Star Trek: Eventide 777 - ┊beach-house

[D] After that terribly awkward interaction with the Admiral and the much better interaction with Zi afterwards in the turbolift, Allan had taken the next shuttlecraft to Mol'Rihan and went through as usual to Brokuk and Chadrix's beach vacation home. The beaches on Mol'Rihan truly were beautiful, and Allan was glad to be able to go here each summer since he had met the two Reman men. After setting his suitcase up in one of the guest rooms upstairs, Allan came back downstairs, where Brokuk was laying on the couch and Chadrix was making something that smelled very, very good. "Yo, what's cooking?" Allan asked, walking up to Chadrix and attempting to peer over his shoulder. However, it was much in vain, because Allan was much, much shorter and smaller than Chadrix was.

3

"One of the finest Terran recipes; macaroni and cheese. But I'm giving it a twist," Chadrix brushed a hand off on his blue apron he was wearing over a tank top and shorts - he had been out on the beach earlier today. He had been working on the recipe, though, all summer, and really hoped Allan would enjoy it, as his closest Terran friend Allan's opinion meant a lot to him. "I think you'll like it."

3

"Will I?" Allan asked with a smile on his face, looking up at Chadrix and then back down at the pot of pasta the other was cooking. "Also, we usually shorten it and call it 'mac n' cheese', just so ya know." He stood on his very tiptoes and maybe did a little hop so he was able to give Chadrix a kiss on the cheek. "But you're making it! So it'll be good no matter what." He turned and looked at Brokuk, who he couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not because he was laying on the couch with his sunglasses on still, which admittedly went very well with his black tank top that said "DON'T CARESS IT - HAMMER IT" and black sweatpants to match. "Brokuk, you sleeping? Or?" He walked over to behind the couch and peered over at him curiously, before poking the top of his bald head. "Vosekhlu?"

3

Brokuk was, in fact, not sleeping. However, he figured he'd manage to keep a straight face as Allan poked him and asked him to wake up, because he thought it might be funny to prank the guy like this. After a moment, though, when Allan had stopped poking him for a solid minute or so, he suddenly sat up straight and grabbed Allan's arm.

1

Allan was perfectly content watching Brokuk sleep and waiting for him to wake up, however when Brokuk suddenly sat up and grabbed his arm he screeched, pulling away although Brokuk still kept a pretty good grip on his arm. "Oh my God, Brokuk, you can't just - geez, you fucking..." He laughed, though, shaking his head.

Hearing the sudden screech, Chadrix turned around to look at what was going on and laughed. "You're making him think you were asleep again?" He asked to Brokuk, continuing to stir his pasta. Brokuk was always the one to play silly pranks like this, and Chadrix usually played along- but not while he was cooking! He took his cooking Very Seriously.

3

"He was, and he still won't let me go-" Allan started to say, tugging his arm before that same hand on his arm moved and another hand was placed on his arm to flip him over onto the couch. Goddamn, Brokuk was strong. What was up with that, anyways? "Heyy! Totally not-"

3

After pulling Allan down onto the couch, Brokuk decided to sit the other man down on his lap, wrapping his arms around the human like a seatbelt. "Hm? What was that?"

3

"Cool," Allan finished his statement, but turned to the side to look at Brokuk and also lean against his chest. "Not cool. Except now we're cool, I guess." He rolled his eyes, smiling. He was much content with the situation, but a little dramatics never hurt anyone.

3

"We are?" Brokuk laughed, calling to Chadrix who was pouring the mac n'cheese into bowls for them all, "Hey, Chadrix! Allan thinks we're cool now!" He continued to laugh, even after Allan attempted to elbow his side.

"I thought we were always cool, Bro," Chadrix said as he set the bowls down on the coffee table in front of them, along with a set of napkins and silverware. "Allan, did you want any specific drink? I was thinking of mixing some stuff, but if you're not down for that-"

1

"Yes, you've always been cool," Allan's eyebrows raised at the sight and smell of the mac n' cheese. It both looked and smelled great. Chadrix was always a genius when it came to cooking and especially when using spices, so he couldn't wait to find out what Chadrix had mixed into this classic dish. "Um... honestly, anything you can mix is fine, also-" He looked very excited as he adjusted himself so he was facing Brokuk on his lap now, so he could attempt to reach over the couch arm and if he juuuust reached a liiittle more, he could - yes! He finally managed to grab the strap of his bag, pulling it over past Brokuk's shoulder and pulling a sheet of paper out. "Speaking of drinking, aside from the shorts petition Dion also helped me make this," he handed the paper to Brokuk to read, "which is basically a cool list that he called being 'whoreganized,' which is definitely a term that needs to be normalized."

1

Brokuk couldn't help but snort in laughter at that. "Whoreganized? Bruh, the more you tell us about this Dion guy, the better it gets," he shook his head, handing the paper up to Chadrix who was also chuckling. "Good stuff, though, as far as the list goes. Maybe we should make one too. Eventually," he shrugged. Too many drinking games to play and vacation to have before he thought about writing.

1

Chadrix took the paper and read it over, nodding as he did so. "I do like the term. Is Dion on shore leave as well? He's welcome to come over if he wants," He handed the paper back to Allan. "I think an interesting game would be to achieve every single one of those in one night," He said with an open smile.

Allan raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You wouldn't," he said, taking a bite of the mac n'cheese. "Oh shit, this actually fucks, dude," he said, taking another bite. The flavors were immaculate!

"You know what else actually fucks, dude?" Brokuk asked with a smirk on his face, looking over at Chadrix who easily caught his drift.

