Betazoid Holiday Part 4

Posted on 29 Dec 2015 @ 9:28pm by Lieutenant JG Grayson Jones
Edited on on 29 Dec 2015 @ 9:32pm

5,137 words; about a 26 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Betazed
Timeline: MD30 - MD 52

Continued from Part 3...




=== The Ceremony, 4 days after arrival ===

“This is it,” Tyrion whispered as they stood waiting in a small room. He was visibly nervous though over the last two days he’d been able to say hello to at least most of the gathered family. He looked Grayson over and smiled, appreciative of the compromise they’d been able to reach with his mother regarding Betazoid tradition. Tyrion however was dressed completely according to Betazoid tradition, as he had agreed to. “I have to say Gray, despite all our hard work in the last days, and knowing this was coming, I’m still nervous. I feel...vulnerable.”

"You are telling me," Grayson looked down at his own partially covered form (flesh coloured, skin tight underwear with faux Trill spots). "More than just the whole...attire or lack there of. I'll admit, I'm glad we are doing this, that it has seemed to help mend things between you and your family, I wish things were a little different. It would have been nice to see some familiar faces out there, Oren, K'os, Doyle, Stace..." he moved over beside his lover to link arms and gently rest his head on Tyrion's shoulder. Despite this about to become the happiest day of his life, in that moment Grayson had never felt more alone. A small tear escaped from his eyes and began to meander down his cheek, "It would have been nice to still have some family of my own to be here."

“If we could’ve managed to get family here, we would’ve but you said there are none,” Tyrion replied somewhat sadly, “and we can always redo it, in a properly dressed fashion, aboard the Galileo when we get back, can’t we? Just a quick reprise for our friends? I know Piet wouldn’t have wanted to miss this, he’s my best friend.”

Tyrion paused as music started to play and held on tightly to Grayson’s hand. “Time to head out there and show we’ve nothing to hide and are sincere about this,” he whispered, his voice shaking ever so slightly.

“Maybe just a party and some kind of blessing ceremony thing,” Grayson shook, his own nerves starting to show. It wasn’t too long before his trademark personality traits took over and he threw in a joke, “It isn’t too late to back out you know, you are about to be stuck with me forever,” he giggled and squeezed Tyrion’s hand just as tight.

“I’m already stuck with you forever,” Tyrion laughed back, starting to pull him along down the isle. “Let’s do this!”

Grayson froze the pair in their stride for a moment, tears already beginning to well in his eyes, “I love you Tyrion,” and he placed a kiss on his lips before picking the pace up again and allowing his very soon to be husband lead the way.

The Betazoid just smiled as he led his fiancé towards the front where an official was waiting for them. He shivered and felt the goosebumps on his skin, but he held his head high in pride, his black eyes belying the emotion he felt. “Here goes nothing,” he whispered, only for Grayson to hear, while listening to the official start his official speech and lecture.

Most of the ceremony went past Grayson in a blur, he had to concentrate to put the fact everyone was naked to the back of his mind. He held onto Tyrion like his rock and anchor in a torrential sea. Having been warned the amount of telepathic energy would be a lot, he was not quite as prepared for this. The new mental defences he and Tyrion’s mother had been working on were holding well, but he could not help feel light on his feet. This time though, he was not to faint and remain standing the whole time. His body became so sensitive to touch though, it was almost as if he could feel the blood rushing through Tyrion’s linked arm. If this was part of the ceremony or not, he was unsure.

Tyrion wasn’t either, never having attended a Betazoid wedding before. But when it was all over, he sighed in relief and turned to his new husband. “In Human weddings, this is where one kisses the bride,” he murmured, “but there’s no veils, and no brides here today….just us. Nothing I say or do will even remotely signify what you mean to me. So everyone will just have to use their own imagination on what this means.” He leaned forward, cupping Grayson’s cheeks with both hands before allowing their lips to touch. “Let’s go….get dressed and prepare for the party. I’m sure mother has something to say to us.”

