Posted by Lieutenant Helena Laursen (Helm/Nagivation Officer) in Memory: First Year Summer Vacation

Posted by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) in Memory: First Year Summer Vacation

Posted by Lieutenant Helena Laursen (Helm/Nagivation Officer) in Memory: First Year Summer Vacation
Posted by… suppressed (43) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
The game was an all day thing. Marceau followed Torben and Edílon from souvenir shop to souvenir shop, and then they stopped by the litttle league training camp. Edílon got his autograph during the autograph time, and then it was time for warm ups. They had lunch at a restaurant in the area, and then watched the game. It was an all day thing and they weren’t home until after dinner.

~ Marceau

True to her word, Helena did show up before the game was over. Edílon was not happy. He had been pestering Marceau non-stop the whole day. The teams weren’t national or pro, but Edílon knew them all, and was really excited to share it all with Marceau. Her little brother liked Helena’s friend. Helena arrived at the arena after the last period had started. In fact the game was mostly over. She jogged across the lot to the entrance and grabbed a hot dog and a soda on her way to the box. The weather had stayed mostly warm, but now that it was late it was cooler, but not too bad. She stepped into the box with a cheeky, “I’m here, the party can start.” Edílon groaned and complained about sisters, but it was easy to see he was happy she was home, just not at the game. Torben chuckled.

Marceau had been able to keep up with Edílon’s pestering by explaining what he would and wouldn’t have done differently than the players in the game. Marceau, when he played for the Academy, played the team’s main goalie, so most of his comments had to do with that position. When he saw Helena though he lit up and smiled and waved her over, making a spot for her next to him.

Edílon loved it and soaked it up. He had enough manners to not audibly compare Marceau to Morgan, but in his head he was. At least Helena seemed to have regained her common sense since Christmas. He might have had to do something juvenile, like make Morgan’s life miserable if Helena had brought him back. Marceau’s reaction didn’t go unnoticed by Torben. He chuckled quietly to himself, those two were never going to stay ‘just friends’. The most amusing part was they were both oblivious.

Once they were in the car, Helena slid into the back seat with Marceau and her dad asked, glancing at her in the mirror, “Did you get paid?”

Helena nodded as she sank into a chair and propped her feet on the empty one in front of her. “Sure did. In fact I got over paid.” Her mom had food still warm on the stove for them when they got back.

Helena

“Was it an easy flight?” Marceau asked eagerly, trying not to ask what the payment was, as he guessed that had to do with the surprise. When they arrived back at Helena’s house, her mom had food ready. Marceau was hungry and ready to eat.

~ Marceau

Helena grinned, “Very easy. The passengers were great, no fuss, and we had a good strong tailwind. We made good time.” She knew what he was trying not to hint at and she just smirked at him. Helena grabbed bowls for them all and started filling them at the stove. Helena inhaled, “Mmmm mom’s homemade potato soup.” She gave everyone a bowl and her dad placed drinks on the table. Bread was on a tray on the table already. “Plan to sleep in tomorrow Marceau. We’ll be out late tomorrow.”

Helena

Marceau gave her a disappointed look, but then moved on. “What are we doing? How cold am I going to be?” Marceau asked, starting to eat from his soup. Everything Helena’s family made was delicious. “This is so good.”

~ Marceau

Helena grinned, “It’s a surprise. But it’s going to be very cold, and then get really hot. So moisture wicking layer, warm sweater, pants, jacket, thermal socks, gloves, hat, scarf. I’ll bring a bag to stuff the layers into.”

“Okay…” Marceau seemed unsure, but he trusted Helena. If he could trust her to fly, he could trust her in very cold… and then very hot, places.

Her laughter was light and her look was amused. “Trust me. It will be great. And if not I’ll take your KP for a month.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you like it. Dúnna will be glad you are enjoying it.” Torben got up and went into the other room and came back with several packs and put them on the table. “Here, toe and hand warmers. They work like emergency ice packs. They will help where you’re going.” He pointed a finger at Edílon, “Eat up, you have an early morning and have to work all day.” Her brother sighed. “I know I know. I promised it would be done the day after, and it’s my job to meet my deadline.” Edílon sighed, “But it’s not my fault we didn’t have the materials.” Her father nodded, “That’s right, but you procrastinated and so you would have known 2 weeks ago you didn’t have the materials if you hadn’t put it off. So now you’ll work all day tomorrow and get it done. Or you will finish and do it for free.”

