Second Chance

Posted on Sun Apr 23rd, 2023 @ 5:12am by Petty Officer 1st Class Leon Meier & Warrant Officer Ahira Kasamoto

Mission: In-Between (S1:E4-S1:E5)
Location: ISS Vengeance Holodeck:Grand Canyon
Timeline: Mission Day 3 at 1900
5225 words - 10.5 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

While Ahira wasn't anticipating anything dangerous happening, this wasn't that kind of simulation, he'd made sure that the safety protocols were at their standard level. He didn't have anything really planned, except getting to know Leon a little better to see if there was anything promising, short, or long-term, or if their first date was just an anomaly. Since there were no expectations, he was just running a standard program with no bells and whistles.

He'd made sure that everything was as authentic and true to the original as he could make it. To add to the authenticity and made it as realistic as possible, he'd left everything, from the weather to potential encounters up to the randomness of the program.

Unsure of exactly when his date would appear, he wasn't late yet by any means, the Captian's bodyguard stepped into the program.

Off to the West, a good distance away was a bank of dark, gray-green clouds that held the thread of rain, or perhaps an early snowstorm, but above them, the sky was azure with only a few white clouds, scattered about. There was a soft gentle breeze that carried the scent of sage and fir. He was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a teal, short-sleeved polo shirt that fit a little snuggly, but was not too tight. The backpack he wore wouldn't have been big enough for anything other than an overnight trip, but it appeared to be quite full.

He bent down to retie his boots while he waited for Leon.

After a long day’s work, Leon had made his way to the holodeck to meet with Ahira for their second date. He was an interesting man to be sure and seemed like he had a kind heart, though obviously there were some topics that were rather uncomfortable for him. It would just take time to unlock those secrets, and Leon at the moment felt like there was a potential that he would give that patience to Ahira. He was wearing a light blue camp shirt unbuttoned over a white tank with shorts in a pleasant beige shade; the look was finished with a good set of shoes appropriate to hiking and a leather backpack that looked expensive. Really all of Leon’s attire looked pricey, but he was a man who had always been taught to dress to impress, so that is what he did.

Entering the holodeck he immediately caught sight of Ahira and smiled as he walked over. “Hey there.”

Ahira smiled at Leon as he spoke. If nothing else the Engineer was easy on the eyes and punctual. He sensed there was something more interesting than his appealing appearance, something deeper. He wanted to see if his instincts had been correct, which is why he'd suggested a second date and not an extension of their first that ended in one of their rooms.

"Hey, yourself.," he returned, shifting the backpack. "This is supposed to be an overnight thing. I mean in the simulation, so I brought a tent. But, no worries we can stop whenever you want, or just pause things and come back to things later if one of us gets called away, or there's an emergency."

"That sound okay to you?"

"Yeah, sounds great to me!" Leon agreed with eagerness and a grin. "You'll lead, yeah? I figure that will be easier in the long run than me bumbling my way through." His grin mellowed into an easy smile and he looked into Ahira's gorgeous amber eyes.

If they had been going out together a bit longer, Ahira might have said, "You just want me to go in front so you can watch my ass," but he didn't. It would have been a joke. Mostly anyway, but he wasn't sure if Leon would think it was funny. Especially, since his focus seemed to lie elsewhere. Someplace a lot higher up.

In truth, the Warrant Officer wouldn't have minded his date liking his posterior, but he was glad that it wasn't.

"I can do that," he said, "though you hardly strike me as the type to bungle anything."

"Small confession, this is the first time I've run this program. I created it for myself. Solo you know. I'm pretty sure there aren't any glitches. But this is brand new to me too. I really don't know how this is going to go."

"Well, then something new for us to figure out together," Leon replied easily, seeming not put off by the fact that this was a new program in the slightest. In fact, he seemed to like that fact. "Onward then, fearless leader."

Ahira shifted the position of his backpack and adjusted the strap on his left side. A soft breeze stirred, carrying a scent of sage and fir. It lifted the hybrid officer's hair as he turned and started down the trail. "Oh, I'm not sure the drinking fountains are turned on, so I brought some water along. I brought enough for both of us, just in case."

“Thank you, that’s kind.” Leon smiled. Of course, he had brought his own water, but it made him happy to know that Ahira had at least been thinking about him and was considerate. He fell in line with his interest, watching the breeze ruffle his dark hair. “So what exactly got you into climbing?”

The question was an innocent one, no doubt coming from Leon's natural curiosity and desire to know more about him. After all, that was one of the purposes of their date, to get to know one another. The answer though was more complicated or at least could expose things he didn't just share with anyone. But not answering, or lying wasn't the way to go.

