A/N: Once again, my sister is owed giant props for prompts. She sent me a bunch of random facts at work the other day and then said, "This is the kind of thing I can see Alec busting out at an awkward moment." Next update might be slow in coming; I've got one more chapter written, but it comes a bit later in the story and I haven't written what comes between.
They're on Kiera's bed, having an excellent time, and Alec is thrilled to be using his mouth for something other than words for once. This is much more interesting. Though, for some inscrutable reason, he panics and pulls away. "Huh. Uh. Did you know, um. Like fingerprints, each person has a unique tongue print?"
To her credit, Kiera doesn't flinch. Without opening her eyes, she responds, "Trying to memorize mine?"
And oh, for the love of all that's holy, that's hot in an undefinable and very enticing way. She's maddeningly sexy and he very much wants to go back to what they were doing, but his rebellious brain has unfortunately picked an extremely inopportune time to host a full-on freak-out.
"Also, horses can't vomit," he offers weakly. Mood killer for sure. Curse his malfunctioning brain!
At that, Kiera does open her eyes. There's a slight furrow between her brows, but she doesn't look annoyed. Confused, maybe. "Did I do something wrong?"
"You? No! Absolutely not. I, on the other hand, apparently short-circuited and started spouting random trivia." He puts his head in his hands. "Ugh. I'm really sorry, Kiera. I didn't mean to… well, whatever that was, I didn't mean to do it."
"Alec," she says softly, "we can… slow down, if you want."
Slow down? Does she think – "Ah, no, it's not… um. It's not like I haven't… You wouldn't be my first, if that's what you were thinking. Not that I was assuming this was going anywhere in particular," he adds hastily.
She quirks an eyebrow. "Really?"
He's not sure which claim she's doubting. "I had a girlfriend for several months in high school. It's the twenty-first century; I'm not sure how it goes in the future, but…" He shrugs.
"I was pregnant with Sam when I got married, and no one batted an eye," Kiera replies.
"Shotgun wedding?"
"No one was threatening anyone, but yes, I suppose. Greg proposed when I told him I was pregnant. Apparently he'd been planning it for a while, but…" She trails off. "Greg was my first serious boyfriend. I guess there's not a lot of time for relationships when you join the military at sixteen."
Alec gapes, "Sixteen?"
"It's not so different from the current standard, is it?"
"Well, yeah, I mean, I guess not technically, but… Kiera, you weren't even a legal adult yet!" He can't pinpoint why exactly this bothers him so much; after all, it's not like he had an idyllic childhood or anything either. Being smarter than most of your peers doesn't really lend itself to making friends or anything. But still.
Her voice is sort of distant, and definitely sad. "You grow up fast when you're fighting a war. Besides, it gave me a purpose." She sounds so far away. "When I got out, I didn't know what to do with myself. I'd already lost my sister to Flash, and my parents and I were not close. I didn't have many friends, either. I was drifting, even with Greg, I think. I stayed home when Sam was a baby, and I'm glad I had that time with him, but I still lacked a sense of direction. When Greg suggested I join CPS, I leaped at the opportunity."
For lack of a better response, Alec goes with, "I bet you were a great cop."
"I was good. Elena and I were given some fairly advanced assignments rather quickly. Even guarding you, once. Until we were assigned to oversee the Liber8 execution, and I ended up here."
"Would you do it differently, if you could?"
She leans in and kisses him, much more softly than earlier. "It brought me to you, didn't it?"
"That's not an answer," he complains, but she doesn't elaborate. Which is only fair, really, because how can he ask her to choose between now, with him, and then, with Sam? Besides, it's an exercise in futility anyway. They've both accepted by now that it's unlikely, if not impossible, for her to return to her old life.
Her head is resting on his shoulder now, and they lay like that in silence for so long that Kiera falls asleep.
Alec stretches his legs out and repositions himself so, if his overactive mind cooperates, he can actually sleep. If he stays the night, he'll face merciless ribbing from his roommates tomorrow. Assumptions will be made, and subsequent judgements if he bothers to disabuse them of their notions. (Not that he plans to give them details of any kind. They're not exactly friends – not that he doesn't like them, he just hasn't gotten close to them. There was an attempt made once that ended with futuristic hallucinogens, and he just sort of… hasn't bothered since then. They do share some surface-level interests, but Alec has more secrets than he knows what to do with, and that doesn't exactly lend itself to satisfying friendships.)
Tonight didn't go as planned, but that's okay. Eventually is the refrain of their relationship.