Helena

Marceau grinned into his food at the situation between her father and brother, but stayed silent. It wasn’t his business. “Merci. I’m sure I will need them. I must get cold easily…” He smiled and shrugged. “Hey, Helena, if we have to sleep in maybe we can stay up a little tonight?”

~ Marceau

Torben smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “No, you just aren’t used to it. When I first came to Iceland I thought I would die. I was so cold all the time. It took me a couple of years to get used to it. I arrived in November,” Torben shivered at the memory. “Worst winter of my life.”

Laughter came from the hallway, “That’s only because you hadn’t met me yet, to show you how to stay warm.” Dúnna entered the kitchen after hanging her coat up. She walked up to Torben, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, his going around her waist and she kissed him. It was heavily romantic, but chaste. The look they shared though was the kind of thing romance novels wish they could accurately describe. Torben laughed, “Ah but if I hadn’t live through that frozen hell I wouldn’t know how lucky I am now.” He kissed her again and moved over to the stove, filling a bowl for her and setting it on the table.

Marceau smiled, too. It was what he wanted… And so vastly different from the relationships exampled during his childhood. He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard his mère and père do something so cute and affectionate. A life like that felt unreachable to him, especially with his relationship with Lucy. She was either needy and clingy, or standoffish, even when she wasn’t upset with him. He loved her though, just because she didn’t act like his dream partner didn’t change that. Maybe he’d bring it up when they were both back in San Francisco.

Helena grinned, but didn’t roll her eyes like Edílon did. Her parents closeness and open affection didn’t bother Helena in the least bit. She wanted something like that. Even after all the years they had been together, they were obviously still in love. Helena glanced at Marceau and shrugged. “Yeah we can. What do you have in mind?”

Helena

A thought jumped into Marceau’s head that made him both blush, and feel a little bad. But it had never been that way for Helena, so the thought made its way out of his mouth anyway: “Poker?”

~ Marceau

Helena grinned and paused, spoon halfway to her mouth. “That sounds like a great idea. Mom, where’s the cards and poker chips?”

Dúnna glanced around thinking as she finished the bite of soup. “Ummm…over there in the middle drawer are the cards, but the chips I let the community center borrow. You’ll have to use beans or clothes or coins or something else.”

Marceau’s face turned a shade darker, a fact he was trying to hide. Honestly, it wasn’t like he hadn’t played strip poker with Helena before, but her mother saying clothes like it was another regular option like beans? That was a little embarrassing.

“OH! Can I play? Pleeeeease? Helena!” Edílon looked up excitedly from his bowl. Both her parents in unison, “No.”

Helena

“We’ll, euhm, figure something out. Without Edílon, sorry.” Marceau commented awkwardly, looking desperately at Helena. This might be the weirdest conversation ever.

~ Marceau

Edílon made a face, “But…” Torben sighed, “No, I told you, you are getting up early and I am NOT putting up with you complaining your tired, or worse you getting hurt because your tired. Helena will be home for several more days.”

Helena met his gaze and shook her head slightly. “Be right back.” She got up and went through a door off the kitchen, that Marceau could probably tell was the unused garage. She came back a few minutes later with a box and set it on the bench between them. It was filled with an odd assortment of mis-matched socks, hats, gloves, scarves, shirts. “Donation box. Makes for good currency.”

Helena

Marceau smiled. “Perfect!” It was NOT what he was hoping for, but that was way less embarrassing than what he did want. “Your room or mine?” It was the usual question he asked when they went to play poker. And it made sense, since they didn’t need to keep her brother up, who was obviously meant to be getting up early.

~ Marceau

“Mine.” She picked up her empty bowl and moved over to the sink and cleaned her dishes. She poured hot chocolate and apple cider for them and with the pack of cards slipped into her pocket and jerked her head toward the stairs, letting Marceau grab the box.

Helena’s room was a reflection of her personality. There were model planes everywhere, photos of her in various stages of growing up with family and others. Of course there were pictures of her in the pilot’s seat as a younger teenager, and others over the last few years. The room was sparse but with wild splashes of color, posters of different musicians and images depicting different mythological stories and heroes. There was a older but still quality sound system in her room. She set the drinks on a night stand and then turned the music on, the music as eclectic as she was. She kept it low to prevent keeping her brother up down the hall, but it was still loud enough to enjoy. Then she flopped onto the bed and took the cards out to begin shuffling them.

