Vitruvian (Closed)

[HookerBoots]

This thread is closed for Armphid and myself.

Name: Amelia Platt
Age: 18
Personality: Because of her special . . . issues, Amelia is very shy, especially around boys. She's very sweet and determined, but quiet. She's a hard worker, and very smart.
Appearance: Pictured with her twin brother, Alexander
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v316/angeicmar/?action=view&current=twins.jpg

IC:
The blackness outside had become comforting. Amelia felt nervous now, when she was on a planet for leave, or restocking, not just because she was sure everyone was watching her. They probably weren't, really, but she was never sure, and always felt a little odd around people she didn't know.

She stopped to wonder again why they'd put the classroom in a room with windows, but decided that wondering wasn't going to do her any good. Tapping her fingers on the long counter in front of her, she turned her attention back to the culture she was supposed to be observing. As Amelia looked over the small dish of bacteria, and the low-wavelength radiation-emitter it was resting on, she sighed and rested her head on her hand. She couldn't leave for another half-hour, or until there was a visible change in the culture.

Shifting, she crossed her legs under her skirt. She usually wore baggy trousers, but today she'd felt like wearing something pretty. So she wore a dress with an intricately pleated skirt, that would hide anything that . . . occurred down there. Most people on the ship didn't think she was abnormal, but just that she must be a tomboy.

She wasn't a tomboy. And she was abnormal.

The culture shifted, and then suddenly, they all turned bright crimson. "Finally!" She whisked the dish off the emitter and put it under a microscope. Quickly accessing the data input terminal, she looked into the eyepiece and dictated quickly: "The specimen has mutated with 20 minutes exposure to modified gamma rays. All cells a uniform crimson, all flagella elongated." She adjusted the magnification to the highest setting. "Apparent mutation in DNA and mRNA, mutation appears transferable, but not harmful. Recommend further investigation on same radiation with multi-celled organism." She flicked the microscope off and leaned back slightly. "Amelia Platt, Student ID 432334, Researcher ID 679987."

She stood and stretched, then picked up the dish, labeled it carefully, and popped it into the preservation tank. It was time to go home - back to the family quarters, that is. She needed to make dinner for her and Alex, since their parents were off-ship, which meant stopping at the on-ship store to get something to eat.

 

[Armphid]

Name: Alexander "Alex" Platt
Age: 18
Personality: Alex is more outgoing than his twin, though no less determined. Bright himself, he's always taken on the physical and social role of his sister's protector. He tends to stick up for the little guys and geeks in his grade, and has gotten into more than one fight because he took the "wrong" person's side and wouldn't back down. Curious and inquisitive, he's an explorer at heart, eager and willing to risk much to see what's out there.

IC:

The blackness of space was suddenly interrupted by colors that seemed impossible amid such vast emptiness. They exploded out and flowed together, billowing, caressing, dancing as they twined through the cosmos. Here and there, tiny pinpricks of light could be seen, as stars were born in the depths.

Alex felt his chest swell as he stared at the viewscreen along with the other students. God, look at it. What majesty! And to think that they were going there, and soon! "The Vitruvian Nebula..."

"Answered the question before I asked, Alex," his teacher said with a smile. "Yes, the Vitruvian Nebula, named in honor of one of the most well known works of a legendary human scientist and artist." The woman, taller than most men, and seeming almost dangerously thin, her pale grey skin a bit shiny, her large dark eyes unblinking as she looked at her class with fondness. "In two days time, we will be entering the nebula and spending several weeks there gathering data, and running experiments. So, your assignment over the weekend; I want you to research why we would want to study the nebula, and one possible experiment you would can think of. Questions?"

A soft tone sounded, the students saying nothing. "Good, go on then. Have a good weekend."

The class responded with a jumble of replies, Alex getting to his feet. Thank goodness. Not that he didn't like school, especially science class, but it felt good to be finished for a few days. Not only that, but...he hadn't seen Amelia since lunch. Their schedules were different this year, and he didn't like having so much time where she wasn't around.

"Hey, Alex!" A trio of smaller boys approached the youth, grinning. The leader, lanky and thin, spoke up again, "What are you doing tonight? We were going to see if the new holo suites were open at The Black Hole, and thought, you might want to come."

"Yeah, and it'd be on us," another spoke up, a plump boy with greasy hair. "We owe you for helping Billy out." Billy just nodded, saying nothing.

