A First Time For Everything - The First Move
"Umm...yes...well actually I was thinking I could help you. Ripper Equidae, station surgeon. I uhh...thought you might want some refreshment after your performance out there."
OK, that was handled relatively well all things considered, the zebra thought to himself and letting himself relax just a tad. The grey mare smiled and gave a soft giggle, opening the door a little wider.
"Oh, well that's very sweet of you to be so concerned sugar cube, I suppose that is your job no?" She reached out and gently took the glass out of Ripper's hold, smearing the remaining condensation. Raising it up she took a neat sip and sighed, momentarily shutting her eyes as the coolness refreshed her throat. She blinked a little once realising she still had company and folded her ears back in embarrassment.
"Oh, where are my manners. I never introduced myself on stage or here, my name is Cyrillia."
Ah, a name. Cyrillia. Sih-rillia as she pronounced it. Unusual but...it suited her, it sounded exotic, mysterious and... oddly charming. The zebra returned her warm smile and gave a short bow and nod of his head in acknowledgment of her introduction.
"Nice to meet you in person miss Cyrillia. I uhh...should probably say I very much enjoyed your performance out there tonight." He blushed, this time it was visible under his facial stripes and his weight habitually shifted from one side to the other as he tried to ease the feeling of butterflies in his stomach.
"Ah, you were at the bar, right? I saw your handsome face on the welcome roster when I arrived so I thought I recognised you from that. Station surgeon eh? Well I suppose you can come in doctor, there's not much to see in here besides little old me." That was a flirt if the zebra had ever heard one, probably a nod to his constant eye contact with her throughout the evening.
As she turned and came further back into the dressing room, sitting in the padded chair by the dressing table, the zebra took a seat on a little wooden stool just off to the side next to the wardrobe. He noticed an apparent lack of things in the room that seemed to belong to her, apart from a large trunk and a small hovercase that currently sat on the floor next to the trunk. She noticed him looking and smiled, brushing fringe out of her face.
"I'm just passing through on my way to Terra. On the station for a couple of days before my flight arrives and I saw the itinerary, thought maybe I could earn a few extra credits as spending money while I was here." His attention was brought back when she mentioned Terra, nose quieting its twitching from picking up her perfume, apples, spices, fresh grass and just the smallest hint of a sandalwood musk.
"Oh. Terra? I was born and raised there. In England in fact. Are you visiting there or somewhere else?" His ears pricked forward to show interest and indeed, he was genuinely curious. He had never expected to have a decent conversation with the mare let alone even have her accept his offer of a drink. She gladly took another sip of it before replying, leaning back into her chair as she relaxed in the zebra's presence.
"I'm afraid not, but I'd like to go some day. I'm going to see my mother's relatives in the United States first and then I guess I'll have to see about other places."
"Ah, that's understandable. I hope you'll enjoy it when you eventually see it, although I haven't been back in a few years. I should probably go visit my folks some time if I can get some shifts off." His ears splayed outwards at that realisation, that he hadn't physically seen his family in so long. She noticed and nodded, offering her sympathy by mimicking the gesture.
"That would be nice, I'm sure they'd love to see you in the flesh again. That's why I'm going to visit, my grandmother hasn't seen me in...5 or 6 years maybe?"
"3 or 4 for my parents, although I do call them it's just not the same, is it? Well...in advance let me say I hope you have a great time, if you stop by my office before you leave I can give you some extra supplies for the journey if that'd help."
She laughed and he seemed a little perplexed, raising his eyebrow quizzically.
"Oh, well you see I just got here today so I haven't learned where anything is yet. The station layout is...confusing at best. I'm not sure I could even find my departure lounge let alone the medical bay, though I do appreciate the offer. I could really do with a guide while I'm here, I haven't even managed to book a room yet."
The thought didn't even exist in his head for more than a second before Ripper spoke, blurting out:
"I could be your guide if you like."
Once he realised quite how quickly he had spoken and noticed the slightly taken aback look on the mare's face he meekly retreated on his stool, trying to hide himself from the situation and failing quite spectacularly. Cyrillia processed what he'd said, seeming stone-faced whilst she did so until her muzzle returned to a broad, warm smile and her head nodded with agreement.
"I think I'd like that very much, doctor." He gave a mental sigh of relief and came back from his invisible shell.
"Please, I'm off the clock. Just Ripper will do."
"Very well, but you're still going to call me miss, right?" He met her eyes, a mischievous twinkle revealing her teasing suggestion and he grinned.
"If that would please you miss Cyrillia, then I'll keep calling you as such. Unless I can think of anything better." They both laughed then and for the first time since he entered the room, Ripper's butterflies flew away.
They mostly walked and talked, starting with some of the nearby restaurants and opting for Earth-style Chinese food since they both felt somewhat hungry with it being so late. Ripper opted for a beef chop suey, Cyrillia chose the chicken one.
