Old Habits Die Hard

Posted on Sat Mar 18th, 2023 @ 10:57pm by Dr. Izriel "Jaxx" Lonn & Delaney O'Callaghan & Leiddem Kea (*)

Mission: Mission 16: Hysperia
Location: Boarding platform
Timeline: Day before dragon jousting
4412 words - 8.8 OF Standard Post Measure

"How can they be betrothed if Jeassaho is married?"

As much as neither if them were the type to complain about pitching in, there was a monotony about attending to 'front door security', as Delaney liked to call it, that lent itself far too easily to rambling conversations. As far as the Operations officer was concerned, that had become half the appeal of it, especially when she and her boyfriend intentionally called dibs on the same rotation so that they could watch the world go past together. On a normal day, under normal conditions, it would have been a smart way to make sure they spent time together. Now, given that they had been happily living in each other's pockets for weeks already, it probably wasn't necessary.

To be fair, Delaney possibly had ulterior motives.

"And he's married, but currently separated because his wife's first husband suddenly showed up not as dead as expected, and they're all just taking their time over adjusting." Fingers extended outwards from Delaney's temples as a mockery of two small explosions. "That's weird. Betazoids are weird." There was a space of all of a few seconds, nearly enough for Leiddem to wedge a word or two in, but it was promptly dominated by a sideways scrutiny and the suspicion of playfully narrowed eyes. "Wait, does this mean you have some secret future wife hiding in the wings you haven't told me about yet?"

Leiddem had opened his mouth several times to but in to make a comment but each time she had carried on with another question or comment around what was happening now that Jax was due for arrival. “Firstly Jeassaho and Jax were betrothed and cut it off years before the Academy or after first year I am not sure but it was like 15 years ago. Reuben actually likes him so it’s very much over. Loving people is different for Betazoids and Jax is more relaxed about this type of thing than me.” Leiddem dared not ask Jax how the separation was going because he was not overly sure he wanted to know but he held up a hand to stop another question.

“And no my betrothal ended in 2385 and I am godfather to Karrissa’s eldest daughter. She did not like me and I very much did not like her like that so we parted. No big deal.” He shrugged as if he had never thought to mention it before.

As was so typical of her, Delaney's outrage had been mostly staged, and her evaluation of Betazoid cultural norms more or less an inaccurate representation of just how fascinating she normally found them. Now that the connection between them allowed for some psionic fluidity, it was hard for the woman to mask her true feelings, harder still because it wasn't a natural tendency in the first place. Her immediate grin became a far more honest appraisal, though she folded her arms across in front of her and put on a show of lifting her nose imperiously into the air. "Good. Though," she conceded playfully, "it could have been a perfect opportunity to practise my fencing." She'd had all of one lesson with a local instructor, having been first fascinated by the idea when she'd learned Liha was something of an expert. Striking the appropriate pose, the would-be swashbuckler lunged her invisible rapier at him. "Fending off invaders is my specialty, m'lord."

Lieddem smirked. “Karri is a teacher. You would win without a doubt my love. She did not want to be a marine's wife and I did not want to be a teacher's husband. Neither of us fit in the others life, it was as simple as that and we are still friends. I get her kid though if her and Milo pop it though.” He was pretty proud that he was a god father to someone’s kid even if he acted a fool most of the time he was responsible enough to know when to do the right thing.

The look of abject horror on Delaney's face, whilst still a pantomime, was well worth the revelation. "That's a hell of a way to reveal the stepmother clause," she declared, abandoning the faint chance for consideration of the more pertinent details of the impending arrival. "Do any of these arranged marriages actually work out?," she asked, inquisitiveness chasing away her attempts at playful mischief. If one thing had been a constant, it was Delaney's investment in learning about his culture. "I think they were a thing if you go far enough back into my family tree, but you have to climb down a fair way."

“Oh lots do. My three other sisters all worked out.” It was not a stigma for it to work or not work so it was not a big deal or mentioned often. Most cultures had it somewhere in there pasta.

