Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.

Naomi had spent most of that night tossing, frustratingly unable to fall asleep. Her mind tauntingly replayed the little trip she had, slightly dismayed by how girly and cliché it had all been.

Naomi should have known Icheb's reflexes would have been lightning quick, but she hadn't known he would pull her flush against his very adult and very developed body. She had growled to herself on her way back for reacting like a school girl, blushing and literally running away. This was Icheb that had rescued her face from the concrete. Icheb! Simple, kind, naïve Icheb. No one to get flustered over, right? Really though, who was she kidding? Certainly not herself. If she were being honest with herself, she was well aware that Icheb had never been simple, he was more than just kind, selfless even, and by the way his eyes had seemed to know exactly how the position they found themselves in had effected her, it told her he was not naïve.

Naomi was well aware that Icheb had matured just like she had. He had gone from the quiet, shy kid, struggling to find his independence among a starship of refined, self-assured people, to who he now was. Icheb had no doubt forced himself to emulate who he had been around until he found himself. Whatever experiences he had gotten in the alpha quadrant, on Earth, on his five year mission, had transformed him into the complex and frighteningly attractive individual he now was. Naomi could not let her thoughts of him cloud her though, she had too much she needed to focus on, too much to let herself notice him too deeply. Finally, after a half hour of recomposing her thoughts and clearing her mind, sleep took her, and thankfully, she slumbered peacefully.

The quiet alarm went off and Naomi woke up with a start the next morning, looking over to the other occupants of the room warily. As before, Hannah and T'Chea were still asleep. Hannah half way off her bed, mouth open a tiny bit... oh if Naomi was the type, she would take a picture and tease her with it. She was above that though. At least, that's what she told herself! T'Chea was asleep like those images of mummies she had shown Neelix on Voyager, on her back and her arms crossed. Even in her sleep T'Chea looked like she was superior to everyone. Naomi smiled fondly at her new friends and hopping off of bed, trying to remain as quiet as she could, rushing on her toes to the bathroom and quickly getting ready. She hurriedly finished, hoping her roommates would not wake up and question her leaving so early in the morning. She didn't want to have to explain why she was up so early to meet with Icheb, she hardly understood her excitement herself! Especially after the previous evening's 'event'. She knew logically that eventually one of these days they would catch her and she would have to come up with an excuse, but for now, it seemed like they were still asleep. Grinning at her luck, she grabbed her things and quietly slipped out of her dorm.

Walking out on her way to the cafe, her attention was caught by the sunrise. She paused to look at it, the cobalt blue sky bursting into flames by the intense red of the rising sun. Reds, oranges, and yellows exploded into fiery life, painting the heavens like a splash of living fire. The intensity of the sunrise was enough to render any viewer catatonic with awe. The fact that it rose above hills behind the pearly white crop of the Academy made it all the more majestic, giving the buildings a sort of halo and making Naomi imagine she was standing on Olympus with the Greek gods. Smiling to herself and her over-active imagination, that she clearly still hadn't grown out of, she made her way off.

When she arrived at the cafe, she took a calming breath and made her way in. She saw that even Icheb was caught up in watching the sky. His visage was painted by the same fiery glow reflecting off the windows. She bit her lip, her now apparently susceptible mind open to seeing the man in a new light... literally, but imagining him with a Greek toga this early in the morning was not a smart idea. Actually, it wasn't a smart idea any time of the day! Brushing inappropriate thoughts away – or reluctantly tucking them away for later reflection at least, she made her way to the table he sat at. Naomi knew that things were now a bit weird between Icheb and herself, but she hoped it would go away soon. She tried not to think of how he looked at her, how he seemed to lean toward her when they spoke, how his eyes never left hers. What was going on? Icheb had never shown such... rapt focus on her when they were younger?

Fortunately, Icheb seemed to be as collected and relaxed as she remembered him being when he greeted her. "Naomi Wildman, good morning."

