You Can Go Home Again

Posted on Fri Feb 8th, 2013 @ 7:21am by Cadet Senior Grade Eli Ziyad & Cadet Senior Grade Chance Conradi

Mission: The Struggle Within
Location: Chance/Eli Quarters

* * * Chance & Eli’s Quarters * * *

“Almost there,” Eli informed Chance as they made their way slowly down the corridor. He’d let Chance go at his own pace, offering an arm for support when he needed it. Now that they were getting here, Eli was surprised to find that he was nervous, unsure what to do.

“Ooh,” Chance heaved a breath and leaned on Eli a touch more than he had been. “Seems that being dead sort of takes the life out of you.” The walk from sickbay to the quarters had taken what little energy Chance had had left. “I wonder when I last ate.”

“Very funny.” Eli smiled in spite of the gallows humour however, and reached to key in the entry code with his free hand. “It was about an hour before....you know. You had dinner with me at the club. A few brandies for dessert is what had us playing in the stock room.”

The doors slid open and he led Chance inside and stopped. The doors closed and Eli did as well. The last time he’d been here was when he found the Hazari sitting waiting for him. The conversation had been heated and the Hazari had attacked him, then held him down and kissed him. He shook his head to try and clear the memory.

“Maybe that’s why I’m weak as a kitten,” Chance’s humor stayed in place and he quipped, “Hey, you’re not going to take advantage, are you?” He grinned and headed for the replicator, where he started to order food and water.

“Hey, you sit, let me do that.” Eli finally got moving and moved over to take Chance’s hand. “Come sit down, I’ll bring the food over.” He led him to the sofa and waited while he sat. “I might at that.”

Sitting, Chance relaxed back and closed his eyes. “Just a burger, my usual,” he said, a statement that brought his eyes open again. “Do I have a usual? What’s on it?”

“Everything and then some, extra bacon and something called A1. Fries with seasoned salt, which were a new thing for me but quite delicious.” The food appeared as Eli spoke and he carried it back over to Chance, then returned to order them both something to drink.

“A1?” Chance’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “That’s not right. Burger, cheese, mayo and mustard, pickles.” Eli wasn’t wrong - Chance’s favorite ‘usual’ burger was just as Eli had ordered it, but the burger Chance was referring to was the one that Oralia would have recognized as his ‘usual’ from his younger teen years.

Eli simply nodded and returned to the replicator, ordering another as Chance had requested. He brought it over and sat down, reaching for the first plate. “I’ll take this one, I’ve not eaten since...before Commander Sakkath started the ceremony and that was fourteen hours ago.”

“I’m in debt to him. How does one repay a Vulcan?” He shook his head and picked up the burger. “Now this, man, this looks fantastic!” He took a bite, “Omm, gmmd.”

Eli smiled in spite of his own exhaustion and bit into his burger. Once the bite was finished, he shrugged. “I don’t know, Chance. Sakkath and Li are....so private that at times I wonder if they aren’t androids that get put in a closet when they go off-shift.”

Chuckling, he shrugged, “Ignatius knows more about them than everyone else, I think. Since she can just read their thoughts.” He waggled fingers in front of his head. “Telepaths, tsk.”

Eli raised an eyebrow. Never bothered you before now. Especially when I sent dirty thoughts in class.

Mouth full of burger, Chance stopped and stared at Eli for a beat. He then finished his bite and said, “In class? Really? Hey, did we have a Caitian as a professor? And... did I take the spider to class with me?”

“It was usually you sending racy stuff to me more than the other way around.” Eli grinned. “And yes to both. The first few days Iggy was pretty disruptive in class. She’s gotten much better, though none of us have seen her the past few days. I’ve been too busy worried over you and dealing with that Hazari.”

“She’s not on the Station,” Chance said, looking a touch distracted. Suddenly he grinned in a boyish way. He’d recalled something: “The Caitian threatened... something, if she didn’t shut up. Okay, I’m a cadet on the Station where my sister is a muckitymuck and has a talking spider for a pet. And you date me? With that kind of pedigree?”

“It’s complicated, Chance. It’s more a question of why you chose me with my pedigree, as you call it. I am a refugee from Enara Prime, I don’t know if you remember that, here under granted asylum. They’ve threatened to kill me. I’m not entirely sure that they are not the ones responsible for your death. Oz wasn’t thrilled that you are dating a telepath, and my parents almost disowned me because you are a man. That’s my baggage. I hadn’t intended to tell them immediately but my mother saw something and she knew.” He rose and moved over to a shelf, lifting down a framed drawing - the one he’d done of Chance during their survival training. It showed him rising from a pool of water and brushing his hair back as the water ran over his skin in rivulets. He passed it to Chance.

Taking the drawing, Chance looked at it and his brows went up. “Can’t imagine what she saw in this drawing. Wow... it’s sexy,” the word was a touch inadequate to describe how Eli had caught him. “And if you were threatened with death, how come I’m the one that died?” He’d already forgotten Eli’s earlier explanation of the situation.

