Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Secrets and Revelations [Complete]

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia rummaged through her closet, having taken the time this morning to actually hang her clothes up. She still had scarves draped over the headboard, and all her jewelry spread out on the top of the dresser. Only the bathroom was organized, since it had drawers to put the makeup in that she'd spent so much money on yesterday. It had dawned on her afterwards that she probably didn't need to buy makeup, since she could just make herself look like she was wearing it. But that seemed like cheating, and after giving it a try she'd decided she didn't like it anyway. You couldn't touch up little mistakes or perfect imperfections as easily as you could when it was the real thing. And besides, it looked a little too.. perfect.

After a moment, she picked up her new cell phone, and unplugged it from the charger. She studied it for a moment, feeling guilty that she still hadn't called her Dad - that's why she'd bought the phone, after all.

I'll do it tomorrow.

For now, she pulled out the piece of paper she'd scribbled Waki's cell number down on last night from her purse, and programmed it into the phone, along with Livy's, her father, and Markie. Four phone numbers were all she cared about in the world. It was.. kind of pathetic, honestly. Finally, she typed out a message to Waki, and waited for a response.

*D8 2NITE - CAS OR FANCY?*

She sat the phone down and began tearing through the closet again, pulling out a couple different outfit combinations of each. She was still playing with scarves, trying to mix and match and waiting on a response, when she heard a knock at the door. She walked over and opened it, then smiled.

"Livy - hey!"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

It had been a day from hell. It was all her own fault of course. She'd driven herself completely mad by going over the scenario from last night in her head, over and over, to see where she went wrong. And then she would immediately launch into a simulation designed to help her approach Vinny about it. But when it came to his response, she was stymied. She knew he wouldn't like it, but would he see that it was a mistake? Would he call bullshit on the nightmares? Of course, that last one was easy to prove. All he had to do was watch her sleep once. That'd make a believer out of anyone.

All she did know was that she was driving herself insane. She needed to decompress, to step away from her life and gain some perspective. Since that was the first and foremost duty of your BFF, Livy went to Level 25 and knocked on Aradia's door before dinner.

"Hey," Olivia said, smiling a little as her friend opened the door. "Have you got... what are you doing?"

[Aradia McConnell]

"Oh, um.."

Ari glanced at the piles of clothes, and against her will she could feel her cheeks flush a little. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Livy all day, so unless Wakiki had called her, she had figured the other woman didn't know about the date. She wasn't quite sure how Livy was going to react, either. I mean, teasing her about going out with Wakiki was one thing - but would she actually want her to do it?

"Just.. picking out an outfit. What's up - what did you need?"

She held the door open for Livy to come in, and closed it behind her once she had stepped inside.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia strolled into the room, her anxiety gone. Here were two of her favorite things: finding out secrets and teasing her 'sister' a little. "Just... picking an outfit?" she echoed, her smile stretching across her whole face. It was one thing she shared with her brother - the ability to express a multitude of emotions with a slight change to the curve of her lips.

"Yep."

"You're blushing. Something's up!" Olivia insisted, poking Aradia in the cheeks gently.

"Stop that!"

"Then tell me!" Olivia insisted, poking her lightly in the ribs. "I have been able to tickle-torture things out of you in the past! And I'm evil enough to do it again!"

Oh, this was the sweet distraction she'd so desperately needed.

[Aradia McConnell]

"Okay, okay! No tickling! I'm going out."

Livy arched a brow at her. The answer obviously wasn't satisfactory, and she grabbed at the other woman's side, earning a slight yelp.

"Out?"

"Out!"

She moved in for the kill, and Aradia scrambled back, laughing.

"On a date! Geez!"

Livy's eyebrows shot up, and the pink color in Ari's cheeks deepened a bit. When she spoke again, it was a faint mutter.. but it was loud enough.

"With your brother."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia grinned, then the smile faded. Then it came back, hovered, and finally settled on an expression that was both rueful and amused. "Well, this is awkward," she confessed and Aradia's stomach plummeted until she added, "I'm not sure who gets the 'protective sister' speech."

She crossed her arms and stared at the selections that Aradia had laid out. "So what are you going to be doing?" Aradia may not have been the most girly girl around, but she caught the real question. Olivia was actually asking what she was going to be wearing, couching it in terms of what she would be doing.

The phone buzzed, and Aradia picked it up to see Wakiki had texted back 'CAS'. "Something casual," she said.

