A Pleasant Exchange.
((Yes, this is the JP Liam and I were supposed to do a while ago. And no Moonie, you can't have IC knowledge of it. Cassefin wasn't at her monitors.))
"Well of course, no one joins the military to find guys. You just have to work with what you have." Claire glanced back at the doorway that she and Keziah had emerged from. Back inside the dinner drama was still going on. Keziah had gotten up for some reason and Claire, being the friend that she is, followed suit to see what was up. "Hey, you alright, dear? You look sad." Apparently stating the obvious was Claire's way of trying to show her concern. How effective that is... it's still under debate. She held a mild frown for her expression which was semi-rare for her.
"Yeah. Sad." Keziah shook her head, her pace brisk and steady even as she walked. "But I'm just... not interested in that, at all." Her body shivered, unconsciously and visibly, but she carried on as if nothing were wrong. She looked over her shoulder at Claire, and smiled a bit, her pace slowing, slowing, and then stopping. They were standing outside a service hatchway, and Keziah leaned against it.
Claire bit her lip, "Well ok, it's not for everyone, I'll concede. But..." She watched Keziah for a quiet moment before placing a hand firmly on her shoulder. "Dear, you're shaking like you've just been traumatized. Do you need to lie down?" Claire's eyes searched Keziah's. She was a bit more perceptive than she normally let on it seemed. "Look, I may not know you that well, but I've even the shyest girls I've met don't act like this. What's wrong?"
She laughed. It was a harsh sound, cutting through all the sound of the station, all the life. In that instant, she became aware of the life in the hallway--even though it was sparse, just a few security guards, some cameras, some scientists, she was acutely aware of them all. A faint paranoid look settled in her eyes, and she couldn't meet Claire's inquisitive gaze. "Let's find somewhere private." She hugged herself tightly, almost too tightly, as she winced when her fake arm gripped herself too tightly.
Claire looked over her shoulder. She was used to having others around so she had hardly noticed them. But for Keziah. "Alright. I may be new here but there shouldn't be anyone back where our bunks are. They'd all be at the dinner now." She gently pulled Keziah by the arm, although at a slightly slower pace since she had to remember how to get there. Once arriving she checked to make the area was clear before drawing Kaz inside. She sat down on the bunk that she had claimed earlier and made a patting motion beside her to insist that her friend have a seat. "Is this better for you, hon?"
A nod, and her body uncurled, straightening itself out. She tore off her uniform jacket, and tossed it onto another bunk. "It'll make more sense if I show you something." Then without warning, she started unbuttoning her tunic, until it was completely open. She slid it half-way down, and turned her body so Claire could more easily see the tattoos on her back. "Do you know what they mean?"
"..." Claire might have commented on why she half de-robed right in front of her, but she bit her tongue on that when Keziah showed her. "I know what they mean, but not what each represents. All I know is that people get branded like that if they're someone's servant. Traded through slavery or otherwise." Claire's expression had become much more serious. Unconsciously she began running the fingers over the scars on her palm (With the same hand.) "Hon... I'm sorry if you got involved in all that. I don't have much of a place to talk... but I'm sorry." She slowly stood up and gently placed a hand on her shoulder (On the organic side anyway.) "I may have overstepped my boundaries back there at the dinner then. I apologize, but I didn't have any idea. Do know that it doesn't change my opinion of you. I still think you're very sweet." Claire smiled faintly. She held no dishonesty in her eyes.
"Each star represents a year. Nine stars, nine years." She spoke as if she didn't really hear Claire. Her body was still, her back still turned, her head bowed as she made herself hold back tears. She had done this... this confession with Bakare, she could do it again. She breathed in deeply, and her voice was strong; "I never got involved in it. I was born a slave." Her hand snaked up, and gently clutched Claire's hand. "So don't apologize. Or just listen, if you have to."
