The Proposal, Part 1

Posted on Mon Sep 29th, 2025 @ 10:39pm by Lieutenant JG Ryan Kellerman & Lieutenant Darius Korveth

3,019 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: What was Lost is Found
Location: Lohlunat Festival, Suraya Bay, Risa
Timeline: Summer 2392

It was Summer Break and there would be no lectures, no debate, formal or informal, no essays, and no final exams. There wouldn’t even be pizza from Benji’s across the road from the Academy. So Darius Korveth wasn’t worried about stardates or uniforms. There was only one thing he was worried about. What would happen on this trip.

He’d been truthful with his boyfriend Ryan. Mostly. When he had asked him to come, he’d told him that he’d been planning this vacation for months. That was true. He’d told him that he wanted it to be special. That was true. He’d told him that it would be just the two of them (except the Risans), no family, no classmates, and no other friends. Just the two of them. That was true as well.

He’d told him to pack light, that they probably wouldn’t be spending much time outside of the cliffside villa he’d rented. Everything they needed would be there. Restaurants, snorkeling, parasailing, rock climbing, and half a dozen other activities they could choose from. Then there was the room itself. Darius had made more than one innuendo about the time they would spend there.

Nothing he'd said had been in any way inaccurate, actually. He had just left out the most important part. The real purpose for inviting him was the reason that made him concerned about the results.

Ryan was highly intelligent, and Darius knew he'd make a great security officer and investigator when he graduated. But Darius also knew that he was quite good at what he was being trained to do, what he was naturally good at. Deception and subterfuge. Misdirection. In this case, it was for a good cause.

He was confident that his boyfriend was in the dark, and that his revelation would be the biggest and hopefully the best surprise of his life.

As the two of them stepped into the lobby, Darius looked over at Ryan. “So, what do you think so far?” he asked as he reached over to take the other man's hand.

Ryan’s hand fit into Darius’s like it had been built for it, broad palm against broad palm, their fingers weaving with the simplicity of sheer muscle memory. The lobby smelled overwhelmingly of salt, lavender, and hibiscus, the ocean rolling not far beyond the closed doors. Light splashed down in even rectangular shafts from high skylights, bending and warping across the rock-hewn floor in ribbons of gold and lemon-orange.

“What do I think?” Ryan said, a little dazed, a little overwhelmed. He’d grown up on sweetcorn and soybeans along the seemingly flat miles of southern Illinois. Risa felt like some kind of fever dream–like stepping into one of those cheesy holos his sister Phoebe used to play of faraway beaches they had never before visited. He let out a deep, tiny laugh under his breath, a little disbelieving. “I think this place makes the Academy look like some boring retirement facility.”

He squeezed Darius’s hand, grounding himself, because this place was too much, and Ryan could always look to his man for stability. The colors of Risa, the sound of festival drums rolling faintly through the open balcony doors, and the flashes of bright fabric and painted faces. It was a veritable carnival of light, and Ryan couldn’t tell if he was giddy or terrified to be trapped deep inside it.

An attractive woman who was probably only a few years older than the couple entering the lobby, standing behind a reception desk, smiled widely at them.

She had worked at the resort long enough to recognize casual and know the difference between casual and committed. The two men walking toward her were committed. That part she knew.

Of course, it also helped that Darius had contacted them ahead of time to let them know of his plans. She assumed that Orion was Darius, given his last name, but she couldn’t be one hundred percent sure. So she approached them carefully.

“What brings you here to Risa?”

“The festival for one, “ Darius replied with a grin, “but I think the number one reason is to impress my boyfriend.”

Ryan studied the woman–her face was striking with high-set cheekbones, deep brown hair the colour of ripe chestnuts. Her lips were full and shapely, curving into a tiny pout over a small mouth.

The woman’s hair was tied back with an orange-coloured ribbon, swept sideways, letting her hair fall in loose coils to her neck. She wore a floral dress decorated with teal and lemon-yellow leaves and a midriff cutaway that seemed to be the current trend for women that year.

She glanced from Darius to Ryan. “Well,” she said with a sultry smile. “All that is ours is yours.”

Darius returned the smile in the same way it was delivered.

“I appreciate it, but I can't say it's reciprocal. I'm not planning on sharing.”

“Korveth and Kellerman, I made a reservation.”

“Ah, yes, I recall the names. I’m sorry your first choice wasn't available, but it's the highest villa at the resort with the most spectacular views, so it tends to go very quickly, especially during the Terran summer. We still have your second option available. It’s also cliffside, just not as high up.”

“But you’re in luck. We just had a cancellation. Something about Betazoid fever. It’s a bit more secluded and sits directly on the beach. It’s a bit of a walk to get to, and you probably won’t see the sun until mid-morning, but the sunsets are gorgeous from what I hear.”

