Bed Switcheroo

“M’ma… Look, I’m ‘n spaaace….”

Lorenzo listens to Ranger Summers trail off into soft snores. The captain can do nothing but watch as his subordinate enjoys something he can’t: Sleep. 

His attention wanders to his own brother laying beside him. He looks so cozy. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be, considering he claimed all of the bedsheets for himself. Even sleeping, Emil’s face shows a look of content, wrapped up in his cocoon. Meanwhile, Lorenzo is left devoid of comfort. Waking the lieutenant up to ask for covers would do no good, as he’d yank them back as soon as he fell unconscious again. Besides, he needs his rest too.

 Too much time has already been wasted, yet each second is agonizingly slow. It feels like it’s been 2:40 for 10 minutes. The captain shudders, imagining the state he’ll be in if he doesn’t take advantage of the next 5 hours. How will he be able to lead his crew if he’s groggy? A groggy captain makes a terrible impression on the Martian Research Staff. Not to mention his father might be monitoring his performance today… Staying up will not do!

But he can’t go to sleep.

Limited vacancies on the Martian Base have forced him, his brother, and both rangers Summers into a two-bed hotel room. Rangers Kim, Allen, and Wattson are sharing one next door. The last of the eight, Ranger Kelly, has a room to himself and is no doubt sleeping like royalty. There might be an extra bed in his room.

Quietly, Lorenzo exits his bed and grabs the keycard from the night stand. He walks past the Summers’ bed, too sleep deprived to dwell on what he’s doing, and reaches for the door handle. 

The fluorescent lights in the hall snap him back to his senses. Did he, captain of the Celestion-5, son of the Interstellar Forces’ Chief Commander of Strategy, think he could go outside unkempt and in his pajamas? He shut the door.

The 19-year-old stands, lost and without a plan. His roommates mock him with their slumber, especially the older Summers, Leonardo, mumbling thoughts of dreamland. Unlike his brother, he isn’t even sleeping under the covers. It’s like he doesn’t need them. If only Lorenzo could sleep like that.

The captain doesn’t remember walking over to the Summers’ bedside. He does,  however, have a new plan. He hesitantly reaches toward his sleeping subordinate but gets caught off guard by one of his ramblings.

“Offither… You h’ve th’ wrongguy… didn’ do any space... crimes…”

Lorenzo remains perfectly still until he’s sure the younger man is sound asleep. This gives him enough time to notice that the younger Summers has both arms looped around one of his brother’s. A new challenge reveals itself. Picking up one of the younger one’s shirt sleeves, he moves an arm out of the way. The other arm is hooked completely underneath Leonardo’s, but with enough delicacy, the captain manages to untangle them.

Now comes the hard part. Lorenzo scoops one hand underneath the elder Summers’s shoulder, and the other underneath his legs. He struggles to pick him up, not only physically, but mentally. Why is he doing this? Even he’s not 100% sure, but he manages to pick up the stocky ranger, so there’s no going back now. The captain carries his subordinate over to the lieutenant’s bed.

“Captain!”

Lorenzo drops the ranger onto Emil’s bed out of shock, heart pounding in terror. Leonardo tumbles onto the bed, his arm draping over Emil’s blankets. Other than that, neither wake up nor notice the captain’s presence.

“Captain… Thanks f’r bailin’ me outta spathe jail… again…”

Slightly shaken, Lorenzo makes his way back to the emptier bed. He wishes he had somewhere to put the remaining Summers, but the other bed is full and putting him on the floor just seems rude. As long as he doesn’t hog the covers, sleeping next to him shouldn’t be a problem. The captain pulls back the blanket, enveloping himself in its warmth. Slumber is just within his reach.

A cold, clammy hand grips his arm.

The captain has to restrain himself from jumping out of his own skin, but when he looks over, he sees it’s just the younger Summers unconsciously reaching for what he thinks is his brother. It’s still annoying though. Lorenzo shrugs off the intrusive hand and resumes his journey to sleep. He can’t wait to greet the morning well-rested and ready for anything. Thoughts of touring the Martian Base lull him to a calm, much-deserved rest.

