Aberrant: Stargate Universe - The Hot Seat

[Aradia McConnell]

"Hatchins. His name is Hatchins. And he's a sick fuck, like we didn't already know. But you gotta let me worry about the IOA, at least for now. I.. I dunno what can be done yet with them. It's pretty complicated."

Her arms tightened around him, and he could feel her relax a little in his arms once she realized he wasn't angry at her. She had been so certain that he was going to be angry at her, pissed because she'd let Hatchins slip through their fingers. Maybe.. maybe if she was wrong about that, she would be wrong about the rest too. Maybe he would be able to handle everything else...

"And I dunno.. grow your hair out a little, and a few minutes with a razor, you might clean up kinda nice."

She pulled back and smiled a little timidly at him, the corner of her lips curving in a slight smile.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki snorted. "We're barely started dating, and already yer trying to womanize me." He grinned, despite the seriousness of their conversation.

The moment passed all too soon, and Wakiki sighed. "This IOA group, they're a government group right?" he asked, frowning. "And I'm a citizen of this country. I know that means shit, but I'm more than a little pissed to find out that these fucks are spending my taxes on torturing my sister. So if there is anything I can do, let me know. This isn't right!"

Wakiki forced himself to calm. He brushed his thumb over the corner of her mouth and said, "I just wanna help, beautiful. Help you, help my sister, and if I must, help Wright. I just wanna help to make things right."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia's face turned just slightly towards his hand, and she brushed her lips over his thumb lightly before they parted in a slight sigh.

"I know you are. I.. I appreciate it. But there's so much you don't know, and it's all so intertwined, and..."

Aradia's voice trailed off quietly for a moment, and she closed her eyes, her lips still resting softly against his skin. He could see the slight rise and fall of her breath, until finally she turned her head back slightly and those chocolate brown eyes opened again, looking directly into his.

"...even though I don't really give a damned about their rules.. I don't know how much I could tell you, without scaring you away from me."

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Look, let's cut out some drama here," Wakiki said softly. "Save that shit for the bedroom." His grin was incorrigible, even as she blushed and smacked him on the arm. He sobered up again and said, "I can't promise I'll be cool with anything you could be telling me. But I'll do my best. I mean if you're a drug dealer, nah, I can't do that."

He paused and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "But if your big secret is that you're some kind of super-soldier, I kinda already got that. I'm just waiting for you to start leaping over building in a single bound. So sexy, 'specially if you're in a skirt." His grin was back, making light of a serious subject.

[Aradia McConnell]

"He knows?!"

"Of course he knows something, you idiot. He saw you jump two stories and catch some kid out of mid-air without breaking a nail."

"..this is my last chance to be a good girl, and keep my trap shut."

"For who? The IOA? SGU? If you'd refused to sign their NDA, you'd be locked away in a cell right now and you know it, even if it was "indefinite" and "for the greater good". Do you really care about something you had to sign under those kinds of situations? At the very least, that would be called coercion."

"...no. No, I guess I don't, do I?"

Her eyes studied his for a long moment, with an expression that he was beginning to recognize as her "fuck it all" expression. Then she flashed him a half-joking smile in return, eyes shining slightly with what he probably didn't recognize as fear.

"So if I told you that aliens were real, and they have super-tech that turned me into some kinda super-freak shape-shifter, you'd believe me, huh?"

His laugh was automatic - after all, what she said was so outlandish, all strung together like that. But after the initial burst of laughter, he saw that her eyes were still searching his face, and that the smile on her lips was a bit forced.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

He didn't let go of her, very distinctly. Letting go of her would send the wrong message, or at least the message that would limit his chances to get laid. And he definitely still wanted to have sex with her. That thought made him relax a bit; obviously, some part of him didn't mind this news that much. "Super-freak, shape-shifter?" Wakiki echoed, blinking a moment. Then the other words sunk in. "Aliens? Super-tech?"

She nodded, her smile firm.

He answered her with a gentle kiss. "So... I think, and mind you, this is a few seconds of thinkin', that I can handle you bein' a shape-shifter if you don't shape change during some key vulnerable moments. I mean, otherwise, that sort of thing is cool. I found the whole Wonder Woman thing pretty hot, but I think I can handle Mystique, too."

He tilted his head. "Did you really think that I wouldn't want a super-girlfriend? I hate to say it, but that's a lot of guys' dreams. I mean... if you can put your feet behind your head - which you could do before, I'm sure - most guys are sold. Anything beyond that is gravy."

[Aradia McConnell]

Her lips twisted into an ironic smile, and he could see her relax a little.

"Well.. I would think that once you started thinking about it, it might start to actually freak you out. It sure freaks me the fuck out sometimes. But then again, I might be giving you more credit than you deserve."

