Star Trek: Starbase 777

While a hike was perfectly possible in the environmental ring, the holodeck had been chosen specifically for its solitude; no crowd of people would ever be able to disturb the two potential lovebirds here. Alin and Caleb were dropped in a hilly area in the south of France, along the coast where the sun shone but the sea breeze would keep the area cool enough to enjoy a hike around the countryside, with space enough for Bear to run around and get some zoomies out while the adults talked.

Caleb had been to the south of France once, when he was much younger. Before… well, everything, really. Family friends owned a chalet in a skiing town, and it had been a lovely place to visit in the summer. While unused to the landscape, it brought back a sense of familiarity he desperately needed. He was, to put it bluntly, incredibly nervous. Bear sat at his side, tongue out, looking up at him. He ran his fingers over the top of her head.

Alin came in second in his nicest trousers and most comfortable sweater, hoping to- well, this was him stepping outside of his comfort zone, and he hoped to confront a few things he wasn't quite sure of yet, but... he eyed the person he was meeting, and was pleasantly surprised. Out of anyone, he was glad he would be stepping out of his comfort zone with someone he knew. "They say coincidences don't exist, but-" he said, smiling at Caleb as he approached, the door to the holodeck closing behind him and disappearing into the French countryside. "Nice to see you here, Caleb," he greeted, leaning down slightly to let Bear sniff his hand.

Caleb looked up and came face to face with Alin. He looked - well, amazing, frankly. Caleb felt his face heat up, and hoped his clothes were up to par. He’d come in a pair of dark khaki trousers - with zips at the knees, in case he needed to take them off - and a dark teal sweater. He had his rucksack, too, with all the things he might need to keep Bear happy and healthy. He looked down at her and gestured to Alin, and with a murmur of her command word, Bear was off to sniff at his knees. “Oh!” Caleb said, bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. He wasn’t quite sure if he was happy that it was someone he knew or not, but, after a moment to think about it, he decided he was. They wouldn’t have to go through all of the awkward stages of the first meeting. “I’m glad it’s you,” Caleb said. His heart stuttered - he was more than nervous - but he rationalised that they were both here for the same thing. Taking a breath, he opened his arms in a gesture of a hug. (edited)

Alin laughed, a deep warm chuckle that was comforting to even those who were intimidated by them. He took the offer, his arms coming up to embrace Caleb right back. "I'm glad you're glad to see me," he said genuinely, before stepping out of the hug after what seemed like an appropriate amount of time. "I might have cried if you'd said something different," he joked. He looked at the path they were on, then out at the sea, then back at Caleb, smiling wide and holding out his elbow, clearly offering an arm. "Shall we?" he asked. "I dont think they were intending for us to stand here and look at each other for several hours."

In spite of his nerves, Caleb grinned. Spending several hours looking at Alin didn’t sound like a terrible idea, to be honest, but he didn’t quite have the courage to admit that. “Wouldn’t be a good first date if I didn’t like you, would it?” He joked back. He took Alin’s arm, trying - and failing - not to flush. The curse of being blond. He put his other hand in his pocket, fingers curling around a tennis ball. Caleb always made sure to have at least two on him at all times, just in case one mysteriously went missing or got shredded by the dog. Bear sat down directly in front of Alin, clearly desperate to be the centre of attention. He watched as she cocked her head, putting on the biggest puppy eyes she could muster. Caleb snorted.

Alin bent down to pet Bear, happy to give the german shepherd all the attention she wanted. She was off the clock right now, and she was a very hard worker, so she deserved pets. "Hey, Beertje," he said in a soft kiddie voice, scratching the dog behind the ears, then underneath the chin. "Who's a good girl?" "Let's go?" he said to her, straightening up and putting a playful foot forwards, hoping to kickstart her into playing and running around them so they could get a move on. He wanted to see what kind of program this was, what kind of sights they could see. "Come on, Bear, we gotta go!" He started walking, taking Caleb with him.

As they walked, Caleb spotted a signpost pointing in several directions. It directed them towards “la plage” - so the universal translator was leaving them with some French, that was nice - towards “les montagnes”, and towards “la promenade des amoreaux”, which led towards a path dappled with light from between the branches of the trees. It looked stunning, and it seemed to curve towards the beach, so they could well have ended up at the beach anyway. Unsure of that Alin wanted to do, Caleb looked at him. “Where to?” He asked, content to go wherever he was directed.

Alin looked at Caleb, then at the signpost in front of them. La promenade des amoureaux was, perhaps, a little cheesy (but then, what had he expected of a Valentine's day date?), but it did have his preference. "Let's go down the promenade," he offered, pulling Caleb slightly in that direction. He avoided using the full name, since even if his cheeks heating up didn't actually show on his face, he was desperate to avoid embarrassment where he could. "Why'd you sign up for this?" Alin asked out of genuine curiosity. "You looked nervous when I came in," he pointed out, not unkindly.

Caleb sighed through his nose, then squared his shoulders. “I don’t like to put myself out there anymore,” he said, deliberately not looking at Alin. He was about to make himself particularly vulnerable, and he wasn’t about to expose himself any further than he had to. Not even to Alin. “I don’t know if you heard about the bombing. I’d imagine you did, since it was in major news for a few weeks. QMC isn’t Nottingham’s biggest hospital, sure, but I know they were involved, so you probably would’ve. “I was on-scene less than an hour after the bomb went off. I was on-call, then, so even though I wasn’t in an ambulance I knew I could’ve been pulled in at any moment. You’ve seen me with traumas. I thought I was ready for anything. I thought I could’ve taken any damn call and come out of it the other side just the same, y’know?” Caleb laughed derisively. It was aimed at himself, rather than anything else. “I didn’t think I could get PTSD. Things like that don’t happen to people like me, right? But not even a month later I couldn’t go out on shift, and when the page came through when I was on-call I had a panic attack so bad Mum called an ambulance on me. My supervisor put me on indefinite medical leave, and I was let go two months after that. They didn’t want to keep me on if I couldn’t even get into an ambulance, which is fair enough. So I kept isolating myself further and further out of - out of shame. “And then I got Bear. She’s helped me so much more than I could’ve possibly expected, and she’s so dedicated to me. She gets me out into crowds, like when I saw you the other day on the promenade. She’s always with me, and I’ve gotten in the habit talking to her about just about everything. And then I read her the message about the blind date thing, and she glared at me until I signed up for it. I swear, that dog knows perfect English. I was really worried about meeting someone new - and I’m really glad it’s you.” Caleb looked straight ahead,

20:26

embarrassed to have spent so much time talking. He hoped Alin wouldn’t judge him for the veritable lecture that’d just taken place.

Alin listened intently as Caleb told his story, not interrupting once. He was made for listening, his entire life built around the fact that he was good at that, and he wanted to give Caleb the attention he deserved. He did laugh a little, by the end, though it wasn't malicious. He just thought it was funny that Bear, who was currently chasing holodeck butterflies around them as they walked, could make Caleb feel pressured enough to sign up for something like this. "I'm a little surprised you let her have so much sway over you, but I can't say I'm mad at it," he said genuinely, and with a hint of mirth. He himself had a way less interesting reason for signing up... and in a way, he was glad for meeting Caleb here, too, but on the other hand, he wasn't sure how much it would help him in the long run. He didn't know whether or not it would mess with his little experiment. But then again, he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. He was comfortable like this, which probably also counted for something. "I'm also glad it's you."

Alin and Caleb continued their stroll along the French coast, their conversation never faltering.