Good coffee, better company.

Posted on 30 Jul 2024 @ 6:21pm by 2nd Lieutenant Cassandra Mathews & Master Sergeant Thomas Zang

2,396 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: Lounge - Themistocles
Timeline: Following Coming Together

Cassandra washed well, and then dressed casually. Jeans and a plain T shirt of dark navy blue. Her hair pulled into a braid that swung between her shoulders as she moved through the corridors towards where the lounge was said to be. As usual she was right on schedule. Actually when she arrived she had a few minutes to spare. Which was her way.

Thomas had cleaned up quickly as well and had gotten dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt with some writing on it that read Van Halen. He enjoyed listening to that 20th century type of music like his father had. This particular shirt looked to be slightly worn in places like it's an older shirt. When he arrived, he looked around until he spotted Cassandra and hurried over. "Well damn, looks like I'm buying." He said with mock disappointment but the grin plastered on his face showed that he was joking and not upset at all. He had actually waited a few extra minutes to give her a chance to arrive first.

"Good thing for you that I’m a cheap date then." Cassandra joked back casually. His smile was again contagious. She felt the nervous twisting in her stomach. "Shall we?" She said motioning to the replicator figuring they would likely grab one from there and find a place to loiter around.

Thomas bowed slightly and motioned for her to precede him. "After you, milady." He couldn't take his eyes off her. All he could think of was how lucky he was to have ran into her again. He hoped that they would be stationed together for quite some time to come and that nothing came between them.

His words made her smile and chuckle softly. "If you insist good sir." Cassandra replied, giving him a nod of respect before moving towards the replicator and getting her cup of strong black coffee. She moved aside and let him place his order. Stealing glances at him every chance she could without being too obvious. She could have sworn his eyes seemed all for her. So she stopped trying to hide her efforts and just indulged in drinking in the sight of him. It was in her opinion better even than the coffee. Seeing him brought back so many happy memories. More so than any of the bad ones. After their return from that crap mission, they had stuck together. Thick as thieves one might say. Right up until that Blake girl had decided that she didn't like Thomas having a best friend that was a woman around. Cassandra had done all she could to ease the girl's mind. If Thomas had any feelings back then for her he hadn't voiced it. So Cassandra had put in for a transfer. She didn't want to be the cause of discord for her friend and his girlfriend at the time. A strategic retreat Cassandra had called it. Had it really been nearly four years ago? It felt so good to have him here. It was like the hell of the last four years melted away when he was around. It was just him and her against the world.

Thomas smiled to himself as he stepped past her to order his coffee. He took his coffee black as well, strong and sweet this morning. He turned to motion to a small table in the corner near the window so they could watch the star streaks as they chatted and drank their go juice. "That one looks like a nice place to sit. What do you think, Cass?" He asked.

"I like it. Good eyes on you Tommy. As usual." Cassandra stated he indeed had incredible eyes in more ways than one in her opinion. It was just like the good old times. Only he was with her now. Not as just a friend. It felt so surreal.

"As a sniper, I need to have good eyes." Thomas said with a wink, a wide grin plastered across his face. He pulled the seat out for her as she sat.

She took the offered seat. It was one of the little vinal looking ones, it was surprisingly comfortable. She let herself simply relax into it as she inhaled and took small sips of her own beverage. "So have you been able to make it back to Washington at all? I know you had mentioned possibly going after we had gotten back from that mess of a mission." She asked curiously. "Get any of that hunting or fishing in before they tossed you back into rotation?"

He took his place at the table. He felt like the luckiest man around. "Unfortunately I haven't been back to earth in quite a few years. I'd love to go tromping in the forests of my old home but haven't really had the chance." He said between drinks of his coffee. A faint stirring of homesickness gripped him but he forced it down. "The closest I've come was a few holodeck programs I ran but no actual trips home. How about you, you ever go back to Cait?"

Cassandra smiled, it was a sad sort of smile. He had no way of knowing. The question was harmless really. "Yes." She said her blue eyes had dropped down and stared into the blackness of her beverage. "C'Tirr and I returned there not to long after my first appointment to the Tomcat, to bury Ctirr's parents." She looked back up at Thomas. It had been nearly three years since then. It wasn't as painful as it used to be. Still she missed them. She knew Thomas probably missed his father too. Something they had in common.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Thomas said, his smile dropping as he sat his coffee down. He turned his chair and placed an arm around her shoulder. He knew how it felt to lose parents. He had lost his mother quite young and then his father before he joined the Marines. He gave her a side hug comfortingly though he wanted to throw both arms around her and just hold her close. He had needed that when he had lost his family but didn't have it. He wanted her to know that he was there and would always be there for her should she need it.

Cassandra leaned into his side hug. He was so warm and Wonderful. She sat her own cup down and reluctantly, she leaned back into her own space. She took one of his hands in hers. "Thank you." She held his hand for a few moments. Considering what to say next. “Tell me something about you. Something happy.” She asked, wanting to salvage the mood of their first date together.