"Right." Olivia pointed to a shirt. "That'd be cute with your dark blue jeans. You could belt it with that scarf."

As Aradia considered the suggestion, Olivia suddenly said, "I want him to be happy, but I want the same for you. So... no pressure from me, ok? I can't... I really can't take sides on this." That wasn't true. She was really asking Aradia to not make her pick sides.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia smiled a bit, and shook her head, setting the phone back down and pulling something else out from the closet.

"Hon.. it's our first date. I don't need you to pick sides - I need you to help me pick an outfit. Is it okay if I wear sandals on a date? I've never been on one. A date, I mean."

She smiled, and tried to phrase it so that it seemed that she was just poking a bit of fun at herself. But she was well and truly nervous, and it showed.

"And the shirt's cute, but it's kind of tight. I wear all these tight clothes so I can move around, and now they all look slutty. Oh god, I don't want to look slutty. And I'd kill to stop rambling. Cause I'm totally rambling, aren't I? How did I let your brother talk me into a date? I don't date. Hell, he's the only guy I've ever kissed - and it was illegal at the time."

Ari froze, realizing her slip a moment after she said it, and ran a hand across her face.

"I never told you that, did I?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"No..." To her credit, Olivia wasn't snickering - yet. But it was a close thing, to judge by the smirk on her face. "Let's see... illegal? That would have to have been on the trip. And yeah... you were fourteen. Wow... my brother is a perv!"

At Aradia's outraged expression, Olivia cracked and started to giggle. "I kid! He's only three and a half years old than you. It's not like he was forty." Both women shuddered silently at the thought.

"And hon... seriously, wear sandals if you want," Olivia said gently. "There's no hard and fast rules, beyond the usual 'don't slurp your soup' or 'don't pick your nose'. Just relax, try to have fun. And yeah, that shirt is tight, but it isn't slutty." She grabbed a red one still left on its hanger and held it up. "Now this is slutty." She looked at the way the color infused her skin with warmth and asked, "Say, can I borrow this?"

"Do you want to dress slutty now?" Aradia asked, rapidly turning the tables.

Olivia's cheeks darkened. "Only a little," she admitted.

[Aradia McConnell]

"Well.. Vinny does seem like he'd like a little slutty."

She grinned wickedly at Olivia, then went back to comparing a couple different shirts before finally giving up and putting everything else back into the closet and leaving the outfit Livy had picked. She girl had good taste, after all. After her stuff was put away, she began to rummage around through the jewelry, picking out what accessories to wear.

"So.. you didn't come here to help me pick out clothes. You didn't even know about it. So why did you come?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia's cheeks visibly flushed at Aradia's assessment of her love interest. She cleared her throat and hurriedly replaced the shirt in the closet. "Anyway, this is about you, not me," Olivia quickly said, as Aradia snickered knowingly.

"So... you didn't come here to help me pick out clothes. You didn't even know about it. So why did you come?"

"Um... I need some perspective," she sighed, dropping onto the bed with a bounce. She quickly laid out her encounter with Yseult last night, and the conclusion of the sleepover this morning. "So, um... did I mess up? Is this something I need to talk about with Vinny, I mean he hates talking anyway, but I know he's also pretty jealous and I really don't want to screw this up since we just figured things out again, I mean I kinda told him about the abortion and the attack, so he's got an idea of what I've done... I just doing know, Ari! Tell me what to do."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia listened to Olivia's story patiently, eventually sitting down cross-legged on the bed as the other woman spoke. Finally though, Livy finished, and Aradia just shook her head in mild disbelief.

"Okay.. lemme sum this up, make sure I've got everything straight. You hang out with me at night, who's practically like a sister to you, to try and ease your gut-wrenching nightmares. But I'm not home by the time you want to go to bed, so you ask Yseult to stay with her instead. You talk.. give her advice about her life that doesn't involve you flirting with her in any way, shape, or form, cause the woman's screwed up and needs a friend. You go to sleep.. wake up with your head on her thigh - because she put it there to try and comfort you - and immediately get up and leave because you're uncomfortable about the whole situation. That all sound about right?"

It sounded almost ridiculously innocently when Aradia put it that way, and the younger woman shook her head in amazement before continuing.