Grayson allowed his hands to wrap around Tyrion’s waist as he enjoyed their brief, tender, yet thrilling kiss. “I’ve said it before and I will say it again...you always know the right thing to say, getting dressed right now would be a most excellent idea,” the newlywed stated, “plus, it would be nice for us to get a few moments alone at some point today,” he smiled as they headed off.

“We’ll have all night,” Tyrion suggested as he allowed himself to be pulled along this time. It was nice to be alone for a few minutes even if they didn’t really have much privacy with Tyrion’s family hovering close by. “There’s mother,” he nodded as he pulled on his freshly pressed trousers. They were made of a fine tan linen, as the weather was warm and a suit would just have him melt.

Grayson too was putting on a similar linen suit with an open white shirt as his mother in law, now it was all official, approached. Mentally he swore and hoped Tyrion did not pick it up, he was awaiting some kind of negativity towards him.

“Congratulations boys,” Cessily smiled, she would have hugged them both if not for their state of semi dress, “that was a wonderful service, you both did so well,” she beamed with pride. “It all went much, much better than expected. Practically none of the family have had anything negative to say, or think about it. There is old Uncle Cyrus though, but then...he always had marched to the beat of his own drum, hasn’t he?” She continued to smile unnervingly so to Grayson. “Make sure you get ready quick though and head down, there are speeches to be made, presentations to be done. Just, be prepared to explain your particular set of circumstances to some of the family, there will be a lot of questions.”

“Particular set of circumstances?” Tyrion glanced from Grayson to his mother and back. “What do you mean by that...we met, we fell in love, we bonded and we got married. A little quicker than planned but still… And what presentations?”

“The whole two boys falling in love, it is rare in our family circles, not everyone is as forward thinking as your mother here,” she joked...badly, “just a warning not to be surprised is all. And yes, presentations, gifts and such people present to the newly weds. I looked up Earth traditions and it is customary to bring gifts to help you in your new home or in your case, shared quarters on your ship. I do hope you think about settling somewhere more permanent for your, what is it, shore leave? Where we can all come visit.”

Giving it a moment’s thought, Tyrion nodded. “Of course,” he promised quietly, “but it’ll take some time to find suitable property. It’ll probably be on Earth though, with Starfleet being headquartered on Earth.” Now fully dressed, he reached out to his mother and gently kissed her cheek. “Thank you mother, for everything.”

“Anything my darling boy,” she quickly corrected herself, “boys.” She smiled and started to walk off, “Now, take your time, but don’t take too long.”

“Just a few minutes to wrap our heads around our new status,” Tyrion promised, then turned to Grayson after his mother had left. “You know...there’s only one final thing left to hash out, really…”

“What is that handsome?” Grayson asked, very much still in the overly loved up zone.

“Do we keep our own names?” the Betazoid asked seriously, drawing Grayson closer to him. “Do we share names? How does this work?”

“We keep our own I’d say, we may be together, but are still very much our own people love,” Grayson smiled. “I mean, it would change if and when we had kids, hyphenate for them, but I am good where we are.”

“I don’t mind either way either but yes, use both in the event of children. I’m glad we agree.” Tyrion smiled. “Let’s not keep them waiting now, they might think we’d never come out.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Do tell me one thing though, there will be drink available? I don’t think I’d last all night with so many people around without it,” Grayson laughed. “Then we head to bed, together I hope.”

“Quite likely and I’ll keep you from getting drunk. We would want to remember our wedding night, wouldn’t we?” He smirked playfully, referring to their very first night together where -in truth- nothing had really happened.

“I may need to get drunk,” Grayson gave another little laugh, “but don’t you worry, we will remember our wedding night, for many years to come. You won’t know what hit you tonight Tyri,” he teased suggestively as he playfully wrapped his arms around Tyrion’s waist and kissed his neck.

