[JP] Lt. JG Marshall & Lt. Cmdr. Reynolds - Northern Lights (Part IV)

[Quinn Reynolds]

((Hillside, Deln Mountain Range, Trill))

::The question prompted a deep blush, a breath of a laugh, and nod from the freckled woman.::

E. Reynolds: Whenever you like.

::Jo swallowed and felt her heart flare at the answer, thoroughly lost in the aurora reflecting in gentle hazel eyes, anticipation wrapping around her like something solid. Her fingers curled under Erin’s delicate chin and she tilted her face up to hers - then with a wild heart, eyes slipping to close, she kissed her. It was soft and chaste; Erin was keeping her distance, her touch delicate and still hesitant, as though she was waiting for an abrupt change of mind. When it became clear that there would be none, that they both wanted this as much as the other, she closed what little distance remained between them, her breath escaping as a sigh as she slipped her arms around the other woman.::

::Erin's blonde hair slid between Jo's fingers, her hand finding the small of her back. An unfamiliar pleasant frisson smoothly slipped through her, swirling into her spine and coiling deep in her chest, pinprick sensations colliding all over her skin. A smile took control of her, and she grinned against the lips of the woman in her arms, voice light in the space between them.::

Marshall: I um… I think you melted my knees.

::The scientist laughed quietly in reply, resting her forehead against Jo's. Her mouth moved wordlessly in several attempts starting and failing to reply, and then she laughed again, shaking her head. The heat radiating from her cheeks was enough to be felt, and she seemed entirely unable to stop smiling.::

E. Reynolds: Uh... You're welcome?

::Jo captured her smile with her own, tender kisses interspaced between laughing on a cliff edge. The woman's touch ignited everything into high definition; the warmth of Erin's face so close to hers, the gentle contact of her skin heady and dizzying, and entirely beautiful. It might have lasted minutes, or an hour; it didn't matter. She pulled back enough to look at her, light fingertips on her jaw, a seriousness with a smile.::

Marshall: I like you.

::Erin's autumn eyes met the summer blue of Jo's, and she was quiet for a little while, lingering in the moment and the smile of the other woman. Like her heart, her breath was racing, swift and shallow, and her touch was almost reverent in its care.::

E. Reynolds: I like you, too.

::Her response was met with Jo's arms around her waist and her forehead against hers, a quiet moment between the two of them amidst shaky exhalations and beating hearts, a touch of the fire burning brightly underneath. It wasn't a sudden realisation, or an epiphany; just a confession that had taken its time, unhurried, dreamy and graceful::

Marshall: Watch the stars with me? 

E. Reynolds: Well, they're not as pretty as you, but okay.

::As a self-conscious blush blossomed over her cheeks, Erin grinned in a curious mix of shyness and impishness that made her look younger than her years. It was achingly lovely and hit Jo between the eyes.::

Marshall: You can look at me all you like, I'll be looking at you. ::She grinned and kissed her again softly.:: Your well prepared Ops Officer brought tea and a blanket.

E. Reynolds: *My* well-prepared ops officer?

Marshall: If you want me to be. ::Her eyebrow arched.:: I can't think of another beautiful genius botanist who gives me premature ventricular contractions.

::Erin laughed, rising up onto the tips of her toes to steal a kiss. Her eyes were shining with delight, the veneer of world-weariness absent for once.::

E. Reynolds: Without a doubt. Especially since you come bearing tea. ::She grinned.::

Marshall: You're lucky it wasn't the catatonic fluid. ::She smiled, her kiss tingling her lips.:: Tea, blanket, and you can tell me all about the physics of this.

E. Reynolds: It's a date.

::Jo narrowed her eyes with a playfully quizzical look.::

Marshall: With three PhDs, is this not technically a doctor's appointment?

::With a sly, amused smile and some obvious reluctance, Erin disentangled herself from Jo's arms, crouching down for the rucksack the operations officer had dropped earlier. Unfastening it, she pulled out the striped blanket and snapped it out, laying it on the ground.::

E. Reynolds: There's a joke about playing doctor there that I'm... ::she grinned, shaking her head.:: ...really not going to touch.

::Jo laughed, retrieving the flask from the rucksack, happy to hold it in her hands for the warmth. While caught up in the hybrid's embraces, the breeze and cold air hadn't been felt at all. She handed the flask to Erin and kissed just behind her ear.::

Marshall: You'll have to tell me that one. 

E. Reynolds: Oh, I'm far too sober for that. You should have brought the liquid catatonia. 

::She chuckled, glancing over her shoulder at Jo with a smile.::

Marshall: And miss you light up at the mention of tea?

::She unzipped her outer jacket and took up residence on the blanket, looking out toward the ocean, only just able to see the city lights on the other side of the bay, then shot Erin a cheeky grin, holding her hand out to her.::

Marshall: I'm sure it'll have something to do with sudden onset dyspnea and raised oxytocin levels. Not that I have any idea what you're referring to. 

E. Reynolds: Um... ::She took the offered hand while blushing a deep crimson, rubbing her burning cheek with a shy smile.:: I think I've been outmanoeuvred.

::Jo smiled and brushed her thumb over the back of her hand.:: 

Marshall: There's a first time for everything. Sit with me?

E. Reynolds: Oh, yeah. 

::Laughing quietly at herself, she neatly deposited herself on the blanket next to Jo. After a moment's hesitation, she shuffled closer, enough that their shoulders were touching, squeezing her hand tight.::

E. Reynolds: ::Quietly,:: I'm really glad you invited me up here tonight. I wasn't expecting... well, any of this.

::Her response came with a flush of Jo's skin. She gazed over to Erin, emerald light illuminating her freckled cheeks in the relative darkness, her warm hand in hers, a gentle happiness in all of it.::

Marshall: Neither was I. ::Her exhaled sigh was soft.:: There's no one else I'd rather be here with.

::Sat on the ridge of a cliffside, warm and tender hearted, they watched the ephemeral aurora changing shape in a cloudless indigo sky above the encompassing vista through the twilight, observing distant stars and darkness as it faded into the oncoming light. Eventually and reluctantly, they left behind their stolen night and made their way back to the camp together, wrapped up in each other, under a dawning binary sunrise.::

fin

--

Lieutenant JG Jocelyn Marshall

Operations Officer

USS Gorkon

G239304JM0

&

Lt. Commander Erin Reynolds

Chief Science Officer

USS Gorkon

simmed by

Rear Admiral Quinn Reynolds
Commanding Officer

USS Gorkon

T238401QR0