[ussbansheec] Thinking Forward
- From: Andy Maluhia <CaptainAndy@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 02 Dec 2007 11:37:13 -0500
_Thinking Forward
_by Gillian & Shaylah Kaelyre and Ikelaeli Kaleohano
The elder of the two young women watched with arms crossed and a sour
look as the younger finished dressing. Shaylah had talked herself blue
but her younger sister just wasn't hearing it. She wished their mothers
were here, then Gillian would listen, or not. She sighed. Their mothers
never forced their beliefs on them and would be all for Gillian
following her heart. Problem was that Gillian was simply to much of a
damned free spirit. "Gilli-bean, you can't really be serious about
this.. this man."
The term for Izzy's gender stuck in her sister's throat like a sour
lemon and it made Gillian frown. "Asarrah wouldn't be happy with you
being so sexist, Shay."
It was the truth which caused Shaylah to blush just as much as her
frustration. "Gillian, you're going to be a la..."
"Lady of Delso," she finished for her sister. It was a tune she'd heard
a thousand times. "Asarrah never put much stock in that title and I
don't either. I really like Izzy, Shay, I more than like." She stopped
putting her earrings in and looked at her sister through the mirror on
her vanity. "I'm in love with him. Deal with it."
Shaylah looked at her sister for a long time before finally sighing. She
could see it deep in the younger woman's eyes, she truly did love this man.
Iz was in a fairly upbeat mood. No sense, he'd told his mother, in
getting keyed up just because he was going to see Gillian and her
family. Alright so he wasn't too very fond of her sister for getting
him in trouble with the brass and the magistrate but he could get by
that. She was worth it. Even the fact that it seemed to be clouding
during the ferry ride over didn't bother him much. In fact, he was
almost whistling as he approached the home.
It was the huge hound's beating tail that told Mrs. Ferguson that
someone was coming so she was nearly at the door when the bell rang. The
old woman had a bright smile on as she greeted her young charge's young
man. "Welcome back, lad. Come in, the lass is still up stairs with her
sister."
"Thank you kindly, ma'am," Iz said with a smile that completely belied
his pointed ears. he held out a hand for the dog to sniff. "Hey, bruh,
how are ya, pal? Glad you haven't taken a taste for kaneka cop yet."
The huge snow white wolfhound sniffed the offered hand and then barked
loudly as his tail began to wag, which made a loud thumping sound as it
beat the floor.
Gillian smiled at the dog's bark, got up from her vanity, and stared
right at her sister. "Be nice, Shay, or I swear I'll kick your ass."
"Fine, I'll play nice", the older woman huffed. "As long as he does."
"Alright, bud," Iz said as he knelt to the dog's eye level. "But no
shedding, 'kay? It'd be an awful mess, eh?"
"They don't shed as badly as you'd think," Gillian said as she came down
the stairs. "It's the wee beasties as Nana Kathyn calls them, that you
gotta watch out for."
"Y'never know," Iz said with an amused sniff as he stood up. "Never had
a dog when I was a kid...just a monkey." He approached her then put his
arms around her for a hug. "How are ya, nani?"
"Better now," she said into his neck as she held him close. Gods he
smelled good. Stepping back a little so she could see his face she
smiled brightly, "You had a monkey?"
"Sorta,"he said with a grin. "Old Poki was my mom's and I swear he
thought he was another kid. I used to take 'im t'school just t'annoy
the teachers."
Gillian laughed, "I did that! Only it was Mama's tribble. The Klingon
kid use to freak."
"Not so sure I'd've done that," Iz said with a snort. "Bad enough my
tutu kane took me to task for it every time. Think he had to though
even he was laughing about it. Grampa was as bad me that way."
"Mama didn't approve of Gillian taking Jim to school either," Shay said
lightly. "The fur ball I think enjoyed it."
"The tribble's name was Jim?" Iz laughed brightly. "Now that's funny!
Are you a trouble maker, Gillian? Because of the four of us cousins
who're closest in age, I'm the kid who was always gettin' scolded an'
having my mom or grandparents brought up."
"She named it after Captain Kirk," Shay explained as she waved her hand
towards the sitting room. "Our mother has a very strange sense of humor."
Gillian laughed, "She can also be overly cute. The only reason I don't
have a traditional Delsoian name is because she simply had to have the
name Gillian so she could call me Gilli-bean. And yes, I was the trouble
maker. Shay's the uptight oldest, Annie's the laid back but head on
straight type, Lilah's the youngest, and I'm the opinionated trouble maker."
Iz automatically went into what he thought of as his work mode. The
last time he'd seen the woman, the one who had gotten him in so much
trouble, was when he arrested Gillian and he hadn't quite gotten over
it. "So does mine but I'm not cute by any stretch of imagination," he
said neutrally.
