Simple Domestic Bliss

Posted on Thu Dec 14th, 2017 @ 11:14pm by Chief Warrant Officer Daytona Ral & Akira Zhuri

Mission: When Iconians Deserve to Die
Location: Akira's Quarters
Timeline: Evening

Daytona was tired and he was hoping to see Akira. Unfortunately, she was busy with some operations thing. It was obviously something complex. Otherwise she might have been able to run it in the background...that, or she wanted to be present so her staff could see her working as hard as they were. Whatever the case, when he called her, she told him she would be tied up for a bit longer and asked if he could stop by and feed Moriko. Daytona agreed and was soon in Akira's quarters.

Usually, Moriko ran out to greet him when he arrived, even when she wasn't hungry. It was time for dinner, so she should have come barreling over to begin nudging him for a meal, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Moriko?" Daytona said, calling out the kitten's name. He walked through Akira's quarters, looking for the kitten. "Moriko?"

Daytona entered the sleeping area. Akira had made up a more comfortable bed since they had become intimate. It gave her a place of her own to share with him or not as she pleased. In practice, they usually spent the night together either in his quarters or hers. Daytona didn't see Moriko anywhere obvious, but the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up. He was being watched. Daytona smiled. Not watched...stalked. Before he could do anything else, Moriko bounded out from under the bed and pounced on Daytona's leg with a ferocious roar...okay, it was a very cute 'meow' but Daytona let her think it was a ferocious roar. The little kitten got her claws caught in Daytona's pant leg, got her legs all twisted around and found herself hanging in a strange looking position.

"There you are, my precious little hunter," Daytona said. "Stuck, are we? Let me help you out of this mess."

Daytona reached down and carefully disentangled the Moriko from his pant leg and picked her up. He brought her to his face and nuzzled her, then carried her with him to where her food was kept.

"I'm a little too 'big game' for you, my little lioness," he said, setting her down on the deck. "Why don't you set your sights a little lower? Say, on a bowl of kitty chow?"

"Meow!" Moriko said in a insistent little voice. Daytona laughed and filled her bowl. That done, he realized he was a bit hungry himself. Akira didn't need to eat, but sometimes she enjoyed 'holographic food'. Should he wait for his lover to get back from work, or make something for himself. Daytona decided to compromise and ordered some cheese and fruit and an ice cold hard cider from joint Human/Rigelian venture on Rigel IV.

He carried these items over to the couch and set them down on the table in front of it. He took a long pull from his cider and sighed.

"Computer, play Weather Report, please," he said.

"Working," the Computer replied. "From which planet would you like a weather update?"

Daytona sighed again.

"Revised request," he said. "Computer, please play the album "The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978-1981" by the 20th Century Earth Jazz Fusion band Weather Report."

"Working," the Computer replied. "Music selection located. Playing now."

Daytona emitted a pleasant sighed as the music began to play.

"Thank you," Daytona said. He ate his snack and enjoyed his music for a bit. Leaving the music on, he retrieved a book from Akira's shelf, then lay down on the couch to read. While he was reading Moriko bounded up onto his chest and curled up for a post feeding nap. The two of them lay there a while in quiet companionship. After sometime, Daytona nodded off to sleep as well.

Daytona and Moriko would be left snoozing for quite a while; Akira had been held up with some maintenance, but when it was finally done she was all too ready to be home! Not bothering with walking to her quarters, she blinked into the room, immediately looking for Moriko to feed her, but not only did Moriko's bowl show evidence of having been recently filled, but there was Daytona sleeping on the couch with Moriko curled up on his chest. Akira smiled warmly; he looked so peaceful, and of course the addition of Moriko made him even more adorable to watch! But should she wake him? She knew biologicals needed their rest...

Old habits died hard. Daytona had spent a great deal of his long (and likely to be longer) life 'sleeping with one eye open' as the expression went. Daytona and developed an instinct of sorts that told him when someone was watching him. But this was Akira. She presented no threat. In fact, Daytona felt safer in her presence than he had felt in centuries. So he continued to doze. Moriko, for her part, did sense Akira's presence. She hopped down off of Daytona's chest and padded over to Akira with a soft 'meow' and brushed against her legs, nudging Akira to pet her and, hopefully, scratch her a bit. Moriko liked being scratched.

Akira would let Daytona sleep a little longer as she appeased herself with Moriko, picking up the kitten and giving her a nice rub behind the ears.

