His hand is warm against hers.

It feels nice. Fingers intertwined between his, she squeezes his hand tighter, reveling in the warmth she finds there. She likes it, and by his smile, she can tell that he does too.

"Are you okay, Sierra?" A timid smile spreads across her wet cheeks at his words. He'd caught her crying. The first time, it had been Echo. Echo had been the one to pry open the glass ceiling of Sierra's sleeping pod, eyes full of curiosity and worry as she listened to her friend's sobs. Echo had stroked her hair, telling her not to worry, and Sierra had felt comforted.

But there's something different about Victor being the one to comfort her. Something… something she can't name. She feels like the word is right there on the tip of her tongue, but she can't place it. Can't remember what it is.

"Yes Victor. I feel better, now that you're here." She glances down at their entwined hands, wondering what it is exactly that makes it so comforting. Wondering what it was that had drawn their hands together in the first place. She knows that she should be able to name this feeling, to place it and understand why she feels so comfortable when she's with Victor, but it seems like a film of smoke was clouding her thoughts. Blocking the words she knew would describe her feelings.

"I don't like seeing you cry." He says softly, his words floating across the air into her ears. "Crying means that you're sad. I don't want you to be sad."

"I'm not sad Victor." She says, and it's true. Now that Victor's here, holding her hand with such care and delicacy, she doesn't feel that unnamable sadness that had filled her merely moments before. Something about him had taken away the painful thoughts she'd been so upset about. "I never feel sad when you're with me."

He remains silent, but doesn't move his hand. Together, their glances move down to the ground, where they're sitting on the edge of Sierra's sleeping pod, their hands entwined together on the floor between them. Sierra softly strokes one long delicate finger against the back of Victor's hand, feeling a strange sort of comfort at the action. She doesn't understand why she feels so calm, so safe. All she knows is that being with Victor makes her feel so comfortable.

"Sierra?" His voice is hesitant, worried almost, and Sierra looks up at him confusedly at his sudden change in demeanor. "Whenever I'm around you, I have these strange feelings. I don't understand it. I've never felt anything like it before."

"What do you mean?" She asks, puzzled at what he's trying to describe.

"Whenever I'm around you, I want to do this." And then she feels his lips against her own. It surprises her, yes, but she doesn't back away. This, like holding Victor's hand, feels nice. She enjoys it as his lips work gently against her own, and she instinctually opens her mouth to welcome his soft, warm tongue. Their lips move tenderly, delicately against each other, timidly exploring this foreign action for the first time.

And when their lips inevitably separate, Sierra feels a strange sense of loss. She doesn't want it to end, yet she can't for the life of her explain what's going on. She looks up at him, eyes full of curiosity and wonder as she innocently questions him. "I've never done that before. How did I know what to do?"

"I don't know." He shakes his head, just as confused as she is. "I feel like I should know what this is. What these feelings are. But I can't explain them." She can hear the pain in his voice, his desperate need to understand his own feelings, and she can't help but feel a pang of pity for him. She wants to help him, to understand these feelings herself, but she's just as lost as he is. "I liked it."

He meets her gaze once again, wary excitement once again filling his eyes as studies her reaction. "I did too."

"Maybe we can ask Topher what this means. I would like to understand." She smiles at him and squeezes his hand once again, foreign warmth filling her with happiness. He matches her grin with his own, leaning back towards her to touch his lips to hers once again as they explore this new action they don't know the name of.

They still don't remember, but they know it's right.

-End-