Gravity

[Asmus Janes]

Why can't I stay long? The petulant thought crossed his mind and came with a darkening of his expression. No matter how complicated things were, no matter how much of an emotional cocktail hit him, Asmus never had his thought process quite so tangled up. He reduced any problem to the simplest form he could solve, as he did with hyperspace metrics. Did he want to be here with her? Yes, under any circumstances she offered.

She hasn't thrown me out yet. The thought came with a new smile. “I'll take it,” he said. As she approached he held out his hands. In response she thrust out the blanket. She looked so unsure of herself, so caught off guard and vulnerable. It melted his heart. Couldn't see just enjoy this reunion for now? Not everyone was like him, it probably paid to be cautious in her line of work.

When she held the blanket out he took it with just one hand. The left took one of her empty hands and pulled her in. Directed her until she lay beside him and he could smother them in the blanket, enclosing them in their own private world. With two fingers he brushed her bangs back out if the way, giving her no place to hide from him.

“I like the new style,” he said. “Not sure about the colour mind.” Despite her warning, he now felt he had all the time in the world. Curious eyes studied her face. Large hazel eyes caught the light, just as he'd recalled them. No memory was as vivid as reality. His dreams might as well have been black and white.

A slight shuffle brought them closer. Her soft curves melding to him. So close now, he could see every facet of her eyes.

“I've missed you,” he said softly. It seemed such a weak confession, but she understood. He could sense it, could feel it radiate from her. It hadn't been easy for her to break away. She'd snapped back into his arms so easily. He couldn't stay long, but just a second with her was worth months without.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

He wouldn’t allow her to hide.

If she attempted to hide under the fringe of her bangs, he slid them to the side. If she would shift to glance away, he in turn moved his body until her curves melded with the hard wall of his chest. It was as if Asmus was not allowing her any semblance of avoiding his verdant gaze. Nor was he going to be quiet about it.

While the compliments did bring a bit of warmth in pleasure, Kaile knew that this current look was only due to an alias she had been tasked to play. Her only response was a tight smile. Words left her honestly. She was still thrown off guard that she wasn’t sure what exactly to say. Never had she considered the actual possibility of seeing him again. Much the less.. Well, end up in his arms after she basically took him for her own. Emotions and those hidden desires she’d so often pushed back in the back of her mind had come to a head then. Now she was starting over over analyze it all. At least, until he said it again.

That he missed her.

A mild confession if one was honest, but one saturated with emotion. Meeting his eyes then was even more difficult than the last, because at this distance there was no ignoring it. Not with the way he looked at her, the way his arms flexed and hands seemed to tighten, as if to draw her as close as he possibly could.

Aye, she understood it well, for it had been something she’d suffered on her own. Kaile had missed him too. However, she had convinced herself that she’d never actually see him again. That had been for the best. That while she missed him, he was doing just fine. It was rather unsettling, hearing him say that he missed her. She’d told herself that he’d likely had forgotten her years ago. The young often so easily do.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard, and she lowered her gaze to settle along the length of his collarbone. A wave of nervousness hit her, and it manifested in the need to keep busy, to maintain some sort of movement. Asmus holding her so close wasn’t going to allow her to do that. At least, in so far as the rest of her body. Her arms had been caught between them, making it easy for Kaile to move her hand if she so wanted. So when Kaile averted her eyes, her fingers followed that path and lightly came to rest along his collarbone.

“...I didn’t expect you to.” she said simply, her fingers tracing the line of his collarbone. Maybe if she just gave facts, yes, that might work. Something to detract herself from the fact that every second in his arms made her tension fade. Or that the temptation to tuck her face along the crook of his neck right under his chin grew with every passing second. How she didn’t even realize how she slid her leg in between his, tangling further into each other under the blanket he had spread across them.

 

[Asmus Janes]

“Okay,” he replied with a soft smile. He could feel the discomfort radiating off her. He didn’t mean ‘that’s okay’ or even just ‘okay’. He meant that it, all of it, would be okay. He mused on her words as his hand left her neck to chart the curve of her waist and hip. Gentle, soothing strokes up and down. Of course she must have expected him to miss her, to at least felt some pain from her departure. This was how she’d managed to rationalise it, he realised. She had told herself that he wouldn’t miss her, that he would be fine. It must have lessened the hurt at not contacting him.

