Their Own After Party, Part 3 Riding a Carousel

Posted on Mon Oct 14th, 2024 @ 1:17am by Ensign Charlotte Dawes & Lieutenant JG Kasper Andersen M.D

2,249 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Shore Leave & Ship Repairs
Location: Barisa Prime
Timeline: After Part 2, Definitely day 4 by now...

"I'm a terrible first date, I didn't even bring some glasses so we're gonna have to be classy and drink from the bottle," he laughed and twisted the lid from the bottle before taking a swig of the pale yellow wine.

"We're Starfleet officers. Always resourceful," Charlotte said taking the bottle from him. "Are we even allowed to have this up here?" She asked a mischievous grin on her face as she took a drink before passing the bottle back.

"I highly doubt it," Kasper admitted in reply as he drank from the bottle again. Wine wasn't really his drink, and it tasted kind of bitter, but it was real alcohol, it wasn't overly expensive (but also not entirely cheap either) and it was going to do the job. "I think the guard for this ride has gone home for the night," he checked the time, "It is after 0300 too, so I'd hate to be the person working here at this hour," then he stood up with the bottle of wine in hand and did an impression of the guard, "You! Stop climbing on that! No being intoxicated while riding! You need to be at least this tall to ride the carousel!" He threw a cheeky glance at Charlotte as he gestured the height restriction was at his nose, a height to which she would have trouble reaching.

"Hey!" Charlotte jumped up and lunged toward him. "What are you trying to say! Give me that," She grabbed the bottle from his hand and ducked low, weaving a path through the rising and falling animals, finally ducking into a plain bench that was on the ride that didn't jump with the other seats - most likely for parents riding with children. Once she sat down, she started drinking from the bottle again, an evil side eye prepared and ready for when Kasper caught up to her.

"I swear you bloody women are going to be the death of me" Kasper cursed in his native language as he picked up the other bottle and chased after her, trying not to lose his footing with all the moving parts and the platform. He couldn't help but laugh when he received Charlotte's evil looks she was giving him, and thought it was adorable. She was definitely going to be feeling tonight in the morning.

Finally maneuvering over everything to get to the seat, Kasper flopped himself into it next to Charlotte and gave her a raised eyebrow look with a grin, "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?" He opened the other bottle of wine and gave it a bit of room to breathe as it had been shaken up while they were running. He looked at her for a few moments with a deadpan expression and then burst out laughing before he took a swig of his own bottle.

"Yet for some reason you're still hanging out with me at whatever o'clock in the morning," Charlotte said clinking their wine bottles together like they were glasses with a big grin on her face.

She turned sideways in her seat and leaned against Kasper's arm, flinging her legs over the arm rest of the bench. She examined the bottle in her hand. "This is a lot of wine. I don't normally drink like this." She craned her neck a little to look up at him. "It's been fun though. Even if you are mean to me," she teased.

"How have I been mean to you?" He replied as he looked first at how much was left in his own bottle and then turned his head slightly to look down at her, "I thought we were making this planet our space? I mean, if I've done anything wrong, please feel free to let me know, otherwise, I'll keep thinking everything has gone down perfectly, including this wine." He took another drink from the bottle.

"You just called me a pain in the ass!" Charlotte exclaimed, her words slow and deliberate from the alcohol, her tone still playful.

"Well, you keep making me run after you!" Kasper replied equally playfully and gave her a wink as he moved the arm she was leaning on, causing her to fall into him a little bit. "I don't run for or after anyone, but I mean you're a pain in the ass as a term of endearment. I'm actually surprised you haven't called me anything yet if I'm being honest."

"I haven't thought of anything good to call you yet, Mister Doctor. Were you thinking of suggestions? I would love to hear what your creative mind has to offer," Charlotte said waving her hand for dramatic effect. "It would tell me a lot about you, you know." She held up one finger as if making a very important point.

"Oh, now you want to actually get to know me more?" Kasper laughed as he took another mouthful of the wine and leaned his head back onto the cold metal behind them, "I've been called many things, charismatic asshole mostly, but that's only in private. Just call me Kasper." He shrugged. It was nothing special, but he couldn't think of anything else witty enough to say.

Charlotte took her legs off of the edge and spun around hopping off the seat so she could face him. She set the bottle of wine carefully on the bench and took him by the hand. "Come on, Kasper. Let's ride. The British are coming."

She tugged on his arm looking over at the horses with a grin on her face.

"Okay, okay, hold your horses. Give me a sec." Kasper took a drink from his bottle and put it down carefully before Charlotte could tug his arm off. He started laughing as he realised what she had said, "The British are coming? What the?" Finding the right horse that wasn't too short for his lanky frame, he got on it and a wave of nostalgia hit him, taking him back to when he was a kid.

The drunkeness mixed in with the feeling of being a little kid and Kasper allowed it all to just flow through him. The up and down motions of the ride were smooth enough and didn't jolt him or make him start to feel sick like he thought it would. "To freedom!" he called out.