Then she lowered her voice conspiratorially. “But the view outside your room may not matter.”

Then in a normal tone she continued, “Which villa would you like?”

Ryan didn’t even glance at Darius. He was too busy studying the woman’s ribbon, the way it curved across her hair like some errant paint stroke. Secluded, she’d said. On the beach. Sunset. He could already hear the surf at night–steady as a metronome. He could already picture himself tangled up in the sheets with the man beside him, listening to the tide go in and out. The thought hit him in the chest hard, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

“Beach sounds good,” he said. He squeezed Darius’s hand again, harder this time, a signal. No uniforms. No lectures. Just the two of them.

Darius squeezed Ryan’s hand in return. He recognized the signal, he’d experienced it before.

“You heard him,” he said, “we’ll take the one on the beach.” He chose not to reply to her comment about not caring about the view outside the room, but he really wasn’t thinking about sunsets at the moment.

“She handed them each a small PADD. “These are your entry codes,” she said, “no one else has them and they change everyday. It’s just another layer of protection, not that you’re likely to need it.”

Both men took the small devices and began walking toward the beach.

“Did I tell you I loved you today?” Darius asked as they descended the path toward their villa.

Ryan laughed–a low noise in his throat that sounded like a half-breath. The path bent downward in switchbacks cut into the cliff side, the Risian ocean gleaming through palms and broad-leafed vines like glass that had been worn down and hammered. Sand and salt clung to the air, and both men could feel it on their skin.

He tightened his grip on Darius’s hand, felt the warmth of him like something alive in his palm. He stopped for a moment, forcing him to stand closer before lifting their held hands to his face. Ryan kissed the back of his hand slowly, his eyes closing as if he wanted to hold onto the moment forever.

“You did,” Ryan said. His voice had softened–a little too much than he’d hoped, almost a whisper. He looked into Darius’s eyes for a moment, then added, “Say it again.”

‘Well, I could do that,” he said, his expression shifting to something that could have been described as a smirk to the casual observer.

“But you know what they say, ‘showing is better than saying’.”

They were already looking into each other’s eyes, their faces just a few inches apart. Darius leaned forward, closing the scant distances, and pressed his lips against the other man’s.

Ryan could feel a spark igniting something along his spine as Darius leaned into the kiss. It was like lightning coursed up his spine and down his arms, making his legs weak. That current always lived inside him whenever his boyfriend had touched him in that simple, casual way that always felt anything but casual.

“Then show me,” Ryan murmured, gently pulling away from Darius’s lips.

Darius was tempted to show Ryan exactly how much he loved him, right then and there. Getting down on one knee on the narrow path would have been awkward, but doable. But that wasn’t how he had it planned. If it had been sunset, he would more than likely have tossed those plans aside and just lived in the moment.

But it was only mid-afternoon. So instead, he decided on a somewhat different course. One he was sure, from previous experience, that Ryan wouldn’t mind.

“I know this is Risa and all, but if I showed you the way I want to show you, it would require us getting naked, and our villa might be better.”

“But hey, if you want to be adventurous, I’m not saying no.”

The path ahead wound down toward a scintillating strip of sand, still high above the churning sea where it turned white as it met the rocks. A warm breeze lifted the hair at his temples. He kept Darius’s hand in his, thumb brushing slowly across his knuckles.

“Tempting,” Ryan said, a small grin beginning to show. He’d never been one for a public spectacle, not when it came to love. The Academy taught him to keep things as buttoned-up as possible–straight lines and straight faces, but Darius had always been the one to unfasten all that. He glanced sideways, catching the glimmer in his boyfriend’s eyes, the daring behind it all. “I think I’d rather have you without an audience.”

Darius nodded. “I’ve never made out in the sand; it would probably be pretty nasty anyway. A bed is a much better option.”

“I made dinner plans for tonight. I hope you don’t mind. A Terran Asian place. It’s kind of fancy. I know you like Dim Sum.

“But that gives us a few hours.”

He took Ryan by the hand, and they continued their way down the path to their villa.
They first saw the patio, which was around 100 square meters, with a round table with an umbrella above it. Four comfortable outdoor-type chairs sat around it. It sat right on the beach. The water was about nine meters from the edge. But it was low tide, so it would be much closer at high tide.

Inside, it was steel and glass with a view from every room. It wasn’t particularly large, about 458 square meters, but it was everything their hostess had promised. There was a small kitchen area with a newer replicator, as well as a stove and oven. There was a large sitting area. There was a small bedroom beside the kitchen and a short flight of stairs to the primary bedroom, which was close to 15 square meters with an open sliding door leading out to a balcony. The wind blew the white curtains gently back and forth.

“You have no idea how much I want you right now. How much I’ve been thinking about this. How much I just want to kiss you, to make out with you.”

