A/N: There's a bit of a bonus section of the first way a part of this chapter wrote but it just didn't fit with Tron's character, yet. Not until he believes Astra's Yori :) At the end of this chapter!
This day at ENCOM, Astra found herself with Lora and Alan as they lead her to a new portion of the building that she'd not yet been in.
"We've got someone we'd like you to meet. He's been working on the Infinitas issue which you've been asking after every day." Alan laughed. "You're persistent, so we all thought you should talk to him."
Astra looked at him curiously. Who could this guy be? She thought as they neared a door at the end of the hallway in the middle part of the skyrise. "Thank you." She said courteously.
Lora laughed, a warm and tinkling sound. "It was you who really decided us! Besides, he's an old friend. We've known him since Flynn!" She smiled warmly at her.
Astra looked at her shocked just when Alan opened the door with a scan of his hand. "Greetings Program!" He called warmly into the room.
"Good to see you again, Tron!" An older male voice, about the same age as Alan's came from a desk within the room. It was dark and full of cables and computers, was that a server? All connected to the one at its head.
The man stood up, illuminated by the glowing screen behind him, and walked over to the group. When he got closer, Astra could make out curly red hair and a warm smile.
Tron?" She asked, looking from one to the other. Was this a Program?
Alan chuckled as the man came forward and stopped before them. He dressed casually and wore glasses.
"No." The man said. "It's a nickname from Flynn! Kevin Flynn that is." He cleared that up for her. "I'm Ram." He said proudly. "But my real name's Roy, Roy Kleinberg." He held out a hand for the newbie.
Astra smiled wide-eyed and shook his hand. "You were with ENCOM before Flynn took over!" She said excitedly.
"Yeah." He laughed nervously and put a hand to the back of his head. "So I'm guessing you're the one asking after Infinitas." He changed the subject tactfully. He didn't want to give away that he'd been on Flynn Lives, something he was good at keeping a secret, but this young lady was in on the Grid, so it made it harder to keep.
She nodded. "Yeah, I've been really worried about the Programs on the Grid. I need to protect them from another attack."
Walking back to his computer he pulled up a few files and showed the trio their contents. "Well, we might not be able to stop another attack from happening, but, I think I've been able to figure out how they breached our System." He pointed to the file showing a lot of code. "They're getting in through our firewalls and keeping them open manually, though they've got a few Programs helping them. It doesn't look like they're aware that Programs think and feel like we do, they're expending the ones they send in to gather information and cause damage to the System freely. I can stop another breach, but I'm going to need help keeping it closed if they attack again." He turned to her and looked up to meet her gaze.
Astra nodded taking it all in. Then she blinked and looked from him to Alan and Lora. "You mean me? Wait… Can I do that from the inside? I'm good at firewalls, but I think I might be better inside than out." She looked at the three of them.
Roy nodded. "That was the plan. I think you should start on your User training today. If we have someone on the inside and outside keeping these people out, than we'd stand a better chance next time."
Astra nodded.
Alan put a hand on her shoulder. "We think you'll be best for the job considering your prowess in firewalls and keeping hackers out. I know you're just out of university, but you've proven pretty decent against that attack by Infinitas. It was your firewalls that kept our Programs safe." His eyes sparkled, she knew he meant Tron.
"I'll do it!" Astra said with determination, rising her fist in front of her. "I'm getting the hang of how the Grid works, I know I can get the User stuff down in no time!" She smiled at them.
Alan and Lora laughed. "Alright. It's settled then." Alan smiled. "I think you'll do well to learn a bit from Roy first though. So you'll stay here for a few hours to work with him."
"After that, I'm going to teach you how the laser works, just in case." Lora smiled at her.
Astra looked up at them with surprise and happiness. "I'll be honoured to learn from you both!" She said, though inwardly, she was really looking forward to working with Lora and learning about the laser… She just felt some familiarity to it.
Alan nodded and turned to leave the room. "We'll be back after lunch." He called to them with a wave, Lora following after.
The next few hours went by smoothly. Astra asked questions and learned how Roy kept people out of the System, also a little on how to hack into other Systems, though he only did it to a nearby elementary school's System, and did nothing to it.
Astra was surprised! He was certainly the best she's ever seen! She had so much to learn from him, but her biggest project will be learning on the Grid.
Lunch came and went and by the time she got back to Roy's office, Lora was waiting for her. "It's time." She said with a smile.
Astra nearly bounced with excitement! "Thank you so much for teaching me about the laser!" She said excitedly.
Lora laughed. "You're welcome. Come on." She said as she lead Astra back to the Rezzing Room.
Surprisingly, Tron was there waiting for them, leaned up against the wall leading into the main room with a smile on his face. "You have your work cut out for you this cycle." He teased Astra.
Astra just grinned back at him with a frustrated look and growl and batted him on the arm. "Oh you!" She flirted with him. "I'll have you know I can figure things out pretty quickly."
Tron just pushed off from the wall and leaned closer to her. "Like you did with the lightlines." He all but whispered to her, his voice a low purr.
