obviously i know who vinny is but since you guys have differing lore and habit describes evan as "long gone" it seems like the emh crew's circumstances have changed. thought id give you an ask incase you want a way to push some lore out :3
VINNY IS ONE OF MY CONTRACTEES. HE IS A SURVIVALIST. UNFORTUNATELY FOR THOSE AROUND HIM, HE WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR HIS LIFE.
I CUT HIM A DEAL: I WILL STOP MY HUNT AGAINST HIM FOR NOW IF HE HANDED OVER WHO HE VALUED MOST. AND APPARENTLY, THOSE WERE HIS FRIENDS.
BEING MY CONTRACTEE, I OWN A PIECE OF HIM AS A RESULT. WHEN HE DIES, HE WILL WORK FOR ME. HE’S A GOOD SURVIVOR, I’LL TELL YOU THAT. BUT HE HAS A BAD HABIT OF SNOOPING AND RECORDING THINGS HE HAS NO BUSINESS IN. A VOYEUR, IF YOU WILL.
//So I do not talk about this much, but I work in a tattoo studio (not an artist myself). There were many things I have learned since starting my job, and one of the most surprising is just how many reasons there can be for somebody to get a tattoo.
Some just want to look cool, others to feel more confident. Some may want to hide a scar or mark a date that is meaningful to them. Many will do it as a process to find closure in a moment of grief and commemorate a loved one.
Well, soon I will be joining that last group of people. I had been toying with the idea to get a Cyno tattoo for a while, and originally I wanted a tattoo of his splash art (get it? like I drew him for a pull~), but then... just on the day I would be sitting down to get the linework done, Kenjii passed away.
He was my cat of almost 9 years old and my closest companion. I have crossed Europe to start a new life with him and his brother.
Maybe it is a little childish of me, but I considered it a comforting coincidence in the end that this sad thing would happen in a moment where I am so enamored with a character so deeply connected to the rites of burial and ascension to the afterlife. And so, this idea for a different tattoo formed.
I am sharing just the sketch as this will likely go on my leg and you all don't need to see that~. The concept is simple: the weigher of souls welcomes the cat upon the scale. It is a soul lighter than the feather of Maat, and thus granted immortality and permission to ascend to the next life.
Thank you for our time together Kenjii, and thank you Cyno for being with me in a moment much needed.
Heavily inspired by this original artwork. Sketched up by Saphie @azure-steel , my dearest friend.
I’m following this blog because I had an ex who was dissociating a lot right before we broke up. I really struggled to understand what he was going through, and he struggled to describe it. He said he hadn’t experienced it for years and didn’t know why it was happening again all of a sudden. We were both scared. We don’t talk anymore but he has since dated someone else so maybe he found help and relief (he broke up with me so it was his decision, not me leaving him during his struggles). Sending love to everyone here, I’m glad to be able to read about you all so I can understand
<3 i hope hes doing well and i hope youre taking care of yourself nonnie, you seem like a wonderful person and we love having you here
TIMING: Current
PARTIES: @detectivedreameater & @corpse–diem
SUMMARY: Erin tries to lift Marley’s spirits with a horror movie marathon. It doesn’t work. Marley’s condition only continues to worsen.
CONTENT WARNINGS: head injury tw, memory loss tw, car accident tw (mention only)
When Marley opened her eyes, for a moment, she couldn’t even remember what day it was. The jarring nature of the thought made her sit up a little too quickly for the pain that was still stabbing her sides. Wincing, she laid back down, rubbing her head. The clock told her it was still daytime. Morning, actually. Almost noon. God, how long had she slept? She couldn’t remember. It was becoming an increasing problem. Maybe Erin was on to something, maybe she really should get here head checked out. She hadn’t thought she’d hit it that hard, that bad, but the blackouts were getting more and more frequent, and she was feeling more and more lethargic. Stiffly, she sat up and managed enough to pull her sweatpants on-- god sweatpants, she hated sweatpants-- and shuffled out of the room and towards the kitchen. She heard someone moving around and had to remind herself that this was Erin’s apartment and there was supposed to be someone in the kitchen. Probably. She came around the corner and stopped in the doorway, rubbing her eyes again. “Got any coffee?” she grumbled.
