A/N: A collection of ficlets of various couples for the 'Friday One Word Fic Challenge' over at the TerraNovaFanfic LJ Community (Pairing and Word in the chapter)

Title: Private
Ship: Reilly/Dunham
Genre: General/Romance
Rated: G
Word Count:441
Summary: Dunham knows she's out of his league, doesn't mean he can't dream.
A/N: Written for Reilly/Dunham- Private by zapf_chancery for 'Friday One Word Fic Challenge'Week-2

Beta crystalkei

… … …

Dunham knows he shouldn't be looking, she's older, not by much but still older, of a higher rank and so far out of his league it's more than a little sad how he moons over her. He knows some of the others have noticed the way his eyes follow her, the way he gets clumsier around her and the stuttering that quickly follows. Corporal Reynolds and Lieutenant Washington totally notice if the amused smirks they share when he lingers a little too long around her is any indication.

Reilly, she's destined for great things within the colony, she has earned the respect and praise of the Commander and his second, while he, a competent soldier will always be just a grunt and he's honestly alright with that…until he starts fantasizing about what it would be like to be with her, andyeah some of his dreams are sexual, he's a guy and she's gorgeous with her cocoa colored skin, fit figure and sparking black eyes that can change from annoyed to amused with a flutter of long curled eye-lashes.

But most of his dreams involve being able to hold her hand or to brush the hair from her face the way he sees so many men around the colony doing with their mates. He watches Reynolds leans in and press a kiss against the sheriff's daughter's cheek as the young girl smiles happily up at him and he wishes so very badly that was him and Reilly.

He knows if he ever tried something like that, at best he would get a glare strong enough to put him six feet under, at worse….well he values his jaw notbroken. Still he can't help but picture it, a day where she smiles or laugh with him and not at him because he's done yet another stupid thing. A day where she reaches out, a day where she says-

"Private!"

"Huh?" he questions dumbly, looking up startled into pissed-off black eyes, he reaches up and wipes the moisture that has gathered at the corner of his mouth. Perfect. His already annoyingly pink cheeks burn with embarrassment as series of snickers spreads through the group of soldiers. "I-I mean yes?"

Reilly stares at him silently until he shifts in place and she sighs rolling her eyes at him with the barest hint of a smile on plump lips. "Private, what am I going to do with you?"

He bites his lip to keep from answering, not that it really matters, as she walks away shaking her head. He doesn't tell her all the things he wishes they could do together, be together. Maybe someday.