Bellamy blinked as the cryo haze cleared from his vision and from his head. Everything was blurry, but he could make out a golden halo, hovering over him. "Clarke," he groaned, trying to sit up. "Did it work? Are we…"
She shook her head, holding him down with a bracing hand on his shoulder. "It's only been an hour. Just take your time. Sit still for a moment."
"Did something go wrong?"
"It's all proceeding as planned. There hasn't been enough time for everything to go to hell yet."
"But you woke me up."
"Yes."
"Who woke you up?"
"No one. I never went under."
"Why?"
She avoided his gaze. "I thought maybe…"
He wanted to help her get the words out, but he was honestly baffled. The mental fog was messing with his powers of deduction. And he found it much harder to get a read on Clarke these days, even at full capacity. She seemed hesitant. Almost shy. It was a side of her he had never seen before.
She took a fortifying breath and then reached for his hand. "Bellamy Blake. You're my best friend, and I miss you. I've been missing you for such a long time. I don't want to move another inch until we've caught up. Figuratively. Because I have no idea where the brakes are on this spaceship."
"I do. Raven showed me."
"Oh. Good. It makes sense to have a failsafe, to spread knowledge around the crew. To share responsibility."
"I could show you the emergency controls too," he offered quickly. He didn't need to be a mind reader to sense her vulnerability. It was all over her face. It made him uncomfortable. He was willing to teach her how to fly the whole damn ship, if he could just make it go away. He would have to teach himself first, but how hard could it be?
She forced a weak smile. "No. I'm glad that you know them. That's more than enough. I think I was just nervous about being in space again. All I needed was a little reassurance. Now we can both go back to sleep."
She hopped backwards away from his cot, then began walking down the aisle to her own. He could recognise it by the raised lid. It was so far away. Who had designed these sleeping arrangements? "Clarke!"
She turned back, a flicker of hope in her eyes.
"Some you-and-me time sounds great. Race you to the dining hall?"
They raced through the spaceship like maniacs, laughter and taunts trailing behind them. When the awkward nerves wore off, they walked and talked at a normal pace. For the first time they could remember, they had all the time in the world.