The eventual arrival of the anticipated newcomer happened at a point right as the pair deviated, as always, from the conversation to whatever excuse for physical affection they could muster. Hands pressed against his, Delaney had looped her fingers into a clasp so that the implied grapple almost looked legitimate save for the fact that Leiddem could very clearly best her if he tried. Feet slipping against the gangplank, she was partially invested in pushing her weight against him, the result of some ridiculous boast she couldn't capitalise on, when the definite sound of a throat clearing caught both their attention.

A very bemused but otherwise quite deadpan expression swung back and forth between them.

"I see what Jeassaho means."

Leiddem had not missed the person almost sneaking up on them but had chosen to just focus on what he wanted. He knew the man was there but he could wait a moment especially when he was seconds from watching the woman topple over. “J knows nothing.” The man said with all brotherly indignation that he could muster.

"I've always found her to be reasonably astute." The newly-arrived Betazoid cocked his head to the side to consider the pose the pair had arrived at, Leiddem having finally spun Delaney to pull her against him with an arm holding her firmly across her chest. By this point, it seemed as if the woman had surrendered anyway, though the mental gameplay between the pair suggested that defeat might not be a particularly permanent thing in this instance. Jax's face didn't budge but his mind smiled. Being around distinct happiness was hardly something to complain about. "Is wrestling the gate trolls part of some sort of initiation process?"

From her position, trapped beneath Leiddem's chin, Delaney took the poor timing in her stride and resumed a more decorous pose once her boyfriend let her go and she was free to return to post with little more than a parting pat to his cheek to promise she'd be back. "We'd be here all day if that was the case." Still rolling her shoulder, Delaney added, "He cheats."

"Leiddem has his weak points, perhaps I can claim partial credit for prior experience."

The redhead considered the revelation with a slowly dawning grin. She'd been keen to welcome their friend on board, finding any piece of Leiddem's life to be worthwhile familiarising herself with, but this was the first time she'd properly contemplated the potential for ammunition. A sideways glance of pure mischief caught the look on her boyfriend's face. "That sounds like a great conversation over lunch some time. I'm Delaney, by the way," she turned back to the older man.

Jax finally smiled, albeit faintly. "Yes, so I presumed."

"I would rather you did not have lunch together," Leiddem said slightly flummoxed that the conversation had turned to her getting the option for potential ammunition against him. Jeassaho obviously was more loyal than he had ever given her credit for if she had not given much over and the woman needed to find someone else. "And of course, you found Jeassaho astute and I am not a gate troll. I am ... are you coming on board or not?" Leiddem was flustered which was easy to see by the turn of events. Why had Gregnol done this again? Why had Gregnol of all people done this was the most important question in the universe at that moment. It did not feel like a normal move the man would make.

"I'd love to, there just seems to be something blocking the door."

Nothing about Leiddem's discomfort had deterred Delaney so far, though that was partially because she had yet to take it very seriously. Hands on her hips, she grinned at the exchange and then stepped aside at the older Betazoid's remark, sweeping her hands to indicate the pathway up the gangplank. "Just a little normal congestion, nothing that a little elbow grease can't budge." To emphasise her point, she leaned subtly into Leiddem up until the point where trying to push him off the walkway finally worked. It didn't. It became a decent excuse to stay close to him though, a gravitation towards affection that was at least entirely normal.

"I am not that big to block the whole gangway," Leiddem said with a roll of his eyes as he was shifted to the side that allowed a little more space to come through. Leiddem was at a loss of the sensation that he was feeling of worry about having the man onboard. It was not something he had felt before in connection to Delaney. What if she suddenly liked Jax more than she liked him? He could not blame her when he was a bit of a goof ball but it still stung him somewhere deep.

