[BACK STORY] Come Back To Me, Part 1
Posted on Sunday May 22nd, 2022 @ 7:01pm by Lieutenant Commander Canaan Serine & Commodore Gregory Paladin
Edited on on Sunday May 22nd, 2022 @ 7:03pm
928 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
S1-A1-Ep. 2: Our Foremost Virtues
Location: USS Cardinal; Personal Quarters, Deck 1
Timeline: 2393.10.18 at 2357 hours
[ON]
Canaan zipped up the empty rucksack, compressing it until he could fold it neatly without a pocket of air, causing it to go all lumpy, like a sleeping bag that wouldn’t fit right in its sleeve. Creasing the bag into a rectangular shape, he placed it aside on the corner of the bed, his gaze catching the emblem of the USS Poseidon embroidered into the thick canvas material. He reached out, the tips of his fingers tracing the pronounced thread, a flash of memory seizing him at that moment.
Flashback.
“What does this mean for us?” Gregory’s voice was soft, an ever-present calm in a universe that screamed chaos. He sat on the edge of the bed, hands cupping either knee as his eyes took inventory of the clothing, organized by type and neatly stacked all over the comforter. He reached out, smoothing a wrinkle from a gray undershirt that sat nearby before his gaze met Canaan’s.
Canaan had always found Gregory’s eyes beautifully intense. On the one hand, they were the color of lapis stone, a blue that often looked purple when the light hit just the right angle. Canaan would get lost in Gregory’s stare, drawn in by the tumultuous intensity of both color and emotion. There was a lot of it, too, feeling behind those eyes. They often said more than the words spoken by the quiet-natured Commodore. Gregory wasn’t a conversationalist – He was a stern man who spoke plainly, yet with conviction. It was one of the many qualities of the man that Canaan had appreciated most. He never needed to question where he stood with Gregory; that was evident. And, if Canaan ever doubted it, Gregory was quick to offer an unflinching reminder.
So, when he saw the uncertainty in Gregory’s eyes, Canaan’s heart couldn’t help but ache.
“I-I think we both know.” Canaan’s statement was filled with a sadness Gregory hadn’t heard in some time, and it had him reaching out instinctively toward his beloved. “Scientific expeditions aren’t usually short-term assignments, are they?” He accepted Gregory’s hands, their palms pressing together, Canaan’s soft against Gregory’s rough, calloused skin.
Gregory thought on Canaan’s words, his head shaking with a mutual understanding, “No, I don’t suppose they are.”
“You understand, though, why I have to go. Please tell me you do.” Canaan walked around the bed until he stood in front of Gregory, their hands clasped tightly together.
“I do,” Gregory pulled Canaan close, pulling his hand away from the younger man’s if only to wrap his arms around Canaan’s thin waist, holding him close as he rested his cheek against the man’s chest. “I’m scared for you.”
Canaan’s long fingers combed through Gregory’s thick, raven black hair, gently holding his head. “I am too,” he confessed. Gregory was the only one Canaan had trusted intimately enough to share some of what had happened during the Arach-VI expedition. He’d only just started to open up to Kana about the nightmares he and his colleagues had unearthed nearly four years into the study and the horrors that followed. Gregory knew - Perhaps not every terrible detail, as Canaan was still guarded. Yet, Gregory knew enough to recognize in Canaan a terror that he saw in himself each time he relived the horrible losses suffered during the Dominion War. The trauma of their pasts had cultivated a steadfast bond between the two men. In their sorrow for what had happened, they’d discovered contentment for what could be.
“But this is a chance for me to find answers,” Gregory shifted his head until his chin rested on Canaan’s taught stomach, looking into his lover’s eyes.
“I know, but I’m afraid you won’t come back to me.”
This fear both men shared was why they were hitting the pause button. Canaan, in his search, could surely die – It was almost a foregone conclusion, really. Each member of the Arach-VI Expedition had been murdered, save for Canaan, so why should his fate be different? However, Canaan would find no peace, no rest until he found a way to lock away the hellish wraiths that he and the team had foolishly released.
Canaan shrugged, “I may not.” His admission caused Gregory to pull him even closer, hold him even tighter, not wanting to let go. Gregory was his protector, his shield, and his spear. He’d fight for Canaan until his very last breath, and he knew Canaan would do the same for him. Yet, Gregory knew Canaan was doing just that, protecting and fighting for the survival of Gregory, Kana, Freya, and countless others who would fall prey to the ghoul’s malicious ministrations. And it was only Canaan who could do it.
“But I hope you know that, if I shouldn’t… you were the last thought on my mind, the last beat of my heart, and your name the last word on my tongue.”
Gregory stood, cupping Canaan’s face between either hand. There were no words he could say that would alleviate this fear. Instead, Gregory pulled Canaan in, their lips playing against one another with an unbridled passion that had existed from the first moment they’d met.
To be continued...
[OFF]
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Lieutenant Commander Canaan Serine
Chief Science Officer
USS Poseidon
&
Commodore Gregory Paladin
Mission Advisor
USS Poseidon
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