OxO with @Davadio

Ronnie wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. He couldn't help smiling into the kiss. His heart was attempting to hammer its way out of his chest, and he wondered if she could feel his pulse racing. Her hands in his hair drove him a little nuts, and a small noise escaped the back of his throat.
It took a conscious effort to keep himself in check. He hadn't asked Arriss's boundaries, only to violate them immediately.
He pulled back from the kiss eventually, getting his breathing under control, his eyes still closed as he rested his forehead against hers.
…………
Romulus gently nudged her back onto the floor in mock offense. "Excuse you! I'll have you know that I only flirted with the girls on this ship, and there are only 2 of you, and one is taken! Hmph." He frowned, an exaggeratedly angry expression. "Every girl in existence, my foot!"

His smile grew, and when Ronnie opened his eyes, they were full an emotion Arriss had seen him trying to hide before.
"I love you too, Arriss. So, so much."
He sat up, sliding his hands down her arms and eventually holding her hands.
"How, uh… how long have you felt this? Just out of curiosity…"
……..
Romulus grinned up at her. "Maybe, but… I'm more than just a flirt." He was working very hard to keep the conversation light. The mention of his flirtatious ways had made him laugh, but if he wasn't careful, he was going to dredge up… more hurtful topics.
"Besides, you both flirted back, so I don't see why I'm the only one getting labeled a flirt!"

His arms tightened, without Ronnie really meaning to. Arriss just felt so right, like she fit here. Her answer was a bit longer than he'd anticipated.
"I, uh…" He swallowed hard. "It's not been that long, actually, since I realized it. I'd been… in a bit of a mess when I came onboard, so… it took me a while to figure out my emotional state, and longer after that to really open up. But. It's been a bit now that I would honestly say I've loved you." He hoped that answer didn't bother her.
…………………………
"First off, it definitely wasn't." He winked at her as he moved his massive legs to make room for her on the couch. "And secondly, sweetheart? That's a prime example right there!"

Ronnie squeezed her hand. "I mean… that's kinda up to us." To be fair, he'd not been in a relationship with the kind of physical boundaries Arriss had. It would push him to build something more meaningful, certainly. But even so, every relationship lasted based on the efforts of the people in it. "We can make it last, if we're willing to work at it."
…………
"Oh. Well then." Romulus wasn't sure whether or not to believe her, but he turned his hand over so she was resting her hand in his palm.
"….. you feeling a little better?" That had been his whole point, and he didn't want to gloss over what she might be feeling by assuming she was ok. It could just be a brave face.

Ronnie twitched, just a little, when she traced along the back of his neck. Arriss seemed intent on teasing him in all the ways he liked.
"I'm down for some sleep." he said quietly. He'd been unconscious, sure, but it wasn't the same.
She kissed him, and Ronnie didn't want her to pull away this time. Her hand on his face, the curve of her lips as she smiled… he could have lived in that moment forever.
Still, she pulled away and turned around, and he took a second to collect himself, before snuggling up to her.
He was out like a light.
…………….
"Good." he said quietly. "I'm here for that." He looked at her for a moment, before his gaze turned more far-away, more distant. "Here to help…"

Valiel was also half asleep, though she immediately sat up and looked at him. "Me too, but… would you… could you…" She was trying to lead up to him sleeping in her room, or him in hers. Her loneliness had begun to subside, here in Ronnie's room with her crew around her, but the thought of Conner leaving had caused it to spike again.
……….

Romulus smiled and briefly leaned into her touch, before shaking his head. "No, everything's fine. Just thinking." He looked at her for a moment, some unreadable expression in his eyes, before his smile widened and he nodded towards the bed. "You should get some rest. It's late." He stretched, his muscles rippling under his skin, and Mercy was struck with the reminder of exactly how big he was. 6'6" of blonde muscle stretching within arms' reach leaves a bit of an impression.
However, that smile assuaged any nerves his body brought on.

Valiel smiled and nodded happily as he filled in the blanks for her. She squeezed his hands and followed him out the door.
"Thank you, Conner."
……….
Romulus had to grin at her slight blush, and her choice of words. "Oh don't tempt me. I don't think you want me crawling into bed next to you." He was pretty sure she'd meant they could switch, but the chance to tease was too good to pass up.

Valiel watched him get comfortable, her expression happy, gentle. "Goodnight, Conner." She didn't curl up next to him this time though. Rather she jumped and shifted in mid-air, to a strange octopus looking thing with fur. Her legs, or arms, or tentacles reached up and suckered her to the ceiling, and she hung there, sleeping upside down like a bat.
………….

Romulus's eyebrows shot up, and he had to laugh.
"Wow. Um, I'm going to pass." He shook his head a bit. "I might not have weird ideas, but my body does its own thing. I'll stay over here."

"Shorry." Her voice hadn't changed, but her mouth was no good for English like this. "I chan schange, ifv iyou wand?"
…….

Romulus grinned at her. "That's because I did say it." He rolled into his side, his face falling once he was at an angle where she couldn't see him.
"'Night, Mercy."
He fell asleep thinking troubled thoughts.

