Bonding is Forever (Part 2)

Posted on Sat 2nd Feb, 2013 @ 7:47pm by Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Commander Brian Windsong

1,805 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: http://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/missions/id/3
Location: Orchids and Jazz, Private Quarters
Timeline: After 'Bonding is For4ever' (Part 1)
Tags: Paul, Brian

OLD:

He paused. "Is it like marriage, betrothal, friendship, or something I haven't even named?"

"Really a combination of them all. A bonding, a true bonding, is for life. The only way it can be broken is by death. Many of those who are bonded become monogamous. That is virtually unheard of amongst most Akadians>"

"So what about the type of bonding you and I are contemplating?" Paul asked.

"You tell me," Brian replied simply.

ON

"Not the complete bond until we know each other better," Paul said. "Which this partial bond will accomplish, I hope."

"Well then I guess we won't be sleeping with each other, at least not during the bonding ritual and we won't need to speak to the Elders."

Paul nodded. "I need to feel in love with you before we go that far, Brian. I'm not there yet, but I think there's a good chance I eventually could be."

Brian could not help but smile at Paul's comment. He had been mostly kidding about the sex though he knew that it would make the bonding a complete one, something that neither of the men was ready for, but he liked both that Paul wouldn't sleep with him unless he loved him and that there was a possibility that he could fall in love with him.

Of course that would throw things with Samantha into confusion, but they would cross that bridge if they came to it.

"I feel the same Paul. I've really given up on sleeping with everyone. From now on I can only sleep with someone I really care for."

Paul smiled. "Then, from what I hear, Samantha is a very lucky woman."

He had not mentioned anyone by name, had not even mentioned that he was in love with anyone at the moment, but then Paul was a telepath so he might as well get used to it, especially since the two were about to be bonded.

"Thanks, I am glad you think so."

A waiter arrived then and took their orders. Paul sipped from his water, enjoying the faint, tart taste of the fresh lime juice that had been squeezed into it. "So what's your impression of Captain Dobbs, if you've formed one?" Paul asked.


"I like the man. I mean he is still dealing with demons of the past. Patrick seems to haunt him as much as Morgan haunts me. We've dealt with it in different ways. His drinking, which worries me by the way, and my sleeping with anything that moves and is willing. My only issue with him is that I have at least started dealing with my past, have given up on the whole sleeping around thing, he hasn't really begun to deal with his.

"But in many ways we are kindred spirits with a lot in common. I think I could fall in love with him given half a chance, but he is too busy pushing everyone away and I'm too involved with Sam and in many ways, you, for that to happen.

"What do you think of him?"

Paul gave him a bemused look. "Dobbs, not Drake," he said. "But since you mention Drake...I like him. I haven't noticed the amount he drinks, one way or the other, but since he's opening up to me a bit more lately, I'll keep an eye on it."


Brian chuckled at his mistake, "I'm sorry about that Paul. I think that's what you Humans call a Flloydian slip. Dobbs, well Dobbs seems smooth enough, but you know Cara dosent' like him."

"He seems...overwhelming to me," Paul said. "He was like a tornado of friendliness when he came aboard the station--'hail fellow, well met' to an extreme degree. My reading of him was that he felt very goal-driven."

"Well that doesn't necessarily make him an evil dictator but from the read I get off of him, I wouldn't trust him with a dagger with my back turned."

"Nor would I--not least because Cara is terrified of him, so I find his friendly overtures difficult to credit," Paul said.

"I think our conversation is drifting a bit far afield of our bonding, but I think we need to decide how to deal with this Dobbs character. If you don't know this I like playing by the rules, I think they are important, but when it comes to protecting the ones I care about, there are no rules, no uniform, no Star Fleet."

Paul thought of Jessie and slowly nodded at Brian. "I agree, without question."

"Good, then we understand each other. Perhaps, if you've finished your dinner, it would be best to go to your place and start the bonding ritual. It will make things both easier and more complicated at the same time. But I think it is worth it."

"All right," Paul said. He took a last bite of his meal, washed it down with water, and keyed in payment for the meal. He smiled at his friend. "Absolutely sure you're up for this, Brian? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

"I am sure," Brian replied. He was sure Paul's last comment had some meaning other than the obvious. It had all the earmarks of an old Terran saying. He just couldn't place it.