Naomi relaxed slightly, figuring if he could act like nothing happened- and nothing did happen-, she could act like it as well, and sat down. "Good morning, Icheb Hansen! Did you see the sunrise?" she asked curiously, noting his direct gaze on her again. Naomi resisted fidgeting in her seat, playing idly with the objects on the table to distract herself.

Icheb was caught for a second when the reflection of the sun danced in Naomi's eyes, making them shine like gems, at the same time lighting her reddish hair on fire. He cleared his throat and dismissed the oddly pleasant use of imagery from his lately obviously irrational mind. "Yes, a spectacular event I have yet to get tired of," he smiled conservatively. He was entirely too distracted lately.

They paused when the waitress walked over and as before asked if they wanted some coffee. In the spirit of carrying on as friends, Icheb insisted on treating her, to not let their newly reacquainted friendship nor their little mishap stop them from enjoying their morning. Naomi was hard-pressed to reject his kindness, so she ordered a steaming cup of mocha latte and a plate of eggs with sausage. Icheb asked for his usual cup of coffee with eggs and toast. It was a quiet morning fortunately, no doubt students were still too worn out from their first couple days to drop in, leaving them more or less alone.

As they waited for their food, they fell into comfortable routine once more. They spoke of their lives so far, how Naomi reunited with her father and went on many trips with him and her mom to bond with him, how she did everything she could to prepare herself for Starfleet, and how she had the ambition of serving as Captain aboard Voyager one day. "I always wanted to be the Captain's assistant growing up," Naomi smiled wistfully, missing her ship and her old friends.

Icheb was caught by the intensity of her expression and could not stop his eyes from tracing the refined lines of her delicate face. "You'll make an amazing Captain one day, I'm sure of it," he said softly, reaching over to place a hand on Naomi's that rested on the table before he could stop himself. Icheb blinked in surprise, wondering what had suddenly come over him.

Naomi felt her heart speed up a little bit from the contact, images of being pressed against him flooding her vision unwittingly. Why would her mind chose to focus on those memories now? Sometimes she could swear her mind was working against her. Nevertheless, she was unwilling to think about what her reactions could mean, or why Icheb had felt the need to make physical contact. Of course, she knew that friends often offered physical support of that kind, but somehow it seemed different coming from Icheb. Something told her he wasn't the type to initiate physical contact without an express reason. She wouldn't complain though, if what she assumed he was doing was trying to soothe her, then she could handle it. After all, it worked in a way, she forgot all about missing her old home.

Icheb smiled fleetingly and pulled his hand away quickly then when the waitress returned with their drinks. What was he doing? They sat, sipping their drinks, in more or less companionable silence for a moment, both lost in thought. Icheb didn't understand what he was doing, or at least, refused to understand. Surely he had only intended on showing her his support, right? It didn't mean anything else, this was Naomi Wildman! Cute, little, innocent Naomi Wildman after all. No reason to feel differently about her, no reason to get distracted by her. Now if only he believed any of that.

The spontaneous physical contact had surprised Naomi probably more than what had happened last evening. Now that she thought of it though, this wasn't the first time she had such a strong reaction to him. She thought of how she responded to seeing him at the five year reunion and remembered that it was exactly the moment he had been preparing to go on his mission. His easy smile her way had made her heart speed up ever so slightly, though enough for her to notice and feel confused about at the time. "How was your five year journey?" She asked, suddenly very curious and needing to distract herself.

"It was uneventful, unfortunately," Icheb smiled lightly and sipped his coffee.

The half Ktarian frowned thoughtfully. "Unfortunately?" she questioned.

"Yes. All the excitement on Voyager has spoiled me I suppose," he shrugged. Naomi nodded in understanding, feeling the same. It was a common phenomenon that happened when people went on a journey filled with either exciting activities, or tense situations. When you returned home, to a normal life, life just seemed dull in comparison.