"Thanks, guys, but not tonight." Alex shrugged, "I've really got to get home. It's just Amelia and I, and I don't want to leave her alone."

"Oh, okay." The leader looked at his friends, then at Alex, "Hey, uh, you know...your sister's like, one of the cutest girls in the grade. You couldn't...you know, introduce us some time? Or maybe just put in a good word for me?"

Alex considered, "Not a chance in hell," he replied cheerily after a moment's thought. "Have a good weekend!" And he left the three other boys standing there stunned, leaving the classroom and heading home.

~~~~~​

The family had come on board the Gagarin over five years ago now. Mom and Dad were part of the crew, and like many others, they'd brought the kids with them. Since it was an extended mission, minimum seven year deployment, it was the only way to keep the family together. Alex didn't mind. He thought of the ship as home now...and it was pretty damn cool to live in a starship. Traveling the galaxy, seeing new planets, going places no one had ever been...and that was their normal life!

Not that their life was exactly normal...

The door to the family's generous apartment suite hissed open, holding for a few moments to close and lock behind him. "Amelia, I'm back. How'd the experiment go?"

 

[HookerBoots]

She looked up with a smile, one hand stirring the pot of soup. "It went all right. Took less time than expected for the mutation, and none of the critters were harmed." Pressing a button on the spoon that would keep it moving without her, Amelia stepped away from the stovetop, leaning against the partition between the cooking area and the main living room.

"How about you? What's the weekend work?" She grinned at him. Around Alex she could be relaxed, not worry about herself. "Lots of nebula-investigation?" Part of her work - school and otherwise - was investigating the potential effects of the assumed wavelengths of radiation on living organisms. The whole ship was focused on the upcoming interaction with the nebula, and the possibilities it presented.

Amelia had a talent for analysis of cellular mutation, which is why, when they both turned 18, she'd been placed in the cytology section of research for the work portions of her school day. It meant less time with Alex, since he had different talents, but she was happy with it, most of the time. They saw each other at night, and during about half of their classes, which was almost enough.

Glancing over her shoulder, she said, "Looks like dinner'll be ready in about 10. You could be a good brother and set the table, if you wanted to."

 

[Armphid]

"Really?" Alex considered that a moment. The mutation had occurred unusually fast. That was interesting. What had she done to make it so? Or was there another factor at work? "Fantastic. You're so brilliant," he beamed with pride, "You're going to be such a great scientist!"

He shrugged his bag to the floor, watching her lean over and grin at him. He nodded, "Yeah, we're all supposed to follow the feeds, as well as write a paper on the importance of this research, and do a proposal for an experiment. I"m thinking of looking into the diffusion of the mass and how it affects the internal gravity in the star nurseries, or about the generation of dark matter."

He was about to flop down on the couch when she called and asked him to set the table. Okay, she didn't technically ask...but he knew his sister, and he knew what that meant. "Sure thing. Got to start being a good brother at some point, right?"

It was an easy job too, since it was only the two of them. It was lonely sometimes, but it was nice too. Alex loved being with his twin, more than anything. And he was all too aware that soon, life would force them to part. He was going to get as much time with her alone as he could before then.

In a few minutes the table was set, waiting only for the food to be ready. Alex stepped into the kitchen, padding behind Amelia on quiet feet and looking over her shoulder. "Looks good, little sister." He took a deep breath, "Ahhh, and smells even better." He put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze, then stepped back to lean against the fridge. "So, what do you want to do tonight? Other than eat, obviously."

 

[HookerBoots]

Amelia laughed softly. "What do you mean, what else? I'll be happy just eating and sleeping, spending half my day slaving over a plate of bacteria. I need a break!" She tasted the soup and nodded. "All right, let me get it ready to serve here . . . ." Another button pressed, and the stovetop cooled, a set of handles appearing on the sides of the pot, a hard, heat resistant covering emerged to protect the bottom.

She picked it up easily and carried it to the table, setting it down and grinning at him a little ruefully. "I'm sorry it's not more fancy, but I didn't want to be late with dinner for you." Amelia hugged him from behind and sighed. "What did you have in mind to do, Alex? Anything fun with the guys?"

 

