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“Okay.” He reached out slowly and patted her shoulder once before pulling his hand away. “Thank you.”
“Two on the promenade again?” The warmth that blossomed over her face didn’t need translating this time.
“Okay.” Relief flooded him. She’d not drawn away.
“Okay.” She slipped out through the doorway as she called back, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He later returned his plate to the mess hall, mostly uneaten.
Quinn sat patiently. He still had access to all the ship’s systems, so he knew she was running late. Though he found that he didn’t like tardiness. He didn’t enjoy sharing her attention, and he knew that was stupid and childish. All of his feelings about Kira were getting caught up in a big tangle, and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do about it. It was distracting. That was why when she squatted down next to him, throwing her legs off the side, she caught him off guard.
“Sorry I’m late.” She separated out a bag of sandwiches. Their head cook, Hela, back on board, meant they weren’t Kira’s concoction.
Quinn jumped as she spoke, taken aback by how she had snuck up on him. He wasn’t one prone to be surprised. With access to most camera networks and a brain capable of actual multi-tasking, it was fairly easy to maintain an awareness of the world around him. However, like any human, his thoughts could be so focused on a single thing that every other thing was blocked out. It had just never happened to him before when thinking about a person. She was the first who had ever commanded all of his attention, and she hadn’t even been in the room.
“It’s alright.” He grumbled softly. Clearly a bit upset, but not inclined to make a big deal out of it.
Concern, the algorithm flashed it in the corner of his readout, letting him know that was what she looked at him with. The damned word becoming a repetitive nuisance.
“We’ll be leaving tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll be in known space for a while so Morgan can truly acclimate to the new controls.”
“Okay.” The idea should have made him happy, delirious even. His dearest wishes were coming true. But what he wanted… he wanted to still be doing repairs, so it was just the two of them.
“Quinn.” Kira leaned forward, her forehead resting on her forearm positioned on the railing. “It’s okay that things change, ya know?”
“I liked how things were,” he spoke as he often did, low and unsure, but he couldn’t know how he came across. “Things were getting better. I was…” He continued low enough she couldn’t hear, but he wished she did.
“You were?”
“Yes, I valued our time together.”
Kira sat relaxed against the railing, leaning her head against the cool metal, watching Quinn for his response. Tension consumed him. Admitting it put it in danger, or it would have before, any expression of enjoyment, any change in his chemical makeup in his brain, they yanked it away immediately.
“I don’t plan on ignoring you, Quinn.” Kira touched him this time. It wasn’t a pat, but a prolonged touch. “I’ll be busier, but I will make time for you. You’re my friend.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“I know. It’s been nice these past few months.”
“It was. It hurts less when you are around. That’s what I wanted. Or close enough.”
“You make me happy too, Quinn.” She held out her hand for him to take.
That signal was enough to get through Quinn’s slightly oblivious behavior. An application that read body language could only cover so much. Reaching out slowly, he took her hand in his, squeezing her palm lightly once he did.
She held on for a little longer. “Would you want to pick a constellation to show me tonight?”
The warmth against his hand, the smoothness of her own, the way she didn’t let go, it was all-consuming. He gave her a tentative smile, then a nod, because he did not trust himself to speak.
“Can you link your communicator and I’ll message you when I’m finished with prep?”
“Oh, yeah, I can do that.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
They ate lunch together in silence after that. Both of them focused on their food. When done, he lingered with his fingers wrapped around hers for a few moments, not wanting to pull away but knowing he had to. So, slowly, he unwinded first and took his hand back.
