[Backpost] What's a Little Towel between Friends?

Posted on Fri Nov 17th, 2023 @ 8:23pm by Lieutenant Xex Wang & Lieutenant Axod Qo

Mission: On the Road Again
Location: CMO's Quarters
Timeline: Mission Day 0 at 0000

[CMO's Quarters]
[Deck 2]
[Following 'A Camping We Will Go: Cerulean Blue']
[2220]

The door to the quarters slid smoothly, silently open to let in a square of light from the hallway beyond. Little noise drifted into the suite to accompany the light; in accordance with normal human circadian rhythms, the Sojourner was quiet at this time of night, with few comings and goings to sickbay, the science labs, or any of the other facilities available on Deck Two. Likewise, there seemed to be no comings or goings into the suite, which was damned odd, considering someone must have caused the door to open.

Unless it was malfunctioning...

Just as it seemed it would close again, a figure swayed into the doorway, pausing to lean against the frame. His head tipped to the side, resting on the frame. He paused for so long, it seemed almost as if the figure planned to sleep there in the doorway when the head jerked abruptly upright and he stagger-stepped finally into the room proper.

Speaking of malfunctioning...

As the door closed behind him, Xex paused again, swaying gently back and forth now he had no supporting doorframe, happy enough to let his eyes adjust before he chanced any further locomotion. His expression in the suite's dimmer light was happy, a dreamy smile on his face, his eyes heavy-lidded and unfocused.

The low hum of the sonic shower filled the cabin's shared head. Ax stood, head hung, allowing the sonic vibrations to strip the days dirt and grime from his body. Sonic showers were not his favourite by any stretch. He would prefer to have running water, but the logistics on such a small ship were too next to impossible. So he endured it, quickly.

Stepping from the device, Axod wrapped a white towel, embroidered with Starfleet insignia and the ship's name, around his waist. He took a quick look at his reflection in the mirror, inspecting the state of the ginger beard he was beginning to grow. Happy with his progress he turned and exited into the common area of his shared quarters. The image of a shadowed figure leaning at the door, illuminated by the light from the now open door of the shared washroom, caused Ax to take a step back and gasp as he struggled to understand the situation.

"You okay?" Ax asked, as his eyes focused and revealed the figure as his comrade and roommate.

The words seemed to snap the silver-limned figure into some semblance of alertness: his head jerked and his eyes blinked, focusing on the speaker. Slowly, like a wind-up toy coming to life, animation returned to his features which lit with pleasure once his bleary eyes landed on Ax. "You. Oh. Kay," he echoed, rolling the words around in his mouth. His expression turned even more delighted as he moved further into the small main room of their suite, stumbling a bit on the edge of the couch and falling gracelessly onto it. "Such an economy of letters to ask such a fundamental question!" he exclaimed happily, half-reclined on the couch.

With an apparent herculean effort, Xex managed to struggle halfway upright enough to blink carefully at Ax again. "You are not dressed," he observed with cutting insight.

"I've just been in the shower." He checked that his towel was still securely tied at his waist. From the sound of Xex's voice, he was drunk. Shaking his head, Axod crossed to the replicator on the wall and ordered one of his preprogrammed selections via the control panel. In a moment, a relatively large glass shimmered into existence. He retrieved it and handed it to the Doctor. "Drink this. Why don't you tell me where you were?"

Xex's face took on a puzzled expression, as though he were working a particularly complex mathematical problem. Before he could come to a soluation, however, a large glass appeared before him and his face cleared into sheer delight. With more grunting and squirming he managed to swivel himself more or less upright and, eyes fixed on the glass, reached out and took it with both hands. Without another word, he put the glass to his lips and proceeded to drink, his throat moving rhythmically as he took great gulps of the liquid. Thanks to his single-mindedness, not a single drop slid down his chin. When he finally finished, he looked up from the glass to lock eyes with Axod, his gaze adoring. "Oh, you absolute shining star in my heavens," he said, and put the glass back to his lips, only to find that it was empty.

Looking supremely disappointed, he lowered it again with a dramatic sigh, and looked back at Axod, who seemed to be waiting for something. Blinking owlishly, Xex glanced behind himself, as if to ascertain what the other man was staring at and, finding only the suite's wall, frowned and turned back to him.

A look of concern washed over Axon's face. "So, did you want to explain where you were?" He asked crossing his arms across his lightly haired chest. He thought for a moment about the many nights out he shared with his friends at the Academy, sneaking off campus to go on a pub crawl on Valencia street in San Francisco, or taking the transporters to the clubs in Tokyo. The fond memories were typically peppered with flashes of the aftermath. The inevitable hangover, provided they imbibed in something besides synthahol. The memories pulled a slight smile onto his face and then he returned his attention to Xex, and hoped the Doctor might finally explain what happened.

