Alternately; How I met Our Mitchell

Introduction

Mitchell's introduction to Gideon was, perhaps, as smooth as a gravel road. It'd been the very day he'd had the port for his new prosthetic installed. As it was supposed to be a permanent addition, the port was equally permanent- they'd done it surgically. And it had hurt like a bitch because his nerves were hooked hp to it so he could feel using his robot arm. Super cool, but he'd been knocked out for the procedure, because they liked him, and when he woke up they gave him pain meds. And, while killing the pain, they (and the anesthetic) made him very giggly. And by giggly, Mitchell really meant 'high as a kite'. The doctor called him a 'silly goose' as he left the babbling man and he laughed for an hour straight, because he was most certainly not a goose.

So when Irons and Gideon came in to see him, he had his flesh hand in the air, flapping around, while he giggled like a mad man. Fingers curling and uncurling, waggling around. It was like he'd never seen anything before, and it was all strange and outlandish to him. Mitchell's hand flopped back onto the bed limply and with a heavy thump, which in turn sent him into another spiral of nonsensical giggling. Suddenly he realised that his brown hair was still cut short, and when he remembered he reached up and pawed at it. Then he made a sad noise, absently noticing the two men draw nearer.

"... Is now the best time for this, Sir? I mean, well..." That was a new voice; not a doctor, not Jonathan. Mitchell didn't recognize it, but he turned to look at the pair who'd come in. There was a man there, right next to the bed, standing with Jon. "Mitchell-" and here Mitchell looked up at Jonathan " this is Gideon; you'll be working with him pretty soon." Then he nudged this 'Gideon' forward, and Mitchell stared. "You." He mumbles "You have. Uhm. Face hair." and he looks amazed at this. "On. Your face. " Mitchell affirms.

The word 'beard' had momentarily escaped him, but, ever helpful, he reached up and papped the side of Gideon's face. And then Mitchell froze, gaping at the other man. He rubbed his hand along Gideon's jaw in silence for a few seconds before dissolving into yet another fit of laughter. The stubble there scratched gently at his calloused hand, prickling gently and pulling ever so slightly at his skin. Irons looked at the poor captain, who's face looked an odd mixture of pained and amused, and hid a grin behind a hand. "You have a beard as well, Mitchell." Jonathan reminds ever so helpfully, and Mitchell releases Gideon's face to paw at his own, utterly amazed.

'Beard' Mitchell mouths to himself, his forehead crinkling in thought. "Beard." He mumbles, testing the word. It fits just right, and feels good in his mouth. The brunet beams. "Beeeaaard. Heh. Bee-yard." More giggles, Gideon twitching at the sound. "Bee. Yerd. Bees. I dun like beees." Suddenly his good mood is gone. "They sssssting. Ouch. Ow. Beard. Beeeeaaaard."

"Can we leave? He's a bit out of it, Sir." Gideon was all for taking off, but by this time Mitchell was done giggling at the existence of beards. Once more he turned his attention to the two men standing nearby. Irons and Gideon had stopped paying attention to him for the moment, talking to each other. "Jon. Jon." There was a slight sense of urgency to Mitchell's voice as he looked at his new boss. When he didn't immediately get th attention he was after, he frowned a bit. "Jon." A pause "Jooooonnnnn." And by now Mitchell was genuinely upset, a tiny frown forming.

Finally the two turned back to him, and Mitchell stared. "Hi Jon!" He sounded so happy that his greeting was really just a pleased chirp. Gideon, the new person, just put one hand to his face and grumbled. But Irons laughed a little bit, very obviously amused, and said in return "Hello, Mitchell." And the goofy, drugged man beamed at him. His apparent duty accomplished, Mitchell returned to staring at Gideon, who shifted uncomfortably. "Hi." He said quietly, and waited. "Hello. Mitchell." Gideon's voice was rather strained by this point, but the previous beaming smile on Mitchell's face returned full-force.

There was an awkward pause that the youngest of the three didn't pick up on. For a moment, all was quiet. But then Mitchell returned to his chattering, occaisionally pausing to laugh at something. Then, out of the blue, he grabs Gideon's arm. "Hey! Did. Did you know?" Mitchell is staring the poor man in the eye, intently " Your eyes. Are. Blue!" Jonathan Irons has, by this point, turned away so that no one would see him laugh into his hand. But Mitchell is waiting for a response, so Gideon opens his mouth to give him one. "Hey!" And immediately Mitchell interrupts him "I. Have blue. Eyes." And doesn't he seem so proud of that?

Gideon looks ready to leave, no matter what Irons says, and he starts to do just that. He was not usually one to let a man thoroughly embarass himself without knowing it. But Mitchell's lilting voice followed after him with a mortifying "Ohhhh. My god. You're georges. Gorgons. Uhm. You're pretty." And Gideon froze where he stood, mid-step, and twitched. Jonathan Irons, dignified as ever in his crisp suit, dissolved into howls of laughter. Mitchell giggled for a few seconds, but looked confused about it- probably because he didn't understand why his boss was cackling like he'd never laughed a day in his life.

"Jon. Joooon!" Mitchell insisted, pawing at the man's arm as best as he could. "What?" Jon asked between laughs, tears starting to gather in his eyes. "Where. Where do you. Find. All of these pretty people?" And that just set poor Jonathan Irons off again, sending him once more into a fit of uncharacteristic chuckles. "I'm leaving, Irons." That was Gideon "And we're not going to talk about this. Ever." And he shut the door behind him as he left. "Bye! Bye-bye!" Mitchell shouted after him, and waited. After a moment, Gideon reappeared in the door. "Goodbye, Mitchell." He said tightly, before leaving once more.

...

"And that's how I met Mitchell." Gideon finished, taking a deep drink. Joker was in stitches on the floor, gasping for breath and rolling around. Ilona sat across from him, chuckling lightly. Mitchell, however, sat as far away from them as possible, red cheeked with embarassment. Suddenly, he sat up straighter. A funny glint in his eye, he grinned. Then he turned to them all and said "Did I ever tell you about the time Gideon got absolutely shitfaced on my birthday?" And Ilona stared at him, opportunity presented. "Why no, you have not." She purred "Do tell."

That was when Gideon lunged for him

So. Yeah. This. I promise you that there will be equal parts silly and serious, fluff and angst. But I figured 'let's start on a good note, hm?' Because I am a writing novice, if i did piss poor tell me. Otherwise, feel free to leave me a review and imagine the stupid dance i'll do when i see it.