Orson took to a habit of waking up before Galen did. He wasn't sure what had caused it, probably because Galen had long been in the habit of taking long strolls long after others had gone to sleep. He could hear him, even in the midst of sleep, slip quietly out of their room when his mind became overwhelmed and his body needed to compensate. It made him think fondly back at the time he had met Galen outside, looked at the galaxy well beyond them a long time before any of this had happened. How things had changed.
But now he woke, drank cups of diluted caf because he hated the taste, and would leave to find somewhere for a few moments of solitude before his day began. There was a certain freedom in hearing only minute shuffling behind closed doors while he was fully dressed and ready for what the day might being. He hoped that it lent to his image of well-preparedness and allowed for people to see what potential he had when they all climbed their way out of the program. He, as of late, had been thinking less and less about them. They were become something lesser than beings to him.
They were connections. They were links to greater goals, pots of money, steep ambitions. He found himself wanting to be around them less and less, though even he had to admit they were better nightclub company than Galen, and instead of effort, his whole routine of showing at least vague interests in their ideas was becoming second-nature to him. It was always a sigh of relief when he would make it back to his and Galen's suite, shutting the door to them and everyone else behind him to be open with the one person in the entire godforsaken school he was certain wasn't an idiot.
But he had come this far already, and would not give up all the hard fought networks he had created simply because of slight annoyance. The day would come when he wouldn't have to look at them anymore and he could simply pursue his own goals without their interests in mind. Today, however, was not that day and as a sophomore Governor's son stuck his head out of a doorway to call his name in Hello, he forced his knitted smile back to his face and did what he needed.
It was an odd schedule day, he and Galen had no classes together, but both were planning to be in the research facilities by chance that evening. He was amazed with himself for looking forward to it so much. He couldn't truly remember the last time he had felt genuinely excited for other than his pending internship which was beginning to loom over him. He had told his father, who had spoken gruff congratulations into the comm before passing it to his mother who had done much the same. They had wanted no details other than cost and scheduling, and he had been more than happy to provide those in the forty-five seconds that it took before they cancelled the communication. Sometimes, more often than he knew was healthy, he wondered why they had ever decided to have children to begin with. They seemed so cumbersome in general, and for two people who didn't like each other, sharing a being must have been its own kind of living hell.
He let classes pass by meaninglessly, taking detailed notes that earned him the admiration of a first year student who sat beside him who asked if might share his data file after class. He had, of course, and said he would be more than happy to share any others after a long conversation regarding the boy's mother who was a higher up in one of the Core World Banking Clans.
But that breath of relief came when he was able to shut the research lab door behind him, taking a moment to breathe out the false frustrations of the day before he ventured into the permeated darkness to find his roommate. His and Galen's relationship was morphing as they themselves were changing. Two weeks before, when they had shared their first kiss, it had seemed like something out of an odd dream to Orson. Three days later when he had pulled their bodies together, holding him close, tasting him, feeling him begin to settle under his skin, he had realized how deeply this might truly run.
He was experienced in this sort of thing, even on Lexrule when he had briefly been involved with an older woman who helped secure his place in the program (alongside his father's money). He knew the power that sex held over people, how physical intimacy was often connected with just how much they were willing to do for you. He had slept with many people, people he needed to sleep with and strangers he wanted to sleep with when the alcohol buzzing in his brain and the ache in his body had made it seem like a very good idea. This however, had proven itself to be very different.
With the others, it had been clear what his goals were. A single night, insurance for his future, something to forget when he should have been remembering. This was not the case with Galen. When Galen would reach across the small table they had taken to sharing for a few meals a week and place his hand over Orson's to keep it from tapping on the marble, he found himself craving the warmth after it disappeared. When Galen hadn't shaved in a couple of days because he had been too busy welding crystals together and the scruff of his face rubbed against Krennic's, he found himself enjoying the strange sensation. When things would start getting heavier and he would be tugging at Galen's worn tunic to feel his skin under his fingers, he found himself almost hurt when Galen would pull away.
For once in his life, there were actual emotions tied to this. It had occurred to him that perhaps that was how it should be. That it was very human to become tied to a person you shared things like this with, but that didn't mean he had ever done it. Three weeks and Galen had never tried to undress him, not even tugging at his boots. Three weeks and his friend, his lover, his roommate had not pressed him to have sex like all of the others had, he seemed perfectly content to wait. He had to admit that part of him missed those encounters, the rough passion, the haste of undressing someone, of a goodbye that had never really started with a hello. But this, he knew, had given him something different.
