Get-together

Posted on Fri Feb 2nd, 2024 @ 1:15am by Senior Chief Petty Officer Mason Malone & Ensign George Paxton & Ensign Rimal Iska

Mission: Character Development
Location: Mason's quarters
Timeline: Pre-launch, leave-end
2132 words - 4.3 OF Standard Post Measure

All day, Mason had debated what to do. Whether to just invite George for dinner and just try to have a nice evening together, or invite a third, somewhat neutral party to ease tensions a little. Not only that but the person he had in mind, had also been there during the attack, and had gotten him to sickbay when he was injured and incapable of getting there by himself.

Thus, he has sent the invitation to dinner to both men, deciding on his own -small- quarters rather than impose on George's larger quarters. This way, they could leave when they wanted to and Mason wouldn't be in a position of having to leave just in case.

He looked at the dining table, set for three and taking up quite a chunk of space at that. The replicator was almost ready, having been programmed for one of George's favourite dishes. He prayed he had gotten it right otherwise there'd always be steak and fries as a reserve. Now all he could do was wait.

A dinner invitation? Iska wasn't sure what to make of the message illuminating his computer's screen. He certainly wouldn't turn down a meal with a friend, but it felt weird for this invite to come from Mason. He was a coworker, and since he had no insight to what this invitation held, it left the Bajoran wary.

Pausing at the quarters mentioned in the invite, Iska stared at the seam for a moment before pressing the chime. There wasn't much in the way of desired attire in the invite, so he went with something slightly more formal. Nice --and unwrinkled-- dark pants, with a grey shirt and a formal, Bajoran jacket that could be removed to make it more casual.

"Come in," Mason smiled as he opened the door. "Thank you for coming, please make yourself comfortable." He gestured towards his sparse living area where a pitch black cat was snoozing on the couch. "That's Merlin, you can just nudge him aside if needed."

George arrived only moments later, dressed in a casual pair of jeans and a plain olive green colored shirt. They had always been casual in the past and he didn't think anything more formal would be required. It was curious that Iska had been addd to the invite, he thought. Perhaps this was to be the start of that game night they had once talked about, but that would be a good thing. Games eased the tension.

"Sorry I'm a minute late. I brought cookies for dessert, but they um...they took a minute more to bake than I expected," he set the plate of cookies down on the table as he entered the room.

"Better late than never," Mason smiled, "dinner is actually just ready so if you'd take a seat at the table?" He moved over to the replicator where a sizeable pan had appeared, sending a strong spicy aroma into his small living space. He carried it over to the table and dished up. "How was everyone's day?"

"Mine was pretty good, just busy as usual. Never a dull time in engineering though," George examined the dish. it smelled somewhat familiar but didn't necessarily look like something he'd tried before. He took a bite and appreciated the taste. Something like a spicy jambalaya with a thicker sauce almost like etouffe.

Iska had sat on the couch for a moment before he saw George enter, and only a moment longer before Mason summoned them to the table. Taking a new seat at whatever chair they didn't occupy, Iska looked over the contents of the pan. It looked spicy. "Mine was uneventful," the Bajoran contributed, serving himself some of the food. "We don't have much to do while at spacedock, so it was a bunch of inventorying tasks." And avoiding Zora, he added in his head, remembering how pissed she was the other day.

"How was your day, Mason?" George asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing. It was clear that there was a still awkwardness in the air which made conversation a bit, uninspired. "And what is this by the way? It's good. Familiar yet unfamiliar....at the same time."

"It's your favourite food," Mason answered, somewhat proudly, "it should be familiar even if I probably didn't get it quite right." He sat down as they served themselves. "My day was fine, I'm slowly getting back to full duty. Just need to be careful not to overdo it I guess, same as always. And I spent the afternoon on dinner." He nodded towards the Bajoran. "Mostly to thank you for saving me during the pirate attackand in doing so, also saving George. Unfortunately my cooking skills leave something to be desired otherwise I would've tried something Bajoran."

"Is it...gumbo?" George asked.

Mason nodded slowly, not realizing he was holding his breath. "How does it taste?" He asked of both his guests, really hoping his efforts were acceptable.

"Oh, it's, uh, it's good. A little different, but still good," he smiled. "So what did happen after you two escaped? I don't think I ever got the full story."

Mason nodded towards the Bajoran. "You may want to tell this tale, my memory is a bit fuzzy..."

Iska, not really one for accepting compliments, half awkwardly mumbled a "don't mention it" as he focused on the food. After he swallowed the bite he had taken, he looked to Mason. "I still have some gaps in my memory," he prefaced. Some of his memories did return as the EMH healed him, but there were still empty spaces in his memory of the battle. "... but I remember us crawling through the tubes to get to sickbay. I know we had to go down a few decks. At some point, I must have fallen and gotten a concussion, but because of the gas," the mention of the gas reminded him of that faintly sweet smell, "we had to get out of the tubes. If we had been knocked out while still in the tubes..."

