Neptune's Pull

by Timesprite

"So, can I be trusted with vacation plans?"

"I'd answer that if I could see straight."

"Headache still?" Nathan shifted their luggage to his left hand so he had the other free to slip around Domino's waist. A warm tropical breeze, laden with the smell of the ocean ruffled their clothes as they made their way along the wooden walk that meandered down the length of the beach. To their left, identical two-story, octagonal cottages trailed down the beach, dazzlingly white under the tropical sun. To the right lay the open, sparkling waters of the Caribbean.

"I just need to go lay down someplace for a bit," she replied, raising a hand half-heartedly to her temple, eyebrows drawn together in pain. "Hell of a way to start a vacation."

"Think it was the plane flight?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "This is nice, though," she added. Nathan had been so damned eager for this vacation--not that she wasn't perfectly willing to trade the holidays with his family for something much less hectic. However, the migraine currently assaulting her was certainly putting a damper on her enthusiasm.

"Here." Nathan stopped before one of the buildings, dropping their bags and producing the key from his pocket. "Ours for the week. With no staff to bug us, either."

"Sounds nice..." She replied, following him in. It was cooler inside than out on the beach, though not artificially so. The floors, trim, furniture, and stairway leading to the second floor were dark wood, while the paneled walls and ceiling were the same white as the exterior--it would have been stark if not for the views outside every window. The whole place had a calm, airy feel to it. "Wow."

Nate grinned. "Glad you like it. Bedroom's upstairs."

The upper floor was much the same as below. The large arched windows shuttered, a doorway leading from the bedroom to the balcony that wrapped clear around the building. Domino stepped out to the rail, shielding her eyes as she scanned the length of the beach and the water beyond, defying the pain for a minute longer in order to drink in the view. Behind her, she could hear Nathan unpacking, drawers opening and closing as he relieved the suitcases of their burdens. She stepped back through the doorway, sitting on the edge of the bed--linens as snow white as the walls, and watched as he finished the task. "This is great," she remarked as he walked toward her. "I think it's shaping up to be a good vacation already. Even with the headache."

"I had a feeling this was something you'd go for." he replied. There was amusement dancing in his eyes and Dom felt washed in a wave of contentment at the realization that this was far less uncommon than it once would have been. He leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "You relax. I'm going to get a look at the rest of the resort."

She stretched slowly as she heard him descend the stairs, working out the kinks left over from the plane flight. She flopped backward on the bed, eyes closed, dutifully trying to ignore the steady throb in her head. Children's voices and the hiss of the sea drifted lazily by on the breeze.

----

The walk through the resort didn't take long--after all he'd picked the spot for its relative isolation. A limited number of guest, just enough amenities to make it comfortable without the hassle and irritation that came with more commercial lodgings. Dom had certainly seemed to like it well enough. Pausing to pull off the sandals that had been bought specifically for the trip, Nathan walked barefooted down the beach, stopping finally where the ocean met the sand, waves splashing intermittently about his ankles. The ocean rolled in and out like some living thing breathing, pure, sparkling blue, stretching to the horizon.

Further down the beach, a group of children were flying kites, the toys reduced to colorful dots high overhead. For once, the world felt like a safe, protected place, his life something stable that would not be lost in the blink of an eye. Sandals still in hand, he turned and walked back across the beach towards the rented cottage.

Stepping into the dimly lit interior, he dropped his sandals by the door, and made a circuit of the downstairs. It wasn't much space-wise. The kitchen was small but functional, the rest of the space occupied largely by comfortable furnishings. The plainness of the interior serving to highlight the beach that spread in panorama outside the windows. Like the second floor, there was a veranda wrapped around the exterior, shaded from the sun by the balcony above it. Reaching the entryway again, he headed upstairs to check on Dom.

She was sound asleep. He toyed with the idea of waking her--she'd probably be awake all night if he didn't--but there was a sense of serenity in the sight of her that he almost couldn't bring himself to disturb. Almost. "Dom?" He reached out, touching her shoulder lightly.

