Fixer Upper

Posted on 14 Aug 2014 @ 4:59am by Lieutenant JG Grayson Jones
Edited on on 14 Aug 2014 @ 4:30pm

2,921 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Main Engineering/Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 08 - 0805/1300

ON:

Grayson was glad to be back in Main Engineering, while small, like the caves of yesterday...no rocks, dead bodies or environmental suits got in the way of his day's tasks. So far that day he had refocused his efforts of removing the tribble menace that was the impending scourge of the warp engines and power grid. He had managed to gut the various connecting components of the warp core of tribbles before they managed to do any real damage and had jerry-rigged a portable forcefield to protect more vital components. Grayson could imagine the look on Asahi's face as he came in to start his duty shift. He didn't want to bother the chief with something he thought he could handle himself.

It was when he was taking a break, tucked away in a back corner of the Chief's Office when he had a surprise and welcome guest to hopefully help brighten up his rather fuzz filled day so far.

His shift over, Tyrion had left the office as fast as he could, getting away from his -in his opinion- grumpy boss-lady. Rememering his roommate's allergy for Tribbles, and having removed two from their quarters, he wondered if maybe engineering could offer a solution to keep them out, and his roommate safe. "Hello?" he called out, seeing no-one in his immediate line of sight. "Anyone here?" Alpha shift was only just starting, so it was likely most hadn't even got in yet.

Perking up from behind the desk, Grayson responded, "Hey." He strode out of the room, hair a mess and looking decidedly tired. His hand came to the bridge of his nose, thumb and forefinger gently massaging either side, to wish away the pain of an impending tension headache. "Grayson Jones, assistant Chief. How can I help?"

Tyrion closed his eyes for a moment as he unwillingly sensed the pain. He took a deep breath and walled his mind up. "Tyrion Faye," he answered. "I got a roommate who's allergic to them Tribbles. Do you know of a way to keep their fur out of our quarters? I really don't want to risk anything happening to him, especially since we work different shifts. Don't want to come home to find him in distress. Just need something to close up the vents, one way anyways."

"Right now we are struggling ourselves to keep on top of things. For something that bad though, I am sure we will have a solution here somewhere." Grayson smiled, instantly going through a categorical list of ideas and inventory that were available to him. "There won't be much we can do in way of technology for a solution...I've had to magic up something to protect the warp core this morning, not sure how it will work in the long run." He kept thinking, mentally disregarding and ideas he knew wouldn't work.

Which, is when the simplest of ideas came to him. "It isn't fancy, but I think in this case the more simple the better. Give me a few moments to replicate what we need."

"What do we need?" Tyrion asked, simply refusing to tap into the man's thought process. "What isn't fancy?" Were they talking simple filters, or something a little more complicated than that? He followed the young man, studying him. From what he could see, the engineer had some Trill blood in him given the faint spots that ran down either side of his face. It was appealing enough and briefly, he wondered if they were as sensitive as a full Trill's.

He quickly averted his gaze when the man turned back to him, afraid he was caught staring.

Returning from the replicator and his own stocks, Grayson had a small bundle of things in his hands. "These. Hypoallergenic filters. They will keep tribbles away from the duct and catch any loose fuzz that may be flying." He held up several sheets of the thin, delicate silk looking material. "That alone won't cut it though, too much pressure and they could loosen them." A roll of duct tape was then placed on the nearby table, it was from Grayson's personal stash of engineering goodies. The tape was a bright blue with cartoon penguins on them. "Open up the air vent, place the filter about half a meter in and secure them to the sides with the tape. A bit festive I know, but it is my own adhesive blend that won't come away without a solvent." Feeling rather proud of his idea he stood smiling, forgetting not everyone was an engineer, he had to add, "If you want I can get someone down there to install it if you wanted?"

"That'd be great," Tyrion replied, smiling sheepishly. "I'm not exactly engineering savvy. I mean, I'm sure I could do this but well...it'd take forever and I got my roomie to think of and I gotta do this either during beta, or alpha shift and he works alpha so best do it before he gets home right?" He regarded the roll of tape and picked it up to study it. "Festive indeed...why penguins?"

"I will see who I can spare and send them down." Grayson replied, feeling rather triumphant. "Well, no one would really want to steal a low tech solution you would think... I was wrong on that before. The penguins are an anti-theft device. No one wants bright cartoon penguins on anything. That and I like the look of them." Before he new it, he was giving his best charming grin as he pushed the hair back that was falling onto his forehead.

