About Time - Part 1/2

Posted on 31 Jan 2024 @ 6:19am by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde

1,766 words; about a 9 minute read

Flashback:

Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Regula I - Level 17, Bar/Lounge
MD 18, 1805 hrs

[ON]

Letting out a long breath, Alexion stretched his legs out under the table, groaning softly at feeling the stretch. He took a good mouthful of alcohol, tipping his head back with closed eyes at the very real burn. It had been great being on the station for a while. Bar, mess halls, different walls, more space to prowl, unfamiliar faces.

"Now that looks good," Leon Inaros said as he moved to sit down with him, holding a glass of scotch. He wore a grey jumper, high necked, and his uniform trousers. "Mind if I join you?"

Alexion glanced up to him with surprise before giving a slight chuckle, nodding as he used his glass to motion to him. "You're not at the party?" he'd have expected him to be there by now.

Leon shook his head and sipped his drink, watching him for a long moment. "Not my scene," he admitted, quietly. "After what we've experienced, I sort of...prefer not to be surrounded by them. Also, I noticed the Klingons had booked the other mess."

"How many casualties do you think we'll be patching up by the end of the night?" Alexion replied dryly, his comment agreeing with the inference in Leon's observation.

"Me? None. I will be too drunk," Leon said before he drained his glass, holding Alexion's eyes as he did so. He put the glass down with a smile, his tongue coming to catch a drop that had escaped. "You joining me for that? Get drunk enough so they can't make us patch anyone up?"

Alexion sat back heavily in his seat before taking a deep breath, as if putting a lot of thought and consideration into it. "May as well," he finally replied casually, although there was a glint of humour in his eyes.

Leon laughed, nodding as he gently hit his arm on that. "What are you drinking? I'll get a bottle of it..." he said, pushing himself to stand as he watched the other man. They might as well. Besides, he liked talking to Wylde.

Alexion frowned as he lifted the bottle, clearly having no clue what he was actually drinking. He held it out to read it, shaking his head with a sigh. "I have no idea...it's some kind of ale from somewhere. I'm really not fussy."

Leon looked at the bottle before he smiled. "I can do better than that," he said, his voice soft before he walked to the bar. He returned with a bottle of single malt and two glasses, sitting down close to Alexion. "I'm sure you've had this before. It's Lagavulin, single malt...16 years old, apparently." He opened it and poured three finger's worth into both glasses.

Alexion picked up the glass, breathing in the aroma first. He nodded with approval, tapping it to the other man's glass before sipping it. He let out a sound of appreciation, nodding as he looked back to him, as if with new eyes. "You have exceptional taste."

"Just because we're getting drunk doesn't mean we can't get drunk on the good stuff," Leon said playfully, sipping his own. "And I like the good stuff. Even if I don't always show that I do. Habits, you know?"

Alexion was silent for a long moment, smiling with amusement as he contemplated the words, taking a long sip of the smooth heat. "Does that mean you're posh, Leon? That is the word, isn't it?"

"It is and no, I'm not," Leon said as he shook his head. "I just got to appreciate things that were nicer, in case they were the last time I'd...have it. A perfect day, you know? A sunset, a painting...finely aged scotch..." he raised the glass, to show his point before he took a sip. "Something that you could remember should you be the next body to fall."

"Soldier," Alexion nodded quietly before the motion changed to a shake of his head with a tut and frown. "No...marine," he corrected himself before Leon did. "I can understand that. If you don't know how long something might last, you just enjoy it while you can."

"And the habit has stuck, even if things are meant to be more secure," Leon admitted and took a large gulp of his drink. "Things will get better, right?"

Alexion studied him for a long moment before leaning forward to rest his folded arms on the table. "Depends what things you're talking about there."

"It feels unsafe," Leon said, looking down at his glass, his finger tracing the rim. "Volatile. Like there is an enemy I can't identify. Since...I got sedated..." he met his eyes, briefly, before looking down again. "I go into sickbay and I feel like I am going into battle blind against an enemy I can't see."

Alexion searched his eyes for a long moment, nodding slowly as he listened to the discomfort from the other man. He thought back to that moment, when he'd woken Leon up where he'd been knocked out in Sickbay. How angry he'd been for him. How...concerned. "You don't feel safe," he said quietly, sipping his drink to give him time to think how he wanted to respond.