There was a twitch in his smile. In all the ways he’d reimagined meeting her again, he’d never thought of this scenario playing out. That in itself was actually surprising. Secret agent Kaile, finding her behind enemy lines before an illicit meeting in her cabin. If he wasn’t quite so overwhelmed with... everything... Asmus probably would have found this exhilarating.

As it was, he was simply focussed on the fact that he had found her. She wasn’t dead, she hadn’t settled down with...oh kark, he didn’t know that one for sure. A flash of panic appeared in the corners of his eyes before receding. But then if Kaile hadn’t brought herself to even contact him, he doubted she would be in this lifestyle happily married.

Stop it, he told himself. His mind was reeling, racing in any direction it could just so it could be doing something. Asmus sighed, his whole body sagging into the bunk. The hand at her waist gave a gentle tug, easing her slightly closer. His thumb ran across a pair of small ridges. They felt like scar tissue, but not quite the same. Soft when pressed them. She seemed to stiffen when his hand lingered there, so he moved it. His left arm was of course awkwardly trapped beneath her neck.

Asmus gently kissed the top of her forehead, the warmth of his breath running through loose strands of hair. She would talk if she wanted too. There was no point filling the empty space with words, or letting his mind go off on tangents. Better to just enjoy the afterglow, wrapped up in Kaile like he’d never truly believed he would be again. He rolled onto his back, hoping Kaile would settle on his shoulder and chest. This way at least she might not feel under his scrutiny, despite how much he wanted to lose himself in her eyes.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

It was funny, how a two-syllable word could mean so much. More than it should. Kaile shut her eyes, squeezing them shut. Almost as if she believed this moment would go up in smoke. However, instead of disappearing, Asmus shifted, settling on his back and bringing her along with him, tucking her against his shoulder and chest. His arms did not stray far; his hands seemingly unable to stay away, stroking her with long, caressing sweeps that were a far more powerful force at bringing down her walls than any words would.

At least until the drifted alongside her belly. That made her instantly uncomfortable. Brought up another memory. She swallowed hard. Don’t think about it. Don’t. That voice came up again, telling her of what she was risking. Of what she had worked so hard for. To move on. To leave things in the past. But Kaile couldn’t.

Stars, I’m so weak.

The crown of her head managed to tuck its way almost under his chin, prompting another wayward kiss and a squeeze in his embrace. While she did not wrap her arms around him, there was no halting the slow drift of the pads of her fingertips along his collarbone. There they communicated in a way that was far more poignant than anything spoken aloud. It was in the feather light brush, the gingerly sweep of tiny concentric circles. After a moment, Kaile ended up hiding her face against the wall of his chest. Her lashes were like tiny little Koros butterfly’s wings, lips grazing over the still hot flesh.
Breathing him in deep brought such a measure of nostalgia and serenity that she gave a slight shudder. Asmus. Her mind would echo. He was here. He was really here.

 

[Asmus Janes]

She would feel the subtle shift of his muscles as he broke into a grin. He couldn’t help it. That slow trace of fingertips across his collarbone and down his chest was exactly what he’d hoped she would do. They stayed there, comfortably warm against each other for a few minutes. For Asmus it allowed the experience to sink in. He replayed the preceding minutes in his mind several times. The way she’s pushed him back onto the bed and demanded ‘off’ was something that would stick with him.

Of course it was Asmus to break the silence. It wasn’t a pertinent question he broke the silence with, just a thought that crossed his mind. A way for him to have the sound of her voice back in his life. Her laughter was what he craved the most, but it seemed to him that it wasn’t going to be forthcoming any time soon. She was lost in contemplation, as shocked as he was to fall into this situation without warning.

“The one I extracted you with, is he alright? He looked pretty banged up?”

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

For a moment, Kaile would pause her idle drift of her forefinger along Asmus’ collarbone. The curtains of her lashes would lift, allowing her to catch the slight beat of his heart along his throat. There she let her eyes trace over the stubble that grew in spiky tufts there. An idle half brush of her finger let her feel the rasp of it.

“He’ll be fine. Bacta dip will do him good. He’ll be back in service condition a week or so.” nothing too serious, but considering they had a month until their next drop off, they had plenty of time for him to recuperate. Every rise and fall of Asmus’ chest would breathe out a warm stream of air over the crown of her head. There, tiny stray strands of dark hair would fan back and forth, catching a few of her bangs that had scrunched up when he had pushed them to the side.

