Define The Relationship

Posted on Sun Jul 10th, 2022 @ 5:36pm by Senior Chief Petty Officer Mason Malone & Ensign George Paxton
Edited on on Sun Jul 10th, 2022 @ 5:36pm

Mission: Character Development
Location: George's quarters
2777 words - 5.6 OF Standard Post Measure

George worked feverishly in his quarters, making a hearty and delicious meal for himself and Mason. After shore leave, George had thought long and hard about his relationship with the chief petty officer and decided that it was time they defined what they were to each other. The suggestion of a night out camping on the planet had really set his gears in motion when he realized that he wanted nothing more than to spend the night amongst the stars with Mason, but he also wanted to make sure they were both on the same page as far as their relationship was concerned.

The door chime went off, right on time. George fluffed up the flowers he had placed on the table and nervously wiped the sweat from his brow before moving to answer it. "Hi, Mason. Thanks for joining me for dinner," the engineer motioned for Mason to enter.

Mason glanced past the engineer for a moment as the door opened. "You look nervous," he pointed out, without judgement however. It was a simple observation of fact, thanks to years of training. "There's no reason to be," he added in promise as he stepped inside. He was wearing one of his longer shirts again, carrying a small parcel under his arm, which he deftly retrieved and thrust at the other man. "I brought you something..."

George retrieved the package and opened it. "Oh, Mason. I love it! Thank you so much," he exclaimed with an endearing smile. "You made this yourself?"

Quietly, the security officer nodded. "It's one of the softest fabrics the replicator could give me so you could sleep in it if you wanted to or even just wear it whenever. I just wanted to give you something because of all your cooking efforts. It only seemed fair, right?" He smiled softly, happy to see his gift was well received.

"You didn't have to do that. I love cooking, especially when you're joining me for a meal," George's smile grew larger. "Thank you, Mason. I can't wait to wear it!" Just then a buzzer went off. "That'll be the potatoes. Shall we?" He headed towards the table and then grabbed everything he had just finished cooking and placed it at the center. "Cajun boudin, red potatoes, and green beans. I hope you like it!"

"And I love making clothes," Mason retorted with a smile. "Cajun what?" He asked as he took a seat at the table. For all his linguistical knowledge, he had never heard of this before. "Vegetarian?" He queried upon the lack of mention of protein.

"No," George chuckled. "Although I do enjoy a vegetarian dish from time to time, it's not how I always eat. Cajun boudin is a type of sausage that we have often in south Louisiana. It's usually made with pork, liver, rice, and seasonings. It's got a little spice, but not too much. Try it and let me know what you think."

"I'm an omnivore," Mason grinned, "not a rabbit. I prefer meat, obviously." He dipped a spoon into the bowl and took a few careful bites. He then speared a piece of sausage and samples it. "Oh wow this is amazing," he exclaimed, "sausages made with rice...who knew?"

George was overjoyed with Mason's liking of the dish. "Well, I'm certainly glad that you've liked all of the cajun dishes so far. Now I know I could take you to visit back home and you wouldn't go hungry," he chuckled. "Speaking of which," George swallowed hard and the sweat began to accumulate once more on his forehead. "Part of the reason I asked you over tonight is because, uh. Well, I. Um, you see. I really like cooking. For you. I mean." He stopped and closed his eyes while taking in a deep breath. "I really like you, Mason. That much I think is obvious, but, well...I feel as though we should....define our relationship. Are we just friends? Or more?"

"I'd like to think more," Mason answered honestly, while trying not to choke on a bite of food as the question caught him off guard. "I really do like you too." As if that hadn't been obvious already. "I really like spending time with you and I truly feel like I can be myself." But was he ready for more? Was he ready at all, given how he'd been burned badly recently? "I am sure we're friends, and I do like to think more... But not yet..." He paused, cheeks flushing scarlet. "...lovers..." He finished softly, almost shyly.

"I understand not wanting to get too serious just yet, and I don't think I want that either. Not for a while. However, what I would like to know is...are we...dating? Are we exclusive or do you not do exclusive relationships? Everyone has different backgrounds and dating desires. I just....well, you mentioned camping before. And I don't want either of us to get our hearts broken by moving to a step we aren't ready for. Which is partially why I tried to avoid camping. I don't know that I can keep my hands to myself when...uhm...when we're alone," George gave a sheepish smile.

