Work Text:
Shore leave never happened enough for Kandros, but that was the burden of dating the Pathfinder. He stayed behind on the Nexus while the woman he loved gallivanted through the galaxy, finding homes for colonists, fighting enemies, and brushing too close to death far too many times for his liking. Every time she sent him the message that she was on her way to the Nexus, Kandros rushed to clear his schedule and whatever he tasks couldn’t get done, Lieutenant Sajax always took off his hands with a wink and a “have fun.”
His Lieutenant already thought he didn’t take enough time off, but time off meant Kett going where they weren’t supposed to, and losing supply drops, and protests in Hydroponics. Mayhem.
Sara made that go away. Every day on a floating tin can out in space, Kandros’ mind filled and raced with problems and solutions and every single way either could go awry. But one look into her dark brown eyes and his mind could only think of her. Of being with her. Of the tiny moments they were able to share together.
The message came as he was coordinating with The Resistance to send out a team to help secure civilians and supplies. He quickly finished his message to Evfra and opened Sara’s message, his subvocals trilling in excitement as he read that Sara was coming to the Nexus for a few days.
“Pathfinder is coming again, I take it?” Sajax teased from the other side of the terminal, noticing the slight change in his tone.
“Tomorrow.”
“Good. You need a day off.” Her mandibles relaxed in a smile. “Maybe more than a day?”
“Three.”
Sajax nodded. “I can handle everything.”
“Are you sure. I’ll be sending out a team soon and they’ll need to be briefed—”
“I can handle that, Kandros,” Sajax reassured. “You’ve already approved the briefing materials and I know how to debrief teams. If something comes up that needs your attention, I’ll let you know.”
If anyone else were to reassure him, he probably wouldn’t believe him, but Sajax had proven herself more times than he could count. She had his back fighting the Kett, during the uprising, and she still had it now.
The rest of the day flew by and Kandros found himself too excited to sleep. His lights dimmed as per the preset day/night cycles, but he just laid there, staring up at the projection of Palaven’s moons on the ceiling. Most of the time the peaceful landscape, the last image of home he remembered, lulled him right to sleep. But not tonight.
All he wanted was Sara lying in his arms. He missed her quiet snores and the way she pressed her soft body against the chitinous shell of him, uncaring that he wasn’t the most comfortable person she could snuggle with.
He finally closed his eyes as if trying to manifest her presence, finally failing asleep five hours before her scheduled arrival.
Kandros stood in the docking bay, talons resting on the railing, and he watched as the Tempest landed onto the platform. The docking bay was always full of arrivals and departures, colonists and visitors, and some came just to watch the Tempest come and go. He couldn’t blame them. The Tempest was a marvel of engineering and one of the nicest ships he had ever laid eyes on.
The doors opened the platform extended. Kandros leaned forward, waiting for Sara to walk off her ship. She was usually last, and he could imagine her sitting in her room, shooting off one last important e-mail before declaring herself finally on break. Only then would she realize everyone had left without her and she’d scramble off the ship.
Sure enough, he watched her jog off the ship, the rest of her companions having already left to enjoy their days of relaxing and resupplying before their next jaunt into space.
She wore a plain black Initiative tank top and sweatpants. Her sandy brown hair had been pulled back into a ponytail that swayed side to side as she moved. Kandros’ eyes followed her until she disappeared into the hallway connected the dock to the bay. He waited at the doors, wanting to be the first person she laid eyes on.
Kandros lived for the twinkle in her eyes and the wide smile that split her face the moment she saw him. Her arms went around his middle and he leaned over to tuck her into a hug. Soft hair brushed his chin and his talons carefully dug into her back. He’d made sure to file and buff them the night before.
“Hey stranger,” she teased, leaning back to look up at him. “Miss me?”
Kandros stared down at the woman he never imagined falling in love with, his subvocals purring in excitement.
“Always.”