Startled in the Night

Posted on Mon May 27th, 2024 @ 6:02am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov

Mission: S1 Episode 8: Resolutions
Location: Cassiel's Quarters
Timeline: Date 2371-12-14 at 0100
2895 words - 5.8 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Andrei stood in the middle of the clearing where they had left their Away Team exactly a month before. The bright, vibrant sun had been replaced by one of a dull, milky white with wisps of frightening clouds adorning it. The residences and other gray-washed buildings were stained with violent splashes of red, and the grass as well as every surface were covered with bodies and unmistakable human gore.

He stepped over the body of his father, his heart pounding in his chest. They’d found the cure, but they had clearly returned too late. Tears streamed down his cheeks and a panicked, ragged breathing took command of his chest as he approached the table in the middle of the clearing. There, he saw his sister naked, defiled, and with a Kazon dagger plunged between her breasts.

He woke screaming, his fists clenched in white-hot fear and rage. Every bit of it felt real, and the feeling carried over into the waking world. He was doused with sweat. Instinctively, almost, he reached for Lyra, but she wasn’t there. As he calmed, he remembered that she was staying over in her own quarters that night. He blinked and took deep breaths, and then he looked at the clock. 01:00 hours.

He stood from the bed and walked slowly into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he saw the stress in his natural eye and the raggedness of his hair with long black strands scattered randomly across his face. He wasted a little time running the water from the sink and washing his face. Then, walking out to his room again, he pulled on a black tank top and tan jogging shorts, and headed out the door.

It was a quick walk around the corridor’s bend from the door to his quarters to the ones that allowed access to Lyra's. He walked it with sure feet and pressed the access code which would allow him entry. Even if he didn’t know her code, his status as XO would permit him to enter any room on the ship. He suspected she wouldn’t be expecting him, but he figured they would deal with that when they came to it. Walking in, he made his way through her living room and into the bedroom where he saw her sleeping peacefully on her side. As soon as he laid eyes on her, he found that so much of his fear and stress melted away. He would never admit it in a thousand years, but he felt safe when she was around.

Since she had started sharing a bed with her lover more often than she didn’t during the week, Lyra’s snap reaction to go for the knife between her headboard and mattress had diminished greatly; it wouldn’t do to constantly be threatening to stab a tired boyfriend who simply hadn’t been able to join her in bed immediately. What hadn’t lessened though was that uncanny ability even in sleep to know when she was being watched, especially when she hadn’t been asleep for long. It took only seconds under Andrei’s gaze for her to rouse and turn her head. Her dark eyes cracked and she looked at him through long, dark lashes; her tired mind mulled over what she was seeing. She was in her quarters and he was here. She could see the remnants of water around his hairline, but his hair wasn’t wet and she could see the slightly tense way he was holding himself.

Instead of questioning him, she simply scooted out of the middle of her bed and over to the side to give him room, pulled back the covers behind her, and then sleepily extended a hand out toward him to coax him to join her.

Andrei walked toward the side she had indicated, his face unable to communicate the typical signs of warmth of happiness he gave with her. Instead, he removed his shorts and tank top, dropping them lazily where he stood, which was unlike him in most cases, and crawled beside her in just his underwear. Wrapping his strong arms around her immediately, he didn’t say anything. He did, however, let out an exhale that communicated a release of stress. He hadn't even bothered to pull the blankets over himself, but simply allowed his arms to be warm with her. She didn’t appreciate the cold as much as he did, and her quarters were warmer.

Over the past weeks, she had been no stranger to Andrei’s nightmares. They still never talked about them, but she could always tell when one was worse than the others by how he would seek his comfort from her. Sometimes it was just a questing hand to make sure she was still there if their bodies had drifted away while they slept, but other times like this one, she found those massive arms encircling her and practically crushing her to his body; he hadn’t gone that far this time of course, but right now he was awake and it wasn’t an unconscious plea for her to be there and safe with him.

She lay there quietly for a moment and then turned over carefully so she was facing him. She slid one leg between his for comfort, let one arm drape over his muscular side, and then nuzzled into his chest so his chin practically rested on top of her head. She was warm, her scent was comforting; though she was strong and fit, she still retained the softness of a woman - she had always been careful to do so. Her covered breasts pressed through the fabric of her shirt against his bare skin, and her fingertips began to move slowly over the defined line of his spine.

