Live and Learn
By:
T'Sura of Vulcan
Summary- NON-SLASH! Wesley Crusher gets some love advice from Riker, evn though it's a little harsh. Wesley decides to test out Riker's new theory on a girl in Engineering.
Chapter 1
Wesley Crusher was sitting in his quarters playing a game of chess against the computer. He had stayed in his quarters for nearly a week now, trying to get over his latest crush, Maureen, who had left him for a guy who was in tactical. He was still hurt by her choice and reasons. But the computer broke through his thoughts.
"Pawn to D7. I have captured your rook."
"So, what? I've got both your rooks, your knights, all but one of your pawns, your queen and one bishop. you have all of about three pieces left and once I pick those off...CHECKMATE!"
Wesley was beating the computer at the game. However, just as he was about to move his queen in for the kill, he heard the door chime. He thought about yelling, "Not now!" but then figured it could be his mother...or worse, Captain Picard.
"Come in!"
The doors opened to reveal Commander William Riker. Riker strode over to where Wesley was sitting and took the queen right out of his hand.
"Will you stop sulking, Ensign?"
Wesley feigned innocence but was a little surprised by Riker's bluntness. "What?"
"You know what I'm talking about. Just because some girl decides to leave you for another guy doesn't mean you can just ditch duty and sulk. I put it on your duty roster that we gave you the week off. Don't let this happen againWes.Besides, we need you up at helm. Ensign Silver nearly took the ship into a black hole a few parsecs back."
Wesley was surprised that Will was taking to him about other crewmembers. "Sir, did you really come here to talk to me about Ensign Silver?"
Riker sighed, "You're right. I came to give you a couple pointers. You know, with the ladies."
Wesley Crusher gave Riker an increduluous look. "The ladies? What is this, the holodeck program for Jane Austen?"
Riker gave Wesley a silencing look in return. "Anyways, first tip. Don't go showing her all your nerdy stuff first."
Wesley scoffed at this. "And what might this 'nerdy stuff' be?"
Riker spread his arms wide. "Wes. Come on. Look around! 13th time Champion at tri-level chess? Check out the library in here, Wes. The History of the Warp Coil? Unlocking the Secrets of Alpha Centauri II? Medical technologies of the late 21st Century? Wesley, I'm going to prepare you for what the girls will say. Who cares? In case you haven't realized it, we're in the 24th century, and while it is good to read up on history, your entire book-shelf is devoted to it. And, so far I think the only other 13th time Champion in tri-level chess is Ambassador Spock himself. Do you even have room to set a picture of this girl you were so madly in love with?"
Wesley looked around sheepishly. The picture of Maureen was the background on his comm station. His stomach grew a knot at the sight of her beautiful picture. He thought about her and Lieutant, junior grade, Oxford being together and the knot in his stomach hardened. He looked back up at Riker.
"Okay. Fine. Nerdly stuff goes. What do I put in it's place? Apparently, to you, it looks like everything I own is nerdy. What about the girls who like nerds?"
Riker grinned. "Not all of this stuff is nerdy. I'll give you a tip; you can devote one, and only one, corner of your room to nerdy stuff. The Parises Squares stuff stays. That's always been a popular sport. When I was on the Stargazer with your father, we played that all the time when we weren't on duty. You know..." he said, giving Wesley a wink, "...I think I can even remember a time when your mother and Captain Picard joined in the fun."
Wesley gave Riker a disbelieving look. "My mother said she never played."
Riker sent Wesley aknowinglook. "Your mother is lying. That's how she met your dad." Riker smiled at the memories, but Wesley's expression darkened considerably.
"Don't talk about my dad." Wesley's face scrunched into a scowl.
Riker backed off. "Sorry. Out of bounds. Back to what I was saying...uh...before. Girls like athletic guys. What do you do in the holodeck, Wes?"
Wesley thought about this. "Well...sometimes I play tactical games with Worf, like target practice. I've played the captain's little racket-ball game. That's pretty fun. Parises Saquares is always an option when Jaan and I want to do something. Oh, and once I replicated the bridge of the original Enterprise. That was weird."
Riker's gaze was shifting to the port where the starts were shining brightly.
"I'll be right back Wes, but later, after your double-shift, we'll test out my theory in Engineering. There are some hotties down there. Oh, and Wes.." Riker paused and gave Wesley a warning look. "..don't tell Deanna I said that."