"Well, hopefully nothing too exciting happens in the future, right? Like an epidemic or a war or something," she grimaced, hoping she hadn't jinxed it.

"Unlikely," Icheb shrugged. "But always a possibility." He explained to her how Seven and Tuvok were a huge help to him, preparing him for the academy and letting him know the 'life-hacks' of getting along with humans. Icheb had found that if he just agreed with most of what they said, they wouldn't think too much of him if he were confused. He could then later ask to clarify what they meant in a more relaxed environment. It had saved him quite a few times. Naomi had been very curious about how he and Seven had seemed to spend a lot of time together, so Icheb decided to finally reveal his little secret – if you could call it that.

"She adopted you?" Naomi's jaw dropped slightly.

"Is it so surprising? She was practically my mother-figure on Voyager."

"Yes, granted, but one thing is being like a mother to you, it's quite another actually being a mother!" Naomi was far from upset, she was actually thrilled that Seven and Icheb at least had each other among strangers, and Icheb explained how precise her line of thinking was. "So that's why your last name is Hansen! As in Annika Hansen!"

"Yes. It was more of a convenience than anything else. Seven is like a mother to me, always sort of was. We've grown pretty close and she has supported and mentored me like any parent would... much more than my real parents ever did," Icheb paused to scoff softly. Naomi gave him a sympathetic smile and the ex-Borg shook his head. "It's fine. I forgave them a long time ago," he shrugged. "In any case, not only would it have made staying on a strange planet, surrounded by billions of strangers unlike us easier, but it would also make it much more practical registering to important thinks like Starfleet, since I wasn't considered an adult at the time and could not do so myself."

Naomi pushed her empty plate aside and folded her hands before her on the table. "Yeah, that was one of my main struggles growing up here. They thought that just because I was alive for only fourteen years, I couldn't join in adult things," she rolled her eyes.

"You probably wanted to join at the same time I did though, you might have looked older than you were, but you still had a lot to learn," Icheb reflected with a friendly smile.

"Hey, I knew just as much as teens your age, and at twelve." It was her turn to scoff, but she wasn't really upset.

"I bet you thought the same at seven though, didn't you? Wanting to be the Captain's assistant and all," his lips quirked up.

"So I was a little ahead of myself," Naomi grinned.

"Clearly! I remember a shuttle ride we took with Seven and how you wanted to be Captain and ordered everyone around," Icheb chuckled fondly. "What is it?" he asked with a raised brow when she stared at him. She had been leaning on her palm over the table, giving him this unreadable look.

Naomi reflected for a moment before shrugging. "Nothing, it's just surprising is all," she explained.

"What is?" Icheb turned his head slightly in question.

"How much you've changed since I knew you."

"Naomi... it's been ten years..." he said in mock exasperation.

Naomi resisted reacting to his use of just her first name in the manner he had. The way he did it in that soft way he had been doing recently was enough to give her pause. It almost sounded like he was calling her by a pet-name rather than her actual name. She shook her head and smiled. "You weren't exactly the easiest person to joke around or relate with as I recall hearing a few times."

"I was aware, which is why I took extra measures to learn all I could when we arrived. I was forced to, as Tom had put it, 'loosen up' while a student at the Academy."

"Loosen up? You? Hah!" Naomi joked.

"What? You don't believe I have?" Icheb questioned, though he didn't think she really doubted him.

"Hm, maybe you have... but why not prove it?" She teased innocently.

"Naomi, if I were to prove to you how loose I have gotten, our capacity as student and instructor would become compromised and inappropriate..." he said in a low tone. Naomi jerked in surprise by his candor, unbelieving that he would make a joke heavy with innuendo. Somehow, coming from him made it that much worse. "Forgive me, in my efforts to make a joke I may have made it inappropriate in itself."