He shivered slightly at the touch, his hands clasping around her at the small of her back. The feeling of weakness was incredibly uncomfortable for Andrei, and he had never been able to settle with the idea that there was nothing he could do about some unfortunate situations. Especially since he felt responsible for protecting his sister, the dream had shaken him to the core of who he was. But Lyra was soft and, though their physical position suggested she was taking comfort in him, he knew the situation was quite different. That scared him even more.

Truth be told, the real reason he didn’t stay behind on Gamma Eridine II regardless of what his father had ordered was her. He hadn’t said so, and he refused to put blame on her, but it was true. He had come to want her and, perhaps, to need her a bit as well. A large part of him screamed that he had violated almost all of his values for a woman, but he knew it wasn’t that simple either. As he held her, the image of Mika laying dead on that table covered in her own blood came to him again. He frowned deeply and wondered in silence if he had made the right choice after all.

“I don’t sleep as well without you anymore.” She murmured to him softly. Truthfully, it was a very sweet picture; it was astounding that in the very quiet moments when they were alone like this, they could be so gentle, that these two machines built to kill, destroy, and conquer could be… sweet. Her lips touched his collarbone and her long eyelashes tickled his skin as she closed her eyes again.

“Why is that?” he asked, his voice seeming to indicate genuine interest in her answer. He was grateful she had broken the silence, and he was very happy they were talking about anything but how he felt, what he had seen, and why he was here.

“Because I miss you when you aren’t next to me.” She admitted sleepily. “I miss your warmth, your smell, your arms around me.”

She nuzzled into him again, loving and tender. “You make me feel safe.”

Andrei smiled then, though it was still somewhat sad. Whatever they had was special to both of them, as long as Lyra was being as honest as she seemed. He found that he really liked the idea of being the reason she felt safe. Still, it made him feel a pang of hot guilt as he thought of the other people in his life he had a responsibility to keep safe who were beyond his reach.

“Well, if anyone bursts in here with a blade, they don’t stand a chance.” he said, his sad smile still remaining. His hand moved down over the surface of her ample bottom. It wasn’t a gesture that suggested anything should follow it, and was more about comfort than attraction; more about possession and care than desire. Though, of course, those were there too. “I miss you when you’re gone too. I don’t get as much out of sleeping alone as I used to.”

The only reaction Lyra gave to the touch on her rear was to wiggle her body just slightly to make sure she was as close as she could be to him, but otherwise she did nothing but continue to rub his back and talk sleepily to him. “Maybe I should stay with you more often?”

She hadn’t been lying to him in the slightest, she really did sleep better when she slept with him. She also knew that right now he was vulnerable especially at nights and enjoyed the comfort of her presence. The evidence was right there in the fact he had come to her bed. She knew, however, that the idea of it would be much easier to swallow coming from her lips than him even hinting to her he would like her to do so first.

“I don’t see why not.” He said quietly, though he had a feeling he knew what she was doing. He kissed her forehead then, slowly, and his hand moved up from her bottom to tangle in her long brown hair. “It makes both of us feel good to be together, so it’s simple to me.”

As he tangled his hand into her hair, she finally moved her head back so she could look into his eyes. She gave a tired but genuine smile and seemed genuinely pleased by his response. “I’m happy to hear that.”

Lyra kissed him then, gentle and possessive. Her hand moved from his back and instead alighted on his hip where she moved it slowly up and down. She didn’t directly press him toward anything, but seemed to be indicating willingness if he wanted more comfort than that of just her embrace; he often found an outlet for his frustrations and feelings between her thighs after all. She wanted to take care of him; really she had never wanted to take care of anyone more and that fact did concern her deeply.

Andrei knew what her look meant, and it made him smile quite genuinely for the first time. Normally he would be very responsive to the prompting, but his crisis of family was working on his self confidence enough that he was more a deflated balloon or a fireball on the inside than a man. When he was angry, he would fuck her like an animal with biting, grunting, and furious, skilled, and wild movement of his hips. Then, in moments like this, he felt no stirring at all between his legs. He would rather die than admit it though, so he would only move toward making love if she seemed to genuinely want it. He kissed her again, but made no other move.

