The Gossip Train

Morning came sooner than expected for Yolande. It felt like time had barely passed before a new day had started. She started to get dressed but froze as she looked into the vanity mirror. An unused bed was behind her. She immediately checked the dresser, finding the room key. “I locked the captain out.” Her face paled as she scrambled to finish getting dressed. She ran into the lobby, hoping someone saw her and that she was alright.  “Mornin’!” Captain Klee'shaë chirped, sitting at a table as if nothing had happened.  “I’m so sorry!” she shouted, drawing attention to herself. “I can’t believe I locked you out last night! Are you okay?”  “I’m fine,” she said with a soft chuckle. “Don’t worry about it.”  “Yeah,” Garl, who Yolande had only now clocked was sitting next to the captain, reassured her. “She spent the night with me, so there’s no need to worry!”  Yolande nearly choked on air, struggling to keep her composure at that response. “Thanks,” she barely managed to get out.  She sat down at the table and quietly grabbed a piece of fruit from the small bowl. The two had already gone back to talking to each other as Garl continued whatever whittling project he had, and Yolande felt a pit in her stomach grow. “Not after I already opened the banana,” she mentally complained, not wanting to waste food.   Loud footsteps came barreling down the stairs, making her look to the source. Valere and Zale practically jumped down the stairs, and Teaks was trying to keep up while still being careful. Valere strutted straight up to the table and stared at Garl and Captain Klee'shaë intensely.  “Can I help you?” the captain asked, befuddled.  She took a deep breath before speaking. “I’m gonna cut straight to the chase,” she declared. “We know you two are hooking up.”  The table fell silent until the screeching of the captain’s chair being pushed back broke it. She stood up and slammed her hook and hand on the table.  “WHAT?” she screeched, hitting notes higher than the others thought possible.  Valere had to gather her composure before continuing. “Hey, we’re not here to judge, we just ask that you be more... discreet,” she slightly winced, recalling Zale’s horror from last night.  Garl looked a mixture of horrified and confused at this. Yolande was also shocked that she confronted them about it.  “WHAT IN THE WORLD GAVE YOU THAT IDEA?”  The captain looked so mortified that Yolande started to feel bad for her. “I saw him leaving your room one morning,” she admitted, “and I heard you guys flirting. To be honest, it kinda freaked me out, so I told Valere about it to get it off my chest.”  Captain Klee'shaë was petrified, but Garl seemed to have a realization.  “I think I know what you’re talking about, and it definitely wasn’t that,” he began explaining.             Garl peered his head out his cabin door. No one seemed to be awake, which meant this was the opportune time. He tip-toed down the hall to Captain Klee'shaë’s room before quietly knocking. He tried a few times but wound up nowhere. Taking a bit of a risk, he entered uninvited.   The room was a tad messy, with clothes and other belongings strewn about randomly. It took a second for him to find the captain, since the top of her head was barely peaked out of a mountain of blankets. He gently nudged her to try and wake her up. Her eyes slowly opened, before shooting open when she realized she was face-to-face with someone. She let out a muffled scream as she quickly buried herself further in her blankets.  “I’m sorry!” Garl quickly said as he turned away. “I really wanted to talk to you privately, but you didn’t answer your door, so I let myself in.” He heard the rustling of fabric behind him as he apologized. “I’m really really sorry! I promise I didn’t see anything!”  A tap on his shoulder stopped his rambling. He turned around to see a properly dressed Klee'shaë. “It’s alright,” she answered, still clearly flustered. “What did you need me for?”  “I wanted to give you something!” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace.   It was made of large wooden beads, akin to her usual necklace, but instead of a skull, a wooden flower that had been carefully painted served as the focal point. She gently took it from him, inspecting the craftsmanship as he talked about it.  “I’ve only seen you wear one necklace, so I thought you could use another! I decided to make it a flower since I know you like them, plus I think they suit you more,” he said with a smile. “The paint job isn’t the best, but I tried to get the pink to match your sash and mask.”  Captain Klee'shaë slid it over her head, and shoved the cape draped over her mirror to the side to look at herself. While the necklace definitely wasn’t perfect, it was still gorgeous. She held the pendant in front of her to continue staring at it.  