forum OxO with @Davadio

Started January 25, 2023 by @Emmrii

tune

“No. He… he wasn’t a good guy,” Kirk replied with a sigh. “I think it may be better if they never see each other again.”

The two of them watched as Arriss walked through the room, her eyes wide as she examined all of the equipment. The technology on her old ship was cool, but it wasn’t nearly as complex.

“That’s insane,” she said softly. She raised an eyebrow, looking up and glancing around. “Where’d your partner go?”

He stole a glance down at Valiel. This new version of her would take a little bit of getting used to, but he loved it regardless.

“Because why wouldn’t I be?” He messed with her hair, smiling faintly. “You need me right now. It’s the least I could do.”

"Oh." Romulus's brow furrowed as he thought about that. Maybe he'd quit making jokes in Mercy's direction… couldn't be easuy for her.

Romulus had to smile at Arriss's reaction. "It is pretty cool." He quirked an eyebrow at her word choice. "If you mean Mercy, she headed back to her room to rest."
The big man plopped down at a desk and swiped some control screen. All the screens around him lit up. "Here, let me show you how to use this, in case you need to. It's not hard, just a lot of controls."
They spent the next hour going over things, with Moro-12 interjecting every so often to clarify.
In the middle of wrapping up, Arriss's earpiece pinged. "You've got a comms call, Arriss." Moro-12 informed her. "Unknown earpiece. Valiel and Conner are both configured, so maybe your engineer?"
………..
Valiel nodded quickly. "I do need you, I just don't get why you're so quick to help me. You've always been that way, it's just… so obvious right now…" She swallowed hard and stepped back from him, looking slightly unsteady on her feet.
"I, ummm… I need to rest. Being unconscious and being asleep aren't the same." She looked at him, looking nervous about something. "Could you…. would you stay with me? I don't want to wake up alone…"

She caught her breath before turning to Romulus. “I have a call,” she whispered. “It might be from Ronnie. I’ll be back soon, alright?”

She stood up and rushed out of the room before answering the call. “Hello…?”

He smiled faintly. He could make some sort of joke right now, but it would likely make Valiel even more awkward, so he decided it was likely best to avoid it for right now. Instead, he took her hand and squeezed it gently.

“Of course,” he whispered softly. “Just… let me know if you need anything, alright? I’ll be right here.”

Romulus's face lit up. "Oh good! That's a good sign! Yeah, go take that, we'll be here."

Arriss answered the call, and it was definitely Ronnie.
"You better have an amazing explanation for this…" he said, his voice low and raw.
……….
Valiel nodded quickly, before gently pulling him to the bed with her. She laid down and curled up, keeping a fairly firm grip on his hand. She'd left him enough room to sit on the edge, or stretch out next to her.

“Let me guess. You’re mad at me for doing it. I knew you would be.” She let out a sigh, walking further down the hall. “Ronnie, both of us know that I hated my job. We had to steal, lie, and kill people. They offered me an alternative, and I took it.”

She leaned against the wall, rubbing her temples. “Valiel and Conner signed too. I’m not the only one who thought taking this job would be good for us.”

He smiled and glanced at her, squeezing her hand. “Do you think this was a good idea?” he asked softly. “I mean, we barely know anything about these creatures…”

"Blast it all, yes I'm mad at you for doing it, Arriss!" His voice got louder, but no less raw, like his throat hurt or something. "I know you hated your job, and I'm aware Conner and Valiel signed, but this?? Do you have any idea who these people are? What guarantee do you have that they're telling the truth?" He paused for a moment, before going on, quieter now. "You signed up with a Muwellorian, Arriss. A literal vampire. That's what those people are! You know, drinking the blood of living creatures to sustain life force, creatures of the night and all that?? And you just- threw your lot in with him because you hate your job??"
……
Valiel looked up at him. She was clearly exhausted, already falling asleep.
"What… what do you wanna know? I know lots about Muwellorians…"

Arriss paused for a moment before responding. She hasn’t realize what kind of creature the leader was, but did it matter? There was a possibility that he wasn’t evil, and she hadn’t seen any signs that he had bad intentions with them.

“There are all kinds of aliens aboard, Ronnie, not just Muwellorians,” she insisted. “There are humans here too. What if they’re telling the truth? What if they do just want to help us? Ronnie, I know you’re upset, but if they turn on us, we’ll leave.”

Arriss knew it wouldn’t be as easy as that, but she told herself that just to make herself feel better about her recent decisions. But Valiel was an alien who knew about the Muwellorians, and yet she signed on. What made her make that decision?