Naomi shook her head quickly, dismissing his apology. "No! It's okay! I found it... refreshing," she told him, though she wasn't being completely honest. She couldn't let him know that the word choice was off. Frankly, the words that sprang to her mind alarmed her a little. Alluring? Thrilling? Enticing? Lately they seemed to fit what she thought of his boldness a lot better. But this was still Icheb for crying out loud. Since when had she ever thought of him like that? Besides, fat chance she would let him know that she thought anything remotely close to those descriptions!

No need to make things even more awkward between them.

"I see." Icheb seemed to be resisting the need to fidget, and Naomi was surprised by this. Had he always seemed as nervous as he was now? She hadn't noticed before, but it was pretty obvious now. And really, it had been a never-ending ride of surprises since she got here, hadn't it? "We should head back," Icheb said quietly, as though he did not want to dispel whatever moment had passed between them.

Naomi nodded and let him take care of the charge, promising that next time it was her treat, and left with him. She tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced up at the tall Brunali, trying to get back to the relaxing tone they had been having before it got weird again. "So um, Icheb, I wanted to ask you, you mentioned before that you needed help adjusting to your new position as a teacher. Is this really your first year as a teacher?"

"Yes. I left on my five-year deep-space mission precisely five years, two weeks ago. I was offered this position as a temporarily Astrometrics teacher for the duration of my wait."

Naomi tilted he head to the side in confusion. "Your wait?"

Icheb nodded. "I intend on going back for another term," he said simply.

"Really? You'd go out there for another five years? That's almost as long as Voyager had been lost!"

"What can I say? My love of the stars runs deep," he smiled.

"It sounds like any woman that manages to catch your eye will have to fight the stars for you love," Naomi teased, making Icheb laugh out loud. Her eyes softened at the sound, loving the rich sound of it a little too much for her own good.

Before either of them could react, a sudden downpour swept over them, drenching them. They laughed as they ran for cover, heading back to the academy, dodging students unlucky enough to be caught in the rain along with them. When they reached the safe haven of the academy, they paused to catch their breaths. "Well that was fun!" Naomi panted and glanced up at her friend. Her mouth hung open slightly when she caught him pulling his outer uniform jacket off to try and shake some of the rain off of it. If she had thought he was broad-shouldered before, she was not prepared to see his soaked white undershirt displaying his sculpted figure. He wasn't a mass of muscle by any standard, but his physique could very easily be described as "Beautiful..." Naomi muttered under her breath.

"What is?" Icheb asked, unaware that Naomi hadn't meant him to hear. His Borg-enhanced hearing often let him hear things he hadn't meant to hear... often times to his despair.

"Uh- the... sun reflecting off the rain droplets on the window," Naomi quickly fibbed, hoping it was convincing enough. It really was a beautiful sight, but she had not been paying attention to the window. Icheb put his uniform back on and glanced at the window, running his hand through his now messy hair to get the water from bothering his eyes. Naomi caught the motion and clenched her jaw tightly to keep from outwardly reacting. The rain made his hair appear spiked while the water and reflection of the sun seemed to make his skin glisten beguilingly. 'Oh Lord, what is wrong with me?' She thought in distress, quickly looking way.

Icheb caught the movement and noticed at the last second that she had... been looking at him... intensely. He frowned in confusion but then something caught his attention. "Naomi? Are you alright? You seem a bit... or very flushed," Icheb asked, leaning in to inspect her better. It almost looked like...

Naomi jerked away and plastered on a smile. "I'm perfect, just a bit winded from the jog," she explained lamely, aware of the odd looks they were already receiving from people passing by them.

"That was not a long enough run for your features to be turning that shade of purple..." Icheb frowned in concern. He had remembered studying the backgrounds of each member of Voyager and recalled reading a bit on Ktarian reactions to intense stress or emotion. He had wanted to know about it when Naomi had reacted violently to a rather troubling and frightening situation on the ship. The reaction she was having was not from fatigue, it was emotional and he couldn't begin to understand who or what made her color that way. He looked around but didn't see anything unusual.

