bloom ✿

It had been a long day. Both Olimar and Louie wanted nothing more than to retire for the day, with both of them settling into their respective sleeping arrangements in their shared living quarters within the Hocotate Freight ship.

“Goodnight, Louie.”

“… Night.”

Olimar had settled into his bed, the main lights for the cabin having been switched off long ago. Olimar adjusted the covers of his bedding, albeit scratchy and unpleasant to sleep under, it was at least more welcoming than being forced to float around aimlessly in the cramped coffin-like quarters their employer used to have installed in the spacecrafts. The current rooms were definitely an upgrade, and were all thanks to the wonders of artificial gravity.

Right as Olimar had begun to drift into sleep, he heard the quiet mumble of his coworker from the other side of the room.

“… Oli?” Louie propped himself up on his forearms, his voice now being projected in the direction of the other man’s side of the cabin.

“Mm? What is it?” Olimar croaked out. His voice was raspy, likely from the amount of whistling and direction he had to give to both Louie and the pikmin over the course of the day.

“… Can you… hold me?”

Those words sat between them, alongside the subsequent awkward silence. The whirring of the ship’s life support continued with the ship slowly drifting along in orbit, the metal frame creaking unnervingly as the captain shifted underneath in his sheets.

Olimar couldn’t help but feel as though he desperately needed a glass of water. He wheezed, as quietly as he could manage, unsure of how to respond to such a request. Hold? Let alone, holding his coworker? Louie was quite odd, surely, but no behavior seemed to warrant a request quite that bold and yet entirely vague. Maybe this was some weird tradition of his. Given how odd the man’s grandmother was, maybe…

Nevermind. That was quite a reach to make, even for him. Even so, Olimar’s gaze found its way onto his subordinate’s side of their shared cabin. Louie’s mouth was agape, his expression showing anticipation of an answer, Olimar’s own mouth pressed into a thin line as he mulled over the request.

“… Sure.” Really, what was the captain to do? Tension was already high as is, with the repayment of their company’s debt resting squarely on Olimar and Louie’s shoulders. An air of hostility or awkwardness (whichever were more likely to prevail,) between the two would just overcomplicate things.

Olimar shifted off of his bed, making his way toward Louie’s. The metal floor was cold beneath his feet. It wouldn’t be far off to say its surface was freezing cold to the touch, no doubt a trait that made Olimar reminiscent of the kitchen tiles in his house during the winter time. Oh, how he missed home. But he was here now, in this ship, with this unique colleague of his who seemed to be pleading for some sort of physical connection for who-knows-what reason.

Only steps away, Louie leaned forward and resting his hands beneath Olimar’s arms, yanking him forward. Olimar stumbled into his grasp, resting his hands on Louie’s shoulders as to not crush the other man.

“Ah! Sorry, Lou…”

“Don’t. Just… stay.” Louie’s response came out as a quiet mumble. Olimar couldn’t quite place it, but something about Louie’s voice was different from his usual airheadedness. Something made him feel more compelled to listen to his request. To be quite honest, it was more of a “hold” on his coworker’s part, but it wasn’t like the captain minded that. This was actually sort of nice…

Olimar, as if in spite of his previous hesitance, melted into the hug. His palms slowly migrated from resting firmly on Louie’s shoulders, to comfortably being slung around the taller man’s neck. Their shared body heat was the only warmth within the ship, the only warmth shared between two people for lightyears from such a hostile, unforgiving planet. Louie’s body slowly sank in place, his head resting against Olimar’s shoulder. “… Can we… stay like this for a while?”

“Sure, Louie.”