Sometimes, fate can be a bitch. Doesn't matter how much effort you put in, doesn't matter how well you plan things, they all get blown away when bad luck hits you. That's pretty much how Natasha felt today.
She told herself that just this once, she'd try to actually follow Tanos' request. Not that it meant she would blindly do whatever he asked, but maybe just for today she'd give it a try. After all, it was a simple request: wear a thong the whole day. How hard could it be?
Natasha hated it when other people ordered her around but for the past few days, resisting Tanos had only made things worse. That's what happens when you try to piss off someone who has a solid lock on blackmailing you. So, she figured at least for today, she'd just do what he asked and see what happens.
That's what led her to the crew laundry at 7 am sharp. To pick up her laundered clothing which included her one and only pair of thongs... just so she could follow Tanos' orders. But then, fate had other plans.
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"What?!" Exclaimed Natasha. "What do you mean it's not done yet?!"
"I'm sorry, Ma'am Natasha," explained the crew laundry volunteer. "We would have finished your laundry by now if it weren't for the equipment malfunction."
She looked daggers at the crew volunteer: a small, old Indian man. Not the same big Jamaican she talked to last night. "And when will this 'malfunction' get fixed?"
"We're unsure, ma'am. The main water pipes seem to be clogged, none of the washing machines are getting any water. We've already contacted the engineers but they haven't had time to fix them yet."
Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose between thumb and forefinger and took a deep calming breath. She felt like strangling the man but knew it wasn't his fault.
Why, out of all the times for a equipment malfunction did it have to happen today??
"Okay," she said, striving to calm her voice. "Once the issue gets fixed, I'd appreciate it if you prioritized my laundry bag." She slipped a $10 bill to the crew member. Natasha didn't normally engage in this kind of 'favor exchanges' between crew and so didn't know if 10 bucks was too much or too little for what she was asking, but she was a bit desperate and $10 was all the cash she had on her.
The man made the bill disappear in his pants in the flash of an eye, barely even looking at it. Professional. "I'll make sure yours is first in line, Ma'am. Then I'll give you a call."
"Call my mobile. I might not be in my office much this morning." She wrote down her mobile extension and walked out of the laundry room. Now all she needed to do was avoid Tanos for the rest of the morning till she could get her thong back.
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Tanos was not in a good mood. System issues were popping up one after another around the ship, his manager was nagging him to get them fixed, one of his technicians was quarantined in his cabin from a stomach flu and to top it all, he couldn't seem to find Natasha.
He'd dropped by her office three times already that morning but Natasha was nowhere to be found. Carlo told him that Natasha seemed very busy today, dropping by her office sporadically only to pick up some papers then leave again on an errand. It was almost as if Natasha was specifically trying to avoid him. Tanos was going to give it one more try before he went for lunch.
As he entered the chief purser's office he nearly crashed into Natasha on her way out.
"Hey you," Tanos told her as he quickly closed the door behind him to block her escape. "I've been looking for you the whole morning."
Natasha bent down to gather the papers that she had dropped upon nearly crashing into Tanos. "Yes, well, I have had an extremely busy morning."
"So it seems," Tanos replied. Natasha did seem flustered, maybe she really was just busy. "Lucky for you, I just need a minute of your time." Tanos gently held Natasha on her elbows and helped her up to her feet. He had the satisfaction of seeing Natasha flinch as he touched her. Flinched... but didn't pull back. Progress.
"You know what I'm here for, Natasha. Just go ahead and show me what I want and I'll leave you alone."
"Tanos, I..." Natasha licked her lips. "I, uh, I didn't... I didn't wear a thong," she said the last words in a low whisper with her eyes cast down on the floor.
"I'm sorry, what?!" Tanos' temper rose. He was already having a crappy morning, this did not improve his mood at all. He looked hard at Natasha, trying to figure out if she was serious. Natasha just avoided his gaze and kept quiet. "Natasha, I was trying to be real nice to you. I gave you one simple task and you couldn't even do it?!"
Natasha ripped her arms free of Tanos' grip. He could see his finger marks on her elbows, he hadn't realized he was gripping her so hard.
"Look, Tanos" Natasha put down her papers then brought her arms up, palms forward in a slightly pleading, slightly warding gesture.
"I swear I was going to wear a thong, just like you asked. Really, I did," she said in an almost pleading tone. "It's just that, well..." Natasha's cheeks suddenly colored a bright red. "You see, I only have one pair of thongs..."
"Hold on, hold on. What?" Tanos exclaimed.
"... and it was the same one I was using yesterday and now it's all covered in cum, but the laundry is broken so I couldn't clean it up," Natasha continued rambling.
"So, let me get this straight." Tanos leaned back on the door and gave Natasha an incredulous stare. "You're telling me that you, an incredibly hot adult woman in her thirties, only have one pair of thongs and didn't want to wear them because they were still dirty from all the fucking you did yesterday?"
"Well, yes." Natasha blushed hard at Tanos' words. Did he really have to rub it in her face so hard? "They're crusted in cum and the crew laundry is currently broken. So you see, I had no choice."
"I see." Tanos replied. His mind was whirling. He couldn't believe a woman in her thirties would only have one pair of thongs, especially not a woman as hot as Natasha. They would need to do some major wardrobe updates if their 'relationship' was to continue.
"I guess I do understand your situation," Tanos said in a calm voice. "That still doesn't explain why you disobeyed me."
"What?" Natasha exclaimed. "I just told you -"
"Yes, yes. I heard your excuses. You should have still worn those thongs, regardless of how dirty they were. You need to realize something here Natasha: Following my orders should be your number one priority. It takes precedence over whatever wants or comforts you might have. Is that clear?"
Natasha didn't answer, simply stared at him like she was about to jump on him and claw his face out.
"I said, is that CLEAR?!" Tanos shouted right in Natasha's face. "Or do I have to bring my laptop in here again?"
Natasha didn't budge an inch. Tanos was starting to think he might actually have to get his laptop when Natasha finally replied with a simple: "Clear".
"Great," he said. "Glad we reached an agreement. Now, since you have no thong on you, I figure we might need to get creative. Unbutton your blouse for me please."
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