oOo
"How did it go?"
Kyris started guiltily. He hadn't meant to waken Ace, he'd only come into the room looking for something to wear to bed before dossing somewhere else. But Ace was awake, so he would answer her question and let her go back to sleep, then get some well-earned rest of his own. Ignoring the small voice that whispered to him the advantages of staying right here with Ace, he spoke.
"It went well, better than I expected." He settled himself on the edge of the bed, gingerly. Ace was still curled up in a sleepy ball, the covers in disarray around her, her hair finally tumbled fully out of the braid she'd been wearing since...when, that morning or the morning before? He couldn't remember.
"Good." A jaw-cracking yawn split her features as she pulled herself to a sitting position. "Sorry I fell asleep here."
He shook his head. "It's all right." He reached out to touch her hand. "You can fall asleep in my bed any time." He colored slightly as he realized how that remark sounded, glad of the room's darkness. Ace chuckled, but made no comment, simply slid over to the edge of the bed and let her feet dangle. After a moment, Kyris realized he was still holding her hand and let go with a guilty start. "I guess you'll be going now, you're probably still exhausted." He wasn't, though by all rights he should be after stretching his abilities to their limits and, he suspected, somewhat beyond. But he wasn't; he felt energized, restless, especially after talking to his father.
"Nah, I'm good now that I've had a few hours kip." Ace continued to sit there, not moving, and Kyris was glad of her company. "D'you want to talk about it, or just stew on it for a while?"
He smiled into the darkness. "It's strange. I'm still not sure how I feel."
"Don't worry," Ace said, a hint of laughter in her voice. "With the Doctor, you never do, even if he isn't your father. Half the time you're so aggravated you could hit him, the other half…" Her voice trailed off hesitantly. "The other half," she repeated, "you're caught between loving him and laughing at him, then you're right back at wanting to hit him." She said "you" but her tone said "I." She flushed as she realized, once again, she'd revealed more to Kyris than she'd meant.
Confused, she rose abruptly and strode to the door, pausing with her hand on the knob. "I should go now." She was alone in a dark bedroom with a young man she fancied, a young man who was emotionally vulnerable, and her conscience was telling her it would be best all around if she left and let them both catch up on their sleep. Before she did something rash and impulsive--although she doubted she'd regret it in the morning. Whatever "it" might turn out to be...
"Do you have to?" Kyris' voice was husky, his eyes luminous in the dim light of the small lamp on the bedside stand. He joined Ace as she hesitated by the door, gently removing her fingers from the handle. "I really wish you'd stay." He brought her hand up and turned it over to kiss the palm. The panic in her eyes was met by the sorrow in his own. "I just--I don't want to be alone tonight."
Ace stared up at his eyes. Really, she thought distractedly, no one should be allowed to have eyes that blue. Even Time Lords. Especially Time Lords, she corrected herself. Especially young, healthy, attractive Time Lords..."Ah, what the hell," she mumbled, darting her head forward suddenly to plant a kiss directly on his lips. Kyris was startled, but only for a moment. He pulled her closer, his arms encircling her as he returned the kiss. Ace pressed her body against his, marveling at how comfortable she felt in his arms, as if she belonged there. Desire was new to her, but not completely unknown; she realized now she'd been feeling it since she first laid eyes on Kyris. The vague sense of unease was gone, replaced by the serenity of knowing what--or rather, who--she wanted.
Not that it was any of his business, but she hoped the Doctor would understand.
oOo
Ace yawned her way awake the next morning, then froze as she realized she wasn't alone in the narrow bed. It took her a moment to remember, and a smile crept across her face as she turned to look at Kyris, still sleeping, blankets tangled around his legs and dark hair falling across his eyes. She turned carefully on her side, not wanting to wake him, but as she moved his eyes flashed open and met hers. He smiled back at her, reaching out to brush her own tangle of brown hair away from her face. "Morning."
"Morning," Ace repeated, nestling down next to him. He obligingly moved his arms and scooted himself towards the wall to better accommodate her. "Sleep well?"
"Better than in a long time," Kyris admitted. "Better than I expected to. You?"
"Same here. Slept well, I mean," Ace corrected herself. "Never been one to lose sleep, no matter what's going on."
Kyris leaned over to plant a kiss on the corner of her mouth. "Time for us to get up, I think."
Ace closed her eyes and groaned. "I'm comfortable," she protested. "Just a little longer?"
Kyris chuckled and nudged her shoulder with his forehead. "Better not. My father tapped on the door a few minutes ago and said something about dematerializing, but I haven't felt the TARDIS move yet, so..."
