There were many kinds of kisses that she got from Paul and the myriad of subtle differences between them all was something that Dianne would quite happily spend the rest of her life cataloguing.
Dianne cherished the sleepy kisses she got if she came to bed after him and he half-woke to plant a kiss on her- where she got kissed depended on how good his drowsy aim was- then he’d drape an arm over her and snuggle close. A light but loving ‘goodbye’ kiss, little more than a brush of lips to her cheek, was for when he had to get up before her and he did his best to not wake her as he dressed for the day and slipped out as quietly as he could.
In contrast was the ‘hello’ kiss which could vary from the quick peck of greeting when off duty in one of the public areas of the base to the more intimate and loving ‘hello’ when they were alone.
‘I missed you’ kisses came in different flavours- ‘Today was hard, I missed you’ was distinctly different to ‘Today was long, I missed you’ which differed again to a simple ‘I missed you today’.
Kisses that were ‘just because’ were some of her favourites, a quick touch of affection to her cheek, forehead, head or lips, given because she was in range, he was there and it pleased him to do so.
Then there was the one that she got when they were together in their quarters- the deep, hungry kiss that spoke of want and need and desire and love, usually accompanied by a gentle hand cupping her cheek and an arm around her waist to pull her close. That one always led to many, many more kisses.
Sometimes, when mischief stirred, he’d pay court to her with a kiss to her hand, blue eyes twinkling with suppressed mirth, right before he struck with a cheeky remark or deed. Once, when a strange mood had lain heavy on him, he’d knelt before her, bowed his head and taken her hand as if he were a knight swearing an oath to his lady, sealing it with a reverent kiss pressed to her knuckles.
If he had enough notice before a mission he’d seek her out and draw her away for affectionate, loving kisses to store up a supply of them to last him the duration of his assignment.
When he came back from a mission, one that had taken more than its fair share out of him, those kisses had their own flavour to them- ‘I’m home’ with a subtext of ‘I can relax now’ and ‘I missed you so much’, all wrapped up in an almost reverential embrace and lingering touches to her hair and face.
Sometimes those post-mission kisses were flavoured with their fears- a close call, a narrow escape, a difficult recovery. Those were prefaced by worried eyes searching each other to make sure they were all right, hands checking to make sure it wasn’t a lie, then foreheads were pressed together and eyes closed for a moment as he or she took a deep breath to calm themselves now that they knew that their fears were unfounded and the other was okay, sealing it with a kiss that spoke of relief and reassurance.
But her absolute favourite kisses were the rarest ones. They only happened when they’d snatched a moment together, off base and away from everyone, when ‘Captain Scarlet’ and ‘Rhapsody Angel’ could be put aside and they could simply be Paul and Dianne. Curled up together on a couch or in bed, safe and protected, all guards down as they simply would be together. Warm and content, one or the other would set down their book or turn away from the TV, turn to the other and tenderly share with them the gesture that was so simple and yet so eloquently spoke the words ‘I love you’.