Aberrant: Stargate Universe - By The Way... [Mature] {FIN}

[The Red Man]

"A bit of a cheat? Girl, that's the cheat. That's like askin' a dude what he wants for his birthday." Dec's chuckle stole the accusatory tone from his words. Still grinning, he reached forward with the hand Kyria had kissed and gently brushed his fingertips over her cheek and jaw, feeling her smooth, pale skin under his calloused hands. He marvelled at how warm she was, the mixture of softness and strength.

"Well, there's one thing I haven't told you yet. I'm the luckiest guy in this or any other world." His smile softened, a strange expression on his rugged features as he cupped her cheek with his palm. "Because you're here with me, Kyria." His eyes met hers over the shades, holding her blue, blue gaze for a long moment that the hard-bitten man was mildly surprised to realise he didn't want to end.

[z028 Riley]

She flushed a deep red, knowing that the line was a little corny but absolutely heartfelt. The moment stretched and finally hit the breaking point when a waiter (surprisingly not the manager this time) came to refill their drinks. They'd gone through enough food for a table of four and knew that they could keep the pace up for the next several hours if they chose; the waiter would have fainted if he knew the amount of food (and the attendant bill and percentage gratuity) the compelling and frightening couple could rack up if they chose to indulge their appetites to satiety.

The two pulled apart as the world intruded again, though Kyria's smile never faded. "Well, we might be at the end of the question and answer phase, then, unless you've got other things you want to ask me?" Her eyes tracked every move he made, as if he were still touching her.

[The Red Man]

"Nothin' that won't keep for a few." he grinned, feeling a little foolish but absolutely wonderful in that moment. Who the fuck needs beer, with a buzz like this? he asked himself absently. Unlike most people, unfortunately, when Dec asked himself question he got answers.

*Shit, that line was totally cornball. I'm pukin' in my popcorn back here.*

*Aww, shaddup. Like you're such a freakin' expert.* Luckily, not even Red's grumpy peanut gallery commentary could spoil Declan's mood right now. He glanced away from Kyria long enough to sneak a peek at his watch, then grinned.

"We're gettin' close to time. Want to take a walk up to the amphitheatre?" he asked. At Kyria's nod, he called over the waiter and paid the bill, leaving a generous enough gratuity that, weird scary vibe or not, the waiter was smiling when they left. Of course, that might just be relief that the creepy guy was out of the restaurant, but the tip couldn't have hurt. As they exited the place Dec pondered taking Kyria's hand, only to have his indecision cut short as the redheaded beauty took his with a faintly proprietary air and a mischievous smile. That threw Dec off his stride for a moment: had she read his mind? Kyria took one look at his bemused expression and broke into a fit of giggles.

"No, I didn't read your mind." she said after recovering, a hint of silvery laughter still bubbling in her voice. "One of the nicer things about you is your openness. A girl never needs to wonder where she stands, as long as she has eyes." she teased gently.

"Ah." Dec wittily replied, trying not to blush and mostly succeeding. Of course, 'mostly' only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades as his old sergeant used to say, and Kyria naturally noticed the faint flush on his neck, which was good for another giggle and an impulsive kiss on his cheek. Trying to break the not-unpleasant cycle of embarrassment, Dec turned and stole the next kiss direct from her lips, his strong hands sliding around her slender waist and lifting her a few inches off the sidewalk, her feet dangling gracefully. Kyria's faint squeak of surprise became a sigh, her arms coming up to wrap around his broad shoulders. After a long moment, during which a number of pedestrians passed them on the sidewalk, Kyria felt herself being lowered gently to the ground again before Dec broke the kiss.

"Well." he said with a grin hovering around his lips. "We'd better get to the concert. We've got time to walk it, and it's a nice evenin' for walking." Taking her hand again, they set off once more.

[z028 Riley]

She squeaked adorably into the kiss when he picked her up, completely at ease with how easily he could handle her like that. She squeezed his hand happily as they walked, taking in the sights of the city. She'd been to a few cities before, but nothing quite so large and full of baselines as this one. She drank it in, her head turning as they walked to catch all the different flavors of shops and people. "So, what do we do at a concert? I mean, I know we listen to music, but is there anything else we do to?"

The afternoon has turned into a balmy Californian evening, the light breeze and lazy last sunbeams painting their walk into a pleasant stroll towards the amphitheatre. And everywhere they went, the people stopped to stare. Stares of amazement, envy, lust, even awe followed them both. Kyria ignored it as she usually did, even as she watched the people in return. Declan couldn't tell if it was innocence, different cultural standards, or just a very specific sort of racism, but even though she watched the humans in the city it was obvious from when she looked at him, he was the only one she really saw.

[The Red Man]

"Well... you listen to music, you drink a bit, dance a lot, have a blast, get a little silly and sing along. It's basically like a party with live music, only where everyone's there to see the band first and to party second." he replied with a grin. "You'll see. These guys always have good energy at their gigs."

Dec was enjoying the walk despite the stares... or maybe even because of them. He knew they weren't looking at him, but that wasn't a problem. An undeniably primitive male part of him took a great deal of pride in noting the stares the girl holding his hand was drawing... and was quietly exulting in them. It wasn't dominating his thoughts, mind. No, there was Kyria's hand in his, their conversation, the smile on her lips, the faint anticipation of the concert and hoping she would enjoy it. But as they arrived at the gates, as they queued to get in, as he waved their tickets at the guy on the gate, and as he wove himself and Kyria through the gathering crowd in the amphitheatre, first to grab a soda each, and then to the spot he picked out on entering, it was there, under all the other sensations and synapses:

Yeah, yeah, thats right: she's smart, smokin', able to read minds and she's with ME, people.

