Checking on Spencer

Posted on Thu Aug 1st, 2024 @ 9:05am by Lieutenant JG Spencer Griffith-Bailey & Ensign Opal Wickson [Kosugi]

Mission: The Gamma Expanse
Location: Gladiator
3359 words - 6.7 OF Standard Post Measure

It had been a while since Opal had spoken to Spencer after that wild night they had. She had become busy with things about the shuttles having also helped to resupply the ship when they were at the station. Now they were in a nebula which was causing trouble with equipment and even some mental stress. Opal tapped her commbadge and sent out a call to Spencer. =^=Griffith it's Opal, do you have some free time after shift? "

Spencer smiled at her voice as he finished running a diagnostic on some of the navigational equipment. He'd felt kind of awkward about the night they'd shared but still couldn't help the fact she was an incredible person, so he returned the call, =^= I've always got free time for you Opal, what can I help with? =^=

=^= Uh pick a place we can meet at, I'll see you after shift. Okay, sir? " Opal remembering she was still on the clock. She looked around to make certain that there wasn't anyone looking at her.

He raised his eyebrow at the 'sir' and smirked, deciding that he wouldn't let her live that one day for a while, =^= Meet me on the Promenade on deck 10 and we'll go from there =^=

Opal arrived at the suggested area dressed in civvies, which were a pair of comfortable jeans, a red tank top with a blue unbuttoned shirt. "Uh hi there." A warm smile showing when she caught sight of him.

Spencer had managed to clean himself up and had also taken the dressing down in civvies route but with a pair of khaki coloured chinos, black t-shirt and sneakers. When he saw Opal, he couldn't help but smile, she made him smile but he'd never tell her that much. "Hey, is everything okay?" He ducked down to look her in the eyes to make sure.

"I am okay so far, well kinda. This nebula we are in has just been making things feel a bit weird. I have come across other crew members that have been talking about having some strange dreams and some of them acting more surly. Heck, I had an officer get on my case about my calling you by your first name with no rank." Opal giving a shudder. "She was a bit harsh. She said I was not being respectful of you. Most times that doesn't bother me but, just something about her" Opal having true worry in her eyes.

Spencer frowned, "Yeah, I've noticed people acting strange as well. One guy wanted to get into a fight with me and I managed to de-escalate the situation before he ended up doing something he regretted. I did send him to sickbay for an evaluation to be on the safe side though." He motioned for them to start walking while he scouted for a little cafe or eatery or something so they could sit down, "I just hope we can get out of this nebula sooner rather than later, and hopefully everything will go back to normal."

He then turned slightly towards her, "And you know that I don't care if you call me by my name, right? We're the same rank, and I'm fairly sure there's no one else with our names," He looked around in mock paranoia to try and illicit a laugh from her, "So just don't call me late for dinner and we're good."

Opal's nose caught the scent of... "Tacos? Spencer, am I imagining this. Tell me do you smell that? It smells so good."

Spencer frowned slightly and sniffed the air as well, "I can't smell anything like that." He was getting worried about Opal, something was just... off. Was the same thing happening to her that was happening to everyone else?

Opal grabbed Spencer by the hand and literally followed her nose, pulling Spencer along as they moved closer to the enticing aroma that Opal had detected she looked back at Spencer with a grin, "Oh good I wasn't imagining it. I was worried that I was hallucinating!"

A door opened revealing a setup like a small shop with a couple of crew members dressed in brightly colored garb that would be found in Mexico. This includes some of the music.

"Welcome to Rosita's Tacos and other foods. My name is Josef, table for two?" The waiter smiling.

Spencer laughed a genuine laugh and felt a sigh of relief that Opal was in fact smelling tacos, "Now we're here, I can actually smell the tacos. How did you even smell that from all the way back there?!" He then turned to Josef, "Hey Josef, yes please, table for two!"

"Well I've been told that I might be part hound dog with my sharp sense of smell, sometimes it has its drawbacks. I have smelled some rather foul scents." Wrinkling up her nose at the memories. She followed after Josef taking a seat at the table he led them to. "Besides pizza I do really like tacos and chimichungas, with a bit of spice."

"As you know, I'm more of a beer and BBQ guy, but anything with heat is great. Just not soul destroying burning though, I can't do that." Spencer waited for Josef to bring back a couple of menus for them both. "Something like a bloodhound, aye? I've always loved them dogs but I much prefer a coonhound."

"Ooh BBQ, most definitely. I may be termed a foodie as in liking good food, especially good company. Coonhound like a bluetick or a redbone? Those are lovely." Opal giving a chuckle.

Josef came back with the menus which had beverages. Opal looked at it, giving a huge smile, looks like they have beer in the menu as well. "

Spencer's eyes lit up at the thought of having a beer with their food so he turned his attention to Josef, "I'll go a Corona beer, please, and I'll get some beef and chicken tacos." Then he waited for Opal to get her own order in.

Opal's choice was a large shredded beef chimichungas with all that came with it, including the guacamole, onions and sour cream. "How about a pitcher of beer, sound good? Corona please."

