Plus One

Posted on Mon Oct 10th, 2022 @ 12:06am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Ensign Ilan Ocara & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov & Petty Officer 1st Class Jackie King

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Bridge
Timeline: Mission Day 22 at 1700
2824 words - 5.6 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Lyra had been pleased that Andrei had wanted her to attend dinner with his family. It was another show of his sincerity to the idea of their relationship which would never not be a positive in her book. She had opted for a dark red a-line lace dress with a hi-lo bottom and a v-neck that hit her to show just a shadow of cleavage but nothing more. The high part of the skirt rested a few above her knee and the low part hit roughly halfway down her calf. Her makeup was kept simple and natural, her hair brushed and smoothed but left in its natural wave over her shoulder. She wore a pair of simple open toed silver heels and finished it off with the ring Andrei had given her and silver tear drop earrings. It tastefully sat on the semi-formal line. She grabbed the small round box of brigadeiros to bring and headed for the door. She ended up agreeing to meet Andrei on the bridge and so she stepped off the turbolift there, eyes immediately went to her but she ignored them as she descended the few steps down to the command level.

Seeing he was in the middle of a conversation, she waited quietly and just watched him.

"You look very nice, Lieutenant Cassiel." A young woman spoke up from the science station.

Ilan smiled at Lyra warmly, a mildly appraising look in her green eyes. She was taking a shift up on the bridge just to stay acquainted with bridge operations. It would likely be a cold day in hell before she was ever actually needed up here, but she tried to squeeze in a shift now and then. One could never be too prepared.

Lyra turned on hearing the compliment, looking down at Ilan who continued to just smile up at her. "Thank you, Miss Ocara, that is very kind."

“The request just states that lunch be extended a half hour in the crew mess halls.” Yeoman King said, her eyes locked on the new XO, her arms folded. They had often bantered with one another when he was in security and had, at least a few times, admired the women around them together. Her eyes wandered to Lyra as she entered the Bridge. She followed the shape of her body under her dress. “Holy shit.”

“Eyes forward, Jackie. I don’t want to have to fight you.” Andrei said with a small smile.

“It’s worth the risk, sir.” She said, still looking for several seconds before turning back to him.

“I read the report, Jackie. I understood the report.” He answered finally. “On every other ship in the Imperial Fleet, the given time is enough. It will be enough here too. Request denied. Now…go ogle some else’s woman.”

“Someone else’s…” Ilan reached up and clutched her heart dramatically. “A blow to all our hopes and dreams, sir.” Her eyes then slid over to Jackie. “Petty Officer King, perhaps you’d like to lament the loss over drinks with me later?” She offered a charming smile and wink.

The smile Jackie gave was engaged. She looked at the science crewman as she approached her station.

“Hell yeah. 2300..and wear something less…no, just less.” She said with a wide joking grin before turning and exiting the Bridge.

Ilan laughed and watched Jackie go, following her slim figure and swaying hips until the turbolift door closed. She turned back to her work, but still stole little glances at both Andrei and Lyra.

Lyra rolled her eyes slightly, but she was wearing a mildly amused smirk as she did so. Seeing as his conversation seemed to be over, Lyra walked to stand by Andrei now and placed her hand elegantly on his shoulder.

Andrei crept a hand over and squeezed Lyra’s leg, even as he read a PADD.

“I take it you’re ready to go, Lieutenant?”

"Yes." Lyra replied simply, looking down at him as he read but not reading the PADD itself. Her voice was quiet as she continued, "Do we need to stop by your quarters for you to freshen up or are you ready as you are?" Her fingers moved on his shoulder, caressing him just with her fingertips. It was a small gesture of intimacy much as his hand on her leg was, restrained and not inappropriate for the setting.

“I was going to change.” He said, deactivating the PADD. “After all, if you’re looking that good, I should at least try, right?”

Andrei looked up at her, his mind going back to their lunch just a few hours before. They had their way with each other all over his new cabin and then enjoyed some Brazilian cuisine. He stood up and turned his visible eye to the operations console near the back of the room.

“Ensign Carrington, you have the Bridge.” He said, and then placed a hand on the small of Lyra’s back guiding her gently toward the turbolift at the back of the Bridge.

