Relationship Advice

Posted on Thu Nov 7th, 2024 @ 12:47pm by Beya & Oliver Lucas

Mission: Shackles
Location: SS Mary Rose - Sickbay
1665 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

It felt like it had been an age since Oliver and Beya had been the ones holding down sickbay together - back then it had been the blind leading the blind in some respects. But time had passed since those days and now they were under Evelyn's supervision things felt a lot less improvised and more structured. But, Oliver reflected silently, not everything felt quite so clear as their medical progression.

"Hey." Oliver gave a quiet nod to the Orion as he shuffled around unpacking a fresh set of supplies into one of the cabinets. "Can I, uh, talk to you about something?" he asked softly, not even sure if this was the right time or place to bring it up.

For her part, Beya had simply been focusing doing whatever work presented itself. Evelyn was a great teacher, and she was grateful to her, but it didn't take much to sense that she was one of those humans who would be put off by a normal Orion expression of gratitude, so she had confined her thanks to trying to excel at her lessons. Ironically, though it was how a medical center should run, medbay often felt too clinical now, which made it lonely sometimes. So the question from Oliver, for actual personal, non-strictly-professional interaction, was met with a bright smile. "Sure. Anything."

"Okay...so..." It took him a few seconds to actually put the words together in his head. Oliver was anything but an open book, and this was very much a subject he wasn't used to discussing with anyone outside of his own head. "Evelyn and I have been getting pretty close recently. Very close. And I wasn't sure if it was, I don't know, the right thing to do?"

Why wouldn't it be? That was first thought and most natural reaction for the Orion, but she paused, quietly running the question through her internal sensible beings-to-human translator. Hmm. 'Close' could mean so many things here, it was probably best to clarify. "Are you worried about the," she suppressed a shudder, "pair-bonding thing? Because if we're just talking about sex, honestly, I don't know what you're waiting for - the sexual tension in here has been thick enough to cut with a laser scalpel."

Oliver's expression twisted into a momentary cringe. In some ways he wished he could speak as openly on these topics as Beya. On the other hand, he figured that it was for the best that he not. "No, no - I mean, well, yes. Sort of. We already, uh, succumbed to the 'tension' as you put it." He frowned, not even sure if that was the right term to use. "I just don't know if I have somehow messed things up when it comes to being a student under her instruction. Do you know what I mean?"

"Well about time!" She smiled at him approvingly, but the smile faded with the follow on question. She didn't know what he meant; not really. Student and mentor hooking up was pretty normal for Orions and no more a problem than sharing a nice meal or playing a sport both enjoyed. The only time there was a problem was if got awkward because of them was bad at it... "Wait. Do you mean because it wasn't good? Or you're afraid it wasn't good for her? If you need advice on fixing that, I'm glad to help. Just tell me what the problem was."

"No no! It was...good..." Oliver blurted out in admission, then immediately twitched. "Well, I think it was." She hadn't complained, but then again, Evelyn had very quickly left after their 'moment of weakness'. "I was more meaning how it made me feel afterwards. I don't know if it should affect our professional relationship. But I feel like it will, you know?"

"I don't know why it would." The Orion shrugged; humans could be so weird sometimes. "But, look, I know you humans have all sorts of odd rules about who can sleep together and when, with a million qualifiers on why it is or isn't 'appropriate' and about billion exceptions to all of those. And it seems like you can't even agree on half of them. Like, I can't even tell you how many times a guy has told his relationship was totally open, but then his girlfriend says the opposite." She flicked her eyes upward, shaking her head. "Anyway, as far as professional relationship, being closer should only make things go more smoothly, right?" Almost as soon as she said it, the memories she'd just referenced suggested a potential peculiarly human problem "...I mean, unless you're thinking this will lead to some crazy break up drama, but neither of you really seems like the type."