With her back pressed against him seeking his warmth, not at all coaxed towards a more formal stance given the familiarity of the pair present, Delaney didn't catch the slight shift in Leiddem's tone purely because the impetus for it wasn't anywhere on her radar. Family had been her life, and extended family was a concept that she found very easy to grasp. Growing up, her cousins had been her best friends, it hadn't really been until high school that she'd started to branch out from that and, whilst she had a handful of very good friends she'd maintained since her university days, Delaney was still a woman whose longest associations shared a common ancestor. She was excited for Leiddem to have someone else on board who knew him well, and naturally curious about what it meant for her slow introduction to the family dynamic. Liking the guy better hadn't even crossed her mind.

Jax, on the other hand, knew the younger Betazoid well enough to anticipate the swell of competitiveness. Having been considered a part of the family for as long as Leiddem had been around, the brotherly rivalry had always been one-sided as far as Jax was concerned but the younger telepath had the disposition for it, alternatively swinging between idolisation and resentment. They were adults now and ought to have moved past it, especially as he had never assumed the expected brother-in-law status. Judging by the ramrod straight psionic posturing he was sensing, they still had some work to do.

"Just point me in the right direction and I can find my own way."

Delaney seemed surprised by the invitation to cut the reunion short. Reaching down to take Leiddem's hand, she gave it a squeeze and spun around to face him. "We don't both need to stay out here, why don't you show him to quarters? I can keep watch until you get back." It was an open, earnest offer without any attempt to ingratiate herself further.

Leiddem glanced at the woman unsure for a second, he was not sure that would be a good idea, but it was not enough that he could really turn down and save face. He nodded and brought himself up to his full height trying to not feel quite so disturbed by feeling about 12 again. “You are right. We both do not need to be here and I can show an old friend to his new quarters.” He said pressing his nose to hers for a second before smiling at the man.

A simple inclination of his head saw Jax agree, though there was something a little pointed to the look he swung back and forward between the pair before he followed.

“Let’s get you somewhere you can rest. Has it been a long trip?” Leiddem asked trying to sound bright as he helped more by taking one of the bags from the man.

Out of deference, the older man waited until they were well inside before attempting his response. "Leiddem, take a breath before you have an aneurysm. You know very well how far away Betazed is." To defensive ears, it might have seemed like Jax was chastising his friend, though the man's demeanour veered far more towards weary amusement. "A simple 'it's good to see you' wouldn't go astray." Dark eyes regarded the security officer wryly. "Presuming that it is good to see me."

“I can’t claim to know where you came from. You might have come from anywhere. Reuben and Jea did not exactly tell me anything other than you were arriving today.” The man did though take a deep breath that was a good suggestion as his equilibrium had been thrown off unexpectedly. “It is good to see you. It’s just been a long time.” And Lieddem had not thought to have certain feelings stirred up.

"Life has a habit of slipping by when you don't pay attention," Jax agreed, hauling the bag that Leiddem had left him with behind. As far as statures went, the younger man bested him easily, but Jax had always had a presence of mind and a subtle composure that stood him apart from the crowd. Reluctantly, at times; the man wasn't fond of copious amounts of attention. "You seem mostly upright and intact though, which will address at least the first aspect of your mother's eventual interrogation." He smiled wryly and glanced back over his shoulder. "And it looks like the second part is going to be easy to summarise too. You seem happy," he added, genuinely pleased by the observation.

"Completely. Leaving the Marines was the best thing I did." Leiddem said quietly. The mention of his mother made him quiet, he knew she worried about him and Jeassaho especially as they disappeared for two years when the ship was taken to the other universe and returned years later than they had left thanks to the time difference between the two. "Stop enabling her. She knows I am well but she worries."

"You've been gone too long if you think Nialohe requires any provocation," Jax observed dryly. "I simply endure as we all learned to many years ago." It wasn't confined to Leiddem's family; his own mother was more of a culprit for fuelling the Kea matriarch's concerns than Jax himself. The pair of them enjoyed a friendship that spanned decades but, every once in a while, even Jax had cause to wish they communicated just a smidge less frequently. "I'm surprised she hasn't paid you a visit yet, actually. I thought she'd made overtures in that direction."

"We do not stay in one place long enough for her to track us," Leiddem said just as dryly though it surprised him as well being on Hsyperia as long as they had. It was most likely she had been tied up in her Starfleet duties or there was a surprise attack due before they left. It would be just her style to do that.