Iska glanced down at the bowl in front of him, feeling bad about potentially bringing down the mood. They all probably knew that they wouldn't have made it if they passed out in the tubes. "We got out... astrometrics, I think. I remember feeling really heavy, then waking up in sickbay with Mason. The EMH said he was summoned in astrometrics, so one of us must have summoned the EMH."

"Ah, well..." George pushed around the food on his plate looking for the words to follow up. "I guess I'm just glad you both made it ok. Anyway...uhh...how about we talk about...the last shore leave maybe? What did you do with your time?" He looked at Iska.

"I, um... I was on board," Iska awkwardly answered. The atmosphere in the quarters was already a bit strange, like there was something going on between the other two that he wasn’t aware of, and the question didn't really help. "I didn't really go anywhere. My family is on Bajor, so..." Glancing to Mason, he asked, "what about you, Mason? I didn't see you on the schedule for a few days."

Mason hesitated when it was his turn. "I went home," he finally answered, "my sisters are always happy when I have time to visit. I'm the one who's always out in deep space, and they do worry about me." He cast the others a sheepish look. "I'm the baby remember, and my oldest sister still likes to mother me. I don't blame her, or any of them but sometimes it's a bit awkward you know?" What he didn't mention was that they had wondered, quite vocally, about George's absence. He had told them a half truth to stay their curiosity and had told them not to call George to come visit anyway because he'd be busy.

"How are your sisters doing?" George asked, neglecting to give his own shore leave story. The truth was that he had visited family also, but more in search of advice as opposed to just rekindling family ties.

"Curious creatures as always," Mason smiled, "digging into my affairs as always too. They wondered why you didn't join me, or why I wasn't with you. They felt I should've been with you instead of them." There was no judgement in his voice as he spoke, only longing. "I think they were right...."

"I appreciated my space," George said with as kind a smile as he could muster. "I needed some time away to think. I visited with my older brother, Grant. We had some good discussion and of course had a good time catching up with the nieces and nephews. It was good to get away and just reset a bit."

Mason just nodded, wondering just how long this was going to take, George wanting his space. "How are they doing?" He finally asked.

"They're doing well," George replied. "They're really into playing uhm, aliens and smugglers. Of course, I had to play the smuggler...which, well, mostly ended in all of the kids just tackling me and getting arrested." He chuckled lightly before the conversation fell silent again.

This was probably one of the more awkward conversations Iska had ever sat through. He was starting to get the impression that his presence was to help keep some sort of peace between them. There was no way he was going to get involved and pop that proverbial bubble, though, so he sat silently, focused on the food on his plate.

Mason didn't need to be able to read people to know things were awkward. "Did anyone want seconds? I made enough to feed a platoon," he chuckled, "otherwise, I believe George brought dessert?"

"Oh right, I did, lemon bars," George took the lid off of the dish and started cutting the dessert. "Would either of you like a piece?"

Mason had to acknowledge that between the two of them, George by far was the better cook. "It smells absolutely divine," he praised, "I'll have some." He grinned at Iska. "George makes some of the best desserts....my sisters are absolutely envious about it."

Following to keep the peace undisturbed, Iska put his plate where he was instructed to and looked over George's food offering. "Almost looks like you took it right out of a cookbook. My sister likes to bake, though it's only my mother and I who will actually eat them." Glancing to Mason, he added, "my dad's too bitter from the Occupation to really enjoy much anymore, and my brothers never acquired a sweet tooth."

"What does your sister like to bake the most?" George asked, curious to learn more about Bajoran cuisine.

"Mostly sweetbreads," Iska responded, choosing one of the freshly cut dessert pieces. He inspected it before taking a bite from the corner. "You said these are lemon bars? Like, the sour thing from Earth? I'm surprised that it's not sour."

"It has the lemon flavor, without the sourness. Just a little bit of tartness. It was my mother's recipe, she's a great baker," George said, a little proud of the dessert he'd managed to produce. "It's not replicated either. I have a small kitchen mock up in my quarters. Sometimes I...I like to do things the old fashioned way."

"He does," Mason confirmed, unable to hide his admiration. "You really do need to teach me that some time. I think my sisters would absolutely love this "

"Sure," George smiled but didn't add more of a commitment and instead finished the lemon bar on his plate.

After a while, Mason stood to show his guests to the door, when they indicated getting ready to leave. As the door slid aside and George was ready to step out, Mason stopped him and gently cupped his cheek, finishing the move with a brief but no less loving kiss. "Good night," he said simply as he stepped back to give them room to leave.

"Good night," George replied, somewhat awkwardly, having not expected the kiss. "Uh, thanks for making dinner."

While thankful for the meal, Iska was ready to leave. The atmosphere was tense for reasons unknown to him, even if it did seem to get better near the end of the night, and he knew better than to ask about it. "Thank you for the invite, Mason. See you tomorrow for security rounds?" He asked, once the intimate moment between Mason and George was over.

"Yes of course. I'm cleared for full duty so I'll be there," Mason promised. "Good night..." as they left and the door closed, Mason sighed as he leaned against the doorframe. That had gone well enough, but not as well as he'd hoped.

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