Kinda Feeling Okay

Posted on 03 Jun 2016 @ 8:37am by Ensign Elisha Cherno & Ensign Xavier Hernandez

2,227 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: Cadet Girls' Barracks, Holodeck
Timeline: MD11 : 1643

Elisha was awake, but only just. She was settled on the floor with a PaDD, coloring in a blank version of Starry Night. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she'd promised herself to stay awake for at least two hours this time. She was only an hour in.

Hearing the door chime, she looked up at the door and called, "come in."

Xavier entered wearing a nice charcoal gray suit with light black pinstripes, a bowtie of the same charcoal gray, a fez and carried his saxophone case. "Mi Querida, are you up to for a visit?" he asked with a smile.

"For you, of course," said Elisha, smiling shyly. "You look very... eccentric. Got a gig tonight?"

"Only for you," he said with a smile. "I wrote a little something to play for you. How are you feeling?"

"Kinda okay," she answered. "You wrote me a song?"

"I did," Xavier said with a smile as he opened the case and pulled his saxophone out. "I call it Oh, Elisha."

She grinned in spite of herself. "And you're not going to play it for the whole galaxy?" She teased.

"But mi Querida," he said as he looked hurt. "You are my whole galaxy."

"Aw!" said Elisha, thoroughly melting. "That's so sweet!"

"It's true," Xavier said as he set up his sax and took a seat on her bed. "Are you ready, beautiful?"

"Yes," she replied, setting the PaDD on the floor beside her and giving him her full attention.''

Xavier wet his lips and took a deep breath, his fingers on the keys before he began to play the song for her. He got up and kneeled down as he played, his eyes meeting hers as the melody seemed to come from deep within him and poured out of the saxophone with pure emotion.

It had the desired effect. Elisha was both a puddle on the floor and absolutely feeling like Queen of the Universe. Nobody have ever written a song for her before in her entire life. Except that ridiculous thing her dad still liked to sing to her every time she came home, but that didn't count. This did because a guy that was not her father had written it for her.

When he finished the song, Xavier set the saxophone aside and smiled when he saw the look on her face. "I take it that you like it, mi Querida?" he asked her softly.

She nodded, grinning widely. "It was amazing!" she gushed. "I loved it!"

Xavier reached out to caress her cheek as he met her eyes. "I'm glad. I wanted to do something special just for you and only you. You're very special to me, mi Querida and I could not see myself ever playing anything like that for anyone else."

She caught his hand in hers and kissed its palm. "It's the best thing anyone's ever done for me," she said honestly. "You're the best."

He pulled her to him and gave her a long, soft kiss. "That..is kiss."

She giggled and crawled into his lap, leaning her head on his shoulder and nuzzling his neck. "Yes it is," she said. "Have I mentioned that I love you?"

"You have," Xavier said. "I love you, too, mi Querida." He gave her another kiss as he wrapped his arms around her.

Elisha suddenly thought about Kelly coming back at that moment and was instantly self-conscious. Besides which, she was exhausted and starting to fall asleep in his arms and she had promised herself that she would stay awake a bit longer, yet. "Maybe... let's go for a walk?" she suggested. "I need to stay awake for at least another hour and you're making me sleepy."

"A kiss is making you sleepy?" He asked. "You are like the reverse sleeping princess?"

"No," she laughed. "Sitting here with you all comfy is making me sleepy. Plus, I'm sleepy to begin with, so that doesn't help."

"We could go to the holodeck or my place," Xavier suggested.

She thought about going back to his quarters, but she figured she's just fall asleep there. "Let's do the holodeck," she said, dragging herself off of his lap. "We can walk through San Francisco until I'm too exhausted to continue."

He lifted her in his arms and used his legs to come to his feet before he set her down on hers. "I always wanted to play sax by the bay," he said.

She giggled again. "I used to go down there to sing," she said. "It was usually deserted in mid-morning."

Xavier put his saxophone back in the case and closed it, then reached for her hand with his free one. "Shall we, mi Querida?"

"Absolutely," she said, slipping her hand into his and giving it a little squeeze.

He smiled and led her out of her quarters and headed down the corridor. "What did you want to do besides go to the bay and sing?" he asked her.

"Sleep," she answered. "But I have to start making myself stay awake for awhile. Too much sleep is worse than not enough."

"You went a number of days with no sleep at all," Xavier pointed out as they entered a turbolift and he requested the appropriate deck. "It's natural to try to catch up."

"Yeah, I know," she replied. "But probably not all at once. And I don't want to wake up at four in the morning again."

"If you do get up at that time, you could come to my quarters," he said. "I'd happily get up for you." The turbolift came to a stop and he stepped out of it with her hand in his.

She blushed prettily as she followed him. "I'm sure you would," she said. "But you don't need to fall asleep in the middle of alpha shift any more than I do. We'd both get bumped to gamma in a heartbeat."

"Then we'd have even more time together while everyone else is on duty," Xavier said as they arrived at the holodeck.

"I feel like it would be the same amount of time," she said. "It would just be different."

"It would be better," he said as he entered a program and waited for the computer to respond. When it did, he lead her into the holodeck where they found themselves at the edge of the bay.

"If you say so," she said as the walked through the holodeck doors. "Oh, this is the spot, right over here," she said, leading him to a little rocky outcropping. "There's never anyone here and the ducks are really polite."

