Continuation of ‘Celebration…’; Part Two

There were three of them left at the table with a few bits of food left on their plates, a couple empty bottles with one of them on its side. The others had surrendered the night and returned to their quarters to rest as the morning of their duties would come quickly than they would like. Same could be said for the three remaining members of their party, Mizu, Ruby and Theo. But they were having a lot of fun, that is, until Arata came over to the table and informed them that the restaurant will close soon for the night and that they needed to vacate.

The three of them practically stumbled out of the entrance to the Hakkoku, that is until one of them lost their balance and face-planted into the info kiosk before them. It was Theo and both Mizu and Ruby had to help him back to his feet.

“I got this,” Ruby said as he tried to look at Mizu but he could see four of her.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

Ruby raised his free hand up and gave her a thumbs-up. “Oh yeah! Totally. His quarters are on the way to mine.”

Ruby saw the smile on Mizu's face and then she giggled. “Okie dokie pokie, Mr. Ortizie. HA! Ortizie. I'll see you in the morning.”

They heard Theo giggle like a school girl. “It's already morning," he said.

“Oh crap! We need to be in bed!” Mizu tried to say with a straight face before she burst into a giggle fit, one that got Ruby started.

“Oh-oh-okay now, we really got to go. See you later, Mizu," Ruby told her but all he could hear from her was more giggles as she wobbled her way to the nearest lift.

For whatever reason, Ruby went the other way to find him a separate lift but then stopped in his tracks when he realized he had dropped Theo, which followed with a muffled ‘Ow’. Ruby turned back to pick him up, to find Theo's face pressed into the carpet.

“The floor hit me. I think I need medical attention,” said Theo as Ruby picked him back up.

“You're fine, bud. But you should of really went easy on the sake,” Ruby told him as he started to lead them to the next lift where they took it to their sub section of Section E, Quarters section. Their quarters just happened to be about a quarter away from Mizu's and further in of the mushroom dome of the station, where hers was closer to the exterior. Basically, she had windows and a view. They didn't. On the way there in the lift, Ruby could hear Theo mumbling about the drinks.

“I was taking it easy. I only had two cups full,” Theo held up four fingers and stared at them. “Wait. That's not right. That looks like twelve fingers.” Theo then began to giggle. “I didn't have twelve cups of sake! Oh wow! Haha!”

Ruby remembered what Theo had, it was definitely two but clearly the man could not hold his liquor. Ruby had his first experience with Mizu when he had first met her back at the Academy and ever since then, he grew a tolerance for it. But he was still quite buzzed, as he forgot how many cups he had. The door split open once it reached their sub section and he began to help Theo down the corridor, where he aimed for Theo's quarters.

“You know,” Theo continued and then suddenly Ruby felt a grip on his butt. Was Theo groping him? “If..If I didn't have a thing for -hic- OH! I started -hic- hiccuping! Oh boy, I must -hic- really be drunk. What was I -hic- saying?” Ruby was about to answer and then there was a sudden smack to his butt. “I -hic- remember! If…if I didn't -hic- have a thing for K'Roll, I'd -hic- totally take this with me to bed. Who knew -hic- that you had such a cute butt.”

Ruby smirked and nearly tripped over his own feet but managed to save himself and Theo. “I got you!” said Theo, followed by another hiccup. Theo's grip had gotten tighter apparently. Ruby could feel himself start to get hot, hotter than usual. He knew the alcohol was very much still in his system, but there was an odd sensation that began to build up. He did not what to think on it, did not have the time either, as they made it to Theo's door.

“Here we are, buddy. Home sweet home!” Ruby said as he helped Theo stand up straight before him. “There. Think you can make it to your bed?” Ruby asked but as he looked into Theo's eyes, the sensation grew stronger. Was it the alcohol or did Ruby just started to find Theo incredibly attractive? The can't be. He was attracted to Mizu. Heck, he still had not worked up the courage to ask her out yet. Then what is it that he is feeling? It must be the sake. Perhaps too much sake.

