Star Trek: Eventide 777 - ╰arinn′s-garden

The garden was, by all means, overgrown - the foliage covered the man-made structures, using them as leverages to grow higher, wider, grander. Yet it clearly was very well taken care of - the lady of the house, who regarded this piece of their home as basically an alive entity, was adamant to let it grow and evolve on it's own, seeing true beauty in how the Mol'Rihan flora chose to live and adapt here. The two Romulans were engulfed by the cool shade as soon as they stepped outside through a glass door and down the stone stairs. Why did Renakir's reply sound so... ominous? Saren carefully glanced at his friend: "...Take your time." Saren was blissfully unaware of the fact that his visitor was soon to be counted as a missing person's case, if not already; he was also unaware of Ren's feelings, or how eerily similar they were to those that popped up in Saren's own head from time to time. "Let's go and sit down, I may know a good place." He went deeper in, staying on the stone path until suddenly he turned and just... dissapeared between two fruit bushes; his muffled "come on in, just duck down" could be heard from the other side. It was a tiny patch of grass surrounded by the bushes. Some pillows and Earth books were carefully piled by the side, indicating that someone - most likely Saren - favoured this tiny spot as "the quiet corner". "I assume you would prefer a more private place for a talk..." Saren shrugged as he put one pillow down - an invitation to sit.

To the gardens they went. Renakir was, unsurprisingly, having to duck down and under vines as they stepped deeper into the garden. The metal plated heels of his oxfords clicked along the stone tiles as they descended the stone staircase. What a wonderful collection of flora, he thought as his bright silver eyes peered through the leaves. The shade was happily welcomed by this poor half Reman boy who so desperately needed to escape the sun. The sounds of strained breathing were obvious when they reached the bottom of the staircase. The typically very fit and strong Romulan-Reman boy was tired--very tired. He had walked there after all. Walked, rode night bus, got drooled on by three different Romulan children, this boy had seen it all. Renakir stumbled when his friend sudden stopped at the tiny patch of grass, he was too lost in thoughts to pay attention. He grabbed one of the bushes by the branches to keep himself from falling, a small crack emanating from where he stood. Ah, Tenakruvek, he was destructive as always. "Dinam," Renakir seemed to collapsed on the pillow and pulled his knees to his chest. "I'm such an asshole," He let out a very exasperated sigh. "I'm selfish, rude, a liar... I managed to hurt Eshen and Allan too, I'm a terrible friend...."

1

"Woah, woah, woah there," Saren, who was in the middle of picking a fruit from a low hanging branch, raised one of his hands in a placating motion. He looked, really looked at Renakir, noticing just how tired and antsy the man appeared to be, did he fucking run here? "Slow down, just for a second..." He scooted closer so he was sitting by Renakir's side, hands resting on his bent knees. That was... a lot of information. He didn't know who the Allan guy was (it was probably safe to assume that he was a friend, and an ensign on their station), but he for sure recognized Eshen's name. Were they here, on Mol'Rihan? Did Ren run away from them? "Is that why you're here?" Saren inquired, head cocked to the side, "Do you, maybe, want to explain what happened?" Hearing his friend talk so harshly about himself made Saren frown. Because frankly, those things were untrue, a blatant lie. He was not a bad person, and if Saren needed to convince him... well, he would do just that. Stubbornly. But, he needed context.

His gaze met Saren's before the small bits of light leaking into the little grassy area began to really burn his eyes. He fished out his sunglasses from his pocket and put them on. His shoulders suddenly relaxed and he felt a little less tension in his lower back. It was definitely the light that was making him on edge. "Well... to start I.. i feel like my father has been ignoring me. Whenever I speak to him I get this feeling that he doesn't really respect my opinion. I can't be too emotional or he dismisses my feelings as Reman rage but if I'm not emotional enough he'll just ignore the problem entirely," He spoke more casually now, less hesitation. Renakir ruffled his hair to shake out some dust that had accumulated. The pretty flowers and leafy bushes were certainly a calming atmosphere to be around. In a strange way, it was helping. "But my father respects Eshen. More than me, definitely. And when I came home my father acted like nothing was wrong. He was still spending time with my Reman family. Does he ever tell them they're too emotional or is it just me? Because I'm Romulan? In the name of Tenakruvek how am I supposed to live up to the standards of a race I was never apart of to begin with?!" He wasn't shouting, but there was a very evident growl in his voice. Silver eyes blinked on the other side of his dark sunglasses as his floppy ears twitched. He rested his head on his knees so he could rub the tips of his ears between his fingers. "And I made Eshen and Allan mad-- allan is an engineering ensign. I was supposed to help Eshen deal with something else-- some politics thing.. but I'm so fucking selfish I'm here like I'm some Romulan Henry Thoreau. I've hurt my friends, but I don't really know if I could make it right at this point...." His voice trailed off as he felt warm tears roll down his cheeks. He closed his eyes and hoped his friend wouldn't see, he was just feeling too many things.