Work had beckoned her out of bed early that morning. It was Saturday and technically, Erin didn’t need to squirrel away in her office for a few hours, but she’d wanted to clear as much of the weekend as she could manage to spend time with Marley. The other woman hadn’t hid how miserable she was and it felt just as miserable not being able to do anything to truly help her pain. But she could force her to take care of herself, to rest and to distract her from the mind-numbing boredom she was surely incurring. It’d help distract her from the ever-increasing stress pains that came with watching her symptoms slowly but very surely deteriorating. “Morning, sleepyhead,” she glanced back as Marley trudged in, her sleepy voice bringing a quick smile to lips. She nodded to the pot on the counter. “Do I ever not?” Sleep was never a guarantee under this roof, doing what she did. A constant cycle of coffee was basically essential. She watched her warily, pulling out a pan from the cabinet. “How are you feeling? Do you want me to pour some for you?”
Marley looked blearily around the room. Erin was always doing something, keeping her body moving, and it made Marley exhausted just watching her. “No, I got it,” she mumbled, shuffling over to the counter and picking up the pot and one of the mugs Erin kept out. It felt almost routine and she couldn’t help but smile fondly at the thought. Marley hadn’t had routine in her life for a long time, even when Anita was around. Her hand shook the longer she held the pot and she set it down, deflating as if it had been the heaviest weight. Her ribs ached with the breath. “I feel like someone’s squeezing my insides, actually,” she grumbled, lifting the cup to her mouth to take a long swig. The hot liquid warmed all the way down her throat into the pit of her stomach. A small relief, but one all the same. She rubbed her eyes again. “Are you working today?”
Erin felt guilty for the way she watched Marley out of the corner of her eye, not completely trusting her assurances about handling the coffee on her own. The slow speed and shaky hands weren’t a promising start. But she was smiling for some reason so she kept her distance, giving her space to do it without pressure, but close enough to step in to stop a potential mess. She winced. “Yeah, that sounds about right,” she replied, understanding all too well. Wasn’t all that long ago she’d felt the same lung crushing pain after Roy had thrown her around like a rag doll. Her brows narrowed and she stifled the flare in her chest, busying herself again with readying the ingredients she needed. “Not if I can help it,” she said, tossing her a quick smile. “I took care of some paperwork while you were sleeping, and I have someone on-call, so…” She gave pause, making a show of setting the butter and popcorn kernels on the counter next to her. “I’m all yours today.” Arms crossed, she rested a hip against the counter, grinning with earnest now. “How about that movie marathon?”
“Oh, did you finally hire a new receptionist? Or...whatever job that scrawny kid had?” Marley asked, holding the cup with both hands when she noticed a tremor in them. She felt more exhausted than she figured she should, considering all she did nowadays was fucking sleep. Hadn’t she just woken up? Her eyes went down to the objects Erin proudly set on the counter next to her, and Marley had to squint at them for a moment before she understood what they were. “Guess it can’t hurt,” she said, shrugging. Winced as her ribs gave a stab. “Okay, well-- it might hurt a little, but--” she rattled the bottle of pain pills she’d brought with her-- “that’s what these are for.” She felt as if she’d been on them forever, despite the bits of time when she’d refused to take them. She didn’t know what kind of human medications she could actually take, but this Oxycodine seemed to be working very well. “Can I watch?” she asked suddenly, looking over at Erin. “Watch you make the popcorn. Never seen it done before.”
Erin snorted a small laugh at that. “Rio,” she corrected her, though the smile didn’t last long when her mind drifted to his replacement. “I did,” she said, the words drawing out longer than they should have, biding her timing as she struggled over the best way to explain herself. “She’s good. Not that Rio was bad at his job or anything but life experience makes a difference in a position like that.” She paused, tapping against the counter, then moved to tug a stool closer to the counter for Marley to sit and watch. “Her name’s Chloe. Chloe Brown,” she said simply, turning her back to start. She wasn’t sure how she’d take that bit of news, if she’d even remember the woman’s name from the news article, but her nerves wouldn’t allow her to stand still while she waited. “Warning you now though, it’s not the most interesting process. A lot of it’s just waiting for the kernel’s to pop.” Tossing a smile over her shoulder, she shrugged and started to put the butter in the pot.
