Late Night Quiet

Posted on Sat Sep 21st, 2024 @ 10:13pm by Lieutenant Irynya & Ensign Noah Balsam

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: Senior Crew Quarters (Debbie/Irynya)
Timeline: Mission Day 10 at 2200

[Debbie/Irynya's Shared Quarters]
[MD 10; 2200 Hours]

"OK, here, or here?" The greige walls had been, for the time being, crisscrossed with grids of red laser light. They emitted from a ground unit that looked less disco fun ball than a piece of engineering equipment. The lanky stick bug was up on a grav platform about five decimeters off the floor, the space below it a haze of force anti-gravity. He was in his uniform pants and had a utility belt of several tools. With his arms stretched out, he was holding up a piece of Irynya's Risian art. And he was trying to line it up with the red laser grids.

He twisted to look back at his friend over his bare shoulder. "Am I close?" Noah, barechested and thin, had ditched his SOJO t-shirt after spilling his Saag dinner down it. Now it had probably been disassociated into its constituent subatomic particles, ready to be something else's dinner or dinnerware. For much of the evening, Noah had been setting up Irynya's Holo-Environment. It wasn't a full-fledged personal holodeck, but the private quarters of the senior staff and above had fully immersive holo-environments. He'd paused until one of the Dots brought him a replacement emitter for Grid A-12, and they'd pivoted to hanging and placing Iryny'as art.

The Risian, for her part was settled in a lotus pose on her bed, hands propped on bare knees, her shorts riding up to show off bare thigh. Compared to Noah's paleness she gave the impression that she had just walked off of the beach complete with sun-kissed skin and long dark tresses that flowed loosely down her back. Though she hadn't spilled saag paneer on herself she, too, was missing her shirt opting for a sports bra. The room was warm by design; giving a bit of that Risa-feel to the space with a heat setting a few degrees higher than the room she'd shared with Sheldon.

"The first one," she answered Noah, dipping forward and curving her back outward in a sort of stretch before she shifted backward and propped herself on her hands, a tan stretch of stomach on display. Though she had been paying attention to what Noah was doing it was, to be fair, somewhat divided. A part of her reveled in the freedom of simply existing in a space with him without any worry about interruption. Of course there was still the question of what Debbie might make of Noah spending hours in her bedroom, but she assumed the matron would not jump to conclusions. Besides... there were no conclusions to actually jump to. Still, her eyes drifted over her friend appreciatively as he twisted, showing off lean muscles.

"Are you sure you don't want me up there with you?" she asked. "I feel bad that you're doing all of the hard work."

Noah tilted back to look at her again, smiled and shook his head. "Um, we'd exceed the grav pads weight limit. I couldn't get the heavier duty one from Quartermasters. I-I think I was lucky to get this one." He moved back to position one, "Here?" And once Irynya signaled, he said, "Lock." With with a gentle hiss the adhering material on the back of her artwork fixed itself to the wall. Then Noah double-tapped his sock-wearing toes against the grav pad: it hovered and turned itself off with a chirp. Noah stepped off. "OK, what next?" He asked.

Noah, standing, was indeed his skinny paleness. The marks of the Josh-Mutagenic had since healed in the near fortnight. But Noah had only been back in his normal quarters one night. And he'd agreed to help Irynya move in. He wasn't a design specialist- but he could at least form an opinion that a Dot couldn't. So he put his hands on his hips, fingers against the subtle line grooves that defined thigh from pubis.

Chewing the inside of her lip, Irynya considered his question. She wasn't entirely sure what was next. The holo environment was the main thing left. The bed was made and her clothes had been tucked away in the storage space. She found herself wanting for a bedside table and a lamp. And a chair. So furniture... and that was really down to waiting at this point.

He breathed a breath up into his bangs and smiled. The doors hissed open before Irynya could answer. "Dot Sigma hello," Noah smiled at the Dot who had returned with his part request. "Thank you Dot." The artificial light pattern that resembled a smile panned blue and then returned to its usual pale light color. It chirped and then resumed building Irynya's new desk with its partner. The two dots positioned themselves opposite- in a way that sort of reminded Noah of the Final Oracle in a movie he'd seen as a child. And they began to synthesize the desk to Irynya's specifications.

"Do you think I can ask them for other furniture?" she asked, watching the Dots as she spoke. "It's... it's weird to have this much freedom with the space I'm in. I mean... I'm used to at least needing to ask Sheldon's opinion. I was debating a small bedside table and a lamp and maybe a plant and a chair? I mean... other than the bed... I guess the desk chair works. I just figure..." She trailed off, not quite formulating the full thought. It's not as if she'd be throwing parties in her bedroom. Or well... maybe not never. She glanced over at Noah and then pushed herself back into a sitting position, unwinding her legs and scooting down the bed until they were dangling off the end near where he stood. "I could always add a massive horga'hn," she said rocking her body sideways so her shoulder bumped his hip playfully where he had planted his hands.