[z028 Riley]

The concert scene was new to Kyria. She'd melded all the minds of the human race together once in order to find and fend off hostile aliens....but, there were so many people here! She kept a tight grip on Declan's hand, tight enough that he not been who and what he was, she'd've probably broken a bone or two. When they settled into their spot, the concert-goes began playing a game of tug-of-war with the inhuman couple: men (and a fair number of women) would try to get close to Kyria, but Declan's sheer presence was a force pushing at their hind-brains to run.

Fear and sex. One of the most powerful combinations on the planet.

[The Red Man]

Dec was struggling a little in the crowd, and privately noted that he owed Livy and Gwyn big for the 'training exercises' they'd taken him on before - going to the Citadel mall in Colorado Springs, going out for a burger n' beer or a pizza in a crowded restaurant, and other pleasure outings designed to help him deal with the sensation of being surrounded by potential threats that in fact weren't. Fortunately, the opening act was not long before starting.

The opening notes of "Everlong" had an effect similar to a thrown switch, the crowd's noise rising by several orders of magnitude into a wild cheer of recognition and acclaim. All around the nova couple people were jumping up and down, arms raised as though in invocation, yelling at the top of their voices as the heavy drum beat followed the guitar, then the song started for real. Dec grinned at Kyria from behind his sunglasses.

"Pretty wild, huh?" He shouted, leaning close so as to be heard. Kyria was wide-eyed as she looked at the baselines-gone-wild around her, and Dec slipped a reassuring arm around the alien beauty's waist. "Yeah, got me that way too the first time." he said in a more normal volume into her ear. The initial roar of the crowd had died away, replaced by the music and fans chanting the lyrics along with their heroes on stage.

[z028 Riley]

She relaxed a little when he pulled her close, confident that he wouldn't have taken her somewhere dangerous or crazy on purpose. Still....the band was good, for baselines, and the crowd was....a concert crowd. It was a new definition in her mind and she was debating how much she liked it when the mental high of the thousands of people around her finally broke through her shock and unease at so many around her. He could feel the shift in her as the songs went on: she starting singing the lyrics even though he knew she'd had no clue who the band was a few hours ago. And she picked up the universal concert standing/waving/bobbing dance.

That was....distracting.

After about a half hour, she could have been mistaken for any other of the thousands of women out there with them (well, if she were a baseline and not a quantum-enhanced woman that would make runway models cry themselves to sleep in shame). She tried to pull Declan into her exuberance with random kisses between songs and making sure that he always had an arm around her or at least a hand on her. She'd become the poster child for a lack of self-consciousness, not that she was usually all that reserved or prudish.

The crowd was a living thing around them, surging and falling back from them, but inch by inch Kyria's looks and Declan's aura of 'scary as fuck' (which at a concert read as 'totally cool!' apparently) were moving them forward through the crowd and toward the stage.

[The Red Man]

Declan was definitely getting into the party spirit. Not only did the opening band do a bang-up job of warming up the crowd, but Kyria swaying and bobbing in front of him, her waist under his hands, now and then twisting back to give him increasingly passionate kisses. His initial worries about Kyria enjoying herself were quickly abolished, and he relaxed into the moment, waving, bobbing, singing along with the songs he knew and chanting the choruses of the one's he didn't, one voice amongst thousands.

"Learn To Fly" was the last song on the Foo Fighter's set, setting pulses and spirits higher in anticipation of the main event. By now, Dec and Kyria were up against the barrier by the stage in their own little island of enjoyment, eagerly awaiting the headline. Dec took advantage of the last notes of the song to spin Kyria towards him and steal another kiss from her lips. Both flushed from the high of the moment, the kiss went on for awhile.

They were still kissing as the supporting band quit the stage, surfing the tide of applause and cheering as they waved farewell. Lips finally parted as roadies bustled onto the stage, setting up with practiced moves even as the sound of a bass guitar hushed the crowd, its player prancing into view like an imp, almost doubled over his instrument in concentration, practically weaving a spell as the fans watched his antics. The rest of the band came out and took their places, waiting for their cue.

The end of the solo segued straight into a clash of drums and the wail of the guitar, and the crowd roared like a giant beast with a thousand throats as the Chilis launched into an obviously well-known number. Dec roared with them, grinning from ear to ear like an exultant loon and hoisting Kyria up into the air, hands on her hips. Laughing, he dropped and caught the redhead before she touched the ground, then kissed her again as song rolled over them.

[z028 Riley]

She laughed and giggled as he tossed her about, oblivious to the stares they were getting now from both the crowd and the band as the song went on. Slowly, whatever it was about Declan that usually kept people at arms-length seemed to subside in the near animalistic rush of adrenaline and endorphines that was a Red Hot Chili Pepper's live concert. They danced and kissed and sang and gave most of the crowd shower-time images for the rest of their lives.

The music flowed over then for the next couple of hours, filling them to the brim with the frantic energy of thousands of people enjoying the moment of their lives. By the time it was over, the two had turned down thirteen offers to 'sleepover', six offers of 'the best stuff you've ever had, man', four offers to star in varying levels of porn videos (which had Kyria giggling even before the different men had the guts to actually approach them), three offers for Declan to join underground fighting circuits, five total movie shoot (non-porn) offers (three for Kyria, one for Declan, and one for both of them) and two marriage proposals, one of which to was to join an already existent 'marriage group' of five people.

