Thorne
Shortly after he started his mission, he heard the bedroom door creak open.
It was the first time she’d emerged since late afternoon the day before. After he’d showered and felt refreshed, they’d spent the day watching television and awkwardly ignoring each other, except to ask what the other person wanted to watch. It had been…unpleasant, to say the least. Each one preoccupied with their own thoughts and emotions, wanting nothing more than to be left alone, yet unable to have what they wanted. It had been, simply put, brutal.
Thorne was trying to start the second day of their forced living together on a better note. He knew Carla had hoped to be leaving today, but after Colonel Mara’s visit he was wondering if she was going to go back at all, let alone soon. For some reason the colonel had been adamant about the two of them staying together. From what he’d heard of the colonel’s reputation, she wasn’t the type to be spiteful like this. There was a deeper reasoning here, he just didn’t know it yet.
“What are you doing?”
Burying the smile that appeared on his face, he answered with more than half turning his head. “Making breakfast?”
“Oh. Where did you get all the food?”
“I went out and bought it?”
They’d had pizza the night before, ordered in, something he realized he absolutely loved about this new world. While it had been delicious, Thorne wanted to experiment with other things. Much of his spare time was spent on his phone browsing the internet, trying to get up to speed with modern-day culture and technology.
Shit, speaking of which…
As subtly as possible as Carla came closer he flipped his phone over, trying to hide the cooking instructions displayed upon the screen. Bacon and eggs were apparently a classic breakfast meal, but he had no idea how to make them. The remnants of his first try with the eggs were now in the garbage can. His second attempt were slowly sizzling away, waiting for him to flip them before serving.
“Right, of course. You went out and bought food. This morning?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Any chance you bought anything else that you feel like sharing?”
Thorne could hear her practically salivating over the food, and a little feeling of happiness shot through him. He was doing it properly then if she was getting hungry at the sight and smell of what he was making.
Except she wants something else, not this…
“You don’t want any of this?” he asked, trying to hide his abrupt mood change.
Carla, who had been rummaging through the fridge, stood upright and looked at him. “You’re making some for me?” The disbelief in her voice was palpable.
He stared at the food. Then her. Then the food. “Did you really think I was making all this for me?”
“Uh, maybe.” Carla at least had the good graces to blush as she answered truthfully. She was silent for a bit longer as he opened the oven and withdrew a plate stacked high with already cooked bacon and added the fresh strips from the pan to it.
He busied himself gathering two empty plates, upon which he spooned two eggs to hers, and three to his. The internet had said “over-easy” was the quickest and easiest style and fairly popular, so he’d not tried to be too fancy.
The toaster popped in the silence, and both of them jumped as four pieces of toast appeared with perfect golden tones to it, the smell of freshly twice-cooked bread filling the room. Thorne, hoping she didn’t mind his fingers, tossed a pair on her plate, and then set it in front of Carla, along with the tongs to grab the bacon.
“You’re sharing the bacon?” she asked at last, her voice small.
“Yes, I’m sharing the bacon. And the eggs. The toast too. There’s even some orange juice in the fridge if you would like a glass.”
“Thank you,” she said after a very long pause, speaking so softly that he could barely hear her. Slowly she took two pieces of bacon from the pile.
Corde frowned. That just wouldn’t do. Moving swiftly, he snatched up the tongs the instant she removed her fingers, grabbed a generous helping of bacon and added it to her plate. “There,” he said, admiring his handiwork. “Much better.”
“Are you sure?”
He expelled some air from his nose in distaste. “Yes, I’m sure, Carla. I’m not that gluttonous that I wouldn’t share more than two strips with you. This is bacon we’re talking about. Don’t act like you don’t want more.”
She blushed and nodded, walking through the kitchen to sit down at the oversized island. He joined her a moment later after pouring both of them glasses of orange juice. The bar stools were made of thick reinforced steel, and they didn’t budge under his body as he sat.
The two of them dug in, not speaking as they inhaled the tasty meal.
“This is good,” she remarked around a mouthful of bacon. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He silently thanked the internet for giving him the first positive interaction with Carla since the bar.
What should he say now though? The opening was there, he could sense it. Now was the time to speak plainly and honestly. Without hatred and anger from either side. He’d extended the olive branch, and she’d taken it. They were even sitting next to one another, and she hadn’t made any attempt to move away, or given him a questioning glance over it.
