[fin] Indulge Me

[Silas Alderin]

The definition of a 'good mood' was variable.

For most people that meant smiles and cheery greetings and the occasional clap on the back. For Silas Alderin that meant eye contact and more entertaining snark, but still. The term 'good' applied. Since he'd broken his hand on a wall (and thankfully not Commander Spock), Silas had been comparatively chipper, though the injury was apparently slow-healing, despite being minor.

In it at the moment was a forkful of synthesized eggs. He toyed with it a little, nose in his PADD, before finally taking the bite. Half of his plate had been emptied, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns -- Silas knew what the stuff did to his arteries, he just didn't particularly care -- and the rest was being pushed around his plate while he read over whatever it was that had him so engrossed.

After a moment, he set the PADD down, tapped and dragged something on the screen, and took a sip of his morning tea.

[Penelope Quick]

A tray came crashing down beside his, the bang echoing through the area before getting swallowed up by the surrounding tables. She planted her hands on either side of it, knees on the bench as she leaned over with a grin. "Hi! Uhhhh, Silas, right? Dude, do you ever think about how you have the weirdest old-man name ever? Like when was the last time you saw that name attached to anyone without a beard growing to their knees? Or some old black dude who still remembers slavery, that works too."

She shimmied her legs in, plopping down beside him and leaning into his personal space to read the PADD on the far side of him. "What're you looking at?"

[Silas Alderin]

Silas poked her in the nose with the back end of his fork without even looking up. "Research. And I happen to like my name, thank you," he popped another mouthful of eggs and then finally glanced over, leaning in a little. "Sounds pretty good when you say it right. Like..."

He smirked and leaned over into her ear, "Oh Silas..."

[Penelope Quick]

"Ow!" She jolted back, rubbing her nose and giving him the stink eye. She squinted at the throaty whisper in her ear, and then seemed to zone out for a second. "Dude, I just got the most vivid image of you bumping uglies with yourself. While reading boring research on a PADD at breakfast. Reading before lunch is probably bad for your health."

She brought her breakfast burrito up to her face and took a huge bite, getting beans and egg everywhere.

[Silas Alderin]

Silas stared at her. "You are just the most elegant creature, aren't you?"

[Penelope Quick]

"Elegance is over-rated," she said, through a mouthful of food. "And here's why: Elegant people don't get to do this." She turned and mashed her food onto her tongue, and then showed it off to a sickly looking ensign at a nearby table. He turned green and then scrambled to his feet and ran for the trash.

[Silas Alderin]

"Congratulations," he replied with a solemn nod, "you have successfully just ensured that I never get an erection in your name. Well done."

Silas turned back to his work, frowning and then changing it up again. "By the way, wouldn't it be kind of weird to call yourself by your own name during self-coitus?"

[Penelope Quick]

"Pft, I don't have the external genitalia, anyway, remember?" she reminded him, swallowing her food and then wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve. "And I don't know! You're the one that said oh Silas like that. What else was I supposed to imagine? Unless you can throw your voice or something."

[Silas Alderin]

"I said I preferred external genitalia," he corrected, "I didn't say we were mutually exclusive. I've been known to go internal from time to time."

[Penelope Quick]

She shook her head. "Even bi dudes usually pick one and stick to it, generally speaking. They're not as flippy-floppy as girls."

[Silas Alderin]

"Depends on who it's attached to."

[Penelope Quick]

"Nope," she said, stubbornly.

[Silas Alderin]

"Yep."

[Penelope Quick]

"I don't believe you. Pick a hot girl in here -- there are least..." She glanced around, counting silently. "At least ten in here. Pick one of them and go have a heavy makeout session with her. Then I will believe you."

[Silas Alderin]

Silas very abruptly turned beet red. "I wouldn't do that with a guy either!"

[Penelope Quick]

She stared at him. "Are you blushing? Is Mr. Oh Silas blushing right now?" She burst into laughter and clapped him on the back. "You. Are just. Precious."

[Silas Alderin]

"Oh shut up." Silas snapped, locked his PADD, and stood. "You wanna watch me make out with someone? Fine."

Lieutenant Uhura was sitting a few tables away in plain sight. Penny had said hot.

Silas turned his back on her and took in a breath, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do, and by the time he'd reached Uhura's table, he was blushing to his ears. "Lieutenant? A word?"

[Penelope Quick]

Penny grinned, then turned to watch the show, hand cushioning her cheek as she continued to eat her messy burrito.

[Nyota Uhura (Emmy)]

Surprised by the interruption, Nyota turned away from the Tellarite poem she was reading over her plate of pasta. "Oh, Doctor Alderin, hello," she greeted with a smile, recognizing the man from her visit to sickbay not long ago. "Of course you can. Can I help you with something?"

[Silas Alderin]

"Yes, um--" he rubbed the back of his neck and offered a nervous smile. "Sorry, this is going to sound really weird and I probably really shouldn't even be asking and--okay you see that girl over there?"

He glanced back at Penny, shooting her a quick scowl in the process, and then set his eyes on Uhura before averting them again sheepishly. "She um--" Silas took a breath and let it out, the flush on his cheeks darkening as he spoke very, very slowly, "--she seems to think that I am in deludes about my sexual preferences, namely that I play both sides of the field, if you...if you get my meaning. Um, feel free to slap me in the face, but would you..."

Silas trailed off, biting his lip and looking at his fidgeting hands for a moment of uncomfortable silence before his brown eyes very slowly met hers and he seemed to reach the absolute limit for blood rushing to the head. "Would you kiss me to prove a point?" Help.

[Nyota Uhura (Emmy)]

Nyota blinked. "What?" And then her mind informed her that, after checking, no that last transmission had been processed correctly. Doctor Alderin had just asked her to kiss him.

There was a sharp inhale of breath as her head spun from the force of the blood rushing to her cheeks. "Uhm, uh..." Her mouth worked stupidly and mutely for a few before she coughed through the moment. "Uh, Doctor Alderin, while I am, er, immensely honored you chose me out of all possible candidates -- " was that weird, that sounded weird "--I, I'm not really free to do so, really, uhm.."

Oh god, this was aweful. He looked miserable about doing it, and she felt terribly awkward about being asked, and worse about having to turn that pleading face down, but she really couldn't! He picked the worst person in the entire room to ask. Why couldn't he have asked April, the yeoman one table over, mildly renowned for her...readiness. Or Hannah, who have thought it great fun.

[Silas Alderin]

"Understood." Silas nodded sharply and turned on his heels, walking very quickly back to his table and snatching up his PADD, sparing Penny a rather pathetic "I hate you, never talk to me again" and then hurrying out of the dining room entirely.

[Penelope Quick]

She burst into laughter and collapsed over her meal. The laughter didn't stop for quite a few minutes.

[Nyota Uhura (Emmy)]

It was bad enough how devastated the doctor had looked when she said no. THe fact that he'd promptly turned on his heels and fled the dinning hall was worse. The worst, though, was the girl he'd called Penny bursting out into laughter that he had to have heard as he ran.

Feeling somehow responsible, Nyota chewed her lip for a moment, then scooped up her PADD and tray of largely finished food. Depositing the later for cleaning, she tucked the former under her arm and hurried out into the corridors. Glancing both directions, she didn't spot him. Well, not too much of a hindrance on a ship like this.

"Computer, where is Doctor Alderin?"

[Phinn]

Lieutenant Silas Alderin is located on Deck F, Crew Quarters, Room 6778.