011 Lovers
Carter knocked at the entrance to the workspace. Without waiting for an answer he walked into the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. Kat had retreated to the room, to her work space while she made modifications to some of their armor components. "Kat, we need to talk."
Kat turned around, arms crossed over her chest tightly. "No, we don't. We don't have anything to talk about."
"Yes, we do." He frowned as he stared into his own reflection in her face plate. "Kat, take your helmet off." She shifted her position, but didn't remove her helmet. She didn't trust him. That fact alone stung more than if she'd shot him.
Kat finally reached up, removing her helmet. She held it loosely in her hands, staring at it to avoid looking at Carter. "So, what exactly do we have to talk about, Commander?"
"We have to talk about what happened." She shifted again and he reached up, rubbing at the back of his neck.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Kat set her helmet down on a nearby table.
"You know full well what I'm talking about. We can't just ignore it, Kat." Carter moved forward and leaned against the table. Kat moved along the table as far away as she could get from him without making it obvious that she was trying to avoid him. "Kat, it was a mistake. I'm sorry."
"No kidding, it was a mistake!" Kat spat out the words. She paced across the room, moving as far away from Carter as she physically could be. Her fingers clutched at her arms, trying to keep herself under control. Her head was shaking slightly back and forward as she shifted in place. She took a deep breath and relaxed a bit before she spoke again. "If it was a mistake, then we'll just never talk about it. It never happened."
"Right; it never happened." Carter wished that didn't have to be the case. He'd enjoyed it, more than he had expected. The feel of her against him, her lips against his, it had been like a dream. He regretted that it would be their only time, the only time it could ever be allowed to happen. He wished that he hadn't messed it up so badly. It had been rough and he'd had no idea what he was doing. There had been love in it, though, and she had returned it. It had given him hope, hope that he didn't need, and that didn't help. It had caused him to spend several hours trying to figure out if they could make it work. If only they could keep it from everyone and still indulge in the love between them… He'd let his head get filled with thoughts of being close to her, being a couple, becoming lovers. In the end it all came crashing down as rational thought got in the way each and every time.
Carter took a step toward her and saw her flinch. He wasn't sure if it was that she didn't trust him, or she didn't trust herself. At the moment he wasn't even sure if he trusted himself with being too close to her. Her eyes locked with his and he saw a hint of the same regret in her eyes. They both knew that there would never be another chance. They had a duty, and that duty forbid it ever happening again.
He moved across the room until he was standing only a couple feet away from her. To her credit, she didn't back down, though her discomfort showed on her face. It was palpable in the air between them. "It can never happen again. It will never happen again." Kat looked down, her breaths becoming deep as she listened. "We will never speak of what happened." Carter's voice became harder and colder with each word. "We are teammates and friends, but never anything more." The last words came out as an order.
Kat looked up, her eyes cold, but still holding that hint of rebellious nature that caused her to disobey him on occasion. "Understood, Commander."
Carter nodded, satisfied. She understood and he understood. They had a duty, and as a Spartan, duty would always come first. Carter turned and moved to the door. He unlocked the door and glanced back at the Lieutenant Commander. Kat turned and walked back to her workbench, picking up her helmet and sitting down on the single chair. Carter walked out of the door, leaving Kat to repair her armor.