A Walk in the (Artificial) Moonlight - Part 1

Posted on 10 Mar 2017 @ 1:23am by Lieutenant Commander Alexei Joran & Chief Petty Officer Bianca Donati
Edited on on 10 Mar 2017 @ 1:48am

1,132 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Errand of Mercy
Location: Bianca's Office/Gardens
Timeline: Current - ED 5 - Evening

ON:

Alexei had been preoccupied all day. Not that it had affected his work--it handn't. But even Daxit had noticed and said something to him about it. He'd blown it off and insisted to her that he wasn't, but he knew she had not believed him. And he HAD been preoccupied because of a certain dark-eyed female. One Petty Officer Bianca Donati, as a matter of fact. And he had made up his mind to do something about that particular situation--he would go and see her. He was going to ask her out on a date. Oh, sure...they had already had a dinner date but this time what he had on mind was a bit more than that. This time he wanted to ask her to go on what he hoped would turn into an actual romantic date.

So when the time had come, he immediately headed for her office. When he got there, he saw that the door was open, so he quickly peeked in. She was sat at her desk, her attention focused directly on what she was doing.

"Hi," he said. "May I come in?"

She said something sharply under her breath as her concentration was broken. After taking a deep breath as to avoid yelling at the person who had taken her attention from her work, and breathing away the blinding rage that tended to fill her when she was disturbed, she looked up into the eyes of the man who had spilled her drink the day previous. She wouldn't be able to finish what she was doing now, so she queued up the save button and turned the PADD off. "You already are in, so you may as well come in the rest of the way."

It wasn't the warmest of invitations but he would take it, he thought as he walked in. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you but I was just wondering if, when your shift is over, you might fancy a trip to the arboretum or possibly one of the holodecks?"

"Persistent bugger aren't you?" she commented wryly, letting only a hint of her anger show through.

"Absolutely," Alexei answered. "It's a trait of a good engineer--we never give up. We keep going until we complete the task at hand." He grinned at her slightly. "So whaddya say? Is it a date?"

"I am not a task to be completed. I am not job, I am a person." She grumbled at him.

Alexei realized that what he had said must have sounded wrong to her. "I'm sorry..." he said carefully. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I only meant that I don't give up easily on anything, or anyone." He hesitated a moment, then added "Especially anyone as pretty as you."

"Are you only pursuing me because you think I am beautiful? You seem fixated on that one fact."

"It would be a lie if I said I didn't think you were beautiful and a lie is a poor way to start any sort of relationship - friendship or otherwise," Alexei said slowly. "But no, that is not the only reason, nor even the main one. I find you extremely intriguing and conversation with you very stimulating."

"Humph" came the same grumbling tone from her lips. Dark eyes gazed into his for a long moment.

"You sound as if you don't believe me," Alexei responded. "I assure you, I'm telling the truth."

"I have never...." Came the quiet response from the woman who glanced back down at her table.

"You've never...what?" he asked, his interest clearly piqued by what she had obviously left unsaid.

"Been really in any kind of relationship. Betazoid avoid me. Humans are put off by me and most people do not....like me."

"Well I'M a Betazoid and I'm not avoiding you..." Alexei said, allowing a slight smile to creep onto his face. As for most people not liking you, I don't know about that but from the way things have been so far I like you. And if we got to know each other better I think I would like you a lot."

"Alright." She found herself answering.

"So what about it? Fancy a walk in the arboretum or maybe a trip to one of the holodecks when your shift is done?"

"I would like to see the gardens. That would be fun."

"I've not seen the gardens yet..." Alexei said, "...but I hear that they are beautiful." He almost added 'nearly as beautiful as you', but given that she seemed to think that was the only reason he was pursuing her, he wisely remained silent. He watched her for a few minutes as she worked, then asked "So are you ready for that walk in the artificial moonlight?"

"Not quite". She answered as she input the last few pieces of data. A quick read over completed this particular report and noticing no spelling errors she placed that PADD on her completed basket. Straightening her uniform, she looked up at him, "Very well I am done. Next time though, I would appreciate you not interrupting me at work. I find it difficult and sometimes impossible to continue working after having been distracted."

"I see..." Alexei said slowly. "Well, if you've served aboard many starships before, I'm sure you know that interruptions are sometimes the norm rather than the exception." He didn't say it to be rude, but simply as a statement of a fact of life aboard a starship. "I AM sorry, though, if I distracted you. It was not my intention." Alexei then reached out his hand to her. "Shall we go...?"

Mumbling something impolite under her breath, she took his hand and allowed him to lead her from her office.

As they walked into the gardens, Alexei spotted a group of beautiful hibiscus flowers. Impulsively picking a large pink one, he immediately tucked it into her hair, behind her ear.

"What species of flower is this?". She asked quietly gazing at it.

"It's called a Hibiscus. It comes from the tropical areas of Earth's Pacific Ocean..." he answered. "I thought you might like it."

"It's lovely. Does it come in other colors?"

"I think it does," Alexei said. "I've seen one that's red on the outside and white down in the bowl. I don't know about other colors. I'm more familiar with flora from Russia."

"Interesting" came the quiet comments from the Marine. Her mind spun, as she gazed at the multitude of plants

"They do have quite an assortment of plant life here..." he said as he gazed around the area. "Some I recognize from Russia."

"It is lovely. Which ones are Russian?"

To be continued...

OFF:

LtCommander Alexei Joran
Chief Engineer
USS Redemption

CPO Bianca Donati
Marine/Diplomatic Officer
USS Redemption.

 

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