"Hmm?" She stirred, blinking up at him sleepily. "Hey." She propped herself up on an elbow, pushing mussed hair out of her eyes. "Didn't intend to take a nap there."

"Headache better?"

"Yeah, actually." She stretched. "I guess I needed that."

"Glad you're feeling better," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her along the length of her throat. She chuckled, tipping her head back, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We've been here for what, all of two hours?"

#Your point?#

"Don't have one..." Her hand tightened reflexively, her eyes closed.

#Didn't think so.#

Dom pulled away slightly, and brushed her lips lightly across his before flopping backward on the bed. Nathan stretched out on his side next to her, head propped on one hand while the other idly traced the curve of her bare shoulder. "I suppose I'll have to let you get away with being a lecherous bastard this time... It being our 'honeymoon' and all."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

She reached for his hand. "No, never. But, can you honestly tell me you don't find this all at least a little amusing? I mean, *us.*"

He looked down, eyes locking on her vibrant amethyst ones. "Amusing? No... You do?"

"That sounded bad," she replied, seeing the somber look on his face and wanting to banish it. "I suppose I just didn't think you'd ever *ask.*"

"I wasn't sure if I should." He reached down and brushed her hair out of her face, fingertips lingering on her skin. "I didn't want to scare you off. But then you asked me if I needed anything out of us, and I did."

She smiled up at him. "Maybe I did too. So, not so amusing. Right."

He chuckled. "Amusing is going to be trying to tell everyone."

Dom smirked. "Oh, they already know." He arched an eyebrow at her and the smirk became an all-out mischievous grin. "I sent out announcements. They've probably been delivered by now, actually. I expect more than a few people have been trying to call the house."

"Oath, you're horrible."

"I know." She shifted closer to him, making a contented noise as he slipped his arms around her. "But hell, you have to admit, it does beat trying to explain it ten thousand times."

"We could have just told the kids. They'd know about it in China by the end of the day."

Dom laughed. "Okay, point. Still, this was more fun. And we'll be in Westchester for New Year's, we can do the explaining then."

"Do we *have* an explanation?"

"Sure, you got all maudlin on me, and I decided to humor you." She replied, kissing him lightly.

"Oh, so it's my fault..."

"It always is."

He gave her an offended look. "It is not."

"Mmmhmm, Sure. Just cling to your delusions, you old goat," she retorted smugly.

"I think you're just too pleased with yourself..."

"And what are *you* going to do about it?"

"This?" He smirked as she yelped and mock-glared at him.

"Okay, *now* you asked for it," she grinned, pulling away slightly so she could lean over him.

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Really. Going to punish me?"

Dom laughed. "Maybe."

He slid an arm around her waist, tugging her closer. "Better be careful. I might like it."

"You always were masochistic," she agreed, leaning down to kiss him.

"Must be," he responded when they parted. "Look who I married."

Dom sat up, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. "Hey, you wanna stay in my good graces or what?"

"Kidding." He grinned, reaching for her. "No more hitting?"

"That depends. Gonna find a better use for your mouth than yammering on?"

"I think I can manage that."

----

"Hmmm. Y'know, it's really too nice a day to be wasting it like this."

"First day of vacation. We're not *supposed* to do anything." Nate ran a hand down the bare expanse of his partner's back.

"Aside from screw each other silly, you mean?" She joked, curling up with a sigh.

"Well, there is that."

Dom laughed, closing her eyes in contentment. "I'm really glad we did this, y'know. All ribbing aside. We needed the vacation."

"I know. Been a busy year."

"Busy? Dunno about that... Stressful, though, that's for sure." She pulled away, flopping onto the vacant half of the bed and stretching lightly. Folding her arms behind her head, she stared upwards at the ceiling fan spinning lazily overhead. "Y'know, I was thinking... about that conversation we didn't have a few weeks ago."

Nathan glanced over, giving her a faintly bemused look. "Didn't have?"

"About kids."

