A brief intermission [Closed]

[zouichi]

Zouichi stood waiting by the entrance of a cavern of some sort, one of the newly discovered areas on the ship. His presence there was unobtrusive and therefore easy to miss. In fact, one might have thought he was simply finishing a patrol or exploring; he certainly did enough of both under ordinary circumstances. But not quite. Not today.

Today he was clad in his customary black armor, but he was also carrying a small package tucked under one arm. And upon closer inspection, he looked... well, a little embarrassed.

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[zouichi]

He nodded. "But I suppose there's little point in chasing ourselves around in circles now. Not when there are so few clues..." So few clues, even after months had passed. Of course, he didn't expect the mystery to be solved in a matter of days, but he did wonder how long this war would eventually take.

It was his turn to look surprised as she squeezed his hand. Then he smiled, and his expression relaxed again, a little rueful this time for being the one caught up in predictions of the future. "True. And I think I'd like to survive a little longer."

It was lighthearted, the way he'd said it, almost like a joke. But for someone who arrived on the ship with practically no plans for the future besides staying alive long enough to save his own version of Earth, well... it was something of a leap. He'd had no hopes or wishes for the future because he'd never allowed himself to form any. Even now, it felt strange to harbor hopes for himself. For anything but his mission.

He reached over with his other hand to brush a stray strand of hair from her face, though his fingers lingered for a moment over her cheek.

[futureisclear]

"Survival is all we can ask for, I think," Ildraniath replied with a hint of dark humor. Survival was all her people managed to eke out. And even that was tenuous. Helping them to navigate through a galaxy full of hazards was a part of her duty. But here, she couldn't even do that. At least not at the moment.

And there she went, getting lost in her own thoughts again. She glanced up at his touch and her free hand came up to cup his hand against his cheek in quiet contemplation. How long had it been since she had felt a touch like this? Before Zouichi.

Did it matter?

Ildraniath leaned up to press her lips against Zouichi's temple.

[zouichi]

"And even then, it's a lofty goal at this point," he mused. Would the humans of his Earth be able to survive as they had been? Would they be able to recover?

If Zouichi had been privy to Ildraniath's thoughts, he would no doubt have concluded that it didn't matter at all. Could he bring himself to care how long it had been since she'd last cared for someone else? Or about their differences in age? Or even that she came from a world so far different from his own?

No. Probably not.

He closed his eyes briefly as she moved forward to kiss his temple, couldn't help smiling a little as her bangs tickled his face. Then he leaned upward to return the favor, first brushing his lips lightly against hers and then, on a whim, kissing the smooth upswept curve of her left ear.