warpfairy | life's blood

They're not near Cardassian Union space.

But then, they're not near Federation space either. This ship has as much right to be in this system as they do.

It makes Isabella nervous, anyway, and she's just about to suggest leaving and coming back another time, when the Prometheus is hailed.

They're armed. She can't warp inside a solar system.

She answers the hail.

"Hello, Federation vessel," says one of the three visible Cardassians in bad but intelligible English. "What're you doing out here alone?"

Isabella swallows. "This is the deep space survey vessel Prometheus," she begins.

The computer lets her know that they're charging weapons.

"We have no hostile intention," she says.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

warpfairy

Isabella stands still, and thinks, for a minute.

And then she follows him. "Something has changed. Today you are crying. Yesterday you were not."

From:

dream_me_up

He buries his face in a pillow.

From:

warpfairy

"If you would prefer not to speak to me that is also acceptable, but - I do not prefer that you be distressed."

From:

dream_me_up

"I've been distressed for days," he says, somewhat muffled by the pillow. "It's just coming out now."

From:

warpfairy

"Can I help you?"

From:

dream_me_up

Still muffled: "I have no idea."

From:

warpfairy

Isabella sits on the bed and puts her hand on his shoulder.

From:

dream_me_up

Lalita, still sobbing into his pillow, curls up close to her.

From:

warpfairy

Isabella pets his hair, slowly, rhythmically.

From:

dream_me_up

Lalita snuggles her and cries.

From:

warpfairy

"You have not previously observed me to make use of my ability to suppress my emotions," observes Isabella. "Is it that which is disturbing you?"

From:

dream_me_up

He doesn't answer. (Talking while crying is hard.)

From:

warpfairy

Pet. Pet. She can wait.

From:

dream_me_up

He winds down eventually.

From:

warpfairy

Pet, pet.

From:

dream_me_up

He can just lie here and be petted for a while, if she doesn't have anything better to do.

From:

warpfairy

The autopilot is working fine. She could be reading, but at the moment that interests her less than the possibility that her boyfriend will explain the problem.

"Did you hear my question?" she asks after a silence.

Edited Date: 2013-06-07 02:39 am (UTC)

From:

dream_me_up

"Which...? The one about you suppressing your emotions? Yeah," he says. "...It's complicated."

From:

warpfairy

Pet, pet. "I am willing to listen."

From:

dream_me_up

"It hurts to see you like this right now because I feel like you're doing it because you have something nasty waiting for you when you stop, and even though you're not feeling the nasty, I'm still imagining it," he says. "It'd still hurt if you were feeling it, just - differently."

From:

warpfairy

"You are correct about what will happen when I stop, unfortunately."

From:

dream_me_up

He nods.

He sighs.

"There's more," he says.

From:

warpfairy

"Please, go on."

From:

dream_me_up

"...When you have feelings, you have feelings about me," he says. "I love you. It's hard to be around you when you don't have feelings about me. But - I don't know, I can't honestly say that watching you suffer would feel like an improvement."