Shattered Calm
Posted on Thu May 28th, 2020 @ 7:04pm by Jacob Lara & Tristan
Edited on on Fri May 29th, 2020 @ 9:45pm
Mission:
The Milk Run
Location: Port Shuttle - Fortune's Echo
Timeline: Day 1 - Newhall to Hera
Tristan stood in the cargo hold, glad that he was alive and unscathed after his run-in with the crew of the Fortune's Echo. Which he knew it was wrong to stow away on their ship, he certainly didn't anticipate his life being threatened because of it. To be fair, he didn't anticipate getting caught either, but that was something to lament over at a later time.
For now, there was a member of the crew he wanted to talk to. As he climbed the stairs to the upper deck, his eyes glanced around, trying to find exactly where the man had gone when he left. When he reached the landing, there were two doors to either side of him. He guessed the left and made his way to the strong hatch and knocked on it.
After leaving the cargo bay Jacob had returned to his shuttle, removing his suit jacket and untucking and unbuttoning his shirt as he'd walked in and sealed the hatch. What he'd seen had disturbed him, and he was trying to quiet his nerves, sitting lounged in a chair, his leg tossed over the arm, with a book of poetry in one hand and a steaming cup of tea in the other.
Hearing the knock on the hatch he looked up and called our, "Enter!"
The door opened and young Tristan poked his head in. "Hello," he said. "May I come in?"
Jacob's eyebrows raised slightly at the sight of the cute blonde guy from the cargo bay poking his head into the shuttle. He'd fully expected either the ship's captain or second coming to chew him out.
Smiling he nodded, "Yes, of course, come right in!"
Tristan pushed the door open more, sliding into the room and closing it behind him. He leaned against the door, not wanting to venture too far within the man's space. "I wanted to thank you," he said. "That was very kind of you to offer to pay for my stay."
Jacob nodded, his smile a little more broad. He could tell the other man was nervous, and wanting to be polite. "It was nothing. I wanted to try to keep the situation from growing any more serious. A peaceful atmosphere is conducive to my business. But I also could tell you were terrified, and I wanted to help if I could..." He said, then waving his hand he entreated him to come further in. "There's plenty of room in here if you'd like to get comfortable. I can even move if you'd prefer to sit in the chair," he added, moving to stand at the first hint that Tristan wanted the chair.
The man shook his head, "No thank you." He took a few steps forward and set his backpack down as he sat on the floor, crossing his legs. "You're different from the others," he observed.
That brought out a deep chuckle, Jacob's voice booming in the small space of the shuttle. Pointing he drew the man's attention to a few cushions not far from where he'd sat. "Feel free to grab one of those. There's a lot of fun things you can do on a floor, sitting flat on your ass on one is not one of my favorites," he said, getting up and moving towards the small table he had set up for tea. "Care for some tea?" he asked, purposefully avoiding the man's comment for a bit longer.
Tristan smiled, "I would love some," he said. He stood and kicked his shoes off, setting them by the door, as he moved towards the pillows. "I don't want to get your cushions dirty," he explained.
Jacob smiled again, and poured some of the strongly floral tea into one of the small porcelain cups and walked across the room, handing it gently to the man, before sinking to the floor near him, on one of the cushions. "So, what makes me different?" he asked, taking a sip of his tea.
As Tristan took the cup, he took a deep breath as his body began to relax. "I haven't had jasmine tea in way too long," he said, his mind drifting elsewhere.
"It can be incredibly soothing," Jacob replied, settling back against the chest he'd managed to end up sitting right in front of. Tristan hadn't answered his question, but he was patient. Instead of pressing he took another sip of the tea, letting his eyes slide closed slightly, feeling the tension of the situation down in the bay start to leach from him. Through his lashes he took in the view of the man before him. He was even more handsome now that he was not being held by the collar. Pretty blonde hair, tan skin, and pink lips, all wrapped up in a red hoody that seemed to compliment it all just so.
"This is what I mean," Tristan finally said after a few more moments of silence. You're so calming. Everyone else is just..." He looked at the man and shrugged, "on edge."
