= XI =
Mira sat at the island in their kitchen; her forearm leaned against the table and her other hand was holding up the spoon to her cereal while she read off the PADD that lay before her. Mira had gotten up earlier that morning. She had trouble sleeping and it surprised her that she woke up before Khan had. She shrugged it off and got herself ready and into her uniform blues after a nice long shower. For two days now, she had been getting up earlier and earlier, sleep not coming as well as it used to.
And when she did sleep, Khan was there watching her. It was driving her up a wall. She was pretty sure normal people dreamed about different things. 'But then I'm not normal.' Mira thought solemnly to herself letting her head fall at the thought and let out a rather large sigh.
'I wish I was normal; pretty sure normal people wouldn't have to deal with a pushy Augment.' Mira thought a little annoyed. It had been two days since the kiss, that had nearly turned into a lot more had it not been for Marcus. and Khan despite Mira's ground rules, had been pushing his limits.
Mira sat on the couch, arms crossed and ankles hooked together as she waited for Khan to return from his lab. She'd known full well that Marcus had come and gone within an hour which had surprised Mira vastly. He clearly only wanting one thing and talking to them didn't seem to be it. Mira, of course, had pondered for a while what he could have possibly wanted. The only thing of value that was here that Marcus had any interest was Khan but Mira put that aside as the man himself walked into their quarters. Mira turned her head towards him slowly, a glare firmly in place on her features as she did.
"Did you know he was going to be here today?" Mira asked him. It hadn't gone amiss to her. The perfect timing of Khan's plans and Marcus's arrival. Khan, much to his credit, stared back at Mira without even flinching, standing stock still with his hands clasped behind his back. "No." He lied to her but Mira couldn't tell but she did glare. A sign Khan took to continue. "If I had known he was going to show up today I wouldn't have said anything and just waited until tomorrow. It was ill timing on both parts" Khan said before he shrugged. "I would have preferred Marcus finding out from you and not walking in on us."
Mira blinked at him before a quick blush spread over her cheeks. "You make it sound like he walked in on us having sex." Mira mumbled out and to which Khan simply smirked and let off another shrug of his shoulders. "Another five minutes and we most likely would have been." he said casually and Mira stared at him wide eyed. "Uh no. We weren't going anywhere near that." Mira stammered out and the smirk she received for her words just served to annoy her.
"How innocent are you?" Khan laughed out and Mira simply gave him a bored expression. "Bite me." Mira muttered to him before leaning against the couch again and turning her head to face away from Khan. 'He's gonna drive me insane.' Mira sighed, mentally already tired. Mira, being caught up in her thoughts, hadn't noticed Khan move around the couch she sat at; and, with quick succession, leaned forward and actually bit her neck. It wasn't a rough bite but one of those love bites that sent a chill up your spin as excitement rolled through you. But this did not happen to Mira. Nope... well not that she was willing to admit. Instead, she stood quickly with a squeal and spun on her heel to face the man now who now stood up straight and looking rather proud of himself.
"What the fucking hell?!" Mira yelled at him, placing a hand over where he had bitten her but this only served to further Khan's smug grin. "You said bite you, I was simply accommodating your wishes." Khan said simply making it sound as if it was the normal thing to do. Mira just gawked at him. "It's a figure of speech! You aren't supposed to actually do it!" She yelled at him some more. Khan shrugged before he took a step and Mira mirrored it and held up her hand and pointed to him "No". Khan stood still at that and raised a brow at her in question. "You are going to sit at that couch, I'm going to sit at this one and we are going over ground rules for this plan of yours." Mira said firmly. She was not backing down from this and it seemed Khan understood but did not like it one bit. "We are adults Mira. Must you act like a teenage girl?" he spoke as if he were bored and talking to a child. Mira glared at that "I like my space and I think I'm acting perfectly fine considering the situation." Mira said calmly.
Khan looked at Mira for a moment before he leaned forward, forearms resting on the back of the couch as he stared Mira right in the eyes. "Is it your space you like? Or the Augment you don't?" he asked simply, it had flowed effortlessly over his tongue and past his lips but it was anything but an easy question, at least to most. To Mira, it was easy. She quickly shook her head at him. "I like my space. I don't dislike you because of who you are. I don't dislike you, period. I just… I don't know… intimate anything is odd for me. It's rare I find anyone I like that much." Mira mumbled out; letting a sigh escape her lips as she sat down on the coffee table behind her.
