Their Own After Party Party 4, Charlie & Kasper The Walk Home...

Posted on Tue Oct 15th, 2024 @ 12:21am by Ensign Charlotte Dawes & Lieutenant JG Kasper Andersen M.D

2,185 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Shore Leave & Ship Repairs
Timeline: MD 4, Early Morning

"Don't you have to catch me first?" Kasper caught the glimpse of mischief in her eyes before she took off running and jumped of the carousel and ran out several meter before looking over her shoulder to check his progress.

I swear you'll be the death of me, Kasper muttered again in his native language as he took off after her, closing the distance in no time at all and managing to be just an inch away from grabbing hold of her wrist. "Dammit!" She won this time.

Charlotte laughed as she jogged back. "So, about me. I'm a runner. I run for fun. In my free time. Now you."

"I already said I don't run for anyone," He countered, dancing just out of her reach again. "Eirly and I have two younger brothers, Leif and Gunnar. All four of us are in Starfleet. " The pronounciations of their names brought out his accent more. Maybe he should actually keep in touch with them a bit more, moreso than Eirly did.

"Yet, how many times have you ran after me tonight?" Charlotte teased. "I think you might like me..." She said in a sing-song voice.

"Too many, if I'm being honest." Kasper stopped suddenly and almost toppled over from overbalancing. "But I might like you. Who knows." He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess only time will tell," and started walking casually toward her, "I felt how you reacted when I spun you around to face me when we were in the club, so I think it's actually you that likes me, if I'm not mistaken." His eyes were full of glee.

"Hey." Charlotte said waving a finger at him. "Hey," she said again pointedly. "Um... I forgot what I was going to say. But anyway. You don't know what I like," Charlotte said shaking her head. She was doing so the way an adult might if they were imitating a child.

"Oh, I already know a couple of things you like," Kasper replied, his smile still firmly in place, " But I'm pretty sure it's the thrill of this whole night that you've liked the most, right? Especially the part where you've been with me?" His smile was smug as he managed to close the gap between them again. "Gotcha."

"So whatcha gonna do with me?" Charlotte dared, biting her lower lip as she raised her eyebrows and jutted her chin toward Kasper in a challenge.

He put a free arm around her waist and pulled her in close again, while making sure he didn't have his hand touch her inappropriately, "There's plenty I could do with you, Charlotte, but I'm going to be a gentleman and not voice them." He booped her nose.

Charlotte's eyes closed instinctively when he came in close to her nose. She just shook her head at him. "Whatever, you are so full of talk," she teased, a cheeky grin on her face.

Kasper rolled his eyes, "What do you want me to do then? Kiss you so passionately that you'll feel as though the rest of the world has fallen away and it's just you and I remaining? Because I'll do that if you want me to. I'll make it worth it, I promise you that much." He booped her nose again and released her and stopped back again.

Charlotte also took a step back. "Better not. What would I do in a world with no one in it," she stated very pointedly, as she started to walk, looking at what else was in the area. She was still feeling the happy buzz of the alcohol, but she was walking better now. And less likely to do something really stupid.

"Well if that's not the biggest 'I don't want to be stuck with you if you're the last person on earth' I've ever seen, i don't know what is." Kasper retorted as he took a couple more steps back before turning to go back and finish his bottle of wine.

Charlotte's jaw dropped a little as she watched him head back toward the Carousel. She muttered under her breath, "What the heck just happened there." When he didn't show signs of turning around, she yelled out, "What are you doing?"

Kasper had purposely not turned around and acknowledged her until he got back to the seat where their belongings and the wine were. Picking up the bottle and holding it out, he turned around and looked at her before he took a long drink out of it, almost finishing it, "Relax, I was simply getting this. Do you want some?" He still had the grin on his face.

Charlotte tilted her head and looked at him in disbelief. "I can't anymore, no." Even if she'd wanted to, she was at the point where if she started drinking more wine she would not be feeling well now or later. With lazy eyes she shook her head back and forth in the negative. "No more wine."

He eyed the bottle and got the feeling that if he continued drinking it, he'd be sick later on down the track, so he made a decision moreso in regard to Charlotte than anything, "It's pretty warm anyway and it tastes really bitter now, so probably a good thing." He sat on the seat, "I do believe though that I'm starting to hear birds, which means sunrise isn't far off. Do you want to sit with me and watch it?"

Charlotte let out a long breath. This night - Kasper - had been a little all over the place. "Okay. There's got to be someplace less... buildingy than here we can go?"

He nodded in reply, "Sure, I'm sure we can find somewhere nice to watch it." Hopping off the seat again and picking up his jacket, Kasper walked towards and past Charlotte, offering her his arm to loop hers through. There was nothing to it, more to stay a little warmer, given it had gotten decently cold in the last few minutes.

After fifteen minutes of walking, the sky was starting to lighten into a dark orange as they made their way to the high point in a park where there weren't as many buildings around. There were bushes of closed flowers either side, a few trees and a little viewing platform. Clearly someone had seen the sunrise from here and thought to make it a special little place.

