#space mark

"Hand me that socket wrench?"

You weren't entirely sure why he asked for your help on this. Mark was more than capable of the usual maintenance a ship this size demanded by himself. Aside from his… quirks his work was impeccable. Hell, you could probably find half a dozen other things that needed your attention more than handing him tools. You didn't mention it.

"This one?" You held one out to him, low enough that he could see it with the mass of machinery he was under.

"That'll work."

As he reaches out to grab it, his fingers skim along your palm. It's just for a second, hardly any contact at all. Still you startle, accidentally jerking the wrench back a bit.

"Sorry," you hurried to push it back into his hand, feeling ridiculous.

Your only response is a quick thanks, Mark quickly going back to his work. Mentally you slapped yourself. It was ridiculous to be this jumpy around one of your crew. You were their captain for crying out loud, this wasn't even appropriate. Why did you even say yes to this?

Apparently, Mark had been banned from using the power tools. For what reason you couldn't actually get out of him but the padlock on the storage cabinet they were kept in was enough of an answer. So, much to Mark's annoyance, he was forced to use exclusively manual tools. He'd grabbed you on your way to the bridge, pushing the old toolbox into your hands. The head engineer wouldn't hear any arguments. True, it wasn't technically your shift on the bridge but still.

Mark called your name, insistent. With a start you realized he had been for a while now.

"Sorry what?"

"I said this one's too big, can you hand me the half inch?" Then after a beat, "Are you okay? You seem… distracted."

"I'm fine," you focus on finding the tool he needs, ignoring how the man has his head at such an awkward angle to try and look your way. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"… everything," you said, keeping it vague. Unhelpful.

There were way too many ways that he could interpret that. The journey, the colony you were supposed to be leading, the loops. Plenty of actual, real world issues that could be occupying your mind. Certainly not your childish crush on the man. Really, it wasn't out of the blue that you found yourself getting closer to him. The adventure, the tears, the whole thing lead to an easy camaraderie you treasured. Or at least you'd thought it was just that. This, now? This didn't feel easy.

As you dig around in the tool box there's a dull thud, a muttered curse, and then the sound of fabric against metal as Mark worked his way out from under the machinery. You felt your face burn. While you were handy enough to fix some basic software issues you weren't familiar with the hardware. At all.

"Sorry," you apologize, scowling at the tool box like it was at fault, "can't find the right-"

"Tell me what's really wrong."

Your head shoots up and suddenly Mark was much closer than you realized. Were you that obvious? He was crouched down right next to you, brows furrowed and tapping his fingers against his knee.

"Nothing is-"

"Cut the shit, captain, I can read you like a book. Hell, you're a picture book." He ignores your insulted scoff. "You're distracted, you're fidgety as hell, and you're avoiding me like the plague."

"What?" You couldn't keep the surprise out of your voice and Mark's expression sours. "I haven't been avoiding you, I have a whole ship to run, Mark."

"Uh huh," the engineer seemed less than convinced. "And I'm sure you've got a good reason for assigning completely opposite shifts for us? I'm a night owl but this is a little ridiculous."

"The ship's been through it!" You said. Even you were able to pick up how defensive you sounded but it wasn't like that! "Just the small stuff will take a week or so not to mention trying to get the Invincible ready for planet fall-"

"Captain you haven't even been eating lunch with everyone," Mark cuts in, words quick and snappy, "and I remember coming in for breakfast and seeing you running right out. At the same time."

"Mark it isn't like that-"

"Well what is it like?" He throws his hands up. "Just tell me! This whole thing is just because you," he pokes you, none too gently at that, "haven't said anything and you clearly have a problem with me. So spill it."

On some level, you knew he was just frustrated. Probably due in part to the odd shifts you'd been putting him on and the resulting lack of sleep. But still something inside you wrankled at his words. It tugged at things that shouldn't be. Or maybe it was just the fact that the last time he blamed you for something…

"My only problem with you right now is that you're being an asshole, Mark. Just drop it!"

Blinded by the dizzying sting of what was going through your head, you don't pay attention as you stand up. Your foot lands on the wrench, that wrong sized one you hadn't put back into the box. It slipped with a rough clatter. Suddenly your feet weren't underneath you. You see Mark's eyes go wide, trying to catch you. From his half crouched position, he doesn't have the leverage to actually pull you up. So he goes down with you.

