dark_ages | landing party ( for thecanarylives )

landing party ( for thecanarylives )

[ He comes to with his head pounding, his vision blurred, and a persistent ringing in his ears. It takes him a while-- a good while, maybe seconds or maybe minutes, to even regain his vision properly, and to take in his surroundings. He's in a shuttle, which is completely wrecked, panels broken and burnt, wires hanging from everywhere, sparks going off and small fires here or there. They're also tilted forward slightly, so he can feel his weight pushing against the belts keeping him strapped to his chair. He looks beyond the window and he sees a lush forest just outside, trees and blue skies as far as the eye can see. It'd be pretty if not for the fact that they've clearly crashed on the planet they were supposed to land on.

Shit. Holy shit, they crashed. How the fuck did they crash? Leonard just wanted to gather some samples from the surface, it didn't even warrant a landing party bigger than two people, how the fuck did they end up like this?

That thought gets his brain into gear. Because he's not alone. He looks over to find Sara passed out, though at least thankfully still strapped to her seat. He lets out a shuddered breath, trying not to panic as he struggles to undo his own safety belt. ]

Sara!! Come on, you piece of shi-- [ His panicked grousing is cut off as his belt comes undone, and he just barely manages to brace himself against the controls rather than slam right into them. Head still spinning, he nevertheless forces himself to stumble towards her, looking her over briefly for possible injuries before he cups her face, trying to wake her up. ] Sara. Hey, can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes...

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Not sure I have it in me to get creative right now.

[ Hell, he's not exactly the most creative mind to begin with. But anyway.

He looks at her with wide eyes, whole face twisting into a disgusted frown. ]

Good God. You still have some of that with you?

I think you don't give yourself enough credit.

[ She shoots him a wink, bursting out into another laugh at the look on his face. ]

I just cooked it this morning! It's practically fresh. [ She leans over to grab her pack, fishing around for the package of meat and handing it over to him. ] Go on.

[ Leonard rolls his eyes, both at the comment about giving himself enough credit, and the meat being freshly cooked. That's not exactly the problem he had with it, but sure. ]

You know, I agree it is a little odd to get meat exclusively from replicators, but at least I don't have to watch the poor creature get slaughtered and gutted.

[ He's still frowning almost comically as she hands him the package, uncovering it with a displeased noise. ] Christ. The shit you make me do.

[ Heaving a sigh, he takes the smallest piece of the meat and mouths it, chewing and swallowing it down quickly. At least it's not dripping blood everywhere and the memory of her preparing it is more distant, and the taste isn't the worst thing he's had. ] There. Happy, now?

Circle of Life, doc. You should know that better than anyone.

[ She takes another piece from the package, popping one into her mouth and chewing on it as he struggles to keep his down. Laughing and tucking the package back into her bag, she nods. ]

Very. Alright, my turn. Dare.

[ Leonard snorts, shaking his head. ]

You're absolutely no fun.

[ Is she going to pick 'dare' every single time? He's got a feeling she will. ]

Alright, then. Take an embarrassing picture of yourself and post it as a profile picture.

[ You know, on whatever social media she uses. Even Leonard has one, come on. ]

Hey, you take that back. I'm a fucking hoot.

[ She laughs, settling back in next to him. And for the record, yes. Dare is a hell of a lot easier for her than truth, every single time. ]

You're really overestimating my sense of shame here, Doc. [ She digs her comm out of her bag this time, fiddling with it a moment before shifting it into camera mode. Pulling the most ridiculous face she can muster, tongue out and double-chinned, she pans the camera over to take a shot of the both of them before setting the file as her profile photo. ]

It won't upload until we're back on the ship, but there you go.

[ Yeah, it's true. She is pretty damn fun, but then he's just teasing her, here. ]

I'm sure I am. But I'm not very inventive when it comes to dares.

[ He could probably think of a few more exciting ones, but... well, they'd be more the type that'd likely cross some lines and make things awkward between them, so.

He glances over and is surprised to find her aiming the camera at both of them, but all that'll be on her picture is Leonard by the corner with a raised eyebrow, like he's not entirely sure what he's doing there. ]

Charming. [ He chuckles, sighing. ] Truth.

[ See? A hoot, damnit. ]

I guess that's alright. It's not exactly on the CMO job description, anyway.

[ She's still laughing at the picture even after it's ready for posting, tucking her comm away before glancing over at him. Chewing on her lip, she contemplates a good prompt. ]

Hmm. When was the last time you were embarrassed?

[ They don't really teach that in medical school, no. Sometimes at the Academy they'd be challenged to be more inventive with problem solving, especially those in the Command path, but it just comes more naturally to some than others. ]

About ten seconds ago, when you took that picture?

[ But he chuckles. That's not the real answer, he wasn't actually embarrassed then. With a sigh, he leans his head back against the rock. ]

When I woke up next to you, I think. I was pretty damn embarrassed, then.

