driftfleet | (no subject)

Then you have me at your disposal.

[He settles beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.]

[She draws her knees up to her chest and nestles into his side.]

I'm sorry. I don't want to always be worrying you so much.

You don't need to apologise.

[He kisses her hair.]

You are important to me, so of course your well-being is also important to me.

[The kiss sends a nice warm tingle through her, counteracting the pain from the bruising. She takes his other hand and lays it in hers while gently tracing the lines on his palm with her forefinger.]

As you are to me. Despite getting punched in the face today, I feel very lucky.

[He watches her silently for a moment.]

And this will heal.

[He says it half to reassure himself. It's a very minor wound, in the grand scheme of things. He knows that.]

Yes. [She looks up at him.] It will, in time.

[In the meantime, time for more kisses and cuddles, yes? She kisses his lower jaw then twists back around to curl up on the bed, using his lap as a pillow.]

[He hesitates a moment, then runs his fingers over her hair, gently.]

What do you think of the medical supplies available to you?

[Someone playing with her hair: now that's something she definitely hasn't experienced in a while. It's soothing, especially right now.]

They're... a bit outdated, but sufficient.

I'm glad it's sufficient. Even outdated is preferable to nothing.

[He keeps stroking her hair, since that seems to be appreciated.]

I admit I have some concerns about what would happen if we had a serious injury.

Sometimes I worry too. There are many things I can't do here that I could do at home, simply because I don't have the equipment. But... we have several highly trained doctors and skilled healers in the fleet, and both Allen and I have been adding to our equipment as we go along so... I do think we stand a good chance against whatever comes our way.

[At heart, always the optimist.]

Is there anything I should be looking out for?

[He won't fool himself into thinking he should volunteer to help. There are some things robots will never be good at, and surgery is one of them.]

Supplies, you mean? Mostly I've been focusing on surgical tools, since that's what they have the least of here, and I want to help Wrath with her back.

[She looks down at her hands. There's a flicker of doubt there. She hasn't told Daneel about Wrath. It's not that she's hiding her from him, it just hadn't occurred to her. She cares about Wrath, but not like she does him.]

And maybe do something about the augments. But Wrath comes first.

Wrath?

[He inclines his head, puzzled by the doubt he feels.]

If she has an injured back, then surely that ranks a high priority of care.

Of course it is. She's my friend and my patient and what was done to her... I have to fix it if I can. [She looks up at him again. He felt the doubt, didn't he? But he doesn't know what to attribute it to.] What you felt just now, it doesn't have to do with that.

It's just that I realized I have never told you about Wrath, about the fact that we slept together, months ago.

Oh.

[The syllable contains polite interest, if maybe just a little confusion. Is he supposed to be upset or jealous? Because he isn't. It's just a mildly interesting fact about Beverly.]

But your relationship is no longer of that nature, then.

No. Though she is a very attractive woman.

[Might as well admit it, right?]

I just don't want you to think that attraction between us would or should change anything between you and I.

[Jealousy she doesn't expect from him. In fact, it would greatly surprise her if he did exhibit any signs of it. But she can see him coming to the false conclusion that she would prefer Wrath or would be happier with her, given his doubts about his suitability for a relationship.]

It's only natural that you would feel attraction to people, Beverly. Thank you for telling me.

[It's still a puzzling admission to him, but okay. No problem.]

You're still friendly with her, I presume?

[She huffs out a little laugh - must be a human thing to worry about. He's not the only one learning how to do this, after all. So much of what she knows of how to be in a relationship has shifted. It's not wrong or useless per say just... different, with him.]

I am. I'd say she's one of the people I'm closest to in the fleet.

This is a good thing, then.

[He shakes his head.]

Sexuality is generally very casual, on Aurora. I haven't always seen it treated the same way elsewhere, or here, for that matter. I understand that sometimes, past relationships are not so easily dealt with.

[She nods, recalling what he told her that day in the bar.]

We are much more sexually liberated than in the past but most humans I know still lean towards monogamy, though that is in no way a strict rule of any sort. It varies from culture to culture and person to person - even more so when you consider other humanoid species. For example, Denobulans have practiced polyamory for centuries while Klingons tend to only have one partner in a lifetime.

[She frowns.]

The past... can sometimes make things more complicated than they ought to be.

[Jack and Jean-Luc come to mind of course, but so does Odan.]

Evidently so.

[He continues stroking her hair for a moment or two, silent.]

Some cultural variation is, of course, expected. I doubt very much any one method is better than any other. What is more important is that those who are exceptions to the cultural rule are accepted, as not all would be content under the same rules. That is in part, after all, why Lady Gladia emigrated to Aurora.

Of course, past experiences shape future actions.

Mmm. More than we even realize sometimes. After Jack... well. You know about that.

[She drops his gaze, thoughtful as he continues to stroke her hair.]

Yes. I'm sorry.

[He leans down to kiss her, because he doesn't know a better way to communicate his sorrow and his sympathy.]

Death is... not easy.

[She understands completely. Sometimes a kiss - or a touch, a hug - can communicate so much more than words can. Can mean so much more. As he kisses her, she reaches up to place a hand on his face, her thumb gently stroking his cheek.

Oh you're very much in trouble here, Bev, aren't you?]

It never is.

[She thinks about how he shut down, just for a minute, at the discovery of the death of a friend. She may not be a robot, but she certainly understands feeling suddenly as if your systems can't operate properly any more now that this person you love so much is gone.]

If I leave before you do...

[Deep breath. She doesn't quite know how to finish that.]

If you leave, then while I will miss you, I will at least be content in the knowledge that you would be home safe, with your friends and family, where you belong.

[He's silent for a moment, thinking.]

Beverly, what is between us will one day end. You will tire of me, or one or both of us will return home, or I will have an accident and cease functioning, or you will die. If the last, I dearly hope it is a peaceful, natural death of extreme old age, as you deserve. The thought grieves me, but I will be... richer, for the experience of having known you. I would hope you would feel the same.