Seems Like Old Times

Posted on Tue Aug 16th, 2022 @ 12:41am by Ensign Evelyn Moro & Lieutenant Aemilia "Millie" Stepanova
Edited on on Wed Aug 17th, 2022 @ 10:12pm

Mission: Magic Mirror
Timeline: 2 days before the last sim

As the doors swooshed open the Lounge was packed without so much as a free chair. Upon seeing Millie and Evelyn, an Engineer stood and vacated his seat in the far corner of the room by the viewport.

Evelyn looked to Millie. “Good timing.”

Millie returned the smile. “I’m glad we were able to get schedules rearranged so that we could grab a meal together.” Her fingertips reached down to brush against the back of Evelyn’s hand. “Why don’t you go grab that table before anyone else does. Can I get you something to drink?”

"How about a Bolian Fizz?" Evelyn said as she turned and walked to the abandoned table. Every one she walked past shared a momentary glance and she sat with her back against the wall and full view of the room.

Millie stepped up to the bar, ordering Evelyn's drink, and a Bajoran Spring wine for herself. She turned, and she paused for a moment, smiling as she glanced across the room at her girlfriend. Trisha's training of her must have been rubbing off on Ev. Picking up the drinks, she worked her way back towards the table.

Evelyn met her smile as she returned. “It seems like forever since we’ve been able to do this. I know you’ve been frustrated with the people canceling sessions and wasting your time. I haven’t been much better with all the time I’m spending on my projects.”

Millie chuckled softly. "Honestly, it's not surprising. Sometimes there's a stigma around mental health, or a concern that whatever it is they're going through is something that will impact their career." She reached over with a smile, placing her hand on Evelyn's leg. "I'm pretty sure you're the only member of this crew that *enjoys* seeing the counselor."

Evelyn felt a sensation at the touch, almost like a light initial vibration. It made her think of how long she’d gone without that. “They should appreciate you and how much you care for their well being. They always overlooked, uh, you know what I mean.” She took a long sip of her drink. “You never know what you should appreciate. Someday they'll have another counselor and they’ll wish it was you.”

Millie couldn't help but laugh. "Another counselor? I don't think Edra would ever let that happen!" She gave Evelyn's leg a soft squeeze. "There is *finally* someone that the Captain will open up to, and–" She paused, her face betraying a moment of confusion. "Wait–you're not planning on putting in for a transfer, are you?"

“No, no, no, nothing like that. I’m not going anywhere.” She glanced at the viewport, then back to Millie. “He seems….guarded. I’ve never really gotten to know him. I can’t imagine someone like that has many concerns or fears aside from general stuff about the ship.”

"Captains carry a lot of weight on their shoulders. Same with the senior staff members. They're no different than anyone else on the ship. They have families here, or they are apart from their families while serving here. What we do out here can be dangerous, and a lot of crew has suffered some kind of loss during a voyage or away mission." Millie smiled. "And what about you? We've barely had time to talk!"

“I’ve just been focused on a new layout for the sensor grid. The programming has taken me forever but I think we’re close to a working model. It will be much more accurate. You know, I think that you and I should book a session. Nobody interrupts those, right?” Evelyn grinned as she sipped.

Millie chuckled. “You’d be surprised at how often I’m interrupted. There are still crises that happen on the ship, or we encounter some situation or anomaly, and then I have reschedule several sessions because I’m needed on the Bridge or on an away team.” There was a momentary wrinkle of her brow as she reached across and took Evelyn’s hand, brushing her thumb softly along the skin. “Do we…need a session? You…haven’t seemed like yourself lately.”

Evelyn met her eyes. “I’m sorry about that. I have been so stressed about what I’m working on but it’s almost done and then I want to do nothing but spend all the time in the world together.” She gave Millie’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“That’s…not what I’m talking about.” Millie’s cheeks flushed a soft pink as she leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “You’ve been a little…aggressive.” Her eyes flitted to the rest of the room for a brief moment before meeting Evelyn’s again.”You haven’t been a top before, and since we got back from shore leave, you, well…” She flushed a deeper pink.

“Oh..well…” she cast her eyes to the viewport. “I thought maybe it’d spice things up a little. Am I doing it…wrong?”

Millie bit her lower lip, her cheeks progressing from pink to red. “Wrong? No, that’s not what I meant. When we first started dating, you told me that you liked–or you *preferred* being the bottom. I’m sorry if I’m being a bit analytical about things, but when someone makes a very rapid shift in something like this, it’s usually an indication that something is going on.”

“You’re helping bring me out of my shell I guess.” She took a long sip from her glass before smiling. “And you’re adorable when you blush like that.”

Of course, that made Millie blush even more. There was a part of her that still felt a bit out-of-sorts and new at the whole dating process, and being called ‘adorable’ still gave her butterflies. “So, umm…” She gave a bashful grin. “Maybe we should order something for dinner?”

“I’m already thinking of dessert.” Evelyn gave her a devilish little grin.