New Ch#7: Good morning

"This again, huh?" she said to herself as she drifted through the nebulas, stars, planets, etc. that made up the universe around her; like she had so many times before. Julie had had this dream, or dreams like it, many times since she was younger so it was easy to realize she was in the midst of dreaming without waking up.

Something had changed, however; this time she could easily control where she went and what she saw. She had read about this in the past; it was a phenomenon that was known as lucid dreaming. She had managed it more than a few times in the past, but never with such ease. She took note that her hair was emitting a golden light once again but, she still wasn't sure what that meant. Along with floating through the heavenly bodies, Her hair glowing was a common factor in most of her dreams.

"Everything is a projection from my own mind, since it's a dream, so why can't I figure out why my hair is like this?" She asked to herself, feeling a little confused as to why she couldn't understand what was going on inside of her own head. "I mean it looks cool and everything but, what is it supposed to mean?"

When she couldn't figure it out she decided to focus on something else rather than get frustrated. So it wasn't long before she noted that the astronomical bodies and structures were more clear to her than they had been in past dreams. She also actually remembered how she got there; she had actually started out where she knew she roughly was in the Milky Way galaxy and explored out from there. She was curious to see how far she could push out and have everything still remain coherent.

"I wonder what I'll see if I go out to the uncharted territory." She said. Julie had spent countless amounts of time looking out at the stars with Delbert and her father when she was younger and even more time studying star-maps. It was a strange hobby to have as a kid but, she had wanted to track all of the battles of Captain Flint in order to find his treasure.

"Who knew I would actually get to find it one day." She said with a chuckle. Her younger self would probably explode if she knew that she would get to see her dream through in the future.

So far, she had put enough distance from the Milky Way to turn around and see it's entirety without having to move her eyes or head. She turned around and continued to move towards the nearest galaxy and her name sake; Andromeda. She slowed as she got closer and could swear she was faintly hearing a voice.

Julie pushed closer and closer but she still couldn't make out the words. She stopped and concentrated on her senses. Julie slowly spun around and tried to look, listen, and feel in just about every direction. She sighed slightly and rotated back towards the bright center of the Andromeda galaxy; only to find herself nose to nose with a beautiful woman with brightly glowing eyes and hair.

"Hello!" She said excitedly, causing Julie to scream in surprise.

"WHAT THE FU—"

Julie's eyes snapped open and she found herself back on Onyx, soft light streaming in through the window. Slowly sitting up and rubbed her eyes, she glanced around the room. 'What the fuck was that about?' She thought sluggishly as the fogginess of sleep slowly seeped out of her head while she pondered over the dream. Muffled sunlight gently illuminated the room.

Looking out the window she saw it was cloudy and lightly raining outside. Feeling something shift in the bed, she looked down to find William's muscular and tattooed body radiating warmth next to her. She began to panic at first before she remembered the events of last night and how they ended up here together.

She looked over his sleeping form; His body above his waist lay uncovered by the blankets and sheets on the bed, but she could also see he had one leg hanging off the side. His chest slowly rose and fell, his face had adopted a peaceful expression on it that made him look a lot younger than he usually did— especially with the slightly patchy beard he was clearly trying to grow. Waking up like this felt strangely nice in a way that Julie had never felt before.

Then again she had never really slept in the same bed as a man since she was a little girl. After a few moments she saw him stirring again, realizing now one of his hands was around where she had been laying next to him, his fingers were still lightly gripping her waist pulling her towards him ever so slightly. Julie felt the familiar fluttering feeling in her stomach.

'He is certainly protective…' Julie thought, feeling the fluttering increase and turn into warmth that infected her entire body.

Looking up towards his face once again, she saw his eyelids fluttering open. His blue green looked around and then lock onto her. She smiled sleepily at him and slid a hand up his arm. "Good morning, soldier boy." She said softly. Watching him smile in return.

"This is a welcome change from the usual dreams." He said sleepily, slowly running his hand up the soft skin of her waist and back.

"Wait, what?" Julie said, a little confused. She looked down and saw that the towel she had fallen asleep with, was nowhere in sight. Her eyes widened and she gasped slightly as she looked back at him and quickly covered her chest with her arm— ignoring the pain in her ribs at her sharp intake of breath as best she could.

She felt his warm and callused hand gently touching her, start to pull her towards him.

"Will!" She yelped. "W-what the hell are you doing?!"

This seemed to snap him out of his half-asleep state, because his eyes shot open wide and he looked around before quickly looking back at her. He immediately let go of her and tried to back away as fast as possible, which lead to him flopping out of the bed— bringing the blankets and sheets with him.

He recovered quickly and stood up facing her— completely uncovered and at 'full mast.' Julie's mouth dropped so much it may as well have hit the floor. William quickly looked down and grabbed a sheet and pulled it over himself.

"Sorry! I'm sorry—I really thought this was a dream…" He tried to apologize and explain but was so jumbled he was making next to no sense.

