It's Cold (Original: Navigator, Stuart/May)
Title: It's Cold Author: catdevigri Fandom: Original (Navigator) Pairing/characters: May Radcliff/Stuart Mallory Rating: PG-13 Warnings: Depressing. Prompt/challenge you're answering: Stuart and May are stranded together with no hope for survival "The engine's dead?"
"Not only that, we're out of fuel," May sighed and slumped down beside Stuart.
"Communication is impossible considering the shape our equipment is in." Stuart leaned his head back. The clear helmet of his space suit clinked against the cold metal of the spaceship. "No flares, no food or water, a limited supply of air...Navigator has no way of finding us out here. It would have to be a complete fluke. ...I hate to say this, May, but it looks like this is it."
The young woman shuddered. Stuart was the biggest optimist she'd ever met. If he said this was the end...it would be the end. "I never expected to die like this," she said. She was surprised at how calmly she was taking this. It had to be some kind of denial at work. "I guess it could be worse...I mean, I'm not alone. And at least we can see the stars."
Stuart didn't feel quite so calm. All sorts of unfinished business was was running through his mind- how many months it had been since he'd last gone to reconciliation, what would happen to Julian without him, how he'd never gotten to go to Rome or meet the pope...
May reached out and took his hand, covered in the thick glove of the space suit. "C'mon, Stu, don't freak out on me. It won't be so bad. We can talk about the old days."
May surprising sensibility under pressure brought the priest back to his senses. He squeezed May's hand in return. "That's a nice idea, May, but we've only known each other for seven months. There really aren't any 'old days.'"
"Then, uh, we can talk about something else. Like...how do you want to be remembered?" She laughed a little, closing her eyes as she imagined how the universe would go on without her in it, just as it had proceeded for billions of years before her. "I hope they don't tell Mom and Dad this was my fault."
"It wasn't," Stuart insisted, "It was a freak accident. You had no way of knowing this would happen to us."
"I could've at least kept the little ship better stocked," she pouted.
"That might've only prolonged the inevitable." Stuart turned his head toward her until their helmet clinked. "It's no use beating yourself up over it now."
"Space is so cold. I can't die without feeling the warmth of another person's touch again."
"We can go back into the ship and take off the suits."
"I'd like that."
Back inside the tiny craft, Stuart wrapped his arms around May's shoulders and let her lean against his chest as she stared out into the stars. He said his prayers over and over in his head.