Eliot

[fawnthefae]

 Fin was supposed to be taking him to meet a friend, but when he'd gotten a job at the last minute, he'd insisted Fawn Go without him.

"Eliot's nice," his brother had said. "You'll like him, Fawn. Trust me."

And so Fawn had set off to the bar. It was nearly closing time and he moved through the dwindling crowd, heading towards the bar. He was the spitting image of Fin, a bit slighter, his hair much longer. He also dressed far more casually than Fin, favouring tunics over robes.

Nervous, he took a seat at the bar and looked around.

Comments

[fawnthefae]

"Yes," Fawn beamed. "That would be nice."

[eliot_thespectacular]

"All right," said Eliot, and offered him his arm. "That's convenient too because then I'll actually know where you live."

[fawnthefae]

"Yes! And you can visit me and Fin. He might be home now. Sometimes he doesn't work so late," Fawn said. "Sometimes he works all night. I hate that."

[eliot_thespectacular]

They started walking, Eliot allowing him to lead the way. "I'm glad that he introduced us," he said.

[fawnthefae]

"Me too. Fin's nice sometimes, when he's not all... What's the word? Like vibrating with thought..." Fawn said, trying to feel out the correct phrase or term.

[eliot_thespectacular]

"Excited?" Eliot guessed. "Anxious?" Probably the latter, or something like it, if Fawn saw it as a negative.

[fawnthefae]

"...Anxious, I think? Yes," Fawn nodded, certain he'd heard that term before.

[eliot_thespectacular]

"I don't know him very well, but... that is probably the right word," Eliot said with a little smile. "It's difficult sometimes. Dealing with the anxiety in our lives. Things that worry us, that make us afraid."

[fawnthefae]

"I guess. Wish he was just happy though," Fawn shrugged, leading them along to the smaller quarters on the lower level.

[eliot_thespectacular]

"We always wish for happiness for the people we love," said Eliot gently. "But there's only so much we can do. I know he wishes the same for you... it's why he worries."

[fawnthefae]

"Yeah, I guess," Fawn said. "He needs to be more like me."

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot quirked a smile. "Perhaps we all should," he said.

[fawnthefae]

Fawn grinned at that, then stopped at his and Fin's door.

"This is our home," he said cheerfully.

[eliot_thespectacular]

"Ah, here we are," said Eliot. "Well, I don't want to keep you, if I'm going to be back tomorrow night. Will you tell Fin hello for me?"

[fawnthefae]

"Okay," Fawn nodded. "I can do that."

He fidgeted a little, then smiled. "I am happy to be seeing you again tomorrow."

[eliot_thespectacular]

Okay, that actually was genuinely nice, for someone to seem happy to spend time with him. Eliot smiled, and then leaned in and quickly kissed Fawn's cheek. "I'll be back here tomorrow at seven."

[fawnthefae]

Fawn blushed, then smiled. "I will be waiting."

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot realized belatedly that he didn't actually know how to do a date properly. When was the last time he'd been on a... okay, no, do not think about Mike. But certainly not on the ship. He'd ended up talking to one of his coworkers in Ten Forward the next morning about it, and she was delighted and offered to help. Leave it to her, she said. She was a bit of a romantic lately because she'd just gotten engaged to an ensign in engineering.

So Eliot decided to trust her, and after work focused on something he felt more confident in: finding something to wear. A lavender shirt, midnight blue brocade waistcoat, coral tie. Eyeliner. A violet tucked behind his ear. He did feel better, actually. It was no crown, but...

He arrived promptly at the door where he'd left Fawn the night before, and knocked.

[prince_of_nymphs]

It was Fin who answered the door, and he raised a brow as he looked Eliot over.

"Well, aren't you looking dashing," he smirked. "Come in, Fawn's... Getting ready? I think? Possibly just emptying the contents of my closet onto the floor for fun."

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot was a little surprised when Fin opened the door, but immediately relaxed when Fin smiled at him.

"Is it too much?" he asked. "I don't have many excuses to dress up these days..."

What he wanted to ask was, are you okay with this?

[prince_of_nymphs]

"You look lovely," Fin assured him, inviting him inside.

He was quiet a beat, then offered up something he wasn't sure he should- But felt odd not mentioning.

"I don't think he's mentioned this to John," he said. Though he wasn't sure if Fawn was intentionally keeping things from John, or simply didn't realize this was the sort of thing he should mention.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Fin had, of course, voiced exactly what Eliot had been trying to ignore. He let that statement sit for a beat and then blurted, "Is this stupid? For me, I mean. I know I shouldn't ask you this, you're not exactly unbiased, but should I try not to get too..." He searched for the word. "Invested?"

This was a first date. It was ridiculous to be thinking as far ahead as "is he going to break my heart?" and Eliot was okay with that. Honestly he was okay with the risk of a broken heart, too, but it would be good to know going in if it was an inevitability.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I... Have no idea," Fin admitted. "But these things are rarely cut and dry, are they, Eliot. Love and even friendship is a winding path."

[eliot_thespectacular]

"Of course. You're right. I'm getting ahead of myself. Sorry, I'm nervous." And it wasn't that he was nervous because of Fawn, exactly - he liked him, sure, but it wasn't like it was love at first sight or something. But he just hadn't even tried to open himself up to anyone in so long, romantically or otherwise.

And then he added, "Anyway, thanks for introducing us. I'd love to spend some more time with you too, sometime." He didn't want Fin to think that all he'd been interested in was... well, dating.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I'd like that very much," Fin said, smiling brightly. "Perhaps we can meet on the holodeck one day?"

Before Eliot could answer though, Fawn came wandering through. He was wearing Fin's green dress. A fitted, floor length piece that was almost silk in appearance and embroidered with a simple floral design. His long hair was pulled into a bun, and he wore a faint hint of blush and lip colour. Much like Fin often did.

"Hello," he said, looking just a tad bit awkward.