1

"What?" Allan actually, for once, did not catch Brokuk's drift here. And then his brain cells kicked in and he did, eyes widening. "Oh, no. I mean, yes, hell yes absolutely, but no way you both could-"

1

"Thank you. I worked very hard on the recipe, I'm glad you think it's good," Chadrix was truly proud of himself for that. Now he could make it for his other Terran friends now that it had Allan's approval. "Speaking of good, though, I think Brokuk's right. C'mon, man, you've been here every summer for what, seven years? This would be your eighth," he chuckled. "You should know damn well by now that we both could, in fact, knock out everything on that list in a mere matter of hours. But," he shrugged, looking into the man across from him's emerald eyes as he sat down next to them both and put a hand on Allan's shoulder, "it's up to you." (edited)

1

Allan laughed, nodding when Chadrix correctly pointed out this was his eighth year of coming here during the summer. It really was, and their friendship was pretty much unbreakable at this point. He really admired them as people, as friends, and - all things considered, they were extremely attractive and good at everything they did. Well, most things. Brokuk was abysmally bad at dancing, and Chadrix was not great at anything involving fixing objects around the house, which was often a skill Allan was more than happy to lend out. However, they did all have a few skills in common, including great vibes and... well, you know. "Yeah, yeah, it's - really been eight years, hasn't it? Since we met at the Academy?" He smiled, taking one of Brokuk's hands that was still around him into his own. "Well, you've known me for eight years, then, enough to know that of course I'm fucking down for that shit," he smirked over at Brokuk, leaning in to give him a quick kiss, "and I'm always down for a challenge. Same word as last year?"

Brokuk nodded, still holding Allan's hand with one hand put moving the other to hold the back of the human's head as he kissed him again. "Yeah man, coconut's easy as fuck to remember, right bro?" He looked over at Chadrix.

Chadrix nodded, smiling as the two kissed and gave Allan a small kiss to his neck as they did that. "Easy as fuck to remember, yeah," he said, giving Allan a kiss ontop of his bright red hair. "Have we told you again lately that you're really good, Allan?"

Allan chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Yes, Chadrix. Only a thousand times now! Or whatever eight times a thousand is, maybe," he couldn't do math right now, he was being loved and appreciated by two very handsome Reman men so this off-duty engineer was absolutely not going to do any math today. "But you should know, boys, you're both equally as good, if not better," he said with a smirk before kissing Brokuk again.

1

2

Renakir followed Allan, this time not afraid of stepping within stabbing range. He knew Allan and was less on edge now that they were free of the other two Remans. He took each step carefully, walking with perfect posture as they approached the beach house. "The main room is fine. Although I think I would like to.. Do some meditation. I don't mind if others are around me," He said, not wanting to intrude on whatever fun adventures Allan and his Reman friends were having.

"Sure! Just let me know if you need anything, okay? And uh, if for some reason people come knocking at our door looking for you, the basement is down.." He walked over to the edge of the main room and pressed a button on the wall which opened part of the floor to reveal a small staircase leading downwards, well-lit. "Here, uh. There might be some crazy stuff down there still, just ignore that if you're in that situation. But we should be good, I don't think I've met any of your family except Tiravurik, so they shouldn't really narrow it down," he was sort of just rambling now, but he just wanted to make sure Renakir was safe from whatever situation he was getting away from! "But, uh, yeah. Just let me know if you need something," he repeated, closing the basement door and going to sit on one end of the couch.

Being in the beach house was indeed a new experience. So this is how the plebs lived? He enjoyed the quaintness and simplicity, a lot less rooms than his estate. He stared at the small staircase revealed by the push of a button and had to do a double take. Crazy stuff-- What did that mean? Well he wasn't going to ask so he just remained silent and let Allan continue explaining. "No, I mean... romulans would come looking for me. People neither you or I know, like the police," Renakir specified, fully convinced his father was going to file a police report or something. After all abduction was a very real fear, especially for those with money. In fact, kidnapping insurance was totally a thing even though Renakir was very much an adult. "Thank you, Allan," He sat down on the sofa and clasped his hands together. He closed his eyes, preparing to start his meditation.

1

"Yeah. If the police knock, you go down there. Simple stuff," he said plainly, as if he was used to the routine. Perhaps they had just gotten used to going down there to hide because of uhhh noise complaints, maybe. But Chadrix usually tried to follow the law, despite Allan and Brokuk's best efforts to be as crazy as possible. "You're welcome," he said as he just rested on the other side of the couch, and he'd answer anything Renakir asked but for now? Just chilling as Chadrix brought him a bowl of mollusks on rice and eggs.

1

After some time, Renakir did ended up going to one of the guest rooms so he could meditate in peace. He was still a raging ball of emotions so perhaps Surak could help him here. He wondered how long it would be until anyone found him. Would his father really send the Romulan police after him? He purposefully left his epohh slippers behind, that made it look intentional right? If his father suspected he was kidnapped well, the whole planet would probably be looking for him by now.

1

His silly little floppy ears easily picked up on the sound of the front door opening and without any hesitation he stood up from his little meditation spot on the floor and moved so he was behind the bed-- out of view if anyone should happen to come into the room. He assumed it was just Allan, but he heard another pair of footsteps which made him nervous. The two Remans were inside, so this fourth person was unknown. It was difficult to hide when he was 6'5 and Reman, his fluffy hair stuck up behind the bed.

1

"Hello, Allan's fellows!" Eshen said as he walked in with Allan. "Are you playing some sort of rhythm game?" Alas, Eshen was not enough of a Gamer to know what any rock heroes or guitar band games might be, although if he knew what DDR was he would kick ass at it. "

Brokuk turned to look at the man who had just walked in, nodding. "Yeah, man. It's a game where you're, like, a cool guitar rocker, but with buttons instead," he said, gesturing to the guitar he had not stopped playing - he seemed to be quite good at this game.