She blushed, but before she could say anything Lora came called from the other room. "If you two would stop your flirting I could teach her about my laser." She laughed.
Astra just blushed further and smiled as she headed past Tron and into the room.
Tron chuckled and followed after her.
The next few hours Lora taught Astra everything she could about how the laser and digitizing and realizing works. Astra was surprisingly a quick study, but most of it was because of her dreams and nostalgia she had over the whole process.
Sometime during the lesson Lora looked to Tron and whispered. "It's like working with-"
But she was cut off by Tron saying. "Don't say it." He looked conflicted, and inwardly, watching Astra work with Lora and learn about the laser was all to close to home with Yori. He didn't want to think she was her when she wasn't. He still wasn't convinced, but it did pull at him.
After, Lora decided it was time for Astra to go to the Grid. She gave her a hug before going, feeling a motherly connection to the young woman, she had her own suspicions about her, and rezzed both her and Tron in.
"So…" Tron trailed off as he walked ahead of her. "You want to learn how to use User powers." He looked back at her now.
Astra nodded and walked up to him. "I do."
"Then we'll have to practice in a safe location. The Simulation Room can only do so much. I'll take you to the outlands." His eyes sparkled, though he seemed more serious than usual when around her.
Astra nodded again as he rezzed his lightcycle ahead of them and got on. "Thank you." She was equally as serious, though that changed as he took off like a shot as soon as she held him from behind! "Ahh! Hah!" She shouted with a smile and then leaned against his back. "Any excuse to show off." She teased him.
He chuckled. "Of course." His eyes glittered now, at this moment, he could be free, just like normal with her. It was when he would teach her how to use User powers that he would have to be serious.
He twisted and turned through the city, finally coming to the outlands riddled with snow! His lightcycle this time was equipped specially to deal with it.
Astra's eyes widened at seeing the white stuff around her. "Snow! There's snow!" She smiled happily.
Tron chuckled and nodded. "This is one of the results of the environment pack Flynn added into the System early on." He informed her.
She shook her head. "I remember seeing that on one of my first days working for ENCOM!" She said excitedly. "I was so impressed and wondered what it could possibly look like within the System!"
He chuckled again. "It also rains, and the wind can get pretty bad in a storm! You've already seen the lightning, it's worse in a good storm and out here." He nodded to the area around him.
It was then that they came to a wide fissure in the ground, leading far down into a ravine below.
"How're we going to get over that?" Astra wondered aloud.
Tron just chuckled. "Hold on tight." He informed her with a wicked grin and headed toward a large, curved rock just before the opening.
Astra knew better than to ignore his order by now and gripped him as tight as she could, though it wouldn't have hurt him. "What are you going to do?" She called over the wind.
He picked up speed and raced for the rock. "Watch." He said in a low, sexy growl and suddenly they were driving up, into the curve of the rock and airborne!
Astra screamed in delight and looked down as she held on for dear life!
Tron kept his concentration on the lightcycle and grunted as they hit the ground on the other side of the chasm hard!
"That was AMAZING!" Astra cried happily. "Lightcycle flying! That was lightcycle flying!" She dubbed it.
Tron chuckled. "I suppose it needed a name." He teased back at her. Inwardly he was elated that she enjoyed that! He wondered if she would shy away at the height. But she seemed perfectly comfortable with it, which meant he could teach her how to do it in the Simulation Room, and that she could perform her User powers anywhere without fear. He was prideful of this.
Astra just laughed and hit him on the shoulder. "Oh you!" She seemed to say that a lot around him! "I really enjoyed it!"
Tron smiled back at her. "Then I'll teach you how one cycle."
Astra's eyes widened. "Really?! Oh, I can hardly wait!" She grins and hugs him tight, resting her cheek on his shoulder.
He grins and pulls over near a large mountain. "Here is where we'll train. There's a base here that I built not too long ago just for this purpose, in case we need anything while we're out here or a storm brews up. They're unpredictable so it was the best option." He informs her as he waits for her to get off the lightcycle.
"Oh…." She looks up at the mountain in wonder, wondering where the base could be as well and gets off his lightcycle. "Smart idea." She agrees with a nod.
He nods in response, gets off his lightcycle and compacts it back into a baton. "Thank you. Alright. Let's start with bringing up interfaces. That should come fairly easy to you." He smiles back at her.
She nods and walks up to him. "What do I need to do?"
Tron walks up behind her and gently places his hands on her arms, then slides them down, to her hands.
She blushes brightly as her lightlines flare a bit at the contact.
"You need to access the system, touch the area in front of you, or the object, concentrate…" He whispers in her ear as he becomes flush with her body. He wanted to be serious, but the sound of her excitement a few moments ago and the look on her face just made him want to touch her. Besides, this was probably the most effective way to do it. He would have to help her.
Astra blushed harder and breathed out, concentrating. She closed her eyes and reached out before her.
