Soft places for hard conversations

Posted on Mon Feb 24th, 2025 @ 11:50pm by Lieutenant Irynya & Lieutenant JG Sheldon Parsons

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: Deck 5 Enlisted Berthings
Timeline: Mission Day 9 at 0900

Despite having shared her latest news with Noah the night prior and finally getting some snuggle time in, Irynya slept poorly. It wasn't that she didn't feel better. Telling Noah had alleviated more than a little of the tension she had felt for days as she worked her way through all of the change. But she hadn't, yet, told Sheldon and it turned out that the time she had to do so was limited. She'd received a notice at 0700 telling her she could return to her quarters and collect her things for the move. There wouldn't be much for her to collect as it was. The Dots were already hard at work and would have her things over to her new senior crew quarters assignment by 1900.

The time the notice had given her was 1700 and she had to assume Noah, Sheldon, and Tamblem had all received similar notices. The only difference was that theirs told them they could go home. Hers...

With a puff of breath upward the Risian blew an errant strand of dark hair off of her face. Stubbornly it fell back into a slightly different place--still in the way, but at least no longer draped in front of her left eye. She removed one hand from a hip where it was resting and brushed the hair back behind her ear, tucking it with deft fingers before returning her hand to its earlier location. She stepped back, both hands on her hips, and surveyed her work pausing only to glance over her shoulder toward the entrance to the berthing to make sure that no one was entering yet.

A frown creased her fore head and she stepped forward again, adjusting a blanket so that it pulled more tautly against the cord she'd strung from Noah's bunk over to Dravor's. There was lest space in the enlisted berthings so she'd had to improvise a bit. But there was more to anchor to on the opposing walls and so, in some ways, that helped. Swooping between the two top bunks was a large blue sheet, tethered in a way that gave the appearance of a tent. Beneath it another sheet, this one in a warm gold, drifted down from Dravor's bunk and rested on her own, making a sort of canopy in between and creating the impression of a very soft cave mouth. Within she'd shoved pillows. As many as she could find. And she'd replicated two extremely fluffy blankets, each tucked neatly on Sheldon's bunk.

It may not have been as grand of a blanket fort as she could create in their quarters... his.. quarters... but it was as good as she could manage.

And her timing, it seemed, had worked out pretty perfectly for it was Sheldon's voice that suddenly said, "What...is this?" His tones were high and nasally, his voice an octave higher than normal, but he didn't sound irritable or mad at having their shared living space transformed -- he was just surprised. Seeing Irynya standing next to the blanket fort, the engineer's wide eyes moved from it to her to it and back to Iry. "Y-you did this?" he asked, taking a few tentative steps forward to survey the sheet-stringing and blanket arrangements. Surprise was turning to wonder as Shelly regarded the fort, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "I haven't seen one of these since I was a kid," came his short bout of chuckles. "Fine work, Lieutenant," he smirked at his second-longest friend on the Sojo.

The first-longest -- Ensign Sheila Mulhern, fellow engineer -- had been transferred to Pathfinder in the latest round of Delta Quadrant personnel shifts, however, so Shelly supposed that actually made Iry his de facto First Friend now. The pang of Sheila's loss was still fresh, though, and Sheldon's smile faltered some as he imagined her on that two week shuttle ride to the station. He hoped she'd do well on Pathfinder but he'd definitely miss her. Thankfully, though, the blanket fort before him was like a shot in the arm of both adrenaline and dopamine and it wasn't long before his smile was growing again.

"Did you uh...did you use jump ropes as anchors?" he asked Iry, eyeing the ropes and trying to discern their origin.

"Jump ropes?" The Risian asked, unsure what exactly that was. Perhaps some kind of useful method of tacking up a sheet? She chuckled, not bothering to wait for clarification before continuing. "They're held up with suspension rods, nylon rope, some clips... anything I could find or replicate easily that would help make sure they didn't fall. I'd always heard that blanket forts were... umm... like a childhood rite of passage for humans." She turned, surveying her work. "Come take a look. I even made us nests on your bed."

