So This is What Rested Feels Like

Posted on 21 Oct 2018 @ 10:26pm by Commander Jayla Kij & Senior Chief Petty Officer Alexander Rylan

2,473 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Fractured
Location: Jayla's Quarters
Timeline: MD 2 | 0540

Jayla slowly became aware of lying in her bed, another body pressed up against her own and wrapped around her tightly, yet comfortably. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes concernedly for a moment, then remembered Alex had been here and he must have decided to stay when she fell asleep.

Good grief, Jayla! she thought to herself. Falling asleep on the first date! But, it didn’t matter. They had both been exhausted. How could anyone have expected any differently?

Very carefully, she attempted to pull his arm away from her so she could get up, but he was wrapped pretty tightly around her. She sighed. There was nothing for it. “Alex,” she said softly, elbowing his ribs gently. “Alex, wake up.”

Alex was having very pleasant dreams about the woman in his arms, when suddenly he felt something poke him in the ribs and possibly heard someone who sounded remarkably like Jayla say something that didn't seem to fit the scenario going in his head. Realizing he was dreaming, Alex reluctantly let himself wake up. As he did, his grip on Jayla relaxed.

"Hmmm...morning, " he said, as he rolled away from Jayla, yawned, and stretched his very athletic, and very exposed, form. "I hope I wasn't too forward by staying. It just seemed that you could use the company, and I needed, too, so...."

“I don’t mind at all,” she replied, pulling herself out of bed. “I don’t remember the last time I slept so well, especially with someone else in my bed. But, hold that thought!” she instructed and hurried off to the head for two minutes.

When she returned, she crawled back into bed and snuggled against Alex again. “I just checked the chronometer,” she said. “We still have a couple of hours before alpha shift.”

"Hmmhmm," Alex said, smiling. "I'm sure we can find something to do with that time...something that will hopefully include breakfast before we leave for work. Okay, your turn to hold that thought."

Alex made his own trip to the head, then returned and fumbled around with Jayla until they were snuggled up in bed again. Biology could be a real pain sometimes.

Jayla burried her face in his chest, arm draped across his stomach. “Breakfast, yes,” she agreed. “But I’m so comfortable right now. I don’t wanna move.”

"Hmmm..." Alex said. "Comfortable. Yes. Very comfortable. We have time. It doesn't take two hours to eat and get ready for work. And, um, thanks for not freaking out when you woke up with me in your bed in my underwear. Actually, last night I was absolutely terrified that you were going to wake up when I was loosening your belt and assume I was trying to undress you."

She giggled into his chest. “I laugh now, but to be honest, that was a distinct possibility,” she replied. “I vaguely remember something of the sort, but I was too sleepy to care.”

Alex yawned again, the sound resonating in his torso.

"Hmm, well," he said. "As long as I dodged that bullet. You know, despite some flashback nightmares here and there, I usually sleep pretty well, but last night was for me, too, the best night's sleep I've had in a while. We should pass out in each other's arms more often. Oh, and the answer is purple. Today anyway. I sometimes change my favorite color depending on my mood on any given day. You didn't ask, but that's one of those generic personal questions a person can ask to break the ice, so I saved you the trouble of asking. What's your favorite color today? Or maybe just right this minute? As a painter, your favorite color must change frequently."

“Somewhat,” she replied. “I like yellow, mostly. It’s a cheerful color. There is no way to make yellow be melancholy. But, I also like vibrant shades of in-between colors. Like red-purple, blue-green, orange-red. You know the ones.”

"Yes, I do," Alex said. Thinking for a moment, he 'anticipated' another question a person might ask someone they were getting to know. This was mostly trivia, with Alex answering questions Jayla hadn't asked, but it passed the time. "Cherries, Mandarin Oranges, the fresh ones and the ones they pack in juice or light syrup, depending what I can get my hands on, and the Rigelian analog to an apple, mostly because they make the best cider, hard cider, and cold-fermented applejack I've ever tasted! Anyway, those are my favorite fruits. What about you?"