"They are rather cute," Tyrion admitted, "and I guess it's effective, never thought of that before unless you like penguins of course." He grinned back. "Leave it...it looks better falling forward." He reached out to push the strand of hair back into it's original place. "Much better."

Grayson couldn't help but blush. The brief skin contact made his cheeks swell in a deep red as his smile changed to more of an adorable simper. At least, he hoped was adorable and not at all creepy. 'Dang this ship and cute boys' he thought. As sad as it seemed to Grayson, it was the most romantic touch he had felt in a while, even if Tyrion's intentions were not that way inclined. 'Get it together Jones' came to the forefront of his thoughts. Momentarily, he was at a loss at what to say, well, anything that did not come across as weird. "I hope things work out with it. You are a good friend and room mate coming to get something like that fixed." Grayson swallowed hard, his throat instantly becoming drier than a hot day on a Vulcan desert.

"Well I'm glad he told me, because I'm sure I'd get the blame if something did happen. People seem to think that intel is all-knowing these days." He smiled back, noticing that with the blush the man's spots stood out a little better. "I like your spots," he blurted out without thinking first.

"Thanks. Not full spots, half human. Kinda' like them being faded, they practically disappear in some places." Grayson kicked himself at that one, it sounded like a chat up line that was not meant to be.

"I'm sure they do," Tyrion responded curiously. "Still, they stand out when you blush like that." He took a small step back, giving the man some room to breathe, somehow feeling he might need it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come on to you like that. I mean, you're cute and stuff but well..." Now it was his turn to turn scarlet and falter. "You are.."

"You too. I mean, well...yeah." Grayson sighed. He wasn't usually this shy around guys, more going in at warp speed was his method of approach. He was tired, stressed...something. "Well, this isn't awkward." He joked, giving a half hearted attempt at a giggle which petered out into another sigh at the end.

"Just a little. I don't mind it though, really, I don't," he was quick to add. "I'm not really looking but that's usually when you find something or someone isn't it? It's just...I just lost someone that was very dear to me. I don't mind the attention, I really truly don't. I kind of like it but you know..I don't want anyone to feel put off."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Grayson added, his face turning to one of sorrow, he knew the feeling of losing someone close all too well. "It is always nice to feel a little bit of attention now and again." His smile returning slowly.

"So true," Tyrion smiled. "When do you get off duty?"

"1600 hours. A while yet I am afraid. Have a feeling I will be in for a long day."

"Too bad, I got off some fifteen minutes ago, I work gamma." He shrugged. "How about meeting me for lunch? Then I can let you know if this little trick of yours worked. Say, 1300?"

"Deal. Mess hall?" Grayson's grin lit up again.

"Sure, that's a deal. I should get some sleep now, an hour or two is sufficient, I'll sleep another two to three hours before my shift because you know, chores and stuff. I got a tidy roommate, for obvious reasons. He's quite cute too but alas, doesn't swing my way."

*** 1300, Mess Hall ***

Grayson was quick to arrive. He grabbed a quick bite to eat (sandwich and a water) and found his usual seat by the window to wait for Tyrion to arrive.

Still wearing his uniform, Tyrion was only a minute or two late and dashed by the replicator to get himself a typical English breakfast and a pot of tea. "Hi!" he called out, waving at the engineer. "Sorry I'm late... oh man is that all you're eating?"

"Yeah, just a light lunch. Plan on hitting the gym after, so don't want to be bloated or anything." Grayson said, taking a bite of his lunch.

Arching an eyebrow, Tyrion regarded him with black eyes. "You got three hours to digest that, surely you're eating more than one sandwich?" Promptly he dumped half of his eggs and sausages on Grayson's plate. "At least give your body some calories to burn then," he said, before taking a big bite of a chunk of sausage that was just dripping with grease.

"Thanks, but I will be ok. Usually grab a protein snack and then head. It is cardio night, so I usually eat like a pig after it." He chuckled.

"That I'd like to see," Tyrion scoffed, "I bet this is healthier than a protein bar. Not that I work out a whole lot. I mean, I do what I need to, when I need to." He shrugged. "I'm a desk jockey, I don't get to join away teams often, if at all. Last time I did nearly ended in disaster." He smiled though. "I'd actually just sit and watch you work out, maybe."

"Will be me on an elliptical trainer for a half hour, followed by another half hour on the treadmill. Weights would be more an exciting night to visit. Lots of different weights, machines and probably a lot of funny faces as I try to repeatedly lift things far too heavy." Grayson smiled and gave a nose laugh ( a light sound of amusement in the form of breath exiting his nose).