Lyra walked without protest, her eyes briefly shifting to the security station where Simmons was working. He saw her look over and gave a smile, though it was restrained and respectful given Andrei’s presence right next to her. As they stepped on the turbolift and the doors closed, Lyra’s hand immediately moved to Andrei’s chest and she leaned in to kiss his cheek. “How was your first official shift, my darling?”

“Relativelly uneventful. A few people tried to bring to me some changes they wantcloaked in the guise of a ‘change that’s been needed for a while’, but I shot them down.” He said, his lips parting from hers. “It’s been the same as the version I was doing on the planet, except now I get to do my paperwork in a chair surrounded by sycophants. I love it.”

“Oh I’m sure that you do.” She chuckled and stole another quick kiss from him as the turbolift halted and the doors opened. Stepping from him, she took his hand and they started making their way to his quarters. “It is sad though that just as I come off beta shift, you go on it. It’s terrible, really.” They paused outside his door and she waited for him to input his access code. “So should I be bringing some of my stuff to move in here too?” She asked teasingly and squeezed his hand.

"Well it's not as if you'd be needing clothes." he responded, pressing his code and opening the door to his quarters. His belongings had been transported both from his quarters on Lovarr and his temporary quarters on Vengeance and containers sat unopened full of his things. He sighed quietly as he walked by them. He would be up for a while getting things set up. He started to work the zipper of his jacket. "Excuse the mess, love."

"I somehow don't think your father would want me to show up naked to my shifts in the morning." Lyra replied with a shrug as they walked by the boxes. As he began to roll his shoulders to get his jacket off, she reached up and pulled it off of his arms for him lightly. She couldn't entirely decide if that had been a dodge or a joke in return. "I promise I won't bring all of my earthly possessions to your quarters. Just leave me a little room, won't you?" She kissed his neck above his red collar and then again below his ear.

"I've got two full closets in this cabin. You can use the second one." he said, accepting her kisses and then pulling his red shirt off, leaving him in his navy beater, his increasingly chiseled muscles poking trough the fabric and his exposed chest and arms impressive. "And, of course, you'll need a tooth brush. Your morning breath will scare my Captain more than the nakedness."

He grinned and pulled off his shoes, sitting down on the couch to do so.

"Morning breath? I smell fresh as a spring rain all the time what are you talking about." She smirked and took his shirt from him to put aside and be cleaned. She felt boosted internally to his ready agreement to her having some things here with him - more than some if he was offering a whole closet, probably. "I'll come help you unpack some of your things after dinner if you'd like."

"I would like." he said as he pulled off his sock. "Just admit that you're obsessed with me."

He grinned, removing his other sock before picking them both up and setting them aside with his shirt. Then he returned to her and kissed her cheek quickly, standing before her as he started to work the buckle on his pants.

"It must be the charming musk of my feet after a full day of work."

"You keep telling yourself that." She smirked, batting his hands away and taking over for her favorite part. She pulled his belt off and it cracked just as it left the last loop. "Really though its the hair. So soft." She reached up and ran her fingers through it.

“Here’s to praying I never go bald.” He said, allowing her to take over his pants. His eye locked with hers as the pants fell to the floor. As soon as they were down, he grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips. He kissed it slowly; tenderly. “Now, you seem to be desperate for a job to do. What should I wear?”

"Do you even have anything out of the boxes for me to look at?" She asked with a note of amusement, her eyes firmly on his and ignoring the temptation to look down. Instead she simply stepped closer to him, pressing against him slightly just to tease him.

“I ordered my clothes put away neatly.” He said, gesturing to the bedroom with his head. “But I’m concern if we go back there together, we might miss my dinner.”

"That is... entirely possible. Then Mika would cry and your mother would be mad and your father... I don't actually know, probably too busy with Johnny and Kassandra." She smirked and stepped back and then around him, walking toward his room to get into his closet and have a look at what was there.

"What, no fun pink suit?" She called out to him as she browsed.

“That’s still in storage, love.” He answered her as he reapplied colognes conservatively to his chest, wrists, and the crown of his head. “Along with my adult-size footy pajamas. In the end, I’m actually a rather unpretentious fellow.”

"Well, I'll put footy pajama party on our list of things to do. Maybe a pillow fight with feather pillows." She considered two suits and placed a finger on her lips. "Black and dark grey are on trend right now - or were when we left. Do you want to wear a tie?"

