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− | + | Excerpt from ''Peripatetica'', by M. K. Sebastien, Engr. ret. | |
'''Friday, 23 Sep 2518'''<br> | '''Friday, 23 Sep 2518'''<br> | ||
'''Kuiper II Class Summer’s Gift'''<br> | '''Kuiper II Class Summer’s Gift'''<br> | ||
− | '''En route to | + | '''En route to Osiris'''<br> |
'''21:15 hrs, ship’s time'''<br> | '''21:15 hrs, ship’s time'''<br> | ||
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“You’re welcome.” I turned around and leaned against my door. “Had you, I’d have held him down.”<br> | “You’re welcome.” I turned around and leaned against my door. “Had you, I’d have held him down.”<br> | ||
“No, you wouldn’t.”<br> | “No, you wouldn’t.”<br> | ||
− | “Don’t think I | + | “Don’t think I haven’t been tempted.”<br> |
− | I could see the constant strain of dealing with the crew, with everything that had happened to him, was wearing him | + | I could see the constant strain of dealing with the crew, with everything that had happened to him, was wearing him thin. There was one thing I knew would make it go away and I pushed off my door, crossed my quarters and kissed him. Under my lips I felt Mike go completely still. Comprehension cut through me like ice and I put some distance between us.<br> |
− | It was bad enough that having Mike | + | It was bad enough that having Mike near me was driving me crazy with the need to touch him, but knowing that I could render him helpless with a word made it worse. Had it been anyone else, I would have had no trouble keeping my priorities straight and leaving well enough alone. But this wasn’t anyone else, and I should have known this would happen. All the evidence was there right in front of me and yet… I turned and looked at him and the expression in his eyes made me want to die.<br> |
− | “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” I managed before I had to stop. It was that or cry, and Mike had been manipulated enough. I wrapped my arms around my gut and sat down on my bunk | + | “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” I managed before I had to stop. It was that or cry, and Mike had been manipulated enough already. I wrapped my arms around my gut and sat down on my bunk. I kept my gaze on the deck and said, “I’m sorry.”<br> |
The mattress dipped as he sat beside me.<br> | The mattress dipped as he sat beside me.<br> | ||
“Do you want me?”<br> | “Do you want me?”<br> | ||
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“What would ''you'' like to do?”<br><br> | “What would ''you'' like to do?”<br><br> | ||
− | We talked. I settled at one end of my bed, he took up the other, and we talked. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say | + | We talked. I settled at one end of my bed, he took up the other, and we talked. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he talked. I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t censor him or prompt him, but let him ramble on any subject he wished. After days of being fettered by illness, by uncertainty, and by the rest of the crew, the words just poured out of him and some of the tension I sensed in him eased. When his voice hoarsened, I silently rose and got a water bottle from my stash, and put it where he could reach it without comment. I refused to check the time, to avoid delivering any implicit request or rebuke, and I wasn’t entirely awake toward the end of it. By then we’d gravitated toward each other as we’d shifted with the changes in topic, and before I dropped off, I felt his hand in my hair. I fell asleep with him stroking it, snugged against him with his voice rumbling through his chest into my ear. When I woke a few hours later, I was alone under my blankets and the spot where he’d been had already grown cold. |
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− | + | Go back to [[Damaged| '''Damaged''']] | Go to next Entry | |
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− | + | Go to [[Marina Kseniya Sebastien | '''Rina's Crew Page''']] | |
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