“So, I’m guessing you didn’t sign on.” She let out a shaky breath. “Hold on, I’m coming to find you…”

Conner was curious, sure, but she looked exhausted. He didn’t want to keep her awake any longer. “You can tell me all about them when you wake up.”

Ronnie was quiet while Arriss made her points, and he didn't rebut them, except for the last one. "If they turn on us, we won't live long enough to leave. That you can trust."
Her shaky guess was too much, though. "Arriss, what are you talking about?? Of course I signed on! I signed because you did! Why do you think I'm so mad? Do you have any idea what you just dragged us into? And don't say you made your own decision and didn't drag me anywhere. You know full well my heart is all wrapped up in you, and if you didn't know, then hear this now."
He stepped around the corner of the hall Arriss was walking down, and made eye contact with her. She could hear his voice down the hall, but also through her earpiece, like he was right next to her.

"I love you, Arriss."
………………..

Valiel nodded, and feel asleep shortly thereafter. She was asleep for about an hour, when a chime woke her up. Moro-12 popped up, looking like some deformed octopus hybrid. The Charad-ti true form, apparently.
"Valiel, you asked to know when Ronnie was out. He's on his way to Arriss now. You've all signed on!"

She locked eyes with him from down the hall and, without answering, she ran to him. With tears starting to form in her eyes, she gently embraced him, burying her face in his shoulder.

“I love you too,” she said softly, lifting her head to look up at him. “Good gosh, you scared me so bad. I thought you didn’t sign on, and then I would be all alone on this ship.”

She closed her eyes, hiding her face in his shirt. She knew that he probably despised her for all her dumb decisions recently. “I’m sorry, Ronnie…”

Conner woke up, startled by Moro-12’s appearance, but he quickly realized what was going on and smiled.

“Is Arriss with him?”

Ronnie wrapped his arms around Arriss, pulling her in close, holding her tight. Things he hadn't done before, but 'professionalism' could take a hike.
She returned the sentiment, and despite all his misgivings, Ronnie had to smile down at her.
"What, leave you to deal with the consequences of your own dumb decisions all on your own? What kind of person would I be?" he said quietly, looking her in the eyes. When she looked away from him and apologized, though, he reached up and lifted her face to look at him again, by gently cupping her cheek.
"Don't apologize. I have concerns, but we'll get through this. And I know you did what you thought was best, which is all I can ask of you. Don't apologize for that." His voice was low, and reassuring. He wasn't angry at her, exactly, just… a bit worried.
He looked up as the Library door hissed and some people stepped out.
Arriss could feel the moment his body stiffened and his eyes went steely.

Romulus had stepped out of the library to check on Arriss, to see if she'd gone to find Ronnie, and had immediately seen them at the end of the hallway. He too had immediately stiffened and froze in place, as he locked eyes with Ronnie.

They both looked rather like caged animals ready to pounce.
…………..

Moro-12 chirped. "Confirmed. They're up by the library. I can contact them for you if you like."
Valiel sat up, her hair a mess, and rubbed sleep from her eyes. "Yes, please." All of a sudden, she was aware of how much this little group meant to her. They were the only family she was likely to have for a while.

This all felt so… different. It was a good different and, despite the fact that she been in love with him almost all this time, she was experiencing feelings she had never felt before. After all, Ronnie had never held her like this. He had always been too professional, too afraid of catching feelings.

When he cupped her cheek in his hand, she smiled at him, placing her hand on top of his. She turned her face slightly inward to kiss his palm when she noticed him visibly stiffen. Did she do something wrong? Did she take this interaction too far? She glanced up at him, waiting for him to say something, when she noticed that he wasn’t even looking at her. He glaring at something— or someone— further down the hallway.

Arriss turned to see what he was looking at, only to see Romulus standing at the end of the hall. He too was stiff, and he too was looking at Ronnie like he wanted to pound his face into the ground. Kirk was standing behind him, confused as he witnessed the same strange sight.

“Are you two alright?” he questioned.

Arriss pulled away from her embrace, her eyes going back and forth between the two men, when her ear piece beeped. Crap. This was not a good time for a call. Before Valiel or Conner could say anything, Arriss spoke into the earpiece.

“Hey. We’re near the library,” she said. “You should prolly get here quick.”

Conner was beside Valiel when the call through, and he raised his eyebrows at what Arriss had to say. As soon as the call had been disconnected, he stood up and headed towards the door.

“I don’t about you, but that didn’t sound good.”