Helena

Marceau grabbed the box and followed her up. He was impressed but not surprised by her room and it showed. He spent a minute or two looking at her pictures and posters. The ones of her seemed to capture his interest as well as the mythological images. Then he dropped the box on the floor softly. “We are not using these, yes?” He smiled and sat on the end of the bed, watching as she shuffled.

~ Marceau

Helena laughed, “What do you take me for Renault?” She reached into the box and started adding layers. “I need more currency.” She laughed, finished shuffling and delt the cards.

Helena

“If you get more layers, so do I,” Marceau said, reaching into the box himself. Once he was ready, and he hadn’t put on that many more layers, he wanted Helena to have at least a little head start, he picked up his hand, looked at his cards, and then looked at Helena.

~ Marceau

Helena didn’t look at him. She just stared at her cards, moved them around a bit, back and forth. She dealt, so Marcea got to open the bid and trade out cards first.

Helena

Marceau opened with a sizeable bet, and then traded out two cards. Then he looked up at Helena again, smiling just a little bit.

~ Marceau

It was far too early in the game to not meet his bet and raised by a sock. Helena met the bet and then took 1 card. She smirked at him, but hadn’t looked at her card either.

Helena

Marceau met the bet without raising, giving her a calm look and a shrug. He wouldn’t let her lose every hand, that wasn’t fair, but he was going to lose on his terms as much as he could.

~ Marceau

“Well if you aren’t going to raise, I guess I call.” Helena laid her hand down. 2 pair - 2s and 4s. She hadn’t picked up anything helpful with her one card.

Helena

Marceau laid his down - a straight, 8 high. He smiled at her and leaned back. “I win.” Then he gathered the cards and set them on the bottom of the deck. “Want me to deal this time, while you give up your bet?”

~ Marceau

Helena almost blinked at him. Marceau was....almost cocky. On their training mission, his leadership skills showed, daily and he became more confident the longer they were gone. It was good to see him that way, but this was....more than that, playful, teasing. Good for him. Helena grinned and started tossing random shoes and socks and gloves at him. “Yeah, your deal.”

Helena

Even after they returned, his confidence had been better than before they left, though he had been entirely surprised when the squad voted him ‘squad captain’. Marceau smiled and laughed as socks and gloves started flying across the bed at him. “Hey! You’re going to knock the deck over.” He laughed as he shuffled the cards and dealt another hand.

~ Marceau

The vote had been unanimous. They had all joked they would vote for Marceau after seeing him handle Lucy’s tantrum. But while they were gone it had been glaringly obvious that was the right choice. Marceau was cool when things were stressful, he listened to everyone’s input, but he didn’t hesitate either to make a decision. Granted they hadn’t met anything hostile, but violent situations weren’t the only measure of leadership.

Helena shrugged, “I am sure you will make do if the deck falls and the cards get mixed up.” She picked up her hand, tossed in her ante, then glanced at it. She tossed in a scarf for her first bet. Helena took no cards that time....she was completely bluffing and she lost…a lot that hand.

Helena

Marceau smiled and dealt the next hand. He added his bet. Helena had a tell, when she was bluffing, that look she gave him… he raised the bet. When they showed their cards he had something that wasn’t stellar but something decent that beat her hand.

The next hand he made sure to lose. It wasn’t hard, his cards were awful. He bluffed and raised the bet so he’d lose a lot, too.

~ Marceau

Marceau did lose a lot…but mostly what Helena won back was what she started with. That was okay by her. This went on for several hands, back and forth. Something was becoming abundantly clear to Helena though....she was in trouble. She was noticing a pattern…Marceau was winning…and hand she should not win with, she did…if she was close to losing it all. Marceau was drawing the game out. She didn’t think he was stacking the deck…maybe he was…but he was just that good at reading people. The darkest hours of the day - the midnight sun - had already come and gone. Helena grinned at him. “Okay all or nothing.” Then she paused, “Oh wait…hang on,” she dug around in her pants pocket and pulled out an envelope and shoved it in the drawer of her bedside table. “Can’t have you winning the surprise.” She settled back, “Okay, deal Renault if you dare.”

Helena

“All or nothing, agreed.” Marceau smiled mischievously, a look she’d have seen before, but not frequently. Sometimes at academy, sometimes to Lucy. He dealt another hand. He’d had excellent hands, decent hands, and downright bad hands. This one was another decent one. It could go either way, depending on what Helena had. He’d already decided which way he was going to aim for though. Helena had lost in their last game, so it was, in Marceau’s mind, his turn to lose.

