Trouble in Paradise I

Posted on Mon May 28th, 2018 @ 9:46pm by Captain Charybdis MacGregor & Captain Patrick O'Connor

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Operation: Risa!
Location: Risa, T'skani Province, private lagoon #13
Timeline: 2265

The bungalow that she had rented for the week was situated far from civilization. Located within a tropical lagoon, the waters were perfectly clear and blue, with a half dozen waterfalls that fed into it. During the day the heat went up to thirty-four degrees celcius, while at night it dropped down to eighteen degrees. Thus she would enjoy it during the day, while Patrick would be more comfortable at night.

The building itself was a deceptively simple three story affair. The top floor was a loft level that contained the sleeping arrangements, a large simple bed that suited her purposes when she had booked the suite. The rafters were handy and exposed, which had also suited her purposes, and there was a diving board that extended out over the deep part of the lagoon. She was rather looking forward to playing with that... her inability to stick a landing tended to not hurt her as much in acrobatic diving, and she loved to twist and spin through the air only to find cool, forgiving water at the end of the flight.

The main floor had a comfortable living space with a large viewscreen and open windows. The bungalow looked simple but it actually came with complex climate control devices, as the entire lagoon was a manufactured environment. There was a small kitchen stocked with foods she had requested for ease of preparation (meaning primarily heat and eat or cold foods in her case), and a staircase leading to the sublevel.

Transparent aluminum walls held back the lagoon in the sublevel rather than solid walls, thus during the day the light from the water lit the entire bungalow from beneath. At night strategically placed (and dimmable) lights in the lagoon provided an ambient glow, and a comfortable lounge space was provided where one could watch the many varieties of beautiful Risian tropical fish swim by. A large round papasan couch-type affair dominated the center of the room, with multitudes of soft and comfortable pillows strewn about.

She had arrived early... originally she had wanted to insure that everything was perfect for their getaway, but now she just wanted some time to enjoy it all by herself. There was every possibility that this would not go well, and she was determined to savor the paradise she had rented before that happened. Clad in a dark blue patterned bikini (the store had not been able to fit her size in her preferred color), she leapt up, sprinboarded off the diving board and propelled herself high into the air.

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs42/i/2009/098/c/5/Vulcan_Beaches_by_willdial.jpg

The diving board had a ladder which conveniently ran up the front of the bungalow that extended into the water, so that she could dive again and again without tracking water through it, and she did so a number of times. Her body twisted and spun with the grace of a dancer, seemingly defying gravity as she contorted through the air.

Of all of the gifts her creators had seen fit to install within her, this was the one that brought her the most joy, though she got to fully exercise it so very rarely. She swam lazily around the lagoon, plunging beneath the surface and propelling herself easily through the crystal clear waters. Vulcans did not care for swimming- theirs was a desert planet, and the concept of a fluid medium atmosphere for enjoyment was, well, alien to them. But she had come from a lush swampland region not far from the sea in the T'skani province, and she adored the water. And Patrick would not be finished with his last post-mountain climb paraglide until 1700, after which he would be sent a message to beam to these coordinates.

The curvaceous and comely commander had no idea what to expect from their discussion. But for now it was just her, the bright, warm sunshine, the cool, comfortable water, the bright and beautiful fish and the cascading falls... and she was quite content to enjoy it all. For the moment at least, life was good.

He materialized inside the bungaloo right on schedule and looked around to see where she was. He spotted her in the water, swimming gracefully with strong, sure strokes and decided to join her. He made a quick move upstairs then dove in, which most certainly had to be a bit of a shock to her.

Surprising her after the past few days was not neccesarily his best plan, however, as her first instinct was to plant her foot in his face to gain some distance then submerge, swimming strongly underwater for the nearest shore. She moved through the water with fluid grace, fully at home in it despite her lack of a hydrodynamic figure.

He remained submerged as she moved toward him. He saw the foot coming towards him and narrowly dodged it then wrapped his arms around her as he came up and kissed her. "Trying to assault your commanding officer is not the best way to say hello."

She seemed uncomfortable with the kiss, but was apologetic to him nonetheless. "Sorry... I had an interesting few days here planetside and you startled me there. I didn't mean to kick you... but surprising me wasn't necessarily the best way to say hello." Her smile was there, but something was definitely up with her.

"Everything alright?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice.

"We... need to talk, Patrick," she replied, thoroughly unaware of the cultural significance of the phrase yet somehow she had instinctively found precisely the words to summarize the situation. "Perhaps we could go inside and sit down instead of treading water to do it though?"

"Of course," he replied, and they made their way back to the bungalow.

She grasped the ladder and preceded him out of the water, climbing up and stepping into the main floor, where she had left some large fluffy towels waiting. She wrapped herself in one, then handed him another as he swung inside. She strolled slowly into the comfortable living area and sat down on the overstuffed wicker couch, uncaring of her wet body, and gestured for him to sit opposite her. At that, she turned to him, and furrowed her brow for a moment.

"Ive never known anyone the way that I know you... I have been physically intimate with others, but I have never given myself to anyone as I have you. You are my first, in that way." She was struggling to make eye contact as she was speaking, but she was managing it.

