Sunlight
by Suz suzvoy@tesco.net

Disclaimer - Paramount own them.

In response to august's challenge on the Kashyk list. J/C. J/Kashyk. Kind of.

*

He had missed the sun.

There would be the occasional planet; usually M-Class, sometimes otherwise. In any case, there would be the occasional planet where he could stand under the sun, feeling the heat on his skin, seeing the light cross his face.

It was never quite the same, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself.

It was never quite the same as Earth.

Earth wasn't his home either, but it would suffice. He didn't know how long ago he had become a person who would settle for 'suffice'.

He tried not to think about it. It was a beautiful day. They had been few and far between for the past nine years.

The park was crowded. Apparently the locals had also decided it was a beautiful.

He was unfamiliar with the area. He knew it vaguely, knew that somewhere over there lead towards the Academy, and if he went off in that other direction, he'd reach the Memorial in about ten minutes.

He didn't know any faces, and was glad for it.

Until he saw hers.

He almost couldn't register it at first, the sheer odds of seeing her here, the impact of what seeing her again did to him, the fact that he was staring at her and all he could think was that she looked absolutely exhausted.

She was in civvies - he wasn't sure if that was a relief or not - and she was - there was no other word for it - scurrying along a path in the park, clearly using it as a shortcut to get somewhere faster.

She wasn't appreciating the day. She wasn't staring at the sun. She found her beauty in other things.

Her clothes were cream - always cream - her hair looked frazzled, she looked frazzled and she was...

....rapidly moving out of his line of sight.

He meant to let the moment go unnoticed. Meant to never let her know that he had seen her, watched her, wondered about her. He meant to simply get on with his own life, and leave her to hers.

Simple.

It never was.

He shouldn't have been standing. He shouldn't have politely pushed his way through small crowds of people. He shouldn't have ignored the blonde who suggestively murmured something to him. He shouldn't have apologised to the child whose toys he accidentally trod on. He shouldn't have found the sight of her departing back so intoxicating.

He shouldn't have started running.

He shouldn't have been having so much fun in doing so.

He shouldn't have been running, because when he actually caught up to her, lightly grabbed her arm and turned her surprised face around to see his...he was completely out of breath.

No "Hello." No "It's good to see you." Not even an "I don't know if it's good to see you or not."

Just a gasp, as he fought for air.

She smirked.

"Busy?" He managed to get out.

"Hectic day," She responded "But nothing I can't put off for a few hours. I'm actually discovering that the Doctor was right and I do create work for myself. It's good to see you."

He didn't ask about Kashyk.

She lived nearby. Her apartment was functional, attractive, a little bare. A few personal items.

Like his.

It didn't surprise him.

She had a double-bed. That didn't surprise him, either.

She offered him coffee. He had some, but drank only occasionally as they talked about the others; what they were all doing. She told him nothing of what she was doing. Intimated a few details, perhaps, but nothing concrete.

That was okay. He didn't want to know.

She kissed him as he was supposed to be leaving.

The bed didn't creak.

It was perhaps not what he had dreamed of, but it was certainly what he had fantasised about.

He didn't ask about Kashyk.

She slept. So did he, for a while, but eventually woke and listened to her. If he had missed the sun that much, how would he classify the sound of her breathing?

He left quietly, knowing he probably wouldn't see her again, knowing that she would wake alone, and wondering if either of them would care.

Happily, he stepped out of the building and lifted his head towards the sky.

He had missed the sun.

~FINIS

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