The two of you crash into the floor. Hard. You can feel the pattern in the middle digging into your back. Your elbows stung, you knew you were gonna bruise where your shin caught the machinery. The weight on top of you was solid and heavy for a moment, just a moment, before Mark was scrambling up and off of you. You're left on the floor, staring up at him. The view was one you'd experienced only one other time.

But this time he offered you a hand. It was a quick thing, almost like he'd forgotten in the midst of the embarrassment. Probably embarrassment right? His face did seem a little red.

"You okay?" He asks, louder than he intended apparently as he follows with a quieter, "Sorry. For- yeah…"

All you could muster was a shake of the head. Not only was that whole thing almost straight out of a rom-com, you were uncomfortably reminded of what happened in the warp core. Your brain hadn't decided how you felt about all that still.

"Right, well…" Mark said, slowly letting go of your hand. You hadn't realized he was still holding it. "Sure you have something better to do than acting as assistant."

You open your mouth to deny it on reflex but Mark was already turning back to his work. Whatever it was, it had passed. Another beat of hesitation. You could tell him. The warp core and afterwards, how you hadn't meant to avoid him, how you were just trying to figure things out.

But you didn't.

Swallowing those poisonous apologies, you bid him a quick and stilted goodbye before retreating. The what ifs were too many. It could go over well but on the other hand… You tried to ignore how loudly your footsteps echoed off the metal floor. They beat at your ears in condemnation as you decided to leave things where they were.

“ Burt, How long have ya had that camera?”  He slid a cigar into his mouth and lit it. Burt shrugged his shoulder, “ The whole time, I don’t know how you havent noticed I wasn’t exactly hiding it. “ 

CC shook her head and answered, “ It's because these two knuckle heads were too focused on trying to blow things up.” Mark of course was offended, but before he could make a comeback Gunther put a hand over his mouth. 

“ Ya think we could see the photos that you have on there, eh Burt.” He asked, seeing it was a digital camera. Burt nodded and put the picture up on a small tablet that was in the room. 

Most of them were of the crew or parts of the reactor, but one stood out to all of them.

It was a picture of you, their captain, with a soft smile on your face on the bridge looking out onto space. The light of a nearby moon illuminated your features with a soft glow. Almost immediately they were asking Burt if he had any more pictures of the captain. He did not, but he said he could take more. 

“ Well what If we want to take a picture of Captain, I’m sure I could get an amazing candid being their second hand and always being around them.” Mark stated, hands on his hips. CC shook her head, 

“ Yeah we’d let you take pictures if we wanted blurry unfocused shots. You know nothing about cameras, Mark.” She argued, “ I, on the other hand, have experience with cameras, considering I set up the security cameras in each of the cryo pods.”  Gunther let out a hefty laugh at this. 

“ Like you’d be able to hold the camera steady. Obviously I'd be the best for the job, I’m great at targeting and holding things steady. “ Gunther said waving a gun, “ I also have quite the experience in “shooting””. Everyone let out a groan at the bad pun. CC offered a solution,

“ Well, How about this? Everyday someone gets to have the camera and we can all try to get good photos of the captain. “ Burt shrugged and pointed out, “ Not like that would be hard, They are quite stunning.”  The others shook their heads in agreement.

Mark’s face then lit up, and he said “ What if we made it a competition? Whoever gets the best picture of the captain they win. “ Gunther shook his head, 

“Burt would obviously win, it's his camera, he knows it best.” Gunther agured, and Burt shook his head and offered, 

“ What if it’s whoever captures the captain's beauty/ and or handsomeness best?” Burt offered.

Everyone one else murmured agreements. 

Mark clapped his hands together, “ Then It’s settled whoever has the best picture of the captain wins.” 

On the first day CC had the camera. The majority of her pictures were of you working. Her favorite picture was of you looking over the colonist being illuminated by the cool lighting of the room as you placed a gloved hand on the window fog around your body. She had been pretty confident she was going to win this.  

The next day was Gunther. He spent the whole day making you laugh and smile, mostly illuminated by the light of the ADS system. He was scheduled to show you how well the ADS was working and this meant you and him watching a bunch of asteroids get blown up by big ass lazers. 

The smile on your face when he handed you the control and let you shoot a few asteroids down was amazing and a close second to his favorite. You had put down the control and smirked as you looked at the destroyed steroids with your arms crossed. You looked like you came straight out of an action movie that for some reason would always cast the most attractive people to be the main character. Gunther had to take a picture.

