Well you might as well quit, if you haven't got it...

Posted on 17 Mar 2019 @ 6:19pm by Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Stark & Commander Luke Wyatt

2,777 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A, Deck 7, Workout Room
Timeline: MD -160, 1830hrs

[ON]

Wearing his work out gear of grey joggers and shirt, black shorts and running trainers the retired Marine turned security officer strolled at a rather leisurely pace down towards the gym on deck 7 where he would be spending another workout sessions training and sparring with Gabriel. With his location on deck 6, he knew it wouldn't be long until his companion manifested from his quarters and onto the corridor to greet him as they had previously.

Right on cue, Gabriel jogged lightly down the corridor, clad ready to workout in t-shirt and joggers. He lifted a hand in greeting to the boss, grinning as he came to a stand still, settling his hands onto his hips. "Ready to eat my dust?" he joked easily, his eyes shining.

"Usually I'd have the energy to argue with you but you have eleven years on me and I've had one too many knocks. My body just ain't what it used to be" he replied in jest before adding as they began to walk again. "Though I'm sure I could lift more than your little noodle arms could."

"Of that I have no doubt," Gabriel laughed, conceding it easily enough as he slapped the other man's strong arm with the back of his hand. The man was built, that was for sure. "But I *choose* to have my arms like this. It would ruin the line of my outfits otherwise..." he said with a mock serious tone.

Laughing, "Yes well gone the days I need to keep to a line of outfits, I'm all uniform or sweaters nowadays and that suits me just fine. Besides, I'll leave it to the young to do all the flaunting, it's fortunate I'm this good looking." The continued their path talking and sharing banter until eventually making it to the work out room.

Gabriel shook his head with a soft laugh, biting back the comment he'd been about to make agreeing that he was good looking alright. He didn't hide his sexuality, but he knew that Luke's interests laid firmly elsewhere and didn't want to make his boss, and now friend, feel awkward around him. But yeah, there was no denying he was good looking. "It certainly sounds like someone thinks so...."

"I doubt you're talking about yourself even though that could be a possibility" Luke joked walking into the room and turning to place his things on the bench. "So who's been saying what about who, might as well get the rumours ironed out" He said pulling out a drinks bottles and taking a sip.

"Rumour mill," Gabriel admitted with a soft chuckle, lifting his arms as he stretched out, knowing that Luke wouldn't go easy on him. He didn't expect him to either. "Says that you and a certain Chief Science Officer are getting cosy..." he said delicately, but with a hint of playfulness at the idea of the half-Vulcan and ex-marine kindling a romance.

Chuckling as he too began to stretch out his body ready for the ever increasingly exhausting training sessions with Gabriel. "There really is no keeping a secret aboard this ship is there? I guess that's good from a security point of view but from a personal one. Kinda sucks." Changing his stretch he waited a moment groaning as all the kinks in his back worked themselves out. "I and Lieutenant Sandoval are... Getting cosy as you say but we have decided to keep it strictly professional so don't be expecting to come waltzing in to see us in an exposed position in the brig. Is there anything else?"

"Uh huh...." he nodded sceptically, arching an eyebrow as he watched him with slightly narrowed eyes but a small smile. "Strictly professional? Rumours don't start over 'strictly professional'," he pointed out with a soft chuckle, jumping lightly on the spot and shaking his hands.

"Well rumours are rumours I'm telling what is only but the truth, a few dates here and a date their so nothing to get anyone's panties in a twist. Besides Starfleet doesn't have any rules against it." The Ex-marine began to move his hands through the air beating an invisible opponent. "So what's it going to be today? Back, Shoulders and arms? Then best out of three on the mats."

"Well seeing as you think I have noodle arms, we better go with that," Gabriel chuckled, shaking his head as he moved for the bench and weights. He glanced to him on the way, curious over his choice of phrase about there being no rules against romantic entanglements. "You know," he said lightly. "If there *were* something more going on between you two, there's nothing wrong with that..."

Luke moved behind the bench and set himself to spot for Gabriel, this was why it was handy having two people. Though free weights were good for getting tones bodies people tried to put too much on which could result in a number of injuries without a spotter. "Well at the moment there's not, ready? How much weight are you putting on?"