“Mango,” she replied. “And rambutan from South America. It looks disgusting, but it’s so good. And of course jamba. That’s from Trill. I can’t really describe its flavor, but it last really good. The replicator doesn’t quite get it right. Next time we’re near Trill, I’ll take you to my parents’ house. They have a huge Jamba tree in their yard.”

"Oooh!" Alex said. "I get to meet your parents? You really do like me! Okay...um...coffee cookies and cream or chocolate, often with chunks and pieces and gooey bits of chocolaty, chocolate goodness mixed in. My too favorite flavors of ice cream. You?"

“Dulce de leche or caramel,” she replied. “Or anything weird like pumpkin or watermelon. Oooo! Peppermint! So good on a hot summer day.”

"I once found this little place that made really good ginger ice cream," Alex said. "You would have loved it. Um...omnivore, you?"

“Same,” she replied. “I don’t get natural meat often, especially on a starship, but man it’s good.”

"Yeah, well," Alex said. "During SERE training, I was one of the unlucky few forced to taste the testicles of a domestic male bovine...raw. After that, just about anything tastes good!"

“Ew!” exclaimed Jayla with a light laugh. “That’s disgusting! The grossest thing I ever ate was gagh and that wasn’t really all that bad.”

"I've heard they're not bad fried with some seasoning," Alex said. "But I never intend to find out if that's true. At least raw rabbit was less psychologically scarring, and after the first one we were allowed to cook them...you know what? Let's talk about something else. Like...breakfast! This time, you get to go first. What's your favorite breakfast?"

“Oatmeal with blueberries and a side of sausages,” she replied. “But the oatmeal has to be really thick, like the consistency of an oatmeal cookie. I’ve got my own blend listed in the computer. It’s so good.”

"That sounds...interesting," Alex said. "Tell you what. I'll get that set up for you while you hit the sonic shower and change into a fresh uniform...unless you feel like walking around in your underwear, too, in which case I wholeheartedly approve. But seriously, as your friend, you were on your feet for nearly twenty-four hours, physically exerting yourself, while wearing that uniform...do you where I'm going with this? I'm only saying it because I care...and because my nostrils are burning--Ouch! I was only teasing...mostly."

She had playfully slapped his shoulder at the nostrils comment, but she was laughing as she did so. “Okay, okay,” she replied, dragging herself away from him reluctantly. “I can’t imagine I smell any better than you right now.” She grinned, eyes twinkling, to indicate that she was teasing.

"Ah," Alex said, rising out of bed, but didn't get dressed. He was arguably clean, but he figured he'd at least run through the shower after breakfast. "But I grabbed a shower before I came to see you. I admit, occasional fastidiousness is a failing of mine!"

“That sounds perfect,” she agreed. Admittedly, she aight of him standing there in just his boxers stirred something in here and nearly made her abandon her resolve to take things slow, but she could practically hear Belar growling, “leave it!” in her head. “It’s listed as Kij breakfast number 1,” she added, heading back towards the head.

Alex got Jayla her breakfast and decided he'd give it a try, though oatmeal that think made his insides hurt, so he ordered a little milk on the side so he could make it less dense. When Jayla returned, her food was waiting for her.

After a quick sonic shower and a fresh uniform, Jayla was feeling much better. A bit of water spritzed onto her hair restored it to its curly state. She rarely wore makeup, but today, a bit of subtle eyeliner made her feel just a little prettier. With a grin planted on her face, she finally joined Alex at her little table. "You are absolutely the best," she said, seeing her breakfast waiting for her.

"Wow," Alex said. "You look really good!"

Alex pulled her chair out for her and then kissed her on the cheek, enjoying the test of her skin and the scent of her hair, when she was seated, before taking his own seat

"Okay if I grab a shower before I leave?" Alex asked after quietly thanking the Great Bird of the Galaxy in his head for her bounty.

"Absolutely," she replied. She fully enjoyed his attention, of course, and she intended to enjoy them even more if she could. "You know," she said, stirring her thick oatmeal with her spoon. "We're going to end up on the rumor mill today. I have no idea how, but people on this ship know what goes on, even if there is no way anybody could see it."