Noah turned at his lean hips to look at the pair and then back to the Risian next to him. "Iry... I-I know this is weird?" He tilted his head and his brows popped even in his profile view, "But you're a senior officer so...." He winced an eye and ruffled his sweaty black tresses. "You get... a big allowance. You can change your bed shape and s-size. You can have different chairs. You even have the better personal replicators. Well. The expanded menu. Most of us have to go to the Mess for that stuff." He turned and took up the device that the Dot had brought him. "Should I get this in and-and then we can boot up your environment?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding her head in agreement to his question. "It might be easier to decide furniture things once we have that sorted out." Despite that she snagged the PADD that had been tossed to the side of the bed while Noah was hanging artwork and thumbed it open, using her pointer finger to call a database of photographs from home. There was a chair she had in her bedroom that was a cozy nest in its own right. If she had room for one she thought she might ask the Dots for it.

"You know you're always welcome to come use my replicator," she said, eyes still on the PADD as she spoke. "I mean..." now she did look up, grinning almost cheekily, "You are Risian by virtue of your ja'risia. What's mine is yours." Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she echoed a version of the phrase so regularly spoken to off world visitors to her home planet.

All that is ours is yours.

It was both an accurate statement and one that was easily misunderstood. In this moment, though, she didn't mind an extreme interpretation. She'd happily offer her space to Noah any time he wanted it. It just felt... normal... to do so.

"Come for the fish and stay for the sunset?" Noah joshed while he turned and squatted down. The installation of the replacement emitter was easy enough. He had the old defective unit out quickly. Then Noah scanned the installed replacement, a quick diagnostic to see if it worked. Then he stood up and turned back to her. "OK. Computer, bring Room 313-B online and set to new environment upload." The walls suddenly shifted and appeared more like a holodeck- yellow and black grids. The art they had hung appeared to now be on a simple stand of some kind, like an easel.

Noah made his way back over to Irynya. The space wasn't huge but the berth for one was about the same size was their old quarters' berth for two. He crossed his lanky arms across his chest. "Ok, b-boss, where are we going?" He turned at his waist, "Remember it's just a holo-environment... I-I might've oversold it when I said it was like a personal holodeck. It's ability to create space with the floor and scaling is more limited." He grinned lopsidedly. "I-I heard that some of these even integrate a sort of attendant hologram?"

Irynya raised her eyes at the idea of an attendant wondering why one would want one. Although she supposed Index wasn't that different in a number of ways. "Ok," she said and held out her PADD offering it to him so that the image she pulled up was visible. On the PADD was a visual of a beach-side room, perhaps in a bungalow or ground floor building quite near the beach. On two side floor to ceiling windows dominated offering a view of beachy wilderness. Warm white sand could be seen stretching out beyond to brilliant blue ocean water that ebbed and flowed with the tug of waves. The windows themselves were paned, but latches showed that they could be opened to allow in the outside air. The floor of the space was sepia toned wood visible around the edges of a plush sunset colored carpet that framed the bed. The walls were an off white that picked up the color of the sunlight, brightening the space while also making it feel cozy and tucked away. It wasn't, exactly, her bedroom at home, but there were elements of it there.

Noah had taken up the PADD and had pinched and then flung the data on it toward the data receiver near the two Dots working on a desk.

"What do you think?" she asked, taking a deep breath. "Too much?"

Noah turned first at his waist and then with his feet in a small circle to fully check the space. At first he was an Engineer- he was looking for imaging glitches, bad quads or incongruous imagining. At her question, he blinked. "N-no it's not too much. It's like I sort of remember Risa looking." Noah had spent very little time on Risa when the Sojourner had first appeared in orbit, a pristine ship full of bugs and to-do lists. That had been quite some time ago. Now the ship, while newish, felt lived in. "It's pretty." He affirmed, knowing his biases tended toward a different aesthetic. "Restful... sunny... you-you can change the sun and the weather as you want." Noah smiled. "And-and if you have friends or... you know..." he gestured in deference to her, "A companion... you can create candlelight and stuff." He stuck out his bottom lip and nodded approvingly. "It's very you. A-a few real-goods like maybe curtains or blankets and stuff... and it'll feel like you just stepped into a bungalow on Risa."

She nodded as he recognized components of Risa in the imagery. "It looks a lot like my bedroom at home," she said, taking a moment to catalog the kinds of real goods she'd want to either replicate or, eventually, acquire. "Definitely needs curtains, but the lighting..." She looked up at him from her spot on the bed. "That's the big thing. I love it here," she gestured to the space around her generally to signify that she meant the ship, "but I spent more years in a place like that than I have in space. And I miss it sometimes."

Noah smiled ear to ear, his arms tightened across his chest, "Are-are we going to lose you to your personal sunrise? The computer'll have to pilot the ship?" He teased. He nodded. His home was, in a way, more like a ship than hers. But it still wasn't exactly home. "I get that. I think. I-I think we both miss oceans. Just the view is different."

Her shoulders crept up in a shrug before she shifted back to a lotus, long legs crossing while she pointed her toes and tucked her feet alongside the crease between her calves and thighs. "Someday I'll show you around Risa," she said offhandedly, almost as if she'd been speaking aloud a thought that she was turning over in her head. "You'd love the weather stations. They do tours. The technology required to manage the entire planet's weather draws a lot of curious folks." She looked at him, trying to imagine Noah on Risa and suddenly full to the brim of things she would want to show him.

