Yul chewed his lip. “I don’t know. I really don’t. I mean, as a kid, I did some pretty crazy stuff. But nothing like… well, pretty much anything we’ve done today.” He chuckled softly, brushing his lips against her forehead. “So, is it like an addiction, where I need bigger and bigger doses of danger to satisfy me? Or is it because I feel like I have to prove myself?” He frowned. “It’s gotta be the later, right?” He wasn’t sure, doubt audible in his voice.

A soft murmur as he felt Mumei’s fingers catch in his hair. Yul tilted his head, giving her a gently curious look. His expression softened as she spoke, his dark eyes growing just a touch wider. “Well… hey. That goes both ways, okay? I think I’m pretty locked onto you now. I don’t think I could turn away if I wanted to.” Turning his head, he kissed her cheek, lips lingering for more than a moment.

Shifting beneath Mumei, Yul smiled up at her. “And let’s not think about losing each other, huh? It’s not over yet. By my count, we still owe each other a dance. And I’d like to see how many other corners of Asakaze there are for just the two of us.” His hand on her shoulders gently traced the lines of her, gently stroking, soothing the lines of tension he found. Enjoying the touch of her.

As he shifts, she moves with him, wincing slightly as the movement pulls at the gashes across her ribs. Her eyes meet his curiosity with a vulnerable honesty. There are things that are often easier to simply not say, however honest she tries to be, but she’s saying them now.. She closes her eyes slowly as Yul speaks, the fierce joy simply too strong and simultaneously fragile to risk showing openly. They open as his lips touch her cheek, and her lips meet his with as much of that feeling as she can convey with the touch, where it’s a message only able to be read between them.

She wears the softest smile when their lips part, and she nods, fingers shifting from his hair to a shoulder, to hold herself steady. “I try to stick to the moment in front of me when I can. I guess it’s...even more important now.” Tension eases beneath his caresses, Mumei pressing into each contact, her own fingers kneading gently, absently, like a contented cat.

“Mmmm, I’d like to hope it’s not the danger you need to keep feeling the joy of a thing, or I might disappoint eventually,” her grin is teasing, as is the movement of her body against him as shes says it--even if the hope matches his own as to the source of his need to pick fights with giant lizards. The hope, and honest curiosity manifest in questions, “You’ve said you love the freedom, but I don’t think that’s all you love about...clipping mountain peaks. I guess...look at what feeds your passion and that might show that it’s danger, or...something else?”

“Mmmm.” Yul growled throatily as Mumei wriggled atop him, some of that heat returning to his gentle brown eyes. His fingers splayed, the grip on her hip briefly becoming a playful squeeze before settling once more. “I mean, I’ve seen a lot of strange things out there; I bet you have, too. But you disappointing? That seems impossible.” Maybe there was a freshness to Mumei, but the bond they seemed to share, the understanding, went beyond that.

Beneath her, Yul sighed pleasantly, the expansion and compression of his chest tangible beneath her. “Yeah… freedom. That, and doing something new.” He resumed his gentle caress of her shoulders, even as he leaned into her touches. “It’s the same thing as we get from exploring. Wouldn’t that be something, you and me, out there together…” Another pleasant sigh. “But the same thing that makes me want to go beyond the next hill makes me want to see how fast I can do it, you know?”

His arms shifted, bringing a little more of his skin in contact with hers, warm, tingling, alive. “I think the need to prove myself has gotten all twisted in with it somehow. Maybe I can untangle it. I don’t know.”

“Hmmm.” The sound, halfway between thoughtful sigh and contented hum stretches out, “I’d like that, sometime; to be up there in the void with you. Measure your heartbeat against the slow cold I find there.” The warmth here stands in stark contrast--the very human warmth of skin against skin, the heat of two bodies in a small space, a space warmed by the Asakaze sun that’s been steaming them all for days now. When she pulls herself in to kiss him this time, it’s a comfort, a promise of that exploration to come.

And her fingers catching and tugging at the tangles in his hair? Well exploration brings surprises.

She pulls at it a bit, laughter on her lips a moment before she breaks that kiss. “Hopefully not this tangled up.” Between sweat, blood, and probably lizard spit, she did not envy him the task of making it presentable again. “But..I’m pretty sure this can be fixed,” she carefully works her fingers free without yanking anything further, shaking against him with a gentle laugh. “So...I guess I hope maybe you can figure out how to keep diving into the new and exciting without that need to prove something clouding judgement. I can’t hear about what you found if you don’t come back to tell me.” It’s said lightly, staying in the moment rather than letting her thoughts drift toward imagining that future.

Yul grinned. “That’d really be something, huh? I’d like that, too.” He tilted his head, relaxing into the kiss, letting it linger, stretching out the enjoyment of comfort and promise alike.

He murmured against her lips a little at the tug in his hair, before both of them broke off, laughing softly. “Yeah. Me too. Because hey, I really want to see the look on your face when I tell you all about it.” Yul’s grin softened into a warm smile as he looked up at her. “Although, maybe I’d rather you were just there to see it with me.”

He held her eyes with his a few moments longer. Then Yul sighed. “As much as I’d love to just stay here like this…” He paused a moment, running a single finger along the line of her shoulders, “-we should probably be getting back. Believe it or not, I may have actually had enough adventure for one day.”

