John wandered the Station, his mind drifting from where he was to home on Earth. For the briefest moment he could almost feel the warm Californian sun beat down on him but then he blinked and all he saw was the harsh Cardassian architecture of DS9. Sighing at himself, he trudged back to the ship, they would be heading off soon. Surely Stevie was done with his conquest. John gave a half-hearted hope that his roommate had gotten the harpy out of his system. That hope was dashed when he trudged into their shared room to find Stevie cuddling the redhead.

"Hey, Johnny," Steven mumbled. "Make us some coffee, would you?"

"Black, with two sugars please!" Mary giggled, " I need to replace some energy for some reason."

"Mmmm, can't imagine why," Steven chuckled, snuggling against Mary's naked shoulder, kissing it softly.

"Am I gonna have to put up with this long term?" John grumbled as he made the coffees. "Please tell me he's just a conquest and you're over him." Baby blue eyes stared flatly at the Ensign.

"No not over, just on top of!" She laughed. "I think the phase more fitting is Mutual Assured Destruction." Mary gave John a full O'Donnell smile, "I don't think we'll spend all our time in bed, no matter how appealing the idea is!"

"Thank fuck for that." Setting the coffees on the dining table, John stared at the pair of them. "You need me to leave so you can get up?"

"Only if the sight of a naked woman is going to have a terrible effect on you," she said mischieviously.

"Seen one, you've seen them all," John found himself laughing at them. "Though it's not your body I'm worried about. I heard Stevie's really a Cardassian under there." With a shudder, he winked and said, "Scales and all."

Mary's eyes twinkled, "I can catergorically confirm he is not scaly in any way, shape, or form. Stop that Steven!"

"Hmm?" Steven blinked innocently, his hands still inside the covers, still playing over her body, her nipples, across her stomach, lightly between her legs. "Stop what?" He cupped one of her breasts and gave it a very gentle squeeze.

Her response was to suddenly tug his still firm flesh. "It is ungracious to try and arouse me whilst your bunkmate is present Yeoman!" With that she gathered the covers leaving him exposed and made her way to the table.

Flushing scarlet, Steven laughed loud and hard. Grabbing his shorts, he covered himself up then dragged on his jeans. "That's cheating, you know. Trying to embarrass the teenager." Sidling up behind her, he tugged playfully at the covers, a sly smile on his face. "How about I embarrass the Ensign?"

"How about you don't embarrass the cadet?" John said ruefully.

"How about I do?" With that, Steven curled his fingers through her sheet and dragged at it, pulling her close and kissing her deeply.

She submitted briefly before grabbing him again and twisting, her jade eyes flaring. "Enough! I want to drink my coffee in relative peace. You could at least get me something other than this sheet to wear. Sorry John, how do you live with him?"

Wrapping his hand around her wrist, Steven squeezed it just tight enough to make her let go. "By not damaging things he can't afford to replace," he warned softly. Blue eyes like ice stared into her fiery greens for a moment before he stepped away. He disappeared for a moment into their shower room then reappeared with a robe. "Better?"

Wriggling into the robe, she let the sheet drop. "Much. I wouldn't intentionally damage you any way."

"Good. Now drink your coffee." Steven winked at her then up at the blushing cadet. "What?"

"Nothing," John muttered. "Let's just say I'm glad it's you she's fallen for, I don't think I could survive her idea of not damaging something." Sitting in one of the chairs, he crossed his legs significantly and sipped his tea.

Taking a mouthful of her drink, she relaxed her pose. "Somehow I get the feeling he'd enjoy it to a certain degree." She gazed at her man and raised a perfectly formed eyebrow.

Steven just smirked, a mischievous sparkling in his eyes, closely followed by a look of deep lust.

"Oh God," John groaned. "Don't start again, please."

"I've no intension," Steven all but purred as he swaggered over to the couch and flung himself upon it. "I can wait until we've embarrassed you enough to make you leave."

"Will you leave him alone. He's got as much right to be here as you have."

