Posted by Captain Calvin Marius (Captain) in Captain’s Quarters

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Vanessa Slade (CNS) in Captain’s Quarters

Posted by Captain Calvin Marius (Captain) in Captain’s Quarters
(Snip)
“I am doing fairly well,” Vanessa said feeling the room seem to move around her. Subconsciously she was aware of what she wanted to say but her mind was thick and foggy. She had tipped to the point of no return with the last drink. All her talk earlier of being a big dog disappeared as Vanessa Slade realized she might be a little too inebriated. “In fact I am doing better than fairly well,” she moved her legs so they were tucked up under her allowing her to adjust her height to be eye level with him. Handing him her glass so his hands were full, Vanessa took his chin in her hands and turned his face so Marius was looking directly at her. “You scare me. Not because you are built like a mountain or can send a glare across the bridge that instantly makes someone feel like they are going to be called to the principal’s office but because under all this…I think I could fall for you.” Alcohol tended to cause people to make bad decisions but it also at times was the greatest truth serum. “Kiss me,” she said closing her eyes and leaning in. Her lips might have been puckered but they never reached the intended target. Her leaning increased to a more steady fall landing her not on his face but directly impacting his chest.

“Vanessa? Falling…” He question as she started tilting. It was almost like a ship listing, or the tower of Pisa pitching over, just a lot faster. She then just thumped against his chest. “Van-ess-a?” He started to speak in a falsetto, “Marius… take me to bed or lose me forever…” (for our Top Gun fans) He paused.

A soft snore was her only reply to anything Marius asked.

Marius blinked at her snoring form, that two fisted whiskey theft did her in. He shook his head. Better now that if they started really fooling around again. Bad enough intoxicated… completely wrong drunk. She had done pretty well considering she had more than him and he out weighed her by a god 70 pounds.

Hands full it took a moment to maneuver in a fashion to get the glasses on a stable surface so they wouldn’t spill. Vanessa was not a large woman, certainly not heavy in terms of what Calvin could lift, however any drunk dead weight person could be a trial on someone especially when they had to pick them up from a fairly low couch. “Oh my… I guess you want to crash here.” He carried her over to his bed. Being Captain did have its advantages and he did have a Queen sized bed.

Vanessa breathed deeply but did not wake up as Marius wiggled and shifted to a standing position with her in his arms. Not by any fault of Calvin, Vanessa’s head lolled slightly making her snort awake long enough to look at him and blink a few times. “I don’t think I should drive home,” she limply patted his shoulder obviously not aware she was on a space ship and not the corner watering hole. “Give me twenty…’kay,” she murmured half intelligibly before ending her sentence with a small snore signalling she was asleep again.

“You do… lovely.” He had to put her down, pull back the sheet, put her under it and then tuck her in. It probably would have been easier not to bother and she certainly wouldn’t notice it, but it didn’t seem proper. He chuckled to himself, she was out like a light.

He ran through the many steps of his nighttime routine, leaving an empty trash can on her side of the bed. On the night stand on her side as well he left a glass of water and four aspirin. She had been drinking real alcohol so the hangover was going to be real as well. Four hours later

Vanessa let out a small moan as the sound of an alarm from her personal communicator echoed in the darkened room. Her hand reached out flopping around on the small table next to her trying to silence it. A small gnawing headache was starting to form and Vanessa was not ready to get up to see it if got worse. Pulling the blankets up, she inhaled deeply hoping for just a few more seconds of sleep. It was then she noticed something felt off. Turning her head, she buried her nose in the pillow and inhaled deeply. It was not the scent of lavender and vanilla indicating she was in her own bed. It smelled distinctly of masculine cologne and only one person wore that scent. Oh crap, she said silently to herself.

Vanessa Slade CNS

OOC: Six am for an 8 or 9 am shift? Or do I have the time line wrong.
OOC: 8 am I have always thought. Not sure why. I have always assumed Senior staff worked 8 hour shifts and all other shifts were 4, 6 hour shifts. I have no clue where I got that idea. Do you have a picture of Calvin? Just trying to figure out the small things for a post. If he is bald I will alter the post lol. ~ Kate

OOC: I always thought I had a picture… and yes he’s bald. https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Terry-Crews-Walk-of-Fame-Honor.jpg?w=1000

Marius had elected to cancel his 6 am workout. He could skip one… or make it up after his shift. What he couldn’t control is the fact Vanessa had her own alarm set too early. “Why,” He grunted unhappily. He mentally couldn’t decide what would make him happier ignoring the alarm and continuing sleeping or enjoying the hangover Vanessa had to have. “Are you kidding me… four hours…”

The sound of his voice made her freeze as if suddenly Calvin Marius, the expert Marine, would not notice a lump on the side of his bed.
Oh my god oh my god Vanessa you did not just bang the boss, she said still not moving. With any luck, he was just shifting position and will fall back to sleep.