Marley moved gratefully toward the stool, sinking onto it and wheezing out a breath of pain. She put a hand to her ribs and felt the stiff ace wrap under her shirt, forcing her to sit up straight and keep her ribs in place. Couldn’t put a cast on broken ribs, after all. She looked across the counter to Erin as she began preparing the popcorn, nearly choking on her coffee as the name was said. Chloe Brown. The only survivor of Lydia’s ordeal. Her hand tightened on the cup and she set it down hastily, gripping the handle probably harder than necessary. “Chloe Brown? As in--” she didn’t want to say her name, she barely even wanted to think about her. What would Marley think, now, every time she saw that woman’s face? Every time she came to Erin’s? She tried to push those thoughts away and looked down. “How’d that happen?”
Oop. Yep. Marley remembered. Erin confirmed it was the same Chloe Brown with a nod, though she remained silent as she watched her try to figure it out on her own for a few moments. No doubt a few other unpleasant thoughts came to mind. It was part of the reason she’d been waiting to share the news. Her brows narrowed. “She’s a friend?” The answer came out like a question but it wasn’t. Chloe was a friend, at least on her way to one. A work in progress. “We met online, talking about bad movies, that kind of thing. She came over once even, to watch Sharknado.” Erin smiled at the awkward but pleasant memory. “I mentioned I was hiring and she put in an application. It’s not easy to find good help, especially with the reputation the place has now and--I didn’t know she was the Chloe Brown until the interview.” The kernels clattered into the saucepan along with the butter and some spices, breaking the momentary silence with the noise. “Things got even more awkward after that, to say the least. Explained why she made me touch an iron pendant the first time we met, though.”
Marley was quiet as Erin explained. She didn’t know how to feel about it, but she didn’t know how to feel about a lot of things. Some good her stupid behavioral sciences degree did, huh? She looked down into her coffee cup, trying to figure out what it meant. Was it guilt? For all the times Marley was at Lydia’s place, and didn’t know, didn’t care, to check around the house. To look any further than the ten steps it took to get to her staircase and the fifteen to her bedroom? Was she responsible for Chloe’s suffering, just as much as anyone else who knew her but didn’t know her? Kernels ricocheted off the pan and Marley snapped to attention, sagging in the chair. “I didn’t know you were friends with her,” was all she said after a long moment. The smell of butter and crisping kernels filled the air and Marley wondered, again, if there was any part of this life she deserved, when most of herself had been crushed in a warehouse and the rest of if left town for Mexico. “Iron? Oh, right, cause…” she trailed off, swallowing. Her head felt bloated. “I’m glad you found someone.”
“Believe it or not, you’re not my only friend,” Erin teased lightly, trying to edge out some of the tension that’d filled the room. Marley was quiet--that wasn’t anything entirely new. She was a woman of few words and Erin had learned to read between the lines. “Me too. She’s been having a hard time finding somewhere to work too, with her uh--history. It worked out for the both of us.” She managed a small smile, and when the popcorn was ready to go, she turned the burner on, covered it with a lid, and stepped back to let it work its magic. The coffee on the counter beckoned her name. “What are you thinking?” She asked, taking a slow sip, sidling up next to Marley’s stool. She couldn’t always read between the lines.
The words passed through Marley’s head without her really hearing them. Sometimes she couldn’t help it, it just happened. Her brain wouldn’t focus because it was fucked up and liked to steal her away from the present. She blinked and looked up and Erin was sitting at the table. When had she gotten there? She couldn’t recall. The lid was on the pot now and she blinked. “What?” she asked, turning to look at Erin. “I-- sorry. What did you say? I didn’t…” hear it? Comprehend it? She wasn’t sure. Her brows creased together and she drew in a breath, holding it for a moment. These episodes were getting worse and worse and she didn’t know if it was because of the accident or something else. She hadn’t fed in a while, either. She could feel the hunger in her bones. “Do uh-- do broken ribs usually make people this out of it?” How would she know? She never really paid attention. She never really understood.
