Getting back to Earth was proving to be more difficult than Viola had been expecting. To be honest, sleeping in a bathtub in a bathroom that belonged to two men sharing a bedroom was proving to be something of a trial in itself. Jo had been surprisingly solicitous once they'd realised getting back to her Earth was virtually impossible, providing her with just enough clothing to get her by until she could get a job and start paying for herself, and Bessy, the landlady, had been providing her with meals in return for some help with the housework that built up around the B'n'B. Nothing, however, was helping with the aches and pains that came from sleeping in that damned bathtub.

Jo felt badly, after a while, about making her sleep in the bathtub. It really wasn't fair to Viola. She had done some mean things to him in the past, but the punishment he was doling out just didn't seem right. So, a week after he'd dumped her unceremoniously into that bathtub, he went to speak to Bessy about the living arrangements. And once that was settled, he was even going to show her something to make her life much, much better.

"Come on," he stepped into the cabin and peered around. Though she slept in the bathtub, he hadn't stopped her from using the rest of the cabin when she was awake. "And bring that bathing suit you borrowed from Bessy," he added. He had to admit that Vi would look a lot better in the thong bikini than Bessy would. The thought made him shudder, though. "And your boots," he stepped out of the cabin then and stood with his hands on his hips as he waited.

When he looked in, Viola was lying on her back with her rear pressed against the wall and her legs stretched along the line of that wall in an upward direction. Anything to stretch out her back and make it stop aching. She looked up as Jo looked in, daring him to parse comment on her position with just a look. "My ....hold on, what?" She pushed herself up onto her feet, opening the door to frown curiously at him. "Why do I need a bathing suit, and should I already be wearing it when I get out of here?"

Jo had his back to the door, giving her more privacy. And when the door opened, he glanced over his shoulder at her. "I guess you should, just wear jeans and a shirt over it," he advised. He turned again and was looking out over the lake that was behind the main house. Anything to get that image of her, on her back and legs on the wall. It looked....indecent. "And hurry your skinny arse up."

Offered nothing but that as an explanation, Viola rolled her eyes and shut the door again, rummaging through her acutely small pile of clothing for the bathing suit he'd mentioned, and quickly dressing herself in it, covering it up with her usual clothing. Hopping into her boots with a wince for the complaint of her back as she did so, she reopened the door and stepped out, brushing her hair back out of her face. "If I see one camera, I will break your face with it," she warned him, still not entirely trusting, given their history.

Once the door opened up, he dropped his hands to his sides. "You know, you don't have to spit vinegar at me all of the time," he grumped and wondered if he should lead her down the path with the fledgling wasp nest. Though the image of her flailing about brought a grin to his face, he couldn't be that cruel. "I'm not a jerk. Not all of the time." Jo walked towards the water's edge, but skirted around it to a small path that led away from the lake.

"We've got too much history screwing each other over not to have an adversarial relationship," she pointed out, stamping to make her boots settle as she moved after him, a good deal less graceful with her aches and pains than she had been a few days ago. "Where are we going?"

"We can change that, Vi. It wasn't always this way," he lifted a low lying branch out of the path so she wouldn't hit her head on it. "See, I learned that since being here. We can make a choice to be nasty, or nice to those around us. I think that being nice to each other would make things a lot easier on us both. And I'm going to prove it."

"And here I thought you liked my sharp tongue," she teased, the hint of a smile just barely creeping into her voice as she followed him, ducking under the branch he held out of the way. "You always seem so excited to barb words and throw them back at me."

"It gets old," he admitted and let the branch fall when she was safely free of it. "And it doesn't fit in with the new me. See, I've embraced who I am. I'm not hiding anymore. I don't have to hide, here. I won't get stoned or laughed at or my arse beaten because I like kissing men." It was the first time he'd admitted it to her and was just a bit nervous about how she'd react.

To her credit, she didn't look surprised. If anything, her smile was terrifyingly understanding as she nodded. "I thought as much," she assured him. "You tried too hard at uni to sleep with anything in a skirt, and every time I saw you outside work, you had a different girl on your arm. You never seemed to like them very much, though."

Jo was much relieved when she didn't gawk, look surprised or slap him in the face. He'd dated her, once upon a time, too. "Yeah, well it's not that I didn't like them, I didn't like the whole pretending thing. But, to keep scholarships and from being thrown out for being labeled a pervert," he shrugged and put his hands down into his pockets. "It's not far and you're really going to like it. The strata are absolutely fascinating." He knew that wasn't going to be the big draw there, but he was giving nothing away.

