TITLE: Every Time We Touch
CHARACTERS: Nero, Mina, mentions others
PAIRINGS: Nero/Mina
NOTES: Mina is the name I've adopted for Nero's wife. Please forgive if that's not the name she was given.
DISCLAIMER: Nero, Mina, and any others are not mine, nor do I claim that they are.
'I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me. I still feel your touchin my dreams.'
Nero felt a hand on his face, smooth, soft, warm, caressing his cheek with all the tenderness of a lover. His eyes seemed to be glued shut, but he finally pried them open. What he saw took his breath away. His wife, his beautiful Mina, knelt next to the bed. Her tawny hair was drawn away from her tattooed forehead; her green eyes were bright and full of life. Her lips ghosted over his. "Nero…I've missed you, my love." She whispered into his mouth before kissing him more forcefully.
When the kiss was broken, Nero put a hand on Mina's smooth, pale cheek. He didn't realize he had tears on his face until Mina reached out a hand to wipe them away. "Mina…oh, Mina…" His voice cracked with emotion. "I thought you were…" He couldn't bring himself to murmur the word 'dead,' but it seemed that Mina knew what he was thinking. She had always known what he was thinking.
"Don't think of that, my love." Mina replied quietly, kissing the tattoo on his forehead. "We are together here, now, in this life, on this plane." Her fingers smoothed over his shaven and tattooed head. They toyed with his half-destroyed right ear. "I've missed you, Nero. Have you missed me?"
Nero took Mina by her upper arms, pulling her into the bed with him. He noticed that she was no longer pregnant. "Each and every day, my dear. I've missed you more than I care to remember." He sighed. "Sometimes, I wished to stop breathing and just die to be back with you."
Mina put her hands on his cheeks, moving his face so that he was looking up at her. Her thumbs gently swept the tears off of his cheeks. "My love, you have to remember that your mission is not over. Do not let yourself die in vain. When your time comes, we will meet once more, and you will still be my husband, and I will still be your wife. You and I will still have our child. It was a boy, Nero. He's beautiful like you. I named him Nero, so that I could feel that you and I were close." Her white smile almost blinded her husband. "I've missed you, beloved."
Nero couldn't help but smile, though tears streaked down his face. He could feel her body pressed to his. "A boy. I had a son." He murmured. "A son." He kissed Mina more fiercely, letting all of his emotion out in the action. "Mina, why can you not come back with me?"
Mina sighed and shook her head. "I cannot, Nero. You know that. It is impossible for me to travel through planes like this." She kissed him once more, her lips soft. Her voice still held that bell-like quality that Nero had familiarized with her way of speaking. She always had such a beautiful voice. Her lips were still soft and pink. Her cheekbones high, her skin porcelain, with swirls of onyx through it where she had obtained tattoos as a young child. "I will always be here for you. In your dreams. Whenever you fall asleep while thinking of me, I will be here for you."
Nero couldn't help but feel disappointed. He knew deep in his heart that it was impossible for her to come with him into his time. But he could hope. "I cannot leave you. Not when I know you're here." He murmured sadly, pulling her down to nuzzle her hair. "I don't want to leave you again."
Mina smiled sadly. "I understand, my love. It is not as if you will be without me. Keep me in your thoughts, and I will always be back in your dreams to comfort you. Next time, I will bring young Nero. He needs to meet his father. One day, you will come to join us forever in time. And we can have a family together." She kissed his cheek. "Wouldn't you love that, Nero? To have a family?"
Nero smiled back, though he was holding back tears. His voice was full of emotion when he spoke next. "That is all I had ever wanted, Mina. All I ever wanted was to be a father. To be your husband." He had tears rolling down his face again. "All I wanted was to be with you."
Mina kissed Nero again, and he felt as though he was about to fly. Her touch sent him into orbit. "And you are. Here. Now. Are we not together, Nero?" Her lips traced up and down his cheekbone. "We are with each other right now, my love."
"I know." Nero replied, burying his hand into her long, curly hair. "But I wish for us to be together always. Mina, I've missed you more than can be expressed. I don't know why I am being punished to be without you."
Mina smoothed a hand over Nero's shaven head. "Be calm, my dear. We will be together again, one day. I am sure of it. For now, hold me." She rested her head on his chest, twisting thin fingers into his sheets.
Nero did as she asked, wrapping both arms securely around her. He did not want to let himself fall asleep again, because he knew, when he would reawaken, it would be aboard the Narada, and Mina would not be with him. His lips shook in sadness at the thought of waking up with her missing from his arms. Right now, everything felt so perfect. She was the perfect fit against him, and her hair still smelled of flowers. She still wore the dress she had died in, a soft, white linen affair, though it now fit her without her pregnant stomach. He smoothed his fingers over her back and her hips.
Mina kissed the vein pulsing in Nero's neck. "Sleep, beloved. You will be needed in the morning. That will be the day you find that infernal Vulcan who allowed both myself and young Nero to perish. I promise you that. You will find him and capture him, and then you can destroy his planet the way he destroyed ours." She kissed Nero's mouth once more. "And then you can come back to bed, and think of me. And you will meet your son."
Nero could feel his eyelids growing heavy. He was tiring, even though he didn't want to sleep. He wanted to stay with Mina. But if what she was saying was truth, then he would be needed in the morning. They would gain their revenge; he would avenge the deaths of his wife, and of his child. He fell asleep once more, knowing Mina was in his arms.
What seemed like seconds passed when Nero's dark eyes opened again. He glanced around his dark room aboard the Narada. He was missing Mina already. He needed her back in his arms. Sighing, he allowed himself a few moments to think of how perfect his dream had been. He could feel his heart rate, above normal, pounding. Only Mina had ever made his heart do that. He could feel her fingers ghosting over his chest and shoulders, softly urging him out of bed. He knew what he had to do. Standing, he wrapped himself in his long jacket and clothed himself. "Every time we touch, Mina, I feel my heart pound. I will see you again tonight, my love."
'Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why. Without you, it's hard to survive.'