“We aren’t sure, mind you, but Eric is certain they were after you. Perhaps as a means of striking terror into my heart? Showing just what they are capable of and how close they can get? We still don’t know why.” It was obvious to Chance through their mental link, however, that guilt over all this weighed heavily on Eli. He took the drawing and returned it to the shelf.

“Hmm... I’ll have to ask Oz about that.” He started to take a bite, but the opening of his mouth triggered a big yawn. “I might be asleep before you get to take advantage of me. Good idea, right? Harding said to relax. I’m halfway there now.”

“Not out here, you’re going to bed, Chance.” Eli returned and sat down beside him. “Still eating or giving up on it?”

“I’d better give up.” He wiped his hands on a napkin then leaned into Eli, his shoulder on his shoulder. “Bedtime, it is.” He moved to stand but didn’t get there. “Okay, I need help.”

“You’ve got it.” Eli stood, then leaned in and slipped an arm around Chance. With one good pull, he had him up on his feet, steady in his arms. “Welcome home.”

“Thanks, Eli.” He held him close for a moment, again smelling him and again thinking that he smelled divine. “Do we sleep together or just have sex?”

Eli looked confused at the question. “How do you mean?”

Chance looked at Eli like he couldn’t understand Eli not understanding the question. “I mean, do we share a bed or just have sex and then go to our separate corners?”

“Oh! Yes we do. We sort of turned the second bedroom into a study room and had the bed removed. Computers, class stuff, it’s all in there.”

“Where are you sleeping tonight?”

There was a moment of awkward silence, and Eli rushed to cover it. “I can go to Vor’s. I stayed with him just after you were....killed. Being here was too hard and he offered his place so I’d have a friend and some company.”

"Vor? He's the Voth?" Chance sharply focused on Eli; there was a dark glower just under the surface of his look and a swirling possessiveness creeping up in his emotions. His grip on the kid tightened. "Never mind, you should stay here, just in case...," his voice trailed off, but his intent was clear: just in case he needed Eli.

Chance’s emotions hit Eli immediately but he didn’t let it show. The possessiveness wasn't a surprise, Chance often had moments of it, but the intensity of it was new. For a moment, it reminded him of the Hazari here in their quarters...he shook that off, putting it down to his tiredness.

“I suppose it’s the sofa then.” He reached down to gently loosen Chance’s grip on his waist, enough to stop his friend’s fingers from digging in.

"No, come to bed with me, just... let's not ...you know," Chance shrugged and pulled Eli toward the bedroom.

“As you wish.” Eli stifled a yawn. “Besides, I’m exhausted, it’s been a long, tense day.”

"Yeah, it has been." They went into the bedroom and Chance looked at the bed, then around the room. "There," he pointed at the wall, "the spider crawled the wall and watched."

Eli had to laugh at the recollection. “She did. And I screamed. You cursed. Then we ordered her out of the room and I banished her from this room altogether.” The bed looked so very good. As Eli peeled off his uniform, he decided he felt as if he could sleep for a week. The relief was huge but he’d been running on adrenaline and shock for so long, his body was now giving up. He tossed his uniform to a chair, then out of habit reached to pull off his boxers and stopped with his hands at his waist. Another awkward moment came while he decided that tonight he’d sleep in something, and crawled into bed.

Chance followed suit, pulling off the hospital duds he'd been dressed in for... How long? Did they change the clothes of folks in stasis? A shower was in order. After sleep. He followed Eli onto the bed and briefly, chastely, kissed Eli's forehead. "Thanks. For all of it." He lay back on the pillow and yawned.

Eli turned to face Chance and reached over, gently touching his cheek. “I’m still having a hard time believing you’re really here, that I won’t wake up to find it was all a dream.” I’m almost afraid to get too excited in case that happens.

"We'll see in the morning, then. Unless you want me to pinch you?"

“You already did, out there when I mentioned going to Vor’s.” Eli covered another yawn. “Maybe in the morning I’ll pinch you.” He grinned and settled into his pillow.

Chance didn't reply; one wasn't needed. Instead, he stared up at the ceiling, trying to sort through things in his head. Large swaths of memories were ...gone... He couldn't recall how he'd ended up sharing a bed with this kid. He didn't recall joining Oz at her current assignment. Wasn't she stationed way the fuck out in the Delta Quadrant? Gods... That meant he was in the DQ.

Hadn't Harding or one of the nurses called him Cadet Conradi? He was walking around, using his mother's name? When had that happened?

His thoughts chased their own tails, round and round, at first keeping sleep at bay. Finally, though, his body's exhaustion won out and he slept.

*************
Cadet Second Class Eli Ziyad
Afraid Of Waking Up

Cadet Chance Conradi
Weirdly Undead