Work Text:
The panels on the roof of their bedroom hadn't changed in the hour or so that Lyf had been lying in their bed staring at them. They should probably get up and do something. The clock on their bedside table read 1047 when they moved their head enough to glance at it. Normally they would be up and about by now but something kept them staring at the steel above them, strings of fairy lights breaking up the grey monotony. They sighed and pulled their blankets off of their body, not moving any further quite yet, just waiting for the cold to become uncomfortable enough to force them out of bed.
Eventually it did, at least getting Lyf to the point of sitting on the edge of their bed, contemplating why they had decided to leave the warmth of their bed in the first place. There was no going back now though, they told themself, though they still didn't move from where they sat. They were still for so long that Aurora hummed her concern at them, and increased the temperature in their room enough that their barely-clothed state wouldn't cause them any more issues. After a while, they finally stood, a motion accompanied by a tell-tale jolt of pain that spread through their legs. With a few slow, painful steps, they reached where their cane rested against a bookshelf and grasped it gladly, immediately shifting their weight into it's solid wooden form.
They did their best to get ready for the day, though by the time they were done, it was almost midday and they were barely presentable, wearing their comfiest pants that they didn't class as pyjamas, and not even bothering to change their shirt, only pulling a jumper over the top. They hadn't put any jewellery on and their hair was still in the now messy braid they had put it in to sleep the previous evening. Their bed still sat unmade, but that task felt too daunting to tackle. Instead they turned to the door of their room, leaning heavily on their cane, and headed out into the ship.
With no particular destination in mind, Lyf found themself wandering the hallways of the Aurora. It was probably more than their already struggling legs could handle, and a few times they had had to take a break and lean against a wall, every time resulting in another concerned hum from Aurora. Lyf didn't have the words in them to reassure her, so they just smiled wearily in a direction they assumed one of her cameras would be.
At some point in their wanderings, they couldn't tell how long it had been, Lyf found themself standing in front of the door to Ivy's library. They pushed it open quietly, not wanting to disturb the archivist inside. Ivy was sat on a pile of cushions within sight of the door, and she looked up from his book as Lyf walked in, greeting them with a smile. They waved with their free hand, hoping that would be enough to show they weren't up for conversation. Ivy patted the pillows beside her and Lyf gladly took the offer to lie down again, resting their head in their husband's lap as she picked up his book again and began to read out loud. The contents of the book didn't matter to Lyf, only the familiar sound of Ivy's voice.
At some point as Lyf lay there, drifting between half-asleep and half-awake, they heard the sound of the door opening again. Ivy paused in her reading to greet whoever had just entered the room and gesture to the Lyf in his lap. The other person chuckled, a soft, endearing sound Lyf had heard too many times to not recognise as Raphaella, even in their dazed state. They felt through the pillows as Raphaella carefully walked around their sprawled form to sit behind them and Ivy, picking up their hair and beginning to untangle it as Ivy resumed her reading.
By the time Lyf's hair was completely untangled and Raphaella was just combing her fingers through the shimmering white waves, Marius had joined the three of them, leaning on Raphaella as he read over Ivy's shoulder, occasionally making quiet comments on the book's contents. Lyf hadn't heard them come in, but they didn't care about that, he was here, and that was all that mattered. They were surrounded by their partners, comfortable and warm, and that was all that mattered.