SD241808.13 | JL | Com Ivanova, Cmdr Dahe'el | "Breaking From Madness"

Posted on Sat Feb 18th, 2023 @ 7:42pm by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Commander Almar Dahe'el

2,333 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Lacuna
Timeline: BACKLOG

Sickbay had been a relatively quick trip and the good Doctor hadn't asked too many questions when Almar had told him that he'd been kicked in the chin while training with Rochelle in the holodeck - although he did catch the smirk of the man out of time and he knew exactly what kind of thought was running through his head. Craig was one of the very small number of people on the ship who had more knowledge than most about what was going on between Rochelle and Almar. Once he'd been healed up and released, the Cardassian made his way back up to deck one and to the Captain's quarters. He wasn't due on shift for another 8 hours and he could do with a bit of rest after the events of the day. To his practiced stride it was a short journey and he strode through the door without requesting permission - one of the only people who'd consider entering when not invited.

Still gritty from their fight, and a tiny bit sloshed from her beerside chit chat with Ra'lin, Rochelle paused at the sound of the door opening catching her attention. Stopping her mid-stride from living room to kitchen, she canted her head to watch him appear. It hadn't been that she thought the worst of their little skirmish, but the guilt of blooding him had started to gnaw deeply at the pit of her gut - something she hadn't realized the depths and magnitude of until she actually saw him... And released the breath she'd held since first hearing the door. It came out as a short, breathy laugh complete with a smile and the shake of her head. "What's the verdict?" She asked, resting her hands on her hips, "He tell you not to play with fire?"

"Doc didn't tell me anything of the sort, I think he knows it wouldn't help much," the Cardassian replied with a bright smile as he stepped inside and moved straight to the couch to settle himself down. He sank into the seat and lay back with both arms over the back, "He did say to avoid getting hit in the chin for a while to allow it to heal properly, there's no fracture but it's heavily bruised, he repaired some but thought it best to let the rest heal naturally."

"I didn't think it would actually connect..." She replied, folding her hands sheepishly in front of herself, "I thought maybe I'd get lucky and knock the wind out of you, but your face?" Her head shook. Approaching him, she couldn't help but stand before him and reach to inspect the injury. The blood was gone, the worst of the bruising was gone - but it was still very obvious that he'd sustained a rather nasty blow to a very delicate area of the body.

"Hows your head feeling?" Almar replied as he reached for her arm and pulled her down to sit in his lap, his arm wrapped around her waist and a heavy hand lay on her thigh, "I pulled the punch but it was far too late to stop it from connecting and I've got much bigger hands than you."

"Still a little fuzzy, but I didn't make it this far in life without having a hard head." The redhead joked, allowing him to tug her down into his lap. She was quick to lean sideways, resting against his chest - allowing herself to relax and shut down most everything aside from the gnawing guilt. He'd asked for it, practically by name, but the compelling urge to apologize bubbled up none the less as she stroked his jaw with tender fingers, "I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about you and for what it's worth... I'm sorry, Almar."

Cradling her against his chest, the world felt right for the Cardassian and he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. His braid hung over the opposite shoulder and swung whenever he moved his head, "No apologies needed, no matter how much you feel like you need to, we both took some hits, we both landed some hits, we're both adults and we know what fights can lead to."

"This is true, but we shouldn't have gone for blood and I shouldn't have let pride get in the way of being safe." She retorted, "I could have seriously hurt you."

"Could have, didn't." Almar replied as he rested his head back over the back of the couch and smiled to himself, "Doc said it was close to being fractured, nearly dislocated but the damage will heal, nothing dented, not even my pride, I always expected you to be dangerous, I've seen what happens when you need to fight." he added as he pulled his head back up again.

"And that's not seriously being hurt?" A scoff tore through her chest and the little spark of a woman pressed back to stare at her lover incredulously, an eyebrow cresting high, "And for the record... It wasn't a need. It was a want." She tutted, reaching to tap the tip of his nose with the pad of an index finger, "It came to memory that we'd never been on opposing sides. I wanted to know what it felt like."

"It's something I'd rather not experience again," the Cardassian admitted with a matching chuckle as he teased the end of his braid with his free hand, "I get the feeling that if you wanted to you could have done much, much more damage to me than a bruised chin, I left myself wide open in my stance and you held back on taking that particular shot, for which I am eternally grateful."

"And I get the feeling that if you hadn't pulled that last punch I probably wouldn't be having this conversation with you." She admitted on a huffy sigh, shaking her head. Was she concussed? Maybe just a touch, but nothing that was life threatening or delivering of more than just a headache. Not even a migraine. Just a nagging reminder that she'd gotten into a brawl with a rather large Cardassian - one that could have put her down hard had he decided to teach her a lesson. The fact he hadn't was a blessing and a curse all wrapped in one.

"Well, if it were anyone else then I think you'd be right," Almar replied as he placed a soft kiss on her temple and smoothed her hair back across her ear with a gentle touch, "Otherwise I'd suggest we're both getting a bit toothless in our old age."