Mason gave a firm nod as he reached for George's hand. "Yes," he answered without hesitation, "I'd say we are dating, and I am definitely the exclusive kind of guy." He returned the sheepish smile with one of his own. "While I feel a little jitterish about this all, especially given ah... some recent events.. I don't think I want you to keep them to yourself. I won't feel hurt if you try to, but as far as I'm concerned, I want to be with you. I wouldn't be here and go through so much effort, if I didn't want to be here."

George put his hand into Mason's and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. It's the answer I was hoping for," he smiled and squeezed Mason's hand slightly. His nerves finally started to calm down and George dived back into his meal with a giddy grin on his face. "You know, I've been meaning to ask. Do you have a favorite dish?"

"No, not really... A good steak and fries maybe? Do you?" Mason looked up, spoon poised halfway between his plate and his mouth.

"Gumbo in winter and this in summer," George replied. "I'm a seasonal guy I guess. Uh I mean, when it comes to food only!" He corrected himself, not wanting Mason to think he changed his mind on anything else seasonally.

Offering an understanding smile, Mason squeezed the hand he still seemed to hold. "I got what you meant. In winter I like a hearty stew. But we don't really get seasons on starships do we? Wouldn't it be hilarious to have the halls covered in snow in winter? Or at the very least, the bridge?"

"I think it would be quite nice actually," George chuckled. "A change of scenery for the seasons wouldn't be a bad idea. I do enjoy working on a starship and all of the benefits that come along with it, but I do sometimes miss the seasons and home in general. However, I feel as though I miss home a little less when I'm with you," the engineer smiled and then released Mason's hand to grab a drink from his glass.

"I agree." Mason took the opportunity to take a sip as well. "Maybe we should just shower the ship in snow or petals or leaves sometime. Just for the heck of it?"

"Maybe, though I'm not sure I want to know what kind of trouble that would get us in," George took another bite of his dish, relishing the flavors and Mason's company. "How are things in security lately? We haven't had a chance to catch up since shore leave."

"Pretty quiet. I feel I'm getting along well with the new chief and I guess I'm somewhat avoiding Kevan. In all honesty, I think that friendship is completely destroyed now...thanks to Teyo. I haven't tried talking to him and if I have to be honest, I don't really want to right now?"

"Teyo," George shook his head. "I'm sorry that you feel your friendship was ruined with Kevan. Maybe he will come around someday. It's great that you're getting along with the chief though, I've always found that to be important. I've heard good things about Lieutenant Zade."

Mason nodded. "Maybe, in time... I'm not going to bug him about it." He signed. "What about engineering? All well down there?"

"As well as it can be. I've been trying to pick up some extra duties while Finn is supposed to be recovering, but to be honest it's a little exhausting. I'm sure partly because I'm less able to avoid tasks in the jefferies tubes. In addition to regular engineering tasks, we're also trying to find anything that clone might have planted to sabotage the ship. So far we haven't found anything but Finn is convinced something was done and we just haven't found it yet."

"Sounds like you need help from a security investigations officer," Mason smirked, "why aren't you able to avoid them? Isn't there some newbie you could assign to the task?"

"You know, that's not a bad idea. Maybe tomorrow you can help us out?" George asked, excited at the prospect of help from one of his favorite people. "As for the newbies, not really. You see at the beginning of every shift, some of the more experienced engineers get together and we go through the major tasks of the day. Usually, Finn and Kimeron would split most of the jefferies tubes tasks, but half of those have fallen on me of late. They're usually tasks that we bring newbies on so they can shadow and gain experience, but not items they can tackle on their own. I can't say I enjoy it, but I will say I think my claustrophobia has gotten a little better since I've been going in the tubes more often."

"That's good to hear..." Mason smiled, reaching out again. "I could come with you...if my duties allow it of course. And if I'm to help look for damage or sabotage....I'm sure my schedule can be arranged to have you as my ah...buddy? We don't want me to get lost do we?"

"I appreciate the offer, but I absolutely can't afford to be distracted right now. I just have too much on my plate," George smiled, thinking on how nice it could be to actually have Mason with him. "I still think we could use your help, but I don't think you'll find much physically in the jefferies tubes. Finn thinks it's probably hidden programs and altered commands. They're much easier to hide than physical implementations."

