marlowemuses | Written in the Stars

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Written in the Stars

It still felt incredible to Adam that he was here, on this starship, in a navigator's uniform. He tried not to gape openly as he made his way through the ship, following the map on his communicator to find the quarters that he'd been assigned.

He'd been born in the colonies, and had known want all his life. Testing into the navigator program--on a full scholarship--was a dream come true. Years of hard work and training and it still seemed surreal. But he was here. He'd made it. He was a navigator.

The door to his quarters opened with a touch, already coded to his fingerprint. The room was simple and utilitarian, but it had a private bathroom and there was plenty of space. In terms of what Adam was accustomed to in the colonies, this was luxurious.

Dropping his bag on the lower bunk, Adam sank down to sit on the edge of the bed, leaning back and closing his eyes for a moment. He drifted off almost immediately, chronically sleep-deprived by the level of training and study he required of himself in order to stay at the top of his class.

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For a moment, Ronan was afraid Adam was pushing him away. He'd made the wrong move although he couldn't say he'd regret it. He'd always wanted his first kiss to be perfect or maybe just with the perfect someone. He didn't expect it would happen like this, but he had no complaints, even if Adam hated it. But he didn't. Instead, he prolonged the kiss until Ronan felt light headed. At least, more so than he already had.

Ronan kept his eyes closed for a few seconds longer. He focused on Adam's touch and his warm breath mingling with his own. Those sweet, whispered words that Ronan would've teased if he had the energy to do so.

"That'd mess with our schedules." He whispered back.

Alright, maybe he did have a little energy for it, but he was saving the rest for another kiss. Just to show that he knew what Adam meant and loved it.

"Fuck our schedules," Adam murmurs, smiling against his lips. He takes another kiss, more heated this time. He's been thinking about Ronan for weeks now. It's hard not to think of Ronan. Every time he touches himself in the shower, thoughts of Ronan stray into his mind. Ronan sweaty and half-dressed from his workouts, Ronan in the role of any of the variety of amorous acts they've walked into in the various nooks of the ship. So this seems like a foregone conclusion, natural and right, and the only part Adam hadn't yet been certain of is that Ronan wants him.

He settles his chest lightly atop Ronan's, moving Ronan's hand from his lap to his hip and then curling both his hands around Ronan's head, cradling him and keeping him in place as the kiss deepens.

Ronan rested his hand on Adam's hip. He would have liked to bring Adam closer or turn the kiss from heated to searing. Exhaustion and pain stopped him. He knew that if Adam did more than brush against his chest, he'd pay for it. God, it was so tempting to do just that.

He didn't pull away until it felt like he was about to pass out. "You'd better want to finish this when I'm out of here."

This wasn't a passing fancy for Ronan and he hoped Adam felt the same.

"I'm glad we're agreed that I'm not blowing you in the middle of the med bay," Adam retorted, voice warm and teasing. Though there was a curtain separating them from the rest of the facility, there wasn't much more privacy than that, and Adam wasn't comfortable with the idea of offering affection as publicly as some of their fellow soldiers.

He then realized that he should probably not make Ronan laugh, and quickly kissed him again in order to distract Ronan from any of the humor of his statement.

Ronan's energy reserves were running lower, but he still returned the kiss. He tried to move his hand but only his fingertips moved along Adam's-- uniform.

Damn it.

"Can you smuggle me out of here?" Ronan joked.

"Try and get some rest," Adam answered instead, worrying over Ronan for a moment. As affectionate as Ronan was, it was still clear that he was in pain, and exhausted.

Shifting carefully, Adam settled against Ronan's good side, head on Ronan's unwounded shoulder and hand resting very lightly over Ronan's heart. "I'm not going anywhere."

"That's--" Ronan was about to say boring but then Adam rested his head on his shoulder and curled around him. He paused, breathing steadily in spite of the flares of pain. He looked down at Adam and the hand that lay over his own heart. "Not a bad idea."

"Sooner you get better, sooner we can go back to our room," Adam said, sighing sleepily. He'd never cuddled with anyone like this, but with Ronan it felt easy and natural. Even wounded as Ronan was, Adam felt safe beside him, and Ronan was warm. Adam felt reassured, also, that he could keep Ronan warm, so that his system could focus on healing.

Ronan slept for some time. If he dreamed, he couldn't recall them when he woke. Still sore but still warm, too. He knew that when he opened his eyes Adam would be there although he didn't completely believe it until he opened his eyes, even then it was a struggle. But he was tired of fighting just now and so he surrendered himself to it.

"That can't be comfortable." His lifted his hand up to touch Adam's cheek. He had dared to dream about this once and it could not compare to the reality of it.

Adam woke warm and a little bit stiff, but he had a deep feeling of contentment that he didn't recognize. When Ronan stirred against him, he sat up a little, smiling shyly when he found that Ronan was here and conscious.

"Hospital bed's a little tight for us both," Adam agreed, kissing Ronan's cheek softly and looking him over. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been impaled by my own ship." Ronan almost cut himself off at the end. "Can they fix it?" he asked, growing concerned for an inanimate object. "Your side must've been intact."

Unless Adam was better at hiding injuries than Ronan, he wasn't hurt. Ronan was the one who'd not just the brunt of the weapon but all of it. He hoped so. He wouldn't want it any other way.

For a moment, Adam thought Ronan was asking whether the doctors could fix him. Then he understood the real question. "I don't know. Probably. I was too worried about losing my partner to notice the damage to the ship." Staying close, Adam strayed his fingertips idly over Ronan's chest, careful to avoid the wounds but liking the feeling of Ronan's breath rising beneath his hand. "I'm sure they'll get us up in the air again as soon as possible. We're too valuable to leave on the sidelines."