Tron moved her fingers into the correct position and whispered low into her ear. "Picture the System, connect with it, send out a command for an interface linking to it, or to the area around us, so that you can work with it."
Astra didn't nod, but she felt it as she concentrated. Her mind dove down, into the System, envisioning it, listening for it, she heard it, a female voice, as it spoke to her. She could feel Tron's presence other than through his touch, she could feel the environment pack around her, and the area as well. She concentrated and sent out a command. She opened her eyes.
"Well done." Tron said proudly.
Around them swirled a glowing blue screen comprised of many windows!
Astra smiled brightly and looked back at Tron. "I did it! I accessed the System!" And turned back to study the interface before her.
"You did. It looks like you not only accessed the environment pack, but the area around us as well! You should be able to change anything you like now." Tron smiled and rose her hand to a certain window.
Astra smiled and studied the window he was having her point to. "I think I can figure this out…" She said even as he moved her hand to touch it and up popped various commands. "Oh!" She said and started to play with them. She had an idea of just what she wanted to do…
Soon, the area before them filled with glowing blue lines, the outline of what looked like a large rock.
Tron looked pleased. "You chose to manipulate the area. Wise choice for your first try."
The area around the rock convulsed and suddenly, began to fill in square, by tiny square. Once finished, a jagged, though square lined rock, (much like the rocks in Flynn's place on the Grid near Sam's room), emerged, no snow on it at all.
Astra smiled happily. "What else can I do?"
Tron grinned and took hold of her once again.
The next millicycle was spent learning the ins and outs of each power Tron could think of and Astra was a quick study for all of it, which made him proud. They were both so engrossed in their training that neither of them noticed the wind pick up until snow began to fall gently around them.
Tron looked up in alarm and connected with the area around him. "A storm's on its way! We won't make it back before it hits, we'd best take shelter in the base." He told her worriedly.
Astra's hands fell and so did her concentration, and with it, the interface that had surrounded them. "Alright. How long will we have to wait?"
Tron looked to her apologetically. "Maybe another millicycle. Storms are unpredictable, so it might be less or more."
Astra's face fell, yet her heart raced. "I won't be back in time for Alan or Lora to get me out." Usually there was someone late at night in ENCOM to get the last person in the Grid out if they needed it. The portal was otherwise left on all day. So she would be stuck here for a whole User night.
Astra resisted a gulp. That meant being stuck in a base, possibly with one room, for a whole night. And they both needed to sleep. Her gaze flickered over to him as a light blush tinted her cheeks.
Then her eyes widened. She would need to shower! And this snow was bound to make her wet! She looked down at her arms, it was already beginning to melt and… Ug, get under the collar of her suit. She looked over to Tron. "Is there a shower in the base?" She asked warily.
Tron looked over to her in surprise. "No. What would you need it for?"
Astra blushed. "This snow is melting into my suit and I'm really cold. I'll need it for the morning as well… Users don't take the cold and wet very well."
Tron just stared at her. "I've never… No-one told me that."
Astra looked at him incredulously. "No User has been stuck out here before?"
Tron shook his head. "No. Everything always went smoothly. And none of them complained…"
Astra nodded as they headed toward the mountain. "That's probably because they were able to get back to the city and the User World right away." She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. The snow was coming down heavily now, and the wind was biting. Though she couldn't feel the wind through her suit, her arms, face and neck were still exposed.
Tron looked at her bare skin and immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry, none of the other Users had so much exposed skin either. We've made enough progress, you should be able to make a User shower and tap into water reserves running throughout the Grid to run it." He said as he wrapped an arm around her.
"Thank you." She smiled up at him through chattering teeth. The temperature really dropped with the storm. "Programs don't have need of showers… Do they?" She asked curiously.
Tron shook his head. "No. We don't have need of one."
Astra nodded. That was one thing she couldn't remember from her dreams… Past life memories? She wasn't sure, but until he admitted she was Yori, she wouldn't believe it herself. With a small nod, she continued on.
Once they were at the base of the mountain, Tron rose his hand to touch it and immediately a door opened in its side as light flickered on along the walls of an elevator.
Astra looked up, mouth open. "Cool!" She whispered as they walked in.
Tron chuckled. "Thank you. Are you warm enough now?" He asked as he let go of her.
Astra shook her head, still shivering. "I'll feel this cold until I get nice and toasty."
Tron frowned. "It won't be long now. I know the room you can build the shower in." He looked to her with a serious expression. Users get cold… I don't know what happens to them when they're cold. Tron thought with worry.
Astra smiled up at him, but his serious expression caught her. She knew he was a serious guy, even though he teased her endlessly, he was worried. "I'll be alright." She huddled her arms closer around her and rubbed them gently.
Tron nodded and took that as his cue to stand against her and hold her close to try and transfer some heat from his body to hers. "Does that help?" He asked as he rubbed her arms as well.
Astra giggled and nodded. "Yes, thank you. You're much warmer than the air." She said truthfully and leaned into him.
It was then that they arrived at the top and the floor opened to reveal them within the small base.
