By: Jaimi
Chapter 2
Authors Note: PLEASE READ! Just so you know, there won't be much action in this story(the whole thing, not just this chapter), it's quite frankly, a lot of "encounters" between Trance and Harper, the others finding out etc...Don't worry though, nothing will get any more graphic in my writing then what's here. I'm not into writing explicit stuff and I'd like to keep my fics so that everyone can read them. Anyway, hope you like it. Please Read & Review. Comments and suggestions welcome. PS The sequel will see less "making out" and more uncovering Trance's background and stuff like that.
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As soon as she was off the bridge, Trance broke into a run, tears streaming down her face. She didn't stop till she got to the Hydroponics Section. The door opened automatically for her and she raced inside toward the back, lightly stepping over the walkways, as they zig zagged through trees and other large plants. She finally reached her destination, a large oak tree. Sitting at it's base, she wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face in her knees. She cried for a bit, angry and hurt by what Harper had said.
How could he? Of course she knew what love was. Sure he had to explain it to her in technical terms 'you know, when you have strong feelings of caring for someone' he'd said, but she already knew it instinctively, what love FELT like. Just like she instinctively knew what family was...and instinctively knew how to respond to Harpers kiss...Okay, so she already knew about that. She already knew about a lot of things. She smiled to herself thinking, /but HArper doesn't need to know that/. Oh, as good looking and smart as he was, he could be so clueless.
She sighed as the tears stopped. He'd probably come looking for her soon. She listened peacefully to the water of the stream, much larger than her own in her room, as it moved past her. She moved forward slightly, taking off her boots and dipping her feet in. After a few minutes she was slightly angry again. Where was he? Andromeda wasn't that big...okay well, he should know where she'd go. She huffed, why did she care? She didn't want to talk to him anyway! At that thought she heard the hydroponics doors hiss open. She turned her back, but kept her feet in the stream.
"Trance? Are you in here?" She stayed quiet, rolling her eyes.
She heard him stepping onto the walk ways and making his way around the room. There were many different paths and tons of plants blocking a clear view around the room. After a few minutes she heard him move in her direction. She thought of getting up and slipping out, but decided against it. He'd just keep after her till he found her.
"There you are, why didn't you answer me?" She heard him approach her from behind.
She continued to ignore him, rolling her eyes again. /Duh!/
She moved away slightly as he sat down beside her, pulling his knees up to his chin, just as hers were before.
They were silent for awhile. Finally he muttered out. "I'm sorry Trance. About what I said on the bridge, it didn't come out the right way." She still ignored him, trailing her hand through the water. He sighed, "You can't not talk to me forever."
She hid her smile at his frustrated tone, still not looking at him.
"Arrgh." He cried, flopping onto his back. "You can be so stubborn Trance Gemini!"
She still said nothing but looked at him from the corner of her eyes. She admired his firm abs shown through his white shirt which was pulled tightly as he lay on his back.
He caught her look and asked in disbelief, "Are you checking me out?"
She blushed, stuttering, "N-no!"
"Ha!" Harper exclaimed triumphantly, sitting up. "I got you to talk."
Her eyes widened, then narrowed and she reached a hand down to scoop up some water, splashing her friend.
"Hey!" He said with a laugh, then he was serious. "Trance, I am really sorry, okay? I didn't mean it that way, I just don't think you're ready. I may be in...in love...w-with you, but how do you know you're in love with me huh? And besides, we're to young to have babies! I mean sure we could just have sex, but the baby part, nu-uh. Even if you were ready, I'm not."
"Sex? That's how babies are made?"
Harper's jaw dropped. "I thought you didn't know what sex was?"
"Sure I do, I remember seeing people having sex on the streets before Rev found me. Some guy offered me money to have sex with him. I wasn't sure what it was, but then he pointed toward a couple nearby. I asked him why people did that and he just said that it was for fun, nothing more. That's it!"
Harper looked pale. "Trance...you...you didn't take the money did you....you didn't...have sex with him did you?"