“I won’t?” He shrugged. “Well then, all the more surprise for me I think? Are you ready to go face judgement with me? Be all smiles until our jaws hurt and we want nothing more than to escape? I figure, we can stay an hour or two before we can make our escape. I don’t want to spend the entire afternoon and evening with family, I want to spend our last day here with you.”

“We have to, you know, pack,” he continued, finding more reasons to allow them to escape for a while together. “Lead the way love, and you’ll need to do all the introductions and I will try to be polite. I’m not looking forward to any awkward questions like your mother suggested.”

“They’ll only be as awkward as we allow them to be,” Tyrion commented dryly, “and I don’t even know over half of my family. I’d say...we stay two hours and then sneak off.”

“I’m up for that,” Grayson grinned as he put the finishing touches on his suit. Looking over at his new husband, he could not have been happier in that moment. While he had no real family of his own to speak of, he was now looking over at his own, it was little, but for him, it worked.

“Then let’s go,” Tyrion smiled, “and we’ll be above whatever nastiness some of them may throw our way. What’s most important, is that our family matriarch accepted it and blessed the ceremony, and that’s what counts most.” He chuckled. “I’m more concerned about what our friends will say when we get back. “

A look of panic came across the once happy half Trill’s face, “Oh no… I think that will be worse. Doyle and Oren are going to kill me,” he half joked, “Maybe we should call them later and give them a heads up...and some time to process it all before we arrive back.”

“Or we surprise them,” Tyrion suggested, casting his new husband a devlish smile. “I’m feeling particularly devious right now.”

“Why don’t we save that ‘till we are alone,” Grayson flirted, pulling himself close to Tyrion, nose to nose before lowering his head to kiss his neck.

“We are alone,” the Betazoid countered, tilting his head sideways a little. “But we really should show ourselves before mother sends someone in to retrieve us.” He grabbed Grayson’s hand and pulled him along. “Come on.”

Grayson grumbled, but followed along.

They stayed for three hours in the end but then, quietly slipped away from the masses to find somewhere quiet to spend the remainder of their evening. In the morning, they would be boarding a transport back to the Galileo, and then it would likely be back to work not long after that. “Did you enjoy today?” Tyrion asked quietly as he pulled Grayson into his bedroom. No more separated nights now, he reasoned, so they might as well use his room.

“A lot more than I thought I would,” Grayson giggled, still enjoying the effects of the alcohol he had consumed throughout the evening so far. “Less awkward questions than I thought, more happy people and hugs,” he tripped up over his own feet, falling into his husband’s arms and began to enjoy their embrace.

“Careful there,” Tyrion chuckled, catching him as he fell. “Fortunately I hold my liquor a little better than you do hm? Is there anywhere you want to go before we leave in the morning? Besides saying goodbye to my family? Our family…”

“Nope, I’m just happy to follow along. We could always come back to catch up on things and with people,” Grayson slid onto the bed, chest down and allowed his body to sprawl out for a bit. “Maybe somewhere we can get a larger transport back? I don’t want the first few nights of our married life to be spent cooped up in some small bunk together.”

“We do have more time to arrange transport back love. I did book larger accommodations for the way home the moment mother told me that she wanted us to get wed. We’ll have a room to ourselves, with a nice big bed.” He smiled. “Wouldn’t want you to fall out, would we?” he smirked at him.

“Long as you hold me tight,” Grayson smirked back as he sat up. “Joining me?” he asked while removing his jacket and shirt, his skin a little sun kissed over the past few days in the very few times he got to relax in the sun.

“You know I won’t say no to that,” Tyrion laughed, instantly stripping the clothes off of his body, casually tossing them over a nearby chair. “This is after all our wedding night, which kind of has certain expectations of a couple, doesn’t it?” This time, his smile was somewhat careful. “At least we’re not expected to show the sheets huh?” he muttered, slightly embarrassed. “In some cultures, it’s required...to show the bridge was a virgin.”

