Work Text:
“The board has assembled this meeting today to announce the crewmembers of the upcoming inter-planetary outer space voyage,” Pierro began from the front of the room.
Seated along the extended heavy wooden meeting table was a group of astronauts and rocket scientists affectionately nicknamed the “Harbingers”. Including Pierro himself, there were eleven of them. The group had somewhat assembled over a period of time filled with space station stays, outer space missions, and mission control collaborations. They all went by codenames, rarely ever using their actual given names.
Most of them were actual astronauts themselves, only a few of them staying on the ground to work mission control. Pierro himself was a retired astronaut, now presiding over mission control itself.
Dottore was nearing retirement as an astronaut, his studies focusing on the effect of space on the human body, more specifically muscular atrophy and the lack of atmospheric presence inside spacecraft. He was now becoming more commonly assigned to rehabilitating, training, and healing astronauts after returning to Earth. He had great medical knowledge.
Sandrone was one of the head engineers, usually going on missions to repair spacecraft while up in space. She was also sometimes sent out to repair space stations, but she was almost always on call for engineering-related consultations. Her latest assignment was a huge project regarding long-term space travel; she had to engineer a ship that could safely and comfortably carry a small crew through space over long distances. This was no easy task but if anyone could do it, it would be her.
Anyways, they were all well-versed in space travel and the like. The meeting had been called to announce which two of them would be taking a deep space voyage.
“The trip will be as follows,” Pierro continued. “Two of you will be entrusted with the latest in our spacecraft innovations. We have taken missions out past Jupiter before, but it has taken too long and used too many resources. We hope that with this new engine and fuel system, far space voyages can be completed quickly and efficiently.” He glanced at Sandrone, who nodded in response.
“The two I have chosen will be responsible for successfully navigating to Saturn. Then you will remain in Saturn’s orbit, conducting studies while there. Then you will return to Earth, thus completing the test on the spacecraft,” Pierro concluded, putting his clipboard down. He put his hands on the sides of his podium, taking a deep breath. He looked at the ten seated people before him, the sun’s rays reflecting off of his glasses.
Pierro took another deep breath.
“Tartaglia,” he said, pointing to a certain redhead in the room. “And Scaramouche.” He pointed to the man who sort of hadn’t been paying attention.
Tartaglia and Scaramouche exchanged a surprised glance. Though their surprised reactions were considered appropriate by their peers, they did not know the exact reasons for the wide eyes of Tartaglia and Scaramouche.
Those two had been dating. For an extended period of time. And they would be embarking on a long outer space voyage together. They’d be all alone, at least a billion miles from Earth, where no one could interrupt them. The two of them had agreed to keep their relationship secret when they started dating, so the acting was about to begin for the sake of privacy. They often pretended to be enemies or hesitant peers. This way, no one would suspect they were actually a stupid tacky couple that would stay in to bake cookies and watch the National Snezhnayan Ocean Fishing Championship (NSOFC) that Tartaglia watched annually and Scaramouche grew to tolerate.
“Scaramouche, Tartaglia, do you find this agreeable?” Pierro asked, bringing the pair’s attention back to the meeting.
Tartaglia quickly stood, giving a stiff salute to his superior. He was beaming, clearly quite pleased to have received such a mission. Despite his ulterior motives, it just seemed like normal excitement. “Yes sir!” he replied cheerily.
Scaramouche also stood, though not with the childlike energy Tartaglia had. He was also internally very excited, but he had to remain calm and calculated in order to retain his relationship’s secrecy. “Most agreeable, Pierro. What are our specific objectives?” he asked, his voice smooth as always. He added a little borderline disgust to his voice to make it seem like he really didn’t want to go on this mission with Tartaglia.
Pierro checked his clipboard, adjusting his glasses. “Scaramouche, you will be in charge of the telescopes and cameras present on the spacecraft. You will be tasked with taking high-quality photos of everything you experience during your trip; planets, asteroids within the asteroid belt, Saturn, and Saturn’s moons. Anything you can photograph. We’re hopeful the new equipment can take better photos in combination with the close-up views of these subjects.
“You will be responsible for filling in the logbook. You will keep records of everything that goes on in the craft; routines carried out by yourself and Tartaglia, maintenance of the craft, travel details, supply levels, the day’s agenda, and a few other things that will be discussed later. And you two will both be responsible for upkeep of the ship. Sandrone will send you with an extensive manual. She will also be on-call within a certain range of Earth,” Pierro explained. He tapped his papers on the podium to straighten them, returning them to their manila folder.
Sandrone nodded from across the room. She didn’t mind that she wouldn’t be on the actual crew, but she was more than happy to still be included in the mission. She was an engineering prodigy, a genius of design and mechanics. And she loved what she did, because she did it better than anyone else.
“Tartaglia, you will be responsible for navigation. You will ensure the ship gets to its location, keeping the ship in proper trajectory and monitoring fuel levels. I also have put you in charge of life support, but that can be a joint effort. This will include monitoring oxygen and supplies, as well as maintaining the plant life on board. You will be the one keeping track of how the craft is doing during travel,” Pierro explained. He looked up from his podium. “We may discuss some smaller details later before your launch.”
“When do we launch?” Scaramouche asked, still pretending like nothing was going on. Behind his cold outward demeanor he was having an absolute party in his head. If someone was reading his mind, it would look like his brain cells were drunk frat bros mindlessly dancing at some nightclub, having the time of their lives.
“Two weeks. You do have to go through the preparatory training, even if you are both experienced with space travel,” Pierro replied. “You and Tartaglia are dismissed. I will discuss the roles for the rest of the team and details pertaining to their jobs.”
The pair nodded and stood, making their way out the door as normally as possible.
The second they were out that door, Scaramouche gave Tartaglia a cheeky grin. “Six months in space?” he teased, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Just the two of us?”
Tartaglia glanced around before pinning Scaramouche against the wall, mirroring Scaramouche’s smirk. “You know they say no one has had sex in space,” he whispered to him.
Scaramouche felt a chill run down his spine. “Shall we experiment, for science?” he suggested, leaning up to kiss his neck.
“For science,” Tartaglia replied, kissing him briefly. “Now let’s get out of here before we’re found out. There’s no way Pierro will let us go if he finds out we’re together.”
“You tell me this like I don’t know,” Scaramouche replied, gently pushing him away. “I’ve got some crab and squid in the fridge, let me see what I can make out of it.”
Tartaglia sighed. “You’re too good to me sometimes.” He was pouting, but he wasn’t at all upset. Sometimes his boyfriend was just too cute and sweet for him to handle.
The mission went as planned, and the launch did take place two weeks later as scheduled. A lot of the pre-launch training was already familiar to them, they were experienced astronauts who had previously completed such training.
Having flown before, one would think there wouldn’t be a lot of anxiety between the two of them. Yet as Scaramouche and Tartaglia were getting suited up, there were a few nervous exchanged glances. This was a longer mission, they’d be in space for an extended period of time.