Astra looked around wide-eyed. It was made with black, shiny material with three strips of white light at the top and one around the whole of the flooring at the edge. To the right of them was a half level with stairs at its middle leading up to the top. It was pretty tall! On top of that area was a large rectangular structure that was hollow in the middle, it seemed to be made of the same material as everything else. In front of that was a huge window that went right around the whole base outlooking the city! It only paused in 8 places where it seemed beams were holding the glass in place. The height of the whole place was gigantic! And to her left was all open area.
She breathed in. "Wow!" She said in awe.
Tron chuckled and smiled as he ushered her in. "I built it after the one I had outside of Argon. It's pretty much the same." He said with pride as he watched her take it all in.
She smiled back at him with a giggle. "It's amazing! What does that huge thing do at the centre up there? Do the windows have the same screens as Tron Tower?" She rushed questions at him, impressed.
Tron laughed. "Yes, they do. The "big thing at the centre" is the control centre. It's accessed by the interface that appears on this side of it. Here, let me show you." He says as he gestures out in front of him to follow him to the device at the top of the half level.
Astra looks at him even more impressed and follows him up. "So it works like the control centre in Tron Tower?" She asks curiously.
Tron nods. "A bit. It can analyse anything and processes data. It also monitors every part of the System I've hooked up monitors to."
Astra's eyes widen. "That is so cool!" She says in awe. "This must be very powerful."
He nods again and touches the screen before him, causing it to rez into being. A series of white windows appears over its surface. "It is. Now. Let's see what ships entered Tron City while we were out here…" He trails off with a side glace to Astra out of the corners of his eyes. He was grinning. This was something he enjoyed showing off and didn't get to often.
Astra watched the screen with a look of awe and determined concentration. She was taking it all in, in wonder, but also studying its contents, how it worked, where the information was displayed, everything. She was determined to learn all she could to protect the System. Which brought her view to Tron as he worked.
He smiled and brought up the information. "Hmmm… All normal vessels. Ah! This one. Look carefully." He said as he moved his fingers along the screen to bring up a certain window with information scrolling on it, a picture at its left.
Astra saw the movement and shuddered. The way that man moves his fingers along surfaces should be illegal! She thought with a light blush as he worked.
Tron noticed her heightened breathing and blush and kept a chuckle in. Inwardly, he was elated that he made her feel that way, but he had no idea what could have caused it. "This one carries troops from another city. These ships are important as they spread out troops where they're needed." He informed her.
She listened intently though her eyes strayed to his fingers more often than the data displayed before them, her blush growing.
"This one was sent from Bismuth. There's not been much activity there, but since Tron City was attacked, we thought it best to move some Programs from there to here." He said and finally turned fully to her. "Having trouble reading that data?" He grinned at her.
Astra squeaked and jumped in a turn to face him. "N-No." She got a hold of herself and grinned back, putting her hand on her hip and standing a bit more loosely. "It's that way you glide your fingers over the screen that's got me." She teased him head-on and taps the centre square of his symbol just to punctuate it. Take that! She thought with a giggle.
His eyes widen for the barest of moments as he grins and takes a step closer to her. "You mean like this?" He whispers as he trails a line from her right wrist to her elbow.
Whatever Astra had been expecting, it wasn't this! She had no warning as the pleasant, arousing feeling that was Tron's touch buzzed its way along her arm! Though she held no lightlines there, her symbol certainly felt it and blushed in time with his touch. She couldn't suppress the shudder that travelled through her body as she watched his finger gently trail its way up her arm. "Yes…" She trails off, shocked.
He chuckles. "Then I'll have an interesting time teaching you how I work interfaces." He leans into her further and then backs away and heads down the steps, the interface shutting off behind him. "You still feel cold. If you want to make your shower, follow me." His voice held a bit of teasing.
"Oh you!" She growled, frustrated, after him and followed him down the stairs. "One of these days I'm going to one-up you and then you won't know what to do!" She laughs half-teasingly, half-threateningly.
He looks back at her with a cheeky grin. "I highly doubt it."
Before she can add a retort a door opens before them in the side of the half level, revealing white light to shine from the other side.
"This is the spare room, it's just big enough for what you need, which means we'll be sharing a bed this sleepcycle." His eyes shine as he looks back to her.
She stops dead in her tracks, eyes wide, her blush even darker, if that were possible, and looks right at him. "Share, a room?" She squeaks.
Tron laughs and shakes his head. "Am I that unattractive?" He teases. Does she not want to sleep in the same room as me? Am I invading on her privacy? Of course I am, and I'm enjoying it. He thought the first with worry, then the last wickedly though good-naturedly as he awaited her reply.
"A-I…" She actually looked embarrassed this time. "I've never shared a bed with a man before."
"So you've shared one with a woman?" He teased her brazenly, eyes just gleaming with mirth.
Astra immediately squeaked and waved her hands before her! "No! Not like that!" She squeaked quickly. "I mean, we're not, I wouldn't, I mean I would- A- Are you laughing?!" She asked him totally flustered and a mite bit angry.
