A Proposal - Backlog

Posted on 08/12/2021 @ 2:16pm by Lieutenant Commander Kiernan Gallagher VII & Lieutenant Oskar Ruseka MD

Mission: S4E1: Time to Fly
Location: Temporary Living Assignment - Starfleet Barracks
Timeline: Day 1 at 0000

"I accepted a transfer and I want you to come with me."

Kiernan paced back and forth in the living room of the temporary living quarters that he and Oskar had been assigned once the Crazy Horse had returned to Earth. On the couch sat Otis, his head swinging back and forth as he watched his human pace between the two chairs that were adjacent to the couch. With his teeth, Kiernan picked at a hangnail on his thumb. Out the window, the day was cloudy, misty and a bit windy. The city of San Francisco looked dreary from afar. Soon, Oskar would be back with some groceries to make dinner and that would be when Kiernan would tell Oskar what he had done. He had been trying out ways to tell the older man.

Otis tooted.

Kiernan scrunched his nose and stopped to look at his dog, whose tongue was out the side of his mouth. "Not helping boy, not helping at all," Kiernan said, he waved his hand in front of his nose to dissipate the smell.

"How about... care to come with me and explore the unknown..."

Kiernan groaned at that, he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sounds like a damn recruitment poster for Starfleet..."

At that, the door to the apartment opened and stepping over the threshold was Oskar, carrying two canvas bags full of fresh groceries.

"Goodness," Oskar replied as he began to help his spouse by taking a canvas bag. "Two of these weigh about as much as you do, Kiernan," added the elder man with a bit of a chuckle. "What goodies did you get? I hope more than just a ton of vegetables," teased Oskar. "You know Otis likes his goodies too" noted Doctor Ruseka. Living together as they had been, the trio knew one another's quirks well.

Kiernan smiled at that, he didn't weigh much, so it probably was apropos. "How do you know half of that isn't for Otis?" Kiernan responded, as he moved to the taller man and took one of the bags. "I just figured since we don't have to be bound to replicators during shoreleave, I would order veggies, fruits, eggs, cheeses, tofu, coffee, tea, some movie night snacks... you know, stuff like that." He put the canvas bag on the island of the small kitchen that was provided. He began to unpack the bag and layout the groceries. Once Oskar was at his side, he lifted himself on his tiptoes and kissed the other man's bearded cheek. "Thank you for picking up the groceries."

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Oskar replied with a jovial smile and returned Kiernan's gesture with a kiss on his forehead. "You are correct though. I do not know. Half of it could be for Otis," he added with a chuckle. "Getting away from the dependency of replicators during shoreleave would be very nice. Cooking is a dying art form if you ask me. Part of me wants to just escape to some remote station somewhere or a deep space explorer, small little vessel with the need for airponics and such to grow a significant portion of the crew's food."

"That does sound lovely," Kiernan replied wistfully. In his somewhat short career, he had ran the gambit of planetside, to stations, to starships. Starships were the only place where it had been hit or miss for real food. Even though their time on the Crazy Horse had been brief, the arboretum was small and only the botanists had control over it. So there wasn't enough time to plant there, even if Oskar wanted to.

He cleared his throat, focused on the bananas and then turned his attention back to Oskar. "It's funny you should mention that..." he began, a nervous chuckle escaped from the pit of his belly. Oskar had made it an easy segway, all Kiernan had to do was run with it. "Captain D'anvers was offered a new ship, a deep space explorer, and he asked me to be his chief science officer." At just that moment, Otis perked up and jumped down from the couch and mozied on over to roam the small kitchen. He smelled the sweetness of the fresh fruit, and was going to be all too eager to get his paws on it.

"The thing is..." Kiernan bit his lower lip out of nervous habit. "The thing is, I'd be transferring out of Starfleet and into the Exploratory Corp. The Sitting Bull, that's the ship, would be going out into unexplored territory, which means finally, some true exploration and... well, I accepted." He tried to gauge Oskar's reaction, but for some reason the older man was unreadable. "And I want you to come with me."

