It's Not Quite Rome, but It's Close

Posted on Friday, 12 June 2020 - 4:31pm by Crewman Leopold Eberhardt & Lieutenant JG Adrianna Eberhardt

Mission: Operation: Iktomi
Location: USS Standing Bear

With a door shut on Mackenzie, Adrianna felt foolish. Sure he had a dark sense of humour, but he was a friend at best. The person she'd had a mini connection with, she'd barely seen, if at all since their first 'date'. It was a shame really. Equally, Adrianna didn't want to seem totally incompetent in terms of relationships like her XO had probably imagined. That said, she was incompetent when it came to following cupid's instructions.

Since Baciami would probably be visiting engineering as an in with the Chief, she may as well kill two birds with one stone. If she was going to have to put up with missus talks-too-much, she may as well get a form of reward earlier. Adrianna was in civilian clothes since she was off duty and yes, it was late, but the woman couldn't sleep. Reaching for her PaDD she sent a message to Leopold. If he was sleeping, she didn't want to wake him. It read: "Hope I do not wake you. Was wondering if you wanted coffee or something soon. I cannot sleep, so if you are up - fancy a walk? Ade." Adrianna debated actually hitting send, since he hadn't spoken to her either and in traditionalist views made him want to say something first, especially being that she thought their date had gone well. Either way, she hit send and threw the PaDD to one side, almost not wanting to look to see if he had even seen it.

Leopold Eberhardt was working on deck nine of the nine deck starship when he received the notification on his PaDD. He took a few minutes to walk over to it, but when he did he found himself illuminated with delight. He and Arianna had not really re-connected since boarding the starship. He was not sure what to really do after their date as he was not looking to rush into things and he did not want to come across as needy. He kept his distance and had hoped she would make the next move. Apparently, she was doing so now. That worked out fine with him as he had not gotten involved with anyone nor gone out on a date. Leopold was pretty set on Adrianna.

He started typing a message back "Yes!, I would love to go for a walk. I am currently on deck nine working, but my duty shift ends in twenty. I can meet you somewhere. The starship is a lot smaller when you have been aboard, not really anywhere to run to. We could see if the holodeck is available or one of the holosuites?" he replied.


The little chirp of her PaDD made Adrianna smile. Without even reading it, the fact that she had had a reply was great. "I'm open to suggestion. I'll see if there is anything free and I'll let you know where I am. See you soon." she wrote the reply and then quickly grabbed some shoes, heading down to the holo. Thankfully there was one free and it was set to be free for the rest of the night. Quickly registering it to herself she made her way inside, messaging Leo where she was.

Adrianna pulled up a programme. It was of Rome. Home. She longed to go back, but this was the safest way of doing that. The holo pixelated into life, setting her at the Trevi Fountain at night. Many people visited the Trevi fountain in the day, but with all the lights, and very few people, the night made it the best time to visit, and most certainly the prettiest. The woman sat on the low wall, with the water cascading behind her, it's marble elements illuminated by the soft lighting. The stars above shone the familiar milky-way and the smell of a sweet Italian air, mixed with the smell of expensive wine, stale gelato and roasted chestnuts filled the senses. Baciami felt her feeling of hiraeth evaporate from her being.

When Leopold arrived, he walked into the running program and found himself somewhere very different than what he was used to yet it still felt familiar. He was able to locate the woman he was looking for rather easily, she stood out to him like a beacon in the night. Part of him thought that even in a room crowded of people that he would always be able to find her. "The sights, sounds, and scent of this place is incredible" he said to her. "It's somewhere on Earth?"

Adrianna stood up to greet him, "yes, this is Rome. My home town. I used to have an apartment about a mile from here, above a coffee shop." She pointed down one of the side streets to the rough direction of where that was. "This is Trevi Fountain."

"It is...stunning" he replied with a smile. "I would love to show you a holodeck simulation of my home town some day, but I will make it better looking than it actually is. Trevi Fountain is quite romantic, especially in nights under the moonlight. What was it like living above a coffee shop?"

Adrianna couldn't help but smile at the idea of a secured third date. Her ears had picked out the term 'romantic'. It wasn't intentional, but perhaps a happy accident. She realised she just been staring at him instead of answering and quickly replied," the caffeine fumes kept me awake, but I loved it because it was mine."

"I think I could live with being awake at odd hours due to that," he replied reaching out and taking her hand. "So, you said you wanted to go for a walk. I'm completely foreign to Rome, but I believe there is some sort of saying 'When in Rome' so....lead the way and guide me through your home city."

