#mace fic

It was an accident, that Capa spent an entire hour sending his package. It was an accident that he did that, and that it meant you wouldn’t get to send yours.

Because now it was too late, the winds were too high, and you are no longer able to send a final message to your family.

You’re in the dead zone already and there’s no turning back.

You sniffle again, feeling the wetness on your cheek as a tear slowly trickles down it, and you want to reprimand yourself for being so silly.

For being dramatic, really.

It’s not that big of a deal, you try to remind yourself, you’ll talk to them on your way back. It just hurts that you have to wait so long.

You’ve always known your last message might be the last, perhaps even the last you would ever send, so the fact that you’re so emotional about this is silly, unprofessional, even.

You knew the risks when you signed up for this mission, and it wouldn’t make a difference whether you’d sent that message or not anyway, because, either way, you wouldn’t have been able to get a response back in time.

That’s what you keep telling yourself.

Even if you don’t fully believe it. 

When the doors to the lab slides open with a swoosh, you don’t look up to see who the footsteps you hear walking closer belong to. 

Mainly because you know your eyes are red from your tears, and you don’t want anyone to see you like this.

It’s humiliating to be seen in this state, because you know you shouldn’t let yourself get affected by something like this. It’s too trivial, your emotions are only a tiny dot, unimportant, compared to the work you’re doing here and what your purpose is. 

But you carefully look up from your hiding spot when you hear his voice.

“Hey,” Mace says gently as he rushes towards you, “Hey, hey, what happened Sunshine? You okay?”

You sniffle again as you look up at him, and then you feel another tear run down your cheek.

He quickly gets down on his knees in front of you, his hand reaching up to wipe the tear away with his thumb as he whispers, “What happened?”

“It’s-It’s stupid, I’m just b-being s-stupid,” you sniffle out but Mace quickly shakes his head as he says, “No, it’s not stupid, your feelings aren’t stupid, Sunshine. Tell me what happened.”

You dart your eyes down to your knees, inhaling deeply to try and keep the tears at bay while you speak, “The-the p-package,” you sob, “I-I didn’t get to s-send it.”

You feel more tears swelling in your eyes, your emotions bubbling up even worse because you now have to talk about what happened.

“Why not?” Mace asks, tilting his head as his brows furrow, “I thought we had plenty of time left.”

“W-we did,” you say as you look up at him, his face laces with concern. Your words are disturbed by small sobs and hiccups as you speak, “B-but Ca-Capa took t-too long. I couldn’t s-send mine once he was d-done, it was too l-late.”

You hiccup again, reaching up to wipe the tears off your cheek with the back of your hand as you drop your gaze back to your knees.

“What?” Mace says, his voice less gentle now. His expression changes, but you don’t notice because you’re trying to focus on making the tears stop.

“What do you mean he took too long?”

You sniffle again, wiping your face a little with the sleeve of your shirt before you swallow and whisper out, “He took an hour in there.. There was no more time once he was done..”

“That bastard!” Mace suddenly exclaims and it makes you quickly look up at him, eyes wide in shock.

Once you finally look at him, you realize how tense his jaw is, how angry he looks.

Oh no.

“That fucking asshole!” He yells, getting off his knees to stand up, and before you can react, he sets off into a sprint, running out of the lab. 

“Mace!” You yell, scrambling to get off the floor, “Mace, don’t!”

It’s too late.

Mace runs full speed towards the dining room, the place he just saw Capa in a moment ago when he passed it to go see you in the lab.

He went to see you because he knew you were supposed to send a message to your family, and he knew how excited you’d been about that, so he wanted to talk to you about how it went.

He wanted to see the bright smile on your face as you excitedly told him about it.

But instead he found you on the floor, sobbing.

And he found you that way, because Capa took a fucking hour in there.

He’s furious, absolutely livid as he storms into the kitchen, and once Capa is within sight, he launches himself at him.

He wraps an arm around Capa’s throat, bringing him into a chokehold as he yells, “You fucking bastard, you took a fucking hour in there?!”

Capa gasps at the sudden attack, his hands quickly flying up to Mace’s arm locked around his throat, trying to pry Mace off him.

The others in the kitchen start yelling, doing their best to pull Mace away, but he doesn’t relent.

“You took a fucking hour and now she can’t send her message to her family! You fucking selfish asshole!”

Mace is holding on for dear life, his arm squeezing tight around Capa’s throat, not even rattled by the hands trying to pull him away.

In fact, there’s not a single thing in the world that could make him let go right now. 

Capa ruined everything, he hurt you, he made you cry. 

There’s nothing worse than when you cry. Mace made you cry once, and it haunted him for months. 

And ever since you let him into your heart, he has done nothing but his very best to protect it, to ensure you never cry again. 

He has done everything he possibly could to make sure you only ever feel safe, happy and content. 

So no, there’s not a single thing in this entire fucking universe that could make him let go right now. 

Or so he thought.

Because once he hears your voice, his focus changes. 

“Mace, please,” You say, your voice quieter than it probably should be in this situation, but it’s still enough for him to hear you.

His eyes dart towards the sound of your voice and he sees you, standing there, eyes still red from your tears as you look at him.

“Please, stop,” You say, looking at him with sad eyes and it makes him freeze immediately.

He releases his hold, slowly at first, until it’s loose enough for Capa to get free.

Capa gasps for air, quickly scrambling backwards to make space between himself and Mace, but Mace doesn’t notice.

He just keeps looking at you.

That sad, vulnerable look on your face makes his heart break a little.

He takes a few quick steps towards you until he’s right in front of you, and you carefully reach your hand out to him.

He takes it, hesitantly, and without a word you pull him with you, out of the room, leaving the others completely and utterly confused about what just happened.

