional phone calls with contacts and professional advisors, as well as impromptu experiments on the workfloor with the q-bands. She avoided blowing things up. But she has learned a lot more about how to communicate with whatever alien AI makes the damned things work. There are new weapons, tools, and machines scattered across counters and the floor to prove it. She left the warehouse about an hour ago, promising to "Be back soon." She's yet to return, but a text message dings on Finley's phone: > Come outside and meet me, pls?
Finley Ellison	Finley's been tracking Ava's progress. It's good to see her experimenting -- both as a sign that she's embracing her new powers and also learning their limits so that hopefully she won't need to rely on the (still in progress) QEC or the suit (of which there is still only one.) Finley herself has been hard at work rebuilding *and* redesigning the QEC (because why not make improvements while she has the chance?) She wants a fully working QEC before she attempts to create a second suit. The allowable margin of error in her work is incredibly small, she knows. And the cost of a mistake could be Ava's life. So Finley works slowly and methodically, testing her work with an almost fanantical regularity. It keeps her busy. And it distracts her from the incomprehensible nanite swarm symbiote residing inside of her. Eventually she'll have to learn Kree, learn their programming language, learn to activate and deactivate them at will. Eventually. But first, she has to ensure that if she gets taken out by a coding error (like Yv'Kar) that Ava will survive. Plans for the new loft apartment have also been put on hold. Her blueprints and structural engineering equations are rolled up and stashed in a box in her old 'room'. Her workspace is filled with what she could scavenge from the bits and pieces Vance left behind. They'd given him the suit schematics to keep him from taking apart her working one. And now Finley needs to pick up where he left off. After the close encounter of the slime-kind, Finley has her priorities. They might, she admits, be a trifle skewed. But she will not be persuaded to re-order them. She's lost track of the time since Ava'd left. Maybe it's the solder fumes. Maybe it's ignoring her own altered biology by hyper-focusing on problems she can solve. The vibration of her phone startles her out of her state of concentration. Finley startles, narrowly avoiding burning herself as she puts down the soldering wand. She blinks and rubs her eyes before checking the message. Then after switching off the machine and tidying away her work station, she heads outside to find her partner.
Ava Starr	As Finley emerges from the building, Ava appears, flickering out of phase state to wrap her arms around Finley's waist from behind. "Hi," she greets, sounding unusually chipper. "Come with me." She hardly gives Fin a moment to react before she pulls her close and uses a touch of quantum thrust to send them spiralling gently up into the air, drifting toward the upper corner of the building. There, in a bold, futuristic design, is a pretty swank logo that reads: Ellistarr. It sits up there twice, one on the south side of the building, one on the east. The sun gleams off it and Ava, holding them both up with quantum force, sets her chin on Finley's shoulder. "What do you think?"
Finley Ellison	Finley yelps when Ava pulls her into the air. And for a moment, blushes, recalling their first flight together. And what happened after. She holds tight to the other woman, gripping the arms around her waist. Then the sign comes into focus. "Oh," Finley whispers, gulping and blushing redder. "Oh."
Ava Starr	"What do you think?" Ava repeats. "Do you like it? Is it too much? I can take it down, if you don't like it..." She sounds faintly anxious -- hopeful, uncharacteristically, perhaps. But she thought about it quite a bit and worked to figure out what it should look like, how it should be built... and then she made it. So, yes. She's nervous.
Finley Ellison	"I *love* it," Finley breathes. Privately she worries about Ava's previous work and the people in the world who may hold grudges against her. Suddenly the proposed defense systems don't seem like overkill. "Are...are *you* sure?" she asks, turning in Ava's arms to look her in the eyes.
Ava Starr	"Yes," Ava says, giving Finley a brief squeeze. They attract no attention, floating in the air. Perhaps that's because it's New York. Metas and Mutants are a dime a dozen, comparatively speaking. More likely... she's phased them again. She tends to do that for private moments. Her expression grows serious as she looks into Finley's eyes. "We have a lot we need to talk about. This is only a first step. But if we're going to have regular visits from SWORD, any hope of 'privacy' is going to become a lot more challenging. Not to mention insurance, defense, and a host of other things." She looks at the building sign. "It's not some noble gesture, Fin. I mean, I love you. And I'm serious about being in this together with you. But I've been speaking with some contacts I have. This..." She gestures to the sign. "Can be legit, if you want it to be. A place to manage assets and keep us legally protected from a lot of blowback." And maybe protect them from some of her past. She gives a wry smile. "I'm hardly the first black operative to 'go straight'," she says dryly. "There are ways to mitigate our risk."
Finley Ellison	Finley's eyes light up. Somehow the concept of a real, legitimate business is more endearing, more romantic than a sign with their names smushed together on it. "I do," she says softly. And after planting an enthusiastic kiss on Ava's mouth, Finley pulls back to look her sincerely in the eyes. "I do want that."
Ava Starr	Ava smiles, returning the kiss, face lighting up as Fin declares her pleasure about all of that. "Good." She sounds just as pleased. "Good. Then, we'll make it happen." She's got many pieces in place, but all of it requires Finley's review, embellishment, editing, and buy-in. And she wasn't willing to make too many assumptions. She was only willing to put in things that she knows would be necessary for both their sakes. She looks over her handiwork and lays her cheek against Finley's. "They use LED lighting. I don't know how to interface it, yet, but you can pick the colours with your computers later." Like that even matters? She knows it doesn't. But, it's an excuse to drift closer to the letters... and then phase lightly through the building in toward the loft and off the street.
Finley Ellison	Finley squeezes Ava, blushing as the woman phases them towards privacy. There *is* a lot for them to discuss. But all the words have left her brain. So she nuzzles close to Ava. And holds onto her.
Ava Starr	Ava lands them in the middle of the loft, where she releases Finley. Or, at least, she loosens her grip on her. Finley may not be so inclined to release her in turn. Still, she speaks once they're safely on the inside. "I buried some hookups in the walls upstairs," she says. "I can show them to you later." She's figured out, at least, that Finley really isn't processing her words. So she wraps her arms back around her and holds her close.
Finley Ellison	Finley is not inclined to let go. Her lips brush against Ava's neck, soft suckling pressure as she travels down towards the meat of her shoulder. She wants to say thank you. But the words are difficult and her mouth is busy. So she'll have to find another way.
Ava Starr	Ava doesn't really need thanks. After all, Finley *is* working very hard on putting technology in place to keep her alive. Perhaps even cure her one day. This, really, is just a practical way to preserve and protect that work. She's no good at technical work. But she knows how to run support operations. Even so, she does appreciate the kisses. "You're happy." There's a hint of surprise in her tone -- mostly due to the extent of that happiness, more than the emotion itself. She *hoped* Fin would be pleased by it. Speechless isn't what she expected. She presses her hands into the small of Fin's back and draws her into a closer embrace. "Good."
Finley Ellison	Finley nods fervently, her teeth scraping over Ava's trapezius. She's so happy she's close to tears. It's hard to explain the extent of the emotion welling up inside her, and right now she doesn't want to. She doesn't want to pinpoint the exact reason, to dissect the motivation that makes her stomach flutter. She just wants to let herself be happy. In the arms of the woman she loves. Who wants to start a business with her. Who wants to build a future. It's more than a sign. So much more.