#usergisabarrow

The explanation for his absence was written on his back, for everyone to see as he arrived to the debriefing Farley was holding with Ada, Kilorn and Mare. They had been on the same mission as him. Before the good mornings were out, before she could berate him for coming late, Shade walked up to her, took her pen and started to write on the whiteboard behind her.

No one looked at what he was writing on the board. All eyes were focused on what was written on the back of his T-shirt.

This ass belongs to Diana Farley.

Apparently, he had done this himself, painted the white shirt with red and black slashes, slanted but legible.

A white noise ringed in Farley's ears, muting the sounds around her, and the only thought she could make was, well, it's a very nice ass. And nice shoulders, and a pretty back in general, and - stop it!

She didn't want to know how much she was blushing. She glared at the others giggling at the sight, Ada sipping form her cup, Mare amused but even more surprised than Farley, and Kilorn looking like he won some bet. He was probably in on the joke.

Well, she would shut them up soon enough. At first, she'd ignore the stupid thing. She turned to Shade again. "Barrow, what is it you're writing?" she barked. "Can you explain ... ," she stopped as Shade winked at her while writing, “The confession of Shade Barrow - Captain Farley and I ...,”  on the board. "I hope you like it," he whispered. "Just for you."

"How about you take it off right now?!" she hissed in reply.

He pulled back for the board and laid a hand on his chest. "This early in the morning, Captain? But why not," he inclined his head, "as you wish." And then he made a show of removing the shirt, slowly, while she stood frozen in front of him and Mare started to gasp and Ada seemed to choke on her tea.

Kilorn was about to speak up when Farley exclaimed, "Enough!" She grabbed Shade's wrist, took hold of the shirt in his other hand and began to drag him along.

"Dee, what is it...?" He never used the nickname in public, he was truly flabbergasted

"You come with me now," she answered, "and tell me exactly what you've done yesterday as you seem have made many experiences."

Chairs moved when they reached the door. "Didn't we have a plan for today, Farley? To do something?" Ada asked.

"Oh yes, we all have" she said." You know the schedule the best, Wallace, until later."

She pulled him outside of the building before she let go of his hand. She knotted his shirt in a belthole as Shade crossed his arms over his chest. "Dee, what? It's bleeding cold out here."

She stemmed her hands on her hips. "Too late! You should've thought about the weather before you did a striptease."

He made a noise between chuckling and shivering. "The captain is chastising me," said he. "So cruel," he added and came closer, "and mean," he finished as his hands found her waist. She hugged him back without further prompting.

"I'm not cruel," Farley insisted. "If you want warmth, you only have to come closer to me.”

Her lips nuzzled his chinline. She felt his breath against her throat as she embraced him even tighter, her hands travelling over his bare back. She sensed the warmth beneath his skin, cold from the winter air and coated with goosebumps. She had the impression the cold wasn't the only cause of them, not with the way he buried his face between her neck and her shoulder, while kissing her collarbones. They took a few steps backwards until Farley fell against a wall. Pressed between Shade and the stones, her desire only grew. She longed to wrap her legs around his slender hips, despite knowing there wasn't enough leverage for that. Instead she proved what Shade's shirt had proclaimed: Her hands slided into his pants and she grabbed his butt until he groaned.

"Bed?" she asked, her voice panting.

"Bed," he agreed, sounding as aroused as she.

She heaved herself from the wall and was about to pull him along. "Come," she said, but he merely grinned with a gleam in his eyes.

"We don't have to walk, you know," he proposed and winked. "It's freezing out here."

She snorted and batted his chest. "Shade Barrow! You have no idea how wonderful it was to wake up today without feeling sick for once?" He gasped. "Since my current  ailments are your fault, I strongly advise you not to ruin my mood."

"It's not exactly -"

"Shh," she interrupted him and kissed him quiet, their hands intertwining.

"Seems like I've warmed you up, just as promised," she panted, sitting astride him on her bed. The waves of her climax still pulsed through her as she leaned down on Shade's chest, his heart beating beneath her palm as he came to a finish himself. The grin on his face was delightfully stupid and she had to assume she looked the same. She eased herself off him and pulled him into an embrace as if to taste the air he was breathing in.