They'd been on precisely one date, during which Viola had arseured him she wasn't going to sleep with him in very strict terms. After that was when the name throwing had started, and with some of them, he didn't know how close he had come to the truth. But he'd shared something with her that was dangerous for him, something she could use back home and hurt him badly. It was only fair she should return the trust. "It is easier for them to root out men who cross the line," she agreed quietly. "Harder to root out the women, especially if - like me - they only indulge on occasion." She flicked a faint smile in his direction, hands in her back pockets as she followed him along. "You're taking me to see rocks."

Jo stopped in his tracks when she got to the "like me" part and turned to look at her with a wide grin. "I never would have known," he shook his head. "Well, that gives us more in common, kind of," he scratched his head and then began walking again. "Lots of rocks. Rocks on top of rocks. Eroded rocks so you can see the tiny fossils." They were getting close and the burbling spring could barely be heard over the soughing of the wind through the pines. But that smell, of water and mineral deposits were a dead giveaway.

She sniffed the air, smirking as she realised what he was getting at. "Rocks eroded by natural hot springs, by any chance?" she asked in amusement, before making her position a little clearer for him. "I didn't get caught because I only sleep with women when a man can't hit the right spot. If I could, I'd f*ck both at the same time, but it's a little difficult to find a woman who'll openly agree to that kind of arrangement." She paused, a little nonplussed. "Surprisingly, men jump at the idea."

"Yeah," he agreed with a nod. Though Uni hadn't been that easy on him. "Well now that you're out of the world, you can get back to who you are, Vi. Rhy'din is like a second chance at a clean slate."

"And I'm completely lost." She sighed again, lifting her head from his shoulder. It was too distracting to be that close to him, and though she played at being his enemy, she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. "I'll work something out." Slipping from under his arm, she slid beneath the surface of the water, letting the heat enclose her for a long time.

Jo put his hands in his lap and leaned his head back against the rocks when she slipped under the water. He knew what she wanted from him, now that there were no precious artifacts to be snatched away. He sighed softly, things would be so much easier, sometimes, if he could control his sex drive. But he couldn't. He could please a woman, but he couldn't be pleased.

He needn't have worried about protecting himself. Vi wasn't the sort to force herself on anyone, and certainly not her only ally in a strange land. She surfaced not long after, swiping her wet hair back out of her face. "Gods, this is heavenly," she told him with a low groan of almost sensual relief. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled and let his hands float along the surface of the water. "You see what I was saying, though' It's much better to be nice to someone than to be all growly and full of piss and vinegar." He gave a nod as he leaned his head back. "And the natural minerals in the water give you cleaner skin, too. I've not had a single zit since I started coming here."

"Are you saying I'm spotty, Skurlock?" she asked with an arch smirk, splashing water toward him as he relaxed. "You and I should go out on the pull sometime," she added, stretching once again before finding a place to rest that was a safe distance from him. "Check out the merchandise for each other."

"Like a leopard," he teased and brought his hand up to keep the water from getting into his eyes. "The pull is more your market, not mine. You'd think there would be more guys that want to be with a guy, but not around here." He shrugged and closed his eyes, hands relaxing by his side now. "I've looked and only one other guy in this entire town likes other guys." So far as he's seen, anyway. "And he wants a platonic friendship."

"Maybe you're looking in the wrong places," she suggested mildly. "There's got to be at least one gay bar in a city this size, surely. They were there at home, and here there's nothing illegal about it. Maybe you're just looking in the wrong bar at the wrong time of day."

"You're probably right," he sighed and opened his eyes to gaze up through the branches at the sky. The sun dappled his face with shadows and light. "I might give it a go with that one guy, though. See if we can start dating casually. And if not' Then there's nothing wrong with a platonic f*ck, now is there?" Just the way that he said it, his voice filled with disgust at the idea, was more than evident that Jo didn't look at things like that in that way.

"Only if you're not looking for something deeper," Vi pointed out. "You never know - some one night stands turn out to be worth a whole lot more than just a f*ck. It's always worth giving it a go. And besides, he should be able to introduce you to other guys who like c*ck, right?"

"I don't know," he hadn't given much thought to it, really. He'd never been a scene queen before. And, he had not admitted she might be right. "Maybe, he seems like damaged goods, truth be known. Not sure that he goes out much and finds a piece of arse, either. But it's a start."

"The best way to find what you're looking for is to ask," she pointed out mildly. "Rather than get despondent because it wasn't right there for the taking."

"We'll see," he sighed and then slid from the rock to dunk his head under the water. He didn't want to talk about sex anymore. When he came up, it was at the other side of the spring. He pulled himself free, and then went to lay out on a rock; sunning his already sun kissed skin in the cool breeze. "So, you've been enjoying Rhy'din so far?"

"So far, I haven't really seen much," she admitted, closing her eyes as she relaxed once again, arms floating on the water. "And I daresay I won't until I get a job and place of my own. I wonder if we can access our former bank accounts from here. That would certainly help with the money problem."

