Old Friends
Posted on 27 Mar 2016 @ 7:28pm by Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D. & Petty Officer 3rd Class Ellsworth Hudson
2,381 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission:
Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Jupiter Station, then USS Galileo, Deck 2 - 02-0203 SO
Timeline: MD81 - 1500hrs
[ON]
After his presentation, Oren found himself surrounded (read ambushed) by three young anthropology students, all full of questions and comments about his work. Although he usually enjoyed speaking to people, students were the one group Oren avoided like the plague. It was one of the reasons Oren has turned down countless offers to teach at several universities. He'd even given up after his short dip into academic waters on the Galileo after only a month. It simply wasn't for him.
Eventually a couple of more students joined their classmates and Oren found himself surrounded, like an ambitious cat owner during feeding time.
"Pardon me," Ellsworth said, interrupting. Somehow his voice actually boomed like a play's director throwing demands across a stage. It brought the group-speak to an immediately end, and he took advantage of the silence to wedge himself between two of the students. The break in the ring seemed to cause them to lose their cohesion, which Ellsworth quickly capitalized upon. "I'm afraid Dr. Idris is needed at a reception, if you would excuse us."
Most took the hint and scattered; the remaining received a withering look from the young Betazoid as he dragged Oren away. He'd based his performance off Pieter Van Zyl, who was, in his little world, the embodiment of authority. And he must have pulled it off pretty well because they'd all disappeared, giving Ellsworth the freedom and enter his favorite space: in Oren's embrace.
"Mmm, my sexy professor," he grinned, giving him a peck on the lips.
Grinning into the kiss, Oren wrapped his arms around Ellsworth, relief washing over him now that the other, annoying twenty-somethings were gone.
"You made it," he said once they pulled away from one another. "For a minute I thought you wouldn't show up." He knew it wasn't like Ellsworth to leave Oren hanging, but he also knew the symposium was beyond boring to anyone outside of the scientific fields, so he wouldn't have blamed Ellsworth for opting out.
"What! No. Come on. Stop," Ellsworth said, putting a flat hand against Oren's chest to shove gently. "I was in the back. They almost didn't let me in cuz I got held up. This big burly Andorian guy said no one could come in while presentations were underway, which is nonsense. So, I just told him I was Dr. Voutilainen's assistant, and that she'd left some critical presentation data on this PADD." He patted his pocket, which, of course, contained no PADD. "I stayed at the back, so I wouldn't bother anyone. And I got to see almost everything. I, uh... Didn't necessarily understand everything. But I saw all of it. All of you."
The young Betazoid's smile turned amorous, maybe even a little starstruck.
"I was a real sight, too. Talking off topic and then running my mouth," Oren said, trying to look nonchalant but feeling decidedly embarrassed that Ellsworth had seen such a terrible presentation from him. He didn't care if the subject matter didn't interest Ells, he wanted to impress him. Which he clearly hadn't, considering the horrid conclusion of his presentation. He blushed, laughing in a self-deprecating manner as he tried to shrug it off.
"Hair all perfect," Ellsworth said, reaching up to brush at a few strands. "Clothes well-fitted. Smile bright, voice engaging, eyes forward and impassioned. Clearly a well-educated individual with vast experience..."
"Stop," Oren said lightly, leaning into the touch. "You're too sweet." He relaxed slightly from his ordeal at Ellsworth's affection, happy that they had gotten rid of the tension from the past few weeks.
"No, you stop," Ellsworth teased, grabbing Oren by his shirt to pull their lips together. "Why are you making me kiss yo-... Uh-oh. Incoming." His eyes were focused beyond Oren, over his shoulder toward the crowd. Someone was approaching on a direct trajectory, much to Ellsworth's annoyance. "Approaching on your six. Looks like some nerd." His eyes shifted back to Oren, and he grinned.
Oren grinned back, leaning in conspiratorially. "I hate to break it to you, but there are nerds everywhere. Including in your arms right now," he said, whispering the last before pulled away to look at the newcomer.
Taking in his polished appearance, it took Oren several moments to recognise the man.