"Oh. I said we didn't--"

"Have to talk about it." She smiled faintly. "I know." She paused for a moment. "But it's not really fair to just say 'we're never going to have this conversation,' is it? I've been thinking about it, I guess. Hanging around Xavier's, watching after Rachel... I dunno. I guess it made me realize that maybe I wouldn't be as crappy at it as I've always told myself I'd be. And I think I've realized that a lot of that was a coping mechanism--you know. When there's something you can't have, it's easier to tell yourself you never wanted it anyway. It hurts less that way. It was a way to pretend that the idea didn't scare the living crap out of me, that what I was really afraid of wasn't all of the logical risks--it was that I wouldn't be good enough. That I'd fail, and that's just not the kind of thing I'd ever want to fuck up at."

"I don't think you would."

"I'm almost starting to believe that," she replied. "It's still not practical. If I accept G.W.'s offer, I'll be gone for days at a time, you want to get the law practice started up... It's just not something that really fits into our plans, but... I guess, I thought you should know that I'm not saying any of this out of fear anymore. I mean, that's important, right?"

"To decide on your own terms? Sure."

She nodded. "I won't say never, I'd hate to have to eat my words... Besides, fate would probably just have too much fun fucking me over if I did," she added with a wry laugh. "But... I hope that's okay with you?"

"Of course it is." He reached out, touching her arm lightly. "It was never something that mattered in the grand scheme of things, Dom. I already had my shot--and regardless of how things turned out afterward..." He trailed off. "It's fine. And I'm glad you worked it out."

"Yeah... Well," she sat up, flipping her long hair over her shoulders and swinging her legs off the side of the bed. "We're on vacation. We're not supposed to do any thinking, right?"

"Right." He sat up as well, reaching across the bed and catching hold of an ink-black tendril of hair, giving it a slight tug. "Getting long."

"Hrm. Guess I hadn't noticed. Think I should cut it?"

"Never."

She laughed. "I should have known better than to ask you. You always hated it when I did that. Y'know... after the 'Pack split up, first thing I did was hack it all off." She gestured to indicate the length. "I guess I was being vindictive." She stood and started rummaging through the dresser for fresh clothes, unrumpled by a plane flight. "I'm hungry. And I guess it's *almost* dinner time. Wanna go get a bite?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

----

"Hrm. Cute restaurant." Dom looked around the open-air establishment as they were lead to their table. "Crowded, too... Funny how we didn't have to wait in line," she added, giving Nate a sideways glance.

"Yeah. Amazing how that worked out, huh?"

"You didn't..."

"Maybe." His left eye flashed as he smirked at her.

"I love it when you use your powers for personal gain," she grinned, taking her seat.

"You would."

"Ooh. Napkins." Domino waved the teal-colored square of fabric about for emphasis, still grinning at her partner.

"Don't even *think* about it."

"But! Look, candles!"

"You're *not* taking that show on international tour."

"Damnit, you're no fun."

"That's not what you said earlier."

"I didn't want to crush your fragile male ego," she smirked, smoothing the napkin out on her lap. "Okay, no pyromaniacal displays." She stuck her tongue out at him, and picked up the menu.

"Aren't you the height of maturity tonight."

"I'm on vacation. Deal. Besides," she grinned, "you're serious enough for the both of us. I, for one, feel like relaxing. Screw maturity. It's overrated." She leaned her head on her hand. "What's the goofy look for?"

"Just thinking. It's good to see you smile again, Dom."

"Well, I had a kinda crappy year, all told. I haven't had much to smile *about.*"

"Things are looking up though, right?"

"Right." She looked away, the smile fading from her face. "Just sometimes, I worry I won't be able to keep this up..."

"Don't." He reached for her hand, ran his thumb across the back in a soothing gesture. "You will. *We* will. I'm still here to watch your back, Dom. You know that."

She looked up, eyes meeting his. "How could I forget?"