It was a lot to unpack. Saren sat quietly, allowing Renakir to just talk his soul out - clealry the guy needed that. It probably was therapeutic in on itself, bit it did feel... odd, to know that Renakir trusted him enough to just come here, alone, and talk about such personal concerns, again, completely alone. He still remembered how distrustful they were of each other during their first meeting - it was what, months ago? Maybe more? But Saren listened, and tried to understand his dear friend's issue that he himself never was a victim of. "Him and Eshen speak a common tongue, don't they?" he reconsidered and picked the fruit he was eyeing from before, it's stem snapping off with a quiet crick. "Both of them being diplomats. Still, I don't think a father would respect this, while undoubtedly charming, but a stranger, more than his own son. You just notice that because it's a different kind of relationship. It's something different, and inadvertently you compare the two things." He tried to twist the fruit, which looked like a distant relative of a plum with stripes, into two pieces. It would be an easier task with a knife, but he really didn't want to pull out one right in front of his friend in such close proximity: "Parents are just weird like that. Still, it's shitty that you feel that way, that there's a reason to it. I will sound really, uh, unoriginal, but maybe you should try to talk to him? From what I know about the guy - from what I see - I don't think he's half-bad." He's also, probably, worried sick about you going missing, Saren's mind helpfully added, but the man kept that thought to himself. Renakir was feeling bad enough, and that sentence could be misconstrued as a judgemental one. 777_divider

05:38

"And-- Renakir?" oh. Oh no. "Ren? Hey? Hey, come on..." There was a pang of panic, seeing wet tracks on his dinam's face. Saren forgot about the plum, and turned towards him, leaning in and at loss of what he could do. His brotherly instinct was chanting "comfort, he needs some comfort" but they never touched before. What if he distressed the half-Reman even further?.. "Am I allowed to touch you?" he lifted his arms slightly. "I want to help, I promise."

He was thankful that the other was letting him speak, even if he went on a bit of a tangent. The typically concise and calm image quickly faded once emotions got involved and all the souls of Erebus knew how emotional Renakir could get. He hid it well in his day to day, especially under the wonderful tutorings of both Eshen and Remun (minimal guidance from him though). Once he finished speaking he pulled his sunglasses off and set them on the ground beside him. They were fogging up from the tears that felt like they were boiling in the corners of his eyes. Oh why did he have to be so emotional, it was his Reman genes, certainly. To keep himself from shedding tears, he attempted to focus on the sound of his Dinam's voice. The calmness helped him to find his own centre. "Y-Yeah, they're both diplomats," He answered, watching through watery eyes as Saren struggled with one of th fruits. He winced ever so slightly when he heard the soft crack from stem as Saren twisted it. A wave of guilt swept over him again when he heard the younger's words. 'Try to talk to him', yeah that was something that would never work. He was terrible at socialising, even worse when emotions were involved. He had even made Tral uncomfortable. Renakir rubbed some tears from his eyes and covered his face with his hand. "Dinam," He squeaked out, his voice soft as he was holding back more tears. His ears twitched again when Saren asked 'am I allowed to touch you'. "Y-yes, can... Can we hug? Please?" If there is anything he had learned it was how good hugging felt and their power to comfort. Now he knew why Remans were so big on community, they always hugged. And Renakir had always denied them, but he was slowly getting more confident.

