Aberrant: Stargate Universe - The Further You Run... [FIN]

[The Red Man]

"That's... perfect." Dec looked down at her, then further down, then back up, then gave Kyria a smile that was equal parts enchanted and dazed. The hand he had around her felt the fabric of the overshirt, inadvertently brushing against the warm skin underneath. "You look amazing. I mean, you always look great, but wow. Just... wow, Kyria."

Wow. Kyria. On my bed. In lingerie. Cuddling. Play it cool. No whooping. Make sure you don't stare... scratch that, just don't stare too much. She likes to be noticed, remember? He took a deep breath and turned a little towards her, hand trembling a little as he brought it up and brushed his fingertips through Kyria's hair.

"Y'know..." he said quietly as he studied her pale beauty from a foot away. "There's a lot of good stuff that came along with my turning into a nova. There's the bein' a superman part, which is cool. There's the friends I've made in SG-21, the healing I've been through thanks mainly to them. There's some tough parts too, but it's mainly been positive, you know? I've been moving forwards." He looked into her blue eyes, his tone soft. "The first good thing I noticed was right after we were rescued from that facility. I was freaked out. There were soldiers all around with guns, I had a weapon in my hand and was calculatin' how to kill my way out of there, whether I wanted to or not."

"And then you were there. You took away the pain with a touch and made me feel like somethin' other than a weapon again. Then you came by and dragged me down to the gym for that sparring session. I think I got a crush on you then. You've no idea how disappointed I was we weren't on the same team..." He smiled, a little sheepish. "Well, until I realised that bein' on the same team would mean no chance of something like this ever happenin', even in my dreams."

[z028 Riley]

She smiled contentedly at the feel of his fingers slipping through her hair and pulled away only to set the magazine back on the end table, pull the sheets over them, and slide back up against him. On one hand, this meant that most of the lacy lingere was now out of sight, on the other hand, it also meant that what couldn't been seen could now be felt.

She laid her head on his shoulder, "You're doing a lot better than you were then, even with Red around now. So am I, honestly. I was pretty upset when we first got here and didn't have any idea what I was going to do with myself. I mean, barring murder or a major and freakish accident, I'm immortal. I've got literally until the end of time, and from what I've seen of where that goes with novas, boredom this young is not a good thing. but with the rest of you around, it makes it interesting. And being able to help out is also nice." She grinned up at him, "And you're nice, so that helps too."

The impishness entered her look again, "I have a question. Just an odd idea. If you could go anywhere with the Stargate, where would you go? Hmnn....anywhere other than Earth. What are the interesting places in the galaxy? All we ever seem to get to see are war zones."

[The Red Man]

He pondered the question while laying back, his hand absently stroking out locks of her red hair over his chest as his brow furrowed very slightly in concentration. He felt more peaceful and settled than he thought he would with a mind-bogglingly gorgeous woman in bed with him, and that thought sparked a smile and a sideways glance at her.

"There was a time when I wanted to go off someplace with no sentient life around. Some wilderness planet with plenty of wild game and edible flora, you know? Someplace where I could just lose myself in a daily struggle for life's essentials and not have to deal with all the shit of being, well, me. But that was before." He squeezed Kyria reassuringly, his hand stroking her side through the lace of her overshirt. "Now? I think I'd still like to go to some wild place. Somewhere beautiful and unspoiled." Like you he thought as his gaze travelled over Kyria's features, marvelling at the contrast between her skin and lips. Especially her lips. He got distracted for a moment, wondering what it would feel like to-. Concentrate, dude. "Uh... So I'd basically like to go hiking on somewhere as close to paradise as I can find. Of course, I've got no idea where this planet is, but I'm figuring there's at least a couple dozen out there that fit the bill." He finished with a smile.

[z028 Riley]

"Mmm, that would be nice. Maybe...second date?" He could hear the smile in her tone and feel the bruch of her eyelashes as she closed her eyes. "Me, I read in one of the files of what happened with the Russian Stargate. They went to this planet where the Stargate was submerged in what they thought was water. But it wasn't, at least not completely. It was alive, probably many alives. I kinda want to go there, to see if I could communicate with them and what they were like. Since I don't have to breath and can handle the water pressure, it'd be interesting. I could just swim out and swim back. That or finding some cache of Ancient technology that they'd actually let me tinker around with and figure out. I've been such a communciations person, I haven't gotten around to seeing what I can do to help update the tech here. And a lot of the Ancient stuff is pretty on par or advanced from what I knew, anyways."

She glanced back up at him, "Your turn. Except I'm supposed to let you get to sleep, aren't I?" Her expression was an attempt at contrition.

[The Red Man]

He gave an exaggerated snort of dismissal. "Sleep? Pssh!" Kyria giggled lightly as he smiled at her. "Sweetness, if I managed to get to sleep right now, every straight guy on the base would make me hand in my 'Hetero-Man Club' membership card. I'll be fine with a few hours sack-time. Haven't slept a full eight since I changed."

"So." he began, his expression taking on a slyly curious cast. "How exactly does a mental relationship work? Did you guys ever cuddle or make out? I'm askin' because when you told me about that I got a vision of the two of you sitting across the room from each other thinkin' sexy thoughts."

