Apriltober 2022 Honeypot (Lila Brown, Jack)

a/n: In my highly AU NLA, Vandham has dated an OC NPC skell refueling station manager with a shady past. They've broken up several times. That does not last.

Adults being consenting. Indulgent as heck AU.

All the good things belong to Monolith Soft, so not this.

He was tracing question marks on her skin. That's how she knew he was touching her as a machine and not as a woman. He'd trace a line, following a muscle or a bone, a dip in her shoulder or the swell of her belly, and when he'd reach the end of whatever he was investigating he'd do a slow loop backwards, only for a moment, before starting another path. She'd seen him do the same thing to other machines, in the engine room of the Whale, with flight modules of skells in NLA.

She didn't mind. She could say it was fine since he touched her plenty as a woman and that she understood that this was a thing that helped him think. She could pretend that it was all part of learning to be both, machine and woman. The truth was every final flick made her shiver and want to melt, whether he was touching her face or her elbow or the delicate workings of her thumb.

"When we were first dating, were you some kind of honeypot?"

Lila took the time to let a shiver started by his fingers race down her body. It carried the shiver caused by his words away with it. When her blood had warmed back to normal, she paused to consider what kind of answer she'd give. "No, not really. I didn't join the Navy, get a degree in engineering, specialize in heavy machine hydraulics, apply to the ECP program, and work for eight years on the ship in order for you to suddenly succumb to my charms."

"A long term project is what you're saying."

His fingers were still, stopped in mid-journey at her collarbone. She tried to sort through the haze of those short weeks, faded after many months. "I mean, when it happened, no one seemed to know what to do about it, so I don't think they ever expected it." When he didn't answer, she sighed silently. She was telling him the truth, not that he had ever been good at spotting her lies.

The smallest circle was drawn on her skin. "They gave up hope on the Whale's slowest burn, huh."

"Nothing happened on the Whale," she said too quickly.

"No. Nothing," he agreed. His hand skimmed from her neck to her shoulder, shifted direction for a moment, and she snuggled closer.

"Nothing. Just colleagues," she whispered into his chest.

They were silent for a while, him marking invisible blueprints, her soaking in every touch.

"It took a lot to stay that way," he finally said. "Sometimes."

a/n: Shameless plug time: their initial romance and first breakup was in The Lily and the BLADE. The romance that will not die shows up so many other places, but I don't have the strength to write most of it. If you want details, I will certainly tell you.

Next up: Tight. I'm going to try for a 100 word wonder because time is also tight.