Assembly

"And so you're moving out? Congratulations deary! You do know that you're all paid up don't you?"

Tink and Harley nodded. "Yes, Mrs Bierhals," Tink said while Harley smiled at Alfred. He always made her kind of nervous. "We know. We've enjoyed staying here."

"Mmmmm," Harley said trying to make conversation. "Awesome tea Alfred!"

"Thank you, Ms Quinzel," he said dryly. "Another scone?"

Harley shook her head rising. "No, thanks! We really should be seeing to packing up our stuff. We just wanted to tell ya asap- er, I meant tell you-"

Alfred smiled slightly. "It's quite alright. To tell you the truth it's been nice having you three here. Do take good care of yourselves in the future."

She grinned. "Aww... Thanks, Al!"

Alfred raised an eyebrow giving her a look. Harley laughed nervously. "Ok. Still a "no" on the nicknames... gotcha, Alfred."

"Oh don't mind him!" Mrs Bierhals said. "We'll both miss having you around. Good luck, dearies!"

"Thank you Mrs B!" They both said as they left.

"How do you think, Dave and Melfina are making out?" Tink asked as they headed down to their little basement apartment.

Harley shrugged. "I'm sure the business stuff is going fine. They're both getting along that's plain to see but I doubt they're screwing around. They could be having their own issues though..."

Tink chuckled. "I told him he should've just let me handle it! Oh well! You know how he is when he's stubborn."

"Dammit!"

Melfina poked her into the room carrying two bottles of water. "Something wrong?"

Dave shook his head and debated kicking the sturdy furniture. He decided against it. "No... I just hit my hand with the hammer. Maybe Orkea wasn't such a great idea after all... should've paid for them to assemble it."

Melfina looked at the directions. "Insert peg A into hole B. Hit wit' big rock. Hit it hard! Harder! More hard! Still not go? Get bigga rock an' smash it gud! Smash it like a skull! Still no gud?! Why yer so weak?! Get stronga 'umie!" She blinked. "What strange instructions. Is the problem because you're not using a rock?"

Dave shook his head. "No. There's other people instructions too on the reverse side. It's actually pretty simple but... I'm just not as good at this stuff as Tink is... or my dad..."

Melfina sits and offers him a drink. "It bothers you?"

Dave smirks. "Yep. Silly ain't it?"

She shakes her head. "I don't think It is silly if it's something that's important to you. May I ask why?"

Dave takes a drink. "Why it's important or why I think I'm being silly?"

Melfina thought and smiled. "Either? Both? Learning a bit more about you will help me understand myself maybe."

Dave nodded. "Well doing things for yourself can give oneself a sense of accomplishment and pride. Even if someone isn't good at or suited to doing something they can feel good about doing it." He smiled. "It's silly to let it bother me because there are other things that I am good at. Everyone is like that. There are things we do well and other things we don't. So comparing one person to another is sometimes silly but we all do it. For example... you're not much of a combatant are you Melfina?"

Melfina nodded. "Yes, that's right. I never had any of those skills imparted to me or any training or experience. I'm afraid that I'm a complete novice and I suppose I wasn't designed for it."

Dave smiled and nodded. "Right. You lack those thing's. Someone like me who was raised into a world of that from a young age can tell. But I can also tell you'd be decent at it given time and experience."

He motioned for her to stand up and when she did he walked around her. Melfina felt slightly self-conscious as he looked at her nodding. But he gently started to touch her. He posed her into a fighting stance while running his hands over her. "Good skeleton... not super strong but nice musculature... lovely, strong legs... nice center of balance... wonderful hips and posture..." Dave realizes she's blushing a little and he does as well. He's got his hands on her slender waist holding her from behind... and what a nice behind it was! Even through the skirt she wore he could feel it was just as magnificent as her long, lovely limbs. Her skin looked just as lovely close up and she smelled nice. A little sweat from working and some lavender but there was a hint of something else that was tantalizing.

He cleared his throat and stepped back. "Sorry about that. Anyway my point is you've got a beautiful body but it's also well developed in other ways. If you wanted to learn martial arts or other physical activities like a sport you certainly could and likely could do quite well at some of them."

Melfina blushed at hearing "beautiful body" and "Physical Activities". His touch had been intimate and gentle... but it wasn't improper and he'd backed away. He might be a bit "wild" but he was a gentleman. She'd been nervous to be left alone with her new owner but now... not so much. Still if he wanted to as her Master and Owner he could- "Dave... what is to be my duties here?"

Dave blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry, Melfina. I guess we really didn't go over that yet did we?" He smiled and nodded seriously. "Alright Melfina listen up your duties are..."

Melfina swallowed nervously and nodded. "My duties are...?"

Dave gave a thumbs-up and winked. "A house wife's, maybe?"

"Wi-wi-wi... whaaat?" Melfina asked stammering.

Dave stroked his chin. "No good, huh? Well you see Tink, Harls and myself all work to make a living. I don't really have too. I have enough in stocks, bonds and other commodities to be well off for the rest of my life. Hell the day I turned legal to drink he gave me a restaurant/bar for some reason and it's fairly profitable. The Gotham Bar & Grill is not too bad even if it's a bit "Batman" themed. Anyway talking to my cousins convinced me to not do that or join the family business and instead do "my own thing". I decided I wanted to be "artistically creative" and I love Characters! So I made Custom Character Creations. If "RealDreams makes you Character owning Dreams Real" then "we make our clients unique Character fantasies come true", or we try too."