"We can," he draped his arm over his eyes and relaxed visibly. If he were Egyptian, they'd consider him a sun worshipper. "Though I've not seen the machines, but I do know that credit cards, even bank cards can be used here."

"All we'd need to do would be to empty our account and open up one with the bank for ourselves, separately, of course," she mused. "They'd never be able to trace us from home, then."

"Sounds like a good plan, but don't put it all in one bank," he advised. "Too many bombings and things just up and disappearing. Makes you realize that the old coot who had all of his money stashed in a mattress wasn't so crazy, after all," he chuckled. The sun felt good on his already warmed skin and he stretched himself out, curling his toes. "Mmmm."

"If you want to rub one out, go for it," she murmured, her eyes still closed. "Doesn't bother me." Of course, the smirk said she'd never let him live it down, but he wouldn't expect her to, anyway. "There's more than one bank here" I've only seen that grobbling one."

Jo put his arm down and lifted his head to look at her. "Yeah, no thanks. You'd enjoy the show way too much," he smirked and lay his head back down. "There has to be more than one, right' I mean, these folks have to keep their money somewhere and who really trusts goblins, anyway?"

"What's it look like?" he grinned and bunched his shoulders around his ears as he crinkled his nose. Jo had a thing for Cris, though he knew that Cris was straight and with Leena. "Is it really big?"

"If he hasn't shown it to you, I'm not going to tell you," Viola chuckled, sticking her tongue out at him. "It's his business who gets to see, and frankly, I don't think I was supposed to be paying attention to it, anyway."

"Hmmph," Jo lay his head back down, truly disappointed. "It's a sad, sad world, Viola, when you get to see Cris' c*ck and I don't." He may even be pouting. It just wasn't fair!

"It's your own fault," Vi pointed out cheerfully. "You're the one who put me in the bathtub to begin with! Tell you what, though ....that man could piss for England. I swear, I got through at least three renditions of Green Eggs and Ham in my head before he stopped last time."

"I can't be hearing this," Jo shook his head with a grumble. "I don't want to know about the capacity of his bladder!" It was making him scowl a bit that Vi knew more than he did about Cris. And the sad part was that he knew that now that she knew how he felt about it, she wouldn't relent. Unless he changed the subject. "Well, now you'll have your own bed and bathroom to sleep and piss in. You'll be good as new before you know it."

"Lucky me. You get to pretend you never met me, too." Because she had no illusions about the fact that she was cramping his style. He seemed to be spending too much time worrying about her, and not enough time on himself, which couldn't be healthy.

"That's it," he grumbled once more and lifted off of the rock. Lunging forward, he splashed into the spring and reached for her at the same time. It was his intent to drag her down with him.

He got to hear her squealing again as he splashed down into the water, unable to escape as he grabbed hold and pulled her down under the surface, struggling for all she was worth. He had, though, always had the upper hand when it came to struggles like this - she couldn't fight back when he already had hands on her.

When he came up, he tossed her bodily across the water. It wasn't hard enough to toss her free from the spring, only enough to skim her across the water, if that. "You....I couldn't do that, even if I wanted to. I'm not the mean one!"

She came up spluttering, flailing to keep herself above the water as she grabbed hold of the rock edge. "I'm not mean!" she protested. "I'm ....I'm hard, I'm not mean!"

"You don't have the natural equipment to be hard," he quipped. It was out before he could reel it back. So he just stared at her as she clung to the rock's edge. "I mean, technically," the last without much heat. "Really though, Vi. I couldn't pretend that when you first showed up and I was still angry at you. What makes you think I want to do it now?"

She snorted at his quip, releasing the rock once she had her own buoyancy sorted out. "Because I'm trouble," she said simply. "I always have been a thorn in your side, you can't deny that. And you know I can't promise that I won't bring trouble your way again. It wouldn't be intentional this time, but it could happen."

"Lot of "what if's" in that, Vi," Jo shook his head and then pat the side of his head to clear his ear from water. "So what if you do' I'm not the kind of guy that shuts out the past as if it never even happened," he sighed and shook his head. "Only idiots do that. Remember the axiom about history repeating itself?"

"Oh, you mean the one you took for truth when you thought I'd steal from your friend?" she countered, a little more sharply than she had intended to. But he couldn't reverse his position on a saying like that after offending her with an arseumption based upon it.

Jo canted his head and gave her a "really?" look. If he weren't treading water, he'd fold his arms over his chest. "Only idiots forget the past," he muttered. "You've stolen from me before; there was a chance that you still could. From anyone." He shook his head, tired of this argument. Swimming to the edge of the pool, he pulled himself up and out in one single fluid motion. Not saying another word, not looking back at her, he walked around to gather his clothes.

