Coffee at 1 (Kiri)

[somerandomhippie1]

Penn sighed, plopping down on one of the rickety metal chairs in the mess hall. It had been a long week. First, the whole Venia disaster had gone down, with he, Jay and Kiri stuck in the middle of a terrorist ring. It worked out better than he had expected, namely in that everyone had gotten out alive. The terrorists, of course, had fled, but one had been apprehended for questioning. At least that had turned out sunny.

Not so sunny were the days after. First, the UGAP had wanted to take them in for questioning. Questioning? Were they guilty of something? They'd been cleared of any charges, but the whole process in itself had been long and grueling. He and Kiri had been allowed to assist with the clean-up efforts, seeing as they were meds, but tending to frightened politicians and their jittery dates had proven even worse than the interrogations. Finally, after a few days of that, they were finally released, only to find the Venia was still in space, after being hijacked. They had been forced to wait half a week for the ship to come back for them. Not to mention the condition the crew was in. At least they were a little more co-operative when they were trying to stitch up wounds.

After almost nodding off a couple of times, Penn finally got himself a mug of coffee. They had a few people still in the infirmary, but they didn't need constant supervision. Just someone alert to their conditions 24/7, in case something should happen. Penn had offered to stay up the night shift. It was only one in the morning, and he was already starting to nod off in his chair. He was going to need the coffee.

The horrible smell was just perking Penn up a bit when he heard footsteps by the door. He looked up. It was Kiri. He gripped his mug a little tighter. After their snog on the Oceanic, they hadn't seen much of each other. There were too many people to care for, too many officers yelling at them, to have contact other than a running nod in the hallway every so often. It had been a while-- certainly enough time for her to take the entire thing back. It had been rather spontaneous, and she had been suffering blood loss-- had it just been a fluke? Was that never her intention? He had a bad feeling that she had never meant it that way, though he rebelled against the notion. He hoped it wasn't like that.

"Hello," he called hesitantly, breaking the deathly silence that usually hung over the ship at night. "You still up?"

[kiri]

Thirty-seven hours. It had been thirty-seven hours since she'd last been able to relax. Five minutes here, five minutes there, a swallow of coffee and a quick bite of toast, but never a true moment of peace. Among the swirl of vaguely organized chaos that followed the terrorist attack and its aftermath, everyone with even the slightest bit of medical experience had been kept running, tending to the plethora of both major and minor injuries incurred in the fighting. Kiri herself had been assisting in surgery, and she'd lost track of the number of bullet fragments she'd extracted, or sutures she'd tied off.

Now, finally, it was over. Well, mostly. There were still a few patients in the medical bay, and there was a lot of clean-up to do, but the sense of urgency had faded. But when she'd finally - finally - lain down in bed, sleep refused to come. Her body was still on edge, her mind whirling in pointless circles until she couldn't take it any more. With a vague idea of a late-night snack and possibly a cup of tea or warm milk, she'd made her way down to the mess hall.

Now she stood frozen in dismay in the doorway, staring at the last person she wanted to see right now. She was in no shape to deal with complicated emotions or honestly anything more complex than punching the right buttons to get what she wanted. Although she'd diligently been avoiding mirrors for the past several days, she knew she looked a mess. Her hair was a tangled fuzz, there were probably circles under her eyes, and she hadn't managed to throw on anything more than a sloppily tied terry-cloth bathrobe over the tank top and cloth shorts she wore to bed.

She just stood and blinked at him for a long moment. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, words trying to escape, but it took several tries before any managed to escape. "Yeah. I... I guess so. Couldn't, y'know... couldn't sleep."

[somerandomhippie1]

The few remaining muscles left functioning in Penn's face curved up into something of a smile. Ah, Kiri... In her robe, her hair in an odd formation of messily-placed waves sprawled over her face, totally out of reality... She looked so sweet. She stumbled out something groggily about not sleeping, and his eyes crinkled. She looked beat. Then again, his face was probably full of lines, and his uniform was wrinkled and worn. His eyes tried to shut on him, but he blinked, and managed to keep them open, if only to look at her. He could do that all day.

