[Backpost] All Apologies

Posted on Thu Jan 11th, 2024 @ 3:17am by Lieutenant Xex Wang & Lieutenant Axod Qo

Mission: On the Road Again
Location: Counselor's Office
Timeline: Mission Day 0 at 0000

[Counselor's Office]
[Following 'What's a Little Towel between Friends?']
[0920 the next morning]

The door to the counselor's office slid quietly open, letting in the burble of conversation from the hallway without. Deck two was always busy both with on- and off-duty personnel transiting to and from work and leisure centers. A louder voice stuck out of the crowd, calling, “--in a moment!” and was the only distinct words to be made from the general humm of conversation. The owner of the voice resolved into a teal-clad silvery figure who was striding through the door, a PADD in his hand.

The Sojourner's CMO looked criminally healthy after his night on the Romulan Ale, seeming to suffer no ill effects from either the intoxicant or the sleepless night that followed. Then again, he did have access to all the best drugs. Xex was in the process of turning his head back to see where he was going-- his earlier message delivered-- when he stepped into the office's pleasant lighting. “Doctor Qo!” he greeted enthusiastically, “If you have a moment?” Xex gave less than zero indication that he even remembered the night before.

Axod hadn't slept well, he had spent much of the night laying in bed and staring at the ceiling. So many thoughts had been rushing through his head. Chief among them, he was expecting some kind of dressing down of disciplinary action. All the while being keenly aware of the sounds of his roommate moving about in their shared spacees. He hadn't looked up at the sound of the door opening, but the familiar voice caused Ax to raise his eyes to meet Xex. The Doosodarian turned a shade of bright red as their eyes met. "I...Ummm.. What can I do for you sir?" He only allowed allowed his gaze to stay for a moment before he began to avoid looking at Xex completely. Ax began sort of fidget with anything within reach.

If Xex noticed the counselor's discomfort, he made no comment about it. Instead, he stepped around the comfortable seating area in the office's entrance. "Love what you've done with the place," Xex said, gaze meandering around the space, his entire posture radiating genuine appreciation. "I'm sure your patients will too." Fetching up against the desk, Xex dropped gracelessly into a seat and slid the PADD across the desk's surface to Axod. "Oh, hopefully nothing significant," he said, "just thought I'd best check in and make sure you're settling in okay." Leaning back in the chair and gesturing expansively to the office, he shot Axod a grin, "Looks like the answer is a resounding yes, but appearances can be deceiving." Was that a subtle dig? If the CMO's disarmingly pleasant countenance was anything to go by, no. But... "Have you been able to get in contact with your patients? Anything I can do to help you settle in?" Xex was the absolute picture of a solicitous CO, actual helpful interest stamped on his silvery features.

The Doctor's word were allowed to hang in the air for a moment. Axod found himself sitting uncomfortably near the edge of his seat. "I have begun reaching out to patients sir, but there are still a lot of files to get through." He answered, formally. His mind was reeling by how casual the doctor was behaving. For the first time since Doctor Wang's arrival Axod began to think that perhaps his inebriated state the previous night had left the doctor without memory of their awkward encounter. "How are you feeling this morning?" His mind quickly recalling the extent of Xex's s intoxication when they'd last spoken.

Xex groaned in sympathy, "An entire shipful of files, yes. I will admit, while the new cases are extremely interesting, the files themselves leave something to be desired." With a heavy sigh, he gestured toward the PADD. "I'm afraid I have a couple more for you-- a few of the nurses flagged these files as potential new patients for you, and I wanted to make sure they made it into your queue before you thought you had too good a handle on your workload," he said, wry humor worming its way into his words. "And also checking in," he continued with a brief grimace, pinching the bridge of his nose in the first indication that he was not, perhaps, feeling quite as chipper as he appeared, "seemed easier than any of the other tasks I had on for this morning. Stars, but I swear this headache will not quit. I don't think I can safely dial the hypo any higher and stay on duty."

Canting his head to the side, Xex's pained expression bled slightly into concern, "I'm fairly certain I was up all night-- I hope I didn't wake you?"