She frowned, knowing she'd crossed a line with those words, but too proud to take them back. He had offended her, and she didn't like to see hypocrisy in the making. As he gathered his clothes, however, she came to a decision. It was still a fine day, and the bank didn't seem to close on a Sunday here. She'd go and see to her money today. The sooner she was out from under Jo's heels, the less likely it was that she would do any more damage to her only friendship here.

"I did apologize," he sighed as he tugged his shirt over his head. "I didn't mean to offend you with the question. But you know it's true I had to ask it," he grumped and stood up to put his jeans on. Once they were tugged on, he sat back down to put his boots on. "It's why I asked, Vi. You've a history of doing that to me. I'm not about to forget it, just like I won't forget or even pretend not to have met you." He was still steaming a bit as he pulled his bootlaces tight.

She smirked at him as she ducked under the branch. "Sure you want to get your hands on me?" she teased. "Who knows what I might do while you're all oiled up."

"Well if you can get Mr. Happy to be happy?" he smirked and let the branch drop. "More power to you. I don't think it'll happen, but stranger things have happened. I mean, we did have drinks with a minotaur, right?"

"God, imagine what that c*ck feels like," she murmured, and snickered wickedly. "Maybe you should try your charms on him next. You never know, could be just what you need. Horns to hold onto and everything."

Jo's head swiveled and he gave her a horrified look. "You're kidding," he laughed then, out loud. "Dear God. I wouldn't be able to sit for a year," he snickered. "But then, maybe he's a big ole nellie bottom and those horns can be used to guide his head." Jo pursed his lips, and reached out as if he were grabbing a set of horns. He swiveled his hips and brought his hands towards his hip. "Moo, baby, moo."

That brought a very filthy cackle from Vi's lips as they parseed in view of the cabin once again, shaking her head at the ridiculous mental image of Jo being strong enough to guide a minotaur's mouth anywhere, much less there. "OH, I would pay to see that."

"Not me," he shook his head with a chuckle and dropped his arms down to his side as they continued walking. "Because he'd probably bite my dick off for lunch," he grinned. And then he scowled and covered his valuable package protectively. "No, definitely wouldn't like that."

"Just because the legend says the minotaur ate people doesn't mean it's true," she pointed out with a smirk. "Maybe he ate people in a different sense. You know, made them cum so much they died of pleasure."

"Oh great," he groaned and put his hands to his head. "Now when I go in there I will burst out laughing every time I see him!" Jo shook his head with his hands, trying desperately to get that mental image out of his brain.

"Well, why else would he need thirteen boys and thirteen girls?" Viola laughed, determined now to embed the image so firmly in Jo's brain that he was never going to be able to look the minotaur in the eye again. "You know ....boys, so everyone was open enough for him, and girls to try and make another minotaur with. Hell, maybe that's how Andu came to be."

"Stop!" he started laughing and then bolted after her. "I can't believe you're doing this to me!" He was flailing his arms and doing anything but running fast. "My brain! It's scarred for life!"

"Well, if you're not going to try, maybe I should," she suggested then, grinning at his theatrics. "The definition of monster c*ck, wouldn't you say?"

"Oh. My. God!" he started to slap himself in the face. Not hard, but enough to make a sound. "Here, have an apple!" Maybe if she ate something she'd stop talking! "Or here, have a shoe." He picked it up, yes he did, and offered it to her. "Anything! Just....please, I beg of you, for all that's good and decent, please stop!"

"What, you don't think he'd be a good f*ck" Or even a decent one?" Viola snickered wickedly, batting away the offered gobstopper with one hand. "You started this; I'm just making sure you're never going to be able to meet his eye again without imagining his c*ck, that's all."

"You think I don't already?" Now this, this surprised Jo. No matter what species, if it were male, he thought about what their c*ck would be like. Not from a sexual stand point, but from a scientific one. Didn't all guys think about reproduction at least once every ten seconds"

"Ah, but now it's always going to be there ....throbbing." She couldn't help adding that, and knew he wasn't going to let her carry on much longer. "No, not throbbing. Pulsating. Between you. Ready to explode."

"I don't hit women, but you're getting close!" he warned. But it wasn't much of a warning. He was still laughing and trying to get the image out of his head. "I swear to God. If he rips my head off of my shoulders because I can't stop giggling....I'm going to come back and haunt you!"

"Bring a few friends," was all she said to that, smirking at how helpless he was in the face of her teasing. "You really are way too easy to tease, Jo. How are you ever going to hold a conversation with him now?"

"I..." he pointed at her and glared.?I don't know! And it's all your fault!" He closed his eyes tightly and began to hum a tune. And that worked for a minute until the tune changed to the chase theme from Benny Hill. "Dammit!"