Chapter 13 - Jogging Away The Discomfort

For a couple of days, Naia only went out and jogged along the civilian stadium situated in their part of the Confluence in a daze. It had been difficult to pull herself together after what she thought of as a failed night with Evander. She was too scared to leave and make him think that she was angry or hurt.

So, she curled up on his bed and slept there like usual after their encounters. That was probably where things got worse. Waking up in his arms, she didn't feel any better. The gesture to hold her when they slept had been her suggestion in the past. At first, she thought it was adorable how he initially held her - like she was so delicate.

But now, she actually felt that way. As if she was part of a glass sculpture that had cracked. Like she alone was trying to find a way to fill in the missing pieces of herself in him that he hadn't even noticed were gone. 

"Is something wrong, Naia?"

Theia asked from beside her, having slowed her pace to match. Seeing the woman of similar appearance jogging beside her made the black haired woman quite uncomfortable. She had managed to not speak to her since misunderstanding who sent the gift. But she hadn't managed to stop thinking of her, who she must only be the 'knock-off' of...

And as the thing that was meant to fill that space that had been broken between her and Evander.

"Why do you ask?"

"You seem distracted and lost in your thoughts. Did something happen?"

"It's nothing."

"Oh... okay."

Theia didn't look convinced, but she wasn't sure how to continue. She'd only been a little curious anyway, as other than the few missions they had been on together, she barely knew the woman. She started to speed up again, so the other woman would have to keep up with her if she wanted to.

"I just thought that maybe I might have done something stupid the other day. But if this isn't about me, I'll leave you to it."

Naia sighed and realized she should probably say something. She didn't want to come off as mean and distant, even if she was a little jealous of this person.

"Look, it's just been... not very good between me and..."

Sensing the gossip, the mercurial blonde abandoned her plan of making their Navigator run harder.

"Evander?"

"...Yes."

Theia frowned a bit, remembering how she had approached the man the other day before being recalled. She had told him that he needed to sort things out better. Having seen the pair together a bit, she could see the problem. Naia was loving in a more emotional way than him, and he was too logical to handle her properly. His focus was on work - which was fine in their profession, but personal matters were separate.

She felt Naia could use some reassurance from him.

"That's surprising. You two look so close... he even offered to help me train to integrate better with the two of you."

Naia kept her face straight at that revelation. She wanted to snap back with a weak 'of course he did'. But that wouldn't be fair. Evander had told her that he was going to do it sometime after the mission. She just hadn't expected that it would be so soon.

Or to be one of the first things the blonde mentioned.

"Did he? What happened after that?"

"We went to the gym on base. He admitted that he didn't have the best method for managing me yet. He also told me that you'd probably be a better teacher, since our powers are kind of similar, so I was hoping to ask you if you could show me what you do."

Naia swallowed. She was torn between feeling special that he was relying professionally on her - and feeling bitter that his distraction that day was for the woman from his past who he ogled at a gym. She knew it wasn't very rational.

Evander had said that it had been one-sided in the past. Theia herself wasn't to blame.

"We can go tomorrow and I can teach you a little if there are no emergencies. I'm sure you know the basics with your record. You've been a soldier a little longer than me."

"Thank you, Naia."

Theia smiled widely, which made the other woman's heart hurt. She couldn't help but imagine seeing that smile directed at him again. The blonde was free with them, and with her flirtations. She always wondered unhelpfully if she was that way with everyone - or if it was just because she had something with him.

Part of her thought about spending time with her just to see the truth. See if she smiled at other men any differently. But it felt so underhanded.

"Do you... want to talk about it? About why you're upset? It might help."

The similar but different set of eyes met when they ended the jog. The question was friendly and not pressing. It reminded her of Poros just a little and... she hadn't seen him for a few days.

But she couldn't come clean about every detail either. So she chose to say *something*, hoping whatever her advice was made it somehow better. Even knowing that it was much more likely to make it worse.

"He was distracted when we had sex."

The blonde's eyes widened and then her smirk grew. It was not the kind of thing she'd ever expect someone as *reserved* as she thought of the black haired woman to say. Much less to her, considering they didn't know each other that well. She was right to feel that way. Naia wanted to take it back, but it was too late.

"Oh~? So we're girl-talking about *that* kind of thing."

"No... I just meant..."

"Don't worry, don't worry. I know what you mean. Do you mind telling me a little more?"

The woman assuring her did a 'zipped lip' motion to convey that she was trustworthy. Theia didn't care whether it was something she should or shouldn't ask with someone she only met a while ago. They were squadmates now - that was plenty enough for her.

Not to mention she was kind of sure that he was distracted by her, not someone else. He certainly looked at her more than necessary, she felt, when they were at the gym. It didn't seem entirely as analytical as he claimed, even if that was his original intent.

"He just seemed... like he was thinking about something else. And he never closes his eyes like that. I'm afraid that he has someone else in mind or that he... doesn't think of me the way I think of him."

The blonde nodded.

"When you say closes his eyes, what do you mean? What was happening?"

Naia's cheeks burned a little.