"Livy, if there is a thing in that story Vinny would be jealous about, someone needs to stick his head in a toilet and give it a few good flushes. Admittedly, I now find her a little creepy, cause seriously - she hardly knows you and she's going to put your head in her lap and stroke it like a two year old? I think she needs some therapy to deal with losing her family.. and I think you need to work on your blame issues hon - as in, stop blaming yourself for everything. Cause you didn't do anything wrong. Even if you were attracted to her - and face it, you'd have to be God not to - you didn't have any interest in pursuing it. You can't tell me Vinny doesn't check out the occasional piece of ass. With all the super-hotties around here, I'd be surprised if he doesn't check out Steve once in awhile, despite himself. That's just how we're wired. As long as you don't act on it, what the hell does it matter?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Ok, thanks for making me sound ridiculous," Olivia said with a smile, and it took Aradia a moment to realize she was being serious. "No, really, it's good. I'm just so petrified that I'm going to screw up with Vinny that I'm going to need to check myself a lot." She shook her head, rueful. "I'm going to drive myself - and you, half crazy, I swear. I'm just glad Yseult isn't a redhead. So sexy."

Clearing her throat and looking a little embarrassed, Olivia pushed on again. "I'm going to be absolutely crazy by the time that this thing with Vinny solidifies into something permanent or ends forever. And I know it's my fault. I'm just... a little nuts right now."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia smiled back at her, and reached forward, tucking a strand of Olivia's hair out of her face, behind her ear. It was affectionate, but in a sisterly type of way, as was Aradia's expression.

"It's okay. If it means you'll be able to be happy.. or able to move on, with a little more closure than you had before.. either way, I can deal with some crazy. That's what best friends are for, right? Wait - hair.. what color should I do my hair?"

She had that nervous pitch in her voice again, and this time Livy couldn't hold back the giggle.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

When she was done giggling, Olivia sombered a bit and quirked an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you stick to your usual color?" she asked. "I mean, too many changes might make Wakiki suspicious. Of course, he is a man, so no telling what he'll notice." She looked a little concerned as she asked, "Are you sure you'll be ok dating someone whom you can't talk to about this stuff?"

[Aradia McConnell]

Her mouth set firmly, and she turned and studied herself in the mirror.

"You're right, I suppose.. I'll keep it the normal white for now, he'll just think the purple was a temp dye."

She shook her head slightly, and ran her fingers through her hair, turning some of the streaks back to brown, and some to white so that they merely looked bleached. She looked at her reflection for a long moment, then her eyes met Livy's in the mirror, and they were hard, and kind of angry.

"They already took everything from me, Livy. They took away my profession, my friends, in a way my family. I can't tell Dad what's going on. I don't even know what to tell him. I hate lying, and I don't know what other choice I've got. It's only by the grace of God or whatever that you're here, and I've still got you. They're not taking that decision away too."

She turned around and looked at her, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"Doesn't it ever make you feel like a prisoner? I've only been out of observation a week.. and I hate it. I hate it because I know I don't have a choice. I'm stuck here.. no matter what. I dunno, maybe it was cause I was in observation so long. It would be different if I had my freedom, but I'm like.. a prisoner of war now. I can be a prisoner with benefits.. or just a plain old prisoner. Either way.. it sucks."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia stood up and grabbed her arm, pulling her to the bed and forcing her to sit next to her. "Ari, you're right, it does feel like being a prisoner sometimes, and I'm a little more used to it than you. I mean, I was locked into the job at Area 51, just by virtue no one else would have me. It was that or doing something outside of my field."

She sighed as Aradia's head fell onto her shoulder. "I didn't mean to imply that you shouldn't seek happiness. I just worry. Wakiki's already sniffing around more than I like; he hasn't done anything yet, but I can tell he wants to know more, just from what he hints at when we're talking.

"And we are causalities of war," Olivia said softly. "The Goa'uld are at war with us, they're dragging us into all of this crap, maybe before we're ready. But we don't have a choice, not from the moment we got zapped by the Ascension Device.

"I can tell it's different for Vinny and Damien. They signed on to be warriors, then signed on again for this war. Neither of us asked for this, and it's natural to feel trapped. But I'm not going to let the Goa'uld make me fee like that."

Aradia blinked up at her friend. She hadn't heard that kind of fire in Olivia's voice in years. "I'm choosing to fight, to add what little contribution I can make. I'm ignoring the fact that I don't have much of a choice, because it's not helping. This war needs to be fought, and it needs us. We can't deny our homeworld our protection." She laughed a little, breaking the mood a bit as she added, "Or in my case, my noggin."