“Hi,” you reply, your smile growing slowly as you look up at him. He’s towering above you, standing next to where you’re on your knees in front of the vegetable garden. 

“How are you?” he asks and his voice is gentle as he speaks. It’s a strange feeling, seeing him like this. In fact, it’s strange how much has changed between you in such a short amount of time. 

It’s been about a week since he refused to get medical help, and you had to force him to go, but you can tell he’s slowly but steadily warming up to you. 

He now comes by just to say hi, no longer under the ruse of fixing the cooling system, which tells you that perhaps he enjoys your company as much as you enjoy his. 

“I’m good,” you say with a wide smile, gesturing to the basket next to you, “Look, my adjustments worked. We have carrots for dinner tonight.” 

Mace glances towards the basket and his face splits into a big grin, “No shit!” He walks around you, towards the basket, and then he kneels down, taking one of the large carrots out to inspect it closer. 

“That’s amazing,” he says, looking the vegetable over with excitement, “It’s been a while since we had carrots.” 

“I know,” you say with a chuckle, brushing off the small layer of dirt covering your hands, “I think the others will be excited as well.” 

“Hell yeah they will,” he says, smiling at you, “This is great. Well done.” 

You cheeks heat up slightly at the compliment, a small smile painting your lips as you thank him. 

You turn your attention back to the remaining vegetables, both because you need to check over a few more before you’re done, but also to cover up your reaction to his words, before you say, “So, what brings you by?” 

He stands back up, his back straightening and forming that beautiful arch that you love so much, before he shoves his hands into his pockets again. He shrugs, “Oh, uh. I just wanted to show you something.. If you have time..” 

You look up at him in surprise and when you notice the expression on his face, you smile softly and nod, “Sure. Just give me a few minutes.” 

“I like the waves the best,” Mace says as he stands next to you in the Earth room, “They make me feel peaceful.” 

You’re standing shoulder to shoulder, watching as the waves crash over the railing. Three girls are in the simulation, and they laugh and scream in glee as the water splashes them. 

“I like the waves too,” you whisper, a huge grin on your face as you watch them. 

“Yeah?” Mace asks, turning to look at you. His eyes lock on the giddy expression on your face, how your eyes are gleaming and how you giggle slightly. 

“Mhm,” you say through your soft giggle, “I usually always pick the waves or the woods, depending on my mood.” 

“I don’t like the woods as much,” Mace replies, furrowing his brows a little before he mumbles, “It’s too quiet..” 

You nod, “I know. But the woods work wonders for me when I’m feeling anxious.” 

He turns his head to look at you at that, his brows still furrowed as he scans your face, “You get anxious?” 

You don’t look at him, choosing instead to keep your gaze on the girls as they giggle and squeal at the waves, “Yeah, sometimes. It used to be more, back home. Doesn’t happen as often here.” 

Mace hums, not diverting his gaze from your face, mainly because he likes how it looks right now. 

Content, happy perhaps. Calm. Beautiful. 

You can feel his eyes on you, and you want to look at him, meet those beautiful blue orbs that have been invading your dreams lately, but you’re too shy to. 

After a moment, Mace turns his head back towards where the waves are crashing, and he takes a deep breath. 

“I wish we could feel it,” he whispers, his smile fading slowly, “How the water feels. I know we can smell it, and that helps, but it doesn’t compare to actually feeling it.” 

That makes your resolve break. You turn your head, shyly at first as you glance at him, doing your best to not make it too obvious. 

But it must be, because Mace quickly meets your gaze and then he smiles at you, a warm, genuine one that makes your stomach flutter. 

“I know what you mean,” you reply quietly, “I wish we could feel it, too. Sometimes I wonder if I should have left at all, considering how much I miss home..” 

Your eyes dart down at your bold confession, looking at your feet as you sigh. 

You’re grateful to be here, proud that you get the possibility to save the world, but it doesn’t replace that feeling. 

The longing. 

Mace scans your face, noticing how your features change when your eyes drop to the floor, and it brings out a familiar feeling in him. 

You miss it just as much as he does. 

Maybe that’s why he’s constantly gravitating towards you, like a magnet pulling at him. Maybe it’s because he sees the same sadness in you as he feels inside. 

He cares about the mission, so much that he’ll wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares about it not working, or something going wrong. 

But he misses home, he’s doing this to save it. And he wants to go back, even if he doesn’t say it much. Even if he knows that he would give his life to save it, risk never going back to save the people on it, he wants more than anything to be able to go back home, see his family again. 

Maybe start his own some day. 

Your eyes flicker up to meet his when you feel him looking at you, and your breath hitches slightly when you notice how close he’s standing to you, the expression on his face. 

He’s so beautiful, it makes your heart beat a little faster, makes a nervous feeling run through you. 

Even with the shoddy haircut, even when he’s angry, or brooding, or yelling, he’s still so painfully beautiful. 

When he breaks eye contact, you’re about to turn away again, but then you notice where his eyes drop to, where they linger. 

They’ve drifted lower on your face, locked onto a spot just below your nose. 

Your eyes mirror his, dropping to his lips, and you watch as his tongue swiftly darts out, wetting his plump bottom lip before his eyes dart back up to yours again. 

You can feel the tension in the air, it’s thick and heavy, making your heart pound against your ribcage as you look at him. 

And then he finally breaks it. 

He takes one small step, closing the space between you, as his arm wraps around your waist. 

His lips glide over yours, a gentle and hesitant kiss, but it’s enough to start a fire inside you, the warmth filling your veins. 

Your hand reaches up, cupping his cheek to pull him closer, as you move your lips against his delicately. 

After a moment, he pulls back, just a little, his lips still lingering on yours as he whispers, “Sunshine, you have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that.” 