Despite this he rolled over on his side and forced open his eyes… less forced was his smirk. “Good Morning Sunshine… Are you getting me breakfast???”

Marius

The slightly surprised look on her face instantly melted hearing his greeting and seeing his smile. “Yes, but I have a question first.” She took a minute and looked at him. Reaching out she ran her fingers through his hair gently before leaning in for a quick soft kiss.

“Yes, twice, well two and a half if you’re catholic” He paused, “Which I think you are.. given you 12 brothers and your total disregard of the definition of Catholic Sins… BTW you were wonderful.”

“I did hit lust, gluttony, and pride like a rock star,” she said letting out a small groan as she tried to shift positions but felt the stirrings of a headache threatening to rear its ugly head if she spoke any louder or made any fast motions. “You have any analgestics on hand?”

“Which I believe came before your fall.”

“Well angels fall from heaven all the time Handsome so it kinda fits with the whole deadly sin thing.” Leaning up she paused slightly before moaning and settling back on the pillow deciding the kiss wasn’t needed. The way she sqinted her hers eyes slightly showed what she treating tenderly.

Handsome, he thought, pet names… well that one wasn’t that specific. He hoped in time he would gain one more directly related to his personality… Iceman… no that came from a movie from like 500 years ago.

He nodded towards the table on her side of the bed. “I suspected you might wake up with a little hangover.” Marius had been there several times. He hadn’t ever really passed out, but even without losing consciousness, the hangover could be very real.

Rolling over to the nightstand where he had placed a couple of tablets before crawling into bed, Vanessa palmed them and flopped her hand about until she found the water he left to wash them down. Moving slower, she looked at him with a half smirk. “When did we switch from synthohol to the real stuff?” Synthohol was like alcohol except for the nasty side effects like headache, aversion to light, and a queasy tummy. The problem was it also wasn’t like the real thing which was why so many people kept a stash like Marius had for emergency purposes.

“We didn’t switch… it was real alcohol the whole time, Miss’ I’m going to drink mine and yours too.’”

Vanessa let out a laugh and put a hand to her forehead. “No laughing. Laughing is bad,” she teased him. The shaking of her body from finding amusement in Calvin’s comment came with a price.

“You did the drinking all by yourself and as a consenting adult, I let you do what you want.” She seemed to regret that.

“It seems Pride is going to be the biggest reason for all the hail Mary’s am I going to have to do on Sunday,” she let snuggled deeper trying to move as little as possible before the drugs kicked in. “As to your drinking comment…yours was free and I owe Tony a tab long enough I am going to have to start doing that Lucy with a tin cup on the side or start moonlighting as a bartender to cover the bill.”

“Oh,” He pursed his lips, “No,” Now shaking his head. “I remember the evening pretty clearly. That is not the sin you should be worrying about. The things you did, pray you don’t get hit by lightning when you enter the church.”

“It did border on a religious experience,” she waggled her head a bit with a smirk. “I think I screaming oh God might have been a tad blasphemous but the rest…well it wouldn’t be the first time I have had to worry about lightning striking me in church. I will just wear rubber-soled shoes to lessen the impact,” she winked at him.

Calvin chuckled a little, “I never understood that part of Catholic penance system. That’s like writing something on a chalkboard just boring and punitive. I like the restorative practices, making things better or doing good deeds to make up for a sin.”

“Yes but if I am a good girl I get ice cream after confessing all my wicked ways,” she said in an upbeat sing song voice. The was she was talking about her faith gave a glimpse at how serious she took it. While faith was one of those deeply rooted things, the acts, events, and ceremonies with it varied widely. It was completely feasible for one person to like parts or sections without the whole thing. Vanessa was giving off the impression that she was Catholic and like all good Catholics would die one but the pomp and ceremony piece was not taken as serious as probably the nuns or priests would have liked.

