"They can't wait forever, though, can they? I mean, maybe longer than a lot of people, but eventually people will find a way to beat them. It's a balancing act between out-waiting the enemy and striking before struck. If I say it's like playing Jenga, you won't have a clue what I mean, will you?" Sometimes it was difficult not to sigh when none of their frames of reference were so drastically different.
Sometimes, not so different.
"Yeah." She nodded, relaxing a little under his touch. "It's okay." And this was why she knew he cared more than he liked to admit. When they'd had sex before, it had been rough and raw. But, after the rape, while he'd taken her out training and showed her how to beat the crap out of anyone despite her size, whenever it had come to this kind of contact, he'd always been slow and gentle with her the way she needed right now. Breathing another soft sigh, she smiled. "Technically, they are from another world," she said lightly, raising her hand between them to run her fingers over his clothed chest. "This is all we want for you, though, Derek. Me, John, we just want you to have even a tiny piece of these kind of stories. Not to hurt you or make you weak, but to give you something the rest of us still, despite everything, take for granted."
Smirking, she stared boldly up at him. "If I wasn't contrary you'd be bored all too easily. Someone has to keep you on your toes." She shook her head. "No, it's not strange. Not when I know what you've been through in the last twenty years. And I know I don't even know a fraction of what you've really been through."
Yep. Back to different frames of reference in a matter of moments. "Voyager was about a spaceship that got lost during a mission and had to spend years in space trying to find a way back to Earth. You might have liked Gallactica, actually. They tend to blow up a lot of machines. But, it was another trek through space television show. A race of machines destroys their home planets, so they flee for the mythical planet Earth where their civilization is said to originate from. And shoes, I can manage on my own." She chuckled. "I'll still skip the pregnant. I'm sure there are ways other than abstinence to not get a girl knocked up." She liked that he was comfortable enough now to give her a place in his world. But, her smile was still tinged with worry as he went on. Leaning up, she kissed him softly. "You're not alone, Derek."