Rosette & Rufus - "Dr Pepper"

This is another JP by the (hopefully by now) famous duo of SMAndy & Becca
<snip>
"You!" he shouted back. "you're supposed to wait until I let you in! You should at least know that one. It's rule number 4!"
"Seymour... you're not wearing a shirt. How is rule 4 applicable here? Anyway, you haven't even thanked me for fixing up your room since I broke it..." she added, turning to leave.
"Fixing it? You missed a bit. There's a big spot for a famous painting there!" Seymour replied. Rosette turned on one of her high heels.
"Hey! That painting IS famous!" she said, pointing at the spot. "it's gone... You've let yourself get robbed!"
meanwhile, Rufus stood just outside the room, feeling a little left out...
</snip>
"go on then, what painting was there? I'm sure I'll know it by name." Seymour said with vindiction. He was certain Rosette woudln't be able to name a famous painting other than the Mona Lisa, which everyone knew, and most people had. (So many really good forgeries and all...)
"It was the Fallen Madonna." Rosette replied instantly. "You know, the one with huge... tracts of land.... if you know what I mean."
Seymour stood gawping. "You do realise you just said that while wearing... whatever that is..."
"You're a fine one to talk." Rosette responded with a smirk. "We'll leave you to it..." she said, sneakily grabbing one of the packs of Earl Grey that she'd left on a nearby tea trolley. Seymour was looking up at the space where the fallen Madonna had supposedly been, and took a step back after the door had closed.
"Well... maybe she does have some taste..." he found himself saying.
"Come on, let's go find a kettle." Rosette said as the door closed behind her.
"Look, I think I have one in my lab, makes it easier than trying to explain to my Dad why we just paid a visit to Seymour who is dressed in leopard print with you in a strippers outfit.... D.. did you need to get changed at all?" Rufus asked, stringing together prehaps the longest non-scientific sentance of his life.
"Only if you think i should" she replied with a wink, and a flourish of the lab coat she was wearing over the top. She also thought that this was essentially Rufus inviting her back to his place.
After a moment of thought, and leaving Rufus feeling a little overwhelmed, she added "i probably should... this isn't even mine"
<snip2>
"There's still chance to break out of here, steal the package and take it to Roebuck. He's booked a room on the Corridor of Infinite Perversions."
"I'll do it!" Justin said. "Which room?"
"It's room #388" Potential said. "The package has been sent to Rufus' lab for investigation. You still have time to steal it and take it to Roebuck."
"I'll do it!" Said Justin.
Potential grinned, and disappeared.
"Micky. I hate you. But I'll forgive you if you help me break out?" Justin said. "Please?"
</snip2>
Rufus tapped in the security code, placed his palm on the scanner and then looked into the retinal reader.
"Security disengaged. Welcome, FeBuggure Rufus, 'M'" The disembodied female voice echoed over the speakers.
"Thanks Tria." He turned to Rosette "Redundant V.I. that my mum owned. Passed to me when she... you know... Installed her to operate the place when I was away or, you know... Stuff." For a genius, he wasn't very good with words sometimes, especially around girls. The little bi-plane was whizzing around the ceiliing and making fut-fut noises, clouding over the hamster cages.
Rosette smiled back... There was something about the shy scientist that drew her closer, but this time, she just followed him into the room, and put the things down. She'd put some kind of effort into her appearance this time, at least introducing her hair to a brush for the first time since she'd stopped becoming a bug...
She sat down on one of the chairs, and looked at the lab desk...
"Hey, whats this?" she asked, picking up a note. "Its from the captain... 'analyse this asap'..." she picked up the small box, but didn't open it. She had no idea what was in it, and Rufus most likely had equipment to handle dangerous chemicals.
Gingerly, Rufus opened the parcel. Inside was a green vial of liquid, suspended in a metal frame. He carefully extracted it and peered into it.
"Hmm.. Well it's green...." the scientist said, holding it up to the light. "Slightly see through..." He tapped the edge of the glass vial, nothing happened. "Doesn't react to sound. Thats good. Means it probably wont try to kill us."
"It's a liquid!" Rosette exclaimed, wondering how a liquid could try to kill someone.
"Look, i've seen wierder stuff on this deck. Just trust me." He replied, not looking up. Feeling in his element, surrounded by science once again.
"It could still try and kill us, if its a poison..." Rosette replied. The science of it all was over her head, but common sense still gave her a chance.
"good point." Rufus replied. "It needs to be tested."
"on what? haven't you got a machine that can tell what it is?" Rosette replied, looking at the various computers and test equipment that lined the walls.
"It's faster to just feed it to something." He said almost uncaringly, and looked at the wall of adorable hamsters.
"you're not..." she said, but she'd seen the look on his face. It was too late. He dripped a drop into the water tray on one of the cages. As if it were trained, the hamster licked it all up...
"They are reslilient enough. If it's poison it'll just cough a little and i'll know not to drink it or spill it. Look what the worst that could happen? It's not exactly going to turn into a hymenoptera hybrid is it? Who'd be stupid enough to bring that abord? It'd be taken to the best scientist in the galaxy." It was at that moment, that there was a tiny screaching sound from the cage, followed a tiny hissing sound.
"Just so you know..." Rosette said, watching the little creature as it convulsed "I think you are the best scientist in the galaxy." she said, almost as if she knew that Rufus shouldn't have said anything.
The hamster convulsed a little more, and screeched in a more insectoid way. Before long, it had broken out of the cage, and was making a bee-line for the air vent on the other side of the room.
"You have to destroy the rest of that..." she added as an afterthought
"The captain wanted it though. I'll text my sister to get after that thing. You get onto J.. Jay and we'll just hope that Justin doesn't get hold of either one of these two things..." Rufus said, not liking the idea of being on the same ship as his ex-girlfriends brother let alone in a room. For a conversation.
<tag Jay/Justin>