JP: LCDR Nolen Hobart & Lieutenant Commander Talia Ohnari — Invitations (Part I)
Nolen Hobart
((Ohnari Quarters, Deck 13, USS Khitomer, En Route to Sector 001))
Lt. Commander Hobart was in a compromising position. It was late. He was in the Chief Medical Officer’s quarters. He was shirtless and laying in her bed. And he wasn't alone.
With his head propped onto a pair of attacked pillows, he held in one hand a PADD, which captured his unrelenting gaze. His other hand was busy, a bit lower. He stroked, with gentle care, a fuzzy lump. Then the lump snored, and he knew he was in trouble. Because once that spoiled blue bat fell asleep, there was no reckoning with him if you made the mistake of disturbing his slumber.
And what's worse, they were supposed to hate each other. Or at least that was the impression they gave to Lt. Commander Ohnari, the putative keeper of the winged beast. The pyrithian bat couldn't communicate or coordinate with the Betazoid hybrid, nor vice versa, but whenever she was in the room, their respective hackles raised. And as soon as she left, calm seas restored.
Which is why, upon the parting of the doors to Dr. Ohnari’s quarters, Nolen Hobart could offer only the weakest of defenses.
Hobart: It's not what it looks like.
Chief Medical Officer Talia Ohnari was doing her very best to hold in a very powerful Squee. In fact, the garments she had just finished fell to the floor as both hands clamped tightly over her mouth so as not to ruin this moment:
Nolen and Statler….were snuggling.
Ohnari: ::incredibly muffled:: Mmmhmm….
The Haliian's eyes were practically glittering with mirth. Nolen had rather selflessly been offering to be her platonic security blanket post battle for Starbase 33, and during that time, she swore Statler Jr, her beloved bat, and Nolen were in a battle of wills that mostly resulted in the executive officer being pelted with cherry pits….
So this was uncharted territory, therefore needed to be captured. Whipping her PADD from the thigh holster, she quickly cleared the seamstress patterns for the upcoming Jacin/Dewitt nuptials, and took several pictures.
Hobart: ::resigned:: Alright, have your fun.
Still snapping pictures, her grin was actually starting to ache a little.
Ohnari: Try and stop me.
It wasn't as if there was anything else he could do. If he tried to sit up, he would most certainly wind up with bat shaped, deep scratches all over and through his pectoral muscles. Not to mention a resumption of hostilities. And so he returned his attention to his work, holding the PADD a little higher, basking in the fizzle of Talia’s excitement.
Hobart: ::less patiently:: Are you investigating a crime scene right now?
Ohnari: ::tsking:: Shush. My bed, my bat, my blackmail.
The grin and mischievous light in her bordered on unholy. After a final shot with the most artistic filter she had access to; she set aside the PADD and carefully crawled into bed, reaching out, with utmost precision, adjusted the snoozing creature until he was in her arms.
Ohnari: ::sing-songy:: I tooooOooOoollld yooou soo….
Hobart: ::tapping at PADD:: You did. ::beat:: Just don’t call me “bat daddy.”
There was a balance to be struck; if he admitted defeat on the small point of her having “told him so,” perhaps she wouldn’t look too closely at the puzzle that remained as yet unsolved. A stray glance caught the plaintive, knowing eyes of the blue fruitbat before it tucked its snout back into the crevice of her elbow. They could still keep up appearances, and Talia would be none the wiser.
Ohnari: ::sticking out her tongue:: You gotta earn that one, ::winking:: Daddy.
With a few protesting squawks, soothed by strategic kisses on his little poof of head fur, the Haliian gently transferred the spoiled prince into his overly complicated hammock. Once the precious cargo, or more likely live explosive was sated, her focus returned to the man beside her.
Leaning over, her brow raised slowly in concern.
Hobart: I’m working on a thing. ::handing her the PADD:: For the wedding.
Curiosity was strong…and slightly dangerous.
Ohnari: Um…that’s…an option…for sure, but have you thought about making it not awful…?
