Through the Forest
Posted on Fri Apr 5th, 2013 @ 4:03pm by Cadet Senior Grade Chance Conradi & Cadet Senior Grade Eli Ziyad
Mission:
Breaking New Ground
Location: Oz's and Jackson's Place
By the time Chance made it to his sister's quarters, his anger had ebbed slightly. But when he rang the chime and received no answer, that irrational blaze started building again. Where the hell was Oralia? He leaned on the doorbell and listened to it chime inside. It was apparent she wasn't home. Neither was Jackson.
He used his code to get in and found the place dark and quiet. Had Eli called her already? He must have and now she was avoiding him, that’s why she wasn’t there.... While the utter absurdity of that thought filtered through his brain, he asked the computer where Oz was. The stoic reply that she was off station boiled his blood: how dare she leave, just when he needed her most? His rage caused his ears to ring.
A sliver of rationality cut through the haze of his anger, just as a shard of a vase sliced through his skin. Hissing in pain and quickly covering the cut with his other hand, Chance stared at his own murky blood. Part Vulcan, part Human, all engineered.
The sight of the blood and the subsequent bandaging of his hand gave him something to focus on, something besides his emotions. As he smoothed white gauze and tape over the cut, he willfully stepped back from his anger and wondered what was wrong with him.
Not trusting himself to clean up the pieces of the broken vase, he left it and sat on Oralia's couch. Within minutes, drained as he was from his anger and of his anger, he was asleep, curled under a blanket his and Oralia's mother had made for her.
It was sometime later that Eli emerged from Norval’s quarters and began the search for Chance. Norval had, as usual, been a cool, calm influence as he mostly listened and then offered his counsel. He, more than anyone, understood what it was like to have more than one person talking in your head and influencing your actions and his insight was invaluable.
It at least had given Eli some insight on how to proceed going forward but tonight? He had to deal with this on his own, bring Chance back from the edge and settle him down. This was a place that no one but Eli could go and he had to do it purely on instinct. He knew Chance better than anyone and he needed to trust that he’d know what to do. Normally, he relied on letting Chance see exactly what was in his heart and in his mind but this time, logic and thought had no place. It was not what Chance would understand, given the state he’d been in when he left.
It was time to find Chance and without his comm badge, Eli had to rely on his wits. He checked in with Vor and a few of their other friends to see if Chance had gone there, but none had seen him. The Nexus was closed so that was out. Jackson and Oz were out of the picture too, since they were down on Archadia. He paused mid-stride as it hit him. He would have gone looking for Oz of course. Not finding them home wouldn’t matter too much since both Eli and Chance had the code to Oz’s quarters. Somewhere familiar that he could be alone too. It made perfect sense. Now in a hurry, he hopped into the turbolift and began to go up, pacing in anticipation as the lift continued its ascent.
Oz’s couch had been uncomfortable but Chance didn’t want to chance going back to his and Eli’s quarters to sleep. He, instead, moved to Oz and Jackson’s bed and sprawled there, staring up at the ceiling. He half-chuckled, noticing a strand of Iggy’s webbing up there, fluttering in the air conditioning’s breeze. Watching it, he let go of the anger he’d had and avoided thinking any thoughts at all.
When Eli finally reached the doors to Oz and Jackson’s quarters, he hesitated only a moment. If he was going to do this, he had to just do it and not think too long and hard about it or he might back down. It was time to turn the tables a bit and take charge of the situation. Before he could talk himself out of it, he keyed in the door code and slipped inside. He waited in the darkness until the doors closed and he locked them. He could sense Chance here without a doubt, along with the lingering aura of anger in the air, but it was fainter than it had been in their own quarters. He stepped forward carefully in the dark and his shoe crunched softly on something broken. Not a good sign, but not a surprise either.
Once he’d bypassed the broken vase, his steps were silent as he followed his senses to the bedroom. Stopping there, just out of sight, he saw Chance spread out on the bed, still and breathing slowly. He wasn’t asleep, that much Eli knew, but he seemed to be deep in thought and, as yet, hadn’t noticed he had company. Taking a deep, silent breath, Eli slipped forward and moved to the bed, looking down at his lover. The sight of him squeezed Eli’s heart tight and finally, he reached down, running his finger over Chance’s bare chest.
Reacting like he’d been touched with a hot iron, Chance flinched away and yelped, “Oz?” When he saw it was Eli, he noticeably relaxed and breathed, “Eli.” He rubbed his chest where Eli had touched him and looked anywhere but at Eli. He did take his hand, though, and pulled on it slightly, silently urging his lover to lie down with him. “How did you find me?”, he picked a safe topic.
Eli slipped off his shoes and crawled onto the bed. Instead of lying down, he leaned over Chance, drawing closer for a brief kiss. “Shut up.”
The order surprised Chance, but also shot a bolt of desire through him. That and Eli’s kiss stirred his blood, this time in a positive way. He responded by pulling Eli closer and making it clear, by his thoughts and action, just want he wanted.