"Yeah..." Ronan mumbled, now wondering how long it would take him to get back in action.

Unless they sent him back home. Adam would be assigned some new fighter and they'd never see each other again. He tried to push the thought out of his mind. How could they send him back when there was nothing to go back to? Ronan or his older brother would just throw money at them until they changed their mind.

"They'd better. I really need to blow something up right now."

Adam grinned at that, kissing Ronan softly and studying his eyes. He felt almost overwhelmed with gratitude that Ronan was safe and alive. And wanted to hold and kiss Adam. "You will. As soon as you get better. And I'm not leaving your side until you do."

He brushed his thumb along Ronan's cheekbone, heart thudding in his belly with the way his emotions surged through him.

Leaning in to kiss Ronan again, Adam froze as the curtain pulled back. Cheeks stained red, he drew back, glancing over at the approaching doctors and then retreating from the bed to let them check on Ronan. He curled up in the chair nearby, half listening to everything they said but never taking his eyes off Ronan.

Ronan only half listened to the doctors himself. They were telling him how long to take it easy and for how much. The only things he paid attention to were when he could get back in action, which was undetermined at the moment, and when he was leaving, which was now.

That surprised him. From what he'd heard, he should expect a much longer stay. Instead the doctors insisted that they needed to an empty bed in case someone else was injured. It seemed that they intended Adam to play nurse.

Ronan didn't worry about the details. He just wanted to be out of there. After one last extra dose of painkillers, he was being sent on his way. The first step wasn't a step at all. It was sitting up. He winced and clutched the side of the bed as he eased himself up.

Adam was also surprised and a little worried. He immediately magnetized back to Ronan's side as he started to sit up, helping him with an arm behind his back. "Careful," Adam murmured, low and soft, not for anyone but Ronan to hear.

Ronan's weakness set a knot of worry in Adam's belly, especially once he was on his feet. "Are you sure you're up for this?" he asked, wanting to give Ronan an out but fully determined to help him the entire way if he was stubborn enough to walk.

"If they want me to lay around and do nothing, I'll do it in my bed." It wasn't a yes or no answer because the truth was meaningless in this instance. Ronan was going to do this whether or not it was a good idea.

With Adam's help, he managed to get off the bed and onto his feet. He swayed before he wrapped his arm as tightly around Adam as Adam's was around him.

"Let's go."

Adam helped him out of the med bay and down the hall, worrying about him as they walked but not wanting to injure Ronan's pride. Protective of his injured partner, Adam warily assessed everyone who passed them in the hall, but no one gave them any trouble and soon enough they were back at their room and safe.

"Sit on my bed," Adam said, helping him over there and encouraging him to sit down. As soon as Ronan was safely settled, he pulled back, looking around the room with a calculating eye and then setting to work. He dragged Ronan's mattress down and onto the floor, choosing a spot for it, and then fastened the shelf up so that it was out of the way. "Come on," he said, giving Ronan a more coaxing smile now that he'd figured out what he wanted to do. "We can put both mattresses on the floor."

Ronan didn't need more encouragement. He not only sat on the bed, he lay down and pressed his face into the pillow. It smelled like Adam and for some time he let himself think of nothing else but lying in bed with him.

He turned his head to look at Adam when he heard him pull down his mattress.

"Where am I gonna exercise, the hall?" He eased himself up again so Adam could take his mattress too.

"You'll figure something out," Adam insisted, helping him down onto the mattresses once he had them settled. He lay next to Ronan on the mattresses, looking him over worriedly to make sure none of his wounds had opened. "Nothing bleeding?" he murmured, studying Ronan's face to gauge his pain.

Ronan had closed his eyes and didn't bother opening them. He focused on keeping his breathing as steady and slow as possible. "I'm fine." When he was certain the muscles in his face were under control, he opened his eyes. The only thing that betrayed the pain he was in was his pale face and how fast his heart beat, but the latter was much less obvious.

He reached for Adam's hand and laced their fingers together. "You worry too much." As if he hadn't declared not long ago that he was dying and very nearly proved himself right. And as if he wouldn't act the same way in Adam's place or possibly worse.

"Fuck you," Adam murmured, affectionate. He gave Ronan's hand a gentle squeeze, worried about the strain of moving from the med bay to here. He'd never thought about the chance of Ronan getting seriously hurt before, but now that he had, Adam knew how earnestly he wanted to protect Ronan from pain and injury. "You should try to sleep more, if you can."

"I hate sleeping," Ronan grumbled but his eyelids were heavy. Turned out, nearly dying was more exhausting than he imagined. He wanted to curl up around Adam and let sleep take him regardless of what dreams lay in wait, but the pain held him back. He squeezed Adam's hand instead.

"Don't let me miss anything important," he said as he closed his eyes.

Maybe the nightmares wouldn't be too bad with Adam beside him.

Adam settled beside him, content to rest for an hour and to watch Ronan sleep, but eventually he got restless, thinking of all the things to be done. Fetching his tablet, Adam settled beside Ronan, watching over him and keeping him warm while he caught up on the navigator work that had been piling up.

Ronan slept for a long time but if he dreamed, he didn't remember it when he finally woke. He kept his eyes closed for a while, feeling Adam next to him and hearing the sound of his fingers on the tablet. It was so familiar by now he didn't have to see to know just what he was doing.

"You're always doing that," he said groggily. There was no judgment or resentment that the tablet held all or most of Adam's attention. He was, after all, still here beside him.

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