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“Thank you Lime!” Blue said, ever-so-cheerfully as the cantankerous crewmate slammed the vent shut, fleeing the scene. Blue waited for the sound of Lime pitter pattering away to release a noise they’d been holding in for the last 15 minutes.
Blue groaned, putting their head in their desk and sulking, why couldn’t Lime just see that they clearly liked them?! Why did it have to be so difficult? Anyone else would’ve noticed by now, why were they so different?
Cyan walked by Medbay as the echo of unreciprocated love traveled down the hall. ‘Hm…’ they thought to themselves as the hot doctor came into view, ‘it couldn’t be them making the noise, could it?’ However, as they eyed Blue, they realized they were, in fact, responsible for that pitiful sound.
As Blue’s moping came to a close, they flinched from a warm hand on their shoulder. “Blue, your aura seems dark today…” a voice rang into Blue’s nonexistent ears, like a wind chime made of sugar. They turned to face and greet the only crewmate who would totally say something like that, Cyan.
“Would you like to talk about it?” Their fellow mate of crew asked, clearly sympathizing with them. Blue thought for a second, weighing the pros and cons. They decided getting this out would be easier than keeping it in. “It’s Lime” Blue said morosely, “Every time I try to hold a conversation, they run away”
Cyan stares at the doctor, waiting for them to continue. “I just want to know them better…” Blue lamented, as they gazed into nothing. Cyan knew, it was obvious to them. Blue’s aura shone brighter than ever when with the squishy engineer. They chuckled to themselves, as Blue confusedly zoned back into the conversation.
“Why are you laughing?” Blue asked Cyan. “I can tell that you’re more than fond of them” Cyan said “Your aura shifts completely when they’re close to you” Blue’s face flushed as they listened on “Your zodiac signs are totally compatible!” They giggled, wanting to matchmake the two, “You two should go stargazing in the cafeteria sometime, the view is great! Me and Black (begrudgingly) go there all the time :)” Blue seemed intrigued by the sentiment, but there’s one small issue.
“How would I get Lime to agree to such a thing?” Blue questioned, Lime was the least trusting and most elusive person on the ship. Even though they’d stated they trust Blue the most, trust has its limits. “Just be yourself, Lime clearly likes it” Cyan says thoughtfully, implying something that Blue couldn’t pick up on, yet the advice still gives them a burst of confidence.
“Brilliant! Thank you thank you thank you thank you…” Blue repeats, hugging Cyan and twirling them round like a top. “Oh my…” Cyan finally said dizzily, as the doctor finally let them go. It took awhile for Cyan to find their footing, and just when they were about to continue, a faint voice echoed through the skeld.
“WHO THE HELL PUT SALT EVERYWHERE?! CYAN!!!” The voice called, identifiable as Black, as they came running through the hall. “Bye~” Cyan says whilst cheerfully sticking out a hand and wiggling their fingers at Blue while Black watches, visibly peeved. As the two run off, Blue thinks about what Cyan said, something about the way they phrased made them think of something.
But they would just need to find Lime.
______________________________________
Blue, trying to figure out how you’re supposed to find someone who doesn’t want to be found, began thinking of how that’d actually happen. They put their head up to the vent to listen for Lime’s loud whispering, which was exceptionally loud today apparently because they could also hear Purple shushing them (which Lime ignored, as one does).
Blue grabbed a pen, ironically a lime colored one, and not-so-gently tossed it into the vent before cupping their hands and leaning down. “Oh no, I’ve dropped my pen how will I ever sign this paperwork now?” Blue said, dramatically placing the back of their hand above their head. It was true, they had paperwork to do and that WAS their last pen that wasn’t dried up.
Almost immediately, the sound of very quick movements, like raindrops on a tin roof, filled the air. Lime popped out the vent holding the color coordinated pen, “Here ya go big dawg” they stated with an unusually pleased look on their visor. “Thank you” Blue remarked, gently taking their only functional pen back.
Their thumbs brushed as the pen switched possessors, which sparked a tingly feeling in Blue’s chest. They hoped Lime didn’t notice their face uncontrollably flushing, which Blue could not hide very well due to the nature of their hue. Unfortunately, Lime clearly noticed, “Is somethin’ wrong? Ya look funny” They probed, making a strange, almost bitter face.
