The Morning After the Night Before

Posted on 20 Jan 2019 @ 9:30am by Petty Officer 3rd Class Constantin Vansen & Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Stark
Edited on on 21 Jan 2019 @ 5:08pm

2,829 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Gabriel Stark's Quarters
Timeline: MD -181, 07:00

[ON]

His body felt so heavy. His head throbbed even before his eyes opened. Breathing was hard and there was something warm on his chest, adding to the gravity and difficulty breathing. Vansen made a small sound in the back of his throat as he woke up, reality getting through to his muddled brain. Alcohol burned his medication quicker than anything else, including adrenaline. So while he had been fine some hours ago, he was now feeling the effects of it.

He opened his eyes and looked down, seeing dark hair on his chest. Wait, what...? he stopped and remembered, slowly, the party, the drunken kisses, hands groping. Gabriel. That was his name. Gabriel. He dropped his head back and looked around, swallowing. And these were not his quarters, meaning his hypos were out of reach. Embarrassment flooded him. How could he have been so stupid to go out without his hypos.

"Stay still, you're comfy..." Gabriel groaned, trying to settle down and ignore the headache and complaining stomach from the mammoth hangover that had already developed. He sighed as he gave up though, slowly, carefully trying to sit up, groaning as he covered his eyes for a moment. They'd left the lights on. That was weird. Actually...

Gabriel looked down to the man in his bed. Constantin. He'd scored a handsome guy at the party alright. But...he frowned as he tried to remember what had happened the night before. He remembered kissing those soft, full lips...and even stealing a feel of the fit body as he partly undressed him. He looked down at himself and then Constantin...both of them were still half clothed.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes as he tried to get more of the night back. They'd clumsily tried to get each others clothes off, but were too caught between trying to touch what was being revealed and getting the job done. He'd gotten Constantin on the bed who had fallen invitingly back onto it...and Gabriel had, of course, fallen on top of him with a half moan, half laugh. He'd kissed him then, a shiver provoking kiss which had left him wanting more....but he'd never gotten it. Mid kiss, the two of them had fallen into a drunken, deep sleep on top of each other. He'd scored a hot guy at the party alright, but didn't actually get laid.

"Son of a bitch!" Gabriel threw his hands up into the air with frustration at a lost night of sweat and heat. "Ah...computer, switch that bloody noise off!"

Constantin groaned as he moved his hand to cover his eyes. "We never got there," he murmured before he let the hand drop. He was pale and sweating, not just from the hangover, although the throbbing behind his eyes told him it was a massive contributor to him feeling this bad. He looked at Gabriel, taking a slow breath. They were bare chested, Gabriel's trousers were undone but that was...it. And he suddenly smiled weakly before he touched his cheek, feeling the skin of the other man. He wasn't in so much pain not to appreciate the fact that Gabriel was stunning. And then real life came to him and he groaned, trying to catch his breath.

Gabriel chuckled at the tactile attempt, but that ship had well and truly sailed. They'd fallen asleep on each other before being able to get further than a few drunken but delicious kisses....they weren't going to get any further with monster hangovers. Besides...he glanced to the time with a moan. In someone's infinite wisdom, they had meetings to get to very early in the morning after a party with all that alcohol. "Which one of us is going to crawl over and get the painkillers?"

"You..." Vansen said quietly, swallowing hard. "I...I can barely move..." he frowned and tried to sit up, but it felt like the air was pressing him down. "Sorry. I'm sorry. We should have gone to mine..."

Gabriel's smile faded as he saw him struggle to even sit up, reaching out to touch his arm with a frown. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked quietly, and he wasn't talking about the hangover.

Constantin shook his head before he grimaced and then nodded. "Nothing life threatening," he said quickly. "I have...a medical condition. And I left my medication in my quarters..." he looked at him, searching his eyes. "And there's a little bit of the hangover too."

Gabriel chuckled softly at the way he put the last statement, but there was still worry in his eyes. He just wanted to keep the other man calm. "Okay....okay..." he got off the bed and did his trousers up, pleased his roommate hadn't returned from the party yet. He headed for the small medkit, giving himself painkillers before moving to crawl onto the bed to press the hypo to Constantin's neck with a small smile. "Only basic painkillers I'm afraid, but they might take the edge off the hangover bit at least..."

Constantin looked at him before he reached out, his hand touching his cheek. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, his breathing a bit shallow, but at least the pounding behind his eyes eased up. "I'm a rubbish pick up. It's not contagious. It's a gravity thing." He searched those beautiful brown eyes, swallowing hard. "I can't believe you took me home. Your judgement must have been drowned in alcohol."

