Kintsugi - Bonded in Green and Purple

Posted on Mon May 18th, 2026 @ 9:23am by Captain Samuel Woolheater & Legate Andrinn Orin

Mission: Interlude
Location: Art Gallery - Deck 03 - USS Elysium
Timeline: Today
1449 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Captain Samuel Woolheater – Kintsugi

((Art Gallery, Deck Three - USS Elysium))

The art gallery was still here. That alone should be some kind of statement to the universe and the Circinus galaxy. After everything that they had been through, the art gallery was typically near the top of the repair list.

Captain Samuel Woolheater stepped into the art gallery on purpose. It wasn’t perfect. It still bore the scars of the recent fighting onboard. But like everyone and everything around them, those scars were part of their identity.

Sam looked around the gallery before finally settling on a piece that spoke volumes to him. It was a Vulcan vase. It had been aboard since they left spacedock. When the ship foundered on the cosmic filament, this vase was broken. Someone, probably Teeves or Binka had repaired it. Now, it had been remade in the Kintsugi tradition. Broken. Repaired. Broken again. Repaired again. It wasn’t just a vase anymore.

The gold lines of the repair caught the gallery light. The quiet talking as people still had respect for the place. Sam’s attention turned to the details on the vase and the repair. The way the vase was once whole and now, these gold lines made it even stronger.

The fracture lines caught the light. Not hidden and not repaired to disappear. Everything was visible and made part of it.

He wasn’t alone.

Andrinn had walked into the Art Gallery and saw a face he hadn't seen in some time. He walked over and smiled as he said, "Mr. Woolheater?"

The piece wasn’t what caught his attention. Not really. It was the presence just off to his left. Familiar in a way that didn’t ask permission.

Woolheater didn’t turn right away. He didn’t need to. He already knew. A breath passed. Then…

“Legate Orin.”

"Still weird hearing that rank with my name and seeing the extra half pip on my collar. Especially....since the last time we talked.....I was still just a Consul," Orin replied as he walked over to be right next to Sam.

Samuel smiled ever so slightly, turned his head and looked at him and said, "You were...never...'just a Consul' to me."

Woolheater let the name settle for a moment, then gave a small nod. "It suits you." His gaze shifted briefly to the extra pip on Orin’s collar, then back to the man himself. "Last time we talked, things were… simpler."

A beat. Not heavy, just honest.

He glanced back toward the vase, the gold-veined fractures catching the light. For a moment, Woolheater didn’t say anything. His eyes tracked one of the repaired seams and followed it from break to break, the gold binding it together instead of hiding it.

He’d seen things break before. People. Units. Not everything got put back together. His jaw shifted slightly, then stilled.

"The ship’s not the only thing that’s changed." His attention returned to Orin. "How’ve you been holding up, Legate?"

Andrinn gently placed his hand on Sam's shoulder and said, "We're not on duty. It's Andrinn. Always has been....especially for you." Then, he let go of Sam's shoulder before saying, "I've been alright. I've.....definitely missed having you around."

There it was, that touch of his. Like a cold drink of clear, cool water in a desert. That's what being touched again felt like.

Sam turned his head a bit more and looked at Andrinn and he nodded, "I've always liked that name. Andrinn."

Andrinn let his hand slowly fall away but the connection didn't break. Sam looked again at the sculpture. His eyes stayed on the gold seam running through the vase.

“You ever notice,” he said finally, “how they don’t try to hide it?”

A small shift of his weight. Not turning. Not yet.

“They could’ve made it look new again.”

A pause.

“But they didn’t.”

He let that sit before continuing.

“They decided it was worth showing.”

Now he glanced toward Andrinn, just briefly.

Measured. Not searching.

He looked at Andrinn. His face was calm, alive. Hope lives here.

“Not everyone...gets that.”

"Yeah, I can understand that. They could've made it whatever that they wanted, but decided to build something on what they've already had. What they already knew..." Andrinn said as he was looking at the painting again for a moment before looking back at Sam.

Sam’s eyes stayed on the vase a moment longer.

“Maybe that’s the hard part,” he said quietly. “Believing the thing after the breaking is still worth keeping.”

The words came easier here than they did most places. Maybe because Andrinn never pushed at silence like it owed him something.

Woolheater folded his arms loosely across his chest, thumb rubbing absently along one forearm as he studied the gold-filled seam running through the Vulcan ceramic.

“A lot of people see damage and think the answer is replacement.” A faint breath through his nose. Not quite humor. “New posting. New crew. New mask. Start over somewhere nobody remembers what cracked.”

He shook his head once.

“But this?” His eyes drifted back toward the vase. “This says the breaking mattered.”

A pause settled between them. Comfortable. Earned.

Then, quieter: “I think I needed to see that today.”

Sam looked over at Andrinn and opened his hand to him offering to take Andrinn's hand in his.

Andrinn saw Sam offering up his hand after he spoke and he didn't hesitate for a moment. Andrinn instantly, but firmly took it. Lacing his fingers in Sam's, Andrinn let it sit for a moment before saying, "......I've missed you, Sam. More than you can ever know."

Holding Andrinn's hand grounded him faster than he expected. Andrinn's hand was warm, firm and no hesitation. He was direct and it meant something. For a moment, Woolheater just looked down at where their fingers were laced together, his hand wrapped around Andrinn’s with the kind of stillness that came when a man stopped trying to brace for impact all the time. It was the first real touch he'd had in months.

His thumb shifted once against the back of Andrinn’s hand. Not unconscious but nearer to a dream remembered. The gallery around them seemed quieter now. Or maybe he was simply paying less attention to it.

Sam swallowed subtly before finally answering. He formed a word but it got stuck in his throat. He managed, “Yeah…”

The word came low and rougher than intended. His eyes lifted again toward Andrinn. Saying with his eyes what he lost in words. “I think…” A faint breath escaped through his nose. “I think maybe I needed to hear that too. Because I’ve missed you more, Andrinn.”

A breath.

“I’ve missed you.”

No smile this time. Not because the feeling wasn’t there. Because it was. Woolheater looked back toward the repaired Vulcan vase for another long second before speaking again. He didn't let go.

“Funny thing is…” he murmured, “a few months ago I probably would’ve tried to talk myself out of standing here.” A faint shake of his head. “Would’ve called it selfish. Or bad timing. Or complicated.” Another pause. “Marines are real good at finding reasons not to keep things.”

Now his eyes settled fully on Andrinn again.

“But I’m tired of carrying everything on my back. Because, I remember, the load wasn't as heavy, not as heavy on my heart either. With you there was a better way to live.” Then Sam locked eyes with Andy.

Andrinn listened to everything that Sam said before pulling him into a bear hug and saying, "You're more than just a marine or this or that. You're Sam freaking Woolheater! You're.....the man that I fell in love with."

Sam closed his eyes and just let himself be hugged. He put his arms around Andrinn and hugged him back. His hand on Andrinn's back and head. "I've been worried about you. And...I didn't know how to find...home...again." He held Andrinn longer, "Andrinn freaking Orin" and laughed once. A great sigh of relief.

Andrinn kept Sam in the hug for a little bit longer before he whispered into Sam's ear, "Home never left. It may have gotten a little....lost along the way. But, it never left. I'm just glad you're back home."

Sam released the hug and said, "Me too."

"Anytime for you," Andrinn said smiling.



---
Legate Andrinn Orin
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Elysium

&

Captain Samuel Woolheater, SFMC
XO, Marine Detachment
Commanding Officer, 1st Platoon
Sniper / Infantry Officer
Precision Fires & Recon Division
62nd Company “Spartans”
=/\= USS Elysium NCC-89000 =/\=