Just Dinner

Posted on Fri Jul 7th, 2023 @ 10:20pm by Petty Officer 1st Class Leon Meier & Warrant Officer Ahira Kasamoto

Mission: S1 Episode 5: Ex Post Facto
Location: Ahira's Quarters
Timeline: Date 2371-08-17 at 1930
3583 words - 7.2 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

The past few days had been chaotic, or more accurately Hell, especially for the engineering crew, who had been dealing with multiple systems issues. Ahira hadn't even had a chance to talk with Leon. They'd exchanged messages on their PADDS, primarily to cancel the date they had set up, but that was it.

The two men were just in the exploration phase, they'd agreed to not try to label whatever their relationship was. So, Ahira wasn't sure if he should go to Leon's cabin unannounced, especially since he had three roommates. But, he did want to know how Leon was doing. So, still in uniform, sans jacket, he was standing outside his door.

He pressed the chime, not realizing that he was holding his breath.

The chime was met with the sound of laughter inside followed by a slight delay, Then the door opened. Standing before Ahira was a tall, attractive young man with beautiful light brown skin, tightly coiled sandy-colored hair, and gorgeous hazel eyes. He looked Ahira up and down and then gave a bit of a smile, though it was obvious he was confused. “Can I help you?”

Ahira's eyes, almost of their own accord swept up and down the lithe frame of the man standing in front of him. He just couldn't help himself, after all the man was quite handsome and he could have gotten lost in those eyes. But he stopped himself from staring or focusing on anything other than the face.

"I'm Ahira," he replied, "I'm here to see Leon. Is he here?"

"Oh." Those hazel eyes moved over Ahira once more, ambiguous but not hostile in their looking. He then turned his head and called back into the room. "Hey, Lee! Someone's at the door for you."

"Oh come on, give the kid a break!" A voice that was not Leon's replied and then drew closer as the person walked to the door. "Listen, I know you repair crews think you nee- oh. You're not a repair crew person."

This man was slightly older, probably in his early thirties, and dressed in a tank top and sweatpants like he had just come back from the gym or was planning on going. He had a strong jaw and his features looked like they were finely chiseled out of marble. His brown eyes were warm and there was a protectiveness within them.

"Relax. Relax." This time, it was Leon's voice and he pushed past both of the men. His eyes widened when he saw Ahira, but without shame, he grinned. "Hey! What brings you here?"

~Leon certainly has interesting roommates~ the hybrid officer thought, ~and tempting ones, but I'm not here for them.~

"You do. I figured you'd been dealing with a bunch of shit lately, and could use a break. I thought we could go back to my place and I'd fix some dinner for you. You like German food?"

"German?" Leon asked and grinned. "Taste of home, to me. I was born in Dresden."

It was a ballsy move from Ahira for sure, but Leon liked it. Showing up at his quarters was even more so. "Yeah, I'd like that. Now?"

Ahira had a pretty good idea that his friend liked German food. but he hadn't been one hundred percent sure, so he was glad that Leon had confirmed that he did so.

"Yes now, unless you're not hungry."

"No, that sounds great. Just give me a moment." Leon disappeared from the door only to be replaced with the sandy blonde-haired man that had greeted Ahira. He leaned in the doorframe and crossed his arms.

"So, Captain's bodyguard huh? Seems like a pretty cushy job."

"It has its perks I suppose," Ahira admitted doing his best to keep his expression and tone neutral. "I wouldn't exactly call it cushy though. I have to be alert at all times and I have to be willing to throw myself in front of a phaser if somebody tries to kill the Captain."

"What do you do?"

"Sure, but at this point do you really think anyone is going to kill the Captain? The next like seventeen people in line to the throne are either direct family members or fucking his family members." Sure, it was an exaggeration, but it felt like not by much. "It wouldn't go well for them."

"You're probably not too far off the mark, at least as far as the crew is concerned, but we're not exactly in friendly territory, so you never know. But, to your point, I have been thinking of making a change or asking the Captian about it. That's one of the reasons I want to talk with Leon."