Kasper turned to Charlotte, "Are you warm enough, and are you feeling okay?"

Charlotte let out a yawn and stretched her arms. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"Come on, take a seat with me and come here," Kasper took the seat and opened one arm out for her. His tone had gone from playful to more caring, "After this, we'll get you back to quarters for sleep, ja?"

Charlotte walked heavy footed over to Kasper and took a seat next to him. "Time flies, huh?" She commented once she was seated on the bench.

"It really does." Kasper admitted as he watched the orange in the sky become brighter, "Next thing you know, it'll be three years in the future and it'll have gone in the blink of an eye."

"Three years? That's random. What made you say that?" Charlotte asked.

He shrugged in response, "I dunno, it's just a random amount of time."

"You're random," Charlotte replied leaning slightly into him.

He shrugged again, "I know, it's how I like it, and I'm not hearing you complain?" He opened his arm for her to nestle in a bit further.

"Hmph," she murmured as she snuggled underneath his arm. The sunrise was starting to liven up the horizon with orange and red hues signaling the night was coming to an end. "I don't know that I've stayed out this late just for fun since graduation."

"Have you at least had fun tonight?" Kasper asked quietly, still keeping his eyes on the horizon.

"Oh yeah. You couldn't tell?" She replied, elbowing him in the ribs. "What about you?"

He instinctively bent sideways when she elbowed him and chuckled a little bit, "Ja, I've definitely had fun tonight. I'll pay for it later with tiredness, but it was definitely worth it."

"Well..." Charlotte finally said dragging the word out. "I suppose the night had to end some time. Suppose I should get some sleep today. Thanks for an interesting night, Mister Doctor." Charlotte stood up and extended a hand to Kasper.

He took her hand and used it to get up himself. Once he was upright, he let go of her hand and picked up his jacket, "Well Miss Nurse, I believe the proper way to end this entire night is to walk you to your quarters to make sure you at least get back home safe before I go and pass out in my own for a few hours."

"If you insist. All this concern about getting me home safely. Why shouldn't it be me getting you home safely?" Charlotte countered.

"Because I don't think you want to see what my quarters look like," Kasper replied with a small smile on his face as they started to walk back towards the docking port, "Just let me do the honorable thing, yeah?"

Charlotte held out an arm, gesturing for Kasper to lead the way. "Whatever helps you sleep at night," she commented with a smirk and and a wink.

"Trust me, it does," Kasper grinned back.


* * A short while later * *


The walk was long, but the two of them arrived on board safely and both in one piece, having sobered up some. Once inside, the turbolift took both Charlotte and Kasper to Deck 14 where her quarters were located. Kasper was a man of his word, after all and it was funny to him that his quarters were the deck above.

When they arrived at her quarters, Kasper turned to Charlotte, "Man of my word, I believe I've gotten you home safely, Miss. No reward necessary."

Charlotte laughted. "I think your reward was hanging out with me all night," she quipped as she leaned against the wall next to the control panel for her door. When she looked at him, he could see the smile in her eyes.

"Thanks for walking me home," she added with sincerity. "Until next time?"

I want to kiss you right now, was the thought that wandered through Kasper's brain so he sighed outwardly and returned to her a tired smile, "I can deal with you any time, but you're welcome." He was confused though on the signals she was sending out just now.

"Okay then..." she added awkwardly. She laughed in that almost silent way as she broke eye contact, unsure what to make of the chemistry she felt when he looked at her. She'd also been trying to make sense of mixed signals and had taken a step back since she'd been so bold as to kiss him earlier in the night.

"I'm sure I'll see ya around." Charlotte turned to put her hand on the control panel opening the door to her quarters.

Before she could disappear into her quarters, Kasper stepped forward, took her hand and pulled her back toward him, making sure she turned toward him and placed his hands on either side of her face in the same instant, kissing her gently on the lips before breaking away and stepping back again, "I'll be seeing you on shift. Have a good sleep until then, Charlie."

Charlotte felt Kasper's hand on hers, and her heart skipped a beat when he pulled her back toward him. She closed her eyes as his lips met hers, keeping them closed for half a second after he had pulled away. Her face lit up as she smiled at him. She stepped backwards into her quarters not taking her eyes off of him until the door shut in front of her. Once she was alone, she spun around on her toes thinking about what had just happened - too excited to sleep.

Once Kasper got back to his own quarters, he kicked off his shoes, removed his jacket and threw it onto the chair nearest him before he went to flop down onto his bed. His mind was playing back the entire night from the bar to the club to the carousel, and eventually to watching his first sunset in who knows how long. He'd just kissed her and watched her face light up at it. Her smile was beautiful and it almost took his breath away at the sight of it. Rolling over onto his back, he closed his eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.

Later on when he woke up, Kasper noticed a blinking red light on the screen in the corner of his quarters and walked toward it. Rubbing a hand over his face to wake up a bit, he turned the screen on and saw who it was from: Lieutenant JG Kaia Embrys. "Ah shit" he said out loud. His girlfriend.

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