The Counselor nodded along as Xex talked through the issue of patients, and then as the topic changed back to the previous night's events Ax's eyes went wide and he swallowed hard. "So you ...uhh...really don't remember?" He asked cautiously. "Like when you got back to our cabin." He added. Again, Axod's face was full of colour brought on by his embarrassment.

Xex's concern took full hold of his features and he dropped his hand from the bridge of his nose. "Oh, I did wake you," he said, chagrined, eyebrows peaking with worry, "I do apologize for interrupting your rest. I'm afraid I get to my hobbies when I've had a little too much. Honestly watch out for that XO. Romulan Ale will sneak up on a soul. Please, if you need sleep, do not hesitate to throw me into bed." Seemingly oblivious to this poor choice of words, he smile self-deprecatingly, but it faded somewhat as he eyed Axod, taking in his discomfited swallow and the fresh bloom of color on his cheeks, flushing up his neck. "Are you quite alright, Counselor?" he asked with every appearance of actual worry.

Lieutenant Qo shook his head. "I was awake when you came home," He started to recount the night's events for his roommate. "I was coming out of the shower and met you in the doorway. We spoke for a bit, thought I can't for the life of me remember anything we said really." So far the story was tame, but Axod needed to rip off the bandaid and say what had been hanging over him, just as he had been hanging over Xex the night previous. " I need to apologize for exposing myself to you. It was not intentional." He blurted.

Xex sat back, listening to the story with every appearance of interest, as though he were listening to a patient's health complaint. When finally Axod came to the crux of the matter, he was met with a blank look on Xex's bland features. The blankness continued as Xex stared at him for a long moment. At long last, with obvious concern, he leaned forward, his expression earnest, laying his hand atop Qo's on the desk's surface and meeting the other man's eyes. "Axod," he said, dropping all hint of formality, "you need not apologize. It is I who should apologize that I cannot remember it-- I had not previously realized how great a gap I had in my memory of the night." Consternation wreathed his silvery features at this, truly uncomfortable at his lack of recall. Still earnest, he continued, "I hope you always feel free to speak your mind; our living quarters should be a comfortable space for you, and me, to speak of the things that matter most to us. Please don't feel that is something for which to apologize."

Some relief washed over Ax, he looked visably more relaxed. "I just wouldn't want you to think I'd taken advantage of your state." His words were earnest. "When I heard you up an about for most of the night, I wasn't sure whether you were contemplating how best to approach the situation or hyping yourself up to confront me." This admission left Ax feeling guilty at his conclusions.

"Oh not at all," Xex said, removing his hand from Axod's and waving it dismissively in the air as he settled back in his chair. "If unburdening yourself-- intentional or not-- is taking advantage of me, I hope you feel free to do so whenever the mood strikes. Like I said, our quarters should be a space where you feel comfortable laying bare anything you need." A look of confusion crossed Xex's silvery features, then. Feeling as though he were possibly missing a part of the puzzle-- and knowing both that he had only himself and the Romulan ale to blame-- he massaged gently at a temple in an effort to kickstart his sluggardly thought processes past the headache. "Oh, no. I am often up and about most of the night-- I just don't usually make that much noise. I really must beg your forgiveness-- for that and my missing memories. What..." he paused delicately, knowing he should leave well enough alone, and equally unable to ignore his curiosity, "would I have needed to confront you about?"

Axod felt much more at ease now, his shoulders released and he looked as though he was sitting rather comfortably now. "Some former colleagues were less comfortable with their own bodies, and seeing another can make them lash out irrationally." The counselor spoke very matter of fact, almost as if he had learned from experience. "Not all species have such liberal views on nudity, their insecurities run deep."