You’re sitting at the dinner table with the others, eating a portion of beef and noodles which would normally soothe you, because you so rarely get beef and you fucking love that stuff. 

But today, nothing could soothe you. 

Not even beef and noodles, which you hadn’t had for the past month due to your sparse rations of beef and your excess rations of chicken.

Nothing could possibly soothe the ache you felt inside. 

That ache, the one you felt deep inside your being, practically smothering you. 

And there was only person to blame for that ache being there, impossible to soothe, impossible to get rid of. 

And he’s sitting right next to you, eating his beef and noodles as he hums in delight at the taste, excited to finally get something other than chicken. 

Mace. 

James. Fucking. Mace. 

It had been over a month, since he first kissed you. Which means it would have been about a month, since he first really kissed you. 

And that kiss was mind blowing. It broke you, turned you into mush, and it made you a wanting woman. 

A woman, wanting nothing more than to be touched and loved by the man who held her heart, to feel nothing more than what it’s like to have that ache soothed. 

That’s what a wanting woman means, right?

It really doesn’t matter what the word means. Because either way, you were one. 

And it didn’t exactly help when he suddenly decided to change his hair, cutting off those those long, untamed locks and opting for a buzz-cut instead. 

No, the buzz cut definitely didn’t help. As in, at all. 

He was beautiful before, but now... 

The look made your mouth water. There’s really no other way to put it. 

He already looked gorgeous, strutting around in his tight t-shirts, his bulging biceps peeking out from just below the sleeves. And now he had a buzz-cut to top off the look. 

Nothing about that was fair, but it perhaps would have helped just a little, if you actually got to act on your now, even stronger, urges. 

But no. You couldn’t, because he didn’t seem to want it, and that left you not only confused and frustrated, but also a little hurt. 

Why the hell didn’t he want you?

Why the hell did he not feel the same way you did, that ache, the longing, the need?

What the fuck was going on? 

As soon as Kaneda finishes what he’s saying, you push back in your chair and quickly get up to leave the dinner table. 

You can’t stand sitting around it for even a second longer. 

For a month, James Mace had left you wanting and unsatisfied, and it was starting to affect your work. 

It had even gotten to a point where Harvey had called you out on it, in front of everyone, and the thought made you feel embarrassed and guilty. 

Guilty, because you knew the exact reason why you haven’t been doing as well as usual, why you haven’t been paying attention. 

And it’s the exact same reason why relationships within crew mates are frowned upon. 

“What’s the status on the vegetables?” Harvey asks, the discontent clear on his face as he lifts his fork, “I’m tired of carrots.” 

“I’m growing potatoes, too,” You reply as you look at him, furrowing your brows at his expression. 

“Yeah, you said that two weeks ago, as well,” Harvey responds, picking at the carrots on his plate, “How long does it take?” 

“It takes as long as it takes, Harvey,” Mace suddenly says, making you look at him.

He’s sitting next to you at the table, and the expression he gives Harvey is stern, perhaps even dominating as he speaks. 

“You’ve got carrots, and they’re fucking delicious, so stop complaining and eat your damn vegetables,” Mace mutters before his eyes move from Harvey to you for a moment, and then drop down to his food again.

“Mace is right,” Kaneda quickly adds, “We should be grateful we have a biologist brilliant enough to be able to grow up carrots, or any type of vegetable, more than six months into our travels.” 

It made you feel nice and warm inside, when Mace defended you. It showed that he cared, and truth be told, you already knew he did, because he shows it every day. 

But it also made you realize that you’ve been slacking on your work. 

Because the truth is that you probably could have had finished potatoes by now, even if just a few, if you’d been tending to your garden as much as you normally would. If you’d been paying as much attention as you normally would. 

But of course, you hadn’t been.

Because your mind had been preoccupied. 

Preoccupied with thoughts of why you needed to feel this constant ache, why your needs weren’t being met when you literally live inside a metal can with the guy you’re dating. 

It just doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t feel right. 

And it’s making you doubt everything. 

Mace has been noticing a change in you lately. 

He can’t quite put his finger on it, he doesn’t exactly know when or why it changed, but he knows that something has definitely changed. 

He’s tried to stay close by, he has done everything he possibly could beyond neglecting his job to spend as much time with and around you as possible. 

He has done everything he could think of to make it clear to you that he wanted you, and only you, and that he wanted you in such a way that he was willing to spend any possible amount of time with you, even if it meant following you around as you did your work. 

And the truth is, Mace didn’t just do it for you. 

He missed you, when he had to spend full days in areas far away from the lab.

He used to enjoy fixing the cooling system that controlled Icarus, but now it just meant that he would be in the furthest spot away from you, and the truth is that he absolutely hated that. 

He had done everything he could possibly think of to make you feel safe, happy and content. 

He didn’t want to risk losing you, or even worse, risk you realizing that you deserved so much better than him. 

Which is also why, despite his urges, he had been taking it painfully slow with you. 

He didn’t want to fuck it up, he didn’t want you to doubt his intentions, and so he took it slow. 

Very, very slow. 

He figured that was what you wanted, needed, that it was what he should be doing to make it clear to you just how much he cared about you. 

He cared about you beyond the physical attraction he felt for you, which, to be fair, was very strong, but it didn’t matter.

Because for once in his life, he felt a deep, emotional connection, pulling him towards another person in a way that he had never felt before. 

And the fact that the person he was drawn towards was you.. Well, that was just icing on the cake. 

Or, actually, the icing on the cake was that you felt just as strongly about him as he did about you. 

Which is why he was surprised when you suddenly left dinner without a word, once Kaneda was done speaking. 

The crew had finally been served beef and noodles and Mace was no idiot; he’s been infatuated with you long enough to know that you fucking love beef and noodles.  