Then again... The memory of her mouth on his, pulling him in, cradling her in his arms... It was a lot to bear. Stuff like that left a mark on a man. He tried to discreetly tap his feet, bite his tongue, anything to distract him from the marvelous thought. He didn't want to jump, not so abruptly. Scaring her off was the last thing he wanted.

So, instead, he held up his mug, motioning with his head for her to come sit with him and relax. Trust him, if she would go so far. "Coffee?" he managed to mumble in his sleep-deprived state. "I'll share, if you want."

[kiri]

Kiri couldn't help instinctively wrinkling her nose at the sight of the mug of Venia standard-issue coffee. She could barely stand coffee at the best of times, and the stuff the machines popped out might as well be motor oil for all she could stomach it. "Tea. I need tea," she said, puttering over to a small cabinet in the corner and bending over to rifle through it. It wasn't until her head was halfway in, along with most of her arm, that she laughed triumphantly.

"Ah-ha! I knew no one would find it back there." Already she seemed perkier, the small rectangular box in her hand now the target of an only slightly groggy grin. Stopping by the replicator for a mug of hot water, she joined Penn at the table, sitting across from him. "I snuck this on board in my luggage. I can't survive without it." She reverently opened the box and pulled out a small tea bag, the words "Citrus oolong" written in flowery script on the tag. The moment she let it sink into the water, the smell started to fill the room.

[somerandomhippie1]

Penn watched, slightly confused as Kiri stuck her head in a cabinet, muttering about tea. What was she doing in there? He thought she was going to climb in, through a little tunnel to China, when she emerged triumphantly, a little cardboard box nestled in her palm. He grinned. Seemed like he wasn't the only one with a penchant for stuffing personal belongings in hiding places. She got a mug, the ceramic steaming as she set it on the table between them. It was already starting to warm up the general vicinity-- much better than his luke-warm... stuff.

The smell of spices and other various aromas seemed to billow out from the mug, turning the water a gentle jaded color. He inhaled deeply, his eyes melting closed. "Mmm... That's real stuff," he murmured. "You certainly chose your survival kit well." Then again, Kiri did have a penchant for making wise decisions-- seemed to be her thing. Good thing to have on a ship like this.

He opened his eyes, and automatically took a sip of his coffee. It didn't even taste like coffee, more like mud or something. Ah, well. It would suffice. "How's it been holding up?" he asked her after a forced sip or two. He hoped it would sound general, and good conversationally, rather than seeming like he only wanted to talk about her. No use letting that on.

[kiri]

Kiri let the tea steep, breathing deeply of the delicious aroma. It was amazing how even just breathing in the steam rising from the cup seemed to clear her mind - enough to at least reply to Penn with some form of coherency. "Not so well... but it's all over with, right? 'Least for now." They'd made it through this disaster reasonably intact, with a surprisingly small number of serious casualties. And a good thing, too, considering they had such a limited medical staff.

She took a sip of the tea and winced as the hot water scalded her tongue. Still, the taste was just perfect, so she lifted the tea bag out, shook it, and set it to the side on a napkin. Lifting the mug, she blew on it this time and took a careful sip. Much better. The hot liquid seared down her throat, the heat spreading through her instantly, her mind coming awake even further.

It occurred to her that it was pretty selfish to be savoring her tea while Penn was stuck with the sludge the replicator called coffee. "Would you... like some?" she asked quietly. She never shared her tea. With anyone. But somehow, sharing it with Penn seemed right.

[somerandomhippie1]

Penn nodded, leaning his arms on the table. "I think so," he said optimistically. "Everyone seems to be in the clear now." Sure, there were some people still up under observation, but this crew seemed tough. They would make it through OK. "You sure?" he asked, raising a brow. He had a feeling she was probably under-playing it. "I am a doctor-- and so are you, for that matter." He really didn't want anything to be wrong.

Penn looked at the tea, then to Kiri's face. "Well, if you don't mind..." He hesitantly took the mug, looking it over. He wasn't much of a tea drinker, to be honest. He liked it, sure, he just preferred coffee. It looked fine, though, so he gave it a sip. He couldn't help but raising his eyebrows. This was good. It was aromatic, yet the taste wasn't too overwhelming. "This is good," he insisted, offering it back to her. "Here. I won't drink all of it."