Quietly Kaile contemplated their situation; at least as so much as she would allow herself to. Any more thought seemed to only send her spiraling down a Lepi hole. The set of her fingers once more came to perch along Asmus’ chest, but this time just an inch or so below his collarbone. A part of her wondered what was he thinking.

Another dreaded finding out.

 

[Asmus Janes]

“Oh good,” Asmus replied. He didn’t pry any further into the operation. It wasn’t his job to ask. That didn’t mean some of the operatives didn’t talk. Some of them were quite forthcoming in the ship’s mess, or when he was taking them from and to zones of interest. One of them had told Asmus a wild tale of a chase through the streets of Nar Shaddaa, one hand on the stick and another firing a pistol and Spynet agents chased him. That bothan had been Asmus’ hero for a few weeks.

“Things got a little hairy back there,” he said. Fishing for a compliment on his skill was not the same as trying to pry for details, at least in his mind. “Speaking of which, what do you think of the stubble? Leave it or clean shaven again?” The long hair was simply impractical at the moment and their tight flight helmets did bad things to it.

Every trace of her fingers seemed to wake the butterflies deep down. In encouragement, his own free hand gently stroked her upper arm as she went drawing patterns. She wouldn't throw him out soon would she?

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Hearing him reference back to the extraction, the way that he played his words to skirt around asking questions managed to bring a ghost of a smile to her face. It was a figment of a smile. One that said she knew that he was trying his best. It was a bittersweet realization. Asmus had a heart of gold. A scoundrel yes, she knew that even back then; but one who didn’t actually mean to harm. The way he did his best to bring her spirits up during those four days was a testament to that. He had achieved all that and more back then.

They were memories that Kaile would always treasure. Even the months after. Even with all they lost.

Swallowing, Kaile let her gaze fall down to his chest, where she followed the trace of her fingers as they remapped the strange familiar terrain that now lay there. A question rose in her mind. Should we really go into this small talk? Do our best to avoid the Nexu in the room? A part of her knew that she had been the one to request it. The other said that there was no other way.

“You’ve come far since the academy.” it was a statement. One where Kaile attempted to remain neutral. Granted, referencing the academy and the timeline could be picked up to suggest an underlying tell. That she kept track. Recalling the chase scene, the corner of her mouth would twitch.

“Yet you’re still pullin’ tricks of fancy.” His uncle likely wouldn’t have approved, but Asmus did save their skins.

“But you saved our lives.”

Brown eyes darted up, and there was a subtle shift of her body. Her torso half rose, the waterfall of her chestnut hair flowing in a straight fall over her shoulders. It was mused, tousled. Carrying the evidence of the passionate interlude and more. It made her seem less severe. Less rigid. A fragment of the Kaile, his Kaile, that he had met back then.

The gingerly drift of her hand against his stubbled cheek felt warm. The dark scruff felt like the bristles of a soft brush, tickling the sensitive pads of her fingers. It was new. But not unwanted. Before she knew it, she became lost in quietly tracing the lines of his face. What does one do when your greatest desire, the one that you never thought you would ever have - see again - was right before you? Kaile was only human. She was also weak. Weak when it came to the man whom her eyes and fingertips traced dreams into reality.

“It looks good on you.” she finally said, her voice light within the dark.

 

[Asmus Janes]

“Thank you,” he replied quietly. He could just make out her expression in his periphery. He grinned, despite himself. She'd only complimented his looks and piloting skill, but those two things and Kaile were very important to him. A slight twist allowed him to plant a kiss on her forehead. She was hidden beneath the smoky taste of the grime plastered across her face. Probably should have let her have a shower first, but her briefing had gone on a long time. Right now he had no intention of letting her out of his sight. Though perhaps more importantly, he had no will to interrupt her exploration.

Asmus sighed a very content sigh. He was surrounded by her: her warmth against him, the constant touch of her fingers, the still familiar smell of her and the way she'd claimed him back. All wrapped in the blanket of memories that were becoming increasingly vivid just through her presence. Age and experience didn't make the flood of emotions any easier to process. Back then he'd been blindside by love, now he was hit by such a confusion cocktail of thoughts and feelings. It was hard to keep back the torrent of questions and expressions. Asmus always had his heart on his sleeve, it was his nature to express himself openly.