The desire to be overly-serious about the situation - ironic, as she wasn't normally a serious kind of person - warred with her desire to do what she could to cling to his initial acceptance of the situation. Finally, the latter won out, though that probably had more to do with his constant flirting in the face of so much weirdness than anything else. She slipped her arms up around his neck, and tilted her head to the side, looking up at him a bit coyly. Her voice dropped slightly, becoming a playful purr.

"So what you're telling me is that as long as I don't shift into anything or anyone else during any inopportune moments, you're perfectly okay focusing on your teenage wet-dream fantasies about this Mystique chick, whoever she is? And so far, you're totally okay with this whole shape-shifting thing, huh? Tell me.. what's your favorite color, Waki? Red.. right?"

She closed her eyes, and gave her head a firm shake, as if to say no to something. But as her hair moved loosely around her shoulders and down her back, he saw the streaks change from a perfect white that framed her face to streaks throughout her hair in a bold red. It was bright enough to stand out against the rest of her brown hair, but not enough to look cartoonish or silly. She offered him a small, coy smile.

"What do you think? Super-girl magic."

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki was a guy, and therefore he couldn't be completely blamed for the possible other changes Aradia could make which immediately flooded his head. He was a guy.

Tentatively, he reached out and touched her hair, feeling one of the new read streaks. It didn't feel any different than the rest of her hair and it didn't come off on his fingers. After staring at it for a moment, he looked back at her.

"I have the best girlfriend, ever!" he crowed, grinning widely. His mind was still half-filled with the images of interesting alterations Aradia could make, and she'd half-distracted him from his intentions here.

"Say," he said suddenly, "can Livy and Wright and Caine do this? Or do they all get different stuff, cause that Caine seemed to have super-good-looking-guy powers."

[Aradia McConnell]

Her lips curved a little in mixed amusement and pleasure. It might not have been the most intelligent decision to have made, but right now she was too pleased by his reaction for the possible repercussions to weigh very heavily on her mind. She nodded slightly at his comment about Caine, getting a thoughtful look on her face.

"Yeah, it's different for each of us. I mean, some of us have similar stuff - I'm the only shape-shifter though. But Caine is super good-looking amongst other things. I think it must have something to do with who we are originally, like what our actual skills are. Cause that whole incident at the restaurant, I never woulda been able to do that before. But it's not that different than what I could do before, if that makes sense. Livy, of course, is insanely smart and stuff. Like she wasn't already, right?"

She rolled her eyes a little, looking a bit amused. This was more dangerous territory - though she felt comfortable telling Wakiki about herself, telling him too much about other people nagged at her conscious, reminding her that what she had told him was all strictly classified. And of course, people like Livy and Caine would want it to stay that way.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Great, just what I need," Wakiki said, rolling his eyes a little. "Livy out-thinking me more than she already does." He paused and looked a little worried. "Her hair isn't going to get pushed out of her head by her massive brain, is it?"

Aradia laughed about that, shaking her head. "I don't think so," she giggled.

"Good," Wakiki said, relaxing visibly. "I don't want her to become the Living Brain or somethin' like that. I mean, she was thinking circles around me when we were kids; I can't imagine how much worse it will be now." He looked at Aradia for a moment and then asked, "So what else do you do? Anything?"

[Aradia McConnell]

"No, not really. At least, not that I've noticed. I mean, I feel.. I dunno, healthier, I guess. But mostly for me it's been the shape-shifting thing. I think it takes a lot of energy, cause a lot of other people have cool tricks, and more of 'em, but not quite so.. drastic, you know? I mean, so far I can be anything I've been able to think of, you know? Animals, mostly, and little changes. But things too, and other people. The only people I can't look exactly like, no matter how hard I try, are the really pretty people. I can look like them.. but not as pretty. I know, weird, right?"

She was quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful as she nestled slightly into his arms, making herself a little more comfortable by slipping her arms around his back instead of his neck, which had the pleasant effect of pressing her a little closer to him.

"Of course, I think if we work really hard, we end up developing new stuff. Like that extra boost in my acrobatic abilities - I didn't really notice that at all until they finally got the gymnastics equipment I asked for on base, and I started using it all the time. And then when that little girl fell, it was like "Bam!", and I just knew I could do it, you know? So.. if I notice anything else, I'll tell you. For now you'll just have to do with - what's her name again? Mystique, right?"

She grinned a little at him again, and reached up to brush a strand of hair out of his face.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. "You're probably the most amazing woman I know," he said, then laughed. "That wasn't corny, at all. 'Scuse me while I find my manhood, m'kay?" He made a show of looking on the ground for it, relenting only when she laughed at him. It wasn't that funny, but it was great that she laughed - a girl laughing at your bad jokes was a great sign.