Ace scrambled out of bed with a yelp, scooping up her clothes in a mad dash. "Why didn't you tell me the Professor was by?"
Kyris half-rose on his elbows, bemused and entertained as Ace shrugged into yesterday's sweats, balling her underwear up and stuffing it into the front pocket of the pullover top, yanking her hair back into a sloppy ponytail and hopping first on one foot, then the other, as she pulled her stockings on. "Why the panic?" He was honestly bewildered by her reaction.
"If he's been by here, then he's been by my room and probably knows I wasn't there," Ace explained, distracted by the hunt for her bra. Ah, there it was. It joined the underwear, an unnoticed strap dangling from the pocket as she slid into her shoes.
"So?" Kyris stared at her, puzzled. "You're of age, right? Over 18, isn't it?"
Ace stopped fidgeting with her hair and stood still for a moment, considering. Why was she panicking? "Yeah, of course, and so are you, right? Of age for a Time Lord?" He nodded, sitting up fully and reaching for his own white sweatpants, identical to hers. "Course you are," Ace muttered, mostly to herself.
"Has my father rules about that sort of thing? About personal conduct on the TARDIS?" Kyris raised an eyebrow at the idea of the Doctor having a "not while you're living under my roof" attitude towards his companions' personal lives.
Ace flushed and shook her head. "Sex on the TARDIS isn't exactly a subject that's ever come up. Any chappies I fancied I met outside, on the sly." She flushed even redder and ducked her head. "Not to sneak around so much as because it wasn't any of his business. And not that there were all that many," she mumbled.
Kyris walked over and took her in his arms. She resisted for a moment, not used to accepting comfort this way, then relaxed in his hold and let him lean his forehead against hers. "Not for me, either," Kyris said softly. Later, maybe, he'd tell her she was his first. If her reactions were anything to go by, he hadn't done half bad, but he looked forward to improving his technique. He pressed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss that she returned eagerly. After an enjoyable moment, she pushed herself lightly away. Time to get down to business, if the Doctor was dematerializing soon.
"Time enough for showers, I reckon," she said as she headed for the door. Kyris caught her hand and she stopped as he kissed her palm. She fought a pleasurable shiver, flipped him a shy smile over her shoulder and fled.
oOo
Ace slipped into her room and shed her dirty clothes. As expected, her own clothing lay neatly folded on her dresser. She tossed the sweats into a hamper and jumped into the shower, deliberately avoiding thoughts about the latest complication in her already complicated life. That lasted all of five seconds before he drifted back into her mind. Who did she think she was kidding, anyway? He was all she could think about. Kyris "Smith." The Doctor's son. The chap she'd slept with, and was definitely interested in sleeping with again. And again, and again...she closed her eyes against the heat of the water, not sure if she should allow herself to feel this...happy. Not with so much death and destruction and the Master after them; surely it was wrong to feel so buoyant under these circumstances? To feel as if she could fly?
She deliberately set the water temp colder, as much to cool her thoughts as her over-heated body. Her lightness of spirt seemed especially out of place since she knew very well that her own head was on the chopping block. If the Master got his hands on her, she had no doubt that he would kill her. One companion for every Doctor, and she was this Doctor's companion, second and onliest since Mel had been killed in twisted honor of the Doctor's sixth self.
Thinking of Mel dimmed the buoyancy of her spirit; thinking of her own mortality, not so much. She'd been aware of her own precarious position since listening to the death list in Dr. Sullivan's office, what? Only yesterday, subjective personal and objective TARDIS time. Oh, she knew, all right, and so did the Doctor and Kyris, only none of them had brought it up and, she knew, none of them would. Just as the Doctor knew the Master was setting up a trap, so did they all know that he would continue the killings, just for the sheer symmetry of it. And to make the Doctor suffer even more. He wanted the data chip, the mobile data whatsis, but he also wanted to hurt the Doctor. She could live with it, the idea that someone specifically wanted her dead, Ace decided. Or, she thought with a burst of gallows humor, not live with it, as the case might be.
Five minutes later she headed out her door, hesitating briefly before turning for the console room without stopping by to see if Kyris was ready. Better to meet up separately. In case the Doctor hadn't realized she wasn't in her room. She still felt it wasn't any of his business where she was sleeping, but the vague sense of guilt wasn't completely quashed by that reasoning. He was the most fatherly figure she'd ever had in her life, poor role model though many might consider him, and she wasn't quite ready to push her maturity in his face. She had an uneasy feeling he wasn't ready for that, either.
