The Road So Far: Aria Rice [3/4]
Posted on Fri Jun 7th, 2024 @ 10:38pm by Lieutenant JG Aria Rice
1,099 words; about a 5 minute read
Place: Starfleet Academy, San Francisco, Earth, Sol System
Year: 2387
You can see her
whenever it rains
From Rome to New Orleans
dancing on the graves
Burden by the heart she loves her
sunglasses after dark
And every single day her
little life falls apart - The 69 Eyes, ‘Gothic Girl’
“Rice!”
“I’m up!” Aria fell off the sofa, hitting the floor with a groan. She opened an eye slowly, before she grimaced and touched her head. “Ouch!”
The shadow that was cast over her was a Trill, watching Aria with mild amusement. “Wow, it lives…” she said, kneeling and helping Aria sit up. “Any reason you’re still here? Everyone else has gone for the holidays now.”
Aria swallowed, grimacing, and ran her hand over her mouth. “Why do I taste like shampoo?” she asked herself, before the question registered. “Oh. I…I am staying here, so…I suppose no one wanted to wake me.”
“After all the alcohol, not synthahol, you consumed? I think people were worried about waking you…” Bau said, shaking her head before she touched her hair. “You look dreadful.”
“I look like the Academy…” Aria groaned, shaking her head before stopping and holding her hands out. “Careful, or I’ll vom…” she warned, but managed to sit up. “Oh, my head is pounding harder than Marines on shoreleave…” She let out a soft breath, sighing with warmth when Bau put a hypo to her neck. “Oh…oh, I love you, marry me please.”
“No, you drink too much,” Bau said playfully, smiling warmly as she stood. “You need something to eat. Sit down.”
“Just…just coffee,” she said, looking around for a moment. “Why aren’t you going home? I mean, I know December is always a, you know, weird time. But it’s Earth so…you know…ho, ho, ho.”
“I am going later today,” Bau said, smiling as she replicated her a coffee, carrying it over. “Have a good drink of that, Rice. You’re a Luna girl, thought you’d head back there.”
Aria shook her head, slowly, taking the coffee to sip. She sighed contently, relaxing at the bitter taste that felt like a warm hug with a side of cuddle. “Nah, better to be here. I was going to go to England, see if I could have one of those ancient Christmases, you know? Holy and all that sort. Midnight Mass and the weird human rituals. And study, I need to study.”
“Oh, sounds like such a party,” Bau said before she shook her head, walking to get her stuff. “You just stay out of trouble, Rice. You have the marksman exam when you come back, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Aria did a fingergun at her, winking before she sat back. “No, I’ll be chill for it. Pinkie promise.”
Place: Starfleet Academy, San Francisco, Earth, Sol System
Year: 2388
I spent so long
Running out of options
On those nights alone
No one to bounce ideas off of
And I just felt stuck
But now I see - Wolf Saga, ‘Ma Vie’
“Congratulations…Ensign Rice.”
Aria beamed in her dress uniform, walking quickly to Aleksei. “I know, right? Graduated and everything! I know there were times it was touch and go, but woooow…we got there, Aleksei! High five!” she held up her hand, laughing when he hit her hand. “And fist bump…” she made a fist, laughing when he did it. “And bring it back…boom!”
“You know, you might have to grow up one day, now you’re an officer,” Aleksei said before he pulled her close, hugging her. “I am proud of you, Aria.”
“Yeah, well…” she closed her eyes, hugging him back, her cheek against his chest. “Maybe I studied harder than I let others think. You know, the usual stuff. It’s all the way it was.” She pulled back, looking at him for a moment. “You know, Nava has graduated as well now…”
He let out a breath, moving a finger to her lips to silence her. “Not meant to be. Harry is going to propose to her. I know they have been on and off for ages, but…I can’t step in there. He’s my friend.”
“Yeah, but you are like six foot three of hot, hot manliness,” she said, pulling back before she nodded. “But hey, I get it. Sometimes, you sort of…have to let go, you know? Even if it hurts. Especially, if it hurts.”
Aleksei let out a soft breath at that, shaking his head. “You know, sometimes, I wonder where you came from, Luna girl.”
“Oh, I am a riddle cloaked in a mystery wrapped in an enigma me,” Aria shot back with a smile, before she hit his chest. “So I am going to get changed, and then we’re hitting the town. Orders will be coming soon and trust me, I need to let out some steam before I go onto a Starship.”
“I feel like all you’ve done these last years is punish your liver,” Aleksei said, shaking his head thoughtfully. “And hiding behind jokes.”
Aria looked down with a small, almost shy smile. “Aw gosh, now you’re making me blush,” she said before she smiled. “Besides, my Mama always said to find the toughest kid in the playground and make friends with them.”
“No, she didn’t,” Aleksei said, before he touched her cheek. “I can tell when you’re joking, or lying.”
“Yeah, well…” she leant into the touch for a moment, her hand touching his chest. “Maybe that’s why I am leaving as well. Before this…” she gestured between them, giving a shrug. “Becomes something it wasn’t meant to be.”
“Would it have been so bad?” Aleksei asked, his voice a low rumble as his green eyes held hers, questioning.
She let out a soft breath, giving a small nod. “I suck at coupledom,” she said, before she pulled back. “Aleksei, you are…handsome, smart…and you’ll find someone who makes you happy. It isn’t me, any more than you’d make me happy. I…I want to go out there, not be shackled down on a planet. And certainly not this planet.”
“Hey, I was born here,” Aleksei laughed, but there was pain in his eyes. He could recognise a goodbye when he saw one. “Alright, Aria Rice. But…remember something for me, will you? When you find what makes you happy, fight. Fight for what makes you happy.”
[TBC]
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