They ducked out of the gates, ending up in a distance-eating lope to get away from the more ardent admirers that they'd attracted that deposited them a mile or so down the beach under the glow of a gibbous moon. As they settled into a much lazier stroll, Kyria pulled herself in front of Declan and walked backwards to keep him from running into her.

"So...," she grinned, "What now?" She was still flush from the excitement of the concert, almost glowing in the moonlight.

[The Red Man]

She was gorgeous, luminous and desirable, a man's fantasy made flesh. The taste of her kisses during the concert was still on his lips, the feel of her body against his was still causing his blood to sing and heart to thunder. Dec smiled and stepped towards her...

Kyria stepped back. Dec blinked, then spied the faint grin playing around her beautiful lips. "I asked: So what now?" Kyria teased, her footsteps light as a feather as she padded backwards on the grass that lined the shore of the man-made lake. Out across the shimmering water, faint lights could be seen moving near the piers at the populated areas. Behind them, the sound of the crowd from the concert spilling out onto the shore to continue the partying in their own way was distant, but noticeable.

"I was tryin' to show ya." Dec reached for Kyria, but the lithe girl skipped just a hair's breadth out of range, her grin widening. Silver eyes narrowed, and Kyria squeaked in mock-alarm a split-second before the chase was on. The two novas, agile and fleet even by the standards of their species, all-but blurred into motion, a sight that would have had their 'superiors' spitting coffee had it appeared in any report or news bulletin.

To be fair, she wasn't really trying to get away. And Dec wasn't really trying to catch her... well, maybe he was, but he wasn't in a hurry about it. Kyria's telepathic gifts gave her warnings before Dec made a grab for her but, given how practically non-existant his thought-to-action interval was even at play, that was a scant advantage.

The two veered here and there, losing track of how far they had run as they headed north along the shoreline, casually breaking Olympic sprinting records as the chase wove through some trees. Paralleling them less than 200 yards away was a highway, the glow of shops, nightclubs, and restaurants filled with the bustle and noise of humanity. They were safe from sight though, in the dark by the waters edge where the brightness of the artifical lights did not penetrate. Deep laughter and silvery giggles blended in the moonlit woods as the pair ran, adrenaline (and other hormones) coursing through their bodies in quantities that could kill an elephant.

As all good things do, the chase came to an end. Kyria ducked around a tree, her deep red hair flying like a comet's tail, only to let out a shriek of surprised laughter to find that Dec had ducked around the tree's other side, one brawny arm going around her waist in a tackle as they collided and went down together. Both went limp as they rolled, Dec angling to shield Kyria from the worst of the impact (despite the fact he knew she could deal with it; that wasn't the point). They fetched up in some long grass, arms and legs wrapped around one another as their gazes met. Dec's chuckle of victory was cut off as Kyria's slender, pale arms slipped around his neck and back and pulled him down for a passionate kiss, sighing into his mouth as her fingertips explored the breadth of his shoulders.

[z028 Riley]

She straddled him to keep from falling off of him on the uneven ground; nova reflexes were all well and good, but even a graceful tumble was still a tumble. She pulled back enough to give him the illusion that he had a chance to say something, then kissed him again before he'd quite started the first world. This went on for a while, the sound of passing cars and the lap of the water against the shore fading away from their minds.

She pulled back and smiled down at him, her hair falling to frame her eyes and she propped herself up on his chest. "Mmm....I think I like this next."

A breeze ruffled her clothes, carrying the scent of the ocean not too far away and chasing goosebumps up her arms. She let herself fall forward again, catching her weight effortlessly on her hands on either side of him just in time to nip at the hollow of his neck and trail kisses up to the skin along his shoulder. She hadn't felt this content, this good and alive in what felt like a lifetime now and had no intention of letting go of the moment any time soon.

[The Red Man]

Dec sighed/groaned in a mixture of contentment and pleasant torment as Kyria tugged aside the collar of his shirt to brush her lips along his collarbone. With a mischievous smile that sparkled in the night-darkened pools of her eyes, she loosened a few more buttons and slipped one hand inside his shirt, leaning down to kiss him again as she ran her fingers through the even covering of hair on his chest.

He returned the kiss, his hands likewise roaming. Kyria shivered pleasurably as she felt one calloused palm gliding up her back under her top, unhurriedly attempting to savor, through touch, as much of her skin as possible. Dec's other hand stroked back the glory of crimson hair on one side of her face, allowing moonlight to shine past the curtain. His kiss became more urgent, mouth opening against hers and his tongue softly teasing against her lips. Kyria moaned softly as their bodies began moving against one another, each trying to touch and explore yet get as close to the other as possible.

Impatient with desire, Kyria tugged Dec's shirt open, both of them heedless of the popping of the last four buttons. Purring with satisfaction into the kiss, she ran her hands over his torso unhindered, exploring him. Curiosity mingled with passion as her sensitive fingers encountered differences in texture and Kyria broke the kiss, sitting up on him and allowing the moonlight to illuminate his skin.

Eyes widening, she took in the patches, dots and lines of a large number of scars that spread across his chest and stomach. Her fingers traced a long, twisting line across one pectoral, then walked along a row of smaller pale scars about as wide in diameter as a pencil. A smooth patch down his left ribs was an old burn. She trailed her fingertips across it, feeling the texture, then looked back up to his face. Large dark pupils with silver edges made incandescent by the moonlight gazed levelly back up at her.

"So many..." she murmured, more intrigued than anything else. They had to have dated from when he was human, before the Device, and the nova girl, coming as she did from a society where wounds were fixed with hyper tech medicine or quantum abilities, leaving no scars, was quietly astonished. Every one of these was a story, she thought to herself.