She needs time to process, she's as confused as you are, he thought. Also her career probably doesn't lend itself to opening up easily.

That had been the case back then too. She hadn't lied to him much, he realised as he cast his mind back. Kaile simply hadn't offered much. Yet some of the things she had said were startling in their honesty when she had opened up, perhaps he had that effect on her.

That brought a smile to his lips again. I get to her. That should have been apparent given their current state. He shifted ever so slightly, just to feel her skin against his. Even for Asmus, it was easy to ignore the obvious at times, to think the worst.

She was afraid. She was afraid that she couldn't hide the truth with him so close. Kaile must have tried to bury that truth deep down over the years, to try and keep that raw nerve covered. Could he even bring himself to give her some space? They had been apart for so long, yet it would be just as painful to part again. Given time she might manage to rationalise everything and not in the way he wanted. What if she decided it was best to be away from him? After all, she must have made that choice before.

A pang of regret cut through the bliss. Kaile would feel him tense up under her embrace. He gripped her tightly, afraid she might vanish into the ether at any moment. Just talk, he told himself. Be here, in this moment. His hand slid down her waist, reaching her hip where his thumb mapped her hip bone. Hands imagined the feel of gripping them so tightly. His breath caught briefly and Kaile would feel a subtle shift of his hips. New memories of her. He had never expected to make any.

“Almost didn't make it through the academy,” he replied. “They didn't like my fancy tricks very much. Then I flew with Rogue Squadron. Bunch of misfits with talent. Right now course, I'm not officially anything as far as the Alliance is concerned.”

None of them were. Deniability in the case of capture by the First Order. The Alliance couldn't formally supply the Resistance with manpower, though it had been admitted they provided training and weapons.

“Oh!” he exclaimed suddenly. “That's why you know how to show me how to resist compromise. I always used to think: how did a waitress know that? Did she read it in a book? But no, the training I got was the same so that didn't…oh hell I should have worked this out years ago.”

Asmus chuckled under her touch. His hand gently grasped the back of her neck as he kissed her forehead once more.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

It was strange, having Asmus hold her. To breathe in his scent and hear the timbre of his voice. For a moment there, Kaile simply let the sound of him speak flow over her, not quite registering the words.

Instead, the Lorrdian let herself sink into his embrace, feeling it tighten around her, squeezing her close. Just a little longer, Kaile thought, keeping her eyes shut, blocking off everything. It was as if she were doing her best to not think, not dwell or go beyond the now.

That is until Asmus began to connect the nav points. Picking up bits and pieces of the puzzle. The one Kaile only wanted to leave behind. Going back to it, remembering it all stung.

She'd visibly tense then. Asmus never knew when to keep quiet and right now, when he was at his peak of exhilaration at being reunited with Kaile, he was practically bursting with a need to chatter. Not just because of who Asmus was, but because every second was another revelation. It was all dawning on him then. Every endless wonder and moment he wracked his mind on trying to figure out why Kaile had not contacted him were being illuminated by facts. By him connecting the dots. He had a brilliant mind, Kaile knew that. And a memory that could recall and work through nav points with little trouble. Going back to comb through whatever she may have said was bringing more and more to the surface on the reasons why she left.

And it was starting to make Kaile uncomfortable.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus felt her tense up. It was a general, intangible awareness of the shift rather than physically feeling her stiffen up next to him. There were people he should have known better. Ensign Fessle from the Joyous. One of his friends with benefits that he'd known for years.

Yet it was Kaile his body talked to of its own accord.

His hand didn't stop when it sensed her tense up. It carried on down that we'll charted path across her spine to the small of her back. He'd done this before, back on the Quintessence, to try and calm her down. It had worked then. His left arm remained helplessly pinned under her head.

"That was silly of us both," he admitted softly. "I wanted space to think, knew you would, but..."

The pause said as much as any 'okay'.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll give you space. I promise. Just come and talk to me when you're ready. For now..."

Asmus sank down into the bed, letting out a low sigh. Right now he just wanted this to sink in.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

For now...

That was the issue, wasn't it? Kaile's throw worked, lids fluttering half open, catching against the warmth of his skin. The longer I stay here, the harder it would be to walk away.