Which subsequently made him realize that something really awful must have happened for you to leave the table in the manner that you did. 

Mace quickly gets up, not even finishing his plate before he hurries after you down the hall. 

He’s sure the others wonder about the two of you - hell, he does too. 

But it’s really none of their business. 

Although romantic entanglements within the crew is frowned upon, it’s not technically against the rules, and thats enough. 

It’s enough to make Mace not hide what he feels - how he feels - whenever he looks at your stunning face. 

But the feeling that usually rushes through him at your close proximity is not there right now, as he approaches you in the lab. 

He can tell you’re frustrated, angry even, as he watches you touch the plant in front of you with much less care than usual. 

And he knows that if you’re taking it out on your plants, your babies, it must be bad. 

“Hey,” he says hesitantly as he takes a few steps closer to you, “Is everything alright?”

“No,” you grumble, a frown on your face as you narrow your eyes, your fingers moving over the leaves of the plants even more harshly than before. 

“What’s wrong?” Mace asks gently, hoping that perhaps he could coax you into opening up to him. 

If there’s one thing you’ve taught him, it’s that talking about feelings actually helps. Even when you don’t want to. 

You sigh, or perhaps it’s actually closer to an annoyed huff, before you say, “I can’t tell you..” 

“Why not?” He asks with furrowed brows as he steps closer, now close enough to reach out and touch you, “Does it have something to do with me? Did I do something?” 

“Yes!” You suddenly exclaim, turning your head to look at him, “Yes, Mace, you did something!” 

What could he possibly have done? 

He’s been so careful, so vigilant in hiding his wants and needs, so hyper aware of ensuring that you only ever feel safe around him, that he honestly has no idea where he possibly could have overstepped. 

“What did I do?” He asks quietly, his eyes locked on yours as he speaks. 

You huff again, crossing your arms over your chest before you finally gather the courage, turning towards him as you angrily say, “Why the hell do you not want to have sex with me?!”

Mace snorts.

A loud, obnoxious sound that represents just how ridiculous the words coming out of your mouth right now are.

“What?” He asks with a chuckle, his lips lifting into an amused smile, “What did you just say?”

“I asked you,” you say with a stern tone as you look at him, your arms still folded over your chest, “Why you don’t want to have sex with me. Are you not attracted to me? Is that it?”

“Oh no,” Mace says, shaking his head as he feels a laugh building its way up his throat, “No no, it’s definitely not that.”

“Then what?!” You huff, throwing your arms up in exasperation, “Are you a virgin?! Because that’s fine if that’s the case, we can-”

“No!” Mace quickly interjects, the laugh that was building in his throat now swallowed and gone, “Absolutely not. I am definitely not a virgin.”

“Then what is it, Mace?” You ask, the look on your face pleading and almost exhausted as you look at him, “Why are you not interested in me? Why don’t you want to touch me?”

You trail off, your voice getting quieter with every word because you suddenly realize how pathetic you sound.

Are you really standing here, begging a man to have sex with you?

What has the world come to..

“Sunshine,” Mace says gently, reaching out to take both of your hands in his, “I am interested in you and I do want to touch you.”

“Then why don’t you?” You whine, your fingers automatically entwining with his, your head tilted downcast in embarrassment as you speak, “Did I do something that made you not want to?”

Mace’s heart practically breaks.

He’s been taking it slow for you, not even realizing that him doing that made you worried and upset because you thought it meant he didn’t want you.

The fact that you could even think that is in itself heartbreaking. In fact, it makes him almost feel sick to think about.

“Baby,” he whispers, taking a step closer before his hand reaches up to cup your cheek, tilting your head upwards until your eyes meet his, “You have no idea how much I want you. You are ridiculously sexy, and so fucking sweet, and kind, and smart... I’ve wanted you since the moment I first laid my eyes on you. But I was taking it slow because I thought that was what you wanted - I wanted to show you that I’m serious about this, that it’s not just about sex for me..”

“Oh..”

He’s just so...  Moody. That’s the only way to describe it. He’ll be in a bad mood as soon as he wakes up and it’s not just because he’s grumpy in the mornings. No, James Mace is grumpy all day long and it’s exhausting. 

Not to mention it’s impossible to get to know a person like that, they simply won’t let you. 

Which is a shame because from the first moment you laid your eyes on him, you’ve been infatuated by him. 

You knew the moment you saw him; your first thought was how beautiful he was, and how it really wasn’t fair. 

It’s not fair that his eyes are so blue, or that his jawline is so chiseled. It’s not fair, the way his back arches when he stands upright, pulling your attention to the muscles moving under the thin fabric of his shirts. It’s not fair that his arms bulge whenever he moves them around, usually because he’s yelling at someone animatedly because they did something he didn’t like. 

And it’s really not fair that you have to spend four years cooped up in a metal container next to him and not act on your urges. 

But from the very first day on Icarus II, you also knew that whatever confusing feelings you had, whatever sparkling electricity you felt whenever he looked at you, it was clearly one sided. 

That’s been clear since the very first day, because ever since then, he’s been nothing but mean. 

You’re working in the lab, tending to some of the plants that you’ve pulled out of the Garden because they needed some extra care, when a voice draws your attention. 

“Hey, Icarus notified me that I need to adjust some of the settings for the cooling system in here.” 

You turn your gaze towards him, your eyes dropping to how his broad chest moves with every breath, just for a moment. 

When you look back up at him, his eyes meeting yours, he has an unreadable expression on his face. 

You give him a quick nod before turning your eyes back to the plant in front of you, gently stroking the leaves as you spray it with water. 

Mace stands there for a moment, watching how your fingers delicately touch the green leaves on the plant in front of you, before turning towards the Garden. 

