Fic: Shore Leave - A "drabble" inspired by the party post
Title: Shore Leave ("Drabble")
Author: wyntreaurora
Characters/Pairings: S/U
Rating: PG to be safe, but I usually err on the side of too high
Warnings: none
A/N: Ok, so I put the picture below in the party post earlier, and something in me kept saying, "There's a story here." Yep, there sure was. I don't know where it came from as I've never written anything this fast in my life, but I offer it up anyway. I didn't bother to have it beta'd since it's just a short little "drabble" so any mistakes are totally from me being distracted while I looked at the picture as I wrote :)
He thought she was asleep, but she was watching him from behind the lenses of her sunglasses as she sat reclined against the outcropping of rocks in the sand on her beach blanket. She was beyond exhausted from their latest mission, but she knew she might never see what she was seeing again, so she was committing every last detail to memory.
It was lucky for her then, that the beach they were sitting on was located on a planet where they were initiating first contact. The ship’s sensors had located this remote beach in a routine scan, and the captain had decided that it couldn’t hurt to allow his senior officers a little, literal, shore leave in short rotations of only two to three people each. All of their sensor sweeps and scans indicated that there was no sign of the planet’s native population within two hundred miles of the beach, but it was better safe than sorry, and just in case they were discovered, smaller numbers would be easier to explain and cause fewer repercussions.
It was also lucky for her that all of the research on the planet thus far indicated a population very similar to that of Earth, including most of their clothing, which explained her very non-regulation tank top and shorts. Because it was also very reasonable to assume that the population had not yet seen any alien populations, he had been the first (and only) one of the senior officers to volunteer to stay behind and man the sensors “in case an unforeseen circumstance should arise.” Luck had nothing to do with the fact that the captain still “owed her one” and hence ordered his first officer down to the planet’s surface.
Neither did luck have anything to do with the outfit he was currently wearing as he sat a short distance to her right and closer to the water. She had picked out the dark gray t-shirt and lightweight gray and white striped pants, as well as the flip-flops that he had adamantly argued about in regards to their lack of providing any sort of protection or support for his feet. A few choice words about the way she felt looking at him in the outfit and more than a few well-placed kisses later, she had “talked” him into it. She had forgotten all about his ears until her fingers found them while in the midst of one of those well-placed kisses. She told him to have the computer replicate him a hat, “with a brim all the way around, it’s common for humans to have as much protection from the sun as possible,” and left for her quarters to retrieve one of her old Earth books to help him complete the “beach bum” look as she called it.
He had no common sense at all when it came to human fashion, having never given it much study, as it seemed to be constantly changing, even in Starfleet where uniforms were standard issue, and so the hat the computer replicated from his verbal specifications was not very attractive. Even he was not so sure about it’s aesthetics and was contemplating trying again when she returned, book in hand.
She laughed the moment she saw it as she stepped through the door, but quickly stopped herself when she saw the frustrated look on his face. It had a brim all the way around, but for some reason the brim was edged in the same dark brown material as the band that was wrapped around the bowl of the hat, which was made from a light brown weaved material - it looked to be something reminiscent of an old Earth material known as faux straw. She believed the hat must have been very similar to something she’d once read about in old Earth fashion magazines called a “fug hat”.
There was just something about it though, so she took it from him and set it on his head, gently positioning it to hide his ears and sweep up his bowl-cut bangs under the front brim at the same time. At first it looked a little silly, but that’s where the charm came from. Somehow between the dark tones of the brim and his shirt, and the lighter shade of the hat, his eyes changed from a simple amber color to a deep rich bistre that made his normally striking gaze more soul piercing. Her expression had slowly morphed from one of amusement to deep desire as she allowed herself to be sucked in by the new color and depth she now saw in his eyes. He did not understand her rather illogical change of expression and raised an eyebrow in his curiosity.
It was this sharp movement that snapped her out of her stupor, and she instantly realized that they’d need a believable explanation for his only remaining feature that could not be hidden. She refused to indulge his questions about her sudden change in reaction to his appearance as they made their way from his quarters to the transporter room to beam down to the planet’s surface.