----

Nathan rubbed his eyes blearily, muttered a curse, and buried his head in his pillow. There was sunlight out there, and far too much of it. The sunlight was far too cheery for his tastes--especially at this time of morning. Grumbling, he reached across the bed for his partner--his wife, a disturbingly giddy part of his brain pointed out. A part that was just as disappointed as the rest of him when he didn't find the person in question. He unburied his head and rubbed his eyes again. "Dom?"

"Yeah?" The voice came from his left--the direction of the French doors leading out onto the balcony, he managed to remember through pre-coffee fog.

"Come back to bed." That sounded petulant. He wasn't supposed to sound petulant. "Please?" That hadn't helped.

Domino laughed, walking back into the bedroom. "Well, when you put it like that..." She laid back down next to him, chuckling as he immediately latched on. "Y'know, sometimes I think you just want to use me as a security blanket."

"Yeah, but you're a really *nice* security blanket," he replied. He shouldn't be this content, he thought. Really shouldn't be, but couldn't help it. Dom tended to do that to him. Always had.

"Nate?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you just going to hold me hostage here all day so you can play human leech?"

"There's something better to do?"

"Well, I was *going* to go downstairs and make coffee..."

"Coffee?"

Dom snorted at the hopeful tone in his voice. "Good lord. Remind me to have words with Moira about her getting you addicted..."

"Now, that's hardly fair."

"Fair? She's a *doctor.* You'd think she'd be smart enough to consider the ramifications of giving a man from two thousand years in the future--who had most probably lead an utterly caffeine free existence--coffee that can sit up and *wave.*"

He snorted, arms tightening a bit around her waist. "What's the rush?"

"There isn't one, I suppose. I just thought it'd be nice to go out and enjoy the beach while we're here."

"That'd mean getting up."

"I said I'd give you coffee."

"Hrm. Coffee instead of laying here with you..." He trailed off, considering. "Coffee's not enough."

She snorted. "Never thought I'd live to hear you utter that phrase. Okay, how about... Coffee, and the chance to help me put sunscreen on."

"Deal."

----

"Mmmm. See, now this is nice. Sun, sand..."

"Free massage..." Nathan added, running his hands along Dom's mostly-bare back. She'd always been militant about sun protection--not that he blamed her. After all, he'd seen her sun burnt and it wasn't a pretty sight. And he certainly had no qualms about helping her out with the task.

"There's that, too," she added, eyes closed, content to lay stretched out on the beach towel, relaxed to an alarming degree. She should let Nate talk her into vacations more often, she decided. "Have I mentioned how much I adore you lately?"

"You just like me because I'm good with my hands."

"Among other things," she replied wickedly.

"Well, I do try."

"Mmm. And I *certainly* appreciate the effort." She pillowed her head on her arms, smiling contentedly.

"Y'know. I've never figured out why you're such a beach junkie," Nathan commented after a long pause.

She shrugged. "Dunno. What can I say? It's just unfortunate I burn in ten seconds flat. Although, I seem to recall that *you* tan quite nicely."

"Oath, you have the strangest turn ons..."

"And you happily fulfill almost all of them," she replied. "So you shouldn't be arguing. I *could* be debating whether or not it's possible to fry an egg on your arm, after all."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Never thought to try it." He acquired more sunscreen from the bottle and moved up to work on her shoulders. "It's possible, I guess. G.W. liked to bitch about the enemy catching a reflection off it."

She smirked. "He would. Then again, he liked to say the same thing about my *skin,* so I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"What didn't he like to bitch about?" He ran his hands across her shoulders, remembering the scar too late and muttering inwardly as he felt her tense. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay." She pushed herself upright, taking the sunscreen bottle from him, and began applying it to her legs.

"Dom..."

"I said it's fine. Forget about it, alright?"

He shook his head. "Fine." He flopped back into the beach towel with a sigh, eyes locked on the underside of the large umbrella sheltering them from the bulk of the sun's wrath. "You know, if it really bothers you, there's probably something that can be done about it... cosmetically I mean."