Claire froze a bit when Keziah grabbed her hand. She hadn't been paying attention to which hand she had been using and now Kaz had her scarred palm within her grasp. She quickly tried to play it off, “Oh... is that what it means..." For a brief moment, Claire had let a bit of panic slip into her voice. She pretended like it didn't happen though. "I can't imagine then. Being born that way. Still... that does explain a couple things." Claire shook her head. "Still you are who you are, regardless of whom you were. And I like you as you are." Her eyes glanced down over Keziah's marked back. "You and everything that comes with you. That's what friends are about, dear." She tried to discreetly remove her hand if possible. She mentally reprimanded herself for being careless.
The tone of Claire's voice made a small part of her mind twitch. She turned around, her tunic trailing behind her, her hand falling away and into her lap. "What's wrong?" She cocked her head to the side, and pulled her arms around her, pulling the tunic together but not bothering buttoning it up.
Claire smiled quizzically. "What do you mean? I just said I liked you. I'm not asking you out or anything." She added in a voice so quiet that would be impossible to hear, but enough to know that she did add something, "...yet." Then again, that was Claire for you. “Anyway, as alluring as you look that way, you might want to put your tunic back on before some random guy walks in. I don't want to have to fight him off of ya." She chuckled slightly. It looked like she was back to her semi-flirty personality again.
"Nothing." Keziah shook her head and looked sideways at the barracks door. But she made no move to dress herself, just remained sitting on Claire's bunk. For a while she was silent, then slowly, she looked up to Claire, a kind of darkness behind her eyes. But she just exhaled, and pulled her tunic the rest of the way back up onto her shoulders. "I've only ever been with one man, and he bought me."
"I see. Well I'll try to stop teasing you about it then. To continue would just be mean of me." Claire patted Keziah's shoulder with her non-scarred hand this time. "That's too bad though. It can be so much better than that." She shrugged. "Oh well. I suppose you could always just spend more time around other women instead." Claire smirked. She wouldn't let on whether or not she was being serious about that. "I still want you as a friend though, dear. I hope you feel the same way about me." Her smile was a bit gentler this time.
She nodded, uncertain but trying to hide it, and slowly buttoned up her tunic. "We'd make good friends, I think." She smiled at Claire, warmly, but didn't rise, staying on the bunk as she leaned forward on her knees and elbows. "But... what do you mean 'spend time around other women'?" Keziah looked up at her, feeling infinitely more ignorant.
"I'm glad you do, hon. As diverse as the crowd on this station is, it might be kind of hard to find a friend sometimes." Claire idly rubbed the scars on her palm over the bunk, as if that would somehow erase them. At Keziah's second question, her eyebrows raised as she slowly turned to look at her. "What do I mean?" She chuckled a bit, obviously finding this amusing. "Dear, this is what I mean." In one swift, but gentle move, Claire leaned forward, placing one hand alongside Keziah's face, and planted a good, sensual kiss right on her lips. She pulled back quickly, trying to fight off her own laughter as she watched for Keziah's reaction. Her wide grin didn't help that any.
Keziah stared at her, more surprised by the kiss than anything. It felt better, kissing her, than it ever had with even the slightest touch by Mako. Slowly, she regained a sense of composure, and swallowed heavily, sucking her lips in as she ran her tongue over them, trying to resolve the rush she had felt. She stood up, feeling nervous and childlike and... It was okay. They had a secret now. "I..." she stammered, and looked to Claire, blinking and completely unsure of herself.
Claire probably could have handled what followed a lot better. But she didn't. She burst out laughing. At the very least, she controlled the volume so other people wouldn't hear. "I'm so sorry, hon. But you made that WAY too easy." Claire carried on for a short while before controlling her breathing enough to stop. "Whew... Sorry about that, but that is what I was implying. I think..." She shook her head. "Anyhow, don't be mad at me, please. It's not like you're not fun to kiss...” Claire stopped herself, realizing she was only making it sound worse. "Gah. I don't know what’s with me today. That was rather mean of me to pull that on you. I'm sorry." She played it off as a joke, but part of her posture and expression suggested that she had wanted to beforehand.
