Details, Woman, DETAILS!!

Posted on Mon Jul 27th, 2020 @ 12:53am by Civilian Xiulan Song & Security Johannah "Mack" Shepard & Black Market Arturo Rosso

Mission: This Week's Special
Location: Song-Russo Dojo, Sihnon Barbecue
Timeline: Current

The bell on the door of her sister’s dojo jingled softly as Mack opened it. It looked like Xiulan had found at least a few students and was finishing up a class on one side of the room, while Arturo was in the middle of training with a few people. The cheerful idiot was shirtless, which made Mack think that youth was wasted on the young. Then she decided she wasn’t all that old and that Arturo was probably a bad lay anyway.

Uch, he keeps glancing over at Meimei. He is so barking up the wrong tree. No way she’s going to sleep with that airhead! Mack thought to herself.

Xiulan paused in her instruction when she heard the door bell jingle, then uttered a quick, “Be with you in a moment,” before resuming her lesson, finishing with a bow to dismiss her students when instruction was done. The students wandered over to the cubby where their shoes were stored, and Xiulan approached the door.

“Good afternoon, how can I-” Xiulan started, then as she got close enough to smell her guest, the distinctive products she used, the old and well worn browncoat, and hearing the all too familiar boots, she recognized who was visiting. “Oh, hey Jiejie! What’s up?” Xiulan then said with a happy grin.

“Hiya,” Mack said. “I’m having a slow day so I thought I’d see if I could take you to lunch, or at least for a coffee or tea or something. Can the beefcake hold down the fort while we go and hang out for a little bit?”

Xiulan sighed. “He’s not a beefcake and he has a name, you know,” she pointed out, not so much upset as mildly annoyed. “Also, Arturo’s an equal partner in this school, so he’s more than capable of handling things while I’m gone.”

Mack raised an eyebrow. “Okay,” she said. “Sorry. If that’s the case, would you like to get out of here for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, I could eat,” Xiulan replied, the ultimate understatement of understatements. “Arturo, you want me to bring anything back for you?” she asked her partner.

“No, thank you, Orchidea,” Arturo replied. “After this class I must run home and prepare for my other job. But please, go and enjoy some time with your sister. I will be fine here on my own.”

Orchidea?? Mack thought to herself.

“Alright then, later!” Xiulan said, then retrieved her cloth shoes and slipped them on. The door bell jingled once more as the pair exited the school, with Xiulan snapping her cane open. “So, where to?” she asked casually, her stomach already grumbling in anticipation.

“Sihnon Barbeque is open again,” Mack said when they were outside. “I bet they’ll even let me in if I promise not to get into another shoot out in there.”

Xiulan chuckled, then replied. “Yeah, I know it’s open, me and Arturo took that kid, Zane, there to celebrate his first steps on his new leg,” she said. “I don’t know if they replaced the grills or they’re finally clean to pass the health codes, but the food lacks that old smokey flavor. Still good tho.”

Mack laughed. “Barbecue it is, then,” she said and led the way over to the restaurant. “So… it’s Arturo now? Not Cheerful Idio---”

Xiulan quickly jabbed an elbow into Mack’s side to prevent her from finishing that statement. “He’s not an idiot, nor a Personal Handsome Moron, so get that thought out of your head,” Xiulan said firmly.

Mack frowned. “Okay,” she said. “I’m sorry. You know, I haven’t seen you this protective of a guy since… what’s his face… the kid with the goofy scar he liked to show off, back when we all lived together, the one you kept sneaking out to see? Remember him?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Xiulan tried to deny, but the blush that krept up on her cheeks betrayed her lie.

Mack noticed the blush. “So… “ she said. “You don’t want me to call Arturo names, he uses a cutesy nickname for you and you don’t bite his head off, and… oh yeah, when I stopped by your place last night with a bottle of hooch to drown our sorrows in, you weren’t there. I figured you were either working or working it, one or the other. If it was the former, I don’t want to know, but if it was the latter… now I really want to know. Details, woman, details!”

Xiulan sighed as she considered how much liquor she would need to get Mack blackout drunk enough to forget that this day ever happened, then resigned herself to answering the questions when she realized that she would likely go broke before ever getting her sister drunk enough to forget about this.

“He’s Italiano, he started calling me ‘Orchidea Aggraziata’ as a turn of phrase on my name, and I actually kinda like it. Is that a crime?” Xiulan said, hoping that maybe she could still bluff her way out of this.

Mack wrinkled her nose. “No,” she said. “I don’t buy it. I watched you kick the crap out of Ole Scarface for calling you his ‘little flower’ and you really liked him.”

“Yeah, ‘cause it was a dumb name and I’d kick the crap outta you if you ever dared to call me that. Only Dad could get away with using a name that corny,” Xiulan replied with a chuckle.