Thomas thought for a moment. He looked into her eyes as he sat there, searching his mind for something happy. He let out a chuckle before he spoke. “Well… something happy, something happy.” He repeated as a smile crept across his face. “Well, I have gotten to go fishing once on Draygo 4. That was fun though we were very close to the cardassian border. Didn’t catch anything really though but it's more about the fishing than the actual catching of fish.” He winked at her as his face split in a huge grin.

Cassandra chuckled, “I guess that's a good way of looking at it. I don't think I have ever made it to the Draygo system yet. I did find myself on Earth for a short while. I made it a point to visit Washington. You didn't exaggerate, it was absolutely beautiful. No hunting or fishing though. I was in a delicate way at the time and Jonathan refused to let me even hike without having to stop every fifty yards.” She rolled her eyes at the memory. It had been during the last weeks of her pregnancy. She'd been going stir crazy being locked up. So the admiral, his private doctor and a few of his ‘friends’ had taken her to a nice little cabin in Bayview state park to help her relax after the trail that had gone so wrong. Cassandra was sure he'd taken her there to hide her. Still that was the past.

Thomas smiled at hearing that she had experienced his home area. Though he wondered what part she had been to up there. He was from the rockport area which was more north central. He had fished the Skagit river and hunted the north cascades. “Where were you in Washington?” He asked, genuinely interested.

“Some place called Bay View park. It has the cutest little cabins. But my favorite thing to do was to go walk by the water at Padilla Bay. I wanted to go swimming but wasn't allowed to.” She sighed sitting back enjoying the fond memories of watching the sun rise over the still waters. The smell of pine was so heavy in the air. “If I ever go back to Earth I want to go there again and swim.” She said wistfully. “I wasn't there very long but I really miss it. I considered staying there with Martha if the trial had gone in my favor. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately that wasn't the way of it. If I had stayed there I would likely have never seen you again.” her eyes returned to him. To his face no sunset in the world could compare to the beauty she found there. The thought brought a blush to her cheeks. She brought her cup to her lips to hide it, only to find the cup empty already.

“Next time we go to earth and have some shore leave, I’d like to take you to my hometown. Rockport is beautiful. It's small and right on a river where we can go fishing, just to the north is the forest where I hunted.” Thomas said, pangs of homesickness gripped him as he remembered walking the trails with his father to check the traps they had set out the day before.”We could go along our old trapping trail and i can show you the places we would set up camp when we got caught out after dark.” He said as he reached for his cold coffee.

“I'd really like that.” Cassandra said. Her voice was soft as she imagined what he said. It sounded perfect, “I think Martha would have a blast too. And we can go swimming.” Cassandra added feeling herself getting excited at the idea.

Thomas smiled at her words. If they couldn’t get back to earth anytime soon, then he would have a program made for the holodeck so that he could take them too. Maybe the next date they had would be there and she could bring Martha with her. Hell, make it a full blown family outing and include C’Tirr. His mind had already started to formulate a plan for it. “I’d like that, make it a special family outing for you and bring C’Tirr as well. I’m sure he’d enjoy the environment up there.”

Cassandra was sure C’Tirr would love it as well. Hopefully they would both survive the mission to make good on it. “Thank you Tommy. I needed this. Even if something happens and you maybe find someone else. I want you to know that you have a family with us. With Martha, Ctirr and I. And with the Tomcat as well.”

“And you will always have a family with me no matter what happens.” Thomas said to Cassandra. He leaned in, not caring who saw and kissed her. His arms pulled her in close as he did so.

Cassandra felt herself melt into his arms as well as that kiss. Boy was she in trouble. This young man had her hooked with just a look. Now she was completely caught. Her arms slid around him as she indulged in his generous affections. Reciprocating them wholly with her lips. He tasted sweet black coffee and something minty like toothpaste or mouthwash. It was nice. Sent warm tingling waves of bliss singing through her veins as he kissed her slowly and deeply, like nothing she'd ever known before. Oh yes she was caught hook line and sinker. A hand of hers moved up to cradle his face before caressing his cheek, finding it's way to massage the back of his neck most tenderly. The other still rested around him on his strong muscled back. She needed to touch him if only to prove to herself that she hadn't strayed into some very vivid day dream. But this was real, and for a moment everything in the universe felt perfect. When they finally moved away, it stole her breath. Made her ache with a need she didn't truly understand.

Thomas broke their kiss just as she did, his own breath taken away as well. He worked his mouth as if to say something but no sound issues forth. A couple of heartbeats later, he found his tongue.”Wow…” was all he could utter.

“Wow” Cassandra echoed, her cheeks flushed pink as she leaned back into her own chair again. 'Breathe girl, breathe' she reminded herself feeling as though her head was full of soup. Her body, made out of jelly. “I ..”

“Would you have dinner with me tonight?” Thomas asked her nervously. “I know we agreed to just have coffee today and see how things went, but I really want to have dinner with you. Tonight. On the holodeck.”

For once Cassandra was incapable of over-thinking the idea “I would like that.” Cassandra returned. “I would like that a lot actually.” She smiled at him. “I have inventory tonight. Are you open to an early dinner? Say around 1700?” She asked, glad to give her mind something to latch onto.

“It's a date.” Thomas said excitement bubbling at the idea. They were really doing this. A relationship, together. It was as if the last three and a half years had never been. They were together again at last. As it should have been from the beginning.

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