You knew they were taking pictures of you, it was obvious. You didn't mind though, you would love to have pictures to remember the time in space. (Not like you would forget but still).You didn’t try to pose though, You had important work as captain and couldn't be posing all day as much fun as that would be. 

As the next day came it was finally Mark’s turn, to say he was excited was an understatement. He was practically bouncing off of the walls and this put you in a good mood. Mark was always positive but seeing him excited made you happy. It reminded you of how amazing it was that you were both here in space. 

As the day went on Mark took pictures everywhere and of everything you did. He had a picture of you sleepy and drinking your coffee, but he also had a picture of you giving out orders with a kind but determined look on your face. He wasn’t lying when he said he would take candids of you. He had one of you sipping your coffee and looking at him from the mug, one of you giving finger guns to Gunther. He was so proud of them all, but then the best picture came. 

You were walking to Life support, a small hobby of yours was tending to the plants in there when you had free time. Though as you opened the door you saw Burt’s second hand Tyler. Much like Burt he was calmer and more kept to himself, so you were surprised to see him there. It was after what was considered the “Work” day for them, which is why you were wearing a simple black shirt and your normal black pants. Mark usually hung around you after the work day had ended, not that you minded at all. 

“ Oh Hello Tyler, what brings you here?” you asked picking up a watering can, Tyler rubbed the back of his neck standing in front of an area that held plants. 

“ Well Captain, while Burt and I were collecting samples from passing planets we found something that I thought you might enjoy.” Tyler blushed a bit , “ This is just a gift from Burt and I thank you for being a good captain. “ 

Tyler stepped to the side and it was revealed he had planted a glowing white flower, shaped similarly to your favorite flower. You placed a hand over your heart, as you walked over to the plant. 

“ We did scans and we are a hundred precent sure it is safe to have aboard.” he said as you gently ran your fingers over a petal, the petal turning your favorite color. ( Mark did take a picture of this of course). 

You stood up with a soft smile, you wrapped an arm around his shoulder in kind of a side hug and said, “Thank you, this means alot to me Tyler.” Your kind eyes sparkled, colors from different plants lit your face, but the most noticeable was the glow of the new flower. Mark quickly took a picture, and then for the first time that day put the camera away and watched with a smile. He thought you deserve so much more than you're willing to accept, so it’s nice seeing this. A soft smile covered his face as he looked at your beaming smile, no picture could ever do you justice. There was no way to capture the feeling of the moment with a camera. 

You released Tyler to get a closer look at the flower and Mark had to stifle a laugh. Tyler stood there face red, mouth slightly agape, and his body as stiff as a board. Mark put a hand on his shoulder. Tyler turned to him and quietly but quickly said, 

“ I’ve gotta go.” Tyler rushed out of the room, Mark shrugged and turned back to you. 

The rest of the night was you two talking about plants in the life support room. 

The next day it was Burt's turn. He mostly took pictures of you interacting with the crew. Though he did get a nice photo of you looking at the reactor, which he personally loved. He wasn’t able to take many pictures as it was a busy day, though it was worth it to have the next day “off”. 

As the next day rolled around it was finally time to look at the pictures of you and it was fair to say everyone was excited. You had no idea what was going on as of the moment. They had all decided to meet in the cafeteria and go through the photos. 

The whole time they were commenting about how amazing you looked, and how it was crazy how you looked this good all of the time. Light blushes on each of their cheeks as they went through the photos. That was until they landed on Mark’s photo of you on life support. 

Everyone's jaws dropped as they looked at the photo. Everything was amazing, your smile, slight blush, your casual clothes, and the lights dancing in your eyes. 

As if on cue you walked into the cafeteria and saw the group of people. You walked over and placed a hand on Mark’s shoulder, 

“ Hey, what’s going on….” Your voice drifted off as you saw what they were all looking at. You blushed a bit and motioned for Mark to move so you could sit next to him, which he did. 

“ Wow, I didn't think I could look that good.” you commented. You then asked Burt, 

“ Do you think I could look at them?” You were aware Burt had a camera and would occasionally take pictures, but considering the amount of time you saw that camera the last week you were curious. 

They handed you the camera and you started to go through the photos, they were all of you? A surprised look appeared on your face,

“ Not that I mind much, but is there a reason why there are so many pictures of me?” you asked light heartedly, before continuing “ If you wanted to get a close look you all could’ve just asked.” you let a small smirk fall on your face, as the rest of them blushed. 

