[ussbansheec] At the Don
- From: Andy Maluhia <CaptainAndy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 09:35:44 -0400
Coaimhe trudged back to the quad, her shoulders slumped and wearing an
unusually somber face. There were a lot of cadets walking around with
the same look in their faces but hers wasn't because of midterms. She
knew she did tolerably well. Her problem was simpler and she knew it.
This was the time of year that her father always took her and her
brother to outdoor sporting events. Sometimes it was skiing, once it
was ice fishing, and one time she and Scotty went sledding. She was,
she knew, flat out homesick. She plodded into their quad, dropped her
PADD on the common room table, then flopped onto the sofa without looking.
"Aïe! Hey, watch where you're sitting!" came a muffled yelp.
"Oh! Etienne, I am so sorry! I thought you were going to bed before,"
Coaimhe exclaimed as she jumped to her feet.
There David's roommate was, lying face down on the sofa like he had been
when she left. He'd finished his midterms before any of them and was
'celebrating' by sleeping, though he had promised to actually get up and
go to bed. He lifted his head and smiled blearily at her.
"I was but it seemed too much effort," he said with a chuckle. With a
groan, he sat up to make room for her. /Mon Dieu, she's beautiful.
Such a pretty smile/. "Now what ails you, Coaimhe, that you would use
me as a furniture cushion?"
"Nothing," she said glumly.
"You did poorly on your exams?" he asked. The blanket he'd been using
was crumpled under him so he reached to pull it around his shoulders.
He rubbed at his face with a rueful smile. He didn't care how well he
knew the ladies of his quad. He hated looking like a slob in front of them.
"No," she said, shaking her head. She gave him a sad smile. "You'll
think it's silly."
"Try me, Coaimhe. It must be very bad if it makes someone so like
living sunshine look so sad," Etienne said as he propped his head up on
the arm of the sofa.
She had to giggle a little. "I think you and David must figure out the
sweetest things to say when T'Cerys and I aren't around," she told him
but the smile slipped away slightly as she leaned forward to rest her
chin on her palm. "I miss my Mum and Daddy and my brother. Around this
time of year, Daddy always took me and Scotty out on trips while Mum
stayed home, usually because it was too cold. Last year, I guess I
didn't notice last year but I'm noticing now. I want to go home but I
think it would be such a bad idea. I'll never want to leave. I just
miss that little sense of adventure Daddy always gave trips."
"So, let's go," Etienne said simply. "Pick somewhere and we'll go.
T'Cerys and David have exams all day today but here is poor Etienne, all
alone..."
Coaimhe gave him a playful shove. He was always so formal and serious
out of the quad but he was really very warm and sweet. He had a mock
forlorn look on his face which, paired with his sleep disheveled hair
and stubbled cheeks, made him look rather pathetic. "You would do that
for me?"
"But of course! We are friends, non? I enjoy your company," Etienne
stated. /Of course you enjoy it. She's beautiful and perfect, you fool,
but if you open your mouth you will ruin everything. So shut it/.
"Take me with you. I cannot spend the entire weekend asleep."
Coaimhe's face lit up. "A football game! There's always an Aberdeen
Football Club match on Saturdays and it's early yet so we have plenty of
time to get ready and make our way there. Do you fancy that? It would
be very cold out, though. Maybe damp, too."
"So we dress warmly and bring hot coffee," Etienne said with an easy
shrug. "That would mean I have to get up, though."
Coaimhe grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Oh, thank you,
Etienne! This will be perfect. I can show you the best views at
Pittodrie and we can...oh, I better stop and get ready myself or I'll
have told you everything before we get there and there won't be anything
to do."
Etienne laughed out loud as she skipped off to her room, obviously
pleased at the prospect of a small visit home. As much as he knew his
father loved him and actually fairly doted on him, Etienne knew his
father was also very frustrated by his son's apparent cool reserve.
Stepping into the shower in the room he shared with David, he snorted in
soft amusement, recalling some of their arguments over Etienne not
wanting to be so forward with the fairer sex. /One day/, he told
himself, /one day I will open my mouth and say something but not yet.
Not now/. He stepped out, glad for the hot shower that woke him up,
toweled off, then poked through his small closet to find some warm
civilian clothes. He picked out a pair of jeans and a sweater his aunt
had made for him then padded out to the common room to find his regular
boots.
"Oh that's even the perfect sweater, Etienne. The color's just right.
You know, red is the Dons' color after all," Coaimhe stated as she came
back in the room, the spring back in her step.
"I will take you word for it, Coaimhe. My Tante Simone made this for me
and it's really very warm and comfortable," Etienne said as he laced up
his boots. He finally straightened up and rubbed his chin, now free of
any stubble. "So, here I am, all cleaned up and woken up. What next?"