Before John could respond, Steven laughed brightly. "I'm sorry, Johnny. I was only teasing you." Pulling himself to his feet, he offered his friend his hand. "Forgiven?"

"Forgiven." They shook hands and John took his tea to where Steven had been sitting and flopped. "Maybe you can annoy the Ensign's roommie sometime too."

"I dunno, depends on how ashamed said Ensign is about sleeping with an enlisted man." Even though his laugh was bright and his eyes teasing, he kind of sort of meant it too.

"And why would said Ensign be ashamed of that?" she responded hotly.

Steven looked at her, his eyes holding hers for a moment as his smile lost its warmth. "Because we're good for a fuck but on the long term officers prefer other officers. Take a look around at the other people on the ship. Name one, just one couple that's enlisted-commissioned."

Mary could think of one but that probably wasn't meant for general consumption. Her eyes flashed him a serious warning. "And of course because I'm an officer I'm obviously going to do the same. But then that's so typical of a man to use such sweeping generalisations."

"Something that women aren't prone to do at all!" Steven's eyes flashed blue fire.

John slowly slid lower on the sofa, hoping that they'd not see him and he'd survive the fall-out.

"So if you're not so typical, what are you going to do?" Steven all but demanded. "Stand up for me? Defend this when a certain Bolian takes it upon himself to quote the rule book at you? That's where it ends, you know. He reports us, it ends. That's the way it works, I've seen it far too many fucking times. Guess I just never expected to be one of the schmucks."

She stood, balled her fists, her eyes a raging maelstrom of green, gold and copper. "Well stop actin' like one then yer idjit. And when di' yer star' worryin' abou' Mórán cainte ar bheagán cúise like him? He's an officious little Tuilli bu' I won' tell him an' yer won'. So if'n 'e fin's out ev'ryone'll know a'ready!!!"

In a fit of rage and lust, Steven grabbed her face and kissed her hard and firm. He dug his fingers into her hair, holding her fast as he probed her mouth with his tongue.

Wrong-footed by his action, her fist was launched before his intent was realised and connected hard with his solar plexus.

Steven grunted, grabbing her wrist and yanking it behind her back. "That hurt," he told her as he pushed her against a wall. He kissed her again, harder and with more passion. "Do it again," he breathed lustfully.

Her eyes blazed as her right knee connected with his groin. "ASK! NEVER TAKE!" she roared at him.

Staggering backward, Steven balled up his fist and raised it, catching himself just before he hit her. Eyes wide, he shook his head in disbelief. His mouth opened and closed several times, but he couldn't make sound come out. Flushing scarlet, he turned around, grabbed his shirt and ran out of the cabin. What had he done? What had he been about to do?

She stood there stunned, shaking all over with a mixture of raw rage and terrifying fear. "John I don't suppose you have some booze in here?" she whispered.

"Sure," John said very carefully. In slow, large gestures like you'd use on a trapped, scared animal, John reached into his trunk, pulled out a bottle of Centaurian brandy and offered it to her. "You want me to go after him?"

She sank onto the sofa and took the drink. Her voice still shaky, "That might be a very good idea."

"You gonna kill him if I bring him back?" John asked carefully. "And you are still going be here, right? I'm not playing go-between only to have one party disappear on me. I don't like chasing more than one person at a time."

"I'll stay, this is something we need to deal with." She took a large gulp of the brandy. "Go! Who knows how he's going handle what just happened?"

"I'm going, I'm going!" John picked Striker's boots up from the floor and bolted out the door. Of course, the guy had left his comm-badge behind, how typical. "If I were a yeoman, where would I go?"

It was dark here and quiet with most of the crew on the Station still. Steven stared out of the vast windows of the Observation Lounge and gasped as the wormhole exploded out in a spiral of blue flames. It was a momentary escape from the guilt and grief flooding his veins and the instant it was gone, his nausea returned.

"You forgot your boots," John said softly in the darkness.