“Well, we would be in big trouble there with our past exploits, wouldn’t we?” Grayson gave a soft chortle, thinking of the kind of night they would have ahead. He fully expected to be tired tomorrow and in more than just hangover pain. Pulling his body closer to fill the gap, Grayson was close enough for the pair to feel their breath against each other’s bodies. His knees kept wobbling on the edge of the bed, not that his face would show that.

“Oh...we’re inventive people, we would’ve found a way to cheat it,” Tyrion commented wisely, “not that it matters...neither of us is a woman so that won’t fly regardless.” He wrapped his arms around him to keep him from falling off then brushed his fingers across Grayson’s temple in a show of affection. “We’ve done this several times before love, it really shouldn’t hurt, and I think, the alcohol you’ve consumed will help. And I’ll be careful as always, I promise.”

Pulling his lips to Tyrion’s ear, “Babe, maybe tonight's the night you aren’t as careful...I want it to be a little, rough,” Grayson blushed but continued the rest of his speech in a series of mental images that would only be shared with the pair in their most intimate moments. “If we don’t loosen up a little tonight, when will we? In every way now, I’m yours. Take me into what is now a marital bed and show me that.”

“It does go two ways,” Tyrion reminded him gently. “Our bed, I like that thought though…” He smiled as he started to peel Grayson’s clothes away. “And all night. And tomorrow, a new time for us both. Married, who would’ve thought when we left…”

=== Next morning ===

Tyrion woke in a daze, feeling a little disoriented and lightheaded. The sheets were cool against his bare skin and he was more than aware of the warm body beside him. He sat up and moaned as everything rushed back at him. “Oh my head,” he murmured, though he felt as if he’d gone through a triple exercise routine in only a matter of hours. And what time was it anyway?

The cuddled in form of Grayson was cast aside as his new husband woke. He was still very much asleep and would take much more to wake him, as such, the body of Tyrion which was in his arms was quickly replaced by some nearby pillows. Laying his head back down, he cuddled into the pillow’s chest unaware someone was speaking.

Turning his head at the commotion, Tyrion smiled and ran his hand over Grayson’s cheek before leaning over to kiss the spot he had just touched. “Time to wake up love, we have a transport to catch after breakfast and we have to say goodbyes,” he whispered in his ear.

Some kind of grumble came from Grayson’s throat as he rolled over, taking the pillow with him. On some level, he was not ready to wake up and leave. Last night had been perfect, he was not ready for it to end.

“Gray?” Tyrion yanked the pillow from the man’s arms, watching him intently. “C’mon love, get up.” He narrowed his eyes a little, still trying to will the pounding in his head away.

Finally coming to a little, Grayson finally spoke, “Either let me cuddle in again, return the pillow or I want a divorce,” he joked. “We still have some time, it is the morning after our wedding, people will expect us to come down later than usual.”

“Do they? You can read minds now?” the Betazoid teased, while gently smacking the pillow against his husband’s body. “You’re not getting to cuddle in until when we go home, and I’m not giving this back and I am certainly not letting you get a divorce.” He grinned as he watched him. “If you want it, come get it.”

“If you know what is good for you, you will give me my hug,” he smiled, waking up a little and sitting up in the bed. “And hold on, till we go home? Not on the transport? That’s three days and very unfair,” without warning Grayson pounced for the pillow allowing the covers to fall off this body and let the cool air touch his skin. The thrill of the chill was enough to waken Grayson fully and giggle a little too.

“As soon as we board that transport we’re going home,” Tyrion clarified, then yelped as he was pounced upon. “Hey!” he exclaimed as he fell back and got tangled in the sheets that fell away from his husband’s body, “that’s not fair.” He held the pillow out of Grayson’s reach, occasionally challenging him by smacking it back against his body. “It’s my pillow anyway,” he added, echoing Gray’s giggle.

“Hey, that pillow is now half mine anyway if you want to play that game,” Grayson continued in his quest for the ever illusive pillow. “Well, when we do get home, just remember that if we move into my quarters, the bed is mine, the pillows are mine. All mine,” he grinned like a cat and continued in a jovial, mocking and musical expression, “Mine, mine mine,”.