“Fortunate for you your sins were mostly of the minor variety except for that pesky lust one… ” He shrugged. “I’m pretty sure you did that sin a couple of times before you met me, or you’re a savant at it. So I imagine you know what the charge is for that particular act.”

“Usually I get dinner before the trip to the confessional,” she laughed it off. “That is in the private sector though. What’s the penance on the U.S.S. Genesis,” she emphasized the ships designation and name in a perky tone. “What would you do to a highly unruly, sorta obnoxious, and completely prideful lieutenant gone wild.” Normally mornings were not this easy after an evening like she had but there was something about Calvin. Maybe because it was Calvin she was talking to and not seeing the man as Captain Marius. That man would show his face at some point but right now they were just two people waking up and not thinking about the events of last night. That would come later when they were sitting on the bridge, not trying to make any eye contact but going over every word they spoke. Vanessa would be thinking of ways to tell him it was probably one of the most eye opening experiences of her life. She would also be wondering if the neutral and relaxed expression Marius always seemed to wear was just a mask, honed from years of command experience, stopping him from wondering about her.

“You didn’t want dinner.” He looked at her.

“You never asked,” she countered with a small smirk. The banter this morning was far more flirty and coy than it was last night. Part of it made her head swim trying to parse together the public Marius and the private one.

“I won’t pretend either of us knew exactly what was going to happen, but right until we hit that beach on the holodeck, you knew how things were going.” Marius was a big believer that women decided exactly what they were going to do with you and how long it was going to take within 5 minutes of meeting you.

“I plead the fifth. Can’t just come out and say I was looking to bang the boss,” she shrugged. “Or maybe I was just as surprised as you. I am highly interested though in what you are planning for my penance and if it took you less than five minutes to come up with it?” It was hard not to be attracted to the man now that she had a peek at him.

“But if were up to me, Ironically I do the discipline on the ship, so I know a little about this, maybe a few hours of hard labor, peeling potatoes, scrubbing the head. Things like that.”

“So make your dinner and clean your quarters,” she replied with a smirk. It was so hard not to flirt with the man especially since last night was a mix of romantic interlude and induction into a Marine training regime.

“I didn’t think about it that way, but yes.”

“So I have a question,” she laid on her back and ran her hands over the sheets smoothing them.

“What the hell thread count are these sheets? I am mean I knew the being a Captain has some perks but these sheets are the bomb.” Now was supposed to be the awkward moment where neither of them talked and both hastily made promises about texting or calling as they rapidly donned their clothes and shoes. Instead it was comfortable and almost familiar.

“I really can’t take credit for that. I didn’t buy them… well I didn’t choose them.” Marius’ wife had purchased all of the items of any quality in the room with the exception of his clothes, the bar and the alcohol. He decided to leave that part of the story out. “I had a personal shopper that took care of keeping my quarters ‘decent.’ By and large I can’t tell Betazed silk, from rayon by anything else aside from the charge on my banking account. I did pick the bed and mattress… I do know sleeping.”

“Well you might have made a grave tactical mistake in letting this turn into a slumber party last night. You have opened my eyes as to what I can have.” She kept her tone serious and her expression as neutral as possible as she talked. “Calvin I hate to say this but you might have just made me aspire to become,” she let her voice trail for a second.

“A captain myself,” she pulled up the blankets and snuggled a bit deeper. “I mean I am really loving these sheets.”

Vanessa Slade CNS

“Well it’s probably easier then getting into my quarters way you did it.” Marius responded. “I’ve heard of trying to get into someone’s pants, but getting into someone’s sheets… I can’t decide if I’m insulted or am impressed by your cleverness and work ethic. I’ve seen mules who were beaten work less hard than you did. Thanks by the way.”

“No problem and it is totally my work ethic that has you saying to yourself…now why can’t I be like Slade. She is my newest idol,” she quipped as she decided moving from this spot was no longer on her agenda.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Hoping the sarcasm in his voice was especially clear.

“You can’t hear it. Lemme help.” Clearing her throat, she began in a deep voice that was meant to be like a males but no where close to what Marius sounded like. “Man that Slade is one amazing chick. She is funny and hot and has a body that doesn’t stop. I am one lucky schmuck.”

“Maybe I am,” he said without humor. It probably was as close as he got to an agreement.

“Oh, I know you are. I mean have you seen this body,” she gestured down her sheet covered form. “That alone deserves at least an oh hell yah.”

