Sliding Into First (Base)

Posted on Sat Jul 4th, 2015 @ 2:13am by Lieutenant Commander Robin Swift M.D., PhD & Niall Sala Ph.D.

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Counselor Swift's Quarters

* * * Robin’s Quarters * * *

Robin had been frantic after his shift was over, having to run around the Promenade for ingredients for dinner. He and Dru had finally settled on something Italian, but not just spaghetti--something with a bit of panache. He’d had to remind Dru that he hadn’t cooked anything very fancy in a while and was afraid that he might mess it up, but she prodded until he finally relented.

Three hours later, and almost time for Niall to arrive, Robin was running around the kitchen like a man on fire--but not literally. He’d made minestrone soup, seafood alfredo with shrimp and scallops. Then for dessert, tiramisu. All served with a Pinot Bianco white wine.

The dining area was set and the food was warming. The only thing missing was Niall.

As if waiting for the thought, the door chime rang. Niall waited outside, having gone home to change into jeans and a short sleeved shirt. He had opted for the dessert wine and held a bottle of Madeira in his hand.

The door opened and Robin welcomed him in. “You’re right on time,” Robin said as he took the wine. “And this looks amazing.”

Niall smiled warmly as he stepped in and sniffed the air. “I hope you like it. Dinner smells like I want a lot of it. I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble?” He rested a hand on Robin’s shoulder. “But if you did, I’m impressed.”

Robin scoffed. “Trouble? I just...threw something together,” he said with a dismissive wave. “I haven’t tried anything but the soup yet, but it does smell so good.” Robin walked to the table and pulled a chair for Niall. “Have a seat, my good sir, and the food will be presented momentarily.”

Niall followed and took the offered seat. “Presented? Oh my, you will spoil me. Bring it on then.” He glanced around the main rooms, then back to Niall. “Freya hiding?”

“Locked her in the bedroom,” Robin said as he went into the kitchen. “I think she knew I was having company and started acting a bit loony-tunes.” He returned with a large pot and a ladle. “Minestrone,” he said as he scooped it into the bowl in front of Niall, then into his own. Returning the pot to the kitchen he came back and sat, pouring some of the Pinot Bianco. “Let me know what you think.”

Niall tasted the soup and closed his eyes, a soft murmur of approval sounding in his throat. “I thought you said you never cook much. This is delicious.” Indeed, the spices were perfect and he had another spoonful. Then another.

“I cook, I just don’t normally do big meals like this one.” He tried some of his own soup and thought it was excellent. “Tonight is a special occasion. Besides, if I made this much just for me it would go to waste.”

The mention of it being a special occasion touched Niall and he smiled at Robin. “Why so special? It’s just me here, but that means a lot.” The thought that he should tell Robin how happy he’d been at the invitation rose in his mind and he decided to go with it. “I have a confession to make too.”

“Our first date,” Robin replied. “That’s why it’s special. But I’d like to hear the confession.”

“I was thrilled with your invitation. I don’t think I got one bit of work done after, despite Lani’s prodding to focus.” Niall laughed for a moment. “She finally told me to give up and go so she could get some work done.”

Robin was beaming. “Well, I’m glad I could cause a bit of distraction for you today. And good for Lani. You probably did need a little bit of time off.”

“It could be argued, especially if it means more time with you.” After several more bites, Niall lowered his spoon. “I need to save room for the rest I think. More wine?” He reached for the bottle and held it up.

“Absolutely,” Robin said, then stood after the glass was refilled and removed the soup bowls. He disappeared into the kitchen and returned with two larger, flatter bowls filled with the alfredo. “This and the dessert are what I have been waiting for,” he said as he placed them on the table. “But there’s no rush. We can eat and talk to give your food time to settle before dessert.”

“Good plan. Maybe take dessert into the living room and kick back? But for now, why don’t you give me an idea of what you have planned for us when we escape the station?” Niall refilled his own glass, had a sip, then began to savor the alfredo.