Mira had been told, on many different occasions, that she was the kindest person anyone could know. One of those rare nice people. But because of her nature and, well her, finding anyone who didn't put her into the friend zone right off the bat was hard. Needless to say, she wasn't all that experienced and what relationships she had had was messed up at best from the secrets she kept. Mira, wrapped up in her thoughts for a second time, hadn't notice Khan move until he stood before her. Mira tilted her head back to look up at him but found it was pointless as he moved to the ground so he could stand on his knees. Mira might have found the fact she had to look down a little to look him in the eyes funny but not in this moment. "Miracle I need this to work." Khan told her and Mira nodded.
She got why. "A happy Marcus is a less involved Marcus." Mira repeated his words from earlier and Khan nodded his head. Images of Khan's sleeping crew popped into Mira's mind before she nodded. "This is the most important thing I will ask of you. Please?" Khan asked her, pleaded to her and again Mira nodded her head. "Okay."
She'd do this for him… for his crew. Khan smiled at her and leaned up slowly. Mira had thought he was going to kiss her but instead he surprised her, mimicking what she had done twice before. Khan pressed his lips high on her cheekbone and stayed there for a good five seconds before he pulled back slightly and then he did what she had expected and kissed her lips. Mira instantly pulled back and fixed him with a glare. "Ground. Rules." Mira muttered out sternly which caused Khan to roll his eyes and mutter 'child' under his breath.
After that very long and tiring conversation, Mira had thought she got the idea through his head. She would only allow light kissing and maybe hand holding, however if they knew Marcus was coming for a visit then obviously other steps were needed. It was essentially just fooling everyone else which didn't require much, or at least hasn't so far but of course Khan wasn't satisfied. He wanted to make sure no one would question their supposed relationship and so the pushing of her limits. He never went too far, never made her feel like she was being forced. He had told her that it was all up to her of how far he would go and honestly Mira wasn't sure if it was him or her or something else entirely but, despite her claims, she had allowed him to advance, though she would lie and say he was 'pushing it'.
Mira had been so deep in thought about the entire situation, it had become a habit to overthink anything and everything Khan did. She knew it was stupid, that they were playing pretend, but Mira wasn't sure where that line was anymore for her. She hadn't been sure since before the kiss in her lab. And much like her habit, she hadn't noticed Khan leave his room or that he had walked up to her until she felt his arms encircle her waist as he put his chin on her head. "I heard you thinking from my room." Khan joked trying to lighten her mood. Mira rolled her eyes "Ha ha, very funny." Mira replied sarcastically to him. Khan let out a thoughtful sound before continuing. "You've been getting up earlier then me, something wrong?" Khan inquired, sounding truly interested in the answer and Mira shrugged. "Yeah… I don't know, just sleeps been a little harder to come by lately." she told him honestly. She didn't see a point in lying about it, though she would burn herself at the stake before she told him that he was haunting her dreams. His ego was big enough; God forbid it get any bigger.
"You've been getting less sleep since the explosion in your lab" Khan noted thoughtfully and Mira had to turn her head a little to get a better look at him, surprised he had been paying that close attention. Sadly, however for Mira, many things had been different since the explosion in her lab not just her sleep. Something had changed and Mira was a little scared to know what exactly. She knew she should give herself a check up, make sure everything was still in working order but what if it wasn't… Mira wasn't sure if she wanted to know that answer.
"I can give you a check up if you require one." he offered and Mira instantly shook her head. "No." she answered hastily. No way in hell was she letting anyone give her a check up, especially not Khan, she did not want to deal with what he may find, his questions and the reactions it might incur.
"Tell me if you change your mind" Khan said after a moment as he looked down at the table and snorted. "What is that?" Khan commented at her cereal and Mira shrugged "What does it look like? It's breakfast" Mira said taking a spoonful of her Nesquik cereal and eating it. "Shouldn't you be eating healthier foods for the morning?" he questioned and Mira shook her head. "This is delicious." Mira laughed as she felt Khan make a face that she couldn't see. "It does not look it." Khan commented dryly and Mira let out another laugh. "Don't knock it till you try it." She said picking up her PADD quickly to scroll down her book. Of course she hadn't actually read through it but she wanted to at least appear like she had to Khan but then decided to just close it entirely.