Over dinner they discussed their lives - work, travelling and a couple personal interests (including their tastes in music but mutually excluding jazz from the conversation). Ripper paid the bill, after all she was a guest on the station and one he was now unofficially in charge of, it just wouldn't be right to let her pay. She did at least offer to cover her meal and the zebra simply waved the idea away and explained money was the least of his worries on the station.
As he settled the bill, in the lighting of the restaurant he could just make out a small blush forming on the mare's cheeks and her ears folded back ever so cutely as she brushed forelock out of her face. Although flushed, she didn't seem embarrassed, merely...charmed. That wasn't obvious to the zebra though and he didn't even think twice about it, never having been particularly good at reading body language anyway, particularly on women.
After dinner, Ripper offered to escort the mare to the observation deck and they planned to pass by his office and quarters on their way back down to the hospitality and accommodation areas so that she would know roughly where to come if he was needed, as either a guide or in a professional capacity.
The observation deck was understandably deserted so relatively late on the station. It was just the two equines, striped and silvery forms silhouetted by the light of the stars. You could see the relatively nearby sun off in the distance to the port side. The trio of planets known as the "Little Pigs" was also visible, so named due to their increasing order of size and overall shading of pink thanks to their exotic climates and variety of foliage present on their surface. Most transports, particularly in the budget classes as Cyrillia had been travelling in, did not offer external views and as such, she gasped and leant on the deck railing in awe as she took in the view.
They talked more about travel up here, about how beautiful the view was and how many more such observation posts there must be in the Federation to explore in a lifetime. After Ripper had pointed out the various constellations such as "The Great Orangutan" and "Kali's Widow" and the mare had taken enough time to look, she turned and admitted how tired she was and no wonder, it was soon to be a new day with the gentle cyan of Ripper's watch helpfully showing @994 .beats.
He offered again to show her down past his office and quarters as planned and then onwards to the accommodation deck. She agreed and then unexpectedly, leaned over to give him a smooch on the cheek. This caught the zebra off guard and he blushed furiously, simply rubbing his mane. Cyrillia had her own blush as they accompanied each other back to the lift and down to deck C.
"So, this is my office and the sick bay. It's not so bad after a while but I can understand why people don't want to hang around and... over here is my quarters, you'd be welcome to come by while you're on the station, to either place." Ripper smiled and flicked his ears forward at Cyrillia who nodded in response, seeming to take a moment to familiarise herself with the surroundings just in case. They were stood outside of the plain grey door of his quarters now and both figures looked weary, but still awake enough to pay attention to every word the other spoke.
"Good to know doc, though I don't plan on getting sick while I'm here. Umm...do you know the going rate for rooms on the accommodation deck? I didn't get chance to book up on the inbound cruiser."
"Just avoid the vending machines on G deck and you'll be fine for sickness." He chuckled, remembering his patient from earlier in the day. "Last time I checked, it was...about 80 or 85 credits for a single with shared bathroom...maybe 120 for an en-suite? I can't say I keep up to date with it having my own place and all." He nodded at his door as her ears folded back and she took a sharp intake of breath.
"That's uh...pretty steep for somewhere so backwater huh? That's not going to leave me much for the journey at those rates even with my pay from the bar..." She frowned then and looked down at her hooves, Ripper's ears slid sideways in empathy and his smile lessened for a minute while he thought. He really ought to bring that point up to the Captain about the quarters being expensive.
All evening this mare had seemed joyful and so open, so happy. To see her so withdrawn and down about such a relatively small thing was so...well...unbearable really. He thought quickly, an idea pinging into his head and he raised his muzzle into a sympathetic smile, perking his ears forward and gently tilting her chin up with his soft hands having established from her kiss and their time together that light contact might be OK.
"Hey now, chin up. You're here for a few days, right? I have spare blankets and towels, an en-suite and shower. You'd be welcome to stay with me, it's not like you'd be imposing and it'd save you that money."
"Oh...no I couldn't...that's hardly fair after you showed me around and paid for the food earlier, you've been so kind already." She blushed, this time visible in the light of the hallway and Ripper huffed, grin widening at how cute the grey mare looked right now.
"Then I'll just have to insist, won't I?" She looked at him, saw the wide smile on his face and the twinkle in his eyes, big zebra ears perked forward and how...tall and handsome he looked. With flushed cheeks and ears back, she leaned in, stood on her tippyhooves and kissed him right on the lips, a quick smooch but it felt like an eternity. Ripper's cheeks shaded red once again, the colour becoming visible through his stripes and he averted his gaze, holding off the urge to kiss back having never been much of a kisser anyway. To the outside observer, it was obvious where the night would be heading, but to a naïve zebra? He was just flattered he'd made such an impression to get such attention even if it did make him feel quite peculiar.
