Rating: PG-13
Archiving: Beka Valentine Fanfic Archive, fanfiction.net (all others, please ask).
Summary: Beka and Tyr dance in "Belly of the Beast."
Feedback: It's better than chocolate! Deanie@lisacaps.com
Disclaimer: Tyr, Beka, and the Andromeda crew don't belong to me. I'm just playing with them, and will return them when I'm done…
Author's Note: Just another little bit of "Belly of the Beast" fluff.
And They Danced
By Deanie
May 2002
"Hey, stoic one. We're alive. Dance with me."
He'd been hesitant, debating the wisdom of sharing this dance. Did he dare hold her close or would that ignite feelings neither of them were ready to face? Tyr got to his feet. He'd defied bigger odds today and now was time to take a chance.
"It's just a dance, Tyr," Beka reminded him, placing his hand on her waist.
They swayed the music, dancing much slower than this type of music normally required.
"I'm sorry." Beka stared into his eyes, wishing she could read the emotions behind his stoic mask. Though they had grown closer over the past two years, Tyr was still so hard to figure out. What did he think of her behavior? Of her implying that he would lie to her and use Dylan's death to his own advantage to take over the ship?
Beka didn't know what had gotten into herself. She'd been worried about the safety of Dylan and Trance, afraid for the safety of the crew on the Andromeda as well. Keeping them alive was her responsibility as captain, and she had nearly failed miserably. She'd been angry and afraid, and had taken her frustration out on him. Not that he'd been blameless. Tyr had been feeding her frustration with his insistence on abandoning the mission to save themselves, making her doubt the correctness of her course of action.
But in the end he'd done the right thing, taken a chance, risking all of their lives to save not only themselves, but also the people of Savion.
"For?" he asked.
"Doubting you. Accusing you of using Dylan's 'death' to foster your own goals at the expense of the rest of us. Suggesting you were lying to me."
Tyr just stood there, silently. What was he thinking? Would he accept her apology?
He internally debated what to tell her, before deciding to lay his cards down on the table. "Despite all that you would believe of me, I do care about the fate of this crew. Somehow, inexplicably, you have begun to matter to me. I was on my own for so long, without my home, my pride, my family. I don't know exactly when I started feeling this way, or why, but the Andromeda has come to feel like home to me. The crew…has become my family."
Beka smiled at the thought. She'd already thought of Harper, Rev and Trance as her family. As time had gone on, mentally added Dylan and Rommie to that category. Tyr was different. She'd never been comfortable enough around him to consider him 'family.' She'd always felt the undercurrent of attraction, the desire she kept hidden. She'd felt a spark between them, which could one day ignite in a passion that would leave them both breathless.
Beka blinked, bringing herself back from her fantasies. "Family?" She walked closer to Tyr as she spoke. "So, that means what exactly? You think of me like a sister?"
He saw the flare of longing in her eyes, heard the rapid breathing that signaled an arousal she couldn't hide. So, she wasn't as indifferent as she'd led him to believe. Tyr smiled, holding her gaze as he advanced until she was inches away.
"No." His hand gently cupped her cheek. "I could never think of you as my sister."
Beka turned her head away, resting it against his warm chest as Tyr's arms wrapped around her back, holding her close.
And they danced.