Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Eden Café- A Lunch Catch-Up

Posted by Civilian Kenzo B’tren-Hyrushi (Governor) in Eden Café- A Lunch Catch-Up

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Eden Café- A Lunch Catch-Up
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snips)

Though it was a soft smile, it was sincere, and he’d feel the affection from her. “I do, and I appreciate it. We both lucked out greatly that is was each of us here at this point in time.” Eela chuckled. “I’m not sure who I blame more: Roger, or a mystic from the Gamma Quadrant. Though the mystic isn’t going to cost me latinum. Rog and I have a bet and I’ve clearly lost that one.” She lifted the remains of her lemonade and took a sip.

~Eela

Kenzo cocked an eyebrow. “A bet? What kind of bet?” he asked with an upturned corner of his mouth.

Kenzo

She couldn’t help but grin. “I couldn’t help but feel skeptical about this job. It seemed so entirely out of no where. I’m not a politician. Hell, I still don’t consider myself one, though I deal with politics on a daily basis. And when he tossed my name in for nomination, I was floored. I made a joke that if I somehow got the job, I’d probably quit after a month, given the… difficulties I was dealing with along with Oed’s challenges. Roger took one look at me and bet me ten strips of latinum, I’d not only not quit, but actually like the job.” Eela feigned a disgruntled look. “Some days, it’s so irritating that he knows me so well. Which is probably why when I sent him messages those first days that amounted to ‘I hate you right now’. He just laughed.”

~Eela

Kenzo looked at her as she spoke about Roger, how her voice changed and her tenor became more… joyous. When she was done, he looked at her a moment and then said softly “So tell me why you have not thought of pursuing a relationship with him? He obviously brings you joy, and you share a bond few individuals are fortunate enough to experience.”

Kenzo

She froze, the smile shifting into confusion and something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. With someone else she might have just said something like ‘Oh, we’re not like that’, but this was Kenzo. They were far beyond causal lies, even when there was something difficult on the table for discussion. She could avoid the topic, but it wasn’t how they did things. Her index finger traced a line up and down the glass, as if it might help focus her words, her eyes watching the condensation drip. Long moments passed before that deep pain from her and Roger’s talk, the one that all the revelations spurred, surfaced, prompting a reply at last. “I couldn’t. Cory would never have allowed it,” she said softly, her voice holding an edge as she lifted her gaze to look at Kenzo again. “The truth is that even if it was something both Roger and I wanted, Cory would have been threatened because he knew in a direct comparison, he’d fail. He couldn’t allow that. He could tolerate us being friends.” Eela shook her head. “And the timing was always wrong. Even now it’s… so complicated. I don’t want to ruin what we have. Certainly not now when I’m wading through all this debris. That’s not fair to Roger and it’s not fair to me. He’s integral to my life. I can’t lose him,” she said, dropping her gaze.

~Eela

Kenzo looked at her for a long time before he said “The idea of him and you scares you, doesn’t it?” and he took a drink. “It is okay to be afraid of something like that. One might say that if it didn’t frighten you it wasn’t genuine. But know this, Eela Dasca of Star Fleet.” and he leaned in, resting his arms on the table. “It is always easy enough to find excuses to not do the things that we are afraid of. It is much harder to try them… but the rewards are so much greater. And Cory is no longer a factor. So now it is timing? So make use of what time you do have. Most happiness is fleeting. Eela. Do not miss the opportunity to grab onto it when it presents itself. Be happy, Eela. You are allowed to be.” and he leaned back and then drank some juice.

Kenzo

She lifted her gaze and there was light in her eyes. “Isn’t that the irony, though? I am happy, for the first time in a very long time, and I think it’s genuine. This week has thrown a bit of confusion into the mix and I have to reevaluate so many things. But I’m not unhappy. I exist in multiple and simultaneous states right now and it’s more than a little disconcerting, not because it’s not natural or expected, but because there had never been room to be that way before. It’s realizing just how much my everyday decisions had been shaped by the needs and desires of someone who not only did not love me, but actually had little regard for me. And so yes, he’s not here, but the effects of that are deep and a little all encompassing. And yes, I’m terrified to leap into anything with Roger because I’m not ready. We have so much history and it would be far more intense between us. I’m not ready for that. Not just yet. I mean, hell Kenzo, look how much of a struggle it was to let myself go out on and enjoy a date with someone.” She broke into a grin. “I have to be patient with myself, because that was worth the wait. You don’t need to remind me how short life is. I know it first hand. As does Roger. And if we ever decided to cross that line, it’ll be because we are both clear on what we want and need. Right now, I’m just trying to figure that out.” Never mind that they had crossed that boundary once already, but even that felt different. Roger had offered a lifeline in a dark time, one she understood had saved her in ways she was still trying to figure out.

~Eela

Kenzo nodded in understanding. “You have a firm.grasp of yourself right now, Eela… despite the instability you have encountered. That is very… impressive. And I am pleased to see you navigate these waters with such aplomb. A better leader for the colony I can’t think of.” he said with a half-smile. “However the futures moves you… be that Roger, Mr. Jones, or some as of yet to be named entity… I sincerely wish you the best. But no matter what happens… you are not allowed to quit. I am afraid you are here for the duration.” and he chuckled.

Kenzo

“Till death do us part?” she deadpanned with a quirked brow. A joke, yes, but it was both a recognition of the danger they joked about plus knowing that Oed had captured her heart and she didn’t see herself living anywhere else, even when her time as Lieutenant Governor was up.

“Be that in fifty years or fifty seconds from now. You are… stuck… with me.” and he, finally, gave her a full smile, however brief it was.

Eela inhaled deeply and let that breath out with a sigh. “You know, as frustrating as it is that I have those psychology degrees and years of experience as a therapist and I couldn’t see the signs of what was happening, it’s all proving very useful in this… aftermath. It doesn’t make me feel better or make it less painful, but I can look objectively at the situation and see the variables and consequences. And yet, I also know that my connection to others is the one thing truly helping me find a way forward. Having you, and everyone else, supporting me, holding me up when it’s just too damn hard has been so important. It’s made a difference, so just know how grateful I am and how much it means to me,” she said, her warm smile matching her deep affection for the man before her.

~Eela

Kenzo shrugged slightly and said “Professionally, you and I both know that proximity is detrimental to objectivity. You didn’t fail in seeing the behaviors, Eela. You were too close to be able to have perspective. You weren’t ‘wrong’… you were simply too involved in it to be objective. That isn’t your fault… objectivity is one thing we must sacrifice when we devote ourselves fully to another. Yet another reason that, for individuals like us, it is a scary thing to do.”

Kenzo