"Either may be a treat," the Betazoid smirked, while shoving another forkful of food into his mouth. "So you like to work out, what else do you like to do?"

"I like playing guitar, watching old Earth movies. Animated ones from this old company called Disney are some favourites. You?"

"Not a whole lot I'm afraid. Just stare at the stars, and play with computer systems. Pull the odd prank maybe. And I like to swim. Also, I aim to improve my skill in blocking all the noise out. I'm trained but I still get too much chatter on occasion. I'm debating going to sickbay and ask for something to block my telepathy."

"I best be careful of my thoughts then. Try a movie, I can upload some to a PADD for you to watch. Usually when I need to switch off, I use them. I know they are different circumstances slightly, but it might be the distraction your brain needs."

"No need for you to be bareful, I don't read minds unless I really have no other choice. I was born telepathic and I'm told most Betazoids born that way go nuts quite soon. And me...I left Betazed when I was seventeen, to get as far far away from my family as I could. I hve three sisters, can you imagine the hell I grew up in? Them telling me what I can and can't do. They don't approve of me being in Starfleet, they want to see me married off to this high class girl and have daughters of my own." He spat the words as he spoke, his eyes flashing.

"I get that." Grayson said empathising with the story, "My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps, become his ambassador son successor. While no children were on the cards...he wanted me to become joined like he. I spent so long getting tested to see if a Trill-Human hybrid would cope. I never found out the results, I fled to Starfleet before he had a chance to say anything."

"I take it you don't want to be joined then." He tapped his temple. "And you're right, the personality change it involves, I heard it can get quite ugly. Besides, you're cute as you are, who knows what nasty or mellow bugger you might become when joined. Right?" He smirked. "Still an interesting feature with the spots though, and hey, you could always you know, cover them up if they bother you that much? Or have them surgically altered to match the rest of your skin?"

"Heck no." Grayson's blushing began again at the next sentence. "Yeah, my father changed a lot when he joined. It wasn't a nice experience on us.
As for the spots, they are light enough for me not to really care about, gives a talking point with people. The only time they bother me is when I get a tan and they look a little darker then."

Tyrion shrugged. "At least you have the option," he offered then gestured at himself. "No hiding the black eyes for me and just one look and people go 'Betazoid' and quite often walk the other way. I've tried contact lenses a few times but they don't seem to agree with me. I always end up with puffy eyes for some reason." He gestured with his fork, smiling. "You're cute when you blush though.."

"Thanks." Grayson tried not to blush again, he couldn't help but think something was wrong with him, he never acted this way. "As for the eyes, I like 'em. Haven't made me walk away... made me think carefully about what I think. I don't want to be giving away anything too soon."

"Give away what?" Tyrion asked, while stuffing his mouth again. "Like I said I don't read minds unless ordered and then with great reluctance. Strong feelings are another matter though but I try to ignore it. So don't worry, your thoughts are safe." he smiled openly. "So uhm...are you seeing anyone?"

"Not really, not just now. You?" Grayson wondered where the conversation would lead. He had his eyes on someone for now, but like usual, guessed he was chasing the unobtainable as usual. "There have been a few guys quite friendly since I came aboard, but will probably not advance more than that." Grayson continued, a slight tone of regret in his voice.

Tyrion shook his head. "No, no-one for me at the moment either. Like I said I just lost someone very dear to me. Wasn't a boyfriend but I think it might've gone there if he hadn't been killed." He shrugged. "Just curious," he explained, "would've thought someone like you would've been taken already."

"Just keeping options open for now. I think I want something right to come along this time around, instead of my usual." Grayson instantly regretted his last few words and prayed that Tyrion did did not ask much, if anything about it. How else was he supposed to say that guys just wanted him for a night then left. It might sound vain, but, he always though it was because of the way he looked, Grayson was longing for more, he ended up giving in to what they wanted in the hopes they would stay around... he was wrong on that many a time. So many he stopped keeping count (either because he forgot, felt ashamed or a mixture of both).

The Betazoid nodded sympathetically. "That's commendable," he commented. "I'm not sure what you mean by usual, as I've never gotten beyond a kiss so I actually have no idea what to expect, or even do for that matter. You'll find your mister Right." He smirked. "Eventually. And who knows..." He raised his mug of tea. "Here's to finding love."

Lifting his water bottle and touching it with Tyrions, Grayson joined in their affirmation, "To love."

OFF

Ensign Grayson Sharp
ACEO
USS Galileo

Ensign Tyrion Faye
Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo
pnpc T'Vanna

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