“Okay, then..” he mumbles to himself as he leaves the lab and walks through the glass door, entering the simulated space filled with plants and flowers, adeptly called the Garden. 

He doesn’t want to think about your reaction too much, or why you’re always so distant towards him. Part of him already knows why; he’s been pushing you away since day one and he can’t blame you for reacting accordingly. 

“How did this happen?!” He yells, his angry glare pointed at you, “What did you do?!” 

“I-” You stutter, looking at him wide-eyed, “I-I don’t know, I made a mistake, I guess, it wasn’t-” 

“You touched something!” He yells, gesturing towards the cooling system in the Garden, “Didn’t you?!” 

“N-no,” you stutter again, glancing towards your teammates as they run into the lab, reacting to the loud yelling, “No, I-I removed a plant, and, I don’t know, maybe it hit-”

“God damn it!” He yells, “Do you realize what could have happened if I hadn’t seen this by accident?!”

You cower at his loud voice, feeling the tears starting to brim in your eyes as you look at him, unable to respond. 

“Well?! Do you?!”

“Mace!” Kenada yells, “Stop that, you’re scaring her.” 

“She should be scared!” He yells back, “Could have damn near killed us all if I hadn’t been able to fix this in time!”

“I’m sorry,” you whisper meekly as Cassie walks closer, putting an arm around you. 

“Yeah, you should be sorry!” He says before turning around and storming out of the lab with a huff. 

“He’s just a grump, it’s alright,” Cassie says as a tear trickles down your cheek, “Don’t take it personally.” 

“It was an accident,” you whisper, looking towards the cooling system before your eyes move back to where his broad back is disappearing down the hall. 

He’s felt terrible ever since that day. It was right at the beginning, only about a week into the mission, and his emotions had bubbled up. 

He wasn’t really angry at you; he knew that. But he was frustrated, and scared, and part of him realizes now why he took it out on you. 

Because he knew that if something really had happened, if he hadn’t caught it, the fire would have started in the lab. The lab you spend practically all of your time in. 

And the fire would have taken you first. And even back then, during that first week of being on the ship, that thought terrified him - it shook him to the core. 

And that feeling hasn’t faded since. 

But he also knows there’s no way for him to fix it, now. He’s ruined it before it even had a chance to start. And he just has to accept that. 

Mace makes his way to the cooling system and gets to work on it while you stand in the lab, tending to a plant as your gaze flicks up once in a while, watching him move around, through the glass that separates you. 

You can see his back muscles move and flex whenever he bends his arm, screwing and unscrewing the different nozzles to find out which one is causing the problem. 

You’re halfway in a daze, caught up in the beauty of this brooding man before you, when the sound of the alarm pulls you out of it. 

You barely have time to react. 

The doors to enter the lab swiftly close, effectively locking you inside, and you watch as Mace runs towards the door to the Garden, rushing to make sure he doesn’t get locked in with all the plants. 

He barely makes it through; the glass door brushes his t-shirt as it slides closed, his breathing quick and shallow as he looks at you. 

Then his eyes turn towards the locked door to the lab and he grunts, “Damn it! We’re locked inside.” 

He huffs out a breath and turns back to look at you, but you’re just standing there, wide eyed and confused. 

He eyes you for a moment, holding your gaze as he says, “Icarus! Status report, what’s going on?” 

“Emergency lockdown,” Icarus’ calm voice booms through the room, “Sunshield error.” 

Mace sighs, catching his breath as he walks over to the communication screen, clicking on it a few times before he says, “Harvey, I’m locked in the bio lab. What’s happening?” 

“Minor mishap,” you hear Harvey respond over the comms system, “There’s an error with the sunshields so we’re on temporary lockdown. Need you to stay put until it’s fixed.” 

Mace groans, audibly annoyed by this information, before he mumbles out, “Fine, but you know where to find me if you need help.” 

“Sure do,” Harvey says before disconnecting, and Mace leans against the wall and slumps to a sitting position. 

You’re still standing next to the plant, touching the leaves unconsciously for comfort, as you look towards the locked door to the lab. 

“It’s fine,” Mace suddenly says, making you jump a little, “It’s routine. Nothing to worry about.”

“I wasn’t worried..” You mumble, turning back to the plants on your table, “Just surprised..” 

“Mhm, sure,” Mace responds, his fingers drumming on his knees impatiently as he sits on the floor of the lab. 

You take a deep breath, feeling uneasy from being in such close proximity of him with no means of escape. 

After a moment, his voice fills the silence again, his tone more gentle this time, “What are you doing?” 

You furrow your brows, looking at him over your shoulder. When your eyes meet, you can feel your heart beating a little faster, and it makes you turn back to the safety of the plant. 

“Tending to it,” you respond, your voice a quiet contrast to Mace’s deep one, “It needed extra care.” 

“Why?” Mace asks and the question makes your brows furrow further.

You shrug, “It wasn’t doing so well.” 

You don’t notice that he’s moved until you hear his voice right next to you, “What’s wrong with it?” 

His close proximity startles you and you look up at him in surprise, realizing that you’re now standing shoulder to shoulder. 

His eyes are on your fingers, holding the large leaf of the plant between them, before they lift to meet yours. He holds eye contact for a moment, his lips lifting into a small smile, before looking back down at the plant again. 

“Looks fine to me,” he says, narrowing his eyes slightly. 

You chuckle, your fingers delicately touching another leaf as you spray it with water, “Oh really?” 

“Yeah,” he says, his smile widening a little as he looks up at you before looking back at the plant, “It’s green. And big. Isn’t that a good thing?” 

That makes you giggle. You realize that most people don’t know much about the complexity of plants, and especially not ever since the earth practically froze over, but you find his words endearing. 