Kaile knew that and with that knowledge, she struggled with the need to run away as much as that incessant desire to cling with every fiber of her being. A part of her wished this was just a dream. It wasn't as if she didn't have plenty of those to feel wretched over; fleeting joy before they faded into wisps of shadow and smoke.

Her shoulders went tucking close to her neck, almost as if the brunette were balling herself even smaller. Kaile didn't say anything. To be honest, she couldn't. If she did, the thin veil holding all of this together would tear. She didn't want to talk. She didn't want to think. She didn't want to do anything other than just... just this.

The sweep of his hand had the intended effect. It sent a shudder through her body, one that began from her neck and went racing down to the small of her back. A slow glide from a slightly calloused palm with long, slender fingers.

I remember this, Kaile thought to herself. That single voice in the dark recesses of her mind. Recollected the way he held her years prior. When it all seemed to be going out of control, this was exactly all Kaile had wished for.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus thought he'd settled for a few seconds. His fingers splayed out as they carried on up and down. The stroking slowed until eventually it stopped and came to rest on his hip.

His rest was interrupted by the sudden burst of awareness and worry, akin to a myoclonic jerk at the edge of sleep. His eyes snapped open and he instantly calmed. He'd been overwhelmed by the sensation that this was all imaginary for just that brief flash he'd been certain of it.

He rolled back to lie flat, gently coaxing her to come and rest across his chest. If he fell asleep, would she wake him shortly to throw him out? Then again, he had an exercise sortie in the morning and didn't really want to be seen sneaking out of Kaile's room in the morning.

Sure as hell wasn't leaving of his own volition just yet. Needed to cement this reality in his mind.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Feeling Asmus jerk managed to wake Kaile from her slight doze. She too gave a start, eyes snapping wide. For a moment, Kaile took a moment to register her surroundings. Did she nod off?

A few seconds later broad arms gently tightened their hold around her shoulders and drew her across a wider chest. Her nose slid across the line of a stubbly jaw, bristle soft with a light rasp. It was the scent of him really, of his shampoo, that managed to cut through the haze. Memory and fantasy held no candle to reality.

Maybe that was why slightly trembling fingers rose. They gave a slight uncurl from Asmus' chest, ever so gingerly reaching out with her forefinger. It would hover just along the line of his jaw, and half hooded eyes agonizingly took the sight of him in.

Was he fully awake? Falling asleep? Things felt safer in the latter. Maybe it was the lack of questions. Or unable to meet him directly in the eyes.

There were things Kaile couldn't hide if she found herself lost in them.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus wearily raised his eyelids just a fraction, turning to glance at her for just a moment before falling closed. A gentle squeeze from his left arm and the content smile would let her know he was awake. He was, however, drifting right on the edge of sleep.

It would have been easy to stay awake, let his hands resume a more determined travel across her until they lost themselves again. Yet already there was a touch of guilt. He’d come after her instead of leaving her alone. Not even a few hours. But it was all so sudden, how could he stay away? Talking made things worse, letting his mind try and fill in the blanks made things worse.

Better to simply enjoy to weight of her against him. To hope that she would let those fingers glide over him in exploration as they once had. There were plenty of changes to chart. Ship life could be dull, so he’d fallen into a routine of exercise at the gym. That, and just reaching the mid twenties, had put a good ten kilos of muscle on his frame. Not broad by any means, but nowhere near as slender as he had been back then.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

So he really was here.

He was falling asleep. Asmus’ chest slowly rose and fell, deepening with every inhale of breath. It was a curious state of being for Kaile. There Asmus was, slipping into the precipice of slumber. A bit surreal. In her mind there had been a variety of possibilities at her weakest where she’d imagined seeing him again. None came close to the situation they were in right now.

Her fingers would hover right along his jawline, a hesitating tremble she fought as she struggled to complete the contact or curl her fingers away. When his arm gave a light squeeze, her eyes darted upward, and much like a child caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar, Kaile curled her fingers back.

Yet it was barely catching the faint green of his eyes as they met for a moment. Half slits that barely stared at her before falling shut. That knot at her throat rose again, and the Lorrdian lowered her eyes.

What am I doing? She mused, half chiding herself for being such an idiot. An idiot for not pulling away as much as wanting to stay near. To explore the breadth of his chest, the line of his clavicle. There were so many changes to that familiar map she’d surveyed years ago.