[Armphid]

Alex smiled as her arms went around him, reaching down to pat her small hands. He liked it when she touched him, it was...important somehow, in a way he couldn't explain. "Not really, Amelia." He turned in her arms, his sliding over her shoulders to return the embrace, "I wanted to spend the night with you doing something. But if you're tired, I can always just hang out here." He briefly thought of suggesting they take a nap together or something, like they did when they were little, but...probably shouldn't. "Or get online, I still have that game invite from Cal Redgrave."

He shrugged, releasing his sister to sit down at the table. He ladled himself a bowl of soup, starting to eat. "Oooh, yeah. That's good." He grinned, attacking the meal with vigor.

 

[HookerBoots]

Her smile was pleased and a little shy. "Thanks." Taking a taste of her own soup, her smile widened. It was pretty good, and she was glad that it had turned out well. She wanted to make Alex happy - it was like being happy herself. "I think I can stay up a little," Amelia said with a wink. "We can watch a holo-vid, or play a game . . . ."

They finished eating, and sat down on the couch together. Amelia tucked her legs underneath her and sighed happily. "It feels good to relax. So, what do you want to do?" Her fingers went to her hair, undoing the ponytail she'd kept it in all day. "We could do something we haven't done since we were kids - go to Glacee and gorge ourselves on sweets."

 

[Armphid]

"It does feel great," he agreed, settling in on the couch with a contented sigh. He kind of wanted to stretch out, but that would involve her getting off the couch, and he was pretty happy with her sitting there. "I can understand just wanting to stay home."

"Yeah, that would be pretty cool..." He shrugged, then smiled at her. "You know you should put your hair down more often, sis, it looks nice. Anyway, maybe tonight...sticking home is a good idea. We can watch a movie before you go to sleep." He held up a finger, "But tomorrow, we're going out. We'll go to Glacee, and maybe have a picnic in the arboretum. Then we can go to the White Tower and peruse the shelves for a while, have a nice dinner...what do you think?"

 

[HookerBoots]

She grinned. "I think that if you weren't my brother, that would be a great date." Amelia pushed her arms over her head, stretching. "It sounds wonderful. Good to relax before the whole ship goes on nebula alert, and I want to see if they've gotten anything new at the White Tower."

A thought occurred to her, and she smiled broadly. "Think we could have dinner at the Heights, on the observation level? It'd be really fun to watch the nebula coming closer, and the other stars and planets and comets and all." She was pretty sure he'd go for it - space was an interest of hers, but Alex was passionate about it. "It'll be a great day."

Leaning back on the couch, she reached behind her and pressed buttons on the console from memory. The holoscreen came out from the opposing wall, and an amorphous, shifting, display came up, waiting. "Well, what do you feel like watching? Scary movie, comedy, drama?"

 

[Armphid]

"Yes!" Alex grinned, his eyes dancing, "That's a great idea! Wow...so close to the neblua...we'll be able to see all kinds of things!" He beamed, "That would be the best date ever, but, you know, like you said," he said with a laugh. "It really is too bad, I'm related to the best girl out there." He smiled as she stretched, able to see why. If he wasn't her brother, well...she'd grown up really well, was all he was going to say on the matter.

He nudged her with an elbow, "You know some of the guys asked me about you today. Not that they're brave enough to talk to you yet, but..."

He thought for a moment when she called up the movie, then shrugged again. "Let's go with something scary. I'm just in that kind of mood." Usually he preferred comedies or epics, and some action movies, but...tonight just felt like a scary movie night.

Alex leaned back on the couch, one arm resting across the back as usual, his feet lifting to rest on the small table in front of the count. "Got a particular one in mind? You pick, Amelia, since I chose genre."

 

[HookerBoots]

She sighed. "I guess I should get my explanation ready for them, then, huh?" It was almost enough to deflate her good mood and the excitement about tomorrow. Amelia rested her head on the back of the couch, trying to put that from her mind. It would have been different if they weren't on this ship, but even as big as this one was, word would get around quickly about her. The only people she could truly trust were her family.

