Title: Come Sail Away
Author: Kate (kate2130@yahoo.com)
A/N: Noa mentioned sailing fluff. And while I have no idea what she was talking about, it made me think of Luka's old boat from good ol' S6. And wouldn't you know, as I sat forever in the doctor's waiting room, what showed up but my muse! I'm afraid it got lost again, but at least it stuck around long enough for me to write this little bit of fluff. And yes, it's fluff. Sue me. The title comes from the song of the same name, by Styx.
Spoilers: None, although it takes place during S10. I'm unspoiled, so any spoilers that show up are purely coincidental.
~*~
Abby stepped onto the pier, looking around anxiously. He'd been overly cryptic about this, and she wondered why she hadn't turned him down. "Just meet me at 2:00," he'd said, and for some reason she had found herself agreeing.
"You decided to come!" The softly accented voice came from behind her, and she turned, smiling in relief.
"You doubted me?"
Luka laughed. "You didn't seem too sure."
"Well, you have to admit you were a bit mysterious about all this." She brushed stray hairs from her face; it was windy. "What are we doing here, anyway?"
He gestured broadly to the sailboat in front of them. "Like it?"
"Luka!" she exclaimed, surprised. "You bought a boat? The Viper wasn't enough?" Immediately she regretted mentioning his car; ever since the accident with Harkins, Luka had seemed ashamed of his sporty ride.
To her relief, he just laughed again. "No, no…Just borrowed it for the afternoon." He gestured again, stepping closer to the boat. "Come on, take a look." He stepped onto the bow, supporting her elbow lightly as she did the same.
Picking her way cautiously across lines crisscrossing the deck, Abby followed Luka to the cockpit and watched as he untied the dock lines and maneuvered the boat out of the slip. "So you really know how to sail?" she questioned.
Luka nodded. "I grew up on the Adriatic Sea. To not know boats…that would be a sin." He cut the motor as they exited the harbor and glanced at her. "You ready?"
"Sure," she asserted, a bit apprehensively. "Do I…need to do anything?"
"Here." He handed her the end of a line. "When I say go, pull this, until the sail is hoisted."
Abby grabbed the line. "Are you sure…I mean, I've never done this."
He looked at her, amused. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I won't let you do anything stupid."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Luka got serious again, watching the flags on the mast. "Okay…go."
Abby pulled the line, surprised at how much strength it took. The sail moved slowly up the mast, and she drew in her breath as it reached the top and the wind caught it, making it billow taut. She gazed up at the white sail, filled with air. "Good," smiled Luka, taking the line and tying it down. "See? Easy as cake."
She was shocked to feel herself blushing at his compliment and laughed to cover up. "Easy as pie, you mean?"
He winked. "Of course." He leaned back, his hand on the tiller, a relaxed expression on his face. They sailed in silence for a while, each gazing out at the relatively calm surface of Lake Michigan. Then Luka straightened, as if he had remembered something. "My father taught me to sail when I was six years old. There was a small harbor near our town, and it was protected from the weather and waves of the Adriatic. Still, my mother was so angry he took me at such a young age, and I was terrified. But my father…" He laughed softly. "My father would be ashamed of any Kovac who didn't know how to sail."
Abby had seldom heard Luka talk so freely about his family. "Your father sounds like a great man." She smiled slightly, imagining Luka as a scared six-year-old, learning to sail.
"He is," he nodded. "You should meet him sometime; he'd like that."
Abby flushed deeply and turned away, looking out over the water. "I'm sorry," Luka said immediately, touching her knee lightly. "I didn't mean…"
She turned back, softening. "I know." She laughed uncomfortably. "I just…didn't expect that." She let her hand rest on his for a moment.
Luka grinned wryly. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"It has." She raised her eyebrows, amused now. "Although, I shouldn't be surprised. Didn't you invite me to your hotel room on the first date?"
"Only with the most honorable intentions, I assure you." He chuckled, leaning back in his seat again.
"Right, Luka," she joked lightly, hugging her arms closer to her body as the wind picked up.
Luka noticed her shiver. "Are you cold? This has got to be warmer than strolling weather in Minnesota."
It amazed her how much he remembered, even word for word what she'd said years ago. "Strolling weather, maybe, but I'm not sure about sailing weather." She smiled, not wanting him to think she was uncomfortable.
He took her hand and placed it on the tiller before he let go. "Luka!" she protested.
"I'll be right back; you'll do fine," he said, already poking his head into the cabin. He emerged holding a windbreaker, which he tossed into her lap. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
As Luka took the tiller back from her grasp, she wrapped the jacket around her. "Thank you." The windbreaker was too big, and it smelled like him. Fleetingly, she wondered if it would be possible for her not to breathe for the rest of the sail. It may not be good for her body, but it would probably do her racing mind a world of good. As if his mere proximity weren't enough…
"Abby…Abby…" She jumped, snapped out of her reverie to see that they were nearing the harbor again. She flushed as Luka grinned. "Want to take the sail down?"
"How…"
He gestured to the sail as he spoke. "Just stand on the deck and pull it down, near the mast. Easier than hoisting it, even."
Abby did as he asked, feeling that she at least looked like she knew what she was doing as another sailboat passed them, the two people on board waving. "Perfect," Luka assured her as he motored into the harbor and steered the boat into the slip. "My father would be proud," he winked as he cut the motor and tied the lines to the dock.
Luka took her hand as they climbed back onto the dock, reaching to steady her as she stumbled a bit. "It can take a few minutes to get your land legs back," he noted.
"I'm okay," Abby assured him, although she did still feel like she was on the boat, the waves beneath her. She regretted her quick assertation, though, as he dropped his hand from hers. "Thank you, Luka. I had a really good time." She smiled up at him, trying not to stare into his eyes too obviously.
"I'm glad," he said sincerely, "I had a good time too." They stood, too close, for several moments. Finally Abby broke the charged silence.
"Uhh…" She fumbled with the windbreaker. "I should give you back your jacket."
Luka placed his hands on her shoulders, stopping her from taking it off. "Keep it. You might need it next time we sail."
His hands were warm through the thin fabric, and Abby could see his head was moving slowly closer to hers. "Luka…" She lost her words, and had to trust her eyes to do the talking for her.
He understood, somehow. "You're right," he said softly, and straightened, dropping his hands.
She found her voice. "Maybe…maybe we can just take it slowly this time."
"There is a this time?" At her raised eyebrows of acquiescence, he smiled broadly. "I'm glad. And yes, slowly. We'll make it work, yes?"
Abby drew in her breath slowly. "I hope so."
"Sailing," Luka stated. At her puzzled look, he continued. "We can start with sailing."
She laughed. "A good place to start." She touched his arm briefly. "Thank you, Luka. I'd love to go sailing again."
Luka placed his hand lightly at the small of her back as they walked off the pier towards the El station. "And next time, you will do the sailing."
The End