Chapter Text
Lister stared through the Red Dwarf observation dome into the blackness of space. Everywhere he looked, there was a twinkling dot lining the abyss, though there was no mistaking the large moon of which they were in current orbit. It reminded him of Earth’s moon with its beautiful white luminescence, despite the hint of blue running through the surface cracks that clearly set it apart. It was otherworldly, untouchable, and cold.
‘Smeg,’ he sighed, lowering his forehead against the metal barrier as his vision became watery and distorted.
He stayed there for a moment before sniffling and hastily rubbing the tears away on his sleeve. He had already drunk tonight’s usual lager supply at the celebration downstairs, and thinking about his earlier cockpit conversation with Rimmer was not helping.
‘Gran? Are yeh there?...’ he murmured.
Sometimes Lister came to the dome to ‘talk’ to his gran and imagine she was listening. It helped him get through the mental scenarios which so regularly and bizarrely plagued his life 3 million years into deep space.
He chuckled quietly through the tears and continued, ‘I nearly told him, yeh know. He was just so… defeated… an’ I couldn’t stand it. An’ then he unplugged himself! He was really gonna do himself in, right in front of me, an’ I didn’t know what to do. I just kept talkin’ to him, yeh know… tryin’ to tell him how much I needed him… anyway, I managed to keep him holdin’ on… smeg knows what I’d do if he hadn’t…’
He turned and gazed at the sedentary moon again. It was so small, clinging to the orbit of a large sun in the distance, and yet… it managed to emanate such majesty with help from its powerful, living counterpart. And while the sun would not dim for many years, he imagined it looking upon the moon in awe, allowing its ethereal light into its space, and deriving a familiar comfort in its reflected rays. In its counterpart’s company, the star would continue to burn at its brightest, and Lister couldn’t take his eyes from it.
In the background, Cat appeared at the top of the stairs.
‘Hey buddy, whatcha doing up here?’
Lister couldn’t bring himself to answer. He just sighed and closed his eyes, apparently nonplussed at the Mexican hat his friend was sporting or the fact that he was carrying a pair of maracas.
Cat looked around the dome and then threw the man a calculating look. ‘Why aren’t you celebrating with us downstairs?’
Sisters Luna and Peanut and Brother Sol had stayed behind with the boys temporarily, none wanting to leave the company of their ‘saviours’ so soon, and an impromptu party had followed downstairs.
‘I just wanted to be alone for a few minutes, Cat, okay?’
‘Doesn’t seem that way to me!’ he persisted, ‘Seems to me like you’re wanting someone’s company pretty bad.’
‘Look, I can’t deal with this right now, Cat, will yeh just leave me alone?’
‘Okay… okay… I’m going. But it’s a little too late, bud.’ Cat rolled his eyes, nudging Lister and gesturing toward the staircase. ‘Someone has followed me up here if you catch my drift. Hey - don’t worry though, I think I got some spare ear plugs in my jacket…. oooowww!’
Lister threw him a mocking smile as he watched him dance away back down the stairs, shaking the pair of maracas. Rimmer appeared in his place and marched stiffly over to Lister, looking like the complete opposite of the flamboyant feline.
‘Ah. Here you are. What are you doing wallowing up here? I’m not entertaining all those flea-bitten moggies by myself – they’ve unwound all your balls of wool and near enough depleted your next 10 years’ milk supply. Happy as I am to continue playing Reggie Wilson’s Greatest Hits on the Hammond organ, there is only so much awestruck staring I can take. I’m starting to feel like a painting in the Louvre.’
Lister was unable to disguise the affection in his smile, as he too, turned and stared at the hologram.
Rimmer darted his eyes away. ‘And you’re not helping…’
There was an awkward silence as Rimmer realised Lister wasn’t going to look away. He rocked once on his heels and then walked over to the metal barrier, standing beside him with his hands behind his back.
He cleared his throat, and by way of making safe conversation, grimaced and stated, ‘Rather sad looking rock, isn’t it?’
Lister dragged his gaze from Rimmer and onto the moon once more. He chuckled and rolled his eyes.
‘Oh yeah, it’s pathetic.’ He nudged the hologram playfully.
Rimmer blinked, throwing the Scouser an affronted look before gazing softer at the moon, his profile highlighted against it.
‘So pathetic in fact, I can’t stop starin’ at it.’ Lister’s voice dipped lower as he returned his gaze to his oldest friend, resisting the urge to tuck an errant strand of hair behind his ear.
Rimmer didn’t move but Lister watched a pink blush creep up his neck and cheeks.
‘See, I’ve been staring at it for a long time… an’ the more I’m around it... the more I realise it’s about the furthest away from pathetic yeh can get… an’ I’ve got to the point now that…. I can’t be without it.’
Rimmer swallowed, his eyes fixed firmly on the moon outside. ‘Lister… unless you’ve developed a sudden disturbing attachment to a lump of planetary-mass, I’m starting to feel this conversation isn’t about the view from the window…’