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Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Nothin' Like A Little Truth [Complete]


Aradia McConnell

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Aradia lay on her bed, gazing up at the plain white military-issue ceiling, cell phone in hand. She was still dressed in her purple and blue flannel pajama bottoms and a clingy purple tank top that read "Acrobats do it on a Trapeze", even though it was two in the afternoon. She was totally, completely, mind-bogglingly bored.

She thought about training, but that's really all she'd done this week other than work. She'd already hung out with Livy and the girls. She wasn't a reader, and it was depressing how little there was to watch on TV during the weekend.

She lifted the cell phone she was holding, staring at the black screen for a minute. She tapped a button and the screen flared to life, glaring at her accusingly with it's digital readout. She sighed softly and flipped through her contacts list - about a dozen names, most of them work-related. Finally, she closed out the contacts page with a sigh, and lay there staring at the screen, even after it went black again for sleep mode. Then out of nowhere it rang, and Aradia jumped in surprise, letting out a little gasp.

"Son of a - Jesus girl, it's just a fuckin' phone, chill the hell out."

She sighed as she saw Waki's name pop up on the screen, and drew in a deep breath before answering it.

"Hey you."

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"You're alive," Wakiki said, his tone droll. "I was afraid that our movie night had melted your brain and it just took a while for you to notice."

"Funny," Aradia replied before biting her lip.

"Yeah," Wakiki said. There was a pause, and then he said, "So. You busy tonight? I thought we could catch a movie and dinner." It was a casual question, but Aradia winced. "Or do the thing at my place again. I need to teach you some more Japanese... since Mother's coming over to see you."

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"Holy shit."

There was a long pause before Aradia said anything else, long enough that for a moment, Wakiki wondered if he'd just fucked it up really bad. I mean, he'd known her for half their lives, he didn't figure meeting his Mom would be a huge deal, or that Ari would make that big of a deal out of it. But just as he was about to say something - anything really, to break the silence, Aradia finally spoke up again.

"I mean - that's not what I mean, sorry. I just mean, like.. your "Mom"-mom? Not Delayha, but your real mom.. is flying over from Japan? To meet me? Cause that's totally the way you just said that, and I might be pulling a crazy Livy grammar-nazi moment here or something, but I'm just checking, cause.. this.. totally isn't coming out right.. and it's really cool that you're gonna get to see your Mom.. so the thing at your place sounds great."

Better not do the freak-out thing in public. If he freaks out, that is. That could be.. awkward. And I'm making about as much sense as Mom on drugs or something. Fuck.

"What time?"

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"Unlike you military slackers, who apparently have nothing to do in the middle of the day," Wakiki said, his voice bemused, "I still have a few hours of work. So how about seven?"

"Sure-" Aradia's agreement was cut off as Wakiki quickly added, "Look, don't be intimidated by Mother coming over. She's been threatening to come for a while, now that I don't live near Dad or Mom, and I just happened to mention that I'm seeing someone. She's probably going to come over and make a lot of suggestions about how we should get married and make her grandbabies, and we'll ignore her and have a fun time. So it's all chill, right?"

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"Right. Okay. Sounds cool.. seven it is. Food?"

They agreed on delivery this time, since Waki had discovered this apparently-fantastic little Italian place that delivered subs and pizzas and pasta till midnight on the weekends. Aradia tried to offer to pick it up but he insisted on paying this time, since she got it last time. Besides, he'd been there already so he had the "inside scoop on the good shit". That made her feel even worse about not having told him, but she bit her tongue and let it go for now.

By seven o'clock, she was standing outside Waki's door, chewing nervously on her lower lip. She'd tried to keep it simple in a pair of skinny jeans, a green and tan belted tunic and a pair of tan sandals. Her hair was down for once instead of it's usual ponytail, and her streaks were just simple blond streaks for once against the dark brown. She'd been standing there for about five minutes, and had already gotten a weird (but admiring) look from a guy who went downstairs, then came back up a couple minutes later to find her in the same spot. So she took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell, waiting for him to answer.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wakiki was really looking forward to see Aradia. He'd had a couple of insecure moments where he'd been wondering if she was avoiding him. He had shown her really bad unsubtitled Japanese movies, and while she seemed to have fun, you never knew with girls. But he reminded himself that this was Ari, who was barely a girl. She was a girl where it was important, and refreshingly not a chick in other ways. He assured himself that if Ari were giving him the boot, she'd dump him to his face.