“Listen,” he said, regretfully putting down the piece of bacon he’d been about to eat. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for this whole thing.”
Carla looked up, the last piece of a strip of bacon disappearing into her mouth just a moment too late. He forced himself not to smile at that, lest it embarrass her and ruin the mood.
“I never thought it would go this far. It wasn’t my intent to make you miss the general inspection with your unit. I’m not actually a callous asshole.” He stopped. This wasn’t supposed to become about him. “I didn’t think Colonel Mara would ever take it this far.”
“Neither did I.” Carla spoke up, surprising him slightly with that admittance. He’d expected it to take a bit longer before the two of them could speak openly and honestly with each other like this. So much bad blood had built up over the past two days, it had seemed insurmountable at first.
“Can I ask why you went along with it?” Thorne was generally curious. What had possessed her to agree to it all?
To his surprise she looked away, intently studying her food while she answered, unwilling to meet his gaze.
“I thought it would be funny. Worth a gag. Hell, maybe I’d get to kiss you out of the deal, and then everyone would laugh and that would be that.” She shook her head. “I never expected Colonel Mara to not only buy it, but do so to the extent of sending us here together.”
Thorne couldn’t contain a little laugh this time.
“What?”
“Well, you did manage to get a kiss out of the deal,” he joked.
Carla shot him a glare, but it died almost as quickly as it came.
“What was that for?” he asked innocently. “Was it that bad? I realize I’ve been asleep for hundreds of years, but in real time for me it hasn’t been that long since I’ve kissed a beautiful dame.”
The words came out and he winced. “Shit, that’s not how I meant it, I’m sorry.”
“You think I’m beautiful?” she asked.
Thorne paused. That was not the reaction he’d expected at all. Carla was feisty and independent. He’d expected her to be livid over being called a dame, not surprised that he thought she was gorgeous.
He eyed her now. Tall, broad of shoulder, and blessed with muscle. Her frame was what he would call generous, with the muscle covered by an extra layer. It was probably necessary. To drive the battlesuit, she would need a certain amount of bulk. To his eye it suited her well, and though she had an ample chest and thick legs, he could see why she was surprised.
Enough of his time had been spent on the internet that he’d gotten a general appreciation for what was considered “beautiful” for this time, and he couldn’t disagree more. It might be for some, but it just wasn’t for him. He was a dragon, after all, and he liked his women comfortable.
“Yes,” he said, resisting the temptation to reach out and tuck a few loose strands of her ultra-short hair behind an ear.
What the hell was going on with him that he was suddenly possessed of the urge to get romantic with her? Clearing his mind, he returned to the conversation.
“Oh.” Carla licked her lips. “Well anyway, the plan all backfired on both of us. Neither of us thought we’d end up here, and I don’t even remember the kiss enough to know if it was good or not, if you must know. So, nobody won.”
“That’s true.” Thorne pondered that point. “However, that means that Colonel Mara also hasn’t won.”
Carla finally looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“She expects us to fall apart, hate each other, the whole deal. This was just a joke, and she’s trying to drive home the point that a dragon finding his mate is not something they take as a joke, I guess.”
“I’m with you so far, but I don’t see where you’re going with this.”
“Let’s not let her get the best of us. I’m going to talk to her again Monday—sorry, I already tried; they won’t give me her cell phone and she won’t be back in the office until Monday—and I’ll try to get things sorted out. Until then though, let’s try and just be normal, friendly people to one another.”
Carla considered that, taking a long time to answer.
“All I’m asking is that you spend the rest of the day with me. Just do stuff where we’re not at each other’s throats the entire time, angry about the situation we’re in. Give me the day, and then I’ll see what I can get fixed tomorrow, okay?”
After another period of silence, Carla shrugged. “Okay, why the hell not? What else am I going to do, right?”
Thorne’s lips compressed into a flat line as he nodded. It wasn’t quite the answer he’d wanted, but it still achieved his aim, and for that he was thankful. He made a mental note to himself: Bacon is an excellent peace offering.
Now all he had to do was spend the rest of the day with her, and hope she didn’t end up hating him even more by the time it was over.