Alarm shot through Erin and at the genuine uncertainty in Marley’s features. “No,” she answered, trying to hide the fear in her voice. Her eyes shot to the still healing cut on Marley’s forehead and she sat up a little straighter. “What just happened?” She asked, trying to understand what was going on behind those eyes. The blankness in them didn’t do anything to quell those fears or lessen the stress building in her shoulders. God damn it, she cursed to herself, ready to pull out her phone and call the doctor. They should have done this already. They shouldn’t have waited. “Where’d you go?”
Marley finally let go of her cup and pressed her palms into her eyes, as if she could just push away the confusion and pain. She blinked and looked over at Erin again. “I-- don’t know. It’s just--” she let out her breath, and ran her hands through her hair-- “I’m here and then I’m not and then I’m back, and I don’t remember any of the time in between. That’s-- that’s it.” It was happening again, like when her head had first been messed up. Losing chunks of time, not knowing how long she’d been out, forgetting what she had been doing. She shifted and looked over at Erin, eyes nothing but tired and worn out. She was so sick and tired of being sick and tired. “It feels like before, but...worse.”
Erin stopped, really stopped, and took a long hard look at Marley. She wasn’t alright--that much she knew already, but her injuries and the stress they brought were so clearly taking their toll. And now it was getting worse? Erin’s chest tightened and her mouth felt dry as she nodded, blinking, trying to sort out their next plan of action. That was her role here and she was more than happy to fill it. She didn’t trust anyone else to. Not even Anita, when they’d briefly discussed her taking some of the load from Erin’s shoulders. Turns out her instincts had been right on that one. “I’ll call your doctor,” she said quietly in response, knowing there was nothing else they truly could do. It was out of their hands at this point. She willed her voice to sound more sure as she continued. “We’ll see what she has to say and go from there. I’m sure hitting your noggin after what you already went through didn’t help anything.” Her eyes scanned over her again, soft and concerned, like she’d find something helpful, a clue, anything she’d missed before. “Is there anything else? How often is this happening?”
Marley could feel the concern in Erin’s gaze without even having to look at her. It wouldn’t have mattered much, anyway, considering her vision was blurry, and getting blurrier each day. She blinked and tried to focus. The smell of popcorn began to permeate the apartment. She barely heard Erin say she was going to call the doctor, too fixated on her own thoughts and the scent filling the kitchen. She really wished she could’ve kept it together for like a few more hours before her head messed up shit again. Wasn’t it enough that her ribs hurt? She’d just wanted to give Erin a break, she deserved a break. She’d been taking care of Marley constantly-- probably nonstop since Marley had shown up at her apartment, half-dead and one-hundred percent drunk. Erin’s voice broke through the stream of conscience and Marley blinked again, turning to look at her. “How--” often, her brain reminded her. How often is this happening. “Daily,” she admitted quietly, unable to hold Erin’s gaze. “More than once a day.”
Erin ignored the popping in the background as best as she could. She didn’t want it now anyway. Her stomach turned at the smell and her throat tightened, more frightened than she’d been for Marley since she had watched her collapse onto the warehouse floor with a freshly cracked skull. Just as helpless now as she was then. “And you didn’t--” she started, trying to conceal some of the emotion leaking through. Stopped. Tried again. “Why didn’t you say anything?” She asked, her voice only marginally calmer. Her head shook slowly and she reached forward, grabbing her hand in an attempt to ground both of them, though if Erin was honest, she needed it more for herself right then. “You have to tell me this stuff, Marley. I don’t care how tired or busy I am. I need to know. I need to know so we can keep you okay and al--” She stopped abruptly, her face flustering as she pulled herself together. Again. “I need to know, even if you’re scared too.”