Tron was laughing his head off as she stuttered and tried to backtrack her words. She was just asking for that! He thought with a laugh as he feigned trying to control his mirth. I know she's not that type of User. She doesn't seem like the type to like women. Though it would be perfectly normal. He laughed one more time with a "cough" and stood straight looking at her. "I couldn't help myself. I know you don't like women."
He chuckled once more and leaned over to her, taking her right wrist in his hand. "You like me." He grinned flirtatiously. He didn't know why he was so around her, she just made him want to flirt with her, more than anyone he'd met save for…
Astra stopped her angry glare and softened her gaze, looking down to his symbol longingly. "I do." Her eyes flicked back up to meet his as her left hand came around to tap that centre square again.
His breath hitched as his square lit up. "Keep that up and you won't leave this place having not "slept" with a man before." He says brazenly and is immediately shocked at his own words! He stands up straight and points to the room, letting go of her hand. "You should get warm. If you need help with its creation, let me know."
Astra just stared at him. How could he say that?! She squeaked in her mind. Slowly, her gaze returned to the room before them and she nodded numbly before seeing the look on his face. Ooooh, I can get him this time! She thought as she tilted her head oh just so and put that hand back on her hip. "I don't think you could handle me." She smirked flirtatiously at him, turned and noted that she was teasing, in a very sexy and true way as she sashayed into the room and closed the door behind her.
Tron growled as the door closed, and rushed for it. It opened at his command and revealed Astra still walking to where she wanted to start work on the shower. He soundlessly came up behind her and wraps her up in his arms tightly, picking her up off the floor! "What was that?" He growls in her ear and "touches" her lines upon her sides. He loved a good challenge, and her little one just called up all of his emotions for her all at once, his desire piqued at her little flirty tease.
She immediately squeaks in surprise then moans and writhes in his arms. "Trooon!" She calls out his name, all thoughts of teasing out the window as desire, his desire, flowed through her veins and along her body. She didn't think it was possible to feel his desire within her so deeply from her sides! It was one thing with her wrist, that was far deeper than this, this was merely spread out yet lighter somehow. She tried to turn in his arms, but he wasn't letting her.
He grinned and dipped his head into the hollow of her neck, lightly grazing his teeth there. "Want to challenge me again?" He whispered into her ear with a light purr. He knew she found it attractive.
She shook her head, words beyond her for a moment. Then, she regained a bit of control over herself and rose a hand to gently trace the lightlines on his arms in a "touch" of her own. "Y-yes." She said, opposite of what she had indicated before, her cheekiness showing through. This feels so much like before… A time… I can't remember… She thought brokenly in her mind. She didn't want this to end… But the shower…
Tron's eyes closed and he sucked in a breath at her touch, his arousal becoming clear. "You do want me…" He breathed into her neck, a little surprised even though he could feel her desire for him. "Cheeky." He teased back at her finally with a grin. In all honesty, he didn't want this to end either, and whereas her skin was getting warmer, it was still frightfully cold to him.
He let go of her with a groan and fought himself to keep her within his warm embrace just a little longer. "You have a shower to build." He whispers in her ear and is gone.
Astra just stands there glassy-eyed for a moment, trying to regain some semblance of herself. When she finally does some nanos later, she puts her hands to her cheeks. If this is how things are going to go, I might not make it through the night! She thought. My virtue! She thought with determination. I'm not going to be with someone who doesn't claim to be my soulmate! And… I don't think he'll let it go that far either… She thought with sadness.
Shaking her head, she slowly released her cheeks and set about making the shower.
A little while later she opened the door and looked for Tron. When she didn't see him in the empty lower section, she headed up the stairs, to find him at the window moving around white circled lines upon it, the view of what could only be the city zoomed in within them.
She tried to sneak up on him, but before she got close, he spoke. "Done with the shower?" And turned to face her.
She just squeaked in surprise and shook her head with a laugh. "No, actually. So much for sneaking up on you." Her eyes glittered as she teased.
He laughed. "No-one can sneak up on me." He grinned and walked over to her.
She shook her head with a laugh. "Oh? And what if you let someone?" She teased flirtatiously.
He came up to her and touched her arms, a frown immediately overcoming his features. "You're still cold."
She nodded. "Yeah, I needed help locating that water vein underground. I don't know where to look or how deep, do you?" She asked him with hope.
"Yes. I'll help you." He said as he started toward the stairs, not letting go of her arm.
She followed readily. "Thank you." She smiled up at him. "What were you doing just now?" She asked him curiously.
He smiled down at her. "I was just checking up on the city. We've all been on edge since that attack."
She frowned and nodded. "I feel that too." She smiled up at him. "I'm glad they have you looking out for them. You're so serious, when you're not a terrible flirt." She teased him.
He laughed. "That was well deserved." He said as the arrived at the room. "Alright, you stand where you were working and I'll help guide your tunnel via your interface like we did earlier."