Your giggle brings a smile to his face and he turns his head to look at you properly as he grins, “What? Did I say something stupid?” 

You quickly shake your head, “No, no. Wasn’t stupid. Just kind of.. I don’t know, cute?” 

Mace holds his grin as he looks at you, and your cheeks heat up a little when you realize what you just said. You quickly dart your attention back to the plant, clearing your throat. 

“It was just.. sad. Plants are like people; they get sad and then they need some extra attention. And with a little bit of love and care, they feel better again,” you chirp, turning the plant to check that you’ve tended to it properly. 

You don’t notice how Mace’s eyes lift to your face at your words, or how his smile slowly turns into a softer, gentler one as he looks at you. 

“I didn’t realize that,” Mace quietly says, keeping his eyes on your face as you keep yours on the plant, “I thought they just needed water.”

“No, they need love and care, just like we all do. Without it, they fade out and die. At least, that’s what I believe.” 

“Yeah?” he asks, and the low sound of his voice makes you glance at him. 

“Yeah,” you say, your eyes locking with his. You spend a moment like that, looking at each other, and you can feel your heart beating in your chest. 

He’s so close, you can smell him, hear his heavy breathing. 

And the soft smile on his face makes him seem sweet, gentle. A vast contrast to his usually angry demeanor. 

But the moment disappears as quickly as it came. 

Because he breaks eye contact when the glass doors slide open, and Icarus says, “Emergency protocol over.” 

He shifts where he stands, his eyes darting to the now open doorway, before he looks back at you. 

“I uhm..” He starts saying, dropping his gaze to your hands for a moment before looking back at your face, “If I ever wanna learn more about.. plants, and flowers, and stuff.. Would you, uh, teach me?” 

You smile and nod, a soft chuckle as you speak, “Sure, I’d love to.”

“Okay, cool,” he says, his face splitting into a grin, “That would be-”

“Mace, you’re needed in the control room,” Icarus interrupts and his eyes flick towards the open doorway again. 

“Let them know I’m on my way, Icarus,” he replies before he looks back at you. 

“Maybe we could talk over dinner tonight,” he says quietly, looking at you, “You know.. About flowers. And plants.. I heard Trey is making chicken again so it would be a welcome distraction from that.”

He smiles and you feel your cheeks heating up slightly at the proposition.  

You nod, a shy smile playing on your lips, “Okay, sure. I’ll see you then.” 

“See you then,” he says before making his way towards the exit. 

Before he leaves, he turns around and says, “I think it looks better now, by the way. I guess that love and attention worked, huh?” 

“Yeah,” you say, glancing back at the plant before meeting his eyes again, “I guess so.” 

You have a soft smile on your lips as you bend down, resting on your knees as you stick your fingers into the dirt to check the moisture inside. The soil feels soft against the pads of your fingers, making you hum in delight as you pull them out and wipe them off. 

You take out your tablet to write down the results as Capa speaks again, “You’re doing a great job here, you know that?” 

That makes you break focus from your tablet, glancing over your shoulder to look at him with a beaming smile, “Thank you Capa, thats so sweet of you.” 

“Of course,” he says, mirroring your smile, “You know I’ve always been intrigued by this, I can’t imagine how complicated it must be to take care of all of this, ensuring that it’s just right.” 

You snort, “You’re in charge of a bomb thats so big, it’ll be able to bring the sun back to life. I don’t think I’m the impressive one here.” 

He laughs, a booming, cheerful sound as he shakes his head, “Okay, fine, but still. You’re very impressive.” 

You chuckle as you shake your head, pulling your attention back to your tablet as you say, “Right back at ya.” 

You don’t notice the doors to the Garden opening, and you don’t realize who’s walked inside until you hear Capa speak again. 

“Hey Mace,” he says, his tone a little more reserved than before but still polite, “What’s up?” 

You glance up from the screen at the mention of his name, your eyes searching for him for a moment until you spot him. 

He’s taking slow steps in your direction, his eyes shifting between yourself and Capa as he walks closer. When he speaks, his tone is less gentle than you’ve been used to these past few weeks, and it worries you slightly. 

“Hey, just passing by to see how everything was going..” 

He trails off as his eyes land on you, and you offer him a soft smile, to which he replies with a smaller one. 

Ever since he brought you to the Earth room a few days ago, and planted his lips on yours, it’s like all of your senses have been amplified. 

And now, every time you see him, there’s this prickling electricity coursing through your veins. 

But you haven’t kissed since - in fact, it’s like Mace has been keeping his distance a little, and he hasn’t stopped by the Garden as much. And whenever he did, it would only be for a short amount of time, and neither of you ever brought up what had happened between you that day. 

It made you nervous, because you were worried he might have changed his mind, regretted the kiss. But the worry wasn’t able to suppress the butterflies in your stomach or the prickling in your skin whenever you saw him. 

“I’m just checking in on the ferns,” Capa says with a chuckle, his eyes glancing from Mace to you, “I heard they were doing well so I wanted to see it for myself.” 

You giggle, sending Capa a teasing smile before turning back to your tablet as you say, “Yeah, the ferns are doing great. I’m almost jealous, they seem to be having a blast.” 

Your eyes are back on the tablet, which means you don’t notice how Mace’s jaw ticks when you giggle at Capa’s joke, and you miss the way his eyes narrow slightly as he glances at him. 

You also miss the way his fingers twitch to touch you, or the way his body is urging him to move closer to you, just so he can be in your vicinity. 

“That’s great,” Mace mumbles, glancing down at his feet as he shifts a little where he stands, “Glad they’re doing well.” 

You glance up to look at him, but his gaze is downcast so he misses the soft smile you send him. 