"There's also a drum set and vocals, I believe, which, he plays the drum set just as often. Sometimes he tries to play both at once but... he isn't too successful with that one," Chadrix added, waving to Allan's friend. "And I'm Chadrix," he added, getting up from the couch and moving towards the kitchen. "Did you want anything to eat or drink?" 'Twas always nice to meet one of Allan's friends.

"Dude, what the fuck? I was so good at the double guitar drumset, don't lie," Brokuk interjected, still playing along with the guitar.

"If you count falling backwards in your chair 'so good', sure," Allan rolled his eyes, smiling as he looked back at Eshen. "Man was fully sober and still fell out of the chair."

"Yeah, alright dude, but I'm still good at it," Brokuk finished the song he had been playing and he did achieve good scores, looking back at Allan's friend. "I guess I should say uh, I'm Brokuk?" He looked at Allan's friend curiously through his shades. Surely this was who he thought it was, but he would wait to see.

Eshen posed with one hand on his hip, jutted to the side, and the other doing a ta'al. "I'm Eshen 'Dion' K'Tann, local diplomatic dandy and food and fashion connoisseur! Well, not local, actually I'm very much not from here. You may call me... Dion." Yeah, that was the side of him he wanted Allan'd cool friends to see.

"Okay, so you are The Whoreganizer," Brokuk said with an open smile, "Nice to finally meet you, because man, Allan never shuts up about you, dude. Well, he never shuts up in general, but-"

"Hey!" Allan shook his head, looking back at Eshen and holding his hands out defensively. "To be completely fair, I did s-"

"All good things," Chadrix interrupted, as he walked over to the group, wearing his apron, and returned the ta'al to Dion. "It's truly nice to meet you after hearing so many good things about you, though. You're a food connoisseur?" He smiled, it was exciting to meet another food connoisseur if so!

"The Whoreganiser?" Dion said, looking oddly delighted to be called such a thing... And also feeling oddly delighted that Allan talked about him with other people. Plenty of people did, because he was a man with a reputation, but it was nicer coming from Allan. "Have you been telling them all about our... escapades? Not that I mind much. And to hear you've been flattering me when I'm not here? Keep up the good work." He turned to Brokuk and Chadrix. "Yes, 'tis I, The Whoreganiser, hobbyist chef and foodie. Are you making something?"

Allan laughed. "Yeah, we basically catch up with eachother every summer, so most of the fun stuff I've been doing since I got on the base is you - I mean, with you, so-" He looked at Dion with a bit of a coy smile, "Last night was actually when I told them about you calling yourself whoreganized with the list and all, since, you know, naturally, I made one of my own and we maybe just maybe made it a goal to do all of the yes's in the list last night." He shrugged, as if that was no big deal.

Chadrix smiled at how the two interacted with each other. He also noticed Dion was wearing Allan's sunglasses and Allan had an earring that - oh, it matched Dion's! Cute. "Yes! Or, I'm planning to, but man, I can't really decide what to cook today. I'm thinking of using some of the jumbo mollusks again, but I want to something different with them," *he said, putting a hand on his hip as he looked at Dion, *"you wouldn't happen to have any ideas?"

Dion laughed when Allan made that coy comment, though interestingly, it was in Eshen's oddly demure fashion - behind a gloved hand - rather than Dion's open amusement. Seemed he hadn't fully switched roles quite yet. "Well, I don't know what you cooked before, but they're quite good sautéed, and you can use the leftover slime to make macarons!" Oh hey, unexpected thought: Men would get along with this guy. "I can't believe you did all your yes's without me, though," He continued, gasping as if offended, even though he literally wasn't on the planet yesterday.

"Oh! I sautéed them with rice and eggs earlier, but I feel like there are more flavors I could experiment with. Some different spices, maybe," Chadrix thought about it. It would be interesting to experience with the leftover slime... "The slime is a really great idea, man. Macarons are fantastic, I can try making them for sure." He smiled, noting that down mentally to make soon, possibly.

"Hey, if I know anything about that guy, it's that he's more than willing to do it all twice over," Brokuk called from the other end of the room.

"That is true," Chadrix agreed, smiling at Dion warmly before standing behind Allan and putting a large hand on the human's shoulder as he kissed the top of his head. "Isn't it?"

Allan grinned, looking at Brokuk in disbelief yet again. "Okay, yeah, dude, but like - it hasn't even been 24 hours since-" Conveniently, an oven preheating timer went off at this moment and nobody could hear what Allan said in that moment. "But... you know, I think you," he looked back at Dion, a warm smile in his direction with a bit of a blush right as Chadrix had kissed the top of his head, "you always make things a lot better, so I'd be more than happy to do whatever you want, whenever you want."

"I'd quite like to do all three of you, to be perfectly honest," Dion said, slipping an arm around Allan's waist and kissing his cheek in a reflection of Chadrix's behaviour. By Surak, literally just in the door and he was already saying things like that! That was what happened when you combined his and Allan's Lawful and Chaotic Gay energy, though. "Besides, I've got a bunch of yes's too, don't I? Whoreganised alphabetically, in order of most to least preferred, etcetera... At the very least, we could see what matches on both our lists and knock them out."

2

Brokuk tilted his shades down to look at them all for a second, putting his guitar up now that he was finished with the game for now. He then looked to Chadrix, and then back at Dion. "Fuck, dude," He put his sunglasses back up. "Allan wasn't even wrong about you."

"Wait, it's alphabetical? I can't believe you," he said, rolling his eyes, but because some part of him deep down loved this man because of the fact that he whoreganised his list alphabetically, Allan smirked, putting an arm around Dion's waist in return and putting a hand on his cheek to give him a deep kiss for a moment. "Yes! All of that, just from memory I'd say our lists match pretty well, soooo...?" He looked down and then back up at Dion, inquisitively.

