Chapter 30: Chapter 18 Bis: Chaotic Pancakes

-I did it… I actually did it… I told Lauren how I felt… I actually did… And I asked to kiss her on top of that… holy shit… I did it…-

Those were the thoughts that were spinning through my head. I pretended to be asleep when Lauren came back from her shower. Not because she did me wrong. But because I wanted to get my thoughts back in line before speaking to her again. A part of me asked itself if what I did was right or not… The other part of me was relieved I did, and even more so after Lauren’s answer. But one thing was for sure, from now on, things were going to become a lot more… chaotic. Especially because I literally just moved in with her. I still did have my own room with my desk where I could retreat to if I wanted. But even then, I really didn’t want to do so, as I really did like being around the Commander. The only reason I stood on keeping my office space was because I had relaying work to complete… Obviously, I kept fraternizing with my boss out of those relays, and not to mention the discovery that I’d made about our gene structure. Something inside of me told me that was probably not a good plan. 

“Good night, Luna.” Lauren said as she got into her own bed. I still continued on pretending to be asleep. Luckily, I had become pretty good at that. 

Lauren turned off the lights, shrouding the room in complete darkness. What I liked to do in cases like these were to just stare into the dark room, as Lauren couldn’t tell whether my eyes were open or not anyway. It somehow made it easier to think than with my eyes closed. 

I started to run scenarios through my head about how I could’ve handled things differently. But in the end, what I did ended up being one of the best outcomes I could hope for. That is… except for Lauren having kissed me… Her lips had been so close to mine… so tentatively close…

I ran my finger over my lips. -I wonder what they would’ve felt like…- On that thought, I fell asleep. 

 

When I woke up, the smell that immediately caught my attention was the smell of pancakes. I opened my eyes and looked around the cabin. Lauren was cooking and just as I looked she flipped over the pancake, catching it skillfully. 

“Oh, good morning.” Lauren smiled at me once she noticed I was awake. It made my heart flutter. “I thought some pancakes would be fun to start the day with.” 

“You really didn’t have to.” I replied as I rubbed the sand out of my eyes. 

“But I wanted to.” She smiled back. “Do you want some syrup on top of them?” 

I nodded slowly. “If that wouldn’t be too much of a bother.” 

“Course not.” She loaded a couple of pancakes on a plate and squeezed some syrup on top. She then also gave me some cutlery, so I could actually start feasting on the pancakes. It didn’t take long for me to take the first bite.  

“So, what do you think?” She asked as she waited patiently for me to swallow the pancake. 

“Hmmm, it’s really good.” I nodded. “Did you add some apples into it?” 

“I did.” She smiled. “I’ve never tried that before but it sounded like a good option. The only thing I regret is that I didn’t take some ice cream to put on top of it as well.” 

“Oh, that’d have been nice.” I nodded and observed Lauren a bit further. She really didn’t seem very impacted by what I had said and done yesterday. Although it is true that ‘business-like-usual’ was her way of working through things like that. 

“Are you thinking about something?” Lauren asked. I must’ve been staring just a little bit too absent-mindedly at her.

“Uh… yeah… I guess you could say that.” 

“I’m sorry if it seems like what happened yesterday didn’t influence me.” Lauren scratched the back of her head. Probably to turn off her mind-reading device. “It’s just… the way I do stuff…”

How she was so on-point about what I’d been thinking, I really didn’t know. “It’s okay.” I nodded. “Everyone has their own way of reacting to things like that. It’s not like it’s an easy decision I put in front of you.” 

“That’s true.” She nodded once more. “Thanks for understanding.” Lauren then turned around and started putting some more batter into the pan. “Tell me if you want some more pancakes, okay? I think I made way too much batter.” 

“I will.” 

The two of us then sat down for half an hour longer, just eating pancakes and listening to the calm music she’d put on. And I have to admit, I might have overeaten just a tiny little bit.  

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to take a pill, Luna? You really ate a lot. Something to help you digest wouldn’t hurt, right?” Lauren said as she put on her beret. 

“I’ll be fine.” I smiled. At least I hoped I was going to be fine, as I did feel my stomach start to protest a little. But taking a pill would probably be quite a lot more dangerous than just having a bit of stomach ache for a while. 

“Well, if something feels off, just tell me, okay?”

“I will, don’t worry too much about it.” I closed my last button and with that the both of us left for our daily bridge duty. It was probably going to be a pretty quiet day anyway. 

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“Morning, Commander, XO.” Lieutenant Zu walked onto the bridge just as we did. 

“Morning, Lieutenant. Had a good evening yesterday?” Lauren asked. 

“Yeah, I did. It's been a lot livelier in the lounge since the party. You all did a great job planning that.” 

“It wouldn’t have happened if the bridge crew didn’t find that hiding spot.”

“And that’s why I like you, Commander, you never take credit for something all by yourself.” 

“Wouldn’t be a good Commander if I did, would I?” Lauren gave Lt. Zu a wink. 

“Very true.” Zu turned her attention to me. “So, what’s on the agenda today?” 

“Just a bit of jumping.” I replied and opened my holo stick. “Most of these systems appear to be empty, so we will probably not encounter anything interesting.” 

“I call that good news.” Zu smiled as the last door opened. She then walked off towards her post. Leaving me and the Commander standing at the head of the bridge. 

“When were we going to reach the next planet in the goldi-locks zone?” Lauren asked, opening the big bridge map for herself. 

“At this pace, in a couple of weeks. We will have to visit a couple of these asteroid belts though to see if they are viable for mining operations. Together with some denser non-habitable planets as well.” I marked the several points of interest on the map. 

“I guess we should get going then.” 

I gave Lauren a nod as she started commanding her bridge crew around. Time for me to space out just a little. 

 

After our shift, Lauren stretched her good arm behind her back. “Oh Goddess. I’m in the mood for some exercise. I think I’ll hit the gym for a bit.” When she stopped stretching, she looked at me. “If you want to go back to the cabin already, go ahead. I’ll try not to take too long.” 

“Can… can I join too?” It actually had been a while since I’d done any physical exercise, so it might do me some good… And watching the Commander in action’s always fun…

“Definitely.” Lauren smiled and started walking, with me at her side. “How long has it been since your last visit?”

“Uh….” I tried to refresh my memory, but it had been so long that I really didn’t remember how long ago it’d been. 

“That long ago?” Lauren chuckled at my inability to reply to her question. 

“I’m not a marine…” I pouted. 

“Hey, I’m not blaming you.” She smiled. “If you need any help with the exercises, just ask me, okay? Also, try not to overdo it.” 

I gave her a nod in return. 

 

Our gym gear was kept in the locker rooms adjacent to the gym, as we didn’t really use them throughout the rest of the ship. There were, however, some people who did laps through the corridors, but I wasn’t one of those. Lauren told me she had done it a couple of times, though. 

“Don’t people ask questions about your arm?” I asked after we’d gotten dressed in our gym gear. Lauren had left her training vest behind and was just going in with a tank top. It very nicely accentuated her arm muscles; 

She replied with a shrug. “Not really. Most of the people who I encounter while training here are other marines, and they often get their fair share of wounds themselves. A couple of the younger ones always do appear a bit surprised but they never bother me with invasive questions.” She looked around the room. Apart from one single other marine, we were the only two people here at the moment. “I do get a lot of compliments about my muscles, though.” 

-Of course you do…. It is hard to keep my eyes off you as it is…-

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