"Alain? Is that you? What happened to your face?"
"They're called wrinkles, Oren. You'll have them some day." The man's voice was deep, and he spoke in a Betazoid accent. As he came close, Oren stepped away from Ellsworth to give the new man an affectionate hug.
"I haven't see you in ages!" Oren stepped back, smiling at Alain. "Are you presenting?"
"Not this year, but I did work in the organization," he replied, glancing quietly between Oren and his...friend? Realising his rudeness, Oren took Ellsworth's hand.
"I'm sorry!" he apologized, smiling at Ellsworth. "This is my boyfriend, Ellsworth Hudson."
Alain smiled politely. "Dr. Alain Mir." 'A pleasure,' the telepathic message came soon after, and Ellsworth felt a probing presence in his mind as Alain attempted to get a read on him.
Ellsworth had the mental response of placing an open palm in the stranger's face, a not-so-subtle cue to back off. Other Betazoids made him nervous enough as it was; speaking to one another telepathically reminded him too much of his homeplanet, memories he wasn't keen on relishing at the moment. Without realizing it, he was also frowning.
"A pleasure to meet you, too, Dr. Mir." There was a lingering pause that went on too long to be polite before Ellsworth cleared his throat. "Uh, did you work with Oren?"
"Yes..." the man trailed off, narrowing his eyes slightly at Ellsworth before turning back to Oren, smile back in place. "In fact, we were partners on a dig on Drina IX when Oren left me in charge of the project to go to Romulus."
"Ugh...here we go. Yes, leaving the day before a breakthrough was stupid, but I enjoyed my time on Romulus."
"I never thought I'd hear those words from the same person who thought acephalous societies were the best."
"We all grow," Oren grinned.
"But at what cost?"
Ellsworth smiled politely whenever any attention seemed to threaten to turn itself in his direction, though that was (thankfully) rare. They quickly devolved into using words he'd need a dictionary to use - neither of them belonged to a field with which he was familiar - so his mind started to wander. He'd been about to change his mind on science symposiums, but in the end it turned out they were every bit as boring as he thought they'd be.
The exchange went back and forth as Oren bantered with his old friend, mostly focusing on their ridicule of each other's field. It felt good natured and neither looked insulted at the words being thrown around, so it came as no surprise when the suggestion of them all having dinner together came out.
Oren looked over at Ellsworth to hear his thoughts, not wanting to presume.
"Hmm?" Ellsworth asked, snapping his eyes and his attention back to the pair. It took his mind a moment to review everything he'd been half-listening to in order to catch up on the conversation. "Dinner? Oh... You two... Go on ahead without me." He brought a hand to his right temple and furrowed his brow for effect. "I have a bit of a headache, I should probably lie down."
It took all of Oren's effort to not look too disappointed at Ellsworth's answer, both to not appear too needy in front of Alain and so that Ellsworth didn't feel pressure to join him.
"Okay..." he nodded finally, smiling before kissing Ellsworth's cheek. "Are you coming over to mine tonight? I won't be gone too long."
"Of course I am," Ellsworth said, answering Oren but, tellingly, directing his gaze to Alain. He forced a polite smile, which, being forced, didn't seem all that polite in the end - more warning than anything - and then hastily slipped an arm around Oren's waist. He dipped in close to return the kiss on the cheek, then side-stepped as a precursor to departure. "See you soon, babe."
'Won't be gone long' proved itself almost too true as, not even two hours later, Oren carefully made his way into his quarters and immediately reached for his uniform jacket to take it off and throw it over the first available surface. "Ellsworth?" he called, though kept his voice low, just in case the Betazoid was taking a nap.
A pair of black eyes appeared over the couch as Ellsworth pulled himself up slightly, just enough to see. His hand grasped the back of the couch to take some of the strain off his abdomen, and he watched Oren. Something about the eyes was slightly off - not hurt or wounded, but softened beyond what they usually were.
"Hi."
