Am I Crazy?!

Posted on Thu Jul 13th, 2023 @ 6:08pm by Ensign Kateyo Fenn & Ensign George Paxton

Mission: Character Development
Location: Main Shuttlebay
Timeline: Right after "Not Tonight"
1461 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure

"Dump him," Teyo said, a hint of something in his voice, maybe humour, maybe seriousness, who could tell with him. He was lying on his back, head buried under the console of the shuttle he would soon be boarding to map out the asteroid belt. George, standing near the rear auxiliary control station, had been in a foul mood all morning, which in all honestly the Trill kind of liked. The human was usually so chipper and upbeat, it was enough to make him sick. Today was a different story, and when he finally pulled the reason for the bad mood from Pax he only had one response. "Dump him," he repeated since he had had no response the first time.

George grunted. Part of him wanted to. It was always easier to run from your problems than it was to face them, but he had never been that type, with the exception of small spaces. "No," he replied flatly as he fiddled with some settings on the screen in front of him. He hadn't been very invested or alert with regard to work all day. "I can't give up on him because of one bad experience."

Teyo rolled his eyes so hard he nearly dropped the tool he was using, which would have been very unfortunate, for his face. He gripped the item a little harder, not wanting to pay sickbay a visit for a broken nose, not again. "It's your choice, but I would. Mason is fun, in his own way, but sometimes these things run their course."

George chuckled as Teyo fumbled with the tool and then sighed. "Why do you give up on everything so easily? Who hurt you?" His lips twisted into a slight smirk, knowing Teyo wasn't one to talk about feelings. He'd seemingly rather cover them up with mass chaos than confront anything real. "What's the longest relationship you've ever been in any way?"

"No one hurt me," Teyo replied, a little disgruntledly. "I'm just not a fool, I know when my time is more precious than someone else's bullsh-." The computer beeped as the sequencer finished its cycle. The Trill slid out from under the console, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead as he did so. He pulled off his jacket and threw it onto the pilot's seat. "I don't do relationships," he finally answered as he checked over his work. "And before you say something smart, that's by choice."

"But why?" George asked. "Don't you think it feels good to be in a relationship with someone you can depend on and share a life with? What's not to love about that? Why purposely avoid it?" He wondered aloud.

Teyo turned and stared at the human, trying to work out if he was being serious or having him on. The guy is being totally serious, Teyo thought as he mentally facepalmed himself. "Because I'm 26!" He said bluntly. "I have a lot of living to do before I find the right people to settle down with. The real question is why are you so needy? Why are you ignoring Mason's red flags?"

George chuckled. "I'm not needy, though I am curious as to what you think his red flags are. I'm sure I'm biased and maybe I'm just missing it but I'm happy to take some outside perspective, so please enlighten me," he smiled.

Teyo signed, how was he here again? The look on George's face, the almost puppy-like eyes, could he really crush the human's bubble like this? He leaned back, perched slightly on the console he had previously been working on. He folded his arms over his slightly damp vest, stalling for the right words to say. "You know what yellow alert is right?" He asked rhetorically. "It's a ready alert, there are signs of potential danger and we need to be ready in case anything happens. Mason is yellow alert. With him, the situation can go either way. He is charming enough and definitely sexy, he says all the right things and does all the right things. But the more you know him the more you see the cracks, the insecurity, the possessiveness, the hint of crazy. You know what I mean?"

"Hmmm yes, I definitely know what you mean," George fibbed. He could've denied what Fenn said, but now his curiosity was piqued. "So what are my red flags?" He asked with a small smile as he punched some calibration commands into the console.

Teyo didn't believe George for a second, in one ear and out of the other; he didn't expect anything more to be honest. "You?" He repeated, a little taken aback by the change of direction. "That's obvious, you're too nice, I don't buy it. No one is this nice, it makes me...wary. I bet you've never even stepped on a dretti, or whatever the earth equivalent is, ants maybe?"

"I've killed a snake or two back home, does that count?" He laughed. "What do you think I could possibly be hiding? I'm an open book, try me." George shrugged. "I'm just...not an obnoxious ass about it. How's that for nice?" He chuckled and gave Teyo a light friendly nudge.

"Are you calling me obnoxious?" Teyo asked, half shocked and half amused. "Careful George, you might get accused of having an actual personality," he said with a toothy grin. He turned back to face the console as it started screaming at him for attention. He fixed the issue and began running another diagnostic. "I'm guessing you didn't agree with my assessment of your boyfriend?" He asked without looking at George.

"Not really," he replied honestly as he tooled away at the shuttle's drive coil. "We're all a little insecure, in one way or another," he held his hand up before Teyo could respond. "Maybe not you, but most people are. I don't think he's possessive either, at least I haven't seen a streak of jealousy yet. As for hint of crazy, I think you fit that description a little better than Mason, no offense Fenn."

Teyo turned around to face George, amusement etched all over his dark features. "Crazy? Oh let's dig further into that comment, how so?" He couldn't wait to hear Pax's assessment of his psyche.

"Tell me you don't find someone you like and have fun with them and then just abandon them for no reason? Or set up pranks or purposely do things that'll get you in trouble?" George asked. "How many times did Finn try to get you on a more interesting assignment just to try to keep your mind active only for you to sabotage yourself or get bored anyway?"

"And that's why you think I'm crazy?" Teyo asked, his grin turning into a full smile now. "No offense Pax, but stick to your day job 'cause you'd make a terrible Counsellor." He was honestly a bit disappointed in George's assessment of him. He expected the human to go deeper, really drive into his personality, there was enough of it. But everything the human had said was all surface-level bull. Not bull because it wasn't true, well some of it wasn't, but bull because the man had fought his inner voice and gave a very tepid version of events. "Ah well, maybe you'll grow a pair next time," he said, as though George had been privy to his inner thoughts.

"I never said I'd make a good counselor, I merely suggested that you were crazy," George smirked. "You can't honestly tell me that someone who constantly tries to purposely sabotage their personal life and career isn't crazy. But hey, maybe we need a little crazy around here sometimes," he chuckled left the room with a casual wave before Fenn had a chance to respond. Perhaps, he thought, Ensign Fenn isn't all bad.

Teyo watched as the human left, shaking his head. Pax had given him reason to think, was he egotistical? Yes. Was he vain? Absolutely. Was he narcissistic? Almost without a doubt. But was he crazy? The Trill shook his head again, no, he didn't think he was at all. The mere fact he was asking himself the question was the only answer he needed. I do not believe you actually need fixing. Savin's words bounced around in his head again and he smiled. If the Chief Counsellor didn't think there was anything wrong with him then that was good enough for him.

The computer beeped loudly again, demanding the Trill's attention. "If anything is going to make me crazy it's you!" He said as he finished the job he was assigned to do.