[kiri]

Kiri took the mug back and just held it for a moment, letting it warm her hands and disguise the fact that they were trembling from a mixture of deep-seated exhaustion and the shivery thrill that Penn's presence always sent through her. "I'm sure. It's nothing that a good twelve hours of sleep can't cure. If I could actually get to sleep, y'know."

She took a long drink of the tea, the warm liquid easing her throat and calming her nerves. "This has always been one of my favorite blends. I always used to stop by this little Indian shop behind my apartment, they have the best tea... Hope it's still there when I get back." Her voice grew softly nostalgic, but she smiled. "Guess that's the kind of thing we're fighting for, right?"

[somerandomhippie1]

Penn smiled endearingly. He couldn't quite get over the fact how... sweet she was. Modest, kind, selfless... Well, he was probably over-exaggerating a little. Not much, though. Well, he hoped not. Or else he would feel incredibly foolish. He already felt foolish enough as it was-- Kiri tended to that to him. He was bad enough at conversation anyways, but having her, right across from him... Not just foolish, stupid.

He looked around, trying to focus on something else. Kiri was talking. Whoops. He managed to catch the end, about the tea shop. He smiled faintly, memories coming back up. "Yeah," he nodded. "It's not really the big things that affect you, like the universe being at stake for all mankind. It's more the little things, the things you love, that you fight for, I guess." He ripped his gaze away. Damn, that sounded so stupid. It was like he didn't know how to talk, how to be discreet, how to respect her feelings at all. He bit his tongue. Focus, Gwyter, focus, he berated himself. Focus on anything but that.

His eyes ended up on the mug-- more specifically, her hands cradling it. It was hard to notice, he had to squint a little, but she seemed to be trembling. Fear? Sadness? He prayed desperately he hadn't done anything to make her feel bad. "You're trembling," he pointed out, looking up to her face. He bit his lip. His muscles wouldn't co-operate. His hands came up from the table and gently wrapped around hers, squeezing them briefly. He studied her face. Boy, was he in for it.

[kiri]

"Yeah..." she sighed in reply. "I mean, the whole thing never seemed real to me until an anomaly hit my city. Then suddenly I realized what everyone was so afraid of." She stared down into the cup for a moment, contemplating the swirling steam. With her defenses so low from exhaustion, it was easy for the memories to slip around the careful block she normally had up. Memories of those frantic months, with people dying all around them and not the slightest idea why. Poring over data, peering into microscopes until your eyes refused to focus, and yet still nothing. Even when she'd been lucky enough to be the one to make the breakthrough to find the cause, and eventually the cure, there'd been no energy left to celebrate. Just helping those few who were still alive.

Then his hands touched hers, and she was brought back to the present with a soft gasp. His palms were warm against the still-cold backs of her hands, and she realized she could easily get distracted contemplating the texture of his skin. Her eyes slowly met his, teeth worrying slightly at her bottom lip. Emotions swirled through her mind - nervousness, joy, excitement, wonder, and a fiery little swirl of something she couldn't - or wouldn't - identify.

Slowly, so he wouldn't drop his hands, she lifted the mug towards her and took a sip, her lips just brushing over the skin of his hand where it rested on top of hers.

[somerandomhippie1]

Penn nodded. "I never really experienced an anomaly like that," he admitted. "I'd seen it before on TV and stuff, but it never really hit me how bad it was until we got to Delta Prime. I thought I was just going to be a stand-in, cleaning cuts or something. Not binding bones and doing emergency surgeries in the back of a theatre. It was a little scary, to be honest." He couldn't believe he was telling her all this. He wasn't an open guy to begin with, much less admit he had been afraid in the line of duty. The hesitation was there, but he felt like he could trust her, somehow.

She gasped slightly, and he winced. He had done it. That was it. He had entirely blown everything... Then she gently brought the tea to her mouth, her lips grazing over his index finger. She lowered the mug, but his hand stayed, tilting it slightly so he could rest his thumb on her cheek. It was fascinating, how much she intrigued him. He ran his finger across the bottom crease of her lip. It was slightly chapped, like anyone's who had been working non-stop, yet it was graceful, and soft, at the same time. He flicked his eyes back to her face, then continued his investigation along her cheek. Smooth, yet defined-- he could feel the way it arched up over her cheekbone. He automatically took a sip of the tea, still cradling her hand in his.