“You know, -hic- my hand is still on your butt,” Theo's words pulled Ruby out of his thoughts and the next thing the happened would be unbelievable in the next several hours. Because when the alarm went off, Ruby opened his eyes and he raised his hand to his head where he could feel the worst hangover headache that he has ever had in years. But in the attempt to raise his hand to his head, his hand brushed against something. Curiosity got the better of him, as he gripped it, as it felt squishy and once his fingers explored enough, his eyes shot open in shock. He looked to find his arms wrapped around Theo and that his chest was pressed up against Theo's back and he looked down under the covers to see that he…his…

Ruby quickly crawled out of bed, found his clothes and put on the most important layers first before he ran out of Theo's quarters and headed straight for his own.

The Day the Sovereign arrived

It had been a couple days since the awkward situation that Ruby had with Theo. During those days, they barely looked at each other, let alone talked to each other. In fact, any time they entered a room where they saw one another, they'd immediately retreated to a different, separate room. Ruby would often find himself staring blankly into space, whether his gaze be at a his data padd, console holo display, or a table. His mind had been going over the events constantly, his thoughts were troubled and he couldn't process any of them. He had always found himself attracted to women, Mizu especially and never once ever thought he would ever be interested in another male. In fact, he knew Theo had his eyes on K'Roll, he knew since they first met the guy back on the Sovereign. Just the way Theo stared at K'Roll gave it away, even Mizu bet Ruby a drink that Theo was into him, and when Theo confessed to the two of them, Ruby was not at risk as he had not taken that bet.

At lunch, Ruby had chosen to go to a regular cantina of sorts. Basically just a bunch of tables with chairs around them, scattered around the area with food replicators close by. Was a place to grab a quick bite for a lot of station personnel, when they just wanted to eat something quick and get back to work. But Ruby had barely touched his food, as his attempts to process the event continued to repeat like a broken record. That is, until his thoughts were interrupted when he heard Theo's voice. He knew it was inevitable, but for some reason, he still felt unprepared.

“Hey,” said Theo, who stood there with a tray of food.

“Hey,” Ruby returned and then watched Theo sat the tray down before he took his seat across from Ruby. The tray had a sandwich, looked like a cucumber sandwich, with a cup of vanilla pudding and a glass of juice. Very simple, small meal. Perhaps Theo also had not much of an appetite as Ruby had only a bowl of tomato soup before him, which had likely gone ice cold.

“Look. About the other night,” Theo started but was stopped when Ruby raised his hand.

“I've been trying to forget it and yet I can't. So, there is no need to bring it up,” Ruby told him but he could see that Theo was not going to stop.

“We have to talk about it, or it is going to keep eating us up. You're a great friend, Ruby. You and our group of friends, I don't want to lose that,” Theo said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Ruby sighed and finally placed the spoon down in his tray that he had been holding onto since he had sat down an hour ago. Likely late to return to duty by this point but he will take the flak from his supervisor later. “No one is going to kick you or me out of the group. Not over a mistake.” Ruby saw a slight tinge of pain in Theo's eyes when he said that. Was that the right thing to say?

“Right. Of course,” Theo said, now it sounded like he had been hurt.

Ruby leaned closer, “Look. You and I both know that we have interests in other people. I want to be with Mizu and you want to be with K'Roll. Remember?”

That seemed to have perked Theo up, “Of course I remember. It's just. I don't even know if K'Roll even notices at all.”

Ruby scuffed. “Seriously? Have you even tried asking him out?”

“Well. No. I mean. It's just,” Theo stammered.

“You're never going to know if he is interested or not, if you do not ask him out.” Ruby told him.

“Then what about you and Mizu? Why haven't you asked her out yet?” Theo asked.

Ruby sighed and leaned back into his chair. “It's complicated.” Theo stared at him, obviously he wanted an explanation. Perhaps one that would fit with his own excuse. “I've known Mizu since the Academy, Elidia and K'Roll came after. Point is, we've been best friends since then and I don't want to ruin that. I'm afraid that, she'd reject me and then it be just awkward between the two of us and our whole group would just splinter because of us.”