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Oh um, I didn't know Risa had an artificial climate? Is it to fix damage or... is it to make the planet super-habitable?" He asked. He watched her drop into her lotus position, and he smiled. "We-we probably should ask the Dots to make a new bed too. I'm not sure that one fits your aesthetic anymore." But he agreed that someday, they'd tour her home. He breathed in. "You know, we've been out here for awhile. I do kind of wonder when we'll go back through the wormhole." He moved to sit on her bed, his body pausing while his eyes asked for consent. Knowing Noah, what would he look like on Risa? A similar look that he had on a given day off- at worst a dressed down version of his uniform. At best, he dressed like a homebody. He had swim suits- Iry had seen them- but they were painfully Federation in... ordinary-ness.

She gave him a look that suggested he was being far too polite and leaned over her crossed legs to snag his hand and pull him onto the bed. "Sit," she said with a tone that was both gentle and insistent. "It's... different to have this much space to sit on the bed together. I kinda like it," she said. Her eyes went to the Dots for a moment, watching as the desk continued to form, nearly complete with a hutch that held shelves and a set of drawers next to it. She decided she would need to ask Noah to paint a miniature for her to set on the hutch. She didn't have much, yet, to display.

"Ack," was Noah's only meager and rather unbelievable act of protest as Irynya got him by the head and brought him down. Only then did he realize the scope of the bed Irynya was on. "Jeez... this thing is huge. I think it's almost twice as wide as our beds on deck five." Only then did the lanky one properly pretzel his legs, hunched forward, to stare out at the holographic vista.

With an exaggerated look around her, Irynya took in the size of tbe bed ending her rotation by catching Noah's eyes. With a cheeky grin she popped her eyebrows suggestively at him and the choked back a giggle, pressing her lips tightly together. When she was sure she could speak without laughing she turned her attention back to his earlier question. "The weather controls are to make it habitable," she answered, eyes scanning the beachy sunset on the walls while a mischievous grin still played at the edges of ber lips. The beach scenery looked so real and yet the air was still in the room and she suddenly had the idea to ask the Dots to create a ceiling fan for her. "But also to fix some of the damage. Or at least to stabilize it. Before weather controls Risa was all earth quakes and downpours. A tropical mishmash of nearly uninhabitable. Now..." She grinned and tilted her chin toward the wall, "there's a reason some people say it's like a paradise."

Noah nodded. "OK... um... delicate question. If Risa was that um..." he breathed in and out, "Ok, let's call it a ball of muddy suck... are... are Risians native to it, or did you move from someplace else and colonize it as a new home?" He squinted an eye, "Or I mean, I assume its home... for all I know you have a home-home and a new-home-home..."

"We're native," she answered. She appreciated Noah's curiosity and was glad to talk about Risa's history. "It was hundreds of years ago that the weather controls and seismic stabilizers were built and after that," she shrugged. "After that we put our minds towards creating a place that mirrored the beauty and openness of our culture." She leaned sideways, ducking her head against his shoulder affectionately for just a moment. "It's home-home," she said with nostalgia lacing her voice. There wasn't another planet she thought of home, but at that moment sitting there with Noah the glimmer of an idea of what a new-home-home might be like flickered in the back of her mind.

"So you made a planet a work of art." Noah suggested. He tilted his head with a mock-confusion. His eyes widened, "It's a piece of art... that people run around on in their swimsuits. Or less." His eyes narrowed, "I-I guess it's part.... uhh... performance art then?" Noah drew his socked feet up on to the bed and hugged his knees to
his chest.

"I prefer immersive or experiential art," Irynya quipped back, deadpan, before cracking a grin. "But yeah. People in their natural form enjoying beauty all around them. Seems to me maybe the people are part of the work." She turned to look at Noah as she said it, taking her eyes off of the view and giving herself a moment to appreciate him instead.

"It's better that we can at least sometimes use our technology to make something beautiful or comfortable. Like... Risa or... Deneva or Caldos... you know, instead of weapons and such." He too looked at the Dots. It would be some time until they finished. "So you're rooming with Debbie? Wha-what's that like so far? I mean besides," he gestured at the door, "Year round Christmas. I'd kind of expected something like her Diner but..." He shrugged, "She always surprises."

"Is that what her decor is?" Irynya asked, eyes widening. She knew about Christmas. Or at least some things about it. Plenty of friends had celebrated it at the Academy. But she'd never exactly partaken of the holiday per se and so just assumed that Debbie had a penchant for coniferous plants, small lights on strings, and the colors green and red--not to mention a not inconsequential augmentation of silver and gold. "I just figured she... I dunno... really liked red and green? And cylindrically shaped trees?"

Knowingly, Noah nodded his head with a wide smile. "Y-yeah. I don't come from people who celebrate it. But it's an ancient Earth religious holiday. It sort of pivoted to secular and family by World War III. But a few practicing people still see it as what it was." He tilted his head, "I-I'm not exactly sure why its all red and green. I thought it was supposed to be in winter. Anyway... rooming with Deb? Good? K-kinda crazy?" His eyebrows rose.

