Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Side sim: Early Morning in the Lab

Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in Side sim: Early Morning in the Lab

Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Side sim: Early Morning in the Lab
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Roman looked almost as surprised as Rand did for a split second but then he seemed to come to terms with and accept what he’d said, and then he was watching her face intently for a reaction or an answer. She squeezed his hand and he felt her pulling his shirt, bunching the fabric in her hand as she gripped it. And she looked like she did when she was going to have a panic attack, and he started to worry he’d overdone it, that she wasn’t ready for those words, that he’d scare her away.

But then she used his name, her tone sort of.. questioning, but he still loved hearing his name in her voice, her accent. And then she said… she did, too. She. Did. All over again, Roman looked completely surprised, and then he returned her smile, except his was confident and really, really happy. He let go of her hand and pulled her into a full, proper hug, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

~ Roman

Rand’s smile was shy but she was happy.
When he let go of her hand and pulled her into a full hug, Rand let go of his shirt. unconsciously she smoothed the wrinkles from it. Rand reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and then rested her head against him. She was nervous because the whole thing was new and exciting and overwhelming and Roman was wonderful. The way he hugged her always made her feel better even when she didn’t feel nervous.

Rand

Roman was hugging her tightly, and Rand had reached her arms up around his neck and she was resting her head against him. He loved it when she did that when they hugged like this. He hadn’t intended on or planned to say what he said, but now that he had, and especially because it had gone well, he was really happy it had come out the way it did.

~ Roman

Rand seemed to sigh, a soft content sound. Her quiet voice was muffled against him. “This is one of my favorite things.” They seemed to stand there endlessly and Rand thought it was a perfect moment. Until her computer started beeping at exactly 1800, as all the dept reports started coming in. The alert in the quiet room startled her and she jumped slightly. “I…I have to go back on duty now,” she sounded extremely disappointed.

Rand

Standing there endlessly with her was another one of Roman’s favorite things. He just liked the feeling of hugging her, it was just so pleasant to do. “Mine, too,” he replied. And then her computer started beeping, and she jumped. “My quarters, when you’re off? Dinner?” He asked, reconfirming their plans. Her disappointment made him happy, in that she didn’t want to stop hugging him. He didn’t want to stop either, but she had to work, so he started to let her go.

~ Roman

Rand leaned back to look up at him. “Yeah, as soon as I’m done,” she looked excited about it. She removed her arms from around his neck and tried very hard not to show how disappointed she was at having to do so. There really wasn’t room to back up in the little space, but she tried to give him some room so he could turn around or back out the door. She wanted to say something else before he left, but didn’t know what.

Roman was glad to see her look so excited. He considered saying something, but instead he simply turned to leave, having just enough space to do that in the cramped room. “See you then.”

His departure left the small space feeling very empty, almost as if her voice would echo if she spoke too loudly. It wasn’t easy knowing he was right across the corridor waiting on her while she was working. After a moment to berate herself, she got to work transcribing the reports by hand.

Rand

While she was working, he was preparing for another dinner, borrowing the table and chairs, picking up food from the galley and setting it out, and getting himself ready. He went more casual than last time, but he was still wearing a button-down and nice pants. His hair was newly neatly combed. When everything was ready, he sat to wait for Rand.

~ Roman

Rand didn’t normally mind taking extra time to do her work to make sure it was correct. She didn’t mind doing things by hand if the computers were down. She didn’t mind redoing work that was wrong. But this was ridiculous. Hand writing the reports was taking forever. Left over nerves made her hand writing sloppy at first. Then , well transcription left lots of room for errors in manual copying. So much paper was wasted. And that irked her. They only carried so much, and a lot of paper had been used since this started. Though she wanted to rush, so she could meet Roman for dinner, she did not. That created poor work and was unprofessional, and she knew Roman would never be upset because she took the time to do her work correctly. The idea was so absurd it made her laugh. Then on the last report her hand cramped painfully, making it take longer to finish. Her computer account needed to get fixed.

Luckily the captain had no corrections or notes for her to take. At that point her fingers were bent strangely from the cramp, that was more like a charlie horse - in her hand. Rand’s foul mood had returned. She wanted to hit someone. She stopped at her quarters to change, which also took longer because her hand didn’t want to cooperate. In the end she went much more casual than she wanted to - slacks and a sweater. Her hair was falling out of it’s neat bun and instead of attempting to fix it one-handed she just let it down. Later than expected she knocked on his door.

Rand

Roman waited patiently, wondering if the Captain was holding her up. She would’ve been right, he’d never ever ask her to rush on his behalf. He started reading while he waited, it was simply something to do that he could put down the moment she showed up. Finally, he heard her knock, and he set the PaDD on his bunk before going to the door. Then he let the door open and smiled, letting her in. “You made it.” Her hair was a bit messy, hanging down instead in its usual bun, and she had gone more casual, maybe a bit more so than him, but she still looked really nice.

~ Roman

Despite her soured mood, she smiled when he opened the door. “I did. I’m sorry I’m later than we thought.” She wasn’t sorry that she had done her work or been thorough, just sorry it had taken so long to meet him. She knew when she changed she was more casual than she’s intended. She’d had a dress in mind, simple and comfortable, but she liked how she looked in it, but the back zipper had killed that idea. He looked more casual than their last dinner, but he still looked nice. “You look atr…very nice.” It was okay to tell him that, wasn’t it? Roman obviously knew he was good looking. He’d teased her about watching him in the gym. And even though he didn’t engage in gossip there was no way he missed what the other women on the ship said about him. They weren’t exactly quiet about it. She stepped in so the door could close, and finger combed her hair back with a deep breath, letting the tension from the day go, or trying.

Rand