Part IV - Family Affair

Posted on Thu Nov 21st, 2024 @ 5:29pm by Lieutenant JG Zai & Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami

1,260 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well
Location: Over Communications
Timeline: Just Before Entering Dead Zone

ON:

"I tried, I couldn't find her...I couldn't find the body. The water was so deep. There was blood but..." He sobbed. "Just a few seconds. If he'd been faster it would have been me. I keep asking why wasn't it me." He held on to Adrianna.

"I'm biased," she replied, "I'm glad that you survived." She kissed the top of his head again. Because of what happened, a new law was made though. Operatives no longer were allowed to use 'love' as a way in-- especially in assassination attempts, unless approved by an admiral. It's why I was about to be extracted."

He held onto her. "I've never let myself grieve for her. Not until now." He sighed. "Part of me...never could. Part of me hoped that she'd somehow survived." He shrugged. "Stupid huh?"

"No more stupid that me thinking that about you," she murmured into the top of his head. Adrianna took a breath, "I'm here now, so you can grieve as you need to. I won't judge you, you know that. I'll help however I can."

He sighed. "Let's get that tattoo covered up." He paused. "In terms of Tattoo artists I'm not that good. If you want a good one Zai is your boy. He's one of the best."

"My tattoos are for my eyes only and for those that I allow to see them," she replied, "that means you. There are not many people that know about them or have seen them. You are one of the few. Equally, us Baciami's-- we're superstitious about our tallies. The less people who know how many there are, the better. Moreover, the less people who know what they are counting, the better."

She paused and looked around, thinking about where best to lie down for him, "where do you want me?"

He looked at her. "Loaded question. Loaded." He grinned shaking his head.

She blushed and giggled having not realised just how bad it had sounded, "sofa too low for you, or I can lie on the dining table?"

"Sofa's fine." He sighed. "So we're doing what? More tallies?"

She stood up and took her jumper off, leaving her in just a vest. She rolled up her vest and pulled her leggings down a little just off her hips before lying back down. "No, so, I got one removed, the red one needs turning black since you are most definitely not dead. That makes all my tallies right then-- seven black, no colour ones." She ran her fingers over where the original eighth had been, it now barely looking like a shadow.

"That, even a meat head like me, can do." He grinned. He set to the task. Adri had all the tools. It had been ages since he'd tattooed but he managed to keep it clean and uniform. The red faded and the tallies looked complete. He cleaned the area and put a clear protector over it so that it would not get infected. "Well that's that." His eyes were drawn to something peaking out from her vest that would be around the rib cage.

"Adri what's that?"

Adrianna only flinched a little, but it was amusing to her how it hurt more to have a tattoo removed than to have it put there to begin with. She followed his gaze and sighed, "the night I found out that you had died, I got the red tally and also a tattoo in your memory." She rolled up her vest a little more, just shy of her bust to show him. There it was, the words in a beautiful script 'Flotta Stellare alle Anime Gemelle' with his initials shadowing through it. "It means Starfleet to Soulmates."

He traced the tattoo with his fingers just whisper of a touch. Smiling he bent down placing a kiss on the words. "I have one of you too, got just before the incident."

Her skin flooded with goosebumps under his lips. Adrianna closed her eyes for a brief moment letting out a breath that she hadn't realised she had been holding. Her heart pounded out of her chest but she tried to focus. Opening her eyes, she looked over at him, "one of me?"

He smiled. "Yeah." He held up his wrist, the cuff no longer there. "You know about cupid and his story, and it's real before you ask. All true what I told your mother." Vance stood and removed his shirt showing her his back. There on the right back shoulder was a picture that looked as if it was real holo image. A vibrant image in full colour of Vance and a girl who looked like him with wild purple hair. Their eyes and faces leapt off the page giving it a 3D effect. "That's one of Zai's tattoos Me and Ari."

Adrianna couldn't help but blush. She had been about to question whether his story was real or if he was merely feeding her mother's hunger for a romantic story, "you said you had that done just after you met me though."

Her eyes watched as he removed his shirt, her words fading to silence as her mind wandered a little. She'd seen his shirtless a lot when back on the Pendragon, but it had been a long time. She'd forgotten just how muscular he was. She cleared her throat, regaining composure. Sitting up on her elbows and reaching out to him, she ran her fingers over the tattoo, "gawd, it looks so real. Unfortunately, I only have the two sets of tattoos and have no intention of becoming a walking sketch book like you." She smiled and chuckled softly.

He laughed as he turned around and there right above his heart was a full picture, a candid image he'd taken of Adrianna on Risa. She was sitting on the beach backlit by the setting sun. Again the vibrant colours seemed to highlight her. Her head was thrown back and she was laughing and carefree. It had been a moment that he'd captured and had Zai recreate. The background was vibrant yet muted and she stood out every strong against it every detail there. The only thing he'd had Zai add was his favorite shirt rather then the one she'd had on back there.

She stared at her portrait, a mixture of emotions sitting with her. She remembered the photo, in fact-- she remembered telling him to put the camera away and to let her sunbathe in peace. Wearing his shirt though, that was different. It reminded her that her bet with him had been underwritten by ulterior motives for her assignment. Still, she'd worn that shirt around just to tease him-- his favourite shirt so near yet so far from his grasp.

She reached out and ran her fingers softly over the tattoo, in awe of how realistic it was, tracing around her drawn face. Adrianna paused in moving her fingers, her eyes flicking up at his, "your heart is pounding out of your chest. Am I making you nervous?"

"You always make me nervous in the best way." He closed his eyes. "Is it horrible that I know I should leave but I want to kiss you?"

"Merde-- is it worse that I was hoping you'd say something like that?" She asked, retracting her fingers and laying back down, but keeping her eyes on him.

"Oh yea, we're going to hell." He grinned and sighed. "So can I kiss you?"

"I am your future wife, amore mio."


To Be Continued...

 

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