Part 2: Tarot (Mature Content Warning)

Posted on 08 Oct 2016 @ 5:39pm by Lieutenant JG Braxton MacKenzie & Lieutenant JG Jonas Flynn PsyD
Edited on on 08 Oct 2016 @ 5:42pm

3,844 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Episode 12 - Recluse
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 02, Baxton's Quarters #2613 SO
Timeline: MD-02 1700 Hours

Previously on the Galileo...

Braxton smiled and accepted the piece of bread as if it were the greats jewel in the world. He was almost sorry to eat it. "I love to cook, amongst other things. It relaxes me no matter what kind of day I had." He filled their plates with food. As they began to eat he avoided taking the bread just cause Jonas had given it to him. He was a bit frustrated at that but the frustration disappeared as he watched Jonas pop a bit of bread in his mouth. Suddenly he reached for his as if it was a connection between them. He quickly looked down at his food, lest Jonas notice him staring. "So...Um...how was your day." He asked. He wasn't very good at small talk but the thoughts tumbling through his head right now....it was all he could say. He was glad he'd made sure the table had everything because there was no way he was standing up now for reasons that would be too obvious.

"Not bad," Jonas said between bites. "Actually, not bad at all. I think I've decided to revisit an old paper I wrote a few years back but never submitted for review. It was Dora's suggestion, actually..."

And now, the continuation....

[ON]

The rest of dinner was nice amazing. They talked about their likes, dislikes, their hobbies. It was like two friends getting to know one another but Braxton couldn't help but feel that this was a date. He'd managed to get his body under control enough so he could clear off the table and bring dessert out.

He placed the elegantly decorated dessert plates on the table. He smiled at Jonas as he sat down. "Okay so dessert. In the middle the upside down cone shape that's Mont Choco it is dark chocolate mousse with a caramel center and chocolate genoise base." He pointed to the right side of the cone. "On the right in the white round dish is Crème Brule and to the left you have three Mignardise Vanillais which is smooth vanilla flavoured cream between 2 crunchy biscuits coated with pure white Belgian chocolate." He smiled at Jonas. "I hope you like it."

"Like it?" Jonas laughed. "I don't see how I won't love it! Though I might be cursing your culinary skills during the extra gym time I'm gonna need for the next week." He tossed Braxton a playful wink and surveyed his dessert, planning his plan of attack. He quickly settled on engaging the Crème Brule first, and savored the crisp cracking as his spoon broke the caramelized cover. "Seriously though, you put a lot into this meal. Thank you. It's been exquisite." He locked eyes with Brax as he slowly placed the first luscious spoonful in his mouth, taking his time to appreciate both the taste and texture before slowly removing the utensil.

Braxton was doing just fine, he was relaxed, he was feeling connected to the conversation, he felt laid back until, yes, until he watched Jonas attack the dessert. It was then that he felt like he'd just been placed in a boiling pot. Their eyes had locked and then Jonas had started eating the dessert. Braxton's eyes were drawn to the spoon Jonas placed in his mouth. As he slowly withdrew the spoon Brax felt his blood heat and boil. His face flushed and his crystal blue eyes darkened to a rich indigo Sapphire. It was the Betazoid in him. Betazoid eyes were naturally black, Braxton had inherited Vulcan eyes but when he was emotional or aroused they darkened. They were dark now and he couldn't have moved if the ship was on fire. He was painfully aware of every move Jonas made. From the flick of his tongue to remove the last bit of cream on the spoon to the way he closed his eyes and moaned at the flavours dancing on his tongue.

Braxton was well aware that his mouth was hanging open and that there were other developments that he hadn't planed for. His breathing hitched and he was damn sure his heart would explode out of his chest at the rate it was going. "I...Um..." a few more unintelligible sounds burst from his mouth. He stood quickly while Jonas had his eyes closed and turned his back on the man in an attempt to get his body under control. He clutched the little counter that separated the kitchenette he'd made until his knuckles went white.

Opening his eyes once he'd swallowed, Jonas saw that Braxton had stood and turned away. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, his face flushed with concern as he stood, set his napkin on the table, and moved behind the other man. He reached for Brax's shoulder, hesitated, but then grasped it gently. The contact with his... friend was almost electric and he felt his grip tighten reflexively. "What is it?" he inquired, though he felt he already knew the answer.

Braxton shivered at the touch of Jonas' hands. "Jonas I'm okay...I just...I feel..." He swallowed hard as Jonas' hands tightened on his shoulders. His body was trembling. "I can't tell you." He whispered.