Then she made a face. "And I guess I should pick a movie, too." Scary movies. She was just too suggestible; they terrified her. But she kind of liked it too. Looking at the display, she said crisply, "Horror films." The blob-shape display stretched and flattened into a menu, a list of movies based on their previous choices in the same genre. "Ew, mom and dad watched The Thing with Four Faces? God, they are such weirdos." Her eyes scanned the list, and finally she grinned.

"You know, some of my friends were talking about Horseshoe. They said it was so scary they had to bury their faces in their boyfriends' shoulders." Her grin turned mischievous. "If we watch that, Alex, can I hide my face in your shoulder? Give you some practice with girls for when you start dating seriously." That was going to be tough for both of them, since she had no desire to date, even if the boys here would understand.

 

[Armphid]

Alex smiled, though his smile was a bit faint. He was 18, but he'd never done more than go on one or two dates. The girls here just...they lacked something, there was no one he was that into. None of them were that interesting as people, even if there were plenty that were nearly as pretty as Amelia.

And, even if he was, if he was with someone, then Amelia was alone. He didn't want that. He wanted her to have someone, to be loved and treasured. And he'd do that for her until she found that special guy who'd see her for the incredible find she was and snatch her up. And then...then he'd miss her terribly. "Sure, feel free to cling and hug me all you need. Practice for you too, right?"

He grinned, "But I'll be a good brother and not practicing how to cop a feel when a girl buries her face in your shoulder." He laughed, "Sorry, I know. Couldn't help it." He winked at her, patting the spot on the couch next to him. "Let's get it started, huh?"

 

[HookerBoots]

"Sure." She scooted next to him, their legs almost touching, and Amelia rattled off the voice commands to start the movie. Leaning back, she almost rested her head on his shoulder, then stopped and tipped her head back onto the couch instead. It wouldn't be good to act too much like this was a date.

The movie was pretty scary, and Amelia found herself burying her face in Alex's shoulder more than once. Finally, he put an arm around her, letting her cheek press against his shirt. It was more comforting than it should have been, and very comfortable. He smelled wonderful, too. Unconsciously, she pressed a little closer. After a second, Amelia realized what she'd just done. Oh, gods. He was her brother! But she didn't want him to think she didn't like being around him, so . . . what to do? "I . . . need to use the bathroom."

She stood and almost ran to the bathroom, sitting down on the toilet, resting her face in her hands. What the hell was going on with her? It took a moment to get her cool back, and then she actually did use the bathroom, making sure everything was in place before she walked back into the living area. "Oh, you didn't have to pause it." Her smile was whimsical. "It's not like the plot matters."

She sat down on the couch again, close to him again, but not nestling into his side like she had - like she wanted to. The movie was a little scary now, but not that bad. Almost at the end, she found herself dozing off. But she didn't want to go to bed, when Alex was still awake. But she was . . . so tired. Yawning, she pulled her legs up under her again. Just shut her eyes . . . for a . . . minute . . . .

 

[Armphid]

The movie was pretty decent, really, but as it went on, he paid less and less attention to it, and more and more to Amelia. It was almost like she was jumping and hiding her face against him every minute. His arm moved on it's own, looping over her shoulders, gently pulling her closer. It felt...really nice. She was so warm and soft against him. She leaned against him, her face almost nuzzling his chest, and he felt his heart suddenly swell and ache. Oh...wow. He felt a sudden urge to caress her cheek, maybe tilt her head up just a bit and-

Then she suddenly jumped up and pulled back, beating feet for the bathroom. He leaned forward as she left, hands on his knees. What...what the hell had just happened? Had he really felt...really thought about...well, about that? With Amelia? He leaned back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. "Pause movie," he absently ordered, the sound immediately halting. Whatever had come over him, he needed to ditch it. Seriously. Not even give it another thought.

He resumed the movie after she came back, and they sat together again, but not as close as before. He found that he kind of...missed it. It had made him feel pretty good to have her leaning against him, his arm around her slender shoulders.

The movie kept going, but with what had almost not happened...or whatever, he found it hard to really pay attention. That, and it was pretty late. He found himself yawning more and more...and Amelia too. He should suggest they go to bed, but the movie was almost over...

