cat 💌

Sara has never felt cold like this before. Every night, the chill seems to creep through the windows, embedding itself in the walls of their little apartment. The snow outside is so thick it has begun to build up on the sills, and she’s sure it’s only a matter of time until it makes it inside. She watches it fall onto the empty street outside, and Steven hands her a mug of hot chocolate. She sighs contentedly, the rich smell reaching her nose.

Steven is looking at her strangely. He’s been doing that a lot recently. Sara tries not to think about it.

(Although the comments from Audrey haven’t helped on that front.)

“Do you think we’ll win?” he says. He seems ashamed even to ask. Perhaps he still sees her as the military stoic he met months prior. Perhaps he’s worried any suggestion, however slight, that their victory is not assured is contrary to her Space Security Service training. 

Sara stops mid sip, placing the mug onto a table. It shakes as though its seconds from collapsing, sending the liquid flying across the floor. She shrugs. It’s a shock to her that Steven has even brought it up. Typically it’s Sara - ‘Sara the Strategist’, he called her once, laughing after she nearly pulled her gun on a pedestrian who looked at her the wrong way - who brings up the wider issue at hand. Steven usually seemed content to settle down. He would ignore the taranium in his pocket if it meant an ordinary life in London with Sara. There’s an odd feeling in her chest when she dwells on that fact.

“I’d like to think so.” She must seem more confident in this answer than she feels, because Steven smiles at her. It is a soft smile, one that Sara is beginning to believe might be reserved for her. It’s miles away from the one he gives Michael in the morning as they head to the dockyard; from the one he gives Joseph as he’s offered another sip of rum in front of the fire. He’s studying her face, she can tell. His eyes meet hers, his eyes filled with what Sara thinks is an odd mixture of concern; and something she can’t quite put her finger on. Steven looks anxious, his shoulders tight, his fist clenched, at odds with the smile from a second ago. It looks like he’s remembering something.

“What brought the question on?”

Sara picks up the mug again, barely noticing how much of it has spilled onto the carpeted floor. It can make its home next to the multiple burn marks from one of their cooking escapades. Steven hesitates to answer, awkwardly shuffling in his seat next to hers.

“Oh…I don’t know, really. I had a bad dream last night. I think it was just weighing on me a little.”

This isn’t a surprise. Steven Taylor and restful sleep, Sara has learnt, are closer to enemies than friends. She had the same problem, and Steven - ever chivalrous - offered her his stuffed panda. Maybe the lack of him has provoked last night’s troubles.

“About us losing?”

“Not…exactly.” Sara can tell from this answer that Steven doesn’t want to push the topic. He readjusts his body, as if he’s injecting energy back into himself, his shoulders dropping as the tension visibly subsides. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’m sure we’ll be fine. The Doctor will be back soon with a plan - he always does that. Knows exactly what to do.”

Sara smiles at him in a way that she hopes is comforting, and she nods. 

“Although…” Steven continues, “I wouldn’t mind staying here like this a little longer. Despite the cold.”

This again. Sara begrudges herself for the fact she’s starting to agree. Space Security Service Training Lesson 5573 - an Agent always keeps moving. She’s been trying to rid herself of these lessons one by one, but 5573 has been an especially hard one to kick. Damn it (Space Security Service Training Lesson 362 - no swearing. This one went quite early. It’s good to have an outlet when dealing with the Doctor), she does want to stay here a little longer. It’s been - for want of a better word - fun.

“Despite the cold.” She agrees, laughing a little. She’s been doing that a lot recently too (normally at Steven’s expense, truth be told. How a man can be so clumsy is beyond her). Steven grins, and the two of them sit in silence for a little while, watching the snow fall. Sara doesn’t even notice the cold any more, having forgotten about it during their conversation. That is, until Steven places a hand on her shoulder, and she notices she’s been shivering.

“Sara, you’re freezing cold!” He haphazardly passes the blanket towards her that he has wrapped around himself. It ends up landing awkwardly over the two of them, tangling with the one Sara already has. It’s not funny. At least, that’s what Sara is trying to tell herself, summoning up some of her composure, but it's’ too late. Steven’s usually well-kept hair is splayed over his face at all angles, and she can’t help herself laughing as he turns red.

“I tried! It’s not that funny-” he sighs, feigning anger, but his mouth is betraying him by turning up at the corners. 

“I’m not laughing at you…honestly, I’m not!” Sara feels like she’s fighting for her life to stop her giggles. Steven, clearly accepting defeat, starts to laugh along with her, trying to rearrange his hair to an acceptable standard. The action causes something to catch in Sara’s chest. It feels like she’s been punched.

Damn it. There goes Rule 264.

[Rule 264 - An Agent of the Space Security Service must not, in any circumstance, entertain romantic feelings. This is contrary to the Service, and is punishable by Termination.]

As Sara Kingdom’s world shifts off balance, Audrey smiles into her cup of cocoa. The laughter floats from her ceiling.