[Aradia McConnell]

She shrugged a little, but offered the other woman a slight smile. Then she flopped back onto the bed with a sigh, and placed her arms behind her head, staring at the ceiling for a minute.

"Of course he wants to know more. He worries about you, Livy. So did I, for a long time. I still do, and only less so because I know more about what's going on now. And he's not an idiot - he knows weird shit is going on. How can he not? I mean - look at us? You introduced him to Declan, with his creepy eyes? And your boss, the demi-god? And Gwyn, who apparently never sleeps? Yeah, Waki notices all that shit. And yeah, he asked me. And I told him I can't talk about it. What else can I tell him? At least my thing isn't obvious, you know? Unless I start acting stupid."

She sighed, sitting up and looking down at her hands, rubbing one with the other where she could still feel the slight bruising from beating on the post the night before. She had let slip more then than she should have, too.

"Maybe you're right.. maybe I should just cancel this whole thing. I mean.. even if I could be okay with it, it's probably not fair to him to know something's going on, and not know what it is. Then again, it's not gonna be any different if I don't. Damnit.. this really sucks."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia winced at the mention of Declan. "That was more for Dec's peace of mind than my brother's." She looked down at Aradia for a moment and sighed. "Maybe you should cancel, but honestly, one thing I've figured out in this whole mess is that no one's going to give you happiness. You have to find and make it for yourself. And that's never easy to do, no matter the circumstances. Besides, he already knows that something's up, you said it yourself." She shrugged. "So long as he respects your need for privacy, I think things will be ok."

She sighed. "I wasn't thinking. I'm doing knee-jerk reactions again, because I care about both of you. You may not be able to confide everything in him, but you'll always have me."

[Aradia McConnell]

"Maybe I should tell him it's like dating a spy. Like True Lies or somethin'. There's just some things you don't get to know, until you accidentally get involved in a terrorist plot and my identity is revealed."

She glanced at Livy playfully, her lips twitching in amusement.

"Although I think if I ever compared Waki to Jamie Lee Curtis to his face, he'd shit a brick."

Suddenly, her eyes fell on the clock, and she jumped up, grabbing for the outfit she'd picked out.

"Hell, I've gotta get ready, I've gotta get down to the gate by eight so he can pick me up, and it's almost seven now." She turned to Livy, the corner of her lips twisting up in a smile. "Don't worry - I'll play nice."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"No offense, hon, but I really don't want to know how you and my brother 'play'," Olivia said with a grin, then shrieked as Aradia threw a pillow at her. Giggling, she dashed to the door, laughing and ordering, "Have fun tonight, Ari."

Then she ducked out the door to leave Aradia in peace.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia grabbed the red shirt Livy had been admiring, and followed her out the hallway.

"Hey - don't forget this."

She winked playfully, and tossed her the shirt. Then she ducked back into her room and got dressed. She took Livy's advice on the outfit, pairing the new dark blue boot-cut jeans with the burgandy-colored shirt. The sleeves were three-quarter sleeves, so she pushed them up to her elbows, and then slipped on a few different red and cream colored bracelets and a pair of cream-colored strappy sandals.

Ah, flats.. much more my style than the heels from yesterday!

She finished the outfit by threading the cream and red patterned scarf through her belt loops, and knotting it. A quick glance at her hair in the mirror, and she shifted it to a nice loose curl, saving herself an hour with a curling iron. She willed her nails to appear with a coat of matching dark red polish, and then spent the rest of the time before she had to leave on makeup. It had been a long time since she'd done dark, smoky eyes and it took a couple tries. She kept the rest natural looking with a quick swipe of lip gloss and a very faint sprinkle of blush before she grabbed her purse and left.

By the time she made it to the gate it was seven minutes till, so she settled on leaning up against the gatehouse, chatting with the guard while she waited on Wakiki to show.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki had traded cars today. He'd only get one first date, so he'd gone back to the rental agency and gotten a much nicer car. The cherry red convertible made him miss the three weeks he'd been in San Diego, where convertible were practically required by law. It had cost him more money, but it was worth every dime to see the look on Aradia's face. He was glad to see she'd dressed sensibly and was a good match for his jeans and button-down shirt.