~~~~~​

Alex sighed, stirring slightly. "Mmmph." He was warm and comfortable, and despite the silent urging of his body, really, really didn't want to get up. He couldn't remember feeling so lazy in the morning before...must be the girl he was sleeping with.

His sleepy eyes opened a sliver, looking down at Amelia's sweet face as her head lay against his own slowly rising chest. Mmm. So nice. She was so beautiful, and so sweet, so smart, and just so wonderful. The perfect girl. He'd love to date...someone...her...

The twins were passed out on the couch, Alex slumped over on one edge, half twisted around, his back against the arm of the large piece of furniture. Amelia lay against him, her head resting on his chest, her arms pulled up under one of her cheeks, smiling as she dreamed, her legs folded up onto the couch. One of Alex's arms was draped over her shoulders, his hand rubbing her shoulder almost absently.

Nice, to sleep with her like this...he liked it...liked-

Alex's eyes snapped open, his breath rushing in with a soft hiss. Holy shit! That they'd fallen asleep was one thing, that had happened before, but...but they were, they were cuddling! Not brother/sister cuddling, but boyfriend/girlfriend cuddling!

His eyes cast about, looking for something to give him an idea of what to do. He wanted to move, to get away...well, he didn't, really, it was very pleasant and he could feel her...he had to get away! This was just-it wasn't-they shouldn't! But, he didn't want to wake her up and freak her out either...she'd seemed spooked last night when things got a little wierd, and this...

Fuck.

 

[HookerBoots]

Amelia sighed and moved slightly, feeling the warm surface under her head shift as well. That was odd. She didn't have a vibro-matress, so how was . . . ? Her eyes drifted open. The couch? What was she doing out here? And that still didn't explain why what she was laying on was moving.

Oh, no. They'd fallen asleep on the couch, and they were . . . she was laying on Alex. She wanted to stay there, but wasn't sure why she did. It was comfortable, and his arm around her felt so sweet, but . . . . Maybe the best way to handle this was to just act like there was nothing strange, nothing wrong.

She opened her eyes wider, smiling. "Good morning, Alex. We must have fallen asleep, huh?" Amelia sat up and stretched, tugging her dress down over her thighs again - it must have ridden up while she was sleeping. "Must not have been a great movie, huh?"

 

[Armphid]

"Um, yeah," was all the reply Alex could muster. As she stretched, he found himself looking at the way her back arched and pushed her chest out, dropping his eyes in shame, only to see just how far up her legs the skirt had ridden up. Holy hell. He looked back at the normally formless monitor, still in viewing mode. "It had it's moments though." Had it ever...not the movie, but the rest. Damn, but he was hard up! He was a teenage boy and all, but really.

He stood up off the couch, stretching himself, bending down to do a few lunges to loosen up his back. "Nnn...slept pretty good though. Ahh!" He nodded, looking down at her with a smile. Huh. He knew she was pretty, but he'd never really noticed it like this. THe dishevled morning look was...it was cute. "So, I'm thinking of making omelettes for breakfast, and then tonight, we go out on the town! Look out, Gagarin!"

The next hours passed in what could be described as domestic felicity. After cooking and cleaning up the kitchen, Alex settled in to work on his assignments while Amelia occupied herself with other things. The work was good. It was both interesting and allowed him to take his mind off the odd events and feelings of the previous night.

Finally, after a shower, shave, and change of clothes, Alex stepped out of his room into the living room. Glancing in a mirror on the wall, he grinned, "If I looks this good, why don't I have a girlfriend?" He laughed, shrugging, and walked over to Amelia's door. Lifting his hand, he rapped on the plassteel. "Amelia, I'm ready when you are."

 

[HookerBoots]

The day had been nice so far, and as Amelia went to change, she thought that it probably was going to stay the same. Alex had been doing his homework, and she'd been doing a little of her own homework and inputting data. But it was going to be a great afternoon and evening, even if she wasn't quite sure what to wear. Standing naked in front of her closet, she sighed and sorted through the fabic jungle. Pants, pants, pants . . . she really needed more dresses.

Ah, there was one! She tugged it out of the closet, and pulled it over her head, tugging it over her chest and hips before turning to look in the small mirror. It was a little more low-cut than she'd remembered, but the dark blue color looked good against her skin. And the skirt was full, and just long enough to cover everything, and short enough to show off her legs.

She was putting the finishing touches on her makeup, hair already done, when Alex knocked on her door. "Okay! I'll be ready in a second!" She set down the brush and went to open the door. Amelia stopped dead, eyes wide. "You . . . Alex, you look great!" She smiled a little weakly. "Are you sure you want your sister around? You could get any girl you wanted, I don't want to get in the way." She was half-teasing, but he really did look amazing, and she wouldn't blame him for wanting to go after a girl that he wasn't related to. She didn't really want him to, but she'd understand.

 

[Armphid]

Alex was looking away as he heard the door open, turning back to look as Amelia complimented him and went on about him getting a girl, "Amelia, you're the only girl, I-whoa." THAT was his sister? The dress was the perfect color to show off her flawless pale skin, and the neckline was daring, showing a happy deal of her very adult-like chest. The skirt was elegant, but still showed enough leg to be sexy. "Wow. I don't think I've seen that dress before. You look good, Amelia, really good."