The slow, ale-sludged processes of Xex's brain did eventually fire and his expression cleared. "Oh! You've simply got to go. This El-Aurian--I know, there's an El-Aurian on board, isn't it delightful?" he gushed, "Anyway, he's shet up-- shet--" He blinked, apparently displeased with himself, and very carefully tried one more time, "Set up this very cozy pub Earth-style!" Leaning forward, his forearms on his knees, his expression intent, his cup tipped entirely to the side, he said confidentially, "He even stocks Romulan Ale."

Axod's nodded along until Xex said those last two fateful words. Then his eyes went wide. "Is that what you were getting into?" He asked, but he didn't really need an answer. It was as though he couldn't help his mouth falling open. Ax's concern grew. He began wondering where he shouldn't contact the duty doctor in Sickbay. "How much Romulan Ale did you drink Xex?"

"Indeed!" Xex replied to the first question, utterly delighted with the prospect. The second question seemed much more difficult for the silvery-skinned doctor to parse. His brows knitted as he delved deep into the neural pathways of counting. His fingers tapped against the glass, and then finally, with a very serious expression on his face, he looked up at Axod and said definitively, "Some. But I'm sure Danny-- no... David! David has more. There's only the one part-Romulan on crew and she's already drunk her fill tonight."

With that, Xex rotated part way on the couch and flopped backward, bringing the glass to his lips again. This would have resulted in an enormous spill of liquid across his face and neck, save that the glass was empty. Looking extremely disappointed-- favorite puppy crushed beneath something heavy levels of disappointment-- Xex heaved out a sigh and set about the rather monumental task of mustering himself to trek the few steps to the replicator for more liquid refreshment.

His arms still crossed, Ax let out a sigh. "Do you need to go to Sickbay to get checked?" He asked, hoping that Xex was in a state where he would be capable of making that sort of self assessment. He walked over to where Xex was trying to stand. "Let me get you some more." He said, taking the glass and making his way to the replicator. He placed the empty glass in the receptacle and once again ordered from his preprogrammed selections. In a moment, the empty glass disappeared and was replaced by another, filled with clear liquid.

Something about Axod's words seemed to still Xex's struggle. He stopped attempting to stand, and sat back against the couch's dubious cushioning. In a more sober moment, he might even have taken the time to make a mental note to replace the couch. His expression smoothed into a meditative look.

"Here." Ax crouched down and placed the glass into his roommate's hand.

"No," Xex finally answered the other man's question, meeting his gaze as he crouched down and passed over the liquid. He accepted it with the exaggerated care of the very drunk, but his eyes were intent and had lost some of their glazed vagueness. "Thank you, but no. I think we can leave Doctor Marwol alone for the evening." Xex lifted the glass to his lips, gulped dutifully, and when he put it down again, a smile spread across his face. "I need to room with a counselor more often. Normally I have to take care of myshelf." Frowning, he tried again, "Myshelf." The frown deepened. "My. Self." Having managed to banish the slur, the frown cleared and the grin returned. "What, besides a shhhhhower have I interrupted for your night?"

Despite the fairly lucid question, Xex's balance seemed no better, his entire upper body tilting on the couch until his shoulder reached the corner between arm and back and he stopped, leaned on a diagonal.

"Nothing much to be honest." Ax pushed his red hair back out of his face. "Just some relaxing me time really after a very long day." He leaned again the bulkhead, watching the Doctor lean. "Nothing too important, it was likely going to be an early night." his hand instinctively checked the security of his towel once again. "Hopefully your plans involve going to bed and sleeping off the Romulan Ale. Hope and pray you can stand upright by tomorrow morning."

Xex frowned, and because it felt like his veins were more Romulan ale than they were blood, he made the stupid statement, "I imagine running through an entire ship of new patients is exhausting." He seemed not to notice that a) obviously Axod was not going to discuss his patients and b) Xex also had an entire ship of new patients through which to run.

Axod's second pointed comment caused Xex, who had been squirming his hips under his shoulders to bring himself to a more-or-less upright posture, to pause, an unaccustomed scowl scrunching his face. "Sleep I fear, will be a long time coming. Not that that should shtop you!" This time, he didn't seem to notice his slur. "Come," he said almost immediately, as though he hadn't just given the other man leave to find his bed. He patted the couch next to him, "Pray with me." Xex's grin was positively wicked.

Axod was perplexed by both Xex's words and the gesture that followed. He cocked an eyebrow and unfolded his arms. "I can't promise you I'll know the words." He said, half serious. With tentative steps, Ax moved to be at his roommate's side. He lowered himself into the spot next to Xex. He wasn't sure whether to bow his head or simply close his eyes. He didn't know whether or not this prayer had words or whether it involved silent reflection. He slowly turned to look at Xex. "So, what do we do?"

Xex's eyes had tracked the Doosodarian carefully until he settled himself on the couch, as though to ensure he did it right. Once seated however, Xex immediately moved, swinging his legs up over the arm of the couch and swiveling his body so that his torso fit between Axod and the couch arm, and his head flopped comfortably into the other man's lap, entirely unselfconscious of the contact. Xex grinned goofily up from this position and said, "I guessh I shouldn't be surprised a counselor doesn't have a lot of practice in prayer," he said flippantly, "but it's okay. I'm sure I'll be able to stand by tomorrow." At least one of them was sure...