Jonas tried to remove his hand and found he couldn't. There were warning bells going off in his head louder than any Red Alert he'd ever heard, but he seemed incapable of resisting, most likely due to the fact the deep down he didn't want to fight what he was feeling. So instead he moved closer, pressing their bodies together and finally loosening his one hand as the other moved to enfold Braxton in an embrace. "You can tell me anything."

Braxton closed his eyes savoring the embrace. Was this happening? Was it possible that Jonas felt it too. There had been a spark from the start but each breakfast, each time they came together it was like this. Normally he was able to control things but tonight...Without pulling away he turned. His eyes darkened and locked on Jonas' lips. "I...I don't know if you want to hear this."

Falling into the depths of the other man's eyes, Jonas parted his lips slightly. "Just say it."

"I....I..." His hands moved up Jonas' chest to cup his face. Any minute Jonas would stop this, he'd slap him silly and...thoughts spinning his face moved towards Jonas' "I want to...I want to...ki...ki..." His lips were a breath away.

Jonas closed the distance quickly, and everything except Braxton melted away. Starting gently at first, the kiss grew more passionate as each explored the other. Once more time seemed to stop, and Jonas was completely content as the kiss was the only thing he wanted and he never wanted it to end.

Braxton moaned as the kiss became deeper, more passionate. His arms were around Jonas pulling him close. All he could feel and see was Jonas. He could taste him, smell him, feel him. Not just as an outside entity but as if he were inside Braxton's very soul. A light buzzing began at the back of his skull. He felt...as if he were Jonas...It was as if he was sensing what Jonas was feeling but they were his own feelings too.

Beginning to reel from the embrace, Jonas felt as if his emotions had suddenly amplified. Amplified, or possibly doubled? He couldn't tell and didn't care, but he suddenly had the assurance that Braxton felt the same things for him as he felt for Braxton. Exactly the same.

If he were able to Braxton would have analyzed that but right now he was focused on Jonas, on tasting him, feeling him. He hadn't realized they were moving until he bumped into a table and something spilled forth across both their feet.

Braxton broke the kiss breathing hard and looked down. Tarot cards spilled on the floor all face own except for four...the Moon, The Tower, The Lovers, and the Devil.

Not noticing the cards, Jonas' head had snapped back and he was gasping for air. That was, without a doubt, the most intense and intensely felt kiss of his entire life. He wanted nothing more than to dive back in for more, but some kind of internal survival mechanism had kicked and he stepped back, scattering some of the cards further but not affecting the four which hand landed face up. He reached for a glass of wine on the nearby table and took a lingering sip, unsure if it had even been his glass and not minding at all if it wasn't.

"That was..." he began out loud, turning to face Brax when he paused and followed Brax's gaze to the floor. "What's that?"

Braxton blinked several times, several emotions were warring inside him. That had been intense and wonderful and...well the gods knew how to bring cold dose of reality. He picked up the four cards careful to keep them in the order they fell. Still breathing hard he looked up at Jonas. "Um...let's sit down Dessert and more drink. These cards...they are ... they are a guide and warning."

"Uh, okay," Jonas agreed, moving slowly back to his seat. Something about those cards had effectively killed the mood, and maybe that was a bad thing. The sudden change had given his more rational thoughts a more prominent voice in his head, and those rational thoughts were a bit pissed. What had been his one personal rule when accepting the assignment of Chief Counselor? No romantic involvement with the crew. Now, in less than a week's time, he had already (accidentally) slept with a fellow transfer, (innocently) flirted with a few others, and was... was... was doing something with the Chief Science Officer of a Science Vessel. He refilled both glasses and began drinking from his as he waited for Braxton to speak.

Braxton sat down at the table and took a moment to steady himself. He drank gratefully from the glass Jonas had filled. His mind was still reeling from what happened. His body was still humming from the kiss, from Jonas' arms around him.

He let out a shaky breath and then laid the cards as they had fallen. The Moon, The Lovers, The Tower, and The Devil.

Braxton looked up at Jonas. Before anything he had to make sure Jonas was alright. "Are you Alright?"

Jonas nodded but said nothing. He did offer up a more subdued grin to show he really was fine. His eyes then flicked back to the images before him, two of which seemed pleasant and two of which... not so much. A shattered structure of some kind and then a monstrous creature. While these cards held no meaning for him, they did for Braxton, and Jonas knew that whatever happened next between them would unavoidably influenced by the message Brax had pieced together.

