That Friday Feeling
Posted on Wed Jan 6, 2016 @ 3:45am by Lieutenant Benj Amoran
2,191 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: The Box Of Delights
Timeline: While Yolanthe is away and otherwise occupied
Is it too much?
Peridot stared at her reflection in the mirror, the floor length periwinkle fabric cascaded from a web of spagetti straps that criss-crossed her shoulders, skimming and clinging every curve on the way down.
Behind her, on the bed she caught a glimpse of eight or ten or so other outfits she'd tried and discarded.
"What's the time?"
[The time is 18:57 and thirty two seconds]
It would have to be this one. She was already going to be late.
About ten minutes late Peridot found herself outside the Box of Delights. Benj wasn't waiting outside so either he'd got fed up and gone, he'd gone inside or ... he was an even worse time-keeper than her.
Rather than hang around outside and risk being even later she went in making her way through the crowd with an 'Excuse me' here and a 'Sorry, was that your foot' there she looked around to see if he was there.
Benj was, as Peridot suspected, inside the Box. He had felt a bit silly just standing outside on his own and after 10 mins he had decided to go inside.
There were two possibilities, he figured; one that she wasn't coming in which case he could drown his sorrows and two that she might be along later and he would be in the right place if she did.
Having decided this, he moved inside *just* as she arrived a couple of minutes later. He didn't see her at first because he had been making his way through the already swelling crowd towards the bar. He marvelled at how many people were already here so early in the evening but as he managed to attract the attention of a waiter, he turned and saw Peridot at the doorway.
"Dammit" he muttered, cross with himself for not staying near the entrance. The waiter looked a bit put out to be cussed at but shrugged as the new customer seemed to suddenly decided to leave before he'd even ordered.
Benj made his way back to the doorway, waving across to attract Peridot's attention if he could amongst the crowd. "Excuse me..... can I just..... coming through!" he began as the people around him begrudgingly shuffled aside a little to let him pass. "Peri..." she had looked the other way. He moved forward again. "I'm sorry.... can I just come by..... pardon me..... " He had lost sight of her.... which way did she go? He peered this way and that.
Peridot had reached the bar. She took a moment to study the cocktail menu - even if Benj didn't show up she might as well have one drink -the Jamaharon sounded like fun! She felt herself blush as she made the decision, and her colour deepened further when she asked the impossibly pretty bartender for it.
Benj got back to the door but he couldn't see Peridot any more. He looked back inside, peering into the eye-dazzling lights and crowd of people enjoying themselves and sighed. He had two choices as he saw it. He could dive back in and try to find her - assuming she would be aiming for the bar at first. Or he could wait here and catch her on the way out, but then, by that time she'd have given up on him and in the mood to go home, not start the evening.
He decided to dive back into the 'ballpond' of people and aim for the bar again, peering around with eagle eyes in a hope of seeing her again if she moved anywhere else.
Peridot smiled at the Bolian. "Its ok, I'm meeting someone," she said ready to jump to safety on the first man she saw in a Starfleet uniform - he was the third to enquire if she wanted company for the evening - it seemed the new planets and sun had drawn a massive crowd to DS5. "I - er. BENJ!" she actually did shout as she raised her arm and catapulted out of her stool.
Hearing his name called, Benj spun around. He peered across the crowd and moved quickly back towards the bar where he *thought* the call came from. He also *thought* he had seen an arm waving briefly so he aimed for that as well.
Peridot squeezed her way through towards where he had been, "Benj, it is you," she said, "Most of the people in here tonight seem to expect a bar with sawdust on the floor," she said quickly.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realise how busy it would be when I suggested this for a meeting place. Are you okay?" he finally caught up with her, much relieved that it hadn't gone even more wrong.
She nodded, finally able to breath a little easier, "A lot of visitors to the station it seems," she said at the top of her voice, "Do you want to see if we can find a quiet corner?"
"Let's try up those steps at the far side. There seems to be a mezzanine...." he shouted back, not sure if she could hear everything he was saying so he reinforced the breaking up words with a large wave of his arm to indicate where he meant. His raised arm hit against the moving back of a passing *shuffler* and he had to yell an apology to avoid getting into an argument.
Quickly leaving that awkward moment with a lot more "sorry" and the like, Benj put his hand under Peridot's elbow and steered her gently towards the far side where there did appear to be some remote tables at the outer edge of the establishment, under an overhanging floorway. As they got out of the main crush of the crowd at the bar they were able to better hear one another and he let go of her elbow.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to take liberties" he said, indicating her arm with his eyes. "Are you okay? Shall we sit here?" he added.
Peridot nodded, "A few boors over at the bar, but nothing I can't handle. I thought we were going to miss each other. I was a bit late. Sorry."
"I'm sorry that I wasn't at the bar to see those boars off. I wondered if you'd decided not to come so I foolishly moved towards the door and ... well, we're both here now. Would you like something to eat?" he asked, looking around to see if he could see a waiter anywhere in amongst the crowd.
"Lets do that," she agreed.
Getting the attention of a waiter wasn't an easy task but in the end Benj was successful and a menu was presented for them to choose from.
"What do you like the look of?" he asked as he scanned the choices.