Axod furrowed his brow slightly. He began to speak to Xex's assertion that he was clueless about religion and prayer. "As it happens, I've studied a decent amount of religions spanning different cultures. A few of my last postings gave me the opportunity to connect with crew members over their faith." With the man's head resting on his lap, and only a towel separating him from Ax's manhood, the Doosodarian grew slightly nervous. He didn't know where to look, or what to do with his hands. He was trapped.

Xex was either ignorant of or did not care about the proximity of his cranium to Axod's tender bits; he certainly seemed oblivious to the position he'd put his roommate in. "A-ha!" he crowed, his feet kicking with delight as he lifted one blunt silver finger. "But studying religions and practicing them are two different things, I have found. Nevertheless," Xex's head, which had oriented his face straight up toward the ceiling, now rocked back-- again, heedless of what this might do to Axod's bits-- so that his face was tipped up more toward Doosodarian's, "it is entirely commendable to shhhh--" he broke off, and frowning with effort tried again, "study your patients' faith. I fear too many of us," he gestured at the pair of them, perhaps to indicate their medical professions, "do not take the time to do sho." This last slur, he let slide.

"I've found it rewarding in understanding the patients." Looking into the eyes of the intoxicated man, Axod allowed himself to get lost in the pools of grey. He realized he had never really seen such a colour in any eyes he'd ever gazed into. He suddenly felt awkward and cleared his throat dramatically. "So...ummm, are you going to lead the prayer or not?" He looked nervous at the intimacy of the moment.

Reminded of the reason they were on the couch in the first place, Xex cried, "Oh yes! Of course. Here." He reached out, groping for Axod's placeless hands. In this, at least, the counselor was lucky that Xex's head was in his lap. It spared him the doctor's grasping fingers as he reached across the Doosodarian's body for his right hand, seizing the near hand with more ease. "Give me your--"

Xex broke off abruptly as his fingers closed around Axod's. "Stars above!" he exclaimed, and in a flurry of movement that seemed not to actually include much motion, the Sojourner's CMO squirmed in an energetic attempt to right himself without losing hold of Axod's digits. It wasn't long before he gave up and released Axod's hands, but in so doing, upset his own balance and tipped himself entirely off the couch and onto the floor with a soft, "oommph."

"Suns in the sky," Xex continued as though he hadn't just fallen off the sofa, popping up like a jack-in-the-box to his knees directly in front of Axod and seizing one of his hands in both his own. "You're freezing!" And then, blinking at the man, he continued, perplexed, "...and you aren't wearing any clothes. No wonder you're freezing! Computer!" The last was shouted entirely too loudly for the small space, "increase temperature!"

The computer chimed its acquiescence and asked, "Temperature parameters?"

Xex frowned. "Hotter than it is now," was all he could manage. At the dull tone indicating this response was not valid, he scowled as he began to chafe Axod's hand between his own. "Shtart with five degrees," he snapped, uncharacteristically impatient. Turning his eyes back up to meet Axod's, he asked with genuine concern, "Why aren't you wearing any clothes?" Apparently along with balance, the ale had stolen his short term memory. In the morning, this would likely be a blessing.

Axod found himself entirely aware of his level of undress once again. "I was uhh...in the shower before you got here." The Doosodarian, after pulling his hand free from Xex's grip, instinctively reached for where his towel was tied on his side only to just then realize that it had come undone and that the Doctors movement had exposed him entirely without him noticing. Ax turned bright red and stood from his position quickly, without realizing he was leaving his towel behind. His standing position left Xex at eye level with an area Ax was certain he would've preferred not to see. "I uhhh...I should be getting to bed," Axod sounded both embarrassed and awkward. He didn't even retrieve his towel as he headed quickly towards the door of his bedroom.

As Axod stood, Xex rocked back on his heels so as not to be actively whapped across the face, but simultaneously seemed entirely oblivious to the fact that he was now eye-level with the man's genitalia. Certainly he wasn't looking at the Doosodarian's naughty bits; he'd craned his neck in an attempt to keep eye contact with the poor man. "Oh," Xex said vaguely as Axod pushed passed him, and was left on his knees, blinking at the couch. Something there caught his attention. "Oh!" he exclaimed more loudly as he made an attempt to scramble to his feet, leaning precariously forward at the same time. This only succeeded in upsetting his balance again, and he lunge-stumbled into a half-lean, half-sit on the couch, turning back toward Axod, his prize in hand: the abandoned towel. He waved it triumphantly as he called helpfully, "You forgot your--"

But Axod's door was already closed.

"Towel."

A Joint Post by:

Lieutenant Xex Wang, MD
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant Axod Qo, MD
Ships Counselor