They had a sizable agenda before them. No humans had been that far out in space just yet, Mars had just been colonized a two decades ago and no one had ever gone very far past Jupiter before needing to turn around. The duo was placing a lot of trust in Sandrone and her engineering prowess. If her spacecraft ended up being any less than what Pierro said it would be, they’d most likely die somewhere between the asteroid belt and Jupiter.
This ship was properly made for long-term space travel. The vessel was equipped with the latest in artificial gravity technology, an entire solarium greenhouse for plant life, and comfortable crew cabins and accommodations. There was a whole entertainment system (Pierro fully understood there was only so much work they could do while traveling) and a gym to fight muscular atrophy during their trip. Despite having fully functioning artificial gravity, it was still space travel standard to include workout equipment in a spacecraft to ensure astronauts did not lose muscle from zero-gravity muscular inactivity.
Yeah, it was a nice ship. But nice ships don’t work as an anti-anxiety. They probably wouldn’t be able to calm down until they were fully in space and they were given the OK to get out of their seats and walk around the cockpit.
Leaving the atmosphere is never easy. Recent innovations in aerodynamics had reduced atmospheric turbulence to that of a rough airline flight, but it still required some pretty serious seatbelts.
It was a quiet elevator ride up the side of the craft. They were suited up and ready to go, standing nervously side by side.
Scaramouche sighed and took Tartaglia’s gloved hand. He took a moment to glance around the elevator for cameras, giving a relieved breath when there weren’t any.
“Nervous?” Tartaglia asked, looking over at Scaramouche. His tone wasn’t mocking, and his gaze was a gentle fondness.
“A little,” Scaramouche replied. He sighed again. “But it’s not as dreadful. I guess having you here… makes it easier.” He wasn’t facing Tartaglia, but he smiled a little bit. The man next to him was the only person in the world he would ever admit something like that to.
“I’d kiss you, but,” Tartaglia began, chuckling to himself. He was nervous too, but he was also comforted by Scaramouche’s presence.
Scaramouche turned and leaned towards him so their helmets clunked together. “That’ll have to do for now,” he mumbled in mock frustration.
Tartaglia’s cheeks darkened and there was suddenly beeping coming from his space suit. A voice from mission control suddenly chirped over the intercom; “Tartaglia, are you okay? Your heart rate suddenly skyrocketed!”
“I forgot they were monitoring that…” Tartaglia whispered, blushing a darker red. He hit a button on the side of his helmet to speak to mission control. “Yes, I’m fine, just having an interesting conversation with Scaramouche.” He sent a pouty look towards his boyfriend, who was hunched over laughing.
The elevator finally arrived at the top of the shaft and stopped at the platform that would lead them to the cockpit of the craft. The door opened and they turned to look at each other.
“Are you ready?” Tartaglia asked, taking his hand once again.
“As I’ll ever be,” Scaramouche replied.
They crossed the threshold together.
★
Kunikuzushi had never flown with Ajax before. The most they’d ever officially done together at work was retrieving Signora from where her capsule had landed in the ocean. Ajax had been piloting their helicopter while Kunikuzushi had navigated him to Signora’s drop location.
This was something else entirely. Kunikuzushi didn’t know how Ajax would react to suddenly being propelled through several layers of the Earth’s atmosphere.
“5, 4,…”
Ajax reached over to Kunikuzushi and squeezed his hand. They made eye contact; Ajax looked fearful and hesitant. It was the first and only time he’d ever seen his normally cocky boyfriend anything other than sure of himself.
“It’s okay,” Kunikuzushi whispered to him. He had a feeling Ajax couldn’t hear him, they were both wearing helmets and the roaring of the rocket engines was deafening. But Ajax nodded, he’d gotten the sentiment.
“3,2…”
Ajax let go of Kunikuzushi’s hand and faced forward, inhaling and exhaling laboriously.
“1… lift off.”
The rocket began ascending, mission control on the ground chattering in their ears about trajectory, thrust, solid fuel tanks, heat shields, craft status. Their ship was cutting through the clouds like a hot knife through butter.
“Sandrone’s a genius,” Kunikuzushi managed hear Ajax say over the incessant roar of the engines and the groaning of the metal ship’s exterior as it fought its way into the stratosphere. He chuckled, glancing over to see Ajax’s expression.
The ginger next to him in his seat had a smile on his face. All of his nervousness had dissolved after the first minute, after listening to Pierro and mission control confirm they were in the clear.
As they pushed into space the turbulence went from lightly tossing them around to nothing at all. They were Saturn-bound, the Earth getting slowly smaller and smaller in that back window.
“Life support systems are fully functioning and cabin pressure has stabilized. You’re free to leave your seats. Mind yourselves, you’ve entered zero gravity. The artificial gravity systems will come online soon,” Pierro instructed over the radio. “In a few hours you’ll be passing the Moon, I’d suggest you set your camera up soon, Scaramouche.”
“Yes sir,” Kunikuzushi replied before undoing his seatbelt. Before he even had the chance to take a step, he was already about two feet off the floor. He hit a button on his helmet that muted himself so mission control couldn’t hear them. “How’s the weather down there?” he teasingly asked, shimmying his way further up into the cabin.
Ajax laughed and unbuckled himself, pushing off his seat into the open cabin. He hit the ceiling before bouncing back towards Kunikuzushi. He muted his microphone as well, he didn’t want Pierro to hear his relentless flirting. “I’d say my view is pretty good from here,” he teased with a wink. “You’re looking pretty out-of-this-world, hot stuff.”
Kunikuzushi’s face went bright red. “You’re so cheesy you’re going to make me sick,” he groaned. He unzipped his space suit and removed his helmet, letting it sort of float loose in the cabin. “Get out of that stupid thing so I can kiss you as my revenge.”
“Oh jeez, that sounds terrible,” Ajax replied in what was very clear sarcasm. He quickly removed his own suit and helmet before grabbing Kunikuzushi, kissing him deeply. “We just left Earth on a rocket and we could have died, but you look more handsome than ever.”
Once again, Kunikuzushi blushed. He sighed, his embarrassed pout turning into a small smile. “Nobody else I’d rather risk my life with,” he muttered before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. “...You’re not bad to look at, either. Now let’s put our suits away. We have stuff to do.”
Ajax seemed hesitant to let his boyfriend go. “Let me just hold you for one more moment. It’s kind of cold in here and you’re warm.” It was some random excuse he’d made up, but it wasn’t a total lie. Any heat the ship had collected during takeoff had quickly diffused into the cold vacuum of space. Some of the less-important systems on the ship were still coming online, the heating system had just kicked on. The ship hadn’t kept much excess fuel on it for the space travel itself, so it was using large solar panels to charge.
Kunikuzushi stayed floating midair with his lover for a few more moments before sliding out of his grasp. “Alright space boy, hop to,” he ordered lightly. He grabbed his space suit and went to hang it up, doing his best to move through the air with no traction or anything to really grab on. He eventually made it over to the closet for their suits, putting his suit and helmet away carefully. He entered one of the small corridors and used handles on the walls to pull himself towards storage. He needed to get his camera set up in the solarium and check on the telescope equipment.
