Posted by Lieutenant Lily Locksley (Chief Medical Officer) in Lily in the Sky with Diamonds

Posted by Lieutenant Duncan Rhodes (Chief Science Officer) in Lily in the Sky with Diamonds

Snip

Duncan hardly needed to think before he answered. “Lily can talk a mans ear off for an hour and at the end, there has been no actual conversation between us but I’ve learned everything she has spoken to everyone else about and who said what to who and who is doing what where.” Duncan laughed and bit the cookie again, sitting back a bit lower in the chair and audibly talking slower now as the moonshine and cookie sugar relaxed him.

“I love her to pieces, but man can she talk. I have to pick my moments to throw a grunt in or a yep to let her know I’m still awake and listening. My sister is the same of course, probably why they get on so well!”

Lily’s dad let out a large laugh. “It’s funny how the women you love reduce you to that. When you first meet them you are so enamored with them you can barely speak. When you get to know they can make you so mad you can barely speak. When you are really getting to know them in the middle of the night they reduce you to that. When you are as old as me and cant remember a time without them you just don’t get a chance to speak. They always call us cavemen but on some level they do that to us. Its really an unfair analogy,” he nodded again imparting a useless but to him valuable life lesson.

Pushing himself to his feet, Duncan felt amazingly relaxed and lightheaded. “Wow, that moonshine really works,” he smiled, then picked up two more cookies. “One for me and one for Lily,” he said, almost slurring his words. “They got those berries she loves, I should head back and get some sleep, see if she’s finished with Megan and her robot yet. Night Mr Locksley,” Duncan tipped an imaginary hat to her dad.

Walking into the house again, Duncan put his hand out against the wall to steady himself as he walked. “Holy cow, that drink is strong,” he muttered and eventually, despite a wrong turn or two made it to the door. Turning the handle he opened the door and stepped inside the bedroom. “Love, you still awake?” He whispered it in case she was asleep, but it was a loud whisper. “I have cookies, you gotta try these.”

-Duncan

Lily put down the book she was reading and looked at Duncan wide eyed. “You ate the cookie? How many?” Watching him standing in the doorway with his lopsided grin and bearing the gift of cookies, she got a wide smile on her face. “You ate a lot of cookies.”

“I did not,” Duncan whispered loudly to her. “I only ate three!” He held up four fingers to show her he knew exactly what he was saying and that he was in full control.

Throwing back the covers, she dropped her feet over the edge and walked slowly up to him. It was rare to see Duncan in this state. He was always in control. Tonight not so much. Wrapping her arm around his waist she looked up at him with a smile. “How you feelin’ handsome?”

Lily Locksley

“I’m feeling good, baby.” Duncan smiled back down at her and placed his arms over her shoulders. She was much shorter than him, so the stance was natural. “Your dad gave me moonshine and your mom makes really, really good cookies, how come you never made any of these?”

“Because the berries only grow here and they taste weird if you don’t put them into stasis,” she admitted with a half chuckle. There had been many times she had thought Duncan needed a cookie but without the ability to give him one, she had found other ways to make him relax when needed.

Duncan laughed and held one in front of her lips. “I brought you one, just one though, the other one is mine. How are you feeling baby, has my sister gone? I don’t want her listening when I describe what I want to do to you later.” Now Duncan smirked but it was lopsided and clumsy.

Duncan Rhodes, CSO

“Thank you,” she took one and then the other. “Two hands, two cookies,” Lily replied as if it were a fact of the universe.

“Hayyyyyyy,” Duncan’s words came out with a slow, lazy drawl. “That one was my cookie,” He went to reach for it, but before he could take it back she had moved them out of his reach. Instead, his arms came to rest over her shoulders.

Tossing them onto the dresser next to her, Lily shifted position so that she was in front of Duncan with her arms wrapped around his waist. Looking up she smiled at him. “I can think of two things your hands could be holding,” she bit her lip and raked her teeth over it. Slowly taking a step back she led Duncan towards the bed. It was a more waddle than stroll but Duncan was not as steady on his feet as normal.

“Oh yeah?” Duncan now gave his full attention to Lily, cookies forgotten and a stupid, wide smile on his face that he completely thought was seductive. He followed her, arms over her shoulders and his head down and close to hers, but the height difference made his unsteady walk more pronounced as he couldn’t see where he was going and had no care. “I can think of more than two, like this,” His hands slid down to her shoulders and were going to slide further, but Duncan attempted to mimic the way she bit her lip. Only, Duncan’s bite on his own lip was harder than he intended. “Ow, crap that hurt,” he pulled his head back slightly and began to giggle. Duncan never giggled.