She shook her head, not looking up from her task. "It's... it's not that, okay? It's not how it looks... it's what it means." She sighed. "Like I said, just forget about it. I'll get over it, eventually." After a long moment of silence, she muttered, "This takes too damned long. I should not have to spend ten minutes putting sunscreen on."

"Well, maybe if that suit covered more..."

"If you don't watch it, you're gonna end up with sand in places you're *not* gonna like."

"Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing," he grinned, propping himself up on his elbows. "I'm sure most of the beach appreciates your choice in swimwear."

She snorted. "You are such a dirty old man."

"And yet you married me."

"I know. What does *that* say about me?"

"That you have a thing for dirty old men?"

"Bastard." She scooped up a handful of sand and tossed it in his direction. "I'm gonna hit the water."

"You do that."

"Aw, c'mon. Come with me."

"No."

"You're no fun."

"I don't swim!"

"So? You don't have to. It's possible to *stand* in water, you know."

"I don't like getting wet."

"Afraid you'll rust?"

"That I'll sink like a flonqing rock," he muttered. "Alright. But only for a minute."

"That's all I ask," she beamed, reaching for his hand. "Besides, maybe you'll surprise yourself and actually *like* it."

"I still associate oceans with chemical wastelands. I don't think 'enjoying' is going to happen."

"Excuses." She kept her grip on his hand tugging him out into the surprisingly warm ocean water. "Oh, look, you haven't melted."

"Ha ha."

"C'mon. Just a little further."

"Hey, I said for a minute."

"Oh, you baby. You're only up to your *knees* for crying out loud. I'm gonna tell the kids you're afraid of water if you don't..."

"Oh, that's all I need," he groused, and waded out a few more feet to join her. The water was at his waist, somewhat higher on Dom.

"See? Isn't this nice?" She splashed him lightly.

"It's...okay, I guess. I still don't see what the fuss--" The rest of his sentence was lost as he swallowed seawater, having found himself unceremoniously knocked off his feet. He flailed for a moment before regaining his footing, breaking the surface and coughing up water. "That," he grated, eyeing his partner, who was currently laughing at him quite mercilessly, "wasn't nice."

"No," she agreed. "It wasn't. You look like a drowned rat," she added, obviously quite amused.

He flicked sodden hair out of his eyes and glared at her a moment longer. "That's it." He lunged at Dom, managing to grab her around the waist before she could escape, hoisting her off her feet. For a moment, he just held her in his arms, grinning down at her mischievously.

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh is right." He hefted her weight easily, tossing her several feet through the air, feeling satisfied with the splash she made as she hit. She waded back a few moments later, shoving soaked hair out of her face. "Now who's the drowned rat?"

"Okay, buster. This is war."

----

"See? Wasn't that enjoyable?"

"Hmm. This is better."

Domino closed her eyes, head thrown back as Nathan's mouth trailed down her neck and across her collarbone. They'd abandoned their suits in a damp heap on the floor. They were probably getting sand in the bed. She didn't especially care. She raked her nails along his back, kissing him in return, tasting the salt of the ocean clinging to his skin. "Much better," she murmured in agreement.

Nathan tangled his hands in her damp hair, drinking in the sight of her as her eyes slid half open, watching him seductively. He moved one hand to brush the side of her face lightly, a pleasant sort of ache filled him, reminding him of how thankful he was to have this, to have her there with him. Leaning down to kiss her again, he nudged the thought out where she'd see it. When he pulled away again, those brilliant eyes were bright with unshed tears.

"I am too. Every day... I haven't had a hell of a lot to be thankful for in my life, and I may not always believe God's out there, but if he is, I'm thankful he gave me this... that I have you."

His arms went around her waist, pulling her close as she slid her arms around his neck, and just held on as if they were each other's only anchor to the world. He kissed her hard, the hunger and desire twining through them both, burning with white hot intensity.

