okay ig you all actually should stop with "gwayne is gay", he could be bisexual, or maybe ormund just wanted something to insult gwayne with. that does not mean that he is " GAY "
Here is the story about Christopher. Heed the warnings in the tags please.
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A melody plays from an acoustic guitar across the porch of a homely cabin. A man’s voice hums to accompany the tune in harmony. The pink and orange sunset highlighting cotton candy clouds stretches over the Tennessee mountains in the immediate distance. A woman with auburn hair and emerald eyes comes out to join him cradling a black haired sleeping toddler. Her smile is as bright as the setting sun when his forest eyes meet hers. She joins him on the bench to watch dusk fade to night while stroking the dark hair of her husband. This is the last peaceful leave Captain Christopher Burns will have on Earth for several years.
Three years later Christopher is on leave visiting Erin’s home, the Vega colony, walking alongside her holding little Marisa as he listens to his wife telling him of her home. She has done this many times and each time he listens like it is the first time. She is halfway to telling him about her favorite place to eat again when an alert sounds. His blood runs cold when he hears why. Borg. He has to encourage Marisa to let go of him so he can hand her to Erin. The girl cries for her father and his wife, his strong and brave beloved, he has never seen her so worried. Not even when he came back to her half torn apart from a battle with Klingons. “Go, find somewhere safe. I’ll find you when I can.”
“You better.” She answers and with one last look she runs off with a crying child.
He watches her vanish around a corner, a feeling of dread hanging over him. Once he can be sure that they will be out of harm’s way, he goes to check in with the mayor. He does not make it. All hell breaks loose. An assimilation ship lands amidst the colony and drones are pouring out of it. The immediate panicked thought he has is of his family. Quickly he shoves the panic down and reminds himself to help others first and contact help.
Much more calmly than he’d been running before, Christopher grabs a phaser rifle and fires at drones to give others cover to get away. When he can not see anyone else other than Borg, he makes his way through the chaos to find a working console. This he fiddles with until he can manage to send out a distress signal. Screams echo through the city of those too late to help just as much as explosions echo out. Desperately he hopes that his family is safe. The screams continue as he goes back out to the streets to find others to help. Then a scream of a young girl all too familiar followed closely by her mother’s. “Erin.” Disbelief. “Marisa!” Panic. Worry. An explosion far too close.
He runs as fast as his legs will carry him, but he is too late. In a pile of burning rubble there are many Borg parts no longer functioning, but all he sees is the auburn hair covering the motionless face on the floor and the teddy bear just beyond. With trembling hands he picks it up and collapses onto his knees blinded by tears. “I’m so sorry.” He barely recognizes his own voice choked as it is by the tears. An explosion sends him flying and he welcomes the darkness.
When next he begins to wake, it is to familiar voices. He wants it all to have been a nightmare, but he knows it to be true when the pain spikes through him and he recognizes the face of his First through the blur. “Hang on captain, we’re getting you out of here.”
A weight is lifted off him. Clammy hands reach for the stuffed bear. She hands it to him, the horror at the realization etched clear as day on her face.
Back on the Cumberland even the doctors cannot pry the bear from his hands. Not that they want to. When they let him go back to his quarters he hides away the guitar in its case and weeps over the pictures. He does not hum anymore and his hands forget the feeling of a guitar.
Christopher Burns continues his duties as a captain, because he knows Erin wouldn’t have wanted him to give all that up. For two years he struggles through some semblance of routine. Deal with Klingons, deal with Romulans, and help Federation worlds. One strange mission has him chasing down Taris, the former leader of the Romulans, for answers as to what all she has done. The ship that arrives to take custody of her, the Belfast, has a captain that with such charisma over such a brief time, captures his attention and intrigues him to the point that he wishes to meet Captain Shon again if for no other reason than to just chat.
He gets that chance when he is called to Deep Space 9 for a conference, apparently being considered an expert on Borg. This is where he gets the chance to talk more with Shon, as the Andorian had insisted they drop their titles when they talk away from Federation business. It feels so easy to talk to him, so natural. He is fearless, formidable, and steadfast in a way that proves him a good captain, and honest and open and caring in a way that proves him a good friend. Christopher hasn’t felt this at ease talking to someone so new to him since, well, since he first met Erin. The way they talk like they’ve known each other more than an hour despite it barely being that long. And that scares him so much. To no end. Captain Shon sees the way his nerves rear up and offers to leave him so he can have space to breathe before the conference. For this he is thankful.
Christopher and the other captain chat a few more times over the next several days, mostly Federation business, and even then each time he becomes too at ease he lets his fears over what might happen control him. Until the time comes when they’re fighting the rogue Jem’Hadar over Facility 4028 and the Belfast gets destroyed. For a moment after the ship explodes he has that feeling of desperation, of loss that he felt once two years ago. The is replaced by hope when he hears of lifepods, and then something he can’t quite name, or doesn’t want to, when Shon is among those they transport aboard the Cumberland.
After the battle Christopher retires to his quarters and invites Shon to join him when he is able, to talk. The Andorian arrives and they share a drink in comfortable silence, the ease once again threatening his fears. He begins, wanting to be honest. “There is something I have been warring with myself over whenever I talk to you. I can’t say why, it hurts to, but I’m sure you’ve noticed.”
Silently Shon nods and encourages Christopher to continue when he feels like. Another moment of quiet before he can try to continue. “I… um. I’m sorry.” He stutters and rubs a hand across his face. Shon for his part is confused but waits patiently.
This is harder than he had anticipated. He takes a drink and a deep breath before trying again. “I…” he stutters off into silence again.
Another deep breath. In and out. “I would like to get to know you better. To spend more time in your company.”
The genuine smile Shon offers makes it all worth it. “That sounds really nice. I’d like that too, Burns.”
“You can… call me Christopher.”
The gentle understanding underlying the smile in Shon’s eyes has him breathing easier.
After Shon leaves to tend to his people, Christopher feels much lighter than he has in a couple of years. He digs out his guitar case and opens it. He dusts off the guitar and tunes it.
He does not play it or hum. He is not ready for that yet.