Rocking sideways slightly she shoulder bumped Noah with a playful affection. "I honestly don't know yet. I mean... Debbie is fabulous and I love her to pieces, but how often do you live with someone who has as much experience as she does? I'm hoping I don't come across as painfully young. And that she doesn't mind... umm... if I have friends visit. She sees people all day, for all I know coming back here is her way to get away from everything." She was waxing thoughtful as she spoke and pulled back the musing. "But I love her and I do think it will be an adventure, if nothing else. What do you think about it?" She asked, turning the question back on him.

Noah's nose wrinkled and he sighed, choosing his words. He ruffled his nape hair. "I love Deb... but I kind of feel like it would be living with a Mom. A really open minded, uh, maybe sort of probing questions mom. I-I could see her mama tiger you about your dates if you brought them back here." Noah pursed his lips. He leaned back some, his hands planted behind and his elbows hyper-extending subtly. "I'm..." His brows furrowed. "I'm surprised you're rooming with a non-Starfleet member? To be honest? I thought the citizens aboard had their own quarters? Did Deb request quarters with a Starfleet person?"

Irynya's lips pursed and twisted sideways, her eyebrow creasing in uncertainty. "Honestly I don't know. I gather this was Mr. Karim's room before and he was on some kind of leave?" She spoke the statement like a question, making clear her lack of clarity on the topic. "Maybe it was convenience? Maybe she just misses being with crew members? I mean, she was an officer before she was a diner matron." As she said it another thought occurred to her and she shifted herself around, scooting until she was facing Noah's side and tilting her head in a question. "I'm going to take a guess that a mama tiger is protective?" she said, eyebrows raising slightly. That... she wasn't exactly sure how she felt about that. It's not that Risian parents weren't protective of their children so much as coupling was built into their culture. They were more... supportive... than protective. But also it didn't hurt to have someone who wanted the best for her. "Not that I have any dates ahead of me at this point anyway," she commented, somewhat wryly.

The answer didn't seem to quell Noah's curiosity. He'd never met this Mr. Karim before. Perhaps she missed crew members, while it made sense, that wasn't usual. Was it? Maybe she had made a request of the Captain and he'd granted it. Noah got the impression that Debbie and Captain Kodak were close. And that put it well beyond Noah's pay grade to know. So he nodded- he nodded vehemently. "Uhh, y-yeah. Protective from... uh... if you hurt her I will feed you your own testicles to just... umm... sizing them up, maybe asking questions that... uhh..." Noah tilted his head and squinted an eye. "Uhhhh...umm... maybe you don't want to answer. Especially if your date is right there with you."

Noah smirked. "Well you had the g-guy that wanted to absorb you, borrow your DNA and slowly consume the rest of the ship. But... who-who's counting. I-I mean he seemed to want to... it? They?" Noah grimaced with a smile that hinted at the haunting memory of it. He touched his nose as if he felt the memory.

"His... testicles..." Iry repeated slowly, trying really hard not to giggle as the image of Deb forcibly making someone consume their own intimate body parts rose unbidden in her mind. "There are races who would take that as an invitation to copulate," she said, now unable to help the giggling. But her mirth soon sobered at the mention of Not-Josh. "I'm all for new experiences she said," a bit more glibly than she intended, "but somehow mass absorption feels less romantic and more... I don't know..." she hedged, debating if the word she was thinking was too strong then sighed, "more rape-y. Like... he definitely didn't have my consent and I somehow doubt a thorough threatening or awkward questioning from Deb would have stopped him."

Noah chuckled at that. "Probably," he nodded at first tentatively then more firm. "Definitely."

The last part was said in an attempt at humor even though she didn't entirely feel it. Not-Josh was gone and they were both there and she was thankful for that. "Mimetic absorption alien as my most recent paramour does make my love life sound pretty dismal," she added after another moment, this time with a bit more true humor. And then, because she couldn't help herself, she added, "What kind of questions do you think Deb might ask? I mean..."

"I-I think you'd have to ask Deb that. I don't really know." Noah said. He touched his shoulder to her's, "You're on a ship of less than a hundred people. With rank and position issues. It's not like you have much choice on mates." He shrugged. "Its probably easier on those big ships with non-Starfleet aboard. Or an outpost with a whole planet of people." He grimaced. "Small dating pool...uh... pools... are hard." He frowned. "But I bet you killed it for dates back at the Academy or..." He blinked. "Actually it just...." He blinked again and straightened. "You've never told me about your first posting."

"I guess I haven't," she said thoughtfully, almost surprised at that revelation. Her mind had gotten stuck for a moment at the concept of a small dating pool. It was a fear she'd actually confessed to Timmoz after Kennedy left... that he had been... it... as good as it was going to get anyway. Now... with some space... she had a clearer understanding and could see that there was no it about him. She'd enjoyed the romance, but they'd been so different that it wouldn't have worked. Still... Noah wasn't wrong about the dating pool. Then again it was just as small for him.