"Not just alphabetical! I have a whole system. I call it a Sexcel sheet." Local (extraterrestrial, actually) prep jock secretly a nerd, exposed. "Well, usually I like to get to know people a little before doing this kind of thing, but frankly you've put me in the mood for it right now, if you boys are up for it?" Dion asked, looking from Chadrix to Brokuk, then Allan again, then kissing him again because the man was irresistible and he felt like it.

4

Allan grinned at the other, in pure amusement as he moved the hand that was on the other's cheek to his shoulder, still holding the other man around the waist as he faced him. "A Sexcel- I... Dion, you never cease to amaze me, honestly-" He laughed, he would have never expected Dion to be the type to make a joke - or was he actually using? - about a centuries-old tech program, but this man really did never not amaze him. And he was more than glad, of course, to -be- irresistible to Dion as well. (edited)

Chadrix had no idea what a 'Sexcel sheet' was referring to other than the basic context clues, but he laughed when Allan did anyways- it was contagious. He smiled, looking from Brokuk - who had nodded his head quite enthusiastically and was somehow already shirtless despite not having had his shirt off on the waterfront - back to Allan and Dion, except those men were probably already making out in the what, ten seconds that had passed maybe since he'd looked away? "Oh, yeah, we're up for it. As long as you are, and, well, that seems pretty obvious."

Yeah, he was definitely already attached to Allan like a Romulan Jumbo Limpet to a rock, but when Chadrix turned to him he pulled away again. "Obvious?" He said, pulling Chadrix down by the collar so that he was slightly below his height, "I could make it more obvious, if you wanted, but you'll have to show me to wherever you'd like me to make that happen."

Chadrix took a deep breath as he blinked up at Dion. Somehow, the single thought that came to his head during this moment was 'man, this guy is great for Allan', but his eyes went past Dion for a moment to see what Brokuk was up to. "I'd love that, but I think that guy's got it figured out already," he said with a smile, gesturing to Brokuk. He also thought about how he could maybe make macarons afterwards.

And Brokuk had already shoved the carpet aside that Allan had earlier, gesturing with jazz hands towards the door he'd also opened that led down to the actually very well-lit party basement area. "Yeah, dude. This is where the magic happens," he said with a smile, wearing only his shorts and sunglasses at this point.

Dion nodded, kissed Chadrix, let his collar go, gave him an affectionate pat on the cheek, then approached Brokuk while dragging Allan along with him by the wrist. He was certainly intent on getting close to both these lads, but he also seemed intent on keeping Allan especially close at all times. "You call me whoreganised when you lot have a whole basement for this?" He said, tracing Brokuk's collarbone, pulling him down and kissing him in much the same way he'd done with Chadrix for the sake of fairness, then turning to Allan, his intense gaze softening with a different kind of attraction, hand still wrapped around his wrist. "Go down first with me, Allan?"

2

Brokuk laughed, kissing Dion back and then shrugging. "Yeah, man! In our opinion, no vacation home's good without a place like this. Also helps keep noise complaints down."

1

Allan simply mirrored the action Dion had been doing, grabbing his collar (with much care, though, both their button-ups were highly important despite however they may be switched afterwards) and pulling him down to kiss him, although he really only had to do so slightly since they were but an inch apart in height. It was definitely a kiss that matched that softened gaze Dion gave him, though, and he took a step down the stairs as he pulled away. "With you? On you?" He said, holding his other hand palm up in an inquisitive gesture. "Yes. C'mon," And with that, he tugged him forwards to go down into the ~party basement~ and ~party~.

1

Once the voices in the main room subsided, Rennie poked his little grey face out of the guest room. It was quiet, probably because everyone was chilling in the basement or something, but he was hangry af. Still with his dark green trousers and disco ball patterned blazer, Renakir made his way down the hall and towards the kitchen. He was really hoping no one was there, didn't Allan say one of his Reman friends was making food? Well, Renakir was certainly going to find it. He looked like a businessman's son, in fact, compared to everyone else in the house it looked like he was ready to go to a completely different party. With no one in sight it didn't matter and he slowly made his way to the kitchen and began to look around for food.

At this point, everyone was basically cuddling on the couch or asleep or both or something, which faced away from where Renakir had emerged, just Chilling, truly, except for Chadrix, who was making those macarons Dion had so geniusly come up with the idea to make from the slime from the mollusks. Seeing the man come down the stairs, though, he waved and gestured to the tray of macarons that smelled very, very good. "Hey, man," he said with a smile, "I made macarons with the slime leftover from the mollusks - Dion's idea, they just came from the oven if you want one!"

Renakir was unaware if the Reman behind him with the macarons and nearly jumped when he heard the voice. Oh Tenakruvek, his silly little floppy ears also bounced when he jumped. "Chadrix, oh umm," Renakir paused when he looked at the tray of freshly baked macarons, hangry as ever. He did not show this hunger, the meditation had truly helped him this time. "I assume there is no sugar in them, right?" He asked as he cautiously stepped closer to look at the tray of macarons.

Chadrix nodded. "Yes, no sugar. Well, they still taste good because there's a formula that sort of tastes like sugar in them, but none of the effects are the same," he smiled, getting out a little plate and handing it out to Renakir in case he wanted to get them himself.

