2022-04-25: Choosing to Stand Together
- Cast: Rena Lancaster, Eight York
- Where: Londenion, Side 1
- Date: U.C. 0096 04 25
- Summary: Despite having been romantically involved for awhile, Rena and Eight decide to make it official. It's a big first step. It also comes with a resolve to try to make the world better for it.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Londenion has a large, vibrant sector at night. Filled with shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, and scenic walks down brightly lit avenues... well, it makes one of the best spots in Side 1 for a date. Which is what Rena and Eight, somehow, are on. It is both the first date and the millionth; in the past, though, Rena studiously avoided calling it a date. She always made something else up.
Her ashen hair has a braid in the back, and she has dusted her cheeks with a glittery make-up -- including the shimmering imprint of a star under her left eye. She also has a black sleeveless shirt on, with an open button-up shirt over it (with a blue, white, and black tartan pattern) and a skirt. She walks next to Eight.
She is a little flushed, being hand-in-hand with her. There is some embarrassment; Eight picks up on that. But, happiness too.
"So..." Rena says. She pauses. Then she stammers. "Do I look okay? I was so worried. Oh my God. I overdid it, I totally overdid it, didn't I?"
Well... she's trying.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
On leave, Eight York is familiar with that vibrant sector, and while the Ra Mari is parked for maintenance and so on, she takes her time here. ...But it's more important and special, because she's taking that time with Rena. Rena always made something up before, but this time...
For her part, Eight is definitely out of uniform; she's in a short red dress, shoulderless, with a neckline up at her collar but a great big-ringed zipper down the front, and shiny boots. Her makeup is done up with a lot of shadow, and deep red lips--her bare arms show off a little tone. And... she is hand in hand with Rena!
"You look great," Eight enthuses, and Rena can feel how sincere it is. "I especially love the glitter..."
"It's nice when you sparkle."
She leans over and presses a kiss to Rena's cheek, gently. "You didn't overdo it at all."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
It isn't lost on Rena that feeling awkward and shy about the date but not what comes after is a little backwards. But, this is new; there are people watching, though it's more like a glance than a stare. She walks along with Eight, hand in hand, and she steals a glance sideways at her. She does look for a little while, because she has been attracted to Eight since...
Well, ever since she figured out what attraction is.
"I'm glad," Rena says, with a smile. She flushes, ducking her head down, and blinking her eyes once. Her fingers squeeze Eight's hand back. "I'm glad we got some time. So..."
She glances sideways at her. "And I'm glad you like the way I look, too. I've wanted to do this for awhile." A beat. "I'm sorry I'm... you know. Kind of a mess." Another beat. "A lot of a mess."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Maybe a few stares; they do stand out. Eight, for her part, is used to looks; it's easy to be attracted to a tall woman with a great figure who knows how to accentuate her best features. ...But she's liked Rena for that and more for a long time, too...
"Me, too. I've been so busy lately, I was wondering when I'd get a chance at all..." And now, a real date! Eight keeps her hand in Rena's, and when she glances her way, Eight looks back--and gives her an easy smile. "You're more fun as a mess," Eight declares. "It makes it more fun later tonight." With a wink, Eight leads them on across the next corner, to where they're heading.
"But I mean it. I like you as you are, you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"O-Octo!" Rena whines. But it's true; and it's a fond whine, besides. She wouldn't trade Eight teasing her for the world.
She looks at her and weighs her response for a moment, as she sees the easy smile on her face -- and feels the weight of her words. The truth in them. Her mouth opens; Rena hesitates a moment, before a smile breaks across her lips, and then she nods her head. "...I know," she says. "I can tell. Sometimes you like me even when I don't really like myself."
She looks back ahead. They're walking towards an outdoor attraction: a holographic tunnel, which shows beautiful light shows, with small stalls and booths selling food, drink, and some little souvenirs. Rena keeps walking with her.
"...So..." She hesitates. "...Is it okay if I admit I'm a little scared of how this ends?" She glances sideways at Eight again. "Once we're done with the night, and we're back at the hotel... and we're putting a label on this."
She hesitates. "On us."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight grins at that use of her nickname. She's happy to tease. ...But as Rena thinks abou it... Yes. It's true. "Remember that," Eight says to Rena, and smiles at her a little more, even as she looks ahead. She keeps watching her aftershe turns, without seeing the tunnel at first. Oh, she'll look at it, and it will be very pretty, but... so is Rena.
"If you didn't admit it," Eight answers, "I'd have to find a way to bring it up. So it's OK." She knows, she means; she can tell. Eight is still looking at her when Rena glances back. "I understand. ...It's a change, for one. Change can be scary, can... change things. And even aside from that..."