This was the most flustered and frantic Julie had ever seen William in the months she had known him. Once she picked up her jaw off the floor, she tried to find something more to cover herself but found that he had taken everything besides her pillow; so she resorted to putting a pillow over her lap and keeping her hand and arm over her chest.

"That still doesn't explain why your…you know, is like…that!" She said, her face feeling like she was about to go super nova due to the amount of heat her cheeks radiated.

"Well, there are a couple reasons for that…" He responded hesitantly. "But, I mean it is the morning so…ya know…"

"What the is that supposed to mean?" She let out an laugh inspire of the situation and grimace slightly at the pain in her side again.

"It's—…never mind I can explain later but for now I am gonna get my clothes." He said with a small smile, shaking his head and finally getting a grip on his own embarrassment.

"Sounds like a plan, you fucking coo-coo cock—er, clock!" She said, watching him dragging a tangle of blankets and sheets into the bathroom. Once he disappeared into the bathroom she fell forward and lightly thumped her head against the softness of the bed with an embarrassed groan. "What the hell is wrong with me."

A little while later they both sat silently across from each other at a diner, waiting for their breakfast with pink tinted cheeks.

"So…that's really just something that happens to all guys in the morning?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, you can look it up when you get the chance. It's called nocturnal penile tumescence." He responded, trying to match her volume so no one else could hear.

"Sounds like dick cancer." Julie mumbled, smirking into her drink, confused why medical terms always had to be long and weird.

"I don't have dick cancer!" William retorted a little too loudly, drawing a few stares. He was still feeling flustered every time he thought about what had happened. He shot her an annoyed glare and saw her smirking slightly at him. "It's just a normal thing that happens to every human male. Happens to some non-humans as well, but that's besides the point."

"What was that stuff you said about their being multiple reasons then;" She asked staring at him over her orange juice— starting to recall the morning more clearly. "And what was that stuff about thinking it was a dream?"

"That was…well…" Will started, trying to think of an answer. Luckily the waitress arrived at that moment with their food and he was saved from giving an answer as he shoved the sandwich he had ordered into his mouth quickly and tried to change the topic. "Hurry and finish your food, we have to get back to the transport soon."

She nodded and remained quiet until they were sitting down in a nearly empty transport ferry heading back to the spaceport. "You never answered my question." She stated simply. William groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose— finally realizing he would have to be bluntly honest and tell her the truth.

"I was like that because of you." He admitted, staring out the window. "I thought it was a dream. Why the else would a beautiful girl be naked and sitting in bed next to me…touching my arm and saying good morning like that?"

The young woman didn't respond to him and he didn't want to make it more uncomfortable so he continued to look out the window. They continued like that even after they got off the transport. They silently made their way through the busy pathways, past many different ships and docks until William couldn't take it anymore and stopped, pulling her aside to a less busy side street.

"Look, Julie." He started in a serious tone. "I am really sorry; after everything that happened yesterday— this morning must have really made you uncomfortable but, I just want you to know that I would never do something like that; I just—" His apology was interrupted by her abruptly flicking him in the forehead. He blinked in surprise, stopped talking and looked up at her, confused.

"Will, you saved my life. Don't even think for a second you and that other guy fall into the same category. This morning was…surprising…and awkward I guess…but, the stuff that sack of shit tried to do is just about the farthest thing in my mind when I am with you." She explained. After he had started apologizing she realized that he thought he had just traumatized her even more and she need him to know that wasn't the case.

"I feel safe with you Will. That didn't change because of…whatever happened this morning."

"I just thought…when you didn't respond on the transport…" He said, trying to piece together his thoughts coherently.

He saw Julie's face heat up; taking on the likeness of a ripe tomato. "I didn't respond when you said that because I didn't really know how to respond to something like that. I mean…" She looked are her boots, unable to meet his gaze. "No one has ever called me beautiful before…"

"Wh— seriously?" The young man asked.

She just nodded in response.

"Oh, I uh…" He mumbled, feeling his own face heat up again. "We should probably get back to the Legacy now. Don't want to get left behind and have to live off of your pickpocket money." He said, directing the focus away from something that was making both of their brains cease functionality.

"You ever gonna give me the rest of my money?" She said as they started walking again.

"What do you think paid for breakfast?" Will asked with a laugh. He quickly dodged her elbow jab that was meant for his ribs and smirked back at her. "I think the waitress appreciated her tip since the bill was only 20 credits."

This time her elbow landed firmly in his ribs and made him grunt. "At least I finally got you back for the fucking flick thing from yesterday." She grumbled, lamenting that she was once again broke.

"Yeah, so what is it now?" He asked with a smirk. "2 to 1, in my favor?"

She groaned when she realized he was right and that she had to get him 2 more times to have the lead. "You are such an ass."

"I know." He said, smacking her hand away as she tried to flick him again.