He pulled in and hopped out, coming around to get the door for her. As the Airmen guarding the gate watched with envy, Wakiki gave them a nod and a mock salute, touching just his finger to his forehead before snapping it away. After his date was in her seat, he hurried back around and pulled away, eager to get away from the place that was kidnapping and experimenting on his sister and Aradia. "Hope you're not super-hungry," he said, looking at her. "If you are, there's a couple of granola bars in the back seat. Dinner will be a bit."

[Aradia McConnell]

She climbed into the car, waving politely at the two Airmen as they pulled away. At his mention of food, and the upcoming delay, she dropped her seat back and twisted around, reaching for the granola bars that had slid behind his seat.

"I'm totally taking you up on that - I didn't know if we were eating or what, so I haven't eaten since about eleven, and I'm starving."

She sat back up, shifting the seat with her, and began to unwrap one of the two bars she'd grabbed.

"Nice car, by the way.. your rental time run out on the old one, or is this just for me?"

She flashed him a little grin, and offered the unwrapped granola bar to him as he drove.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki had sudden trouble steering as Aradia's lunge for food gave him a short show. Making a note to always stash food behind his seat, he focused on her question. "Yeah, I needed a carriage appropriate for my lady," he said with a grin, his tone making it lighter and more humorous than it might have been perceived.

Instead of turning east into Colorado Springs, he went the other way, heading west into the mountains. As Aradia looked questioningly at him, Wakiki just gave her a beaming smile. She wasn't sure if she should trust that look, but she choose to let it go for now. He wanted to be mysterious, so she'd let him.

They began to talk, and for the first time ever, they didn't have Livy there - literally or figuratively - to talk about. The conversation was about them - their lives and aspirations, the job that Wakiki was hoping to get and Aradia's improvements on the parallel bars.

Finally, Wakiki turned off the highway and drove about a mile to a dirt road. A sign next to it proclaimed that they had arrived at Anne's Icebox. Wakiki parked on the gravel lot, then got her door. "So what's Anne's Icebox?" she inquired.

"A cave system. You get a guided tour, then they have a grotto that's semi-open to the sky, where they serve dinner," Wakiki told her, smiling. "One of the secretaries I talked to today told me about it. Oh, sorry - 'Administrative Assistant'. They also have a panning station, where you can 'pan' for valuable minerals. It's for the kids, but the adults seem to love it too." As they walked up the path to the cave, he looked at her, trying to judge if she was amused or bored by the concept.

[Aradia McConnell]

"How cool is that?!" She grinned happily, then stopped, and motioned back to the car. "Wait, this totally sounds like a purse-free endeavor. Pop the trunk, would ya?"

She pulled her wallet out from her purse and tucked it into the back pocket of her jeans, then tossed the purse into the trunk he had popped open for her with the trunk release button on the rental keybob. She closed it, glad she had gone with her instincts and chosen to wear the flat sandals instead of a pair of heels. Then she hurried back over to him, and smiled.

"Okay.. ready to go! Maybe if we find anything good at the panning station, I can try and turn it into jewelry or something."

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"That's a thought," he said. He already knew what he was going to do if he found anything. Having something he'd found on their first date set into bit of jewelry would probably be considered romantic. It had all the right tones: nostalgia, planning, thoughtfulness and that personal touch that Delayah had once told him made girls melt into their panties. Though she'd actually said "will melt their hearts," even at sixteen, Wakiki knew what that ultimately meant for him.

He led her inside, offering his arm to her. He hoped coming late at night would avoid a lot of kids, and to judge by the group gathering, he was right. This was going to be fun.

[Aradia McConnell]

She took his arm, and let him lead her inside. The tour was first of course, because you had to travel through the cave system in order to get to the grotto. As Wakiki had hoped, once the small group was together it was mostly composed of adults, with only one woman who had brought her two children - a boy around and and what looked to be a toddler probably no older than two or three. But there wasn't any real climbing involved, and since it was a walking tour there was no age limit, as long as your kid didn't have to be in a stroller.

Aradia murmured something quietly about people who dragged their kids out into the middle of nowhere this late at night, but was otherwise in excellent spirits, and at least the kids appeared to be quiet.