When they sobered up, he asked, "Ari, are you sure that you're workin' for the good guys? Cause if you're not and can't say so, just blink three times." He leaned closer. "I'm working on a plan to get you and Livy out of the country, you know, if they're the bad kind of government people."

[Aradia McConnell]

She melted then, her expression softening at the knowledge that Wakiki was willing to risk his neck for not only Livy, but her as well. She reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand for a moment, a little smile tilting up at the corners of her lips.

"You're amazing. I can't believe I doubted you."

She ran his fingers through his hair slightly, brushing it back away from his face so that she could see into his eyes completely, and he into hers.

"I think we're good. If that changes, Waki.. you'll be the first to know. And don't worry.. if it ever comes to that, I think some of us are working on escape plans for us and our families. If we don't want to work for them.. they won't be able to stop us. And they have to know it. But we'd all have to run a lot farther than another country, Waki. So we're gonna do everything we can to make sure it doesn't come to that."

She looked at him for a long moment, unsure if he understood what she was saying. He felt her arms tighten around him a little, and then she laid her head on his shoulder quietly and drew in a deep breath, resting there as if - for now - there was no place she'd rather be.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

For a second, he couldn't figure out what she meant by another country; then he recalled her earlier mention of aliens. He automatically looked up at the sky above them. He decided, after a long moment, to not dig into that particular pie yet. He'd learned enough for one day. Instead, he indulged in a bit of kissing.

"So," he said after a bit and with more than a little regret. "You going to get Wright and get him rolling on this Bill thing? I'd like to do what we're going to do before he moves again."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia nodded, drawing in a deep breath.

"Yeah.. I'll talk to him, ASAP, k? We should be off for a bit before our next mission, so we should be able to arrange a couple days off. I'll get with you as soon as it's done. In the meantime..."

She tilted her face towards his briefly, and indulged in another moment or two of kissing before smiling playfully at him.

"...when are you gonna ask me out on our next date?"

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Hey, this is the new century," Wakiki said, breaking into a wide grin. "If you wanna a date with me, you can ask. But since you brought it up, I'd love to take you out." A little more seriously, he added, "I almost took you horseback riding last time. Wanna do that this time? There are tons of riding places around here."

As he waited for her answer, Wakiki quietly wished that she'd be interested another kind of riding. All of this kissing was having an interesting effect on his pants.

[Aradia McConnell]

She grinned slightly at his initial suggestion, and thoughts of where she could take him for a date began flicking through her mind. But at the mention of horseback riding her expression lit up like a light bulb, and she let out a little squeak of happiness. The squeak was followed by a very firm, excited kiss this time - which didn't do much to alleviate any discomfort he was feeling below the belt region.

"I'd love it, that would be so awesome! None of these pansy places that take you down a little trail though, where the horse could do it in their sleep. If you need any help, I've totally got that covered, k? I want to go someplace we can really ride. I mean, if you don't know how to ride. Do you?"

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Oh, the innuendo! She was killing him without even trying, each line slamming into his composure like a bullet. "Yes," he managed to get out with giggling, "falling asleep during the ride is bad." Her frank enthusiasm wasn't helping either; if she stepped back, he might be in an embarrassing position. She bounced excitedly again, and the 'might be' because 'would be'.

"Baby, I haven't the slightest clue how to ride a horse," Wakiki admitted, grinning. "They're not exactly my mount of choice." His smile became flirty as he murmured, "I like my mounts to be prettier, with smaller noses."

[Aradia McConnell]

Her face flushed slightly, and he could practically feel the tension between them increase. She bit her lip slightly, and he could see her trying to decide how to respond. Finally, the corner of her mouth tilted up flirtatiously in return, and she murmured softly, her voice unabashedly sexy.

"Well.. I guess I'll have to teach you, then. You know.. to ride. A horse."

Her fingertips played lightly over his chest as she spoke, and her gaze stayed demurely down until the very end, when she looked up at him with sparkling, mischievous brown eyes.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

The woman was trying to kill him. As he idly wondered why she was doing this now instead of waiting until after she'd taken out the insurance policy on him, he ran his hands up and down her sides, teasing a more intimate spots and enjoying the moment. "I guess you will," he said, smirking a little. "Fortunately for you, I'm a fast learner.

"So when are we going riding?" he asked. "'Cause all this talk has me wanting to go right now."

[Aradia McConnell]

The slight smirk remained at the corners of her lips, but they twitched slightly in anticipation of a full grin. He could feel a faint shiver run through her body at his touch, still pressed close to his in his arms. She squirmed sinfully against him, her expression apparent that she knew just what she was putting him through, and was enjoying every moment of it. Her mouth moved closer, and she murmured softly against his lips before pressing them to his.

"Yeah, you seem kind of.. excited about the idea..."

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Oh, two so could play at this game. He dipped his lips close to her ear and murmured, "I like to ride. The pounding rhythms, the glorious movements of two bodies together and the building energies... fantastic."