"My first posting was the Lyonesse," she told him. "I was Queen of Shuttle Bay 3." She laughed at that thought. Her shift supervisor had once given her that title when she'd gotten particularly protective over a specific protocol that she'd been maintaining. "She was a Ross class and oh my goodness she was massive. Almost like a floating city. There ware civvies on board, and kids, and..." she shrugged, shooting him a look. "So... yeah... the dating pool was definitely better."

For a moment she considered how much information would be too much and in the ended just opted for bald faced honestly. "Truthfully, being on a big ship is great for social life. And being Risian on a big ship..." She grinned sheepishly. "I went on a lot of dates..." She dug back in her memory and wrinkled her nose remembering some of the more awkward ones. "This one guy... an ensign from the science department... astrophysics I think... actually had the guts to ask me about jamaharon on our first... our only... date. He thought maybe if he straight up asked for it that there was some cultural mandate to act on it. Alas, he was disappointed."

"Queen of Shuttle Bay 3," Noah repeated with a sly grin. "N-now you're the Empress of the Helm?" He nodded along. He'd seen a Ross-class- once- in orbit of the Antares Yard. And he nodded along again s Irynya mentioned that she'd had a much better social life on the bigger vessels. "Sort of a flying city in space... that can go to warp. Like those big old Galaxy classes."

Noah smiled slyly into one cheek. "That is uh ballsy. You two just weren't compatible for the whole experience?" He smiled, lips tucked for a moment, "It's not exactly like exploring your Pah. Or trying T'plana Hath." Noah tucked his lips again and shrugged. "Well I-I uh, I didn't do a lot of dating at Academy. Or Ishikawa Station. But I did a little." His head tilted, one eye squinting, "I did dress in drag one night... my suite mate Elizabeth decided I had the cheekbones for it." He waved it off. "Kind of liked the-the feeling of the thong at first, but then it started to chafe?" He shrugged, goofily smiling.

"Compulsory jamaharon has never really been my thing," she admitted, a few less amusing examples flitting through her head as she said it. "But yeah... I mean... At least buy me a drink before you ask me for sex," she said with a wry chuckle. "We'd been set up, too, so it wasn't like I knew him well to begin with."

"Hmm," Noah's mouth twisted, "That sounds more like someone setting up for what Humans call a Booty Call."

As they spoke Irynya adjusted slightly, shifting sideways into unconsciously open body language. It was always easy to unfurl like that with Noah as if their friendship unlocked some inner release that made her want to connect with him more.

When he explained about the drag outfit Elizabeth had talked him into she examined his thoughtfully, eyes tracing his cheek bones as if she were evaluating Elizabeth's claim. With a slight tilt of her head she nodded. "I could see it," she concluded. "About the cheek bones I mean. I don't know that I can immediately picture you in drag..." Then her face lit with mischief, "Unless there are photos?"

Noah's eyes jerked away and then back. "Uhh I'm pretty sure that Elizabeth has proof. I-I mean she sent them around to us all. I wasn't the only one. But San Francisco has this long tradition of drag. It actually survived the Sanctuary Districts, the Eugenics Wars... even World War Three. It's a Human art called um," Noah blinked, "Burlesque." He shrugged. "Anyway, if there's proof Elizabeth still has it. If she kept them. I mean I was... a Sophomore. We all were." He squinted an eye. "I'd been eighteen for maybe a month."

"Wait ... If she sent them around..." Iry let her sentence trail off, eyebrows popping high with expectation. "Don't tell me you didn't keep them," she said and then a thought struck her. "Is this the same Elizabeth who organized the nude beach trip?"

Noah nodded, "Uh huh. The same one. She was sort of our group extrovert." He smiled and shook his head, "No, I didn't keep pictures of me in drag. I just felt sort of of silly. But it was funny. It was fun." He blinked and shrugged. "So... you had Jamaharon Call guy... who-who else?"

"Well..." Iry said with a sly grin, "there were the two Betazoid girls in the yeoman pool. Kara and Tory... They were interesting. I can't say I have ever dated two women at once before let alone two who could hold a conversation about me in their heads." She shot a look at Noah, curious to gauge his reaction. "But they were both sweet, and cute, and it turns out telepathy can be very useful in bed. Didn't last long, though, a couple months and most of it was more play than substance. I did get to meet one of their parents, though, on a stop over at Betazed."

Noah delivered: his eyebrows rose with a touch of shock. But he held his words until Irynya finished. "I've never dated a Betazoid before. Everybody just-just seemed to assume I was one." He shrugged. "I never even thought about their telepathy happening in an intimate way." he tilted his head, "Which... now that I do think about it, I feel either really naive or really uncreative. It makes sense." He leaned back on his hands again. "Hmm. But not being able to return the... um... feelings? Images?"

"Both," Iry commented before pressing her lips together. "That's part of where it was good that there were two... They could share with each other and... Uhm... Also share with me what they were thinking and feeling. Honestly it was a little overwhelming at first." The tiniest bit of pink spotted high on her cheeks. She wasn't typically shy about sharing, but there had been something about that intimacy that made her blush. "What about you?" She asked. "I feel like you are far too open minded not to have dabbled."