"I was always pretty nimble when I was a kid. My bedroom was on the third floor and I probably snuck out and back in a whole lot of times. Mostly to see my first boyfriend, but my parents didn't exactly approve. Mostly because he was an outsider."

"My childhood, my family life was...well different. It wasn't just my parents who raised me but a group, and I was raised up to, well, quite frankly, a thief. So, I did a lot of climbing for that."

"I'm not that person anymore, I've changed."

"But that's how I got started, but it wasn't till I got to the Academy that I really got into climbing rocks."

Leon was quiet for a moment and considered what to say. He could tell Ahira was at least slightly bothered by the past given he made it a point to say he had changed. Obviously, he had, or he wouldn't have been here or in the position he was in.

"Ahira," he finally began, "it doesn't bother me, you know. The fact you have a past. It is in the past, is it not? Here we are now. You can tell me about your life, I'm not going to judge you."

The other man nodded, his smile friendly and mostly confident rather than flirtatious. "I guess we all have a past, you're right. I'm always a little concerned about sharing my past with people. But I'll take you at your word that you won't judge. How much would you like to know?"

"Whatever you are comfortable sharing." Leon smiled in return. "Mostly, I just wanted you to know that it is alright to share. You aren't going to scare me off, I promise."

"Good, because you seem like a nice guy. Someone I'd like to get to know better and the last thing I want to do is scare you away before we have a chance to become friends."

There was a rumbling of thunder in the stance and the dark clouds that had been on the horizon were slowly and steadily moving closer.

"I didn't have a normal childhood, even by Empire standards. I had a biological mother and father, just like everyone else. But, I wasn't raised by them, or at least I wasn't raised just by them. It was a communal family. I shared a room with three other boys none of whom I was related to by blood, but I still considered them to be my brothers."

"And this little commune was not star-struck peaceniks, or rebels trying to take down the Empire. They, we were criminals and we were quite good at it. I was pulling cons and sneaking into people's homes before I turned 10.

"When I was fourteen or fifteen, I fell in love with another boy. My mother wasn't too happy about that. Not so much because he was a boy, though there was an element of that, but because he was an outsider."

"He was a year or two older and I lost my virginity to him." He paused thinking he might have gone to far already, but he'd been told he had freedom so he continued. "It didn't take long until we were fucking like bunnies. I was able to balance family business with personal business for a while."

"Then when I was sixteen or so, I was the lookout on a robbery and things blew up. Wasn't my fault, at least I don't think so, but I got blamed for it. We all ran and I ran to my lover"

"Well my mother got away too and she tracked me down to his house. We were sleeping together when she burst in and saw us there She went into a rage..."

He paused, suddenly stopping dead in his tracks as bad memories came flooding back. "She killed him. slit his throat as he was laying there beside me."

"She laughed, then she threw me naked out into the streets."

"It still gives me nightmares sometimes."

Leon listened to Ahira's story in silence. He would have been lying if he said he had been expecting anything like that at all - or if he had been expecting to be told so much so quickly. He wasn't really even sure how to process it all. Of course, he couldn't really relate. Leon grew up with a rather charming life and a family who loved him and each other; of course, they had their spats, but what family didn't? He was quiet for a while, perhaps a bit too long while they walked, but finally, he spoke up.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you, Ahira. I can't even imagine what kind of trauma that caused for you."

Ahira nodded, the brief storm that had taken over his face while he was talking, was slowly dissipating and was returning to a more cheerful countenance. Perhaps he'd shared a little too much, scaring the other man off, or worse yet creating a sense of pity.

Leon didn't seem to be scared off, and if he was feeling pity, he was doing a good job of concealing by showing concern.

"Thanks, and yes it was traumatic, and I'd certainly not wish that on anyone, nor would I like to relive it. But, it helped make me the man I am today, flaws and all.

"You okay? Need to rest or anything?"

“I’m good for now, thanks,” Leon said with a smile and ran his fingers through his soft blonde curls. “So, what happened after?”

He was in this deep already, he figured he may as well ask Ahira to continue to not leave it on such a sour note. Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do, he had never really had an experience like this, but it seemed right in the moment.

Ahira turned around and started walking down the trail again, biting his lower lip to keep from letting out a sigh. "So, I had to learn to fend for myself."

"The first thing I did was steal some clothes. I wasn't in the best area of town and being a naked teenage boy, well let's just say there were a lot of predators and I had no intention of becoming a victim."

"There were some warehouses I'd heard about that hadn't stored stuff in a long time. but they weren't empty. They provide shelter for kids like me. Adults too, I suppose. I could stay there, be under their protection. But there was a price to pay,

"I'm sure you know what the price was, right?"