Valiel was up and out the door quickly, wringing her hands and looking distressed. "You're right, it didn't, but what could the problem be? Moro, what's going on down there?"
The AI spoke quickly. "Unknown cause of tension, but there seems to be potential for a fight."
Valiel grabbed Conner's hand and moved faster.
……..

Romulus heard Kirk's question, and responded only by clenching his fist behind his back, as if to say Not. Now.

Ronnie didn't stop Arriss from pulling away, though he did immediately step in front of her, as if shielding her from Romulus.

The two men kept their eyes locked on each other, and every move was tense, bristling with hostility. They couldn't have been more different. Romulus was huge, muscular, and looked like he could crush Ronnie like a bug. Ronnie was lithe, lean, and looked like he could think of a million quick ways to put Romulus down like a dog.

Their stillness, uncanny as it was, was the only similarity.

Finally, Romulus took a long, deep breath. "So you're Ronnie…" There was a hard edge to his voice.

Ronnie nodded slowly at him. "That would be me."

Romulus seemed to consider for a moment. "…. Can we put it aside?"

Ronnie just stared at him for a long second, before nodding slowly again. "I can if you can."

Romulus closed his eyes and stood up straight, coming out of the half-crouch he'd dropped into without meaning to. He shook out his hands, unclenching his fists, and took another deep breath. "Name's Romulus."

Ronnie nodded at him again, just as Valiel and Conner came skidding around the corner.

Arriss tried to stop the two men from getting too hostile with each other, but they obviously had some sort of history. She had noticed Romulus’s demeanor change earlier when she had mentioned that Ronnie was in the military, so maybe it had something to do with that. Either way, Arriss visibly relaxed when Romulus asked to put their past side, and she felt even more relieved when Ronnie agreed.

Arriss walked up to Ronnie’s side, placing her hand on his back as they spoke. “This isn’t how I expected you both to—“

Her sentence was cut off when Conner and Valiel skidded around the corner and bolted into the room. They had arrived a bit too late to witness the tension between the two men, but you could still see the intensity in their eyes.

Conner reached over to grab Valiel’s hand. “Is everything alright…?”

Ronnie relaxed when Arriss touched him, and shut his eyes tight for a second, as if to reset his face. When he opened them and looked at her, there was a smile there. "Sorry. Friend of yours?" He glanced up as Conner and Valiel came around the corner into the hall.
Conner's question didn't register to Ronnie. He was busy looking at Valiel.

She looked an absolute mess.

Valiel had squeezed Conner's hand, on the verge of tears, but managed to hold it in, until she saw Ronnie looking at her with deep sympathy. The tears came, and she pulled Conner down the hall to them, before embracing Ronnie and Arriss and pulling Conner into the hug too. She didn't say anything, but her shoulders shaking said enough.

Romulus watched them, and relaxed a bit more as Valiel initiated a group hug. He glanced at Kirk.
"Old history. We're gonna try to put it behind us, it seems like."

As the situation finally calmed down, Arriss pulled Ronnie close and held him, the slightest bit shaken by the interaction. “Yes, he’s a friend,” she whispered. “We met after I finished signing the papers…”

Arriss went silent for a while, her face hidden in his shoulder, before she noticed her crew mates standing at the end of the hall. Like Ronnie, her eyes were drawn to Valiel. She had never seen Valiel look so upset before. Tears filled Valiel’s eyes, and Arriss watched as they headed down the hall towards them.

Arriss wrapped her arms around her two partners, pulling them close. “Hey, everything’s okay,” she whispered. “We’re together now.”

Kirk smiled faintly and nodded. “Probably for the best,” he said. Then, with a laugh, he added, “guess you can’t go after Arriss anymore since Ronnie’s back.”

Ronnie had just grunted at her explanation, before Valiel had pulled them in. Arriss was comforting, Valiel was crying, Ronnie was worried and concerned, and Conner…. well, he hadn't cracked a joke yet. Not a good sign.

Romulus glanced at Kirk, his face unreadable. "And girl who could love a guy like that porbably isn't my type anyway…" He shook his head, as if to dislodge the thought, before heading off down the hall the other way. "C'mon. Let's go find your sister."

Ronnie looked up as Romulus moved off, and relaxed a bit more. Though he was still worried.
"Valiel… what happened?" She looked up at him, and shook her head.
So it wasn't the thing he'd been worried about.
"Not the usual?" She shook her head again.

As they finally separated from the group hug, Arriss took Ronnie’s hand and glanced up at him. Her eyes were rimmed with tears and full of exhaustion. It made sense, considering what they had just gone through.

“We’ve all had a long day,” Arriss said softly. “Let’s go back to my room. We’ll rest, turn on a movie, talk about what happened… whatever we need to do.”

