Ryouko tried not to smile at the nearly terrified look on
Honor's face as they met the young woman's Queen. 'Guess she really
isn't used to this,' she mused, the blue haired space pirate watching
her newfound friend with amusement.
"So what do you think of this Michelle?" Minagi asked her
curiously as they entered the castle itself. Her scars marked her face
but other than that she could pass for Ryouko's twin, something they had
used to their advantage more than once.
"Not sure," Ryouko admitted, looking over at the dusky skinned
woman beside Honor. "She was certainly fierce when Honor was hurt, but
other than that...," she shrugged.
Washu dropped back, their little redheaded mother giving them
scolding looks, "More importantly it's none of our business."
"yes mom," Minagi smirked.
"Myah," Ryo-Ohki added cheerfully, the little cabbit bouncing
along besides them down the thickly carpeted hallway.
Ryouko rolled her eyes. "Do you think Honor noticed our little
surprise yet?" she asked with a impish little smile.
"I don't think so," Washu said thoughtfully, "though she has
been a bit distracted."
The Queen led them into a beautifully decorated parlor,
comfortable chairs and couches set up around the cozy room. Elizabeth
was a beautiful woman, her dusky skin glowing in the light, but there
was strength in the young woman's slim form. "Sit down," she smiled
warmly, "I'll have some food sent up in a moment."
They took their seats but Honor moved away from Michelle to go
over to Washu. "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly, "but I think you made a
mistake with my uniform." She touched her collar, "These are the
insignia of a captain, I'm just a commander."
"No mistake," Washu smiled.
"What," Honor blinked in surprise.
"You've been promoted," Elizabeth said to Honor calmly, sitting
down with her dress swirling around her legs.
"And there's no favoritism involved," Ryouko pointed out with a
grin, her blue hair falling into her eyes. "Almost everyone in Gryphon's
Navy is getting a bump up," she added.
"Not that you haven't earned it," Michelle murmured as she
guided a mildly shaken Honor into a seat beside her on the couch.
"Bleek," Nimitz agreed, the tree-cat comfortably resting on
Honor's shoulder. He had climbed up there as soon as Honor had been
released from sickbay and seemed entirely unwilling to move.
Minagi looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh at the
look on Honor's face. "Ah, food," she grinned as the servants brought
trays of snacks in, setting them around the room along with glasses of
various beverages. "So should we discuss business or...?" Minagi asked.
"Some business, maybe," Elizabeth said, giving Ryouko a
questioning look.
"Yeah, why not," Ryouko agreed. She sat back casually, drinking
from a generous sized bottle of sake as she asked, "How long do you
think it'll take to shake down the merged fleets?"
"Three months minimum," Washu answered firmly. "Our Manticore
people are going to have to adapt to the Gryphon military style and the
Gryphons need to be fully briefed and fully trained to use our tech,"
she explained.
Honor shook herself, but the lady managed to get back into the
conversation. "I'm surprised it would be that fast," she admitted.
"I wondered about that myself," Elizabeth drank some wine.
"We've had some experience in integrating allied forces," Minagi
explained, "though admittedly not on quite this scale before."
"I hope we'll be able to help," Michelle offered with a smile.
"Trust me," Ryouko grinned at the two officers, "we'll probably
be asking." She took another drink, "But the Admiralty has fallen nicely
into line and the crews seem eager to get to work, so I'm staying
optimistic."
"Barring unforeseen occurrences," Washu cautioned. She sampled
some wine as she remarked, "Murphy's law seems universal."
"Oh yes," Minagi agreed.
"Speaking of ships," Ryouko raised her glass to the still mildly
pale Honor, "I was thinking of assigning the star-destroyer Nike to you.
She's a recent product of the Manticore shipyards and I've great hopes
for her."
Honor gulped, "I'd be honored."
"Cousin," Michelle spoke up. Elizabeth looked over at her
questioningly as she continued, "Would you mind if I spoke to Honor
privately?"
"Go on," Elizabeth smiled.
"Ah...." Honor didn't even have a chance to say anything as
Michelle drew her to her feet. The two women were out of the room in
moments, leaving the others with amused smiles.
"About time," Ryouko chuckled.
Honor blinked, trying to get her thoughts in some kind of order
as she and Michelle walked down the hallway together. It had been a
hectic hour since she had awakened in the Revenge's sickbay, not to
mention the shock of her sudden promotion and the offer of a ship.
"Come on," Michelle opened up the door, ushering Honor inside
and then closing and locking it behind them. The bedroom suite looked
lived in, in fact clothes that Honor recognized as belonging to Michelle
hung in the closet.
"What's going on?" Honor turned to meet Michelle's dark eyes and
asked, "What are we doing in your bedroom?"
Michelle smiled slightly from where she stood a little ways away
from Honor, puffing out her breath in a soft sigh. "You know," she said
softly, "I had this all planned out. We were both going to be on the
beach, I was going to let you get settled in first. We'd go out together
as friends, get you more comfortable with the idea...."
"Comfortable with what?" Honor asked, an odd tightness in her
chest.
"Then this thing with Manticore happened," Michelle said. Her
smile was wry, "When I first heard that you and the Fearless had made
contact with the Washu's Revenge I was so scared. Then I thought of what
I heard about Ryouko and got really worried."
"But...." Honor managed before Michelle continued.
"When you got back I was so relieved," Michelle flashed a smile,
"and proud of you. I wanted to tell you so much but there wasn't time,
and I knew we'd find time to talk later." Her eyes darkened, "Then you
were shot right in front of me."
"I'm sorry," Honor started, then corrected herself, "well, no
I'm not. I was doing my duty, but I'm sorry I frightened you."
"More than that, you terrified me," Michelle murmured. She moved
closer to Honor, looking up at the taller woman thoughtfully before
saying, "I don't want any regrets, Honor."
"I don't understand," Honor admitted.
"Then maybe this will help," and with that Michelle slid her
arms around Honor, drawing her close. The kiss was firm but gentle, the
two pressing close, only parting reluctantly a few moments later. "I
love you, Honor," Michelle said, "I can't wait to tell you any longer."
Honor's cheeks were bright red but joy shone in her eyes. "I
love you, too," she whispered, "since back in our academy days."
"Bleek," Nimitz protested, reluctantly jumping down from his
spot on Honor's shoulder.
"Sorry Stinker," Michelle smiled down at him before snuggling
closer to Honor. "Until you kissed me back then I thought my feelings
were one- sided," she confessed.
"You might have told me," Honor sighed, "I thought that, too."
Michelle looked up at Honor gently, "You made it very clear back
then you weren't ready for something like this."
"You're probably right," Honor admitted, "I was scared of any
intimacy, especially after Young attacked me." Her eyes widened, "You
didn't have feelings for me back then, did you?"
"Oh yes," Michelle's voice was dangerous, "and if I had half a
chance Young would never have been able to hurt anyone again." She
snuggled closer and quietly, "So what do we do now?"
"I don't know," Honor held her, "but I'm not losing this, not
when I just found it."
"No," Michelle nodded towards the bed, "I meant that."
"Michelle!" Honor blurted, cheeks flaming.
Michelle slid free, grabbing hold of Honor's hand and drawing
her forward gently. "I promise I'll be gentle," she reassured her
softly.
"I've never...." Honor's face was flaming.
"Don't worry," Michelle purred as she drew Honor down to the
bed, "I haven't either." She smiled, "I think we can figure it out,
though."
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