"Uh... yeah I have a guess," Leon replied a bit awkwardly, hoping he was wrong and obviously not really wanting to dwell on that. The thought made his stomach churn a bit. He went quiet then, silently regretting his decision to probe about what happened next as they hiked along. It had been a rare moment of optimism in him which had immediately in turn reminded him why optimists never prospered - they were always disappointed.

"This isn't something that I share with just anyone. It makes most guys uncomfortable. Hell, it makes me feel uncomfortable, and frankly, I don't want to go into all the gory details."

"That was who I was, not who I am. I'm never going to be a saint, and I have no desire to be. "But I wound up becoming a bounty hunter for a while. And I think you know the rest of my story."

The wind picked up as they moved down the trail, kicking up a little dust. "Let's talk about something else. If it's not too personal, tell me about the first guy you ever dated. What was he like, how did you meet? That kind of thing?"

Leon briefly automatically squinted against the dust as it was kicked up even though it wasn't coming near his face at the moment. "Sure. It was actually my senior year of Tech Academy. I hadn't really dated at all outside some dinners with girls when I was younger but nothing ever really came of that obviously. His name was Max - Maxwell but he really hated it when people called him that. We went for about six months kind of skirting the matter, little hints and looks shared until he finally approached me and just flat out asked if we were going to do the damn thing or not. I was shocked, to say the least, but that was his way. He was kind, and charming, but had an assertiveness and self-assured streak that I really just couldn't ignore. I went back and forth a bit in my head but I figured at some point I had to start living, so I said yes."


"Good for you," Ahira said, "that's sweet and romantic. And from the little, I know of you so far, sounds just like you. Max sounds like a great guy. For me, the first time I actually dated was at the training academy too. His name was Ian, the Commandant's son. "Our first date was borrowing a captain's yacht.

"Oh boy." Leon chuckled slightly on hearing that. A new leaf perhaps, but maybe not as reformed as he thought. "How'd that go?"

By this time, the wind had picked up a bit and the gathering clouds had covered half the sky, and it looked as if it might rain. "It was fun while it lasted. it was just kind of a short run really. To Jupiter Station. It was Keith's suggestion, the location I mean, I'm the one that suggested taking the yacht. They had a great restaurant there, and there was even a section of the station where you could become weightless, just like way, way back."

"He even kissed me over dessert."

"It wasn't until we were leaving that they checked our ids and found out who we were. They notified the academy, and they ordered us back. Let's just say the return trip was both the shortest and longest I've made."

"What about you, ever get into any mischief?”

“Honestly, not really outside of goofing around when I was younger, and even then I couldn’t tell you anything specific that might have counted for it outside of some broken windows when we got a little too stupid.” Leon flashed a smile. “I guess it wasn’t something really in my nature after growing up in the household I did. Way too afraid of the consequences to do anything when I was younger, and then I guess as I got older I just didn’t really see the point. I’m sure that makes me boring.” He chuckled and shook his head, then looked up to the darkening sky.

"First," Ahira replied, momentarily pausing his descent, "there's nothing wrong with boring. I might be an actual officer if I were boring. Second, I can't judge whether you're boring or not, though I think I'd have to classify you as responsible rather than boring. What I can judge though is your cuteness factor, and that has to be a 9.5."

Leon laughed at that and even had a bit of a blush on his face. He flashed Ahira his pearly white, charming grin. "Well, you're not too bad yourself, you know. For charm, you definitely get a ten."

Ahira responded with an expression something between a grin and a smirk. "Thanks. I have been told I had a gifted tongue."

The last revelation was followed by a hint of a blush that mirrored Leon's. A clap of not-so-distant thunder drowned out the rest of his reply causing him to have to repeat himself. "Sorry, that was really bad and probably caused me to lose some of those charm points you just assigned me."

“Nah, not really,” Leon assured, still wearing the grin, though it sobered a bit as he looked up. “Definitely a storm coming in.”

Ahira relaxed and gave the other man a slight nod, before once more resuming his trek. Glancing up at the sky and then back at Leon, he said, "I know it's really early, but maybe we start looking for a place to set up camp. I'm not sure how long we have before we get really wet."

“Whatever you think is best, boss,” Leon replied with a note of teasing in his voice and a charming smile. “What are we looking for as far as a camp goes?”

Leon's cheeky reply and a smile that may or may not have been innocent coupled with the knowledge that he was going to be confined closely in a tent in a matter of less than an hour caused thoughts that bordered on the carnal to rise to Ahira's mind. But he quickly set those aside this was just a second date after all.

"Some place that's flat and big enough for the tent. Something where there is an overhang we could get under for at least enough shelter where we could have a fire. Otherwise, we'll be eating cold food."