Naomi cursed her heritage for causing her trouble. "I'm fine," she dismissed. The last thing she wanted was for Icheb to know that she found him frighteningly attractive. Oh no... she really did find him that attractive! Were T'Chea and Hannah right? Could she possibly have a crush on Icheb of all people? "No," she said aloud, shaking her head. Finding her former tutor cute was one thing, Naomi could handle that, but suddenly finding him grown up and hot was an entirely different thing altogether! She wasn't stupid, she was well aware that they were both adults now, but at the moment it was too much to handle. If she continued to think that way about him, it would completely ruin the firm focus she was striving for as a Cadet.

"No?" Icheb was now truly confused.

'Oh right, I said that out loud,' Naomi groaned inwardly, feeling exasperated at her own reactions to him. "I mean, no I'm fine, really. Don't worry about it, please," she smiled again and tried to go on ahead to class quickly. The faster she got there, the sooner she could relax and clear her mind. Naomi should have known that Icheb would have senses something off, knew his senses were sharper than normal people.

That being case, Icheb was having none of it. "Hold on a moment! Why do I have difficulty believing you?" Icheb questioned her, surprised when she nearly jerked her arm out of his grip when he tried to stall her retreat. Why was he being so pushy? Naomi knew reacting that way was a bad idea, jerking away like that only added fuel to the fire, but she was starting to get frustrated with this situation. "Something is wrong!"

"Professor Hansen, we're going to be late for class. It won't be proper for the instructor to be late, now would it?" Naomi countered, hoping this would put an end to this conversation.

"...Agreed. But you're not 'off the hook' yet, Naomi Wildman. As your friend I feel it is my duty to make sure you are well." Before Naomi could respond, Icheb turned and walked off, not letting her continue to argue with him.

Naomi sighed, having figured he was still every bit as stubborn as she remembered him being. "What has myself gotten myself into?" she murmured to herself, referring to her natural physical state to... stimulating sights. Damn her and her stupid reactions to him. Damn him for being so... 'Ugh, this is ridiculous,' Naomi frowned to herself and trudged on, following him to class. Naomi settled in and ignored the questioning looks from her friends, shaking her head and focusing on the lesson. Or at least, trying to. Icheb was stubbornly avoiding looking at her. His determination was legendary and she knew if he really wanted to know something, he would find a way to figure it out. She sunk in her seat and sighed.

"You okay?" Kav'ain asked in concern.

"Yeah, just tired... it's been a long morning," she explained with a dismissive shrug. Morning, mornings, week so far really.

Naomi refused to believe her responses to Icheb were anything more than intrigue over the newly reforming friendship, disbelief that he would have changed so much, and surprise at odd 'events' that transpired between them. Naomi could admit he was very nice to look at and completely sweet, but that's as far as she could let her thoughts of him go, she had too much at stake to let her attraction to him distract her. Settling in, she resolved to focus on her studies.

The class went by without a hitch and Naomi was almost free from his interrogations when his voice halted her steps. "Naomi Wildman," he began, making sure to wait a little while the last few students ran out. "If... you're feeling up to it, tomorrow morning is another free morning," Icheb reminded her carefully.

Naomi turned and leveled him with a skeptical eye. Was he going to try to figure out 'what was wrong' with her? "...So long as you don't get pushy..." she told him warily.

Icheb smiled and placed his hands behind him. "I can't promise you anything. However, I did have a few concerns I neglected to ask you about this morning. I find it that speaking with someone personally is far more rewarding than over a machine, wouldn't you agree?"

Naomi sighed inwardly. Ah, so he knew her well enough already that she was going to suggest email. It wasn't like she was trying to avoid him, not at all, she enjoyed these morning meetings and was honestly looking forward to spending more time with him... as long as he wasn't being nosy and obstinate. "Yes... I agree," Naomi smiled then. She really did like being around him, always had, and really couldn't say no to him. "I'll see you tomorrow then," she waved fleetingly and ran off.