----

Nathan cracked an eye open, realizing he must have dozed off at some point. The sun had started fading from the sky outside the windows, and a cool breeze was whisking away much of the day's heat. Dom probably would have made some comment about him getting old, he pondered, if not for the fact that she seemed to be out like a light. Well, he wasn't certainly wasn't stupid enough to deprive her of her sleep, considering how little she got of it.

Getting up, he pulled the bed sheet around Dom's shoulders and went to dig clothes out for himself, stopping to pick up the still-damp swimsuits and towels as he did so. When he was done, he grabbed the half-read book out of his luggage and headed downstairs. It wasn't very interesting reading--a mediocre crime novel he'd figured out the plot to four chapters in--but it was distracting, anyway, which was good, because otherwise, smart move or no, he was going to give into the urge to wake Dom up.

A half hour and several chapters later, he heard the bathroom door in the bedroom above close, and assumed that Dom must have woken and decided on a shower. He turned back to the book, though by now he was only skimming the pages. It was a pleasant sort of distraction, reminding him just how much they'd both really needed this vacation. Things hadn't been *bad,* exactly, but there'd still been lingering tension between them. Now, though, things just felt good. Granted part of that was probably due to the residual high of finally convincing the woman he'd been in love with for over a decade to marry him, but he certainly wasn't going to turn his nose up at that. And he had to believe this wasn't something fleeting--that this time, it was a feeling that was going to last. Dom seemed to think so, and he couldn't think of anything more reassuring than that.

"Nathan?"

He looked up, catching sight of Domino standing in the doorway leading out to the veranda, and his breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a long summer dress of ivory linen, diamond shaped panels of lace inset around the hem. Her hair was loose around her shoulders. "You look great," he murmured.

She smiled. "Thanks." She walked over, reaching for his hand. "Now that the sun's going down, I thought maybe we could go for a walk?"

He stood, arm sliding around her waist. "Sure."

"Y'know," Domino spoke up once they'd been walking along the now mostly deserted beach for a few moments, "I was thinking about the first time I ever tried dragging your ass to the beach."

"Oath, that was ages ago."

She laughed. "So it was. You didn't want to go."

"You made me uneasy."

"I made you uneasy? Well, that's a new one."

He looked over at her. "Hey, I was a little out of practice. And I wasn't used to being jumped by attractive, barely-legal girls."

Dom swatted at him in mock-irritation. "Oh, right. You certainly didn't *seem* clueless."

"Well, I was trying my best."

She went up on her toes and pecked him on the cheek. "Well, I'm still here, so you must have done something right."

"Even if G.W. wanted to kill us for awhile there."

"Ah, yes. The infamous 'no fraternizing with teammates' rule. He shouldn't have even bothered. Neither of us were ever terribly good at obeying the law."

"I think we've been forgiven."

Dom laughed. "Well, I'd wait until we're back to bet on that one. He might not be too forgiving if we've given him a heart attack."

"True enough." They continued walking, the silence between them a comfortable one. Finally Nate spoke up, a thought occurring to him. "When did you get that dress, anyway?"

"Oh, this? Saw it a couple days ago." She shrugged. "And I figured, hell, I wore jeans and a t-shirt to the wedding... Besides, you love it when I do girly shit like this."

He chuckled, grabbing hold of her hand. "Hey, I love you, girly shit or no."

"Oh. Well, that's good. I'm not planning on making a habit of it. Let's go up there." She pointed to the ocean cliff that rose out of the beach in front of them.

"You sure you want to go climbing in that?"

"Eh. Girl's gotta live a little." She grabbed a handful of fabric, pulled the hem up to her knees, and began picking her way up the slope. "C'mon. The view'll be great."

Shaking his head in amusement, Nathan followed, scaling the slope with ease. Dom had made her way out to the cliff edge, sitting with her legs dangling over the rock face. "So, was I right?"

He sat down next to her, sliding an arm around her waist, and Dom leaned her head against his shoulder. "Very nice. Y'know, you're usually not the hopelessly romantic type."

She snorted. "You talk too much. Shut up and enjoy the view."

-End-

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