Garl chuckled to himself. “I’m glad you like it.”  “Thank you,” she muttered, struggling to express her gratitude.  “And sorry for barging in again,” he apologized, “You seemed kind of flustered when I took you to the greenhouse in front of your crew last time, so I thought I should try to be more discreet this time.”  She blushed slightly at his thoughtfulness but still met his gaze. “I said it’s alright.” She looked back at the necklace, “I don’t know how to thank you.”  “You don’t need to. Just wear it from time to time for me, alright?” he chirped, putting his hands over hers.  She nodded enthusiastically, causing his smile to grow even wider. “See you later!” he said, making his leave. While the positive feelings of a gift well-received would normally energize him, he felt exhausted. He quickly returned to his room before muttering to himself, “I shouldn’t have stayed up so late to finish that.”            Yolande felt her face grow hot. “So that’s what that was?” she sheepishly asked.  “Yeah,” Garl replied. “I can see how you came to your conclusion though.” He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.  “Didn’t you say you also heard them flirting?” Keenathan asked.  Everyone turned to look at the unexpected intrusion.  “What? We’re in on this too you know,” Valtraid huffed.  “I was the one who told them,” Yolande admitted, since the group still looked confused, “and yeah, I heard them flirting while we were cooking breakfast.”  “We weren’t?” Captain Klee'shaë stated, confused.  “I think I know this one too” Garl began, blushing a tad.            After catching up on some sleep, Garl figured he should ask if Yolande still wanted to make breakfast for everyone else. He got dressed for the day and peered into the kitchen only to find Yolande and Captain Klee'shaë already cooking.  “Oh, wow. I’m surprised to see you two making breakfast,” Garl said, stepping into the kitchen. “Well, not you,” he said looking at Yolande before turning to Captain Klee'shaë, “but definitely you.”  “Does everyone think I can’t cook?” she asked, a soft chuckle escaping her.  “I know you can cook, I just wasn’t expecting you to,” he said, leaning on the counter next to her.  “Did you just feel like sleeping in today, Garl?” Yolande asked, turning to face him.  “Yeah, sorry, I was up late last night so I wanted the extra shuteye,” he answered, scratching the back of his head, “I’m a bit late to the party, but would you guys like some help with breakfast?”  “There’s not much left to do, but I guess you could help divide the rest of the veggies into portions for each omelet,” Captain Klee'shaë said, stepping to the side for him to see her cutting job.   “Sure, I can do that!” he cheered, moving closer to her and diverting his attention to the food.  Yolande turned back to her cooking. Garl and Captain Klee'shaë silently worked together to separate all her freshly cut veggies. As he tilted a cutting board to dump what was left into one of the bowls, he smiled noticing that she was wearing the flower necklace. When he set the board down, he gently grabbed her necklace and jiggled it.  “Looking good, Captain,” he whispered, ecstatic to see her wear it openly. He could tell from her eyes that she was giving him a smile from under her mask.  “What was that?” Yolande asked, turning to look at the two of them.  “Oh, nothing,” Garl quickly blurted out, embarrassed he was caught complimenting her so brazenly.  The captain managed to quickly compose herself and spun around to face Yolande, carrying the small bowls full of the diced vegetables.   “We finished sorting everything,” she said nonchalantly, ignoring the awkwardness of the moment.            “So if that’s what you mean, I get why you took that to be us flirting,” Garl admitted. “Is there anything else that needs clarification?” he asked, clearly uncomfortable with all this.  “That was pretty much it,” Yolande said, feeling awful for misinterpreting things. “I’m really sorry.”  “It’s alright,” Garl said.  “Why would you immediately jump to us hooking up though?” the captain asked.  “When you see a guy leaving a girl's room before the sun’s even come up, what else are you supposed to think?” she defended herself.   Captain Klee'shaë looked to the side, lacking a response.  “Are we clear now?” Garl asked.  “Yes. I’m sorry,” Yolande said, still ashamed of herself.  “Why don’t we go do something to lighten the mood and hopefully forget all of this?” Keenathan suggested, sensing the lingering uneasiness.  “It can be a ‘Yay-the-captain-isn't-cheating-on-us' party!” Valtraid added.  Yolande laughed at the name before getting up to join them. “That’s sounds like a great idea.”  Captain Klee'shaë started to get out of her seat as well but was quickly pushed back by Zale.  “Not you. You stay,” he said, giving her a death glare.  Captain Klee'shaë was puzzled but followed his commands. She readjusted herself in her chair before calling out, “Catch up with you later then?” to her crew.  “See you later, Captain!” they replied, exiting the inn.  Once they had fully gone, Valere cleared her throat to begin her own investigation. “Why have you two been hanging out so much?”  “What do you mean?” Captain Klee'shaë asked.  “When we’re travelling. You've started to hang out a lot more. Why is that?”  “So I don’t get bored,” the captain replied, still confused. “I only got three options. What do you want me to do?” she exclaimed.  “You’re not weaseling your way out of this,” Valere stated, determined. “You’ve been far chattier with Garl than anyone else, hanging out with him privately at the water holes, and had the gall to even complement his butt right in front of me.”  “What?” she exclaimed, appalled at the accusations.   Garl’s face had grown beet red.  “First of all, he’s just more fun to talk to. Secondly, I normally eat by the water hole so I can quickly wash my dishes afterwards, and if he needs to do your guys’ when I’m done, I can help him out. But what on earth are you talking about with that last one?” she explained, raising her voice with the last statement.  “When I had him check my campfire one night, you said his butt looked good while he was bending over,” Valere specified.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Captain Klee'shaë reiterated. “That never happened.”  “I know it did because I was right there!” Valere continued. “You tried to cover it up complementing my fire afterwards.”  The captain paused for a second before she recalled that night. “I remember this,” she sighed, “and you’re completely wrong about it.”             Seraï was checking on the group’s water supply, chatting with the boys when she suddenly heard Zale shout.  “Hey, there you are!”   She turned to see Valere emerging from the jungle, firewood in hand.  “Hey, Valere,” Garl smiled. “Could you start the fire when you get the chance?”  “Sure thing,” she replied, moving to firepit.  Seraï brought her focus back to her current task. Zale’s flask definitely needed a refill, and the rest could use a top-up. She grabbed the lot to take to the water hole, but Zale called out to her.  “Hey, Seraï, do you think this is okay?” he asked, gesturing to their sleeping arrangements.  “A little close together don’t you think?” she remarked.  The sleeping bags had barely an inch between them. He pulled one a tad farther to the side, before looking back at her.   “Still super close,” she stated.  “How far should they be?” he asked.  “A good amount. We don’t need a cuddle pile or people rolling into each other.”  “Like this much?” he asked as he moved it even farther.   “Farther.”  She could tell Zale was getting annoyed, so she opted to give him directions. Walking through the camp, she passed Garl on his way to inspect Valere’s campfire and stopped a few steps behind Valere. Using her distant view, she motioned her hands for how far he should slide the sleeping bags over. After a bit of finicking and messing with him by making him move one back and forth for a while, Seraï was content with the arrangements.  “Looks nice,” Seraï called out to him.  The atmosphere grew tense as Valere stopped talking all of a sudden. She looked down to find both her and Garl staring up at her. “Do they want my opinion on the firepit?”.   She glanced at the firepit, before stating, “Uh, yeah, that too.”  Seraï walked off to meet back with Zale, confused by that interaction.            “You weren’t even paying attention to us?” Valere asked.  “I was trying to help Zale,” she stated, “so no, I wasn’t talking to you guys. I only really noticed you two when you stopped chattering and stared at me.”  Garl looked relieved from her explanation. “Can we move on now?” he asked, wanting to end the whole discussion.  “No,” Zale said. “We’re not done. There’s still a lot that needs explaining.”  “Then what do you need to know?” Captain Klee'shaë asked irritated.  “You were on a date yesterday,” Valere stated.  “We weren’t?” Garl said, confused. “We were just hanging out.”  “By that logic you two were also on a date,” the captain retorted.  They were taken aback by that response but could acknowledge that there was some truth to it.  “But we normally hang out just the two of us,” Valere added. “We’ve never seen you guys do that before.”  “Can't we start doing so?” Captain Klee'shaë asked.  “Yeah,” Valere mumbled, feeling her argument fall apart.  “If you really need to know the details of yesterday...”            Seraï waited at the center of the ship while the rest of her group gathered those who wanted to come. She had a decent crowd after a while, and once it was confirmed everyone who wanted to go was there, she cut open a portal to the village for them to file through.   