"I love all dogs equally, just not the smaller ones. As for the coonhounds, I prefer bluetick. We used to have neighbours who owned a couple and one of my first jobs when I was a kid was to take them and the other neighbourhood dogs out for walks all the time." Spencer admitted with a nod, "I even thought about getting a puppy for Rubi but Sarah said no, so that was the end of that discussion." He laughed at the memory.

"That is too bad about the dog. Speaking of Rubi how is she doing? Did you get in contact with her during shoreleave? " Opal brushing a stray strand of her hair from her face.

Anyone looking at Spencer would be able to see the sparkle in his eyes and the grin on his face when his daughter got mentioned, and he nodded with a happy sigh thrown in, "Yeah, I did. My ma came over with her and it was good to see them both. It made me realise just how much I miss my family."

The waiter came back with the jug of beer and two glasses, putting them down in front of each person respectively and walked away while Spencer filled up their glasses before leaning back on the chair and taking a drink. "You know, I feel like I'm missing out on so much with only getting to see her once in a blue moon. I mean, it's like she's grown an extra couple of inches overnight and she no longer likes any of the things she used to love the last time I got to see her like six months ago."

"That's what my sister had told me. She said before I had left, 'don't be too surprised to see that Emma is a lot taller when you get back.' " Opal gave a bit of a laugh. "Emma is 6 years old, and a real cutie. Its fun hearing her call me Auntie."

"It's actually amazing how fast time flies when you don't pay close attention to it." Spencer rubbed just above his brow as the realization his daughter was getting older and soon wouldn't even recognize him if he wasn't careful. Even if he was doing everything possible to make himself worthy of society. And Sarah. He then had a thought, "Quick question: Where do you see yourself in five years?"

Opal blinked rapidly at his question. "You know you've caught me off-guard with that question of yours. I do what I can to live every day to the fullest. Five years from now? A person can never truly know if they will make it to the next day. What we went through earlier, with the Unholy Trinity, just... I am very thankful we survived. Maybe tentatively, find someone who will be able to deal with me and my quirks and maybe settle down or have my own ship I can use to take cargo to places." she thought for a moment, as she gazed at him. "Where do you see yourself in five years?"

Don't say 'with you' because that'll just be weird he thought to himself quickly and smiled a half smile, "Deal with you and all your quirks? I'd volunteer for that any time, all you'd need to do is just ask." The half smile turned into a full smile and a laugh as he watched her reaction to it. "I'm sorry, that's what happens when I don't filter my thoughts out! But in all seriousness, we were very lucky to have survived everything with the Unholy Trinity. In five years though, I'm hoping to get my commission back and be flying the fighters again, and also hopefully have Rubi a bit more."

Oh that answer from Spencer caused Opal's eyes to widen, feeling like a deer caught in headlights. She spluttered for a moment then stuck out her tongue. "Okay my question. Would you, would you want to aim for being at the helm of this fine ship? The USS Gladiator? I could see you doing so. And having Rubi around would be great for you."

He'd caught her off-guard, ha! "I mean, if the opportunity presented itself, I wouldn't be saying no to it," He shrugged in reply. "If someone were to convince the higher ups to let me control the helm, I'd do my damned best to be worthy of it. Same goes with her: I'm still trying to convince Sarah about that." Spencer swirled the last third of beer in the glass and downed it as it was still turning, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand after. "How about you though, wouldn't you want to take the helm?"

"I er, that is, well maybe. I hadn't given much thought as to that matter. " Opal blew at a strand of her red hair to move it away from her face, it wasn't moving so she brushed it back. "I know that doesn't sound too ambitious." a wry smile.

"Hey," Spencer said with a soft, warm smile toward her, "You know you don't have to have everything figured out here and now, right? If you choose to go for Helm, then I'm in your corner for it. If you don't go for it and want to go for your own ship eventually, then I'm in your corner for that too. Either way, take as much time as you want to decide what you want to do in life." Wow. That was the most inspirational and supportive speech he'd ever given, and he looked at himself with surprise.

A look at the small amount of her beer, contemplating as to what Spencer had said, Opal reached out with her free hand and took his hand, having a grateful gaze. "Thanks Spencer, that makes me feel better, really it does." a small warm smile appearing. She moved her hand to drink the rest of her beer, then took a look at the remnants of their meal. "Looks like we've got some mutual goals, rising upwards in our skills and for you getting more time with Rubi."

An unexpected thought crossed his mind in response: I just got friend zoned. But he shooed that thought away and looked at her hand on his and poured another beer with his free one and picked it up, "Then here's to future goals and plans, and rising upwards."

Opal released her hold upon Spencer's hand and reached over to refill her glass, clinking hers with his. "Indeed, rising upwards, that sounds great." after a mouthful of her drink, Opal's eyes went wide once again. She quickly swallowed and stared at Spencer raising an eyebrow and blushing. "Did something you said to me, go right over my head? Oh gosh I am having an airhead moment. We were, talking about where we could see ourselves in five years and then... you said you'd be glad to deal with me and all my quirks? Sorry I am so slow to process, well today that is." she drew in a breath, she half stood up and leaned forward planting a kiss on his lips. Forgetting that she had a mostly filled glass of beer and it spilling upon the table.