She shook her head, "No. Rev came up then, pulling me away from him and telling him to find someone more deserving of 'such a desecration'." She paused, "Does that mean sex is a bad thing?"
Harper sighed in relief. "No, Trance. It's not a bad thing, not if you love the person. I think Rev meant doing it with just anyone, any stranger and for money, is not good. If you love the person and want to have kids than it's...it's a good thing, a beautiful thing."
"But that guy said it was just for fun."
"Well," Harper said nervously. "It can be just for fun."
"Have you ever had sex just for fun?" The question startled him and he leaned forward to look at her. He wouldn't lie to her.
"Yeah, yeah I have Trance. It wasn't a good thing though. I didn't love the women I've been with."
Trance nodded, not judging her friend at all. "That's okay, Harper. Everyone makes mistakes, it can't be THAT horrible to have done that."
"No. No, it's not evil by any means, but it leads to regrets, and sometimes a broken heart."
"Did you ever have a broken heart, or broke someone else's?"
"No. Any girls I was with were just after fun as well."
Trance was silent, "Do you miss it?"
"What?"
"Having sex?"
He looked at her startled again, and again, not wanting to lie to her. "Well, yeah. It's kind of a guy thing Trance. We seem to want it more than women. But I think I wanna wait for the woman I love. Even though I'm still young, I've had enough of sleeping around."
Trance nodded and smiled slyly. "You're in love with me."
Oblivious to where the question was going, Harper nodded, looking off into the dense foliage.
Then she said more sternly, "How do you know I'm not in love with you Harper?"
"Trance, you haven't been around enough guys." She looked at him skeptically.
"Okay, well you haven't gotten to know enough guys....around your age, to know. Just trust me Trance, you can do a lot better than me."
She cut him off. "How do you know you love me Harper? How do you know I'm any better than those women you were with?"
He cursed, getting frustrated. "Because Trance...it's just....it's just...an instinct!" She smiled slyly at those words, but he continued. "And you are WAY better than those women. You're smart, you're sweet, you're funny, you're caring, gentle...beautiful."
"You just lost this round of arguing Seamus Harper! I have instincts too, how do you think I knew how to respond to you the other night? All creatures have instincts, and they act on them. And I don't care if you think I deserve better. You are all that you just described as me and more. So, don't even bother maintaining this senseless argument any more."
Harper sat back, staring up at her as she had stood to face him, hands on the curve of her hips, temper flared. Then his temper flared as well. Dammit, why did she have to be so stubborn and sure? He jumped up, taking a step toward her, angry. She stepped back startled, her footing faltered and she fell back into the stream. His eyes widened and he jumped in after her. It was only up to his chest, but he was afraid she'd hit her head. He ducked under the water to find her making her way back up. They came up at the same time and he grabbed a hold of her by her elbows, shaking her, pulling her roughly up against his chest.
"Be more careful!" He stated angrily, scared at what could have happened.
She gazed back at him angry as well. "Stop telling me what to do! Dammit Harper, first you tell me I don't understand, then you tell me I don't know how I feel and now you're telling me what to do! Who died and made you Captain?"
He breathed deeply trying to calm himself in more ways than one. Sensations coursed through his body at the feel of her pulled up against him. She was warm and soft against him, and a droplet of water made it's way from her hair down the side of her face to drip off her chin. Her chest was heaving against him, anger burning in her eyes. God, she was beautiful.
Taking a ragged breath he replied in a quiet, husky voice, "Don't swear!"
Yet again angered by his order, she attempted to pull away and opened her mouth to protest as he held her fast. Before she could get any words out, his mouth was covering hers in a hard, searing kiss. She struggled at first against the bruising force, still angry with him. He slowly backed her into the side of stream, the water flowing around them, and ground his body into hers. He knew he was losing control, but he couldn't pull away. It felt so good.
Trance silently agreed as she began to kiss him back. He still pinned her body in place with his hips, but let go her arms. Instead his hands roamed up them to her shoulders, up her slender neck to gently cup her face.
