Refuge in a Blanket Who: Rook and Delilah When: night Where: a bit away from the campfire Rating: PG
As the day had progressed, Delilah hadn't really improved. She hadn't done much, trying to let her body rest, but it was hard when doing that made her feel so useless. She'd held onto Helena's blanket for as long as she felt all right doing so, then had left it neatly folded where she'd picked it up from. The other woman herself didn't sound so good at the meeting they had. She'd stuck close to the fire as much as possible, hardly awake and aware of anything except how crappy she felt.
Then night had fallen, and the temperature dropped even more. She'd tried laying on the ground, and that just ... no, that wasn't going to work. Fever-achey, Delilah got up and started to wander among the people settling in for the night, until she saw a familiar head poking out from under a blanket. Arms crossed over her stomach, goosebumps all over her bare legs, Delilah stopped and bent down a bit. "Rook?" she said quietly.
Apparently, Rook was going to be out of commission for a while. Sleep tugged at him, but his mind was running at a hundred miles an hour. What did this new leadership mean? There was something innately wrong with this whole situation and it made him sick to his stomach... or it could just be the grazer kebab rising from the ashes like a phoenix and determined to gain revenge for itself.
He was huddled a bit away from the others, under his own blanket that Kenneth had helped retrieve for him. It was big, and his, something which felt rather important while they were out here in the middle of an alien planet. Half-way through his delusional musings, a familiar voice surprised him. "Delilah?" The smile that crooked his lips was instinctive and honest - an emotion he hadn't felt in a while. She looked a little worse for wear and a small pang scorched Rook's heart. Reaching for her hand, he tugged her down gently, "You're freezing."
That had been exactly what she was hoping for, and Delilah nearly cried with relief. She was freezing, even as her body ached with fever. She shifted down to her butt and scooted up under the blanket with him, cuddling up to his warmth immediately and without shame. "Thank you so much," she said, and her voice cracked a bit on the last word. She cleared her throat, not wanting to be overwhelmed with everything. If she let any of it through, she had the feeling it would completely take over and she'd be a crying mess. She never liked being a crying mess. She settled on her side, one arm around his torso, and her other tucked up under her head. The heat was absolutely delicious. "The things we took for granted, yes?" she murmured with a sheepish little smile.
Rook tucked her tight against him, muscles clenching slightly from the sudden chill. She wasn't freezing, she was bloody frozen. Resisting the urge to scold her, he slipped an arm under her and shifted her so that he could cushion her from the hard ground. Despite the chill, her few clothes were damp with sweat, which meant she was probably as sick as him. The concern that arose in his chest was surprising, and he slipped a leg between hers, trying to warm her up as best he could. The way her voice cracked did nothing to ease his worry. "Are you okay?" He was too sick to care about social propriety at the moment, wrapping her up in a gentle hug. Rook chuckled softly, turning away when a cough wracked his lungs. "Central heating?"
She accepted the full-body hug, melting into it easily and gratefully. Now that her coldness was coming up against warmth -- or someone warmer, anyway -- she started to shiver again, a fine tremor through her whole body. Delilah clung to him like he was the only thing in the world. "I was more thinking blankets and mattresses, but yes, what I wouldn't give for a furnace right now," she said once he was done coughing, with a rusty chuckle. She patted his back instinctively. "I'm ... I don't know," she answered his first question in a smaller voice. "Miserable and aching and wanting to be almost anywhere but this godforsaken place." She buried her face in his shoulder, feeling totally pathetic but too sick to care.
The shivers worried him, and his hand rubbed at her back soothingly, massaging her cramped muscles as best he could. Rook felt so needed. "Did you want to move closer to the fire?" It might be good for her, despite his reluctance to be around the others. She seemed to be in a bad way, both physically and emotionally. Run-down and defeated, almost. When her face pressed against the skin of his shoulder, he stroked her hair gently, fingers catching in the tangles. "Its okay. You... you're not alone." She was a sweet girl. She had the community to take care and look out for her, their little tribe. "Don't let the planet get to you, huh?"