Two arms loop around the captain’s, jolting him awake. He turns back to glare at their owner with drowsy contempt. Angelo Summers, a ranger whom though Lorenzo has no concrete proof of why, does not belong in the IF. The documents say he’s 18, but the way he’s latched onto the captain is reminiscent of a child clinging to his parent. If not for his presence, Leonardo probably would’ve been stationed in Ranger Kelly’s room, and everyone would’ve had their own bed, aside from whoever’s sharing in the next room over. Thinking about it, the Summers should have roomed with Kelly to begin with, but the latter already doesn’t get along with them, and Emil suggested that sharing the room with them would be like a sleepover. He also said he wouldn’t hog the covers this time, but look where that got Lorenzo. Sleepless, and sharing a bed with a juvenile delinquent with no regard for personal space.

The cycle continues. Lorenzo escapes the clingy ranger’s grip only to get a few minutes of sleep before the next time his arm becomes a makeshift pillow. It gets easier to fall asleep each time, but he chalks that up to overall tiredness. He looks at the clock; it’s almost 5 AM. Normally, he would be up by now, but Emil’s little slumber party forced him to stay up until 10:30.

“Giant… marshmallow…”

Lorenzo props himself up to see Leonardo’s arms wrapped around the lieutenant’s blanket cocoon. The captain chuckles to himself; the blankets probably do feel like a giant marshmallow to the dreaming ranger. It occurs to him that he would have to carry the elder Summers back to his original bed at some point in order prevent him waking up in the wrong bed. 6 o’ clock should be a good time to tackle that. As for now, he finds himself drifting back into slumber, not even caring about the younger Summers wrapped around his arm.

“Ow!! What the--?? Rookie????”

“Wuh...Wait, huh?? Emil, how did you--? Why are you in my--? Wait, this isn’t my bed…”

“It sure isn’t! Would’ja mind explaining how you got here and why you bit me??”

“I don’t know, I thought… How did I get here?”

“Big Brother…? What’s going o--AGHHH!!!”

With Angelo’s shriek, he falls to the floor, fully awakening Lorenzo to the chaos around him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so s-s-sorry Captain!” pleads the dark-haired boy.

“I knew you talked in your sleep, but this is a pretty extreme case of sleepwalking!” Emil grips his shoulder, presumably where he was bit.

“I’m sorry! One minute I was holding a marshmallow, next thing I know I’m--! I don’t even know how I got here!” Embarrassment and confusion clouds the buck-toothed ranger’s face. “Ángie, are you alright?”

“Physically.”

“What is going on…?” the lieutenant muses, scanning the room. His eyes stop on his older brother.

“Um, good morning, everyone.” Lorenzo averts his eyes from the blond.

“Why aren’t you freaking out?”

The captain doesn’t answer.

“Lorie…? You got something to tell us?”

“I… think I may be responsible for this course of events.”

“Ya think??” Emil leans forward, exasperated. “So wait, hold on. You mean to tell me that you got up in the middle of the night, picked up Leon, carried him over to our bed, and then went to sleep in his and Angelo’s?”

“...That is what happened, yes.”

“Whyyy...?”

“I couldn’t sleep because you took all the covers.” Lorenzo’s words come out whinier than he intends.

“I did not!”

“You’re kind of… wrapped in them.” observes Leonardo.

“I--Okay, that’s beside the point! The point is--” the blond points a finger at Lorenzo, “Were you really that desperate??”

“The crew deserves to have a leader who isn’t half-asleep! And besides, Dad might be watching today.”

Emil sighs. The room quiets down.

“I-I don’t mean to sound--” begins the floorbound Summers. “I’m sorry if this comes out condescending or anything, Captain, but… doesn’t Aiden’s room have another bed?”

“That is a good question, Ange!” The lieutenant’s eyes bore into Lorenzo. “Why didn’t you just go to Aiden’s room if you couldn’t sleep so bad?”

“In the captain’s defenthe, Aiden would probably shut the door on him. Or answer it naked. Probably both.” notes the older Summers.

“I… I couldn’t go out in the hall looking like this. By the time it would take for me to look presentable, I’d be fully awake.”

“You weren’t when you were carrying Rookie?? I’m glad you didn’t drop him, geez!”

The captain thinks about correcting him, but decides to let his brother continue on with his tirade.