As she spoke and Sheldon surveyed the work, she looked him over, noting the smile he wore. It had been a job not to flinch when he'd called her Lieutenant. It was one of the funnier idiosyncrasies of been a junior lieutenant. Your rank was long so it was always shortened. She knew that Sheldon was just referencing her old rank and didn't know yet about her new one. That was kind of the whole point of creating a cozy space for them. So surely he didn't already know... Right?

As suspected, Sheldon was entirely oblivious about the flight controller's promotion. And the blanket fort in front of him had drawn his attention away from Iry, so even as she puzzled and worried, his eyes were not on her but the intricacy of the Risian's build. Running hands over her creation, the engineer marveled at how the whole thing had been put together. It was, perhaps, a bit too polished for the rough-and-ready-style that blanket forts normally took on but the care she'd taken to make the thing was entirely evident. When he turned back to regard Iry again, a giant grin -- entirely scar free thanks to the Bolian nurse who'd treated his recent injuries -- was spreading out on his face.

"I don't know about rite of passage but," Shelly beamed, "blanket forts were definitely something you'd make to lay in and dream. Especially if you shared them with a friend. Oh!" he perked up, an idea striking him like an arc of plasma current from an exposed conduit, "hold on a sec!" With a quick dash, the engineer had moved to the closest replicator, which he furiously tap-tap-tapped until a device resolved inside, fashioned from a cloud of sparkling motes. It looked like a thick but flat white disk, though a diamond-like, textured dome sat atop it. "We're going to need this," Shelly flashed Iry a smile, not further explaining what the device was. It was going to be a surprise.

She peered at the disk for a moment, but only long enough to confirm that she did not, in fact, know what the device was. Then she turned and ducked underneath the blankets, climbing into Sheldon's bunk and curling up in the nest-like corner she'd built for herself. She tucked her legs under her and leaned against the bulk head, wanting to make sure Sheldon had enough space to pull his whole tall frame into the cubicle as well.

While Noah was the ship's resident stick-bug, Sheldon's body was more like an awkward Praying Mantis as he pulled up his arms, leaned forward, and let his legs trail behind him as he nudged himself into the folds of the blankets and sheets. Oddly, he thought of the process like a reverse-birth, crawling back into the womb after deciding life on the outside could go fuck itself. But that was the frustration of being attacked by a tentacle goo monster and being expelled from his own quarters talking. Sheldon, disk cradled in an armpit, nestled himself into the corner to Irynya.

With both of them settled, Irynya unearthed the box she'd stashed on her side of the fort and opened it. Arrayed inside were a series of snacks and two bottles of some kind of brown drink called YooHoo. Some of the snacks were of Earth origination falling into the category of comfort or junk foods, while others were items she'd remembered that he liked from hanging out together. All were finger foods and she offered the opened chest of munchy treasures to him. "I promise to clean up any crumbs," she said, grinning. "Besides, rumor has it we can get back into our quarters later today... so maybe that won't even matter."

Her grin faltered slightly as she thought about moving again, but she quickly recovered. "How are you feeling about Dravor moving in now that you've had a few days to process?" she asked.

There was one, lone Hostess-style chocolate cupcake in the box. With an audible "oooh!" Shelly reached out to snatch the confection and a bottle of YooHoo before beaming at Iry. "This is amazing," he said, looking all around them at the fort she'd constructed. "Almost makes me want to stay here in enlisted quarters. But I'm sure," the engineer grunted, "the spoil sports who live down here would not be appreciative." He gave Iry's question thought as he unwrapped the cupcake -- the plastic, clear wrapper crinkling loudly as he did so -- and took a bite. Like the Twinkie, Hostess Cupcakes had somehow survived the eugenics wars and the post-atomic horrors that ensued. Sheldon washed the bite down with some YooHoo, thankful for the delight's survival into the modern age.

