It Started With a Vacation

Chapter Thirteen

When you woke up, you were practically laying completely on top of Crosshair. Your face was buried in his right shoulder while his chin rested on the top of your head and your legs were tangled. He was holding you securely to him, and his eyes were squeezed shut.

You felt him dreaming, and you sensed his unease. You looked up and immediately reached up a hand, resting it on his cheek gently. Using the force to calm him, you softly stroked his cheek with your thumb.

Slowly, his face relaxed, and he calmed. His hold on you loosened from a desperate clinging to a secure hug. You let your hand wander up to his hair where you gently ran your fingers through. As you did, you closed your eyes and laid your head back on his chest, letting out a content sigh.

"What are you doing, princess?"

His sudden question only slightly startled you, but you lifted your head and met his gaze. Your hand stopped and your face flushed

"You were having a nightmare," you said, beginning to pull your hand away. Crosshair stopped you, though, grabbing your hand and returning it to his hair.

"Feels nice," he mumbled, closing his eyes and leaning into your touch. You wiggled your fingers in his hair again and a tiny but soft smile came to his lips. You smirked to yourself as you reached your other hand up and poked his nose. He scrunched it and opened his eyes to look down at you again. You giggled and poked him again, and this time he smirked at you before biting your finger tip.

"Hey!" You said, pulling it back. "You need to stop biting."

"How else am I supposed to show that I'm not just all bark and no bite?"

"Believe me, I know . Picking fights with my commander doesn't go unnoticed."

"Well, he should have listened to me," Crosshair shrugged.

"Yes, but you didn't have to hurt him," you countered.

"I know," he sighed, "it's just...the regs," he said, eyes going slightly cold.

"I'm sorry that you went through that, but you can't take it out on people who haven't done anything wrong."

"I think letting you get hurt and almost die is pretty wrong."

"Crosshair," you said, pushing yourself up off him and into a sitting position, folding your arms. "It wasn't his fault."

"That's not how I see it."

"He would never have let anything happen to me if he could prevent it."

"He could have stopped you from getting shot if he was there."

"If he was there, he would have jumped in front of me and gotten himself shot, and likely died."

"It would be better than you dying," Crosshair said, and your face turned slightly angry.

"You know, if you really cared about me, you'd know how much I love him and how much it would destroy me to lose him. You wouldn't be wishing it was him shot instead of me," you said seriously, and Crosshair's gaze softened again.

"Sorry, Princess cyar'ika," he mumbled, pulling you back into his arms.

"Hugging me isn't going to make me less angry," you mumbled, though you were smiling as your face buried into his chest.

"You sure? I can feel your grin."

"Shut up."

"Mmm, ni kar'tayl gar darasuum, mesh'la," he mumbled.

"I'm afraid I only know one of those words," you stated, looking up at him.

"Don't worry, you'll know the rest one day," he responded. You held his gaze for a second before taking an exaggerated breath and letting out a deep sigh, causing him to chuckle. You suddenly smelled something very familiar, and confusion flooded your mind. You took a sniff of the air and turned to look towards the bedroom door.