Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in side-sim: New Normal

Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in side-sim: New Normal

Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in side-sim: New Normal
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Rand happened to glance up from her bowl and catch the smile that crossed his face. That playful one that he’d had all evening. Rand almost groaned, thankfully she didn’t. But almost in anticipation of whatever antics were about to come her way to make her flustered again. She had almost gotten over why she was so flustered. Then he was talking about being cold. Another bite of ice cream, it was cold, if she ate it fast enough could she give herself a brain freeze to stop from blushing? Rand was simply not that lucky. It was bad enough she was aware of the fact he’d thrown his shirt away, did he have to remind her about it? Apparently he did, and suddenly she realized how much he was enjoying reminding her about it.

“You know…I…I could suggest you put…a shirt on, and then you wouldn’t be so cold, but…” she shouldn’t be looking at him. She couldn’t decide if she was breathless or teasing him, “you’d probably drop food on that one and have to take it off, too.” She grinned at him, actually that was probably a good idea. Wait…what? Get a grip! “But if you’re really cold I could get you a blanket.”

Rand

Roman looked at the table, he was out of shepherd’s pie and out of knickerbocker, too. No more food to drop on shirts. He shook his head. “No, no need for a blanket. Unless we’re both under it.” He slipped the last part in quickly. He wasn’t actually sure what he wanted to do with the rest of his birthday. He knew there was the nebula, they could see that. Or they could watch a movie, maybe. But he was enjoying teasing her, so first… might as well have a little fun.

~ Roman

Rand turned pink, really quickly, her stomach doing little flips, not really sure why. It wasn’t like she hadn’t fallen asleep next to him every night since they’d returned. She smiled at him and stood up and slowly started stacking the dishes back to the tray. She seemed to be building up her nerve, or maybe she was trying to find her voice, or maybe drawing it out just to tease him back. She shrugged delicately, as if it didn’t matter to her what he decided to do. “It’s your birthday, it’s up to you what you want to do.” But for the very first time, her acting skills failed her. Rand absolutely was not convincing; she very much had an opinion about his suggestion. She thought it was an amazing idea, if she had the nerve to say so.

Rand

Rand turned pink, smiled at him, and then started stacking the dishes away. Then she shrugged, and it was a very unconvincing action. Her words were equally telling. His smile grew and turned more playful. He got up and went to the closet, grabbing the extra blanket from there. Then he sat on the bed and patted next to him. “You can’t resist, I can tell,” He said, still grinning widely. He held the now unfolded blanket up as if waiting for her to come and sit with him.

~ Roman

Roman got up and went to the other side of his quarters. With her back to him, Rand wasn’t really paying attention to what he was doing as she stacked the tray up to return later. She turned around about the time he patted the space on the bed next to him, and the held the blanket out. Resist? Oh she had better never, ever play poker with Roman. Then she’d be the one who lost her shirt. Lord’s help her if Randy ever found out about this, he would never let Rand live it down. He’d be telling all the children in the clan about it, when they were old. Why would she want to?

His comment helped though. Assuring her it was okay. They were dating, it was okay to want to sit with him, be close to him. But the comment was keeping her flustered at the same time. She stood there for a moment, flushed, and then…Pipkin decided the invitation was for her. She hopped from the floor to the stool to the bed, and then her nose appeared around from Roman’s back. Rand laughed, and that seemed to propel her over. She sat down next to him, scooping the rabbit out of the way and to safe spot. She was looking down at Pipkin as she moved her, then she looked back up at Roman and smiled.

Rand

Roman laughed too, Pipkin’s fur was tickly against his bare skin. Then Rand scooped the rabbit up and moved her and Rand was next to him. He smiled back, and then put his arm around her and pulled her closer. Then he set the blanket over them both. “There. Comfortable?” He was still sitting up, and with his arm around her he had her in a bit of a half hug, but the way he was sitting they could easily just lay back.

~ Roman

Rand may have been a bit put out by the rabbit trying to steal her invitation. Pipkin was obviously on Roman’s side because it got Rand right where Roman wanted her to be - sitting close enough he could put his arm around her and hold her. Rand was leaned into him, head on his shoulder, one arm around his waist like always. But it wasn’t like always either. His arm was strong and steady around her. It always was but the perspective had changed. “MmmmHmmmm.” Rand wasn’t sure comfortable was the right word. That implied being relaxed, and she wasn’t sure she was relaxed but she was content and happy where she was - cuddled next to him under the blanket. At the same time Rand was comfortable, and content to just stay there with him and let him enjoy the evening, his birthday however he wanted to. Oh he’d flustered her plenty that night, but he had seemed very happy…no, carefree for the moment, and if teasing her was part of that, she could learn to be okay with being constantly flustered. She hugged him tightly for a moment. “Happy Birthday.”