Marley could hear the concern choking Erin’s voice and it made her own throat close up and her own eyes water just slightly. She turned away and pretended to rub her head as a cover for wiping her eyes. “Because I-- wasn’t sure they were real,” she mumbled, swallowing thickly as she looked back over at Erin. “I wasn’t sure if I just...imagined it. Or something.” It was a terrible excuse, she knew that, but when she couldn’t trust her own head, how could she trust what she was feeling was real? What she was seeing was real? She rubbed at her eyes again. The popcorn made a loud noise and she startled, jumping in her chair. Her gaze fell back to Erin. To her hand over Marley’s. It felt warm. She wanted to hold it back. She didn’t move. “What if one day...I’m afraid that one day I’m going to wake up and have nothing of myself left. I-- I think I’m losing myself.”
She couldn’t trust herself. Couldn’t trust her own mind to see things for what they were. “Tell me anyway,” Erin managed, her nearly whispered words finally breaking the heavy silence that fell between them. The pan popped in the background, growing more incessant as time drew on, and she knew she’d have to pull away and take care of it before it burned eventually, but it would take something short of another fire to drag her attention away. “You won’t,” Erin assured her quickly, almost too quickly, but even for the way her voice strained, there was nothing but a calm resilience in her words. The how’s of it didn’t matter. She’d figure it out. She always did. This wouldn’t be any different. “You won’t. I won’t let that happen,” she promised, familiar guilt trickling in, reminding her that she’d done this. That it was Erin’s fault that Marley was like this, that she was suffering. Her hand squeezed tighter around her fingers and a tight smile replaced a deep frown. “You’re Marley Stryder. You’re the most badass, intelligent, bravest detective I’ve ever met.” She raised her other hand, pointing a finger before Marley could interrupt, realizing she was sniffling herself now. “And no, you’re not the only detective I’ve ever met. Last year made sure of that,” she chided, her smile softening. “But if you need it, I’ll remind you of all of that too.”
Erin was being a lot more confident about all this than Marley, but she was just so tired. Maybe, for now, she’d just let herself believe Erin’s words. She didn’t have the energy-- or the heart-- to fight her on this. To tell Erin that she felt as if she were losing more and more of herself every day. As if something were draining her away. Taking the pieces of herself that she understood and eating them. She rubbed her eyes and found her hand came away wet. Oh, when had she started crying? No, she wasn’t crying. There were just tears clouded in her eyes. She blinked them away. “Sure,” she said finally, “I’ll tell you. Everything.” If I remember. She didn’t add that part. The popcorn was yelling every few seconds now, but Erin wasn’t moving. Marley glanced over at the pot and saw the lid dancing with each kernel explosion. “Uh, should you-- get that?” she asked, turning to look back at Erin. “If you burn my first ever homemade popcorn, I don’t know if I can forgive you.”
Erin let out a breath--it wasn’t exactly full of relief but she supposed it was the closest thing to it in that moment. Marley’s promise helped though, even if watching her eyes grow wet like that always made her chest sting. “Right,” she sighed, a faint chuckle on that same breath. The popcorn. She pulled her hands away, back into herself, and jumped up to grab the popcorn off the burner. After inspecting the bounty in the bowl, she was glad to see that only a small portion of it had reached the burning stage. Generally edible. Her stomach still turned and the smile she greeted her with, bowl in tow, felt hollow. “Did you, uh, still want to--” She gestured towards the living room. “I can meet you in there after I call the doctor?”
Marley looked behind her when Erin gestured and remembered they were supposed to have a horror movie marathon today. She had all the movies set out on the table in a little display. Something tumbled into Marley’s chest, a familiar feeling that she thought, perhaps, she’d just imagined. But if she was feeling it again, then maybe it was real. “Yeah, yes,” she said, turning to look back at Erin. “We gotta do something with our Sunday, right?” She wasn’t exactly hopeful that things would pan out well, especially with what the doctor would say, but she wasn’t going to let that ruin the day if she could help it. “Sure, yeah,” she nodded, standing back up and grabbing her coffee cup. It was helping a little, the coffee. She didn’t feel completely exhausted, even if it still hung on her bones like a curse. “I’ll meet you in there.”