Ajax got to work in the cockpit, checking over all the ship’s systems and analytics. They were going the right direction, the life support systems were all online and operational, the gravity simulation was 89% done booting up.
“Watch yourself,” Ajax said over the intercom. “Gravity is coming online within the next five minutes. Don’t stay too far away from the floor.”
“10-4,” Kunikuzushi replied, buzzing his voice over the intercom from his earpiece. He’d put an earpiece in when he put his helmet in storage, it allowed him to tune into mission control communications and reply to the intercom from wherever he was on board. He’d also asked prior to their mission if it could be used to play music; music doesn’t have any weight, so downloading it and bringing it onboard was approved. He had some music playing as he set up his camera equipment in the solarium. Or at least the best he could, anyways. He couldn’t exactly set up his tripod without gravity.
“Gravity coming online in 5, 4, 3, 2…” Ajax said over the intercom.
Kunikuzushi grabbed all his equipment and braced to hit the floor.
“1… coming online!” Ajax concluded.
As expected, gravity did in fact kick in and Kunikuzushi hit the floor. He didn’t hurt himself, but he was worried the equipment he was holding would have been damaged. He confirmed after a few moments of looking that everything was in fine working order. Setting his camera up took no time at all, and the angle of the solarium allowed him to take a few photos of the Earth as they flew away from it at high speeds.
Kunikuzushi walked back to the cabin to write something in the logbook and check on Ajax. He ended up pausing at the doorway; Ajax was hard at work pouring over the main computer terminal. He was carefully scanning all sorts of data, muttering into his earpiece (most likely to Sandrone or Pierro) in a voice too low for him to understand.
This was a side of Ajax he didn’t see often, one he liked. Ajax was a goofball a majority of the time, specifically his goofball. But Kunikuzushi liked seeing the hard-at-work Ajax, the Ajax who had worked his ass off to get through an aerospace engineering degree while working an internship at a military spacecraft and airplane manufacturing plant. The Ajax that had spent hours at his university’s library pouring over books on advanced calculus and physics and astronomy. The Ajax that had burned the candle at both ends and the midnight oil at the same time.
They’d actually met in university; Kunikuzushi was a foreign exchange student from Inazuma studying in Snezhnaya with hopes of landing a spot in Snezhnaya’s space programs. They met in that very library; the library with a little cafe and rows upon rows of new computers. They both frequented the shelves of books on space travel, research done in space, the assembly of aerospace craft and the struggles of scientists’ first trips to outer space over a hundred years ago. Ajax was the first in his family to attend university, Kunikuzushi attended university under his mother’s command. They’d reached for the same book at the same time, both preoccupied with something else; Kunikuzushi was reading a book he held in his other hand, Ajax was looking at a list of books on his phone. They’d made eye contact then.
Kunikuzushi found it all incredibly cheesy; they’d gone from convenient study partners to slightly-more-than-friends to quietly kissing in the back of the library. They’d made a promise out of wishful thinking to enter the space program enlistments together and become partners. By sheer luck (and hard work on both of their parts), here they were. Hundreds of miles away from that library, headed towards a gas giant in the outer solar system.
Kunikuzushi looked at Ajax, unable to stop a smile from creeping onto his face. That kid he’d bumped into at the library with a million things he wanted to do was now a grown man crossing some of those things off a list. The boy whose freckles he traced like constellations was fulfilling his dream before his very eyes. The boy who would crash onto their bed late at night, barely keeping himself awake until he was safely and comfortably in Kunikuzushi’s arms.
He walked over to Ajax. “How’s it going?” he said, leaning over to see what Ajax was doing. The screen was showing a bunch of different readings; all things he knew and understood, but not something he had the interest to care about right now. They’d passed the same entrance exams and had the same qualifications, but Ajax was always a little better at the technical stuff. Ajax was engineering and numbers and charts and graphs, Kunikuzushi was experiments and research and documentation.
“Just doing some final checks with mission control before we lose radio communication. Things get a little shaky once we pass the moon,” Ajax explained, not looking away from his screen. “Sandrone is bugging me about the heat shield and how it performed, I’m trying to convince her it’s fine.”
Kunikuzushi nodded and sat next to him, turning his earpiece back on. “Hey, Sandrone, bug off. The exit was shaky as expected but compared to what we’ve been through before? Hot knife through butter,” he nagged. “Tartaglia’s taking readings, let him work.”
“I’m just making sure!” Sandrone said with a heavy audible sigh. “I spent like two years building that thing! I don’t want you two wrecking it!”
“Wrecking it?” Ajax responded, cocking an eyebrow. “We’ll bring her back in one piece. If anything’s broken, blame the asteroid field or the atmosphere.”
“And how am I going to get remuneration from a bunch of space rocks? Just keep her steady, Major Tom,” Sandrone insisted one last time. “You’re about to leave the radio zone. Scaramouche, Pierro says to remember to take those photos of the moon when you pass by and get to bed on time.”
There was an “I did not say that!” audible from Sandrone’s end, definitely Pierro protesting against what Sandrone had said.
“Alright, he didn’t actually say that. But anyways, Dottore and Signora send their regards. Sandrone out,” she concluded before the radio connection went quiet.
Kunikuzushi looked over to Ajax. “I’m going to get some rest, come join me when you’re done. We still have about two hours until we get to the moon, I’m taking a nap,” he announced with a yawn, standing from his seat.
“I won’t be long,” Ajax replied, turning this time to look at Kunikuzushi instead of focusing too hard on his work.
“You better not be,” Kunikuzushi pouted, kissing his head before heading towards the crew quarters. There were separate rooms, one labeled for each of them. Kunikuzushi read the label “Tartaglia” and immediately went into that room, where Ajax’s luggage was already placed in the room. He tossed his under-suit away quickly, replacing it with a pair of Ajax’s boxers and one of his bigger shirts.
“Perfect,” Kunikuzushi said, looking pleased with himself as he threw himself on the bed. It didn’t take long before he drifted off.
He was most pleased when his lover joined him about fifteen minutes later.
The view outside the cockpit window was one Ajax could never get used to. Seeing space through a telescope on the ground was a completely different experience than what was before him now. The stars in the far distance were clearer, there was no light pollution out in space. The entire Milky Way galaxy was visible from his seat.
It made him feel tiny, but in a good way. The universe was huge, even his own galaxy was huge, and he was just a small traveler trying to see a tiny portion of it. It was humbling. Instead of worrying about deadlines or unpaid bills or what outfit to wear, he was looking at the brilliant painting that was his own galaxy. It was him and the love of his life on an adventure amongst the stars.
They would appear different colors depending on where they were or how they looked at the center of the galaxy. Sometimes the stars shone a shimmering gold like a beach’s sand with sparkling pieces of ocean glass. There were deep, deep blues that reminded him of Kunikuzushi’s eyes, though he still believed his boyfriend’s eyes to be more beautiful. It looked like the sky before him was made of sapphires, the universe a beautifully strung necklace. The skies would shift to amethyst and turquoise, like a beautiful painting that wasn’t quite done, never finished.