"...Having something 'real' is having something we can mess up, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"I will."
Rena hesitates for a second -- then, a little nervously, she nudges closer to Eight and tries to encourage her to put an arm around her. To keep her closer, somehow, because she wants a little closeness and she wants it to be public. Even if she feels embarrassed about it, too. She glances sideways at her, then, and she smiles.
She still looks a little nervous.
"Yeah," she says. "That's it. I can mess it up. Mess us up." She looks down. "That's scary, Octo. But..." She bites her lip. "...I don't want to just keep lying to myself about who I am. Or what I want. Or who I want. I'm not sure if that means I'm a coward, that it took being scared of two things to decide something, but..."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight gets it quickly--her eyes light up a little with realization, and she slips an arm around Rena, leaving her other to rest on her small purse on the opposite side. It's definitely public, obviously affectionate. ...Rena can put up with a little embarrassment. It's fine.
"Mm." It's not hard to see how Rena feels. Eight... well, Eight is more comfortable with relationships, with labels. That's been true for a while.
"That's not cowardly," the blonde tells her girlfriend--if she can call her that, now. "It's the opposite. You're scared of it and you're doing it."
"...You know me. I like honesty about these things. But it was worth waiting for you to be ready for it--it still is. ...The thing about it being an 'us' is..."
She nudges Rena with a hip. "We both have a part to play in that."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena doesn't mind a little embarrassment. But, Eight knows that well, now; Rena has learned to trust that to Eight. She smiles, and she leans her head over onto Eight's shoulder for just a second. She is taller than Rena, after all.
"I guess that's true..." She trails off for a second. Then, Eight does a hip check -- and Rena squeaks a little. Her cheeks flush, but she smiles and does it back. That is a little hard for her to do, but she has fun with it. "...that's true. It's both of us working at it. And... and I'm not sure, if I'm ready for it. But I'm ready to not pretend."
She slows a little, as she walks. Then, finally, she slows to a stop, and she turns Eight around to face her. Both of her arms slide around the taller woman's neck, and she sighs, as she looks up.
"...so..." She swallows. "...That means I'm your girlfriend, now?"
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight has a nice shoulder to lean on. And she tilts her head onto Renas for that moment, before she keeps talking--and listening.
Eight's smile persists through Rena's squeak, widening slightly for a moment. It's sometimes hard to do things that are fun! "Mm-hm. So you'll have a hard time ruining it on your own, you know." Ready to not pretend...
Eight slows, as Rena does, and sets her hands around Rena's waist, looking down into her eyes. As often happens, she's struck by just how pretty Rena is, in the moment.
"Mm-hm," Eight answers, a gentle confidence in her tone--in her face. "You're my girlfriend, now. ...I'll take good care of you."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"That's true... we can balance out," Rena says. She looks thoughtful; not entirely without nervousness, after all that, because she always will worry a little. But she stares up at Eight, fondly. She has never doubted that she can trust in Eight.
It is a little unfair, sometimes. Rena can be almost unfairly pretty. It goes hand-in-hand with a lot of other things about Rena that can be rather unfair. But, it's a lot more relevant, right now; it's rather independent of how smart she is, of her reflexes, or anything else. She stares up at her, her make-up glittering.
"Then... I'll be relying on you, to do just that," Rena says, quietly.
She closes her brown eyes and -- very deliberately, and with a flush of embarrassment -- leans up, pressing her lips to Eight's in a kiss. Far from their first, but the first someone else could see.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight does not think she's perfect in relationships herself--she figures it'll be more mutual than balancing out Rena's messing up with Eight's work. ...But she knows how much Rena trusts her, and she doesn't want to make her think she can't; so she smiles, through that worry. "We'll do it together," she says, and that's good enough.
It is unfair... But it's an error in the universe in Eight's favor, as far as she can tell. Maybe it's unfair that she gets a girl like Rena. ...She's happy, all the same.
"I promise," Eight assures Rena about taking care of her, and leans down, pressing her lips back to Rena's. She lingers, there, kissing for more than just the moment it takes, a longer one that can definitely be seen, even if she could have gone farther... it's enough for now.
"You've always taken good care of me already."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
To some extent, Rena doesn't see it yet -- that Eight isn't perfect in relationships. But, with time.
She smiles, as Eight pulls back from a kiss that went much longer than it had to. She smiles up at her, and it's a little dreamy; her brown eyes are swimming with emotion as she looks up at her. She opens her mouth -- then she closes it again, but never stops smiling. "I'm glad."
She keeps her voice quiet. "I... worried, you know." She hesitates. "That all of you followed me to Londo Bell, that it's so much harder and more complicated than I thought. That I'm... not really sure, if I'm doing the right thing, Octo."