For all the bravado she’d thrown Marley’s way, Erin deflated the moment Marley hobbled into the next room. The energy she’d started the day off with, the flicker of excitement of the afternoon she’d planned was snuffed out in one heaving blow. She was usually better at this, about hiding her stress and worry from Marley. Something about this didn’t feel right, though, and it was a feeling she couldn’t shake. Marley didn’t look or sound good, and the way her worry made her stomach roll was hard to ignore. She was thankful she’d already seen most of those movies a dozen times. Her mind wasn’t here at all. “I’ll bring out the popcorn--and don’t start without me!” She called after her, trying to insert some enthusiasm into her voice.
This was fine. This was nothing a cat scan or an MRI or whatever they needed from her couldn’t find. It was nothing they couldn’t fix. This was fixable. Marley would be fine and continue positively progressing like she had before the car accident. She pulled out her phone, dialing the number to her doctor, repeating it over and over until the words, feeling and sounding like a broken record, carried her through this phone call.
I bet you probably forgot all about this ask. Or maybe you didn't, but thought I forgot or ignored it.
But I didn't, and I wouldn't. It's been stewing in my inbox, as I've gone through countless designs and pallets, trying to find the right one to mix Pearl and Gardevoir together. And I finally settled on this one, a mix of her last form with the Pokemon we all love.
I'm sorry it took so long, and I hope it's to your liking. Thanks for your patience. And thanks for, hopefully, not giving up on me.
(also, is it just me, or does this kind of look like the Tooth fairy from Rise of the Guardians??)
Am I going to supply the Nog/Jake fandom with all teh fanfics I can muster? Absolutely.
I hope my old followers don’t mind.
(MIght make a dirty follow up if it comes up)
Tags: first kiss; confessions; the ds9 crew being annoying; mentions of oo-mox
-------------------------
Another dangerous mission. Another set of nights without sleep, drifting off one or two hours before waking up on a rush with any sound that made its way to his ears. More and more he felt sympathy over misses O'Brien, having to stay aware of her husband through subspace communications or his father's own words. It was quite difficult, he understood it now. And Nog wasn't even his husband!
He was his friend.
Only his friend.
Jake caught himself thinking about that way more often than he would like to admit. They had been friends for years now, way too long, and it didn't seem to get any simpler. In fact, everything was turning out to be more and more complicated. He realized his feelings for Nog when he was what, fourteen? Fifteen maybe? Now he was past his twenties and that god damn feeling never left, in fact, it became stronger. One look at him and his heart jumped, his lungs squeezed and his stomach turned. Well, not anymore, but it used to do that. Now seeing Nog meant he was safe, and sound, and it brought a nice warmth to Jake's chest.
Julian and Dax knew about it, and wondered time and time again when he would open up the game. He insisted to them he would, eventually, when the time was right, but it never seemed quite right. In fact, he hadn't even summoned up courage to ask Rom or Quark about Ferengis and, well, same gender relationships. He did his research, and nothing he looked through seemed to point out any resistance against it, but who knew? And besides, every time he believed the timing was right, either he or Nog were in a relationship with someone else, and that always stopped him in his tracks.
But now, oh, he was regretting his cowardness. Nog had been away in a dangerous mission into the Gama quadrant for weeks, and hadn't returned yet. It was a mission supposed to last two weeks total, but they were coming around to the fourth with barely no contact between him and his team and the station. Last time they had contact had been two days prior, and everything seemed fine, but Jake couldn't shake away the feeling that something wasn't right.
It could be his anxiety talking, but still.
He was so nervous in fact that even his books weren't being touched. He hadn't written a single word since Nog didn't return on schedule, so there were seven days and counting without any progress. He didn't like it, he didn't like standing still and waiting, but he had to. He couldn't grab a vessel and run after him.
But he could pray, and hope, that Nog would be back soon. And indeed, someone in the vast universe heard him, because on the next day his father said that Nog and his ship would be back in three days. Apparently the delay was caused by a phenomenon they wanted to investigate before returning, not that Jake understood or cared about that space crap. Nog was coming back, and that was all that mattered.
On the day they were scheduled to arrive, Jake didn't sleep a single second, and he was right at the doors together with the senior officers to greet the ship's personal. As the officers left the ship and got into the station, Jake did his best to greet them without seeming too disinterested, but there was only one pair of ears he was waiting for.
