/insert rose petals here

[incousinswithyou]

Who: Haruka, Michiru, and you!!
Broadcast: Two fleet-wide videos
Action: On the Marsiva
When: Now

01.

...in the reaches of space? How ironic.

[ This network station appears to have switched on of its own accord. That or the two people standing next to it wanted to only broadcast part of their conversation. And just their torsos. And hands. The taller person is making a fist. ]

That’s not the word I would use to describe it. [ The shorter one places a hand over that fist. ] They can look after each other.

...I suppose. [ Their fingers intertwine. The taller person’s thumb strokes the side of their companion’s hand. They chuckle. ] Space won’t be so cold. If you’re there.

[ That’s a quiet laugh, and the other one is leaning in and up.

...Better interrupt this sappiness before somebody gets diabetes and/or they magically pretend it didn’t happen on tape. ]

02.

[ Later this same day, from this same broadcast station, another message comes through. This time, there’s a pair of faces on display: a blond “man” and a green-haired lady. Both are way more attractive than they have any right to be. Especially when smiling. ]

Hello. I’m Kaioh Michiru. [ This is not the face of a person who was caught being all PDA on camera. ] If anybody can tell us what this place is, we would be most appreciative.

Tenoh Haruka. [ The blond sticks a hand into “his” pocket. ] Don’t take all day now. We’re busy.

[ And that’s a wink. Nothing to see here. Nothing amiss. ]

Comments

[incousinswithyou]

[if it can do that, what other memories or emotions can it mess around with?

She crosses her arms at her torso, almost hugging herself.] Almost, if you try to do something to it.

[is it something to just overcome, or is it actually a warning?]

[actsmagnificent]

I'll try if you want me to. [ But only if you want her to. She can live with the fear of what it's doing to them if Michiru can. ]

[incousinswithyou]

[it almost gets a reflexive 'no' out of her, but leaving a possibility alone out of fear isn't a good way to go about this.]

Alright. [she's pulling her hair up again and turning around, shoulders straight and hands steady]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Now Haruka has the shivers. Premonition? Or a side-effect?

She'll fight it. Moderating her own breathing, she nods. ] Hold still.

[ ...Getting a scalpel from the medical bay would make more sense, but she doesn't want to risk interruption. Haruka brushes her fingertips over Michiru's implant, looking for purchase - and fights down a sudden wave of dread. Finding an edge, her fingers curl. ]

[incousinswithyou]

[and her free hand is suddenly wrapped tight around your wrist. She's clamping down on the instinct to jerk herself out of your grasp, but it might be getting to that point. Her heart feels like it's going at a million miles per hour, her breathing is uneven, and her pupils are dilated.]

Haruka - [inhale] don't.

[it's like all the pain and feelings of dread from every boss fight decided to hit her all at once.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka stares. Then those fingers relax and draw away from Michiru's implant, leaving it safely in place - and her hand is sliding down in search of the hand grabbing her wrist. ] Mmn.

[ She's silent, giving Michiru time to recover, giving herself time to gather her thoughts. There's still emotions that need to be mastered, but now she's less afraid and more furious. How dare they. To herself. To Michiru. To everyone, living their uninvolved lives, who never asked for this.

She'll slowly attempt to gather Michiru to herself. Here is a hug if you need it. But it's loose. Haruka also knows the value of space to oneself. ] We'll be playing a long game.

[incousinswithyou]

[deep breaths as the adrenaline ebbs away. The hand you've got is holding on tight, just as tense as the rest of her. There's some resistance to the hug at first, but when the rest of her brain catches up, she starts leaning in.]

As long as you're here.

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka inclines her head so it's resting atop Michiru's, breathing in the scent of her hair (even clean, she can still smell the sea). ] And you.

[ One nice thing about having plenty of time is that they can just let themselves breathe like this. They can calm themselves, and then move forward logically. Coolheadedly. As is their way.

And they'll return to their Mission when the time is right. ]

[incousinswithyou]

[she's relaxing, little by little. Still, those feelings are usually associated with her nightmares.

And she's sneaking her other hand into yours.]

They don't seem to think much of these things. [only enough to mention 'implants' casually]

[actsmagnificent]

Would you put that in your advertisement? [ There's a little laugh, but it's the sort of laugh one laughs to keep from feeling overwhelmed. Maybe they should keep embracing. Yes. ]

[incousinswithyou]

It's hardly an advertisement if we're already here.

[she wouldn't say this line of thought is exactly conducive to finding out what's going on, but it's an easy sort of banter. She certainly doesn't seem like she wants to move out of this hug.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Point taken. And since they're already here, that means whoever's running the show is strong enough to affect their Solar System.

Which makes what happens next pretty obvious, doesn't it? Haruka's shoulders go back, though her arms stay around her partner. ] I swear I'll thrust a wedge into their machinations.

[ Yup. It's time to STAND UP STRAIGHT AND SPOUT NONSENSE. ]

[incousinswithyou]

[and she's glancing backwards and up. There you go. Have a small smile.]

Oh? Wasn't that already a given?

[actsmagnificent]

[ Well, that smile's enough for Haruka to be able to crack a grin too, so. There's something. ] They'll slip up sometime. What'd they teach you?

[ If they're stuck with the implants, they might as well abuse them. ]

[incousinswithyou]

Hmm. [she closes her eyes, trying to figure out what's different.

Apparently, it's subtle enough that it takes a moment.]

Music therapy. [and art.

Michiru doesn't sound confused very often, but this time, she's certainly at the verge of that expressing that particular emotion.]

[actsmagnificent]

That's different. [ If one could buy and sell sarcasm, there'd be an explanation for where all of Haruka and Michiru's money comes from. ]

[incousinswithyou]

[she exhales.]

That's not a word I would use either.

[all that trouble with an implant for this?]

What about you?

[actsmagnificent]

[ There's a beat, since Haruka's aware what she's about to say is going to sound like a joke. In other circumstances she might even enjoy this. ] I could have figured out how to pilot, anyway.

[incousinswithyou]

[...and that's a quiet chuckle.]

Mm. Perhaps you won't even need a license this time.

[actsmagnificent]

Would you really care? [ And where's she going to go, anyway? This "Atroma" wouldn't have given her the ability to fly them home.

Still, it's a start. ]

[incousinswithyou]

I could. [only when it's funny.

There's some measure of autonomy then, even if it is just a bone to placate them.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Indeed. ] Sounds like someone doesn't want to go cruising.

[ If you thought she was going to do anything else with her time to distract their captors.... ]

[incousinswithyou]

And here I thought somebody was complaining about how cold space is.

[space et al]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka just grins. This isn't insurmountable. It's baffling, but ultimately, this "Atroma"'s purpose doesn't matter. Stopping them does.

She smooths back Michiru's hair, careful to avoid the implant. ] We'll improvise.

[incousinswithyou]

[that shouldn't be reassuring, but between the two of them...]

Yes. [they can handle anything.

And she's shifting. Hands on your shoulders, tiptoes, and well. If it doesn't seem like anybody's around, that would be a light kiss.

Think of the children.]