[Witches' Horses] Sibir
Title: proper sendoff
'Verse/characters: Sibir; Nadya and Stas
Prompt: 43A "a single night"
Word Count: 1063
Notes: Some time after their introduction. 'Lyuba' is the feminine of 'love' as a term of affection.
Ah, there--Nadya pounced on her chosen victim, caught her by the shoulder and pulled her out of the stream of traffic so fast Katusha was still only starting to protest the grab when she recognised Nadya.
"Katusha, lyuba, I need a favour--" Nadya told her quickly, crowded up close so they didn't get run into or over.
"I'm not helping you try to take over the corps with cherry pie," Katusha replied as-quickly, and Nadya giggled despite herself.
"I maintain it would be worth trying. But no, I need someone to take my shift tonight. It's--" she bit her lip, cast her eyes aside and then back to Katusha's face. "They're riding out tomorrow morning."
Light dawned across Katusha's face, and she lifted a hand to cover her mouth. "Boje moi--you really like him."
"I do," Nadya admitted, and gave Katusha a hopeful look. "I'll owe you two shifts--I know it's short notice but I only just found out and--"
Katusha moved her hand from hiding her own mouth to covering Nadya's, firmly enough Nadya's words were muffled and broken by Katusha's overscrubbed fingers. "Yes," she said, and when Nadya asked her a question with just her eyes she pulled Nadya into a tight hug, whispered "Yes, I'll take the shift, and you can just owe me one. Now shoo." in her ear.
Nadya hugged her tightly back, then ducked into the flow of traffic again, heading for the complex rumour had it Stas drank in, given choice.
Whistles and appreciative stares greeted her at the doorway, and while ordinarily she'd have grinned and posed a little before going on her way, she ignored them entirely, looking for the right set of messily knotted black dreadlocks among the mass of riders.
A familiar laugh rose from out of sight, and she grinned in response, dove through the crowd. She was good at crowd-threading--had to be, with the shifts she worked, both coming in and going out she hit people's break-fasts and nights--but this was thicker than even she was accustomed to, the bodies around her not moving in reasonably defined lanes.
She had to hop sideways twice to avoid hopeful hands; the second time one of the servers swatted at the boy who'd made a grab, gave him a quelling look that probably augered a spat if he wasn't among the men leaving in the morning. Five steps later she gave profuse if necessarily brief apologies to the poor sergeant whose foot she'd just stepped on. Her offduty boots were big sturdy things, inherited from a soldier who'd been sent back to the terems for a long convalescence, and while she was sure of where her feet were, she sometimes miscalculated how much farther the treads stretched than her onduty slippers.
But it was totally worth it to shove in next to the seated, laughing Lievetenant Stanislav, hard enough that he turned to growl a protest to another soldier and then dropped his jaw in shock when he saw her instead.
She dimpled, closed his mouth with two fingers under his chin. "Miss me?"
A slow, incandescent grin spread across his newly depilated face--not the usual lick and a promise he used for the sake of her skin, but the full out 'no hairs caught in my breathing gear' rider's work, and she was happy to see it, if sad that it was necessary--as he reached around her, caught her by the waist and pulled her in closer against his side. "Always."
She leaned up to whisper in his ear, kissed it hello first. "I traded shifts--I don't work tonight."
"Really," he said automatically, more than a little distracted by her lips by his earlobe, then her words penetrated and he pulled back just enough to turn his head and look her full in the face. "Really?"
She bobbed her head, looked away for a beat as she did, felt a slightly sheepish smile spread across her face and the very faint beginnings of a blush touch her cheeks as she looked back at him. "Yes."
Without looking, he reached over, grabbed his beer, finished it in a single extended swallow, then tossed the kopecks to pay for it to his neighbour on his other side. Rising from his seat, to all appearances without needing to think about not touching anyone near him, her included, he held out a hand, which she took instantly.
He leaned down as they began threading their way out, her in the lead but him the one to properly make a path, as soldiers gave space to his silvers or him himself, whispered "You have no idea what I'd like to do to you" in her ear.
She half turned her head, grinned back over her shoulder at him. "I read your medical history already, Stas. And if you're going to go around kissing secretaries you really should know by now they like to gossip."
He blinked, then barked a startled laugh, draped his arms around her shoulders in a loose, affectionate hug. "Suppose you do have some idea of what I'd like to do to you, then."
She giggled, loudly enough that another lievtenant whipped his head around, trying to place the woman's laugh. She dimpled at the man, knew Stas was grinning over her head at him too because the man gave a polite nod and then went back to his drink without any kind of protest or question.
When they emerged from the crowd, she pulled him off to the side, up against one of the walls. He went willingly, slouching down against the wall as she went up on her toes, framed his ears between her thumbs and forefingers, palms against smooth skin and fingertips in his hair, then kissed him thoroughly as she knew how.
By the way he stiffened underneath her, forgot to breathe for a long moment as she licked the tip of his tongue, his secretaries didn't kiss like this, or only followed his lead. Then he did breathe, relaxed into her, opened his mouth to her and kissed back happily, his hands sliding down her back to cup her lower back, pull her a little closer into him.
Some time later, she slid back down onto her heels, body pressed flush against his, and let him take a gasp of air before she smiled up at him. "My place or yours?"
'Verse/characters: Sibir; Nadya and Stas
Prompt: 43A "a single night"
Word Count: 1063
Notes: Some time after their introduction. 'Lyuba' is the feminine of 'love' as a term of affection.
Ah, there--Nadya pounced on her chosen victim, caught her by the shoulder and pulled her out of the stream of traffic so fast Katusha was still only starting to protest the grab when she recognised Nadya.
"Katusha, lyuba, I need a favour--" Nadya told her quickly, crowded up close so they didn't get run into or over.
"I'm not helping you try to take over the corps with cherry pie," Katusha replied as-quickly, and Nadya giggled despite herself.
"I maintain it would be worth trying. But no, I need someone to take my shift tonight. It's--" she bit her lip, cast her eyes aside and then back to Katusha's face. "They're riding out tomorrow morning."
Light dawned across Katusha's face, and she lifted a hand to cover her mouth. "Boje moi--you really like him."
"I do," Nadya admitted, and gave Katusha a hopeful look. "I'll owe you two shifts--I know it's short notice but I only just found out and--"
Katusha moved her hand from hiding her own mouth to covering Nadya's, firmly enough Nadya's words were muffled and broken by Katusha's overscrubbed fingers. "Yes," she said, and when Nadya asked her a question with just her eyes she pulled Nadya into a tight hug, whispered "Yes, I'll take the shift, and you can just owe me one. Now shoo." in her ear.
Nadya hugged her tightly back, then ducked into the flow of traffic again, heading for the complex rumour had it Stas drank in, given choice.
Whistles and appreciative stares greeted her at the doorway, and while ordinarily she'd have grinned and posed a little before going on her way, she ignored them entirely, looking for the right set of messily knotted black dreadlocks among the mass of riders.
A familiar laugh rose from out of sight, and she grinned in response, dove through the crowd. She was good at crowd-threading--had to be, with the shifts she worked, both coming in and going out she hit people's break-fasts and nights--but this was thicker than even she was accustomed to, the bodies around her not moving in reasonably defined lanes.
She had to hop sideways twice to avoid hopeful hands; the second time one of the servers swatted at the boy who'd made a grab, gave him a quelling look that probably augered a spat if he wasn't among the men leaving in the morning. Five steps later she gave profuse if necessarily brief apologies to the poor sergeant whose foot she'd just stepped on. Her offduty boots were big sturdy things, inherited from a soldier who'd been sent back to the terems for a long convalescence, and while she was sure of where her feet were, she sometimes miscalculated how much farther the treads stretched than her onduty slippers.
But it was totally worth it to shove in next to the seated, laughing Lievetenant Stanislav, hard enough that he turned to growl a protest to another soldier and then dropped his jaw in shock when he saw her instead.
She dimpled, closed his mouth with two fingers under his chin. "Miss me?"
A slow, incandescent grin spread across his newly depilated face--not the usual lick and a promise he used for the sake of her skin, but the full out 'no hairs caught in my breathing gear' rider's work, and she was happy to see it, if sad that it was necessary--as he reached around her, caught her by the waist and pulled her in closer against his side. "Always."
She leaned up to whisper in his ear, kissed it hello first. "I traded shifts--I don't work tonight."
"Really," he said automatically, more than a little distracted by her lips by his earlobe, then her words penetrated and he pulled back just enough to turn his head and look her full in the face. "Really?"
She bobbed her head, looked away for a beat as she did, felt a slightly sheepish smile spread across her face and the very faint beginnings of a blush touch her cheeks as she looked back at him. "Yes."
Without looking, he reached over, grabbed his beer, finished it in a single extended swallow, then tossed the kopecks to pay for it to his neighbour on his other side. Rising from his seat, to all appearances without needing to think about not touching anyone near him, her included, he held out a hand, which she took instantly.
He leaned down as they began threading their way out, her in the lead but him the one to properly make a path, as soldiers gave space to his silvers or him himself, whispered "You have no idea what I'd like to do to you" in her ear.
She half turned her head, grinned back over her shoulder at him. "I read your medical history already, Stas. And if you're going to go around kissing secretaries you really should know by now they like to gossip."
He blinked, then barked a startled laugh, draped his arms around her shoulders in a loose, affectionate hug. "Suppose you do have some idea of what I'd like to do to you, then."
She giggled, loudly enough that another lievtenant whipped his head around, trying to place the woman's laugh. She dimpled at the man, knew Stas was grinning over her head at him too because the man gave a polite nod and then went back to his drink without any kind of protest or question.
When they emerged from the crowd, she pulled him off to the side, up against one of the walls. He went willingly, slouching down against the wall as she went up on her toes, framed his ears between her thumbs and forefingers, palms against smooth skin and fingertips in his hair, then kissed him thoroughly as she knew how.
By the way he stiffened underneath her, forgot to breathe for a long moment as she licked the tip of his tongue, his secretaries didn't kiss like this, or only followed his lead. Then he did breathe, relaxed into her, opened his mouth to her and kissed back happily, his hands sliding down her back to cup her lower back, pull her a little closer into him.
Some time later, she slid back down onto her heels, body pressed flush against his, and let him take a gasp of air before she smiled up at him. "My place or yours?"