Nolen’s brow furrowed as he drew the PADD back and examined his work. His mouth scrunched to the side as he considered her critique.
Hobart: …should I have been more precise about the location?
Her face just froze in abject horror.
Ohnari: Nolen…you can’t order people to a wedding! It’s an invitation…not a mission. And where is the celebration?! This is a happy occasion.
He propped himself up on his elbows and twisted onto his side to face her. His dark eyes darted back and forth, as he looked into her gray irises, searching for signs of deception in her heart. Was she joking? Didn’t feel like it.
Hobart: If I don’t order people to attend, how do I know they will? And what kind of a best man would I be if I didn’t make sure people showed up? My stipend won’t cover kidnappers.
Both her hands covered her face as she took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. This man was hopeless.
Ohnari: Kidnapping?? ::reaching out, she stroked the side of his face with exaggerated sincerity:: Who hurt you…?
With equivalent exaggerated sincerity, Khitomer’s XO leaned his head into her palm and gave a soft sigh. He mostly ignored the soothing blue of her that brushed against his mind.
Hobart: …you want a list?
Groaning, the Haliian just snatched the PADD from his hands, laying down next to him and pointing at several stanzas of thinly veiled threats.
Ohnari: Alright, this part here, take the whole thing out. And we are inviting people to attend. No one is going to ignore it, unless they hate love or something, ::brow raising playfully:: Don’t even think about it, you don’t get a choice, Connor picked you for best man so you have to come. ::typing in a few commands:: And you need a happy font. Something that doesn’t scream “Ignore at your own peril.”
Nolen fell back onto the bed, and shifted his body so that they were shoulder to shoulder, and he could read the PADD from beside her. With every change his frown steepened, though his bemusement increased. Had he been not forcing an exaggerated look of disapproval, he’d have been grinning like an idiot as the pair returned to a level of “fun” that they hadn’t experienced for quite a while, as if they’d each lost a few pips.
Hobart: Aw, you’re ruining it! ::beat:: At least let me keep the part about tardiness being “subject to discipline.”
Ohnari: Fixing it, you mean. And no. That part is right out. Connor is inviting people to his family home to witness him promising himself to the love of his life. That does not scream “disciplinary action.”
He stifled a chuckle and turned his head to look at her, his lips to her ear.
Hobart: ::whispered, sing-songy:: It cooOoUuld…
Turning her head, her grin slowly faded. Their faces were mere inches apart, for a moment, she forgot why they were there and what they were meant to be doing. They hadn’t discussed what had happened in Sickbay since he first arrived at her quarters, offering as a friend to help her. Clearing her throat, she turned back towards the PADD. Making a few final adjustments, she then sat up, handing it back to him.
Ohnari: So..yeah, looks better now. Happy font.
The First Officer looked it over, squinting. Happiness is a squiggly font, the saying probably didn’t go. He took a breath through his mouth, as if to comment, and then stopped. Nothing he could change would have improved the thing.
Hobart: You’re better at this than I am.
He might have said more to clarify, but realized that the statement had much broader implications than he intended, none of them inaccurate. With a sigh, he sat up, stuck on the thought.
Needing a little space, Talia swung her legs over and exited the bed. She shrugged as she retrieved the previously discarded garments on the floor. Nolen had been so kind and thoughtful, being her mental signature anchor that kept her from the depths of the worst of the nightmares, but…she was getting a little too used to it. The lines were becoming more blurred and she had been telling herself for weeks she needed to handle this, it seemed now the time had come.
Ohnari: ::shrugging:: Not my first wedding. When you have as many siblings as I do…well you get the idea, ::smoothing the fabric of her maid of honor gown, she took a fortifying breath:: Listen Nolen, I really appreciate you being here…at night, with me.
NT/TBC
———
Lt. Commander Nolen Hobart
Executive Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240001NH3
&
Lieutenant Commander Talia Ohnari, MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Khitomer
C239205ME0