"When in Rome," she took his hand willingly, before handing Leo an old Earth coin, "you do as the Roman's do." She reached into her pocket for another coin, "it's stupid, but legend says if you throw a coin over your left shoulder into the fountain and make a wish, it comes true." She closed her eyes and demonstrated with a giggle.

"I have found that one doesn't mess with tradition or superstition" he replied with a smile. "I had a friend once who took something from a sacred site. The locals said if you took anything from there that you would have bad luck. Sure enough, he had the roughest year of his life, completely filled with unfortunate events and bad luck. He returned what he took from there after some time."

"I am not super-supper-stish-sh-ee-us," Adrianna shook her head, "I'm not that word, but I don't think I'd be willing to test it either. So come on. coin and then I'll show you around. Rome at night is lovely and quiet and peaceful. For a capital city, after dark, it is completely deserted."

Leopold took a coin and tossed it over his left shoulder. He was expecting to hear a splash maybe, or nothing. Instead what he got was a hologram cussing him out. "Sorry," he said the hologram. He looked over at Adrianna. "Is it good luck if you hit someone in the head with the coin?"

Adrianna was quick to apologise on Leopold's behalf in her native tongue to which the man seemed to relax. It was the one thing she liked about this programme - she could use her own language without the computer interrupting and trying to translate. Once he had walked away rubbing his head, she could help but laugh, "I'll go with no, but good try." Adrianna softly put her hand in his, since he'd tried to take her hand before and started to lead him down the cobbled streets of Rome. Even though the times had certainly changed, Rome seemed to be stuck in its own time bubble. The lampposts still looked ancient, the cobbled streets were still rather dusty and the architecture and sky line hadn't changed one bit.

"I'll settle for a good try" he replied though he did feel a but embarrassed that he had hit said individual with a bad toss of the coin. He appreciated Adrianna's support. Taking her hand felt natural as could be as they proceeded down the cobbled streets, even the street stones looked like artwork to him. "What was it like growing up in a place like this? It looks like a lot of it was unchanged over the lifetimes."

Adrianna was unsure on how to answer that, "family circumstance meant that we didn't have a normal upbringing." the woman almost looked ashamed but then smiled, "That said, this place was full of adventure, history and art. It was amazing. We knew lots of people and Italian culture is family driven--whether by blood or just friends. No one was a stranger. My brothers and I would run wild through these streets when we were little. Wild. I'll take you to the Spanish Steps. You can see a lot of Rome from the top."

"I have my own experiences with family and the deviations from a normal upbringing" he replied. "You have siblings, yes. I do not think we really discussed your brothers in detail. I'm an only child...not sure if that was for better or worse."

Adrianna chuckled, "I was the youngest and the only girl so I wasn't tormented like my brothers. I was protected. A bit too well. My first heartbreak was run out of town and my first kiss didn't happen until I was almost eighteen because I was constantly watched. So I'm playing catch up. My brothers were amazing. My oldest brother, Giovanni, he may have set me up, but if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. He wanted better for me. I'd considered Starfleet but never had the courage to run to it, so he made it my only option. Good and bad I suppose." They reached the bottom of the Spanish steps," these are marble, so they may be-" Adrianna didn't know the word. After a few phonetic stutters she instead actioned with her hands, slipping.

"Put me right down on my keester if they are wet" he replied getting the gesture. "Slippery as all hell I'd imagine, a nightmare in the rain" he added with a smile. "I will be sure to be careful and not make a damn fool of myself" he said reassuring that he would be careful on the steps. He thought about what she had said abut her brothers. "I do not they will be able to chase me anywhere. I may not look like much, but if anything, I have a tendency to stick around."

Adrianna looked to him and smiled. She could feel a state of limerence forming with him. "I think I'd like that. A lot of people would run and have run. I wouldn't blame them." When they got to the top, the whole of Rome was illuminated by soft street lighting and a soft hum of people and vehicles surrounded them. She looked out at the view and sighed contently, "you have a lot to match or better for a third date."

Leopold scoffed and smiled. I do he thought to himself before he replied to her. "You went all out on this one. It will take me some time to figure out how to out do you, but as my mother has told me before 'You cannot upstage a woman'" he said quoting her. "She might just be right. I think I can come close and maybe something a bit different, but this is a hard task."

Adrianna's eyes tore away from the scene to Leopold as she rested her hands on the marble banister, "I'm only competitive if it's poker. The idea of a date is what happens, not where or how. Its the memories made and the knowledge gained." She kept her eyes on him, mulling over their first and now this date."