Like now, when he saw Galen perched over a set of two crystals, a small green flame extending from the torch in one and a pair of metal tongs held tight in the other, he smiled without realizing it. He smiled at Galen's ridiculous glasses that he was certain the man might wear outside of the laboratory if Krennic didn't give him such a hard time about them; he smiled simply for being in Galen's company.
"Hello." He said, setting his band and datapad down, pulling his own blueprint sheets from his bag so that he might work under the strange blue glow. He didn't ask if he could join Galen, he was certain that he wouldn't refuse him, or perhaps, though he would never admit it, he was afraid he would refuse him.
"Hello," Galen said, his accented voice sounding lifted at seeing Orson, but strangely off key. Krennic glanced up at him, trying to discern what the cause might be, but as per usual, Gale's face gave nothing away but his passion for the two crystals in front of him, finally joining together after what seemed like an infinite amount of waiting.
"Are you alright?" Galen said nothing this time, and Krennic was certain that something had happened. Something serious, even, with this kind of response. "Did something happen?"
"Yes." Galen let out a small sigh that he did whenever Krennic knew he was being pushy. "It is over now, though." And he moved the tongs as if indicating he genuinely did not want to speak anymore about it. So Krennic, always perceptive, said nothing else to him and instead began shading in the electric requirements for the recreation facility he was designing. It was one of the amenities the Brentaal program did not have, and one that the Republic would be financing under his supervision that summer. He had included space for all of things he would want: a swimming facility, military-grade training program spaces and equipment, an outdoor enclosure. If they followed his plans and recommendations for commodity financing, it would be a masterpiece and useful bit for the program.
Now he found himself deep in the calculations required to make the building operate properly. He knew there were students in the program that doubted his abilities, he could feel their whispers behind his back sometimes when he wouldn't do as well on an exam as he had anticipated, but he was also comfortable in the fact that they were very wrong about him. They hadn't seen his mind at work when it was calculating foundation estimates, or designing corridors that would appear large but conserve space. They hadn't seen his eyes for color in its mathematical applications of perception and size. Therese were things he was well aware that they would never understand. But, as was his usual state of mind, he was fine with being the only one to truly understand his own genius. There would come a day soon enough that others would realize it as well.
He felt Galen's eyes on his on occasion, the stare almost a physical presence in such a quiet room. It would happen most often when he would place his pen between his teeth, spinning it to try and reason out a final, unreachable number, or when he would run his hands through his now curly hair. He smirked a little at that, though Galen had never pressed him for more than what they were doing, he was certainly thinking about it. That, he could wait for.
He wasn't sure how they worked. He was on his third page of schematics when his stomach was threatening to tear a hole it itself from being empty since the early lunch he had taken that morning before afternoon lecture and study hall. He looked at Galen, who, at his gaze, released the cap trigger that kept the small green flame burning. "Why don't we go get something to eat?" Galen asked, a hint of humor under his still troubled tone.
Krennic huffed a small sound of agreement, marking his place and rolling up his charts. He watched Galen, who he know noticed was short some equipment. "Where is your datapad?" He watched Galen's ears turn red as they usual did, that blush spreading down his as he cocked his head towards the garbage can. Krennic stood, pulling his bad around his shoulder, and looked into the bin to see Galen's outdated pad amongst the trash, the screen shattered into an unreadable web. "What happened?"
"It is nothing, Orson." Galen said, but now Krennic knew. Not who it was, of course, but that this wasn't an accident.
"It isn't nothing, Galen. How much work did you lose?"
"Only a slight amount. I keep most of my notes on paper." He said quickly. "Please, let's just go eat. I will deal with it later."
Krennic said nothing, knowing better than to push it. It was undoubtedly one of the complete idiots who inhabited the school who had done this. Galen wasn't well-known, mostly since he refused to speak to most people and they, in turn, did not take the time to approach him. He was a semi-outcast who would have lived on the complete periphery if not for his incredibly high grades. Top in the class in almost every class: math, science, politics. His ability to absorb and transform information was unmatched, and Orson knew there were some that would hate him for it. But this, this was extreme. He tamped his anger down, shouldering his bag as Galen put away his goggles before they walked out of the lab. It was dark again, the halls bustling with people returning to their rooms or going to the library to work. He hoped that dinner might still be open for them as they pressed through the halls in silence.