Ruby watched Theo nod his head before he spoke, “That's kind of how I feel with K'Roll. I don't want to ruin our friendship, so if he turned me down.” Theo then blinked and tilted his head. “Are we good?”

Ruby thought about it for a second and then smirked with a nod. “Yeah. We're good. Just…keep it between us, okay?”

With that, Theo made a big nod with a smile. “Of course!” He then grabbed his sandwich and took a big bite. That must have brought his appetite back. Although, Ruby would need to reheat his soup. But before he could get up, he had noticed some glances that Theo made. Ruby could barely remember what happened that night, so what was it that they did that made such a big impression on him? Ruby couldn't even think on it for a second when Mizu came up to them, with a very excited expression on her face.

“You two have to come with me to the upper level, quick!” Mizu exclaimed before she hurried off. Without hesitation, both Ruby and Theo jumped out of their seats and followed Mizu up to the upper level. Here, they were greeted by a large viewport, transparent material that was between them and open space. But that was not what was important. What was important, was what they could see out there in open space. It was a Sovereign-class starship.

“Wow,” Ruby heard from Theo and he was right, wow indeed.

“I had not realized that we had become that popular to have the honor of a Sovereign-class ship here,” said Ruby.

Then Mizu looked at them, her smile even bigger as she knew what they did not. “Oh. That's not just any Sovereign-class ship out there. That is thee Sovereign!”

“Wait a minute. Weren't you two, Elidia and K'Roll…didn't you four serve on that ship?” Theo asked and Mizu answered, while Ruby just stared at it.

“Yup! It was a short assignment but still the best one. Right, Ruby?” Mizu asked but Ruby was too focused on the ship. She was sleek and beautiful as ever. One of the best designs ever made. She was a work of art and the designer should be proud. Although, a thought crossed his mind and he decided to play with them a little bit.

First he turned his facial expression into a look of disappointment and uncertainty. “I don't know. Honestly. If I had the opportunity. I would take an assignment on a Duderstadt-class over a Sovereign-class.” The second he finished that sentence was the second his upper arm received a blow from Mizu's fist.

“You take that back!” Mizu nearly shouted at him, but he could see a smile beginning to form. She knew he was playing with her, he could see it in her eyes but he also could tell that she wanted to make sure that he was kidding.

“I mean. The Duderstadt is a beautiful looking ship, too,” Theo chipped in and all Mizu could do was cross her arms over her chest and pout.

“I don't know you two anymore! Either way, one of these days, when I make Captain, that ship will be mine!” Mizu proclaimed, which made Ruby's brows raise up high in surprise.

“You want to be Captain of thee Sovereign? That one there? You'd have a lot of sucking up to do, to get Captain Maxwell to let you have her,” Ruby teased.

“Oh please! He doesn't get to say, let alone keep her.” Mizu fought back.

Ruby shrugged a shoulder, “True but by the time you make Captain, he'd be an Admiral and he would probably have the authority to keep her for himself. Or give her away to whomever he chooses.”

“And that's if the Sovereign is even still in service by then,” Theo chipped in again, which he did have a point.

“She may be thirty years old, but she is a damn fine looking ship and very much capable to remain in service long after I make Captain. Heck, probably long after I meet my maker,” said Mizu, who sure seemed so confident in herself. To make Captain that is, not the meet her maker part.

“Well,” Ruby sighed. “Regardless, I am not even sure if we'd ever get the chance to set foot on her again. We're still assigned to here, this station, and we got duties to get back to. At least, I do. I'm sure to get my head chewed off for how late I am, and I haven't even ate my lunch.”

“Not my fault,” Theo said before he took off in a fast walking pace, since he knew full well that it was both their faults.

“He's got a point. Need to stop day dreaming,” Mizu told him with another, more gentle, slug to his arm. “What have you been day dreaming about anyway?” She asked while she followed Ruby, as he had begun to head for the nearest left.

“Oh nothing important.” He hoped anyway.