Alex thought about that a second. He looked in her eyes.

"Well," he said. "There are already a few rumors flying around about us. The service is like secondary school on steroids. At least now there's a little more truth to the rumors."

The rumor mill had been stirring. There was one particularly nasty one about how Alex was chasing 'the Captain's cast-offs', and another bit of gossip saying that he was vying to become Jayla's 'flavor of the month'. Alex did his best not to let those kinds of things bother him. He and Jayla were adults, and besides, it wasn't as though he'd lived a virginal life since he went off to join Starfleet. Alex always did his best not to be one of those men who wanted their woman to be fun and sexy but someone not to have had a love life before them.

Jayla rolled her eyes, her imagination filling in the blanks. "Lovely," she said wryly, shaking her head. "It's like there's nothing better to do than to speculate about my love life. To be honest, I think they're jealous that so many men supposedly sleep with me. Actually, I've only slept with one of them," she added conspiratorially. "It gets annoying, really, always being talked about and it almost never being true. It would be great if it were true, but it's not." She shrugged. "Ah, well. If you don't care, neither do I," she finished.

Alex sighed.

"Look," he said. "We're both adults. We're young, but we're not kids anymore. You're a grown woman, an attractive one at that. It would be very strange if you hadn't had a love life before me. Not that you need my approval, but I'm good with that. I do my best to make sure I'm not one of those guys who gets overly jealous of a woman's past. I don't always succeed, but I do my best. I mean, it's not like I've been celibate for the last twenty years!"

Jayla’s eyes grew wide in an attempt to feign shock, but the effect was somewhat destroyed by the grin on her face. “You haven’t?” she replied. “Scandalous!”

Alex laughed.

"Well," Alex said, pointing both thumbs at himself. "When you have so much to offer, it's hard to keep the ladies away!"

She laughed so hard at that, she nearly spit oatmeal and blueberries all over the table. “I mean, it’s probably not far from the truth,” she replied when she finally got her giggles under control. “After all, you’ve got a lot going for you. You tucked me into bed, helped me get the best night’s sleep in as long as I can remember, and then you made me breakfast. And you’re also kinda hot.”

Alex grinned. He wasn't unaware of how most women and some men looked at him. He just tried not to be too arrogant about it...except when he was joking around!

"Trust me," he said. "It was as good for me as it was for you."

It was a good thing they had to be on duty shortly or her “take things slowly” resolve might have broken. “Aw,” she said. “That was an oddly flirtatious way to be incredibly sweet.”

"I try," Alex said. He finished the last spoonful of his oatmeal, one last nibble of sausage, drank down the orange juice he'd replicated, and tossed back the last of his coffee. "Okay, I'm going to use your shower and then replicate a uniform and...do you want to wait for me or shall I meet you in Sickbay?"

“I’ll wait for you,” she replied. “I’m not quite done here and since everyone is going to know you were here last night, what’s the point of attempting to arrive separately?”

Alex rose and stretched with a bit of yawn/groan noise thrown in for good measure.

"I like your style," he said, then he grinned mischievously. "Okay. I'll be in your shower. Feel free to think of me in there...naked."

“I’d better not or else we won’t make it to Sick bay on time,” she replied with a grin.

Alex laughed.

"Well," he said. "Have it your way. I'll be ready to go, soon."

Alex quickly replicated himself a uniform, towel and a few toiletries and went and cleaned himself up. He felt seriously distracted by Jayla's mere presence in the other room, but managed to get himself under control. He emerged dressed and ready to go. He walked over to Jayla to walk out with her, and, as though it was the most natural thing in the world, kissed her gently on the cheek. He wanted more but he'd waited almost twenty years. He could wait a little longer.

"Ready?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Jayla had finished her breakfast and set her dishes in the replicator to be reclaimed. She blushed slightly at his kiss. Why did such a touch cause such a reaction in her? Never mind. She couldn’t think about that now. “I’m ready,” she said, standing. “Let’s go start some rumors.”

If only they were true...oh, well. I can wait.

"Sounds fun!" he said. "After you."

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