(no subject)

[imthepilot]

The medical team moved Bodhi into the room opposite Galen two days later. Still groggy from painkillers, Bodhi sprawls naked across the weirdly wide bed. Officer's quarters. Much bigger beds that the barracks.

Made Bodhi wonder if they were lonelier too.

Strange things like that occur to him at strange times. Probably something to do with the drugs.

At least his back didn't hurt so much any more. And he only needed the oxy if he moved around too much.

But he was here, so near to Galen. And Galen would come see him soon enough. In the mean time, maybe some more sleep was a good idea.

Comments

[galen_erso]

When Bodhi wakes up again, Galen is already there, book in hand, cup of tea at the ready, looking at Bodhi.

"Hey, you!"

[imthepilot]

"Stars, Galen!" He reaches out a shaking hand, needing to touch, needing to feel. Needing to be sure. "I nearly lost you."

[galen_erso]

Galen shuffles his chair closer, close enough to lean an elbow on the side of Bodhi's bed, and takes the hand, stroking it with his thumb.

"And you ended up with your whole back seared for me," he says, voice slow and dark with emotion. "As the medical lady aptly put it, they would have been sweeping up my ashes otherwise. And now we get to be together for a whole month, with a very good reason. I do feel bad that it cost you all that pain, as well as life or limb for several others.

[imthepilot]

"What do scars matter?" Bodhi shakes his head. "If I'd lost you, nothing would have mattered." He pulls Galen close, ignoring the pain just to have him closer.

[galen_erso]

Galen leans in and kisses him lovingly.

"Bodhi."

[imthepilot]

Bodhi shifts closer, ignoring his nakedness, ignoring the pain in his arms and hips as he pulls Galen into his arms. Ignores the way his breath quickens, gets shorter.

Actually, no. That might be a bad thing to ignore.

[galen_erso]

Galen offers him the respirator without even asking. They can still kiss despite it, can they?

[imthepilot]

After a few quick inhales of oxy, they certainly can. And Bodhi does, kissing Galen passionately.

[galen_erso]

"We are both still here," Galen whispers into the kisses.

[imthepilot]

Bodhi nods, slowing down to catch his breath and look into Galen's eyes. "I know. I almost wish I have faith so I have someone to be grateful to."

He gently cards back Galen's hair, noticing for the first time the tender patch where his head had hit the duracrete. "I'm so sorry."

[galen_erso]

"For what?" Galen says. "You came and saved me. We are both still here because of you, you amazing, wonderful and brave man!"

He gives a little laugh and kisses Bodhi again.

[imthepilot]

"I'm not." Bodhi shakes his head between kisses. "I'm not brave. I was afraid. I was terrified. When I smelt the fuel-" he cuts himself off, reaching for the respirator again.

[galen_erso]

Galen strokes his cheek, giving him time until the next words.

[imthepilot]

Bodhi breathes deep, getting the oxy all the way into his lungs the way the doc showed him. The result was a brief moment of euphoria and light-headedness but that past quickly enough.

"I wasn't brave, Galen. When I smelt the fuel I did the only thing I knew how to do. I panicked but my training kicked in. All I could think was that I couldn't live without you."

[galen_erso]

"So we dropped the big orange guy we were trying to save," Galen says. "I'm sorry we couldn't get him away with us, but actually, I'm glad you did what you did. If you hadn't, we'd be dead alongside him."

Pause.

"You were immensely brave to run towards the accident, not away from it. You feel out of the darkness, suddenly, and minutes later, shielded me from the fireball."

[imthepilot]

"Teric." Bodhi pulls back a little, his eyes darkening. "His name was Teric. I asked the doctor to find out for me."

[galen_erso]

"I'm sorry," Galen says. "Did you know him?"

[imthepilot]

He shakes his head. "He was new to the crew. I knew the captain. Shivara. She was in the year ahead of me at the academy. She was brilliant. A natural. The only reasons she didn't make fleet was because-" he cuts himself off, actively closing down where that thought was going before he finished it. "Because of something that happen before graduation."

He swallows, reaching for the oxy. "If she was flying and managed to land like that, it could have been a hundred times worse."

[galen_erso]

"We will honour her memory," Galen promises. "It must be obvious that her actions prevented worse. I'm sure we will soon get a complete explanation of what precisely happened there. And we can find out if any of her crew survived."

Something for Bodhi to take care of while he was getting better.

[imthepilot]

"I saw Tails and Ari in the infirmary. They got hit bad but they'll live. I didn't know the rest of her crew. I didn't know the other crew at all. They were new to the sector. Their first long haul run." Bodhi muses, his eyes distance.

"Has anyone brought my ship in?"

[galen_erso]

"Not yet," Galen says. "Not before the landing pad gets cleared and repaired. The tower is damaged."

[imthepilot]

"I should organise a crew to go up there and retrieve the cargo. I wasn't carrying medical supplies, mostly parts and equipment but there may something useful in there for the salvage effort."

"The ship is going to need work too. I snapped a few struts on the landing." He admits with chagrin.

[galen_erso]

"You have a month," Galen says. "For both you and your ship to get into working order again. And all the while, you will be coming home to me."

Said with a depth of both love and amazement.

[imthepilot]

Bodhi pulled him into a slow, deep kiss, equally amazed. "Does that mean... we can... you could stay the night. If you wanted to? Not-" he gestures helplessly. "I'm not sure I can yet but... just, you know, be together?"

[galen_erso]

"Every night," Galen says. "And towards the end of that month, we can see..."

His voice thickens a little -- sex is not important, not compared to what they already have, but it will be lovely when it happens.