"Hmm... I used to be a radioman. I suppose I could dive into some programs but I'll need help. Diagnostics may help in finding altered commands."

"We have diagnostics running on just about everything. I'll see who we can spare to help you if you need it unless you want to work on it with me after hours. We can figure that out later though, I didn't mean to bog down our whole conversation this evening with work," George said.

"I'll gladly offer my free time to help if that means spending time with you. But for now....are we going camping then? We could sleep under the stars or in a tent."

"Like tonight?" George asked for clarification. "I don't have any holodeck time reserved tonight."

"Oh right... Well this ship has an arboretum right? Or uhm.... The marine deck...we could set up a projector and pretend to camp under the stars?"

"For that matter, we could camp right here," George stood from the table with a smirk and disappeared into the next room. He emerged moments later with a tent and a projector. "What do you say? Some good ol' living room camping? We can gaze at the stars while we have dessert."

"Oh I like that even better!" He frowned. "I don't have anything with me though, no toiletries, no sleepwear... Unless you have something I can borrow?"

"I do! Hold on one second," George rushed back into his room. He slipped himself into the shirt that Mason had given him and left boxers on underneath. He grabbed a pair of his own shorts and a shirt and brought them back to the living room. "You can try these and if that doesn't work, we can always replicate something. I'll put up the tent while you change," George smiled enthusiastically.

"I don't require privacy to change," Mason chuckled, "it's just a shirt you know... you forget where I come from. Privacy out in the field is... nonexistent." He grinned as he peeled himself out of his clothes and tried the shirt that was given to him. It was a snug fit, but comfortable. "So now are we to fasten the pegs?" He asked as he moved to help.

"No pegs necessary!" George exclaimed. "We just need to insert the clips at the bottom and then set it upright and we're done. You grab that side and I'll do this one. The top of this tent just has a screen, so we can even lay inside and watch the stars."

"No pegs?" Mason arched both eyebrows in surprise. "Wow..." He did as he was told, praying he wouldn't mess things up as this wasn't a settup he'd seen before. "I can't wait to see the stars," he said longingly.

Once all of the clips were inserted, they worked together to stand it up. George placed his hands on his hips in a successful stance. "It looks great! I'll go and grab some pillows and blankets. Dessert is on the table. Do you mind putting a slice on a plate for each of us? It's pecan pie."

"Oh gosh I feel so spoiled," Mason exclaimed as he went to grab the pie. "I love pecan pie, it's one of my favourites." He crawled into the tent after George and deposited himself on the pile of blankets, crossing his legs to put the plate in his lap. "Here..." He scooped up a spoonful and offered it to George.

"Ooh, I think it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself," George smiled. "What do you think? Does it live up to your pecan pie standards?"

"Oh definitely!" He smiled, drawing George towards him. "Especially, if you made it because I'm sure then it'll have that one special ingredient." He scooped up another spoonful, ready to feed it to the engineer.

George placed his hand on Mason's, pushing the spoon back to the plate and the plate to the floor. With his free hand, he caressed Mason's face, gently stroking his cheek. "I wouldn't want to share this view with anyone else," the engineer said before leaning in for a kiss.

The move caught him by surprise and he fell backwards into the pile of pillows, pulling George with him. "Neither would I," he breathed around the kiss, returning it with passion.

George broke into a laugh after their kiss when they smacked into the fluffy pile of pillows. "I take it I caught you by surprise? I did warn you that I wasn't sure I could keep my hands to myself if we were zipped up in a tent together."

"You warned me yes, but I didn't expect that to be mere seconds into it. And I told you I wouldn't want you to keep them to yourself but... I still don't want to move too fast....if we can help it I mean." If they couldn't well, then they couldn't....

"My apologies," George repented. "My emotions caught the better of me. I was just so excited that we were on the page as far as our relationship and then everything else seemed to be going perfectly. I guess I couldn't help myself."

"Don't ever stop being yourself," Mason implored him, "I'm good with being kissed. In fact, I think...we need some practice..." He smiled invitingly as he pulled the man back into his arms. "Lots of practice..."

George's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "You don't have to tell me twice," he said as he fell into Mason's arms and locked lips with his.

Mason smiled around the kiss, drawing him closer and closing his eyes as he enjoyed the attention. So much for eating pie, or watching the stars...