So, here she sat, him believing her to be asleep, and her drinking every last detail in to cherish in her mind’s eye for the rest of her life. She had watched him fidget and squirm as he tried to get comfortable sitting on the beach without a chair or blanket. He claimed that those things were merely for comfort, and since he had to “endure this human outfit,” using his non-human relaxation techniques would help him “feel better” (his words to help her understand his mental state) and more alert in case of emergency. It had taken him a little over a half hour, but he had finally seemed to settle into a position she would have never thought to see - feet together, knees pulled up halfway to his chest spread slightly apart, elbows resting on and around his knees, one hand clasped around the other’s wrist, and the most shocking part - shoulders slightly hunched as he leaned forward to help retain his balance in this strange posture required by the soft and shifting sand underneath him. His head was turned just enough to his left that she could see the intense look on his face as he watched the every moving ocean in front of them. It was probable he could see something she couldn’t between his vision being better than hers, and hers being hindered by the ultra dark lenses of her sunglasses.
Whether he could see something and was concentrating on that, or whether he was just thinking, it was the most humanly relaxed and yet contemplative she had seen him since he had finally confessed his feelings to her three years prior. Part of her wanted to break the comfortable silence and ask him what he was thinking about, but she knew that if there was anything going through that massive brain of his other than work stuff, he would eventually talk with her about it. Besides, as long as she stayed quiet and didn’t know what he was thinking about, she could suspend disbelief and pretend that for once in his life he was thinking about absolutely nothing but the beauty of the scene that lay before them. She could suspend disbelief and pretend that they were back on Earth, with no concerns, no worries of work, no commitments to attend, nowhere to be or go, nothing to do, but sit and exist with each other.
She didn’t know, she couldn’t have known from the look on his face, but he was, for only the time being, indulging his human side and thinking and feeling many of the same things she was pretending for him.
And he resolved then and there to repeat this experience every chance he got. Especially now that he had heard her move, realized she was awake. He stood swiftly, yet full of grace, moved to sit beside her, and began to show her exactly how beautiful he thought this place and she was.
Yes, this experience was definitely one he wanted to repeat. And so did she.
Author: wyntreaurora
Characters/Pairings: S/U
Rating: PG to be safe, but I usually err on the side of too high
Warnings: none
A/N: Ok, so I put the picture below in the party post earlier, and something in me kept saying, "There's a story here." Yep, there sure was. I don't know where it came from as I've never written anything this fast in my life, but I offer it up anyway. I didn't bother to have it beta'd since it's just a short little "drabble" so any mistakes are totally from me being distracted while I looked at the picture as I wrote :)
He thought she was asleep, but she was watching him from behind the lenses of her sunglasses as she sat reclined against the outcropping of rocks in the sand on her beach blanket. She was beyond exhausted from their latest mission, but she knew she might never see what she was seeing again, so she was committing every last detail to memory.
It was lucky for her then, that the beach they were sitting on was located on a planet where they were initiating first contact. The ship’s sensors had located this remote beach in a routine scan, and the captain had decided that it couldn’t hurt to allow his senior officers a little, literal, shore leave in short rotations of only two to three people each. All of their sensor sweeps and scans indicated that there was no sign of the planet’s native population within two hundred miles of the beach, but it was better safe than sorry, and just in case they were discovered, smaller numbers would be easier to explain and cause fewer repercussions.
It was also lucky for her that all of the research on the planet thus far indicated a population very similar to that of Earth, including most of their clothing, which explained her very non-regulation tank top and shorts. Because it was also very reasonable to assume that the population had not yet seen any alien populations, he had been the first (and only) one of the senior officers to volunteer to stay behind and man the sensors “in case an unforeseen circumstance should arise.” Luck had nothing to do with the fact that the captain still “owed her one” and hence ordered his first officer down to the planet’s surface.
