I'm not proud of how long it took me to get back to this, sorry guys. I sat down plenty of times but the words just wouldn't come. It's not as long as I would have liked either, but I wanted to return to Fred's POV so this scene continues in the following chapter (which I hope won't take a month and a half to write)
Head lolling back against the pitted metal facade of the mess, Lyra watched clouds scud across the purpling night sky as dawn approached. The earliest of early birds were beginning to chirp tentative morning calls, their intermittent trills and the gentle breeze rifling through the canopies of the handful of trees which had somehow contrived to thrive in the middle of an active military base the only sounds to break the silent stillness.
She wondered - perhaps belatedly - what Fred would make of her impetuous ploy to send him hunting all over the grounds in search of her. He had a sense of humour, which was more than she could say for the Master Chief - at least in her experience thus far. But would he think her immature for implying she would wait for him and then running off, leaving him a trail of breadcrumbs, and hiding instead? Was she?
There were times she'd made insinuations he hadn't precisely caught onto - such as at the pool - but she didn't believe the intensity of their earlier interaction had been a product of her imagination. Why couldn't she have been satisfied with the knowledge he'd clearly been anticipating spending more time with her?
The angry swarm of bees which had taken up residence in her stomach were being slowly squashed by the dread weight settling there that she'd fucked this up already. For someone who was supposed to be responsible for heading up critical technological installations on state of the art military hardware, she didn't have much confidence in her own ability to think straight at the moment.
With a soft groan of exasperation, she dug the heels of her hands into her eyes.
So stupid. Should have just waited in the square like a normal person.
How the hell was she going to explain this to Fred if he failed to comprehend her childish game?
"Lyra?"
Had the solid surface of the building behind her not been there, she would have leapt out of her own skin. As it was, heart pounding wildly against her ribcage, she wasn't entirely sure her soul hadn't vacated her body as she whipped her hands from her face to stare at a pair of fatigue-clad legs and standard issue boots. "How does someone so big move without making a sound?" she demanded, voice perhaps a touch harsher than she'd intended in light of the near death experience.
Craning her neck back, she nearly burst out laughing at the fleeting and unexpected wry smile which fled the moment their eyes met. "Are you alright?" He extended a hand to help her up, now the picture of sheepish concern.
"I doubt it, you just scared ten years off my life." She accepted the hand up anyway.
"Sorry about that." He held her jacket in his other hand, neatly folded into a compact square which would no doubt fit well inside a rucksack. Or her suitcase.
"Have you considered moonlighting as a professional luggage packer?"
She could tell by the way his brows quirked in puzzlement that he was trying to string together where the question had come from. "I don't think I have."
"That's too bad, I could use one of those. The pay probably wouldn't be all that great, though. I've been told I'm being billed for my stay in barracks since it wasn't part of the agreed upon living arrangements for the project and for the trip to the infirmary - the UNSC is a lot stringier than I remember. So then again, maybe you'd find the pay adequate." Shut-up. Stop rambling. Insulting his salary is not how we facilitate more Fred-kissing. "But you found me. I wasn't sure you would. I mean - I wasn't sure you'd know that's what you were supposed to do. I knew you'd find me."
Watching his eyebrows slowly climb as she'd gone on and on had prepared her for an 'are you sure you're alright' genre of response, but he surprised her again instead. "It took a little while to figure it out, sorry." She almost kissed him right then for seizing onto the only relevant part of her strange dialogue, allowing the rest to go uncommented upon.
"Please, god no - it was a spur of the moment thing, don't be sorry. For that, anyway. I accept your apology for giving me heart palpitations. It seems to be a habit of yours."
It was still too dark to tell, but the way his gaze dropped momentarily before flickering back to hers made her 85% confident he was blushing. "I'll try not to do that again." He offered the coat, as though in consolation.
"No need. I think it's growing on me anyway, plus there are perks." Accepting the garment, Lyra tucked it beneath her arm and leaned back against the exterior of the mess hall.
"To being caught off guard?"
"By you."
He shook his head after a moment. "I'm not sure I follow."
A soft snort of amusement escaped before she could prevent it and she lifted her free hand to beckon him closer, waiting until he took a step forward before elaborating. "You're the perk, Fred. You," she informed him, snagging the front of his uniform to gently coax him closer still. His cap was conspicuously missing, she couldn't help but notice while enjoying the way the waning moonlight played across his heart wrenchingly handsome features, highlighting the new growth of silver peppered hair along his temples.
It took him a few beats to process the compliment. "That's… not a way I'm aware of having been described before now."
"But you needed to think about it?" She smiled as his head sank lower.
This time, he was close enough that the colour suffusing his face was definitely distinguishable. He cleared his throat before replying. "I wasn't expecting… that."
"As far as I know it's called flirting, Lieutenant." It probably shouldn't have been, but the fact he was noticeably struggling to keep it together was probably the most endearing thing she'd ever seen.
"Noted, Ma'am," he said, then hesitated briefly. "Is it alright if I kiss you now?"
"I've been waiting all night."