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Post by Alliana Porter on Jul 8, 2010 13:48:48 GMT -5
It was hot , but that wasn't why Alliana couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, shifting restlessly around her pillow. In and out of her sheets, hanging loosely off her waist, some had found a home on the floor. Her soft curls lay splayed across the spanse of her pillow. Ally's soft face, turned to the right, brow furrowed in discontented sleep. Restless images seem to dance in the darkness in her mind. A drop of sweat, a quick breath, a small moan and expressions of fear and terror race across the once gentle face, now plagued by a nightmare. She gripped the sheets tightly, ringing them through her fingers. She dug her face fervently into her pillow and wrenched it in her hands, before shifting on her back again, before losing all control.
Almost violently, she flung herself upright, moisture welling in her eyes. Her deep grey eyes, tinted silver by the small blue nightlight, opened in fear and her lungs inhaled and exhaled strongly. Every time she closed her eyes,the images flooded back. She breathed deep from her stomach and tried to calm her rapid heartbeat.
Returning to sleep as not an option anymore and she decided to go to the one place she knew to calm her nerves and mind. Clad only in a tank and athletic shorts, Alliana made her barefoot way to the flightdeck. The stars made it feel like home and she forgot about all the nightmares and bad dreams. It made her feel small, but at the same time comfort that she was made for something bigger and the past was slowly being forgotten. Her eyes were direct and she failed to see her surroundings. She looked up, not around and stared up at the glittering twilight, rubbing her shoulder. Her breathing was deep and she didn't feel like crying anymore. She was tad homesick, but knew the Venia was better for her now.
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Post by Luke Martin on Jul 8, 2010 14:00:44 GMT -5
Luke was becoming accustomed to spending his nights on the flight deck. It was almost like he was running on coffee rather than anything else. Sleeping on ships had always been a problem, even after all this time. He was a light sleeper, and the noise, the hum of the ship wasn't soothing, it was irritating, and kept him awake. He'd go a couple of days with little to no sleep, then pass out for a good few hours in bed, before starting the cycle all over again. It was a miracle he was able to function with any coherency to be honest.
Tonight he was sitting at his console, his feet up, a hand held computer in his lap, glasses upon his face. He kept running his finger over the screen; first he'd been reading anything he could find on the system, then he'd started looking at photos of the crew, before changing to personal photos of his family. He hadn't seen them in a long while, and made a point to go back home and visit them soon, if he could get the time off. That wasn't likely.
He was distracted, and so didn't notice Alliana walk in. In fact, she walked right past without either of them noticing. Eventually, his ears tuned into the sound of her breathing, and he looked up, blinking a few times. His eyes were immediately drawn to her legs which were on full display due to the shorts she was wearing. He cleared his throat, "Ally," he said, not sure whether she'd seen him, "what are you doing up?"
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Post by Alliana Porter on Jul 8, 2010 14:15:16 GMT -5
Alliana was momentarily lost in her thoughts when Luke's voice broke through. "Oh..huh? I..I Couldn't sleep." Her voice was quiet, just above a whisper. It was haunted and a tad stressed, but she wasn't so ready to tell him, if anyone about her nightmares. She was still incredibly afraid of being found out. It would certainly ruin any relationship she had a chance of achieving.
She heaved a deep breath and turned to give a faint smile. He looked cute in glasses, made him look adorably smart. Alliana was a few points shy of genius but she never once acted like it. She rubbed her shoulder again, biting her lip as she sought for words. "What are you reading?" It was a small start to small talk, which she had forced herself into. She was hoping the deck would be bare, but she had forgotten it was own niche of a place as well. Still, if she had to share the place with anyone, she would rather spend it with him.
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Post by Luke Martin on Jul 8, 2010 14:58:30 GMT -5
"Yeah. Bit of a duh moment there," he said, half to her, half to himself. He hadn't been expecting to see anyone else on the flight deck at this time in the morning, the ship was usually a ghost town - all the normal people were sleeping. Also, he'd been a little distracted. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen that much female flesh. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, so was sufficiently covered up, but more comfortable than he would have been in an uniform.