Teleportation usually took a small toll on her, but the greater the distance and the more that passed through, the worse it became. She thought she would be able to handle her crew like she normally did, but the exhaustion was hitting harder than ever before.  Once everyone had made it and she closed the portal, she felt like she was going to faint. The excited chatter of everyone didn’t help.  “See? This place is awesome!” Zale shouted, gesturing at the dome of water overhead.  “It really is, isn’t it?” Garl added, asking no one in particular.  “We should see if they have an inn we can stay at before exploring,” Valere stated in hopes the boys wouldn’t run off.  Zale was already a couple feet ahead of her but came back. “Yeah, that’d be the smart thing to do,” he grumbled.  “We have to get our rooms first because they’re not gonna let us once Zale starts terrorizing the town,” Seraï joked.  “Seriously,” Zale mock complained.  The horde of guests started to make their way to the inn.  “Are you alright?” Seraï was surprised to hear Garl whispering in her ear.  “Not really,” she whispered back. “I don’t think I considered the depth of this place when calculating how much I could handle.”  “You wanna turn in early?” he offered.  “I’m not sure I can even make it to the inn,” Seraï admitted. Her legs felt like giving out at any moment, and her head felt like a ton of bricks.  “I can carry you.”  She was taken aback by his proposal, and while it was tempting, she declined. “I’m fine. I’m kinda heavy anyways,” she said. “Heavy’s a bit of an understatement when your body’s half steel.”  “I doubt that’s true, and it wouldn’t even be an issue,” he assured her, “Your health is more important.”  Seraï hesitated. He always had a way to get through to her. “I wouldn’t want other people to see though,” she muttered.  Garl was lost in thought before he had an idea. “Let me ask Valere if we can hang out while they get our reservations, and once everyone’s dispersed, I can take you to your room.”  “Alright,” she shyly agreed, finding no glaring issues with his plan.  He slipped away into the crowd and came back sooner than she expected.   “They said it’s fine for us to stay back,” Garl smiled, standing in front her to keep her from walking farther. “Is there someplace you’d like to wait until they’re done?”  “Just somewhere I can sit,” she murmured, her legs aching as she stood. “You can pick the place.”  “How about we grab a bite to eat? Er- well,” he quickly realized his mistake. “I can look away when you eat. Some food might help with your fatigue.”  “I don’t think eating would do anything, but I’m happy to go to a restaurant or something if you’re hungry.”  “Alright then,” he cheered. He looked her up and down, causing his expression to grow more worried. “Do you need help getting there?”  Seraï scanned the horizon, unable to see any restaurant nearby. After some hesitation, she nodded. “Yeah.”  “Is there a way you want to be carried?” he asked.  She was surprised at how nonchalant he was about this, while her heart was racing a million miles an hour. Or maybe that was just the exhaustion. “No,” she stated since all the options she could think of were embarrassing.  “Okay!”  He managed to scoop her up bridal-style after a failed first attempt. Seraï could tell he was struggling and mentally cursed her metallic limbs.   “You know you don’t have to do this,” she stated, regretting her decision and hoping he would put her down.  “It’s fine. I got this,” he winked, straightening himself. “Let’s find someplace nice.”            “And that’s supposed to make us think it’s not romantic?” Valere interrupted.  “It wasn’t meant to be,” Garl attested.  “Can I finish?” Captain Klee'shaë growled.            The two had made their way to a quaint cafe. While the hostess was puzzled by their position, she led them to an outdoor table.  “Thank you,” Garl said as he set Seraï down on her chair. He took his own seat after the hostess handed them their menus and left.  “Thanks,” Seraï mumbled, still embarrassed that she had to be carried.  “Don’t mention it!” he chirped. “I just want you to feel better.”  She smiled at how sweet he was being, and they began a casual conversation. Garl ordered some food, but she passed when asked. Her body felt a bit more stable as time passed, but certainly not well.   “Are you sure you don’t want to eat anything?” Garl asked again, offering her some of his food.  “I said I’m sure,” she sighed with a smile. “If I need something to eat, I can order it myself.”  “I know,” he replied. “I just want to make sure,” he sheepishly said as he took his first bite.   “And you should be sure that I don’t want to eat,” she remarked.  