Dec was still looking at her, and Kyria smiled back, leaning down to kiss the line over his upper chest before meeting his lips with hers again. *You'll have to tell me about them.* she thought to him, then gasped as his hands slid under her top again, this time at the front, the rough skin of his hands at odds with the gentle pressure of his touch. *...later...* she managed, her mental tone husky.

[z028 Riley]

He began to feel that curious telepathic echo that Kyria had shared with him once before, the feeling of touching and being touched in the same moment. He could feel her hands tracing the scars around his side, her fingernails gently scoring the skin just above the waisband of his pants; he could feel the soft skin of her abdomen, the curve of her breasts underneath his calloused palms. He could feel it as she felt it too, the little movements of his hands that were driving her crazy and the stubble that roughed her cheeks as she nuzzled at his neck.

She pushed and tugged his shirt the rest of the way off of him, annoyed at it's insistance on clinging to his shoulders and arms; her own shirt was riding high as his hands continued their own explorations. The wind off the ocean picked up again, trying in vain to remind the two novas that they were outside, not more than a moment's sprint to a major highway and the rules and regulations that society insisted on while in public. At the moment, the touch of skin on skin, the trailing kisses and the deep kisses, and the smell of each other, was far too intoxicating for either one of them to pay the wind any mind.

[The Red Man]

Dec was rapidly (and very pleasurably) going out of his mind, grateful indeed that his brain seemed capable of processing all the sensation. He'd never known anything like it in his life: the combination of fiery and tender, passionate and sweet. The previous fumbling encounters he'd had as a young soldier 'getting tail' were crude, hollow and banal by comparison. Caution was thrown aside, stamped on, then left behind in the dust as the two gods lost themselves in each other. It was her, but it was also him, the psychic link between them blurring the distinction as he subconsciously analysed what felt good and did more of it as Kyria did the same to him, her hand gently reaching inside his waistband now in a half-serious, half-teasing attempt to touch the source of the sensations she was skimming off his forebrain.

"Wait... Let me just..." he said around her kiss as he reluctantly slid his hands away from her firm young breasts, intending to undo his jeans. Kyria, nuzzling at his earlobe and getting drunk off the scent and taste of him there, grumbled/moaned something that sounded like "Oh no you don't" before grabbing his hands and putting them back on her body. Seconds later, as his fingers resumed their play on her skin, he felt her fingers deftly unfastening the top three buttons of his fly. The world went very still and Dec drew in a deep breath as, impish curiousity echoing from her mind to his and a pensive exhalation of breath, she slipped a hand in...

The barking jolted both of them out of their passion-clouded haze, the two of them at first freezing, then looking each other in the eye before sitting up, hands blurring as they arranged themselves to appear more decent. Two shaggy canine shapes bounded out of the woods, tails wagging and tongues hanging out as they circled the pair, barking exuberantly. Hard on their heels came a middle-aged woman, puffing a little from exertion, her slightly plump yet pleasant features squinting as she tried to see what was causing her charges to raise such a fuss.

"What's all the noise abou- Oh!" she stopped as she saw the two lovers, eyes widening and face reddening as Dec finished pulling his shirt back on, Kyria still kneeling astride him. A moment's fumbling for buttons appraised Dec of the data that this shirt probably wouldn't be fastening again anytime soon, so he gave up and left it hanging open as Kyria petted the nearest dog, which went into paroxysms of friendly joy.

"Roman! Brigid! Come here." the woman called the two dogs to her and they went, tails wagging as they pranced around her. See what we found! See? See? they appeared to say. The woman patted and soothed them, then nodded to the pair. "I'm really sorry. Umm. Good night! Come on you two." Chiding the dogs as though they were beloved children, she led them away, leaving Kyria and Declan alone once more. They looked at each other for a long moment, then Kyria's lips quivered. Dec snorted, and the next instant they were both laughing, arms still around one another.

"C'mon." Dec said with a quick kiss when they had recovered. "Let's go get somethin' to eat. I could go for some ice cream about now." he grinned at her, stray fingers teasing the skin over her lower spine.

[z028 Riley]

They found one of those kitschy ice-cream parlor places on a strip near the beach; it looked like something that was out of a 50's movie but was open 24 hours and fleeced tourists for a nearly 300% profit margin. Their entrance, as Declan was beginning to really understand, was an entrance. Men were already eying them from the windows as the two jogged up to the door, along with most of them women although with decidedly less enthusiasm. Until they got a good look at the abs under Declan's open shirt.

The two pulled themselves up on the barstools, ordering drinks and the special of the parlor (home-made apple fritter donuts) to tide them over while they perused the list of over 50 different combinations of ice cream, syrups, pies, cakes, and "fresh" fruits. Eschewing her normal addiction to chocolate, the flushed red-head opted to start their sweets expedition off with a combination of raspberries, strawberry ice cream, and cherry pie, topped with whipped cream (aptly named "Lover's Lane" on the menu).

The waiter, a surprisingly fresh-faced young man with only three piercings on his face, slid their drinks and plate of fritters down the bar to them, a note tucked underneath that said in scrawled print "On the house" followed by a phone number. Kyria grinned abashedly at Declan but shrugged, not really knowing what, if anything, to do about it. She sipped at her Shirley Temple and eyed the fritter donuts speculatively.

[The Red Man]

Later on, recollections of the event of that night by regular patrons of the Circa 59 Ice Cream Parlor were a little confused and not entirely jibing with one another's accounts.