The guide, whose nametag said "Josephine" but who introduced herself as "Jo", led them into the cave system and started the walking tour. The cave formations were beautiful, and Wakiki and Aradia ended up a little bit ahead of the official tour so that they could enjoy the atmosphere and the natural beauty of the caves without so many of the murmuring and "ooh"-ing of the others that were there. The paths were twisted and curved, and it was easy to lose all sense of direction down underneath the earth. It was fairly quiet, with only the faint speaking of the tour guide who was leading them down.

Eventually, they reached the path that led down to the dining grotto area. It circled around like something out of a dwarven city in a fantasy story, where you could lean over part of the rock and see down to where the dining was below, and the sky-lit area above shone the moon down onto the dining patrons. Aradia walked over to the ledge, and leaned over it, looking down into the area. It was probably about the equivalent of a three-story drop, and they could hear most of the rest of the party on the ramp about a story-worth of distance above them, talking.

"Wakiki, look at this - isn't it beautiful? This place is gorgeous, I love it here.."

She was leaning, as she had a tendency to do, precariously far over the edge.. at least in Wakiki's opinion. He felt like he was on that balcony in Vegas all over again, and could feel the same twist of fear as he watched her watching the people below.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

While Wakiki remembered the outcome of the last time he'd snatched this girl off the edge of something - a kiss - he also remembered the steps preceding it. This time, he hoped to get the kiss without the goose egg, and he reached out and caught her hand. "I know you're ok," he said softly, "but I'm about to have a heart attack. Let's ease into destroying me, ok? Plenty of time for you to reduce me into a shell of a man later."

Laughing, Aradia let him pull her back. "I'm fine, really," she insisted.

Wakiki nodded, still working on how to get that kiss while he answered, "I never doubted you, only my heart's ability to keep ticking." He put her hand to his chest. "See? Erratic beat."

"Feels fine to me," she grinned, then pulled back from him and started down to the restaurant.

"Drat," he muttered to himself, consoling himself with the hopes of a kiss later. However, he was starting to get the feeling that Aradia moved at a different pace than he did, and he reminded himself to be patient.

Little did he knew she was about to decimate that patience.

[Aradia McConnell]

They only made it a few more feet down the ramp though before they heard something that made even Wakiki peer over the edge hesitantly... and up this time, instead of down. The young mother with the group had somehow let her toddler get away from her, and they could hear her yelling at the little girl to get down. Unlike Wakiki though, this woman had never had the experience of grabbing someone off a ledge, or just what could happen if you tried it too fast. She snatched for her toddler’s arm to pull her down.

The rest seemed to happen in slow motion, with a wave of horror washing over Wakiki as he watched something go down that he was helpless to control. The little girl sidestepped her mother, losing her footing and falling backwards. He could hear the scream of the young woman mingle with the shriek of terror from the small child.

And then, before he could respond, or even react, Aradia sprung into action, leaping over the edge of the precipice. She dropped straight at first, almost like a swan dive, using the lack of resistance to catch up to the kid. She reached out and grabbed onto one of the little girls hands, like a fellow trapeze artist, and pulled her close before flipping around, trying to slow their fall. He could feel his mind recoil as he waited for the sickening crunch of bone as it hit the rock floor.

It never came. Her movements were almost perfect, better than he remembered from the show, even with the toddler clutched in her arms. She seemed to use the air resistance to slow the fall, gaining them a second or two. And then as she reached the bottom she twisted around, catching on to a ledge that jutted out a little farther than the rest. He could see a flicker of pain flash across her face and she almost immediately let go, but it was enough. They hit the ground slower, and Aradia managed to pull the little girl with her into a roll to dissipate the force of the landing.

Slowly, she sat up, careful not to move the little girl too much. Wakiki could see her shaking a little from the shock, but other than that, she seemed okay. It was unreal. No human – not even an Olympic quality gymnast – should have been able to make that jump and not get hurt. Especially not without preparing for it. She had just launched herself at the kid without even thinking. It was surreal, and his mind struggled to grasp the reality of it.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

There was a moment of shock, then two voices broke the surreal silence. The first was the mother, who wailed, "Tyra!" and set off the second voice, an answering wail from her child. The spell was broken and several people hurried over to check on the dazed specialist and her screaming armful. Wakiki himself ran down the ramp at speeds faster than he would have taken normally, and he was among the earliest to crouch next to her.

"My god," he said, staring at her, his dark eyes wide with a wild mixture of emotions. Before she could respond, he grabbed her and hugged her tight. "You scared the fuck out of me." He pulled back and was the first - but far from the last - to ask her, "How did you do that?"

