Nov 2002
Disclaimer: It all belongs to George (Lucas, not my Leprechaun) & I just write for fun. The song belongs to a group called "Blackhawk" and I'm just borrowing the lyrics.
Part 8
*So please, please, please go I'm not strong enough to say no*
Don't follow me, Jaina, he begged silently, locking the door and leaning against it. He banged his head on the panel, anger following quickly on the heels of his silent plea. Idiot! He mentally screamed at himself. Could he have been more obvious? Why hadn't he just told her? His actions, so very opposite of everything he'd ever done, would peek her curiosity. What had come over him? What was it about her that tied him in knots? What had made him run from her then of all times? He'd been trying to comfort her, to make her understand that she couldn't be held accountable when members of her squad took foolish risks.
And then something had changed. She'd stopped fighting him and he'd sensed it. The sudden change in her, almost as if she was sick of fighting something, of fighting him. And that was what had made him run. She'd made her choice, true she could change her mind, but why would she? Fel wasn't the man he'd have chosen for her, not by a long shot, but he was a decent enough guy. Even if he had the personality of a duracrete brick.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart beat. He never ran from anyone, it wasn't his way, yet nothing would have made him stay standing there, looking at her. Nothing would have changed the fact that he'd felt threatened by something he couldn't name. He frowned. Threatened? That didn't sound right. Kyp Durron was not threatened by a slip of a girl he'd met as a toddler. Or was he? He opened his eyes, pulling the flight suit from his body and slipping into what had become his exercise pants. Dropping to the floor, he began doing push-ups, starting with sets of thirty.
He hadn't made it halfway through the first set when the knock he'd been expecting echoed against the door. Jaina. He didn't move, except to continue his set. The knock came again followed by her voice. "Open up Durron! I know you're in there!"
He finished his set, his mood sour. He was furious with himself. For his actions and reactions, for his lack of control and his inability to move beyond her. He unlocked the door but didn't open it and walked back to the middle of his room. He moved into his next set of sit-ups. She knew the door was open and if she wanted to come in, it was up to her. The anger radiating off him should have given her pause, should have made her think twice, but apparently it didn't. The door slid open and she stormed in, stopping dead when she encountered the sight before her. The door slid shut behind them, trapping them in his small quarters.
"Something I can help you with, Goddess?" he asked caustically, "I'm rather busy."
He felt her eyes travel up the length of his frame, over his washboard stomach to the powerful muscles that bunched with every movement. He looked at her in time to see her swallow hard. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
Kyp finished his repetition and pushed himself into a sitting position, bending one knee slightly and resting his elbow on top of it as he looked up at her. "Nothing to say? Don't tell me the deity that's deigned to grace me with her presence suddenly can't remember why."
He just wanted her to go, to leave him in peace. Why did she have to invade here, in his personal sanctum? Why couldn't she just leave him alone? Oh wait, because he couldn't get her out of his mind or his heart. Blasted woman, couldn't she let him die slowly without her presence?
She glared at him, her anger suddenly taking over. "Shove it, Kyp, you don't fool me."
"Fool you?" he arched a sardonic eyebrow, smirking smugly. "My dear Goddess, I'm not trying to fool you, I'm trying to get rid of you. Surely you know the difference."
"Why?" she pounced on the word, fairly shouting it at him. "Why now? And what the nine hells happened in the hangar bay?"
"I remembered I had a schedule to keep."
"Of what, self torture?"
Kyp flexed his bicep, "A man has to stay in shape somehow."
"Alone in your room? Most people use the weight room."
Ok, she had him there. He shrugged, turning his body so he was leaning up against the base of his bunk. "I don't like to show up the younger pilots. They get touching when a man fifteen years their senior looks better than they do."
He saw her throat work again and nothing came out when she opened her mouth. She just nodded, her gaze dropping to his chest. He didn't dare move. If he stood, if he moved beyond her to get a shirt, he'd have to touch her. He couldn't. Not here, in the privacy of his quarters, not when his bed was at his back. If he touched her... "Just go, Jaina. There's no reason for you to be here."