Laughing uncontrollably as Grayson clambered all over him, Tyrion did his best to keep the elusive pillow out of his reach. “Well, come get it then if it’s yours, yours, yours,” he challenged between fits of laughter which no doubt could be heard all the way into the living room.

Eventually Grayson managed to straddle his legs over Tyrion and pin him down. Sitting back on his feet he was able to pull the pillow free and hug it close to this chest. “Wonder if it is too late to marry the pillow. At least it hugged me this morning,” he moved off his lover and back to his own side of the bed. “I mean, you would think on the morning after our wedding night, and what a wedding night might I add, my new husband would want to roll over, wrap his arms around me and enjoy a half hour of blissful peace snuggled up together.”

“Oh we were snuggled up good,” Tyrion muttered in defeat, “but I have a bad headache and I’m hungry, and I would love nothing more than to stay in bed but we’re expected at the breakfast table. So...maybe we can snuggle later, when we’ve time to do so? Please Gray… I need something into me soon, and I do mean fluids. And food.”

“Guilt me into it then why don’t you?” Grayson sulked slightly as he got up and sat on the edge of the bed. “But I expect a really long and special snuggle later when we are alone again,” he winked as he got up from the bed to find his clothes from the night before. He would need something to wear to head back to his own room to get fresh clothes. There was one slight problem though, his underwear was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh you’ll have all the snuggles you want and need later,” Tyrion promised as he leaned down to duck under the bed. “Here….”

“Thank you babe,” he leaned down for a quick kiss as he put them on. “Give me time to get ready and we can head down together?”

“Sure. I’m going to take a shower. You might want to dress light, it’s already quite warm outside, and no doubt we’ll having breakfast out in the garden.”

“Linen shorts and a semi open button down shirt it is then, I think I have some nice shoes to fit that,” Grayson replied, mentally coordinating his outfit on what was his first big appearance as an official part of the family. He scratched at his chest, thinking if he should quickly remove the few stray hairs on his chest before heading down.

“Always the perfect dresser,” Tyrion teased as he slipped into the bathroom, “want to choose my outfit too?” He poked his head back out around the doorframe and chuckled. “No-one is going to notice unless you keep thinking about them love. Though there should be some wax in a cabinet somewhere...”

Grayson then wondered if his lover wanted him to keep them or not. “I guess joining you in the shower is out of the question?” he semi joked, thinking of his own need for a shower and potential water savings they could have if the showered together.

“Now why would that be out of the question?” Tyrion questioned in return, “have I ever said no to you on that front?”

Removing his underwear...again, Grayson stepped into the bathroom without saying a word to join his lover.

Already enjoying the warmth of the water cascading down on him, Tyrion was aware of Grayson coming in and he held out his arms. “This is the best part of the morning,” he confided in a whisper, “even better than cuddles. Just us, in here and a load of warm water and lots and lots of bubbles. Wish we had this on the Galileo, but alas, sonics only. But...maybe we could do this on the holodeck once in a while? Have this spa day?”

Taking his natural and instinctive place in those arms, Grayson pondered the idea of a spa day, “That would be nice, couples massage, access to a pool to ourselves, steam room and spa.” He started thinking through lists of available programmes or how long it would take him to create it himself. “As long as there is some kind of beach near by too, the heat here has done wonders for this tired Engineer’s body,” he continued, allowing the water to freshen him up.

Reaching for the shampoo, Tyrion poured a generous amount over Grayson’s hair and started to lather it up to a nice amount of foam. He purposefully modeled his hair to stick up in all directions and smiled mischievously. “I’m sure that can be arranged, after all we can adjust any program to our own needs and whims, right?” He ran his still soaped up hand across Grayson’s jaw, then giggled as he studied him.