Gillian smiled as she took his hand and lead him to the couch so they
could sit beside each other. "Sure you are, you're very cute, even cuter
when your playing Andy Griffith."
"God my uncle's gonna laugh when he hears that," Iz snickered. He was
tense as hell now but that made it better. "There's a whole wall of 2D
stills of famous cops at the station an' he's right up there. Don't
think you got t'see that part."
"Nope, to busy being arrested for being reckless," Gillian smirked. "Cop
was a real Mayberry."
"Call me Fife then," he chuckled. "Or Friday. I have a habit, it
seems, of being literal."
"But Andy was cuter then Barney," Gillian laughed.
"Gillian," he said softly, "why do I have the feeling that your sister
is burning holes through me? What'd I do other'n arrest you?"
Looking over at where her sister was standing Gillian frowned, ~Will you
stop hovering!~ "You haven't done anything, Izzy. Her issues, not your's."
~I am not hovering,~ Shay huffed. ~I'm simply standing in the sitting
room of my home.~
~You moved out.~ Gillian retorted.
~I may no longer live here but it's still my home~ the older woman
replied. ~Now who would Asarrah and Mama be displeased with?~
~Cow~
"Something tells me I oughtta leave," Iz said as he made to get up. "I
ain't got the psi talent like my cousins but this is like when Anela's
uncle argues with his mother."
Gillian reached out and grabbed his hand as she stood, "No, you stay.
If Shaylah has problems she can leave. I'm afraid my sister's being a
bit of a bigot."
"Bigot?" he asked carefully, turning dark eyes onto the older woman.
"You got a problem with Vulcans or just us natives?"
"Men," Gillian answered for her sister. "On Delso men are still mainly
used for breeding and heterosexual couples are still looked down upon by
the upper class."
Iz's first instinct was to laugh, even as his face flushed slightly
emerald under his tan. "Oh yeah? Don't be lookin' down on your sister
because of me. That's not right and then don't be lookin' down on me
come t'think of it. You're livin' on the Hawaiian islands, lady, where
things're different."
"Actually," Shay said in her best diplomatic voice. "I live on Delso or
near the Federation Assembly. Gillian and I aren't even Federation
citizens, Delso isn't a Federation planet, and we were both born on Delso."
"We have dual citizenship because Mama's a Federation citizen by birth
and Asarrah became one when she joined Starfleet," Gillian corrected.
Taking Iz's hand she started pulling him towards the door. "Lets go down
to the beach, it's private, part of my mothers' property."
Iz grumbled something in Hawaiian under his breath that, if his mother
were present, would have earned him a glare if not a smack in the back
of his head as well. "Last I looked I wasn't a prize breeding animal,"
he snorted.
Gillian looked him up and down then smiled wickedly, "Looks wise you'd
be good as gold, work in the law is respected so that would be ok, but
no worries. You're Human and Vulcan, breeding males can only be
Delsoian, and only the top ten percent get to be that."
"Alright I get that but..." Iz ran a hand through his hair, his eyes
narrowing in thought. "Your sister thinks I'm an idiot."
"No," Gillian replied as she lead them out the back and down the path to
the beach. "She just thinks you're a man, it's nothing personal." Then
she bit her lip a moment before explaining. "My Asarrah's homeworld,
it's a female dominant culture where homosexuality is the social norm.
Shay takes our family standing way to serious and, in her own warped
way, she's just worried about how I'd be treated."
He took her hand as they walked. "And I could understand that. I
haven't got sibs but I have cousins an' it works the same. I'd have to
kill somebody who didn't make them above all else. All of us're hyper
protective of Netha. Good thing for him that her man's a good one."
Dark eyes settled on Gillian a moment. "But she thinks I'm bringing you
down."
Once they were on the beach she stopped and turned to look at him,
"She's a snob. I love my sister, don't get my wrong, but she's a snob
and I have no idea where it comes from. My Asarrah is so not like that,
she walked away from that world and its titles so she could follow her
own dream."
"Yeah and what d'you think she'd say? You already know my mom likes
you. Hell I think she likes you more'n me." Iz chuckled. "I know
Andy'll like you, too."
"My Asarrah married an off worlder, a hybrid alien, she over any one
will be supportive." She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I think both of my mothers will like you, my sister too. Shay doesn't
count, she doesn't like me either."
"Why not?" he asked after a quick kiss. "Don't tell me it's because you
like me and not a woman because that's too much like Netha's ke tutu not
talkin' to her dad and Cha Lish."
Gillian laughed, "No, we've just always butted heads. She tried to tried
to trade me for a puppy and I threw all of her toys in the pool."