But that is to be expected right? Change. Kaile had expected him to change. To grow a little older. Live his life. Pass the Academy with flying colors and do what he did best.

It was hard...to try and convince myself,
lie to myself that I hadn’t fallen in love with you.
To try and make it hurt less. It was almost possible.
The reality of that lie went away about two femtoseconds after I recognised you

Another shudder went wracking through her at remembrance of that confession. How could he say that so easily? Why? It made her eyes sting, emotion welling to a near palatable state.
Why did he have to make this so difficult? Why did he have to be here? He just brought it all back.

And she felt like an idiot for it.

 

[Asmus Janes]

She was hesitant. Tension radiated off off her. The last barrier between him and a peaceful sleep. A long deep breath through his nose was followed by a quiet sigh.

“It's okay,” the barely formed murmur carried out on that breath.

He couldn't form coherent thoughts right now. Every turn of the cogs was slow. Everything was just a jumble of loose thoughts of feelings.

His right hand had rested across his own belly, but now it came up to find her elbow. Fingers crawled up to her shoulder, before becoming an uncoordinated stroke up to her cheek. There it threaded her hair back behind her ear before gently cradling her jaw.

“Sorry,” he sighed, his chest moving more slowly. Another thought had coalesced out of the fog. He'd put her under pressure and now she was reeling.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]


The tender brush of his fingers, that soft ‘it’s okay’. It carried so much weight. So many different meanings. A single tear went rolling down her cheek.

Sorry, he told her. Half whispered murmurings. He might have said it on the brink of slumber, but he meant it. But he wasn’t the one to had to apologize. It wasn’t him.

It’s me.

Kaile let her head fall, cheek coming to rest against his chest. There, the slow, steady thrum of his heart was a comforting rhythm for the Lorrdian. Swallowing hard, she lay there on top of him, her hand coming to rest beside her face, fingers slightly curling against his skin.

Despite everything, Kaile was unable to help the slight trace and drift of his fingers around a small three inch area of his chest. Different. Yet the same. A bit more muscular, but still lean. A new scar here and there.

Asmus.

The seconds turned into minutes, a lulling drift of tactile touch soothing her more. Much like his presence had been a balm to her soul years prior, Asmus still had the same effect on her still. Like a warm blanket, he surrounded her.

And stars help me, Kaile thought as she drew tighter against him. She didn’t want to let him go. If it was a dream, she didn’t want to wake. Just this-- This, was okay.

It wasn’t long before Kaile herself succumbed to the fog. Weary, emotionally, mentally, and physically, she finally slept.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus was easily lulled off into sleep. Comfortably warm with her reassuring weight across him. Unlike Kaile, he'd tried a few times to find what he had during that trip. A few short term relationships, but mostly just some fun. For some reason he'd never found that formula that led to falling quite so suddenly.

His hand stopped moving, slid down and fell off to the sheets. Kaile must have been drained from the day, becoming a dead weight so quickly. As he drifted off he could still taste the grime and sweat she hadn't found the time to wash away.

---

Awareness came slowly, almost entirely focused on the low beeping. It changed to a higher pitch and quicker tempo. With a low groan he started to shift, but found himself tangled up and pinned down.

The ceiling was too far away. It wasn't his room. It all came back to him in a rush. He shuffled his weight so he could look down. She was still there, starting to stir at the incessant alarm.

Oh kark, he wasn't really supposed to be in this sector of the ship. He needed to slip away before the shift change.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Kaile began to stir. It was a slow path to consciousness that only increased with the ever incessant beep of an alarm. It took her a couple of seconds to register her surroundings. Like the fact that her bed was moving; which typically it did when she rolled around in it. However, it typically didn’t radiate heat and then move from one place to the next!

Eyes went snapping open at the dawning that her mattress didn’t just come to life, but that it was in fact a man. A man with angular features, a scruffy visage, gold-flecked sleepy eyes that revealed a growing sense of alarm.

Although not as much as the Lorrdian herself.

The snatch of the blankets and the sudden jerk away of Kaile’s body wasn’t due to as much a sense of shame, as dawning reality. Everything just seemed to crash on her again, and it resulted in a scrambling attempt at untangling of limbs to scoot away.

All the while, that alarm would beep as if it were a klaxon of warning. Not just of the time, but of the situation all together.