The power was out.
Adric knew that there was nothing wrong, except for the fact that the Doctor was probably messing with the TARDIS again, but something niggled at his mind, a deep dread that threatened to overwhelm him. He'd never, he realized, been in total blackness. There had been times when the overhead lights were turned off on the Starliner, but there were always some small lights along the walls.
Adric waved his hand in front of his face and realize, sickeningly, that he couldn't see it. If he hadn't been able to squeeze it into a fist and experience the pressure, he wouldn't have been able to tell it was there. That unnerved him to no end.
He felt his way along the TARDIS corridors, often painfully colliding with the walls. The usual humming of the TARDIS was quiet, and the only sounds were his footsteps, breathing, and the occasional muttered curse when he hit a wall. He felt completely alone and increasingly nervous.
"Hello?" he asked. "Nyssa? Tegan? Doctor?"
No-one answered. Adric shivered, despite the fact that it was a perfect temperature in the TARDIS. Where was everyone? The TARDIS couldn't be that big… could it? Adric shivered again.
The Doctor had mentioned at one point that the TARDIS was infinite. In that case, he could be trapped in the dark for hours, maybe even days, maybe even forever. His breathing became more haggard at the thought of wandering around in the pitch black until he finally dropped dead. He didn't want that. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to die alone.
He felt his chest seize up, and he had to gasp for air. Did the power outage include the oxygen? What if he suffocated? He felt dizzy all of the sudden and sat down hard.
"No…" he muttered, covering his face. The feeling of dread was eating away at him, and he was sure there was less oxygen than there was a few minutes ago. Why else would he be having such a problem breathing? He was going to die, he was sure of it. He was going to suffocate somewhere in between time, all alone, completely blind. What a way to go.
He felt his eyes become hot and sticky as he choked back a sob. He didn't want to die like this, unable to see anything. Why?
"Adric?" a familiar voice brought a wave of relief over Adric.
"N-Nyssa?" he choked out. He heard footsteps that weren't his own come closer to him. "I'm here." They stopped, and he felt something soft and warm brush against his ear, then make a firmer contact with the side of his face.
"Were you crying?" she asked. Adric shook his head, but realized shakily that she couldn't see him.
"N-no…" he muttered. "Why would you say that?
"Your face is wet."
"Um… W-well," he said, fumbling for an expanation. He felt Nyssa sit down net to him.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" she asked.
"I-I don't know…" said Adric weakly. "I've never been in darkness like this before. I guess I am…" he felt a pair of warm arms wrap him into a hug. Nyssa smelled nice, with some floral scent that he couldn't place. It was comforting to know she was there. He felt his chest loosen up, and found that he could breathe freely again. He hugged her back, hesitantly, and she chuckled slightly.
"It's perfectly natural to be afraid of the dark," she told him gently, rubbing his back.
"And embarrassing…" he grumbled. She tittered, and he felt his face heat up. At least something good came out of the fact that they couldn't see each other. He hated it when she laughed at him, it made him feel stupid.
"There's the Adric I know and love," she said. There was an awkward silence as what she'd said ran through their heads. The Adric she knew and loved? Had she really just said that?
"Um…" she muttered. "What I meant was-"
"It's fine," Adric said quickly. They sat in silence for a few more minutes.
"I'm glad you're here."
"What do you mean?" Nyssa asked, curiously.
"Well, I'm glad you're here, on the TARDIS, and I'm glad you're here… with me… right now… I'm just glad you're here.
"Oh. Well, I'm glad you're here too," said Nyssa.
"…Really?" asked Adric. "Thanks Nyssa… That means a lot to me." He realized about three seconds later that he sounded insincere, so he wracked his brain for something else could say. "It really does, especially coming from you."
"Oh…" Nyssa mused, her voice somewhere between a hum and a nervous chuckle. "That's… um… thank you." Adric groaned. "What is it?"
"N-nothing," he said nervously. Suddenly, the lights flickered on and they blinked at the sudden brightness.
"Well," said Nyssa. "It looks like the lights are fixed."
"Yeah," said Adric. He looked at Nyssa, Nyssa looked at him, and they noticed that they were still hugging. They awkwardly pulled apart and stood up.
"Well…" said Nyssa nervously. "Um, I guess we should go to our rooms then. It's late."
"No!" yelped Adric. Nyssa looked at him, slightly alarmed. "I mean…" Adric peered down at the floor and scratched the back of his neck. "It's not that late… Couldn't we watch a movie or something?"
"Adric?" asked Nyssa. "Is there something wrong?"
"…I… just want to… spend some more time with you," he grumbled. Nyssa smiled and took his loose hand, squeezing it with a comforting pressure. Adric's head shot up and he stared at her, a faint pink blush tinging his cheeks.
"I'd love that," she said truthfully. "Tegan recommended a movie to me, why don't we watch that one?"
"That…" Adric's lips curled up into a small grin. "That sounds… great." Nyssa tugged him down the hallway, babbling about how they could fix some snacks, like an earth treat called popcorn, before getting ready. Adric just grinned. How could he be so silly as to think he could ever be alone on the TARDIS?
"Marry me," he whispered.
"What?"
"N-nothing!"
Bloody: Another Fic Monopoly piece. This one had to have a 1000 word minimum, and the prompt was 'blind'. Also, there was Nysric because those kiddos are cute together-
Unicorn Plushie: Kiddos? They're about the same age as you are!
Bloody: Hush. And the 'Marry Me' part was brought on by Hetalia and Attack on Titan. *cough* Belarus and Ymir *cough* Admit it, it's cute. :3
Unicorn: You're going soft. TT Anyway, she doesn't own it. At all.