He stared for a few moments, then blinked to regain his composure, "You're one to talk, if you went out alone, you'd have to beat the guys off with a stick." He grinned, "Every guy we walk past is going to be jealous of me, you know. Come on, let's go and get them started eating their hearts out."

It wasn't a date. Really. They'd changed just to look nice. He hadn't done it to look good for her. Keep thinking that.

 

[HookerBoots]

The picnic was nice, even though there was more food than either of them would eat, and the arboretum was wonderful. She loved looking at the trees and flowers, all of them so delicate and lovely. But she'd had trouble keeping her skirt where it should be, and remembering that he was her brother, not just a great guy she was out with. The media store had several things she wanted, and Alex had an armful of things he wanted. They both bought a few things, charging them to their parents' account - mom and dad were very generous, and willing to let them buy almost whatever they wanted.

When they reached the observation deck, the line for the Heights, the restaurant up there, was momentous, and Amelia was glad that she'd called ahead for reservations. They were seated within half an hour, and the maitre'd gave Alex a wink he thought she couldn't see. It was flattering, and a little amusing. Their table was a good one, very near the wall of windows.

Amelia rested her cheek on one hand, looking out the transparent amalgam. "I'm glad we decided to do this, Alex. It's so beautiful." She smiled, and kicked his ankle lightly under the table. "The company's pretty good, too." Without looking, she put her hand on the table, then lifted it again quickly when she realized it had landed right on Alex's. She blushed a little, then grabbed her menu. "So, what should we get?" One hand reached for the bread the waiter had brought, and she felt her fingers touch something that wasn't bread . . . .

 

[Armphid]

As they sat down at the table, Alex was transfixed, but not by what he thought he would be. Amelia's face was partly turned away, looking out at the magnificent vista of the universe, but Alex...Alex who loved space and it's wonders, who'd been looking forward to the view from here this whole day...Alex was looking at her. He smiled a bit at her comment. "Yeah, it really is beautiful."

He was going to retort to her kick and comment when her hand touched his. Her skin was soft and smooth, and so warm, and as she jerked back he was both relieved and oddly regretful. "Umm, yeah. Yes, I mean. The company's pretty good, all right." He smiled again, his cheeks faintly red. "I couldn't ask for better, really."

Her face was hidden behind her menu, so he could only hope that she'd taken the comment to mean...whatever he'd meant by saying it. Or maybe not. He felt...he'd really enjoyed this day out. They'd had a lot of fun, laughing, walking together, the picnic and store were both great, but the whole time there'd been...something...between them. He was feeling it even more now. He wasn't sure it what it was, and it didn't feel bad by any means, but...

He shook his head with a sigh, then nodded as the waiter arrived again and deposited the bread. "Well, I think that I'd like something meaty," he said as he reached out to snatch a piece of the wonderful smelling baked goods, "I heard that they have a real nice Andorian Chicken here, and-" The thought of whatever he was going to say vanished abruptly as his sister's delicate hand reached out and took a hold of his.

Alex looked up just as Amelia's menu dropped. Her face was as red as his was, their eyes locking. Her hand was smaller than his, and again it seemed so much warmer. He brushed his thumb over the side of it-

Then pulled his hand back with a sudden jerk, "Sorry! Uh, you go ahead. I should be a gentlemen, and all that, after all," he said with a forced chuckle. Well. Good. That wasn't awkward or anything.

He turned his head to the enormous glassteel window, and felt his embarrassment fade as he took his first really good view at what was out there. "My God...Amelia...just...just look at it." He turned his face back to her with a broad smile, his eyes shining with wonder. "You know, I'm really glad to be here, and I wouldn't want to be here, to share all this, with anyone but you."

 

[HookerBoots]

She was acutely aware of how cool her hand felt without his touching it, but she picked up a piece of bread and started to peel the crust off. When Alex turned to look out the window, she took a quick gulp of water, trying to cool her face off. But she smiled at him when he looked back at her, his eyes shining. "That's so sweet, Alex. I'm glad, too. It's been a great da - day." Smooth, Amelia.

Her gaze turned to the space they were travelling through, and she sighed happily. "It's such a great view." She squinted slightly, and smiled. "I can almost see the nebula from here." She looked back at him, a happy, relaxed expression on her face. "I think I'm going to get the Centaurian pork chops. It sounds . . . interesting, and you know how I like trying new things." Was that a double entendre? Maybe, if she meant more than one thing by it. She wasn't sure she didn't.