“I am not sure how much you know about these. They are an old Earth way of divination. They are the Tarot Cards. There are 78 Tarot cards in each deck. There are 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards across four suits that are known as Cups, Pentacles, Swords and Wands. Now….Usually when you shuffle the cards, and I do every day, they are all mixed up. When we knocked the cards down they all stayed face down but these four.” He sighed. “That is nearly impossible. The odds of that happening…are astronomical. If you noted the patter one turned over, several face down, one turned over…each of the four from different areas. Nearly impossible.”

"Okay," Jonas mumbled. Statistics were not his forte.

“Well what all this means is that the Orishas, gods, whatever you call them have a message to impart. As with most readings…the cards are for both the reader and the person being read. If you wish…I can interpret them for us.”

Jonas simply nodded, willing to keep an open mind. This was easier to accomplish since it was Braxton giving the reading, though; with anyone else, he would have considered it an expression of apophenia - the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns within random data. A small part of him admitted that such a diagnosis was correct regardless of who was interpreting at the moment, but he told that small part to shut up and listen.

Braxton sighed. “Well given that we were...” he paused. “Given what we were doing when this happened and the images on the card they all work with the meaning along with intuition. All I can say is that it is rare that all the cards are from the Major Arcana. Here we go.” He wasn’t sure what to make of it but he’d read.

“The moon, the image on this card is of a full moon and in front it is framed by two Corinthian columns. You see the woman leaning on one column. Her blue silk gown is long and slipping down her body. She holds a ball of light in her hand and out of it water pours onto rocks and into a lake. Standing by her is a wolf howling at the moon. In front of her is a coyote glaring our way. By the coyote a crab snaps from the lake. This card… I think it speaks to the past. Being confused things hard to understand. In love it is like you seek the strong love that a wolf is capable of but…you get the coyote, the trickster the deceiver. It tells me that you have loved, as have I, and been betrayed and hurt by it. Notice the columns are in ruin. Love has shattered you, your security. Like the crab it snapped at you and you were blinded by the light of this person. The woman with the dress that is slipping down her body. You have been vulnerable in love but have been hurt. It has clouded your judgement and you are still healing from it. It is like you were found, then lost yourself, and you are now finding yourself.”

Jonas found himself struggling to keep a straight face, not wanting to influence Braxton's... divination process, or whatever it was. As far as he knew he had not mentioned Riley. Riley, the first man he'd ever fallen in love with who had quite literally betrayed him, using their relationship to steal his father's financial information and plans. He had been left emotionally ruined, and had never had a serious relationship since.

“The next card,” Braxton said. “These are the Lovers. This is the yin/yang. The need for balance. Work and play. Friendship and love. It talks of the heart saying one thing, the mind another. You must balance both and not neglect one for the love of the other. It means of coming love. Your need to be open to it. A powerful bond but the need to release old hurts so the new can come in. The willingness to let go of the past. It talks of needing to find yourself.” He looked at Jonas. “Make sense? Oui? Non?” His accent grew thicker as he spoke. His eyes seemed to glow an ice blue that was both beautiful and eerie.

"Oui," Jonas reluctantly admitted, though he held fast in his refusal to elaborate. It had been another direct hit, with the desire to keep his personal and professional lives separate - a desire that had already been discussed indirectly with the Admiral, and acted on with Nemo Bardasi. Still, there was the clinical side that insisted it was now Jonas himself forcing meaning into Braxton's words. Despite the appearance of accuracy, the statements themselves were in fact vague enough to reflect any number of life situations, weren't they?

“The next card,” Braxton said. “The Tower. A frightening figure or fire and darkness but it is anything but. It talks of change. It talks of having faith in your journey and the need to question things. It’s almost as if an unseen force is influencing feelings and again trying to find out why something is strong.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I…um…feel like maybe it is not the time for this…you are still going through change and not letting go of your love from the past.”

"I have confirmed or denied nothing, Lieutenant MacKenzie. Read on."

“Finally,” Braxton said. “We have the Devil card. It is a wild beast who has chained a man and woman. It is about bondage…not the good kind.”

Jonas chuckled, not expecting the levity. "I wasn't aware there was a bad kind," he teased.

Braxton smiled. “Yes well…that kind can be fun. But this one talks of the need to go beyond superficial and look for deeper truth. You are bound by the past but must free yourself. Notice that both the man and woman have keys in their hand…so they have the key to their freedom. For..what we were doing it says that we are trapped brought together by an unexpected force which we cannot control and we will have a choice once this force comes to light to walk away or stay bound…I do not understand myself what it all means.”