[z028 Riley]

She pursed her lips, her eyes staring off somewhere impossibly far away. "Well, that was a lot of it, though it really doesn't....here."

She reached up and placed his free hand on her cheek, then gently guided him down her neck and to her color bone. At the same time he felt an odd sensation in his mind: he could feel himself touching her but he could also feel being touched, like two mirrors facing each other. The feeling echoed back and forth between them as they felt the other person feeling the other person feeling and back and forth until it faded out like the last sounds of a singing prayer bowl.

She looked up at him, her eyes a turbulant cerulean, "Like that....only more so."

[The Red Man]

"Whoa." Dec blinked as the sensations faded away. It had been strangely compelling, that echoing touch sensation making his nerves tingle. He looked down into her eyes. "So there was never anything physical? Like this," he gave her a light squeeze with the arm around her "Or, uh, making out?" he said a little more quietly.

[z028 Riley]

She laughed, a silver and coquettish sound. "Declan, even if Cody was that far gone, hmmm....that mental, I certainly am not." She ran her own hand over his chest, pressing just enough that he could feel it through the fabric of his shirt.

"It was...tangled, but it was as physical as it was cerebral. Well, at least it was physical and cerebral. Cody's idea of 'making out' usually was from across the room." She laughed again, more quietly to herself, "If nothing else, Declan, we novas still have instincts. And hormones. Usually lots of those."

Her giggling and blushing had her looking much too young again for a 30's-something man, but the feel of her body pressed up against him and shaking for laughter was lobbying a very pursasive argument for not caring.

[The Red Man]

"That's good to know." Dec said, and before he could talk himself out of it he leaned close and kissed the giggling young woman as he had wanted to for, it seemed now, far too long.

She didn't seem too surprised, her eyes widening only a little before half-closing as her slender arms went around his neck and shoulders. Dec felt her relax into his kiss and sighed himself, wrapping both arms around Kyria gently, holding her close. The kiss was more than burning desire: it always had been where his feelings about Kyria were concerned. The desire was there, most certainly, but there was protectiveness also, mixed with deep respect. There was playfulness mingled with something that was almost, but not-quite-reverence. Dec placed her on a pedestal, but yet fully appreciated that Kyria was no distant cold icon, but real. All of the feelings and thoughts that Dec could not articulate, that he'd second-guessed himself on before, came pouring from his lips to hers like sweet fiery electrical current.

It was a kiss with a lot to say for itself.

[z028 Riley]

Kyria kissed him back with all the practice and ardor of an eighteen year old girl. Cody hadn't been the kind for courtship or evenings looking at sexy magazines and talking about lingerie; there'd been great things about him and great exhilarations being with him, but this was different. She learned as Declan kissed her; she tried to return his passion and intensity, holding on to the kiss with the infinite patience of someone for whom breathing was optional.

After Declan finally pulled back to prevent his own asphyxiation, she smiled at him and marveled at how she could feel so relaxed and safe and also almost overwhelmingly nervous. She nuzzled at his neck, giving him time to recover, and commented, "I really don't think I'm helping you get to sleep."

[The Red Man]

It was amazing how long a kiss could go on when one didn't have to breathe and the other had a highly-streamlined respiratory system that could go without breath for a longer time than humanly possible. Dec was breathless for more reasons than just the one as he finally (and reluctantly) broke the kiss. His heart was currently ba-BOOMing like a rapid kettle drum and his chest heaved a little as he took a few deep breaths.

"Yeah... Maybe you're not helping me sleep." His smile was ear-to-ear, making the usually grimly taciturn features seem younger. He kissed her shoulder softly as she nuzzled at his neck, his hands gently exploring her back as though she were made of delicate china. "But havin' you take my breath away is worth a bit of lost sleep, and I don't care how many 'tough guy rules' I'm breakin' to say it."

He relaxed a little, his forehead to hers as he looked at her eyes. "If we didn't have somethin' big tomorrow..." he smiled "I'd say 'To hell with sleep, let's go for some Thai and a late-night movie.' But we do."

[z028 Riley]

She nodded reluctantly and snuggled in again with her back to his side, a move she hoped would deter her from further explorations that would keep him awake. She pulled his free arm over her and caught his hand between her smaller ones.

"Alright. Sleepy time for you." She deftly snagged one of her books from the nightstand, but didn't open it just yet. She had the rest of the night to read if she got bored enough, for now she was content to stroke his hand and listen to his breathing until he fell asleep.

[The Red Man]

He nodded his reluctant agreement, and Kyria felt Dec curl up against her, his breath warm on her back as he closed his eyes. For his part, Dec doubted he'd be able to sleep easily. After all, there was Kyria in lingerie snuggled up against him. He could feel the contours of her body molding gently against his, her hands lightly brushing over his fingers. It beat the hell out of surreal dreams of past battles and old friends long dead. Who the hell would be able to sleep with...

The thought went unfinished. The combination of happiness and Kyria's comforting presence there beside him combined with the seasoned soldier's ability to sleep anywhere, anytime, was better than chloroform. Dec fell asleep almost instantly.

He didn't dream.