When he opened the door, he was already hyped - he'd vaulted over the couch on his way to the door, then slowed down and made sure he was outwardly keeping it cool. He took a deep breath, which was good, because when he opened the door, he couldn't breathe.

A vision with auburn hair and streaks was on his door step. Wakiki stared at her, frozen. He had one thought: I'm in love.

He'd waited for this lightening bolt, this moment when he'd see one woman as so gorgeous that another could never catch his eyes. And he knew that every other woman he ever saw would be stacked against Aradia and come up short. Without the knowledge of the Ascension Device and what its limits were on the female body, he wasn't aware that this wasn't one woman filling his heart beyond completion.

All he knew was that the goddess before him was Aradia. In fact, his second thought was, That's my girlfriend. His next was a realization that everyone could see her, and he didn't want to share, not right now.

He reached out and caught her hand, pulling her into his apartment and shutting the door. Without a single word yet being uttered, he clasped her face gently and passionately kissed her.

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Aradia hadn't been entirely sure of what reaction to expect. Surprise, confusion, and maybe even inappropriate oogling had all been on the list. If the reaction she'd gotten so far from other men who'd seen her was anything to judge by, she'd even in the back of her mind considered more.. extreme reactions. So the passion behind Wakiki's kiss wasn't entirely unexpected - and yet, the gentleness with which he touched her was, the way he held her face in his hands... and the sudden butterflies she felt in her stomach as she kissed him back just as passionately.

She moved closer to him, one hand lifting up and resting lightly against his chest. Somewhere in the back of her mind the demons of insecurity whispered, reminding her that this reaction was because of her new-found beauty. After all, he'd never treated her like this before, never touched her so softly while at the same time practically worshiping her with a kiss. This new enhancement was, in a way, her worst nightmare - Aradia had always been a beautiful woman, but she'd always dressed in a way that downplayed her beauty in favor of her uniqueness. She'd never wanted to be viewed as nothing more than a conquest, some prize to be won. Her mother had always valued her good looks so highly, and perversely, that had encouraged Aradia to think of them as something utterly unimportant. Then again, valuing the opposite of what her mother prized was a bit of a habit with the young acrobat.

But at the same time it was so hard to break away. His mouth felt so good against hers, and the nervous tension she'd built up all day waiting for this moment had suddenly become something entirely different coiled up inside her, causing her to shudder very faintly against him.

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Wakiki pulled her tighter, amazed at how much better she felt to him. Even the taste of her mouth was different, beneath her gum; purer and sweeter. Wakiki decided that he liked being in love, because he'd never enjoyed a kiss quite so much before.

His thumbs found and caressed her earlobes before his hands slipped higher, into her hair. It was softer than he remembered, sliding over his fingers like silk. He thought of other hair, and how soft it might feel, and he made a small noise.

There was no doubt on Aradia's part that he was interested in her. Aside from the kissing, there was some clear signs. Even clearer was his gentle but firm tugging back toward the bedroom. One arm moved lower, down her back to hold her tight, drawing her gently back. His other hand stayed in her hair, running the strands over his fingers.

Wakiki's breathing became more ragged as he broke the kiss, his lips moving down her neck. His breath was warm on her skin as his fingers crept under the hem of her shirt.

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Aradia had always been careful to keep men - and even women - at arms length before when it came to matters concerning sex. Part of it was an instinctive fear, buried somewhere deep down inside of her that she didn't acknowledge, that if she were to give into those carnal instincts, she would become a slut, like her mother. Part of it was nothing more than the sheer intimidation of getting involved that closely for the first time. And part of it - the biggest part - was trust.

That had always helped her before, with men who admired her show or men who hit on her in bars. She didn't know them, much less trust them, and in fact most of them were the type of men a smart girl would distrust inherently anyway, oftentimes with good reason. But with Wakiki, that was no protection - she already trusted him, and had trusted him for a long time. Falling for one of your best friends certainly made a big difference in that regard. And somehow, under his insistent touch, those other two reasons were becoming less and less important in Aradia's mind.

She knew that there was another reason, a big one, why she shouldn't be doing this, but Wakiki was making it awfully hard to focus on whatever that reason was at the moment. She moved with him, letting herself be pulled back towards his bedroom, making a noise that was almost purr-like against his mouth as she felt his hands in her hair. In the back of her mind she could feel where this was heading, but only dimly - right now she was more concerned with the feel of his lips on her skin and the touch of his fingertips. He could feel the muscles of her stomach tense under his touch, and her head tilted back, allowing him easier access to her neck and throat. At the same time one of her hands slid up over his shoulder and across his neck, her fingers running lightly through his smooth, dark hair.

