Interspecies Romance II: Butterflies

Posted on Mon Jan 4th, 2016 @ 6:22am by Captain Charybdis MacGregor & Captain Patrick O'Connor

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Taking Chances
Location: USS Bonne Chance, Deck Five, Captain O'Conner's Quarters
Timeline: 2265
Tags: 1stlove

As Charybdis entered the room she saw the table set for two, with beautiful linens and crystal arrangements all about, with light green candles set on the table burning brightly, the lights in the room dimmed otherwise, adding to the ambiance.

That feeling welled up beneath her tummy again... that one she wasn't used to at all that made her feel so odd. Not bad at all, to be certain... if anything it was perhaps a little frightening and intimidating, but thrilling and exciting all at the same time. She wished she could identify it, but she was starting to get the idea that it was a good feeling when it struck her.

Suddenly she felt quite foolish for internally mocking the 'first date' on a starship.

"Its... it is very..." she struggled to find something to say, and found that much to her chagrin, she was completely at a loss for words. Damn the man for being capable of reducing her to silence with thoughtful kindness! Her cheeks were flush and quite warm, and suddenly she had no idea what to do with her hands as she stepped through the doorway, her hearbeat hammering five times per second.

He followed her in, the doors sliding closed behind them. He walked to the table and pulled her chair out for her, an old Earth custom offered as a sign of respect for the lady. After she sat he in turn sat down. "While I know Vulcans do not typical indulge, I'd like to at least offer you a glass of wine. It is a great vintage; a Chateau Picard, 2201."

"I'm really not like... yes, Captain. Sir. Patrick! I would very much like a glass of wine right now..." she said with some strain evident in her voice, putting her elbow on the table and resting her forehead on her palm as she lifted the empty crystal wineglass to be filled. She was obviously very flustered, and the shoe was most definitely on the other foot now, Patrick noted with a slight internal chuckle. Again, it was heartening to see that despite her wiles and her ways, she was mortal after all.

For her part, Charybdis was busy kicking herself mentally to just calm down and enjoy the evening. Why was he affecting her so? What was wrong with her? She'd been to candlelit dinners before. She had been wooed and romanced before. Why was this so different? And was an alien going to be birthed in her innards sometime soon from all that darned fluttering?!?

Patrick poured the glass, filling it just a touch over half, then did the same with his own glass and corked the bottle to put it back down. He raised his glass towards her, "A toast... to good friends and what may come." He gently clinked his glass with hers, and then took a sip of the lightly sweet red, which was quite smooth he noted.

As he poured she worked to compose herself, and she was ready when he offered a toast... and then he sideswiped her. Friends? As she understood the culture that was a relationship status of cohorts who did not sleep together... what was that supposed to mean? Was he trying to tell her something? 'What may come'... that could be open to interpretation though...

She took a sip of the wine, hesitated, considered, then tossed down the entire glass. Nerves be damned, she was not going to ruin a perfectly good evening by second-guessing everything he said and being a tongue-tied bundle of nerves. A glass of wine on an empty stomach should do the trick in less than a minute, given her current metabolic rate, she estimated.

The look on his face said that had been unexpected, so she just smiled her most winning smile and asked, "So what's for dinner?"

"I took the liberty of checking your personnel record to see what might be the do's and don'ts here. I wanted to have something that would work for us both and have the proper meaning, so I had the chef make a very specific meal tonight. Beef Wellington, with mashed red potatoes in a stunning red wine and truffle sauce, and lightly glazed carrots. It will be preceded by a Caesar salad, and for dessert, I had chef make a chocolate mint pie with Vulcan creme. I am told it is a dessert that will only be matched by you in sweetness."

A nervous smile accompanied the compliment, as he hoped the menu choices were going to be all right. He knew that Vulcans were traditionally vegetarian, but she was anything but traditional in most every sense, and according to his research had quite the love for meat... or at least cheeseburgers, according to the food dispenser records.

As he described the menu her smile grew as her eyes opened wider and wider. "Oooh, that sounds delicious! I can't wait!"

Unfolding her napkin, she placed it in her lap, and she felt the warmth of the wine spreading throughout her midsection, calming those infernal flutterings and she could feel herself relaxing again. She took a deep breath and picked up her water glass, took a sip then gestured with it around the room.

"I must admit, I didn't imagine anything like this for a first date, su... uhh, Patrick. I really had no idea what you had in mind, but... this is very nice. I'm starting to get the idea that you are trying to impress me, hmmm?" She grinned at him from under her brows, and he started to recognize the outward signs that she was relaxing as her usual personality began shining through again.

"If you are asking if I went through much trouble, well, the answer is yes," he said as he gave a light chuckle. "The first date sets the mood for the relationship, whatever it will be. I considered something less formal, more down to earth, but ultimately the romantic in me won out, and here we are on the classic first date. It may interest you to know I have a few surprises up my sleeve for this night. I hope you won't mind if I get a bit, presumptive?"

Those sharply angled eyebrows climbed upward slowly as he spoke, then wiggled a bit as he finished. "Not at all, My Captain," she said as he felt her stockinged toes sliding inside his pant leg. How the woman could escape from those shoes and be ready to play footsie so fast was beyond him, but somehow he wasn't complaining.

"I may get a bit presumptive myself... seeing as how we ARE off duty... just two regular folks... a man and a woman out on a date..."

That foot, he noted, was far bolder than he'd imagined it might be.

She sipped her water and looked out from under those exotic brows, her nebulous violet eyes sparkling in the candlelight, alight with mischief and promise.

Considering his next move as he felt her nuzzling him teasingly, he was torn. He'd had something rather romantic planned, but suddenly he just wasn't feeling like springing that particular surprise on her at this particular moment. He returned to reality rather suddenly when the porter door opened and the steward brought in the salads to place them before the diners. Patrick noted the long glance he took as he placed the salad in front of Charybdis, who inhaled slowly to draw out the moment, then waved her hand between the steward and her bosom to break his eye contact.

"That'll be all," he said a protective tinge in his voice. For a moment, just a fraction of a moment, Charybdis could see a hint of jealousy and what was colloquially referred to as 'alpha male syndrome' in Patrick. He had obviously claimed her as his own, though he had not pronounced it to her or the crew verbally just yet. It was an interesting development though, and she rather liked it.

If she was going to suffer the slings and arrows, at least she could reap the benefits, she thought, and it gave her a warm feeling knowing that he was already just a teensy bit protective of her. She smiled demurely at him and began poking at her salad.

She hated salad. Loathed it, truthfully. But she was not about to say a single solitary word about it and ruin this night he had worked on so hard- she could suffer through a plate of roughage for his sake.

 

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