"I swear, this has never happened to me before."

Posted on Mon Oct 5th, 2026 @ 6:00pm by Lieutenant Zachary Addams & Lieutenant JG Grace MacKenzie 'Sabre'

1,223 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Kintsugi
Location: Zed's Quarters
Timeline: After "Gracie's Great Pair of B's" 0230ish hours

Zed looked at the ceiling of his temporary quarters on the station and regarded it with a cool, dispassionate gaze. His breathing was steady, his mind clear, and his body relaxed. Looking at him, one would never have imagined that he was suffering from a tidal wave of emotions, being held back by a dam, and that he was wishing the dam wasn't there. He'd just had a wonderful night; so wonderful, in fact, that part way through, his governor had kicked in before he could stop it. His current logical mind understood why, but he did not appreciate having his positive emotions, including his love for Grace, appear to be subdued in such a way, especially after they'd finally been able to make love.

His hand was resting on the small of her back and their breathing was nearly in sync as she laid pressed against him. He looked down at her and saw her looking up at him. It surprised him, as he'd assumed she'd have fallen asleep by now. "Hello," he said, moving down to look her in the eyes, putting a hand on her cheek. "How do you feel?"

"Ah feel great." Grace adjusted herself up against him, one foot sliding up and down his shin gently while the hand that rested on his chest slid upwards to his shoulder. She'd had one moment of hesitation, but after that had passed, she had been just as enthusiastic in the whole affair as he had. At least, as he initially had been. "What about you?"

"Without a doubt, one of the best nights I have ever had," he said without hesitation. "In no small part to your presence here."

The look in her eyes shifted slightly, from contentment to worry in the span of a few heartbeats, "Zed, somethin' happened last night..." She pursed her lips as she considered her words. "Ah dunno how to describe it, you just... Lost a bit of yourself? You went all precise and mechanical and all that, Ah guess that's the way Ah'd have to describe it."

If he could have blushed in that moment, he would have. "My...governor activated," he said. "I have been trying to get it to relax for some time now. What I was feeling quickly and completely passed the emotional threshold for it. It does not mean I love you any less, quite the opposite. Nor, I hope, did it detract from your enjoyment of the evening. If I recall, I succeeded more than once in regards to you....enjoying it." He cleared his throat self-consciously and closed his eyes, taking a few breaths and trying to relax. It began to work and he could feel his mind relaxing and his emotions flood in. He opened his eyes and saw her face and the flood of love, care, concern and embarrassment he suddenly felt threatened to bring it back, but he got a handle on things. "Sorry," he said, his voice warmer. "I hope it didn't upset you."

"Ah think you can rest assured that Ah enjoyed it greatly." She planted a kiss on his shoulder, "And Ah don't think Ah'm upset about it." Grace gave him a curious look, "Have you ever done this with Alexis?" she asked after a hesitation.

"No," he said, his tone making it clear there was no ambiguity about the answer. "As much as I care for her as a friend...it's never been like this, and I've never had my feelings overwhelm me like that. That's all been because of you, and only you."

"Then Ah am most definitely not upset." Grace's smile turned smug before she heaved herself up and over on top of him so she could rest her chin on his chest to continue looking at him, "Ah've gotten more of you than she has, and that makes me happy. Don't worry, Ah know Ah'm not in competition with her, but still."

"You are most definitely not," Zed said, giving her rear a smack. "And for the record, Gracie? You already had a part of me she didn't, so you already won."

Grace squeaked and she crawled up him again and gave him a kiss, "Ah suppose, then, that Ah shouldn't even feel jealous of her from time to time. Though, ah can say Ah can truly understand why she visits you as much as she can." She smiled at him from the distance of two inches, "And Ah hope that we'll be doin' this more often, too. Ah really wanted to get back on the horse, Zed, and Ah think Ah did."

"My ego and I thank you for that assessment," he said, smirking. "And if I have any say in it, we most certainly will be." He leaned up and kissed her softly, running his hands down her back. "I'll just have to be careful not to get too caught up with it, or the refit will get delayed." He gave her a wink and a grin.

"Since Ah do have a flight schedule, we can probably just keep these 'distractions' contained to the evenings and any days off we may happen to get," Grace said cheekily. "Or, you know, Ah could always go to those quarters Ah was assigned and spend more time with my fellow pilots and leave you to your own devices." It was a gentle tease, one that she showed him very quickly was not a serious effort to stay away from him.

"I'm sure we can work out a schedule," he said. "After all, I can't keep you up like this every night. Can't have you falling asleep in the cockpit of your ship." He kissed her again and gave her rear a squeeze. "I suppose we should also go on another date, just so we don't forget that we have other things in our relationship besides sex." He gave it a moment's thought. "You arranged dinner. Maybe I'll see about getting us some holodeck time. We could give the beach another go, or if you prefer, we could see if the station has any good sports programs."

"Ah think we've got much more than sex in our relationship, Zed, unlike a lot of others, we started off on the right foot overall." She screwed up her face, "Ah mean, you kept me from stabbin' someone when we first met and then got me outta there. But Ah'm basically game for anythin', especially if we can get that holodeck time. Ah do wanna take you to the farm at some point, but the beach is always good. All Ah know is that for tonight, you're taken." She slid down a bit further and wriggled a bit, "And don't worry about me fallin' asleep in the cockpit, those shuttles fly themselves."

Zed let out a groan and grabbed her hips, holding her steady. "Good. Then tomorrow the shuttle can fly itself, and I'll keep you here. I'm sure Engineering can do without me for a morning. Or a day." He laid back and let her work her magic, his hands resting on her hips, happier than he had any right to be...but hopefully not so much that his governor kicked in again.


A Post by

Lieutenant Zachary Addams
Chief Engineer
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant j.g. Grace MacKenzie
Figher Pilot
USS Tokyo

 

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