"The ducks are polite?" Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Are they normally violent and attack anyone near them?"

"Well, no," she said. "But, I mean, they don't quack loudly while you're trying to sing."

"Well mannered ducks," he mused. "What's the world coming to?"

"Better things, hopefully," she said, standing on one of the rocks and singing the first few bars of 'Se Tu M'ami'.

"You have an excellent voice," Xavier said as he pulled his sax out of the case and played a few notes in an attempt to match it.

"Thank you," she said sheepishly. Standing on the rock with the ducks swimming only feet away, she had forgotten that he was there. Now, though, she was self-conscious.

He set the saxophone down and looked at her. "Why did you stop, mi Querida?"

"I... don't like singing in front of people," she admitted.

"Am I people or your boyfriend?"

"Xavi," complained Elisha. "That's not the point." But, truthfully, she didn't know what the point was. He had liked her singing during the Cadets' karaoke competition, so why was she so nervous to sing for him again?

"Then what's wrong?" Xavier asked her, looking hurt.

She sighed and sat on the rock. "I just don't like being the center of attention," she said. "It makes me nervous and then I mess up. And then people laugh."

"When have I ever laughed at you?" he asked her as he began to put his saxophone away.

Well, okay, so he had a point. "I'm sorry," she said. "Don't put your sax away. I- I didn't mean..." She trailed off, pointlessly, not sure what to say to make it better.

"I was there for you when you were sick, when you accused me and Joel of trying to murder you and everything else," Xavier said. "I'm not some fly by night freighter weight. I'm not some guy who is only after one thing, and I think I'd rather not have anyone if I can't be with you."

Tears came to her eyes. She couldn't tell if she was ashamed or if his proclamation moved her. It didn't matter though. She felt like she'd just ruined everything. She didn't know what to say now, so she just kept her head down and tried not to let him see.

"Never mind," he said softly, missing the tears in her eyes. "You don't have to sing for me. We will just sit here and enjoy the view."

"Are- are you sure?" she asked, trying to blink the tears away before he saw. "I c-could try, if- if you want." Drat it! The stutter was back. She'd thought she was over that with Xavi!

"It's okay, Elisha," Xavier said when he heard her stutter.

"O-okay," she said, dashing at the tears and swallowing hard. "I- I'm really s-s-sorry."

"It's okay," he said again, a bit firmer than before.

"O-okay," she said, then sighed. Stop stuttering! she told herself. "So, um.... w-what shall we do, then?"

Instead of responding verbally, Xavier took her in his arms and gave her a long, hot, passionate kiss as he slid one hand through her hair and another down her back.

She very nearly let him just continue, but fear caused her to stop him. "Well, that's one idea," she said nervously, attempting to move his hands to safer places.

He took her hands in his when she tried to move them and smiled. "You're not stuttering, though."

"N-n-no," she said. "D-damnit!"

"I guess it's time to kiss you again," Xavier said with a smile.

"M-maybe," she said, then grinned nervously. She wondered if part of her would always be terrified by him.

He leaned in and gave her a much softer kiss right after her grin and brushed his lips light against hers before he pulled back. "Like that?"

"Much better," she agreed. "Much more my speed."

"Do you want to try it?" Xavier asked her.

She blinked. "Try... what, exactly?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Kiss me," he said.

"Oh," she said, surprised. She had never considered the prospect before. "Oh," she said again, this time sounding absolutely delighted at the idea. She grinned at him, then leaned forward and brushed her lips softly against his.

Xavier let her set the pace as she kissed him for the first time and smiled when it ended, keeping his hands in hers. "That wasn't so bad, was it, mi Querida?"

She grinned at him. "It was nice," she said, kissing him again.

"Mmm," he said when she kissed him again. "I think I'm liking this more and more," he said with a smile.

"Me, too," she giggled, kissing him again. "We could just stay here doing this all day, if you like."

"They say practice makes perfect," Xavier said with a smile.

She blushed prettily. "Well, then, w-what are we w-waiting f-f-for?" she said, trying to give him a sensual look.

He smiled and leaned in to give her another soft kiss. "Absolutely nothing. Do you want to to walk for a bit?"

"N-no," she said, and then cleared her throat. "No," she repeated. "I'd rather just stay here and- and kiss you some more. If- if that's okay."

A short while later, Xavier came up for air. "Much more of that and our lips are going to be chapped," he laughed softly. "I love how quick you picked me out of all the guys onboard."

"If I remember correctly, you picked me," she said, kissing the end of his nose. "If you hadn't approached me, we probably wouldn't be here now. There's no way I'd have approached you; you're way out of my league."

"I disagree," he told her as he laughed at the kiss on his nose. "After all, you're with me now, aren't you?"

"Hey, I can't help it if you can't tell a girl who's in your league from one who's not," she defended. "You're Major leagues and I'm like.... T-ball or something."

"I'm not major league," Xavier said. "I'm a K-9 Security officer. How many people want to be with someone who's best friend also has four legs?"

"Only every girl in the universe," replied Elisha. "Well, except maybe Klingons and Romulans."

"I don't want them, though," he said. "I only want you."

"I hope you never change your mind," she replied, running one finger along his jaw line.

"There's no chance of that, mi Querida," Xavier said softly before he leaned in to give her a kiss.

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