She looks down. "I worried I'd ruined all of your lives. Yours, especially." She hesitates. "And... I know it's stupid. Annie told me that's not it. And I believe her."
She hesitates. "But it's hard to not be scared, too."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight's had a lot of practice. But Rena will see more of her, as they take the time.
Eight beams back, happily looking down into those emotion-filled eyes. Eight makes no secret of her feelings in the moment; warmth, affection, even love. They radiate from her to those with the ears to hear, brightly. Even with what Rena says then...
"Yeah," Eight says, "That's fair. It's a big change for all of us, you know? Going from civilian life to this... And this isn't exactly... knight in shining armor stuff, all the time, either."
"Honestly? I don't think it's stupid. This choice could get us hurt, or even killed. It's fair to worry about it; the stakes are pretty high, you know? The worst I'd have had to worry about in hockey is some broken bones probably. ...Not that I could've gone pro, but... you know?"
"It's OK to be scared. ...if I'm being honest... I wonder sometimes, too. Am I doing the right thing? Everyone's counting on me. ...It's stuff I can't talk about on the ship."
"So instead of saying it's stupid, or wasting your effort trying not to be scared... I'd say..."
"Let's face it together, OK?"
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena's emotions are easy to pick up. Some embarrassment, yes; but there is happiness, and love, and those stay even when she has her doubts and worries. After all, with Eight, she can express them. She can really only do that with a few people. Her eyes squeeze shut, as Eight explains -- echoes some of the same things she has felt and feared. They aren't knights in shining armor.
Sometimes, the work is less than glorious. Sometimes, she wonders if it's the right thing.
She leans forward, burying her head against Eight. The difference in heights is enough that, ducking her head down, Rena can lean her face just under Eight's neck. The top of her head is against Eight's chin.
"...yeah," she says. "That's it. I..."
She nods. "Yeah. We'll face it together," she says. "And... and we'll make it better. It's gotta be better than this, Octo. And if no one else will do it, then I want to."
She isn't sure what she is saying.
"I want a better world," she concludes. "I know I've said you'll have to share me... so I hope you can share me with that dream, too."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight, above many things, thinks it's important to be able to express feelings. That matters, she would say. And so she does.
"...Yeah," Eight agrees, and puts arms around Rena as she leans into her, hand to the back of her hair gently. "Mm."
"...Yeah. If we reach the point where we can't be proud of what we're doing... then we'll just have to do things we can be proud of, instead."
Eight hugs Rena close. "...I can," she says. "That dream is part of why I feel like I do about you, you know. I'll be right there with you. I want to see that dream come true, too."
"...I think..."
"...I think we can do it."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Yeah," Rena says, her voice staying quiet. "We'll make sure... we don't become something we hate."
The thought is there. Something Rena is too scared to voice: that she doesn't become her. The image is there, in both of their minds: a woman with Rena's ashen hair, but ice blue eyes and a smile that is full of kindness and lies. A woman who hurt them both. A face they can't banish or forget. She doesn't say more. She can't.
But she doesn't have to.
She clings to Eight, and there is a little tremble. "...thanks," she says. "I'll try to find the courage. To make it a reality. To keep walking forward, on my own two feet. And..."
She swallows.
"If we're both going for it... I think we can, too."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"Right."
The thought is there, and Eight feels it; she can't help but stiffen almost imperceptibly, look just a fraction of a second distant, at thinking of that face. Even after all these years, her reaction isn't completely neutral about her anymore. ...But she doesn't see her in Rena; she never has. And that's not the feeling she has.
"You will," Eight says. "I know you will. ...And you can borrow a little of mine on days when you don't feel too brave. That's what it means to be together, right?"
"...You'll be able to stand with me. And I'll be able to stand with you. We can do it, together. Just like you say."
She smiles. "...Might make a few people unhappy in the process, as I'm thinking of it, but... It'll be worth it."
She hugs her again.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Thanks, Octo. I'll probably have to borrow more than a little." Rena looks up at her -- and she smiles, then, even as she leans backward a little to get a better view.
"It is. We'll stand together," she says. "And... we're not alone. I know the others will be with us, too. They believe in us." She hesitates, for a moment, and then Rena smiles. She sees Eight working through it -- and she tilts her head to the side.
"Probably," Rena admits.
Let them be unhappy, though. She sighs, and then she hugs Eight back. It's tight, and she has her face against her. Rena stays quiet, then, and closes her eyes. She feels happy, even if she's scared. She lets Eight feel that feeling, too.
She is happy to stay like that, for just a little while longer.