After a few moments of thought -- the bite and swig giving him time to process his own emotions on the matter -- Shelly said, "I feel...excited but unsure? I mean," he took another nibble, this time savoring the thing layer of chocolate and part of the white-frosting curly-cue on top, "I'm not even sure Dravor and I are a thing, you know? We've um..." more YooHoo, "kind of kept things unlabeled? I mean, there's no way he doesn't know how exceptional I think he is. When I look at him," his eyes lit up, "it's like seeing a big Christmas present with your name on it. Except Christmas is somehow 8 months away and you wonder if that present might end up going to someone else because you end up being bad." Sheldon was very much a stream-of-consciousness talker with Iry, whom he knew would let him get his thoughts and feelings out without interrupting him.

"Oh," he suddenly said, grabbing the disk, "this should add to your lovely fort." Sheldon placed the device flat-side down between Iry and himself, then pressed a button on its top-side, at the base of the multi-faceted clear dome on top. Rainbow-colored lights began to shine from inside, their colorful wavelengths being refracted through the glass dome. The end result was a beautiful array of glowing light slowly swirling on the inside surfaces of the sleeping cubicle and the blankets.

"Oh," the Risian echoed, though hers was not an utterance of remembering something. Instead it was the kind of oh that came from warm surprising enjoyment. The beautiful oscillating light that coated the space did, indeed, add a perfect layer to the blanket fort and Irynya couldn't help the look of naked wonder and appreciation that crossed her features as she tracked the lights across the walls and ceiling before following them to the beautiful pattern them made across Sheldon's face. "That's lovely," she said and grinned broadly, eyes once again tracking the lights.

Absently she twisted the cap of her own bottle of YooHoo, retrieved almost without looking while she appreciated the ambiance of the new lighting arrangement. The cap gave with a metallic sounding pop as the vacuum on the glass bottle released and she looked down at it before bringing the bottle to her nose to sniff. She looked up at Sheldon then, one eyebrow raised, before bringing it to her mouth and sipping. The brown liquid was sweet and thickly creamy, but it didn't exactly resemble milk--a substance that she had long ago learned could be augmented with chocolate. At the same time, it wasn't dissimilar either. She wondered what it was.

She'd let a moment of quiet pass, not responding to Sheldon's comment right away, but instead giving time and space to let the thought breathe. Finally, though, she spoke.

"Shelly," she said softly and with a gentleness that forewarned that she might be able to say something that would press on an emotional bruise of sorts. "You do know you deserve the present, right? Like... you shouldn't have to do anything to earn it. Whether it's Dravor or someone else. You're a present to look forward to in your own right." She hoped she was getting this analogy right. She had a limited understanding of the holiday in question, but she did know that it had to do with gift giving and the idea of a gift being earned felt awkward to her.

For someone who hadn't grown up celebrating Christmas, Iry was doing a remarkable job of parsing the metaphor. "Maybe," Sheldon replied quietly, eyes glazed over in thought. "But we'll see if the box ends up being full of coal," he nervously laughed as he came out of his thought parade. "So um..." the engineer looked about the fort again, "you went to a lot of trouble with this. But it absolutely made my day," Shelly admitted, taking another swig of the "chocolate drink." It was chocolate milk, apparently -- the labeling on the replicated packaging made that distinction very clear. "Did I do something to deserve this very sweet gesture, though?" the engineer asked.

Up to that point Irynya had been following Sheldon's metaphor, but the coal part threw her. She was about to inquire why someone would receive a box of coal when he changed the subject and though she wanted to keep her face neutral, she couldn't. "I mean, you are you so there is no need to deserve a special treat," she said and there was genuine warmth in her voice, tinged with just the slightest bit of hesitation. "But you're right that I put this together with something specific in mind."

She dipped her hand into a pocket, pulling out her closed hand. As she had with Noah she opened it and offered the two round silver buttons for Sheldon's inspection. "Guess who's the new Chief Flight Controller?" She asked going for light hearted, but somehow falling a bit short.