Gradually, she decided. We'll get him used to the idea of us together gradually.
oOo
Kyris grinned as Ace fled--yes, fled--his room. Not in a panic or out of fear or regret, he knew, just out of uncertainty. Uncertainty about herself, if he read her right, as much as about him. They both knew this wasn't just some casual thing, that they'd shared something special. If that made her nervous, then fine; he was patient.
He jumped up from the edge of the bed and automatically opened the dresser drawer, checking himself as he remembered he'd left his own clothes at the pool last night. But when he looked down, to see if there might be something more appropriate than a pair of sweats, he was surprised to see not only his own clothing, but other things as well, things that looked as if they might fit him. He held up a t-shirt and laughed out loud. "Cheeky thing!" he called out to the TARDIS as he tossed the shirt and some jeans over his arm. A black t-shirt with a large yellow question mark had been provided for him, along with jeans and socks, underwear, everything he'd need. He didn't bother trying anything on; if he read the TARDIS correctly, everything would be a perfect fit. "Stop trying to cozy up to me," he muttered, stifling a grin as he headed for the shower. "You had me at hello and you bloody well know it."
It was true, too; even in grieving for his mother and through the haze of hating his father, he'd felt nothing but welcome from the TARDIS the moment he set foot inside her.
That, he decided as he turned the water on and tested the temperature, was part of the reason he'd warmed up to his father so quickly. The TARDIS felt like home, no two ways about, which made him that much more willing to go easy on the Doctor. His father had been right, after all; the non-communication had gone both ways, and Kyris had always known his mother was content to leave it that way. She'd only gone to his father for help because she had to, and it wasn't because she disliked the man. "Mom, you were just way too stubborn."
With that thought, Kyris deliberately pushed his feelings about his parents aside. Not avoiding them so much as choosing to revel in less complicated ones. A smile spread across his face as he allowed his mind to drift back to Ace. No preconceptions, no opinions to be rethought, not about her. He felt just as comfortable with her as he did the TARDIS. More, maybe.
Dwelling on Ace took him through his quick shower, hasty drying and dressing and a quick scrub of his teeth-- toothbrush thoughtfully provided by the TARDIS, of course--and into the hall. He rapped softly on Ace's door, but there was no response. He ducked his head inside, grinning at the sight of white sweats tossed to land wherever they might and called her name. Still no response; she must have already headed for the console room, no doubt to pester the Doctor as to their next destination.
Kyris closed the door with a frown. Where were they going? Finding the Master was their main concern, but he could be literally anywhere and anywhen. The Doctor's certainty that he wanted to be found didn't preclude a game of hide and seek first, if the Master were so inclined. He'd certainly toyed with the Tharils and his mother in E-Space before finally pouncing...
With a troubled frown still creasing his brow, Kyris continued down the corridor, staring in surprise as he realized his feet had taken him, not to the console room, but to his father's bedroom. Glancing around uneasily, he rapped on the door, pushing it open when there was no response. "Hallo?" he called out as he stuck his head in and looked around.
As expected, his father wasn't there. But of course he wasn't; hadn't he already come by and said he was going to dematerialize the TARDIS? So why had Kyris' subconscious led him here? Or was it the TARDIS? He looked up suspiciously. "Now look you, no planting ideas in my head. If you wanted me to come here, then just say so." As expected, there was no response. But he continued into the room, reluctantly, feeling like an intruder on his father's privacy. This was his personal space, as much as a TARDIS could be said to have personal spaces, and even though the TARDIS held the stamp of the Doctor's many personalities, this room would be the actual center where he could be himself--whichever self that happened to be at any given moment, Kyris thought with a burst of humor.
The humor died as he glanced at the bedside table. For some reason, the Doctor had left the data retriever sitting there; had it been forgotten in haste or deliberately left behind? Somehow Kyris doubted the latter possibility; his father had been too possessive of it since Kyris had handed it to him. Too aware of its potential.
Kyris hesitated only a moment before scooping it up and heading for the door, but his steps slowed as he passed the reader. He hadn't checked on anyone recently, and didn't know if the Doctor had been up to it or not; it was an emotionally grueling exercise no matter how much you tried to brace yourself, and the Doctor had seemed oddly fragile since seeing Sarah Jane off into Harry's capable hands. Or maybe, Kyris thought, he was just projecting his own emotional state onto his father. Either way, he decided, he'd better have a look. Just to be safe. He put the disk in the reader.