Beach and Moan

Posted on Mon Aug 24th, 2026 @ 2:29am by Lieutenant Zachary Addams & Lieutenant JG Grace MacKenzie 'Sabre'

2,952 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Kintsugi
Location: Holodeck 2

Zed walked to the holdeck, duffel bag in hand. He was uncharacteristically underdressed in only a tshirt, trunks and beach shoes. He didn't like feeling so exposed, but he reminded himself he was safe now, as was Grace, and it was just the holodeck.

He waited until he heard movement behind him and turned to see Grace's lithe form coming down the corridor. "Hey," he said, slightly relieved.

She was in beach sandals and wore an oversized shirt that fell down to mid-thighs, but the outline of a bathing suit was underneath it and apparent as she walked towards him. Upon seeing him, her face turned red and her step faltered, but clearly forced her feet to keep moving forward, “Ah’m sorry Ah ran behind, Ah couldn’t decide what Ah should wear.. Ah know Ah said Ah picked somethin’ out before, but Ah chickened out from that one.”

Zed smiled and gave an amiable shrug. "Can I tell you a secret about men?" he said.

“Of course,” She mumbled miserably.

"We're less concerned with the bathing suit as much as the person in it," he said. "A cute girl in a swimsuit is a cute girl in a swimsuit, no matter what kind. More revealing swimsuits are meant to show things off, but if you're cute, and the guy likes you, then you don't need to show off." He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

That perked Grace up and she threw her arms around him and planted a soft kiss on his lips, “You really know how to make a girl feel better about herself.” She told him as she released him to straighten up again. She gave him a coy look, “Of course, that wasn’t you tellin’ me that you think Ah’m cute.” She smacked him on the shoulder lightly, “Fortunately, Ah know better and that you do think Ah’m cute.”

He watched her bounce through the holodeck doors, enjoying the view, and smiled wider. "Damn right I do," he said. He followed her in and gave a small shrug. "I don't really remember much of the beach near where I was born," he said. "So if you have a preferred one, feel free to volunteer."

“You don’t mind it hot, do you?” Grace stoped as she walked into the doors to the generic Holodeck, but didn’t wait for him to respond, “Computer, create new holoprogram, Lake Buchanan, located in Paseo Prairie, Texas.” The scene materialized within a few seconds, a sky with just a handful of clouds with what could have been mistaken for a large Middle Eastern oasis: a large crisp blue lake surrounded by several meters of coarse sand before it faded away to a parking lot and then dirt, “This was about an hour and a half from home, not many beaches as far into Texas as Ah was born and raised, so someone built this one, complete with tappin’ the aquifer and eventually just abandoned it.” The sun beat down from on high as the relative temperature rose to about ninety degrees Fahrenheit, causing Grace to strip off the oversized t-shirt and revealing the one piece swimsuit she wore, reminiscent of the Texas state flag, if she’d lain down at least, with the star in the dead center of her chest.

Zed's smile dropped. "How...how hot are you thinking?" he said, nervously. As the program kicked in, he immediately felt the artificial sun beating down him, and started to sweat. "Computer," he said quickly, "one large beach towel and two large beach umbrellas with chairs."

As the computer set up their recreational space, he let out a breath of relief and moved quickly underneath the shade of one of the umbrellas. He looked back to Grace and felt the heat rise again. "See? Great swimsuit," he said, trying to sound casual.

She gave him a curious look. Wasn’t part of the fun of the beach being out in the sun, getting a bit of a tan? Nonetheless, she walked over to the shaded area, but remained in the sun, glancing down at herself, “Ah was gonna wear a bikini initially, but, well.. as Ah said, Ah chickened out of it. But Ah thought you liked the heat, Ah do remember from school in’ that Vulcan gets really hot, so wouldn’t this be a bit like home for ya’?”

"It is," he said, somewhat reluctantly. "It's the part of home I miss the least, though," he said. "I told you about the....'incident' that happened on Vulcan's Forge. I had more heat then than anyone should have in a lifetime. And I've kind of...well...carried it with me," he said. "I'm always running warm, and I overheat easily, and if unchecked, it can be fatal. I tend to avoid warm climates if I can. It's why my quarters are so cold all the time." He gave a half smile. "Not just to encourage cuddling."

He dropped his duffel and sat down in one of the beach chairs. "I don't mind warm climates, but hot...makes me nervous. I suppose I'm oversensitive. A nice cold ocean, though? That I always enjoy."