Noah adjusted to lay down on his side and propped his head on his hand. "Let's see... um.... I-I went on a few first dates in Sophomore and Junior year. They were all set ups. You know. Shy engineers." Noah grimaced. "Aaaand um... I-I talked too much shop." His nose wrinkled. "I was nervous and... and stuff." He drew a shape with his finger on Irynya's bedspread. "The ones I remember the most were the two Alex's. One was a civil engineer Elizabeth met and thought I'd click with. She was nice. But..." He shrugged. "No spark. Also turns out she was from Alpha Centauri so the long distance." he blinked. "Let's see. Um. The other Alex was a security officer. And he just wanted to..." Noah smirked. "Uh basically he really wanted to fuck me." He shrugged. "But he was my first same sex date and I wasn't up for much more than a hug."

"Also a..." She paused, recalling the term Noah had used earlier, "booty call?" She could only imagine how uncomfortable that might have made her friend. Not that she thought he was particularly disinterested so much as she couldn't imagine Noah taking someone home who he barely knew.

"Sex for recreation." Noah clarified. He chuckled, shaking his head. "Sorry I've been shifting through a lot of pre-war footage lately." His thin chest rose and fell in a sigh. "Well. I was flattered. I mean... he wasn't gross about it. But I just wasn't really ready to try those things yet." Slow blinking, the memory must have been going through Noah's head. His head tilted. "Y-yeah, I think I made the right decision there. I mean sometimes there's regret... sometimes not so much. Yeah. I wasn't ready for that." Noah's brows rose. "Have you dated anyone outside the gender binary?"

While Noah was speaking Irynya had adjusted until her position mirrored his. One legged stretched long while the other was popped out so that her knee acted as a balancing tripod. Her bottom arm was tucked under her head and she watched him as he spoke, soaking in the body language alongside the words. She nodded her understanding when he explained about booty calls and regret. When he asked about the binary, though, her expression turned thoughtful.

"Do Andorians count?" She asked. "If so then yes. I dated a Thaan for almost six months." Her expression shifted, brows creasing slightly. "I really liked him, honestly, but I should have known from the beginning that it wouldn't work." She sighed. "What about you?"

Noah nodded. Andorians counted. "I haven't," he affirmed, shaking his head against the hand on his cheek. He smiled to one side, his eyebrows lifting. "Well, culturally unsurprising, you've had m-more success on dating than I have. I know there was," he blinked and his voice went into controlled neutral, "Walsh... did you date anyone else on the Sojourner before him?"

The shift in Noah's tone did not go unnoticed, but Irynya dismissed his neutrality as a reaction to the mutually complicated and sometimes negative, connection they had both had with Kennedy. He had, after all, had a rather extreme reaction the first time Iry kissed Noah. It had been platonic. She'd explained as much. But that had been the first inkling of the extremity of the differences between herself and Kennedy. One that she hadn't entirely understood at the time.

"No," she said softly. "Just Kennedy. There was a girl on again off again on the Adelphi. Never serious. But no... Kennedy has been my only partner on the Sojourner and ... Well... You saw how that went." A wave of embarrassment washed through her and a bit of guilt at the rip current Noah had gotten caught in due to her ignorance.

Noah leaned over and he pat her shoulder. "Hey. Not your fault. We Humans are-are hard. Especially when they come from a place like he did." He smiled at her, just being quiet so she could process that through. "I guess not everything works out. Or really... you know... it just doesn't go the way we thought it would."

She nodded and wiggled closer thankful for hoe much grace he gave her. After a moment, though, she couldn't help the curiosity that pushed to the front. "What about you?" She asked. A part of her thought that if there was someone she would know. But then again, it was possible he could keep that close yo his chest. Suddenly she wasn't entirely sure of what she thought she knew.

"Me?" Noah screwed up his face with one eye squinting, "I-I mean except for Timmoz giving me weird erections and hot flashes for the first two months I was here.... n-not really. But. Jyl-eel, the Botanist? She was-" he paused. Wait what if she still wanted to? Was was an is? Noah stuck with was. "-Uhm, interested. But her rotation on Sojourner is up in a couple of months. She's transferring to some kind of Botanist's Exchange Program with the Kressari. I -I guess they are strong in Botany. Like the Tygarrians."

It was Iry's turn to keep her tone and expression neutral. "Was...?" She asked carefully. She had wondered if Noah had ever noticed the way Tor looked at him. She had suspected for quite a while, but he always insisted they were just friends. "And... You don't feel the same? Or you do and don't want to start something before she leaves?"

Noah frowned. "I'm not..... sure. To be honest." His next sigh was a little stressed, as if the round and round about Jyl-eel in his head had proven to be taxing in the past. He shrugged. "Engineer's curse. I guess." Again he sighed and tapped his free hand on the bed. "It's it's hard to explain... it's not that I don't mind. You know. Sex. Or relationships. But.... when you make an idiot of yourself thinking somebody is flirting with you when they're just being nice or... when you can't really tell what people want? Like Alex. I-I didn't know he liked me until Elizabeth pointed it out. And-and I didn't know what he wanted until he came out and said it. I can read a machine or code. That's easy. Reading people, that's hard. So...." His mouth pursed mid-word and he lifted his gaze to look at her. "When you screw it all up enough... times... uh... sometimes... you stop trying because the friends are what matters."

