In the Morning

Posted on Sun Sep 4th, 2022 @ 6:43pm by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov
Edited on on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 @ 8:28am

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Anora
Timeline: Mission Day 16 at 0730
3360 words - 6.7 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Andrei woke up first. He gave a quiet yawn and stretched lightly, his arm extended over Lyra beside him. Then he snuck out of bed and into the bathroom. After peeing and brushing his teeth to get rid of his morning breath, he took a rag and made sure the parts of him which had been most useful to Lyra last night were passably clean and then he slipped on a pair of athletic shorts and a black t-shirt. Then he set a course back through the bedroom to the kitchen to start breakfast.

Though Lyra was usually quite a light sleeper, the past few days had seen her not as quick to respond likely due to the settling of her gene therapy… though in this case going to sleep drunk, quite satisfied, and curled up with someone she enjoyed being with immensely had all probably helped that. When Andrei pulled out of bed, her hand searched for him and then went up, settling for his pillow which she pulled against her body, wrapped her arms around, and immediately shoved her face into its softness. She remained like this for the entire time Andrei was in the bathroom and around five minutes after he had left the bedroom all together. She was in the twilight between wake and sleep and while she craved sleep, the bed was too empty.

Sitting up, she pawed at her hair and swung her legs out of the bed. She stood, wobbled a little, and then found her feet and headed into the bathroom to do her own business and make herself look decent. Since obviously none of her things were here, she had to make do with what she could. Clothes were the big problem. She walked back out into the bedroom and considered a moment before she simply gave a shrug and pulled out one of his shirts. It didn’t swallow her like it would have most other women, but it hung quite loose and long on her body. She also pilfered a pair of his shorts which she slid on and then began to roll the waistband up until they would sit securely on her hips between that and being tied. She ran her fingers through her hair a couple more times and then shuffled her way out into the kitchen drowsily.

“Morning, darling…” She greeted with a small, sleepy smile.

Andrei had had already pulled the needed ingredients out of the refrigerator, or whatever the Vidiians called it, and had started to crack the eggs of a flightless bird into a bowl. It was more orange than the chicken egg, but still instantly recognizable to any Terran. As she exited, he turned to her with a smile that only widened when he saw her wearing his clothes.

“Good morning.” He said, then paused, lifting one eyebrow. “You know, I did see this coming; you walking around my space in my clothes sometime in the future.”

“You did… though I don’t recall arguing that fact.” Lyra pointed out and walked into the kitchen with him. Her arms went around his hips and she pressed up against his back. “You cook? I admit I didn’t see that one coming.”

“Because I’m imperious and high-minded?” He asked over his shoulder. “Well it won't be very good, love. So, if you have any expertise, I welcome it.”

“I have no idea.” She admitted and kissed the back of his neck. Finally releasing him, she moved to his side and peered into the bowl of eggs like it was something completely foreign and perhaps mildly dangerous. “I can make a mean piece of toast though. Change your life.”

“What else are slaves for than to make breakfast?” He asked, moving to some meat separated into links. He looked at her, seeming confident though something was on his mind. He hesitated just a moment before he spoke, but then began. “I don’t think you and I are going to manage to avoid the ‘what are we’ conversation for much longer. I saw that look in your eyes; you saw that look in mine. And, increasingly the reason I wanted Christoph dead was because he put his hands on you intimately. Obviously, I’m no kill joy and I know how to keep things casual, but…”

He turned to her and smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Perhaps today isn’t the best day to talk about it after all? Might ruin the fun, and we so would like to have fun.”

“It might.” Lyra admitted after a pensive moment. There was a clinging apprehension around her eyes, but likely not for the reasons he would think. She then looked up to him, her gaze softening slightly and her brows lifting. “Darling, Christoph never touched me. I’d never allow such vermin to put his hands on my body.”

“Well he said he did, and though I was certain he was a liar…” he said, trailing off and placing the meat on a tray. “It would be hypocritical for me to say anything to you about it anyway. And so I haven’t. I’m normally not concerned with looking a hypocrite, but..for some reason I seem to care what you think.”

They definitely weren’t going to be able to avoid the conversation for much longer at all. She began poking around in the cabinets for some bread. “No, he didn’t. He very much wanted to. He tried very hard very often.” She finally found a loaf and began to unwrap it. “He tried too hard once…”

Andrei looked at her, his brows not together. What was she talking about? Part of him wondered if she had mentioned it just to get this reaction out of him. She was a spy, after all. A seductress. She liked seeing her work on display.

“He hurt you?”

“He tried.” She shrugged and found a knife to cut the bread with. She began to saw off a few thin slices. “He wasn’t very good at that either.” Chuckling, she shook her head. She hadn’t even been looking at him to see the reaction on his face. “About the only thing he was good for was telling me all sorts of secrets.”

“That’s half of what we want.” Andrei said with a grin. “The other half is doing our bidding. You know, if we worked as a team, we could have run him entirely.”