“What about a nice cool lake?” Grace grinned at him, reaching out with one hand to him. “That’s what makes the heat feel so much better, is to be able to dive into a cool lake or stream and really feel the difference. Ah may not be the best girlfriend right now, but Ah’m workin’ on it, besides….we can cheat here.” Her grin turned cheeky, “Computer, drop the ambient temperature to seventy-six degrees.” Then she turned her grin into a smile, “Do you trust me, Zed?”

Zed looked at her hand, most of what she'd said slipping by him as he tried to digest that question. Grace wasn't the first girl to ask that while holding a hand out to him, and the last one who'd asked had almost become his... He shook his head, banishing the memories. "Of course," he said, finally. She'd put far too much trust in him for him not to return it. He took her hand and squeezed it. "I trust you completely," he said.

"Good, Ah won't do anythin' to betray it." Grace squeezed back turning towards the water and kicking off her sandals dragging him willingly behind him, "The water is pure enough to drink if we really wanted to, but it's just holographic, so won't do us no good. It'll be nice and cool, so you won't be overheatin'!" She smiled over her shoulder, "Ah'll hafta take you to the ranch at some point, whether on here or if we can get back to Earth, but at least here we won't have to deal with my parents." Her toes hit the water and a slight shiver ran up her back, though she didn't hesitate before walking right in, releasing his hand after a few steps to dive into the shallow water to get over the cold shock faster, coming up and turning over to watch him.

Zed stepped into the water, then dove forward, moving under the surface and swiftly moving around behind her and pinching her rear before coming back up above the surface, spraying water and shaking it out of his hair and grinning at her. "Feels wonderful," he said.

Grace swatted at him underwater, but the resistance meant she missed him even as she squealed from the pinch to her posterior, "I bet you can't do that again!" She stuck her tongue out at him before eeling over and past him, striking out and intentionally splashing him with her kicks as she swam past him. She was by no means an excellent swimmer, but she was at least fair as she clawed for distance.

Zed wasn't the greatest swimmer, he wasn't even the second greatest swimmer. He may not even have been as good as swimmer as Grace. What he was, was a foot taller, with an impressive reach. He leaned over and reached his hand out, grabbing her ankle and dragging her back through the water before giving her rear another pinch and then letting her go. As she came up above the surface again, he grinned. "So, what do I win?"

He'd been rewarded by another squeal and a brief splutter of water as she was dragged back, but got her feet under her before she tossed her hair out of her face. "What do you win?" she demanded, grin on her face before using the natural buoyancy of the water to jump up and wrap him in a hug, planting a kiss on his lips. "That's what you get!" She said, pushing off just enough to put a little distance before her feet hit the ground.

Zed grinned wider at the kiss and moved down into the water, coming closer to her. "So is this a one-to-one 'pinch-to-kiss' ratio we're establishing? Because if so..." he moved forward, attempting to pull her in again.

Grace backed up as quickly as she could, but her legs were shorter so she used her arms to load up with water and threw a wave of water towards him before diving away from him with a shriek of delight.

Zed shielded his eyes from the water, then drove a hand forward, sending a well-aimed jet of cold water at her to distract her, then moving forward quickly, his arms going around her waist and pulling her back against him. He stood up, picking her up with him and after giving her rear another pinch, turning and deftly tossing her back into the lake.

It was a laugh combined with a small scream as she flew a few feet before hitting the water and going under, this time in water she couldn't quite stand in to keep her head out in the air. Her eyes opened wide as he came for her again and this time she dove under the water and towards him, aiming for between his legs in an effort to escape.

Zed watched her approach, confused, but didn't want her accidentally crashing into him, especially anything vulnerable and moved his legs, letting her pass through, then grabbing her ankle again as he swung his leg back over and pulled her back to him, spinning her around and picking her up, holding her rear and keeping her against him as he moved to slightly shallower water. "That was not your best tactical move," he said, grinning. "Can't say I object to the attempt, though."

Her arms went around his neck to help keep her upright as she looked him in the face, legs wrapping around his waist in the same effort, "Well, Ah was hoping you weren't going to expect it. In space, Ah've got three dimensions in 360, but Ah'm faster there too." She leaned her neck forward and gave him a long kiss before withdrawing, "So, now that you've got me, whatcha gonna do?"

Zed's initial response was to take her to the blanket they had on the sand and show her, but he held back. Still, her tone and her proximity was causing a noticeable reaction, cold water notwithstanding. He held her against him and massaged her rear playfully. "Well, I got another pinch in, so I guess I win another kiss, right?" he said, smiling and leaning in to return the favor with another long kiss.

Her grip loosened as she leaned into the kiss, which dropped her body a fraction of an inch and she felt something underneath her and froze, every single muscle in her body tensing up as she dropped her face into his shoulder while a physical shudder rippled through her body. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..." She started saying as she started to struggle to get away.