Eli allowed another kiss, then pulled back slightly, just out of reach of Chance’s lips. “I have some things to say and you are going to listen. No arguments, no anger, no distractions. This time, you are going to lie still and listen. We clear?” His tone was firm and in control and it was obvious he meant business. The last had been nothing short of an order, so different from Eli’s usual.
Smirking, Chance moved to pull Eli back to him. “Sure,” laughingly, he started but stopped when he felt Eli’s resolve. The man was serious and wasn’t about to let Chance bulldoze him, like he tended to do so often. He dropped back to the pillows, met Eli’s eyes and nodded, “We’re clear.”
“Good. I want something laid out up front. I’ve never cheated on you and you know that is the truth. You also know I won’t. For most people that takes a degree of trust but in our case, you’re in my head. You know this.” Eli’s dark eyes were stormy as he looked down at Chance and surprisingly, he felt his own surge of anger simmering.
Cowed, and oddly turned on, by Eli’s assertiveness, Chance avoided Eli’s eyes for a moment. Finally, he answered, “I know. I do. But....” He shrugged. “I dunno.”
“But what? I want to hear it now, Chance.” This, too, wasn’t a question but a demand. “I’m not going to read it in your mind either. I want you to say it.” Eli leaned down, taking Chance’s hands and raising them above his head, capturing them there, his grip strong and tight.
Some of Chance’s anger rekindled, lit by irritation over Eli’s insistence upon an answer. He didn’t have an answer and it pissed him off. He didn’t really want to go poking around, looking for an answer, either. Then he realized he wasn’t even sure what the question was. “I don’t know! Okay? I just want to...,” his eyes shifted around as he searched for the words, “...to... hold onto you. It isn’t about trust! It’s just... it’s just there, that jealousy and anger and I don’t know where it comes from.”
Eli nodded slowly. “I understand that. You’ve gone through a lot and still have a ways to go, Chance. What you need to remember is that I love you. I will never do anything to hurt you or betray you. For now, I understand where you are and I can make adjustments that will ease things. That I will do for you. Now there are things you need to do for me. I am not going to be a doormat any more.”
“Apparently,” Chance grumbled. He wasn’t begrudging Eli for standing up to him; he simply didn’t like the serious talk. “E, I’m sorry that I ever made you feel that way.”
Eli shrugged for a moment. “Part of it was my doing too, you know. I can’t lay that all at your feet. I know you love me, Chance, and I can see within you how deep that goes. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t flattered by that caveman urge to punch things that you see as a threat to us. But it needs to settle down and we’ll get there. You have to try, Chance. You have to trust me. And you sure as hell have to stop thinking of me as a kid. Neither of us are, and I’m older than you. You got me?”
He snorted out a soft chuckle and grinned, “If I thought of you as a kid, we would not be in this position. Though, lately, you’ve been vulnerable and it’s kind of like you’re younger than me.”
“I was. I was faced with being a widower at my age, and dealing with life without you. I almost did shatter, but then I discovered you were still alive, just in a different place. That’s what kept me together. I fought for you, Chance, and I’ll never stop doing it either.” Eli closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he sat on top of Chance, his knees tightened their grip against his sides. “Yes, I admit there have been times I wanted to find the women that drew you and stake my claim, get rid of them. Does that make you feel better?”
No, it didn’t. He felt like a cad for having catted about while Eli loved him so. He said as much and, then, with a glance up at Eli’s grip on his wrists, grinned and tempted him, “There are other ways to stake your claim.”
“There are.” A gleam stole into Eli’s eyes now. “And that’s why I am here. You have, so often, insisted on marking me as yours, tonight it is turnabout time.” His voice softened to a husky purr as he leaned down closer. “Tonight, it’s my turn. I want everyone to know who you belong to without question.”
“And you’ll do that how? Parade me around?” Chance laughed.
“Other means... and they’ve worked so far for you. Everyone I meet says, ‘Oh, you’re with Chance.’” Eli smiled wickedly now.
Chance thought about that and wondered how he’d accomplished that. “They do? Well, wait a minute, you were rather openly grieving, right? That’s not my fault. I was dead.”
“Even before that. I think it’s because they notice I can see no one but you.” His lips brushed Chance’s temple. “And by the time I’m done with you, you’ll be the same way for me.”
“Here?” Chance didn’t want to leave the bed, didn’t want to screw up this intense moment, but he also didn’t want Jackson upset... oh, hell, he and Eli had been about to go at it in Jackson’s office, probably on the man’s desk. At least here, they could change the sheets after. “Right, here. In Oz and Jackson’s bed.”
“Chance?”
“Hmm?”
“Shut up.”
***************
Cadet 2nd Class Chance Conradi
Getting a Whole New Viewpoint
Cadet 2nd Class Eli Ziyad
Taking A Stand....Lying Down