"So there is some hope of evading overly determined attention out here? Duly noted, I'll look forward to the peace and quiet." The older man took a moment to cast his eyes over the interior of the ship as they moved through it and then added, "Assuming you all know how to avoid requiring my services too often. Tell me about the crew," he invited. "Who would you wager I might encounter first in a professional capacity?" Once again, the Betazoid cast a glance behind him, though they'd moved too far beyond the main entrance for it to be more than an implied gesture. "Other than perhaps yourself." Jax's eyes betrayed the amusement the rest of his features refused to express. "Wrestling is a form of courtship, I take it."

"No idea who will end up there often. Been a while since I worked in sickbay. They are not that desperate anymore." Which was a welcome relief to the man to have one thing to focus on. "Maybe Nollel or Curtis. They are a bit accident-prone over the last couple of years. I try to avoid sickbay where possible even with wrestling people." The man glanced back himself and smiled fondly. "Sometimes. We can't all be suave."

"Indeed." The agreement was not meant as an insult, Jax certainly wouldn't have placed himself in such a category even if Leiddem's opinion differed. He hefted the bag he was carrying and stepped into a turbolift beside the other man. "Far more important to strive for compatibility. Which you seem to have mastered this time." If he sounded surprised, it was because he was...somewhat. Leiddem had always had a restlessness to him that Jax empathised with but didn't fully understand. There was an absence of it now that was quite striking.

Leiddem glanced up at the man and shrugged not to dismiss it but to indicate he had not really noticed. It was that natural after all to him. "Had not really thought on it. Laney is... perfect." It was not a word that summed up the woman enough but it was all he had in words that came aloud.

The sentiment evoked a knowing smile, albeit a faint one. Jax wasn't prone to wild outbursts, tending towards a very contained and composed disposition that could make him difficult to read outside the telepathic community. He understood all too well what Leiddem was aiming for, however, and the nuances that went along with it that spoken expression simply couldn't address adequately. Freeing up a hand briefly, he reached across to pat the other man's elbow. "I'm glad you've been able to experience it." There was a pause before a slightly mischievous. "Finally."

"Some of us taker longer and do not settle for second best." He said softly. He could have settled but nothing had ever felt correct until recently and that was a shock to the system suddenly for the man when he had not realised. Delaney and the feelings that had brewed for her were something that he had not expected but they were not as scary as he realised they might have been when someone fully realized.

"I would definitely advocate waiting for natural connection. It feels different, right, when you don't have to force it?" Jax lifted his eyes to the ceiling and listened to the turbolift, oddly finding it much more silent than he'd anticipated. The Mary Rose's seniority had kept his expectations low but the surgeon was starting to suspect there was more to the ship than met the eye.

"What about you?" Leiddem said turning it onto the other man. Lieddem did not like the spotlight much so the ease of turning it onto the man was quick.

It was Jax's turn to favour succinct evasiveness. "Other than potentially qualifying for a psyche evaluation for accepting this job offer, I am well enough." By preference, he would have left it at that, but deference for their long association, and the fact that it was far easier to represent himself than allow their mothers to interpret his situation, saw the older telepath pause before attempting elaboration. "Medea and Oryn are well, he has started preschool already, if you can believe it." And then, the elephant in the room. "Rylan continues to improve. Last I heard, he had been tolerating extended periods without cortical inhibitor or psionic nullification protocols, which is promising." His wife's ex-husband, found alive inside a stasis pod after his entire Science expedition had been wiped out, had not emerged from his years of hibernation entirely intact. An acquired brain injury from excessive reliance on the pod had created huge issues for him telepathically, along with disorientation and a partially disintegrated memory. His rehabilitation was slow and had stretched the elasticity of Jax's marriage to allow his wife to play a vital role in it. To some, it seemed an incredible sacrifice. Jax didn't even view it as one.