Zed paled and immediately let her go, lowering her to stand in the shallower water and pulling back and looking at her with concern. "I'm sorry," he said. "We were kissing and I got lost in the moment and....I'm sorry, Gracie," he said.

Grace stepped back and lowered herself into the water, her arms wrapping around herself as she shook herself, "No, you're fine Zed, not your fault," she said quickly, "Y-you didn't do it on purpose and Ah was-was havin' fun, and Ah thought Ah could handle somethin' like this, Ah knew it could happen, you're a guy after all, but..." She looked up at him, "Ah'm sorry, it's my fault, it's all my fault."

"Literally none of this is your fault," he said, quietly. He moved closer to her again, cautiously, carefully, sitting down near the edge of the water and took her hand. "I'm glad you were having fun, though. I was too." He gave her hand a squeeze. "You said once, you weren't sure if you were still desirable. I suppose we could say the silver lining here is that you absolutely are, and I'm glad we got to share a moment today."

She sat next to him and squeezed his hand back, "Ah wanna be over this, Ah really do." She was glad that she had water on her face, it would hide the tears that she felt wanted to come up, "Ah'm tryin', Ah swear Ah am, Zed. Ah know Ah'm safe here with you, Ah know that nothin's gonna happen to me anymore, but Ah just can't make myself do this. Ah had a plan for today, to get you to relax, to get me relaxed and maybe... Maybe Ah should go to the doctor and see if there's somethin' she can give me to loosen my inhibitions, and then maybe-"

"Absolutely not," Zed said, his voice hard. "You aren't going to 'make' yourself do anything, and no one else is going to make you. You did what you felt you wanted, and you stopped when you wanted, and that's how it's going to be. You want to kiss me? Kiss me. You want to hold me? Hold me. You want to stop? We stop, and that's that. You stick to your boundaries until you're ready to adjust them, and I'll work on keeping my head on straight so no other issues 'arise'. All right?"

"Ah don't blame that for happenin'." Grace said directly, eyes pleading for him to understand, "You're a guy, there are some things you can't control even if you wanted to. FUUUUUUCK!" She screamed to the world in frustration. Ah wanna push my boundaries, Ah wanna..."

Zach let her hand go and put it on her thigh. He felt her shudder, but held it there and looked at her as she locked eyes with him. "If you want to push, you push gently, not forcefully," he said. "Otherwise the boundaries push back. We've already pushed a bit today. There's nothing that says we have to push more." He pulled his hand back and took her hand again. "Maybe one day it's a kiss or three. Maybe another it's you trusting me to rub your thigh or give you a massage. Maybe another day it's something more. We don't need to rush." He gave her a smile. "Besides, you gave me some world-class kisses today. Be proud."

Grace still looked like she was about to cry or scream or something in between, but ended up leaning into Zed's shoulder instead, "You know, Zed, Ah really don't deserve you. Ah promise, there'll be a time when Ah hope Ah can reward you properly. Sometimes Ah just hate myself."

"Grace, if you want to reward me, you don't need to do much," he said, honestly. "You being happy is a good start. And what we shared today? A few kisses, and a little petting? I'm happy to do only that, if it makes you feel good. That's...kinda my priority here. I want you to enjoy things." He sighed and shrugged. "One step at a time, right?"

"One step at a time." She repeated, "Ah think you could put your arm around my shoulder, you know? To hold me a bit? And then we can figure out how to salvage this date?" She snuggled in under his arm as it went around her, "Do you have another idea than this one Ah had?"

Zed immediately put his arm around her shoulders and held her tight, leaning over and kissing her temple. He rubbed her arm gently and kissed her ear, holding her against him. "If you're up for it...could I show you something I haven't shown anyone else?"

"Ah'm up for it," Grace confirmed with him, "And next time Ah plan a date, I'll figure out somethin' better than this. Somethin' less likely to cause a problem. You like horses, right?"

"I do," he said. "But this? This was fantastic. We absolutely will do this again when you're ready," he said. He tilted her head towards him and looked her in the eyes. "One rough moment doesn't just invalidate everything we did before it.

“You’re right, as usual.” Grace looked up at him and gave a forced smile, “And it was fun for a good bit, that’s for sure, even you pinching my ass.” The smile became more natural.

"Now, one good kiss, and we go dry off and it's my turn to show you something. Sound good?"

“Sounds good.” Grace met him halfway and kissed him, though there was a little hesitation, it wasn’t as much as even she had expected to have. It was a slow process of healing, but it was working.

A post by:

Zachary Addams
Chief Engineer
USS Tokyo

and

Grace MacKenzie
Fighter Pilot
USS Tokyo

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