Shaking with laughter, she nods. “Maybe enough for one day, yes. Or at least a week, I hope?” She begins to gingerly pick her way to standing without stepping on anything delicate, pausing for a brief kiss at the hands and knees stage of the operation.

Looking around, without the fierce edge of adrenaline, the little vehicle looks even worse. The seat is shredded, blood and blood-crusted clothing are everywhere, and the door is crumpled enough that she’s a bit worried about breathing at the highest point of their return past the mountains. “Ok...well, this is what insurance is for.”

She circles back a bit. “I didn’t expect they’d let you take passengers in the ships you’re usually flying, but I’d happily be beside you whenever that’s possible.”

Yul grinned. “We’ll see. There’s gotta be more of this planet with adventure, but with a more modest amount of danger.” He smiled into the kiss, rising only a bit stiffly just after Mumei did, his eyes tracing her form. He was tired, and they were both covered in a variety of grime, but Yul couldn’t help but run a hand playfully down her uninjured flank, fingers lingering at the end to maintain that closeness just a moment longer.

Stepping over, he gave the door a tug, and then another, grunting. “Should hold.” He shot her a smile, brushing his long hair back again; it tumbled messily around his shoulders. “I’ve flown worse, believe me. I got to know the mechanics on my carrier really well.”

Yul shrugged, then paused, taking a breath. “Well… as long as we’re dreaming…” He chewed his lip a moment. “Don’t know if you know about the new Unicorn fighters. Top of the line, and FTL capable, because they’ve got a fighter/navigator pair.” Another breath, his eyes on hers, then he smiled. “One thing at a time, huh?” He began to dress, leaning awkwardly against the wall of the craft.

She doesn’t want to break the connection either, trailing as he examines the damage, her fingers tracing a shoulder, then-with a small frown-the bruises that remain. “There’s still some nice scenery out by the fields. I wonder if it’s too close to town to see stars there?”

“I guess...it would be pretty regular to bring a fighter back with damage, hmm? How are those new fighters deployed? There can’t be many?” She deflects a moment with questions, and picking up clothing, thinking about what it would mean to help fly a fighting machine and drop out of the Way with the sort of death that fighters are made for. That’s going to require some thought. “But...yeah, definitely one thing at a time. Need to get to the end of this miai first,” she says, meeting his eyes again with a lopsided smile.

Putting bloody, but undamaged, pants on is not nearly as enjoyable as taking them off. Then she picks up her shirt and holds in front of her, small nose wrinkling in disgust. “I really don’t want to put this on...and not just because you might get distracted getting this thing back over those mountains.” With a sigh, she works it over her head anyway. “But walking topless back through town is not an option.”

Yul sighed pleasantly at her touch. "Only one way to find out." He said, looking back over his shoulder at her with a smile. "But I bet there are. Maybe not like being up there... but I spent a lot of time lying out in a field, looking up at the stars when I was a kid. I'd like to try it again." The glint in his eyes made the unspoken with you as clear as day.

Grunting, Yul managed his own pants, an unpleasant stickiness requiring a bit of extra tugging. "Not many, no. And they often go out solo, or in small groups made up of only them. Only the best pilot-navigator pairs are chosen, and their bond is important." He met her lopsided smile with a grin, although it faded when he nudged at his jacket. "Ruined. Shoot. Last thing I got before I left Shinjo's Grace."

Despite the grime that covered both of them, despite having recently satisfied their passions, Yul still gave Mumei a fairly intense look. "Oh, believe me, I can handle a few distractions while flying." He breathed, then smiled. "Let's put that under to be continued, huh?" As he walked by her on the way to the cockpit, he couldn't help but let his hand brush across her one more time.

She laughs, catching his hand as they head back to their seats. "I'm just going to trust you on that without calling for a demonstration right now, hmmm? Enough adventure for one day." Settling into the seat, she hisses as her back contacts it. "mmm..and I think I'd rather not contribute to a rougher trip back right now."

Getting her safety harness in place seems a touch unreal when so much has changed, but the series of motions and pattern of clicks hasn't changed at all. "I imagine you'll get back to Shinjo's Grace sometime for another jacket. I'm afraid leather isn't something the kami will fix." After a moment, and quieter, she asks, "I guess, if there's a wedding, it would be there, yeah?"

Fully strapped in, Yul shot her a quick concerned look. "I promise, I'll make it as smooth as I can." His hands were still moving, flipping switches. The Ornithopter blades began to spin, ready for take-off.

Yul paused, looking over at Mumei with soft eyes. "Yeah, I guess so." He said, his voice quiet to match hers. "The north continent in Fall would be a great time and place for a wedding. But there's great stuff to see there any time of year."

"It'll be nice to see it again." She grins, even as she braces to spare her back the extra pressure when they take off. "nice to see your new jacket, and you in it too."

The grin Yul shot her was equal parts exhilarated and playful. "Count on it, Mumei." He said.

And then, with a steady hand, he took them home.

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D5LA pilot exit, OROKOS LEAVE ME ALONE: 5d10o10k3+6 27

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