“I’m fine, just a bit… out of it” Blue said, coughing in embarrassment. Lime squinted at them, “Have ya eaten today?” Blue searched their memory before coming up with an answer, “No, I haven’t had time, besides I’m not that hungry right now”
“How are you?” Blue asked, changing the subject. “Terrible, the damned reactor keeps malfunctionin’, if it keeps up, the ship’ll explode!” Lime yelled, waving their arms around.
“Oh that sounds… unpleasant” Blue remarked, “Would you like to sit here and tell me about it while I sign these papers?” Blue gestured towards the bed and pile of papers pushed to the side. Lime looked hesitant, so Blue ‘lightly’ guided their choice by batting their lashes pleadingly. “Fine” Lime said as they hoisted themselves up from the vent and walked over to the surprisingly comfortable bed.
Blue went over to their chair and pulled the pen from their breast pocket, and their reading glasses from their collar, ready to sign about 262 pages of stuff that probably wasn’t important. Lime talked with them about all kinds of stuff, the reactor, gremlins, random tangents and conspiracies, and how much they distrusted Mira. Yet, Blue listened with an open heart, even if some of it sounded ridiculous.
Eventually Lime paused, which caused Blue to halt too. “You’re… left handed” they said, almost shocked. “Well yes, I am… is there a problem?” Blue asked, confused. “I used to be left handed…” Lime said, bitterly. Blue placed their pen down and turned to fully face their chartreuse coworker. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Lime gazed into the distance, trying to put into words what happened. “… Ya know what they say right?” Blue’s visor widened in disbelief, they knew Lime was raised very religious, and that there was an outdated belief that left-handedness was associated with the devil, and-
“Oh my god” Blue grabbed Lime’s hands, “I’m so sorry, I… I didn’t know” “Eh, it’s fine, big dawg” yet Lime still wouldn’t face Blue “No, it’s not fine” Lime looked pissed as they silently shoved Blue’s hands off of their own.
They got off the bed without saying a word and Blue watched as they strangely enough walked through the Medbay door for once. They picked the pen up and continued to sign paperwork, although at a slower pace, feeling bad for having upset someone they held so dear. How could they have been so stupid? Lime clearly looked mad, why didn’t they notice? They flipped the pages of the documents they were signing yet couldn’t even concentrate on what the words said.
Blue was so lost in thought that they didn’t even hear the door open again or the sound of someone loudly bumping into the printer. Lime lightly tapped Blue’s shoulder(?), they flinched in response but didn’t seem too annoyed. Lime sat back down, closer to Blue this time, carrying a tray. As Blue continued to fill out paperwork, Lime gently stuck out a hand, they looked down and their face instantly reddened when they realized Lime got a tray of pizza and a water bottle.
“Ya gonna eat?” Lime asked, staring at Blue waiting for a response. Thry gently took a bite, “You aren’t upset?” “Nah, I got over that ages ago” Lime said flipping the bottle, “‘sides, it taught me to be ambidextrous” they said with a cheeky grin. Blue smiled at Lime’s demeanor, still multitasking with their paperwork. In between bites, Lime dabbed Blue’s face with a napkin. At some point, there was no pizza to feed them, so they moved on to giving them water from an, albeit dented, bottle. As Blue drank, Lime still cleaned the water off their face out of care. Blue’s face still reddened from their touch.
In the midst of being cared for, Blue finished their paperwork (they read and write fast), so they swiveled their chair towards Lime. They got out of their chair and sat right next to their chartreuse compadre. “Anything else you want to talk about?” Blue questioned. Lime yawned “Nah, ain’t nothin interesting enough to stay up ‘till the asscrack of dawn talkin’ about” they added, as they made their way out.
“Wait!” Blue yelled as they stuck out their hand, Lime turned back around, confused, “Whaddaya want, big dawg?”. Blue blushed as they searched for an answer, “Uhm, you… you usually sleep in the vents so… so why don’t you sleep here?” Lime looked at them dumbfounded “Hell naw” they said with a ‘bitter’ look before making their way back to the vent. Blue sighed and longingly looked down at their feet. Their citrussy friend saw their sad face and hesitated for a moment, before dolphin diving the whole distance of the room into the bed.
“So are ya gonna sleep or what?” Blue looked up before beaming “Yes I’ll join you in a moment I just need to put on my pajamas”. Lime lay with their hands crossed in an x waiting for their cerulean colleague to finish getting ready for bed, god they took forever. As they waited, Blue’s previous words replayed in their head, “Yes I’ll join you in a moment… Yes… I’ll join you” Lime’s face turned red with realization that Blue meant the two were going to sleep together.