~ Marceau

Helena grinned back at him. Her hand was decent, but depending on what cards she got in trade, would decide. She had 3 in a row, discarded two. They already had the bet, all of it. So she waited to see what cards Marceau would end up with. She didn’t look at her own cards…she’d give something away....best let it be a surprise for her too.

Helena

Marceau did not draw cards. His hand was decent enough, drawing could either make it worse, or excellent. He watched Helena. She hadn’t looked at her cards yet, so he couldn’t tell what she had. But he wanted to see when she did look. “You don’t want to know?” He asked, just a little teasingly.

~ Marceau

HA! He was watching her, reading her tells. Helena chuckled “Of course I wanna know,” and shrugged playfully. “Doesn’t much matter though. I can’t get any new cards, and we already set the bet. Either I win…or I don’t.” She laid the cards down watching him instead of her cards. She had squat. 3 in a row or a pair of 3s. It was a bad hand.

Helena

Marceau looked at her cards, then his, made a disappointed look, and then shuffled his cards into the deck. “I fold.” He looked up at her, “That means you win the bet.”

~ Marceau

Helena sat up a little straighter, leaning forward slightly staring at him. He’d been bluffing? Or he was bluffing now? D@mn she couldn’t tell. She chuckled when he shuffled the cards into the deck quickly. “That must have been an awful hand if you’re hiding it.” She leaned back then and waved a hand at him, “Alright then, pay up.”

Marceau paid his bet. He was playful about it, taking each thing off, then tossing it at her, grinning and laughing. He was athletic, and looked it, but not overly so. There was some hair on his chest, but not a ton. Normally in such a situation he’d be nervous and a little unsure what they’d think, but it was only Helena and he seemed comfortable and at ease.

Helena grinned, and snatched up the betting pot when he was done. She considered that it should be awkward, but it was Marceau. It was no big deal. They were just friends. She was going to tease the crap out of him the next time he dressed up to go out with Lucy though. Marceau was good looking. She knew that though from the first time she saw him in Boston.

Afterwards, Helena tossed his things at him. “Alright, so do you want breakfast before we pass out for awhile? I promise those MREs don’t do my cooking skills justice.”

Helena

Marceau nodded, “Okay.” He shivered, picking up his things. “Even in the house it’s a little cold when you’re… Well…” He blushed a little and gestured to himself as he started redressing.

~ Marceau

Helena laughed, “Doesn’t seem to bother you. Besides, the house, well everything in Iceland, is powered by geothermal energy.” She slipped out the door, closing it behind her.

She was in the kitchen cooking, fresh hot oatmeal topped with brown sugar, eggs, fresh fruit, and skyr (Icelandic yogurt) topped with cream and Icelandic bilberries. The skyr and cream with both lactose free. It was an easy basic meal but with full wonderful flavor. Her dad and brother were already up and in the workshop. They had already eaten, and Edílon could be heard yawning loudly and whining in pre-teen fashion about how unfair it was he had to get up so early.

Helena

Marceau followed her down to the kitchen once he was fully dressed again. The food Helena had made was delicious and Marceau ate a good serving of it. He yawned and then smiled at her, “So we sleep for a few hours, and then…?”

~ Marceau

“We’ll eat, get ready to leave, and then....” she grinned at him, “surprise!” She winked at him. “You know this whole bluffing thing is easier when I don’t have to pretend when something is up. I just have to keep quiet.”

Helena

Marceau grinned and then sighed, yawning. “Okay, fine, fine. Let’s eat so we can sleep. Then it will be later and I won’t have to wait to know what it is.” He smiled at her, “It better be good.”

~ Marceau

Helena turned her attention to her food, not looking at him, and she actually bit her lip…she was nervous! Something Marceau had never seen her be before. Helena thought it was going to be great, but what if he didn’t? Marceau had no family to go home to over the summer. It should have been Lucy’s family. Though she guessed she could understand her parents’ reservation, couldn’t they just be kind to someone? She didn’t think it was right to leave Marceau alone while everyone was gone. He was her best friend and he was a Blackjack. That was important. They would be going back and taking a couple classes for extra credits over the summer. She wanted to make this trip a happy one for him. Marceau never said it, but she didn’t think he had very happy memories of his family.

She looked up from her oatmeal and grinned. “It’s going to be amazing. Promise.” She finished her breakfast and after cleaning up she headed upstairs to sleep for a few hours.