"I learned very quickly when I came to Earth that I am not very good at poker" he replied shaking his head. "Any form or kind of it. I played it once with a Bolian, and I lost everything I had" he said shaking his head as he remembered the experience.

"You sound like a good person to play with then, especially if it's strip poker," she quipped, very amused at his admission, before looking back out to the scene, "I'll have to teach you properly so you don't lose out again."

"Oh, it was strip poker," he shot back with a wiggling of his brows. "I lost everything and bore it all. I just wish I wasn't playing with a Bolian. I think my giveaway would have been he wanted to play strip poker, but I was a bit too naive and admittedly far too drunk for my own good."

Adrianna tried not to laugh. She bit her lips, looking back to him," Oh, cucciolo. Poor, poor cucciolo. Well, I'm sure the bolian enjoyed his victory view."

Leopold nodded and laughed at his own expense. "Very fortunate that was all he cared for. Apparently, my merchandise was not appealing enough. I am just glad I did not wake up the next morning finding myself bonded or married to the guy."

"Funnily enough - me too," Adrianna chuckled. His candid nature and his humour were captivating. She subtly looked him up and down again, "I mean it would have made our date awkward and this walk, even more awkward."

"Oh well then, we have plenty of time to swing by a chapel and get married by a hologram" he teased. "We could have a holo-photo taken of it and then when I do get to meet your parents because that would be unavoidable, we can just show them that. Give them a good shook and then we both can be chased out of town" he said all jokingly.

Adrianna giggled. She couldn't believe he'd said it. Of course he was teasing, but it was stupidly adorable too. "I'll let you have at least five more dates before you sign our death warrants," she teased back, stepping a little closer to him.

"I will keep track of those five dates" replied Leopold. "I don't suppose you'll want to go grab a coffee somewhere? I know it's all synthetic and we are in the holodeck, but I have heard anything Italian is to die for."

Adrianna wanted to turn his choice of words into something flirtatious but something in her stopped her. She looked away from his eyes and then back out to the scene. The woman pointed to a narrow street," there's a bistro there. They offer the best. They pour rich, dark espresso over ice cream. It's really delicious."

"Lay in a course, Petty Officer," he said teasingly. Of course, if they were actually going to use ranks, she outranked him by a bit. "That all counts delicious."

The woman smiled, a little disappointed at the lack of flirtation. There was certainly room for maybe even a kiss. Adrianna simply nodded and started to make her way down the steps, though felt her foot slide from under her, reaching out to grab the banister in an attempt not to hurt herself.

Leopold's quick reflexes acted as though it was pure muscle memory. "I've got you," he said as he caught her before she hit anything and held her momentarily, gazing into her eyes which like a rabbit showed fear, excitement, and nervousness from the sensation of falling and yet there was tenderness, comfort, and passion. He lifted her up gently and pressed his lips to hers.

It was a complete one eighty to their first kiss, but she loved it. This man had the ability to scare her, but also protect her. Adrianna kissed him back, softly putting her hand on his chest. She smiled then blushed a little, though grateful of the dark, so it didn't show as much. She was humbly, silenced by his actions but did manage in a soft voice, "thank you, for catching me."

"You're welcome" he replied. "I don't think the holodeck would have allowed you any harm with the safety features active, but why risk it?" he added as he brought her back upright and helped her steady herself. "Remember your warning about marble steps."

Adrianna chuckled softly, "yes, well. I'm used to the fall. Least I would have got a kiss better this time." She looked him over and decided to kiss him softly again.

He engaged and reciprocated her actions. "I think I am getting used to this" he replied and smiled at her. "Now, I definitely need to plan date number three..just don't know where or what yet, but I will come up with something. Maybe less of a slipping factor."

"No ice-skating then," she replied, teasing him, "I'd like to go on a third maybe fourth and fifth date with you." She opted to be forward. Adrianna didn't want to wait as long next time. Frankly, she was missing out.

"Well, yes. Remember after the fifth date we get holo-married" he replied not missing the opportunity to tease her about that. "Hopefully, this time it will not be too many days between our dates."

Adrianna giggled and nudged him playfully, teasing "Mrs Leopold Baciami. Has a ring to it." She then nodded, "I guess you will decide that one."

"I guess we shall" he replied. He took her hand and proceeded towards their destination. "Coffee sounds like a lovely end to this date" he said with a smile. "With ice cream or something" he added.