Work Text:
The Hephaestus crew's bed time alarm had chimed almost an hour ago. Eiffel paced his tiny room in the crew quarters, his mind racing. Turns out, long-term isolation in deep space can do that to you! He had dealt with minor anxiety back home, but something about being surrounded by the void and being so far away no one could possibly rescue you in an emergency isn't exactly reassuring. He paused his pacing, before sighing.
"Hera, is the Commander awake?" He whispered, as if someone could hear anything outside the triple reinforced walls.
"Why, yes she is Officer Eiffel. Why are you asking? Are you planning a midnight rendezvous with the ever-so-sexy Commander Minkowski?" The mechanical voice teased.
"Oh yeah, definitely," Eiffel replied, rolling his eyes, "She'll be screaming my name so loud that Hilbert wakes up,"
"Is that so?"
"Mmmhmm. Also, remind me to never tell you anything ever again. " He groaned as he patted his way to the Commander's door, before gingerly opening it.
The lights were slightly dimmed, it was still bright enough to shine wildly on the blank metal walls. He had a collection of Minkowski's passive aggressive notes on his to stop this horrible blinding phenomenon. The commander herself was float-sitting a top her bed reading, legs crossed in front of her in a white tank top and green plaid pajama pants. Feeling the air shift, Minkowski looked up from the page at the Comms Officer. Or had she known he was there the whole time?
Eiffel shifted his weight. "Uh, you look busy soo immajusgo-"
"Eiffel,"
He had been turning to leave when she said his name, leaving him, with a leg in the air and his arms like a toddler pretending to be a T-Rex. Renee held up her bookmark, before sliding it to the spine and closing the book.
"Ta-da. Not busy. What is it?"
She moved to a cross-legged position while Eiffel stopped looking like a total idiot.
"Uh, I.. couldn't sleep," Oh god he sounded like he was five and is gonna just kick him out.. wait-
She invited him in, patting the space on the bed next to her. "Whatcha readin, Commander? Price and Carter for the twentieth time?"
"Looking for recommendations?" She smirked in response, "The second edition is personally my favourite, but most seem to favour the fifth,"
Eiffel's eyes shot open, "You weren't actually-"
"No! It's.. something my husband packed,"
"Oh, is that so? What are Mr. Koldinkshi's reading habits, I wonder.."
"It's Koudelka, and HEY!" Amidst correcting Eiffel's incorrect recollection of her husband's surname, the book was plucked out of her hands, and she felt her face growing warm.
Doug felt the same happening to him as he saw 'E.L. James' on the front cover. The two of them sat there, blushing heavily in the awkward silence for a few moments, before Eiffel finally said something.
"So, erm, from the spine it seems to be.. well read. I'm taking you, uh, enjoyed it?"
"It was a gag gift from my husband,"
A smile formed on the officer's face. "I'm sure it was, Commander. A quite used gift. Your husband get a couple of reads in before you?"
Minkowski ran her hands through her hair, before throwing her hands up in defeat, "Oh my god, fine. You win. I brought Fifty Shades of Grey with me. It's a long mission. You happy now?"
"Woah there, no need to get defensive!" He chuckled, before handing the book back to her. "So, Fifty Shades, huh? I never would have taken you for a kinky one."
"Are you really asking this?" The woman sighed. "It was.. an experiment I guess. Testing my tastes. Hera is probably kinkier than me,"
"Oh yeah, Hera's into all sorts of sinful stuff. Like tentacles and yiff and that."
The AI grumbled something, but it was unintelligible over their laughter.
"Well, I guess I'd better leave you to your reading then," Eiffel said, still chuckling slightly. he waggled his eyebrows at her, before getting a pillow smacked into his back as he made his leave.
"Goodnight, Eiffel." the Commander said, forcefully.
The man looked back at her in the door frame, "Goodnight, Commander Kinky," he said, quickly shutting a door, hearing the thump of a pillow follow the click of it closing.
His dreams were going to be interesting tonight, that's for sure.