Ajax turned over the little velvet box in his hand, looking away from the window. He wanted to propose to Kunikuzushi. He wanted Kunikuzushi to be his husband. He’d spent a long, long time thinking about it. They’d known each other for so long; three years of university, three years in aeronaut and pilot training, two years together in the Harbingers group.
Though, to be honest, Ajax kind of knew he wanted to marry Kunikuzushi years ago. He’d heard stories about couples who meet and just know that “they’re the one” or something cheesy like that. But after three months of officially dating Kunikuzushi, he’d come to that conclusion. It was just an issue of “we can’t get married now, we have to wait,” over and over again.
Ajax couldn’t wait anymore. Once Pierro had announced the mission, he’d decided. The night after the announcement Ajax had actually gone ring shopping. Kunikuzushi was home cooking dinner, and Ajax made some silly excuse about needing a new shaving razor or something. Granted he did come home with a new razor, but he had a ring box in his back pocket.
The same box Ajax held in his hands now. Inside the navy blue box was a ring made of a peachy rose gold metal. It was very simple, only a small sapphire embedded directly inside the ring. The gem was a deep blue, it had reminded Ajax of Kunikuzushi’s eyes when he first saw it. So that was the ring Ajax got.
“I finished the photographs,” Kunikuzushi exclaimed, making Ajax jump and quickly hide the box within his hoodie.
“Ah! Great! How, did it go?” Ajax asked, trying to not be awkward and being awkward as a result. He totally had a hand-in-the-cookie-jar look. He was trying to hide the ring box in his sleeve and was doing a somewhat subpar job.
Kunikuzushi raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Ajax?” he warned. He crossed his arms. “Why the look?”
“What look?” Ajax spat out without thinking.
Kunikuzushi smirked, walking over from the doorway. “Yeah, you totally don’t look suspicious,” he quirked at him. “What, did you steal one of my shirts?”
Ajax’s panic lessened a little once he realized Kunikuzushi wasn’t onto him. “Nah, you know your shirts are too small,” he insisted. He sneakily slid the ring box into his back pocket.
“What, you’re too chicken to wear a crop top?” Kunikuzushi teased, crawling into his lap.
“Ha! You’ve literally seen me wearing them before. Tonia dressed me up that one time when we were visiting my parents, remember?” Ajax recalled, resting his hands on Kunikuzushi’s hips.
“Of course I do. You looked practically fabulous with the makeup she put on you,” Kunikuzushi answered. “I still have those photos.”
“Hey! I thought I looked great, thank you very much,” Ajax grunted. At the mention of his younger sister, his expression soured a bit. He broke eye contact, looking down.
Kunikuzushi sighed. “I miss your siblings too. Tonia is so sweet compared to the brat that is my little sister,” he pouted, leaning into him. “Have you watched those video messages everyone left for us?”
Ajax nodded. “A few times already. I’d been far from them when I was in university, but this is a little different. I can’t exactly go back to Morepesok whenever I want right now,” he sighed, resting his chin on Kunikuzushi’s shoulder. “How are you holding up?”
“Well, all I really need is right here in front of me,” Kunikuzushi replied calmly. It wasn’t often that he so outwardly vocalized affection like that, Ajax’s eyes widened and twinkled just hearing it. “Yeah my sister and mothers exist, but I can do without them.”
“Do you think they’ll come around someday?” Ajax asked, turning to look at him.
Kunikuzushi sighed, pressing a kiss to Ajax’s forehead. Sometimes he couldn’t resist those pretty eyes and that sweet face. “Maybe. My mom did send me a letter addressed to “Kunikuzushi” a while before we left, so that’s something,” he offered.
“Which mom?”
“Pink hair. She has the pet fox.”
“Oh yeah. She’s always given me slightly better vibes,” Ajax muttered. “Well, if you’re worried, my mom still asks me about how her “son-in-law” is doing.”
The ends of Kunikuzushi's lips curled up. “She’s so sweet,” he replied, feeling bashful. “She made me soup every day when I spent a week with you at her house after my surgery. She barely let me get up.”
“That’s mom for you, always-” Ajax began.
He was cut off by a BOOM!! that shook the entire craft. Kunikuzushi was thrown from Ajax’s lap, landing awkwardly jammed on the ground between Ajax’s chair and the computer console. He scrambled out and got onto his knees.
“The fuck was that?!” Kunikuzushi cried, rubbing his back. “Did we hit something?” He took a moment, the impact had knocked the wind out of him.
Ajax’s eyebrow suddenly pulled together and he began hurriedly typing into the computer. “Computer, run diagnostics!” he yelled to the artificial intelligence they sometimes used in the ship.
“Damage taken. Large object collision with ship. Outer coverings damaged. Space walk repair recommended,” the AI replied.
“Dammit, we’re in the asteroid field,” Ajax announced. “I’m supposed to be driving, I’m sorry.”
Kunikuzushi hopped up. “Get the ship stopped for a moment. Let’s go fix it quickly before anything else hits us then get out of here,” he suggested.
“Let’s?” Ajax repeated. “Like, plural us?”
“Like hell I’m letting you go out there alone. We’re surrounded by big ass space rocks for damn’s sake,” Kunikuzushi insisted. He stood, already marching off towards the airlock.
Ajax gave a sigh of frustration. They’d been instructed the opposite of what Kunikuzushi was about to do: they weren’t supposed to both be outside the spacecraft at the same time. But when Ajax thought about it, he wasn’t about to let Kunikuzushi repair the outer shell of their ship by himself either.
He pulled back on the ship’s throttle, turning off the main engines. They still had a small amount of remaining momentum, but it wasn’t enough to really propel them through space. They were essentially parked. The ship’s solar panels began charging while the craft was idle.
Ajax took off towards the airlock, catching up to his boyfriend that was already partially suited. “Can you grab the welder and a few sheets of the heavy-grade metal?” Kunikuzushi asked, zipping up his bodysuit.
“You know we aren’t supposed to both go out there, Pierro specifically said we weren’t to leave the ship unmanned,” Ajax explained, though he was already walking towards the armory to access the tool closet.
“Ajax, there is no way in hell I’m going to let you go outside in bare space with giant floating space rocks by yourself . What happens when something happens to you and I have to fly home and tell your family you got hurt and I could have done something about it?” Kunikuzushi snapped. He was deadly serious.
Ajax returned with the welder, though he didn’t look pleased. “Fine. But we’re both going out with double tethers,” he sighed. “Only because you were so convincing about it.”
Kunikuzushi nodded, securing his helmet over his head. “Maybe we should tether to each other too, just in case there’s a snap,” he suggested. He turned his attention away from Ajax for a moment. “Computer! Where is the damage?”
“The damage was sustained on the starboard bow. Forward right,” the computer confirmed.