“I think it is saying we’re damned if we do and damned if we do not…”

Considering Braxton's words, Jonas found himself saying, "Then what kind of damned do we want to be?" He had reached across the table and taking Brax's hand. "That reading was... interesting. Some things did seem to be right on the mark, but... well, I think I'd like time to consider it longer before I give my full opinion."

Braxton smiled, "The cards are not law and Gods. They are a guide to help us understand things and see all sides."

"That being said," Jonas continued, "Whatever this is between us? I'd prefer to explore it through conversation, not cards. That's not to diminish your belief or the possibility that the reading may have been completely accurate. What I do mean is that the tarot will not be the sole basis for anything I have to say to you or any decisions we might make, understand?"

Braxton's hand tightened on Jonas', "I understand. I think we have much talking to do because if we continue this way and I continue to feel like I have tonight I think I will spontaneously combust."

Jonas laughed, really laughed, at Brax's admission. When he's recovered enough to speak, he said, "I think I'm right there with you. I'm not used to... well, feeling anything so deeply. Even when I'm simply attracted to someone, I usually can at least control... whew, but that's getting ahead of myself."

He began to withdraw his hand from Braxton's, but realized he liked it just where it was. "I need to say that I didn't come aboard Galileo looking to get involved with anyone. My career is more than just a career, it's more like a, well, a calling. And please don't laugh, I know that sounds corny."

Braxton was still fighting with his lungs to work. "I will not laugh. I understand how you feel. In all honestly...I feel the same...or at least I did. But you...I don't know? I cannot control it. It feels like my body will burst into flame. When I kissed you...I...I cannot describe the fire inside me." He really couldn't. "And...there is something you should know."

"What?" Jonas asked. He hadn't really finished his own thought, but he could certainly relate to the description of the emotions flooding through him at the moment.

"I..." How did he say this? "The cards if they hadn't fallen and kind of broken the spell," and it did feel like a spell. "We might have ended up in my room and...I ...I ... I've never been with a man...or woman for that matter...so...I...that is if...if we....if we ever...I..." He rubbed the back of his neck. Damn it he was a scientist! "If we ever were together I don't want you to be disappointed." His face flushed red.

"Whoa, hey, it's okay," Jonas assured as he stepped closer, resting his arms on the other man's shoulders. "First of all, I don't think you could ever disappoint me. But that's putting the starship before the warp core." He began to run a finger along the side of Braxton's left ear. He was deeply touched by the personal admission, the fear it exposed, and the trust he had been shown. whatever else developed between the two, Jonas vowed to guard that trust with his life. "What I was about to suggest is that we take this slow. Not only would that give us time to talk, but it would give us time apart, to think things through more clearly. I'm not suggesting we avoid each other, but maybe we should hold off on going on another date for a while. Like, maybe when we get to the Starbase?"

Braxton understood. This was a fire burning out of control. It was...delicious but they should take it slow for both their sakes. "That sounds... good." He smiled and looked up at Jonas loving the feel of Jonas' finger running over his year. As much as Vulcans hated to admit it their ears were as sensitive as the Ferengi ones. He smiled at Jonas, reached up and took his hand bringing it to his lips and giving it a kiss. He chuckled. "As much as I love the feel of you caressing my ear...fun little fact, Ferengi and Vulcan ears share an ear sensitivity at least to being caressed." He kissed Jonas' hand again. "I think that we should take this slow too. But I really like you Jonas, I can't explain it but I'm drawn to you." His thumb caressed Jonas' palm. He looked up at him with a tender yet vulnerable smile. "I'm not sorry this happened."

Jonas' touch became even lighter, but maintained a steady, feathery rhythm. "I'm not either," he admitted, despite his clear intention to remain unattached from just days before. Oddly enough, he had touched on the very subject with the Admiral his first morning on board. At least he knew she'd likely not object if he and Brax decided to make things official.

"Okay, tell you what - it would be a shame to let these desserts you've made go to waste, but I don't really trust either of us if we stay here. What do you think about packing them up and finding a slightly more public spot to enjoy them? Should help us keep ourselves under control."

Braxton laughed. "Sure.

[OFF]

---

Lieutenant JG Jonas Flynn PsyD
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo

&

Lieutenant JG Braxton MacKenzie
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

 

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