Page 18 of Nebula Hearts
“And what do you think?”
“I think I spent today tearing things apart because I never learned how to hold them together gently.” His gaze met mine, his markings flickering. “I think maybe my parents are right.”
The cargo bay is very quiet. Just the hum of systems and our breathing. I’m tired. So tired. The adrenaline from earlier has crashed completely, leaving me hollow.
I lean my head back against the crate. Close my eyes for just a moment.
“We should rest,” Tynrax says. “We have a long day tomorrow.”
“Yeah. We should.” But I don’t move. Too comfortable here. Too tired to walk back to my quarters.
“Aris.”
“Mmm?”
“You’re falling asleep.”
“Just resting my eyes.” But my voice sounds distant even to me.
I feel him shift beside me. Feel warmth as he settles more solidly against the crate. His shoulder touching mine now. Solid. Warm.
“Just for a few minutes,” I mumble.
But the exhaustion wins. Sleep pulls me under.
I wake to gray light and a crick in my neck.
For a moment, I’m disoriented. Not in my quarters. Wrong angle. Wrong temperature.
Then I realize where I am. Cargo bay. Still sitting against the supply crate.
And Tynrax is asleep next to me.
Not just next to me. My head is on his shoulder. His head is tipped back against the crate, mouth slightly open, completely out. One of his hands rests near mine on the floor. Not touching but close.
His markings are barely visible. Pale violet traces. Calm. Stable.
Oh no.
I need to move before he wakes up. Before this gets awkward. But moving means waking him, and he looks like he actually got some rest for once.
And also. Also his shoulder is warm and comfortable and I slept better than I have in days and I really don’t want to move.
Which is a problem. A big problem. Because we’re professionals and coworkers and stuck in an impossible situation together. Getting comfortable sleeping on his shoulder is not part of the mission parameters.
I carefully lift my head. Try to shift away without waking him.
His eyes open immediately. Silver-gold, not glowing. Just tired and disoriented.
We stare at each other for a moment. Both realizing the situation at the same time.
I scramble to my feet. Too fast. Nearly trip over my own boots. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. I just. We both. The cargo bay was closer than our quarters and I thought we’d just rest for a minute but clearly that turned into actual sleepand I should have moved before you woke up but I didn’t want to disturb you because you actually looked like you were getting real rest for once and now I’m babbling. I’m going to stop talking now.”
He stands too. More gracefully than I did. His markings brighten slightly. Amusement? Embarrassment? I can’t tell.
“It’s fine,” he says. His voice is rough from sleep. “We both needed rest.”
“Right. Rest. Which we got. In the cargo bay. Together.” I’m still talking. Why am I still talking? “I’m going to go check the colony power status. And clean up. Because I definitely need to clean up.”