Luke never wore his glasses in front of other people, he found it a little embarrassing - they were a part of his past that he unfortunately had to keep around. Quickly pulling them off, he looked down, then back at her. "I'm not... reading," he said, putting the glasses away. "I was, um," he hesitated, "come over and see." He gestured for her to come over. Usually he was quite free about talking about his family, pictures were different though. Especially when a few had him in as a kid. He might have to skip those...
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Post by Alliana Porter on Jul 8, 2010 15:06:57 GMT -5
Allianan smiled a bit more at him. He couldn't break how adorable he was being right now. He wasn't like any of the guys she had ever dated. They were usually low life, troublesome types. They were the reason she had stopped putting so much trust in men and had all but given up on any chance of happiness. Luke wasn't like that, which was probably why she couldn't help but be magnetized to him.
She came over to where she was being gestured, pulling one of the swivel chairs up next to him. She leaned over a bit, entering into his personal space to see what he was about to show her. It was nice being here, just the two of them with the gentle hum of the ship, the stars out through the massive glass window and no biting conflict of terrorists.
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Post by Luke Martin on Jul 8, 2010 15:27:55 GMT -5
Ally came over like he'd said, there was no getting out of it now. "I put some of my personal photos on my drive," he said, leaning closer to her, showing her the screen, "y'know, for.. times like these." He smiled slightly, wow, he was being awkward. Clearing his throat again, he dragged his finger across the screen, starting near the beginning.
"I'll warn you now, prepare to 'aww'," he said, taking a breath before scrolling across slowly through the photos. He unfortunatle reached one of himself when he was eigth, and slid his thumb across his face. "You don't want to see that there." He looked across from her, attempting a look of pure innocence.
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Post by Alliana Porter on Jul 8, 2010 15:33:40 GMT -5
"No...I do want to see it." Subconsciously, she held a hand to his arm, keeping him from changing screens. "Well you were a cute little bugger weren't you." She couldn't help but grin, giving him a full pearly white smile. Because her hair was still down, she had to reach a hand over to pull it to the other side of her neck. It was mess when it wasn't brushed and there was certainly plenty of it.
She watched with intent eyes as he scrolled through the photos of his family. His parents, siblings and a million other happy times from a better place. She swallowed the lump in her throat down. Her family had practically disowned her and she did feel a bit sad, regretting the choices that had led her down this path. But if she hadn't screwed her life over, she wouldn't have gotten a second chance and would have never met Luke.
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Post by Luke Martin on Jul 8, 2010 15:53:36 GMT -5
"Well that's a change from gawky and geeky," he said, his glasses felt like they were burning a hole in his pocket. She had no idea how much he was bullied in school. It had been hell. "The only people who say cute are my sisters, and then the cackling starts." He smirked, "then again, I get to embarrass them back, so, all is right with the World."
Luke looked across at her as his finger ran across the screen, she looked... he couldn't put his finger on it. Her eyes were focused on the photos, but her mind was somewhere else. "What's up?" he asked. He hadn't realised how close they had got over the time of looking at the photos. She was close enough that he could feel her warmth, and smell the faint scent of shampoo in her hair.
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Post by Alliana Porter on Jul 8, 2010 16:01:18 GMT -5
"You were an adorable kid, Luke." she smiled again, staring at the screen rather than the grown man next to her. She didn't bother to mention that she was the type to bother and bully kids like him. She was still a troubled soul, but she was working her hardest at changing things. He was definitely a start.
His voice snapped her put of her trailed thought and she had to scramble for a lie. "It's nothing." she replied, scrunching her nose and shaking her head bit. "I..I haven't talked to my family in years. Never really had a big one. It was just me and my brother really. We fought more than you would ever know." She spoke above a soft whisper, edging ever closer to him. She wasn't even thinking about it, it just sort of happened. His breath mingled with hers, and she had to look away from his piercing gaze before she was too hopelessly lost.
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Post by Luke Martin on Jul 8, 2010 16:28:29 GMT -5
"That's a shame," he said, his voice low, almost completely ignoring the screen now. He felt his hand slip from the screen, it stayed balanced in his lap, his eyes focusing on Alliana. How did a woman this beautiful walk into his life? She was mysterious, and yet adorable. She didn't seem to be able to handle him, which was new, he'd never had someone be so bashful with him before - it was cute.