He lifted his head still smiling, and said, "So, wanna do that before or after Utah?"

[Aradia McConnell]

The obvious innuendo, coupled with the sound of his voice low against her ear, was causing the oddest feelings, and in parts of her body she wasn't even used to acknowledging. Her tongue darted out lightly to moisten her lips, and he saw her swallow slightly, though she tried to keep up the playful facade.

Right now is before, right? Cause right now sounds pretty good. In fact, right now is sounding really good.. you know, right about now.

"Well, I suppose that depends-"

Suddenly, the shrill, generic ringer of a new cell phone cut through the air between them, and an aggravated look flickered across Aradia's flushed face. She pulled it out of her pocket with one hand, and cursed lightly when she saw the name "Vinnie" flash across the screen. She flipped the cell phone open, and carried on a brief, if clipped, conversation.

"McConnell. Yeah, but wasn't that.. it's been changed. Aren't we supposed to.. I know, but.. yeah. Okay, whatever. I mean - yes, Sir. Six o'clock. I'll be there."

She clicked her phone shut, and clenched her jaw for a moment, looking annoyed.

"Guess it's gonna be after today, one way or another. They shifted our team's schedule for the practice range because there was a conflict, we gotta be there at six."

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Well," Wakiki said, pausing to kiss her, "we'll just have to pick this up later, won't we?" He was disappointed, but unsurprised; it seemed about par for the course that Wright would cockblock him, even unknowingly. "I'm supposed to meet Livy tonight to show her my new place. I was going to have you come, too, but I'll give you a personal tour later." He kissed her again, and though he clearly enjoyed it and her, he couldn't hide his disappointment that she had to go soon.

[Aradia McConnell]

"Yeah.. I guess we will. I'm sorry I won't be able to make it tonight, but I'm looking forward to my personal tour later, k?"

She smiled playfully, and kissed him back, but he could tell he wasn't the only one disappointed at the interruption. At least his chances looked good for some action later. For now though, after the kiss, Aradia climbed back into her car, and started it up. She lingered for a moment, catching his attention, and he could see her lips form a simple "Bye". Then she pulled out and drove off, rounding the curve in the road that led back in the direction of the base.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Several hours later

Wakiki had returned to his new apartment, missing Aradia. Still, he was looking forward to seeing Livy and catching up. They hadn’t had a chance to really talk, and he was looking forward to it. The car door slamming outside brought a smile to his face, and he was grinning when he peeked out and saw his sister. She looked down, and he resolved to make her smile before she left.

He opened the door for her, bowing and laughing, “Welcome to my humble abode.” It wasn’t that humble; he’d been able to get a decent job, and the cost of living was a bit more favorable. As she walked in, tense, her arms crossed, Wakiki felt his heart sink. This was bad, as bad as he’d ever seen her. She couldn’t even look at him. “What do you think, sis?”

“Cut the crap,” Livy said, turning to face him. Her dark eyes flicked up to his face and he was shocked to see the anger and hurt in her eyes. “I know that you hunted down Bill. I know you told Vinny about what happened.” Her arms unfolded and she scowled at him. “You had no right to tell him about that! I am angrier at you than I have ever been! I am so mad, I can barely see straight. What were you thinking?!”

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

True to form, Wakiki got angry, after he’d recovered from his shock. “Maybe I told him because you wouldn’t-”

“I was going to! But you-”

“Because you’ve been so forthcoming-”

“That’s my right to tell my boyfriend-”

“Like you did with Sean, cause I was sure he could handle-”

“Get off my back! I don’t tell you to stop whoring around-”

“Oh, since we’re listing faults, let’s start with your martyr syndrome-”

“You have no idea what I went through-”

“I would have if you’d trusted me enough to share-”

“You just proved I couldn’t trust you! You’ll just do what you want-”

“I’ll do what I think is best for you-”

“I’m an adult, not a kid, that’s my choice-”

“Funny, you don’t act like it.”

Olivia stopped, staring at him, her dark eyes wide and hard. “So you really think that I’m a little kid, that I can’t take care of myself?” she asked, her voice quiet. “You really aren’t going to give me the respect that adults have earned?”

“What am I supposed to think?” Wakiki asked, aware through his anger that he didn’t really feel that way, but that he was determined to make a point on his dense sister. Whether that was the point he wanted to make was the big question. “You hide things away like a little kid and you just suffer in silence-”

“Not silence,” Olivia said, crossing her arms. “Shame. I am ashamed of what happened.”

“Jesus,” he sighed, “sis, you don’t have to be.”

“I know that,” she grumped at him. “But telling me that and sneaking around behind my back doesn’t help. In the future, mind your business, Wakiki.” She turned and stormed out of his apartment, leaving the young man frustrated and upset.