He opened the oven and slid the meat inside and then closed it again, turning ti her and watching her slice.

“I wish we could have killed him twice.”

“Why stop at twice?” She mused and then looked at the knife in her hand. “You’d think for such a high class establishment they’d actually keep their knives sharp, but you’d be wrong.” She ran her finger over the serrated blade and pulled it back completely undamaged which made her sigh in disappointment.

“You know, before I took him back to his quarters, he tried to convince me to help him kill you.”

“Oh, really? I guess I got under his skin.” He said with a smirk. “And what did you say to him?”

“Yes, what did happen there?” Lyra asked and ignored his question for a moment. “He seemed very fixated on you and quite convinced that you were going to try and hurt me “ Judging by her expression, she obviously had not bought it even for a moment. It was Christoph, for one, but she also knew Andrei.

He started to whip the eggs that were in the bowl, adding some seasonings he had tried out the day before.

“We had a chance meeting in the corridor. The day before we did the deed. He was being extraordinarily disrespectful, which perplexed me because I imagined him at least bright enough to learn from the last time. He was emboldened by his love for you. We had a dick measuring contest concerning you and I won. He was very angry, I could tell. Now, your turn. Tell me what happened.”

"That explains... so much." She chuckled softly to herself and watched him work the eggs in the bowl for a moment. Truthfully, she found she just enjoyed watching him now and then. Even in something as simple as this she could see the power in his body. "Christoph had behaved very poorly toward me which truthfully was a bit of a blessing. I was getting... quite bored of having to entertain him when I had someone so much more interesting to give my attention to. When we had our little bit of fun on the holodeck, it made me realize that I really was just tired of Christoph. So I'd sent him a little note and your sword asking to meet and talk things out with him. That he was so very right about how Andrei Petrov is a very naughty man."

“It’s because I have been seducing you, trying to turn you against him, if you can imagine.” He said with a chuckle. He poured the egg into a pan he had heated up and began to tend to it. “So he was going to have you as his little assassin?”

"No, no. I was going to be the bait. Christoph wouldn't want to upset my sensibilities by having me commit murder." She managed to keep the amusement out of her voice and spoke like this was something very considerate Christoph had done for her.

"I guess he opted to ignore the rumors and recordings about the Lovarr."

“He had a profound ability to self-deceive.” Andrei said, shaking his head. “But what if I stole the bait before he could get to me, Lovely Lyra?”

"You stole that bait a long while ago, my darling." Lyra said with a note of amusement in her voice. She then moved to his side and pulled closer to her what appeared to be some sort of toaster oven. After fiddling with it a bit and finally figuring out how to turn it on, she popped the slices of bread inside so that they could toast.

Andrei tended to the eggs for a few moments and then scooped them out into two plates just as the meat was ready. He removed the pan, set it down on a nearby counter, and plated several of those as well. When it was done, he just had to wait for her, and they would be good to go.

Lyra removed the toast from the machine and put two pieces each on their respective plates. She then stepped over to the refrigeration unit and opened it, poking at the jars inside. She opened one, gave it a sniff and immediately looked revolted and tossed it into the garbage. She then picked up another and repeated the process, finding this one smelling fruity. She grabbed it, what appeared to be butter, and some light lavender juice in a bottle and brought it to the table, she returned to get glasses while he carried their plates.

Again, they found themselves in a decidedly very domestic situation, but both seemed completely at ease. She opened the jars while he poured their drinks. She pulled one leg up into her chair, it wasn't some formal breakfast, it was a time to relax and just be. She poked at the alien eggs with her fork and then chanced a bite. They weren't awful, but they had a strange underlying bitterness to them that one wouldn't usually associate with "egg".

"Hm." She mused.

“Tastes like shit, I know.” He said, taking another bite and chewing it without reaction to the food. “This is why this quadrant needs Terran order. Terran culture. I mean, I’m sure we didn’t prepare it as they would have suggested but…” he shrugged taking a bite of one of the links. “My point is made.”

"Definitely not the most pleasant thing I've had in my mouth recently." Lyra shook her head and eyed the meat links a moment before she decided on trying one of them as well. Unpleasant texture to be sure. Stringy. She couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. "Next time maybe we just bring some ingredients from the Vengeance."

He smiled at her lewd comment, but responded to the other one. “Next time we’ll bring down troops from the Vengeance.”

He took a bite of the bread and nodded.

“That’s pretty good. A bit sweeter than I expected.”

"Just because of my amazing toast making skills." She noted and shifted a bit, still picking at the food. "I'll need to go back up to the Vengeance and my room after breakfast to get some things for our planned outing today. Do you need anything while I'm up there?" She offered simply. Sure, he could have gone himself, but perhaps he didn't want to.

“Yes, bring me back some groceries.” He said with a smile. “Because I’ll have to change it up for lunch.”

Chuckling, she shook her head slightly. “Sure, why not. Make me a list of what you want and I’ll see it gathered up and dropped off for you, darling.” She took a sip of the juice and found it about as agreeable as the toast. “Do you remember those rules we were talking about last night?”