He let out a nervous chuckle. “Sorry.”  “I know you mean well,” Seraï stated.  As he continued eating, Garl mustered up the courage to ask the question that had been bothering him.  “Why don’t you tell anyone when you’re hurt?”  She paused before answering, “I don’t think they need to know.”  “Why not? It’s not like they would judge you for it,” Garl reasoned.  “I know, but it’s still a bit embarrassing,” she replied.  “We don’t care about that. We just need to make sure you’re okay. You said yourself that you wouldn’t have been able to make it to the inn. What would’ve happened if I didn’t ask you how you were doing?”  Seraï stayed quiet and stared at the ground, making Garl let out a sigh.  “I know you’re not one to share things, but you can’t be hiding things this serious. You need to let us know if you need help.”  She met his gaze, melting when she could see the genuine worry for her.  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, looking back down.  “It’s fine, just please say something next time.”  “I will,” she stated, noting that he had finished eating when she brought her eyes a smidge higher.  Garl pushed out his chair, leading her to mimic him.  “We should try to get our room keys,” Garl said as he stood up.  “Yeah,” Seraï mumbled, bracing herself to try standing. “Are they at the inn or did Zale and Yolande take them?”  “I don’t know. We’d have to ask.”  “Let’s get going then,” she responded, her voice laced with pain as she tried to get up on her own.  “Are you sure?” he asked, rushing to her aid.  “Yeah.”  With his help, she was able to stand, and they paid for his food at the front.  “Do you need me to carry you again?” he asked as soon as they left the building.  “No,” Seraï stated, as she began to pick up her pace to prove a point.  She immediately stumbled, but Garl was able to catch her before she fell. Looking up at him as she straightened herself, he was clearly annoyed.  “Never said I didn’t need any help,” she remarked as she latched onto his arm.  Garl laughed at her save. “Please be more careful.”  He led her to the inn, keeping her steady as they walked. The lobby was fairly empty when they arrived, with everyone presumably exploring the town. Garl inspected the Wheels table before going up to the counter.  “Excuse me, Miss, do you happen to know what our rooms are?” he asked.  “No, I’m afraid I don’t,” she answered. “Do you have a booking here?”  “Oh, right! We are part of the big group of travelers. Our friends Valere and Zale should have booked everyone’s rooms.”  “Those are the two Solstice warriors, correct?” she asked.  “Yes,” Garl grinned, “Do you know what room Zale is staying in, and whether he has the key or not?”  “That’s the blond one?”  “Yes.”  “He left his room key with me. I take it you’re the roommate he mentioned.”  “Sure am!” he exclaimed as she handed him the key. “Thanks, ma’am!”  “You’re welcome,” she replied.  He waved the room key in front of Seraï, before helping her out of her chair. He escorted her into his room, and upon entry, she hard pivoted to the left bed. Garl laughed as she practically face-planted it. Once she had fully crawled in, she saw that he sat down at the table.  “You don’t have to stay you know.”  “But I want to,” he replied.  “I’m just going to sleep,” she stated, as her voice started to grow groggier by the second.  “And I’ll be here when you wake up,” he said as he pulled his whittling supplies from his bag.   Seraï smiled as she closed her eyes. “Good night.”  “Good night,” Garl grinned back.            “He was just helping me out,” Captain Klee'shaë finished.  “I get why you guys thought it was a date though,” Garl added, hoping to ease the Solstice warriors’ growing embarrassment.  Valere hugged herself, sliding her hands up and down her arms. “I’m sorry for all this,” she said.  “Not yet,” Zale spoke up, drawing their attention to him. He looked at Garl and the captain with a disgusted and slightly pained expression. “Why were you two sleeping together in our room?” His voice was weaker and lower than usual.  “I told you he noticed,” Captain Klee'shaë said as she turned to Garl.  He scratched behind his ear. “Sorry,” he told her before turning to Zale and Valere. “I can explain.”            Late at night, Garl and Seraï returned to an empty lobby. Even the innkeeper had gone to bed. He noticed her freeze as he started to approach the Wheels table.  “Is something wrong?" he turned back to look at her. “I don’t have my room key,” she admitted.  “Can’t you teleport in?” he asked, unsure why this would be a problem.  “No, I never went in there. I don’t know what it looks like.”  “You went in my room, and inn rooms all look the same. Can’t you base it off that?”  “The rooms being similar just makes it worse – I’d have to know what makes them different from each other,” she explained.  