"Oh? What kind of change?" The young man asked, not seeming bothered by the rather bold question that had come out of his mouth.

A small part of Ahira had found the other man attractive. He hadn't been able to help himself. He had a type and the sandy-haired guy fit that type. There'd been no real interest, only an admission to himself. It wasn't something he'd ever consider exploring, even if there had been a reciprocal interest.

Then he'd started to speak. The more he probed, the more disinterested and turned off he became.

"One that I don't want to talk about with you," he said bluntly standing a little straighter his expression going from neutral to annoyed.

"Well damn, so-rry for trying to strike up a conversation. You were the one who brought it up. Gods." The sandy-haired man scoffed, now looking Ahira up and down with annoyance tinged with disgust at his reaction. Thankfully at that moment, Leon appeared, pulling the dark purple polo shirt he had picked out down the rest of the way. He then looked between Ahira and his roommate, then back to Ahira.

"Ready when you are."

Ahira had been biting his lip when the other man had snapped back to him, doing his best not to shoot back a retort when Leon came into the room. His focus quickly shifted to his friend.

"I'm ready now," he replied putting a hand on his shoulder as the two exited the room.

"Em, I think I may have blown it with your roomie. He was asking about my job and was kind of implying it wasn't a necessary one. I mean in a way he's right. I am thinking about asking about some other duties, but he just seemed kind of pushy to me. Anyway, I told him I might want to change and that was one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you, but he kept asking questions."

"I kind of snapped at him. I'm sorry I did that, but on the bright side, he's probably not going to ask me out."

Leon blinked a bit as they walked along. He couldn’t really tell if it was a joke or not, so he shrugged. “Well, he likes women so you’re safe there. As for the disagreement, hard to say; Jake’s a nice guy and he doesn’t even know you, so he was probably just trying to make polite conversation. We’re NCOs, it’s a different world for us than it is for you. We don’t try and use information to stab each other in the back.”

"Well, I guess I should apologize then. I guess I did overreact just a bit. For the record I kind of like your world better than mine, not having to worry about someone using something you say against you."

As they stepped into the turbolift, he continued, "So how have you been, you look exhausted."

“Like you wouldn’t believe. This whole thing with the computer has been an absolute fiasco and nobody can really figure out what the hell is going on. Who gets blamed for that? The people like me.” Leon lifted his hands and sighed. “Not saying our officers are incompetent by any means, but they don’t like taking the blame when things go wrong.”

The doors of the turbolifts slid shut, Ahira gave instruction to take them to the proper deck then said, "I can say it then. Some of the officers are incompetent, and you're right. Even those who aren't incompetent love to cover their ass. I hope no one blamed you personally."

“No, no. It’s usually never targeted unless it is deserved. At least our chiefs seem competent but when you get into the ‘middle management’,” Leon moved his fingers in air quotes, “with the young ensigns or junior lieutenants, it gets problematic. Anyways what about you? You’ve been okay?”

"Yeah, I've been good. A little bored but that's not totally a bad thing. I have been thinking about asking for a transfer, well not a transfer per se, but a shift in my duties. Becoming a securities investigation officer. What do you think?"

"Well, is it something you think you'd enjoy?" Leon asked as they stepped off the turbolift when the doors opened and continued their trek to Ahira's quarters. "Is there a lot of investigating to do? I really don't know too much about it."

The hybrid officer gave a brief shoulder shrug as they moved down the hall. "I don't know how much call there will be for it, but probably a lot more than watching Petrov's ass. Jake was right about one thing, he's not in much danger here. If he's on an away mission that's another story and I'd still like to guard him then.

But with slaves, disgruntled or incompetent officers around there's bound to be some," he paused thinking of the right word, "I don't know, shenanigans going on. Not to mention what we might find as we're exploring and conquering."

"So, I thought I'd at least see what the higher-ups think of the idea."

By this time the two had arrived and Ahira tapped the passcode into the panel and the doors to his cabin hissed open.

Leon listened intently, nodding his head a bit while his face gave various expressions of consideration. "Makes sense to me, honestly. I hope they let you do it. My job definitely isn't sunshine and roses but at least I'm not usually bored. I couldn't imagine going bored day to day."