All agreed that the strangeness had started with the couple who had entered shortly after ten. The girl had been heartbreakingly lovely, with sparkling blue eyes and hair so deep red that most were sure it had to have come out of a bottle. Her flawlessly pale skin had a rosy glow to it, her lips reddened as though, in the words of one witness, she had 'really been kissing the hell outta someone'. That someone, it was obvious to all, was the man who'd entered with her.

He wasn't beautiful, was the consensus. At least, not in the same hypnotically alluring way that the girl had been. There was a dangerous vibe about him, the air of a leashed predator that quickened pulses and drew wide-eyed, motionless attention from those that noticed him. The beauty with him seemed to be the one holding that leash, totally at ease and snuggling up under one powerfully-muscled arm as they fed each other from a huge assortment of sweets.

They didn't seem to care that there were others around as they spent an hour wading through a small mountain of desserts and drinks, kissing on one another seemingly every other minute, and talking quietly in low tones punctuated with throaty chuckling and giggles. That they were in love or, at least, in lust wasn't in doubt. There was a tension between the two, a crackle in the air around them as they flirted with one another that made those nearest shift in their seats, feeling a little hot and bothered themselves. It wasn't that the couple were being indecent, as such. It was the simple raw force of emotion that made men and women alike blush, as though they were the voyeurs intruding on a private place, rather than simply sitting in a public restaurant having a bite to eat.

Eventually, leaving a multitude of empty dishes and glasses behind along with a couple of extra Benjamins as a tip, the pair skipped back out through the glass doors, no less of a bounce in their step than they'd had on entering the parlor. With their exit, the other patrons slowly came free of the spell, breathing again and talking amongst themselves, murmuring and wondering who in the hell those two strange, compelling and frightening people were.

* * * * * *

A car horn blared, the driver nearly swerving off the road as he and his friend leaned out of their windows to call something appreciative at the lithe redhead, only to catch sight of a pair of silver eyes belonging to the scariest motherfucker the young men had ever seen, who was looking at them steadily over a pair of Raybans. With a screech of tires the car took off as the driver, urged by his friend, attempted to put as much distance between him and that stare as possible.

"Stop that." Kyria giggled furiously as Dec pushed the shades back up his nose to cover his eyes once more, grinning. "That's the fourth time you've nearly caused an accident." She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Fifth. Sixth if you include the dude on the bike." Dec corrected mildly, still grinning. Kyria had another giggle fit, then threw her arms around his neck and kissed him right there on the sidewalk before mock-swooning in his arms. Dec caught her as she 'fell', easily supporting her weight.

"My hero!" Her blue eyes sparkled up at him from where he'd caught her, her pale arms curling around his neck as she smiled with coy mischief. Dec leaned down to kiss her again as she'd hoped, his mouth tasting of ice cream and pie. They stayed like that for awhile, hands roaming within the bounds of decency outside each other's clothes, until a cough brought them back to Earth. A cop was looking at them, trying to appear stern despite the smile threatening to break out on her face.

"There's a place for that, folks. It's got four walls, a floor, a ceiling, and its called a room." she admonished them. "The sidewalk, you'll notice, don't have those things, and you two lovebirds are causing folks to walk into each other."

Kyria and Dec glanced at each other, then smiled and looked back at the lady cop, nodding like guilty teenagers. "Yes ma'am." Dec replied with a sheepish grin, Kyria stifling a giggle as he set her down and took her hand in an appearance of propriety. The officer just smiled slightly and nodded for them to go.

They went.

An hour later, the meandering course they'd taken brought them back to the hotel, Kyria comfortably snuggled under one arm again, her arms around Dec's waist as they walked. They breezed past the front desk with a wave and a cheery 'good night', and took advantage of the elevator ride to spend some more time enjoying one another's company.

Outside their room, Dec turned to face Kyria, his face grave. She could feel the wry humor behind the facade, though, and tried not to laugh as he, with deliberate casualness asked:

"So, uh, you want to come in for coffee?"

[z028 Riley]

Kyria made a thoughtful hum in her throat, her fingernails trailing over the exposed skin of his chest and abs as she leaned in for another kiss. "Mmmmmm...just coffee?” she murmured, her lips hovering just over his. “‘Cause I really had something else in mind.”

Whether she was just teasing him or the cultural reference didn’t actually cross over for her was a rather moot point; she was kissing him again, her fingernails trailing up his chest until she could wrap her arms around his neck. They stood in the doorway like that for several minutes, too fixated on each other to remember that they still hadn’t made it into their law-enforcement mandated room.

“Dude, unless you’re sharing, take it inside. Holy shit-!” The drunken exasperation emanated from a trio of twenty-something men, decked out in Chili Pepper’s paraphernalia and smelling of beer and weed. When the two novas turned their attention on the hapless baselines the group was caught between instant hard-ons and desperately praying that they weren’t about to piss their pants.

“Mmn…I think they’ve got the right idea, Dec…” Kyria giggled and deftly swiped the key card from Declan’s back pocket, sliding it through the lock of the door. She let Declan pull her into the room as the door swung open behind him, giving the frozen men in the hall a parting wink out of pure impishness.

“Holy fuck!” one of them exclaimed as the paralysis finally let go of the group. “Who the hell were they?”

“’Dunno, man, but I totally need some pay-per-view porn now or I’m gonna have blue balls all night,” one of the others shot back.

“Fuck that. That girl’s gotta be online somewhere. Besides, you don’t have the money for porn…” The voices trailed off down the hallway as the three made their way towards their own rooms.