“ Uh, well, Captain, we all had a competition to see who could get the best picture of you.” CC said, and Gunther interrupted with, 

“ We all thought we could get the hottest picture of you and so we had a competition is what she really means cap’n” 

You let out a little laugh, “ Oh, so that's what this is about huh?” They nodded their heads yes, and your smirk turned into a smile.

“ Well I must say, I am flattered you all.” you then looked down at the picture of you that Gunther took with your arms crossed, 

“ So you find me doing my job hot , huh? ” you teased Gunther and for the first time he went speechless.You let out a small laugh,

 Though you found yourself looking at a picture Mark took of just you looking at the plants.. 

“ I was just looking at plants.” You turned to mark with a smirk, “ you're really swooning over me looking at plants, huh? I could've done more than look at plants with you Mark, but I don't think you're ready for that yet, head engineer" You winked and slung an arm around his shoulders. Mark turned red, the other laughed a bit. Though the conversation quickly changed to possibly taking some pictures of other crew members and printing out the picture they took.As the conversation went on you eventually removed your arm from Mark’s shoulders. Though Mark couldn’t hear any of the conversation.

His senses were overwhelmed by you, your stunning smile, eyes shining brighter than any star, and your calming voice that sounded like heaven to him. He could smell the body mist you wore everyday, the one he got you as a gift. As if he wasn’t yearning for you enough, you turned to him and gave him a soft smile. He took a deep breath as you placed your hand over his, moving to sit closer to him. All he could feel was your leg pressed against his and your hand on his. Your ungloved hand holding his. He honestly thought he was going to explode, the one coherent thought he was able to form was, 

“ I think I love them.” 

Eventually the others left to enjoy their day off. Not that Mark noticed, all he noticed was you turning to him. 

“ You okay Mark? You were unusually silent.” you asked, he gulped and spoke

“ Yeah, um, yeah I’m doing great captain.” you blushed a bit before saying, 

“ Uh, I wanted to say this sooner but I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable earlier with my flirting. “ A sheep smile on your face. Mark’s eyes wided before he shook his head and exclaimed, 

“ No, No, No I was absolutely comfortable with it, captain. It was amazing, You're amazing.” his face turned red as he registered what he said. Before he could say anything you looked at him in surprise, before quickly taking his hand and leading him to the life support room. You needed to be alone with him for this. 

“ I’m sorry I didn-” marked started before you cut him off, 

“ Did you mean it?” you asked, 

“ Mean what?” he questioned 

“ Do you …think I'm amazing?” you clarified and gently took his hand standing in front of him. Mark took a deep breathe before answering, 

“ I do, you're the most amazing person I know. You're kind, strong, funny, smart and loyal. You're the best captain, but you're also the best person I know.” He gently raised the hand that was holding his and pressed a kiss to your knuckles. 

“ You are so stunning in so many ways. You have no idea what you mean to me (y/n).” he stated, using your real name for the first time in a long time. 

Your voice went soft as you said, “ Mark, I- “ you paused stepping closer. 

“ Tell me if this is crossing a line, but I think I love-” before you could finish your sentence Mark pulled you into him and kissed you. He placed a hand on your lower back and one on your face cradling your cheek. Your arms wrapped around his body as you both shared a gentle but passionate kiss. You leaned into him, trying to be impossibly close to him. He did the same as he moved his hand to the back of your neck and tilted your head gently making the kiss more passionate than gentle. He started to back you up when-

“CLICK” 

You and Mark pulled back to see Burt and the others standing there. Mark let an annoyed look cross his face , as a  blush covered your face. Gunther chuckled then said, 

“ Oh don't mind us Cap’n, we're just capturing the moment. “ You then provided to hide your face in Mark’s chest. Mark shook his head before grabbing your hand and leading you out of the room and to your private office. ( Which you didn’t use very much).

You let out a groan and say, 

“ Oh stars Mark, that was so embarrassing, what are they going to think of me?” you then shook your head, “ I mean I’m not ashamed to be with you or anything it’s just we got walked in on.” 

You let out another groan of embarrassment as Mark laughed lightly and pressed a kiss to your head. 

“ It’s a little embarrassing, but at least now we can’t be interrupted.” He said as he leaned in for another kiss, you happily met him in the middle.

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