"I almost hit her." Still staring into nothing, all he saw was the fear in her eyes. "She was scared of me."

"But you didn't hit her, you held back." Stepping up beside his friend, John leaned against the railing and joined in with the star-gazing.

"I've never hit a woman," Steven whispered. "Never, not until..." He could see his fist suspended above her, could almost feel it connect. Would it have felt the same as hitting a man? The bruise blossomed over her face, his imagination giving it ringing clarity. Blood dripped from her lip, both eyes blackened and her ribs cracked as a result of his uncontrolled rage. He'd almost done that, came so very close.

"You still haven't," John reminded him. "You didn't hit her."

"She's gone, right?" he croaked.

"No, she's waiting for you." Offering the man his boots, John said, "Go and talk to her."

"Great, so I can see fear, anger and hatred in her eyes again?" Steven turned to take the boots and stare at his friend.

"She was worried about how you were reacting."

"I almost hurt her, how d'you think I'm reacting!" Glaring back out into space, Steven felt scared, shameful tears in his eyes.

"I think you need to go and talk to her," John said quietly.

"I can't look at her," he whispered.

"Neither can I," John teased lightly, "Aren't harpies meant to turn you to stone or something?"

"That would be a gorgon," Steven rolled his eyes.

"Either way, don't look at her. You don't have to to talk and listen. All you need for that's your ears and mouth," John poked him. "Come on, man, don't make me beg."

Huffing, Steven dragged on his boots and followed John back to their cabin. He stopped dead right outside. "I've changed my mind."

"Well I've not." Opening the door, John propelled Steven in.

Mary sat curled up on the sofa, cradling the glass of brandy. She patted the seat beside her. "Come, sit. Looks like you could do with one of these too."

Steven still couldn't move, so John shoved him, making him stumble. His cheeks deep red, he stared at the top of his boots and just stood there. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Apology accepted, you reacted instinctively to the attack as did I. And yes, you terrified me, but you stopped yourself. If you hadn't, you'd be in sickbay," she said, reaching over and ruffling his blond hair.

It was all he could do not to flinch. Holding very still, Steven waited for her to move before he looked up, scared, little-boy eyes staring into hers. "God, I scared you," he whispered. "Leave, please, before I do it again."

"I'm not leaving. Yes you scared me, more importantly though you scared yourself." She looked deep into the haunted blue eyes. "You saw the possible consequences of your action, I am almost certain that will prevent anything like that happening again." She slowly moved towards him and gently kissed his forehead.

Careful hands wrapped around her waist and he leaned into her. Burying his face in her hair, he didn't want her to see the tears glistening in his eyes. "I'm petrified of this," he admitted. "Of what I'm capable of."

She held him tighter. "Hush now, that's a healthy attitude. If you're frightened of what you could do, now you have to channel that to make good use of it. There will be times when you need to use that scary part of you. You need to learn to control it correctly."

"I know," he whispered. "Been shot already, remember?" A little of his normal cheekiness returned in the grin he offered her, but his eyes were still lost.

Pulling close, she planted a teasing kiss on his lips. "Don't worry about me though, I'll be here for as long as you need me."

Uncertainly, he leaned down and kissed her. He didn't push, didn't demand, it was soft and gentle, a promise of how he would be from now on.

"That's it, one step at a time." She brushed his cheek delicately with the back of her hand before returning the kiss.

"I won't hurt you," he swore. "If you let me, I'll take care of you."

She raised an eyebrow, "Sounds good to me. I am a little high maintenance though!"

"How so?" he chuckled.

She licked her lips provocatively, "I thought you'd have worked that out already Slick!"

John groaned, dragging himself to his feet and disappearing out into the corridor again.

With a chuckle, Steven kissed her again, soft and sweet. He walked her slowly back to the bed, not once breaking the kiss as his hands unfastened the robe and slipped it from her shoulders. "Let's see if I can maintain you, then," he said as he kissed her again and dropped her robe to the floor.