Turning to face him she stopped flirting and changed the subject. “Now that we got the hero worship out of the way, I do remember a promise of breakfast.” Not that, that was exactly what she said… but if she was half as drunk as she appeared, she might not remember the exact wording of the discussion. Or she was thankful enough about his performance… which was a fifty fifty shot.

“Oh my god yes please. Something greasy,” she responded reaching out and patting his shoulder, fully hearing the statement as an invitation and not a question about her putting her money where he mouth was. “On bread though definitely on bread. The carbs help soak up whatever is still being processed,” she started placing her order as if they were at some restaurant.

“Oh no,” Marius couldn’t decide if she forgot or was intentionally was playing stupid. “Your big mouth made a lot of promises last night, dropped a lot of challenges.” He was intentionally vague as he tried to measure her memory. He reached out and clutched her body to his firmly running his hand through her hair…’ummm’ Calvin did like hair. Ironic again since he didn’t have any.

“Did I now,” she laughed and then groaned feeling her head acting like a nun at a school dance with a ruler checking for twelve inches. Much like determined teens however, it did not stop Marius from holding her close and Vanessa pulling his hands tighter around her. It was nice in his arms. Almost too nice. They had agreed to being bunk buddies with no commitments less than twelve hours ago. While she had learned far more than most girls on a first date, that didn’t mean he still wasn’t planning to feed her breakfast and beam her out like a hooker going out a fire escape.

Now firmly in his clutches he continued. “I intend to hold you to every single one of them, repeatedly.” He ran as series of kisses down her neck ending with a light sucking bite, low on her neckline, lower than an open blouse would reveal just in case she bruised easily. He released her with a yawn and a placid smile as he rolled back to his side of the bed.

“Hahahaha stop,” she squealed out laughing feeling his lips on her neck. It was much softer and almost ticklish until the end. The end was more indicative of last night calisthenics and made her heart skip a beat. “We were like two Klingons going through Pon Farr weren’t we,” snuggled back deeper into his arms. This was the closest thing she could think of to describe last night.

“Had to warm up the muscles,” He commented, a point that would only make sense to some who was there as the activities got more energetic as the evening wore. But one way or another they had to fuel up, unless..
“Unless you want some afternoon delight first thing in the morning.” Vanessa had awoken the lion and in all honesty, last night ended without an actual resolution for Calvin.

Marius

“Wait are you talking before coffee?” The tone in her voice indicated that as flexible and eager as she was last night, it did not stand a chance of coming in first on her list of things to do this morning. For the first time, Calvin would notice actual fear and apprehension in her eyes over whether her first true and absolute love of coffee was going to have to jockey for second place. Her mouth went slightly dry and her heart rate increased not because of what he was suggesting but what he clearly did not understand had to come first before any decisions were to be made or activities planned.

“Yeah, I was planning on going back to sleep after. We have 2 hours because of your alarm. I was planning on making the best of it.” Calvin literally could roll out of bed, wash his face, brush his teeth, and be in his uniform in 3 minutes, which meant he’d be on the bridge in 5. He wanted to use that time in a preferred fashion… that would be fooling around or sleeping. Breakfast was of interest, but lower than those other two.

There was only one option. Sometimes you just had to pay the piper. “Woof,” she said in a soft high pitched tone but without the vim and vigor from last night. Somewhere deep in her memories, Vanessa remembered standing up and barking about being a big dog and the ability to run with the boys. Now she was no longer barking up that tree. This morning she was not a five foot Great Dane but more like a one foot Yorkie as she nursed the growing headache forming behind her eyes and the sensation she was so dehydrated she left like she was two steps from mummification. She had no idea if Marius even remembered that from the beginning of the night or not. Usually her ten foot tall and bulletproof status vanished as her liver processed out the alcohol that caused such displays of her ego. Of all the things that Calvin Marius needed to know about Vanessa Slade, it was coffee started out as the first thing her lips touched regardless of whether the night was spent alone playing solitaire or involved more rigorous activities.

Vanessa Slade. CNS

Calvin chuckled, “If you want to run with the big dogs you have to learn how to piss in the tall grass.” Vanessa had locking into that phrase and made it the mantra for the evening.

“I would but I don’t have the right plumbing. Trust me tall grass is not a girl’s friend. Got poison ivy once. That was fun.” Her tone showed it was far less than that and probably had a lengthy story behind it. Since she did not break into it, it showed it wasn’t on her radar to share it.