She was embarrassed as it was another book on getting to know a warrior's mind. Mira had thought at the time when she bought it that it might be able to help her understand Khan a little more but so far it was proving useless. As Mira placed her PADD back down, she felt Khan's hand move up from her waist and froze for a moment. 'Is he really…' Mira thought but then Khan skipped over her breasts, not even touching them or alluding that he wanted to presently. Instead, his hands stopped and clutched the chain around her neck and Mira began to panic. She had forgotten to tuck away his tags under her shirt and was now cringing and cursing inwardly. Her eyes shut tight but instead of ripping them off of her neck Khan had simply pulled out her uniform blue colour shirt and dropped the tags inside. "You forgot to put them under your shirt today." Khan said before he reached over and grabbed her bowl of cereal before sitting down at the stool beside her.
Mira stared at him wide eyed for a moment. "You knew I had them?" she questioned, unsure of what to do in all honesty. Khan simply nodded. "I realized they were in the pocket of the shirt your pet stole from me, I just kept lacking the opportunity to retrieve them from you. But, because of this farce, it will help us if you kept them." he said calmly with a shrug of his shoulder as he took a bite of her cereal. Khan tilted his head to the side as he appraised her cereal before nodding and taking another bite. "So you've known I've been wearing them this entire time…?" Mira questioned again, cringing as she did. Khan simply nodded his head. "Of course, I had contemplated ripping them from your neck a few times but thought better of it. I've had it done to me twice, not a particularly pleasant feeling, so I re-framed. But yes, I knew. It was especially easy to see when you wore your casual clothes. I'd know that chain anywhere." Khan said as he nodded towards her neck, Mira instinctively placed her hand over the tags that now rested between her breasts. "You seem to be as protective over them as I am." Khan said laughing before eating another spoonful of cereal. Mira nodded and then decided to change the subject. "What happened to eating healthier foods?" she jested and Khan shrugged.
"This is decent. I will require you to get another box." he said causing Mira to smile at him. She was about to comment when her communicator went off, telling her she needed to head to the security offices. "Well since you're now eating my breakfast, you can clean up" she told him laughing as she stood and left their quarters.
As Mira entered the offices, she noted that only one person was there and sighed happily. She hated to deal with the OC and she didn't feel like putting up with him at six in the morning. Mira walked quickly over to the young man and smiled. "You rang?" she asked and he simply nodded his head, moving his chair out and hauling something from the ground and onto his desk. Mira looked at the young man in front of her, giving him a once over. He was clearly fresh out of the academy from what she could tell and it looked like he cared very much what he looked like. His light blonde hair slicked to the side with gel and no sign of stubble anywhere on his face. His eyes still had the glint of happiness, of that hopeful gleam that maybe he could in fact make a huge difference.
It was a look all fresh academy graduates shared. Mira moved her gaze to the box and gave it a once over before the young Ensign, it obvious from his uniform and the shift he was working, held out a PADD and pen for her. Mira quickly signed her name and then looked to the box and a large smile grew on her face. It was the books she had ordered. In all the chaos, in her mind at least, Mira had forgotten her gift to Khan. "Thank you" she told him and the young man just nodded his head and went back to what he was doing. Mira picked up her package and left the offices.
As Mira walked down the corridors, she opened the box up and peered inside, pulling out one of the books and gave it a once over. It was in nearly perfect condition. Some small rips but, considering how old the book actually was, Mira was surprised it wasn't worse. She had paid for a first edition after all. As she opened up the book, she smiled. Mira quickly placed the book back in the box, remembering that Khan had hacked the security feeds around their quarters. She didn't want him to get a glimpse of his gift before she was ready to give it to him. Upon reaching the door that lead her into their quarters, Mira's smile grew but she only took a small tentative step forward. It was only enough for the door to open but not enough for her to be seen. Mira poked her head in through the door and looked around and smirked as she heard the shower going. Mira quickly went into her room and began to pull the books from the horrible box they were placed in and got to work.