Valiel laughed quietly, and shuffled over so she wasn't directly over him. She was asleep soon as well.
……….
Valiel's circadian rhythms were different, and she woke up before Conner. She dropped onto the floor and sat there, watching him, but just for a moment.
She had research to do.
…..
Ronnie's earpiece didn't buzz like Arriss's had. He figured he'd wake when she did, and he was right. Her movement woke him, and he smiled up at her sleepily. Though he was gonna fall back asleep quickly if she kept stroking his hair like that.
……….
Romulus was lying there awake, thinking, and when Mercy came and sat down, he sat up, smiling at her. "Morning. Sleep ok?"

Ronnie made a sleepy noise, more of a grunt than anything else, that turned very pleased as Arriss kissed him. He kept his arms wrapped around her till she seemed ready to slide out of bed and get ready.
He lay there for a few more minutes, just watching her, his eyes still dozey.
……..

Romulus smiled at her, his eyes tired. "Just thinking about a lot of things. I'm glad I was able to help you, though, that was the main thing on my mind."
…..
At that moment, Moro-12 kicked on in all of their rooms. Conner, Kirk, Arriss, Ronnie, Romulus, Mercy- all got the same message.
"Commander Verrick is requesting your presence in ten minutes in Briefing Room 1C. Please make all effort to be there."
……
Ronnie blinked, and scrambled to get ready.
Romulus just went to freshen up, not bothering to change per se. He could shower later.
Valiel heard the message, and woke up Conner, shaking him gently. "Wakey wakey, sleepyhead… you're needed."

Valiel had helped him and hurried him along, though she was sad to see him go. She wound up going back to her room and doing some more studying.
Still lots of necessary research.
……….
Ronnie and Arriss had hurried up to the briefing room, hand in hand, and had gotten there about the same time as Romulus and Mercy. There was a tense moment as Romulus and Ronnie locked eyes again, before the literally bigger man nodded at the door. "We better head in."
Ronnie had nodded at him and gone in, and both of them had done the same thing.
They'd placed the girls on opposite sides, so that they were shielded from the other man. Almost like it was on purpose. Kirk and Conner had been left places in the middle, which they filled.

Commander Verrick was sitting at the head of the long oval table. He smiled that awful smile of his, and spoke.
"Welcome and good morning. Have you all met?" When they looked around and nodded, he went on. "Have you talked about backgrounds much? I think it's important we be open here. We're going to go around and mention education, former jobs, major skillsets and other relevant things. Starting with Arriss over here." She happened to be on the end so he settled on her.

Ronnie smiled at her. "Harvard, huh? Nice." The college was incredibly old and very prestigious. He'd known she was smart, but he hadn't known that.

Commander Verrick nodded. "And as a result of your piloting skills, as well as your high credentials, you were selected as Captain of your vessel, so add that to your resume. That's a skill."
He moved on to Ronnie. "Mr. Vale. I believe you've got a list a mile long. Go right ahead."

Ronnie's grip on Arriss's hand tightened, just a bit.
"I clepped highschool at 14, went straight to military training on Luna, and spent three years there as spec-ops staff. I then joined a permanent black ops team and was responsible for the completion of multiple missions over the next 8 years. In the last year, I was reassigned to Arriss as ship's engineer and semi-security. I have certs in sniping, demolitions, insertion/extraction, CQC, piloting, and a background in engineering and mechanics as well."
He kept his eyes forward, delivering his report to Commander Verrick. Not to anyone else.

Romulus, down the table from him, had a hard look in his eyes. It had only gotten worse as Ronnie talked more.

Commander Verrick nodded, and moved to Conner. "You're up, my friend."

(you're totally ok! takes me forever to respond anyway)

"Very good. It would seem you potentially have the least education, Conner. Which isn't bad, it just means there's more things for you to learn from us." He smiled, before turning to Kirk. "And you?"

Romulus could feel Mercy's disappointment, emanating from next to him, and he took a second. Closed his eyes, relaxed his jaw, and intentionally put it aside.
When he opened them, he glanced at her apologetically.

Commander Verrick nodded at Kirk. "So some potential gaps to fill in for you as well." He glanced at Romulus, before skipping him and going to Mercy.
Her description was interesting to him. "Dr. of Psych, huh? Well. Still some gaps to fill where space is concerned, but you're valuable regardless.

He came back to Romulus. "And now you, my hulking friend."

Romulus nodded slowly. "Born an raised on Callisto. Went to graduated highschool and went to straight to bootcamp on Io. Joined a black ops team and a counterintelligence unit and never looked back. Was involved in an altercation in the Kuiper Belt and was sent home. Wound up on a 6 man team, scavenging, and got picked up here. Certs in heavy weaponry, demolitions, vehicular handling, power armor, CQC, and armor design and prototyping."

Ronnie's expression didn't change, but his face seemed locked down during this.

The Commander nodded slowly. "I'm getting some tension from this group. Something I ought to know?"