Kunikuzushi nodded, thinking for a moment. The airlock was near the rear of the ship, so they would have to make their way around to the front-right of the ship. “Suit up, I’ll get the tethers,” he ordered. He wasn’t being rude or overbearing, he was just nervous.
And Ajax knew this. Kunikuzushi was nervous right now. This wasn’t “smooth sailing” anymore, their mission and very lives were in jeopardy. He was nervous too. If anything went wrong and they needed to turn around, it would take them two to three days to get back. Possibly longer if more damage was done to the ship.
Kunikuzushi opened a small locker in the airlock hallway, taking out five tethers. He clipped two to a hook inside the craft, clipping the opposite ends to his harness. Ajax approached him to do the same, then using the fifth tether to attach the two of them. If one of them broke loose of their tethers, the other could pull them in.
Kunikuzushi glanced at Ajax, his eyes full of uncertainty and pause. “Be careful, please,” he said, almost pleading.
Ajax bumped his helmet against Kunikuzushi’s. “It’s starting to sound like you’re worried about me, or something,” he teased, giving a smile. “With your redundancies, we’ll be fine. In and out.”
Kunikuzushi felt a little better with Ajax’s reassurance, and his expression lightened. “It’d be shitty of me to have dated you this long if I didn’t care,” he replied. “Let’s go. Keep close.”
Ajax nodded. A door closed behind them to ensure the oxygen in their ship didn’t go whooshing out into the vacuum of space. The airlock door opened and the two of them slowly exited. The door closed behind them after they maneuvered out.
“Alright,” Ajax said, sighing. “Where’s the damage?” He threw the welder bag over his shoulder.
“This way,” Kunikuzushi answered, taking hold of the handles that were installed along the ship. He climbed his way along the ship, sort of dragging Ajax through space like he was on a leash.
“Mmm,” Ajax replied simply. While Kunikuzushi dragged him, Ajax was looking at their surroundings. There weren’t any particularly large asteroids near them, but there were a few of assorted sports’ balls sizes around them. Ajax supposed one of these smaller ones hit them and did a bit more damage because they were moving through the asteroid field at high speeds.
He felt partially responsible anyways. Ajax was supposed to be driving but he was distracted and they dipped into the asteroid belt. He’d been trying to stay out of it, flying just above the ring to keep them safe. But he’d been worried about fueling, he didn’t want to stray too far off course or risk running behind.
“You’re sulking,” Kunikuzushi mused, coming over Ajax’s earpiece. “The damage is over here. I’ll hold the metal, you weld.”
“Pull me in,” Ajax suggested. He took hold of the welder bag.
Kunikuzushi began pulling him by their connecting tether, eventually bringing him over. “Caught a big one. A prized catch, I’d say,” he teased.
“I didn’t think you could catch fish in space,” Ajax teased back as he took the welder out of its bag. He came over to assess the damage; he’d been right about the asteroid. The hole was relatively small, but definitely caused by a high-velocity impact. It wouldn’t be too hard to patch at all.
“Do you think there’s internal damage?” Ajax asked, beginning to weld the sheet of metal to the edges of the hole. He decided he’d patch the hole then weld another sheet of metal over it completely. For now, he was just filling the gap.
“I can check when we get back in there, I’ll climb into the internals. We can ask the computer to run more diagnostics. It most likely prioritized the external damage because it was the most potentially fatal,” Kunikuzushi suggested. He held the metal surprisingly steady for being in zero gravity.
Ajax nodded. “Have you walked in space before?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at him briefly. The filling was almost done. “You seem awfully calm about this.”
“I did once, I was doing a solo trip to fetch some soil and dust samples from the moon and my ship collided with some old space litter on the way back. I did some research, it was an old weather satellite that had broken down,” Kunikuzushi explained. “Had to do what you’re doing right now to patch everything up. I ended up bringing some of the debris in with me so no one else would run into it. And the metal could be reused or something.”
“Always so clever,” Ajax muttered. He was hyper focused, now sealing over the entire thing with a big flat sheet. He had to make sure everything was air-tight and that the repaired spot on the ship wasn’t going to fall off or become a weak spot.
“Didn’t you do it once?” Kunikuzushi asked. “I’d swear you told me about it or something. Weren’t you out with Capitano?”
“Yeah!” Ajax’s face lit up at the mention of his senior. “I held his toolbox for him!” He knew it was silly to be so excited about something that trivial, but it had been his first space flight ever. He’d been stoked for the entire experience, and the thought of being helpful was something he chased.
Kunikuzushi smiled briefly. “Look at you now, doing the work yourself on your own mission,” he quirked, his tone slightly joking. But he actually was quite proud of Ajax. Ajax had made it into the Harbingers after he had, he’d had to wait longer and prove himself more than the others did. Kunikuzushi had watched as Ajax worked his absolute ass off to get to where he is now. And as he floated there thinking about him, he felt his heart swell a little bit.
Ajax finished the work, sighing in relief. He gently knocked on the metal, checking its integrity. That thing was pretty solidly on there.
“Ready to go back in?” Kunikuzushi asked, already turning around.
“Wait!” Ajax exclaimed, hurriedly putting the welder back in its bag. “Wait, not yet.”
“Huh?” Kunikuzushi turned back around, looking confused.
That’s when Ajax pulled that little fabric box out of his pocket. He’d moved the box from his undersuit pocket to his space suit pocket when Kunikuzushi wasn’t looking. Ajax slowly opened it, revealing the ring inside.
Kunikuzushi’s eyes widened, he locked eyes with Ajax. His expression was unlike anything he’d ever seen on him before; lips parted with sparkling eyes. His jaw had dropped and his cheeks had heated up. He was completely and totally speechless, stunned silent and stunned stiff. Absolutely stupefied.
“Kunikuzushi,” Ajax began. “I can think of no better place in this universe to ask you this. Eight years ago we met as desperate students that would do anything to even get close to space travel. And now I’m asking you to marry me while we’re out in space past the orbit of Mars.
“I’m here today because you stuck by my side and supported me, you are the reason I’m here today. You believed in me when everything was stacked against me,” he continued. “Being able to not only go to space, but to go to space with you, is something beyond my wildest dreams. To be able to fulfill my dream with another one of my dreams right beside me is…”
“Ajax,” Kunikuzushi whispered. Ajax looked up at him, his boyfriend had tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.
“Will you-”
“Of course I fucking will, you idiot,” Kunikuzushi cut him off, pushing himself off the ship towards Ajax. He hugged him tightly, at least as tightly as one can while wearing a bulky space suit. “I’ve wanted to marry you for over seven years. It’s about time you asked!” He was so clearly happy, there were loose tears floating within his helmet now.
Ajax hadn’t been expecting such an enthusiastic response; he knew Kunikuzushi would say yes, but he wasn’t expecting that strong of a reply. “And I would have asked seven years earlier too, if we weren’t broke college students flying by the seat of their pants.”