Capa watches the exchange between you two curiously, clearly noticing how theres been a shift in the air around all of you, and after a beat he says, “Well, I should be going back, anyway. Gotta run another simulation. Thanks for letting me check on the ferns.” 

You look up as he walks past you, sending him a smile and a wave before he leaves the Garden. 

As soon as the doors are closed, leaving you and Mace alone in the room, he speaks. 

“Hey.” 

You glance up at him, a soft chuckle as you speak, “Hey yourself.” 

You straighten up from the flowerbed you were kneeling next to, putting down your tablet as you say, “So, you wanted to see how everything was going, huh?” 

He hums, glancing away for a moment as he nods before taking a few tentative steps closer to you, “Yeah, I uh.. You know.. Wanted to check in on the... ferns.” 

You nod, chuckling quietly as you look at him, “Right. The ferns, of course. Well, they’re doing great, so no need to worry.” 

You’re about to turn away from him, to grab your tablet again, when a hand on your arm stops you. 

His large palm touches your upper arm gently, and his voice is soft as he speaks, “Okay, fine. It wasn’t about the ferns.” 

“Really?” You look at him with an amused smile. 

“Yeah, I uhm..” he takes another step closer, bringing him right in front of you, “I didn’t know how you felt about me coming to visit anymore, ever since.. you know..” 

Your brows furrow instantly, and you tilt your head slightly as you look up at him, “What do you mean?”

He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth as his eyes momentarily drop from your eyes to your lips, before meeting yours again. “I didn’t know if you were mad at me,” he whispers, “You know, for kissing you..” 

That makes you giggle softly, your hand instinctively reaching up to land on his bicep, “Why would I be mad at you for that?”

He shrugs, but his lips lift up in a smile as soon as you touch him, “Maybe you didn’t like it, or something..” 

“Oh I liked it,” you reply before you can stop yourself, and the grin that paints his face at your words make your cheeks heat up. 

“Oh, yeah?” He asks smugly. 

You nod coyly, your eyes dropping to his lips as you whisper, “Yeah..” 

When you look back up at him, his eyes have changed, the usual blue hue a little darker now, his pupils blown a little wider. 

You can sense it before it even happens; the tension between you fills the air, it’s almost like you can hear the electricity crackling. 

Your heart is pounding in your chest, your nerves making you feel almost breathless as you watch him lean in closer. 

Then, as his face is just a few inches from yours, he whispers, “Would you mind if I did it again?” 

You barely even manage to breathe out a no before he pulls you the rest of the way to him, his soft lips taking yours, molding against them. 

The kiss takes your breath away. It’s all-consuming and your mind gets hazy as your lips move with his, your hand on his arm squeezing a little, feeling as the soft muscle flexes slightly under your fingers. 

His arm wraps around your waist, pulling you flush against his chest, and a small moan makes it way past your lips at the feeling of being held so tightly. 

When he responds with a quiet groan, you can no longer hold back your urges, and you hesitantly bite down on his plump bottom lip, the same one that has been taunting you for the past six months. 

He pulls you closer, grunting slightly at the feeling as his other arm wraps around you as well. 

His arms are so strong around you, the kiss so intense, it makes you feel lightheaded and dizzy. 

But theres nowhere in the world you would rather be right now, than right here. 

“What do we do?!” You yell, watching as Icarus I slowly moves backwards, away from you. 

“We can get closer, but we won’t be able to dock again, it’s not stable enough to make a proper connection,” Cassie says with worry in her voice.

You can feel your heart pounding in your chest, making you nauseous and dizzy as you process her words. 

You watch as the large ship drifts away slowly but steadily, detached from the one you’re currently on. 

This wasn’t supposed to happen, it was supposed to be easy. 

When Harvey first spotted Icarus I, floating around fairly close to your trajectory, you all agreed that even though the crew would be long gone by now, it would do more good than harm to try and dock it, check it out. 

Perhaps you would even be able to gain another payload, doubling your chances of success. 

But now you’re sitting here, watching as the ship slips away, holding four of your crew mates hostage in the process. 

And even though you love every single one of them, one of them holds your heart in the palm of his hand. One of them takes care of it in a way that no one else ever could. 

So you watch as Icarus I slowly drifts further away, taking your heart with it.

Taking Mace with it. 

“So they can’t get back onto the ship?” You whisper in terror, watching Icarus I with wide eyes. 

“I don’t know,” Cassie replies solemnly, her and Kenada working overtime to try and regain control. 

“Cassie!” 

You hear Mace’s voice through the comms and it makes your heart stop, but also beat faster, all at once. 

“Cassie, I’m going to need you to bring the ship closer to us, we have a plan!” 

“What?” Cory asks, frowning as she looks at the ship in front of you, “You have a major leak and the airlock is destroyed. What is your plan?”

“There’s one suit left,” Mace says, his voice lower now as he speaks, “Capa’s taking it. He’ll be able to reach you even with the distance.” 

This time, your heart actually stops. 

One suit. And Capa’s taking it. 

Not Mace. 

“No,” you whisper, shaking your head as you watch the scene in front of you with wide eyes, “No, no, no.” 

“Copy that, Mace,” Cassie responds quietly, “We can get within twenty feet of you. I hope that’s enough.” 

“It’ll have to do,” Mace responds, his words quiet. 

It feels like everything is happening in slow motion as you sit there in the control room, watching that giant ship as it floats further and further away, taking everything you care about, with it. 

Mace’s mind is blank while he helps Capa get into the space suit. 

It’s like he hasn’t fully realized what’s happening, or what it means, and maybe that’s for the best. 

Because he knows that if he takes even a second to think it over, he’ll realize that letting Capa take this suit means he’ll never get to see you again. 