Daytona stirred when Moriko jumped off of his chest. His eyes fluttered open as he yawned loudly and stretched. He looked over at Akira.

"My love," said. "I have said this before, I'm saying it now, and I will likely say it in the future. Waking up in your presence is among the most wonderful experiences in the world."

He rose from the couch, walked to Akira, pulled her close, and gave her a kiss.

"Computer," he said. "Lower music volume. How was work my love?"

Akira smiled brightly at the kiss. "It was just routine maintenance, so I enjoyed myself, but I know the rest of my Officers were ready to get out of the Jefferies tubes," she said with an amused chuckle. "But it went well, I'm glad we have one less thing to worry about," she continued as she took Moriko over to the ingenious little structure covered in cardboard and carpet that Daytona had brought over for Moriko to destroy. "Although I do apologize if I made you wait too long, I didn't mean to keep working to such excess."

"It was no problem," Daytona said. "I didn't realize I needed a nap, but it seems I did. While Moriko is not you, she still makes an enjoyable nap partner."

Oblivious to her people talking about her, Moriko began climbing all over the structure, taking time in places to scratch and tug at it, sometimes even biting it. Daytona chuckled when he saw her hard at work.

"Actually, the ferocious little creature hid under the bed while I walked around your quarters looking for her," he said. "Then she pounced on my leg. Ha! She got her claws hung up in the fabric of my pants and was dangling helplessly from them until I was able to detach them."

"Aww, poor little hunter," Akira replied, giving Moriko a scritch behind the ears. Moriko tried to attack and gnaw on Akira's hand, but the sharp claws and teeth didn't bother Akira in the slightest. "Thank you for coming by to feed her; sometimes I feel bad that I forget about her."

"Part of being your partner is feeding your cat when you need me to," Daytona said. "Besides, taking advantage of an opportunity to take care of her, and therefore you, is fun for me. It makes me feel closer to you."

"Well it is appreciated." Akira extricated her hand from the kitten's grasp, so Moriko contented herself with clawing at the cat tower. "So what brought you by today?"

"Your company, of course," Daytona said. "We could talk, eat, drink...well, sort of eat and drink, listen to music, maybe dance, or watch a movie...and/or toss any semblance of self-control out the window, tear each other's clothes off and make love until I pass out or you get bored, whichever comes first, and then snuggle in bed together until we have to get ready for our next shift. Any of those ideas strike your fancy?"

A playful grin adorned Daytona's face and a whimsical light danced in his eyes and he looked at Akira.

"Oh, I would never get bored of you, but I may pass out before you do," Akira said shamelessly. "Of course if you are still tired, I can simply grab a book and you can rest your head in my lap?"

"That actually...sounds nice," Daytona said, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. "But I reserve the right to revisit the whole 'toss out any semblance of self-control' option later the evening."

Again, the playful grin and whimsical look in his eye. A Rigelian didn't really have to be a teenager to want sex all the time. Being ready, willing, and eager to make love was sort of the default position for most Rigelians. However, like most species, there's a period in a person's life where both sex and romance are new and shiny and extra exciting...before all of the complications of life color one's perception of these matters. Daytona had been around a very long time, longer than any pure blood Rigelian would live, and romance and sex had lost a bit of their luster for a time. Then he met Akira Zhuri and all of that changed. With her, everything was new and fresh and exciting. He felt a giddiness around her that he hadn't felt in centuries. Daytona adored Akira and while things were still new between them, he hoped that he and Akira would enjoy each other's company for a long time to come.

Akira gave a laughing scoff. "Like I could ever say no to you," she in a mock scold. She went to her bookshelf to get a book, then sat on the sofa and got comfortable. She patted the empty space next to her to invite him to join her. As he joined her on the couch and rest his had in her lap, she ran her fingers through his hair to soothe him and help return him to the slumbering state in which she had found him. "Sleep, my love; I will be here when you wake," she promised softly.

Daytona sighed as he felt Akira's warmth and her soft touch. He closed his eyes, confident that she would, in fact, be there when he woke up. Safe with Akira watching over him, Daytona soon fell asleep. Just as he was drifting off, there was a soft 'meow' as Moriko padded across the deck and jumped up onto the arm of the couch behind Akira and sat there, just over her mistress's shoulder, as though she was reading the book as well. Soon, the little feline's eyes also closed as she sat contentedly with her people.