"Not from this angle," Gabriel assured with a grin, kissing the man's cheek before leaning over him to grab his discarded shirt. He groaned as it made his headache surge. Definitely just basic painkillers. It had taken the edge off, but the hangover was still there alright. He slipped the shirt on quickly all the same. "Okay," he said firmly and calmly, getting a careful hold of him to ease him up. "We're getting you back to your quarters so you can take your medicine..."

Vansen groaned and nodded, moving with him slowly, out of breath at the effort. He looked at Gabriel with bleary eyes before he smiled, just watching him. "You may very well be one of the only men who looks good with a hangover," he said before he looked around, vertigo getting him for a moment. He closed his eyes, willing his inner ear to adjust to the pressure. "Okay. It's...I don't know if it is far. Wylde will kill me if he finds out I went somewhere without them."

"Well we can't have that. The grumpy git can't frown any more or his face might just break..." Gabriel chuckled softly, trying to hide his growing concern at how Constantin was coping. He took hold of him, not giving him a choice as he lifted him firmly.

Vansen gripped him, closing his eyes tightly at the shift. "That slender body hides great strength," he said playfully, breathing harder with it. "I'll be okay, but...I would appreciate the help to my quarters. A lot."

"I have to train to try and keep up with the others in my department," Gabriel laughed breathlessly, trying to act cool about it, but his speech was strained with carrying the weight of the man though. He moved steadily all the same as he was directed, trying to keep his movements smooth so as not to jostle the ill man. "This is the one?"

"Yes..." Vansen nodded and let out a breath. The doors opened and with Gabriel's help he got inside, sitting down. "Top bunk, there's a case of hypos on the wall," he said, knowing he wouldn't be able to get up there. He followed Gabriel's movements with bleary eyes and despite feeling the way he felt he had to smile. "Can't...believe I picked you up and we didn't..."

"Oh don't remind me, I'm still fuming over it..." Gabriel laughed as he helped him settle on the bottom bunk for the time being. "How is that fair? I did the flirting thing, I did the getting you back to my place without falling over drunk thing...and then I didn't get my prize..." he tutted, trying to keep it light as he searched around the top bunk. Because truth was, he was worried about the man and his condition. And he didn't know enough to help him properly if he really needed it. "You don't have anything up here I shouldn't see, do you?"

"No, I left my porn in my locker," Vansen said with a soft chuckle, rubbing his own chest slowly to try and ease it. "And hey, we talking prizes? I didn't get to do anything except make out with you...and that memory is fuzzy..."

"It was good," Gabriel assured with a soft laugh as he eased himself down with a slight groan from the hangover slowing him down. He sat next to him, offering the case over, finally letting the frown show as he held onto his arm. "You sure I shouldn't get you to Sickbay? Does your chest hurt?"

"Feels tough to breathe. I am fine..." Constantin reached for the case and opened it, taking the hypo and loading it. "If I am without this for three days then yes, sickbay..." he pressed the hypo to his neck, letting out a shaky breath at what felt like ice coming into his veins. "Alcohol makes the symptoms worse...wears it off quicker..." he lowered his hand and looked at Gabriel, smiling weakly to him. "Thank you..."

Gabriel sat next to him, watching him with concern as he stroked his back in slow, circular motions as he frowned. "I...what's wrong with you?" he asked quietly. He could always tell him to get lost if he didn't want to answer.

Constantin looked at him, smiling weakly before he shrugged weakly. "I was born and raised in...low gravity. My body isn't used to your gravity so without my medication it gets to me," he said, the short version on it. "It's not dangerous...unless I keep away from the medication for awhile. So I take daily doses."

"That's rubbish," Gabriel frowned, shaking his head at the other man's predicament with genuine sympathy. "I mean...that's just rubbish that way around. Should have made it higher gravity, then you'd be a super strong, super hero...where you can just jump and be flying..." he winked.

"I know right?" Constantin said with a warm smile, his body easing before he tipped his head back. "But we all have our things, don't we? And this...this is okay. Especially when there's beautiful people to help me..."

Gabriel grinned despite the headache at the choice of words, moving to lie on his side next to him, resting his head in his hand as he watched him. "Beautiful, huh? You still have prosecco tinted glasses on?"

Constantin grunted at the words and shook his head, smiling as he eased down properly to look at him. "No, I don't have them on right now. Hungover, so those are gone. And yes, you are. Beautiful."