Garl paused, failing to come up with a solution.  “I could wake up Yolande and have her let me in, but I really don’t want to do that,” Seraï trailed off, also mulling through her options. “Wait, did you get your key from Zale?” she exclaimed, worried he may be in the same predicament.  “No,” he said, moving towards the Wheels table again. “It’s in here.”  “What?” she muttered, following him to see what he meant.  He kneeled and opened a maintenance panel on the underside of the table. Carefully reaching his hand in, he pulled out a key.  “When we stay in a town, Zale will sometimes sneak out to see the night life, so I hide the key in the inn’s Wheels table for him to use,” he expounded. “The maintenance panels don’t have any seals, so it’s easy to access, and every inn has one!”  “Sneaky,” she mumbled to herself. “That’s a clever spot,” she said louder, talking to him.  “Thanks,” he grinned, standing up. “You know, you could probably stay in our room if you want,” he stated.  “Huh?” she blurted out, surprised by the offer. “I don’t think Zale would appreciate that.”  “We all sleep by each other at camps. What difference does it make being in a room? Plus, he should already be asleep, and we both get up earlier than him. He doesn’t have to know,” he said, in hopes she would reconsider.  Seraï was clearly thinking about it but still had doubts.  “If he finds out and it upsets him, the blame is all on me,” he said, extending a pinkie to her.  She sighed, still nervous, but intertwined their pinkies.  Garl smiled and headed to his room, Seraï following close behind. He unlocked the door and quietly opened it, sticking his head in to see where Zale was. He was fast asleep on the right bed, so he pushed the door all the way open and gestured for her to come in.   Darkness enveloped them once she shut the door behind her, but their eyes were able to adjust. He took one of the extra pillows off his bed and checked the armoire for any spare blankets.  “You can take the bed,” he whispered, failing to find anything.   “No, it’s literally your bed.” Seraï swiped the pillow from under his arm. “I’m sleeping on the floor.”  “Did I say you could do that?” He turned from the dresser he was searching to glare at her.  “Since when did I need your permission?” she playfully asked.  “Since I let you stay in my room,” Garl jabbed back, “My place, my rules. You’re taking the bed.”  “But it’d be rude for me to kick you out of your own bed,” she said. “Plus, the floor looks comfy.”  “We both know that’s a lie,” he said with a small chortle.  “Well, I ain’t backing down,” she stated confidently, crossing her arms.  “And neither am I,” he smiled at her.  “Guess we’re never going to sleep then,” she jokingly shrugged.  “I don’t think there’re any spare blankets,” he mumbled more to himself than to Seraï.  “My cape’s a fine blanket,” she said, wrapping it around herself as a demonstration.  “Definitely not,” he said, eyeing her, though amused by her antics.  “It’s better than anything you got,” she teased.  “It’d be a crime for a gentleman-”  “You’re not pulling the gentleman card,” she smirked.  “I don’t care what you say, you’re not sleeping on the floor,” he said, having run out of arguments.  “And I could say the same to you.”  The two both stood their ground, unwilling to back down. Determined to keep her from sleeping on the floor, and unable to think of a way to get through to her, Garl came up with a compromise.  “We’ll share then.”  Seraï was taken aback by his statement but quickly composed herself. “We’re not sharing.”  “You’re not sleeping on the floor, and you don’t want me to,” he explained. “Do you have a better idea?”  “I sleep on the floor like-”  “Seraï.” He stared down at her, “You’re not sleeping on the floor,” he reiterated, giving it extra enunciation.  She looked up at him, turning their argument into a wordless staring contest. The two remained unmoving, until Garl sighed. He grabbed her by the arm and led her to the bed. He laid down, and scooted to the side, locking eyes with her again when he finished. She crouched down to lay on the floor, but Garl stretched his hand over and grabbed her by the neck of her cape.  “Let go,” she angrily muttered.  “Then get off the floor,” he whispered, matching her tone.  Seraï waited a second before standing up, and he let her go once she did. She turned to glare at him, but he just smirked at her.  “Why are you like this?” she grumbled.  He chuckled as she threw the pillow back onto the bed, lifted the covers, and joined him underneath, lying straight and stiff as a board. The darkness did little to hide the red that covered her face.  “Don’t worry about it,” he assured her.  “This is weird,” she flatly stated.  “Only if you make it.”  “It is objectively weird,” she reiterated.  “Not really. Couples do it all the-”  “We are not a couple,” she interrupted as she turned her head to stare at him.  “Well, yeah, I know that,” he stated. “I’m just saying it’s not that weird.”  “Then you’re wrong,” she flipped her body over to face away from him.  Garl sighed, saddened that she wouldn’t come around at least a little bit. He knew it was weird, but she brought this on herself by being stubborn. She could at least try to have fun with it. He had a brilliant idea, causing a devilish smile to grow on his face.  He scooted closer to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Seraï nearly screamed, but she was able to stifle it for the most part.  “Why don’t we make the most of this?” he whispered in her ear.            “How is that not romantic?” Zale shouted, absolutely flabbergasted.  Captain Klee'shaë had already covered her face with her hand, embarrassed at the story.  “I know, I know,” Garl waved it off, clearly blushing. “I was just joking with her. Let me finish.”  “Alright,” Valere said, skeptical of how he could save this.            “What are you doing?” she whispered in a panic, clearly shaken by his actions.  He let go of her and laughed a little. “Calm down, Seraï. Yes, this is weird, but why not have a little fun with it.”  She turned to face him, her eyes filled with hurt from his prank.   “I’m sorry,” he muttered, realizing that he went too far. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”  “I know,” she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.  He lay still, unsure of what to do next. Things didn’t go to plan, but surely he could salvage this.   “Can I make it up to you?” he asked weakly, hoping to atone for his error.  “How?” she asked, looking at him.  “I don’t know. That’s up to you,” he said.  She fell silent but continued staring at him.  “What did you mean by ‘making the most of this’?” she asked hesitantly.  Garl wasn’t expecting that question and felt the blood rush to his cheeks having to answer. He hesitantly let out, “Cuddle.”  Her face matched his hearing that. “Really?” she asked in disbelief.  “Yeah,” he said as he gave an awkward smile. “I know you’re not one for physicality, especially around others, but you let me pick you up and held my arm earlier, and there’s no one who can see, so I thought it might be worth a shot.”  “I-” her voice faltered. “You’d really want to do that?”  “Only if you want to,” he answered, his smile morphing into a more genuine one.  Seraï never broke eye contact as her face morphed into something unreadable. Garl looked toward the ceiling and hoped that his confession didn’t make things even worse for her. They lay there unmoving, so he tried to end the encounter.  “Good ni-”  He froze, suddenly feeling her press up against him. Seraï had grabbed onto his shirt and buried her face in his chest. He felt her slightly shaking and her heart racing.  “You don’t have to do this,” he stated, worried that she felt pressured to step out of her comfort zone.  Seraï pulled herself closer, not saying a word. Happy to have this opportunity, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on top of hers.  “Good night,” he said softly.  “Night,” she replied, her voice muffled so it was barely audible.            “That’s still pretty romantic,” Valere said, correct in her previous skepticism.  “It wasn’t meant to be,” Garl attested once more, still a bit red from recounting the story.  “I’m more surprised you went along with that,” Zale teased the captain.  She made a quiet hum before mumbling a response. “I’ve never done that kind of thing before, so I wanted to try it.”  “And how was it?” Garl asked her.  She pulled her mask higher up her face, but it did nothing to hide her embarrassment. “It was nice,” Captain Klee'shaë mumbled, making the group strain to hear her.   “I’m glad,” Garl said with a chuckle, shooting her a smile as well.  “So cuddling in bed aside, there’s really nothing going on between you two?” Valere asked.  “Yeah, there’s nothing happening,” Garl confirmed.  “Then sorry for all this,” Zale apologized.  “It’s fine,” Garl replied, “Sorry for causing this mess.”  “Yolande should be the one apologizing, not you,” Valere stated. “She’s the one who started all this.”  “I’ll give her both of our workloads when we get back to ship,” Captain Klee'shaë said, venom dripping from her voice as she stood up to leave.  The rest of the group got up as well, deciding that any other apologies, questions, and comments were probably best left unsaid.  “But she’s taking the time to host a ‘Yay-the-captain-isn't-cheating-on-us' party,” Zale teased.  She paused in the doorway as she turned her head to look at him. “And I’m about to make it a ‘Please-forgive-us-Captain-we-promise-we'll-never-do-something-like-that-again' party.”