𝚂𝚞𝚐𝚊𝚛 | 𝚔. 𝚜𝚞𝚐𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚊

- Movie -

He kisses my hand again before releasing it, a faint smile gracing his lips. "Let's start the movie."

-

I flick on the television, opening the streaming app. We rent the movie and I press the start button. The opening scene launches with preparations for a fierce storm. The team vigorously communicates back and forth, debating whether or not it's safe to stick around during the event. After all, they're here on a mission, and aborting it meant lost money and progress.

I dig into my popcorn when the storm rolls in. The sky, once a painted horizon of reds and oranges, is choked with black and limited visibility. The astronauts decide it's too risky to stay and begin to flee to the ship, machinery screaming of the dangers of the winds. The ship begins to tip, one degree after another.

A satellite pole creaks and snaps, hitting one of the astronauts. They fly out of sight, presumably dead, their stats crackled out of signal. The team debates over whether or not they should look for him in the storm, many insisting that he's deceased, but the captain searches for him regardless. They don't have enough time; however, launching without the lost man.

"Think he's injured after a hit like that?" Sugwara questions, softly, as not to disturb our environment.

"Of course," I whisper around a bite of popcorn, "did you watch the trailer?"

"Nope."

I bite back a sigh and shrug. "Your loss."

The movie proceeds. The man is in fact, alive, and a botanist. After he fixes his wounds, he counts the food he has and realizes it won't last him until the next mission, which is eight years away.

He manages to plant potatoes in the soil, fertilizing it with the less than pleasant matter stored away from his crewmates. Sugawara chokes on a bite of popcorn at the notion. He thumps his chest as the astronaut creates a humid environment from a chemical reaction, nearly blowing himself up on his first attempt.

"You should ask Kuroo to try that out." I chuckle.

"Are you kidding?" Suga rolls his eyes, recovered. He tosses a kernel in my direction. "He'd blow up his house trying that."

I smirk, imaging Kuroo painted with a thin layer of ash. "Worth it."

The astronaut comes up with a plan to ration and grow food until the next mission whilst searching for ways to contact NASA back on Earth. Through a series of trial and error, he manages to retrieve an ancient vessel from a previous exploration attempt. The astronaut tinkers with the machine until a connection flits into display, fusing the start of hope at life.

The machine, however, can only take pictures and swivel a camera. He scribbles on three plastic lids. A yes, a no, and a question. "Are you receiving me?"

The astronaut receives a joyous yes in reply. After a series of trial and error, message system creation involving symbols and hexes beyond my understanding, and gritty photos, a reliable transfer of information is established. He communicates with NASA and they instruct him to hack his rover, sprouting conversation more than scribbled signs and exchanged pictures.

My eyelids flutter. "Do you understand any of this?"

"Somewhat." Suga nods, rubbing my shoulder. "It's a great concept, even while they make mistakes here and there."

"What mistakes?" I pause the movie.

Sugawara shrugs. "The message system is unreliable and the symbols won't always line up."

I breathe a sigh. "Oh."

The movie resumes. Over the course of the next hour, the astronaut struggles through loss of his potato farm, destruction of hope, and the pain of knowing that his crew doesn't know he's alive. He lashes out at NASA and they eventually cave, alerting the crew. The crew suffers under the weight of shock and shame.

Months pass. NASA fails a resource launch and emergency plans bubble to the surface. An idea to have the crew rescue the astronaut is turned down. One of the members encrypts the concept to the shuttle, handing over the choice to them rather than leaving it to the official organization.

The captain explains both positive and negative consequences of going back to Mars. While they had a chance to rescue their lost teammate, a year would be extended to their journey, meaning they wouldn't be able to see their friends and loved ones for another eternity. Pressed silence clouds the room, but they manage to reach a consensus. The crew, in an act of defiance against NASA, desperately soars back to Mars. They remove remote control functions in order to prevent any interference from Earth.

"Damn," Suga breathes, tone awash in admiration, "I could never endure that long without seeing my loved ones."

My popcorn bowl is empty. I position it on the table, gently sliding my hands over my pants before intertwining my fingers in his. His grasp is warm and smooth against mine. "I don't think I could, either." Unspoken words pool in my mind.

I can't imagine a life without you.

The astronaut continues to scrape by, his food rations diminishing after each Sol. His teammates communicate their plan to him, striking hope in the face of suffering. He begins to build preparations to launch from the atmosphere and intersect with the spaceship.

I doze off somewhere in between the climactic retrieval and return to Earth. My dreams are filled with smoke, sluggishly dispelling when I drift to consciousness. The television screen is still on when I awake, muted sounds and phrases flitting around my ears. The world is tilted sideways.

"How late is it..?" I manage, my voice raspy.

Sugawara idly runs his fingers through my hair. "Around eleven."

"Oh." I shift in my resting place on his lap, my eyes fluttering close. "Thank you."

"For what?" Suga murmurs, his fingers halting. He pauses the match playing in the background. The sudden lack of sound is strange; a thick, tangible silence that floods the room.

"The best-" I muster, drowsy thoughts cluttering my mind, "-anniversary a girl could ask for."

The movements resume, softer than before. "Anything for you, ma chérie." His voice is distant.

My eyes flit open. I sit up, sluggishly detangling myself from his hands. I scoot over the cushions to lean on Suga's shoulder. "I'm always here, you know."

"Always and forever," Sugawara hums. "As cheesy as that sounds."

I snicker. The room drifts into silence, a warmth that unfurls wisps of fatigue into my thoughts. My heart flutters in my chest as I notice Sugawara nodding off beside me. The silence crumbles. "Should we," I begin, gently coaxing, "go to bed?"

"Nah, not right now." I startle as Suga snakes a hand around my waist. He chuckles softly. I tug at his fingers, my movements futile against his grip. "It's not the end of the day yet."

I glance at the clock on the wall, squinting, hands muddled against a creamy, circular background. "How long do we have, exactly?"

"Thirty-" Sugawara's grip tightens around my waist, "-no, twenty-eight minutes."