Chromium

3.2

It's not possible. Dia kept repeating those words in her mind until she realized she'd said them out loud.

Reyes---or maybe better to say captain Reyes at this point---smiled even more like he'd anticipated this moment for a long time and was now tasting the fruits of his long wait. He seemed to enjoy immensely the surprise on her face.

Although more than surprise, complete shock was closer to the mark, because no matter how fervid Dia's imagination could be, she would have never thought the man in front of her could be the same Nathan Reyes of her memories.

Sure, he was tall like him, and the way he behaved was similar---though this captain Reyes seemed even more shameless than the old one---but everything else was different.

His eyes were still brown but of a darker shade than she remembered, his voice a lot deeper, almost guttural, and his nose not straight like an arrow but a little arched.

The Reyes she knew wasn't handsome but pretty, an androgynous, almost feminine kind of beauty, completely different from the rugged man in front of her.

After all, there was a reason that they called him "Pretty Reyes" at the academy. But what he'd lost in beauty, he gained in intensity, a kind of carnal and sexual appeal it had nothing to do with the perfect but cold Reyes of the past, more like a statue to admire from afar, so perfect he seemed unreal.

This Reyes was very real and very close.

Wait, why am I already thinking of him as Reyes? He still gave her no proof he really was what he claimed to be. He only said that name, Squirrel, but even the real Reyes wasn't the only one knowing her old academy's nickname.

She opened her mouth to say that to him, but Reyes preceded her.

"How can I be sure he really is what he claims to be, right?" He asked and grinned when she frowned. For sure it looked like this Reyes had the same bad habit as the old one: the ability to read her mind.

She didn't like it but nodded anyway.

"Well then, I'll prove it to you. But first, let's move somewhere else." And he added, probably noticing the stubborn look on her face. "I don't think you want to stay here." He said, glancing around the room before giving her an eloquent look.

Dia followed his gaze and shivered. Then she scowled at him, mostly because he was right. She really wanted to leave this place. It would take some time before she could stay inside a sickbay or a medical facility of any kind.

"Fine, make way." She said at the end.

Reyes smiled at her before opening the door. It wasn't the usual kind but some sort of strange hatch, completely made of metal. Dia looked at him, both surprised and wary when he kept it open. It took some time for her to understand he was holding the door open for her. She wasn't used to this kind of thing. In the navy, she'd spent half the time trying to prove she was better than any man, and the other half trying to pass like one.

Of course, his gallant gesture would have looked better if he hadn't started staring at her ass as soon as she went past him.

Dia glowered at him, but he simply looked at her with a disarming smile and shrugged, like to say, my bad, but I couldn't help myself.

They went through a hallway, and when Reyes tried to do the same thing again, she refused.

"Thanks, but I can do it myself." She said, and Reyes chuckled like he already saw what he wanted to see.