Once her arms were freed, Trance probably could have pushed Harper off if she really wanted to, but she didn't. Instead, she used her hands to roam up the sides of his muscular stomach and chest. Unable to place them in-between since he had her pinned, she wrapped them around behind, running them along his taut back.
Harper groaned when Trance shifted to run her hands over him. God, did she have any idea what she was doing to him? Mentally, he knew he should pull away, physically he couldn't. The attraction was so strong.
Her tongue freely explored his mouth. Her tail twitched in excitement. Suddenly, Harper pulled away, leaving them both gasping for breath. The attraction was strong, but his love was stronger.
He leaned his forehead against hers, moaning. He didn't move his body away from hers, not yet. She looked up at him questioningly.
"Oh god," he breathed raggedly. "Trance, I want you so bad. But we can't, not here, and not now. We need to take things slower. Okay?"
She nodded, understanding. "Okay," she said, biting her lip, then moving to kiss him gently once more. Harper started, shocked. It was the first time Trance had made the first move. He recovered, and then smiled down at her, brushing her wet hair away from her face. He leaned forward, resting his chin on her head and wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace.
Then realizing where they were and that he had to gain back some control before the left, he pulled away and climbed out of the water, turning to help her out as well. He looked away from her dripping form, not wanting the temptation to get the better of him. He suddenly became aware of a slight problem and quickly sat down, pulling his knees up to his chin.
"I-uh, need to...um...cool off before we go anywhere...at least, until I go anywhere."
She got his meaning, and smiled teasingly saying, "But we just got out of a cold stream."
He grimaced, not wanting to have to explain his predicament. Looking up he frowned at the laughter in her eyes. She knew what he was talking about, he was teasing her. He grinned. He liked that.
"Should I leave you alone?"
"No, you can stay here and wait with me, it's your fault!"
Her jaw dropped and her hands went to her hips. "It is NOT my fault!"
"Yeah." He stated, "It is!" He paused, his eyes roaming her body, "just looking at you...even...right...at...this very...moment. DAMN! Trance, maybe you should leave."
She giggled, blushing. "Fine, I'm leaving. I'll see you later."
"Yeah, definitely." He mumbled, watching her go, her tail swinging in time with her hips. He shook his head, /Not helping/ Then he shut his eyes, until he heard the door hiss open and then shut again. He sighed in relief...too close.
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Later that evening, everyone gathered together in the mess to have dinner. Harper and Trance next to each other on one of the four sides, Beka and Dylan across from them and Tyr and Rev on either end. The elder 4 were discussing where they were heading next. Harper was playing with his food, not really interested in the food or the conversation and trying not to look at Trance. He didn't regret earlier, but he was too full of the memories to not look at her and end up mezmerised.
Trance was also bored, not hungry and not interested in the conversation. She was however, in a mischievous mood with a yearning to see what she could do to drive Harper nuts. She remembered how he reacted to her and grinned.
She non-chalantly propped her chin on the palm of her left hand, while letting her right drop to her side. She pretended to be listening to Beka carry on about something...she really had no idea. She slowly edged her hand away from her side and slipped in up to cover Harpers left knee. She felt him tense up, but he did nothing. Resting her hand there for a few moments. When Beka and Dylan began a harmless argument, she slid her hand up farther briefly stopping mid thigh. She smiled as she felt the hard muscles of his thighs clench nervously.
She watched him from the corner of her eye, noticing a light sweat breaking out on his forehead. She twisted her hand to cover her mouth, hiding her smile. His nervousness made her continue boldly, as she slid her hand up higher closing in on him. Just before she reached her destination, his hand slipped down from its place atop the table and covered hers, bringing its motion to a stop. Without a glance toward her he entwined his fingers in hers and moved their hands to rest between them. There they stayed for the rest of dinner, both of them content to leave things be right then.
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Trance was heading away from the mess after dinner toward her room, planning to do some painting or reading maybe. She was startled when a hand reached out from an open door and pulled her into a storage closet. She tried to scream, but a hand covered her mouth as the person held her from behind.