The kiss was electric and Spencer leaned into it, only realising after a second that she'd spilled the beer and it was starting to spill over the table and onto him. Fate and fortune were not in his favour tonight. So he pulled back and exclaimed with his casual drawl and laugh and smile, "Good job, they're gonna kick us outta here now."

Standing up, he grabbed the napkin and started blotting the spilled drink on the table and himself while making sure Opal was all good too, "And yeah, I did say a couple of things that you will most likely forget about tomorrow. So don't stress too much, are you all good?"

"Yes, I am good." her heart fluttering after that kiss, still her cheeks were even more heated up due to embarrassment of her spilling the drink. She dabbed at where the beer had spilled. "I am so sorry, now we both smell like we bathed in a vat of beer." trying to come up with a funny, "Well you know they say beer is good for the skin and hair."

"I'm not the biggest fan of beer in the hair, it gets too sticky." Spencer laughed in response, "Come on, let's get this cleaned up a bit so we don't get banned from this place and then go back to my quarters." Spencer was well aware that Opal had roommates whereas he didn't, and he didn't particularly feel like being subject to the gossip and speculation about what was going on between them, even though it was really none of their business.

They got to cleaning up and apologized to the bartenders and waitstaff before exiting the restaurant and making their way, chatting and giggling, back to his quarters. Once there, Spencer made to getting everything ready, "I can't promise all the best clothes in the world, but if you want to have a shower, feel free to rummage through the drawers and pick something out. I mean, unless you like being sticky and covered in beer?"

"Oh, I don't mind digging through your clothing. I think I can find something to wear"Opal comparing her height to his having a grin. Spencer was most definitely taller than she. He had five inches on her in height. "And yeah, I don't want to keep the beer eau de parfum upon me. Thank you." giving a giggle. " I promise not to take all of the hot water" she quipped, before getting a tee shirt, and a pair of sweatpants. Then ducked inside the bathroom. A few minutes later she stepped out, dressed in the blue tee shirt, her hair still a little bit wet, toweling her hair. "Okay your turn." she hadn't put on the sweats having found out they were just a little bit long. Sure, she could have rolled them up bit not right now. The tee shirt hung down to her mid-thigh.

Spencer watched her as she came out of the bathroom wearing his shirt and nothing else. His shirt. He was the lucky one right now. "Ah, why do you look so good in just a shirt? More specifically, my shirt?" he groaned out with a smile and his usual half grin as he got up and walked over to her to take his pants back before going into the shower and taking a cold one for reasons rather than a hot one.

Once he got out of the shower and was semi decent, he walked out in his sweatpants and found Opal chilling on the couch with her feet tucked under her, "Do you, uh, want to keep going with this and get some more drinks and food, or do you want to do something else?" Gods, she was a vision in blue and red.

Opal was just openly staring at Spencer, once he came out of the bathroom, taking in how he looked, from his shoulders to his tapered waist. She had seen him like this before through maybe blurry drunken vision but today it seemed that Opal was really, truly looking at him with stars in her eyes " Do you realize just how incredible you look?" her voice soft and warm. "I.. I don't want to go anywhere else except be right here, to spend time with you." her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "What do you say, stay here and...?" giving an inviting smile.

Spencer looked down at himself and then looked around himself, doing a full spin in the process before coming back to face her with a grin on his face and he ran a hand through his hair, "This? You think this is incredible? The scars, the tattoos and the mess that is me? I mean, it's just how I look," He walked over to sit next to her on the couch, moving so that she could put her legs over his and stretch out a bit, "Anything you want, it's yours." The chemistry between them was intense and he was doing everything to not lean in, push her hair back behind her ear and kiss her right there and then.

"Yes scars, tattoos and aren't all of us a mess in one form or other?" Opal quietly uttered, to Spencer "Anything I want? Those are dangerous words..." she moved to where she was now sitting on his lap, caressing his cheek leaning in to kiss him.

"Anything you want," Spencer mumbled back in almost a whisper between the kisses as he placed his hands around her waist and gently pulled her in closer before he moved them down to her thighs and worked his way up, eventually moving to flip her so she was back down on the couch and he was hovering over the top, "You're a dangerous woman, you know that?" he said with his trademark grin as he stared at her eyes, then the lip she was biting, then moving to kiss her again.

"And you are just as dangerous" Opal replied back,with a beaming smile before his lips possessed hers. Anything else, words thoughts were dashed away, in the heat of the moment.

He continued to kiss her, enjoying the sweetness of her lips against his and the feeling of her skin as he ran his hands up and over it and vice versa. Eventually the couch felt too small for them both and so he picked her up with surprisingly no difficulty, her legs wrapped around his waist with a giggle that he mirrored with his own laugh and took her into the bedroom to continue long into the night, and possibly morning.



.... Fade to black ....