Delilah shook her head as much as was possible with her face kind of wedged into him. She didn't want to move. From experience, she knew that closer to the fire was warmer, but that would cause those awful fever-hot-flashes and the next thing she knew, she'd be stripping out of her clothes and laying out in the open air. Which would be even worse for her. She took a sniffly little breath and pulled back enough to talk. "I know," she exhaled. "I'm sorry, I'm just ... I'm a huge baby when I'm sick, I'm sorry." She wiped at her eyes and settled in even more firmly against him, clinging to his leg with her's.
"You're not being a baby." He muttered softly, rubbing her freezing calf between his. "There's no need to apologize, Delilah. Especially not to me." His fingers scraped gently at her scalp, letting her bury her face into his chest. Rook tugged her closer, letting her lie on top of him instead of next to him. It just seemed a lot more comfortable for her, considering the way she was wrapped around him. "Have the others been treating you well?" He hadn't seen her since her arrival, and the change from then to now was a little sobering. "Been eating and drinking properly?"
She felt a brief flash of guilt as she settled down on top of him, sure she was probably squishing the poor dear, but didn't protest the position switch. He was most certainly more comfortable than the ground, and there was always something comforting in another heartbeat pressed up against your own. "Everyone's been very nice," she murmured, tugging the blanket more tightly around them. She'd be content to burrow completely under it and never come out. "Trying to. I haven't had much appetite today, I've mostly been sleeping. You? You feel as feverish as I do. ... tell me if I get too heavy."
It was nice, actually, to feel another body pressed against his, and Delilah wasn't particularly heavy. His fingers brushed distractedly over her back, the feel of her breath against his neck the first close human contact he'd had in days. "That's good." If they hadn't been treating her well, Rook would seriously consider going to Helena and demanding for an intervention. He couldn't help the soft smile on his face. She seemed intent on trying to bury herself as deep under the covers and against him as possible. It was endearing. "I'm fine. Besides, you're not heavy at all." Rook chuckled, thumb grazing the skin of her neck.
It was soothing, being petted in that sort of way. It had been a while since Delilah had had that sort of affection. She had lovers every now and then, but this was an entirely different tone. "Promise you're fine?" she said very quietly, feeling her shivers slow and eventually stop altogether. She was sick achey and felt miserable, but she was as comfortable as she was going to get. Her thumbs rubbed absently where they were resting at his ribs. She just hoped she didn't make him sicker somehow.
"Promise." Rook smiled, thankful that she wasn't quite so cold anymore. With both of them burning off fevers, he had a feeling it would be a much more comfortable night than if they had been alone. The brush of her thumbs comforted him, and his abdomen tightened slightly under her touch. "That feels nice," he mumbled softly. Even though neither of them could be considered decently clothed, Rook didn't feel uncomfortable or uneasy. Her presence was undeniably soothing.
She seemed content with that, and made a soft murry noise that said as much, but didn't actually answer verbally. She kept up the small motions with her thumbs, wanting to soothe him back if she could. Since he was letting her use him as a mattress and all. Her limbs were relaxing, and she had the feeling that sleep was not to far around the corner. Which probably wouldn't have even been a possibility, given their position, if she wasn't sick. It wasn't often she laid around in her panties on a well-built handsome young man and just slept. "... you feel nice," she mumbled eventually, and turned her head just a bit to place a kiss on his collarbone.
He sighed softly, a tiny purr of bliss rumbling in his chest. His own fingers stroked along her neck, brushing against her cheek. It was so comforting, and such a relief after his long drought of being alone and acting alone. For the first time in days, Rook felt human again. "We should do this more often." He smiled crookedly, relaxing at the touch of her lips against his chest. It surprised him yet calmed him at the same time, soothing the violent urges that had become so much more prominent in recent days. Rook squeezed her gently, enfolding her more tightly in the circle of his arms. "Sleep."
Who knew that just the right kind of human contact could make her feel better than the nasty-tasting stuff she'd gotten from the doctor-man earlier had? "Anytime," she sighed with a sort of contentment. For the first time in hours upon hours, she felt like she could sleep. The ache didn't matter so much, and maybe she'd feel better when she woke up. Hopefully. Delilah hummed another soft agreement, and felt herself start to drift. It wasn't long before she was out completely, breathing softly in tandem with her sweet blanket-partner.