She turned her head away and Luke closed his eyes for a moment. Was he going to make a move? Was he going to be able to stop himself? Gently, he traced a finger across to her jaw, pulling her face back to face his. There was a brief pause, then, slowly, their lips touched. It was almost like time froze, Luke couldn't feel any reaction from Ally. Maybe he had surprised her? He pulled away slightly, not sure whether he'd made a mistake.
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Post by Alliana Porter on Jul 8, 2010 16:51:57 GMT -5
Alliana moved with his touch, pausing a bit before letting their lips collide. She couldn't figure out the feeling, couldn't put words to it. There was a wild spark in her end and she felt as if something had suddenly exploded inside of her. Did he just...kiss her? She felt him pull away, but he had started something he had to finish. She let her bottom lip graze his as their hot breath danced together.
With one brave move, she cupped his cheek and pull him in for more. If was as if she was unstoppable now and she desperately wanted more. Not over the top, she had her boundaries, but if he was going to kiss her, she was going to kiss back. His move had settled the unease in her stomach. Now she was absolutely 100% sure he had feelings for her. Sh pushed again, but tried to hold back. She didn't want to be too over bearing, especially now. It was their first kiss, and it was beyond special for her.
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Post by Luke Martin on Jul 8, 2010 17:00:29 GMT -5
To say he was pleased when she kissed him in return was an understatement. He hadn't made an ass of himself, that was good, and she was definitely interested in kissing him, also good. Great even. Her soft fingers touched his face, and he shifted himself so he could place an arm around her waist, pulling her gently closer as he kissed her in return. It was a slight hungry kiss, from both sides, as they'd waited a long time for this now. The tension that had been surrounding them, you could have cut it with a knife, but now... that was all gone.
Luke took a small break to breathe, his breath heavy, resting his forehead against hers. He smiled, his eyes flickering over her face then back down again. "That was a long time coming," he muttered, reaching up with his other hand to brush some strands of her hair away from her face.
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Post by Alliana Porter on Jul 8, 2010 17:18:51 GMT -5
The moment seemed to good to be true, and luckily it was. He tasted like everything she had imagined him to. He wanted to kiss her back which filled and overflowed her with a sense of euphoria. She felt him pull her closer which she only responded by deepening the kiss further. They were complete opposites really, well he didn't know that, but they seemed to fit together like irregular puzzle pieces.
When the kiss ended in perfection, she rested her forehead against his and they shared the same breath. "Yeah..." she whispered quietly. It was all she could manage to say right now. She rested her hand over his, needing to physically contact him again. She would most certainly dream happily when she returned to her pillow.
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Post by Luke Martin on Jul 9, 2010 3:56:04 GMT -5
Luke exhaled as a small chuckle, closing her eyes, just taking her in. His heart was beating heavily in his chest, emphasising that moment they'd just had, and how much he'd invested in it. He leant forward to kiss her again, "not enough," he whispered, kissing her lips over and over again, smiling through it.
Eventually, he pulled away, leaning back on his chair, keeping his eyes on her, taking a hold of her hand. Honestly, he thought he was going to have to go celibate for the few years he was on this ship, but apparently that wasn't the case. And he couldn't have asked for anyone better or more beautiful that Alliana. "How did I get so lucky?"
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Post by Alliana Porter on Jul 9, 2010 15:03:30 GMT -5
His second 'kiss' she wasn't expecting. She nuzzled his nose for a brief second before taking him in again. His kisses were hungry and eager, more so than she was ready for. Alliana ran her hands though his slightly frazzled hair and brought his face in closer with every lock of their lips. Every so often the smallest of sounds would release, indicating she was full on enjoying this.
As much as she was, and that in itself, was an understatement, she had to out a small hold to this engagement. She pushed his chest to inch away and took a deep heavy breath, her lips still swollen and tingly. Things seemed a bit rushed right now, and she knew if they continued this little moment, things would certainly come off. Love was a bold statement, but after the kiss her feelings were certainly heightened. She liked him just a bit more now.
His statement brought a broad smile to his lips and she met his twinkling gaze. "I have no idea.." she half chuckled, meaning she was just as lucky to find him here. " guess fate was awful kind to us."Alliana let an adorable lip bite slide and gave a well contented sigh.
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