"Of course," Saren nodded, as he gently guided his distressed friend to his shoulder, mildly surprised at how easily Renakir has agreed to this. Or, maybe, it was a subconscious shock at the fact that Renakir let him do it? Nevertheless Saren didn't dwell on it too much, busy with embracing his friend as if to shield him from the outside world and all those bad thoughts that made him so, so upset. He rested his chin on top of Renakir's head, arms locked around him tightly. This was no human, whom Saren was genuinely afraid to touch sometimes. Still, he was gentle - despite his history and appearance, he always was. "Doing a shitty thing doesn't make you a bad person. I hope you know that," he said quietly, yet loudly enough for Renakir to hear him. "Unfortunately sentient beings can't avoid hurting each other, even with the best of their intentions. Strangers, colleagues, even friends and family. Yet you recognized that maybe you fucked up, and that already contradicts what you said, you know?" He petted the fellow Romulan's shoulder, a motion he sometimes did to his siblings: "Trust me, I know what a bad person acts like. You ain't one." Saren let him stay like this, patiently waiting for Renakir to take his time and calm down, mirroring what one certain Captain did for him not too long ago.

3

As soon as he felt the other's warm arms wrap around him all of his emotions came pouring out in the form of tears. His breath hitched as he tried not to make it too obvious that he was crying, but the way he clung to Saren made it evident his mind was unraveling before the other even opened his mouth to speak. Saren was warm, much warmer than Renakir, but Saren was fully Romulan and thus had that intense Vulcanoid heat. A heat Renakir had only recently became familiar with after hugging Eshen. His Dinam was so comforting, as if he had done this before-- didn't Saren mention siblings? That would explain it. What was he doing? Sobbing to his friend in his beautiful garden, dressed like he was off to a fancy dinner party. He tightened his grip on Saren, listening to the man's voice as the sound seemed to pass through his whole body. "I'm sorry, Dinam. I'm scared, of everything," He spoke through his tears as he let Saren pet his shoulder. Were Romulans really touch telepathic? He couldn't feel Saren's emotions, not like when he hugged Eshen. Maybe the telepathy wasn't working right now because of his emotions. "I can't face my father again-- or Eshen. I.. I have no right to, I acted so selfishly..."

"Fear is an expected feeling, there's no shame in that. Whoever tells you otherwise sucks and is a bitch," he stated calmly. "You don't know how they will respond to your apology or what will happen after it, and that's okay. But, still, you need to do it. I know it feels like the end of the world, but you will feel better in the aftermath, believe me. They probably will too." Saren gave his shoulder a pat: "How about I go with you? Or I can accompany you to your house, at least. Maybe that will make you feel better?" Truth to be told, Saren would walk Renakir home anyways. He didn't like the idea of letting his expensively-dressed friend wander around alone. While he didn't share Cerrub's ideas of how terrible the public transport was, Saren too was a Romulan, to whom being overly cautious was as natural as breathing. "But if you agree to that, I will need a minute to change..." Saren looked at his semi-transparent shirt's sleeve with a slight frown. He took it from Talai after it became too old to wear in public. How it didn't become fully gray after his gardening endeavors was a mystery, even to himself...

1

'Need', yeah, that was something Renakir didn't want to hear yet he knew it was true. He couldn't keep running forever. It wasn't just about righting his wrongs and admitting to his mistakes, but he was out of macarons now that he handed his last two over to Saren. He sniffled and wiped some tears from his eyes when they separated. The calm tone of the other was helping to ease his nerves about the whole situation, but his shoulders were still tensed up and jaw clenched. There was a part of him that wanted to scream and cry, but another part of him that still had a lot of internalised spacism that was silently judging him for even having those urges. He couldn't be too Reman. He had to be a good Reman. One who listened to his Romulan father, worked well with others, one who acted appropriately as a Starfleet officer. "I'd.. like that. My house is in the Ekhaem district. It's not far but we'd.. need a bus. I've been riding night buses this whole time. Alone," He spoke softly through his sniffles. "I started in Ekhaem and then went down to the Reman Khaa district.. then New Mirek.. now here.. I know, I have had three children drool on me, one mother thought I was a ghost, and another two kids tried to bite me thinking I was made of stone," He took a very deep breath and tried to fish around the grass for where he left his glasses. The shade from the plants was nice, but he was still Reman. "You can change first, i.. i think I wanna sit here for a bit."