[The Red Man]

Kyria was still giggling as Dec shut the door behind them, but as he turned to her with a grin her giggles became a purr as she gently snatched the Raybans from his face, one hand snaking around his neck as the other hand tossed the offending sunglasses over her shoulder. "That's better." she breathed, looking into the large dark pupils rimmed by brilliant silver as she kissed him, her free hand stroking down over his chest and ribs, feeling the thunder of his heart under her palm. Pulling back a fraction from the kiss, she smiled up at Dec once more, sparkling eyes large and mysterious. "I like you without that plastic covering your eyes."

With that, the lithe beauty hopped up, her legs going around his waist as he effortlessly supported her weight. Dec was the one to kiss her this time, Kyria's hands running from his shoulders up into his shaggy hair and clenching there as though she were anchoring herself as she arched her strong young body against him. There was no soothing breeze from the lake now, no soft glow of the moon gentling their passion. No gawking spectators or friendly curious dogs or coughing police officers. There was Kyria, only Kyria, her pale skin turned a soft gold in the illumination from the single lamp, her body hot under his hands, her mouth hungrily setting his mind on fire as she nibbled along his stubbled jawline.

Almost unconsciously she set up the psychic echo once more, heightening the sensory experience and providing an intuitive understanding of one another's desires as Dec's hands firmly kneaded the muscles of her ass, causing her to murmur and squirm a little against him. Focusing on their surroundings slightly, Dec took several steps and plopped down to sit on the edge of the bed, Kyria showing little inclination to let go - with her legs, at least. Her eyes intent, she once more peeled Dec's loose shirt back from his shoulders, working it down his arms (and taking advantage of the appearance of his being retrained to lean forward and kiss over his chest) before tossing that in the general direction the Raybans had taken earlier. Looking into his eyes, Kyria placed a slim hand gently in the middle of Dec's chest and pushed with enough force to send him from sitting to laying in an eyeblink. Still astride him, Kyria leaned down and proceeded to rub first one, then the other flushed cheek, catlike, against his scarred torso, breathing in the scent of him and feeling his own body's heat on her face, her wealth of hair tumbling down.

Dec drew in his breath sharply as he felt the cool texture of her hair mingle with the heat of her breath and skin. His hands stroked her shoulders and upper back through her top, now and then running through the crimson fall of her hair. Kyria could feel his arousal, both through the link they shared and through the physical, animal part of her that was synchronised with the same part of him. Smiling unseen under the cover of her hair as she kissed down the line of Declan's ribs, she reflected that there was a somewhat more pressing signal, as well. Rolling her hips with mischievous, passionate playfulness, she felt as well as heard Dec's soft groan of pleasure. The echo she caught from his mind was enough to make her gasp in shared desire, as well as feel a certain primal exultation that she had caused this pleasure to happen. She rolled her hips a little more, driving them both wilder before she stopped and sat up on him, sending a mental command to her eufiber top to peel itself off, melding with the waistband of her painted-on black jeans.

Dec's eyes widened as he looked at her, half-naked and entirely glorious, struck dumb at the vision. For a brief moment he reflected that, had he been a normal Joe, he'd probably have had a stroke by now, so tightly-wound was his arousal. Kyria giggled as she caught that thought, then leaned down and pressed herself to him, skin to skin, letting them both feel each other that way as their lips met in a sweetly passionate kiss.

[z028 Riley]

She kept him poised just on the side of total madness, their mutual passion building up only to be allowed to ebb and build again without release. She flitted through his mind, learning each nuance of pleasure and desire and then taking a moment to experience it and savor the burst of passion or shiver of lust that it would elicit from him. Her own control was beginning to slip, though, in the haze of hormones and skin.

Declan sensed his advantage and seized it, pinning Kyria's wrists together behind her back and thrusting her chest forward. He leaned up to catch her lips in a deep kiss and then trailed more kisses down her jaw, nibbling at the sensitive skin of her neck and over the top of her breasts. He paused and glanced upward at her, his silver eyes bright with desire and a slowly spreading grin at the knowledge her 'echo' was providing him. He quickly ducked his down and caught a nipple between his lips, sucking the tender flesh between his teeth and flicking his tongue over the tip.

The gasp and moan from Kyria was nearly as satisfying as the jolt of lust that echoed between the two of them. He continues his assault, employing every ounce of his enhanced intellect, dexterity, stamina, and self control in eliciting a full symphony of pleased sounds from his alien princess. He returned her night of teasing and kisses in full; every touch, every breath, every movement underneath her calculated to bring her right up to the edge she'd had him teetering on since the beach.

Youth and impatience were waging a war in her mind, and so by association in his as well. She pulled at his pants, trying to remember enough not to rip them when hormones made the buttons far too complicated of a hindrance to what she wanted; her eufiber was rippling in sensual confusion as she tried to focus enough to coherently tell it to be elsewhere.

"Declan..." she whimpered in frustration, begging him to help.

[The Red Man]

He heard the plea in her voice, felt the tremor in her thoughts, and straightened up a little, one hand still pinioning her wrists together firmly in the small of her back as the other gently teased and pushed at the twitching, rippling eufiber. The contact was tender and reassuring, cutting through the haze of Kyria's youthful hormones enough to that she could focus, for a few brief moments, on following the insistent pressure of his fingers. Looking deep into his eyes, she smiled gratefully and concentrated. Her eufiber roiled and shifted, flowing off her body onto the floor at the foot of the bed to lay there, a shimmering grey heap of fabric.

