This double drabble (200 words) was written for VAMB's 2009 Secret Drabble exchange. I was given the first line "the ground trembled beneath them." Post-Endgame.
Earthquakes
A double drabble by Mizvoy
For cara mia
The ground trembled beneath them.
Chakotay managed to keep his balance while the Lab pup dashed, unfazed, to retrieve the ball from the corner of the yard. He glanced toward the front porch. "Did you feel that?"
"Feel what?" Kathryn looked up from the glider as the pup dropped the ball at Chakotay's feet.
"I think it was an earthquake."
"It probably was. Since the Breen attacked during the war, earthquakes in northern California have increased in frequency and severity."
He picked up the ball and tossed it, watching the Lab scramble to retrieve it. "This is the first one I've noticed."
"That's because you've been off-planet so much, visiting family."
"Is that why you didn't feel it? Because you're used to it?"
She smiled as she watched the pup bounce at his feet, anxious to run again. "I'm guessing that the cabin was designed to absorb most minor tremors."
"Maybe that's it."
Hours later, when the moonlight filled their bedroom with a soft glow, Kathryn cuddled against him in drowsy satisfaction.
"I finally felt it," she confessed, nuzzling his neck. "Just a few minutes ago."
"Felt what?"
She pulled back and gave him a wicked grin. "The earth moved."
