Complications: Women Congregating in the Refresher
Mirax found Iella sobbing over one of the sinks in the ladies’ room. “Oh, honey.” She wrapped her in a hug. “Come on, it’s okay. Shh. It’s alright.” She found herself rocking her friend gently. I’m soothing her like I would a child - I definitely need to get out more.
After several minutes, Iella pulled away, wiping her eyes. “Sorry Mirax. I - I just -” She sniffled and didn’t continue.
“One of those days?” Mirax quipped, brushing stray strands of hair back from Iella’s face.
“More like weeks.” Iella huffed softly as she leaned back against the sink. With her eyes red from crying, dark circles under them from fatigue and tear tracks clear down her cheeks, she seemed ready to collapse.
“You do look exhausted.”
“I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
“Anything to do with…?” Mirax tilted her head towards the door, indicating the restaurant where their other halves were waiting.
“Yes… no, not that!” Iella corrected hastily when Mirax raised her eyebrows. “That was just this morning.”
“Must’ve been good, huh?” Mirax couldn’t resist teasing. “Given your little declaration out there…”
Iella covered her face for a moment. “I cannot believe I actually said that.”
“Neither could Wedge.” Neither could I, to be honest. Nor could Corran, judging by the look on his face. Iella was glaring at her and Mirax smirked. “So if it’s not Wedge, what is it?”
Iella sighed roughly. “It is Wedge, it’s just not… sex.”
“True, he’s not Corran. So how’s he keeping you from sleeping? Is he snoring?” Mirax pulled a face. “Farting?”
“No! He’s…” Iella trailed off. “This is going to sound really stupid but… He’s… snuggling.”
Mirax blinked. That did sound odd. “You said ‘snuggling’ as in ‘hugging’ , right? Not ‘smuggling’, as in, ‘what I do for a living’?”
“Yes, snuggling. Cuddling. Holding me close while he sleeps.”
“That’s not exactly unusual, is it? I mean, it’s Wedge. He craves contact - especially with you. He’d probably hold you all day if it wasn’t so impractical.”
“I know!” Iella snapped. “You think I don’t realise that?!”
Mirax flinched slightly. “Okay, sure. You know your husband.”
“Sorry.” Iella rubbed her temples. “It’s not the cuddling that’s the problem - at least, not by itself.”
“But…”
“But it’s every night for the past few weeks! I can’t sleep, I can’t breathe! I feel smothered, I -”
“And you’ve mentioned this to him, of course?” Mirax interrupted the rant.
Iella blushed. “Well… no.”
“Honey -”
“I know, I know. He can’t change something he doesn’t know he’s doing. It just - It seems so silly and petty, and I like his snuggles, usually, and I don’t want to hurt his feelings -”
“Which doesn’t happen when you have a go at him about your sex life in public?”
Tears spilled from Iella’s eyes again. “I know. Which is why I hate myself at the moment. He’s not really doing anything wrong, and I keep going off at him, and he doesn’t know why and -”
“And he gives you that look that makes you feel like you’ve just kicked a whisperkit.”
Iella chuckled through her tears. “That’s it exactly.”
“And you’re exhausted, and emotional, and babbling; and the person you really need to be talking to is sitting out there, probably being harassed by my husband as we speak.” Mirax hooked an arm over Iella’s shoulders, wiping away her tears and stroking her hair gently. “Why don’t you go home, sort this out with your man and get some sleep?”
“But… I’ll have ruined your dinner…”
“Oh please. I’ll be out of the house, with my husband, eating a meal not cooked by me, unhindered by a three-year-old boy or a three-month-old girl. It’ll be luxury.” She kissed Iella’s cheek. “We’ll do lunch sometime soon, or dinner; or someone will throw a party for no apparent reason. It’s fine.”
Iella gave her a tight hug. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Mirax smiled cheekily. “Oh, don’t fret, I expect to get some serious babysitting favours out of this.”
Iella grinned. “The baby, the boy or the husband?”
“Any and all.” She dragged her friend towards the door. “Come on, let’s go save Wedge from being interrogated about being a ‘Sex God’.”
“Mirax…”
“Do you use that term often, or was he extra-specially good this morning?”
“You’re never going to let me live this one down, are you?”
“A gem like that? Never. Though it is quite difficult to imagine good ol’ General Veggies as a Sex God. You’ll have to tell me just how he warranted that promotion.”
“Shoot me now…”