"So this is new to me, and different, but there are elements of it that I am recognizing that do not make me happy. Perhaps it is my idealized vision of how things should be, or perhaps we simply want different things from a relationship. But it seems as though there are elements that are missing from this relationship... and they are elements that I have come to realize that I strongly desire."

"Such as?" he said, a puzzled look over his face.

Biting her lip for a moment, she took a deep breath... obviously this was difficult for her, but she pressed on. "Romance, Patrick. I desire romance, not merely sex. I want to feel as though I am on your mind when I am away, and that you hold me in your thoughts and desire to do things to make me feel special and desired and loved. I desire for us to be friends as well as lovers... for us to engage in activities outside of your quarters that are mutual, wherein we bond over shared experiences, perhaps even in the company of others."

"I want... I want flowers occasionally, or perhaps gifts... I would... I would like to receive a call from you to let me know that you are enjoying yourself when I do things for you. To let me know that you think of me, or miss my company or that you are pleased with what I do for you. I... I would like for you to say 'thank you' sometimes. I want for you to hold my hand, because you wish to be close to me and reassure yourself that I am still there. I want... I want a happily ever after."

A deep breath later and she continued. "I do enjoy coupling with you, and that is fine... better than fine. And I enjoy sleeping with you. And you have rewarded me for my service with rank and position, and I am grateful... but that is a Captain to his First. It is not a Man to his Mate. So rather than avoid the issue or try to pretend that it is not bothering me, I am attempting to communicate and express my feelings so that you understand me... understand my feelings, and what it in my heart."

"There were no flowers from you... no thank yous... not even a call the entire time you were on your vacation. It says to me that when I am not in sight, I am not in your mind... or your heart. So I have expressed myself... would you like time to think on what I have said or would you like to converse about it?" Those big violet eyes were wide and bright, and she was leaning toward him as she spoke.

He looked at her, a deer in the headlights look washing over him for a moment. "Honestly, I was unaware of that aspect. You moved so fast with things I assumed you didn't care or want for the romantic things. You might recall that dinner and dancing was a bit awkward, and well, I never got a chance to go past those gestures really. And I didn't message you directly or send anything because I was actually quite busy with all the activities you had me doing. But that doesn't mean you were not in my thoughts. I know you had to have gotten my little rank surprise, and well..." he stood and walked over to the table in the next room and grabbed something she couldn't see and returned.

He pulled out a beautiful bouquet of Risian lilies. they were a magnificent shade of purple. He handed them to her. "I didn't forget you at all." He gave her a moment to take in the gift of the flowers, and then pulled out his second gift. "And here, I got this for you as well." He handed her a nice box as well, and he waited for her to open it before identifying it for her.

"Oh... they are... they are very beautiful... thank you! Thank you very much, Patrick, they are very thoughtful of you!" Obviously she was surprised by the gift, but she looked absolutely taken by them. She admired them for a few moments, deeply inhaling their fragrance and all but hugging them to her bosom... he had seen women happy to get flowers before but this was a rather extreme reaction. Eventually she set them down on the nearby table, plucking at them appreciatively with a dewy-eyed look on her face. A canny observer would realize that this was obviously special to her in more ways than one.

"Thank you..." she repeated, looking somewhat conflicted. She remembered the box sitting between them and eyed it cautiously... it was too big to be dangerous, so she gingerly reached over to slowly open it. Inside the box, lying on a bed of velvet was a jeweled necklace. Diamonds, rubies and sapphires lined a platinum string, which was there to set off a centerpiece of an emerald cut into the shape of a heart.

"It is very pretty Patrick... thank you," she said with a smile. "But... you were not too busy to contact me to repeat orders to me. And I cannot believe that a moment or two of pulling out a communicator was too much for your schedule." She put the necklace down with a resigned sigh, steeled herself for a moment, then looked up at him once more. "Gifts are very welcome, and very thoughtful of you... but what I really desire is your time, and your personal respect. I would prefer for us to be partners, who support one another because we believe in one another, and we are together because we cannot imagine being apart. I think that I deserve to have a lover who is also my friend, and I think that you deserve that as well."

"Let us try an experiment... I am a scientist, so it seems logical for us to attempt an experiment. Let's see if we can spend 48 hours together without having sex. Let's try to actually get to know one another as people... as friends." She looked down at her fingernails, her cheeks flushed a comely shade of mint green. "I've never had friends before now, so I did not know what it was like, or what it meant. But now I do... friends treat one another differently than we do each other, and I think we should be friends too if we are to be lovers... or if we are to be anything more than lovers. Maybe we... I... moved too fast. I was... excited. But it wouldn't be fair to either of us to settle for something that's less than... true love. Would it?"

Her eyes sought his, searching, feeling, reaching out to him. She was once again in uncertain territory for her, but she was still forging forward bravely all the same.

He smiled. "If you think you can resist me for 48 hours, then I shall endeavor to complete your experiment as you wish." He smiled, trying his best to be jovial and lighten the mood a bit."I got no problem just spending time together, talking, things of that nature. By all means, pick my brain if you like."

 

RSS Feed