"So she in't going t'stop talkin' t'you like Cha Lish's mom did when he
first left Andor?" he asked in all seriousness. "They obviously talk
now but Seren's mother still won't and it was ten years for Lish."
She shook her head when sent her mass of red hair dancing over pale
shoulders. "Na, she'd never stop talking to me. It's like my godmother
Rhi says, we might not like each other from time to time, but we always
love each other."
"Good," he said simply but then he sighed. "It's not right though,
Gillian. I'm a cop so I know not everybody likes me but I really don't
think I've ever had anyone hate me before I even opened my mouth. It
pisses me off."
"She'll get over it," She kissed him softly and smiled. "She won't be
able not to."
"I..." He dropped to the sand, disregarding the fact that it would
probably ruin his pants, then held out his hand to her in invitation.
"What happens to kids from those couples?"
She gladly took his hand and let him pull her down to the sand. "The
kids from what couples? Breeding males? They're raised by the couple who
contacted the male for his product."
He barely held back a shiver. It sounded so cold to him. "Ah, no, I
meant in the het couples or are they not allowed to?"
"They're allowed, they get to keep and raise their own children," she
explained as she slipped of her sandals so she could bury her toes in
the warm sand. "There's been a lot of progress with the hets and lower
classes since Asarrah left, it's the upper class that's slow to change.
Sons are still sent off to boarding schools while daughters are kept at
home. Well, sons that are chosen to be breeding males go to the schools,
if they aren't picked then their apprenticed to the male couples who
hand trades and craftsmanships and such."
He put his arm around her but he just couldn't speak. The enormity of
what she was saying kept him silent and, he didn't give a damn if it was
illogical, he was fairly sure it was breaking his heart, even if just a
little. "That's..." Then he really did shiver, despite the warm sea
breeze. "Gillian, that is so cold."
"I guess so, it's simply normal on Delos. It's how my Asarrah and her
brother and sister were born, but it's also part of the reason why my
uncle left." she replied as she leaned against his warmth. "He wanted
more out of life then he could have gotten on Delos."
"I couldn't do that if I had a kid," he said quietly. "I really couldn't."
She shook her head, "Me either, nor my mothers but they didn't really
have to worry about having a son. They chose to combine their genetics
which only allowed for girls babies, no Y to add to the mix."
Iz just hmmphed softly. "Don't mind me. I'm just day dreaming an' that
all just woke me up."
"Day dreaming about what?" she asked with a smile, hoping to get away
from the cultural lesson of her Asarrah's homeworld.
"Ah, it doesn't matter," he said with a soft snort.
She shifted so she was sitting on his lap, her arms around his neck, her
smile bright and playful. "Tell me."
He wrapped his arms around her but the warmth did nothing to lighten his
mood. He rested his chin on top of her head. "Gillian, up until
lately, I had no idea why my mother was never married and I was okay
with that. She'd no different from any other mother otherwise. Hell,
if we never got married it wouldn't matter to me because I'd always love
you but..." He sighed again. "I can't do that to any kid, Gill. Male
or female it doesn't matter. God I still think part of the reason
T'Liante left was because she thought Sorrean had his son now--which he
still doesn't."
"I'm proud of my heritages, Iz, all of them but that doesn't mean I'm
going to follow every last cultural quirk." She replied as she snuggled
against him. "A wedding is a nice show if you live through it, you
should ask my mothers about their's it was nearly a nightmare, but
that's all it really is is a show. I don't think my mothers could or
would love each other any less if they weren't married, so I don't see a
desperate need for it. What matters is loving each other and if theirs
kids involved, being good parents."
He was quiet for a good long while, simply sitting there with his gaze
on the ocean. "One day, Gillian, one day. What do you think?"
"I think a little boy with your complexion, ears, and eyes and my hair
would be the most beautiful little boy in all the world," she replied as
she closed her eyes and sighed dreamily.
"Huh," he chuckled softly before reaching to gently tug a curled lock.
"Curls and my complexion'd be a killer."
Turning so she could look at him she turned a bit more serious as she
looked into his eyes. "He'd be loved too, Iz. My mothers, my
grandmothers, they wouldn't look down on him for being a boy. They'd
love him to bits."
"But if he were on their home world..." Iz shook his head.
"He'd be safe, we have one of the larger estates. He'd be welcome too,
as far as the family went, he wouldn't have a title though," she answered.
"And I'd never see him and screw titles anyway," Iz said with a snort.
"Only people around here are Anela and his great-uncle. I just couldn't
be hands off, though. I'm not like that."
Gillian smiled softly, "I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Iz.
I'd never do that to you."
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