Conner kept him arm around Valiel, trying to show support for her. “Sounds good.” He grinned faintly. “They better have a popcorn maker on this ship.”

Mercy was in room, staring blankly at the ceiling, when she heard a knock coming from her door. With a sigh, she stood up and headed to the door, swinging it open. She immediately wiped the tears from her eyes when she saw Romulus and Kirk standing there.

“Hey.” She forced a small smile. “Done showing Arriss around?”

Ronnie shook his head just a little. "I specifically requested a larger room to accommodate all 4 of you, if you wanted. Either visiting, or, heck, I'd even take roommates. But see-" his face went all serious. "-these are the kinds of things you do when negotiating a contract. You can't just-…" he stopped, noting Valiel's distress, Arriss's exhaustion, and the fact Conner wasn't teasing.
Not the time.
"Anyway. Let's go back to my room, where it'll be a little easier to relax."
He reached down and laced his fingers with Arriss's, before walking towards his room.
…….

Romulus nodded quickly, a short jerky movement. "Yup. Wanted to check on you." She'd clearly been crying, and he wasn't in the mood to talk about Arriss and Ronnie and their group yet. "Can we help you with something? Give you someone to talk to? Need a shoulder to wipe those tears on?"
Usually an offer like that would have been made with a grin and a flirtatious flex, but right now, Romulus sincerely wasn't in the mood. He just wanted to help.

Arriss smiled when Ronnie suggested that they go back to his room and gently squeezed his hand as he laced their fingers. The four of them walked back to Ronnie’s room in mostly silence, but eventually, Arriss leaned over to him.

“What was that all about?” she asked softly. “I don’t want to pry, but that whole confrontation was intense.”

Right after Arriss finished speaking, they arrived at his room. She walked inside and sat down on the edge of the bed before glancing at him, clearly not ready to let this topic go.

“A shoulder to cry on?” Despite her mood, Mercy managed to laugh softly at his suggestion. “You mean yours?”

She may have laughed at his comment, but it wasn’t long before she moved towards him and placed her forehead on his shoulder. She wanted a hug, but it had been long time since she had had physical contact with anyone.

Kirk sent a reassuring smile to Romulus. “I’ll go get some water for her,” he said. “I’ll be back.”

Ronnie used a thumb code to open the door, revealing a room that was really two rooms, a bedroom and what looked like more of a living room. It was three sets of long couches arranged in a square, leaving the 4th side open. There, Moro-12's little blue symbol could be seen.
The bedroom had a second bed in it, both of them queen sized. Closet space, nightstands, everything was doubled from the spaces each of the others had been assigned.

He'd been quiet, mulling over what to tell Arriss, and the look on her face let him know he wasn't getting out of it. He plopped onto the bed next to her. "Hey, Hal?"
Moro-12's voice had changed. It was male, but oddly monotone. "Yes, Dave?"
"Give Conner and Valiel movie options, and do we hav popcorn on this ship?"
"I can do both, Dave."
Valiel perked up a bit, before pulling Conner to one of the couches.

Ronnie grinned at the ridiculousness of the names, before turning back to Arriss.
"Romulus and I have met before, and-… it just wasn't good. War is stupid."
………..

"I do mean mine." Romulus said gently. When she accepted his offer, he instinctively looped a huge arm around her shoulders and gave a light squeeze. "See? Functional crying shoulder."

He started to ask Kirk what he meant, since the rooms had small nano-forges in them that could easily get her some water. However, the look on Kirk's face filled him in, before he made an idiot of himself.
"Mercy… do you want to talk about it?"

Arriss watched her crew mates through the door for a few moments. The two of them, to her delight, looked happy for once. They were sorting through the movies, and Arriss watched as Conner made immature jokes at all of the names. Eventually, she turned to Ronnie, placing a kiss on his cheek.

“War is stupid, but that’s all over now,” she said softly. “If you ever want to talk about it, I’m right here.”

She held his hand for a while as she gazed over at him before she laid down, her gaze going over to the window. The galaxy outside was spread out before them, its light casting a warm glow into the room.

“You know, you don’t have to stay here with me if you don’t want to,” she said softly. “You can go watch movies with Conner and Valiel.”

Mercy hesitated at first. She wasn’t used to sharing her emotions with others. Especially not Romulus. But eventually, she relented, and she led him into her room.

“There’s a lot I haven’t told you, I guess.” She laughed weakly. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Valiel had to laugh at Conner's antics. He managed to make her feel better in the middle of the vast open empty space that was her heart at the moment.