Leon nodded before he met his eyes. "Not right now, no. Not in sickbay anyway," he sighed and picked his glass up, draining it, before pouring more into the glass. "But that'll pass."

Alexion watched him in silence for a long moment, tapping his finger thoughtfully against his glass before knocking it back, sighing with the warmth before reaching to refill both of them. "And how did it feel with a rifle on your back?" he asked lightly.

Leon chuckled before he looked down as he tried to think about it. Properly. "Well, usually, I'd be in situations where it was genuinely unsafe anyway, so I never thought about it."

"Would that be *because* you had a rifle on your back?" Alexion asked with a small but wry smile, sipping his drink carefully. "It's been a big change for you."

Leon nodded as he watched him, smiling at the way he had said it. "Yes it has. And I know it'll be fine but right now? I am just glad to be off the Ship of Madness and over here, drinking with you."

Alexion gave a low laugh at the words, nodding as he filled his glass up for him, deciding he clearly needed it. "You need a priest," he teased.

Leon laughed as he met his eyes. "Know any good ones who can hear my confessions?" he asked playfully. "With a lot of patience as I recount my sins."

"No..." Alexion cast a wry smile his way as he sat back, swirling his drink slowly in his glass. "A friend of mine used to be one. That is as close as I get. What is this thing about sins?"

"Ancient concepts to make people behave," Leon said softly, smiling as he watched him. "The sin can be emotional, physical...regrets, broken laws...broken hearts..." he winked and took his glass, lifting it to sip as he watched him. "Broken minds. I'm not religious. And I do not have many regrets. But those I do have, they're...deep. People I couldn't save, choices I made, loves I left behind because I was scared of hurting them."

Alexion watched him with interest as he spoke, curious about the things he described. He knew he had been a military man. How much was the job and how much was personal? "How much do I need to make you drink before you tell me some?" he looked to him with a small smile, lifting his own glass.

"Ask me a question.." Leon held his eyes before he took another sip. "And I will answer it. Honestly. And hold nothing back. Okay?"

"Tell me about one of those loves you left behind," Alexion asked unapologetically. The alcohol had warmed and relaxed him. He was just missing some smoke to inhale and a gaming table, then he would have been well and truly in his element.

"Ah," Leon smiled at that, holding the glass to his own cheek as he met Alexion's eyes. "His name was James. He was a writer...I met him after I had just done my medical training, when I was a medic. He had the most impressive smile, wide and eager, and voice like...smooth scotch. He taught me to enjoy a fine single-malt."

Alexion grinned at the way he spoke, seeing the warmth in his eyes. He wondered if any ex-partner would ever talk about him in such a way. Just the thought brought a sceptical chuckle to him. "A writer...ah...erudite...away with the sea..."

"Well, the romance was less...real to him, when my postings were further and further away," Leon said and sipped his drink. "He stopped contacting me and the next time I was on Earth I found out he had moved in with someone else."

"The artsy bastard," Alexion said with a serious, gruff tone before laughing softly, shaking his head as he lifted a hand to motion for another bottle.

"I know," Leon said and grinned as he looked at him, his eyes shining. "I was young enough to be broken hearted, but wise enough to know it wasn't the right time for a lifelong romance."

"Perhaps he made a fortune writing a novel about his heartbreak from losing you," Alexion suggested with a small, playful smile, the alcohol swimming pleasantly through him.

"I bet! What a..." he watched him, eyes narrowed. "I can't even be angry with him, it was so long ago. What about you though?" he raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Did you have some flimsy artist break your heart in your youth?"

"Oh, at least ten..." Alexion waved a dismissive hand, the usually gruff man even laughing softly with it. "I loved that type. So I can see how you fell for James. So...carefree but with deep currents. One foot in the water and one on land."

"Head in the clouds," Leon said before he smiled. "Certainly self-centred. Focused on themselves...burning so bright I think maybe I can catch some of that brightness in me."

"And always destructive in some way in the end...." Alexion chuckled weakly, meeting his eyes and holding them for a long moment. He rubbed his thumb against his glass in the silence before lifting it to knock his drink back. "That's probably why we love them."

[TBC]

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