They'd only gone another twenty paces when they each felt a single raindrop fall on them.

“Well, feels like we better hurry up in our looking.” Leon blinked and looked up to the sky, another raindrop smacking him square between the eyes. “That’s not going to hold for much longer.”

They'd made another five minutes before the once azure sky had turned a leaden gray with pockets of deeper grey with just a hint of ebony. It was starting to drizzle and it looked like the rain would begin to fall in earnest. Ahira considered pausing the program but quickly ditched the idea, he was trying to keep it as real as possible.

"There!" he shouted, having to shout above the roar of a clap of thunder. The spot he pointed out was far from ideal, there was no river or running water, but it was flat enough and there was what could have possibly passed for an overhang.

They were just finishing the tent when it seemed the sky opened up. They weren't soaked by the time they got in, but they were most definitely wet.

“Well, we didn’t quite get in, but at least it didn’t get down to the bones and my shoes are pretty dry.” Leon smiled as he sat down in the tent while leaving enough room for Ahira to get settled. While Leon was usually pessimistic in his nature, this didn’t exactly have any sort of stakes behind it, and getting rained on in the holodeck wasn’t really an inconvenience. He did have to wonder if Ahira had planned for it though despite his earlier claims.

Ahira eased himself into the tent, managing as much as possible in the confined space, not to enter Leon's personal space. He was not a mind reader, which was a good thing. He wouldn't have been offended, exactly. nor even surprised but he may have been slightly hurt.

He wasn't the devious sort, well to be honest he could be quite devious if the occasion called for it, but in this case h the rain had been a random thing.

"Hopefully it passes by soon, but we might as well stay here for the night. What did you bring to eat?"

"Some sandwiches, soup, and a few snack-type things," Leon replied. It was enough to keep him fed for a while. He wasn't sure if they'd actually end up staying all night or not, but he was prepared if they did. "What about you?"

"Well, I wasn't thinking of this," he pointed to the tent above them and the rain pounding against the walls., but I was thinking of a picnic "

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small bag. 'I brought some cornish game hens, and, he pulled to a bottle, "some wine."

"What do you think?"

“Oh well, you certainly went fancier than sandwiches.” Leon grinned though it was a bit sheepish. Maybe he should have made more of an effort to impress, but he had been trying to be practical. “That sounds delicious, and nothing wrong with a picnic during the rain in my opinion”

Ahira sat back, his back touching the wall of the tent. The two men were still only a few feet apart, the tent was too small for them to be very far from each other. But they were outside each other's personal space. Barely.

"I hope it's as good as it sounds. I'll probably be on duty for the Emperor's birthday party, but I should have some free time. Did you want to go together, or at least meet me there?"

"Oh, I totally forgot that was coming up," Leon admitted, frowning at himself and blinking a couple of times, then he smiled as he looked at Ahira. "Yeah, sure. We can meet up there. If you're on duty I imagine you'll be escorting the captain so we probably really can't go together, but I'm sure he'll let you go and enjoy yourself at some point."

He noticed how Ahira was sitting with his back pressed to the side of the tent and licked his lips. "You don't have to sit so far away."

The corners of Ahira's lips curved upward. It was an almost coy smile. "I'm just trying to respect you. Just how close would you like me to sit?"

Leon took the initiative then and shifted closer to Ahira on his own. He invaded the handsome man's personal space but didn't get right up against him. It was respectful, but there was a certain level of intimacy there. "How's this?"

"That is almost perfect," came the reply. Ahira was generally well-mannered and respectful. But, he was also a man who was used to taking what he wanted, especially since Leon was signaling, if he was reading him correctly, wanted it too. He reached out a hand took hold of Leon's neck and pulled him closer, and kissed him.

It was tentative, but far from chaste.

Leon was quite surprised by the gesture and for a moment he did tense and didn't immediately return the kiss. Once his mind actually caught up to the moment, however, he relaxed immediately and his lips shifted to reciprocate. He shifted his hands like he was going to reach out and touch, but thought better of it and instead allowed Ahira to take the lead.

The kiss had been almost as much of a surprise for Ahira as it was for Leon, and it had started off awkward because of it. And for a micro-second, it seemed as though he had misread the situation, until Leon responded, returning the kiss.

The hybrid officer wasn't sure how far he wanted to push the envelope, how far he wanted to take it, or how far Leon would want to go. Then he stopped overthinking relying instead on instinct, whatever was going to happen was going to happen.

He deepened the kiss letting his tongue slide against Leon's teeth, but he didn't move his hands from around the other's neck.

