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 (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Roman, though he very rarely in his life drank more than one or two glasses of his beverage of choice, was what was commonly called a “happy drunk”. He’d get very personable and friendly, but not in a flirty way, more in a goofy, playful way. He smiled again and nodded, “Then let’s do that. We’ll dance tonight to celebrate.” His ice cream was slowly disappearing, though he was trying to finish it before it became a creamy nut soup.

~ Roman

The idea of a rehearsal made Rand feel better. She wasn’t sure why because it wasn’t like anyone else was going to be seeing them dance. But it had been a very very long time since she’d even practiced. Her ice cream was melting slightly but not a soup yet. It was more than what she usually ate, bit it couldn’t be put back. “I’m not going to be able to eat dinner for all this ice cream.” It took all of Rand’s self control to not flush at the idea of getting to celebrate by dancing, but it only kind of worked. Roman was close enough to tell. “That sounds nice.” But first to finish the ice cream and not get a headache from eating it too fast.

Rand

It had been a long time since Roman had practiced. Not since the last formal function he had attended with his family. Well, he might’ve attended one or two dances in college or academy. He nodded his agreement. “Chef was very generous with his serving sizes.” He looked up, and she was blushing. He had to smile. He worked on finishing off his ice cream without giving himself a headache.

~ Roman

Rand scooped the last bit of ice cream from her bowl. No brain freeze but her tongue and cheeks felt slightly numb from so much frozen ice cream. Her spoon made a gentle clatter into the empty bowl. She carried them back toward the kitchen to return them. The inside counter was piled high with dirty dishes that Gorshin hadn’t gotten to yet. Before the thought had formed in her head to help, Gorshin appeared in front of her. “Nope, I don’t need help tonight. I have never seen you in here this early. So go, have fun, enjoy being done early. Shoo. Out of my kitchen.” Rand put the bowls down and held her hands up in surrender. Exiting the kitchen, Rand rejoined Roman and then they left the galley heading for a lift and his quarters.

Rand

Roman stood when she did, and then waited for her to come back from the kitchen. Then he walked with her back to his quarters. He dimmed the lights a little, queued up music on the computer, and then looked at Rand, smiling. “Ready?” He didn’t think they needed to change into formal wear, not to practice alone in his quarters. He couldn’t help but feel a little excited - he’d been looking forward to dancing with her for the better part of a month.

~ Roman

Rand followed Roman through the door and then he dimmed the lights and turned on music. No. Chan eil. Non. Nyet. Zham. Nope, she was not ready. Her hands shook slightly. This had seemed like a really wonderful idea 20 minutes ago. But it had been so long, what if she forgot, or stepped on his feet, or mixed up the steps, or didn’t know the dance at all, or…or…or…

But she did remember even if she was inexplicably nervous. She moved closer, stepping into their shared space placing her right hand in his left, her left hand resting atop his right shoulder. She made herself breathe slow and deeply. “I… I haven’t danced in a long time…”

Rand

Roman shrugged, a relaxed and smooth movement. “I haven’t either.” He had practiced alone for her, but that wasn’t the same as dancing with someone else, certainly not someone you loved. He took her hand, setting his other hand against her waist. And then they started dancing. “You’re practiced,” he commented, his voice soft, after a few moments.

~ Roman

As they started to move, Rand’s gaze rose to his face. You always looked your partner in the eye. After less than a handful of steps they found the measure of each others’ gaits. The movement came incredibly easy. His hand on her waist was softly warm and lead her through each step and turn. The space was small but it didn’t feel as such to Rand. “Oui, j’étais la première dame du théâtre. (Yes, I was the first lady of theater)” Did that sound like bragging? It wasn’t meant that way. Years ago Randy had helped her come up with a handful of phrases in response to things she never knew how to respond to. Odd how easily the mind remembered. She smiled, was she feeling shy?, at the compliment. “Danser avec toi ne ressemble à rien d’autre. (Dancing with you is unlike anything else.)”

Rand

Roman smiled, he understood the language easily. He found that the steps came easily as they started moving. “J’ai assisté à plus d’une danse, (I’ve attended more than one dance)” His spoken French sounded natural, with a light British English accent. He didn’t take her comment as bragging. He’d seen her performances, he’d seen nearly all the shows on the disk she had given him. She deserved the title. “Vous êtes le meilleur partenaire que j’ai eu. (You’re the best partner I’ve had)” His French was in the formal tense, perhaps because that’s how he was taught to speak to a dance partner.

~ Roman

Rand’s French alternated between formal and more every day speech. It all depended on the context of what she was saying, she’d had to learn both inflections. In this case, dancing was very formal therefore so was her inflection. It had taken her a long time to learn how to drop her Scottish accent in order to make her French sound more authentic. Rand had noticed that Roman always tended to smile when her accent came out, and today her Scottish lilt lended a softer hint to her French. It wasn’t done on purpose, but more she wasn’t trying so hard to hide herself. The longer the danced to more complex the steps became, going from a simple box step and adding turns and twirls. “Roman,” there was a wealth of depth to her gaze, “je t’aime (I love you).”

Rand

Their dancing was getting more complex and Roman was enjoying it. Then his eyes lit up and he smiled. “Et moi, vous (And I, you).” He could hear a hint of her Scottish accent in her French. He loved when he starts hear her accent. It meant she was relaxed, not trying to hide it, and it just sounded nice.

~ Roman