His fingers played with the curls of her hair falling into her face. He was close to making her ticklish.

"Can't believe the trick with the silly T-shirt actually worked," she said after a while.

He shrugged. "You didn't make it too difficult for me either," he replied. "They're probably true, these rumours about horny pregnant women."

She batted him again, speechless and almost offended, were it not for the adorably mischievous smirk on his face. "How dare you!" she hissed finally.

He giggled and continued to play with her hair. "Am I wrong? Oh, it must be true, given how much you blush right now."

She grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her face. "Oh stop it," she gave in, her voice muffled by the fabric covering her. "Okay, I confess, I can't keep my hands off you, are you satisfied now?"

She heard another giggle. "I thought I already was, but I'm not so sure anymore. Hey," he said with amusement, his hand shoving the blanket away from her head. The warm and smiling face of Shade Barrow was just inches above her and in that moment, she forgot about everything else.

He crawled under the blanket with her and she let him roam his hands over her naked skin. Another emotion flashed over his features.

"Maybe we should tell the others by now?" he asked and insecurity lingered in his voice, as always when he talked about their unborn child. He was less skilled than her at hiding how scared they both were deep down. Yet his jesting tone returned in an instant. "I mean, you are already putting on weight."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice was indignant. "Where should I -"

"Oh, I think you do know." He moved away and kissed her breasts. "Everywhere. And I love it."

She tsked. "You're just like every boy," she teased him but began to caress his hair and the base of his head. "And I have told people."

"Yeah, Command, because you had to. Meanwhile your- I mean the colonel, walks around frowning and glaring as intense as you, with a huge question mark in his face."

She cackled. "It's hilarious to see him like that. But I think most people guess it anyways."

Shade looked up, leaning on his elbows positioned left and right to her waist. "Yes, some do. And then they ask me about it."

"You?" Her surprise wasn't an act. "What do you reply?"

He shrugged. " 'The captain has her own priorities.' "

"Good answer." She laughed.

He didnt fall in with her amusement. "Seriously, Dee, we have to be open about ... " his index finger moved down, tapping from her breastbone to her navel, "..our ...," - tap - "..little..." - tap - he thought for a moment - "...cherry."

"Cherry?!"

He sighed. "Dee, I want to tell my parents. They can help us."

"Sure."

"Right -"

"But I'd like to see your sister clueless for a few more days," she added.

Shade rolled over and sat up. "It's not funny to see her ignorant about us, she has other things on her mind, and I," he lowered his gaze, "I've hardly paid attention to her."

Farley was well aware that Mare wasn't okay but that didn't mean she knew how to help her, not without giving away too much of herself. "Of course," she agreed quietly and drew her legs to her chest. She was selfish to keep Shade to herself and she was her own woman after all; she didn't need to cling to him, but - but.

It was way too late to imagine her life without him.

From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Shade's damn T-shirt on the floor in the heap of their clothes. She fell forward, stretched herself, and picked the T-shirt up. She grinned. It was time for distraction. "You know how this will become even more accurate?" she asked rhetorically before she pulled it over her head.

Shade chuckled. "It doesn't become you, it's way too sma-"

"Way too what, Shade?" She gave him her infamous glare.

"Too ... made for men, I wanted to say." He struggled with the words as she loomed above him, kneeling on the bed. "Not tailored for your pretty curves ... "

It seemed like he had the ability to blush even redder than her after all, Farley assessed as she rose from the mattress, standing in front of him on in nothing but the self-painted T-shirt that was truly too tight and too loose in all the wrong places. More too tight than too loose, though. She smirked and turned around, so Shade's scrawl of This ass belongs to Diana Farley pointed right to her own ass. She bend forward, as if to pick something up. Behind her, she heard Shade groan a curse. "Damn, Dee. You really don't intend for us to get out of this bed again today, do you?"

She rejoiced at the sound of her own ingenuous laugh. "Should we? I'm ready for a day off duty."

Title from Blue Jeans by Lana Del Rey:

Blue jeans, white shirt Walked into the room you know you made my eyes burn

Yeah, that one was just too long.

I wrote two of these enumerations (?), and I don’t how to write those correctly. I hope they’re transported well enough.