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Challenge 042 (whyyyy can't I remove the wrong tag?)
Story title: Night on Mars
Author: Ingvild
Word count: 450
Rating and warnings: Safe for everyone
Characters and/or pairing: Zechs/Noin
Summary: Zechs adjusts to life on Mars
Night at Mars comes when they turn off the sun mirrors. The hours of the day has been more or less based on Earth, in order to create a slightly more familiar environment. It is only mildly successful. Mars, the planet, is red and dusty and strange, and no matter of control of light will change that.
Nighttime, then, arrives with dark and cooler temperatures, but with protection suits necessary whenever one goes outside, the chill is unnoticeable. But after a long day of hard work, knowing when the end of it has been marked is a surprisingly large relief.
Zechs retires for the day back to the small, three-room apartment he shares with Noin. Space for housing is a precious commodity here on Mars, and the extra room which they use as an office is a rare luxury only afforded to them as the Preventers’ delegation on the planet.
Noin emerges from the vibro shower, looking extremely pleased to be rid of the day’s sweat and dust which can’t be kept out. She always looks refreshed after a vibro shower, while Zechs still misses water. He has learned to live with constant water shortage, but doesn’t like it.
He sacrificed his long hair the first week. No-one on Mars can afford wearing their hair long. It gets in the way inside the helmets, it attracts the constant red dust which always gets dragged indoors, and it is hard to keep it clean and healthy properly. There are not yet any proper hair products for vibro showers, with even the colonies having water showers available.
But as they finish the evening clean-up, and snuggle into bed together to get some sleep, Zechs can’t care too much that he’s had to make sacrifices. Noin sighs happily as she falls asleep, and she feels warm and comfortable next to him in bed. Her dark eyelashes smudge against her cheeks, and her short hair feels soft under his fingers as he strokes it back.
As the Preventer-in-charge on Mars, Noin has her shares of worries, but when she sleeps, she looks peaceful. Zechs looks at her and wonders how he ended up with the opportunity to look at that sweet, sleeping face every night.
Mars is a strange, alien place, but Zechs thinks that it has become his new home nonetheless. Noin and her comfortable rhythm makes it a home.
Zechs lifts her hand to his lips and kisses her fingers gently. Noin sighs in her sleep. Zechs smiles and snuggles in next to her, letting sleep capture him as well.
Night at Mars is artificial, and evening grooming rituals are new and somewhat uncomfortable, but the sleep is deep, peaceful and genuine, and sleeping next to Noin makes everything else worth it.
Author: Ingvild
Word count: 450
Rating and warnings: Safe for everyone
Characters and/or pairing: Zechs/Noin
Summary: Zechs adjusts to life on Mars
Night at Mars comes when they turn off the sun mirrors. The hours of the day has been more or less based on Earth, in order to create a slightly more familiar environment. It is only mildly successful. Mars, the planet, is red and dusty and strange, and no matter of control of light will change that.
Nighttime, then, arrives with dark and cooler temperatures, but with protection suits necessary whenever one goes outside, the chill is unnoticeable. But after a long day of hard work, knowing when the end of it has been marked is a surprisingly large relief.
Zechs retires for the day back to the small, three-room apartment he shares with Noin. Space for housing is a precious commodity here on Mars, and the extra room which they use as an office is a rare luxury only afforded to them as the Preventers’ delegation on the planet.
Noin emerges from the vibro shower, looking extremely pleased to be rid of the day’s sweat and dust which can’t be kept out. She always looks refreshed after a vibro shower, while Zechs still misses water. He has learned to live with constant water shortage, but doesn’t like it.
He sacrificed his long hair the first week. No-one on Mars can afford wearing their hair long. It gets in the way inside the helmets, it attracts the constant red dust which always gets dragged indoors, and it is hard to keep it clean and healthy properly. There are not yet any proper hair products for vibro showers, with even the colonies having water showers available.
But as they finish the evening clean-up, and snuggle into bed together to get some sleep, Zechs can’t care too much that he’s had to make sacrifices. Noin sighs happily as she falls asleep, and she feels warm and comfortable next to him in bed. Her dark eyelashes smudge against her cheeks, and her short hair feels soft under his fingers as he strokes it back.
As the Preventer-in-charge on Mars, Noin has her shares of worries, but when she sleeps, she looks peaceful. Zechs looks at her and wonders how he ended up with the opportunity to look at that sweet, sleeping face every night.
Mars is a strange, alien place, but Zechs thinks that it has become his new home nonetheless. Noin and her comfortable rhythm makes it a home.
Zechs lifts her hand to his lips and kisses her fingers gently. Noin sighs in her sleep. Zechs smiles and snuggles in next to her, letting sleep capture him as well.
Night at Mars is artificial, and evening grooming rituals are new and somewhat uncomfortable, but the sleep is deep, peaceful and genuine, and sleeping next to Noin makes everything else worth it.
no subject
Can I just say again how much I love your worldbuilding and the way you incorporate it in your fics? Because I do.
And this was very cute.
no subject
I have to admit, however, that I was a little down when I found out, not long after I wrote this, that Mars is not actually red - it is brown, and only looks red from Earth because of gas in the atmosphere or something like that.