“Nobody else I’d rather be broke with than you,” Kunikuzushi muttered. “And you’re not here because of me, I only suggested to Pierro that you be evaluated. It was you that had such an impressive resume and work ethic that he barely needed any evaluation. You did the sleepless nights in the library burning the midnight oil studying calculus and physics and trigonometry.”
“But if I was sitting in that library, cold and unloved, I doubt I’d remember those college days with the fondness I do now,” Ajax replied.
Kunikuzushi sighed. “God, I love you, you’re such an idiot,” he stated rather matter-of-factly. He was facing away from the distant sun, the sun that silhouetted him from behind. The faintest light reflected off of their craft, lighting up his face ever so gently. The smile that graced Kunikuzushi’s face was heavenly. The bouncing light from their solar panels glittered in his eyes more beautifully than the stars surrounding them. The redhead could feel his heart doing flips in his chest. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought the man in front of him to be an angel. Dressed in white, surrounded with a hazy golden glow, eyes radiating earnest affection and the purest love.
It took him a moment to dig himself out of his own head and back to reality. “And I’m your idiot. Soon it’ll be written in print; Ajax, Kunikuzushi’s idiot,” Ajax teased. “Let’s get back inside.”
Kunikuzushi nodded and grabbed the ring box. “How unfair, proposing to me when I can’t kiss you,” he complained. He tugged on his tether, pulling himself back towards the ship.
Ajax was about to respond and begin his own venture towards the ship’s airlock when he felt something hit him and propel him forward. Something had made contact, hit him square in the back. He hit the side of the ship and felt the object make contact again. An asteroid had come flying at them as they were stopped, small enough to not damage the ship.
But it had been large enough to knock the air out of Ajax’s lungs as he was sandwiched between the metal outer covering of the spacecraft and the significant hunk of space rock. He heard a collection of cracks, he felt a pinch in his spine, and he felt a burning in his lungs. Pain had come surging through him in waves, each more painful as the last. He felt an unsettling numbness in his hands and feet.
He’d saved the ship from taking more damage, but at his own expense. His consciousness fizzled out, and he let go of his tether.
Kunikuzushi realized Ajax hadn’t followed him and turned around to see his completely unconscious lover floating away from the ship, tethers becoming less and less slack as he laid adrift in the vacuum of space.
He saw the slight dent on the ship. He saw the asteroid. He realized an asteroid had just come flying out of nowhere and hit him. And the tether that bound them to each other had snapped completely.
Kunikuzushi screamed, but no one was there to hear him.
His mind was racing as if his brain had suddenly become a Wall Street stock market sale. So many thoughts rushed through his mind faster than he could interpret them into logic or any sort of anything. He was scared out of his fucking mind, he was whiplashed from the switch of beautiful, unbridled joy to dread and gut-wrenching fear. Some of the thoughts were suggestions, like to grab him and draw him in by his tethers, to turn the ship the fuck around and go home. Some thoughts were ones of self-degradation, that this was his fault and he should have never come and if the two of them hadn’t met, somehow Ajax wouldn’t have been put in this scenario at this exact moment.
He was now alone in space, thousands of miles away from Earth on a damaged spaceship with the man he loved more than anyone else, who is dead or dying and close to death. He had no one to help him. It was him and Ajax. It was just him and Ajax.
His body moved on its own without coherent instruction. Kunikuzushi was shouting into his earpiece, crying for dear life that his fiancé would wake up. He pushed off of the ship with his feet as if swimming through air, desperately trying to somehow get to Ajax.
Kunikuzushi’s eyes were blown wide as he finally approached his lover, searching desperately for any signs of life. Ajax looked pale, his lips almost white. There were small droplets of blood floating in his helmet. He was completely unconscious.
But the small cuff on his wrist lit up. 40 bpm, 91% blood oxygen. Kunikuzushi’s tiny moment of relief was bittersweet; Ajax was alive but he might not be for too long.
Kunikuzushi hated how space slows everything down. He was trying to move as quickly as possible, his poor heart pounding and flooding him with adrenaline. Nothing had ever scared him more than the lonely helpless stranded feeling. He couldn’t even radio for help. No one would even know what had happened. They would just disappear.
Once he was inside the airlock he moved faster than he ever had before. He ran with Ajax on his back to the medical bay, almost ripping his space suit to get him out. Kunikuzushi shed his own suit and tossed it aside haphazardly.
Kunikuzushi’s tears had never stopped. Even as he put gloves on and strapped Ajax onto the table, his cheeks were wet. He clipped a heart monitor probe to his finger, tightened a blood pressure cuff to his arm, and affixed an oxygen mask to his face to stabilize him.
“Please Ajax, I’m begging you,” he whispered, pleading. He was pathetic and he was desperate and he didn’t care what god he had to pray to. All he wanted was for this to be over, for Ajax to wake up and laugh it off like he’d not just been nearly crushed to death by an asteroid.
The medical bay was somewhat simplistic, but it did contain a robotic arm that was capable of inserting an IV and other tubes into a patient. Sandrone had included it, citing possible dehydration. She had claimed space could dry a person out, but she didn’t know that she had possibly saved one of her comrade’s lives.
Kunikuzushi flipped him onto his stomach, careful not to disturb his IV or oxygen mask.
Ajax’s back was bruising, lacerations leaking blood that ran down the sides of his body. Kunikuzushi knew there were internal injuries, and he knew Ajax’s life was on the line. And the guilt of Ajax possibly dying was eating him alive. He cursed himself for not knowing what to do, he cursed himself for not being able to fix the damage. He hated himself for only being able to suture the gashes on his back.
Kunikuzushi went so slowly and carefully, as if one wrong move would end the world. He wasn’t taking any risks, especially with his body trembling from fear and complete terror. After applying a numbing antibiotic gel and wrapping the bandages, he flipped Ajax back over.
With the oxygen mask and IV fluids, he looked slightly better and his heart monitor said as much. His wounds weren’t bleeding anymore, and he began to stabilize. Kunikuzushi had the robotic arm very carefully insert a feeding tube.
“Please hang in there,” Kunikuzushi begged, his body exhausted beyond its limit. “I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do when I see your mother’s heartbroken eyes as she realizes her son didn’t make it home. I can’t face Teucer, I can't face Anton, I can’t face Tonia.” His chest heaved painfully. “And I don’t know how I’d face myself without you.”
His chest ached, it felt like his body was going to split in two. Kunikuzushi just wanted to stay there, he didn’t want to leave Ajax. It felt like leaving his side would kill him.
But he had to turn the ship around.
Kunikuzushi sprinted to the cockpit. He sat down in the pilot’s chair and poured over the controls. Remembering some of the things Sandrone had taught him, he pressed a few buttons on the dashboard. Diagnostics reviewed the ship; still light damage on the exterior, but it wasn’t urgent.
He turned the ship around, the windshield revealing the bright and welcoming sun, as well as that tiny little blue planet. It looked like a speck of dust and he could barely see it through the asteroids. Kunikuzushi reset their destination to Earth and felt relieved when the ship started moving.