A huff of a scoff punctuated such a thought. Rochelle was rusty, no doubt, command had left her with few opportunities and even fewer reasons to engage in sparring rounds, let alone all out hand to hand combat. Their little skirmish had proven a rather large point; she needed to make the time necessary to hone her craft to the sharpened point it had once been... The sharpened point that would have never given him a chance to land that blow, pulled or not. "Speak for yourself." She finally retorted, sorely tempted to flick him in the nose - but one look at that bruise reminded her that she'd inflicted enough damage for the day. Maybe she was becoming toothless in her 'old age'.

His hand continued to rub at her thigh gently and the Cardassian found himself resting his damaged chin on her shoulder, "Security have some... interesting scenario programs if you want to show me up, I know Chief Rose keeps his people on their toes with drilling and practices."

"I'd rather not break you." Rochelle huffed, enjoying the closeness afforded to them. He rested, she soothed - stroking her fingers and palm along the satin smoothness of his hair. The loose bits were tucked behind his ear, the shell of which was easily the most delicate portion of his body... Almost to the point where it didn't seem to belong to him she reminisced to herself. "If I did, then I couldn't enjoy moments like this."

"These moments are extremely enjoyable," Almar replied and punctuated it with a soft kiss laid on her temple, "I'm glad you're not looking to break me." he added with a light chuckle.

She couldn't help but chuckle in amusement, her eyebrows raising slightly, "Yes... Well. If I was out to break you it would make things pretty damn complicated, wouldn't it?" A lot more complicated, anyway. Things were complicated enough as it was and adding to that load wasn't exactly high on the redhead's list of priorities.

"For one, you'd be left to deal with a massive load of paperwork not just from my own desk, but yours and also the stuff associated with finding a new First Officer," the Cardassian replied with a bright smile, "And we both know how you love being stuck behind a desk."

"Can't say that I was disappointed when Admiral Archer promoted me just to bust me down." A shrug, gentle as though to keep from unseating him from his place of rest against her, punctuated her nonchalance, "I don't do desk jockeying. I do starship jockeying otherwise horrible things happen because boredom is a dangerous thing." Another sweep of her hand whisked another errant lock of raven back behind his ear. "So... You're safe from breakage."

"For now," Almar teased with another kiss against the side of her head. His hand had idly been toying with her thigh and traced a pattern into her skin as he played with her curves and he didn't stop at a single kiss this time, this time laying them down the side of her head before his free hand reached up and guided her chin towards him so he could place a firm kiss on her lips.

She'd been happy to respond with a little hum and chuckle, enjoying the attention of his affections. After a day, and experience, like the one they'd shared life felt better in the slow lane. Almar, however, hit the accelerator once again - this time in a manner most delightful leaving her breathlessly returning his kiss and supplementing with another one of her own. Almar was a lot of things... Predictable hadn't ever been one of them.

With their kiss locking their lips together, Almar's hands found her hips and lifted her so she could straddle his waist. It was firm but gentle and the Cardassian found the edge of her tank top with his scaled hands and ran them up below the fabric, lifting it up and over her head, breaking the kiss for an aching moment before his hand found her cheek and bought her lips back down to his.

With the removal of her shirt, the cool air of her quarters raced in to claim new territory. The result was the prickling of goosebumps along her arms and the arch of her back against him, once again seeking the contact of his hands. Rochelle couldn't help but smile against his lips. Not all that long ago a moment like this with him blatantly making such amorous intentions known would have been nothing more than a pipe dream leaving her frustrated upon waking. Now? Now there was no such thing. Almar knew what he wanted and he was done wasting time with pussy footing around in the shadows, sulking and second guessing himself. In return Rochelle rewarded him by hooking her thumbs into his suspenders, spreading her hands over his pecs, and sliding the garment out of time off his shoulders.

"Confession? I kinda like this get up of yours." She hummed against his lips in between kisses, "Especially these," her hands dropped to the waist of his too tight pants. They left so very little to the imagination, but the fabric was still a barrier between them and needed to go. Before they could, however, the gun belt would need to disappear first. Her fingers slid south until they encountered the weathered leather and she rocked back to gain the leverage needed to tug the tongue back and pop the buckle. Untethered, it fell limply back on the couch cushions with a subtle thump and left her to the task of unbuttoning the ancient style high waisted britches.

Before she could get the button undone, Almar reached an arm to cradle the curve of her buttocks and lifted her with ease in one arm, he kissed her a few more times and smiled back at her, "It's quite... interesting," the Cardassian replied as he carried her towards the bedroom, somewhere a little more traditional for what was on his mind. With a heavy knee, Almar climbed onto the bed and lay Rochelle down on her back, his large form looming over her as he leant down to kiss her again, her knees either side of his waist.

After everything, his hardwired sense of propriety left her stifling a giddy laugh though happy as lark to go along with the plan. "That's one way of putting it." She finally breathed, resting her lips against the soft shell of his ear. The ease in which he moved her - as if she were naught but dandelion fluff - was both invigorating and awe inspiring. So much strength, so much power, and yet he was kitten gentle with her. He'd chosen to love her, perhaps even worship her, when he could so easily be the one to break her. It wouldn't take much at all, barely even an exertion of his will, and she'd be shattered irreparably.

That knowledge, and its reminder, tugged at her heart and made it race all in one - stoking and fanning flames that had settled in the pit of her belly and left her needing more of him. Three sheets to the wind, she was more than a little gone.

---

Commodore Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

Commander Almar Dahe'el
Executive Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

 

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