2013-01-28 03:32![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lux_mariko
lux_marikoStory: Warning
Year: 2989
Word Count: 633
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Lux, Mariko
Warnings: References to murder and the fire, oblique references to experimentation on a person.
"He shouldn't be here."
Mariko jumped and looked up. Lux had that habit, even now, of entering in utter silence. "Don't do that. I'm not going to ask you again."
Lux bowed her head slightly. "I apologize."
Mariko nodded a little and looked back down at her paper, taking a deep breath. Accepting Lux back in her life had...not been easy, even though she'd known from the moment they'd talked again that she would, and she still loved her more than words could tell. And when Lux came out of nowhere like that...
She took another deep breath and willed her heart to stop racing. "It's okay," she said, after a minute, then looked up again. "Who shouldn't be here?"
"That man. The one in Medical, the one Lobell is observing. You need to get him far, far away from you. I'm not even sure the other side of the galaxy is far enough."
Mariko blinked, surprised. She'd never seen Lux this agitated, not in the year they'd been together before, nor in the three months since she'd come back. Not even when she'd...not even during the fire. Then, Lux had been eerily calm. "Simon?"
"Whatever name he's using now," Lux said. "It doesn't matter. He shouldn't be here."
"I...I agree, Lobell isn't--"
"No," Lux snapped, and Mariko flinched again. The taller being softened slightly. "I apologize again, Mariko, I didn't mean--it's not because of Lobell's study. It's because...he's a murderer, Mariko."
Mariko stared at her.
Lux dropped her eyes. "It's different."
"Different how?"
"He's...I...Mariko, when I kill, it's because I'm threatened, or instinct takes over. I kill because I must, on occasion, in order to protect myself and the people important to me."
Mariko looked down at her hands, idly tracing one of her scars.
"Don't, Mariko, please..."
They sat in silence for a moment, then Lux took an audible breath and continued.
"When...when this man, when Simon...He doesn't mean it. He doesn't intend it. No, he intends to help, to do the right thing. And he is...he will be so sorry when it's over, so very sorry, you cannot possibly comprehend his grief, his regret...but you will be just as dead. And it will be awful, Mariko, an awful, terrible way to die..."
"He's a good man," Mariko said, her voice shaking a little. She took a deep breath, then repeated, steadier. "He's a good man, Lux. He would never--"
"When did I say he wasn't, Mariko?" Lux said, sounding almost...helpless. "He is a good man, and that's part of the problem."
Mariko shook her head. "I can't...you're wrong. You have to be."
"Mariko--"
"I'm going to help him," she said, decidedly. "Get him away from Lobell, at least. If that means getting him to the other side of the galaxy, then it does. But I'm doing it to help him, not because I think he's a threat."
Lux sighed. "Fine. As long as he's far away from you."
"Lux--"
When she looked up, Lux was gone, as sudden and silent as she'd come. Mariko winced a little, and made a mental note to talk to Lux about leaving with no warning as well as coming, then gripped the desk tight to stop her hands from shaking.
Simon was a good man. She knew he was, she'd spoken to him a couple times, when Lobell would let her in. And yet...
And yet.
She shivered, and tried to focus on the contract she was translating, putting Lux and Simon out of her mind as best she could for the moment. Time enough to solve the problem, to help him, when her work was done. When she was steadier.
Even if steady seemed further and further from her every day.
Year: 2989
Word Count: 633
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Lux, Mariko
Warnings: References to murder and the fire, oblique references to experimentation on a person.
"He shouldn't be here."
Mariko jumped and looked up. Lux had that habit, even now, of entering in utter silence. "Don't do that. I'm not going to ask you again."
Lux bowed her head slightly. "I apologize."
Mariko nodded a little and looked back down at her paper, taking a deep breath. Accepting Lux back in her life had...not been easy, even though she'd known from the moment they'd talked again that she would, and she still loved her more than words could tell. And when Lux came out of nowhere like that...
She took another deep breath and willed her heart to stop racing. "It's okay," she said, after a minute, then looked up again. "Who shouldn't be here?"
"That man. The one in Medical, the one Lobell is observing. You need to get him far, far away from you. I'm not even sure the other side of the galaxy is far enough."
Mariko blinked, surprised. She'd never seen Lux this agitated, not in the year they'd been together before, nor in the three months since she'd come back. Not even when she'd...not even during the fire. Then, Lux had been eerily calm. "Simon?"
"Whatever name he's using now," Lux said. "It doesn't matter. He shouldn't be here."
"I...I agree, Lobell isn't--"
"No," Lux snapped, and Mariko flinched again. The taller being softened slightly. "I apologize again, Mariko, I didn't mean--it's not because of Lobell's study. It's because...he's a murderer, Mariko."
Mariko stared at her.
Lux dropped her eyes. "It's different."
"Different how?"
"He's...I...Mariko, when I kill, it's because I'm threatened, or instinct takes over. I kill because I must, on occasion, in order to protect myself and the people important to me."
Mariko looked down at her hands, idly tracing one of her scars.
"Don't, Mariko, please..."
They sat in silence for a moment, then Lux took an audible breath and continued.
"When...when this man, when Simon...He doesn't mean it. He doesn't intend it. No, he intends to help, to do the right thing. And he is...he will be so sorry when it's over, so very sorry, you cannot possibly comprehend his grief, his regret...but you will be just as dead. And it will be awful, Mariko, an awful, terrible way to die..."
"He's a good man," Mariko said, her voice shaking a little. She took a deep breath, then repeated, steadier. "He's a good man, Lux. He would never--"
"When did I say he wasn't, Mariko?" Lux said, sounding almost...helpless. "He is a good man, and that's part of the problem."
Mariko shook her head. "I can't...you're wrong. You have to be."
"Mariko--"
"I'm going to help him," she said, decidedly. "Get him away from Lobell, at least. If that means getting him to the other side of the galaxy, then it does. But I'm doing it to help him, not because I think he's a threat."
Lux sighed. "Fine. As long as he's far away from you."
"Lux--"
When she looked up, Lux was gone, as sudden and silent as she'd come. Mariko winced a little, and made a mental note to talk to Lux about leaving with no warning as well as coming, then gripped the desk tight to stop her hands from shaking.
Simon was a good man. She knew he was, she'd spoken to him a couple times, when Lobell would let her in. And yet...
And yet.
She shivered, and tried to focus on the contract she was translating, putting Lux and Simon out of her mind as best she could for the moment. Time enough to solve the problem, to help him, when her work was done. When she was steadier.
Even if steady seemed further and further from her every day.
