Parity

[Charlotte Matsumura 0]

Parity*

LTJG Charlotte Matsumura

CDR Malcolm Alexander/LT Adam Pierson

*Immediately follows on "Transformation"

 

 

 

Charlotte Matsumura stepped quickly out of medical, rushing to catch up to the man now known as Adam Pierson. Walking silently, they fell into step as they made their way to the lift. The doors parted and Pierson paused. "After you, Lieutenant," he said. There was no trace of the Welsh-Old Etonian posh that had once been so welcoming.

 

"Thanks," Lottie replied. She stepped past him into the lift, taking position toward the back.

 

Adam nodded. Offering a smile, he stepped into the pod. "No problem. Ladies always first," he said. Then, to the computer, he added, "Deck 14."

 

The doors to the lift closed and the mechanism went into motion. Almost immediately, Charlotte called the lift to halt. "I know I'm supposed to be a professional, and this shouldn't bother me, but you – we –" She stopped, grimacing and forcing herself to slow down. "We're friends. We've been friends for a very long time. But now things have been said, things have been done that push well beyond that, and I –"

 

"Lottie – love," Mal began, stepping closer. He allowed his voice to drop into the familiar tone, hands coming to rest on her shoulders, locking eyes with her. There, he could read the concern she sought to voice. "You are a professional. But you know that, in this job, we make friends, and when things get hairy around them, we – well, we can have trouble sorting it all out.

 

"We don't shut that part of ourselves off. We just…postpone things a bit."

 

Charlotte nodded. "So much easier in theory than practice." Her eyes traced the unfamiliar features and she frowned. "All the flirting, the banter, the by-play – is it you? Or is it just part of Adam Pierson? Do I trust the way it – the way it makes me feel, or do I just go along with the ruse?"

 

Mal-as-Adam sighed. "Human or Romulan; Gaius or Adam – it's all still me," he replied. He hesitated, struggling with his next words. Charlotte knew as well as he did, that now was not opportune, but she had a point: They had yet to discuss what had happened between them, and the continual stage production made it impossible to figure where she stood. She – the younger, less-experienced of the two – had laid herself metaphorically bare before him, a man (and superior officer) almost twice her age. He'd read her psych profile, been a friend most of her life; he knew that emotional relationships were not her strong suit. That would ease with time, but for now, he had to find a way to balance the scales.

 

In his heart, he knew what he needed to say. But in a turbolift, buried under a bevy of prosthetics, and in the midst of what could easily become an interstellar incident, this was not the time to say it.

 

"No matter what I look like – what's on the outside," he continued slowly, "I can't change how I feel about you. This isn't a ruse or a fling; there's a lot more going on here" – he placed his hand over his chest – "that we can afford to deal with right now. Do you understand what I'm saying – what I'm trying to say?"

 

Letting loose a breath she didn't know she was holding, Charlotte stepped forward, hands at his waist. Her voice was thick when she finally spoke. "I understand." She swallowed. "I-I'm sorry to ask."

 

"No, love; you have every right," Mal answered. He leaned forward, kissing her forehead, and allowing his lips to linger a moment. "We just need to work on our timing."

 

"Right." She laughed, the sound tight and forced, more a result of tension than amusement. Patting his sides, she stepped back out of reach. She resumed her position at the back of the pod. "Resume."

 

The computer chirped, and the pod continued its descent. Mal glanced back at her, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Does that mean I have to stop flirting with you?" he asked as the doors parted.

 

Expression mirroring his, Charlotte stepped past him into the corridor. "Not on your life."

 

Adam Pierson was still smirking as he stepped off the lift behind her.

***