[ She doubts any class trying to teach inventiveness would be very good at it, anyway. She mostly learned the hard way. Fighting for survival means finding creative ways to stay alive.

She laughs, nudging him with an elbow when he mentions the picture. She's actually kind of fond of it now.

When he gives her a real answer, her head perks up in surprise, eyes gazing at him curiously. ]

Really? That's... definitely not the answer I was expecting.

Seriously?

[ Well, now he's the one who's surprised to hear that. He looks over at her, eyebrows knitted together in curiosity and mild amusement. ]

What kind of answer were you expecting, then?

I... I don't know. [ She shrugs. ] I guess it just wasn't that embarrassing for me. [ She frowns. ] That might not reflect all that well on me, though.

What was embarrassing about it?

[ Oh. Oh. He definitely hadn't meant it that way, and immediately he sits a little more tensely when she puts it like that. ]

No, don't say that. It's not a comment on you, it's just...

[ He shrugs. The kind of person he is, he supposes. It certainly isn't a comment on who she is or how she views casual relationships. ]

Just... waking up thinkin' I hadn't behaved properly with you, the night before. That bottle of scotch loosened me up a whole lot more than I was counting on.

[ She watches him curiously, and it's hard to miss the sudden tension in his shoulders. ]

Behaved properly? [ She chuckles, shaking her head at him. ] I'm pretty sure I initiated it, you know. That scotch worked some magic on the both of us. [ She chews on her lip. ] But hey, it's not like it made us do anything we didn't want to, right?

[ Leonard rises his eyebrows and tilts his head in a slight nod. Yeah, fair enough. Still, that initial moment of waking up next to her was pretty damn embarrassing, even if he worked past it soon after.

He looks at her and smiles a little at her question. ] Right. And I'm glad for that. Don't think I could forgive myself if you hadn't wanted to do that, too.

Whoever decides to say no being in bed with you is missing out, I'll tell you that much.

[ She frowns, wincing a little. ]

Sorry. We don't have to... keep talking about it, if you don't want to.

[ It's... an unusual compliment, but a nice compliment nevertheless, and it does make him smile. He enjoyed their time together. A lot, actually. Enough to know he'd eventually develop feelings for her, which is why he had to stop it before that happened. ]

No, it's fine. I don't mind. We never did really talk about it properly, anyway.

You really like to do things properly, don't you, Doc?

[ She smiles at him, leaning her temple against the wall. ]

Didn't mean for you to get embarrassed. I don't regret any of it, if that matters.

Yes, I really do. I know, it's a tragedy.

[ Best to just leave it at that, for now. He doesn't want to delve too deeply into it, or make her uncomfortable. Even if she's not embarrassed by the sex, but he's got a feeling that intimacy is what would get to her the most. ]

Well. Good, then. That's good. And I swear the embarrassment didn't last long.

No, it's nice, actually.

[ She glances down at her hands, chewing on her lip a moment. ]

Is that why you didn't wanna... you know. Keep it going?

[ He raises both eyebrows, surprised by that question. He figured he'd been clear enough when he spoke to her, but maybe the way they parted was just too quick. Leaving too much room for wondering. ]

Let me answer that with a question of my own, [ He clears his throat. Pretty sure this is gonna count on his list of slightly embarrassing moments, but screw it. At least they're talking about it. ] If I were to ask you out on a proper date, would you say yes?

[ Honestly, all she really remembers is that he put an end to it pretty abruptly. She wasn't exactly one to ask questions or demand an explanation, so she'd let it go.

She hadn't realized she'd needed one until now.

When he asks his question, she lifts her gaze to his, hesitating a moment to try and read him. ]

What? Like... dinner and a movie?

[ If she needs an explanation, then by all means, he will do his best to offer her one. He's not usually the best at ending relationships, but it's not like they even had a relationship to begin with. Not a romantic one, anyway. And they do need to be able to work together, so he doesn't want there to be any residual grudges on her end. ]

Or a dinner and a dance. But yes, that sort of thing. A romantic date. Or dates, usually, when two people get along and like each other. A relationship, if you will.

[ He knows that's not what she does, but that's exactly his point. And it's exactly why he ended things as abruptly as he did. ]

[ Normally, she doesn't really care. Hadn't expected to by any means. But she and Leonard aren't just acquaintances anymore - hell, he's one of the few people on board she'd truly consider a friend.

Her brow furrows at his explanation, as if she's trying to piece together some complicated puzzle right in front of her face. ]

Sorry, I just... you wanna... You wanted to date me?

[ This is not exactly going as he expected it. He figured he'd made things clear enough when he told her he didn't do casual. Apparently she just... didn't get what that meant? Maybe it was better to have left it like it was.

Right now he's just fighting the urge to bury his face under the blankets like he's some damn idiot teenager who doesn't know how to talk to a girl. He heaves a sigh, waving a hand vaguely. ]

I'm sorry, can I change my answer to that truth question to right about now?

[ Yep, definitely the most embarrassing moment he remembers having as of late. ]

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