“Of course, love.” He said. “To the letter. Stick him with the pointy end.”

He chuckled then, obviously joking, eyes falling on her. He enjoyed the look on her gorgeous face. “But, no, I know. I’m ready.”

Lyra nodded and gave him a smile of approval. "Good, I hope so." She reached out then and placed one of her hands over his for no other reason than to be touching him. An experiment in affection, as it were. "Maybe I'll pack a recipe with lunch. Surely we can manage that."

She intended to eat with him. Andrei found a strange warming of his heart in this. Despite the subtle suspicions he’d had, this served to him as a sign that Lyra Cassiel really did like him a lot. She never pretended this hard with Christoph.

“Surely we can.” He repeated with a pleasant nod, his eyes locked on hers. Then he pulled back his hand and set about the work of scarfing down his breakfast fast enough that he didn’t really have to taste it. Setting aside his noble table manners, he resorted to using his fork as a scoop for his eggs and then as a spear for his meat. Soon, all he had left was the pleasant bread.

“Maybe, now that I don’t have a job, I should be the ship cook.” He said, suppressing his smile for the sake of seeming serious.

Lyra had decided to combine everything on the plate, putting the eggs on one of her pieces of bread and the meat on top of that. She worked on eating it with her fork that way. It worked decently well to fix the flavors though the stringy texture of the meat was still quite troublesome. “Maybe. Chef Andrei has a nice ring to it.” She finished off what she could stomach of the food and stood, grabbing her plate and his and moving back to the kitchen to wash them. “Your Papa seems like he was having more free time the past couple days. I take it you’ve been helping with the paperwork?”

He followed her to the kitchen, placing his hands around her waist as she washed and pressing his body up against hers. Neither of them seemed even mildly uncomfortable with their domestic situation.

“I’ve been doing all of the unpleasant parts of the XO role and he’s been dealing with personnel and command. I don’t actually mind though.” He said in a low voice.

“No?” She finished with their plates quickly and also tended to the dishes he had left in the sink prior before reaching for the pans they had used. She paused just a moment to press herself back into him and then continued cleaning. She didn’t press for more, simply just seemed to enjoy his closeness.

“I got used to that side on Lovarr. Personnel report reading, approval of requisition forms, and all kinds of things like that. It’s not hard work, just tedious. I’ve had Eritrea processing the information before it’s sent to me, so it’s made quite easy.” He said, and then leaned in to kiss her behind the ear.

Lyra’s hands stopped their washing for just a beat at the mention of the other woman’s name and then resumed. She accepted the kiss, but didn’t smile. “Hopefully not while sitting in your lap weeping those pretty tears onto your skin.”

“I’m not an idiot. I’ve learned my lesson about her and her people.” He answered. “She’s the XOs Yeoman per my father’s orders and I couldn’t exactly explain to him why that doesn’t work with exposing myself. All our correspondence has been through messaging and when she had to deliver something, I made her drop it outside the door.”

“Good, because if she comes anywhere near you again I’ll carve off that pretty face of hers and turn it into a coin purse.” She said simply and finished washing everything. Turning off the water, she shook her hands off and turned to dry them.

Andrei suppressed a smile.

“Will you now?” He asked, the corners of his lips threatening to rise.

“Yes. Though I’m sure I’d have to find something to plug the mouth with given that did seem to be her natural state.” She turned to face Andrei then, her brows raised and her face unamused.

“You are incredibly sexy when you're jealous.” He said, smiling despite her irritation. “It’s very cute. I wish you actually could kill her; it would be great fun.”

Lyra just looked at him, the expression remaining on her face, though there seemed to be something deeper there. Can’t I?. She moved from him then, though as she walked by she reached back to smack his rear end before she moved to finish clearing off the table.

He watched her as she gathered everything else and brought it over, his eyes falling on her body in his clothes. Mine he thought to himself, and then he started to wipe down the counter.

“I’ll meet you outside the market then.”

Lyra didn’t answer as she put away the juice and jars. Instead she moved into the kitchen and pulled Andrei to her. Not many could move the person that was Andrei without his help, but she managed as long as he didn’t actively resist. She placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled him into a passionate, fiery kiss. It was possessive. She didn’t care. Of course they would need to talk, but for right this moment: Mine.

He engaged in the kiss as much as she had. He could tell she was busy with her thoughts, but the kiss told him everything he needed to know. He wrapped his assent around her and held her in a tight hug. He didn’t say anything either.

She remained there for a long moment and then finally pulled back, but there was a clear reluctance to be parted from him. She gave him a parting kiss on the forehead and finally turned, slid on her sandals, and left before she could change her mind. She knew she was leaving her bikini and wrap behind but she didn’t care. She’d be back after all.

Andrei watched as she left, sighing as the door closed. The whole suite suddenly seemed cold and dark without her there. He could almost feel the silence. He moved to the room to change for the day. It was only a few hours away after all.

OFF