"Oh! Juliet!" They heard once they stepped back onto the deck of the Legacy. The young woman was enveloped in a smothering hug from Delbert before she could get away. "I was so worried about you! There was news that there was gang-related violence and a triple homicide in the city last night and I stayed up half the night wondering if you were ok!" He babbled, on the verge of tears before he noticed the bruising on her face.

"What happened to your face?!" He yelp in surprise, which quickly turned to panic. "We have to get you to a doctor!"

"No. I am fine, Delbert." She quickly assured him. "I just took a dive, running around in the rain yesterday and cushioned my fall with my face."

Delbert still look frightfully worried so she continued and gestured over to William who was trying to slip away unnoticed. "Will actually helped me out a lot. He made sure I was fine and that I got to a hotel safe and sound."

The astronomer almost immediately captured the cabin boy's hand and pumped it up and down. "Thank you so much young man! I made a promise to her mother to keep her safe but sometimes I just feel like I am scrambling just to keep up with her!" He explained without letting the Will respond. "I can't tell you how relieved I am that there are so many trust worthy people around to look out for her. I have known her since she was in diapers— back then she used to call me 'Uncle Delly'." He reminisced, rambling into a tangent. "She was the same way she is now whenever I would babysit. She would toss her diaper off and run around, naked as a jaybird hollering about—"

"I think thats enough!" Julie cut in abruptly, pulling William away and pushing him towards the galley. "We have lots of cabin stuff to do before we set off again."

"I hope you can tell me the rest of the story later, Doc!" Will said over his shoulder, ignoring Julie's glare.

Once they had descended into the empty galley, he spoke to Julie with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Were you feeling embarrassed because now, at least two people on this ship have seen you naked?"

She punched him in the side and stomped over to the newly filled purp barrel. "He only saw when I was still in diapers and you…you only barely saw my chest for a second so, that doesn't count either!" She growled at him, taking a bite of her fruit.

'Long enough to see your nipple piercing.' Will thought with another smirk. Looking back and seeing the look on his face made Julie pick up another fruit and chuck it at his head. "Shut up!"

"I didn't even say anything!" He laughed, dodging fruit.

"You were thinking something stupid!" She yelled, tossing more fruit at him. They were both to distracted to hear Silver coming down the stairs.

'What is she psychic now?' William thought amusedly; Half trying to test out if she could hear his thoughts.

"What's all this now?" He said, after observing the ongoing fruit war taking place in the galley. "Hey! quit that t'rowin; keep goin' like that and we'll be keelin' over from scurvy in no time flat!"

Julie reluctantly put down the fruit in her hand— glaring at the young man who was succeeding, mostly, at keeping a deadpan expression.

"Enough of that; we got work to do!" Silver said, pulling the young woman into the kitchen by her collar and motioning for Will to follow.

The voice whispered next to her ear taunting her; the feeling his hand slowly moving up her legs elicited panicked anxiety and made her feel nauseous. No matter how hard she struggled, she was never strong enough. No matter how frantic her attempts, she couldn't escape. Pain lanced through her side as she struggled to get enough oxygen.

Julie jolted awake in a cold sweat, sitting upright and looking around to find that she was still in the same musty hold of the ship that she had fallen asleep in earlier. She felt pain radiating in her side from her ribs and slowly managed to calm her breathing and heart rate.

'This is the third time I have woken up tonight.' Julie thought glumly to herself. She was exhausted and drained. All she wanted to do was sleep without being tortured in her own dreams.

'What the hell is wrong with me; why can't I just forget about that guy?' She pulled her knees to her chest and looked around the dark area, filled with the sound of snoring, until she got to Will's hammock.

'I slept fine in the hotel room…'

She found the outline of his sleeping figure in the dark with here eyes. Julie glanced around again to make sure no one else was awake before she slipped out of her hammock and tiptoed over to him. She hesitated for a second before reaching and nudging his shoulder.

"…Will…will, come on, wake up." She whispered to him. After a few seconds he rolled over and lifted his head to look at her through half open eyes.

"Julie…?" He mumbled, half asleep. "Was goin' on?"

Julie felt stupid and embarrassed but the darkness covered the evidence on her face. "…Can I sleep here?" She asked hesitantly.

"With me?" He asked, trying to process what she was saying.

"I can't sleep. I keep dreaming about the…the guy in the alleyway…" She whispered as quietly as possible. Even if he didn't have anyone above him they were still weren't that far away from her hammock that had Mr. Snuff in the one above her. After thinking for a second William nodded and lifted the blanket for her. Julie slid in next to him with a relieved sigh.

The hammock was big so it easily held both of them, but it was still a hammock so they were pushed together underneath the blanket. Making the best of it, before she got too embarrassed; Julie snuggled close and put her head on his chest. He soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thanks, Will." She whispered, letting his warmth burn away the tension and anxiety that had been weighing down on her. She never knew that just sleeping next to someone could feel this good.

"Anytime, Julie." He responded, fading back into unconsciousness. "You're safe now, Julie. I won't let anyone hurt you."