They bolted upright as Blue dimmed the lights, finally ready after half an hour. Lime’s blushing became even more apparent as they stared at how amazing Blue looked. The light from the monitor illuminated their figure as they walked towards Lime, their silk pajamas reflecting the bluish light making them seem like some sort of deity. “Are you ready?” They asked. Blue slipped right beside Lime as they sat in the same pose whilst trying to keep their composure. “Good night Lime” Blue said, as they began to drift off. “G’night, big dawg” Lime said in response as they joined Blue in their slumber.
______________________________________
Lime awoke in the middle of the night to a loud thud coming from inside the room. As they regained their bearings, they realized that they were wrapped around Blue, and Blue had their face nuzzled into their neck with their hands gently rubbing Lime’s back, how could that have happened? Actually, the room was pretty cold maybe that’s why. Lime slid out of bed and went to see what made the noise. It was just a piece of equipment falling, nothing serious.
Unfortunately, this is Lime, they started making up all kinds of theories on why something would just… fall like that in the middle of the night. Aliens, gremlins, ghouls, ghosts, all sorts of things crossed their mind. They mumbled under their breath about the damn machinery being haunted as they put in back in its ‘rightful’ place.
Also unfortunate to know, Lime has never heard of the word quiet. Blue woke up thinking something was wrong only to realize their dumbass coworker was trying to mount a printer to the wall… IT WASNT MOUNTED TO THE WALL IN THE FIRST PLACE. “Whaaaat…” Blue muttered in their half asleep state, really what the hell were they doing with the printer. In their drowsy state, they started looking intensively at Lime’s features. Their determined expression, their death grip on the printed, how nice they looked, even though the lighting of medbay kind of Lime look almost Cyan.
Cyan
CYAN
CYAN’S ADVICE
Blue suddenly jolted out of bed and, in their frantic state, almost fell over poor Lime, who gave up on sticking the printer to the wall. “S’anything wrong?” Blue glared at Lime before their expression softened “Follow me”. They opened the door to Medbay before bringing Lime ‘round the corner, leading them through the Upper Engine and into Security.
Purple thankfully forgot to lock the door, so the pair tippy-toed into the room. “So, what exactly are we lookin’ for?” Lime whispered to Blue “Purple here collects vintage binoculars, I’ll show you how to use them.” If anything about Lime is to be noted, it’s that they can’t whisper worth a shit. Purps, somewhere along the conversation, woke up and started mean mugging the pair because honestly nothing good happens past 10:35pm.
“Who the hell is there?! And why are you two messing with MY stuff?!” They yelled, rightfully angry. Lime stanced up ready to fight their aubergine associate for the dumbest reason ever, “You ain’t a cop, why we need to explain ourselves to ya?!” Purple wanted to yell but noticed that Lime had one hand raised, while the other was firmly clasped to the doctor’s, interesting… especially when noting their distrustful disposition
“Listen, I’m deeply sorry that we’re going through your stuff without permission, but this is really important right now and I promise you we won’t so much as scratch them.” Purple’s face heated up as they mumbled “Yeah whatever do what you want it can’t be as bad as what Red does.” “Thank you” Blue beamed, their visor bright and shiny in the dim greyscale light of the machinery woven throughout the room.
Blue and Lime quickly left the room and made their way to the Cafeteria, still with interwoven fingers. Neither seemed to oppose it, or acknowledge it. Lime still didn’t know where the hell they were going but trusted the attractive doctor to not scoop out their organs. Finally, Blue and Lime sat down in front of the big Cafeteria window, inches apart, each holding a pair of binoculars. “I don’t fully know how these work, but I’ve found that if you relax, you can see things far away surprisingly clear.”
Lime fiddled with the binoculars for a while, unable to get them to stay in focus for long periods of time. “Ey, I think mine are broken, big dawg.” Blue took the binoculars from their comely confrere and put them up to their visor, “I think you’re just tense, dear, try to relax.” Lime did no such thing, so Blue inched closer to them. Lime blushed both from not knowing what was next, and because of their new nickname.
“I’ll help you” Blue offered with outstretched arms. “Eh, sure” Lime said, too tired to care. Blue placed their hands on Lime, and firmly started kneading their shoulders. “The hell kinda witchcraft ya doin’ on me, eh?!” Lime said in a very confused manner. Blue giggled at their remark “Do you feel any better?” “…kinda” Blue picked up the pair of binoculars and handed them to Lime, “Can you see out of them now?” They asked, eager for a response.
