milliways_bar | Cycle 007-008

Lup had been in Milliways a little more than a month. She’d been sitting at the window, when she felt a kind of tugging under her skin - the same feeling she

got when the Starblaster crossed to another planar system.

Sure enough, the bar begins to fade from view, and Lup finds herself standing on the deck of her ship, in the exact same spot as always, surrounded by her

crewmates.

They all rush to her, hugging and talking. All except Taako.

He just stares at her, eyes wide and watery.

Finally, he walks over to her, as everyone else watches. He puts a hand on her shoulder.

Then, he throws his entire body into it, wrapping his arms around her.

Lup lets him sink into her, as she runs her fingers through his hair.

“I’m back,” she says, managing a smile.

—-

Several days later, Lup enters the ship’s common area. Taako brushes past her, heading for the kitchen.

“Do you need a hand with dinner?” Lup calls after him.

“I got it,” he mutters back, not turning.

Lup settles onto the couch in a huff, joining Mangus and Merle in chairs beside her.

“He’s barely said ten words to me since we landed.”

Merle shrugs. “That’s more than he’s said in the past few months.

Lup grimaces. “Was it that bad?”

“Kinda,” Magnus admits. “He got pretty dark after you beefed it.”

“Yeah,” Merle chimes in. “When he came back, he was…well.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s just say things didn’t end well for those guys.”

Lup suppresses a shiver.

She stares into the kitchen, where Taako is wordlessly chopping vegetables, with a blank expression on his face.

—-

Once the Light lands, Magnus, Davenport and Lucretia go out in search for it, and Merle’s helping Barry in the lab. So it’s just Lup and Taako in the kitchen.

He’s gathering ingredients for dinner while she sits at the table.

Lup breaks the silence.

“We’re running low on olive oil, just so you know.”

“Sure.” He turns to grab something from the cupboard.

Lup slams her hand on the table.

“Fucking talk to me!”

Taako stops in his tracks.

“You’ve been avoiding me for days now, and I know something’s on your mind.” Lup stands up, crossing over to face him, hands on her hips. “I’m not leaving until you tell me.”

Taako, still facing away from her, mutters something.

“What was that?”

Taako finally turns to look up at her, sullen.

“I said,” he repeats himself, in a low tone, “You didn’t seem to have a problem with leaving last time.”

Lup glares. “Taako, it’s not like I fucking had a choice!"

“You let your guard down! You should have known better than that!”

“I was getting a guy who was on your tail!” Lup throws her hands in the air. “What was I supposed to do? Just watch you die? Again?”

Taako stiffens a bit.

Lup lowers her voice a bit. “I came back, didn’t I? Just like always.”

“But what if you didn’t?”

Taako’s hands ball up into fists.

“I came back right away after I bit it - I was the one who had to go two months alone!”

Lup is silent as Taako keeps speaking.

“I kept wondering if this was gonna be the one where we didn’t reset after we left.” He wraps his arms around himself. “I couldn’t get that day out of my head.

I kept seeing…”

Lup knows. She had nightmares, too, after that cycle.

She walks over to him and wraps her arms around him. Taako hugs her in turn.

And then he sobs into her shoulder, like he hasn’t since they were little.

“You died, Lup,” he sobs. “You died.”

Lup holds him like that for a while. She can feel tears pricking at her own eyes.

“If either of us go down, we go down together.” Lup whispers, after a while.“No more facing this alone. Deal?”

He pulls back, wiping at his eyes.

“Deal.”

Lup forces a smile she doesn’t quite feel yet.

“You wanna make some donuts?”

Taako gives her a similar smile right back.

“Fuck yeah I do.”

——

In the next cycle, The Starblaster comes to land on a dark world, full of giant fungus that give off a haunting glow. Upon landing, they learn that the spores

make the air toxic, and begin wearing ventalatiors for the next few days, while they watch and wait for the Light to land.

Taako and Lup are in the kitchen, making dinner together.

“How much longer do you think it’s gonna be?”

Lup shrugs. “Probably not much longer. It’s never been more than a week.”

“This system sucks. I miss sunlight.” Taako pouts. “And, you know, breathing.”

Lup pauses in crushing garlic, a glint in her eyes. She heads for the bathroom door.

Taako watches her. “Where are you going?”

“Just hang on a sec."

Lup glances up, speaking as if to air. “Do me a solid?”

The door opens, and sunlight shines through it.

Lup pumps a fist in the air in quiet triumph.

“What the hell?” Taako’s eyes widen at the light.

She grabs his arm, with a smile.

The two emerge onto a small hill, overlooking Milliways. The sun is hanging low in the sky.

“Now hold on just a sec,” Taako raises a hand. “You’re telling me you found a portal to fuckin’ Narnia, and you never thought to tell chya’boy about it?”

“I did tell you.” Lup corrects him. “The night before we first left, remember?”

“I though you were drunk.”

“Well, whose fault is that?” Lup shrugs.“I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”

She sits on the grass, patting the spot next to her.

Taako takes a seat, taking in a deep breath and exhaling fully.

“Gotta say,” Taako is grinning now. “This is pretty sweet.”