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 (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
It had upset him - a little. But he’d managed to put it aside so they could enjoy the evening. He hated when his problems derailed plans, and Randy had been trying to teach him strategies to deal with it better. And sitting with her quietly, relaxed and happy, was definitely the best thing she could’ve done for him. Her arms were tight around him and his breaths were slow and calm. He was quiet for a long while, in fact it seemed as though he might be dozing off, until he said, “It’s nice, sitting here with you.”

~ Roman

Rand thought he might have dozed off, she certainly thought she might fall asleep. Rand wondered what he was thinking about. Probably all those amazing animals they saw on Kelmao. As for Rand, in a very rare moment, she wasn’t thinking about all the ‘supposed to’s. She was kind of drifting in the silence and warmth, until he spoke. She moved her head slightly but didn’t lift it. “It is.” Rand didn’t know what to say other than that. It was really nice just sitting there, no stress, no anxiety, just being there with him. She hoped that it eased the memories just a little and gave him something good to remember later.

Rand

Roman wasn’t thinking about anything in particular, instead, he was simply enjoying the quiet in his mind. No flashbacks, no memories, no Jay, no Ardent, just the quiet. Just Rand. It was peaceful. He felt nice and light and as if he were sort of just drifting blissfully… And then he was dozing off again.

~ Roman

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Rand woke up some time later. She was warm…uncomfortably warm and…uncomfortable. Ugh She blinked, squinting, the light was still on, and then her gaze focused…on bare skin. Roman. A really goofy grin crossed her face and she turned her head to look at the chonometer. 0415. Almost time for her to get up anyway. She tried to sit up slowly, not to move the blanket, and grimaced. No wonder she was uncomfortable. Her dress had twisted around her and it was ‘fitted’ in places it shouldn’t be, the sleeves scrunched and bunched tightly over her upper arms, and the full skirt was trying to become pant legs. Despite being overly warm now, she’d slept well and was reluctant to get up. She needed to go for a run to wake up. She didn’t want to leave though.

She flipped the blanket off, only for a spot to move and wiggle. It made her heart race for a beat before she realized it was Pipkin. She’d tossed the blanket over the top of her. Rand pulled the blanket back and scooped the little rabbit up and set her on her chest and pet her quietly for a moment and then set her down. Rand tried to scoot gently off the bed but she was caught. Part of her skirt was caught under Roman’s leg. She flopped back, head on a pillow and gazed at the ceiling and huffed quietly before grinning again. She tried to pull the skirt free, but it wasn’t working, and she wasn’t going to wake him up. Maybe it was a sign she should just call out for the day? Only problem was she couldn’t reach the comms button either. Only me. This would only happen to me.

Rand

Roman was sound asleep. He’d drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep that his body was unwilling to easily give up. He didn’t move as she sat up, flipped the blanket off herself, or played with the bunny. He didn’t even wake when she tried to get up. Her attempt to yank her skirt free that jostled him and caused him to stir. Sleepily, he stretched and yawned, inadvertently freeing her skirt from beneath his leg. “Rand? What time is it?” He didn’t want to get up, didn’t want it to be time for work yet. He wanted to stay in bed and snuggle with her longer.

~ Roman

She wasn’t trying to wake him, and she felt bad. “0415. If you just roll to your side a bit, I can get my skirt loose and then you can go back to sleep.”

Instead of rolling to the side she needed him to, Roman rolled closer to her. “Or we could stay here a little longer.”

As he started to roll, Rand tried to tug her skirt loose, but found instead she was even more stuck, and now tucked up close to Roman again. She almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. It was a wonderful idea, and since she was now even more stuck, Rand was even more inclined to go along with it. She knew he still had to be sleepy, or still very playful from the night before, if he was suggesting she not get ready for work right away. Rand sighed warmly, pulling her half of the blanket back over herself, and laid there a bit longer with him.

Rand had a thought though…several actually that she thought were great, except he sounded sleepy. Roman’s leg wasn’t strong enough for a run yet, but they could go to the gym.”Unless you want to get up and go to the gym with me.”

Rand

Roman liked that idea, and he sat up, but then frowned. “I can’t walk to the lab without a break yet, I can’t work out.” While he did generally ignore medical restrictions, he knew there would be nothing productive about trying to run on his leg so soon after bed rest.

~ Roman

As soon as Roman sat up, Rand stood up, fussing to untwist her dress. She sighed with relief as the fabric released it’s tight numbing grip on her. Then she sat back down next to him. “Yes you can. You have the exercises the PT gave you to do everyday. You can also do an upper body workout on the machines while staying off your leg. And that means you can leave your shirt off.” Rand was blushing furiously when she said it. It was easy to tell that even though she was teasing she thought it was a great idea.

Rand

Oh. The exercises. Right… Doctor Sovak had given him a list of stretches to do. Roman had not been doing them. Then he grinned when she said he could leave the shirt. “I don’t always wear a shirt when I work out anyway, they aren’t really required for that. Alright, let’s do that.”

~ Roman