"To freedom!" Charlotte echoed, letting go of the pole, and holding her hands high in the air and shaking her hair out in the breeze. Suddenly she had an idea and leaned forward taking a hold of the pole, and balancing herself so that she could put her feet on the horse's back. Slowly she stood up, more than a little wobbly from the movement and the alchohol.

Once she was standing, she called out again, "Too freedom!" Her laughter filling the air.

The last thing Kasper wanted was for her to lose her footing and get hurt but at the same time, she was having fun so he didn't want to interfere. "Careful! Freedom can come with a cost sometimes!" he called out to her as he swung his legs around and seated himself on the horse sideways just in case.

Charlotte leaned into the pole and hugged it, not having taken into account that the horse wasn't the most stable thing to stand on, it was moving, and not to mention there wasn't exactly a flat place for steady footing.

"Um," she said slightly embarrassed. "Maybe you could help me down," she asked laughing at herself a little.

Knowing this what would happen, Kasper chuckled as he slid off his own horse and almost rolled his ankle in the process, but made his way over to Charlotte and put his arms out for her to use to get down without hurting herself. "Told you so, didn't I?" He said as she dropped the last few inches in front of him and he ended up looking down at her, "You alright?"

"Yeah, just fine. It was fun while it lasted," Charlotte smiled looking back up at him. She felt her heart race a little, his arms still around her, the merry-go-round pony behind her. She didn't pull or look away like she had in the club.

Don't. Do. Anything. Kasper thought to himself as he made sure that, even though she was standing close enough to him with his arms around her that she surely would have felt the thudding of his heart in his chest, that his hands weren't actually touching her, lest she got uncomfortable. He swallowed hard and kept his grey eyes fixed on her, "Have you been horse riding before?" A few strands of her hair had come free and he resisted the urge to push it back behind her ear.

Charlotte noticed Kasper didn't pull away either, the two of them standing on the moving carousel, mere centimeters separating their bodies. Kasper's arm's were still loosely draped around her arms from where he'd helped her down. She found herself wanting him to pull her closer, to feel his hands on her body. She stepped forward and up onto her tiptoes in one movement, one hand went to Kasper's shoulder, the other to the nape of his neck as she closed her eyes and brushed his lips against his his.

It felt like her heart stopped and time stood still as she waited nervously for his response.

The feel of her hand on the back of his neck mixed with the drunk feeling made a pleasurable shiver run down Kaspers spine and the feel of her lips on his was like a zap of electricity. His hands moved on their own to pull her in closer by the hips as he kissed her back. It was just a drunk, heat of the moment kiss between them, right? Or was something else there?

Charlotte relaxed when Kasper pulled her in and she felt him return his kiss. She couldn't help but smile even as she deepened her kiss, now pulling him toward her swept up in the moment. They were like this for several seconds before they both pulled back for air. Charlotte let out a soft laugh and let go of Kasper, though she didn't step back.

"Sorry, I uh. We were just having such a good time tonight. Thought I'd seize the moment. Carpe diem. Sorry if I.." Charlotte trailed off.

Just like she didn't let go of him, he didn't let go of her. Now was the time his hand came up and moved the hair from her face back behind her ear, revealing the soft blush she had across her cheeks, "Don't be sorry, Charlie. I'm not sorry that I kissed you back. If anything, that's just added an extra layer of fun to the night."

Kasper grinned as he stepped back half a pace from her, contemplating his next move to keep the night going. He felt alive, like their kiss just unlocked something wild in him and the fuzzy drunk high was kicked up a gear. He could've done a backflip at that moment. "Come on, what are we doing now? More wine? Go back to that club? Go back to quarters and call it a night? Or you could even try and land a free hit on me. Your choice right now!" He winked at her and his grin was wide as he stepped back a bit further.

"A what? A free hit, what's that?" Charlotte shook her head confused.

Kasper simply stepped back a little bit more and opened his arms wide, his wide grin still in place, "I have this little feeling that I'm going to drive you crazy when we're on duty and it'll make you want to eventually punch me or slap me, because remember I'm the charismatic asshole, so I'm giving you an opportunity to get in early." There was a kind of playful wild fire in his eyes as he waited for her to reply.

"You mean like actually hit you? You are out of your mind," Charlotte exclaimed, looking at him in disbelief. "Why would I want to do that?"

"All the best people are out of their minds!" Kasper said with a laugh. "And like I said: try and land one. I'll drive you crazy for sure! In a good way, of course."

"I went into medical to heal people not hit them," Charlotte protested, but she went after Kasper anyway, swinging at him with a half-hearted flail of her hand that wouldn't have hurt a child had she made contact.

"So did I, I was born into it!" Kasper jumped out of the way of her and laughed again, "Ha ha, missed me! How about we actually get to know each other properly? Each time you manage to even just touch me, I'll tell you something about me."

"Okay, then deal." Charlotte went after Kasper with considerably more effort putting more speed and effort behind her attack, though she reached for more of a grab than hit. Kasper...

... Dodged out of the way and grinned, "I never said I'd make it easy for you, did I? But I'll offer up a freebie: I enjoy horse riding and being out on a trail on horseback for days." He was starting to sober up a little bit but was still enjoying himself because the tiredness hadn't kicked in yet. "Your turn."

~tbc~

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