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Wakiki had learned a long time ago to use separate ring tones for members of his family. This was for moments exactly like these, so that he could tell if the person calling was important enough to interrupt nookie or possible nookie for. And this tone was more than a 'drop it all and answer'; it also had the power to remove any libido.

This time, those tones didn't remove all of Wakiki's libido, which was a miracle in itself and another sign that he was really in love now. He gave her a final kiss and said, "Hang on, baby, I've gotta answer this."

He gave her a smile and answered the phone, talking in Japanese. That told Aradia who it probably was; one of his parents. She quickly doubted it was Harry, just from the way that the conversation went. It started well, but from Wakiki's frown and the way he started digging at post it notes on his desk, it was apparent something was up.

Abruptly, he hung up and faced her, looking upset and disappointed. "Shit. I wanted to have time to talk to you about this first." He drew a deep breath. "Mother's in town, and she wants to meet you. She got her dates mixed up - I had next week written down. She's at the airport, I gotta go get her and you'll welcome to come with or meet her for dinner tomorrow. Either way... my desires for a sexy evening with you were just torpedoed. Sorry, babe."

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She blinked, looking a little startled at the abruptness of it. After all, she had only found out earlier today that she was wanting to come into town period, and now she was here? Instinctively she opened her mouth to make an excuse - about not being ready, or dressed up, or whatever - but a brief glanced down at her outfit made her realize she was probably in the most conservative outfit she owned. Her jaw clicked shut, and she was quiet for a moment before glancing up at Wakiki.

"I - I dunno. Are you going dressed like that? Should I dress up more when I meet her, would that be better? I mean, I didn't exactly wear "Meet the Traditional Japanese Mom" clothes, right?"

She bit her lower lip nervously, looking like the slightly self-conscious Aradia that he knew very few people besides himself and Livy had ever seen.

"She's your Mom - what do you think is best? Would she rather see you by yourself since she hasn't seen you in awhile? Or will she be offended if I'm not there to greet her too?"

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  • 5 weeks later...

Wakiki smirked. "Fuck ifin' I know what will piss her off. She came here to see you; she might be angry if you aren't here, or she might decide that I'm a bad son who can't leave his girlfriend at home for a while." He shrugged. "I'm going to make her mad about something. An' so are you. So don't worry about, hon."

"Are you serious?" Aradia asked nervously.

"Yes," Wakiki said, getting his coat. "She lives on rage, and can smell a mistake at twenty feet. So I'm not going to burn an ulcer through my gut over it." He smiled at her, his expression going soft. Love, I'm so in love... I'm gonna marry her. For once, the thought was exciting instead of terrifying.

"Come on, she's already waiting," he said, offering her a hand.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Having already flown into and out of the City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport a couple of times, so he picked his way through the terminal to the baggage claim. Aradia didn't need to wonder who his mother was; by the time they got there, there was only one slim, short form waiting. She was tiny, only about five feet tall, but she held herself so straight she seemed taller. Her face was as stern and hard as Aradia would expect from a woman with her reputation.

A porter was trying to talk to her, referencing a little book in his hand. It was a Japanese-English dictionary, but from the man's befuddled look, it wasn't helping.

"Hey, buddy, I've got her," Wakiki said, letting go of Aradia's hand to gently pull his mother into a hug. Despite all she'd heard from Olivia and even, Wakiki, there was no mistaking that this woman loved her son. Her tiny arms gripped him tightly around his middle, and her stern face relaxed when he held her.

There was a short conversation, then Wakiki turned to her and she heard her name. He finally switched to English. "Aradia, this is my mother, Izumi Nashi. You can call her Nashi, at her request." He gave her a little nod of assurance.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Aradia was nervous - nervous as hell. Wakiki's father and stepmother she'd known for years - his birth mother was someone she'd only heard horror stories about. But fear was something Ari thrived off of - the fear you felt when plummeting from a trapeze, never knowing for sure if you're going to be just a second off - that was the kind of fear that kept Aradia going, that encouraged her to push herself harder. So the dazzling young acrobat flashed Wakiki's stern Japanese mother a charming smile, and held out her hand politely.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Nashi. I've known Wakiki for a long time, so I've heard a bit about you. I'm Aradia McConnell. Welcome to Colorado - I've been all over the U.S. and Colorado is about as pretty as it gets, so I hope you like your visit here."