Kyria sighed pleasurably as Dec's hand resumed it's roaming of her newly-bared skin, then gasped as he trailed calloused fingers up one pale thigh, her eyes meeting his in anticipation. His lips quirking with wry humor, Dec altered the course of his touch at the last moment, trailing his fingertips across her taut abdomen, drawing small spirals and circles on the skin that seemed to burn hotter the lower his fingers strayed. Kyria's whimpers started up again as she tried to free her hands, tugging gently to no avail. Biting her lip as she let out a shuddering gasp, she next tried to arch her hips upwards, to direct his fingers with her body. Maddeningly he kept the fulfillment she sought just out of reach, continuing to draw and lightly scratch with his nails on her overly-sensitive (or so it seemed right now) skin.

For Dec this was a revelation. He'd hardly thought of himself before as a good lover, but the combination of Kyria's mind linked to his, his enhanced perceptions and tactile acuity, and his sharpened ability to read small clues in others was providing all sorts of pathways as to what to do next, endless tactical choices for pleasure opening up in front of him in the same way that tactics for combat opened up before him normally. It made him as hard to predict, and equally as effective.

Kyria's gasping whimpers were louder now, her mental urgings stopping just short of being outright commands. Dec shifted where he sat, keeping his grip on her wrists as he twisted to lay her back on the bed, himself beside her. She started to protest, her lips barely able to form a coherent word before his free hand was between her thighs, cupping her mound with insistent pressure as his ring finger gently stroked and explored her sex, making her back arch like a tensed bowstring as it slid smoothly in.

He kissed Kyria's panting lips, releasing her hands from their imprisonment and cradling her in the crook of his arm, his other hand still working it's wicked magic on her body. Kyria's next whimper was louder yet, her voice sweet as a bird's as she used her freed hands to cling to him, returning his kisses with feverish intensity.

[z028 Riley]

For a telepath, being out of you mind had a very different connotation than it did for most people, but currently Kyria was beginning to understand the colloquial meaning of the term. Every part of her body felt like it was on fire and sweat began beading on the pale porcelain of her skin. She tried to speak, to make any coherent thought long enough to say his name or beg him to stop or keep going. She wasn't sure which one would be more torturous.

She pulled at him, tugging him as close to her as she could, her hips bucking against his hand. Her fingers pulled blindly at his pants and she managed moaned and muttered, "Off." He could pull the thought easily enough from the mental space they shared: either he did away with the offending cloth or she would and he'd be replacing them in the morning.

He grinned, enjoying his effect on her, and put his more-than-human dexterity to the task of removing his last bits of clothing while never interrupting his patient torture of her body. As the jeans joined the heap of clothing on the floor Kyria ran her hands over his unfettered skin, her fingertips and nails tracing out the patterns of his scars as she pulled him to her. She was nearly feverish from the need inside her and arched up to whisper in his ear, "Please..."

[The Red Man]

If it hadn't been for Declan's more-than-human composure, he would never have held out so long. Kyria's beauty under normal circumstances was enough to cloud a man's mind with desire. Kyria with her skin aglow, her face flushed and her kiss-reddened lips pleading for release would probably drive a 'mortal' man insane. Every male has his limits, however, even the genetically-altered warrior Dec had become. As Kyria actually started to struggle with him to force him atop her, he reach that limit, the last vestiges of rational control flickering like candle flames in a wind.

"Wait a sec..." he murmured, trying to think through the haze of desire and the hormones pumping through his body, trying to screen out the hot, inviting pheromonal perfume that was fogging his thoughts. "There's somethin' we need to do-"

Kyria gasped then made a curious sound, a moaning whimper, that ended in a low feral snarl as she grabbed him by the head and stared him in the face, her eyes gleaming dangerously as her physical voice was echoed in his head by a concept rather than a coherent word: *"NO MORE WAITING!"*. Part plea and part command, her need swept over him, mingling with his own and creating a raging gale in his head.

The flames of caution went out.

Stilling her gasping moans with a kiss, Dec slid between Kyria's thighs, feeling her legs immediately swing up around his waist, her skin like heated satin on his. Her hips twitched agilely, finding what they sought before he could line himself up. Kyria sighed with contentment as she felt the head of him against her wetness, her eyes closing for a moment, then opening and looking up into his as she smiled. Dec smiled back and leaned down to kiss her as he slowly moved his hips, pushing steadily into her.

Both gasped, the kiss breaking as they stared at one another in desire-drenched shock. Dec was a well-built man, and the combination of his size and Kyria's lithe tightness made for an excruciatingly pleasant slip-slide sensation. The breath of both came in short gasps now as passion achieved what exertion would be hard-pressed to. Their minds linked, they shared the sensations of penetration and being penetrated as, inexorably, their bodies came together in one smooth push.

[z028 Riley]

They made love for hours, tangling together as they learned each other and explored their passion. The mingling of their thoughts and the echo of their feelings kept them going not only long past the point that any baseline lover would have given up out of exhaustion, but well past the point that some novas would have been able to keep up. It was a bit strange for Declan, learning not only how to make love to Kyria, but also how it felt to be a woman made love to by a man. Incredible, but disorienting.

Morning light was pouring through the curtains well before they were done. The sun had hoisted itself completely above the horizon as they finally laid still, body still intertwined but now cooling down from their exertions. Kyria rubbed her cheek across his chest, making that low purring sound again that she had in the restaurant. It was the sound she made when contented and sated; Declan grinned in satisfaction at the feelings permeating their mental connection. She flicked her eyes up at him and asked an in sultry murmur, "Sleep now? Or order breakfast and be up for the day?"