It was easy, it only required her to move them from one spot to the other. Of course, she was a little bit of a perfectionist so she put them in what she perceived was the correct order. Quickly sliding the cover to the wooden box shut, that she had purchased for these books, Mira got up and took it with her as she left her room and just in time it seemed to catch Khan leaving the shower. Mira stopped in her tracks read to say something, however when she saw him, her mouth slightly fell open and boy did she stare. Khan stood in front of her, naked except for the towel around his waist that was hanging deliciously and dangerously low. Small beads of water falling down his back and over his chest from his still soaked hair that was partly slicked back and clinging to his forehead and temples.
"Miracle may I suggest taking a picture, it will last longer." Khan poked fun at her for staring so openly as she was. "Of course, I am willing to accommodate you if a picture will not do." He then joked or at least Mira hoped he was joking. His use of her full name however brought her out of the ogling she was doing as she shook her head. Mira flustered slightly, she had hoped that he would only ever use her full name the one time, but she had been wrong. And when he did use it, he made it sound exactly like he had before… like it was more then just a simple name.
Mira gulped and then took in a large breath before she squared her shoulders and walked over to him, trying to ignore his current dress state. "I got something for you." Mira spoke, extending the box in her arms towards him and looking very much away as he released his grip on the towel. 'God please don't let it fall.' Mira prayed and moved her head to look up a little so she wouldn't see anything if it did but she heard the small voice in the back of her head say the opposite. "What is it?" Khan asked and Mira shook her head. "Open it and see." she said, Mira turned her head towards him when she felt the weight of the box disappear from her arms. She followed his movements with her eyes, making sure she didn't miss a beat as Khan walked over to the coffee table, placing the box on it and then sat down on the couch. Mira walked over to the table but didn't sit down, instead she watched Khan closely as he examined the box before pulling the lid open to reveal what was inside. Mira wasn't sure if she had heard correctly but she could have sworn she heard Khan gasp before going still, nothing moving at all, it didn't even look like he was breathing.
"How do you like them? They're first edition. Umm I tried to find a better quality one but there wasn't any. They have this odd mark on the last page so I'm sorry about that." Mira told him, becoming uneased by his continued stillness. Khan seemed to unfreeze at that, tracing his fingers over each books spine before he plucked the first one in the row out of it's place and turned to the last page. His long fingers tracing over the mark that was faded but still visible. Khan didn't say anything for the longest time, Mira had thought maybe she had over stepped some line she didn't know was there but then he talked. "During the meetings when you weren't paying attention, this is what you were doing?" Khan asked, nothing hinting in his tone and Mira quickly nodded "Yeah, I thought that it would be nice, to have something from before. Of course I couldn't get you your books but I thought you know… a copy of it would be nice…" Mira mumbled out the last part.
Khan smiled as he put the book back in it's place and stood, turning to face Mira. She had thought he was going to yell at her, that she should mind her own business but instead and shockingly enough Khan stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. Mira stood frozen for a moment, then finally wrapped her arms around his waist, turning her head so her cheek could rest against his chest. After a few moments Mira snuggled in more, 'He's so warm' she thought as she closed her eyes, it was oddly peaceful standing there being held by him. It had alarmed Mira that she felt that way but at the same time she couldn't care less.
They stood there for a while, until Khan placed a small kiss to the top of her head and pulled away, Mira frowning at the lack of warmth. Khan took a step back from her and smiled before turning, pulling the lid back on and picking up the box. Khan only stopping once he had reached his door; he did not however turn around as he spoke. "These are my books. I put the mark there." Khan told her and then walked right into his room and once the door had closed behind him Mira had sunk to the floor.
'That was so different.' Mira thought, the hug they had just shared already burned into her mind, her memory. It had been so vastly different; Khan had been so different. Normally he would give off this aura of pure seduction, nothing sweet or innocent but Mira had noted during all those times that he had felt out of reach to her. She got it, it was pretend but it seemed just a little odd to her. But this, he had let his walls down.
She was able to reach him this time and it had been just a sweet thank you to her and now she understood why. She had, in fact, retrieved something from his past. She had given back something that was taken away from him. Mira continued to stare at his door for a while, a small smile on her lips.