Saren looked up briefly, considering the distance and trying to visualize Renakir's bizzare adventure. Damn. "You sure had a rough day..." he sighed, giving his dinam's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "Okay, I'll be back soon. You can eat the eiiur'lhiet* if you want, it's insides are like sweet and sour jelly." He stood up, as fluid as ever, and dissapeared in the bushes. Renakir could probably hear his soft footsteps on the rocky path, soon fading in the distance. As promised, he returned five minutes later, donning black pants and shoes. Man didn't agree with most of Romulan fashion and preferred monochrome. Yet the shirt, for some inexplicable reason, stayed. Maybe it was too hot. Or he forgot?.. "Your chaperon is ready," Saren got another plum and put it in his mouth, then gesturing back with a thumb: "Lef' gow?" *literally "sour-fruit". The RPer was lazy

"More like rough week," He said as his lips curled into what seemed to be a tiny smile. Things sucked, but thinking about his Bizarre Adventure™️ made it better, somehow. Long grey fingers curled around the fruit his Dinam had offered and he waited until the other was out of view to sit up properly so he could eat. He held the fruit far away from him so he wouldn't get any juices on his nice white shirt. He had to stay looking fresh after all. Thankfully he didn't get too messy, just two bites and the whole fruit was gone. He was hangry and he was Reman so chomp chomp. It was also perfect timing because once he finished his friend had returned. "The eiiur'lhiet was good," He said, still starving, but his father would definitely feed him. "I'm ready," Renakir stood up and shook some of the grass from his trousers and straight out his shirt. He also took this time to tighten the weird harness around his chest and shoulders. Why did Romulans wear random straps around their bodies? At least Renakir wore it well. His reasoning was it accentuated his muscles. "So how are we getting there? Oh-- my sunglasses, wait," He patted the side of his trousers and then his chest, searching for his sunglasses that he had left on the ground behind him.

"Thank you. It's a bush native to Llaiir Prime, actually. Mom managed to get a couple of saplings for her garden," Saren told him, as he plucked another couple of plums off the branches. A snack for the journey, "Her gardening talents allowed them to flourish here." There was a note of pride in his voice. He quickly ducked behind Renakir to pick up his glasses, an awfully familial move for a Romulan. Saren did it almost subconsciously, just wanting to help his dinam out. Renakir's question made him grin, as he handed off his glasses: "We can go on a long ass bus ride again. Or-r-r, we can go to the nearest transporter hub and just--" Saren made a popping sound with his tongue, his free hand gesturing a small explosion. "I assume your house has a transporter near it, or at least somewhere close to it?"

"Llaiir," Where did Renakir hear that name? Oh, that was the colony Saren grew up on. It was hard to imagine how fractured both Romulan and Reman peoples were after the Supernova especiall when he himself never left Rator III. He watched as Saren picked a couple more of the fruits from the bushes, his ears twitching ever so slightly whenever he would hear a branch snap. Renakir was just about done trying to look for his glasses when his wonderful Dinam seemed to teleport from the bush to in front of him-- holding his glasses. Wow, Saren really was Romulan, he thought. Renakir took his sunglasses from the younger boy and put them on. Finally, darkness once again. It was so inconvenient to have eyes that looked Romulan, but functioned like a Reman's. "My house has a transporter right beside the gate," Renakir said. If there was a 'rich kid check' meme on SpaceTok he would certainly check every box. "I was avoiding transporters because they are easier to track but since I'm going home I don't see a problem using them. besides, I know my father is already going to be horrified to learn I took public transportation."

"Ah, well. That just means that I'll have an easy route back," he replied, suddenly feeling curious - and weirdly anxious - about Renakir's house. He knew some details about it, like how it had two parts, and that it was big. But just how big? Oh hell, and all the people there... okay, he was doing this for his friend, may as well fight his own fears. Saren didn't want to be a hypocrite. "I do hope that the next time you decide to visit me, you will actually use one. Public transport is not as bad as your father probably imagines it, but for the conveniences sake..." he teased lightly, as a distraction to his thoughts. Soon they walked out of the garden and onto the road, Saren leading them to the closest hub...