Sheldon's eyes traced the movements as his friend reached into her pocket. As the pips were revealed, those eyes widened into pools that both drank in and reflected the new reality as it firmed up like solidifying jello. "Iry...that's --" he began, a lump in his throat, "that's wonderful." He swallowed hard, trying to clear the lump, before nodding, "You've more than earned it. And of course," he grinned, prattling on, "you're the most logical candidate unless they wanted to bring in someone from Pathfinder. But why do that if you don't have to? Iry, I'm so hap--"

That, apparently, was when full realization actually hit. "Oh," Shelly's mouth formed the shape of the quiet word, stillness forming around them in the ensuing silence. "You're leaving. Our--our quarters, I mean. Aren't you?" he asked, the sheen in his eyes having gone from enthusiasm for Iry's promotion to sadness for his own loss. She'd been the perfect roomie and, especially with Sheila having left for Pathfinder, his security blanket. And now she was leaving. Not that he blamed her. They always left, didn't they? No, he thought to himself. That's not fair. Iry wasn't them. And she wasn't leaving leaving, just moving to new quarters and starting a new position. "That's...exciting, right?" Shelly asked.

Iry's heart squeezed in her chest and she felt her eyes prick with unlooked for emotion. This has been hard the night before and it was no less hard now. She knew, at her core, that this was normal and ok, but she dearly wished it wasn't so damned hard. She was quiet a moment, trying to find the right words to both comfort and encourage. Finally she gave up and simply said what she was feeling. "I think it will be exciting, eventually," she said quietly. "I mean... it's an honor and I'm very... you know... honored." She offered her friend a wry sad smile. "But also, yeah. Dravor moves in. But I move out. And there's still an extra bed and maybe you get to pick the person who moves in next. And... I'm not exactly sure how I plan to sleep at night when you're not in the next bed over."

As she'd spoken she'd brought her hand to her lap, the two pips cradled in her palm. She found she was staring at them and, for what must surely have been the millionth time, wishing she could talk to Timmoz about it. He'd have some pithy thing to tell her that would probably help them all sort this out.

"You'll visit me, right?" she said. "And... and... if it's ok... I'll come back and hang out with you guys too? I mean... I could always crash on my old bed as long as it's empty..." She was rambling a bit now and finally she slowed and stopped before looking up at her friend. "I'm not leaving, Shelly," she said. "We just have to be more deliberate with getting together. Ok?"

More deliberate. Sheila had said that too before leaving for Pathfinder. And while Shelly trusted she would reach out -- and he meant to do the same -- physically leaving the ship was going to make their friendship very hard to maintain. Shelly worried for his friendship with Iry as well but did his best to remember that she was only changing decks, not leaving the ship.

"Uh-uh-of course," the engineer gulped ever so slightly, the bobbing of his Adam's apple barely visible in the shifting golden and azure lights streaming from the little projector. "But I don't know how I feel about Dravor moving into the room. I like him. A lot, Iry," he stressed, though knew that she was keenly aware of how he felt. They'd shared many slipper-clad conversations deep into the night talking about that particular romantic possibility. "But I don't know if I'm ready to live with him."

"I'll have a couch you can crash on any time," Iry responded, "but also, even if you don't feel ready... you are going to be fine... great even." She infused the words with the confidence of someone who knew him and the certainty that she needed them both to feel even for just a few moments. After a moment she placed the pips back in her pocket and drew in a deep breath as if doing so might clear out any lingering uncertainty in the moment.

Sheldon reached out then, placing a -- he hoped -- comforting hand on Iry's arm. "We'll make it work, beautiful friend. You don't need to worry about me. You," Shelly filled his voice with excitement, "need to focus on running your department and keeping this ship nimbly dancing through nebulas and away from Kazon disruptor fire." Especially if -- when? -- Subrek and his weirdly advanced ship caught up with them. "The other stuff we'll figure out as we go. I promise. Now," he held up his can of Yoo-Hoo in a toasting gesture, "let's drink to new opportunities and shiny new pips!"

At that a smile bloomed on her face and she raised her own chocolate drink filled glass bottle, tipping the lip of it toward his until it clinked. "To new opportunities and the friends that helped us get there," she said in reply and then raised the bottle to her lips and drank.

=/\= A roomie chat by =/\=

Lieutenant Irynya
Chief Flight Controller

Ensign Sheldon Parsons
Engineer