He watched her while he ate, but she didn’t stir. The poor thing was exhausted. After he had his fill, he put everything back into the box and set up another order of food for later.
With one appetite sated, he allowed his eyes to feast on Nova’s still form. He took in every detail on her face, including the swollen skin around her eyes. Dranker assured him that she’d be fine after a day, but it still hurt to look at her.
He couldn’t help feeling at fault. He should've thought of a better way to get her into the building. There was no excuse for his thoughtlessness, and yet she never blamed him. If anything, she was patient as he did his best to help her while waiting for Dranker.
She was even sympathetic when finding out about his sisters dying. He’d lost them over ten years ago, but the pain was still there.
Her touch had kept him from spiraling down into a dark place. It was vastly different from their passionate embrace in the shuttle. He craved more of both.
As he watched, she shifted in her sleep and slid a little sideways. She’d fallen asleep sitting up, and now her head was lolling at an odd angle that didn’t look comfortable at all.
Getting up, he leaned over the bed and gently shifted her. It didn’t take much effort, and soon she was comfortably lying down without ever waking up.
A wave of fatigue washed over him. There was another bed in the room that he could pull down from the ceiling, but it might make noise while deploying and wake Nova. The main bed in the room was large enough to accommodate them both, especially considering Nova’s small size. Yes, sharing the bed with her was a better choice.
That’s what he told himself, completely ignoring the part of himself desperate to stay close to her.
Grabbing a spare blanket, he manually dimmed the lights in the room and sat down next to her. Unfurling the blanket, he let it settle over both of them and lay back, letting out a deep, silent breath.
It felt good to lie down and even better to know Nova was right next to him.
Nova mumbled something, and for a moment, he thought she’d woken up. The way she shifted clumsily in her sleep told him that she wasn’t really awake. She ended up kicking aside the pillows elevating her ankles, rolling onto her side, and nestling against him.
She said something that wasn’t in Space Standard, then threw an arm over his chest and nuzzled her face against his arm. Then she went still again.
Her embrace felt as comforting as her sympathetic words had been earlier. He fell asleep more content than he’d ever been.
The door chiming woke him. He could’ve sworn only moments had passed, but a glance at his data bracelet indicated it was morning.
He looked over to see Nova sitting up and yawning. “What’s that?”
She didn’t seem to care that she’d woken up snuggled up against him. Was that a good sign or an indication that it didn’t mean anything to her?
“Breakfast,” he said, getting off the bed.
“Great, I’m starving!” she said, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.
“Don’t get up!” he barked, making her jerk and frown at him. Her face looked perfect again, all the red was gone, and her eyes were no longer swollen. But her ankle probably needed more time. If she tried to walk on it, she would delay the healing.
He softened his tone and pointed. “Sorry. Don’t get up because you might hurt yourself.”
She looked down and nodded. “It didn’t hurt so I’d forgotten about it. Looks like the bandage needs to be changed.” The door chimed again. “But after breakfast!”
“Yes, after food,” he agreed, feeling like he might be able to eat both the leftovers from last night and today's food all in one sitting!
Going to the door, he ordered it open and found two Fielden standing in the hall, both carrying boxes on their backs.
“I have your food,” one of them said, shrugging his box off and handing it to Miran.
The other one took off his box but didn’t hold it out. It looked longer than the food box by a third.
“I have all the supplies you requested. They’re in individual compartments so you can inspect them before putting them all away in the travel box we’ve provided.” He pointed to the bottom of the box where there was a seam. “See, the travel box detaches there and is yours to keep. The sales box will be collected with the food boxes.”
“Hi ladies!” Nova called from the bed. “Thank you for delivering everything. May the sand always be at your back and your family at your front.”
Both Fielden leaned over to look around him at Nova.
“Thank you for the blessing, stranger,” one of them said.