"No, it's okay." She shook her head, biting her lip as she did so. "I just..." She breathed out steadily, frowning slightly. "I liked it." Then, suddenly unsure of what to do or where to stand or... anything, she hugged herself and turned away from Claire, part of her intensely wanting to be alone so she could consider everything. And another part of her desperately not wanting to be alone.
There was a short period of silence. Just pure silence. After what probably seemed like an eternity, a slender hand found its way around Keziah's waist. Claire stood on the other side. "You did, huh?" Claire's eyebrow was raised again. But she was no longer laughing or making light of things. "You know, most women would recoil if I did that to them." She shook her head. "It's alright though. Some do like it. And truthfully? Considering the way you were raised, I don't find it all that surprising." Claire smiled at her, "You want to know something? I've been involved with both. I know that makes me sound like an immoral person, but when I was in my teens, I experimented a lot. I found that I enjoyed the company of both genders. And trust me when I say that confused the hell out of me as well." She shook her head. "It's alright if you did." There was a pause then a bemused 'hm' before Claire added, "If you like, I can do it again."
The silence wracked her mind, and when Claire touched her she jumped, startled into complete silence as she just let Claire's words flow over her, aware of their meanings more than what was said. She leaned into the touch, into the body of the other woman, feeling an incredible wash of nervousness, as well as a kind of rising anxiety. A joy, something she hadn't ever felt before. Then... Claire's proposition. Keziah turned around, still hugging herself, as if her arms didn't know at all what to do. "I want you to... kiss me again."
Claire couldn't help but smile at Keziah's reaction. It almost reminded her of... nah. Shouldn't be thinking of that right now. Upon hearing her response she shook her head with a warm smile on her face. "Oh? Alright then. Come here, hon..." Claire turned Keziah around so that she was facing her. After taking a moment to look at her she leaned in and kissed her in a similar way, except for it lasting much longer. She even wrapped her arms around Keziah's waist as she did. After a long blissful moment she stopped. "Was that better for you, dear?" Her warm smile was still there.
Once their lips touched, Keziah's arms relaxed, slipping down and around Claire, holding at her as they kissed. She liked the contact, feeling Claire's warmth through their clothes, her breath and the smell of her hair, the gentleness of their embrace. When, after an eternity, they broke, Keziah breathed in slightly and then started laughing. Almost a giggle, almost like a little girl as she lowered her forehead to Claire's shoulder and just laughed. "Yes," she said finally, grinning slightly, not showing signs of wanting to let go. "A lot better."
Claire gave one of those silent chuckles as Keziah voiced her approval. (You know, the kind where they laugh without actually opening their mouths?) "I'm glad you enjoy it, dear. Let me say it was pleasant for me as well." She ran a hand through Keziah's hair as she brought her mind back together. Just now noticing that they'd been absent for a while, she sighed and shook her head. "Well, normally I'd show you what it's really like to be with a woman. But we probably should get back to the dinner before we get into too much trouble, don't you think? I'd hate to land you an extra shift because I was too busy." She loosened her grip on Keziah. "Don't worry though. I'll always be here for whenever you need me, alright?" Claire dropped her arms from her.
Keziah nodded, smiling as her arms fell to her side, too. "Okay. I'd like that." She stepped away, and went back to her uniform jacket, shrugging into it and buttoning it up as she did so, ignoring the flush spreading across her face. "We'd better hurry, then. I bet they're almost done." In a single, fluid motion, she stepped up to Claire, kissed her cheek and grasping her hand, quickly, before she made her way out of the barracks, waiting for Claire so they could head back to the dinner together. Just as they had left.
"Alright. It'll be our little secret as long as you want it to be." Claire smiled as she received the last kiss. "I have a rule of 'what happens on the bed stays there.'" She glanced back at her bunk where they had sat. "Let's go. You're not alone, Keziah."