Ronnie gave the two of them a slight smile, before turning back to Arriss when she kissed his cheek.
"I don't know what to think right at the moment, Arriss. I want to talk to you about it, but-… words just aren't my thing."
And it was true. Ronnie wanted to open up, wanted to just let it all out and let her know, but how to say it all and when and how to not sound like a psycho or something-… he wound up just shaking his head, looking frustrated.
The windows had been something he'd asked Hal to configure, and the AI had moved some plating around, specifically because he knew Arriss liked it.
He squeezed her hand gently, sliding into the bed behind her, close, but not rudely close. "And why would I do that, when you're right here?"
…………

Romulus stood in her room, remembering for a second that other people didn't lift their ceilings. He had to duck to step in, and wound up just sitting cross-legged on the ground in the middle of her room.
"Start wherever you're comfortable. I wouldn't mind hearing the beginning though."

Conner hurried towards the door to get the popcorn, only to return a few moments later and plop down by Valiel’s side.
“Pick a movie, any movie.” He grinned at her. “But nothing too weird.”

Arriss noticed him slide up beside her, and she turned towards him, kissing his forehead. All of this was so new to her, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about getting her heart so wrapped in someone when her job was so dangerous. But, despite her hesitances, she still wanted to spend as much time as she could with Ronnie.
“I love you, you know that?”
She closed her eyes as she rested her head on his chest and played with his hair. She had so many thoughs— about Ronnie, about the crew, about their current situation— but she was glad to have a few moments of peace.
“How was your first day on the ship?” she whispered. “I’m sure a lot has happened since I last saw you.”

Mercy sat down on the floor next to him, picking at one of her nails. It was odd to see Romulus be so gentle and serious with her, but at the same time, it was nice.
“Well, I used to have a… uh, romantic partner.” She sighed softly. “He wasn’t a good guy. Not at all. He had been traumatized by what he went through on board another ship, and he took his anger out on everyone else.”

Valiel just kinda shrugged. "You pick, I don't know what mood I'm in." She grabbed a handful of popcorn and looked at it, frowning. "Greasy styrofoam?"

… (frankly, nothing of too much import was gonna happen here on my end, so they could be background, unless you really Want to keep up with 3 convos at once)…

Ronnie blinked as Arriss turned towards him, making his decision to lay down… a lot closer and more intimate than he'd meant for it to be. Which was ok, he just wasn't sure what the rules were.
"I love you too, Arriss." He said quietly. She was being soft with him, and he wanted to return it, but again, he wasn't sure where the lines were.
"My first day? I've only been awake a couple of hours. Woke up post surgery and repair, I guess. My body hurts a lot, but I'm in one piece right now. Uhh… got called in to talk to the Commander, told I was the last and my entire crew had signed up. Asked him some questions, we talked for about an hour, which he said was longer than anyone else but you, and only cuz you took so long to think it over. And then came here, got my earpiece, and went looking for you." He looked down at her.
"You?"
……….

Romulus could be gentle, he just usually defaulted to jocular and charming in a hammy kind of way.
Except, seeing Ronnie had knocked all the stuffing out of him for the time being.
He listened carefully, nodding. Shipboard trauma was rarely handled well if the person continued their service, and he'd seen more guys than one do what she was describing. Though, as a romantic partner, she likely got it worse than others.
"Not good." he said quietly. "What happened? Break-up, or…" he left it open, prompting her to go on.

(( Oh yeah that’s waaaay too much of a struggle xD ))

She glanced out the window against, a small smile on her face. She had always loved outer space; it was one of the reason why she’d joined this mission in the first place. Of course, there were things she hated about her job, but she would never get sick of being able to look out the window and see the galaxy.

“Well, most of my day was spent worrying about you.” She smiled faintly and closed her eyes. “Last time I saw you, you were injured, and I had no idea if you were in a stable condition or not.”

She sighed softly, going silent for a few moments as she listened to the sounds of the ship. She loved how she could talk about anything with him. It was one of the aspects of their relationship that made it so special.

“I’m just… I’m so scared, Ronnie,” she whispered. “I keep trying to do what’s right for my crew, but I feel like I keep messing it up. What if they end up getting killed because of me?”

Mercy sighed, rocking back and forth slightly. It was getting late, and she was exhausted, but she didn’t want to be left here all alone again.

“Eh, I guess a break up. More like I avoided him as much as possible. It’s pretty hard in a small ship.” She glanced over at him. “When our ship was attacked, he fought back, and I think he may have been killed. I never heard from him again after that.”