Hot N Cold
Posted on Tue Jul 18th, 2023 @ 8:20pm by Aaron Corrino & Rashane ch'Thaia
Edited on on Tue Jul 18th, 2023 @ 8:20pm
Mission:
Shakedown Shake-Up
Location: Temporary Quarters, Esquimalt Station
Timeline: MD02
903 words - 1.8 OF Standard Post Measure
The chilly, thin air let the giggles echo around the small room, which was starting to take on the characteristics of its owner again. A holographic poster with FROZEN ECLIPSE in stylized letters was tacked up on the wall over his bed, and if Rashane so much as glanced at it he could start to hear the shredding Andorian Ice Rock melodies in his head. The chan was dressed just in shorts, as decently as he could for the heat, leaning over the padd next to his friend.
Aaron had been saving the latest issue of Captain Quirk until Jack was back, but that didn't look like it was going to happen anytime soon. He didn't have much more to read besides what the station library could provide, with his dad and Jack both on the Nelson there was no one to get the latest issues on special order. He was at least grateful for the padding his thick sweatshirt gave him against Rashane's icicle arms as the laid side by side on the bed. Sharing the issue with Rashane was a good excuse for the sleepover, and his friend's zhavey was happy to give them whatever they needed to be happy.
Like cranking up the temperature in Rashane's room until it was just barely unbearable for both boys, ensuring that they were just a bit more on the cranky and irritable side than usual with each other.
"This is so bogus! Captain Quirk would never do that!"
The mousy-haired boy looked in horror at his friend, whose face was just as insistent on his misbelief. "Sure he would. It's no worse than when he pranked that Romulan computer into shutting down."
"That's different!" The chan insisted, his antennae bent slightly forward on his silvery head. "The whole galaxy was at stake!"
"Yeah, that time..." Aaron conceded. He had another one ready to back him up, his love of Captain Quirk wasn't about to fail him now. "But how about when he tricked that lady out of her bar?"
"That was something else, Aaron," Rashane rolled his eyes and his stalks wiggled on his head. The boy looked at him curiously, not quite getting it until the chan cupped his hand against Aaron's hot ear to whisper the whole explanation.
"He was trying to get her..." Aaron's head crashed into his hands as the moment finally clicked for him, groaning out a long "Uggggggggghhhhhhhh!" over Rashane's new round of giggles. His hand and leg flew out, catching the chan on his side and shoving him closer to the edge of the narrow bed.
Rashane took it in stride, rolling over and flopping down on the cool flooring underneath him. The bed covers were warm now, Aaron was warm, everything in here was warm! "He just wouldn't do that. Yeah, he did all those others, but those were one-time things. You can't make me believe he's been prank-comming people all this time!"
"Why not?" Aaron's head poked over the edge of the bed to stare down his sparring opponent. "It's good for crew morale! Just think of how loney Jack's going to be without us there."
"Yeah, or how miserable everyone else is gonna be your dad there." Rashane chuckled to himself as Aaron disappeared back onto the bed. The next moment, a pillow sailed over its edge, still attached to one end of the boy above him to make it hit his stomach with the appropriate amount of, "Oomph!"
If it had been Jack sleeping over, Rashane would have had to contend with a bigger 'Oomph!' by the weight of an entire Only landing on top of him, and with their ensuing wrestle for who was right. As he climbed up to perch elbows on the bedspread again, the chan found Aaron enjoying the space all to himself. "Hey no fair, you're getting ahead of me!"
"Hey!" Aaron tried to claw back the padd snatched by blue fingers, but he was too slow. "You said this was bogus!"
"Yeah, well, maybe you convinced me..." the chan pulled the padd away, eyes glued to the screen as he caught up. His antennae twitched from air currents above, and Rashane rolled over to play Keep Away with Aaron's comic.
There was a tumble from behind him, but the Andorian chan just kept reading.
"Hey, I got an idea..." Rashane glanced up above him, where Aaron was poised to snatch the padd again. It made the boy hesitate, and that was enough to bring a smile to the Andorian's face. He resisted the 'What?' and attempts to pry the padd from his hands, until Rashane could hold it in no longer. "You give up?"
"Yeah," a defeated Aaron sat back on his haunches to listen.
Rashane scrambled up, an impish face turned to the boy. "I wanna try it."
"Try what?"
The chan was hopping to his feet already, giggling underneath playful antennae. Aaron started to get up to follow when Rashane pulled the door open, driving the boy back with a rush of frigid air. Beyond the threshold, the chan's voice could be heard going, "Zhavey? Can we use the comm system to call Jack? It's really important!"
"Well..."
Aaron stepped out, braving the cold to stand next to Rashane. His zhavey was met with the sight of two upturned, pleading faces singing a chorus of, "Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssse?!"