Nog was one of the last ones to leave, luckily for the rest, because Jake grinned at him and hugged the Ferengi without caring about leaving the passageway open for the rest. Nog was quick to hug him back, finally having learned that some human affection didn't hurt, and even though Odo tried to tell them to leave, he had a heart not to bother them too much.
And after Nog finally greeted Kira, Dax, Julian and his father, they were finally free to leave and have a more private talk.
"really Jake it was incredible! The formation of a nebula right in front of our eyes?! I have never seen anything so beautiful!" Nog said, ranting on and on about the trip, something Jake didn't care at all, specially over some delicious betazoid ice cream. "I-I'm sorry, I'm making this all about myself again... how were your days here at the station?"
"You have all the right to make this about yourself, my days here were as boring as ever" Jake chuckled, getting a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. The bar was quiet, empty. It early still for movement, and Quark and Rom were looking over the profits of the morning while preparing for the night shift. The station had an air of calmness around it, and they were pretty much alone, and Jake felt it. Like he felt the other times.
Maybe it was time to just... spill it out.
"Jake-"
"Nog-"
They stopped and looked at each other, before Nog snorted and Jake chuckled, shaking his head.
"Go ahead" Nog said, but Jake shook his head and nodded to him.
"No please, be my guest. What is it?"
"Alright alright" Nog grinned. "Jake, something amazing happened. I have to tell you. I'm so excited."
"Oh now I'm curious. What is it?" he asked, eyes widening as he leaned closer. Nog did it too, their noses almost touch.
"Jake... I got promoted" he said, giggling loudly, and Jake's eyes widened before he laughed and reached out for his friend, holding his shoulder.
"Oh my god Nog that's amazing! Congratulations!" he said, smiling at his friend's excitement. "Should I call you captain now?"
"Come on" he groaned, pushing Jake despite having a smile on his face. "You know I'm not even close to captain. But now I am a junior officer. Isn't that cool?!"
"It's cooler than cool! Ice cold" Jake exclaimed, and Nog grinned widely, tapping his shoulder. "I bet you are going to be captain in record time!"
"I wish" he chuckled, shaking his head and returning his attention to the ice cream. "So, what did you want to tell me?"
"Oh... yeah that, it's not half as exciting as a promotion" Jake chuckled, weakly, feeling as if the moment was already gone. Nog frowned and shook his head.
"Jake, no! I bet whatever it is will be very exciting! Let me guess... you finished your book?" he asked, and Jake shook his head. "No, I see I see... you started a new one? No? Okay you... you got a girlfriend?!"
"No Nog! Oh my, not even close!" Jake laughed because what else would he do. "No no no, none of that... it's just... it's nothing really."
"Nothing? Jake you never hid anything from me. Spill it out" Nog insisted, frowning at Jake, who felt bad for both of them. He sighed, nervously, and then nodded.
"Alright. Alright I will tell you. I love you" Jake said, like a band aid. Ripping it off. He looked down at his ice cream for a moment and then at Nog, who seemed to be waiting, and then became confused.
"Okay? I love you too. Now tell me what's up" he said, looking honestly concerned now, but Jake felt his cheeks warming up and shook his head.
"No Nog. That's it. I love you. I'm in love with you" he said, slowly, and Nog narrowed his eyes before they widened, his mouth opening slightly. "I told you, way less cool than being promoted."
"I..." Nog started, while Jake played with his ice cream, not really knowing how to make this easier. "Jake... What..."
"Yeah, I know it's a bit out of the blue, but it's the truth" he said, shrugging and looking at Nog with an awkward smile. "No hard feelings, I hope?"
"Jake... this... is this serious?" he asked, as if he didn't believe him, and Jake nodded as patiently as ever. "I... I don't know what to say..."
"Then don't say anything" Jake said, shaking his head. "You don't have to say anything. If you don't want to. Or you can say what's in your mind. Whatever that may be."
"In... my mind" Nog said, softly, and looked down at his dessert. "I mean... Ferengis don't really... have relationships with other species' males..." he tried, but jake shook his head.