That night, Naomi tossed in bed once again, having a reflection very similar to what Icheb had the previous night, that maybe it was time to stop thinking about him as her dorky tutor, and start thinking of him as a man with all his faculties in order, and her instructor at the academy. She couldn't afford to lose her head over him, her plans and dreams were far too big to let ...whatever it was going on, get in the way. She was going to be a Captain one day. Naomi didn't know if she would be Voyager's new Captain, but it didn't stop her dream of working on the bridge.

Meanwhile, Icheb read over his plans for the class and worked on his assignment he would give everyone at the end of the week. However, his concern for his friend, and for his own impulsive actions around her, how he seemed to slack in logical practicality around her, was distracting him from his work. Since when did he let some girl distract him? Especially old little friends. Icheb sighed, knowing that wasn't true at all. She wasn't just some girl and certainly not little.

Rubbing his hand over his head, Icheb couldn't get her violent reaction from earlier out of his mind. Ktarians only turned a shade of purple around their ridges or directly on their horns when they were in an extreme emotional state. Anything from anger, fear, or pleasure, could set it off potentially, but it had to be a strong enough feeling. Icheb wasn't sure if it worked the same way for half Ktarians, but from his experiences in the past and the occurrence earlier it suggested that she obviously had the same physiological trait. Naomi had not turned exactly purple, but a deep enough red on her cheeks and over her horns to make it noteworthy.

What could have set off such an emotional response? She hadn't been angry at the time, or afraid. He had heard her heart beating a bit quick from their little run, but not enough for the excuse she gave. So what was it? And why was he suddenly so obsessed with it? Setting his PADD aside, Icheb leaned back in his seat and thought back. They had been laughing and having a good time, he hadn't detected anything that could have suddenly caused her to 'freak out'. She had responded that way when he had removed the outer layer of his wet...

Oh.

Icheb felt himself blush, feeling stupid for not realizing it sooner. He wasn't as dense as people thought, he knew what would happen if you got a white piece of clothing wet, and was aware of his physical improvements since he was an adolescent. He knew lot of women found him attractive, had noticed them noticing him very often since his arrival to Earth, even when he had been skin and bones. But...from Naomi? No, surely she hadn't found him... but then, she had been staring at him. Naomi had never shown signs that she had felt anything more than sisterly affection toward him before, at least, not that he could recall.

To reiterate, at least to himself, he wasn't quite as ignorant or naïve as he had been in the past, having had a few tentative relationships since his time in the Alpha Quadrant to boot.

The only way to be sure, however, was to get the information directly from her own delicate lips. Icheb flushed again, blinking away images of the foam from her coffee that morning lingering on her soft lips, before she swept it away with her tongue. It had been a lapse in his concentration and a fleeting glance, eternally grateful to the heavens that she hadn't noticed.

Icheb pushed his work away, clearly not in the state of mind to be reviewing them at the moment. Why could he not banish her from his thoughts? He hadn't thought of her this way before... then again, back then they had both been children. Unfortunately, their circumstances were very different now. Not that he could do anything about it as an instructor. He ran his hand through his hair and tried to force the pleasant memory of feeling her against him during their tour away, but his mind was being cruel to him.

Perhaps a good nights rest would help clear his thoughts.

He hoped.

TBC...

End A/N: I planned this chapter to go differently, but I accidentally lost the outline I wrote for it so I had to start over. It's not so bad I think, let me know what you thought!

Shout Outs

Star Jelly: Thank you for noticing that! One of the main things I tried to improve on is Icheb's point of view during it all. He's still a little dense, not having had the normal puberty phases people had since being in a maturation chamber, but still able to understand things much more than before and not be blind to beautiful (people) things. I'm glad my improvements show, I'm very excited about how I'm molding the story and eagerly await your reaction to what else I've improved.

QOP: Patience my friend, patience! It's much too soon for that. They've barely just found each other again!