Robin speared a scallop and some of the noodles and enjoyed it. “Oh, I love this,” he said and swallowed. “The first four days are the standard tourist-type thing. Monuments, museums, historical battlegrounds, galleries, fine dining, that sort of thing. I may be able to get it down to three days. After that, I’ve been granted permission to hike the Mortelli mountain range. I’m told some of the views up there are amazing. That should be another three days or so. After that, just relaxing at a cabin on one of their larger lakes close to the mountain. That’ll be my final relaxation before heading back to work.”

A smile spread over Niall’s face as he listened. The idea of backpacking through the mountains, then a few days hidden away in a cabin without a million messages and details and conferences and questions to answer sounded like paradise. When he added in Robin’s company, it was exactly what he wanted.

“After your description, I would be willing to leave tomorrow,” he blurted out before he could stop the words.

Robin smiled at his comment. “A few more days, but it will be soon enough. I just hope the trip isn’t boring for you, at least the beginning portion. I’ve seen some images of the places I’ve scheduled to go, they look great and seem to have some interesting backgrounds. But we can always cut and run to the mountain early if it gets too dull for us.”

He sipped at his wine and added, “I’m happy that you’ve decided to go with me.”

“I wouldn’t miss it Robin.” After another sip of wine, Niall continued. “If I am perfectly honest, I don’t think boredom will be an issue. I am...ahh...more interested in the company so it doesn’t much matter what we see.”

Robin blushed a bit. “I am interested to see where this leads us. I’m only concerned that so much time together so soon after we’ve started dating might be, well, overkill. I just don’t want us to get tired of each other in doing this.”

“I considered that too but at this point I am not overly concerned,” Niall answered. “You must promise me something though, and it’s something I’ll promise as well.”

“Okay,” Robin said as he sipped more of the wine and followed with another bite.

“You’re taking this vacation to get away from work and so am I. We need to make sure we do that. Enjoy being away and each other, if that makes sense.” Niall took his last bite and pushed his plate away a bit. “I’d much rather hear about you than think about my next design.”

“I like that idea,” Robin agreed. “But you may find designs everywhere you go. So don’t berate me too hard if I suggest a few things while we’re down there.” He laughed, but Niall was right. This whole thing was about getting away from work, not still living it while they were away.

“Are you saying I should stash a notepad and pencil in my backpack?” Niall laughed as well. “if nothing else, we get bored, I’ll make you some killer paper airplanes.”

Robin laughed loudly now. “I’ll leave that to you.” He’d finally finished his own meal, wiped his mouth and cleared the bowls from the table. “Do you want to wait a bit on the dessert?”

“I think I should. It’ll give the madeira some time to breathe.” Niall retrieved the wine and opened the bottle. “Do you have a carafe?”

Returning from the kitchen, Robin set a tall carafe on the table. “Ask and ye shall receive.”

“Thank you.” He made short work of opening the bottle, then tilted the carafe and poured the deep russet wine into is slowly. “These old, heavier wines need a little time to recover from the bottle.” Niall finished pouring then passed the bottle to Robin to sniff. “This one is from a neighbor’s vineyard. He hesitated a moment. “I have a place in the region.”

“It smells delicious,” Robin said and leaned back in for another quick sniff. “And where is this from?” he asked as he made his way over to the couch.

“The Madeira islands, which are part of Portugal.” Niall brought the bottle and two glasses over and sat by Robin, turning a little to face him. “I don’t see the place much but it’s lovely and at least I know it’s there. Though now that I think about it, I suppose I could recreate it on the holodeck sometime and show you my favorite place in the universe.”

“I’ve never been to Portugal,” Robin said. “I’d like to see that sometime.”

“The holodeck is much closer so we will do it. But add it to your list if we get back to Earth one of these years.” The carafe was brought in for a quick sniff and Niall nodded with satisfaction. He filled the glasses half-full and passed one to Robin. “To the best dinner I’ve had in ages.” The glasses made a soft clink as they touched.

