A/N: Written for FemFeb this year. Ship requested by moosetashioedmonocle, who simply wanted some lesbian wife lovin'.
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If she said something now, if she argued just right, Lug thinks she could actually convince Anode to settle down.
They're curled up together on their recharge slab, settled against the bulkhead with Lug pressed to Anode's chest for a change and Anode's longer limbs tucked around her. Their latest close call is mere hours behind them, its echoes still ringing through their plating as persistent aches. A cursory run through what passes for the washracks aboard their dinghy of a ship cleared away the most visible traces but neither of them had been up to a scrub and she's sure Anode's joints feel just as gunky as Lug's do. The sporadic flexing of her fingers as they skim along Lug's seams tells on her; she'd needed to keep her hands immaculate during her medical schooling and it's a habit that no amount of digging through ruin can shake out of her.
Anode's gone quiet, as she does when she's comfortable enough to have nothing to say. She hums as she nuzzles against the side of Lug's head, nearly matching the frequency of her purring engine. This time between jobs and adventures is always pleasant, aftereffects of their struggles notwithstanding, belonging as it does to the two of them.
It could be this way more often, Lug might say. They could find themselves someplace just as quiet, find steady work and a home for two. They could finish every day by settling in together, clean, without worrying underneath it all whether the autopilot is taking them where they think it is. They could get comfortable outside, watch the stars twinkle through atmosphere and count all the places they never had a chance to explore.
Lug wiggles until Anode loosens her grip enough that Lug can turn in her arms and tuck her legs up over Anode's hips. Her hands settle over Lug's hips in turn and when her fingers curl into Lug's seams this time, it's nothing to do with dirt. Lug smooths her hands over Anode's shoulders and leans in to murmur along her jaw, "Alright– where to next?"