Renakir nodded slowly and reached out to pick up one of the small macarons. As always he smelled it and checked it in its entirety. Not that a fellow Reman would poison him, although it was obvious he was mixed and he was unsure if Chadrix (or Brokuk) had any prejudices. He didn't think so but Romulan paranoia was one hell of a disease. "Thanks Chadrix," He thanked him with another nod and turned around so he could take a small bite of the macaron. The whole thing could fit in his mouth, but he was being cautious with the first bite. It was quite strange that even in the presence of another Reman Renakir still felt the need to hide, but he was shy about his teeth. It was more than just 'looking scary', eating in front of others was.... Odd. It felt almost intimate, it was in Romulan society. It was something crews did to show fellowship and trust, certainly not an act you did with casual acquaintances. After confirming it was not poison he popped the rest of it into his mouth and chewed slowly, away from Chadrix of course. "It's good, yeah," He said shyly as he turned back around to face back to Chadrix.

Chadrix smiled with pride as Renakir Approved of His Baking. "I'm so glad you like it, Renakir," He said, holding the plate out to him once more, "If you want another, you should probably take as many as you'd like now before I bring it over to those guys," He nodded his head in the direction of where Allan, Dion, and Brokuk all were on the couch.

"Yeah if you don't mind," Renakir took two more macarons and tucked them into the sleeves of his blazer jacket. Yes this guy was going to hide snacks in his sleeves, why else would he be dressed like a Rich Kid of Spacegram™️ in a Reman district? After stuffing two more into his sleeves he walked over to where the others were sitting on the sofa. "Hey guys umm, I wanted to say thanks for letting me stay here, I gotta go though," How long had it been since he left home? He wasn't sure but he knew if he wanted to stay under the radar he couldn't stay in one place. Plus, the Reman district was probably the first place the MRPD would be searching for him. "If anyone asks, I wasn't here at all, okay?"

1

Eshen, who had his legs on Brokuk's lap and his head on Allan's lap, face buried into his stomach, mumbled, "Renniiiiiieeeeeee... Speakyouboutcepter." Then he opened his eyes and sat up so he could see Renakir properly, very reluctantly, blinking blearily. "Wait, when did you get here, you angsty bastard? You know if you keep running around all day I'll have to go see your fancy Romulan family all by myself?" He sounded cross, or tried to, but unfortunately, Eshen was too sleepy to look anything other than pouty.

Renakir pushed his sunglasses up on his face as he stared at his friend for a good few seconds as his brain tried to process just what the hell was going on. Actually, he didn't even want to know, this was Not Safe for Vulcanoids and he turned his head away when he realised the position he was walking in on. "I don't have time to explain and I'm not being angsty. I'm just... Trying to get over some things, please don't tell anyone. I'll be back before you visit my family, just message me and I'll be back," Renakir sighed, as he tugged on his sleeves to try and keep the macarons from falling out.

Allan was probably holding Eshen, running his fingers through the other's hair as he also blinked in the direction of Renakir. "Wait... you're leaving?" He asked, not exactly putting two and two together and understanding why he had to jump so fast. "I mean, yeah, I'm not going to tell anyone but -- are you going to be okay leaving? Where are you going to? I mean, I just -" He was rambling for sure, and realizing that, he sighed. "Just be safe, okay?"

Eshen, who got sleepy whenever anyone played with his hair and was already sleepy enough, struggled not to lean into Allan's arms and fall asleep again... And failed a little, leaning back against Allan and making a small harrumph. "Okay, but I need to talk to you about... The interceptor thing. At least text me about it?"

"Interceptor thing? Oh, yeah that," Renakir said as he turned away from the two of them. He crossed his arms and sighed, careful not to crush the macarons in his sleeves. There were a million thoughts running through his mind. He could stay with his friends and eat snacks, or go somewhere else. Not home, anywhere but home. But his friends were worried about him. It was time to be Romulan for once. "I'm gonna go home soon, so don't worry about me," He told them, absolutely not feeling any better and certainly not actually going to go home. There was another place he was gonna go but he wasn't going to tell them anything.

Allan thought that response was even less comforting. Did Renakir want to make it sound like that? He was a little too tired to realize that Renakir was lying, but still remembered their conversation from earlier. "Okay but - what you said earlier implied that home wasn't... safe, so." He frowned, trying to look at Renakir to read his expression but that probably didn't help much. "...you're absolutely sure you'll be okay? I mean it when I say you can genuinely stay here as long as you need to. I just need you to be okay." He wasn't going to let one of his friends be in danger or an unsafe situation!!

'Interceptor thing, oh yeah that'? Oh, you know, just that little errand, you know, the thing he was doing specifically for Renakir because he asked him to that he came to this whole planet to do. Yeah, that. Eshen gave nothing away except a slight narrowing of the eyes, but wow, that actually hurt. But Eshen Surak'd it away. Renakir was clearly going through something... Or, he did Surak it away until Renakir lied to him. 'I'm gonna go home soon, so don't worry about me': a promise that sounded empty because it was. Even sleepy, Eshen could spot a lie, especially from people he knew well. It was part of his job to spot lies. In fact, his people skills were the reason Renakir had asked him to do this for him. He was going to ask him for advice about what to do with Lun and Lalisa, but maybe he wouldn't bother. Eshen wouldn't have even known where the hell Renakir was before he got here, beyond somewhere not kidnapped; he could've been dead in a ditch, as far as he knew. Renakir wouldn't tell him what was going on and yet Eshen was supposed to be an accomplice to his self-imposed disappearance? But sure. He'd keep doing it, because apparently he cared more about the bond of trust he thought they had more than Renakir did. Served him right for putting so much trust in someone in the first place. In fact, he'd been doing that far too much lately. Maybe he should just kick half the Circle of Honesty out, because it used to be so much easier being the one who lied instead of the one being lied to. Of course, this may possibly be an over-reaction, is what a normal person might have thought... Unfortunately, Eshen was not a normal person. More like a bunch of trust and identity issues in a trench coat. Luckily, Allan was a normal person - well, in some ways - and had already said any words of concern Eshen might have thought to spare even if he were a tad mad at Renakir right now. "I concur," *Is all he had to add, then curled up on Allan's lap aga

02:07

in. Would Allan ever lie to him? Could he trust him? Could he trust anyone?* ...Ugh. Maybe Romulan paranoia was infectious and Renakir was a disease vector.