Oskar chuckled. "You were nervous that I would say no?" asked the older man. "Kiernan, we have started something together, a family the three of us," added Oskar making note of the pug the two lived with. "Starfleet, Exploratory Corp...it does not matter to me. I would follow you to a garbage scow if it meant keeping our family together. I would join you on the Sitting Bull if the Captain will have me. If not, then Starfleet will be receiving my resignation and I will come aboard as your spouse."

At that, Kiernan closed his eyes for a moment as a goofy grin formed on his lips. "I... well," he began. He reached into his jeans pocket and retrieved a platinum ring that had been polished to a shine. He held it between his thumb and forefinger, examining it carefully before letting it fall into the palm of his hand. "While you were at Red Arrow Park with Otis, I was visiting my ma and asking her about this and telling her more about you." His goofy grin had fallen to a smile smile and then it broadened. "This is my granddad's and he left it to me to give to the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with." This time his gaze went to meet Oskar's. "I know it hasn't been long, but you are right, the three of us have formed a family. You and I fit together, in fact I never thought I would fit together so well with someone..." His eyes started to glisten and he blinked to keep the tears at bay. "You are the one Oskar Ruseka. Will you marry me?"

The elder man's medical training and quick reactionary instincts were triggered when Kiernan began to speak, but this was not a patient to analyze or lab results to scrutinize. Doctor Ruseka immediately moved closer to the man he loved, met the younger scientist's gaze with his own, and held Kiernan's face in his hands for a moment, wiping away the formation of tears that had yet to descend the slopes of the lieutenant's cheeks. "You are the one for me too, Kiernan Michael Gallagher the seventh," Oskar said with a small chuckle as he kissed the Chief Science Officer's forehead.

"It has been long enough, my dear boy," added the physician. "I'm not getting any younger you know. There are more gray and silver hairs on this head and chest every time I get into the sonic shower. We took it slow at first, sped up along the way, and we took chances. All of which were right and this...all of this feels right to me, Kiernan." Oskar held out his hand and nodded. "Yes. Yes, in this universe. Yes, in the mirror universe, yes to any place in space and time where there's you and there's a me. Yes, I will marry you."

The older man touched the ring in Kiernan's hand. "You are a clever boy keeping this from me," he said with a smirk. "I was envisioning this with me asking you, but I find this alluring and attractive."

Kiernan's cheeks became dusted with a light pink as he thought back to all the times the two shared a sonic shower, how he would run his fingers through Oskar's chest hair. The grey didn't bother him at all, in fact, he loved it.

"I guess I beat you to it," Kiernan said, his tone soft, loving. He took a hold of Oskar's left hand and slipped the ring on his ring finger. It was a perfect fit... it was meant to be. "I love you." He lifted himself up on his tiptoes and brushed his lips against Oskar's. "Thank you for wanting to be with me," he whispered against the other man's lips.

"I love you too, Kiernan," Oskar replied kissing the man's lips and then kissing Kiernan's forehead. "I don't know what all is ahead for us professionally, but on a personal level, I know we are going to be doing it together. Wherever you go, I'm going. I don't care if I have to resign my commission for that to happen."

Kiernan smiled a soft smile, and placed a hand against Oskar's chest. "I appreciate that, but I could never let you resign your commission. Though, I doubt I could stop you."

Oskar smiled warmly at the younger man. "I wouldn't sell yourself short. When you truly believe in something, Kiernan, you can be a force not to be messed with. If you felt strongly about it, I bet you could convince me not to. You do have that unique way with words and logical arguments."

"I have my ways," Kiernan said. A small smirk formed on his lips and he leaned into the other man for a few moments before pulling away. He took Oskar's hand and pulled him toward the short hallway that led to the bedroom. "I say dessert first?"

The elder gentleman scoffed in a happy tone. Then looked into the eyes of the younger man. "I never pass up dessert, especially if there's possibility of seconds." The physician smirked and followed the scientist.