“I had a dream.” He admitted what he knew she already figured out. “We returned to the colony with a cure, but I found that the Kazon had violently killed the entire away team.”

The way Mika had been lying there naked reminded him of the way the Kazon had tried to humiliate him. She had been there for him, but he had failed to be there for her.

Lyra listened intently, holding his gaze. There was sympathy in her eyes, but certainly not pity. It wasn’t a huge leap to connect that the dream had centered around his family more than any of the others. She moved her hand from his hip up to his face to trace his features. “That is a terrible dream to have, darling. I’m sorry.”

She kissed his forehead again and let out a soft sigh. “We need to find a lead somewhere…”

“I think I may have found one yesterday, actually. It’s a Vidiian scientist and renowned doctor whom the slaves on the Rynall swear to me is the source of the cure. I’m pretty sure I have her location as well.” he admitted, seeming almost excited, but the expression was held back by something. “What I don’t have yet is a Captain willing to follow up on the lead. I’m planning on going to speak with her later today and convincing her this is worth pursuing, despite our orders.”

Even thinking about the roadblocks he had faced in pursuing a cure for the disease which kept their people bound to the planet caused a swell of anger in him. Why couldn’t she just do what he told her?

“I’m losing my patience with that woman.” he admitted, touching the hand on her face gently and shaking his head. “I hope she proves reasonable.”

Lyra listened with genuine interest as he spoke of the potential lead to information on the cure. She shifted against him and propped her head up on her lower arm. “Would you like me to try and speak with her? Perhaps she is the type who responds better woman to woman?”

“I doubt it would do anything, though you’re welcome to join us.” he said with a lift of his brow. “She won’t listen to anything with even the slightest danger. And that doesn’t bode well for us actually approaching someone who can help us. This could be an important lead, though, and we should be pursuing it.”

Her hand drifted from his cheek and down his neck and shoulder to his chest. She began tracing random patterns with no purpose other than touching him there, occasionally tracing the scars on his pale skin but not putting much thought into it. “It can’t hurt to try with both of us there, I imagine.”

At the very least maybe she could prevent Andrei from losing his temper and doing something foolish. “I’ll accompany you, darling.”

“Well, at least I have that to look forward to.” He said with a shrug, enjoying the feel of her hands on his body. They never seemed to get tired of being in contact with each other. Even when they didn’t speak, they were touching.

Her response was a smile and simply to continue to show him her physical affection to soothe him from his troubles. While she didn’t say it outright, she was very pleased he had come to seek her out after he had been unsettled by his nightmare. More than most things, that simple fact spoke of his true attachment to her and that she brought him comfort in a way others hadn’t before. She didn’t know why he had decided to leave his family, but she had been glad for it - they had too much ahead in life to be trapped and die like caged, lonely animals.

She also knew if he had decided to stay, she would have chosen to remain with him, and that frightened her.

“Are you ready to try and sleep?”

He kissed her again even as she was finishing her question. He felt much better now, meaning his libido had returned quite suddenly, but he kept that fact to himself. Sleep was what he truly needed. Sleep and her.

“Let’s get a few hours in.” He said with a smile, and his strong hands moved down her back again.

Her lips found his and once the kiss was broken, she shifted to cuddle back into him knowing very well how much he enjoyed having her so close. Her lips grazed his defined shoulder and her breasts pressed with tempting softness into his pecs, he could feel the slight bumps of her nipples through the silky tank top she was wearing. She was warm and inviting, her tiredness only made her sweeter toward him.

“Mmm. Well, on second thought..” he said with a grin as his hands found her bottom again. No words were needed after that.

“Hmmmm?” She hummed in question, having just settled into her comfortable position to rest. When his hands moved to her rear with obvious purpose this time, she laughed softly. He was feeling better. Her own hands moved to uncover her favorite toy, and soon enough tender words were replaced by passionate moans and the rhythmic thumping of her headboard against the wall. They’d tire each other out in their favorite way, push away all the lingering ill feelings with their shared pleasure, and then they would finally get some much needed sleep.

END