She nodded and stepped up to the almost complete shower. "Alright. Thank you." She smiled back at him.
He nodded and stepped up behind her, placing his arms around her as she called up the interface. They worked together, him guiding her way through the "rock" of the outlands via her interface while she sent commands to the System to dig and form a pipe and working pump mechanism for the shower along with a water heater. It wasn't really that hard to build a working pump and water heater, she had an inkling she had worked with something like machinery before… She just couldn't remember when.
Once done, Tron pulled back with a satisfied smile. "Well done. I think you should be fine now. But if something goes wrong, let me know." His eyes glittered with a flirty tease. He wasn't sure he wanted to see her without her suit, but a part of him did.
She batted his arm playfully. "I will, but you won't be seeing me naked if I do!" She teased him right back!
He chuckled. "I deserved that. Alright. Have fun." He winked at her and left, closing the door behind him.
Astra sighed and shook her head after him. Looking around, she found some left over code she could make a towel and some soap out of, for morning, or after sleepcycle? She wasn't sure, but it would be for then, and headed into the shower.
This time when she showered, she went about it differently than normal. She wasn't washing, she was focused upon the warmth of the water, the flow of it, and getting warm. She always had a connection with water, she would sometimes flow in time to waves as she got warm under it or swam in particularly wavy waters. This time, she let herself sway in time to the waves she felt within herself, thinking of Tron and how he flirts with her, her coldness meeting the warmth of the water, she placed her hands against the wall to steady herself, and gracefully moved like a cat into the water stream, sighing with pleasure at the warmth and her predicament with Tron. She would have to sleep with him this sleepcycle… Her shower went on like that for a little while longer, until she moved out to dry off. Doing so equally slowly, placing one leg up on the bench beside the shower at a time… (This becomes relevant later ;3)
Soon, she was back in her suit and out of the shower heading up the stairs.
Tron was still watching the city via the window viewer as she came up the stairs.
"Have a good shower?" He asked as her head peeked over the top of the stairs.
"Yes." She moaned, then covered her mouth, coughed, and tried again. "Yes. It was very warm." She said happily.
His symbol flared at that moan, something for which he was glad he was turned toward the window. "Good. We should head to our sleepcycle than." He grinned as he finally turned to her. And gasped. Seeing her hair wet, still glassy-eyed at having a nice warm shower, hit his very core! He stopped, coughed, and walked up to her.
She had caught that look and flare of his symbol at seeing her, and she smirked and said with a teasing tone. "Never seen a wet woman before?" Oooh, I dare him to react to this one! She thought with a giggle.
He paused in front of her, eyes dark as he took her in. "Only once." He watched her. He wanted her, but with that one line, his mind raced to the Crystal Caves and the energy pool within it. Yori… He thought sadly, poked Astra on the triangle of her symbol, and walked towards the stairs.
Astra watched after him sadly for a nano, but followed him all the same. I'm right here… She couldn't stop herself from thinking, knowing who was on his mind. Shaking her head, she became steely in her resolve of not believing she was Yori once more.
Tron went to a section of the half level closer to where they came in and opened a door there. "This used to be reserved for a healing chamber, but being as we should never need one on the Grid again, the only one available is in Tron Tower. Just in case." He looked back to her.
She peeked in curiously around him and noted with dismay that it was very small, and only held one bed. She looked back up at him. "I guess I can't get out of this, can I?" Almost all teasing gone.
He smiled and shook his head. "Afraid not. Neither of us is willing for the other to sleep on the floor, so sharing a bed is the only option." Almost all teasing gone from his voice.
She sighed and smiled, shook her head and took a step in. "My hair's wet so it's likely to be cold." She teased back at him.
"Oh, I think I can handle the cold." He teased right back and walked in after her. Suddenly, his hands were on her, her arms, slowly sliding down them. He had an idea. "If it helps, I can flirt with you before our sleepcycle." He teased, his desire showing, though he didn't "touch" her. It was his aim to make her more relaxed, and damn that need to keep on touching her that kept coming over him!
Her eyes went wide, not expecting this from him! Though she shuddered pleasantly under his touch.
"Mmm, you're warm." He whispered into her neck.
"Troon…" She moaned at his touch, though it wasn't as distracting as his "touch", it was enough. "We need to sleep." She tried to keep some semblance of her resolve.
He chuckled. "Alright. That did make you more… Loose." He grinned at her and promptly took up the blankets and laid under them.
"Oh you!" She said and threw the pillow at him!
It poffed right in his face, as he had let it, and he laughed. "You'll pay for that!" He flirted terribly with her.
She shook her head, hands on hips. "Not a chance mister!" She laughed.
"Oh, but the bed is so soft." He teased and coaxed her.
She shook her head again. "And deal with you getting me back for that?"
"Fine I guess I just get to sleep, all alone…" He pouts.
She walks over to the bed at that and bats his arm. "Ooh, low blow." She teased him and got in next to him.
