marineris | open post!

"You don't need to be worried. The autodoc's doing its job."

She sits up more fully, slipping her arm from the cuff. "I slept some. Did you sleep at all?"

Come on, Alex.

"Uh- not exactly, no. Got a decent shower, at least." Managed to get all the blood off his hands. Which was, honestly, most of the point. Less than half a day ago, he was holding Bobbie's insides intact with his bare hands, and now here she was, healing far faster than evolution had given her right to. It wasn't his fault that his monkey brain was still terrified of losing her.

"I- just wanted to check. That's all." And he felt god damned stupid for it.

"I get it." She would have done the same thing, if their positions were reversed, and honestly, she appreciates it. It's nice having him around. She's just not going to let herself think about that kiss, even if it was chaste by any standard. "If you're not going to sleep, at least sit."

He considered, for half a second, making up an excuse to leave. But the honest truth was that he wanted to be here, even if just to let himself fucking relax and accept the fact that she was alive.

And here.

She was here, too.

So after a few seconds hesitation, he grabbed one of the magnetic chairs and pulled it over next to her and sat down. "You're feelin' alright, though? Painkiller level okay?"

"I'm okay," she replies, firm but gentle. He doesn't seem quite ready to believe her, so after a second of hesitation, she offers him her hand. "I'll bounce back. Trust me."

This time, he doesn't hesitate - taking her hand as soon as it was offered, mostly because he needed the comfort over anything else. He squeezed it warmly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know. Not even a damn hybrid could take you down, what's one little bullet?"

What's one little bullet and a hell of a lot of blood, gushing through his fingers...

"Now you've got it." She shoots him a smile, running her thumb over the back of his hand. "But thanks for holding my guts in."

Maybe gallows humor isn't the best strategy, here, but it's the only one she's got.

It's not the humour, that helps. Her thumb does, though, and her smile, and the grip on his hand. The thumb helps the most, even though his skin there feels far more ticklish than it should.

"I'd say anytime, but - I'd really rather prefer it if you didn't make bleedin' out a habit," he admitted, offering a sheepish smile in return.

"I'll see what I can do."

After everything that's happened, it's nice to just sit here alone with him, having a normal, stupid conversation. Contentment settles over her, and she tries to soak it in while she can.

"What's everyone else up to? Asleep?"

"Yeah. Or, well, in bed anyway. I have a feelin' Naomi and the Cap might be up to somethin' other than sleepin', for a little while." There was a slight pause, before he quickly followed it up with: "Amos is probably out like a goddamn light, though."

He adjusted his hand, a little, so that he could run his own thumb gently over the backs of her fingers.

"We've got about a day, before we hit the ring, then four or five, before we reach Titan."

She makes a face at that, her grip tightening. "Don't update me on Holden's sex life." And then she adds, a bit more on topic, "Is that pilot-speak for 'hurry up and wait'?"

That actually earns a soft snort, and a fond smile. "All I mean is - probably ain't gonna see them for a little while."

"Yeah. That's exactly what it means. We're still in the flotilla so I need to keep an eye on where everyone else is, but the Roci'll let me know if anyone ends up deviatin' or heading on an intercept course. But I gotta admit, I - it's like I've still got all this fire in my veins, waitin' for the world to come down. Can't quite believe we're out of it, yet, and god damn but that energy is just stirrin' uselessly."

"I know what you mean." The painkillers might be making her a bit groggy, but that doesn't mean she isn't still restless. Alex is just very good at putting those sorts of feelings into words in more poetic ways than she can. "Got any ideas to keep us busy?"

His expression faltered, a little heat rising from his collar as his brain supplied plenty of ideas. Plenty of ideas that he absolutely could not and would not voice. If it meant that he tinted a bit pink as he tried to push them from his head, so be it.

"Uh - I got a pack of cards, back in my room, if you want."

That blush is impossible to miss under the bright lights of the medbay, and Bobbie falters for a second, then smiles.

"Cards work. Is there something else on your mind?"

The flush just darkened, but he cleared his throat and shook his head. "Nah, just - realised how damn borin' I am, really. Spend most of my free time either cookin' or listenin' to music or doin' flight sims. I ain't really had to entertain, in a while."

Last time that Bobbie had been here, Chrisjen had been, too.

"And you shouldn't be gettin' up to the exercise machines." Which was where they'd spent time together before.

That was... a blatant lie. Bobbie digests that, and her smile turns into a knowing smirk. She's not going to press him, but it's certainly food for thought.

"You're not boring, but I'm still going to kick your ass at cards."

Christ, that smirk was unfair. He actually had to look somewhere else for a second, just so he didn't have to stare at it any longer than necessary.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see about that, soldier." When in doubt: false bravado. He stood up, though he hadn't let go of her hand, yet. "Alright. I'll go fetch 'em, you just sit tight."

That's another reaction she finds she likes. Who knew Alex could actually be a little shy? It's incredibly endearing. She gives his hand another squeeze, as though to remind him they're still locked together.

"Trust me, I'm not going anywhere."

He had, in fact, sort of forgotten that he was holding her hand - it had ended up so natural that he hadn't really thought about it, and the squeeze forcibly reminded him. He shot a look back at Bobbie, a faint smile pulling at his lips, before he finally pulled his hand away and slipped out of the room again. He stopped when he got to the stairs, leaning on them and letting out a long breath.

Christ, he was too old to be feeling like this. It was probably just adrenaline from nearly dying. From nearly having her die. That was all. Just - unfocused adrenaline.

He let himself have a few seconds to relax his heart rate, to feel the heat fade from his face, and then went to do what he had planned on doing, returning a few minutes later with the deck in hand.

"Alright. You got a preference for the game?"

Bobbie isn't questioning it nearly as much. She's always been drawn to him—they've clicked almost since the beginning. Now they're seeing each other for the first time in months, and it just... makes sense. She's missed him, and maybe that's begun to translate into a bit of a crush, something that might not be all that one-sided.

He comes back and she smiles again, instantly lighting up. "Dealer's choice."

He smiles back, instant and warm, all the effort he'd taken to relax himself a little immediately flying out the window as his pulse picked up again. He found himself wondering again what Naomi and Holden were up to, then how they'd bridges that gap, the first time-- and then he cleared his throat as he stepped back over, dragging one of the tray tables over with him.

"Well, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Poker," he admits. "Or a couple rounds of blackjack."

She leans forward instinctively, scooting to the edge of the chair in an unconscious attempt to close the distance between them.

"Something tells me you're suggesting those because you know you'll win."

He can't help the way the grin spreads, or how he pulls his chair a little closer, too.

"What, afraid of an actual challenge, gunny? We could always try go fish if you need to start off easy..."

She laughs at the dig, rolling her eyes.

"You think I can't beat you at go fish?"

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