He stepped into Ahira's quarters when the other man indicated for him to do so and looked around. "Huh. Nice."

"Thanks, it's not much but at least it's all mine. I would have liked to cook you something fancier, but I wasn't sure if you'd have the time. So, I'm going to make spaetzle and bratwurst, if that's okay. And some chocolate chip cookies I've got left from the other day. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable."

"I like to keep it simple more often than not, honestly," Leon said and moved over toward the chair at the side of the room. He placed his hand on it but then looked back to Ahira. "Do you want some help?"

Ahira cocked his head looking at the other man. "This was supposed to be a treat for you because you've been working your butt off and deserve a break. So, I don't need your help. So feel free to just sit back and relax."

"But, if you feel like it, really feel like it, then I sure wouldn't turn you down."

"Alright." Leon laughed softly and sat down in the chair. "I'll leave you to it then, but if you need any help just let me know." He then began to look around Ahira's room, trying to pick up on any decorations or details that might help him get to know the other man better.

There were all the standard things; a bed that was almost, but not quite full-size, a desk with a computer station, and a chair. They were all a typical Imperial utilitarian gray that could be found in almost every cabin in the fleet. They were perhaps a bit newer in design, but that was the only thing that made them stand out.

A small breakfast bar with two stools separated the main room from a tiny, though efficient looking kitchenette where Leon could see his friend moving about as he hummed to himself.

He also saw two doors one of which he assumed led to a bathroom and the other to a closet, but it was difficult for him to tell which was which.

The room could have been spare and Spartin, if not for Ahira's personal touches. The things that would give Leon the hints he'd been looking for.

Next to the computer on the desk and one corner of the breakfast bar were bonsai trees. The one on the desk was the smaller of the two. It was a single trunk about six or seven inches tall and about there or four inches across. The one on the breakfast bar had three trunks and was easily three times the size of the other.

There were half a dozen small paintings on the wall. One appeared to be a self-portrait of Ahira in a medieval-looking room. His face was in shadows and he was staring into a fireplace with orange flames that provided the only source of light in the room. The rest were landscapes. Leon wasn't sure what planet they might be from, but he was pretty sure they weren't from Earth.

Leon got up after a moment and wandered over to the larger of the bonsai trees to inspect it. "Did you grow and shape this one yourself?" He asked curiously.

Truth be told he was a bit surprised to see that Ahira actually had some decorations up, but at the same time, he was happy to see it. It gave him personality.

The fragrant odor of fried sausage and pasta was starting to fill the small cabin. Ahira had his hands full preparing the dishes, so it took a moment for him to respond. He glanced behind him to see which tree his friend was referring to.

"The other one yes. I've had it, oh nine or ten years. That one, no. It's probably older than the two of us combined. My father left it to me. Well not left exactly, but I got it from him."

“You know, I have a passing interest in botany though it mostly revolved around tinkering with making new varieties of grapes and other fruit my family could make wine with. It was relaxing. I’ve always admired people who have the patience to tend to bonsai trees. I’ve never tried it myself.” Leon inspected both trees with a smile. “Your father must have worked with this one a long time.”

A smile played at the corners of Ahira's lips. He enjoyed cooking, it was one of the fun things he allowed himself, and cooking for someone else, especially someone he was starting to like, was an added bonus. Then Leon had said he enjoyed botany, indicating one more thing the two men had in common. That revelation only widened his grin.

"He did," Ahira replied, "it was the one thing I took away from our relationship. "I've been working on it for a while, building on his work."

"And like you I find it relaxing. I believe in the Empire, don't get me wrong. I'm a loyalist. But sometimes ...sometimes I don't always like what I have to do. Tending to the tree is a way to get my focus on something other than myself and my doubts. It's almost a spiritual thing."

“Yeah, I can understand that,” Leon said, moving his fingers as if he were going to touch and trace the leaves on the tree but he only touched the air around them. “We live in a pretty ruthless world; I like being able to have places to escape to when things get too heavy.”