Her fingers were tracing out mindless patterns across his skin, enjoying the slow wind-down from their lovemaking and not quite ready to give up the skin-to-skin contact with her lover.

[The Red Man]

In the end, they decided to order breakfast. A lot of breakfasts, in fact. The two lovers fussed over and fed one another, experimenting with the sensory link as they did so, enjoying the game of 'spot the sensory differences'.

After a lazy, protracted breakfast - somewhat longer than it needed to be due to interruptions that were to the enjoyment of all concerned - the two novas finally pried themselves out of bed. The shower presented a bottleneck to their progress out of the hotel, and when the maid stopped outside their room's door to drop off fresh linens, the medley of loud giggles and gasps punctuated by throaty moans that escaped into the hallway through the closed portal was sufficient to color her cheeks bright red. Someone, she reflected ruefully as she wheeled the trolley down to the next room, was having a lot of fun and it wasn't her. There was no justice in the world.

It was just after noon when the two wandered downstairs, hand in hand and with a certain glow to their features that almost caused the front desk staff to smirk. That urge died almost immediately as the big guy wearing the shades turned his gaze their way as though he'd read their minds.

He hadn't, of course. Kyria had, and with lots of mental giggling, had shared the thoughts of those nearest to them with him. She wore an air of faintly abashed impishness as she stood next to him at the desk, her eufiber configured to a short white sleeveless sundress that was just on the right side of decent, length- and translucency- wise, though it may have proven unwise to comment on the translucency issue if she happened to stand in front of a bright light. The heartbreaking redhead drew all eyes as, pale cheeks still flushed and incredibly kittenish from the hormones coursing through her body, she ran her fingertips teasingly across the back of Declan's neck while he settled the bill, giggling softly as she felt his muscles tense.

Check-out completed, Dec picked up his duffel and looped his spare arm around Kyria's slender waist, leaning close to kiss her. Grinning, Kyria stood on tiptoe to reciprocate.

"Are they still there?" she breathed against his jawline as she pressed against him, ruby lips curved in a sultry smile.

"Two here in the lobby, and that van outside: another two there at least." Dec murmured back through his wide grin. "They were probably listenin' to us last night, the pervs."

"Mmm. I should be scandalised, but the thought makes me want to drag you back up there for round two." Kyria said, fighting to restrain a tide of giggles, with partial success. "Maybe we can melt their microphones this time."

"Sounds like fun, but we do have a plane to catch." Dec chuckled, then kissed Kyria's lips as she mock-pouted. "Stop that. I've got an idea that's almost as much fun." Kyria regarded him for a moment, then caught the echo of what he was thinking and grinned like a tigress.

The middle-aged man in the lobby reading the New York Times looked up casually as the two began to make their way out of the hotel. His eyes widened behind the gold-rimmed spectacles as Kyria half-turned, took a step towards him, and leaned over the back of the chair opposite his, a sexy little smile on her face.

"Excuse me." she purred. "I was wondering if perhaps you got everything you needed. Because if not, we can always book in again tonight." She smiled brightly. "I'm sure the IOA can pull strings to get us another nights leave so that their fine agents can gather more of this valuable intelligence."

The agent's partner, dressed as a preppy college student, was sitting a few tables away and staring at the almost too-much leg Kyria was revealing as she leaned over, only to start as a hand came down on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Subject Alpha looking down at him, face expressionless under the Raybans. The hand on his shoulder wasn't quite squeezing, but there was a solidity to the grip that hinted that squeezing could definitely be an option. Seeing that he had the younger agent's attention, Dec raised one hand and pulled down the shades, letting the man get a good look at his eyes.

"We can't really tell the IOA what to do." the agent heard a deep voice say through a fog of silver-hued primal fear. "But I'd like you guys to know you ain't foolin' anyone. Think you can take that to the big dogs?" The man had just enough presence of mind to nod, and Dec smiled before clapping him on the shoulder and looking over at the older man.

"Good. That's real good." Dec pushed his shades back up to cover his eyes, his tone mild as he continued. "Tell your bosses to be careful. The world's an unpredictable place. Lots of variables that can mess up a guy's day." Shouldering his duffel once more, Dec moved over to Kyria, who grinned at him and pulled his arm around her shoulders as they left, the two scared agents watching them go.

The IOA agents out in the van across the road were unaware of any of this, and were wondering why it was taking so long for Subjects Alpha and Bravo to check out.

"Probably stopped to fuck again." said one guy with a sly grin. The other two chuckled tiredly, having been up all night listening to the sounds of passion and reflecting that it must be nice to be a super-freak who could do the nasty for hours without pause or let up.

A sharp knock on the van's sliding door jolted them into alertness, but nothing could prepare them for the sight of the two Specialists standing there, wearing grins usually only seen by foundering swimmers as triangular fins cut the water towards them.

"Hey." Dec said as he removed his shades. "Nice van you guys have."

* * * * * *

They left the van parked in a wheel-clamping zone near the airfield, having taken the long route around Mountain View to see some sights and having stopped along the way to, as Dec put it, 'test the suspension'. The military personnel flight back to Colorado was uneventful, Dec napping with his head on Kyria's lap whilst she read and toyed with his shaggy brown hair.

They got into Cheyenne Mountain late that night, and word swiftly buzzed around the night shift base personnel that the Beast and the Beauty had by all reckoning had 'a nice weekend', *wink-wink*. The other Specialists wouldn't realise this for another eight hours, of course, when Dec and Kyria showed up forty-five minutes late for a briefing, both a little rumpled and unsuccessfully hiding huge grins.