Chapter Text
Yaz woke up with a massive crick in her neck. Her back and shoulders felt stiff and sore. She stretched out and groaned in mild pain. Outside the window, the sky was gray and dim. Yaz could hear the footsteps of the crew moving around overhead. She climbed off of the window bench and stretched as she stood up. Sleeping sitting up and still wearing a corset and boots for the second night in a row was taking a toll on Yaz. But then she remembered falling asleep in the window with Nerissa’s legs pressed against her own, and she didn’t mind so much. She stepped out of the office and shivered. The air was damp and there was a brisk breeze moving across the deck of the ship. Yaz looked up and saw that the crew was up, untying the sails. She watched them work, hugging her arms tight against herself. The dress she was wearing left her shoulders bare, a feature that she was regretting now. She climbed the stairs to find Nerissa at the helm.
Nerissa was watching the crew-members work on the sails. She nodded to herself as one of the sails unfurled. Her hair was damp and sticking to her cheek.
“Nessie,” Yaz called.
Nerissa looked over at her and brightened. “Yaz! I’m sorry I hope, I didn’t wake you. The sun’s not even fully up yet,” she remarked, turning her attention back to the sails.
“Yeah, I saw,” Yaz chuckled. “I guess I was sleeping pretty light because of where I was, but I didn’t hear you get up. How do you manage to get up this early?”
Nerissa smirked. “Always waking up on time is my special ability,” she said.
Yaz giggled. A new gust of wind buffeted against Yaz and she shivered a little. Nerissa frowned a little. Yaz cut her off before she could speak. “I think maybe I should go back inside,” Yaz admitted.
“Right,” Nerissa agreed, “the sun isn’t even up yet, it’s pretty cold.” Yaz nodded, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. Nerissa shifted her weight back and forth. “I can bring you something to eat in a while if you like. I know you’re probably tired, you should go get some rest,” she said.
“Yeah,” Yaz sighed, “sleeping in a window well isn’t exactly restful.”
Nerissa nodded with an apologetic smile. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Go ahead, make yourself comfortable,” she told Yaz, gesturing away.
Yaz nodded and retreated to the office. She still felt chilly in the room. She spotted a lantern sitting on the shelf along the wall to her left. She walked over and opened it. The shelves were covered in clutter. Yaz scanned it for a tinder box. She spotted one on the shelf below the lantern. She picked up the tinder box and struck a fire in the lantern. She picked up the lantern and paused, spotting a dusty medal laying face up behind it. She set the lantern aside and picked up the ribbon attached to the medal. It was gold in color, but it was dull and filthy. Yaz studied the engraved image of a bird in curiosity. She looked around the shelves, searching for any more medals or clues to Nerissa’s past. All she found were souvenirs from various travels. A statuette of a horse, an odd-looking rag doll, a rusty knife, and a few random coins. There was nothing else that looked military. She skimmed over the bindings of the books, but nothing jumped out. She brushed the dust off of the medal and placed it back on the shelf, deciding that she would ask Nerissa about it later.
Carrying the lantern, Yaz walked across the room and set it down on the nightstand. She tugged off her boots and changed into a loose-fitting blouse and skirt to lay down on the bed. She sighed in relief at the softness of the mattress and sheets. The distant sounds of boots on the wood and the sound of water filled the air around Yaz. She let her eyes drift shut as she listened to the sounds of the ship.
When she opened them again, the room had grown brighter, and she was laying curled on her side. She lifted her head as she heard the door bump against the wall as it opened. “Sorry,” Nerissa half whispered, kicking the door shut. “I didn’t mean to make that much noise, just… Hands full,” she chuckled, gesturing with the tray in her hand.
Yaz smiled and pushed herself up onto her elbows. She caught the way Nerissa glanced over her form laying on the bed and looked away quickly to put the tray on the desk. She put a hand on her hip and leaned against the desk. Yaz swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up.
The pair sat to eat for a while, talking idly until Yaz remembered she wanted to ask, “what is the medal for?”
Nerissa didn’t look up. “What medal?” she asked around a mouthful of bread.
Yaz stood up, walked over to the bookshelf, and lifted the medal by the ribbon. Nerissa followed her movement with her eyes and went still when Yaz turned around with the medallion. “I noticed this while I was looking for a lantern,” Yaz explained, studying the object again. She wandered forward back toward Nerissa. “It was gathering a lot of dust. What did you earn it for?”
Nerissa was looking down again at her food. “Nothing. It’s not important.”
Yaz furrowed her eyebrows. “You got it in the Navy, right?”
Nerissa thought for a moment. She looked up at Yaz finally, a disinterested look in her eyes. “Yes, I did. It’s really nothing.”
“Why don’t you want to tell me anything about the Navy?” Yaz blurted.
Nerissa studied her. “Because I don’t like to talk about it. Is that alright?”
Yaz blinked. “Well… Yes,” she decided reluctantly.
Nerissa shook her head, “why does it matter anyway?”
Yaz inclined her head. “I’m just curious. I want to know more about you, and this is a part of your past,” she explained. She was confused at the sudden shift.
“Right,” Nerissa agreed with a nod of her head, “it is a part of my past. I would like to leave it there.”
Yaz frowned. “Isn’t a medal a good thing? Why don’t you want to talk about that?”
Nerissa huffed an incredulous laugh. “Not that one,” she responded shortly.
Yaz stared at her. She decided to drop it, depositing the medal back on the shelf. “Okay, fine.”
Nerissa blinked. A wave of regret seemed to wash over her, and she looked down again. “Yaz…” she sighed. Yaz waited for her to go on. “I’m just-- I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”
Yaz drifted closer to Nerissa. “Do you think you ever will be?”
A look crossed over Nerissa’s face. Yaz thought she looked almost scared. “I’m not sure,” she admitted.
Yaz sighed. Before she could say anything else, Nerissa pulled out her watch. She checked the time and stood up. “I need to go back above deck, Jack has been covering for me.” She looked at Yaz, looking lost. “We can talk about this more later.”
Yaz nodded. She wasn’t sure how true that was.