They remained like that for a long moment, their lips locked and tongues teasing but unsure until finally, Leon broke away. He pulled back with a smile and breathless chuckle. His cheeks were flushed with a blush and he looked down in a shy way.

“Mm… well that was nice.”

"I'm glad you liked it," Ahira confessed, "I feel the same it was very nice. I just seized the opportunity. But this is just our second date, and while I'm hoping to do a lot more than kiss you, it doesn't have to be tonight. I'm willing to wait. If you're interested that is."

Leon blinked and then laughed, the tone slightly nervous and shy. “Well, I’m not opposed. Let’s just see where things take us though, shall we?”

He didn’t want to be rude about it, but Leon wasn’t like people like Ilan. He didn’t take that full jump with just anyone. “So what kind of things do you like to do for fun?”

"That sounds like an excellent plan," Ahira replied moving slightly away from Leon. "How about we have our picnic, then if you want we can pause the program, and come back later, or we can finish things out.
What would you like to do?"

He paused, cocking his head while he looked at his fellow officer, "I'm not trying to rush things, I'm enjoying myself, but I don't know how much time you have."

Leon chuckled, he couldn't help it. Ahira had bowled over his question in an attempt to be considerate and keep hold of their date. Truly, it was endearing and rather cute, from his perspective.

"I've got time, Ahira," Leon assured lightly and placed his hand on Ahira's knee. "Let's just enjoy the food you brought. Do you like to cook?"

Ahira smiled at the touch. It felt reassuring and mostly platonic. "I do," he answered. "Not just replicating, but actually cooking. It allows me, not it kind of forces me to focus on something other than work. My baking still leaves a little to be desired, but I'm pretty good at everything else. Though I guess you'll get to be the judge of that."

"What about you, do you like cooking?"

"Oh, I love it. It is one of the things my family is really into doing together when we can. We have a replicator, but we really only use that on the extremely rare occasion no one feels like cooking or going out, which is probably only a handful of times a year." Leon spoke with an obvious warmth for his family and he wore a smile on his face as he started to help Ahira unpack the food he had brought so they could share.

"I'm not much of a baker either, but I'd love to learn."

Fondness for family was something Ahira did not have, but he was glad that his new friend had that stability and support.

"Nice, I'm glad we have that in common," he said as they finished setting everything out together. "As for baking, maybe we can learn together".

He took a bite of his food and after swallowing, and allowing Leon to do the same, asked. "What do you think?"

“It’s good!” Leon replied enthusiastically after swallowing and flashed a smile. “I’d love to work on some baking with you. It sounds like fun and it is always good to learn something… and if we are really bad at it, we’ll have something to laugh about.”

"Thanks, I'm glad you like the food. I was a little nervous about it."

"And yeah, I like the idea of our baking something together, or at least trying. I think we should start with something simple. What do you think, chocolate cake, or pumpkin pie? Or did you have something else in mind?"

"Well, are you more a cake guy or a pie guy?" Leon asked with a playful smile then took another bite of his food, really seeming to enjoy it and not putting on false airs for Ahira's sake. He was really never that type to begin with; honesty was more often than not the best policy, but it could be delivered with gentleness instead of bluntness at times.

Ahira noticed Leon enjoying the food and was glad. He'd wondered a little if cooking something, rather than simply replicating it, had been the right move. He was also, a little proud, though he would have been hard-pressed to admit that fact.

He paused a moment, considering his answer. "Good question. If you're asking me which I like to eat more, cakes win out. Not a landslide, but clearly the winner. But, I like baking pies more. It's easier for me."

"But, maybe our first time, baking together should be a challenge. I'm up for a cake if you are."

"Cake sounds great to me." Leon agreed with a charming smile and then turned his attention to his food for a moment. He was enjoying himself really, and while there were always little bumps in first dates, that made them all the more pleasant in his mind.

"I'm really glad we did this." He eventually said. "I've had a lot of fun."

"I've had fun too. I'd like to go out with you again. This time though, I'll let you pick what to do. Did you have something in mind?"

"Do you like to swim?" Leon asked. While they had talked about baking, that was probably better left for a fourth or fifth date. Since Ahira had shared his enjoyment of hiking, Leon thought it natural that he would share his own preferred outdoor activity. "I have a great program for it."

"I haven't done a lot," Ahira admitted, "but I have enjoyed it when I did. That sounds like a great idea."

"If you're done with your food, I can do the clean up."

"We'll do it together." Leon assured him with a smile and moved to help Ahira do just that. He really was enjoying himself in the moment, but he also found himself looking forward to their next date even now. It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to entertain feeling like this and had kept things at friendships for a number of years now.

Maybe, just maybe, all of that would change.

END