Singing for new patrons at the Eel

Val smiled and shook his head. "Do fishermen count?"
He reached for a round of bread and licked the spread experimentally before taking a bite.

"Only if they have salty cocks," Gammon decided, handing Val the water and taking some bread and topping for himself as well. "Nobody likes fishy genitals on mammals."

"Come on," Val took another bite and washed it down with water. "You'd want to give some pleasure to a mermaid, wouldn't you? I bet it would taste like oysters."

"I said mammals," Gammon pointed out between nibbles of the bread. For such a large and burly guy, he handled food with a surprising amount of delicacy and attention to etiquette. "But I've been with a few Benzites and I most definitely did not mind smelling like a fishery for a few weeks."

"Oh yeah." Val leaned his head on the arm of the sofa. "Mammal means warm blood, right? So not Cardassians. They sure like saunas."

"Yes and no," Gammon decided, sitting down on the floor next to Val's feet and stretching out his legs. "Cardassians share characteristics with reptiles and mammals, so you'd have to ask an actual scientist. But Humans, Bajorans, Kriosians, Betazoids, even Vulcans, surprisingly enough..."

"The last Cardassians I had planted a bomb in my room instead of paying me," Val said with a furrowed brow. "It was very exciting, wasn't it, Papus?" The cat had finished it's food and was rubbing its cheek on Gammon's knee.

"Val Etilen!" Gammon cried a little more loudly than he meant. He also sat forward suddenly to study the Bajoran, which probably didn't sit well with the cat demanding his attention. "I don't want to tell you how to run your business, but you have to be more careful!" When he had breathed after being very lecturey and big brothery, he suddenly wondered: "Why would the Cardassians want to kill you?"

Val rubbed the bruises on his upper arms, slightly startled by Gammon's outburst.
"I don't know. They were very attractive and they made love very well, but.. I do not take clients in my rooms, but.. They did sort of break in." He drew up his knees. "Their master had some bone to pick with my mum. But the whole thing baffles me."

"Are they in custody?" Gammon demanded seriously. "Did you tell your mother? Does she have any way to protect herself?"

"Them and their master are in custody. No one knows where mum is - she's safe." Val said. "And I keep her well supplied."

Gammon spent the next several seconds eyeing Val appraisingly as he tried to decide if that was going to be enough for him. Finally, he gave a nod. "If someone is messing with either of you, you come to me, okay?"

Val smiled. "Of course I will." He considered Gammon for a moment. "You don't want my services, do you?"

Gammon cleared his throat and then gave Val an apologetic smile. "I've known you since you were a child, Etilen. One day I might see you differently, but for now, I'd rather just be your friend." He rolled his shoulders and popped his neck before adding, "A friend who will pay handsomely for a backrub, should you have it in you."

Val shrugged, smiling. "All right. Lay down on your belly." He crawled off the sofa to get some scented oils.

"Fantastic," Gammon breathed, pulling his tunic over his head and tossing it to the side. "I did some extremely heavy lifting today." He hesitated, glancing around the room. "On the floor or on the couch?"

"Anywhere you like," Val said, popping open the cork on a bottle with some effort. "I assume by heavy lifting you don't mean me."

"I mean setting up my shop," Gammon assured the Bajoran, lying down on his stomach with his cheek to the floor and his eyes closed. And now Etilen could tell Lorelei that it appeared those spots did, in fact, go all the way down, running the length of his spine and narrowing as they disappeared into the waist of his pants. "You might as well have been a feather compared to those cargo trunks."

"Good, then this won't trouble you," Val settled on Gammon, straddling the small of his back. He warmed the oil on his palms and set to work, firmly working the muscles of his back and shoulders.

"What won't?" the Kriosian joked as Val got into position. He let out a half-sigh half-groan as the massage began before mumbling, "Do your worst, kid."

Val leaned forward and worked his weight into the firm massage. "So are you really settling here for good?"

Gammon gave a grunt at the additional force and then breathed out in relief. "For good? Maybe. For now? Definitely. Who--" He grunted again. "Who needs to settle when you've got your own ship?"

"I wouldn't know," Val said simply. "But maybe while you're here, you can recommend me to your patrons."

After a moment's silence, Gammon replied, "I will do for you what I used to do for your mother." His words were vague but earnest.

"What's that mean?" Val asked, lightening his touch just a little as he rubbed the man's neck and shoulders.