He finished his food, stood up, tossed the garbage in the trash and waited for Paul to lead the way.

Paul let Brian take his elbow, and the pair left Orchids & Jazz and headed to Paul's quarters.

"Do we need to pick up anything from your quarters to do this?" Paul asked as they entered the turbo-lift.

"Yes," he replied, "Some candles and some colored chalk."

"All right." Paul waited as Brian told the lift what deck to go to, and they began to move.

Wicker stirred when they came in, wagging her tail at Paul and paying scant attention to her master, who found what he needed in a drawer near the replicator and waited by the door for Paul.

Paul was waiting by the door. When Brian approached, he stepped back out into the corridor and offered Brian his arm again. He was about to suggest that Brian let Wicker join them but decided that lit candles and a dog weren't a good mix, even though Wicker was very well behaved. They headed toward Paul's quarters.

Brain took his arm, doing something he rarely did, he allowed himself to be vulnerable and to fully rely on Paul to be his guide. "I've never done this before. I mean I've witnessed a number of them and I practiced this a number of times today, so I am sure I've got it right, but your are going to have to help me place the candles."

"Of course I'll help you place the candles--and draw the circle, if you like," Paul said. "Since it's to be a bonding ritual, we both might as well put it together."

"That does make a lot of sense and should strengthen the bond. To what extent I'm not sure, but I guess we're about to find out."

Though he did not show it outwardly, and did his best to mask it from both Paul and to a certain extent himself, he was starting to feel a little nervous. He wasn't sure what change this would effect in their relationship. Bonding, much like sex, had a way of changing things and not always for the better. Still he was committed to the ritual and to deepening his relationship with the Betazoid.

They entered the turbolift, and Paul announced the deck they wanted. Moments later, the lift deposited them on Paul's deck, and they walked the short distance down the curving corridor to Paul's cabin. The door slid open as they approached it, and they stepped inside.

Paul had tidied his cabin earlier, though it hadn't needed much work, as he disliked clutter in the first place. The deck was cleared of any personal belongings, and even the furniture had been pushed against the walls or put into Paul's bedroom.

"There's a large, clear area directly in front of you," Paul told Brian. "The door to the bedroom and bath are to your left; my desk, and the replicator are off to your right, with the replicator on the wall to your right and behind you."

Brian nodded and sat his bag down. He opened it and began pulling out candles till he had 8 tall thin wax candles. He then pulled out a box of chalk. "Okay," he said, "This is where you come in. I need you to draw out an eight-sided diagram on the floor. Start with red then draw out the other segments in the other colors as they appear in the box.

"All right," Paul said. He took the stick of red chalk. "Do the lines need to be equidistant? If so, how long does each side need to be? And should I orient the red line in any particular direction, or will any direction do?" In some Terran and even Betazoid magical rituals, he knew that protective diagrams had to be drawn oriented toward the north or the east, for example.

"Yes, they should be equidistant. The red line should be oriented north by northeast. Ideally they should be twenty feet, but we don't have the room for that unless your quarters are a lot bigger than mine, but as long as the two of us can sit in the middle and the lines are an equal length, we will be fine."

"Maybe sometime I'll show you the grand ballroom at my grandparents' home on Earth," Paul said with a laugh. "And no, my quarters aren't that large." He took out the red chalk and drew a line with it. He followed it with seven other lines, each with a different color of chalk from the box Brian had provided. Before drawing the last line, Paul glanced at Brian. "Do you need to be inside the octagon before I finish drawing it?"

"We both do," came the simple reply. "Once we are both inside you can finish the design and lay out the candles, then we will light them together.."

"All right," Paul said. "Let me come get you, then." He left the interior of the octagon, offered Brian his elbow, and guided him into the center of the octagon. Once they were both inside, he completed the eight-sided shape with the final piece of colored chalk and then glanced at Brian. "Done. How shall we position the candles?"

"One at each of the points of the diagram."

Paul nodded and began to position candles. He lit the first one and then used it to light one for Brian to use.


OFF:

Lt. Paul Graves
Chief Counselor
SB-Protector

Commander Brian Windsong
Chief Diplomatic Officer
SB- Protector

 

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