“How do you do this,” she laughed putting her head on his chest as they moved. “It usually is far easier on my end than it is right now,” she teased, “however I am liking you this way. Pliable, passive…maybe you should get out of control a little more.”

Lily Locksley CMO

“But you like me in control Lil,” Duncan grinned at her. “And I am, see!” He did nothing to make her see he was in control, just looked at her. He clearly thought he was making some kind of serious face, but neither of his eyes wanted to provide that intense stare that he was well known for. Instead, they looked at her with a far-too-relaxed gaze that Lily would be very familiar with from her hometown.

“You are a beacon of control and authority,” she rose on her toes up to plant a soft kiss on his lips.

“Yes I am.” Duncan said slowly and deliberately, and swayed slightly as he returned the soft kiss she gave him.

“I would follow you anywhere.” The truth was Duncan Rhodes was not the the first person in her life she had followed. Since she was sixteen, Lily followed everyone everywhere: Small moons, busy cities, remote planets, and well known-core worlds. The difference is she only followed them to the destination. Duncan was different. She didn’t follow him to the Outpost but since then she had followed him wherever he led. Duncan was stable ground. Duncan was not going to wake up one morning and decide sheep herding on Perskie V was a good plan or weaving hats on Risa would sustain them. He had a far more traditional plan. Join the Federation, save the universe, and along the way make a few scientific discoveries. It was as good a plan as any. He balanced Lily except for tonight. Tonight she was literally balancing him.

“Totally in control,” he replied and nodded. “Damn, that moonshine was good. Have you tried it? It made me so relaxed.”

“Yes we are literally weaned on the stuff,” she let out a laugh. “Makes you all relaxed and giggly.” A crease furrowed her brow as she bit her lip in a completely non-romantic way. “Which one did you drink. The blue tinged one,” she cast a glance up and noticed how dilated his pupils were. “Oh god you were drinking the blueshine,” she let out a breathy snort. “That explains why you are so relaxed.

“Relaxed, yes, but not tooh relaxed. Still in control. I only had one glass.” Determined to show Lily how in control he was, he let his arms slide down her body, one going behind her legs, and he picked her up in the classic groom carrying the bride style. It was only a few steps to the bed now, Lily had managed to guide them both towards it without incident.

Duncan Rhodes, CSO

“Baby if you were drinking with my father you had way more than one. He has top it off syndrome. It is completely incurable and highly con…ta....gious,” she let out a small happy yelp as Duncan dropped her on the bed. She moved back as he began to strip off his shirt. “You are in such a better mood,” she moved to the top of the bed and propped herself up on the headboard.

“Yes I am,” Duncan repeated the earlier statement he had made, and grinned as he tried to remove his shirt again. It took a moment, it got caught his the elbows as he tried to take it off and that resulted in an awkward shuffle of his shoulders and a quick tug so that one arm came free. He let the shirt drop to the ground and then turned to face Lily. “Okay, now that’s done, maybe we try this again.” He laughed and rolled his shoulders and arms as if he was getting ready for a weight lifting session. He wasn’t a heavily built and muscle bound man like those who worked Security, but he was fit and toned enough so that each muscle group was clearly defined.

“Come here,” she bent her finger and wiggled it so that it would lead Duncan forward. “Let me show you a game I played here as a teenager. It is a variation of hide and seek.” Her tone was slow and sultry No matter how stoned or drunk Duncan was on the tartaberry cookies and shine, he was definitely going to like playing this game.

Lily Locksley CMO

“Yes ma’am,” he answered and leaned forward onto the bed, one knee missing the edge entirely as he made to move on all fours towards her. A slight pause, another try and he was on the bed and moving forwards towards Lily. “Whatever you say.” When Lily’s voice took on that tone, it always made Duncan pay attention no matter where he was. It was harder when he was on duty, and she knew that. Now of course, he wasn’t anywhere near duty and she had his full attention, all of it.

Reaching her, he moved so that his body straddled hers and his face was mere inches from Lily’s. “So tell me about this game,” he looked her in the eyes and smiled slowly. “What are the rules you played by when you played here as a teenager? I bet I can beat the high score.”

Duncan Rhodes, CSO