"Hm," he shook his head gently where it rested in his hand, smiling to him with gratitude just the same. "You seemed like you were having a great time last night. I like that in people."

"As were you. I like that too," he said as he chuckled, watching Gabriel with warmth. "You have so much life and passion in you. It...it seems special. Maybe it's something I am drawn to."

Gabriel watched him for a long moment, smiling softly at that. He reached out, touching the man's cheek. "It's not all sunshine and rainbows," he warned softly, but his smile remained all the same.

Constantin shrugged as he leant into the touch. "Life isn't sunshine and rainbows. It's ugly, it's brutal, death is around every corner and we are living in one of the most dangerous environments in the known reality. So we find what we can in it to make it all worth it."

Gabriel searched his eyes for a long moment, surprised at the genuine and solemn words. There was a depth to this man that defied his easy going manner in the bar. He smiled weakly, taking hold of the hypo he'd given Constantin. "More brutal for some than others, hm?" he motioned with the hypo.

Vansen looked at him before he smiled, reaching to touch his cheek for a moment. "We all have our...things. Some of the flesh. Some of the blood. Some of the mind. There is nothing wrong with accepting it...what is wrong is for it to change how we live. What we do. What we aim for."

Gabriel smiled softly as he glanced down, shaking his head lightly. It was a good way of looking at it. Gabriel just wasn't level headed enough as a man to be able to keep it that way. Which made him feel inadequate. Here was this guy battling a daily medical condition, and he could still have an outlook like that. Rather than take things out on holograms and himself. "It must work. You're here, in one of the most competitive careers there is."

"Oh, that is just because I know my way around a ship," he said with a warm smile, shaking his head. "I never did well on the academic stuff...just don't have the mind for it. Put me in a room and tell me to fix something and I will."

"I have a few things you could fix," Gabriel teased with a grin, and the way he arched his eyebrow made it clear he was being over the top to play with him. "Well at least you'll be useful all your life. More useful than reading Latin anyway."

"What's Latin?" Constantin asked with a small smile. He wasn't sure if it was a book or whatnot, but he liked reading. He liked the idea of doing it, of imagining things. He was still getting his head around fiction though...he enjoyed it, but he did sometimes wonder why it was written at all. Gabriel's playfulness warmed him, eased the hangover considerably...well...the dimly lit room might have helped too.

Gabriel searched his eyes with surprise, trying to judge if he was teasing him. He only found honest curiosity in the other man's eyes. "It's an ancient earth language," he said softly, shaking his head lightly. "The Romans used it. It was the second language after my own that I learnt. But not terribly useful these days," he laughed at himself, throwing a loose thread he'd picked from the cover at Constantin. "So I reckon if you and me were trapped in a shuttle, you're going to be more useful than this guy, despite how much his education cost. Doesn't mean anything in real life."

"But you could teach me the language, which would make the hours before we died far more entertaining," Constantin said and now he was being playful as he touched his arm. "Besides. You...have been kind to me."

Gabriel shook his head with a soft chuckle, colour touching his usually pale skin. He wasn't very good at taking compliments. "Kind? Just decent. You'd do the same for me. At least, you better had! If I'm all...laid out dying, you bloody well better help me!"

"I would," Constantin said with a chuckle before he shook his head, slowly. "But I am under the impression you...sort of manage to balance in life. Seen enough hard to know how to survive."

Gabriel's smile lost the humorous edge, becoming more gentle at the words. "Now that's something I don't often hear," he whispered with surprise, holding his eyes.

"Well...you got the look, in your eyes," Constantin said softly before he sighed and rubbed his face. "We...should get ready for work. I got a...meeting..." he lowered his hand and met his eyes. "We should meet up again."

Gabriel looked to the time with wide eyes. "Oh crap, so do I...." he jumped up onto his feet on instinct...and immediately regretted it, groaning as he clapped his hand over his forehead. "Sunglasses are needed..." he shook his head as he motioned back to Constantin. "For the meeting, not for...the meeting you...again bit....never mind..."

Constantin smiled as he looked at him, still seated, before he pushed himself to stand. He reached out, taking Gabriel's hand and pulling him close, kissing him. "Just so you remember me," he said playfully when he broke the kiss.

Gabriel was smiling by the time the other man broke the kiss, unable to help it. He touched his jaw with a light shake of the head. "Couldn't forget you, sleeping beauty..." he teased, slapping his backside without warning on his way past him.

[OFF]

--

Petty Officer 3rd Class Constantin Vansen
Operations Officer
USS Galileo-A

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

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