Stellar Harbor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sweet, I've noticed you've been tired since yesterday. Is it... your menstruation time? You know you can talk about it—" "No, thank you," you say politely. Absolutely not. You'd found supplies under the sink, and had been using them with no comment to Sun. "I understand," Sun says. You peer out of your blanket cocoon at him skeptically.

"..." "...But if you do need a hot compress—or cold?—I can provide one. Or perhaps if you'd like to stretch, I can help in that area, if you'd like me to—" "That's private," you hiss, eyes narrowed at his outstretched hands. Your patience didn't have near enough bandwidth to put up with Sun's curiosity. Not on this matter, not right now—and...

...

Especially not when he appears to be blushing. "...No one else is here," he insists. "I'm only trying to hel—" "—out." "What was that?" "Get out." . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (If this had occurred, or reoccurred, with Moon): Moon's POV: Though it's his second visit of the day, Moon finds you still curled under your blankets. You hadn't responded to his knock either. He frowns.

... Freddy... Freddy had told him that you'd still have bad days. That he shouldn't expect too much, even as he felt you had been doing well during his last visits. It soothes him very little, even if he understands that. He places your lunch tray down on the table, considering whether or not you would appreciate his presence right now, when you shift—and part of your face is exposed. Your face is— ... Pain...? Moon's mind reels, flying through your meals, the dietary restrictions he'd placed, if there had been some some oversight that he'd— ... He blinks, mind slowing. Could it be, perhaps...

...

What was the date? He'd almost forgotten the date Sun had written—and circled—in his notes about you. Pulling out his pager, he double checks.

...

Oh.

He looks your way.

So this... was normal, for you.

...

Moon leaves without another word. .

.

.

When he returns, he has a blister pack with two pills inside. You are exactly where he'd left you, though you appear to have shifted some.

Going to your lunch, he removes one of the side dishes—the red tuber mash you always finished—and the glass of water next to it. Then, he moves your chair to your bedside, and places the water and the mash, along with the pills, on the seat for you.

Your eyes crack open at the disturbance.

"The pain medicine needs to be taken with food," he explains. Your eyes don't shift to him, remaining on the food.

...

For a moment, he thinks you might reject it, or tell him to leave. Sun's notes had described you as becoming very—

You nod wordlessly, and push yourself up until you're propped up on one arm, resting on your hip. Moon blinks in surprise.

Rather than going for the food, he watches you push the pills out from the packaging first and drink them down. Only then do you move to the mash, if a bit reluctantly. You only eat a few spoonfuls, but Moon is satisfied with that as you push the plate away. When he goes to take the dishware back, your voice catches his attention unexpectedly.

"Thank you," you say quietly. Your watery eyes are on his hands.

...

He ignores the tight feeling in his chest, finishing his task and moving away from you. "I'm assuming you don't want this?" he asks, lifting your tray once more. You just shake your head. And after a moment... "...Is there anything else I can get for you?" Moon winces, hoping his voice sounded neutral, to your ears. ...

You don't answer for a long moment, and Moon is almost ready to accept that, though it pinches just a bit. But then, your voice comes out one more time. "Chocolate...?" you say, and to his surprise, you're actually looking at him this time. It appears to be a request, though Moon is not familiar with the word.

He isn't sure what to say, and can only hope you'll elaborate, or perhaps suggest something else.

...

You do not. Rather, you appear to have read something on his face, because your gaze drops in disappointment. And despite his every urge to stop you, he can only watch helplessly as you withdraw into your bedding once more.

...

He leaves the room after a moment, mind set on a new task.

With a plan of action in motion, the team had also filed an official report with law enforcement on what had happened - though they did not expect much. And yet, surprisingly, an officer had called them back to take their statements.

----

Chica had advised setting the meetup coordinates to someplace close to Arvello - her home planet, but also the home planet of the Solairs. The team was hopeful that that might be where The Stellar Night was headed, anyway.

“I can’t believe even the Glamrocks are involved in this situation,” the officer had admitted over the video channel.

Moon and the team had exchanged gazes at his words.

“...‘Situation’? Did… someone else make a report before us?” Chica asked.

The Gallus officer had nodded tiredly, the warty ceres around his eyes making him look especially worn out. 

“Yeah. Allnet is accusing Solair of..." he seems to be observing the paperwork in front of him. "...essentially, theft. 'unauthorized removal of a trial subject in Court custody'. And on top of that, we have more people claiming to be eye witnesses of the kidnapping than seems plausible,” he’d sighed. “And now that it’s gettin’ attention from the press, it’s moved up on the priority list, too. Signet hasn’t responded to us, but we’ve told them to turn the suspect in if he shows up.”

Moon’s eyes had met Freddy’s, and the bear had winked at him. 

.

.