He sat there, motionless. Kunikuzushi watched through the huge window as asteroids passed by at blinding speeds. The ship suddenly felt cold, like he would freeze to death if he stayed in one spot long enough.
They had been going for about fifteen minutes before Kunikuzushi realized he didn’t have the ring, and that he’d left Ajax’s engagement ring back there with the welding bag. He hadn’t brought it back in with him. He let himself break down fully this time, the weight of the day’s events weighing heavy on his soul.
★
The ship had been completely silent for days. Kunikuzuhi hadn’t spoken a single word, hadn’t slept a wink. When he wasn’t in the cockpit seat, he was sitting in the medical bay. He stayed awake for almost three days until he’d just run out of energy. His mind filled his sleep with dreams of him and Ajax. A very alive and cheerful Ajax, an Ajax that was awake and not in critical condition on the bed beside him.
He woke up on the floor after a shrill beeping woke him up. Ajax’s IV stand had run out of fluid and he had to replace the bag. Ever so carefully, he replaced the bag.
“Computer,” Kunikuzushi weakly called.
“Yes, Colonel Scaramouche?” the AI replied, voice ever so cheerful and helpful as always. It was a fake cheeriness, but it was cheerfulness all the same.
“How much longer will it be until we arrive home?” Kunikuzushi asked, standing up from the cold tile.
“At your current rate of speed, roughly six days. Shall I speed up the ship to shorten that travel time?” the AI questioned.
“Does the ship currently have enough fuel to run all systems at full operation at this speed?” Kunikuzushi queried as he dug through the medical cabinet for a ration bar. It’s all he could really get himself to eat at the moment.
“I might suggest lowering the blast shield, we have left the asteroid field so it would be appropriate to disengage it. There is no risk of us being hit by-”
“Okay that’s fine, thank you computer,” Kunikuzushi interrupted. He couldn’t think about asteroids right now. As silly as he thought that concept was, he really didn’t want to think about the thing that had critically injured his fiancé. He mentally kicked himself.
“At our current rate of speed, we will reach Earth in five days, thirteen hours, and twenty seven minutes,” the computer informed helpfully before going quiet.
Kunikuzushi had never experienced such a bleak, desolate environment in his entire life. He swore to himself that if he ever had the chance to speak to Ajax again, he would be unashamed of their relationship. He didn’t care how his colleagues felt. He needed Ajax to understand how loved he was and how miserable Kunikuzushi was without him. Kunikuzushi just hated it took a near-fatal injury for him to come to this conclusion.
They finally came back into the radio zone five days and three hours later. No one was there to answer Kunikuzushi's calls. They were supposed to be in space for six months, and they had returned within two and a half weeks. No one was expecting them, so there was no one sitting in mission control waiting to hear from them. It was about three in the morning local time, so Kunikuzushi just had to pray that someone would answer eventually.
The first voice he heard was the voice of a tired sounding and very confused Capitano.
“What in the absolute hell are you doing here, Scaramouche?” Capitano had asked. It was about six in the morning, Kunikuzushi doubted the man had even had a cup of coffee yet. He usually came in early to go over documents or recordings, any data regarding past missions.
“Capitano, please, you have to help me,” Kunikuzushi pleaded, though he barely had enough energy to raise his voice. “There was an accident, you need to call Pierro, we have to land in seven hours.”
“An accident? Scaramouche, what happened? Where’s Tartaglia?” Capitano asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket immediately to call Pierro.
“That’s the problem, he’s injured and unresponsive and completely unconscious. I can’t explain.” Kunikuzushi explained, voice hoarse and raw. “I need the landing pad prepared and I need medical assistance immediately upon landing! Assemble mission control!”
“I’m calling Pierro now, I’ll call everyone else after him. Just hang in there. Where are you now?” Capitano asked, muting his microphone once Pierro picked up.
“We just passed the moon a few hours ago. I’d been radioing for hours before you answered,” Kunikuzushi explained.
“Okay. Pierro is on his way. Hang in there, Scaramouche,” Capitano replied, voice firm. He sounded frustrated, but frustrated in a concerned way. “Just keep Ajax alive and land this thing. Doesn’t matter what shape the ship is in. I’ll deal with Sandrone.”
“Thank you,” Kunikuzushi whispered into the microphone.
★
The craft was shaky on reentry, a little more than it had when exiting the atmosphere. Kunikuzushi’s vision was blurry, his hands were shaking and his body was weak. The only thing he could see was the landing strip and the people waiting on the sidelines. The adjacent hangar doors were all open, staff and medics and EMTs awaiting their landing.
The wheels broke off when the craft hit the ground and the drag of the ship sliding against the rough asphalt was enough to stop the ship completely.
Kunikuzushi’s eyes fluttered, eyelids growing heavy and his mind growing dizzy. The moment he saw Pierro, Dottore, Signora, and a whole team of medics rushing towards the ship, he let himself slip. He was out within seconds, body finally losing the battle of total and complete exhaustion.
Kunikuzushi was somewhat confused to wake up with the sun in his eyes instead of a fluorescent light or just, no light at all. He blinked, squeezing his eyes shut in protest of the foreign light. His mind was hazy, his body still heavy with sleep. He rolled over in his bed, lying on his side and trying to pull the warm cotton blanket over his head.
And then he realized he was in a bed with a blanket to pull over his head. And he realized there was a friendly yellow sun shining in his eyes.
Kunikuzushi opened his violet eyes once again, waiting a moment for some of the blurriness to subside. He began to sit up when he was hit with a splitting headache, one that made him immediately lay right back down.
“Where… am I?” he pondered aloud, though his voice was quiet and his throat was dry. It was warm, wherever he was. He supposed he was in a hospital. And if he was in a hospital, it meant he was back on Earth and he’d successfully made it home. And if he’d successfully made it home, and he was in a hospital, that meant he was able to safely deliver Ajax to medical care.
Kunikuzushi quickly searched for a button to press, hoping to call a nurse. He found one of those controllers that are usually wired to hospital beds and pressed the button that read “NURSE” in big black letters.
There was a commotion in the hallway and his door opened quickly. Signora came in first, followed closely by Dottore, then Pierro.
“He’s awake,” Pierro declared, giving a deep exhale.
“If it was up to me I wouldn’t be awake right now,” Kunikuzushi began, adding a hint of casual frustration to his tone. “I’ve got a killer headache.”
“That’s to be expected,” Dottore chimed in. “I’ll get you a big glass of water, a pain killer, and some food.” He left the room to discuss a few things with the medical staff on duty. After that, he would grab what Kunikuzushi needed.
Kunikuzushi nodded and slowly attempted sitting up. His head still hurt, but he thought it improper to address his superior while laying down. “What’s the damage?” he asked, closing his eyes to minimize some of the pain of his headache.
“What do you want to hear about first?” Pierro asked. “You, the ship, or Tartaglia?”