3

"I don't want to put you guys out, the last thing you guys need here is the MRPD coming to your door, "Renakir shrugged as he turned his head to look at his friends again. He was not telepathic, but he could tell the narrowing of Eshen's eyes was not a good thing and he had to do some damage control. After all Eshen was here in his name. It hadn't even occurred to him that there may be consequences for his friend and the thought hurt. But he couldn't show that on his face, he was... Too self absorbed for the moment. "I'm really sorry. I am gonna go home. I just... Need to take a walk. I'm gonna stop at the Ih'lagga District, where Saren lives. I'll be fine," He wasn't planning on telling them where exactly he was going but he hoped offering this bit of information would put Allan and Eshen at ease. His voice was shaky as he spoke, but his expression remained neutral. There were too many things happening and he really just wanted to get away from it all. "Just... Message me if you need me. I promise I'll be there, wherever you are," He turned his head away from them as he tried to keep his composure, but it was getting increasingly difficult. He couldn't keep acting so selfishly, not when it put his friends in danger, but he also did not feel like his own home was a home at all. Not right now.

Allan sighed. The way Renakir's voice was shaky was obvious, and the way he kept looking away from them... it just was Not Very Reassuring At All. "Gonna be real dude, 'fine' doesn't mean the same things as safe and okay to me, but..." He wondered who this Saren guy was, if he was a friend then maybe Renakir would be okay, even if he said he was ... going to go home, still. But then Renakir also promised that he'd be there, so that meant he would be safe, right? Allan could do nothing more than to trust that promise. "As long as you promise you'll be safe, that's fine." He eventually said, still holding Eshen and running his fingers through the other's hair - partly as a way to comfort them both, at this point.

Eshen sighed, both in exasperation, relief that he at least knew where Renakir was going to be, and in satisfaction at Allan's comforting gesture. "You're an adult, we can't stop you. Have fun at Saren's," he mumbled into Allan's abs. He did actually mean that, since he did know the guy a bit. "Tell him he still owes a snack a Snack. He'll know what you mean. Oh, and the journalist Lalisa T'Kota is after you, but you didn't hear that from me."

4

"Lalisa--" Renakir sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, I'll be careful. I'll pay you guys back, I promise. I'm sorry," He said before turning back around and heading out the door. He was serious about walking to the Ih'lagga district. Well, he would walk a little and probably transport the rest of the way. It was realistically too far to walk, but he was going to at least walk to the edge of the Khaa district. It was nice and cool. Renakir knew very well his days as the angsty Romulan-Reman teen were going to have to come to an end soon. After Saren, then he'll go home, he thought.

1

A little while later a familiar blue haired boy came to the front door of the house. He was dressed in a sharp dark green suit with a tie, completely with a Romulan Republic lapel pin too. He looked super official and ready to do some law. The man held a PADD in his hands and had fluffy blue hair. Curly at the ends with a long fringe that obscured his forehead ridges. Lun had dark droopy puppy dog eyes that shook ever so slightly. He had an emotionless stare, perhaps he could have even passed for a Vulcan. He looked young, but so did all Vulcanoids under the age of 100. The resemblance he shared with Alizati was unmistakable, they even dyed their hair the same colour. It was quite a coincidence too that they also both shared the same resting bitch face, it was a Vulcan thing and it seemed that specific condition also ran in the family. Lun ran the bell and awaited a response.

Brokuk answered the door, squinting at the very official-looking man behind his sunglasses. Thankfully, he was clothed now, but just in a t-shirt and sweatpants. That was fine, though. This was his vacation home, so he could wear whatever he wanted. "Hey dude, what's up? Is this the census? Or?"

Lun was unsurprised when a Reman answered the door, it was a Reman district after all. Lun was unafraid and his face remained unchanged. He looked the man up and down once before looking back up at his face. Casual-- handsome, did Lun have a thing for Remans? Maybe. He kinda had a thing for men in general, but that was neither here nor there. "I'd like to speak with the owner of this house," He said in perfect Vulcan monotone, yet he was speaking Havrannsu. Fluently. Lun was a man of many talents.

"Uhh, that's me, what do you need? Our rates are pretty decent, if you wanna stay for a bit," he grinned, "it's also Chadrix over there, though, uh - yo, Chad! Fancy guy wants to talk to us," he called, and Chadrix came walking over.

"Hm?" Chadrix asked as he walked over to Brokuk, putting a hand on the shorter man's shoulder as he looked at the fancy man in front of him. "We own this house, yes. Have for years."

Allan, meanwhile, had woken up just a little bit when Brokuk called Chadrix over, blinking slowly and ... was that Alizati? No, probably just like... his brother or something. One of his random family members maybe. Too sleepy to find out... yet.

Our rates-- what was this sort of place? He was not here looking for any sort of service. He did not comment when the Remans called him a 'fancy guy', he knew he looked a bit too dressed up for a stroll on the beach but he was here for work. Lun looked at the two Remans, unamused. "My client has just negotiated a contracted to purchase this land, however seeing as this house and the land its on belongs to you, we will need your permission to close the deal. My client will pay you the full market price for this land as well as a relocation fee to allow you to find new accommodation," Lun explained, again in textbook perfect Havrannsu. He was a man skilled with words and it showed. His gaze stayed the same, eyeing the two Reman men. He was just acting on behalf of his client, he had no opinions on the matter.