"Shhhhh, it's me."
She visibly relaxed at the sound of Harpers voice. He took his hand away from her mouth but didn't remove his arm wrapped around her waist.
"What are you doing?" She hissed, trying to turn her head to look at him.
He chuckled, "Paying you back for that nasty stunt you pulled in the mess. You know if you're gonna go that far, than I may have to speed up in teaching you some things."
She shuddered slightly as his voice took on a sexy tone.
"Wha-"
She didn't get out anymore as she gasped in surprise as Harper ran his free hand down her stomach and over her outer thigh. All the while he placed delicate kisses on her neck and behind her ear. She smiled, leaning into his mouth. They both sunk to the floor, Trance leaning back against Harpers chest as he continued to rain gentle kisses on her face and neck.
His hand wandered over her now bent legs, enjoying their silky smoothness. He ran his hand up from her ankle, along her calf to her knee, stopping briefly, before continuing up to mid thigh, caressing her. After a moment he continued up, but went no further than resting his hand on her upper thigh. His other hand caressed her flat stomach, his arm wrapped around her waist, he ran the hand over her stomach, then moving to grip her hip. They were both startled out of their little world at the sound of Tyrs cursing outside and down the hall. He was arguing with Rev.
They listened, Harpers arm still wrapped around Trance protectively.
"I know I put it in this storage closet Tyr. Just let me check, all right? Wait here, there's not enough room for both of us."
Their eyes widened and they quietly got to their feet as the door opened and Rev entered, shutting the door behind him. When he turned to look around the small area, he stopped in shock to find Harper with Trance in his arms, both staring back at him.
"Oh dear," Was all he said.
"What?" Tyr called from outside.
Before Rev could answer, Harper motioned frantically for him not to say a word.
Rev stuttered for a minute, but recovered quickly nodding. "Nothing Tyr, nothing. It's just...there's quite a situation in here. Could take a while...yes...uh...very messy."
"Well, hurry it up. I don't have all evening, I want to practice sparring before I sleep."
"Yes, yes of course. Give me a moment." He then turned back to the young couple in front of him. Whispering he said, "What is going on here?"
"We're um..." Trance began, remembering Harpers warning about the others. "We're talking Rev."
If Rev could raise an eyebrow, he would have. "Talking? You talk in a dark storage closet with your arms around each other?"
"Rev, who are you talking to?" Tyr called out, frustrated.
"No one, just myself."
"Why am I not surprised," They heard him mutter.
Trance nodded, eyes innocent. "Yeah, I was worried about something, and I wanted to talk in private...where no one would come looking for us...and...and I got cold. So Harpers just keeping me warm."
Harper grimaced at the lame excuse, but knowing he couldn't do any better under the circumstances nodded and smiled.
"Uh-huh!" Rev said, not entirely convinced. "And you're still holding her because?" He asked the silent genius, who went to remove his arms but Trance caught him.
"Well, I'm still cold silly...duh!"
Rev considered this, then shrugged. "All right then. If you won't mind handing me those sabers and I'll be on my way. Should I let Tyr know not to disturb you when he's finished sparring?"
They both shook their heads, "NO!"
"Why ever not for? After all, it's just a perfectly innocent conversation...why wouldn't you want Tyr to know you're in here?"
"Because," Trance blurted out. "It's, about him." Rev looked at her strangely.
"Though it's not like you to talk about people behind their back, I suppose I can understand Tyr pushing the limit. All right, I'm leaving," He said, taking the sabers from Harper. "Thank you. You two go back to...uh...talking." He finished slyly, quickly exiting.
"What took you so long?" They heard an impatient Tyr.
"Patience is a virtue Tyr, remember that."
"Yeah, well I'm not a virtuous kinda guy." Their voices faded into away, and the couple visibly relaxed.
"He knows." Harper muttered, opening the door, letting Trance out before him. "This is just great. I mess up and that guy is gonna...eat me."
Trance smiled, kissing his cheek and walking away toward her room.
Chapter 3 coming soon.
Jaimi Copyright@2001