Gabriel glanced to him at the quickness of him batting it away, wondering if there was a touch of defensiveness or bashfulness there, unsure which. Either way, he took the hint and dropped it, settling back as he let out a long breath. This wasn't what he was best at. It was probably why Luke encouraged him to do it more than fitness training. "150 lbs. I don't want you to break me too soon..."

Luke laughed as he placed the weights on either end of the bar followed by the clamps to stop them from sliding off. "160lbs, you always like to start of underweight, come on we'll make you into a fine figure of a man yet." Luke positioned himself behind the bar head end and readied his arms in case Gabriel needed the support. "Ok Let's start with two sets, ten reps with a 30-second pause between the two then swap? And remember quality not quantity but if you can't do 20 lifts I may have to transfer you to the mess hall."

"Blah, blah, blah..." Gabriel tsked at the last threat, getting comfortable and taking control of his breathing as his hands wrapped around the bar. "You're such a hard taskmaster..." he mock complained before starting to lift. In truth, there was a part of him that liked being tested and pushed and stretched. But he wouldn't admit it.

Luke counted Gabriel reps, the young officer had improved over the past weeks and you could see it in his control and breathing. When they started Luke considered sending the man to sickbay to have his heart checked. "Nine - Ten and rest" He said passing Gabriel his water as he finished the first set of ten. "Not so bad huh?" He said smiling.

"Hm..." he watched him doubtfully, catching a breath before taking in some water with need, looking him over. "Did this always come naturally to you?" he asked with curiosity. "I mean, you're built like a shi....well, you're built. Was it always just something you thrived on?"

He shrugged, "I had to become like this, you weren't going to go head to head with a jem'hadr warrior without putting on a few extra pounds of muscle. Its just a hobby now though of course" Luke gave him the nod for the next set.

Gabriel shook his head, settling back down as he let out a long breath, gearing himself back up. "I have to think about my dancing figure..." he chuckled before firming up to start the set. "Can't have *too* many muscles..." he said, strained with the breath out.

"Well you are kinda right you do need to keep a good muscle to cardio ration now ten more lets go!" Luke said in an upbeat tone the music that he had set in the background for their breaks counting down to 0. "And begin."

Gabriel groaned, but did as he was told, focusing in to make sure he didn't screw up. He worked steadily through the set, concentrating despite their banter, ignoring the way his body moaned at being put to heavy work. His uncle would have said he was bred for the rifle, not for the axe. The spark of anger at that man flittering into his thoughts spurred him on to finish the set, firmly pushing up with the last lift and a sound that was something between triumph and evidence of hard work.

Helping the bar into the supports Luke nodded approvingly at Gabriel, "Not sure what you was thinking about for the last one but thought I was going to have too remove the weights from the ceiling." Dusting his hands with chalk Luke waited for the man to move before taking his place. Laying down he test and adjusted his positioning ready to lift the weight.

Gabriel took the spot Luke had held for him, chuckling as he looked down to him with an arched eyebrow. "Is the Marine going to show me how it's done?" he teased. He knew he would. Luke could probably carry on a fully blown conversation without breaking a sweat while lifting.

"Doubtful" Luke admitted giving Gabriel the nod as he lifted the weights off the support. Taking in a deep breath he began his set. Though the weight was less than he was used to the slow steady reps meant that his muscle had to work harder to maintain the rhythm. He strained on the last one giving an extra umph as he placed it onto the supports "Sometimes less weight" he breathed, "at a slower speed as the same effect on the muscles."

Gabriel shook his head with a small smile to him, relaxing at the weights being set carefully back in place. "I don't doubt it, but you make it look easy either way. You know, I was tempted by the marines too."

Luke paused for a moment "Oh really? What stopped you?" He was genuinely interested especially in this line of conversation. Luke settled himself ready to begin the next rep.

Gabriel readied himself too, in case he needed his help. "I wasn't sure I could handle so many rules and being told what to do all the time," he admitted with a soft chuckle. "Especially all the shouting. It would have gone...bad."

He chuckled at that "It's not quite all about shouting, not much any different to Starfleet. You should have given it a go I think you'd have found your place there" Luke set his hands in place and began his reps, moving the weights in an up and down motion.

Gabriel kept a careful watch in case he needed to help him...but he was also watching his face. He wondered if Luke missed it. Or if he'd preferred it there rather than ship life. Or maybe it was different enough not to be comparable. Or maybe he'd changed...different lifestyles for different parts of life. "Well I'm glad you've ended up here. We need a steady hand in the security chair."