Kunikuzushi’s eyes flew open. “Ajax,” he exclaimed, though it wasn’t very loud. “How is he?” His eyes were wide, pupils trembling. His headache throbbed, but he was too concerned with Ajax to think about his headache.
“He’s still knocked out as well. Severe fractures to the vertebrae in the thoracic area of his spine,” Pierro explained.
Kunikuzushi paled. “What will happen to him?” he asked, heart rate accelerating. It even showed on his heart monitor. Signora glanced at the monitor then made eye contact with Kunikuzushi, a somewhat knowing look in her eyes.
“It depends on how he behaves when he wakes up. He may have a bit of trouble with his arms and the muscles in his chest. It also wouldn’t be surprising if he struggled to walk or move his legs,” Pierro elaborated. “However, a successful procedure was completed to set everything back into place and to clean up any other internal injuries. One of the operating room assistants told me to tell you he was impressed with your stitching. He said he felt bad having to undo it.”
Kunikuzushi felt a little relieved, but not much. “Well, I suppose it’s not too bad. I was worried there would be a traumatic spinal cord injury that might alter his mind,” he suggested. “But anyways, the ship?”
“Sandrone just finished the analysis a few hours ago. A few dents and that hole you patched up, minor internal damage from the major blow, and the landing gear was completely broken,” Signora explained, looking over a few pieces of paper from within a manilla file. “Could have been much worse. She even considers it to be somewhat of a success. The ship was able to take damage and still travel successfully.” She glanced back up to him. “Though she would have preferred no damage.”
Kunikuzushi gave a nod. “Figured as much. Now what’s wrong with me?” he concluded.
“Just extreme exhaustion, some dehydration, and some malnutrition,” Dottore chirped as he came in with a tray. There was the promised large class of ice water, cup of painkillers, and a large bowl of warm noodle soup with pork and a boiled egg. Kunikuzushi felt his mouth water. As much as he wanted to eat the soup first, he began with the fruits that were also on the tray.
“Hopefully this takes care of some of that,” Dottore commented. “Honestly, when we found you in the cockpit, I thought you’d died.”
Kunikuzushi smirked. “Takes more than that to kill me. Unfortunately you’re stuck with me,” he teased between bites and sips of water. He was definitely feeling better. With a full mouth, he continued. “Have you seen Ajax?’
Dottore nodded. “He’s much more stable. His blood pressure rose, as did his blood ox and his pulse. He’s going to be in pain for a while once he wakes up, but he’s also got a creepily high pain tolerance,” he contemplated. He opened his mouth to speak again when there was a loud beeping that came from outside the room. The beep was followed by a large commotion.
Pierro immediately seemed to understand. “Tartaglia must be awake,” he whispered before hurrying out of the room.
Scaramouche’s heart rate shot up upon hearing this news. Once again, Signora noticed this raise in his pulse. She gave the most shit-eating grin Kunikuzushi had ever seen.
Kunikuzushi realized she was onto them, but he also remembered what he’d previously promised himself. No being ashamed of his relationship with Ajax. “Well if you’ll excuse me, Rosalyne, I’m going to see my fiancé,” he stated matter-of-factly. He got up, carefully moving so as to not upset the tray.
Signora’s jaw dropped as Kunikuzushi left the room. “Damn,” she muttered to herself before dropping the manilla folder on the bed and hurrying out after him.
They approached the door together, peeking in at the doorway. A gaggle of nurses was surrounding Ajax’s bed so the pair couldn’t see him. Pierro was standing by the bed as well.
Kunikuzushi slowly approached, his grippy hospital socks not fully shielding him from the cold hospital tile. “Ajax?” he called.
Ajax didn’t reply in words, but there was some sort of sound. It was somewhat of a “whuh?” noise, like Ajax had combined “what" and “huh” into one word.
“Make room, make room,” Pierro asked, asking the nurses to step aside.
The nurses stepped back, and Kunikuzushi finally saw him again.
Ajax looked sleepy. His orange hair was messy, his eyes were opening and closing slowly, it was clear he’d just woken up from a somewhat drug-induced coma. But the late afternoon sunlight was coming in through the curtains, shining on Ajax’s hair in a sort of halo. Ajax looked golden, his tired blue eyes shining like polished gems in the light. He looked like he was glowing.
They made eye contact, and Ajax almost immediately realized who it was. His face slowly lit up in a big smile. “Kuni..?”
Kunikuzushi quickly approached him, pulling him into a gentle hug. “Ajax, Ajax ,” he whispered. He just wanted to hold his golden boy close.
Ajax slowly moved his hands up to hold him too, leaning his head against Kunikuzushi’s shoulder. “Must be in heaven if there’s an angel here to greet me,” he mumbled.
Kunikuzushi’s cheeks went bright red as Ajax had just said that in front of their superior, but he saw Pierro in his peripheral vision pretending he hadn’t heard anything. In the back of his mind Kunikuzushi took note of Ajax’s arms; he seemed a little weak, but his arms still worked.
“No,” Kunikuzushi replied. “We’re home. We’re on Earth.” He didn’t dare let go of Ajax. Part of him was afraid he was still asleep and this wasn’t real, all a dream of its own. That if he let go, it would all disappear.
“We made it?” Ajax asked, still smiling when Kunikuzushi pulled back to look at him. He looked like a dork, and Kunikuzushi adored him for it. It was like they were still in college and Ajax had just told a stupid joke, looking at him with that silly smile in hopes that his joke had made Kunikuzushi laugh.
“We made it,” Kunikuzushi whispered. His kissed his fiancé’s head, then his cheek.
Ajax reached up and rubbed his eyes, opening them a little wider and yawning. “So when are we getting married?” he blurted out.
Once again, Kunikuzushi felt highly embarrassed. “Well, um,” he began. He then remembered the engagement ring, how he didn’t have it. He’d lost it. He gave a heavy sigh, feeling that slight heartache. “I lost the ring.”
“You mean this ring?” Sandrone piped up, suddenly coming into the room.
“You- WHAT?” Kunikuzushi asked, hopping up to grab it. “How did you-”
“It was in Tartaglia’s space suit pocket. I found it in his suit in the medical bay on the floor,” Sandrone handed the little velvet box over to Kunikuzushi and sure enough, there it was.
“When you turned around to go back into the ship, you accidentally let go of it. I grabbed it and put it in my pocket right before I was hit,” Ajax explained, now fully awake. He took the box from him and slid the ring onto his left ring finger.
Kunikuzushi sighed, but it was accompanied by a small smile. “You never fail to impress, Ajax,” he said quietly. He leaned in close to whisper into his ear, so quiet no one else could hear; “I love you.”
Pierro sighed, “It’s about time,” he gruffly said.
“About time what?” Ajax asked.
“It’s about time you stopped tiptoeing around with it,” Pierro admitted.
“You mean, you knew?” Kunikuzushi protested.
“Why else do you think I just happened to pick you two out of the entire Harbinger squadron? You two spell ‘subtle’ with bold, capitalized letters,” Pierro sighed.
This time, both of them looked at each other with flushed cheeks.