He crossed the room slowly, each step calculated, not because he didn’t want to run to him, but because he wanted to savour the pull of Darius. The inevitability. When he reached him, he placed his hands on Darius’s chest, steadying himself on the heat beneath his boyfriend’s shirt. His fingers curled a little, clutching the fabric, as if trying to prove to himself that this was not another dream.

“I don’t want to rush it,” Ryan murmured, though his entire body betrayed him–his pulse was now wild, his breath becoming uneven, nerves awake and alive. He pressed his forehead to Darius’s, closing his eyes for a second. “But I do want you.”

“You know I hate rushing things, too. We have plenty of time. We can take it as slow as you want. As we want.”
The half-Orion lifted his arms and put his hands behind Ryan’s neck. They were already close, their foreheads touching, he pulled them even closer. Their still fully clothed bodies were pressed tightly together.

Then Darius kissed him again. This kiss, though, was different from the one they had shared on their descent. It had been teasing, romantic, almost tentative. This one was smoldering, packed with heat that involved not just lips, but dancing tongues.

Ryan slid a hand around Darius’s waist, sneaking behind the fabric of his shirt, feeling the heat of his toned back muscles. He pulled him closer as they kissed deeper, passion and desire evident.

He let himself fall into it–the taste, the press, the rawness of it all. Darius’s mouth felt like heat and salt. It startled Ryan how every kiss felt like the first, like a fire had been lit under his skin. His hand roamed instinctively, mapping the landscape of the Orion-hybrid’s back, each muscle already known, but he never tired of rediscovering them.

---

Their lovemaking had been both exhilarating and exhausting. Afterward, they fell asleep curled around each other. Darius' internal alarm clock went off five hours later. His legs entangle around Ryan’s. His eyes fluttered open, and he found himself staring at the back of his boyfriend’s neck.

For a few moments, he just lay there, breathing slowly and even. He was tempted to stay that way for the rest of the night, sated from their very busy afternoon. But he had plans. Important Plans. Perhaps the most important plans he’d ever had. So, he kissed the back of Ryan’s neck, not to rekindle the fire, merely to wake him up.

“Hey,” he said, “We should probably clean up.”

Ryan stirred at the kiss. A little faint noise caught in this throat, sort of a mix of contentment and protest. He rolled his shoulder against Darius for a second, but then turned just enough for his eyes to meet him.

“Clean up?” he murmured, his voice still sleepy. “Can’t we sleep longer?” He stretched, flexing his toes under the sheets, then let his gaze soften on Darius.

“I made early dinner reservations at this new place that is supposed to be really good. But, if we hurry, we should be able to take a walk along the beach and catch the sunset.”

He reached for Darius’s hand beneath the covers, catching it in his own, his thumb tracing over his green knuckles. “Alright,” he said quietly. “Lead the way.”

“Well, “ his lover replied as they walked toward a door in the back of the room that led to a bathroom and a large shower that could be utilized as either a sonic shower or a water one (it was Risa after all). “I’d suggest we share the shower, you know, to conserve water and all. But we are in a rush. Maybe we can do that later.”

“You want to go first?”

Ryan smirked. “Let’s not get frisky.”

“That's what I was saying. Just a regular shower for now. we need to get rid of the smell, not produce more of it.”
“I hope you like the bistro I picked out. It’s not fancy, but it's supposed to be good.”

They paused in the bathroom, and he kissed Darius’s neck and then nuzzled his nose into it with a satisfied sound. Ryan knew he was right–they had somewhere to be and something told him it was important to Darius.

“I’m sure it will be delightful,” Ryan said, taking a pair of towels from a shelf. He watched as Darius stepped into the shower. “You go first. I need to shave.”

Darius closed his eyes as he stepped into the shower, forcing himself to slow his breathing. Earlier, his breathing and heartbeat had been accelerated because of passion. Now they were for a different reason entirely. Nerves.
He'd arranged everything ahead of time. Checked and rechecked half a dozen times. He'd even snuck a call in just before their shuttle had landed to make sure the timing was perfect.

But what if it wasn't?

Worse yet, what if the timing was impeccable and Ryan turned him down?

He would be crushed, the vacation ruined, and what he thought they had destroyed.

He put those thoughts away as best he could as he stepped under the hot, almost scalding water and was finished in about fifteen minutes.

Stepping out, he grabbed a towel to dry off.

“Your turn, Ry.”

Having had a quick dry shave, Ryan shook the last of the sleep from his shoulders and let the steam curl around him. He closed his eyes and stepped under the water, letting it wash over his body.

When he finally turned off the water and stepped out, he found Darius already waiting, towel draped around his broad Orion shoulders, hair still damp. Ryan wrapped a towel around himself and smiled at his boyfriend.

“Alright,” he said, a little breathless, “lead me to this bistro of yours. Let’s see if Risa can impress us outside the bedroom, too.”

~To Be Continued~

 

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