"What!? Dude, we -" Brokuk started to say.

"What's the market price- and if I may, what is your name?" Chadrix asked. He was in no way wanting to sell the land, but he was curious on what the price would be.

"My name is Lun e-Kota Tr'Rylov. And my client will pay you a million iaehhs, the exchange is 20 bars of gold pressed latinum. I am also open to negotiations on the price. Currently this land is worth half of that," He told the two, his dark eyes shaking ever so slightly as he spoke. Lun had pouty green lips and a calm demeanour, it was hard to believe this boy could pilot a warbird. He stared at the two Remans, eyes colder than their homeworld.

Chadrix blinked very slowly. Had he heard the man right? 20 bars of gold pressed latinum? That was an incredible amount. "...do we have a date on when we must decide whether to take that offer by?" He asked. Again, he didn't think he would sell the land but... 20 bars was 20 bars.

Allan, meanwhile, heard the name and squinted. Okay, so this was Alizati's cousin or something. Weird. Wait, no! Lun was Alizati - well, Dzharok's grandson, that was right. Except he was older than Allan would have expected the grandson of Alizati to be. "The fuck? Alizati's grandson has that much money?" He clearly wasn't completely following the conversation.

"My client would like to begin renovation as soon as possible, I believe if you want to negotiate it is in your best interest to do so now with me. My client is highly illogical and I predict would be even more difficult to negotiate with than myself," Lun told the Remans. He heard another voice from the house, but he did not know who 'Alizati' was so he chose to ignore the peanut gallery. "I have the full contract with me if you would allow me in and we can discuss the details," Lun kept his emotionless tone, speaking slowly and carefully. His voice sounded like a deeper version of Alizati's. After all Dzharok had a deep voice, but Alizati-- to separate himself, purposefully pitched his own vocal processor higher.

Brokuk was definitely upset with this whole situation but didn't show it. He simply followed Chadrix and Chadrix gestured for Lun to come inside.

"Of course. We have not yet reached a decision, but I am willing to read the contract to see that I am aware of the details." Chadrix said, trying to be as professional as possible. Out of the two of them, he definitely was the more .. polished one. He knew how to act it, at least.

Lun followed the men into the house, walking slowly with perfect posture. He held his PADD in one hand and the other was by his side. Oddly enough him and Alizati also shared the same walking pattern, slow, very aware of their space, and to blend in Lun kept comfortable Vulcan distance from the men. Within stabbing range, but he was not worried about violence. He eyed the human he noticed in the house, strange, he didn't think the Khaa district was a very human-friendly place, but IDIC after all. His eyes did not linger on Allan for too long as he had official duties to attend to first. "I have the contract translated into Havrannsu, however please note it is merely for reference. The Rihannsu contract is the only one that is legally binding," Lun said as he handed the PADD to Chadrix, assuming he was the one who would be doing most of the talking. The contract stated that Lun's client (Mr. O for now) was offering the occupants of #HouseAddress one million talons (20 bars of latinum) in exchange for complete ownership of the land and house. The occupants would be given a month to vacate the property and would be entitled to take whatever they wanted from said property.

"Hmm," Chadrix looked over the contract carefully. "If you may, could I take a moment to discuss with my partner in private?" Business partner, obviously. Clearly.

"Take as much time as you need," Lun said, no emotion in his voice. He took this moment to turn his head and look around the house. It was not exactly a fancy estate like his own 'home', but it was cozy. How long had they lived here? It seemed a bit cold to have a beach, but they were Remans and perhaps this was just summer weather to them. Lun was a Vulcan boy at heart and there was a part of him that missed the Vulcan desert. He looked at the human who had spoken before, curious boy. Although he did not initiate any conversation with him, such things were illogical, of course.

Chadrix nodded. "Thank you," he said, and he walked over to the other side of the kitchen to discuss quietly with Brokuk the details.

Meanwhile, Allan was still looking at this guy who was apparently Alizati's grandson. "... you're Alizati Dzharok's grandson," he said, unsure if the guy actually knew that or not. "Right? You even dye your hair the same."

He nodded and watched when the two Remans walked to the other side of the ktichen to discuss. He had no thoughts on the matter, he was going to let them make the decision for themselves. Lun blinked at the human when he started speaking to him. What was he talking about? He knew humans were highly illogical, but this one, he caught no ball, to use a Singlish term for the situation. "I do not know who Alizati Dzharok is," He told the other. Alizati was an alien name and Dzharok, that sounded Vulcan, but no one he knew. "I did not choose this hair colour because of someone else," He clarified, very confused but he was good at not showing it.

Did this guy really not know? Or was Allan just mistaking one thing for another? "Like... you're Lalisa's cousin, right? Uh..." He tried to remember what the dad's name was but he forgot. He might have recognized it if it was said to him, but not on the top of his head.

"Correct. My father and her mother were siblings, however we grew up together as I was taken from Vulcan during my infancy. How do you know Lalisa? "Now this was interesting, this human knew Lalisa? It was odd enough he was in a Reman district with two Remans, but even stranger that he knew his cousin. In the back of his emotionless mind there was a feeling of dread; he almost felt bad for this human for having to deal with Lalisa. She was harsh and very pushy. Romulan society was cruel and the last thing this random human needed was to get caught up in the action.

"Yeah. She went to our station to interview me," he laughed and shook his head. "Nah, she interviewed me but she came to interview Lt. Cdr. Alizati Dzharok, your grandfather. Or, I guess. He's technically your grandfather? He said something about visiting you guys, though. So I guess you'll meet hin later?" He shrugged.