Rand

Roman liked how Rand seemed… maybe a little put out that Pipkin tried to steal her spot. It made him feel like he was hers, as much as she was his. He was happier than usual, and for some reason, Rand remembering and celebrating his birthday had put him in that happy, goofy mood. She hugged him, tight, and he hugged her back. “It’s been a fantastic birthday, thank you.”

~ Roman

Roman’s hugs always made her feel better. They made her feel calmer and usually made her feel relaxed pretty quickly. She was really glad he felt like it was a fantastic day. “You’re off bed rest, back to work, the labs are busy, you have your notes from Kelmao. That’s a great day for you.” She was teasing a little…well maybe a lot. “If walking around without a shirt makes your day fantastic, you should do it all the time.” Rand turned beat red and slapped a hand over her mouth like she had just blurted out the Federation’s deepest secrets.

Rand

Roman smiled, he knew she was teasing. “Don’t you know the old earth saying? ‘Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life’.” Then his grin widened at what she said. “I’ll keep that in mind for the future.” But then he turned a little more serious and added, “You made it fantastic, you made a great dinner and a nice desert and you were here, that’s enough to be a good day.”

~ Roman

Rand looked up at him, a bit surprised at the sudden change from teasing to serious. But he said the sweetest thing. Her cheeks turned pink, not from being flustered or embarrassed, but because his words meant a lot to her. Roman needed to know he was cared for and loved just for himself. Randy didn’t talk about their sessions, and Roman only mentioned things occasionally about his life that wasn’t Star Fleet, but Rand could tell he didn’t have a lot more f people who truly cared about him. She was really happy she had made his birthday a good day. She wrapped her arms around him hugging him tightly again, her face in his neck. “I love you, Roman. I’m always going to be here.” She wanted him to know that, and if she needed to tell him everyday, well she was happy to tell him.

Rand

Her face turned a little pink, but she didn’t seem flustered like before. Instead she wrapped her arms around him again in a tight hug and he hugged her back. It was a touching thing to say and for a moment he didn’t respond, just hugged her. Then, “I love you too, Miranda.” He was reminded in a way of when he woke up post surgery in Sickbay, and he had managed to call for her, and she’d been there.

~ Roman

Rand was totally unaware of what Roman was thinking. She pressed close as she hugged her back. Then he said he loved her too and her smile got brighter even though Roman couldn’t see it. After a quiet moment Rand, still hugging him, asked, “What do you want to do the rest of your birthday? Anything you want.”

Rand

There were several things to do, the most enticing of which was seeing the nebula, but that would be there later. Or there would be another one. “I’m perfectly content right here,” He said softly, without letting her go. “And it’ll be a chance to give my leg some rest.” Most of his work had been sitting work today, and then he’d sat with Rand for dinner, it wasn’t like he desperately needed that rest, but he’d use any excuse to not have to move.

~ Roman

Rand sat up, just slightly, more like lifted her head just enough to look at him. A chance to rest his leg? Now she really did wonder if he had gotten some alien fever. It was every trick, order, and argument between Elbbirt, Randy, and her to keep him in bed for as long as they did. Now he wanted to ‘rest his leg’. She looked at him a long moment, finally deciding he was using it as an excuse to stay in. He didn’t need an excuse, simply that’s what he wanted. They had been having fun and she couldn’t help teasing him just a bit. “You just got off bed rest and you want to…go back???” She placed the sensitive inner part of her wrist to his forehead. “I don’t know, you might have a slight fever, I think you had better stay in bed.” A small grin peeked out as she finished and then she laid her head back on his shoulder. “I’ll just have to stay and take care of you.”

Rand

Rand looked at him for a long moment, as if she were trying to decide whether he’d just finally lost it or not. He grinned, his leg had nothing to do with why he wasn’t moving. “Do I need to go back on bed rest to rest? Isn’t that what my fancy new chair is for?” He said, teasing her back. Then she put her wrist to his forehead, and said he might have a fever. She was still teasing him. “If it means you’ll stay and take care of me, bring on the Vulcan cold,” he said, grinning at her again. “Or andorian flu.”

~ Roman