"I don't really do drama...but I guess you knew that..." He mumbled, his brow still furrowed in pensive thought. "I don't really do 'relationships' either, so this is all relatively new ground all over." He pondered Beya's casual study of things for a little longer. "I'd like to think it would. But like you said, human relationships rarely seem to follow all the rules and expectations, do they? Does she seem the type to do that?"

Her heart went out to him on that. For all that humans sometimes confused her, someone who was still learning to be human after spending so many years as a Borg probably found it really baffling. "I think she keeps a tight lid on her feelings most of time, so drama doesn't seem likely. I'd say she's more likely to just ...pull away.... if she's uncomfortable. Compartmentalize, you know? But there's no reason for that here. It's not like we follow all those weird Starfleet rules about commanders and subordinates. The Captain and Jea are proof of that."

Oliver perked a fraction at that. The Captain and his wife made a very good example of a successful relationship despite close working proximity. "That's true. Do you think...I should ask the Captain? I don't know if that how this works." He wondered.

Hmm... Beya's mouth went a little to the side. "Gregnol doesn't strike me as the relationship advice guru type. I think you'd do better talking to Jea. I feel like she's more the one who manages keeping things smooth there." Like most women she thought, but didn't say it since Oliver was already feeling pretty out of his depth.

His already furrowed brow tightened. "Yeah. Although...shouldn't I be talking to a guy about this too? If I talk to you, then to Jeassaho..." He sighed. "Let me guess, the next thing you'll tell me is that I actually need to talk to Evelyn herself, right? I'm falling way too quickly into those holonovel tropes."

"Those tropes exist for a reason," Beya laughed. "Seriously, though, obviously you should speak to Evelyn eventually. But maybe not right off - I think you need to get some perspective first and not be all worried and tense about what should be a fun fling between friends."

He shrugged, having half assumed that was what this conversation was for. But then again, his experience level in this subject was that of a pure novice so he had to take that on board. Clearly he still had a lot to learn. "Yeah. Thanks Beya. I appreciate the extra perspective, and the experience."

"My experience is that sex is just another enjoyable thing to do with friends, but my perspective is that you humans always make it all stressful and complicated," she said, giving a small wink to make that more teasing than critical, even though it firmly fell into Humans Are Weird in her book. "Which is why I'm telling you to talk to other humanoids who are doing the same strange pair-bonding thing."

"Pair-bonding. Got it." There was a tiny almost imperceptible thought in the back of his mind that he could press her for more 'practical' advice but the suggestion that he could have that conversation with anyone, least of all a colleague, was far beyond what he was ready for. "Have you, uh...since coming aboard?" he asked, not sure if it was appropriate to raise or not.

"Pair-bonded? No!" She cringed slightly. "That is not my kink. But, no judgment; I know most humans are into it."

His cheeks flushed crimson. "Oh, I...I mean, I didn't mean to-" he trailed off, unsure why he was so embarrassed given how relaxed Beya was about it. "I suppose it is rather strange."

Beya nodded emphatically. "I mean, I understand getting really into one lover for, like, week or two. And even having a preference for them most of the time. But exclusively?" She grimaced, then shrugged the reaction away. "Like I said, though, it seems to be a 'thing' with humans. I guess because you don't distinguish between love and sex the way Orions do."

"That's the thing, I don't really know. It's like I got the theory lesson but not much of the practical..." he shrugged slightly. Growing up in the collective through those formative years, without the social education or experiences, meant he was lacking in the confidence to really explore it. "Not that I need help with the practical. I mean, uh, I think I'm okay with that part..." He felt himself blush again, then shook it off rapidly.

She curled her lips in, fighting a smile. Humans were so adorkable when they got all awkward about sex. "If you ever want coaching, I'm glad to help. But only on a couples basis." Her eyes rolled upward as she puffed a breath. "Learned that one the hard way."

"Ehh...I'll...let you know?" Oliver smiled weakly, still not entirely comfortable with the idea of needing that kind of coaching.

"Okay," Beya replied cheerfully. "Look, just enjoy having each other. But if you ever want coaching, I'm always glad to help."