“Yeah, I still don’t know whatcha did ta me though” Blue beamed at their words, silently raising their own binoculars, staring at the beautiful stars in front of them. They lowered their binoculars and sighed longingly as they stared at their relatively small and round coworker, who put their binoculars down. The way the stars danced on their visor brought out how beautiful they were, their usually rigid form looked softer in the twinkling lights (thank you Blue). Lime just… stared at their azure admirer, who seemed completely limerenced.
Feeling that the silence had grown awkward, Lime pointed a finger out the window, “Ey, that one kinda looks like you” they proclaimed. “W-What?” Blue yelped, very startled, as they put the binoculars to their visor. They followed Lime’s finger as they traced the outline of a constellation that did kind of look like them. “This one looks like you too, Lime” Blue said in an actual proper whisper, as Lime watched Blue point to a series of stars that resembled their beloved engineer. As they continued looking at the twinkling stars, a bright flash flew across the window, a shooting star. “Make a wish, Lime!” Blue told them.
…
I wish Lime would reciprocate my feelings
…
I wish for the damn gremlins to stop messing up the reactor so that I can actually sleep
…
Lime seemed to notice the strange look on the doctor’s face, “somethin’ wrong?” Blue searched deep inside themselves for the courage to say something, yet found nothing. “I’m fine!” They said, forcing a smile. Lime turned their attention back to the stars, as did Blue, staring closely at the polka dot sky, paying extra attention to a certain star that seemed redder than the rest. They were so interested in this particular star, why was it so red? why was it so small? what was happening to it? Suddenly, a voice broke their focus.
“Ya know, yer way prettier than all these stars combined…” Lime said, face heated, as they stared at Blue. Their cobalt colored crush blinked at them, visor wide. They could only stammer out a “huh?” as they tried to calm themselves down, maybe they misheard them. But they didn’t, “Outta all these stars yer the brightest.” Lime was doubling down on their words, and their cerulean companion liked it. “All this space, the entire universe, and yet I’m so glad I’m here with you” Blue said, staring so deeply at Lime’s face you’d think they were hypnotized.
Blue placed a hand on top of Lime’s and moved their face closer, inch by inch. With their free hand, they cupped Lime’s face, and gently kissed their cheek. Their chartreuse ‘friend’ was utterly speechless, but their body language told Blue to keep going as their visor curved upwards mimicking a smile. Blue took their other hand off of Lime’s and wrapped both hands around their torso instead.
Lime blinked tightly as they felt the gentle impact of Blue’s visor all over their face. It was so much yet not enough at the same time. So, they opened their visor in the middle of Blue smothering them in kisses and reached their arms out to grab Blue in return. The pair stared at each other longingly before finally
-Clink-
The impact of their visors, like two empty wine glasses, sent a chill down Lime’s very squishy bone and seemed to melt their worries like a candle. Lime stared at Blue “Wanna make it official?” Blue beamed at them, “Yes”. As the pair sat frozen for minutes on end, they suddenly saw something in both of their peripheries.
Blue finally got their question answered, the strange red star they saw earlier was now the only thing that they could even pay attention to. It had turned out that the strange mass was really a supernova.
Blue and Lime scrambled to see it, ditching the binoculars, for it was so bright that they weren’t needed. A piercing light rippled across the window, like a heavenly beam, before bursting into an array of gorgeous colors. The two lovers sat still, literally starstruck, before turning to each other, basking in the blues and greens of the remains of what once was a regular star done serving its time as such and now putting on a final display, like a painterly goodbye. They each had one shared thought in their heads
We mustn’t let this moment go to waste
Blue grabbed Lime close and began passionately kissing them as though nothing else in the world mattered. Lime returned the favor, melting in their warm embrace and squeezing them tight as though they, too, would explode in a splatter of vibrant colors if they didn’t reciprocate Blue’s everlasting affection. “I love you, my dear,” Blue said, smiling at Lime “Love ya too, big dawg” they’d followed up with
Cyan watched from the Storage entrance as the two embraced the warmth of each other, basked in the glow of something so beautiful. Their visor full of tears, they began wiping their face with a handkerchief that they had on standby. The couple seemed to fall asleep together. they earned it, Cyan thought, smiling so wide at the pride they held for their own successful matchmaking skills that their visor now formed a crescent moon shape.
Sleep tight