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like," Jacob recited, letting his head drop back against the chest he was leaning against. "I try not to struggle against the way things are. It just creates more stress than is necessary. But thank you for the compliment. Do you like the tea?"
Tristan's eyes began to wander as Jacob leaned his head back. From his firm jaw to his big chest with a few tufts of hair. "I love it," the man said as his thoughts quickly got away from him. He snapped back to reality after a moment and looked down at the cup of tea in his hand.
Jacob heard the slight change in tone, and peered at him a little from his heavily lidded eyes, not moving his head. He was now looking down at his tea, but his body language said he'd done something that made him either embarrassed or uncomfortable. "I'm glad you are enjoying it," Jacob replied, his voice dropping, and becoming more soothing. "There's more if you'd like..." he offered, meaning the tea, but letting his voice imply that tea wasn't the only thing it could mean.
The young man stared at the other, his mouth slightly agape as he just nodded slowly.
Leaning forward Jacob reached out and plucked the small cup from Tristan's hand, his green eyes locked on the other man's hazel as his fingers grazed against his fingers. He could smell the man's scent, a simple, clean scent, mixed with the sweat of the tense situation down in the bay. Getting smoothly to his feet he crossed the room and poured another serving of tea into both of their cups, and then came back, crouching before him, and holding the cup out, his head tilted slightly, smiling at him.
Tristan sat there for a moment, almost mesmerized by the sparkling green of Jacob's eyes. "You're so-" he was about to speak when he reached out and knocked the cup from the Companion's hand, spilling hot tea all over the floor and the pillows they were sitting on.
"I'm so sorry," Tristan said as he sprung to his feet, staring at the mess in bewilderment. "I didn't mean to make a mess." Tristan grabbed his backpack and pulled a shirt from one of the compartments and began to soak up the hot tea with it. "I'll pay to replace them."
Jacob shook his head, reaching out and putting his hand on top of Tristan's to stop him from messing up his shirt any further. "Stop," he said, his voice just ever so slightly forceful, trying to snap his attention off the panic, and the mess. With his other hand, he reached out and picked up the small shards of shattered porcelain, and then moved to the table with the tea set and placed them on the tray. "You won't replace them," Jacob said, returning to stand before Tristan.
"It was an accident, and it's just as much my fault as it is yours. After what happened down in the cargo bay I shouldn't have been so open," he added, giving him what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
Tristan's brow furrowed with confusion, "Open about what?" he asked as he held the damp shirt in his hands. If anything, his shirt had a lovely jasmine smell to it, one of his favorite smells from his childhood. If anything this accident might bring him comfort later.
Not sure how exactly to answer that Jacob chose to just be honest. "The closeness, the contact, the looks," he said. "I should have simply let you be here, let you return to a sense of calm. I hope you can forgive me..." he added, a sheepish look on his face.
His cheeks flushed as Tristan looked down. "I hope I haven't done anything wrong," he said. "I should probably go." Tristan didn't leave a lot of time for Jacob to respond. He took his shirt and grabbed his backpack as he bolted out of the door, leaving it slightly ajar as he left.
"I'm sorry," came a faint voice from the hall as Tristan walked barefoot through the ship and back to his room.
Jacob felt a font of frustration blossom in his chest. He had completely messed that entire encounter up. He'd wanted to do nothing more than bring the man a sense of calm, and happiness, not drive him to run away. If he'd been so foolhardy only a few years earlier he wouldn't have even been allowed to register in the Guild. With a shake of his head he took a deep breath and relaxed the hands he had realized he had clenched at his sides. Walking across to the hatch he resealed it and then turned to go back to the chair, and his book, when he looked down and noticed that Tristan had left his shoes behind. Stooping down he picked them up and put them nearer to the door so he'd remember to return them the next day, knowing that to try to do so now would just make the whole situation a lot worse.
As he flopped back down into the chair he could still hear the echo of the contrite words Tristan had said just before he'd bolted, hoping that he hadn't done anything wrong, repeating in his head, making him feel even worse for how he'd handled the whole encounter. With a last sigh he picked up the book and tried to let the flow of the soft poetry wash it all away.
