Is This It?
Posted on Wed Sep 23rd, 2009 @ 8:02pm by Lieutenant JG Drew O'Connell & Lieutenant Commander Kaylis Kirana
1,111 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
The Shining Truth
Location: Shalie Montgomery's Quarters
Timeline: Prior to "Take it Easy"
Drew heard her slip out of bed, realizing she was likely grappling with her feelings of doubt, self-loathing, anger at herself, or even ambiguity. He knew he was feeling those things. Turning on his side to look at her, Drew pulled the sheet up around his waist while admiring her naked form. The light of Citadel Prime complimented her green skin and amplified her every curve. Slipping out of her bed, as naked as she, Drew stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. The very motion was odd to him, to her...and yet standing near to her as he was, he couldn't help but admit he was enamored of her scent. Whether it was the perfume she wore or the pheromones, it mattered not. She attracted him for more than just that reason.
Maybe it was her attitude, the fact that she was one of few who took none of his shit, or that she was a challenge, he couldn't say. But something about Shalie Montgomery made him want her. This was where the feelings came in. Drew had never been a ladies man, mostly they either ignored him or learned to hate him quickly. Those that felt they were up to the O'Connell Challenge, as it had come to be known during his Academy days, had soon learned that little more than forty-eight hours with him was enough to make another life choice. So it was that he felt doubt. He also hated that he and Shalie had this love/hate relationship and when it ran hot, it burned, but when it ran cold even Antarctica never got that frigid. He hated that he hated that as well. And he was angry at himself and his lack of self-control. He should have been able to say no to Shalie's advances or stop himself from advancing things and yet, he didn't want to.
So it was that they stood at the window in her room, watching the planet as it circled below. They didn't need to speak, it wasn't an uncomfortable silence and still...Drew felt compelled to ask, "Is this it? I mean...are we just going to annoy the hell out of each other until we reach a point where we either kill each other or screw each other's brains out?"
Shalie stood with her arms wrapped around her until she felt the newly familiar arms of Drew O'Connell. She savored his touch, even if she would never admit it. She sighed as her head fell back to rest against him. Every fiber of her being told her being with him was wrong yet she couldn't resist. Like him she knew better. She tensed slightly as his question filled her head. She didn't know what to say. She could sense that he was confused but some part of her wondered if that was partly her own feelings. She let out a sigh before answering, "I don't know....I just know that I don't want it to stop." The last part came out before she knew that she was saying it, but it was true and she would just have to deal with it.
Drew nodded. "I don't want to stop either and that's the problem." Drew forced her to turn and look at him. "you drive me crazy. You purposely annoy me and make me angry and then...this." He grabbed her by her upper arms. "You excite me like no one else and yet," Drew paused looking for the best way to phrase his next sentence. "You know we'd never make more than a few hours 'together' as a 'couple'."
Shalie couldn't help but cock her brow with a coy smile. She had never met someone that was so easy to effect or anyone that was so good at getting under her skin. She nodded in agreement with his last comment. She knew they would never make it and she didn't even know if she wanted them to.
"I like the way things are now. I mean you annoy me, I annoy you...we find ways to focus our energies constructively. Does anything really have to change?" he asked, honestly and yet gently.
Shalie slowly moved her hands so that they were resting on his biceps as he spoke. Lifting her right hand she ran her fingers though his hair playing with a curl at the back of his neck. She looked into his blue eyes as she tried to sense what was going on with him. The doubt he was feeling was throwing her off. He didn't strike her as the type of person that would fear a situation, but then again she didn't know him all that well. "Why do you think it would change?" She said softly. "Change only happens when one side modifys the rules" she added with a sly smile.
"And the rules don't change?" Drew asked seriously. "You know as well as I do that rules always change. Especially the ones that govern our hearts. They are the most dynamic of all rules."
Shalie kept her eyes on hims as she dropped her arms to the side and stepped back slightly. "You are right rules always change...but you are the one that stated we would never make it..." She didn't know why she was getting angry, but she could feel it building up. She took a breath before she continued. "...so we have a choice ahead of us...we can keep doing what we are doing...or we can stop....and I already said that I don't want to stop."
And there it was, proof of both how and why a relationship between the two of them wouldn't work. An unspoken confirmation of the truth between them. Maybe they could continue to annoy each other while continuing their extracurricular activities. Cocking an eyebrow at his new lover, Drew said with every ounce of obnoxiousness he could muster, "Well, at least one thing needs to change right now...that would be me. I have a staff meeting in an hour. I'll be in the shower."
Drew turned dismissively and headed to her bathroom. She stood there, still and somber. Drew could see the fire burning in her. To squelch her annoyance, he stopped at the door and asked, "You coming?"
Shalie shook her head before finally moving from where she was standing. It didn't matter whether it was at him or at herself she wasn't listening anymore. She couldn't help but smile as she moved across the room.
Lieutenant jg Drew O'Connell
Chief Intelligence Officer
AND
Lieutenant jg Shalie Montgomery
Chief Operations Officer
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