Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in side sim - Sickbay Shenanigans

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in side sim - Sickbay Shenanigans

Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in side sim - Sickbay Shenanigans
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
She didn’t want to move, but when he loosened his grip she thought maybe he wanted her to move away, but he didn’t let go of her either. She stayed there long enough that he would know she was nervous because she liked him and not because she wanted him to let go. But in the end it was her foot that decided it as it began to throb. She shifted her weight again, so they were standing more upright. She wanted to call him Roman, the way he called her Miranda, but she wasn’t sure if she should. But he hadn’t told her not to. “Cm…Roman? Umm…my foot…it’s starting to ache…I…should I…I should sit down?”

Yeoman Rand

Letting her the rest of the way go, he nodded. “Yeah…” He said, somewhat awkwardly. The way she said his first name, even as awkward as the situation was, made him feel really, really happy. And then, after he was sure she had her balance and could make her own way back to her seat, he sat down at the table once again, wishing he hadn’t had to let her go as the warmth from where she’d been touching him began to dissipate.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

If he had to let her go, Rand would have preferred to go to the computer, but to do that was would have been forced to try and get past him. She really didn’t think that counted as her ‘being careful.’ So she sat back down at the table and picked up the coffee and sipped at it for the warmth where she suddenly felt cold. She was still breathless and confused. She didn’t know what to say, she didn’t want to mention anything about what had just happened. Just let it be and then she didn’t have to worry about accidently saying something she should not. It wasn’t that she minded the silence, or even being silent around Roman, it was comfortable and easy, when they were on duty, but this…whatever had just happened was confusing.

There was nothing confusing to Roman, and perhaps that’s why he did not seem as uncomfortable as she did. He knew exactly what happened, what he didn’t know was whether he should’ve done it or not. He sipped his coffee in silence.

“Oh, you said Nibbles was lonely.” She turned in her seat and reached for a bundle from the laundry. She pulled out a strange looking garment that upon closer inspection was a uniform, or had been. A mix of red, blue, and gold, with different collars and rank stripes. She took a pair of scissors and cut a gold strip off of it. It had been part of one of her uniforms. “She liked that part of my sleeve until it almost fell apart. Maybe that will help.” Her voice was very soft and shy. What had just happened? She wasn’t sure.

Yeoman Rand

Roman took the piece of sleeve. “I’m sure it will, thank you,” he said, tucking the scrap of fabric in his pocket. He couldn’t shake the feeling he’d done something wrong from the way Rand was acting now. She seemed shy and uncomfortable. The atmosphere in the room felt stiflingly awkward to him.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Oh now everything was awkward and she didn’t know what to do about it. Why did she have to go and be clumsy again? The moment had been wonderful, but he was probably trying to figure out how to tell her she’d crossed a line, holding onto him like that. “I didn’t mean to make it awkward, it won’t happen again, I swear. I mean I really appreciate you making sure I didn’t get hurt. I…” It all came rushing out for lack of anything else to say or do. She better stop there. Her hands were hidden behind her back, pulling on the hem of her shirt,

Yeoman Rand

Roman looked up at her, meeting her eyes. He’d never noticed what a pretty golden brown they were. Another contrast to his own icy blues. “The last thing it was, was awkward,” he said at last. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt.” The words ignited a feeling of butterfly nervousness in his belly, something he wasn’t used to. He had to steel the courage before he could say what he actually wanted to say.

There were a thousand ways to say it, across literature or pop culture, none of them seemed right. And he couldn’t find the words on his own, resulting in another short silence.

~ Lt Cmdt Alden, XO/CSO

“It wasn’t?” Okay so no it wasn’t at the time, but it was now and that was her fault. See she’d said the wrong thing because she never knew what she was supposed to say or do. Now she just sounded like an idiot. But she couldn’t tell him she liked him, she probably just did and it wasn’t awkward for him. Well that made sense, half the female officers spent their days checking him out. It probably wasn’t anything new for him. She sighed, her hands fidgeting nervously behind her back, and she couldn’t quite bring herself to look him full in the face.

Yeoman Rand

“Not at all, Miranda.” It was true. Female officers frequently checked him out. Valentine’s Day was a particularly dislike of his. People called him cruel for turning down the officers, and taking no one to any ship dances or any other offers. But he’d never cared.

Until Miranda.

It hadn’t been obvious at first, when they met. But after realising what his feelings were, he could see their interactions much more clearly. Miranda made him feel safe and comfortable. Her soothing, beautiful voice had the ability to save him from the nightmares that plagued him, for the last three years. She was a truly pretty girl, but he didn’t care much about that. Most people didn’t notice, because of the anxiety Miranda had told him about, one day in the lab, but she had a wonderful and caring personality, and suddenly he couldn’t imagine a world in which he hadn’t gotten to know her.

There was a particular book Roman already knew she liked, and so he deepened his voice slightly in order to deliver the lines, in an accent not dissimilar from his own. He was no actor and his impression of Mr Darcy was far from perfect, but the idea was clear: “In vain, have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” (Austen) His delivery of the line was slightly emotional, perhaps because the feelings behind the words were 100% real.

After he fell silent, he watched, searching her face for her reaction. Emotional declarations of love were not his thing, and he found himself nervously fidgeting his hands. He’d never cared so much of the opinion of anyone, ever in his life.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO