Three Kittens, a Man, and a Painting

[Daena 0]

After a short nap in the security office, Daena finds herself entering her quarters. She had left Tom undisturbed on the office's couch. As the Mithraan entered quietly in her room, she could see that both kittens, Cozy and Fluffy, were also in the middle of their nap. The black and white puffballs lay at one end of the sofa, their tails flicking back and forth on occasion. Quietly moving by to not wake them, Daena slowly slipped out of her uniform. She placed it neatly in a spot in the closet and selected something loose and casual to wear, a light blue nightie.

 

Tom had enjoyed the brief nap, but had never been much of a heavy sleeper. A few minutes after Daena left, Tom noticed the empty spot on the couch. "Computer, what time is it?" The computer replied with 2050 hours. "I've still got a little bit of time left on my shift", he thought to himself. Tom decided to work on a brief report on what had now become known as the infamous "lint incident".

 

After getting a small cup of tea, Daena turned to see two sets of eyes looking at her, their tails lashing happily. The Mithraan returned the lash and took a seat on the couch only to be leapt upon by the two kittens. Taking a sip of tea, she sat the cup down and began petting the two. Her maroon eyes gazed around the room, eventually stopping at the easel in the corner. A canvas set upon it, uncompleted. Daena frowned slightly, she hadn't had the time, nor was she in the right mood to finish.

 

With the log promptly sent away to the appropriate crew members, Tom left the security office and thought about how much he enjoyed the brief time that Daena and he had earlier, thinking about how little time they had for each other over the last few weeks. He quickly checked to make sure that she didn't sneak off and return back to the science lab, and found that she had returned back to her quarters. He walked casually to the turbolift and was whisked away to her deck. When he got there, he rang the bell, not yet feeling completely comfortable just letting himself in just yet.

 

At the sound of the chime, both kittens hopped up from Daena's lap and ran to the door. A little bad habit they were beginning to pick up. The Mithraan's ears perked at the chime as she turned to the door. "Come in," she said calmly with a little curiosity.

 

When the door opened, Tom barely had enough time to catch a glimpse of the lovely Mithraan before he was greeted by two little kittens at his feet. "Hello there," he cheerfully said to the little kittens. He continued into the quarters, and when the door closed behind him, he was finally able to focus his attention on Daena. "Hi there," he said with a smile, "I wanted to come by and spend some quality time together, without being totally drained."

 

"Hi," she said with a smile. "I didn't want to wake you." Both of the kittens, who seemed like they hadn't seen Tom in forever, were both rubbing as hard as they could along his pants leg. They struggled with each other to get the most attention.

 

"That's quite alright. I probably should have finished up my duties before nodding off, but it certainly was refreshing." Tom carefully walked towards Daena, taking care not to step on the little ones. When he reached her, he picked up Cozy and placed her on the couch, before picking up Fluffy and doing the same. He sat down next to her, and was not sure what to say. He was just happy to be there with her. "So, you were able to successfully stop those little buggers were you?" He said with some hesitation.

 

The Mithraan quietly nodded, but before she could speak, Cozy stuck her face up in Tom's. Daena laughed before she gently grabbed both kittens, taking them to the other room. They were interrupting quality time. After returning, the science chief sat back down, much closer to Tom. "I am glad we were able to remove the nanites."

 

As she took them to the other room, Tom caught himself staring at her, thinking about how fantastic she looked, and how it seemed to be so natural. He snapped out of it just before she returned. "Me too. As much fun as it is to target practice on the bulkheads, it was not my idea of a good time." He hesitated for a moment before continuing on, "I was wondering, are you feeling up to par? Lately you have been distracted or something whenever I see you."

 

"No...I am fine. Just busy..." Her ears drooped slightly, looking away briefly.

 

Tom placed his arm around her, pulling her close. "I'm thinking that its more than just work, things around you have been falling to the wayside. I haven't seen a new painting from you in a while." He looked over to the corner, and took note of the darker colors being used, for what little had been painted. "And the one that you have on the go doesn't have the same cheery feeling that the others do..." He rested his head on hers, giving her another little squeeze.

 

The image on the canvas appeared to be of a man, part of him surrounded in darkness. Though the image is unfinished, it was probably clear who it represented. Daena turned his head gently away from the corner. "Please do not look..." she said, a bit of fear and worry crossing her expression. Then her gaze fell downward as she pressed her forehead onto his chest.

 

"Is this about that thing from Aether?" He tried to mention it as gently as possible. He knew a while ago that it was a sensitive topic that they had been avoiding.

 

Daena remained quiet, but Tom could feel it as she nodded yes.

 

Tom made special note not to hold her too tightly on her shoulders, and slipped his hand down to her upper arm. "It's ok to talk about it. I would like it if we could discuss it, but if that would be too hard on you, talking with anyone else would be ok too! As long as you talked it out. It is much better than keeping it inside."

 

"I do not know what to say..." Daena finally said as she broke her silence. She looked up at him with her maroon eyes, which were slightly watered.

 

He thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons mentally, before leaning in and giving her a very loving kiss, pulling away slightly just far enough to see her eyes again. "That's alright. Just remember that he is gone now, and that I would never do anything to hurt you."

 

The Mithraan finally smiled after the kiss. It had been a while since they had kissed like that, and it felt very reassuring. "I know," she said as she rested her head back on him.

 

Her smile is what attracted him in the first place, and he enjoyed watching her just be happy. "Is there anything else I can do to help?" He paused for a moment, "Or would you rather just talk to Sam about it for now?"

 

"I shall talk to him later," she replied. A slight purr began resonating through her body as she stayed close to his.

 

Tom pulled away slightly with a sly smile, "Oh, I was talking about Ms. Kent!" He was only kidding, but was hoping to get another smile out of her.

 

Which he did. She leaned up and kissed him once more, her purr increased as her tail lashed about.

 

Tom stood up, and took Daena by the hand, walking her towards the kittens, "Well, if you are ok with talking to Sam about that part to maybe help, then maybe we should get a good night's sleep, on something other than a couch." He held her close as they got to her bed. Daena sat down, curling up under the sheets as Tom got changed in the next room before joining her. They fell asleep holding each other close.

Edited May 9, 2009 by Daena