=/\= USS Charon, Deck Three =/\=
Sakarra walked closer to the fully dressed Marine, standing very still in the middle of the room, and let her fingertips rest against the rough fabric covering his chest. "Ever faithful?" she murmured, at last smiling "The very same audacity that made you risk a punch? Or is it simply you want to make me happy as you always seem to be determined to?"
Brent snorted as she mentioned his Marines. "My men don't bother me, at least in the regard," he said. "They might need a lot more work on their PT at times and their shooting accuracy but they know that I will take them to and from a major engagement with as few casualties as I can. The Captain... Either she will hate me or continue to trust me enough to watch her children," he said softly. "She's too unpredictable for me to even consider organizing my life around, not that I would do that for a Captain anyways," he said.
His voice softened. "The reason why is not just the same audacity, although I admit there is a bit of that in there," he said with a smirk. He took her hand in his and gently placed it over his beating heart. He kept his hand on hers as she felt the rhythmic beating. 'I've never felt this way before. We have only been dating since the start of our time on the Romulan station, and yet I know that I have never felt this way before. I haven't even thought of another woman since I first kissed you. Even if at some future date this passion fades, I don't want it to be now and I don't care what happens. I want this to continue, even at the expense of the Captain's ire or the men's smirking at me because I have a relationship with you."
A hundred thoughts raced through her head as she let her dark, unreadable eyes rest on him for long seconds, but in the end, Sakarra nodded.
"Logical."
Almost casually, but with not entirely subtle signs of enjoyment, she started to remove his uniform jacket again, giving a small wink and mildly chiding 'tsk' when she saw the glimmer of delighted surprise in his eyes. Moving her hands under the shirt, she could not help but smirk at the pleasure sparked by her tender touch, feeding back through the mental thread.
"You will not find a Vulcan debating a truth plainly stated, Brent Warren. Therefore, if it is still your wish to stay, I won't try to persuade you otherwise. Especially since I find myself wanting you to stay. Very much so."
Jacket and shirt were tossed onto the desk, and she carefully pulled him down for another gentle kiss. "However, I will require a shower before joining you in bed – the … accommodations in the brig left somewhat to be desired."
Brent held onto her wrists as Sakarra tried to turn away from him. "I'd love to help you wash up," he said with a smile. Something else drove him though. He wanted to know why she was doing this. "Why. Why do you continue to do this," he asked her softly. "Logical? I don't understand your answer either. Logical that I would continue in the face of such adversity? Forgive my ineptitude here..."
She stopped in her tracks and held very still when the hands closed around her wrists, letting the brief, pleasant shock dissipate. How could he not know, how…
She breathed, deeply, and turned to face him again, standing close enough that he could feel the heat radiating off her body. "The .. ineptitude … is mine. I should have realized …"
Laughing softly, she shook her head and gently pried her hands loose to place them against his cheeks. "Logical … C'thia, what you call logic, is many things, but at the heart of it is always truth. It may be difficult for me to accept the risks you are willing to take, but I have no right to push you away after you told me .. your truth. Especially not since I have already recognized my own."
Sakarra carefully searched the blue eyes for a sign of understanding, and nearly laughed at herself again. Trying so hard to do right by him in treating him as a human first was obviously the wrong approach – especially if it made her hide who and what she was. Wrong, and … well, illogical.
"Here." She murmured, moving his hands up towards her face, reveling in the sensation as only one of her kind would when cool, gentle fingers came to rest against her temples and brows.
Slowly, she matched the gesture, not forging a full meld, but enough .. enough to let him see.
Images, sensations, a small whirlwind of emotions echoed between them and resolved into a steady stream. Silently, she reveled in the joy and beauty of it, letting the last bit of hesitation be blown away like sand carried by the desert breeze.
And she showed him. Her own guarded, cautious side – instilled since childhood, because a Vulcan's mind uncontrolled can do so much harm, and reinforced through painful experiences when she let her temper prevail – or took too great a risk. Prompted by his curiosity, she showed him that as well – the part of her she recognized in him, the 'Damn it to hell' attitude, the tendency to throw caution to the wind, defy odds and laugh at the exhilaration of it all.
The dark, fierce side, the always lingering danger that lay underneath – she did not hide it, but was careful to not touch too closely upon this – it was too soon after her fury had provoked just another of her … unwise actions. But she let him see nonetheless, that what had landed her in the brig was because of who she was and because it had been the right thing to do. Logical. C'thia.
'This is me, and I cannot be any other. And if I am so adamant in shielding you…'
It was nowhere near as difficult as she had thought it might be. A Vulcan's heart and mind are closely guarded, forbidding fortresses and to open but one gate left one vulnerable in ways none truly cherished. But if she could not trust him, then whom?
'… it is because of what you are to me.'
And she summoned it all, though carefully and slowly, lest she herself get overwhelmed by it and this sharing ended .. abruptly.
The way her entire being resonated with joy at his smile, the near painful way her senses responded to him, and still always wanting more. The heartbreaking delight and gratitude over every effort he made to please her, from the concern over her well being to the surprises – the concert in the holodeck, the escape to gaze at stars.
The memory of that first kiss, and her sudden, shocked realization that it felt … right. And the fierce, unrelenting protectiveness, fueled not only by mere physical passion but something rooted deep in her soul, the recognition of the other as one who was right, good, and who was already part of her.
'It does not matter if the passion remains, or if what is now prevails. I will remember until my Katra ceases to exist. You, myself, and what we are, right here and now. Kaiidth. It is C'thia.'
Smiling, she dropped her hands to let them rest against his bare shoulders and tilted her head to the side in a rare show of open mischief.
"It is logical, no?"
His eyes stayed closed for several moments after she had stopped sharing with him. Everything in the multitude of feelings and emotions took him a few minutes to comprehend everything that she was saying and everything that she was showing to him. When he finally did he smiled at her, pulling her close to him again as he nodded his head in agreement. "Logical," he replied with agreement.
"Come," he said as one of his hands moved down before giving her rear end a swat. "Lets go make sure you're all clean," he said while visions of what they really should be doing actually danced about in his head.
This time, the Look held barely contained, smoldering flames. With her senses still so completely attuned to him, not to mention the scent of their recent activities clinging to both of them, he should have known better than to …
Or maybe he did know.
Very carefully, Sakarra loosened her grip on him which had reflexively tightened, almost enough to bruise, and walked off towards the shower, stopping only at the bedroom door to throw a glance over her shoulder. Rarely though she did it, her elegant, floating gait could make her hips swing in a way that had once prompted an old friend to suggest several buckets of ice cubes for a number of poor bystanders. This time, it was deliberate.
And the answer was clear, not only in Brent's eyes but his posture. By the time she had darted away and turned on the water, she knew the pursuit was in progress.
=/\= End Log =/\=
Marine Commander
Lt Cmdr Sakarra Tyrax
Chief Helm
USS Charon