That was her mistake, he was on her in a micro! His hands at her sides, him leaning over her, his grin intact as he made to tickle her where she had no armour! "Really? Because I think it worked wonderfully!" He laughed.
She giggled endlessly and tried to stop his fingers from their wandering! "Noo! Nono! I take it back! Mercy!" She laughed and giggled.
"What do I want to hear?" He whispered into her ear grinning.
Her eyes flew open at that. What did he want to hear? "You're, the best, warrior, on the Grid!" She tried between laughs.
He chuckled and tickled her more! "Wrong." He teased.
She laughed harder and tried to think of what he could possibly want from her! Then, she felt it, buzzing along her lightlines as he tickled her. "I want you!" She laughed out.
His eyes darkened, hearing her tone through her laughter. She meant it. A smile crept across his lips and he stopped tickling her. "Bingo." He purred into her ear as he bent over her. Then, just as suddenly as he was on her, he was on his side beside her, leaving her panting and laying against the only pillow they had.
"Oh, you…" She panted out as she got her breath. He really did a number on her this time! After a few nanos, she turned onto her side and faced him. She had been half off the bed laying on her back, and now, she was on the very edge of the bed, if she were to be comfortable… Her eyes turned up to meet his with a blush. "Can I, sleep closer to you?" She asked shyly.
His eyes flashed dark for a moment before he reaches over and pulls her into his arms, her facing him.
She gasped but melted into his touch, against his body. He was so warm…
He smiled down at her. "Better?"
She nodded into his chest, her hands upon it. "Yes." She yawned then. She really was tired, she thought with wariness.
He smiled brighter and pulled her in a bit closer as he got comfortable. "Sleep well." He whispered and the lights immediately dimmed.
The night went relatively peaceful, however, there was a moment when Tron made strangled sounds in his sleep, a sad, concentrated look upon his face, as though he were fighting off something.
It woke Astra up and she tried to wake him. "Tron! Tron!" She whispered, but he didn't stop nor wake up which worried her further. Then she heard him moan what sounded like a "No, please stop me!" And she got an idea! If she could feel him through his touch, she knew he would feel her.
Reaching up with her left hand, she gently touches his symbol on its centre square.
That woke him up! He looked around and down, noticing her immediately. He knew the touch wasn't hostile, remembered who it was that had touched him, but it had surprised him nonetheless. He just hoped she didn't notice he was having another nightmare when she had done it, so, his surprise only flickered over his features for a micro before turning into a flirty smile, trying his best to hide what he had just felt. "Someone wants attention." He purrs to her.
Astra just stares at him, surprised for a moment. Did he really just pawn that off as- She got no further into that thought than he spoke again, this time leaning into her and brushing his fingers along her left arm.
"I want you." He said, truthfully, but it was the only thing that came to his mind to get her to stop thinking about his dream! He saw that confusion flicker over her face.
Astra sighed at his touch, feeling his emotions, though he did well to hide his anxiety, she could still feel it coursing through his touch, just barely. She decided to play his game, for now, and thought of the only thing she wanted from him more than anything before she would go that far with someone. "Kiss me." Her eyes were dark and hooded as she placed her hand upon his chest.
Immediately he stopped tracing her arm, breathing in deeply as he fought his inner thoughts. Only Yori. "I'm- I'm sorry. I can't." He stuttered and turned away from her. "We'd best get up."
Astra's face fell as she stopped touching him. "Then please, don't say you want me." She said through closed eyes.
He looked back at her, incredulous. "What?!" He said with fear.
She opened her eyes to look at him. "I'm not going to make out with a man who won't kiss me." She raises her chin a notch in defiance and steely determination. Pride. Virtue.
He turned around to face her slowly, thinking the situation over. "This changes nothing between us?" He said carefully.
Astra frowned and sighed. "No. It doesn't." She wanted it to change, but if she were to be honest with herself, she wasn't going to stop from teasing him, nor try to stop him from teasing her. It just, would be so much easier if he didn't say he wanted me so often if he wasn't going to go through with it… Or, believe that I'm Yori… She thought sadly.
He breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Alright. I'll do my best." He reassured her and moved to get up.
She showered and he made them energy drinks for breakfast, something she downed readily, though being a bit faster than usual… "Oh!" She said as she tipped on her seat on the edge of the half level.
"Careful there." Tron chuckled as he held a hand on her back to steady her. "Energy can be quite potent when drank quickly." His eyes were soft as he watched her. That likely aroused her… He thought, hiding his blush as he watched her.
Astra merely nodded, a blush tinting her cheeks as she fought to regain control of herself. That went right to my abdomen! She thought with embarrassment! "I'll remember that for next time!" She choked out and slowly sipped at the last of the energy in her glass.
Tron chuckled and let go of her back. "Good." His eyes flashed then, he just couldn't resist flirting with her now. "Your lightlines flared." He teased as he tapped one of her shoulder lightlines.
Astra looked up to him quickly and moaned in embarrassment, then hit him on the shoulder. That tap distracted her. "Yours would too!" She blushed even brighter.
