Missing Scene from The Long Wait

[were_lemur]

This fic is rated: PGish for mentions of bad ways to die
Fandom: Robotech (Macross Saga)
Pairing: Claudia Grant/Roy Fokker
Summary: During a break from the recovery efforts, Claudia and Roy talk
Prompt:annavtree's probably just a little tacky post-kerfluffle multifandom inter-racial ficathon (that's the actual name) at http://annavtree.livejournal.com/223390.html
Warnings: none, really
Word Count: 572
Feedback: yes, please!
Cross-Posted were_lemur, robotech_fanfic
Disclaimer: Robotech, Claudia, Roy, and all the Hayeses, Hunters, Zentraedi, and other recognizable characters contained within all belong to Harmony Gold. No copyright violations intended, I’m not making any money, please don’t sue me!

Staggering from exhaustion, Claudia Grant stumbled to her quarters. Everybody had been on duty since the SDF-1 had made its emergency hyperspace fold to the far side of the moon that had accidentally landed the battle fortress, and most of nearby Macross City, beyond the orbit of Pluto. That had been nearly twenty hours ago -- and she'd had a full shift even before that, running last-minute tests and drills before the SDF-1's planned shakedown cruise.

Captain Gloval had sent the bridge crew to get some sleep, before exhaustion had them making mistakes. But Claudia doubted she'd be able to sleep; her mind was too full of words like explosive decompression and asphyxiation and hypothermia -- all the ways that people could die when they were suddenly exposed to hard vacuum.

She'd always had too much imagination for her own good.

Now, as she turned the final corner to her quarters, she found yet another problem. Roy Fokker was leaning casually against the door to her quarters.

Not now ... Exhausted as she was, she couldn't deal with him. By rights she out to read him the riot act for arguing with the first officer on an open channel. But all she wanted to do was run to him, hold him, tell him that everything would be all right, that his missing friend would be found alive, even if she didn't believe it herself. She just stood there, caught between conflicting duties until he pulled himself from whatever he'd been seeing against the blank bulkhead in front of him. Silently, he pushed himself off the wall, walked toward her.

Claudia could see the dark circles under his eyes. He'd been awake as long as she had -- and the things she'd read about, he'd seen.

For once in her life, Claudia Grant found herself speechless. She took two quick steps forward to close the gap between them, wrapped her arms around him, held him fiercely. He folded her in his arms, and for a long time, they just clung to each other.

They might have stayed there until one or the other of them had to go back on duty, if one of the techs hadn't come around the corner, as hollow-eyed as Claudia felt. They sidestepped to let the woman get to her quarters. As they did so, Roy pulled away; before Claudia could protest, he cupped her cheeks in his hands and studied her face as if storing it up for --

-- she wrenched her mind away from that train of thought, and realized that he'd said her name.

He continued, "I try to pretend I don't know how short life is."

"I know."

"I can't pretend anymore. Not after today. Not after -- "

"None of us can." She brought her hands up, laced her fingers through his. "None of us should."

"No." He took a deep breath, as if coming to a decision. "When we get back to Earth, let's get married."

Why not now? she wanted to ask. But if she did, she'd have to explain about the missing fold generator and the fact that they probably wouldn't get back to Earth for months, if not years. She couldn't add another burden to his load.

And besides, the information was still classified.

So she pulled him close, leaned her head on his shoulder. "Of course we will," she whispered. "As soon as we're safely home."

Comments

[ribby.livejournal.com]

*sniffle* Oh my... this is heartwrenching. Especially when you know what's to happen... and yeah, I'm a Robotech fan from *way* back.

Roy was always my favorite, so *that* scene made me just bawl... but this is a beautiful moment for the two of them. Thanks for sharing it!

~Kris

[were-lemur.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked it; I was worried that it might be over the top with the angst.

My dad almost forbade me and my sister from watching Robotech, after he came home one day to find us handing onto each other, sobbing, in front of the TV. Lucky for us, we managed to talk him out of any drastic measures.

[ribby.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know... I was the same way! Except I was watching it with my two best friends, who were guys... so I *couldn't* cry in front of them. So I'd go home and bawl... *grin* But I think that was one of the things I loved about the series. People died, for no good reason except that it was war, and they were sacrificed, and it didn't all end up happily. For a cartoon, it felt very *real*.

~Kris

[skywardprodigal.livejournal.com]

*gulps*

I'm tearing up from this, and what I know is to come.

Thank you.