“Okay,” Mack said. “I’ll give you that one. Now, last night. What was it? Working? Or working it… or getting worked? My euphemisms need help, but you know what I mean.”

Again, Xiulan sighed. “You’re really not gonna let this go, are you?” Although, she supposed that’s part of what made Mack so good at her job, once she was onto something, she wouldn’t ever let it go. “Fine, I was with Arturo last night: on the mats at the school, in his bed, in the shower this morning, on the table during breakfast… Do you want more, or is that enough?”

Mack looked shocked. “On the mats at the school?!?” she said, in mock horror. “Song Xiulan! What have I told you about getting behind at work?!?”

“What! It’s my school, my mats… Well, our school and mats… I’m never living this down, am I?” Xiulan asked bluntly.

“I don’t know,” Mack said. “We’ll see. Can I assume from the volume discount you seem to have given him on sex that he’s at least got some idea of what he’s doing?”

“Wo cao, yes, that man definitely knows what he’s doing!” Xiulan exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “Okay, so maybe he is a bit of a beefcake- okay, a major beefcake, I cannot stop touching him when we’re alone together! I mean, have you seen his ass? Mmm! But he’s still not an idiot, in or out of bed, though definitely not an idiot in bed… Oh! And he cooks, like really really good food, and he cooks enough that I feel full. How often does that happen!”

Mack chuckled. “So,” she said. “Let me get this straight: He brought you breakfast, he let you vomit on his boots, got you cleaned up, and sat with you while you slept off the previous night’s booze. He’s handsome, he screws good, he cooks large amounts of good food, he’s not the idiot I thought he was and he very clearly likes you… a lot, and it sounds like you like him back. Did I miss anything?”

“Well, he does have a huge-” Xiulan started.

“Personality?” Mack said. “I noticed. Actually, it’s kind of hard to miss. So why is my smart, sexy, funny, wonderful meimei so worried? And before you try lying your way out of this, remember, I survived your teenage angst, I know when you’re worried.”

“Uhg, really? Isn’t it enough I’m sharing about my sex life? Do we really have to go this deep into the details?” Xiulan asked as they arrived at the Sihnon Barbecue. Xiulan opened the door and took a seat at the bar that lined the grills so she could get her food straight off the heat.

Mack followed Xiulan to the bar and sat next to her. “Yes,” she said. “You like this guy, I can tell. I don’t know if this is the one or not, but I do know that the fastest way to torpedo things is to keep your fears and worries in your head and your guts and let them eat you alive.”

With a grumble, Xiulan had to begrudgingly admit to herself that Mack was right, and she leaned against the bar with her arms crossed as she collected her thoughts. “Okay, so I do like him, maybe even ‘like’ like, and don’t get ahead of yourself, it’s not the other four letter L word, we ain’t known each other long enough for that much nonsense… But yeah, I like him, but… Well, I know he likes me, obvious considering the way he pursued me, but what if he was just chasing tail? What if I’m just the ‘flavor of the month’? I’ve never connected with a guy the way I did with him; he really is a nice guy and he makes me laugh and… and he don’t have the best reputation with relationships and what if one day I wake up and he don’t want anything to do with me ‘cause he got bored?” she finally confessed.

Mack reached out and held Xiulan’s hand. “Peace, Xiǎo Jiāhuo,” she said. “Slow down. Have you mentioned any of these fears to Arturo?”

“No,” Xiulan said with a pout. “And I kinda don’t want to; I mean, he can say anything, right? Not like I think he would lie to me, but he can say he wouldn’t get bored of me, but how can he know what he’ll feel in a month or two? I’ve never been with someone I wanted to be with for more than just a casual fling and it’s making me feel all knotted up inside. I know this is probably normal relationship stuff, but I don’t know how normal people can deal with these kinds of feelings on a regular basis…”

Mack did her best to hide a knowing smile. They grow up so fast… she thought to herself. It’s about damned time!

“Sweetheart,” Mack said. “I bet he feels the same way you do. All knotted up inside and worried that you’re going to get bored with him or that you’re just using him or a hundred other anxieties, half of which don’t have any basis in fact outside of his own head. I mean, yeah, he could be a jerk, but he’s not being one now, from what you’re telling me. It sounds like he’s trying to do right by you. So maybe just try to do right by him and give him a chance to prove himself. It sounds like that’s what he’s doing for you. And really, Meimei, talk to him. Sharing each other’s lives means sharing the scary stuff, too, not just the great sex and free, homecooked meals.”

Mack thought back to her lost love, the first real love she experienced. Like Xiulan, she’d been scared. She’d almost pushed the person away. But ultimately, she took the chance. Mack lost them in the war, and it broke her heart. Still, Mack never regretted being willing to fall in love despite her fears. Now if she could just do it again someday… yeah, right…

“I like great sex and free homecooked meals…” Xiulan said sheepishly, as though admitting to that also meant some sort of agreement. “Ohhh, but you know how much I hate doing the talking thing! Although admittedly, the few times I’ve done the talking thing with him, it wasn’t completely horrible. Actually, I kinda liked learning stuff about him.”