"Well that is something I guess." Maybe Leiddem had spent too long among other cultures that even he thought it all a little odd. "I won't deny it all is a bit of an odd situation but as long as you are content that is all that matters." He added wanting to at least seem a little more talkative and with it.

It was...a complex situation. Jax wasn't entirely comfortable being lauded as a saint over his handling of it, there had been an element of practicality to his decisions as well as base level compassion. He also had moments where he found things difficult, and lonely. "As I have told many since we embarked on this journey, Rylan was a feature of our relationship from the onset. He was, after all, her fiancé and it took a great deal of healing for Dee to trust anything beyond our initial friendship. His loss was always something we worked together to navigate, it only makes sense that we take a similar approach to adjusting to his return." It wasn't polyamory, Jax was a stranger to the man who was already dealing with enough disorientation. It was an acknowledgement that his wife was in control of her life and the decisions she made within it. It had been her insistence that they consider it an official separation, wanting him to have freedom to explore his own options within the space it took for her to settle on hers. After six months of adjustment, taking this assignment had been the first major move he'd made to do exactly that.

“You do not need to explain yourself or actions to me. I am just trying to understand it enough to support or at least field questions when I eventually contact my mother.” Leiddem finally said as the lift ambled to a stop that allowed them to get out. The corridor was one of the smaller ones in the ship in a quiet area that had been one of the upgrades. “You get one of the nicer quarters. Upgraded last month.”

Jax peeked his head in first and then stepped inside, leaning to peer without intruding despite it being a space designated for his occupation. "I can assure you," he replied vaguely, the bulk of his attention on surveying the room, "that Nialohe has already had her time in the interrogator's chair. Is this close to Sickbay?," he wondered next, moving through his mental checklist before he gave a final evaluation.

“Aye one deck down accessible by ladder if power goes or mood takes you.” Leiddem said pointing to an opening four doors down before he opened the quarters door. “Mother will want to know if I know more but let’s keep to the here and now. Okay so what will you need to know. Its basics room fittings slightly more unique to 2340’s despite the newness.” It was nothing like newer bigger ships but the former marine liked it as it was like barracks just nicer. “So living area, bedroom, bathroom. There are no replicators in the rooms. Only in mess hall so most everyone eats there unless you bring food from there back but seems pointless.”

"How exceptionally communal of you all," came the distracted response, Jax having finally set down his bag to wander into the room properly. It was no secret that the Betazoid tended to be oddly introverted for his species, for all he seemed to handle himself in front of an audience just fine. He was also accustomed to large, opulent spaces, having been born into one of Betazed's more affluent Houses. It would have been easy to expect him to turn his nose down at the modest lodgings but, as he eventually turned back around, the only thing that radiated from Jax's face was tired relief. "It isn't as pokey as I expected, I'll be honest."

“Looks very much deceiving with the old girl.” The younger man slapped the bulkhead fondly. He had seen sparkly and new ships and it almost made him lonely compared to how he felt on the ship. “You’ll be fine and you can up and leave any time you want. I can’t.”

That only earned a raised eyebrow. "There's a degree of difference between can't and won't," he pointed out. "I doubt Ruben has aspirations to dominate your entire life with the obligation." The older telepath nodded his head in a vague direction to indicate his point. "You'll find it challenging to navigate a successful partnership if you intend to impose such a strict stipulation on priorities."

"Thank you for the advice but I am quite content where I am right now," Leiddem commented quietly. "Comms unit by the door. Call if you need anything. The computer is tetchy sometimes but she will get you to sickbay and mess hall if you want them or I can come back after watch and give you a tour?"

A knowing smile toyed with the surgeon's lips. "I think I can find my way around. Part of the fun of exploring is getting lost, after all. I'll let you get back to work." The slight change in intonation on the word 'work' was intended to be playful.

Leiddem narrowed his eyes just a little but nodded. The other man was grown enough to know his mind and what he was doing so it would not do to force the subject. "See you around then." He said quietly and took the chance to exit to get back to his watch and find some inner peace again. He had not expected it to be easy but he had not expected his equilibrium to be thrown.