Ask and ye shall receive. Was that not the saying? Well, Xex had asked, Axod was expounding, and now the blurted I need to apologize for exposing myself to you took on a different cast. A little piece of Xex relaxed; he had not missed some heartfelt admission, or deep conversation between them. If anything, accidental nudity was something of a relief. Still annoyed at his missing piece of memory-- when would they invent a hypo to fix that?-- he firmly turned his attention to Axod's explanation. "I have always found such behavior baffling-- and I am very sorry you have had to deal with it in the past," he said sympathetically, "I suppose you also deal with slightly less nudity in your daily practice than I." A pause, and then a grin, "At least, I hope so." Waving an airy hand, he added, "Parade around naked at your leisure, my good counselor. I can't imagine your physiology will cause me distress."

Looking at the Doctor, Axod felt the warmth of blush on his cheeks again. Not from embarrassment like before, he was flattered. He was comfortably silent for a moment, and then moved to continue filling in the blanks for Xex. "You did ask me to join in prayer with you last night as well, but we never really got to it. " He said with a grin. "I would be interested in continuing that conversation, and to learn more about your religion."

Xex's skin didn't lend itself to blushing, but its tone did shift subtly, becoming duller and less eye-catching. His expression seesawed from blank confusion to horror before settling on abashed embarrassment. Though it was certainly too little too late, he dropped his head into one hand, hiding his expression. His fingers pressed into his forehead and temple, as though massaging his headache would somehow also alleviate his embarrassment. "Stars above," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose before finally looking up again. "I'm afraid I shall have to disappoint on that score. I am not actually, by nature, a religious person. In my defense though," he raised a finger, "enough Romulan ale and just about anyone can find religion." Flashing Axod a cheeky smile more at home on a much younger person, he added, "Ask me how I know."

Sobering, Xex took a deep breath. "I do hope we have the chance to converse upon a wide range of subjects though-- I shall endeavor to avoid drinking with Romulans in an effort to keep my memory intact. Seriously," he leaned confidentially across the table, "watch out for that XO. She looks so dignified and sober."

"I've only really have a couple conversations with her."Axod started, "I'm hoping I can talk with her about some Romulan cultural practices, for my own curiosity of course. I'm a bit of an amateur anthropologist." The Doosodarian smirked. "I've read just about every declassified report on the Romulan people, and I find it all really fascinating."

Xex's brows arched-- interested and surprised both. "Oh?" he asked, and then grimaced, his silvery features folding in on themselves for a moment. "Where were you last night to warn me off drinking with a Romulan?" As if to emphasize the point, he pinched the bridge of his nose again; his headache, it appeared, had abated not at all. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself for the subjectively monumental task of standing. He waved his hand, dismissing anything Axod was about to say as he pushed to his feet. "No, no, I know. You were sensibly in the quarters. This is all my doing. And I still want to make it up to you for interrupting your rest. Perhaps we can share a meal and a conversation I might have a hope of remembering?"

Axod looked excited at the prospect of getting to know his roommate. "Have you ever had Cardassian sushi?" He asked grasping his hands together. "The things I can do with Regova eggs and yamok sauce you would not believe. Not to mention how well it pairs with Romulan ale." He winked playfully. "Sound good?"

Without warning, Xex slapped both hands flat on the desk and leaned forward, his expression deadly serious. "How, by all the suns, have I never had Cardassian sushi?" he demanded, his face melting easily from seriousness into a grin. "That sounds delightful," he said, straightening and holding up one finger, "Minus the Romulan ale. Fool me once..." He returned Axod's wink and turned to leave the office, one palm pressing into a temple.

Ax straightened in his seat. "I'll search for a more forgiving pairing." He stood as Xex started for the door. "What about later, after shift change, I'll get everything together and we can make dinner together. I'll teach you the ins and outs of Cardassian eel." He couldn't help but smile.

Xex turned, continuing to walk backwards in order to catch Axod's suggestion, his habitual smile widening into a grin. "Don't threaten me with a good time," he said, "You've got yourself a date!" Then, as though the exclamation pained him, he winced, pinched the bridge of his nose again, and beat a hasty retreat, leaving Axod once again alone in his office.

A joint post by:

Lieutenant Xex Wang, MD
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant Axod Qo, MD
Ships Counselor