“Thank you. I’m glad you liked it.” He tried the wine and it was just as amazing as it had smelled. “This is just fantastic, Niall! Thanks for bringing it. It’s perfect.”

Niall sipped his wine, studying Robin as he lowered his glass. Dinner had gone well so far but he could tell Robin seemed just a little nervous, and Niall was as well. Both were still getting used to the idea of them as ‘them’ and Niall decided, as he had that night at Lady Ella’s, that it was time to break through that nervousness, especially if they were going to spend two weeks together. He took another sip of the wine, then set his glass aside. In the silence of the moment, he reached out and gently pulled Robin closer. Their lips met and Niall purposely kept it brief, but that one contact was electric. The emotions he could read in Robin, mixed with his own, swept through him, leaving him wanting more. The line had been crossed. He just hoped it hadn’t been too soon.

Robin was almost frozen at the act, but he enjoyed it more than he realized he would. He didn’t wait any longer and pulled Niall’s lips back to his own to enjoy a much longer, deeper kiss. It was amazing, soft and warm and hard to pull away from. But pull away he finally did.

Niall smiled and reached down to take Robin’s hand. “Well, that certainly broke the ice, hmmm? I’m glad. I can feel…..everything when we touch. Not that I’ll wander through your head like it’s a flea market but it’s impossible not to see the immediate surface thoughts and those I agree with completely.”

There wasn’t much Robin could say to that. It would be new to have someone like Niall able to feel his emotions like that, but it might also be an interesting look at something he’d purposely shied away from in the past. “Oh! Dessert!” he said as he jumped from the couch, ran into the kitchen and came back with two plates and forks. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let this go to waste, Niall.”

Niall laughed at the abrupt change in subject but took the plate and began to eat. Robin was right, it was delicious. “I think you should pack some of this away to take to the woods,” he commented. “I love it. Think about it...out under the stars...dessert...solitude. Doesn’t get much better.”

“I don’t know how well tiramisu would travel like that, but I could give it a shot,” Robin said as he scarfed down his own piece. “I’m sorry,” he said, stopping momentarily. “I don’t mean to pig out on this but I just love it so much.”

“Go for it. It’s been too long since I had it too. My usual joke with tiramisu is that it tastes like..more.” He grinned and dug into the dessert. After a few bites, he looked up at Robin and laughed a bit. There was a small blob of cream on his nose. “Ahh, Robin?” He touched his nose. “I think it looks very good on you.”

“Huh?” Robin replied, then catching the meaning ran his finger over his nose, found the blob and popped his finger in his mouth. “Still too good to waste,” he said with a smile.

Niall started to comment on that,then closed his mouth and shook his head. Perhaps when they were a little more comfortable discussing physical things, he might revisit this moment. The thought made him laugh and he shook his head. He finished off the last bite and traded his plate for his wine glass, taking a long sip. The warmth settled within him and he leaned back into the sofa, utterly relaxed. “It’s nights like this, or the lack of them, that made me retire from the Fleet you know. No real time to relax anywhere will make you crazy, as will no real ties or attachments anywhere. Thank you Robin. I’ve needed this.”

“Glad I could help,” he said as he raised his glass.

Niall nodded. “Can I take your plate? You did all the work, I’ll get this.”

“Two days from now,” Robin called out to Niall as he stood in the kitchen, “we’ll be planetside. I can’t wait. So much so that I’m actually contemplating leaving even earlier. I just want to get down there and go!”

A chuckle came back from Niall as he stacked the plates on the counter. “Alright, you’ve twisted my arm. If you want, we’ll make it happen,” he called back. “Refill my glass, I’ll be right out and we’ll figure it all out.”

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Lt. Cmdr. Robin Swift
Excellent Host

Niall Sala, Ph.D.
Making The Move