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  • 3 weeks later...

Again Wakiki translated back and forth. Aradia saw his smile slip a bit at something that his mother said, but after that, his grin was back. Aradia thankfully didn't hear Nashi say, "I see why you are so serious about her. She's quite beautiful. Prettier even than me."

"Mom," Wakiki sighed, "don't start that. I'm not comparing women to you, because you're my mother. So, that aside, how about getting to know her before making judgments?"

"It's not a judgment," Nashi said. "She is beautiful. Judgment would be saying, 'What is wrong with Japanese girls?'"

"And I'd say nothing is wrong with them, I just like her," Wakiki answered, giving Aradia a smile. To his girl, he said, "Mom said that she's found it very pretty so far. Though she was talking about you, so I don't know that you can assume she likes Colorado yet."

He turned Nashi, guiding her with a hand on her back, and took Aradia's hand. He looked content and happy to be standing between two women - and he was. He loved both of them, even if Aradia didn't know it yet.

"You hungry, Aradia?" he asked her, his thumb rubbing over her finger. "Mom probably is, and I'm wondering if you'd like to come when I take her out?"

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Wakiki had known Aradia a long time, and though she wasn't the type of girl to dwell on her appearance, she'd also never been the type to be have difficulties accepting a compliment. But for some reason he saw an expression of concern flicker across her expression at the comment, though she seemed to banish it quickly. As he took her hand she smiled at him, and her smile was so dazzling he could almost swear he felt his heart skip a couple beats.

"I'd love to, I'm starving... unless your Mom is tired from the trip, you know? If she's not up for company other than you, I can totally grab something on the way back to the base, it's no biggie."

She squeezed his hand back gently as they started walking in the direction of the airport exit. The skiing season had begun and Denver's airport was crowded with tourists, but as they walked most people not only made way for the small group, but stopped to stare at the stunning gymnast. At least half of them were trying to identify her, as if her beauty marked her as a Hollywood actress or famous singer they should be able to recognize but couldn't. Wakiki could sense more than a handful of jealous glares aimed in his general direction, and there were more than a couple men who got smacked by their significant others for their obvious distraction. Aradia didn't seem to acknowledge any of the wistful stares or jealous glances, but Waki felt her move just a touch closer to him, and her hand squeezed his again, this time more for reassurance.. though she hoped that part wasn't too painfully obvious.

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Wakiki smiled at her, ignoring the looks he got. He was used to this; while he didn't have model good-looks, he could get pretty girls. But this was different. Aradia was different, even if he didn't understand how. To him, those guys weren't admiring his date; they were staring at his girl. He ignored the stares, so long as all they did was stare.

He kept up an easy chatter, not seeming to mind having to say everything twice. Between the wants of the two women, they ended up at Red Lobster. Nashi didn't want Western food, and Aradia wasn't up for sushi, and this was the compromise. It was Western, but it was also Wester seafood.

Wakiki smiled after they'd made their initial order. He was surprisingly happy here, with these two women. His mother might drive him crazy, but she was still his mother. And Aradia was the girl he wanted to marry. He kept up a light chatter about small topics - the weather, his mother's flight. All was smooth until Nashi asked Aradia, "What do you do?"

As he translated for Ari, Wakiki wondered what she would say.

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Up until that moment, the beautiful American girl had seemed happy - she obviously had an upbeat and enthusiastic personality. But as her son translated the question, she saw that enthusiasm fade a bit as her expression became more guarded, even a touch frustrated. To Wakiki, he could tell Aradia was trying to hide her anger at her situation - hell, she was being downright subtle about it, for the normally tempestuous carnie. But that didn't mean the change of demeanor wasn't blatantly obvious to his mother, a woman who hailed from a culture known for their incredible reserve. After a moment of silence Aradia spoke, forcing a bit of a smile that she didn't feel.

"I work for the government, actually. It's.. confidential, I'm sorry I can't tell you anything about it but I had to sign a form promising I won't. It's called a non-disclosure agreement. My dad was in the military, it kind of led to my recruitment."

She picked up one of the cheddar biscuits that the waitress had brought to their table, and picked a small piece off of it as Wakiki translated. Then her expression brightened a bit, and she shrugged faintly, trying to focus on something that was obviously more pleasant to discuss than her current employment.

"Before that though, I was an acrobat. When I was a kid my Mom was part of a traveling circus my Grandpa had started way back in the late thirties. So I practically grew up on a trapeze. That's how I've seen so much of the country.. I traveled all over the country, more than a few times."