"There he is." The voices almost stopped Galen cold, but Krennic reflexively grabbed his arm to keep him moving forward. "He's a got a friend with him now."
"Yeah," Krennic heard another one, getting closer to them. "But who's he?"
"Probably another one of those scholarship pieces of…" Krennic stopped and spun around, two older, large human males almost running into him. His eyes bore into them as their sentence stopped. He extended a hand, flexing his fingers, "Orson Krennic." He said, but the older student didn't take it. "Can I help you with something?"
"I don't think so." And the one had been talking first put a hand on his chest, pushing him backwards so that he stumbled slightly. "Unless you can get your friend here to stop fucking up our curve."
"He wouldn't be if you weren't doing so badly to begin with," Krennic said, immediately realizing his mistake. But he was tired and hungry and angry at these idiots for destroying the one nice thing that Galen had been able to buy for himself.
"Orson." He heard Galen say, but it was too late to stop them really.
"What was that?" There was a crowd starting to collect around them. "You think we're stupid?" Krennic knew that in fact, they were not stupid. They had waited until Galen was alone to break his data pad, and now, they were about to try and fight him with no one but Galen to support. But the angry, unyielding Krennic won out of any hope of soothing the situation over.
"I didn't say it." He said, "You must have already been thinking it." And then a fist collided with his stomach on the last syllable and he was staggering backwards as the back of another hand connected with the side of his face to knock him to the ground. A heavy weight started to press on his chest as one of them climbed on top of him, throwing punches into his head and shoulders in odd intervals, some of which he blocked, and he even landed one on the boy's nose with a sickening cracking noise, watching blood fall from that onto his uniform in the seconds he could keep his eyes open.
It was getting harder to breathe, the weight pressing on his lungs making it almost impossible for him to catch his breath under the onslaught of attacks being pressed on his face. They came hard and fast, and he could taste blood in his mouth as his teeth cut against his check, he could feel it dripping on his face as his nose started to leak. He was starting to feel dizzy, the room spinning from lack of oxygen when suddenly the weight was gone. He gasped, head throbbing, and turned on his side to see both of his attackers crumpled to the ground, Galen standing over them without a scratch. The crowd around them was silent as Galen fell to his knees beside Krennic, moving his hair out of his face, and hoisting his hands under his arms to lift him to his feet.
"Orson," Galen said softly, but he still hadn't caught his breath, leaning heavily on his friend. His injuries were starting to throb, and he could hear the loudspeaker announcement to clear the halls. The two who had attacked them were starting to scramble to their feet, looking at Galen with almost fearful expressions before they took off to get away from the administration who was set to arrive. "Hold your nose, its bleeding."
He pulled what looked like a glove from his bag and handed it to KRennic who began to mop at the blood on the underside of his face, as the head administrator pushed through the crowd to get to them, bellowing for others to leave the scene behind.
Two hours later, and they were sitting in a restaurant not far from school grounds, eating an expenses-paid dinner since they had missed the opportunity for dinner by being assaulted in the hallway. After Krennic had gotten his nose and cheek to stop bleeding, the damage, except for some visible bruising, was mostly managed. Galen didn't have a scratch on him, and Orson was dying to know how he had taken them both down so easily.
"I didn't picture our first date quite like this, Galen." After Galen had not spoken since they had gotten their menus, he tried to lighten the mood. To his amusement, Galen's face reddened in the dim light of the restaurant, and he nodded his head in agreement.
"No." He said. "I thought we would both be in good health."
The food was delicious and the conversation changed from the fight to their relationship to their schoolwork to their aspirations. It was becoming increasingly easier for Galen to talk freely, and their conversations flowed easily between them like it could with no others they knew. But still, Krennic was burning to know how, why, what Galen had done.
"How did you stop them, Galen?" Galen coked his head in confusion. "They ran off afraid of you, I was just wondering what you did."
"I am stronger than I look." Galen said quietly as they stood to leave. "And I couldn't stand by and let something happen to you, Orson." He added as a quiet afterthought that had Krennic smiling a painful grin against bruised cheeks as they turned to leave the restaurant.