And he’s not in the right state of mind to handle that thought right now. 

It’s too painful. 

He’s closing some of the back parts on the suit when Harvey storms into the room. 

“What’s going on?!”

“Airlock is damaged,” Mace replies quickly, “We have no way of reconnecting with Icarus II. There’s one suit left, Capa’s taking it.” 

He continues closing up the suit, ensuring that it’s on tight, when Harvey speaks again. 

“Why Capa?”

Mace glances at him, his tone stern as he says, “The rest of us are lower priority.” 

“I’m not low priority!” Harvey yells, “I’m second in command!”

“You’re a communications officer on a ship that currently has no means of communication, Harvey,” Mace replies quickly, “And we already have a Captain.” 

“No!” Harvey yells, walking closer until he’s standing right in front of Capa, “Capa, I order you to take that suit off. Now!” 

“Harvey!” Mace yells, glaring at him from where he’s standing behind Capa, “Capa is the only one besides Icarus who can deploy the payload! He is more important!” 

“No!” Harvey yells again, “I have a family to get home to!” 

That makes Mace see red. Suddenly, the emotions that he was trying to keep at bay bubbles through him, and he can no longer hide what he feels inside. 

That terror that’s running through him like a poison, slowly killing him. It all reaches the surface at Harvey’s words. 

“You think you’re the only one who has people they want to get back to?! We all do! In fact, I have one, on board that ship right now,” he yells, pointing towards Icarus II, “And you don’t see me bitching about it! So shut the hell up and help us prepare the damn suit!” 

There’s quiet for a moment as Harvey looks around, first at Mace, then at Capa and eventually Searle. 

“There has to be another way,” Harvey says, his tone more reasonable now, “There must be a way.. This can’t be the end, it just can’t be..” 

Mace can feel the blood pumping through his veins, the adrenaline rushing through him. He wants there to be another way, too, of course he does. 

He needs to get back to you. 

He looks around, his eyes quickly darting around the room as realization suddenly dawns on him. 

“There might actually be one.. But it’s a long-shot.”  

“Cassie!”

When you hear Maces voice over the comms again it’s like your heart leaps into your throat. 

His tone sounds different, more hopeful than before, and you want to cling to that hope desperately. 

“The airlock can’t depressurize, which means it will shoot Capa right out once we open that door. Correct?” 

“Yes,” Cassie says, “That would be correct.”

“Okay, well, when he does.. We’re coming with him.” 

“Without suits?” Kenada urgently asks, “It’s minus 270 degrees celcius out there.”

“Yeah, I know,” Mace says, “But I think I have a way to make it work. Just make sure you’re ready for us, we’re going to need help once inside. Just get as close to us as possible - and keep it steady once you do. We’ll be blasting towards you quickly and without any means of stabilizing our direction.” 

“Got it,” Cassie says, quickly pressing on the buttons on the control panel, “I’ll get as close as I can.”

“Thanks,” Mace quickly says and it sounds like he’s about to disconnect, but then he speaks again, “Hey.. Sunshine? You there?” 

Your ears perk up at the sound of your nickname and you take a few quick steps closer before you reply, your voice low and a little sad as you speak, “Yeah, I’m here, Mace..” 

“I’m coming back to you,” he says, and you can hear the smile in his voice, “I swear, I’m coming back. You won’t even notice I was gone.” 

That brings a small smile to your lips and you nod slowly as you reply, “I believe you. And once you’re back, I’m not letting you out of my sight again. I hope you’re good with that.”

“Sounds perfect,” he says with a chuckle, “I’ll see you soon.” 

Then he disconnects and you feel your cheeks heating up once you notice your crewmates eyes on you. 

“Who would have thought fly-boy could be so... Sweet,” Cory says quietly as she watches your expression. 

You glance at her with a strained smile before turning your attention back to the ship ahead of you, still floating away. 

“He is very sweet. So please help me get him back..” 

“On it.” Cassie replies before she starts directing Icarus on where to go. 

You’re standing on the other side of the door to the airlock, watching as Capa bursts towards it, the others holding on for dear life. 

When they get to the opening, you watch as one of them breaks loose at the impact, and right as your breath hitches in terror, you watch as Capa quickly reaches out, grabbing the person before he tosses them inside. 

You exhale a huge sigh of relief when you watch all four of them arrive in the lock, raised in the air and then dropped harshly on the ground during decontamination. 

As soon as the doors open, you rush to their aid, Cory, Cassie, Kenada and Trey following closely behind you. 

You all scatter, running up to one of them each, and you know exactly who you’re going for when you hear the familiar sound of his painful groans. 

You’ve heard him get hurt too many times not to recognize that sound. 

You run up to him quickly, medical gear in hand, and as soon as you reach him you cover him with a blanket and bring out the heating liquid. 

“Mace, you’re okay! You’re okay!” You hurriedly say as you wrap him in the blanket. The sound he makes is a mix between a broken sob and a whimper when he brings his hand out to you, and you quickly notice the skin looking blue and damaged from the cold. 

You react within seconds, using the heating liquid on him as you repeat your words, “You’re okay, you’re okay,” over and over. 

He sighs in relief when he feels the heat run through his body, and it’s not until after a few minutes that the pain subsides and he finally has time to focus. 

His eyes lock on your face, his breathing still quick and shallow as he looks you over, but his lips lift into a smile as he says, “Told you I’d come back. Can’t get rid of me that easily.” 

You want to cry as you look at him, but you manage to return his smile before you quickly lean down to plant a gentle kiss on his lips. 

He reciprocates it, smiling into the kiss, and you lean back only enough for you to whisper, “Asshole. You’re never leaving me again, you hear me?” 

“Yes ma’am.”