( CLOSED ) bill nye saves the world, but he can't save the people on this spaceship, can he?

[fujita]

WHO • lucas (scarecrowed) & dorothy (fujita)
WHERE • one of the crew quarters on floor 2
WHEN • day 4
WHAT • lucas is cold, but he has toto. what about dorothy?
WARNINGS • gross feelings? cuddling huddling for warmth

[ it's cold. it's really, really cold on this spaceship and somehow, that just drives home the reality that she's in a big piece of metal hurtling through space right now, which is not a great thought. it's not, but dorothy has some practice not letting herself linger on all the things that are not great in her life, so she tries to blend it out. she's found some blankets, at least, and so far she's always managed to fall asleep sooner or later (it's hard to tell time in space, so she's been following her watch, maintaining some kind of rhythm), huddled under those blankets.

she's almost managed today, too, when there's a knock at her door. she doesn't really want to get up; doing so will mean letting out what little body heat she's managed to keep under the blankets and besides, she's tired and so close to just drifting off —

but it could be important.

she stands, keeping one blanket around herself like a cape, and opens the door only to find lucas (roan) standing in front of it.

Comments

[fujita]

[ maybe it isn't a good idea. maybe it's a terrible one, something she'll regret in the morning — but it wouldn't be the first time that dorothy sneaks from a bed that still has a man inside, leaving it and him behind and trying to go on. so far, she's always managed, and if she's still mending from the wounds that her break with lucas caused the first time, well.

glinda isn't here, is she? only dorothy knows what roan has done and if she can forget it, if she can be warm for one night, why shouldn't she take that chance?

so she gets into the bed next to him, her feet warmed by toto and lucas' bulk by her side, all but radiating heat. she closes her eyes and leans in, head on the pillow but forehead brushing his arm.

it's not the same. it can't be, when she remembers his hands around her throat as much as she remembers the night they made love (because right now, the lights flickering off again, she can admit that's what it was, at least to herself). it's not the same, but it's something. ]

[scarecrowed]

Can I put my arm around you?

[ He couldn't do it without her permission. He can't presume that sharing a bed means it's okay to touch her. He expects he can't ever touch her without asking ever again.

He'd be okay with her rejecting him, but it's worth a try. And it's mostly for her benefit, to keep her warm. Her forehead against his arm feels cold, like she needs more than just his warm presence beside her. ]

You can move it. [ Let her take control, put it where she feels comfortable. ]

[fujita]

[ she's still cold, but not nearly as cold as she was before. dorothy has never really wished for more fat or more muscles, but now she thinks either could have served as insulation of some sort. it isn't so bad now, though. lucas is warm, and so is toto at their feet.

his offer still gives her pause, though. she wants to say yes. she probably shouldn't, but she wants to, and so she hums her assent, ] Hmhm. [ and reaches for his arm, dragging it to rest across her shoulder. it feels less intimate there than her waist and for a moment, she wishes he'd let it drop down there, but — no. this is good enough. this is more than she imagined she'd ever have again with him. ]

[scarecrowed]

[ There are better places Lucas could position his arm to keep her warm but what matters most is what Dorothy feels comfortable with. He's lucky to have gotten this far, lying in the same bed as her, and that's without bringing physical contact into the equation. His arm against her is a very big deal right now, of which he'll cherish every second of it happening.

He's decided he won't sleep tonight, because if he does, it'll be morning too soon and then they'll have to separate. He wants them to stay like this forever, connected somehow.

Maybe she's asleep by now and if so, his question will go unanswered. Or maybe she's on the perfect brink of barely being awake and tiredness that she'll answer Lucas honestly. ]

Are you happy - back in Kansas? [ Without me? ]

[fujita]

[ dorothy hasn't been sleeping well, or much at all. not in kansas and not here, though it's worse here. she'll sleep and she'll be glad for it and maybe, maybe she'll do this again with him, sleeping like this because it actually lets her sleep instead of leaving her to tremble under her blanket.

so she isn't trying to stay awake, but she hasn't drifted off entirely just yet. still, her answer doesn't come immediately. ]

It's strange. [ she says, in the end. it feels right to tell lucas this, to be honest with him. he's the one who knows her best, even if he's only known her for such a short time. even if she might not have really known him at all. ]