For a moment she just held his gaze as her hand crept in between them until it covered his. A dozen thoughts swirled through her head. Things she could say. Advice. None of it seemed quite right. But she held his gaze and his hand and, when the moment stretched long, she spoke. "I mean. We all make those mistakes," she said. "Heck... I've even made that mistake with you when we were camping. So yeah, I can understand feeling that way." She pressed her lips tight together, watching his eyes. "My parents always told me when you pick a partner ... a serious one at least... that being friends first is the most important part." She squeezed his hand and then pulled hers back. "So maybe you're on to something."

Noah nodded agreement. "Just.... seems like it has more time to figure things out." His eyes narrowed, "I'm not really sure how people figure out if they like someone based on... a cup of coffee. Or a beer. Or a dance. Doesn't uh wouldn't it take longer than that?"

One tan shoulder shrugged as Iry considered that. "I mean... I've felt attracted to a person in that amount of time, but... that's not the same as knowing you like them, let alone want to do something long term." Then, as a thought occurred to her, she made a face. "Kennedy thought he was in love with me without knowing me," she said, frowning. "I'm not sure he really knew what he was saying, though."

Noah nodded vehemently, "Oh I-I understand if I find somebody attractive it just... attractive is just one thing. The rest comes slow." When she brought up Kennedy, Noah again nodded though much more slowly. "I-I think he believed it too. Just...." Noah frowned. "He didn't know how to handle it. It-it was more like he wanted to put you on a pedestal so he could admire you. More than be with you."

"Yeah," she agreed, a bit of sadness coating her voice. "Honestly if I ever do find someone I want them to want to be with me. It's nice to be admired, but..." She flopped back onto her back, arms stretching above her head before she turned to look over at him. "It's not all I want out of a partner."

Pointing her toes down she stretched, luxuriating for just a moment before a mischievous thought bubbled to the surface. "So... Not sure about Tor as a romantic partner, but... You do find her attractive?" She grinned wolfishly at him.

Noah flustered with a chuckle. "I mean. She's pretty. Tha-that's pretty obvious. And she's nice." His nose wrinkled and he winced. "She reminds me a little too much of my Mom. I love my Mom. But..."

"But you don't want to make out with your mom," Irynya finished for him, eyes flashing mirthfully. "That's a tough one. There's objectively attractive and... you know... the kind of attractive that makes you go warm and tight and... well... you know what I mean." She chuckled.

"And she's not my mother. Obviously." Noah tilted his head as if he had to justify his decision suddenly. His brow knit at the bridge of his nose. "It's complicated. But yeah, I-I know what you mean."

"So... Elizabeth... it sounds like you were close with her. Did you guys ever get together?" She asked, changing the subject. It suddenly occurred to her that Noah could be carrying a torch for someone off ship.

Noah blinked. "Uhh...." He sniffed and shook his head while a vestigial tic of his- pushing his hair back behind his ear- made itself known until he had little to push back. "Not exactly. Fortunately. Elizabeth was-was one of those boundary pusher types. Is." He grimaced and chuckled but it was a chuckle of some discomfort grown over with healing. "But she was the one that suggested my one and only three-way." Noah shook his head when he remembered disclosing that. It's still wasn't a favorite memory. "She was friends with Victoire and her partner at the time... uhh..." Noah scratched his cheek with his thumb, "Xanil, he was Xahean." He shrugged with a shake of his head. "She knew they were looking for a second guy so... she asked me." He shrugged, "It just made everything a little weird for a few months after she nudged me into trying it. It took awhile to get back to normal."

Irynya watched Noah adjust his locks... and keep adjusting them. This was a familiar motion and one that she thought meant discomfort. She had the strangest desire to reach out and do it for him. Or maybe take his hand. Something to reassure even though she wasn't exactly sure that he needed it. So she kept her hands still, tucked beneath her head. "That makes sense," she said, processing her reaction as she spoke. "I mean... I take it that the threesome was uncomfortable. They're kind of awkward to begin with, and that's at its best..." she twisted her lips to the side in thought. "And if it wasn't a good experience I can definitely see feeling uncomfortable with a boundary pushing friend." She was quiet a moment.

"I'm not against them." Noah said after a moment longer. "It's just a lot to keep track of at once. Especially if... you know... haven't done it much at the time. And you're shy about one of the people. And the other one is pretty experienced." He shrugged. "Like I said, I'm mostly over it." And Noah shrugged again. "I knew Victoire. I didn't know Xanil." Noah leaned back on his hand wishing they had late night snacks. Though soon, he would need to get back in his own room and get sleep for his shift- and the group activity on the Holodeck later. "But anyway to answer your question no Elizabeth and I never got together, um. And I think that's definitely for the best."