Oren smiled at him, looking almost relieved to see him despite the short amount of time they'd been apart. "Hey..." he said, voice still soft as he rounded the couch to see Ellsworth sprawled out on it. Lifting the Betazoids legs, Oren slipped under them to sit before depositing them back onto his lap. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I feel better. How was dinner with that guy?"
His name, Ellsworth recalled, was Alain, but he didn't want to lend the man any legitimacy by showing that he remembered his name. The whole brief encounter had been very confusing for him, and he wanted to try to minimize it. He didn't like the way it had made him feel. There was no reason for him to have disliked Alain, but how often was reason involved in the way one felt?
"It was alright." Oren shrugged, running his hand up and down Ellsworth's calf. "I missed you," he added with a smile. "It's not fun listening to him overuse the word 'eclectic, without someone to share looks with."
Ellsworth stretched to more comfortably place his legs in Oren's lap as not-so-subtle encouragement. "I missed you, too." He hesitated. He looked at Oren, then looked away. The admission was not only painful but also embarrassing: "I couldn't keep up."
"Keep up with what?" Oren felt confused, but also saw that it was important to Ellsworth that he try to understand.
"You two! Like, what's a cephalepsus society, or whatever?" Ellsworth lamented, then leaned forward a little bit with outstretched hands like he was stopping Oren from something. He felt like if he left him, the anthropologist might try to actually explain it. "I just felt... Weird. I don't know anything about that stuff. Not unless I study it ahead of time. I used to do that... Sometimes. With clients, study stuff. So if we were going somewhere, I could follow the conversation. And I just... I don't know. You were so... Animated. And excited."
Oren opened his mouth to apologise but stopped short, knowing it was the wrong thing to do. Instead, he was honest. "I love what I do, I like talking about it and I haven't seen Alain in years." He wasn't sure what the root of the issue was, but continued, treading carefully. "Why did you feel weird? I don't care that you don't know anthropology..."
"I know," Ellsworth practically whined, stretching his legs as he did so just to give his body something to do with the restless energy that came from not knowing how to explain one's self. "But, like, that'll never happen between us. We'll never have a conversation like that. You'll never get that excited talking to me about that stuff, not like you were with that guy. And, I know that's okay. But it also made me... Like, what was I going to do? Just sit there and stare into space while you two talked about...whatever? I don't like that. It kinda makes me feel dumb." Before Oren could say anything, Ellsworth quickly sat up. "I know I'm not dumb! But it makes me feel like it."
Oren just nodded, not knowing what to say. What could he say to that. He knew Ellsworth wasn't putting himself down he certainly didn't need Oren telling him some cliche they were both tired of. Instead, he sat there quietly, continuing to caress his legs for a while longer. When he finally spoke, he sounded more determined, less like he had to carefully choose his words.
"I'm sorry you felt left out," he started, but then quickly moved on from the apology. "You don't ever have to do anything you don't feel comfortable doing. Including going to dinner with boring people with me, if that's what you want."
Ellsworth pulled his legs out of Oren's lap and pivoted on his knees so that he was leaning forward, face-to-face with the El Aurian. He grabbed his face in his hands, kissed him fully on the lips, and smiled. He kept his hands there, gently cupping his lover's face as he spoke, "I know the things I feel aren't always...right. Because I want us to be able to do separate stuff. I do. As long as we come home to each other." He cut his eyes to the side. "And as long as you're okay with me being a little jealous and weird or whatever sometimes."
Oren smiled coyly, resting his arms on Ellsworth's shoulders. "I kind of like that you're jealous," he admitted, kissing Ells again.
"It's not very Betazoid of me," Ellsworth admitted, feeling some heat rise in his cheeks from the embarrassment of the admission. To take the focus off it, he playfully started leaning his weight more and more against Oren, trying to force him backwards while following up every inch of movement with a kiss. "But I am. I want you all to myself, Oren Idris. Nobody can blame me..."
"Good thing you have me then," Oren said softly before pulling Ellsworth in and allowing himself to fall back against the couch.
[OFF]
Lieutenant Oren Idris
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo
PO3 Ellsworth Hudson
Quartermaster
USS Galileo
[PNPC Mott]
RSS Feed
Back to Top