“No. I hate ties.” He said, walking up to her despite how unwise it might be to risk being in the bedroom with her. Immediately, he grabbed her hips and pulled himself up against her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting them on her stomach. He leaned around her hair and kissed her neck gently while she searched for his clothes. “Ties make me look like an estranged dad at an elementary school play.”

Lyra was briefly distracted by the feeling of him coming up behind her and his hands on her body. Despite the fact they had been living together for a week and enjoying each other carnally in a very thorough manner at least once a day, his touch hadn’t diminished or lost its allure and the same seemed to be true for him and her hands on his. When he kissed her neck, her lips parted and she let out a slow breath. “You know, that image is oddly specific for me to not wonder where it came from.”

“I’d go with the grey. Black is always in fashion and sharp, but a bit predictable in my opinion though really you can’t go wrong with it.” She reached up and touched the material of the grey suit she was looking at. High quality and very nice. “A black shirt or red to match my dress. If neither of those suit you, a navy or dark green would also work.” She finally moved a hand back to touch his cheek with her fingertips. “But my vote would be for the black or red.”

"Grey suit with the dark green shirt." he said, allowing his fingers to leave her sides as he stepped around her and grabbed for the shirt. Unbuttoning the top button, his slipped his arms into the sleeves and began to button it up. "I've never been to a school play, so I really can't say, love. I guess I just have a vivid imagination."

"Mmm no, I imagine not. Did you ever attend an actual school, or was your family strictly private tutors?" She asked and watched him pull on his shirt and start to button it, for the moment keeping her hands to herself given how prone they were to getting... distracted.

"I went to a preparatory school in Moscow as a teenager." he answered, finishing buttoning his shirt and reaching for the gray pants. "Eight generations of Petrov men have gone there, so it was a bit of a requirement. All boys; what a terrible drag."

“Oh I’m sure you managed just fine either way.” She smirked and moved to the second closet, opening it and inspecting the space to see what she should bring over. “Have your name on any achievements there?” She was sure there had to be something. Just being boring generation eight Petrov likely wouldn’t have been enough for Andrei.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he asked, eyeing her as he stepped into his pants. He zipped them up quickly without any fuss and pulled out a leather belt. He began to threat it, his face turning to a smile in remembrance. "I was valedictorian. And captain of the rugby team." he said, pausing, considering his next words. "And...I may have slept with two of my teachers my senior year. They don't give out awards for that one."

“Of course you did.” She couldn’t help but laugh and shook her head. She finally moved back over and pulled out his jacket, holding it for him so she could slide it on when he was ready. She did so with ease and ran her hands down his shoulders and arms to smooth out the fabric. “I figured there had to be something; you’d never be content to be a shadow.”

"There are times when a shadow is needed." he said as he allowed her to set his jacket straight. He reached up and removed his interface, revealing the bionic green eye underneath. "But I generally prefer to send others for that role."

Lyra said nothing to that except to kiss just below his ear and step back so he could turn around. When he did so, she smiled warmly and her dark eyes took every inch of him. “You look very handsome, darling.”

“Good,” he said, his hands finding her waist again, this time from the front. He leaned in and kissed her gently, turning his head to move hers slightly up. “Now, we should get going before I rip that dress off of you.”

“After dinner I’ll come help you unpack some as long as it doesn’t run too late.” She closed her eyes, keeping her head lifted and just enjoying his closeness. “Maybe swing by my quarters and transport all my belongings into your living room.” She grinned and pulled back.

She was testing him, he knew; seeing how far he would let her go. He gave no expression in response to what she had said. Instead, he sat down on his bed and pulled on fresh socks. When he finished, he looked up to her again, taking in her whole appearance.

“More things to bend you over, my dear.” He said, and then stood up again, moving toward the does in his closet.

Lyra laughed at that and shook her head, watching him and waiting. She was teasing, just wanting to make him smile. She wound a finger through her hair and looked around, walking toward the door of his bedroom but still waiting on him. She picked up the small box of brigadeiros again and smiled as he stood after putting on his shoes. “Ready, darling?”

“Quite.” He said, slipping on his shiny black shoes. He then buttoned his suit jacket and headed out the door with Lyra.

END