Soft sounds pulled Fred back to consciousness, the vague impressions of faces whose features he'd long since forgotten dissipating slowly. His eyes opened on the muted lighting of a cabin which was not his own and he laid still as his brain caught up with his senses. Warmth suffused his front and even inhalations carried with them the scent somehow so similar and yet vastly different than of all others who used the same standard issue soap pods on the ship. Hair tickled his chin, beneath which she'd tucked her head, her own breaths hot as they puffed into his thin t-shirt.

Another small whimper was emitted as he assessed their positions and her body trembled. He could feel that she wasn't cold, his arm having fallen across her waist at some point after he'd unwittingly passed out. Likely a bad dream, then, he concluded. Twisting his neck, he managed to glimpse the time on the panel barely. 0418 hours. Still time for him to return to his quarters before his absence was noted with any luck. His attention returned to the woman shivering against his chest.

She huffed and tensed up, fingers curling in his shirt. Her knee jerked between his own legs, having been wedged there while he slept, and he squeezed them together reflexively to protect himself.

He said her name after clearing his throat, keeping his voice low. When this elicited no response, he slid his hand up to grip her shoulder and tried again. "Khae."

This time she started, twitching awake suddenly and cracking the underside of his jaw as she did so.

Fred eased back, not wishing to startle her further with their proximity, but the bunk didn't offer much room for personal space. He studied her bewildered expression, trying to decide whether he should beat a hasty retreat or not.

She blinked and released a sigh, then murmured, "I was dreaming. Sorry," while rubbing her eyes and shoving hair from her face.

He watched for a beat before allowing himself the luxury of helping her tuck the silky strands back behind her ear. She caught his hand before he could retract it and brought it to her mouth, lips finding his rough palm.

"Thank you. For staying."

"I fell asleep." He hadn't meant to do that. He hadn't even recalled feeling particularly tired.

"I noticed. You're really warm." Her fingers played over his wrist. "It was nice."

Waking up with a body cradled against his own for a reason other than collective survival of the elements during a training exercise hadn't been unpleasant. She was much softer than any Spartan, a distinction which, while making her more vulnerable in battle, also made her a more comfortable sleeping companion.

Her lips had curved slightly. "What're you thinking?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

Fred wrinkled his nose. He'd been accused of being fairly abysmal at deception in the past by Linda and Kelly both, so he supposed it was no surprise she saw straight through him as well. Lying hadn't been covered in the program. "You're a lot less… uncomfortable to sleep beside than any of my teammates."

Her eyes widened before crinkling in mirth, a shift which made their outward slanting corners more pronounced. "I won't tell them you said so."

"Appreciate it," he assured, hoping his flush wasn't obvious in the shadows. He knew she was teasing him, but he didn't mind. The way she continued to caress his wrist, like she wasn't even really thinking about it, was mesmerizing him. His hand had been resting limply across her neck, but as she stared up into his face, lips parted slightly, he slid it to the back of her head and brought their mouths together, the natural inclination irresistible. One kiss was not nearly enough and the innocent embrace escalated almost instantaneously. He dragged her closer, she pushed up against him, and it still wasn't enough. He needed to feel her smooth unblemished skin beside his own, needed it as badly as his next lungful of air. Reaching down, he tore his t-shirt off, only breaking contact at the last moment to yank the garment over his head. It landed somewhere on the floor, where he also kicked the boots he'd slept in.

Seemingly of the same mind, Khae also peeled her clothes off, until they sat facing each other in similar fleet issued undergarments. She knelt up eagerly when he lifted his hands to the black sports bra, holding her arms above her head while he slid it up and off. Her lips found his again and she made no protest when he lowered them both back to the mattress, her fingers slipping into his hair and holding his questing mouth to her burning flesh.

Fred tasted the skin beneath her jaw, at the base of her throat, and between her breasts. He trailed hungry kisses over their heaving peaks, her clutching grasp encouraging his instinctive preoccupation. He could feel each nipple tighten and pucker beneath his tongue and her increased respirations as her small ribcage expanded and contracted rapidly.

"Fred," she moaned, the plaintive exhalation tightening his groin. She lifted her hips obligingly in order for him to drag the matching briefs down her shapely legs. They joined the rest of their discarded clothing and she helped him remove his own, their hands tangling and clumsy. Then she fell back and stretched herself provocatively, sliding her thighs open, obsidian hair spilling wildly across the mussed blankets.

His heart stuttered at the sight, one he knew would never, ever leave his memory. The way her pupils had dilated to gather as much of the limited light as possible, leaving a slim gray ring. The sweep of her brows. The deep red of her swollen lips as she panted in anticipation, arms thrown above her head in the ultimate pose of trust. It was all seared directly into his mind's eye even as he lunged down like something half-starved, capturing her mouth while he guided himself into her welcoming heat.

She arched and wrapped her legs around the small of his back, rolling her hips to meet each thrust. It was frantic and needy and she said his name over and over until she threw her head back and gasped through several more moans which pushed him immediately over the edge.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he pushed his face down into her tresses as the potent waves of pleasure forcibly rolled through him. His own ragged breathing assaulted his ears as he slumped over her, quivering with release. He felt her fingers at his temple. They smoothed over his eyebrow and carded through his hair and he pulled himself together enough to lift his head, only to have her mouth cover his. He kissed her slowly, lazily, the urgency gone for the moment, and found he enjoyed the languid caresses immensely. As his galloping heart rate slowed, he ran his hand through her hair and indulged her nuzzling affections, allowing her to softly stroke his jaw and cheek and the curve of his ear. His eyelids drooped and muscles relaxed to the point he realized he was in danger of slipping back to sleep if given half a second's opportunity despite not requiring the extra rest. Reluctantly, he pushed himself up onto his elbows. He'd been lying on top of her for a while, come to think of it. "Are you alright?"

The question obviously perplexed her. "Alright?"

"Because of…" He glanced between them. "I mean, I'm heavy. I didn't think about it before just now." Which was a testament to how poorly functioning his brain had been at the time.

"You're not light," she agreed, but threw her arms around his neck to prevent him from rising further when he made to do so. "But I am more than alright." She frowned when his gaze darted to the panel. "Do you have to go now?"

"Soon," he settled on guiltily after taking in her reaction. He could spare ten or fifteen minutes, but he knew that wouldn't likely make much difference. She didn't want to feel used, and he was going to bail almost immediately following sex. He understood what the frown was about even if he wasn't always the most intuitive.

Her expression was resolute, but she leaned up to kiss him one last time. "Help me get dressed, then."

Fred raised a brow at the request as he rolled apart from her, sliding his legs over the edge of the bunk and sitting up.

She reached up and he took her hand, gently pulling her up as well. "It's just… I don't want you to leave me like this. I want it to be different than it normally is."

It took him a moment to notice she was blushing as he gathered their clothes from the floor, but he made no further remark. Just helped her back into her things, a process slowed drastically by how often her own hands guided his, lingering touches and stolen brushes of lips against skin. It struck him as he was donning his own attire that he was loathing this as much as she was. It wasn't that he wanted to shirk his obligations, but neither did he want to leave her. He wanted to climb back onto her too small bunk and kiss her without rushing again, to give into that pleasant lull of sleep and to wake up again holding her. It wasn't a realistic wish, nor an advisable one, but he wanted it nonetheless.

As he stepped to the door he caught her elbow and drew her in close, enveloping her much slighter frame against his own. She molded pliantly to his chest, soft in all the places he was not.

They said nothing.