"Shall we go for a few different nibbles?" Peridot suggested, "There's nothing worse than having one giant plate of the same thing. Tempura molluscs sounds ... interesting."
"Oh yes, that sounds lovely. And do you think the Ragellen Peach Hasperat?" He picked another dish to add to the "different" theme. "I know everyone does Hasperat but I like the sound of having it with Peach...?" He hoped she would like the idea and not think it very boring of him to be so "Bajoran".
"It sounds good, let's add in the honey glazed Risan sausage," Peridot said with a smile, "I should bring my uncle here. He's such a stuffed shirt his buttons would probably fly off at the idea of not having a planned five course dinner served by a butler."
Benj laughed, his sense of humour tickled by the mental image. "I can't imagine he would like me much then!" he chuckled. "oooh, what about some of these Wardellian Blue Olives? They come stuffed with Orlan cheese, it's heavenly.... have you ever tried it?" He was distracted back to the menu again.
"I've never heard of it," she admitted, "but I'll try anything once, within reason." That she deliverd with a slight blush. "Do you think that's enough or shall we get a couple more?" that was the thing with pan-galactic tapas - *so* much choice.
"I'm happy to get more but shall we start on this lot and then decide if we want to choose more savouries or move on to desserts?" he hadn't actually meant that to come out quite as much of an innuendo as that and he blushed a little as it did seem as if he was being blatantly inappropriate. "Sorry.... I didn't mean that to sound quite so weird...."
"Everyting here is weird at the moment," Peridot reminded him, "let's stick with with what we have for now, a nice something to wash everything down, then we can decide on more. Does that work for you?"
He beamed appreciatively at her. "Perfectly" he agreed just as the waiter returned.
Peridot reeled off the order then looked at Benj, "Sorry, I'm used to just diving in. Let's have some water too, and ... you can choose the booze, Benj."
Benj suddenly felt a bit awkward. "er... I.... I don't know much about...... that is I rarely drink." There is was out. "But I'd be more than happy to be guided by your choice. What do you usually like?" he added quickly hoping desperately this wouldn't be a deal breaker for her.
She glanced at the menu, there were several wines and spirits - cocktails, but they didn't really work with food, "What about Yridian Ale? Its more of a lager really so nothing too powerful."
"That's brilliant. Thank you" he said. "Sorry to be a bit of a lightweight, I don't mind if you prefer something ... well, stronger? I could have the Ale and we could get you your own choice? If you like?"
"No its fine," Peridot assured him, "I'm not a big drinker either, but if I do I like to try for something that works with the food."
Drinks and nibbles ordered she changed the topic slightly, "So how was your day?"
He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Don't ask!" he said but then proceeded to regale her with a whole list of anecdotes about the odd and quirky things that had rolled into and out of his day. These included strange patients, unexplained symptoms or illness and even bizarre injuries.
"Sounds like an absolute mare!" Peridot said with sympathy, "that has to be a bit more interesting than paper shuffling."
Benj felt guilty. "I'm sorry. But your paperwork is essential to keep the Station from grinding to a halt in more of a spectacular and disastrous way than a cog in the works. If the forms and the red tape aren't all as they should be then we'd have chaos in such a huge system like this station. It's the size of a small city and a huge responsibility." he said, hoping it was encouraging.
It was one way to look at it she supposed. "Lets not talk about work," Peridot said, "there's too much time spent on that anyway. What else do you do with your time, when you're not doctoring I mean?"
"Lately there hasn't been much time for anything other than 'doctoring' but when times are quiet I'm partial to a game of Parris' Squares and I love to get into the holodeck and pull up some beautiful landscape and then just hike till it's supper time." he beamed. "How about yourself?"
"Nice," Peridot replied, "actually I've been getting my new housemate settled in. I hope no-one is going to get mad at me for replicating Admiral's pips for Purrcey's collar. He looks so cute. Problem is I can't get him to stay in my quarters - he seems to be in Ops at all hours. Someone told me he shimmied up one of the officers legs the other day and ended up perched on their shoulder. Nobody will tell me who though."
Benj laughed out loud. "Oh that's priceless!!" he chuckled. "I'd like to know who as well. He sounds like a real character! Purrhaps that's how he came to be on a Space Station all alone in the first place... too much of an adventurer!"
"I just hope its someone who really likes cats," Peridot said picturing the rather stiff Vulcan observer with a fluffy kitten breathing in his ear.
"Or someone who is about to learn to like them whether they wanted to or not?" Benj smirked, the image of Admiral Purcey mountaineering up one of the Bridge Officers uninvited. He winced involuntarily as he pictured the little cat's "crampons" being driven into the rock faces on the way up the poor chosen recipient's leg. "ouch" he voiced the thought.
"Yeah." Peridot paused as the waiter returned with their drinks. She took one of the glasses and raised it, "To paper shuffling and doctoring," she said.
"And to the prettiest lady on this whole station!" he added as their glasses chinked softly together.
Peridot both beamed and blushed at the same time. "Cheeky," she said.
A JP Between:
Lt Amoran, Benj
ACMO - DS5
and
Chief Petty Officer Peridot Quirm
Captain's Yeoman
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