Yes, she was. She was sure.

"I just can't get over the view, though. It's so . . . humbling. I mean, the stars don't care about our problems, or our research. We're just passing through." A slight shiver ran through her body. "I'm glad I work with cells," she said with a grin. "I hate feeling humbled and temporary."

 

[Armphid]

"You shouldn't feel either, Amelia." He smiled, reaching out to take her hand on purpose this time. It felt nice, but that wasn't the point. It wasn't. Really. "You're the most amazing girl I know, you've got talent, intelligence, and you're gorgeous. And you'll always be the most important thing in my life, so...I'd hate to think that I cared about something temporary," he said with a wink.

He gave her hand a lingering squeeze, then released it, taking his turn to look out at the vista before them. "When I look, I might feel humbled, but...I also feel lifted, and wondrous. I mean...just look at that...so close we can touch it, and here we are, among the heavens!"

"To think that I could see this, study it, be out here, and have you with me, it's...I feel blessed. And lucky. And happy."

The waiter happened to arrive then for their orders, but as he spoke, Alex's eyes kept drifting to the twin beauty before him, Amelia, and the starry universe that appeared to be her backdrop.

 

[HookerBoots]

After the waiter took their order, Amelia smiled back at Alex, her arms braced on the table. "I'm incredibly happy to be here, Alex. It's stunning." She took a sip of her water, setting the glass down gently. "We are lucky, I'll admit that." Her smile was a little teasing. "Not every girl gets such a handsome brother."

She took another piece of bread, shredding it before eating it again. This was nice. If she'd been out with any other boy, she'd be worried he would think her eating habits were strange. But Alex knew how she was, and wouldn't think she was odd because of how she took her bread apart, or cut her pork chops into strips instead of cubes to eat, or anything else.

"I'm just glad they'd had a cancellation, though. Otherwise, we'd have to wait til about midnight to eat dinner here," she said with a laugh. "The whole ship wants an early glimpse at the nebula, and we got it."

 

[Armphid]

Alex blushed a bit, shuffling his feet beneath the table. "Thanks, but I think I'm the lucky one. I mean, you're hands-down the prettiest girl I know, or I've seen." It was true, and he'd thought it before, but not quite the way he did now. "In a way, I wish I weren't your brother so that this could be a real date. The best girl in the galaxy, not one like her anywhere, and I'm related to her," he sighed with a small smile.

He took a roll, taking a deep breath of the heavenly smell of the fresh bread before biting in. Oooh. Oh, yeah. This was good. "Yeah, the cancellation was a good break. The ship's scientists are probably getting readings from the probes and long-range sensors at this point, but we're some of the first to actually SEE it." And that...that was just plain awesome. They were two of the first maybe dozen to humans to ever, EVER, see the Vitruvian Nebula with their own eyes.

He looked back out at the heavens, at the tendrils of dust and star stuff of the nebula that seemed to be reaching out as if to embrace the ship. "I know this'll sound goofy, but...I have a feeling. Something good, and something amazing is going to come out of this. I just know it. I can't wait for us to get in there and start discovering it's secrets. My gut tells me we're going to find something no one ever expected, and it will be fantastic."

 

[HookerBoots]

She smiled at him, amused at how excited he was about this. Amelia was excited too, but space and astronomical phenomena turned him into a little boy again. Very adorable. "I bet it will. This will be the first time anyone's been able to get a ship inside a nebula this size." The waiter came by then, setting their meal down, and the conversation lagged as they ate.

They took their time eating, looking at the stars as they passed and chatting about nothing in particular. The walk back to their apartment was leisurely and relaxed, even though there was a tension that Amelia couldn't place her finger on. But they reached the apartment door, and she waited while Alex unlocked it. A small smile crept across her face as the door opened, and she grabbed his hand before he went in.

"Alex, this has been a really great day, and I'm glad we got the chance to spend the time together. So, to say thanks . . . well, if I were on a date, I'd kiss the boy." She lifted herself on her toes, her face close to his. If she were brave enough, foolish enough, she could kiss him on the lips, and . . . he's your brother! Instead, she turned her head slightly and kissed his cheek with a resounding smack, then grinned as she pulled back. "Thank you, Alex. I had a great time."