The Inner Ring (gxg)

Chapter 23

There wasn't much to go over after they returned to the ship. Pepper and Vanessa had stopped back in the bunk room to pick up another batch of the tablets and laser pointers, simply to make sure nobody accused them of being nonproductive, and then returned to the ship. The other team had returned with over 200 of the same rifles that they had brought back before and reported that there was still a substantial amount to get. Vanessa was upset that they were concentrating so much on all those rifles, but it did give her and Pepper a few more days in the bridge without worrying about them bothering their investigations.

Pepper joined Vanessa in making their way to the bridge, where Lena now was on watch while Xavier slept. "Hey Lena, think you could come by our cabin when you get off duty?"

"Oh baby, finally a hot lady threesome?" Lena smirked. "Miles will want to watch, is that alright?"

Both Vanessa and Pepper blushed a deep crimson, trying not to stammer.

"I'm kidding! I know that isn't what you want, but I had to wind you up," Lena chuckled.

Vanessa cocked an eyebrow at the pilot. "Too bad, we had just been discussing that too."

"Yeah, we couldn't decide which toys were best," Pepper added, sliding her hand over Nessa's waist.

Lena looked the pair over, trying to decide if they were serious or not. "You know, if you two were really serious, that would be a hell of a time. But I'm betting you're just trying to tease me since I know you just started being together, and I wouldn't want that messed up. But seriously, Miles would love to watch," she added with a wink.

"Fine! All right!" Pepper grumbled. "We really do need you in our cabin though, we found something that we need your input on, but you can't tell anyone!"

"Not even Miles!" Vanessa added.

"That sounds kind of exciting," Lena murmured. "All right, I'm in. Can I just wake you up when I get off duty?"

"Yeah, that works." Pepper concurred. "Oh, and you might want to disinfect that seat, Xavier and Emily might have been having fun up here!"

Lena immediately scowled as she got up out of the chair. "Damnit! I told them no more fucking in my chair!"

Pepper and Vanessa lay on the bottom bunk in their little room. Their heads were at opposite ends while their legs were tangled together under the blankets. Each of them was checking out some of the tech they had brought back. Pepper was looking at one of the tablets, trying to push open the ports to see what kind of a connection they would take, and what they might do. Vanessa had started with examining one of the laser pointers but had given up on that and was now looking over some of the fabrics they had brought back.

"Hey Nessa?" Pepper murmured.

"Yeah Honey?" Nessa looked down at Pepper, who was staring intently back at her.

"Thank you for being with me. This trip has been amazing, but it has been even better sharing it with you." Nessa had wanted to say it for a while, but it was hard getting a handle on her emotions lately. Was everything real, or was it just magnified since this was her first real relationship? Regardless, it didn't matter too much. They still had years together to discover and test this relationship, and she was eager to keep doing so.

Vanessa just stared before her face broke into a huge smile. She knew how shy Pepper could be and such an admission meant to world to hear. "Pepper, you are the best part of this trip for me by far. I can't imagine how I could have gotten through it without you by my side."