Drunken Error of Judgement

Posted on Tue Oct 29th, 2024 @ 9:38am by Lieutenant Commander Jason Frankley & Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami

1,200 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well

Adrianna looked up from her data pad, the quiet of her quarters shattered by a hard knock on the door. She frowned, wondering who’d be so insistent at this hour. “Come in,” she called, setting the pad aside as the doors slid open.

Jason staggered into her room, his uniform jacket undone, his hair disheveled, and his eyes clouded with something darker than exhaustion. She immediately smelled the faint, sharp scent of alcohol following him.

“Jason?” Her voice was soft, cautious. She’d never seen him like this, “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer immediately, just stared at her, eyes flashing with anger and hurt. "Why him, Adrianna?" His voice was rough, his gaze unsteady, “Tell me! Why the hell him?”

“Merde,” Her stomach tightened. She rose to her feet, steady and calm, the way she’d learned to be under pressure. "Jason, I don't think we should have this conversation now. You're drunk. You should leave."

“Too late.” He took a step toward her, unsteady but unrelenting. “I love you. And I waited. I told myself you just needed time, that eventually you’d see that I am the one you should be with… but no. The second he shows up, it’s like I’m nothing. Nothing!”

“Jason, that’s not true. I just... I needed to figure out—”

“Figure out what? Whether he’s worth your loyalty and love?” His voice sharpened, bitterness surfacing like a wound he’d been hiding for too long. “He's a gawddamn criminal!”

He groaned in frustration, “You never lied to me, Ade– you never had to; you never hid who you were from me. And yet, you still pine for him. A man who doesn’t even know the real you!”

Her cheeks flushed with anger. “That’s not fair—”

“Isn’t it?” He surged forward, reaching for her. “Maybe I deserve a little unfairness. I deserve you, Adrianna. Gawd knows that I have been patient with you and understanding of how this could mess with your head, but it's time to come back to reality. You are mine now and you are not on a mission where you need to fake your affections with someone.”

She could feel his breath, hot with alcohol, as he leaned in close, his hand tilting her chin. But she wrenched herself away, heart pounding in her chest, feeling the ache and tension as he leaned in again.

“Stop it,” she coldly, but calmly demanded, but he ignored her, his mouth finding hers in a desperate, heated attempt to bridge the gap that Vance’s return had cracked wide open.

Adrianna’s breath hitched as Jason’s eyes darkened, his frustration flashing like a tempest. He could feel her resisting him and denying him. Without warning, he took another step forward, closing the space between them in an instant. Before she could back away, his hands gripped her shoulders, pressing her against the wall of her quarters.

“Jason,” she protested, her voice a tense whisper. But he didn’t let her finish.

“You keep saying you need time,” he muttered, voice low and rough. “But every time I try to give you that, you run right back to him and tear us further apart. What are you waiting for? It is time for you to move on and be happy. I can give you that– I can give you a happy, not complicated, honest life, dammit!” His gaze roamed over her face, searching her eyes as if trying to find something she wouldn’t tell him.

She could feel his heartbeat against her own, the raw energy of his anger and longing washing over her. It was as if he was daring her to deny it, to deny him. But there was something else, something desperate underneath the anger that softened her resolve—until he leaned in, his lips a breath away from hers.

Without waiting for her permission, Jason kissed her, fierce and unyielding. It wasn’t the tender, patient affection he’d shown before. This kiss was a claim, an assertion of everything he’d held back in the hope she’d choose him without hesitation.

But the moment their lips met, something flared inside her—a mix of anger, confusion, and guilt. She shoved him back, but he held her fast against the wall, refusing to let go, his frustration coming through in his grip.

“Jason, stop!” She struggled against him, but he only tightened his hold.

“You owe me this much, Ade,” he growled, “I’ve been here. I’ve loved you without question, without ever needing you to be anything but who you are. Vance never even knew the real you. He fell for a cover story. He's a fantasy, a target and you are still stuck trying to shake off your mission. And still, after everything, you can’t see that I’m the one who’s earned this.”

At those words, a fierce, indignant rage surged through her, her hand flying up before she could stop herself. Her palm met his cheek in a sharp crack that echoed through the room.

He released her immediately, the force of the slap breaking the tension as he staggered back, shock rippling across his face and making his teeth chatter a little, forcing him to turn his head away from her. His hand went to his cheek, his expression raw with betrayal.

“Madonna! How dare you,” her words dripped from her mouth like poison, her body still pressed against the wall, every muscle tense, punctuating the raw nerve he had hit, “I never asked you to wait for me, Jason– I asked for space whilst I got my head straight. My head was getting to the right place and I thought I was ready. I am sorry that our date ended poorly, but it wasn't from me not trying. Either way– you don’t get to earn me– I am not a pay cheque that rewards you for being patient.”

For a moment, his anger flared again, but then it flickered out, replaced by something hollow and resigned. He looked at her, chest heaving as the reality of her words set in. “Guess you’ve made up your mind,” he said, his voice raw and quiet now, his anger burned out and replaced by the look of a man who had already lost.

“This is not a conversation we should have when you have been drinking,” she coldly replied, “the man in front of me is far from the man I was falling for. I was trying. Desperately so. Get out of my quarters or I will escort you to the brig myself, Frankley.” Adrianna could see the heartbreak in him. She knew this was the drink talking and so would not hold it too much against him.

“You were falling for me?” Jason looked at her, surprised.

“Get out. Sober up, lieutenant,” she commanded his focus.

There was something sobering about not only being hit, but being called by rank. A guilt overwhelmed him as he keeps his distance, but took a breath, his voice calmer and more sincere, “Ade, I'm sorry, I didn't think—”

“Out!”

 

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