"That's so sweet of you to offer... I'll have to find some way to pay you back."
"Umm... no need for that, it'd be nice to have company for a change, so consider any debts paid!"
Without further delay he placed his black-skinned palm on the glass screen to the right side of the door. It gave a small welcome chirp, then swished open with the slight hiss of pneumatics. He led the way inside as the lights automatically came on quite dim because of the time it was. Enough light to see by, but not enough to hurt weary eyes.
Cyrillia followed him in, black dress swishing from the draught as the door swished closed again. She mixed watching and looking at her surroundings as Ripper went about getting her a blanket from a tidily hidden cupboard next to his display screen, also fetching a towel and placing that neatly on the wood-effect table in what was effectively his living room. The quarters were by no means large, but certainly more comfortable than one of the accommodation rooms would be. A few personal items were dotted around that caught her attention, mainly pictures of utopian cities in various times of day and small, tribal-looking sculptures or pictures of feral zebras. Cyrillia was taking all this in until the zebra spoke again, blinking and returning her focus realising she might've seemed a bit rude openly looking round someone's quarters as she had been.
"You can have my bedroom if you like, door's just next to the kitchen there and bathroom's through there too. If you need anything, just let me know." He stood there and beamed, a warm feeling spreading through his stomach as he saw the slight admiration on the mare's face and the same cheeky spark in her eyes as he had seen all night.
There was something else though, a similar fire to the one he'd first glimpsed in the bar which had initially disappeared but slowly regrown all the time they'd spent together. Whenever he caught that look, his butterflies would flare up and his cheeks would heat like a rock in the desert, though thankfully without developing a full blush. On occasion, that feeling had been intense enough to make his sheath twitch and stir, which was a completely new sensation when intended towards a lady. Never had anyone made it do that just with a simple, sultry look.
Cyrillia slowly walked over and felt the fabric of the couch, shaking her head and then taking the blanket and putting it back into the cupboard she had watched the stallion retrieve it from. She then turned and giggled, seeing the bemused look on his face. Sauntering over, that gaze intensified as she locked eyes with the zebra and got closer to him, all night this feeling had been building and now? Now it burned hotter and fiercer than it ever had before. Now she had her chance to act, a chance to show just how those small, infrequent kisses and this stallion's generosity had truly made her feel.
"If it's OK with you, I'd prefer not to put you out of your own bed...perhaps we can share? I'll pay extra..." The mare had pressed herself up against him, cleavage squishing into the region just under his pecs because of their height difference. She could feel the warmth of his body even through that jumpsuit, practically feel his heartbeat and her own as she shuffled in close, leaned up again and kissed...and didn't stop. Not even when she slid a finger coyly from his crotch all the way to his shoulder and draped her arm over to take hold of his neck, brushing at that striped mane. Not even when he startled slightly and flinched to try and pull away, then gave in to the rush and started kissing back. Not even when his hand slid to her hip and pulled her in closer, crotches pressing into one another and causing muffled moans from their owners as desires pulsed in unison. Not even as muzzles opened, tongues met and tastes were exchanged; cherry and alfalfa hay, citrus and mint. Neither of them stopped.
After a minute or so she pulled away with a soft sigh, the zebra doing the same and rumbling slightly, both flushed red and huffing breath. They gazed into each other's eyes and saw the same emotions, though Ripper seemed confused and... worried? She reached out and stroked his cheek, sensing the hesitation.
"What's the matter zeeb? Something's troubling you." In embarrassment at his core feelings being struck so easily he averted his gaze and rubbed his mane, right on the spot she had stroked during their kiss.
"That was fantastic...tonight's been fun showing you round and all and... ah jeez. I just...I've never been this close to a woman...never really felt quite like this or uhh... gone this far, it's all a bit new and..." A finger to his muzzle caught his coltish rambling and stopped it short, Cyrillia giggling and smooching his nose as she took her finger away.
"You never struck me as the typical kind of stallion, you haven't made any kind of lusty move all evening and you've been nothing but honest, truthful and kind. I respect that and... I like it...a lot. So maybe, if it's alright with you..."
She paused and reached around her back, keeping eye contact with the zebra and focusing his attention on her actions. There was the sound of a zipper, his left ear twitched and locked on to the sound, eyes watching as her sequin dress slackened round her shoulders as she brought her hands back around to the front.
Cyrillia had a cursory glance downwards towards the zebra's crotch and saw a prominent bulge, biting her lip to stifle the groan of lust that the view generated and half-lidding her eyes as she focussed on it. It seemed perhaps more prominent and filled out than the other times she had stealthily glanced tonight. She brought her hands back around and lifted her gaze, locking eyes again.
"There's a first time for everything."
She subtly rolled her shoulders and her dress drifted slowly, elegantly to the floor.