"Okay don't... say what's in your head, say what's in your heart... unless your heart wants to punch me. Please don't punch me" he said, making Nog chuckle weakly despite his utterly confused face.
"I am not... going to punch you" he assured, in a way that didn't make Jake too confidant of the promise. "I just... don't... know."
"It's... it's fine if you don't know, I just don't want it to ruin our friendship. I just can't keep it to myself anymore. I was so worried about you during this mission and I was tired of being a coward that never... told you the truth" Jake admitted, sighing to himself. "At least this way, if something happens to you... you will know-"
"That you love me?" Nog finished, and Jake swallowed thickly before nodding. "Okay... I think... I think I have an answer for you."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah but it's not... verbal."
"It's not punching me, is it?"
Nog chuckled again, and despite that, Jake was still nervous, not really knowing what Nog was going to do. Then he shook his head, seeming a little calmer.
"No, I'm not going to punch you" he said, and leaned closer to Jake. "Do you trust me?"
Oh, Jake did. He trusted him with his life.
With a nod, he watched as Nog sighed, leaning over the table and getting closer and closer to Jake, tilting his head and gently, very delicately pressing their lips together. Jake's eyes fluttered closed, and he held the spoon tightly in his hand, never expecting but also wishing he could kiss Nog like this every day. Their first kiss after a childhood of hidden and repressed feelings, it sure felt much better than any girl or guy he had kissed before.
However, it didn't last long, because both of them heard a quite loud 'YES' coming from behind a set of flowers, and they pulled away to see no one other than Dax there, looking over at them, somewhat embarrassed.
"Yes, I just won... on tabo... yes" she tried, and then sighed. "They are not gonna fall for it, are they?"
"Absolutely not" Jake heard his father say, his head popping from behind the flowers next to Dax.
"Dad?!" Jake squealed, feeling even more embarrassed, but he wasn't alone. Julian appeared from Dax's other side, looking over.
"Well, at least we were able to capture this unique moment" he said, and Benjamin looked at him unamused, before Kira looked over with O'Brien.
"Can we please leave? This was such a waste of time" she complained, and Dax showed her the tongue just before the flower stand transformed into goo and then into Odo, who was shaking his head.
"Odo? Even you?!" Nog asked, clearly embarrassed out of his mind, but the shapeshifter just grunted.
"I was the only one supposed to be here. I don't trust you two together" he said, and then looked at the others. "They just decided to come with me, for a change."
"Alright alright could you all just leave or ask for something to drink? The boys are having a moment here, shoo" Quark complained from the bar, waving his hands at them while Jake let his head fall over the table and Nog shook his head, blushing up to his ears.
"This is the worst" Jake mumbled, and looked up at Nog as the others continued their discussion, accusing Quark of also being there to spy on his nephew. "We should probably get out of here."
"Could we go... somewhere we can continue what we stopped?" Nog suggested, seeming to blush even brighter, and Jake smiled at him before nodding, reaching for his hand and standing up.
"I know a place" he said, and pulled Nog out of the bar, heading to the lift so they could be alone while the... adults kept talking. "So... you like me back?"
"I did say I love you too, didn't I?" Nog smiled, more relaxed and almost softer than Jake had ever seen him. "Although... I never expected you to like me back."
"I never expected you to like me" Jake said, and then leaned closer, smiling down at his... friend? Partner? Lover? Boyfriend? He didn’t know yet. "But now that I know you do... I've always been curious to try out some of that oo-mox your uncle talks so much about."
"Oh my merchants Jake!" Nog squealed, pushing him away and getting a laugh out of him. "That is so inappropriate!"
"Not for a Ferengi is not. They do it all the time!"
"It's a business strategy and yes, my uncles does it too much. It is very intimate, no matter what he says."
"Has anyone ever-"
"NO! And I'm not like other Ferengi, I'm a star fleet officer!"
No no no no no!!!!!! This is not Harry.
It’s either HR or the original Earth-1 Wells. It wouldn’t make any sense otherwise. If this was meant to be an Easter egg, it's way too visible and way too cruel. Can they please finally tell us what’s happened to him?