He didn't ask what he really wanted to know, which was, "How long as the fucking military been working on turning you and my sister into super-soldiers?"

"No one move!" A portly man came over. "I'm having my assistant manager call the authorities. No one move them until the ambulance gets here."

[Aradia McConnell]

She looked around a little dazed, and shook her head to clear it, focusing on Wakiki for a second. She had a guilty look in her eyes, and he knew that she knew exactly what he was really thinking. She finally glanced away from him for a second though when she heard the employee talking about an ambulance.

"No, no you don't have to do that. I'm fine, I promise - I'm a circus performer, a trapeze artist. If I didn't hurt, she didn't get hurt. I know how to fall. And other than my hand, I'm okay. The ledge broke the impact.. I swear."

She looked down at the little girl in her arms, and tried to shush her a little, and calm her down.

"Shh.. it's okay, sweetie, just.. calm down, your Mom's right here, okay?"

She looked up at the mother, hoping the woman would take the screaming child from her arms.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Please, just everyone wait," the man said, sweating already. "Everyone clear back and give them room." The crowds were moved away, save for Wakiki and the mom and two siblings, who were watching the drama with wide-eyed fascination. Over the manager's objection, the woman took her child, too overwrought to even thank Aradia.

When Aradia tried to get up, Wakiki stopped her. "Oh, no... you're staying right here," he told her, holding her gently. He sat down, positioning himself so she could lean back against him. "The penalty for scaring me like that is to submit to an exam. At the least, you need to have that hand bandaged. And," he added more seriously, "when the shock wears off and you realize you've broken something crucial, like your SPINE, I'd rather you be sitting down and close to the floor."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia sighed, her face turning a little pink, but she gave in and waited, leaning against him. Fortunately it didn't take too long for an ambulance to arrive, since they weren't too far from a largish-sized town with not much going on. The EMTs came in, and after Aradia steadfastly refused a neck brace or to be taken to the hospital, they finally cleaned and bandaged her hand, and tried one last time to talk her into going to the hospital for X-Rays. She shook her head, smile gratefully at them, and assured them that she was fine, and that she was with the military, and would go to the doctors on base tomorrow to get a physical, just in case.

The EMT's did manage to talk the mother into having her little girl examined, just in case, and they drove off with their little patient, leaving Wakiki and Aradia at the restaurant and under the gentle care of the attending host.

The assistant manager had arrived early on, watching the whole situation with wringing hands. Afraid of a lawsuit, he bent over backwards trying to help them. Finally, Aradia put her foot down.

"Look - I appreciate it. But if you really want to help, you can find us a nice, quiet table in the corner, where we won't notice people staring at me, so we can have dinner. Okay?"

The assistant manager, who introduced himself as Jacob, nodded with relief at her apparent dismissal of the whole situation, and led them over personally to a quiet table with a beautiful view of the sky overhead - not that most of the seats didn't have the same stunning view. But this one wasn't in the middle of the crowd, and sure enough, after a few minutes and their drink orders were taken, people finally turned back to their own meals and conversations, and forgot to stare anymore.

She looked up at Wakiki a bit guiltily, and offered a weak smile.

"Did I ruin our date?"

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Ruin?" Wakiki stopped his casual examination of his silverware. "Ruin? Aradia, I'm sure that a child splattered across the floor of the restaurant we were about to eat in would have been worse. Honestly, you made it interesting, and not in the way that Livy usually makes things interesting. I love her, but she's a walking disaster zone. Now I have an interesting story to tell people - 'Hey, did you guys know I date a super hero? She can leap off the edge of rock faces to rescue babies.' Ari, I'll be the man!"

"You? But I'm the hero," Aradia asked.

Wakiki shrugged. "But I'd be the one-" don't say bagging "-dating you. That's a kind of prestige." His smile faded and he grew serious. "Really, you didn't do anything wrong."

[Aradia McConnell]

She relented, and shook her head a little, looking amused.

"I know I didn't do anything wrong.."

Except for put on a display of my abilities in a public place - way to go, McConnell. The brass is gonna be thrilled.

"...I just don't want weird. But as long as we're not weird, I suppose I won't say anything about you twisting this to somehow feed your ego."

She grinned mischievously at him as the waiter stepped up to their table with a loaf of rye and an ordering pad. After he had jotted down their orders, Wakiki took the knife and started to cut the warm bread into slices as Aradia watched.

