I own nothing except the voices in my head.
This story was written in response to Bradbury Jar prompts 142-154 at Gatchamania
"Princess, this is Mark, got your ears on?" The commander frowned at the bracelet on his wrist when it remained stubbornly silent. "Princess, respond." He tried again, but there was still no response. Concern etched itself onto his face; it wasn't like her to fail to answer his private messages. Worrying that something was wrong, Mark stalked through Center Neptune searching for the silent swan. Poking his head into the ready room, he saw Tiny working his way through a pile of spaceburgers while Jason sat on the couch and thumbed through a racing magazine.
"Hey guys, have either of you seen Princess recently?"
Tiny mumbled something incoherently through his mouthful of food. Getting the impression that it was a negative response, Mark merely raised an eyebrow at the Phoenix's pilot and decided to save the lecture on manners for another time. Sighing, he turned to Jason, hoping for a better answer. Jason turned the magazine's page before answering his commander, not bothering to look up. "I think she mentioned something about Zark asking her for input on some explosive mixtures earlier, but that was a few hours ago. I haven't seen her since."
Realizing that he wasn't going to get any more help out of his teammates, Mark shook his head, turned on his heel, and set off towards the explosives lab. Reaching the outer doors, he keyed in his access code. As the entry opened for him, he darted a glance around the room and smiled at the sight before him. Princess was sitting at one of the lab tables, sleeping peacefully with her head pillowed on her crossed arms. He quietly made his way over to her and squatted down at the end of the table silently watching her. Mark rarely got an opportunity to see her completely relaxed and this one wasn't going to be squandered. After a few minutes, he remembered where they were and the risk of being caught like this spurred him into motion.
Reaching out, he tenderly swept a few strands of dark hair back from her face as he drank in the scene before him for one last moment. Standing up, he considered waking her and sending her to her quarters, but then thought better of it as a slow grin spread across his face. Moving carefully so he wouldn't wake her, Mark gently lifted Princess into his arms and cradling her to his chest, he carried her to her room. He used his override code to open the door, barely waiting for it to retract fully before crossing to her bed. He laid her on the mattress and, after sliding her shoes from her feet, lovingly tucked the plush blankets around her. Princess moved slightly, burrowing deeper into the comfort of her bed, but as he turned to leave, Mark heard her murmur his name softly.
He stopped and slowly twisted around to face her again. Her arm was reaching out for him, as she repeated her call, "Mark, don't go…" In the near darkness of her room, Mark couldn't tell if her eyes were open or if she was merely talking in her sleep. Not sure what to do, he simply stood there for a moment and waited though he wasn't sure what he was waiting for. When he heard her whisper, "please…", he took a step back toward the bed. Slipping off his shoes, he laid down next to her. Princess shifted to place her head on his chest and sighed contentedly as she draped her arm across his torso. Not knowing what to do next, Mark slipped one hand under his head and wrapped his other arm around her shoulders, holding her as she slept. He only meant to stay for a few minutes, until he was sure she wasn't going to awaken as he left. Instead, the comfort of the bed beneath him and the soft warmth of the woman snuggled against him lulled the commander to sleep as well.
This chapter was inspired by fanart by Springie titled Sleeping Beauty. Check it out on her deviantArt page!