Quiet descended on them for a moment, the only sounds to be heard coming from the Dots on the other side of the room where the desk was beginning to resemble its final form. It was warm in the room, but she also wasn't wearing terrifically much clothing and so rolled to her side with her back to Noah, shimmying closer until she was curled up in front of him before asking the next question that popped into her head. "You know," she said slowly, "it occurs to me that the only person I've been with longer than like a half a year was Rami. And... yeah... that was a bullet dodged in the end. I think anyway. What about you? Which one was your longest relationship?" she asked.

Noah sensed his queue. With her back to him, Noah spooned up his skinny body to her small spoon. His breath was soft against her neck as he settled his head on the bed. Jeez. It was even softer than the ones they had in his quarters. He slid his arms under Irynya's on a safe part of her waist. "Hmm." Again his breath, coursing out of that big nose, drifted over her skin. "The first Alex. We tried to make it work even though she was in a completely different star system." He chuckled. "It-it sort of became a joke. You know? My girlfriend in Alpha Centauri..." He paused and Noah turned to look at the Dots. They were finalizing, with the power sources and surface console integrations going in. "Do you still talk to Rami?"

Despite herself, Iry sighed contentedly when Noah leaned in, wrapping an arm around her and shifting form his side until she was flush against him. His breath tickled the short hair on the back of her neck and she let her eyes drift closed for a moment. "Long distances are hard," she said both in response to his comment about Alex and to his question. "Rami and I..." she paused, giving herself a moment to consider. "Not really any more. He's married now. And has kids. Honestly... got married pretty quickly after I left. It..." she pulled a face. "I was surprised and he was more regularly in touch with me then. Tried a few times to convince me to leave the Academy and come home. They weren't real attempts. I felt like they were more for show than anything. Last time I talked to him was at a get together with friends when we were waiting on Risa. Marti and her husband hosted a get together and Rami was there with his wife and kids and his older brother, Mika. Elwe and Tal and Wrena too. Tal and Wrena did end up getting married. Their kids were there too. And a few other people I didn't know as well..." She realized she was rambling on about people that Noah didn't really know. "It was strange to be around the friends I grew up with after so many years. But Rami and I did get a chance to catch up." Reaching her hand down she settled it over Noah's longer arm, cupping his forearm in her palm. "What about you?"

"Huh uh," Noah shook his head in the negative. "I-I haven't talked to her since she started her dissertation on Toliman." He affirmed. "It was mutual and... and yeah it's ok. I hope she's doing alright. She probably is." Irynya had contributed so much more richly, in a way that had felt so Risian. But Humans and Risians had something in common here: that weird feeling of coming home and realizing friends had grown up and changed without you. "I remember feeling like that when I went home to Enceladus. Some of my friends who'd moved away came back for a week... it felt strange." Noah narrowed his eyes, "Actually... sort of remember feeling that way when I came back from Cendo Prae too. After my accident. They just felt different for awhile. Sort of." He sighed softly. His eyes blinked and when they opened, it was because the Dots had emitted their soft and rounded beep. Their work was complete and they began to file out of Irynya's room.

Noah lifted his head, craning, to watch them go. The doors opened and the hints of Debbie's all-year Christmas was seen in the common space.

The feel of Noah's nose brushing her hair tickled when he shook his head, but the feel of his breath warm and soft continued after he stilled, describing friends and the awkwardness. She wondered, absently, if awkwardness like that was universal or if it was unique to particular cultures. Something to ask Mei perhaps. She'd know, surely. But then the Dots were signaling their completion and filing out. She felt Noah shift behind her, turning his head to watch them go. She groaned, not wanting to give up the warmth and comfort of him... the proximity... the ease of having him right there. For a moment her chest tightened with an emotion that made her want to ask him to stay and also not want to hear him decline. "One more minute?" she breathed, trying to let the feeling roll through her. It was almost a guarantee in their friendship at this point that she'd always ask this. Not that she couldn't leave him go. Just that she was always reticent to relinquish their connection.

"They're done," Noah just affirmed. Then he turned back and laid back where he'd been. "Sure, one more minute." He affirmed. He yawned this time, not stifling it. One minutes turned into two. Two turned into four. When Noah picked up his head again, only half aware that his eyes had been closed, he looked around. It was dark. The computer hadn't sensed movement for some time and had shut the lights off. He grunted and lifted to his elbow on his very numb arm.

At Noah's movement Irynya stirred not quite coming fully awake. Sleepily she shifted stretching against him and then doing something between a shimmy and a roll until she was facing towards rather than away from him. Her eyes didn't open though and instinctively she shifted close again, one arm curling under her head and the other tucked between them, fingers splayed on his chest while her face sought out the warm Noah-scented spot on his chest where she could tuck her head in beneath his chin. She sighed and murmured sleepily. "Stay." Not quite a question, but an offer to simply drift back into the comfortable warmth together.

"Kay," Noah affirmed quietly. He nodded in the dark. He let his head back down and let his dead arm collapse back into the soft of the bed. His eyes blinked and surveyed the darkness and its bluish-white highlights from the various technology dim and idle. He tightened his arm around the Helmswoman and nuzzled her neck. "Night..." He murmured.

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Lieutenant Irynya
Chief Flight Controller

Ensign Noah Balsam
Systems Specialist