"Yeah, trust me, I know exactly where you're coming from, and I think it's kind of neat that we're a lot alike in that regard."

Ahira stepped out of the kitchenette, "Dinner is almost done, maybe another five minutes. Did you want to talk about what you've been going through the past few days?"

“Not really too much detail to tell, honestly. It has just been a lot of long hours doing what feels like running in circles trying to figure out why everything went haywire after that storm we went through.” Leon replied while looking at Ahira. He shrugged, “We have it sorted now mostly, I think. Well, enough that we have been able to take some much needed rest but I don’t know. A couple people died because of all of this and it is hard not to feel a little guilty over it.”

"I understand that," Ahira said as he sat down beside Leon, "and I'm sorry that people died. It's always tragic. But, I don't see that you had anything to do with those deaths. You and the rest of your team did everything you could.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be trying to tell you how you should feel, that's not my place. Can I ask how guilty you feel?"

"I know we did, and I'm not losing sleep over it or anything but sometimes... sometimes you just look at a report or see some sort of reading and it just makes you wonder in the back of your head if you really did do everything you could have." Leon smiled and put his hand on Ahira's shoulder. "I'll be alright though, really. We're all just very tired at this point, you know?"

"I know," Ahira said without pulling away. " I think dinner should be done about now. I know you're tired, so I don't want to keep you too long. But after we eat if you'd like I could give you a massage to help you relax."

"Strictly platonic. Well mostly anyway."

Leon laughed, though there was a certain sparkle in his eye. "As long as it is eighty percent platonic, I could probably get on board with that."

Ahira's left brow quirked as he tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile. "I think I can handle eighty percent. That sounds about right. Why don't you get up to the table, well breakfast bar I guess and I'll go get the food."

At Ahira's prompting, Leon moved over to slide into one of the tall stools. After he settled, he put his elbow up on the table and rested his chin up in his hand, simply watching Ahira at work at the kitchen. He smiled again despite himself, enjoying the view certainly but also very much appreciating the care and thoughtfulness Ahira had shown him.

"Thank you for all of this, Ahira."

The brunette, not having eyes in the back of his head, or a mirror he could see Leon watching him with, had no idea that Liam was looking at his behind, or could he discern the other's thoughts. For whatever reason, however, he started humming happily again as he finished the meal and started plating.

When he was done, he turned back and put the food on the counter.

"What can I get you to drink?" he asked.

"Whatever you are having is fine, I'm not picky," Leon replied and pulled his plate closer. "This smells and looks delicious."

"Thanks," Ahira responded as he moved to the replicator. "Two beers coming up," he said. "Lagers. Sorry, they couldn't be fresh too."

He set two amber bottles down one beside his plate and the other by Leon's.

"Listen," he said after taking a couple of bites of his food. "The other day when we were doing the whole Grand Canyon thing, I want to apologize for kissing you."

"Not that it wasn't great, it was. At least for me. But maybe it was moving too quickly and I didn't exactly get your permission."

"Ahira, you don't need to apologize. If I hadn't wanted it, you'd have known. As for the whole asking permission... kinda ruins the spur of the moment thing and the mood more often than not." Leon shrugged.

Ahira sighed with relief. "Yeah, I guess you're right, it does. I'll remember that for the future." He then started to eat again. After both men had finished their meals, Ahira took the dishes and moved to the kitchen. "Would you like me to replicate a massage table, or lay down somewhere else?" he called over his shoulder.

"I'm fine either way. Whatever you'd prefer. Table seems like a lot of hassle but if you'd rather go that route, that's fine." Leon replied. "I can clean up if you want to prepare."

Ahira was about to decline Leon's offer to clean up. One of the main reasons he had invited Leon to his room was because he had been overworked. But before he could say no, he changed his mind.

"Sure why don't you clean up? I mean we could skip the table, but I don't think you'd fit on the couch, which would mean my bed or the floor."

"Like I said, whatever works for you. I'm flexible and I trust you." Leon assured and moved to put the dishes in the replicator but clean up the pans Ahira had used. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Then let's just use my bed, it's a lot more comfortable than the floor. And Leon, you can trust me."

END