Helena

Marceau smiled and nodded. He noticed her nervousness, something he had never seen from her, and gave her a reassuring grin. “I am sure you’re right.” He also memorized her nervous tells. He finished about when she did and headed upstairs himself. Whatever it was, it was better than being in San Francisco by himself. He must have worn himself out because when it was time, Helena had to come wake him up.

~ Marceau

It was mid-afternoon when Helena walked right into his room like they were still at the Academy, in her pajamas. Unlike the end of last year, they would all be bunked together as a squad this year. Helena was looking forward to that. She knelt on the end of the bed and grabbed his ankle and shook it gently, like they had on the trip. When they had to reach into people’s tents and wake them. “Come on Marceau. Time to get ready. Mom made Plokkfiskur. It’s a stretch of fish, potatoes, and onion. And she went out a got fresh bread.” She moved over to the dresser and shamelessly started setting out the correct layers for him. She also dug the hand and toe warmers out of her pocket for him. “Come on. Dad is even letting me take the car.”

Marceau groaned groggily, muttered sleepily in French, but started to roll over and sit up as if they were still on the trip. It took him a few minutes and when he sat up he saw she was digging through the dresser in the room, several layers of warm clothing already laid out for him. “I’m coming.”

Helena slipped out of the room and back across the hall to get herself ready.

Helena

A few minutes later there was a call from Marceau’s room, “Helenaaaa!” When she went in, he was partially dressed, one of the mid layers for his top half, half in and his arm was completely stuck in it.

~ Marceau

Helena was in the middle of braiding her hair and then pinning it up in a fancy little crown style. She was wearing the warm moisture wicking pants, that were just slightly not skin tight and a matching shape hugging tank top. She walked in sliding a bobby pin into her hair, “Ya?....oh…” and she tried really hard not to laugh. She walked up to him, bitting back her amusement. “Let me help.” She found the hem of the shirt and then slid her hand underneath, against his skin. She stretched the tight and twisted fabric, unhooking it from where it was caught around his elbow, and then pulled it off his arm. Suddenly it wasn’t quite so amusing.

Helena

Marceau looked relieved to see her, right up until she looked like she was trying really hard not to laugh. Then he looked a little embarrassed. “Please.” He replied when she offered her help. Then she slid her hand under the shirt, gently, and it tickled, making his muscles quiver as he tried not to move too much. Her hand was warm. When she got it unhooked and pulled it down, he was much more comfortable, but his face was red. He looked down at her and smiled. “Thanks. These tight fit things seem to be trouble for me.”

~ Marceau

Helena smiled, but there was nothing playful about it now. “Ummm…it seems to be the right size…” She stepped back giving themselves some space, “Next time try putting the sleeves on first and then lift it over your head? Ah yeah they are supposed to be a snug fit. They work better that way. I can see if my dad has an extra if you want something bigger?”

Helena

“No, it’s fine… comfortable now.” It was definitely form fitting. But it fit well and Marceau didn’t want to ruin the heat trapping effect by wearing one too big. He smiled again, “Merci. I’ll be down in a few more minutes… as long as nothing else tries to eat me.”

~ Marceau

Helena nodded and disappeared out the door. She returned to her room and finished pinning her hair up and getting dressed. She dressed in layers as well and even tossed a few of the hand and toe warmers into her bag. She was down stairs eating when Marceau finished fighting with his clothes, a bowl of the Plokkfiskur was on the table for him. Her dad was a dad, reminding her to be careful and remember that other people could get crazy and irresponsible. Did she have her communicator? He would come get her if something happened. He worried, and so on and so forth.

Torben patted Marceau’s shoulder as he came into the kitchen. “You two watch out for each other okay?” Helena grinned, “We will dad. It’s okay. I’m always careful. If we can survive two months in the wilds of the Black Hills we can survive tonight.” She hugged him anyway though. When they were finished Helena grinned at Marceau, “Ready?”

“Of course, Mr Laursen,” Marceau said, now wondering where they were going. “Is the surprise the icelandic wilderness? Because Helena, two months in the middle US wilderness was enough for me.” He was joking, and his grin would prove it.

She didn’t bundle up, instead tossing gloves, scarves, hats into her bag and her coat over her arm. The temp was decent but it was going to get cold where they were going. She slid into the driver’s seat of the car, and checked to make sure she had the envelope in her bag before they left.

Helena

Marceau followed her example and only bundled up a little more than her. He climbed into the passenger seat, “You drive as well as you fly?”

~ Marceau