"Warm coats with hoods or hats, gloves, and maybe a blanket. Then we
head for the transporter station. There's a terminal very close by.
We'd only have to walk a kilometer or so to Pittodrie," Coaimhe told
him. She beamed up at him then gave him a quick peck on the
cheek. "Thank you for this, Etienne. You're a sweetheart."
~~~~~~~~~~
The second they stepped outside the terminal at Aberdeen, Etienne wanted
to turn right back around and go inside. It wasn't raining but it was
cold and the air felt damp, the sort of damp that made his spots feel as
though they were freezing. Coaimhe glanced up at him and saw the look
on his face.
"We can go back to the Academy if you want, Etienne. There's no need
for you to be uncomfortable," she stated as she peered up at him.
"Nonsense. We Aigremonts are made of stern stuff," he said archly but
then he smiled. "Let's go, Coaimhe."
Coaimhe was fairly bouncing as they walked, dragging Etienne in the wake
of a sprightliness that was very much her father's influence. She
pointed out all the familiar sights and sounds along the walk there,
even stopping at her favorite store to buy them each hot drinks: strong
sweet tea for her and equally strong sweet coffee for him.
"Are you okay, Etienne? You look a bit frozen." Coaimhe said as they
resumed their walked toward Pittodrie.
"C'est tout bon, mon amie. This helps," he said as he began to sip at
the coffee. "And I cheated. I have the Fleet issued cold weather socks
on."
"That's not cheating. That's just smart," Coaimhe stated. "Have you
never been to a live match?"
"Non, not once. We would watch on the screen at home or maybe with my
cousins but we never went to see a game in person. You know," Etienne
said as he sipped at the coffee in a disposable cup, "this isn't bad.
Perhaps it isn't as good as Papa can make at home but it's not bad." He
chuckled slightly. "I think I just gave him the last gray hair for
saying that."
The stadium was crowded but they still managed to get good seats. It
was a good game but the weather, to put it mildly, was very raw. Even
Coaimhe, with her father's higher tolerance for cold, had to admit it
was less than pleasant. She and Etienne had the blanket draped over
them from shoulders to knees, tucked under their legs to keep it in
place. Etienne noticed quite a number of other people were doing the
same thing, even a few of the older and more die hard fans. He was very
thankful for the distraction provided by the game because having Coaimhe
huddled under a blanket with him would have given him other ideas on a
different occasion.
The other distraction came in the form of the older gentlemen sitting in
the seats next to them. One of them, craggy faced with a graying red
mustache, kept peering at the two of them every now and then, especially
at Etienne. Finally, during an intermission, the man spoke up.
"Excuse an old man's curiosity, lad, but would ye be Starfleet?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Etienne said promptly. "We are both in the Academy, our
second year."
"And the spots ye have, they be makin' ye a Trill. Am I right?" he
asked, a smile creasing the lines of his face.
"Leave the lad alone, Bruce. Him and the lass are tryin' tae watch the
game," his friend said.
"There's an intermission so hush yerself, Graham, and the lad's not
protesting. If ye are, I'll hush and leave ye be," the one named Bruce
said.
Etienne bit back a smile. "It is quite alright, sir. I am half Trill,
though. My mother is Trill and my father is Human, from Nice."
"Bloody French..." Graham grumbled good-naturedly. He leaned forward to
peer at Coaimhe. "Now, you've we've seen here before. Ye've come with
a dark haired lad and a tall white haired chappy who c'n talk more th'n
Bruce here."
"My brother Scott and my dad," Coaimhe said with a bright smile. "Daddy
took an interest in football after he got hurt and wanted another way to
work on the rehab for his leg."
"Aye, that's him. Awful chipper bloke and with thae good taste to love
this fine weather..." Bruce agreed, turning his attention back to the
field as the game restarted.
~~~~~~~~~~
They accepted a ride back to the transporter terminal from their new
friends. They would have accepted any way, out of sheer good spirits,
but the freezing rain left no doubt as to their answer. Despite the
warmth of the weather when they arrived back at the Academy, Etienne's
hands and nose were still stinging from the cold.
"I think I may never feel warm again, Coaimhe, but it was a good game,
eh?" he asked, still rubbing his hands together as they entered the
common room of their quad.
"Took him to see the Dons, did you?" David asked from his relaxed pose
on the sofa. "I'm certain it wasn't to play Crystal Palace because that
would have meant your side lost and you wouldn't be so bright eyed,
Coaimhe."
Coaimhe's answer was to throw her gloves at him then stick out her
tongue. She knew he was teasing, continuing their long standing
silliness. "Etienne was a very good sport and we had a lovely time,"
she said happily as she went to hang up her outerwear.
"And next time we all four will go to my home in Nice," Etienne said
with a happy grin, thinking of home already.
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