Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Sleepless Indulgence

(snip)

“I did. But he had a month long winning streak after that,” Roman answered her question. “When I was young, I was actually rather a small boy, and I didn’t get bigger until my teen years, so at that age, seven at the time, we were roughly the same size, and after I won the first match, he spent all week practicing so he could show me up.” He continued the story, telling her how he won their first match, and then how, the next week, he got his backside whooped in revenge, a humiliating defeat.

They were like siblings, the competition was always friendly, but it was fierce. They were always one-upping each other, challenging each other to be better. In jiu jitsu, yes, but also in academics, and in life in general. It was then Roman realized how much he missed that. The friendly competition, rather than the toxic rivalry he’d had with his actual, biological brother. But that part he kept to himself.

~ Roman

Rand found if she simply listened without thinking about all the things that might be connected to his story she could enjoy being there with him rather than letting her own thoughts spiral. Once in awhile her mind would spin but it wasn’t as much. She liked the sound of his voice and she wasn’t aware that her body was drifting off. She was just letting herself listen to him. “I bet the other competitors dreaded having to face either of you. Probably made it harder on them if they beat one of you and then had to fight the other.” She finished the tea, not having realized it was almost gone. She set the the cup on the desk, folding her hands into her lap. “How did you finally stop his month long streak?” Her voice sounded tired but without the tension this time.

Rand

“We were the top of our league, until we both passed the test to advance, and then we were the youngest in that league, so it took us longer to move up again.” The class they went through used the belt system, and the leagues were the belt colors. It was oddly soothing to tell the story once he got going, he didn’t know why. She sounded more relaxed, too, and that made Roman happy. “Hours of extra training and a little luck,” he replied, “And after that, we started challenging each other for fun, outside of competition days.” He laughed lightly, a short, nostalgic chuckle. “Injured each other a few times, too.” Or themselves, when they tried something new without knowing the proper form. Rand was starting to sound tired, and Roman figured from his own experience she’d probably be ready to fall asleep soon. He sipped his own tea, now half empty and growing cold, because while telling the story he seemed to have temporarily forgotten about it.

~ Roman

The chair wasn’t quite tall enough for her to lean her head against, but she would have. “Did you get in trouble with your teacher?” She was careful not to ask about his family. Even as tired as she was she was aware that Roman didn’t talk about his family, and he probably hadn’t meant to share what he had. Rand realized she was tired and close to dozing. She probably should leave, but she knew the problem would just start all over again. Every once in a while she could still feel her nerves jumping along her arms and down her legs - stress mixed with anxiety.

Rand

“There were a few safety lectures, here and there.” That was kind of a funny thought, looking back. Compared to who he was now, always giving the safety lectures. Rand looked like she was nearly ready to doze off, and Roman was thinking that chair couldn’t be a comfortable place to do it. But he figured if she wanted to move, she would. “We were his star students, he was generally quite happy to see us so invested in it. He would tell us often that part of it all was patience, and that we’d be doing ourselves a lot less harm if we stopped trying to overdo ourselves. …And as children rarely do, we never listened much.” As they grew older and more experienced, those instances happened less frequently.

~ Roman

Rand would have moved, the chair not being excessively comfortable, but she didn’t know where else to sit and she wasn’t ready to leave. She opened her eyes slightly and shook her head with a grin. “You got lectured on safety? I don’t believe it. And you didn’t listen when given instructions? Roman?” she looked at him more directly, her amusement tempered by her sleepiness, “Were you a rebel as a child?” She couldn’t help it, she was teasing him, and showed her amusement more fully than she would if she wasn’t tired and relaxed around him.

Rand