Neither did luck have anything to do with the outfit he was currently wearing as he sat a short distance to her right and closer to the water. She had picked out the dark gray t-shirt and lightweight gray and white striped pants, as well as the flip-flops that he had adamantly argued about in regards to their lack of providing any sort of protection or support for his feet. A few choice words about the way she felt looking at him in the outfit and more than a few well-placed kisses later, she had “talked” him into it. She had forgotten all about his ears until her fingers found them while in the midst of one of those well-placed kisses. She told him to have the computer replicate him a hat, “with a brim all the way around, it’s common for humans to have as much protection from the sun as possible,” and left for her quarters to retrieve one of her old Earth books to help him complete the “beach bum” look as she called it.
He had no common sense at all when it came to human fashion, having never given it much study, as it seemed to be constantly changing, even in Starfleet where uniforms were standard issue, and so the hat the computer replicated from his verbal specifications was not very attractive. Even he was not so sure about it’s aesthetics and was contemplating trying again when she returned, book in hand.
She laughed the moment she saw it as she stepped through the door, but quickly stopped herself when she saw the frustrated look on his face. It had a brim all the way around, but for some reason the brim was edged in the same dark brown material as the band that was wrapped around the bowl of the hat, which was made from a light brown weaved material - it looked to be something reminiscent of an old Earth material known as faux straw. She believed the hat must have been very similar to something she’d once read about in old Earth fashion magazines called a “fug hat”.
There was just something about it though, so she took it from him and set it on his head, gently positioning it to hide his ears and sweep up his bowl-cut bangs under the front brim at the same time. At first it looked a little silly, but that’s where the charm came from. Somehow between the dark tones of the brim and his shirt, and the lighter shade of the hat, his eyes changed from a simple amber color to a deep rich bistre that made his normally striking gaze more soul piercing. Her expression had slowly morphed from one of amusement to deep desire as she allowed herself to be sucked in by the new color and depth she now saw in his eyes. He did not understand her rather illogical change of expression and raised an eyebrow in his curiosity.
It was this sharp movement that snapped her out of her stupor, and she instantly realized that they’d need a believable explanation for his only remaining feature that could not be hidden. She refused to indulge his questions about her sudden change in reaction to his appearance as they made their way from his quarters to the transporter room to beam down to the planet’s surface.
So, here she sat, him believing her to be asleep, and her drinking every last detail in to cherish in her mind’s eye for the rest of her life. She had watched him fidget and squirm as he tried to get comfortable sitting on the beach without a chair or blanket. He claimed that those things were merely for comfort, and since he had to “endure this human outfit,” using his non-human relaxation techniques would help him “feel better” (his words to help her understand his mental state) and more alert in case of emergency. It had taken him a little over a half hour, but he had finally seemed to settle into a position she would have never thought to see - feet together, knees pulled up halfway to his chest spread slightly apart, elbows resting on and around his knees, one hand clasped around the other’s wrist, and the most shocking part - shoulders slightly hunched as he leaned forward to help retain his balance in this strange posture required by the soft and shifting sand underneath him. His head was turned just enough to his left that she could see the intense look on his face as he watched the every moving ocean in front of them. It was probable he could see something she couldn’t between his vision being better than hers, and hers being hindered by the ultra dark lenses of her sunglasses.
Whether he could see something and was concentrating on that, or whether he was just thinking, it was the most humanly relaxed and yet contemplative she had seen him since he had finally confessed his feelings to her three years prior. Part of her wanted to break the comfortable silence and ask him what he was thinking about, but she knew that if there was anything going through that massive brain of his other than work stuff, he would eventually talk with her about it. Besides, as long as she stayed quiet and didn’t know what he was thinking about, she could suspend disbelief and pretend that for once in his life he was thinking about absolutely nothing but the beauty of the scene that lay before them. She could suspend disbelief and pretend that they were back on Earth, with no concerns, no worries of work, no commitments to attend, nowhere to be or go, nothing to do, but sit and exist with each other.
She didn’t know, she couldn’t have known from the look on his face, but he was, for only the time being, indulging his human side and thinking and feeling many of the same things she was pretending for him.
And he resolved then and there to repeat this experience every chance he got. Especially now that he had heard her move, realized she was awake. He stood swiftly, yet full of grace, moved to sit beside her, and began to show her exactly how beautiful he thought this place and she was.
Yes, this experience was definitely one he wanted to repeat. And so did she.