The communal bathroom aboard the Astra was quiet, save for the soft hum of the ship and the occasional swish of a sonic toothbrush. Alfie McCallister-Reyas stood at one of the sinks with his arms crossed, a deep frown etched on his face as he moved his toothbrush back and forth. Beside him, Jordan Duncan-Court mirrored his motions, his eyes betraying his concern for his boyfriend’s troubled state.

Alfie exhaled sharply, withdrawing the toothbrush from his mouth. “I messed up,” he muttered, rinsing before continuing. “I hardly said a word during dinner, and when I finally did, I sounded like some war-hungry lunatic. Captain Niro probably thinks I’m a complete idiot. He’s probably sending a message to my father right now, telling him why did he allow me to become a cadet. He probably thinks I’m some nepotism baby, someone who gets his own way on the flagship of the squadron. Mummy and Daddy are always letting him get away with everything.”

Jordan sighed and shook his head. He responded with his sonic toothbrush still partially in his mouth. “You’re overthinking it, Alf. Niro’s an instructor; he wants us to think for ourselves. Furthermore, you’re not the only one on here with parents serving in Starfleet. I don’t believe he was judging you.”

Alfie shot him a sceptical look. “You don’t know that. He hardly reacted to what I said. He just thanked me and moved on. What if he thinks I’m not cut out for this?”

After spitting out the contents of his mouth into the sink below, Jordan looked up and placed a hand on Alfie’s shoulder, reassuringly squeezing it. “Niro doesn’t play favourites. He listens, and he challenges us. That’s his job. Just because he didn’t spend extra time on your answer doesn’t mean he thought less of you.”

Alfie shook his head, his expression gloomy. “I should’ve spoken up earlier, added to the conversation instead of waiting until the last second to throw out something controversial. Now I just look like an idiot.”

Jordan sighed and turned to face him fully. “Alfie, stop. Seriously. Do you think I had everything figured out when I first got to the Odyssey? You’re not going to get everything right immediately. You’re here to learn. And no one in that room—especially Niro—thinks you’re an idiot.”

Just then, the door opened, and Scott entered with his uniform jacket slung over one shoulder arm. He paused, noticing Alfie’s tense stance and Jordan’s concerned gaze. Raising an eyebrow, he set his things down and approached them.

“Hey, you two, what’s going on?” Scott asked, glancing between his friends. A note of concern was woven into his tone. The three of them had been roommates back on the Odyssey and had become almost inseparable. Scott could tell when one of them was troubled, but it was usually Jordan, not Alfie.

Jordan hesitated before answering. “Oh, hey, Scott.” He paused before answering his friend’s question. “Alfie’s worried that Captain Niro thinks less of him after dinner.”

Scott blinked and then chuckled. “Oh, come on, you’re not seriously stressing over that, are you? It was merely an informal dinner. It wasn’t a lecture or a test; it was dinner, nothing more, nothing less. In fact, it was more than likely an opportunity for the captain to get to know us.”

Alfie frowned. “It’s easy for you to say, Scott. You had strong points and were confident. I just sat there until the last moment and then blurted out something extreme.”

Scott shook his head as he took his own toothbrush and began running it through his teeth. “You’re making this far bigger than it actually is,” he said, his voice vibrating with the sonic bristles. “I’ve heard Niro enjoys these sorts of discussions. As I mentioned, he probably wanted to see how we think, not just what we say.”

Alfie frowned. “Are you sure?”

Scott rinsed his mouth, then nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I’ve had other instructors who hated it when cadets challenged ideas, but I don’t think Niro’s like that. He wants us to push ourselves, even if that means throwing out an opinion that might not be popular.”

Alfie let out a long sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. “I just.” He paused as he shook his head. “I don’t know. I wish we were back on the Odyssey.”

Neither Jordan nor Scott said anything as Alfie turned and left the bathroom. Jordan watched him go, his concern deepening.

Scott turned to Jordan and placed a hand on his shoulder, lowering his voice. “You know you don’t have to fix everything for him, right?”

Jordan sighed, glancing down. “I know, I just… I want to help him adjust here. The same way he helped me and William after we were rescued.” The memories of their past struggles and the bond they formed during those times were still fresh in his mind.

Scott nodded, understanding. “That’s fair, but sometimes you need to let him figure things out on his own. You can’t always be the first to jump in. Let him send out his own distress call before you try to save him. He’s a big boy, Jord, and Alf is finally realising that things do change, and he needs to adjust to it. He no longer has the safety net of the Odyssey. Give him time and space. I promise you, he’s a lot stronger than you think.”

Jordan exhaled slowly, considering his words. Finally, he nodded. “Yeah… yeah, you’re right.”

Scott smiled and clapped his shoulder. “Good. Now, get some rest, bud. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”

Jordan smiled back, giving Scott a brief friendly hug before grabbing his things and heading toward the bunkroom. When he entered, he found Alfie sitting on the edge of his bunk, staring at the floor, clearly still brooding.

Without a word, Jordan stepped up, leaning in to kiss him lightly on the forehead. “Goodnight, Alf.”

Alfie murmured a quiet “Night” as Jordan climbed onto the top bunk, letting out a slow breath. As the ship hummed softly around them, Jordan closed his eyes, hoping that, with time, Alfie would begin to feel at home aboard the Astra.