“You’re mocking me, aren’t you?” Grayson giggled, feeling the shampoo run down his face, close to his eyes. “Some of us can adjust programmes, some like me try things and end up breaking everything. I can fix the physical parts of a holodeck, don’t ask me to go in and change character parameters. They all come out the same, robotic and dull.” It was Grayson’s turn to play with Tyrion’s hair, using the shampoo to make his head resemble a hedgehog.

Closing his eyes to protect them from the soap, Tyrion chuckled. “What characters when it’s just you and me in there? I meant adjust so we have a warm beach and things like that. And you forget I’m a hacker, I can get anything done with a computer. Anyone’s computer, to be fair.”

“We need people to tend the bar, be the masseuse, have a bit of life of people around...if we wanted them,” Grayson grinned, “unless we wanted to walk around naked the whole time. Which, I may not be comfortable with should the holodeck break.”

“Depends on the program love, if we enter clothed, and the program has parameters to change our outfit, then as soon as the program ends we should be wearing what we started with. Right?” He wrenched his eyes closed as he felt something trickle across his eyes.

“True, but, not the same...if you know what I mean,” he took a hand covered in water and moved the shampoo foam away from Tyrion’s eyes.

Reaching blindly, Tyrion started to wipe the foam from Grayson’s hair. “Of course I do, but I’m telling you how it might be. But even if it malfunctions we still have clothes available and we can get them on before any maintenance arrives if we are trapped inside.” He shrugged. “Or we put on a ‘do not disturb’ sign outside the door.”

“Option two is good,” smiling, Grayson planted a small kiss on his lovers lips as he drew himself closer. The water was finally removing most of the shampoo and returning his hair to a relatively normal height.

Rubbing his hands through a final time, Tyrion brushed it back and smiled. “I love it when you do that,” he breathed, savouring the kiss just a second longer, “but then I love you near me regardless. And I’m actually glad this happened now, even though it really caught me unawares. I never expected mother to pull this one on us…”

“Yeah, I kinda thought she hated me and was going to murder me in my sleep at first,” Grayson rest his wet and weary head on Tyrion’s shoulder. “Although, we are in the shower, naked, on the morning after our wedding day. Perhaps this isn’t the time to bring up family members.”

“Well we have a certain family member to thank for this particular morning,” Tyrion reminded him, wrapping his arms around him. “And I’m glad you said yes, I really am. I’m happy Gray, and for the first time in my life, everything feels as it should be.”

“I think we better get a move on,” Grayson giggled, “or with talk like that, we are going back to bed. But yeah, I am thankful. Right here, in these arms...these strong arms, I am home. I have family.”

“And yet, you’re stronger than me,” Tyrion reminded him, playfully squeezing his biceps. “But yes you have family. Family who’s kept waiting if we don’t get a move on indeed. And I’m still all soaped up!”

“Nah, you are the strong one babe,” You know I’d crumble if you weren’t around, he continued in thought. “Right, let us rinse off and head down. I still have to go back to the room my stuff is in and pick up my outfit for the day,” he finished, quickly allowing the water to rinse his body clean of suds.

“You were doing fine before you met me,” Tyrion soothed, “and you need to dress me too remember….I’m not as...uhm...educated… as you are, when it comes to attire.” He turned the tap off and reached for a towel. “Probably quicker if I do this myself,” he chuckled, “you go ahead and use it as a skirt and go get your stuff.”

I wouldn’t have done so well on my own much longer, Grayson gave a throwaway thought as he exited, forgetting Tyrion would hear it. “Stylish is the word you are looking for,” he winked. “Oh and for clothes, blue three quarter lengths, white t-shirt and a blue oxford blazer. You’ll find the missing items you need in my case. Wear those nice brown boat shoes you have as well and we will be a lovely matching pair our first morning.”

“See? I’d never have come up with that,” Tyrion chuckled, as he shooed him off. “I’ll see you outside in ten minutes.”

“I’ll be waiting,” he gave one last parting peck on the cheek before heading to his own temporary room to get ready.

To be continued

Ensign Tyrion Faye
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant j.g. Grayson Jones
former Chief Engineer
USS Galileo

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