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Nashi listened to Wakiki translate before asking softly, "What is a circus?"

Wakiki had purposefully not translated circus for her but he knew that he should have; like a little child, he'd hoped that if he avoided the word she couldn't call him on it. "It's a travelling carnival of actors and performers," he said, keeping his voice even.

"Ah, well, at least she has a better job, now," Nashi said.

"Mother, let me explain this. Aradia isn't ashamed to have been in that kind of profession, and I'm not ashamed of her, either. She's the woman I love. In fact, I need to meet her father. I have a question for him."

Nashi's eyes widened and she took a startled look at Aradia. "I... see. You are quite attached to her, aren't you? I suppose that my opinion matters little?"

Wakiki swallowed. This was the exact conversation he'd been trying to avoid, and he'd managed to walk right into it. "I respect your opinion. But you don't know her. Get to know her before you decide she's unworthy or doesn't match your criteria for me."

Nashi looked at him and then nodded. "Very well. I will give her time."

Aradia was waiting, and Wakiki turned to her with a reassuring smile. "I was just explaining what a circus is, hon," he said.

"Everything ok?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Everything's fine." As fine as it can be, and better than I hoped.

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"Great."

Aradia relaxed a little then, and they continued with their dinner. Poor Wakiki ate slower than the other two women, due to the consistent stream of translation, but he didn't seem to mind. Aradia asked his mother about her own employment, and about what Japan was like, as well as answering any questions that the older woman directed her way. By the time they were done with dinner, Ari was feeling positively upbeat about the whole situation - Mrs. I, as Ari thought of her in her head for now - didn't seem nearly as bad as Waki and Livy had made her out to be, and she seemed fairly unaffected at the idea of Waki dating a white girl, which had been Ari's big concern based on how traditional they'd made her seem. Of course, she was only hearing what Wakiki told her, and was completely unused to reading the emotions of someone so reserved. But she did her best to act polite and friendly, and to make a good impression.

Once they were done Waki paid the check, taking it without any comment. Aradia suppressed a twinge of guilt, even though inwardly she knew Waki would probably wanna pay for some of their dates even once she told him about the money.. guys were like that. But this wasn't a date, it was dinner with his Mom, and she didn't even think to object over concern about what Nashi might think. Besides - Waki didn't know yet, and over dinner at Red Lobster didn't seem like the best time. After he'd signed the bill, they made their way out to the parking lot, and Wakiki drove them back to his apartment. Once they got out of the car she glanced at Wakiki and Nashi, smiling at them both and shouldering her purse.

"I should probably be going, I'm sure you two want to catch up and you can't do a lot of that having to translate for me the entire time. It was really nice to meet you, Nashi.. hopefully I'll get to see you again before you leave town - how long will you be here?"

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  • 2 weeks later...

"She's asking how long you'll be staying," Wakiki said to Nashi.

"Long enough to get to know her and decide if I approve," his mother said, her expression its normal dour state.

"Long enough to torture us," Wakiki said to Aradia with a dramatic sigh.

"And what unit of time is that?" Aradia asked, her lips curling in a little smile.

"Probably a couple of days, at least." Wakiki rubbed the back of his head, frowning. His hand was holding hers, and all he could think about was what they would be doing if his mother hadn't called. "You going back to the base?"

"Yeah," she replied.

" 'K," he answered and gave her a quick kiss. It was very chaste, by the standards of what they had shared earlier. Just that little taste was enough to stir his fires, though. "Call me, ok?"

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Aradia considered, briefly, asking Waki to take his Mom up to the apartment and come back down for a few minutes so that they could talk. She still needed to tell him everything.. about the money, and surely he had questions about her appearance that he deserved answers to, no matter what those bastards at the IOA had to say about it. But a quick glance at Nashi reminded her that he had enough on his plate at the moment to deal with, and that giving him more to think about right now probably wasn't the coolest thing to do. He was gonna be stressed out enough with his mother visiting.. it could wait, just a little longer.

Besides, god only knows what she'd think I wanted him down here for.

That thought - combined with the light kiss - was enough to bring memories from earlier in the evening rushing back, and she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She glanced down and dug around for her keys in her purse to hide the slight blush, and found herself glad for the darkness.

"Yeah, definitely. See you later, babe."

She smiled at them both then, and watched them disappear into the apartment building before she made her way over to the expensive blue sports car parked in the apartment parking lot and roared off, headed back towards Cheyenne Mountain with all it's outrageous and important secrets.

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