Mark Watney

8

I'm almost there. The rover picked up a faint signal from the hab. I'm still trekking on. God I hate this trip and this rover and really this whole planet.

I spent the next two days driving and I'm now getting the full signal from the hab. it's about time to recharge the rovers batteries. I get out, pull them out and lay out the solar panels. Now the waiting game. Why not go for a little walk? So I did. It wasn't as fun as I thought it would be because I'm in an EVA suit. I sit out and climb over some sand to sit on a rock. I sit and stare out at the mountains. It was actually quite beautiful. I spent a while making pictures out of rocks just to kill the time I had, which was lots. Lots and lots of time while the battery charged.

I finally got up and started walking back to the rover. I wonder what marks doing now? You know I bet he- the toe of my suit caught on a rock and I tripped and fell over my own leg. Shit that hurt. I slowly got up and hobbled to the rover. I'm never gonna hear the end of this.

After a long boring day of napping and watching some tv it was time to keep driving.

After a couple hours I could see the hab, so no matter how tired I was I kept driving. I just couldn't stand one more night alone and cold and in he same clothes. I'm lonely. So I kept going. The white canvas of the hab kept getting bigger and bigger as I got closer. Man, I am so excited to see mark. But what if he's still mad? Or upset with me? What if something happened to him?

I gulped and stopped, and let the thoughts go away. And then I thought about how gross I probably looked. So I pull out my comb and brushed through my hair until it was shiny and wavy again. I had no toothbrush but I had a vitamin that smelled ok so I ate it. I gagged as I smelled myself, whoo! I out on more deodorant than necessary just to be safe and put in the only pair of clean clothes I had. Ready.

My journey only lasted about an hour more until I finally was here. The hab. it was nice to see any sort of civilization. I plugged in the rover as quickly as possible and ran into the airlock waiting for it to pressurize. It gave the signal and I slammed the door open feeling more excited than ever. I took my helmet off but mark was nowhere to be seen ." Hey, look who's back, mark!" I called out.

I heard footsteps coming towards me, and there was mark. Just how you expected him to be, hoodie and sweatpants and a dumb look on his face. He walked slowly towards you silently and then all of the sudden both of you ran to each other, hugging so hard you both fell to the ground. You were both crying and laughing at the same time. " god I never thought I'd miss you that much" he laughed in between tears. " you wouldn't even know how lonely I was without you , Watney" you could only smile and hug him." How are the potatoes?" You asked." That's the first thing you ask me? Well their good, come on I'll show you and we can catch up" he guided you up by your sore shoulders. You winced." Sorry" he said." S'ok. Just very sore"

You checked to make sure the potatoes were growing strong and then sat down at the table." Well?" Mark pokes you." It was ok. Well it was terrible. I spent a lot of time digging the rover out of sand. It was creepy and I was very lonely but I got pathfinder and we can fire it up tomorrow" you grinned a bit." Thank you for going" mark said and passed over a pack of snacks.

" I really missed you y/n, if we get back to earth it will be weird living without you" he laughed a bit but he wasn't joking." Well I'm going to bed n/n" he said flatly." Mark, you really tired?" It would be one am at home" you thought for a minute. " yeah I guess I am sleepy, but more than anything I want to go brush my teeth." You rubbed your eyes and went to get your toothbrush. Personal hygiene felt good.

You spent a few minutes checking out the hab and then went to your bunk. I thought it would feel great getting out of the stuffy rover but your bed was cold and you still felt lonely, but mark was tired and he obviously didn't feel like staying up right now. He had a long month too. You just wanted to be near anybody right now. You wanted to be near him. You sat up and spent a good ten minutes debating whether or not to go see him.

You nervously walked over to his bunk . He sensed your presence and turned to face you." M-mark? I just You know-it's cold and uh" he patted the spot beside him." Oh uh you can just-yeah" you jumped into the covers but then realized it was awkward. But it was so comfy and warm in his bed. After a second you turned to face him." I just want to be with you right now, I can't stand the thought of being alone anymore" he whispered.

You scooted towards him and just hugged him. He wrapped his arms around you and the two of you just lay there in the warm embrace. " i missed you mark. I missed your stupid jokes " you whispered back. You reached up And started to pet his soft brown hair. He sighed contently and nuzzled back into you. You gave him lots of cuddles as the two of you fell asleep.