He just chuckled and couldn't resist another flirty tease. "Perhaps we could share some energy sometime… Quickly." He leaned in with a purr, but it was his lopsided smile that told her he was kidding, and flirting…
Ohh Tron! She growled in her mind frustratingly. Putting on a flirty smirk of her own, she reached over and lightly traced one of his own shoulder lightlines. "I would like that." She teased him, but he took it as honesty because through her touch, he could feel, she really did want it!
"I-I didn't really mean! I mean- Not that I wouldn't but- Are you laughing?!" He laughed himself. Well, I earned that. He thought with mirth recalling a similar situation earlier. Shaking his head he growled low and tapped the triangle on her symbol. "You earned that."
Astra just smirked up at him cheekily. "I did." She grinned and finished her drink, slowly.
He just smiled and finished his own. "We should get you back to the User World. I bet Alan-One and Lora-Prime have something for you to do User side, with you having spent so long here."
Astra looked at him, surprised. "They're here this early?"
Tron smiled and nodded. "Yes. They leave ENCOM early enough to make it back by 4am User time. They like to make sure the Grid is ok. Though they'll be here by now because you never made it out. I bet they're worried." He smiled with pride. He couldn't be more impressed with any other Users. His and Yori's Users were simply the best out there!
Astra nodded with a look of awe. "I couldn't handle that! I hope I won't be an inconvenience." She looked down at her glass a bit worriedly. She didn't want to get in the way.
Tron just smiled and put a heavy hand on her shoulder. "You're not. They won't see it that way, they know things can happen. And, maybe, you will be able to spend another sleepcycle here after showing you're trustworthy for it." He reassured her.
She looked up at him happily. "Thank you. Maybe! Though next time we aren't sharing a bed!" She teased as she lightly hit his arm.
He feigned hurt and surprise and laughed. "Oh? I'm that unattractive?" He teased for the second time.
She giggled and shook her head. "No, I just have my virtue." She rose her chin defiantly with a smile.
He laughed. "Alright, miss User, you got me there." He teased.
She looked back at him, feigning hurt and surprise. "And what's that supposed to mean?" She laughed.
"Oh, nothing." He grinned as he took their empty glasses and went to put them away.
Astra just stared after him. "Oh you." She muttered and got up to follow him.
Not long after, they were on their way back to Tron City, lightcycle flying over the fissure and all. Astra still had a blast with it! And she was back in the User World facing a very concerned Alan and Lora.
"What happened in there?!" Alan asked first, concern in his voice, not anger.
Astra looked sheepish as she told them what had happened. "We got stuck in a snowstorm training in the outlands and couldn't make it back to the city in time for me to realize back here. The storm lasted more than a sleepcycle, we took shelter in the nearby base." She tactfully left out the part about the shower and sleeping with Tron.
Lora stepped up to her and wrapped her in a hug. "I'm glad you're both alright! I bet Tron's checking over the city now… We'll have to have you do something around here today."
Astra nodded as she accepted the hug. "He is, in fact, he couldn't stop from checking on it almost the whole time we were in the base!" She laughed.
Alan chuckled as Lora looked back to him and stepped up to his side. "That sounds like him." He said, pride in his voice. "Come on, let's find you something to do."
And so started Astra's new day at ENCOM.
Chapter 7 – Alternate Part
This time when she showered, she went about it differently than normal. She wasn't washing, she was focused upon the warmth of the water, the flow of it, and getting warm. She always had a connection with water, she would sometimes flow in time to waves as she got warm under it or swam in particularly wavy waters. This time, she let herself sway in time to the waves she felt within herself, thinking of Tron and how he flirts with her, her coldness meeting the warmth of the water, she placed her hands against the wall to steady herself, and gracefully moved like a cat into the water stream, sighing with pleasure at the warmth and her predicament with Tron. She would have to sleep with him this sleepcycle… Her shower went on like that for a little while longer, until she moved out to dry off. Doing so equally slowly, placing one leg up on the bench beside the shower at a time…
Unbeknownst to her, Tron had been watching the whole scene from above, having tapped into the room earlier. His circuits flushed watching her. She's incredibly sexy… He thought with desire. I didn't know that's how Users shower… If it is, every time… He made a promise to himself that he would record every one of her showers. Just for later… Study purposes, yes, that was it. Study. Only he wouldn't do this with just anyone… She was the first to shower on the Grid, and the first he'd felt the desire to watch.
It also wasn't the only time he had watched her. He had re-watched their interactions sometimes before his sleepcycle, feeling the desire to. It was something he kept to himself.
Soon, she was back in her suit and out of the shower heading up the stairs.
Tron had tactfully put the window viewer back to Tron City before she had even left the room, putting an extra security measure on it just in case she got curious. Only he could access that particular room with it.
"Have a good shower?" He asked as her head peeked over the top of the stairs. His lightlines now back to normal as well.
"Yes." She moaned, then covered her mouth, coughed, and tried again. "Yes. It was very warm." She said happily.