Luke finished his set and placed the weights back onto the bar. "Well I can't disagree with you there, We've got a good set of officers and after this six months, we'll be working together like a finely tuned clock. Now let's step this up a notch..." He said.

"Oh man, you're going to kill me," Gabriel laughed softly, shaking his head, but moving around to join him anyway. "You think you can whip me into shape yet?" he teased with a small smile. In truth, Gabriel was pretty pleased with the progress he'd made since his extra training. Maybe confidence was the key to it.

He laughed as they moved over to the two cardio machines across the room and set them on a heavy incline and a high speed. "One you're starting to turn out a bit, and probably my most reliable officer so two I wouldn't want to kill you and even so I'm sure there's something out there twice as scary than me. Ready?" Luke said stepping onto the machine and began running.

"Ready..." Gabriel jumped on a moment later, finding the pace and incline of it before forcing his body to relax into a comfortable rhythm against it. This was something he was more at home with than weights, something he could really push himself in if he had to. "Nah, you're only scary before you get to know you. Besides...you have this grin that could light up a room."

Luke smiled "Thanks, but flattery isn't going to save you from these sessions" the chief teased before giving the nod as the machines in tandem began to roll. The pace at first was slow, easing them into the motion of running before gradually picking up and inclining. "Twenty Minutes should do us, then back to weights and then finish with abbs" He said already feeling the hardship in running.

Gabriel's breath harshened, but his body remained relaxed into the pace, taking it rather than working against it. "It wasn't...flattery...I meant it..." he said across to him between breaths. "Just saying...you turn that smile...on with the...science gal? You'll be...just fine..."

Luke would have responded if he wasn't running at full speed. He was mostly muscle and some cardio and the level in which he was trying to do was beyond him, slowly the machine began to ramp down, his shirt sticking to his chest as sweat dripped from his forehead. Eventually, he came to a stop panting with both hands on either side of the treadmill for support "Oh... To be young" he coughed taking a sip of crisp cool H20.

Gabriel was laughing breathlessly as he hopped down to the side of Luke's machine, reaching out to slap him enthusiastically on the back as he struggled between sucking breath in and the need to laugh. "I'm used to running...it's the story of my life."

"It's not a bad thing, at least now you'll be running at something armed to the teeth alongside the most bad arse Security team ever seen in Starfleet" Luke boasted. With a laugh making his way over to the bench where their bags were.

"Can we get badges on our uniforms that say that, please?" Gabriel grinned, shaking his head as he watched him with warmth. "I don't know, you're kind of making me believe it though..."

He nodded in though "Actually I've been thinking of getting some clothes made up like some shirts, shorts, and hoodies for when we're training. So If you want you can head up the design." Luke had been thinking about it for a while and knew it would be welcomed but couldn't decide on a design. "We'll have a motto on the back at the bottom our names at the top and then a badge on the front."

"You're sure you trust me to design those?" Gabriel replied, but with a hint of playfulness in his smile. It was no secret that Gabriel would appreciate a tighter fit of t-shirt on the well worked out team members.

"There's no one else I'd leave it too," He said with a nod. Their session was coming to an end and Luke needed a shower before going on duty. "Same time again next week?" he offered taking a swig from his drink he had recovered from his belongings.

"Definitely," Gabriel nodded firmly, smiling easily to the other man. It wasn't often he felt completely comfortable around other people, especially other men. He always kept some kind of barrier and wariness up, even if it wasn't always obvious. But Luke made him feel more comfortable, and it wasn't something he took for granted. "Thanks for making the time."

"It's good to just hang out and not be the big bad department head." Luke joked picking up things "Until next time," He said with a polite nod before dismissing himself. The pair lived on different floors so this was his usual goodbye.

Gabriel touched two fingers to his forehead in a mock salute as a silent goodbye to him. He smiled as the doors slid shut, letting out a long, tired sigh. It was a good tired though. The kind of tired that came from hard work...which, afterall, was apparently good for the soul. Yet not too tired to jump in the shower and then head out to the bar in search of some company and a dance...


[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Luke Wyatt
Chief Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

PO1 Gabriel Stark
Security
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

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