Title: Human Suvival
Date Posted: 8 February 2008
Author: Van Donovan
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Blake, Jenna
Pairing: Blake/Jenna, Avon/Vila
Word count: 738
Warnings: Post-Time Squad. Sequel to Cat & Mouse, though it is not required to have read that one.
Notes: Written for the b7friday challenge "meals."
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“You’re not going to believe what I just saw in the galley,” Jenna said as she walked onto the flight deck and began navigating the stairs. Her eyes went to her station, but Blake wasn’t sitting there on watch, nor was he occupying any of the other positions. She was baffled for several seconds before she caught sight of him sitting on one of the couches. He had dragged a table in front of them and was having himself a little meal.

“Please, Jenna,” he said after swallowing, “I’m eating.”

That Blake was taking his meal on the flight deck suggested he knew, but his words gave even more credence to the fact. “So you saw,” Jenna said, sliding onto the couch opposite him. “They could have at least closed the door.”

“I plan to deal with it later.”

Lacing her fingers together atop the table, Jenna unfocused her eyes. “I wouldn’t have thought it of Avon,” she mused. “If it had been Vila on his knees, maybe I would have thought they—“

“Jenna, please,” Blake said.

Unable to hide her smirk at Blake’s irritation, Jenna said, “What? You’re not jealous are you?”

“Of that? Hardly,” Blake said, finishing his food. He threw his fork onto his plate with a sigh. “Damn fools, the both of them, acting like a pair of hormonal teenagers.”

“I’m happy for them,” Jenna stated. “We’ve had enough death and destruction in our lives. It’s good to see someone find some happiness for once.” Off Blake’s dubious glare, she amended herself. “All right, well, at least some pleasure. There’s nothing wrong with a little pleasure, Blake.”

“I’m not saying there isn’t,” Blake countered. “But that should be done in their own quarters, where the rest of us don’t have to unexpectedly walk in on it! It’s dinnertime, Jenna! Did they expect that no one would see them?”

“I rather imagine it was the act of getting caught that made it so desirable.”

“I feel like I’m babysitting a bunch of toddlers,” Blake said. “What’s Cally going to think we do on this ship if she walks in on that?”

“They almost died on Saruian Minor, Blake,” Jenna said. “If the teleport had been just a few seconds off, they would have been killed in that explosion. Looking death in the face like that makes you reevaluate your feelings and appreciate life differently.”

“You forget I was there too,” Blake retorted. “You don’t see me acting like a sex starved schoolboy.”

Jenna smiled. “Don’t be too hard on them, Blake. It’s probably the most human thing I’ve ever seen Avon do.” Seeing that Blake did not appreciate the humor of her statement, she sighed and became more serious. “Haven’t you ever felt like that before? That hungry, desperate need for someone, gnawing away at the pit of your stomach until you don’t care where you are or who’s watching, so long as you can pull that someone into your arms and hold them close and know it’s real and you’re both alive, here and now, and can satiate that need? It isn’t all about hormones, Blake. It’s human survival.”

Her gaze lifted off the tabletop and fixed on and held Blake’s. For a few seconds, a quiet descended over the room before Blake blinked and looked away.

“I think you’re giving them too much credit,” he said, but the ire had gone out of his voice.

“I wasn’t just talking about them,” Jenna countered, her tone softer.

Blake’s gaze returned to hers and after a few more moments, Jenna broke into a soft smile. It was infectious and despite his protests, Blake ended up returning it. “You should have been a politician,” Blake said. “You’re very persuasive.”

The comment was absurd enough that Jenna laughed. “Does that mean I’ve won?”

Leaning back on the couch, Blake said, “Were we having an argument?”

After a moment’s consideration, Jenna said, “I suppose not. Just, don’t be too hard on them.”

Raising an eyebrow, Blake said, “You sound like you’re trying to protect them. They’re in the wrong and they need to be told.” His mood seemed lightened. “Or perhaps you’ve an ulterior motive? Is there something you want to tell me, Jenna?”

Grinning, Jenna said, “Oh, I don’t know. Vila is rather cute in a mousy sort of way, don’t you think?”

Shrugging noncommittally, Blake said with a smile, “I’m a bit fonder of blondes myself.”



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