Ensign Elijah Kovacs: Savour the Slow
Mark P
((Botanical Arboretum, Lower Level, Deck 9, USS Octavia E. Butler))
Their first ‘out and about’ date was giving healthy doses of both good times and awkward moments. Lhandon was way more comfortable in his skin and with himself than Eli. The engineer had enough self-awareness to realize he was a bit envious with how much confidence the man had — aside from new relationship nerves.
The tranquil atmosphere of the arboretum, with its fragrant blossoms and the gentle background of various conversations, did little to alleviate the sudden tension that had settled between them. What would happen if one of them transferred? If one of them died on a mission? For now, Eli didn’t want to think about that. They’d now hit another awkward patch on their date.
Nilsen: I…didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable
Kovacs: No, it’s not that, it’s just… this feeling of what we have now, I want to savour it for as long as we can. ::watching the clouds go by:: I just worry that if I think too far down the road, I’ll get in my head about everything.
Nilsen: Yeah…yeah…I've… (beat) I've not stopped.
Eli didn’t want to affirm or deny the statement. He let it rest and Lhandon continued.
Nilsen: Yeah…I want that too.
Another moment of silence hung between them.
Nilsen: And I ain’t just saying it ::breathing in deeply for a second:: with leaving home, the farm, then all the crap that happened with Echo Squad and then past few missions being nothing short of crazy, and I nearly died on Alpha Brenkevli II, and I nearly didn’t come back from the mine…
Lhando laid back down and placed his arms around Eli, while they both looked up at the clouds. As the ops officer started up again, Eli smirked. Slowing down would not be easy for the man, it seemed like his mind ran lightyears every second.
Nilsen:…yeah…I wanna slow down with ya Eli…You’re going to have to teach me how to though.
Kovacs eyebrows raised, maybe Nilsen was part-Betazed in that moment.
Lhandon turned his body a bit so that they were facing each other, and Lhandon looked over to him, moving his hand to Eli’s chin. The engineer wondered what was happening in that mental hurricane.
Nilsen: We got all the time in the world right?
Kovacs: We do. (smiling)
They stared at each other for several minutes, the din of the arboretum fading away before Lhandon sat up.
Nilsen: Response
Kovacs: How… How did you know? ::eyes narrowing in mock suspicion::
He’d forgotten that it was today? It wasn’t like the LCARS flashed up with balloons and confetti.
Eli hadn’t properly celebrated his birthday for as long as he could remember. Even when he was younger, usually one of his parents was in absentia, sending their warm wishes and apologies via subspace. And, with being in the academy for the last several years, he’d elected to abstain from celebrating to maintain focus on his studies.
Nilsen: Response
Kovacs: That’s vague… ::waggling his finger:: but thank you.
Nilsen: Response
Kovacs: (surprised) A gift?
Tags/TBC
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Ensign Elijah Kovacs
Engineering Officer
USS Octavia E. Butler
O240005JH3
he/him/his (player/character)