"Your station, you're from 777?" Now that explained things. He was aware that his cousin had gone to the Federation station to attend a press conference. He did not watch the livestream but he could only assume she was one of the loudest people in the room, she had a very strong sense of self importance like that. "My grandfather? I do not know my grandparents," Lun shook his head, thinking this human was horribly confused. "As I said, I was taken from Vulcan at a young age, I am unaware of my family aside from Lalisa and her parents," That name again, Alizati Dzharok, a man Lun had never heard of. Seeing as this human addressed him by rank he was a Starfleet officer, but as far as Lun knew none of his family members were ever in Starfleet. "I believe you must be confusing me with someone else," He stated, his eyes shaking ever so slightly as he tried to hold eye contact with the strange human.

"Nah, I think you just don't know him, it uh, it makes sense. Might be best to talk with.. Lalisa about it, I uh- sorry," Allan turned back around, he didn't know what he thought would happen with that conversation but at least he'd learned some more stuff about this crazy little family.

Chadrix had been discussing with Brokuk for quite a while. Eventually the two sat back down at the table. "... we've made the decision not to sell the property, despite the generous offer," He said calmly. "I hope you can understand."

"Lalisa and I are not on speaking terms," Lun replied almost immediately after Allan had finished speaking. It seems quick responses weren't just an android thing after all. He then turned to Chadrix when the other approached him. "That's unfortunate. I will tell my client," Lun said, not giving away anything in his voice although his words sounded... Ominous. "Then we have nothing further to discuss."

Chadrix nodded. "Yes. Thank you for the offer, however this place means too much to us on a level more important than monetary value." He looked at Brokuk, who nodded. Yes, this was the right decision for sure.

"I see. Sentiment is illogical, but I will not say any more on that," He gave both Remans the look of Vulcan judgment before turning to Allan to give him the same look. Three illogical species in one house. He gave them a nod and headed towards the door to leave. This wouldn't be the last time they heard from Lun or his client, certainly not.

1

2

It was, once again, a lovely summer day to wake up to. The sunlight poured in through the curtains as Brokuk looked out the window at the beach below, a pleasant sight greeting his eyes as he grinned. He got dressed and put on his shades before looking at the two others, still sleeping, sunlight from the window shining on them and yet those boys stayed asleep. Crazy! He went downstairs to make some coffee, eating a leftover macaron when Chadrix came down the stairs.

"Morning," Chadrix said as he shuffled over to where Brokuk was sitting, still wearing his pajama robe and epohh-shaped slippers. He gave the shorter man a small kiss to the head as he went over to the kitchen counter, opening the fridge. "Do you want anything for breakfast?"

"Yeah, I think- wait," Brokuk said as his brain thought of an idea, "Allan's still asleep, right?"

Chadrix took some eggs out of the fridge but stopped to look at Brokuk, squinting. "...he is, why?" He figured it had something to do with a prank or other sort of shenanigan. Brokuk was well known for those, especially at times like the morning.

"Well," Brokuk said with a grin, "I think I have an idea, but you'll have to trust me on it, okay?" Brokuk normally came up with a lot of crazy ideas, so he hoped that Chadrix would sort of just Trust Him on this one.

Chadrix nodded. "Sure. Just as long as it doesn't involve silly string like last time." [D] He then listened to Brokuk describe, in elaborate detail, an idea that thankfully did not involved silly string being used at all. Because that was an absolute nightmare to clean up.

1

Brokuk had been waiting here for maybe half an hour, just playing a game mindlessly on his PADD while Allan slept. Eventually, though, Allan woke up and Brokuk took the thin piece of silk green gloth in his hands and twirled it around, making it ripple like water in between his fingers as he stood in front of the window ever-so-kindly so that Allan wouldn't get the sunlight in his eyes. "Morning," he said, before actually shutting the curtains and sitting down on the bed next to Allan, kissing his cheek. "Sleep well?"

Allan yawned as he sat up, watching as Brokuk closed the curtains and not quite catching what was in his hands as his eyes blinked awake. "Hm..?" He smiled at the kiss on the cheek, looking over at the other. "Yeah, pretty sure I did, at least," he yawned yet again. Sleepy. He got up and got dressed, wearing a simple but stylish outfit as usual, before sitting back down on the bed and kissing Brokuk's cheek right back. "And how are you this morning?"

"Good," Brokuk laughed, putting a hand on Allan's cheek to kiss him for a moment before taking that thin silk green cloth again and bringing it up to Allan's face as well. "I'm going to blindfold you, okay?"

2

Allan was sleepy, being kissed, and gently being asked if ... Brokuk could blindfold him? "Wh.." Allan blinked ahead at the other man, before nodding, because he couldn't really come up with any scenarios in which he wouldn't like the outcome. "Yeah, sure." He also laughed. "It's not the silly string again though, right?"

Brokuk laughed again and nodded. "No, no silly string this time. Chad made me promise on that," he smiled as he put the blindfold gently onto Allan, tying it carefully. "I'm going to lead the way. Just don't let go of my hand, okay dude?" He put his hand into Allan's own, standing up and beginning to lead the other downstairs.

"Thank God," Allan laughed. The silly string fiasco truly was the worst. He kept a tight grip on the other's hand, especially as they went down the stairs slowly and carefully. "Hopefully I never have to see that stuff again."

"I don't think it was as bad as everyone says it is buuut okay," Brokuk said, taking his time as they went down the stairs. "I think you'll like this one. It's like uh, an early birthday present, since you won't actually be here on your birthday."

2

"Really?" Allan asked, smiling as he hit the bottom of the stairs and was led across the house to a point to where he was instructed to put on his shoes while blindfolded, which honestly wasn't hard, before holding Brokuk's hand again and being led out of the house. "That's sweet of you, actually. Here's to hoping it's not something totally ridiculous - although, honestly, even if it is, I'll still love it, probably."