"I am sorry I almost gave you a heart attack. That would've have made for a very fun first date, huh? And what on earth would I have said to Livy - she never would've forgiven me!"

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"We might be weird," Wakiki said softly, then waved his hands at the look on her face. "I don't think we mean the same thing by weird. Weird is good. I mean, fuck... I grew up in Tokyo and Berkeley. Weird is normal, completely normal. I like weird."

He sighed. "Don't worry about what you would have said to Livy - Delayah's the one that would have skinned you verbally." He shook his head. "For a woman who didn't birth me, and whom I said some really bad things about once, she sure is protective. Mother - Nashi, would likely take it with Japanese stoicism; Mom would have ripped into you for causing my death." He grinned at her, clearly pleased at his step-mother's affection.

[Aradia McConnell]

She laughed softly, and nodded her assent, grinning back at him.

"From what I know of Delayah, you're probably right. She'd be a tough lady to go up against, too. No doubt I would have joined you in the afterlife within moments of the confrontation. How is she doing, anyway.. and your Dad? I haven't had a chance to talk to Livy much about them yet..."

The meal continued as such, with casual conversation and playful banter exchanged easily over char-grilled specialties. Aradia didn't dodge conversation about what happened, per se, but she didn't appear very eager to talk about it either, instead turning the conversation around to topics she knew she could distract him with. She quizzed him about his music, and what he sang about in his rap songs, and demanded a CD.

They panned for gems and precious metals afterward the meal was finished, and were lucky enough to have the panning area mostly to themselves for a little while. Sure enough, Waki found something he was able to stow away without Ari's knowledge that he thought she would like later, and Aradia managed to gather enough random, pretty colored stones to make into a bracelet before they finally quit. By the time they left through a side exit, which was a shorter way out than the winding path in, and only a brief walk to the parking lot, the air was cool and breezy. The sun had still been a faint presence when they'd gone inside, but now night ruled, though the sky was clear with an almost full-moon. It was perfect, romantic, and sexy.. and Aradia was in a great mood. Wakiki couldn't hope for a better opportunity for that kiss.. if he could just manage to get past her teasing defenses.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki enjoyed dinner, even if this was just supposed to be the boring part, the part that he, as the man, tolerated to get to the prize after dinner. Knowing that there wouldn't be a prize normally wouldn't help him get through dinner. But talking was all he'd ever done with Ari, really, and that made it easier to not only focus on the conversation, but perhaps even enjoy it a bit. There had to be some reason he wasn't bored stiff throughout.

The Wakiki from the previous timeline would have known why, but he'd been erased as surely as his kids. This Wakiki was less mature; the potential of the man he could be instead of the realization. He had some growing up to do, but he'd already done some; it was just a matter of time and the right experiences.

But none of that was on his mind as they headed for the car. On the walk to the car he was preoccupied with what he wanted from her, but nothing seemed right. Finally he gave up. No, not on the kiss itself, but being sneaky about it. So he held the door for her, then leaned against it when he closed it. "I would like to kiss you. That ok?" he asked gently.

[Aradia McConnell]

She looked up at him in surprise.. not necessarily because he wanted a kiss, but because he had been so simple and honest about it. It was so different from all the smooth-talkers and their one-liners. She'd had men try to pick her up twenty ways till Sunday, and she'd turned them all down. But this was Wakiki.. and she'd already kissed him once.. and damnit, he'd just.. asked. Slowly, the one corner of her mouth lifted in a little smile.

"Yeah.. that would be.. I'd like that."

She bit her lip just a little without thinking about it, and it was innocently sexy, in a way he'd never really pictured Aradia being but couldn't help being drawn to nonetheless.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki smiled, leaning against the door to disguise the fact that some parts of his body had decided that yes to a kiss meant yes to other things. Despite her willingness to kiss him, Wakiki was pretty sure that was the limit to her willingness - tonight at least.

He took her hands and tugged on them until he'd cajoled her to kneel on the seat of the car, which put them closer to the same height. Leaving a lazy smile on his face, he slipped his hands up her arms, to her shoulders. He took his time, not wanting to spook her and withdraw permission. Wakiki's hands slipped behind her shoulders, drawing her close as he tipped his head to the side. With a patience he didn't feel, he kissed her lightly. When she didn't pull back, he became a little more aggressive, but still gentle.