He exhaled. “Alright.” He conceded. It was only fair, she had done most of the work in the second half of the evening. He announced to the computer =^=Coffee service for two. Full English Breakfast for two.=^= He rolled unhappily out of the bed to collect it. The only consolation he had was that he was going to bring it to the little table in his living room, well it was the other room that was used for everything. She would have to leave the warmth of the bed as well.

“You are bringing it back…right,” she said not entirely thrilled with the idea of leaving the warm, cozy spot?

“You just told me how great my sheets are, do you think I’m going to let you ruin them with your sloppiness. You might not, but I remember the mess you made last night.

“That was a coordinated attack on all fronts. It was like my Waterloo but I can not say I did not enjoy losing.” Running her fingers through her hair, Vanessa watching him move across the room. Did he had a slight swagger she hadn’t noticed or was just imagining? If he was swaggering it was well earned.

Calvin padded over in his black boxer briefs. He had a full collection of clothes she was still semi-clad in his shirt from last night.

Marius

Moving to the bathroom, Vanessa took one look at herself and cringed. Drumming her hands on the sink she made an executive decision. Five minutes later, she exited the bathroom washed and with damp hair. She found a second shirt and after a sniff test realized it was clean just not put away. Inhaling it, a small smile crossed her face. Whatever cologne or soap he used, she liked. Sliding it over her head, she moved from the bedroom and into the small area he set up for breakfast.

Calvin bellowed after a minute or two, “Are you serious the food is getting cold.”

“Hold your horses. We aren’t on duty yet. I am not due to follow your orders with a heart yes Sir for another two hours.”

“Oh my god this is hoyt toyt,” she said sitting down on the couch. “I was planning on a cup of coffee and maybe a muffin to go as you beamed me out before I said good bye.” Her comment was light and breezy but also testing the waters. She did not regret anything that happened last night but it was far more intense than what she expected. It also presented the question of when they were going to do it again. There was the possibility of a lot more but for right now if they were bunk buddies, she could live with that. Picking up the coffee, she took a sip and let out a sigh tucking her feet up under his shirt. It was huge on her and would never be stretched out even with her knees tucked up under it.

“You asked for grease. How was coffee and a muffing going to cover that?” He looked at her for a moment. “Don’t pretend you didn’t want all the food. You worked hard you earned it.”

“True but you made it clear this is a friends-with-benefits relationship. Don’t get me wrong. I am all about calling the Calvin division of HR and signing up for benefits but usually, that does not include sit-down meals. More of take-out. It’s not like we are going to just stroll on out of here but I probably should put on more than this before you beam me out. It would do wonders for my office hours if I showed up on the bridge like this due to a transporter malfunction.”

“Oh its suspicious enough that there was a single un-accounted for beaming into my quarters. I do it again and security, or Jarvis will figure it out before you materialize in your quarters. I’m going to go out first and if no one is in the hallways you can follow. If someone is in there I’ll ‘lock’ the door and only unlock it when the coast is clear.” He had a plan even though he had never done this before.

“So what are your plans for the day,” she smiled coyly around the cup she was taking a sip from.

Vanessa Slade CNS

“Eight hours bridge shift, maybe dinner, 2 hours of working out. That will take me to 8 pm. Then I’m free. Are you asking me out? Or fishing for me to ask you? Getting all passive and lady like. Momma would be proud. ” He thought I was several hours too late.

Marius

“No, but just can’t commit until I check my schedule,” she set the cup down with a soft clink. Her words might sound non-committal but the rest of her body language was already booking a table and picking out her dinner. “Besides someone could have seen us in the lounge. We don’t want them to think we slept together or something.” Her comment was tongue in cheek. They definitely had not slept and no one had seen them as they made their way to the holodeck. At that hour all the good crew was fast asleep in their bunks. Having dinner among the senior staff was also pretty commonplace. Everyone had to eat and most of the time crew ate together. It would probably seem as benign as ordering a burger at meal time.

“Do you want to have dinner out of guilt or interest,” she followed up her question. “I am a big girl. I know what happened last night and have zero regrets so meet me for dinner because you want to. Not because you feel you have to.” Her confidence showed through in her statement. While everything about her wanted to be a little more feminine and reserved, she had gone into last night knowing Marius was the Captain and had a responsibility to the ship first and foremost. Picking up the cup, she hid her nervousness by taking a sip as she waited for his answer.

Vanessa Slade CNS