"I hope you're settling in X," Lieutenant Commander Mike Flynn said as he passed his second in command in the hallway. It had been, to say the least, a shock when he had heard that Kate McGregor was to be his Executive Officer. Any hopes of talking with her about their past had all but vanished when they came across the FFV that afternoon though. He had been hoping to hash over the little details of their working arrangement. Part of Mike just wanted to talk to her candidly again; the other wanted to be sure they were in their same boat with regards to their previous relations.
"Oh yes Sir, I'm settling in well. Thank you," Kate replied. She was nervous, Mike could tell. Hell, he was too. How exactly were you supposed to act around your ex-lover? He certainly couldn't act how he wanted to. What he wanted to do was smile at her and tell her how much he's missed her. Not exactly going to happen on what turns into the smallest ship ever whenever there's anything personal going on.
"Good, good. Oh and uh Kate, we don't dress for dinner here," Mike said. He felt strangely standoffish about the minor slip up. He wanted to defend his ship against the larger ones she'd be much more used to. He wanted her, despite his reservations, to like it here.
"Oh, right. I uh, didn't know that. Thank you," Kate said. Great. Now she looked embarrassed. Not what he meant to do. Mike gave her a tight lipped smile before turning away. Best to leave before he said anything that they'd both regret later on.
Kate turned away as Mike walked down the corridor. She undid her belt and tugged up her white dress shirt from her pants, sighing. Just like Mike to come around, make her feel embarrassed and awkward then leave. Of course they don't dress for dinner here; she's on a patrol boat. When she'd first been assigned, she couldn't exactly express herself the way she'd wanted to (kicking and screaming) as she'd been at NAVCOM at the time. That didn't stop her when she got home though. A patrol boat. It's bloody ridiculous. They cannot seriously expect her to advance anywhere when she's stuck as the XO on a patrol boat. Then she got the email informing her who her CO would be. That was when the wine came out.
Of the entire lot of COs in the RAN, she had to get the one that she'd slept with. That was all it was, she was adamant. Acknowledging it as a love affair would just make things worse. Unbuttoning her shirt she kicked the door to her cabin shut behind her. Not hearing the tell-tale click, she turned around to see Mi – the CO staring at her.
"Uh, sorry X. I, uh, I'll just go," Mike stammered, trying not to stare at his XO. Her shirt was half undone, the dress belt done away with, exposing her stomach and what could possibly be the edge of her bra. Pink? Really Kate?
Upon reaching the end of the corridor Mike had stopped. No, he wasn't going to go an entire year without saying anything to her. This was his chance, so he was taking it. Turning on his heel, he moved back down the corridor to where Kate at disappeared into her cabin. Mike caught the door just as it swung closed. Then he paused. She was already starting to undress. Part of him felt a weird sense of pride, so she'd taken his words to heart? The other, rather south part of him, was feeling aroused at the sight of Kate McGregor's bare skin. Crap. He'd forgotten what her mere presence could do to him. Well, more like pushed down any feeling to do with her than forgotten.
Kate was still staring at him. He mumbled something about leaving, probably sounding tremendously unintelligent, not exactly how he was hoping to come off.
"No, was there something you wanted to say?" Kate asked him, staring Mike down with her chin rising a little. She wasn't covering herself up.
"Um… right. I just wanted to tell you… actually hang on," Mike said. He had just realised that this conversation was probably best not had in the hallway. Stepping in to her cabin, Mike shut the door behind himself. Kate had stepped back, looking slightly affronted.
"I just, wanted to say how much I've missed you Kate," Mike managed to get out. Kate stared at him, her eyes not giving anything away. "And, I hope that our past won't interfere with us working together. I know that I probably wasn't your first choice for a CO but I assure you I won't let anything get in the way of our working together."
Kate scoffed, "You weren't my first choice, no." She shifted from foot to foot. "But I suppose that we can manage to work together."
Mike smiled, "Good." They stood staring at each other a few moments more till Kate started to break the silence, "I really should get –"
"I really did miss you, you know," Mike interrupted. Kate looked down at her feet.
"Mike – "
"I know, I know. Trust me, I know, but I can't help but like seeing you here. Especially right now," Mike said, throwing in the last sentence to try and break the tension. He'd gone too far, he could tell. Kate hadn't looked up from her feet and Mike was sure she was talking herself out of punching him.
Kate looked up at him, still not covering herself up. "You know the regulations Mike, as well as I do."
"That didn't exactly stop us before Kate, if you remember correctly," Mike said. Kate huffed and finally tugged the front of her shirt closed.
"That was different, we weren't serving together. You were just the instructor…" Kate said.
"Still…"
"I think you should go Mike. I just want to get through this year and move on. Please, please let me move on." The 'from you' seemed to be more than implied as Mike searched her eyes. She was right. He'd gone too far, let his feelings take over and he couldn't do that here, especially not with Kate.
Mike sighed. "X, I'm sorry. I shouldn't… overtired I guess. I just wanted to welcome you to the Hammersley."
"Thank you," Kate said as Mike turned towards the door. "Mike?" Kate called. He paused, turning back towards her. Kate moved towards him, letting her shirt go from between her fingers. Rising up on her toes, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, lingering just a fraction too long.
"I really missed you too".