“And what do you mean ‘look presentable?’ You really think anyone’s gonna be that picky in the middle of the night? Did you think if someone spotted you, they’d be like,” Emil puts on a posh accent, “‘Oh myyyy~, is that Chief Commander Galhardo’s son? In his pajaaamas~?’”  He begins to prance around foppishly. “‘He looks positively wretched, don’t’chew agree? How scaaandalous~! I shall alert the Chief Commander at once! Eheeheeheehee~’ No! No one does that, Lorie!”

“I apologize for interrupting everyone’s morning in this manner. I intended to wake up earlier so I could put Ranger Summers back in his bed--”

“But you didn’t!” adds the lieutenant, placing his blanket coat back on the bed where it belonged.

“But I didn’t.” repeats the captain. “A-Anyway, we should get ready for the tour today.”

“I agree.” Emil agrees, marching for the bathroom. “And for emotional compensation, I call the bathroom first.”

“Go ahead...” Lorenzo knows he couldn’t have stopped him anyway.

With the lieutenant gone, the remaining three sat in silence. Lorenzo contemplates going back to sleep until his brother finishes showering, but what kind of example would that set for the Summers? Instead, he begins to make the bed.

“Good idea, Captain! I should start making our-- I mean you guys’-- This bed!” Leonardo points to the bed he’s sitting on. “Well, that certainly was a change of pace. I can’t believe you thought about carrying me twice! I don’t think I could even carry me. Was it hard?”

“Somewhat.”

“Wow! You must be really strong! I wonder if you can lift Angelo over your head like Roxie can.”

“Ranger Allen did what?”

“Don’t worry, she sets him down safely.” 

“Ah. I should’ve expected as such from her.”

“Anyway, I hope you got a good sleep, Captain! Apparently I did if I didn’t wake up at all during that!” Leon laughs as he attempts to  make sense of the mass of sheets Emil left behind. “For the record, I was dreaming about marshmallows.”

“I can vouch for that.”

“Oh good! Sleeptalking has it’s perks, I gueth. Still, I hope Emil doesn’t think I’m a creep or anything, you know?” Leonardo scratches his temple.

Lorenzo makes a grunt of affirmation.

“By the way Ángie,” The ranger addresses his ‘twin,’ “Are you gonna help one of us or are you just gonna relax on the floor?”

“Oh!” the youngest hops to his feet in seemingly one movement. “S-sorry. I can- I can help you guys, if you want.” He looks back and forth between his brother and the captain, eventually taking a step toward the former before turning around. “Ah, Captain, sh-should I-- Do you need me to help with anything, sir?”

Lorenzo, almost done making his bed, watches Leonardo struggle with the other one. “Go help your brother.”

“S-s-sir yes sir, sir!” The younger Summers salutes shakily, before running over to assist his brother. He trips face-first into the bed on his way over.

Lorenzo completes his bed-making ritual of testing it’s evenness with a quarter when there’s a knock on the door. He answers. The other half of his crew stands on the other side, led by Ranger Kim.

“Hey Captain, is everything alright?” they ask. “We thought we were supposed to get going at 8 and be there at 8:30, but we weren’t sure if we misheard that.”

“Yes, that was the time I scheduled. What time is it now?”

“8:15!” chirps Ranger Allen.

“I...see.” The captain manages to speak, even though he feels as if someone punched him in the gut. “This is unorthodox, but start walking there now. If we fail to catch up with you on time, tell them we ran into unexpected trouble.”

“Understoo--”

Before the word fully leaves Ranger Kim’s mouth, the bathroom door opens. Out of the doorway leans a thankfully toweled Emil.

“Ah, Lorie, I forgot my clothes, could...you…?” He makes eye contact with the others.

“Hiiii!” greets Roxie. “Cool birthmark!”

Without a word, Emil slowly leans back into the doorway and closing it behind him. A soft, high-pitched scream follows.

“Well, it seems like it’s been a rough morning for all of us.” observes Ranger Kim. “We’ll be on our way.”

“Thank you.” With that, Lorenzo closes the door.

Is this punishment? Some sort of divine retribution for interfering with the sleep of others? Lorenzo is unsure. What he is sure of is that he will stop at nothing to ensure they arrive at their destination on time. 

He tosses Emil’s uniform into the bathroom, mentally preparing for the storm ahead. If each of the rest limits his shower to 2 minutes, they might have enough time to--

“I need my underwear!”

Today is a trainwreck.