Melfina blinks. "And your fantasy is a house wife?"

Dave shook his head chuckling. "No no. I guess that's a bad analogy. We wanted someone to share our lives with who could help out at our new home. Someone who has a talent for cooking and we could be friends with and hopefully support us as we work hard and greet us when we came home to them. I guess kitchen maid or head chef would be a better analogy?" He chuckled. "My father married his head chefs so they're some of my "mom's" and raised me and my siblings. I guess I see them as "house wives". Sorry for the confusion."

Melfina smiles. "That's actually kind of sweet and surprising. Someone who hekos take care of the home, makes it "a place to come home to" and cooks... but I've never cooked anything before. I don't know how good I'll be at it..."

Dave smiled. "Oh, I have a feeling you'll be a natural at it." He winked again. "Call it a hunch! Plus I know what a great navigator and your other special skills. I could have bought the XGP 15A-II but we aren't planning on going anywhere just yet so it's better to lease to own in the interim. But all that was secondary. We just wanted to share our lives with you Melfina and thought that might make you happy too."

Melfina smiled. *So that's how it is,* she thought. *What a strange but nice "Owner". Still..."house wife* he said like some of his parents and that thing he said earlier...* "So the fact I have a "beautiful body" doesn't mean anything? You own and sleep with Tink and Harley don't you?"

Dave nodded blushing. "Yes, I said that. You're very attractive Melfina. I'm sure other owners would love to possess it... and honestly I would too... but I meant what I said. You're family now. We want to start by being friends with you and if that works out and you decide we can be more that would be wonderful. But no one is going to **** themselves on you or make you submit to them. I'm sure the others will invite you and knowing us you'll probably get an eyeful and they'll probably be handfuls trying to update your look or get you to open up to them but they've both got good hearts. Try to get along and if they, or any of the others, get out of hand come to me."

He sighed looking at the furniture ready to be assembled. "I'm going out to the van for a bigger hammer. Pepper. Could you please go over the basic rules for me?" He left the room as a holographic display of a beautiful redhead, shoeless in shorts and a T-shirt appeared from his phone where it lay.

(("Of course, Dave. Hello there Melfina. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Pepper, David's personal AI. I'm sure you'll be given system access shortly just like we'll integrate myself into the "home" soon. I look forward to working with you."))

Melfina blinked and then smiled at the small, holographic but incredibly lifelike and "normal" looking AI visual representation. "Hello Pepper. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I also look forward to working with you."

(("The rules are kept fairly simple. The first is David is in charge, obviously, and as such has final say in all things but it's rarely enforced. He prefers a happy coexistence with his Characters. Second is to make an effort to get along with each other. Third is no attacking each other, or others, except in Self-defense or when instructed to. Fourth is to try to look out for and support one another and fifth is to help out where you can, either at work or at home."))

Melfina tilted her head thinking. "Those are very simple and basic. I would have imagined something more... strict?"

The Pepper hologram smiled. (("They're more or less the same basic rules his family has used for quite sometime and each of the Starks adapts or adds to them a bit for their preferences but those basic rules mostly stay the same. It's different in other households with other owners obviously. The rules that have been added so far are that smoking is only allowed outside or in designated areas after the bedding was set on fire once. No large explosive detonations "in the house" and all explosives and dangerous devices must be stored and handled properly. Also electrocution is NOT funny and shouldn't be used for gag purposes and finally rest is important and everyone should respect others needs to an appropriate amount of quiet time."))

"Oh my," Melfina said. "Those are some... oddly specific rules. Was there really a need for them?"

The Pepper holographic nodded her head. (("Indeed and it was decided there was. *Sigh* I'm glad you're here. We need more "stable" personalities."))

Melfina nodded. "I'm a bit surprised... I guess I was expecting to be made to perform sexual acts and other things."

Pepper chuckled. "Oh that's not going to happen unless that's something you want for yourself. If David has said that then that's how it'll be for you. He's rather honest and upfront about such things. He definitely wants that for himself but more than that he wants you to just be happy."

Melfina blushed a little. "I see... he's surprisingly caring. Why is that?"

Pepper shook her head. (("Unlike Harley I don't offer unasked for or unwarranted psychoanalysis and speculation, especially about Dave... but she's usually not wrong and Dave doesn't forbid it. He encourages it in a way. I'd suggest talking with her and Tink about it sometime since he's returning shortly... but since you did ask I'd say it's because he's obviously already very fond of and attracted to you."))

"He is?" Melfina asked startled.

(("Yes. He and I are linked so I constantly monitor his body and vitals. His state of arousal was quite high just from your limited interactions together already. But more than his rise in testosterone as well as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which signify lust and attraction respectively, his oxytocin and vasopressin levels which mediate attachment were even higher."))

Melfina is trying to digest that information that his affection for her is so high when Dave returned. "Alright, let's try these! I got a bigger one and-"

"Hey!"

Tink looked up from the box she was packing. "Yeah what's up?"

Harley, wearing a Sombrero a feather boa and cheerleader outfit while twirling some handcuffs, is looking around. "Have you seen my good mallet anywhere?"

Tink rolled her eyes. "Like I know what you've done with your toys. How do you lose a giant freakin' hammer anyway? I'm sure it'll turn up. Stop playing around and help pack!"

[ David Stark Pepper Tinker Bell Harley Quinn and Melfina VSD02C

Will Return In

Identity

Coming Soon]