Disclaimer: It all belongs to George (Lucas, not my Leprechaun) & I just write for fun. The song belongs to a group called "Blackhawk" and I'm just borrowing the lyrics.
Part 8
*So please, please, please go I'm not strong enough to say no*
Don't follow me, Jaina, he begged silently, locking the door and leaning against it. He banged his head on the panel, anger following quickly on the heels of his silent plea. Idiot! He mentally screamed at himself. Could he have been more obvious? Why hadn't he just told her? His actions, so very opposite of everything he'd ever done, would peek her curiosity. What had come over him? What was it about her that tied him in knots? What had made him run from her then of all times? He'd been trying to comfort her, to make her understand that she couldn't be held accountable when members of her squad took foolish risks.
And then something had changed. She'd stopped fighting him and he'd sensed it. The sudden change in her, almost as if she was sick of fighting something, of fighting him. And that was what had made him run. She'd made her choice, true she could change her mind, but why would she? Fel wasn't the man he'd have chosen for her, not by a long shot, but he was a decent enough guy. Even if he had the personality of a duracrete brick.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart beat. He never ran from anyone, it wasn't his way, yet nothing would have made him stay standing there, looking at her. Nothing would have changed the fact that he'd felt threatened by something he couldn't name. He frowned. Threatened? That didn't sound right. Kyp Durron was not threatened by a slip of a girl he'd met as a toddler. Or was he? He opened his eyes, pulling the flight suit from his body and slipping into what had become his exercise pants. Dropping to the floor, he began doing push-ups, starting with sets of thirty.
He hadn't made it halfway through the first set when the knock he'd been expecting echoed against the door. Jaina. He didn't move, except to continue his set. The knock came again followed by her voice. "Open up Durron! I know you're in there!"
He finished his set, his mood sour. He was furious with himself. For his actions and reactions, for his lack of control and his inability to move beyond her. He unlocked the door but didn't open it and walked back to the middle of his room. He moved into his next set of sit-ups. She knew the door was open and if she wanted to come in, it was up to her. The anger radiating off him should have given her pause, should have made her think twice, but apparently it didn't. The door slid open and she stormed in, stopping dead when she encountered the sight before her. The door slid shut behind them, trapping them in his small quarters.
"Something I can help you with, Goddess?" he asked caustically, "I'm rather busy."
He felt her eyes travel up the length of his frame, over his washboard stomach to the powerful muscles that bunched with every movement. He looked at her in time to see her swallow hard. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
Kyp finished his repetition and pushed himself into a sitting position, bending one knee slightly and resting his elbow on top of it as he looked up at her. "Nothing to say? Don't tell me the deity that's deigned to grace me with her presence suddenly can't remember why."
He just wanted her to go, to leave him in peace. Why did she have to invade here, in his personal sanctum? Why couldn't she just leave him alone? Oh wait, because he couldn't get her out of his mind or his heart. Blasted woman, couldn't she let him die slowly without her presence?
She glared at him, her anger suddenly taking over. "Shove it, Kyp, you don't fool me."
"Fool you?" he arched a sardonic eyebrow, smirking smugly. "My dear Goddess, I'm not trying to fool you, I'm trying to get rid of you. Surely you know the difference."
"Why?" she pounced on the word, fairly shouting it at him. "Why now? And what the nine hells happened in the hangar bay?"
"I remembered I had a schedule to keep."
"Of what, self torture?"
Kyp flexed his bicep, "A man has to stay in shape somehow."
"Alone in your room? Most people use the weight room."
Ok, she had him there. He shrugged, turning his body so he was leaning up against the base of his bunk. "I don't like to show up the younger pilots. They get touching when a man fifteen years their senior looks better than they do."
He saw her throat work again and nothing came out when she opened her mouth. She just nodded, her gaze dropping to his chest. He didn't dare move. If he stood, if he moved beyond her to get a shirt, he'd have to touch her. He couldn't. Not here, in the privacy of his quarters, not when his bed was at his back. If he touched her... "Just go, Jaina. There's no reason for you to be here."