“See?” Mack said. The bartender came by and took their orders. He came back with their drinks and then left them to their conversation while their food was being prepared. “You can do the talking thing. But also, this is really new and you’re really young. Enjoy this time, don’t overthink it. Try your best to stay in the present moment, like... when you’re meditating. If you overthink things and worry about the future too much, you run the risk of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Does any of that make sense?”

“Yeah, it does, actually,” Xiulan replied, finally relaxing a little. “Thanks,” she then said, turning on her barstool to find her drink and take a sip.

The bartender brought over their food and Mack grinned as she watched Xiulan dig in. Man, that girl could eat! Mack dug into her own meal and savored the taste. “You’re right, not as smokey as it should be. What do you think? Should I shoot the place up again and force them to rebuild from scratch? I mean, you won’t want for food during construction. You have Arturo to cook for you, lots of, how did you put it? Lots of ‘like really really good’ food?‘ Let me know when you’ve had your fill and I’ll start shooting.”

“Don’t shoot ‘em up, it’s still good food,” Xiulan said, snickering. “So, should I warn Arturo to expect some sorta inquisition from you in the near future?” she asked playfully.

“Probably,” Mack said. “What? I’m your big sister! It’s my job to make sure your love interests know that I’ll cut their knackers off if they consistently and maliciously mistreat you!” Mack purposely didn’t say ‘hurt you’. Any two people that loved each other would now and again cause each other pain. That was part of any relationship involving real emotional investment. For things like that, Mack would be her sister’s support system without actually interfering. But if Arturo habitually mistreated Xiulan, or was in any way cruel to her little sister-by-choice, Mack would intervene. “Meimei, relax. I’ll even let you introduce me to him officially.”

“Really?” Xiulan asked, somewhat suspiciously. “Alright… Dinner, he’s cooking, try not to embarrass me,” she then said. “Might have to juggle our schedules, but I’m sure we’ll find time.”

“Done,” Mack said. “And thank you.” Mack washed down some of her food with the tea she’d ordered. “So, what happened last night. Rumor mill has it that you and your---” Mack stopped shy of saying boyfriend, as she didn’t want to antagonize Xiulan for this part of the conversation. “---partner chased off some Axe Tong who are apparently trying to muscle in on Petrovich territory. Is that true?”

“Yeah, it’s on our to-do list to meet with Petrovich about that,” Xiulan said, then stuffed more barbecue into her mouth. “Apparently, the Axe Tong boss himself came around, but we showed him we wouldn’t be pushovers. News spread fast and we already have students because of that.”

Mack chuckled. “Just be careful,” she said. “Or at least smart. And Petrovich knows already. You should definitely meet with him, but he knows. Someone who wasn’t having their field plowed called him last night. He contacted me personally this morning to tell me that he was aware of some trouble my sister was having and was on top of it. We came to a compromise. I’ll work in public to discourage Axe Tong’s incursion, and he’ll work behind the scenes and apply pressure to them in ways I need to steer clear of. Off the record, I’m assuming one or more bodies are going to drop. I’m just hoping I can keep it to a minimum and keep the civilians safe.”

“Hey, having my field plowed is a perfectly reasonable excuse for not making the call myself!” Xiulan said defensively. “But yeah, we do plan to meet with him, and we’ll do anything we can to assist in the matter,” she offered in return.

“Just look out for each other and try not to get in the middle of whatever this is between Petrovich’s Bratva and Axe Tong. Protect yourselves, sure, but don’t go looking for trouble. Let me… “ Mack sighed. “Well, me and Sasha Alexeyovich, let us handle the heavy lifting.”

“Will do,” Xiulan replied with a nod. “A few of the older shop owners have been hassled by the Axe Tong before, and they’re already looking to us to help protect them now that they know we can stand up against the Axe Tong. We won’t go out of our way, but we will look after our immediate neighbors.”

Mack nodded. “Of course,” she said. “So, when are you teaching your next class? I seem to remember that Arturo said he had to go and get ready for work after he was done teaching. I bet getting ready for work is going to involve taking a shower. Taking a shower requires being naked. If he’s done teaching, that could mean, at this very second, your incredibly hot boyfriend is naked and all alone in his apartment. If that’s the case, and if you don’t have a class, maybe you should head over there and get something straight between you, if you get where I’m going with this.”

“Uhg!” Xiulan groaned; yep, it was official, she was never living this down! Although, her advice wasn’t half bad, and after swallowing the last of her barbecue, she asked for the check and paid for both of their meals. It was shower time!

As the dust settled from Xiulan’s rapid departure, Mack chuckled to herself. Enjoy, Meimei, she thought to herself.