Loving You
Damn they had to do a lot of dishes before they could call it a night, Jim thought as he and Carina were washing the last stack of plates one evening over a month into the voyage. He looked at his curly-haired friend, who appeared as ready to drop as he was. At least her shirt isn't soaked like it was last week, he reflected with a wry smile. Not that he'd actually minded, Jim mused, remembering how his heart had raced when Carina snuggled into his chest, and the heat in his cheeks as he'd looked down at her wrapped securely in his arms. Stop it. Jim chided himself as he reached for another plate to scrub. She's your friend, besides, anyone would want their friend to be warm. But he found himself watching her too often, gazing at her face even when she wasn't talking or laughing with him. Like right now. Jim mentally slapped himself when he realized he'd stopped washing dishes and was staring at Carina while she worked, at the way her curls stuck out from under her hat and how her lips pursed while scrubbing a particularly grimy dish.
Jim turned reluctantly back to his plate just as Silver swaggered in with an enormous armload of dishes. Gawking at the pile in dismay, Jim's sense of injustice roared as he gritted his teeth. Grabbing the biggest pot and scrubbing furiously, he was determined to live up to the cyborg's expectations no matter how unfair they were. Dozens of dishes later, Jim's eyes drooped and he thought briefly that he should tell Carina to go to bed while he finished up. It wasn't until he felt the sudden warmth of a large coat on his shoulders, and looked up to see Silver ascending the stairs, that Jim realized he'd fallen asleep hunched over a large pot. Jim felt a rush of gratitude towards the old cyborg, and thought that maybe he did have a kind heart underneath all that coarseness.
Belatedly noticing the uneven weight on his shoulders, Jim glanced down and smiled upon seeing Carina sound asleep against him. The cabin boy carefully picked up the sleeping girl, walking quietly back to the hammocks and laying her down tenderly. He stood there for a moment, overcome by how peaceful and beautiful she looked as she breathed softly. Before he could change his mind, Jim swallowed hard and quickly placed a feather-light kiss on her cheek before climbing into his own hammock, blushing madly.