FIRM CONTACT!

   ❛     i’m sure he’ll be okay. he has a good doctor.

            (   interrupted in his quest for caffeine,        what STARTS as a reactionary flinch WINDS UP a resurgence of searing pain in his side.   )     ❛    i wanted coffee and i didn’t want to wait for you to get me coffee.  where’s your sympathy, doctor ?  get yourself a better bedside manner.    ❜

‘  and you’ll tear up your fucking insides if you don’t get some rest. i’m serious, mark. you just survived a year, alone, on mars. you can’t go pushing your limits yet.

(  he takes a moment to calm down, eyes avoiding the other’s.  )

    ❛     mainly bummed i missed the spice girls.

    ❛     national hero?—- bill nye? they stopped showing his videos before i was even born.

     ❛     they’re kids! they deserve a little wonder and mysticism.  

      ❛     you ruin santa claus for kids too, don’t you?

       ❛     nobody watches movies for realism, christopher!

        ❛     that is offensive and outlandish to movie buffs everywhere. in the name of bruce lee, i demand you take it back right now, or i’m breaking up with you.

         ❛     it’s a HUGE deal. definite deal-breaker. seriously, chris! as far as this era goes with martial art films and new stunt double laws, this one takes the cake. i mean – stephen chow cuts a head off with his hand!

❛   we can worry about that LATER,  – when i can actually muster the will to get off this damn couch.   c’mon, sit. take a load off.   ❜    he broadly gestures to the space beside him and slaps the cushions for good measure.  (  laziness is a well earned luxury, after all. )

‘  i’m never letting nasa move our shit in again. 

(  a sigh as he plops down next to mark, legs settling in his lap.  )